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January 13, 2014

Activists Mark Guantánamo Anniversary With D.C. Protest 
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Protesters rallied outside the White House on Saturday to mark the 12th
anniversary of the arrival of the first prisoners at Guantánamo Bay.
Wearing orange jumpsuits and hoods, the demonstrators marched through
Washington to call on President Obama to uphold his now-five-year-old
vow to close the prison. During the march, a direct action was held
inside the Museum of National History. 
bq. Protester: "Guantánamo is kind of famous for torture. At this
point, the majority of people held there have been cleared by courts, so
there is no reason to be holding them. They are not going to get trials.
Some of them have been there for 12 years. They need to be returned to
their families."

The protest capped a week of actions surrounding the anniversary,
including solidarity fasts with hunger strikers at Guantánamo. The
human rights group Reprieve says the number of hunger strikers has
doubled since the Pentagon imposed a media gag last month. The Pentagon
has stopped disclosing all information on hunger-strikers, saying it
does not want to draw attention to their cause. According to Reprieve,
33 prisoners are now on hunger strike and 16 are being force-fed.

 

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