Opinion | Editorials
Guantanamo is an outrage
The Canadian government should demand the immediate release of Khadr.
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:05 July 17, 2008
The first grainy images of an interrogation at Guantanamo have been broadcast. It is disturbing viewing. Canadian detainee, Omar Khadr, at the time a teenage inmate, is seen pleading for his mother and begging: "Help me, help me."
Khadr has been held for five years without charge and subjected to sleep depravation and, in all probability, much worse. As a matter of urgency the Canadian government should demand his immediate release. Guantanamo is an outrage, an insult to the very values that people around the world hold dear; justice, accountability and due process. After five years, most inmates would be in such a confused and mentally distressed state that they will admit to anything. Guantanamo is an embarrassment to America and damages Washington's so-called war on terror. It will be closed during the next presidency, if not before. But the damage done to America's reputation will linger long after its closure.
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