09 August 2007
Methodist Church welcomes call to release Guantanamo detainees
The Methodist Church have welcomed the UK Government's
decision to request the return of five former British residents
being held in Guantanamo Bay. The announcement overturns the
previous refusal of the UK Government to intervene in their
case.
The Methodist Church is gravely concerned about the continued use
of Guantanamo Bay to hold people without due legal process. At the
beginning of July, the Methodist Church, the Church of England and
the Catholic Bishops' Conference in England and Wales wrote to the
Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, urging her to allow the return to the
UK of eight former British residents detained at Guantanamo Bay
including those named in yesterday's statement from the Government.
The letter was signed by the Revd Graham Carter (the former
President of the Methodist Conference), the Rt Revd Tom Butler
(Bishop of Southwark) and the Rt Revd William Kenney (Auxiliary
Bishop of Birmingham).
Steve Hucklesby, Methodist Secretary for International Affairs,
says, "This is great news and we hope that these five people can be
returned to the UK soon. Most of the British residents detained at
Guantanamo have been there for five years now and we are concerned
for their mental health and general well-being. Their continued
detention has placed stress on their families in the UK. Their
imprisonment without due legal process is an unacceptable violation
of their rights.
"We continue to be deeply concerned about Guantanamo Bay and would
like to see it closed. We appreciate the need for adequate security
measures but these must not violate fundamental human
rights."