Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, depicted in graphic for Press TV on Guantanamo Bay, January 30, 2014. Azikiwe is a frequent contributor to international media., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Sun Feb 23, 2014 6:5PM
presstv.ir
To listen to this Press TV statement by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, just click on the website below:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/02/23/351951/obama-should-show-courage-on-gitmo/
US President Barack Obama should close the Guantanamo Bay and set the inmates free to show that he has some moral courage and that he is really in control of his office, a political commentator says.
Abayomi Azikiwe, the editor of Pan African News Wire, made the remarks in a telephone interview with Press TV on Sunday, commenting on a news piece that five former Guantanamo prisoners are seeking damages from the US government for years of sexual, mental and physical abuse at the US prison.
“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,” Azikiwe said.
“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,” he added.
“Why should the United States be holding these people at the Guantanamo Bay when there is no evidence that they are guilty?” he asked.
Azikiwe stated that Washington should admit that a mistake has been made and the prison should be closed down.
He said that when President Obama took office in 2009 after winning elections in 2008 he promised to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but there was opposition within the Congress about closing the camp, and at that time he backed away from that.
But to illustrate “some courage, some sense of ethics and moral fortitude”, he should close the camp and set the inmates free “otherwise it appears as if even he is holding the presidency at the White House but in fact he is really not in control,” Azikiwe noted.
On Friday, the former Guantanamo detainees, who are from Turkey, Uzbekistan and Algeria, filed the complaints in a US appeals court, alleging that they were subjected to forced nudity, sexual harassment and physical beatings, first in Afghanistan and then at Guantanamo.
In response, the US government said in a statement that the claims do not come under US or international law because the former inmates are not American citizens.
“Plaintiffs have no constitutional rights as they are non-resident aliens located outside United States sovereign territory,” the statement said.
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