Friday, January 16, 2009

Update from "100 days to close Guantanamo"

If you are in the Washington DC area please stop by and add some words of encouragement to the people fasting and protesting Guantanamo.

Here are some updates from Washington, DC & the Fast for Justice:
There are currently over 110 people fasting around the country, and 70 men in Guantanamo on Hunger Strike.

Thursday brought them into Day 5 of the fast. The daily vigil began at DuPont Circle, and made its way to the Russell Senate Building, where five members of Witness Against Torture had arrived early in the morning to get seats for the hearings of Eric Holder for Attorney General. The five orange jump-suited folks sat in the hearings, carrying the message that “waterboarding is a crime” & “torture is a crime.” You can see photos from Thursday’s presence in DC.

On Wednesday, after their daily vigil in DC, Witness Against Torture participated in "The First 100 Days: Bringing Human Rights Home" press conference and panel discussion at the National Press Club, put together by the Center for Constitutional Rights.

You can see the joint statement released by the American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Constitution Project, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, the National Lawyers Guild, the Partnership for Civil Justice, the Torture Abolition Survivors Support Coalition, the US Human Rights Network, and Witness Against Torture here:
and video from the press conference.


Attached is a letter similar to the one that all of the fasters have been sending to their congressional representatives. Please take a minute to send it along to your representatives on their behalf. And be in touch with them or just stop by if you want to join them in DC anytime over the next 100 Days!

1 comment:

Mohin Zaman Kiani said...

It won’t be fair if I don’t applaud efforts of American people in this regard. Hats off to all of you! I wish that people from my part of the world (Pakistan) also behave so reasonably. It’s a litmus test which will prove whether King as well as America will be given rebirth or not.. May Allah help you all!