"Bush is all talk and no action at EU-US summit" - MEP

4.57.31pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 21st Jun 2006

Liz Lynne MEP today called on George Bush and his administration to listen to calls from across the European Union to take immediate action on closing the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

President Bush today held talks with European leaders at a special EU-US summit in Vienna at which the Guantanamo Bay detention centre was a major cause of controversy amid EU insistence on its closure.

Commenting on the talks Liz Lynne said:

"I call on President Bush to listen to the demands of the EU leaders to shut down this abhorrent prison camp. Not only is it illegal, it goes against all the principles of a free and democratic society."

He stated today that the US government wants to release some of the detainees, but did not say how this would be done to ensure the safety of those individuals in the countries to which they will return.

Most disturbingly he did not set a timetable for resolving the current crisis and is hiding behind the Supreme Court to explain why he is not bringing prisoners to trial. President Bush is simply buying time to keep Guantanamo open indefinitely. Will it take more detainee deaths for him to see the horrific nature of the situation?"

"This situation cannot continue and they must either release prisoners if they have no evidence against them or otherwise try them under international law. Anything else will be a travesty of justice. The fight against terror cannot be fought by undermining the most basic principles of human rights."

It is estimated that there are currently 465 people of 35 different nationalities being held in the camp.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Eight Britons have been held there since it opened in 2002. All British citizens have now been returned to the UK, but British residents with foreign passports still remain.

2. Evidence gained through torture can be used against the defendant. This goes against the Convention Against Torture.

3. A constituent of Liz Lynne's, Moazzem Begg, was released from Guantanamo Bay detention camp and made allegations of torture against the US authorities.

4. On 15 May, the US Pentagon released a list of 759 past and present prisoners, but it is not clear that this list is complete

5. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that no-one should be subjected to arbitrary detention and that deprivation of liberty must be based on grounds and procedures established by law.