The 2014 defense authorization bill (S. 1197) includes 3 provisions that can help close Guantanamo. Together, they ensure that Guantanamo detainees are either safely and fairly tried in US federal court, or transferred to other countries.

The bill is coming up for a vote very soon. The vote will come 13 years after Guantanamo prisoner and British resident Shaker Aamer began his horrific journey of indefinite detention in Guantanamo. Shaker has spent 11 brutal years inside Guantanamo without charge or trial, even though Shaker was cleared for release by BOTH President George W. Bush and President Obama. This spring, Shaker and dozens of other detainees went on hunger strike to protest their unlawful indefinite detention. The hunger strike has taken its toll on Shaker’s body. Even worse, Shaker has endured absolute agony at the hands of US authorities in their twice-daily force-feeding sessions.

It’s time our representatives in Washington end the agony on an island sheltered from the public eye. Click here to tell your Senators to support closing Guantanamo without delay.