On January 11, the US torture camp at Guantanamo will have been open 13 years. 127 men are still held, the majority of whom were cleared for release years ago. They suffer not knowing if they will be released, held indefinitely. Some have been on protest hunger strike for years, and are being force-fed by the U.S. military.
The Senate Torture Report — only 10% of the full report, heavily redacted adn white-washed — nevertheless revealed the officially approved, depraved lengths to which the US government went to terrorize people as “enemy combatants.” We learned about more deaths in “black sites,” and about a form of rape called “rectal feeding” used in Guantanamo to render victims submissive.
Those in authority who people expected to act to stop these outrages have not done so. It’s up to us to protest visibly in the streets.
Join World Can’t Wait in protesting this anniversary with a series of events around the country.
Press Release
Panel Discussions, Events, Film Screenings
January 8, 2015: NYC (download flier)
January 14, 2015: Springfield MA
January 14, 2015: Northampton MA
Protest Actions
January 10, 2015: Boston 1:00 pm Park Street Station on the Boston Common
January 11, 2015: Washington, DC
January 11, 2015: Los Angeles Noon – 2 p.m. – Vigil and Rally at Santa Monica Palisades Park, Ocean and Colorado Avenues Facebook Event
Saturday Jan. 10 – Monday Jan. 12: Washington, DC
World Can’t Wait is part of a coalition which includes Witness Against Torture in protesting the 13th anniversary of the US torture camp in Guantanamo. Protests at the CIA, the White House and the State Department; panels, meetings, and a symbolic fast in solidarity with Guantanamo prisoners wil continue over a week, with key actions on Sunday Jan 11 and Monday January 12.
Andy Worthington is a British freelance investigative journalist. He has been researching and writing about Guantanamo since 2006, and has worked with the United Nations as a consultant and was a media partner to WikiLeaks to prepare for the release of its files pertaining to Guantanamo. He is the co-founder of the Close Guantanamo campaign, authored the book The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison, and co-directed the documentary Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo. His website, featuring regular blogs about Guantánamo, receives half a million page views per month and has been archived by the British Library. In 2013, in recognition of his work on Guantánamo, he was short-listed for the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. He is the co-ordinator of the new campaign StandwithShaker. Sponrosred by World Can’t Wait, Andy will be speaking in New York City, Washington DC, Boston, Springfield and Northampton MA, and Chicago.
Debra Sweet, Director, World Can’t Wait, has led protests to close Guantanamo since 2002. “The Bush regime opened the torture camp at Guantanamo Bay not just to imprison captives but to send a message to the world that the U.S. could operate with impunity outside the norms of international law. The Obama administration has had six years to close it, punish those who ordered the torture, and forever repudiate indefinite detention and secret rendition as national policy, but to its great discredit, has not. We who care about justice demand the closure of Guantanamo immediately.”