“The EU and European states should show leadership and heed Portugal’s call to put the need to protect Guantánamo detainees who cannot return to their home countries high on the agenda,” said Amnesty International today as it welcomed the Portuguese Foreign Minister’s commitment to offer protection to Guantánamo detainees who cannot return to their countries of origin, calling on other EU states to do the same.

“Governments across Europe should follow Portugal’s bold lead and be part of the solution to end the human rights scandal of Guantánamo,” said Daniel Gorevan, who coordinates the Counter Terror with Justice Campaign at Amnesty International.

Note to Editors
Around 50 of the more than 250 detainees currently held in Guantánamo cannot be sent back to their countries of origin because they would face a real risk of human rights violations such as torture or other ill-treatment. They come from countries including China, Libya, Russia, Tunisia and Uzbekistan.

For more information regarding Amnesty International’s campaign urging European governments to offer protection to Guantánamo detainees who cannot safely return home, please see:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/human-rights-groups-call-european-governments-offer-humanitarian-protect