China calls on the United States to immediately close Guantanamo Bay and bring to justice everyone who authorized and directly tortured prisoners, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing on Wednesday, RIA Novosti reported.

He noted that the United States must rethink its actions, immediately close Guantanamo and secret prisons around the world, end arbitrary detentions, ill-treatment of prisoners and other atrocities, apologize and compensate victims, and bring to justice those who authorized and committed torture.

Former US President Barack Obama signed a decree to close Guantanamo more than 10 years ago, but failed to implement it because Congress refused to fund the liquidation of the prison. His successor, Donald Trump, formally canceled Obama's decree, although no new prisoners at Guantanamo appeared with him. The Biden administration says it wants to close the prison, but does not specify when it will happen.

The ODIHR said in a statement that there are currently 39 inmates remaining in Guantanamo, 27 of whom have been held for 15-20 years without formal charges.

Earlier, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) once again called on the US authorities to close the CIA prison in Guantanamo as soon as possible. ODIHR welcomed the United States administration's renewed commitment to moving towards closure, demonstrated in 2021 by the transfer of one inmate from Guantanamo and the preparations for the release of two more.