July 11, 2012,  New York – In response to today’s announcement that a former al-Qaeda member has been released from Guantanamo to Sudan, Center for Constitutional Rights Legal Director Baher Azmy issued the following statement:

Now that President Obama has released a Guantanamo detainee who was convicted of war crimes, the President has no justification for refusing to also transfer the 87 men who have never been charged with any crime, much less convicted, and have been unanimously approved for release from Guantanamo by his own Review Task Force. Military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies have concluded that these men pose no danger to the United States and it is unconscionable that they remain at Guantanamo, many now for over a decade. As Obama embarks on his second presidential campaign, he should uphold the promises on which he was elected the first time, including closing Guantanamo and ending this shameful chapter in U.S. history.