“The EU and European states should show leadership and heed Portugal’s call to put the need to protect Guantánamo detainees who cannot return to their home countries high on the agenda,” said Amnesty International today as it welcomed the Portuguese Foreign Minister’s commitment to offer protection to Guantánamo detainees who cannot return to their countries of origin, calling on other EU states to do the same.

“Governments across Europe should follow Portugal’s bold lead and be part of the solution to end the human rights scandal of Guantánamo,” said Daniel Gorevan, who coordinates the Counter Terror with Justice Campaign at Amnesty International.

Earlier today Portugal’s foreign minister Luis Amado published a letter to EU counterparts saying that his country is willing to grant asylum to Guantánamo detainees who cannot go back to home countries. He urged other EU countries to make similar efforts.