From the Archive

October Newsletter: No Separate Justice Vigil, Prisoners Released, Save the Date

No Separate Justice & Witness Against Torture Speak Out Against Torture, Racism and Islamophobia in Overseas and Domestic Prisons

Please join the No Separate Justice Campaign and Witness Against Torture for a vigil outside the Metropolitan Correction Center (MCC) in New York City on Monday, October 5, from 6 pm to 7 pm.  The event will have presentations by organizers, advocates, and attorneys addressing abuses in the United States’ domestic and overseas detention systems.  It will highlight the ongoing harassment of Yemenis and Yemeni-Americans by US officials; the case of Tariq Ba Odah, a gravely ill hunger striker at Guantanamo; recent victories in efforts to end solitary confinement in domestic prisons; and the connection between interlocking systems of Islamophobia, white supremacy, mass incarceration, solitary confinement, and other forms of torture.

The program includes:

Pardiss Kebriaei – Center for Constitutional Rights, Senior Staff Attorney
Jeremy Varon – Witness Against Torture organizer, Professor of History at The New School
Ramzi Kassem – CUNY Law Professor, Director of the Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic
Fran Geteles-Shapiro – Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement
Aliya Hussain – Center for Constitutional Rights, Advocacy Program Manager
Luke Nephew – The Peace Poets!
Christine Moore – Opera Soprano

Where: Metroploitan Corrections Center, lower Manhattan
When: Monday, October 5, 6-7 pm.

** Anti-Guantanamo activists will stage a demonstration on behalf of Tariq Ba Odah at the Federal Courthouse (500 Pearl St.) at 5 pm in Foley Square. Around 5:30 we will process to the MCC for the No Separate Justice vigil. (The courthouse is about block away from the MCC.)

For more information: Click here: 

Guantanamo Prisoners Released: 

It has been a cautiously hope-filled month for those of us demanding the release of all prisoners detained at Guantanamo. We celebrate the good news but continue to work towards a day when places like Guantanamo no longer exist. First, The Periodic Review Board has cleared Fayiz Al Kandari for release. Secondly, two more men have been sent “home.” Younous Chekkouri is now detained in Morrocco and has been allowed to meet with his family. Abdul Rahman Shalabi has been released to Saudi Arabia. Finally, During the Pope’s visit to the United States, it was announced that Shaker Aamer will finally be released to the UK. We join his family and legal team in asking for his immediate release. Please continue to share these stories and keep those released in your thoughts and prayers. May their transition to freedom and their journey of recovery be full of connection and support. Click here to read more. 

Save the Date: Fast for Justice in Washington DC. – January 3rd- 13th, 2016

 Witness Against Torture on Social Media:

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Post any pictures of your local activities to our flicker account and we will help spread the word. 

Donate to support our work:

Witness Against Torture is completely volunteer driven and run. We have no paid staff, but do have expenses associated with our organizing work. If you are able, please donate here: http://www.witnesstorture.org.