Saturday, March 08, 2014

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Quoted in Voice of Russia: 'Evidence Obama Needs to Shut Down Gitmo'

Evidence Obama needs to shut down Gitmo, ex-prisoners rarely act violent - report

Voice of Russia
voiceofrussia.com

Proof is mounting that President Obama needs to close Guantanamo Bay as ex-prisoners are found to rarely participate in violent criminal activity, as suggested in a newly released report. The US Director of National Intelligence issued out its report finding that the recidivism rate of former prisoners is very low and has continued to fall since 2009.

The new semi-annual report entitled Re-Engagement of Detainees Formerly Held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, outlines with its data that in spite of the messages about how Guantanamo’s prison keeps the most vicious terrorists locked away, most of the men released from the detention facility have not committed any acts of violence since.

Earlier on, Guantanamo took in scores of people who had never taken part in violent acts. No matter, these very suspects were transferred over to US authorities with the help of Afghan militias on false allegations that they were tied to the Taliban or just ended up in the wrong spot at the most inconvenient of times.

Before the time of January 2009, 532 inmates were let out of the Guantanamo Bay detention center and out of those hundreds the US claims that 99 (18.6 percent) were “confirmed of reengaging” in violent actions and an additional 72 (13.5 percent) were suspected of reengaging in violent crimes.

Percentage wise, that comes to only 32.1 percent of those who were released that committed a crime. If compared to the recidivism rates in US prisons, where the three-year-rate is over 60 percent, the rate for Guantanamo Bay remains very low.

What may be even more surprising is how the number of crime related relapses dropped sharply since January 2009. After January 2009, data shows that of the 82 released from Guantanamo Bay only five were confirmed of reengaging in criminal activity, or 6.1 percent were back out there creating chaos. Two others, or just 2.4 percent, were suspected of reengaging in violent behavior.

As the reengagement number amongst ex-prisoners from Guantanamo Bay continues to drop, it is valid, and not to mention current, evidence highlighting why President Obama should continue to release prisoners stuck in the detention center. There are believers out there who also assert that compensation should be paid out to Guantanamo Bay victims.

“I believe that all victims of the Guantanamo Bay should be compensated whether they are citizens of the United States or residents of any other country,” Abayomi Azikiwe, the editor of Pan African News Wire, said to Press TV, “These people who have been there for so many years, and many of whom I have no absolute evidence that they have committed any serious crime, are eligible for… reparations and restitution.”

President Obama has not only made a promise to the American people that he would shut down Guantanamo Bay, but to the prisoners who have been waiting for their freedom that has been kept from them for so long. Tension will continue to build on the topic matter of Guantanamo Bay as long as it is kept open. The bigger question may be to ask how much more evidence do President Obama and state lawmakers need before being convinced that seemingly so Guantanamo Bay is working in nobody’s favor.

Voice of Russia, Csmonitor.com, Dni.gov, Press TV

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