The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on March 30 agreed to hear the case of Guantánamo Bay detainee and Algerian national Djamel Ameziane. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), co-counsel for Ameziane, states that Ameziane has been held at Guantánamo Bay without any charge or trial for more than 10 years. This is the first time that the IACHR has agreed to accept jurisdiction over a Guantánamo detainee. J Wells Dixon, senior staff attorney at CCR, stated:
Indefinite detention is not an option. Detained men must be afforded fair trials or released. It is long past the time for impunity at Guantanamo to end, and for the closure of Guantanamo to be addressed. Today’s IACHR decision is a step in that direction.
The IACHR will investigate whether the US’s failure to transfer Ameziane is in compliance with international human rights law.
From Jurist, March 31. Used with permission.
IACHR
