To Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi,

The undersigned respectfully request that Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility and all forms of detention without trial be ended promptly, and that due process be henceforth acknowledged in its entirety. We also request that those who have been cleared for release be released with all possible haste. 

RELEVANT FACTS: • Men have been detained at Guantanamo for upwards of a year without ever being charged with a crime. • People cleared for release have spent upwards of three years awaiting release. • Prisoners have been abused to the point that they will suffer grave physical aftereffects for the rest of their lives. • Prisoners have been abused in order to elicit information, in a violation of the Geneva Convention, as well as misfed, also in violation of the Geneva Convention. • Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility is used as a recruitment tool by extremist organizations. • Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility has a long history of torture. • Many people detained at Guantanamo have, in retrospect, been declared innocent. • The United Nations recommended the closure of Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.

RELEVANT LAW: • Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind. – Geneva Convention, Article 17 • The basic daily food rations shall be sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to keep prisoners of war in good health and to prevent loss of weight or the development of nutritional deficiencies. – Geneva Convention, Article 26 • In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial – Sixth Amendment • The detention facilities at Guantánamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order. – Executive Order 13492 (January 22, 2009)

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