ENI – The U.S. National Council of Churches has called for the closure of the American detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. The controversial jail has been described by The New York Times “as the inevitable result of creating a netherworld of despair beyond the laws of civilized nations, where men were to be held without any hope of decent treatment, impartial justice or, in so many cases, even eventual release.”
Rev. Robert Edgar, the council's general secretary, said, “Americans who love their country and its historic ideals are mortified by this continuing blot on our honour, on our steadfast defense of freedom and on our commitment to democracy and the rule of law.”
In Paris, the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture called for the centre to be closed and for all detainees to be brought to trial or released. “No democracy should be allowed to disregard international law with such impunity,” the group said.
