Amnesty International urges next U.S. leader to close Guantanamo Bay prison
Last Updated: Thursday, October 30, 2008 | 4:37 PM ET
The Associated Press
The head of Amnesty International called for the next U.S. president to close the country's detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within 100 days of his inauguration.
Irene Khan cited statements by presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain condemning the torture of terrorism suspects.
"Both candidates have said that they will look into the closure of Guantanamo," Khan said. "We certainly hope that they will pay attention to it in the first 100 days."
Amnesty has long called for Guantanamo to be closed, but Khan's statement Thursday was the first time the human rights group had demanded it be closed in the first 100 days of the new administration.
She made comments to reporters outside an international conference on corruption in Athens, Greece.
"We are calling on the new administration to focus towards righting some of the wrongs of the war on terror, close Guantanamo, expose the whole issue of secret detention, and condemn torture but also to set up accountability measures," Khan said.
She added: "I'm optimistic that, whichever candidate wins, they will give very serious attention to work towards restoring the United States as a human rights champion around the world and at home."
