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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Lauren Gazzola, CCR, (212) 614-6480, press@ccrjustice.org

Lawyer for Hunger Striking Gitmo Detainee Outraged: Pentagon Obstructed Resettlement

In response to news today that the Pentagon has been obstructing efforts to resettle cleared, longtime hunger striking Guantanamo prisoner Tariq Ba Odah, Mr. Ba Odah's attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) staff attorney Omar Farah, issued the following statement:

NEW YORK

In response to news today that the Pentagon has been obstructing efforts to resettle cleared, longtime hunger striking Guantanamo prisoner Tariq Ba Odah, Mr. Ba Odah's attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) staff attorney Omar Farah, issued the following statement:

Today's revelations prove there is no line the Pentagon will not cross to frustrate the president's efforts to close Guantanamo, even potentially blowing up resettlement negotiations at their most sensitive juncture. The only question is whether the White House is blind to or passively allowing the insubordination to continue. Either way, if this persists, Guantanamo will surely outlast Mr. Ba Odah, who still weighs just 74 pounds.

The Center for Constitutional Rights has led the legal battle over Guantanamo for more than 13 years - representing clients in two Supreme Court cases and organizing and coordinating hundreds of pro bono lawyers across the country, ensuring that all the men detained at Guantanamo have had the option of legal representation. CCR is responsible for many Guantanamo cases in many venues, representing men in their habeas cases in federal court and before the military commissions and Periodic Review Boards, the families of men who died at Guantanamo, and men who have been released and are seeking accountability in international courts.

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The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.

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