Amherst Special Town Meeting
WHEREAS, President Obama has vowed to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base by January 2010; and
WHEREAS, many detainees at Guantánamo have been cleared by our government of wrongdoing and have been determined to pose no threat to the United States; and
Mr. al-Qassim was released and sent to Albania in late February 2010.
Ahmed Belbacha has been returned to his native Algeria, by Andy Worthington.
Saifullah Paracha, 62, is a Pakistani national. He traveled to the US to study when he was 26 years old and remained there with his family for approximately 10 years before returning to Pakistan to set up an export business.
Paracha was scheduled to fly to Thailand for a business meeting on in July 2003, but when he arrived at the Bangkok airport on July 6, he was seized, hooded, and cuffed, thrown into the back of a vehicle and taken to an unknown location where he was held for a few days, blindfolded, with his ears covered and his hands and legs cuffed.
Tallahassee, Florida
October 1, 2008
We, the undersigned hold positions of leadership in faith communities of Tallahassee, Florida. We declare our support for an inter-faith effort to resettle three of the Uyghur prisoners currently held in federal custody at the facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Reverend Brant S. Copeland, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee, gave the following sermon. We appreciate his permission to share it on this website.
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Romans 13:8-14
September 7, 2008
Ever hear of Uyghurs? If the answer is “No,” don’t feel bad. Neither had I until a few weeks ago.