By: Priscila Néri, Posted: Nov 12 08

United States

Arbitrary arrest, Detention, Torture/ill treatment

Barack Obama, Detention, extraordinary rendition, guantanamo, torture, US government, war on terror

According to Time Magazine, only 23 of the roughly 250 people currently imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center have been charged. The rest have been held for several months - even years - unlawfully and without access to legal defense.

Human rights advocates have called on the U.S. government to either "try or release" the Guantanamo detainees and immediately put an end to unlawful/secret detentions and torture during interrogations. And although U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has committed to shutting down Guantanamo and ending extraordinary renditions, many legal questions remain on how to accomplish that in practice.

Yesterday, five human rights organizations called on European governments to offer humanitarian protection to a group of Guantanamo detainees that will not be charged with a crime but that cannot return to their countries of origin for fear of torture, forced disappearance, and other human rights violations. There are approximately 50 detainees in this situation from countries including China, Libya, Russia, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

As the next U.S. president prepares to take office, you can help strengthen the call to close Guantanamo. Here are three ways to take action:

1) Sign this letter put together by the American Civil Liberties Union and Brave New Foundation calling on President-elect Obama to close Guantanamo Bay, shut down military commissions, and ban torture. Learn more at Close Gitmo.

2) Join Amnesty International and send an email to Obama to call on him to demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights in his first 100 days of office.

3) Watch Human Rights Watch's audio slideshow Guantanamo - Five Years Later, learn more about the situation of the detainees, and take action.

[Note: From Hotel Room to Squalid Prison Cellmore on secret detentions here]