For Immediate Release
Feb. 25, 2008
OTTAWA – The President of the Canadian Bar Association, together with bar leaders around the world, is calling on U.S. President George W. Bush to immediately close the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
“Few governmental operations by democratic countries have shown such a profound disrespect for the rule of law,” says CBA President Bernard Amyot of Montreal. “Guantanamo Bay has come to signify injustice for some at the hands of the powerful.”
The rule of law says that everyone, including governments, is subject to the law, and that the law itself is fair and free from the influence of arbitrary power. “We must not tolerate – nor permit our respective governments to tolerate – the continuing denial of the principles underlying the rule of law. We have recently seen the results in Pakistan of continuing further down this road,” says Bernard Amyot.
Thirty-four bar leaders have signed a joint letter to express their condemnation of the situation in Guantanamo Bay, while at the same time recognizing the ongoing worldwide threat of terrorism. “By calling for the closure of Guantanamo, we do not detract from the horror of acts of terrorism in the U.S. or other countries,” says the letter.
The situation in Guantanamo Bay has particular relevance to Canada. The only citizen of a Western country remaining in detention is a Canadian. Other Western nations – France, the U.K. and Germany – have sought and obtained the repatriation of their citizens.
CBA President Bernard Amyot is once again calling on the Prime Minister of Canada to ask for Canadian Omar Khadr to be transferred to the custody of Canadian law enforcement officials, so that he can face due process under Canadian law and the principles of the rule of law. An earlier letter was sent to Prime Minister Harper in August.
“Transferring Omar Khadr to Canada is not synonymous with impunity,” notes Bernard Amyot. “We do not deny that some of those detained at Guantanamo may have committed criminal acts. If so, they should be tried by a properly constituted court operating under rules that guarantee a fair trial.”
The following international organizations have signed the letter. The letter is being released in each country:
Asociacion Libre de Abogados (ALA), Australian Bar Association, Bar Council of England & Wales, Canadian Bar Association, City of London Law Society, Conseil du Barreau de Montréal, Conseil National des Barreaux (France), Consiglio Nazionale Forense, Deutscher Anwaltverein, European Young Bar Association, Finnish Bar Association, General Council of the Bar of South Africa, Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid, Iraqi Bar Association, Istanbul Bar Association, Kölner Anwaltverein, Law Council of Australia, Law Society of England and Wales, Law Society of Ireland, Law Society of Scotland, Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten, Norfolk Island Bar Association, Orde van Vlaamse Balies, Ordem dos advogados de Portugal, Ordre des avocats du barreau de Luxembourg, Ordre des avocats du barreau de Paris, Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophones de Belgique, Swedish Bar Association, Slovenian Bar Association, Society of Black Lawyers from England, Solicitors' International Human Rights Group of England and Wales, The Faculty of Advocates of Edinburgh, Union internationale des avocats, and Uniunea Nationala a Barourilor din Romania.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org.
