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Daily Update – Day 3 of the Fast for Justice

Campaigns // Film

Dear friends,

Joy, gratitude, and greetings to you! We’ve had a full day of reflections, meetings, rehearsals, and street theater that we hope you will enjoy reading about and seeing on flickr and facebook.

Morale is good here, and we continue to expand as new people arrive in DC to witness with us. It’s exciting to feel the energy building.

Thank you for your solidarity, as we join our spirits with those of our brothers in Guantánamo.

In Peace,

Witness Against Torture
www.witnesstorture.org

*Please share your fasting experiences with us so we can pass them on to the larger community.*

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DAY 3 – Wednesday, January 7

This morning was a time for introspection and community-building. Sitting in our circle, we all wrote personal responses to prompts that we knew also loom large for the men in Guantanamo. Luke invited us each to think about people and experiences that have deeply affected us. Specifically, he asked us to remember people we love, why we love these people, and to also recall instances of separation from and reunion with loved ones.

As we shared our responses around the circle, we felt a growing sense of community and caring. We brought our families and friends into our circle. We also brought the men in Guantanamo into the circle, knowing they have loved ones that they dearly miss and hope they will soon be reunited with. We understood the importance of seeing the prisoners in all of their humanity, not just as numbers in a prison.

Later in the morning we created and rehearsed an action that we took to Union Station here in D.C. Using words from a letter written by Fahd Ghazy to his lawyer, a large painted banner of his face, a number of signs, and songs, we presented a performance piece attempting to show his humanity to people moving through the station. We spent over 45 minutes in the station doing our performance three times as we processed from one location to another.

During the dramatic readings of his words, we sang and hummed this song:

We’re gonna to build a nation
That don’t torture no one
But it’s going to take courage
For that change to come

As we walked out of the building we also sang:

Courage, Muslim brothers
You do not walk alone
We will walk with you
And sing your spirit home

Outside of Union Station, Frank invited us to form a circle and briefly express our feelings about the action we’d just created. Several people expressed surprise and gratitude because of having transformed the spaces inside.

In the evening, Dr. Maha Hilal, an activist who has been part of WAT and has just earned her doctorate, came to share her dissertation. It’s title is “Too Damn Muslim to Be Trusted: The War on Terror and the Muslim American Response.” Her study documented the beliefs and attitudes of Muslim Americans about being targeted since 9/11 – with a majority feeling diminished senses of legal and cultural citizenship.

Malachy Kilbride, who will join our group later in the week, wrote a reflection to share. Here is an excerpt:

The fasting is a spiritual act of solidarity as we align ourselves with the suffering of the Guantanamo captives, their families and friends, and the injustice of this whole bloody mess. The fast in and of itself will not bring an end to this terrible travesty. In a way though, the fasting will also highlight the hunger strikes of the prisoners. Prisoners of Guantanamo have engaged in hunger strikes now for years to protest the illegality of their confinement, treatment, their torture, and their helplessness and hopelessness. In fasting we stand with them, the men who starve for justice.

Daily Update – Day 2 of the Fast for Justice

Fast for Justice 2015 // Film

Dear Friends,

We have been fasting in solidarity with the Guantanamo detainees for over 36 hours now.

Most of today was spent on the streets – from the morning at the White House to the afternoon at the British Embassy and Vatican Apostolic Nunciature. You can find images from today on Facebook and Flickr.

This evening we watched a powerful film on Fahd Ghazy – Waiting for Fahd. We encourage you all to take 11 minutes to watch it, and then read Fahd’s personal appeal.

The community gathered here in DC continues to grow. We are about 30 folks staying at the church, and our numbers will continue to grow as we start to settle in to a certain rhythm.

There is much work still to do, and it is good to be gathered in community – here in DC and around the country – as we struggle together, to learn, and act, and reflect.

Peace-
Witness Against Torture

CLICK HERE FOR OUR WASHINGTON, DC SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

In this post you will find:

DAY 2 – Tuesday, January 6
The Path to Closing Guantánamo by Cliff Sloan

DAY 2 – Tuesday, January 6

During our morning reflection, we recalled Beth Brockman’s invitation, yesterday evening, to introduce ourselves and then mention someone or something we left behind upon arriving in D.C., and yet still carry with us. Many people in our circle spoke of leaving behind beloved community and family members. Beth then noted that prisoners in Guantanamo likewise have left behind loved ones, and that some have been separated from their families and communities for 13 years.

Before the reflection circle (and before the sun was fully risen), ten of us joined Kathy Kelly in an hour-long Skype call with about 15 young people in Afghanistan known as the Afghan Peace Volunteers. Several members of their group were fasting from food for a 24 hour period. Despite intermittent breakdowns in the internet connection and the weighty, troubling issues raised, we genuinely shared warmth and hopes, along with information. One of our Afghan friends asked if there was any evidence that a detainee who was tortured gave information which eventually protected people from harm. Brian Terrell shared that false information, gained through torture, was used to justify the U.S. “Shock and Awe” bombing and invasion of Iraq.

We look forward to ongoing exchanges. One way to continue the discussion is through joining the Global Days of Listening Skype conversation which happens on the 21st of every month. You can learn more about the APVs at their website, Our Journey To Smile.

Later in the morning we joined an action at the White House, along with School of the Americas Watch, to confront Mexican President Peña Nieto about the disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa. There were over 200 people there, some carrying Mexican flags, others blowing trumpets and horns, and all decrying state violence.

When our group moved just down the street to the Mexican embassy, the secret service began to push at us slowly with whistles and cars, ordering us to move away from the embassy and White House to the end of the block. As people resisted, eight of us from Witness Against Torture dropped to our knees in front of a police car and refused to move. After some peaceful confrontation, the police decided not to arrest us, but instead formed a new line of police, cars, and barricades in front of us to separate us from the embassy and hide us from view. Once Peña Nieto’s car entered the White House gates, we joined the rest of the group to walk around the block to Lafayette Park to continue the demonstration. We stood strong in the cold for another hour, in solidarity with the Ya me cansé movement.

[AP report: “The protesters across the street in Lafayette Park were so boisterous they could be heard by people in the Oval Office during the presidents’ meeting.”]

In the afternoon, we suited up in our orange prisoner jumpsuits and hoods and visited the British Embassy as well as the Vatican Papal Nuncio. At the British Embassy, we walked single file and held signs and portraits in support of the release of Shaker Aamer. As we stood in front of the embassy, we broke our silence to sing a mantra/song created by our fellow WAT fasters, Luke Nephew and Frank Lopez of the Peace Poets:

Today is the day
Give Shaker your full embrace
Today is the day
Overcome your past disgrace
Today is the day
Lift the hood and show his face
Today is the day
Justice for the human race

At the Nuncio, we delivered a letter asking the Pope to offer to accept the prisoners from Guantanamo in Vatican City, a nation-state of its own. While we stood in front of that building, we sang another of Luke and Frank’s mantra/songs:

Today is the day
You can use those papal keys
Today is the day
Bring in all the refugees
Today is the day
Help us to create the peace
Today is the day
Liberation and release

In the evening, we watched Waiting for Fahd. This film tells the story of Fahd Ghazy, a Yemeni national unlawfully detained at Guantánamo since he was 17 and who is now 30. It paints a vivid portrait of the life that awaits a man who, despite being twice cleared for release, continues to languish at Guantanamo, denied his home, his livelihood, and his loved ones because of his nationality. Seeing the grief on the faces of Fahd’s family members, his mother, brothers, daughter has touched us deeply. We are galvanized to act, to tell his story, to share with the public, to tear down the veil of indifference and ignorance. If for one moment we can place ourselves in Fahd’s family, view his daughter and brothers as our own, we would understand how connected we all are to each other.

The Path to Closing Guantánamo
By CLIFF SLOAN
JAN. 5, 2015

WASHINGTON — WHEN I began as the State Department’s envoy for closing the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, many people advised me that progress was impossible. They were wrong.
In the two years before I started, on July 1, 2013, only four people were transferred from Guantánamo. Over the past 18 months, we moved 39 people out of there, and more transfers are coming. The population at Guantánamo — 127 — is at its lowest level since the facility opened in January 2002. We also worked with Congress to remove unnecessary obstacles to foreign transfers. We began an administrative process to review the status of detainees not yet approved for transfer or formally charged with crimes.

While there have been zigs and zags, we have made great progress. The path to closing Guantánamo during the Obama administration is clear, but it will take intense and sustained action to finish the job. The government must continue and accelerate the transfers of those approved for release. Administrative review of those not approved for transfer must be expedited. The absolute and irrational ban on transfers to the United States for any purpose, including detention and prosecution, must be changed as the population is reduced to a small core of detainees who cannot safely be transferred overseas. (Ten detainees, for example, face criminal charges before the military commissions that Congress set up in lieu of regular courts.)

The reasons for closing Guantánamo are more compelling than ever. As a high-ranking security official from one of our staunchest allies on counterterrorism (not from Europe) once told me, “The greatest single action the United States can take to fight terrorism is to close Guantánamo.” I have seen firsthand the way in which Guantánamo frays and damages vitally important security relationships with countries around the world. The eye-popping cost — around $3 million per detainee last year, compared with roughly $75,000 at a “supermax” prison in the United States — drains vital resources.

Americans from across the spectrum agree on closing Guantánamo. President George W. Bush called it “a propaganda tool for our enemies and a distraction for our allies.” Kenneth L. Wainstein, who advised Mr. Bush on homeland security, said keeping the facility open was not “sustainable.”

In 18 months at the State Department, I was sometimes frustrated by opposition to closing the facility in Congress and some corners of Washington. It reflects three fundamental misconceptions that have impeded the process.
First, not every person at Guantánamo is a continuing danger. Of the 127 individuals there (from a peak of close to 800), 59 have been “approved for transfer.” This means that six agencies — the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and State, as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence — have unanimously approved the person for release based on everything known about the individual and the risk he presents. For most of those approved, this rigorous decision was made half a decade ago. Almost 90 percent of those approved are from Yemen, where the security situation is perilous. They are not “the worst of the worst,” but rather people with the worst luck. (We recently resettled several Yemenis in other countries, the first time any Yemeni had been transferred from Guantánamo in more than four years.)

Second, opponents of closing Guantánamo — including former Vice President Dick Cheney — cite a 30 percent recidivism rate among former detainees. This assertion is deeply flawed. It combines those “confirmed” of having engaged in hostile activities with those “suspected.” Focusing on the “confirmed” slashes the percentage nearly in half. Moreover, many of the “confirmed” have been killed or recaptured.
Most important, there is a vast difference between those transferred before 2009, when President Obama ordered the intensive review process by the six agencies, and those transferred after that review. Of the detainees transferred during this administration, more than 90 percent have not been suspected, much less confirmed, of committing any hostile activities after their release. The percentage of detainees who were transferred after the Obama-era review and then found to have engaged in terrorist or insurgent activities is 6.8 percent. While we want that number to be zero, that small percentage does not justify holding in perpetuity the overwhelming majority of detainees, who do not subsequently engage in wrongdoing.

Third, a common impression is that we cannot find countries that will accept detainees from Guantánamo. One of the happiest surprises of my tenure was that this is not the case. Many countries, from Slovakia and Georgia to Uruguay, have been willing to provide homes for individuals who cannot return to their own countries. Support from the Organization of American States, the Vatican and other religious and human rights organizations has also been helpful.
I don’t question the motives of those who oppose the efforts to close Guantánamo. Some are constrained by an overabundance of caution, refusing to trust the extensive security reviews that are in place. Others are hampered by an outdated view of the risk posed by many of the remaining detainees. A third group fails to recognize that the deep stain on our standing in the world is more dangerous than any individual approved for transfer. These concerns, however well-intentioned, collapse in the glare of a careful examination of the facts.

The road to closing Guantánamo is clear and well lit. We are now approaching the 13th anniversary of the opening of the Guantánamo detention facility. Imprisoning men without charges for this long — many of whom have been approved for transfer for almost half the period of their incarceration — is not in line with the country we aspire to be.

Cliff Sloan, a lawyer, was the State Department’s special envoy for closing Guantánamo until Dec. 31.

Daily Update – Day 1 of the Fast for Justice

News // Film

January 11, 2015 marks the thirteenth anniversary of the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, the ninth anniversary of Witness Against Torture’s January 11 presence in D.C., and our seventh liquids fast.

There are 28 fewer men in Guantanamo as we gather this year then there were the last time we gathered for the Fast for Justice in DC. 127 men remain…many of whom have been cleared for release, but remain stuck in prison cells for up to 13 years, who continue to count the days, weeks, months and years they must wait to go home.

For the next 7 days, we are fasting in Washington, DC for the men in Guantanamo.

As our community closed our circle this evening, we went around, each sharing one word that we wanted to send to the men in Guantanamo.

Hope. Solidarity. Courage. Relief. Visibility. Freedom.

Through our actions this week– fasting and vigiling– we reach out to them, and to you. We hope you will join us in any ways that you can.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR WASHINGTON, DC SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

*let us know if you will join us for a day, or days of fasting and if you would like to receive daily updates from the fast by sending an e-mail with “fast updates” in the subject to witnesstorture@gmail.com.

Day 1 of the Fast – Monday January 5

Fifteen members of Witness Against Torture (WAT) joined the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker weekly vigil at the Pentagon this morning. Wearing orange jumpsuits representing prisoners at Guantanamo, we stood silently as military and civilian workers entered the building. Our signs and banners said: “Forever Prisoner;” “Forced Feeding;” “Indefinite Detention;” “Solitary Confinement;” “Is This Who We Are?”

Martha Hennessy wrote this about our vigil at the Pentagon:

It was 7:00 AM and very cold at the vigil. The sun came up, rosy pink, reflecting on the walls of this mammoth building, as employees walked in to work. Some were finishing up cigarettes or candy bars as they went. I think of my aunt Teresa Hennessy who worked her adult life there, perhaps beginning in the 1950s through the 80s. What secrets did she die with, what feelings did she have about how she spent her life, a good Catholic? The faces of folks walking by today showed stress, boredom, eagerness; two sets of couples holding hands, many uniforms, and civilian clothes that barely kept them warm from the cold morning. Some were hearing our message as Art sang, “Everyone beneath their vine and fig tree,” in his beautiful tenor voice. Our fellow citizens are trying to provide for themselves and their families by participating in the works of war. How we have bastardized our work, our resources.

It was a call for justice and humanity, a quiet appeal to conscience. For an hour, in the heart of the U.S. war industry, we maintained a visual reminder that 127 men remain in Guantanamo. These prisoners have been abused and tortured in the name of preserving U.S. national security.

Later in the day, as new participants arrived, we began our seven day fast. WAT has taken this annual action since 2006 in solidarity with those still held, many without charge or trial, at the prison camp. Seven prisoners were recently released, but 59 who have been cleared for release are still imprisoned. The remaining 68 are in “indefinite detention.” Many of the Guantanamo prisoners are now conducting a hunger strike and are suffering through a forced feeding regimen. We vigil and fast as a means of accompanying our brothers in these brutal conditions. We hope that somehow they and their loved ones will know that our action is part of a grass roots network of campaigning, worldwide, undertaken by people who long to close Guantanamo, end torture, and find real security through fair and friendly relationships with people.

In the evening, we joined the group Dancing for Justice #DCFerguson #dancingforjusice at Dupont Circle. Undaunted by the freezing temperatures, we listened to black activists; a young dancer, sockless in the cold, led us in a dance followed by a die-in enacted to remember Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and the many other black men and women killed by police violence. Then we chanted, “We can wake up because black lives matter,” as we marched around the circle. Luke and Frank from the Peace Poets sang “I still hear my brother cryin,’ “I can’t breathe,” a song that has gone viral, knitting many people together in radical, uncompromising resistance to violence.

Martha Hennessy wrote about her encounter with Dancing for Justice:

Lindsay was such a beautiful dancer with her bare hands and ankles in the thirty-degree weather. Her movements conveyed pain, grief, and oppression as we remembered the black lives lost to police use of deadly force. Black lives matter. We were led through a ten-minute die-in, lying on the cold pavement, reflecting on family members who die on the pavement every day in the United States. Lindsay shared frightful statistics. A black man is killed every 28 hours at the hands of the police, security agents, or vigilantes. Over 60% of those killed have severe mental health issues that play a role in the end result of a shooting. Those who respond to calls for people in such mental states are not appropriately trained. And so tonight we raise our voices in grief and protest over these killings that have roots in our history of slavery.

To all of us, the connection between the violence of the U.S. military and its black holes like Guantánamo and the violence of the police and its mass incarcerations against black Americans rings clear as a bell.

Press Advisory For #WeStandWithShaker Protest at British Embassy 1/6

Press Advisory – 1/6/2014

Contact: Daniel Wilson – 507-329-0507 wilson.a.daniel@gmail.com

US group, Witness Against Torture, Protests at British Embassy Over Imprisonment of Shaker Aamer

Washington D.C.

On the afternoon of January 6th U.S.based group, Witness Against Torture, will protest at the British Embassy over the continued imprisonment of Shaker Aamer, British citizen currently detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Dozens of protesters dressing in orange jumpsuits and black hoods will sing, chant and display posters saying “I Stand With Shaker Aamer” along with banners depicting Aamer’s face. In solidarity with several UK based groups and Aamer’s lawyers, Witness Against Torture will demand that the British government take a stronger stance both for the immediate release of Shaker Aamer and closure of the illegal detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Cuba.

A pending legal case against the UK brought by Aamer’s lawyers has invigorated renewed interest in his release.

Mr. Aamer, who has been held for 13 years without charge or trial. US authorities approved his release in 2007, under George W. Bush, and again in 2009, under Barack Obama.

January 5, 2015 Pentagon Vigil Opening Reflection By Art Laffin

We greet all who have come to the Pentagon in a spirit of peace and nonviolence. We, members of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and Witness Against Torture, come this morning to the Pentagon, the center of warmaking on our planet, to say YES to love and justice and NO to the lies and death-dealing policies of a national security state and warmaking empire.

The Catholic Worker began this weekly Monday vigil in 1987. Mindful that Jesus calls us to love and not to kill, we seek to embrace God’s command to renounce all war and killing and practice the way of nonviolence. We call for an end to all U.S. warmaking and military intervention in our world, for the abolition of all weapons of war–from nuclear weapons to killer drones, for an end to all U.S.-sponsored oppression and torture and justice for the poor and all victims. We seek to eradicate, what Martin Luther King. Jr. called, the triple evils of poverty, racism and militarism. We remember and pray for all victims of our warmaking empire, including the nine men who have died at Guantanamo over the past eight years.
The U.S. continues to operate with impunity as it has waged lethal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, uses deadly killer drones as part of its kill-list and assassination program in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia, and continues its criminal policy of indefinite detention and torture at Guantanamo. This reign of state-sanctioned violence and terror must end! Too many people have suffered and died! All life is sacred. We are all part of the same human family. In biblical terms, if one person suffers we all suffer. What affects one, affects all!

In the Gospel of Luke Jesus quotes the prophet of Isaiah as he begins his public ministry. Jesus, who was himself a victim of torture and state execution, declares: the spirit of Lord is upon me because he has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. This admonition to proclaim liberty to captives was not simply a directive for Jesus but also a mandate for us today. And it has taken on a critical urgency regarding the 127 detainees still being held at Guantanamo, 59 of whom have been cleared for release, most have never been charged with a crime, and many of whom have endured tortuous force-feeding as a result of a hunger strike protesting their unjust confinement.

If a member of our own blood family was imprisoned at Guantanamo, what would we want people to do to help them? We would certainly want a speedy and just resolution to their case. Yet most of these men have languished at Guantanamo for going on 13 years, not knowing their fate. We need to see the men at Guantanamo as member’s of our own blood family. And we need to act on their behalf. Thus, a major step toward making this truly a year acceptable to the Lord is to outlaw the sin and crime of torture and war, to end indefinite detention, to release those unjustly held, and to close Guantanamo. We appeal to all those in power and all people of goodwill to join with us and many others to make this a reality.

To mark and mourn the 13th year since the first detainees were taken to Guantanamo on Jan. 11th, members of WAT are conducting a “Fast for Justice” to call for justice for the Guantanamo detainees and for the immediate closing of Guantanamo. We hear the cries of the condemned and tortured, and those detainees who died, like Adnan Latif, and we will not rest until they are free and Guantanamo is closed! We demand that all those responsible for directing and carrying out the illegal abduction, torture and indefinite detention of these men, to repent for what they have done and to make reparations to all the victims.

In this New Year let us recommit ourselves to labor together to create the Beloved Community, and a world free of torture, oppression, racism, violence and war. Let us never forget that we are all part of one human family. What affects one, affects all! Close Guantanamo Now!

Annual Fast, Rally, and Direct Action

News // Film

Join Witness Against Torture’s Annual Fast, Rally, and Direct Action to Close Guantánamo and End Torture

The WAT community will gather together in Washington D.C. from January 5th thru January 13th. You are invited to fast with us for a day, fast with us from Jan. 5-12, and to join us in Washington!

This January 11, 2015, the detention facility at Guantánamo will enter its fourteenth year of operation. Despite the recent release of some detained men, more than 100 remain imprisoned, including dozens who are cleared for transfer. While we celebrate the freedom of those released, we cannot stand idly by waiting for executive action to determine the fate of those still in Guantánamo.

In Washington, we will use our creative energy to encourage citizens and government officials to see the humanity of the men in Guantánamo, to call for the closure of the prison, and to seek an end to torture. The Senate report on CIA torture describes acts that shock the conscience. Our actions during the week will also call for the prosecution of those who authorized, designed, ordered, and carried out torture policies

Many of us will be fasting in solidarity with the men in Guantánamo as they continue to suffer the torture of indefinite detention, separation from their families, and force-feeding. We fast because of a mutual desire for freedom and justice that connects our lives to theirs.

How can you participate?

Join us for the duration of the fast: January 5^th thru the 13th.

We still have space available for those that wish to come to Washington D.C. for the entire time. We have actions and activities planned for everyday of the week. Join us for this time of shared solidarity, mutual support and creative collective actions.

If you are wondering what to expect, click here to watch this video of our 2014 Fast

Join us for the weekend activities: January 9^th to the 13^th:

During the weekend, we have very special events and actions planned If you cannot make it for the duration, come for the weekend! Activities include:

Saturday, January 10^th 8pm: From Ferguson to Guantánamo: Institutionalized Brutality & Torture: A Panel Discussion. Location: First Trinity Lutheran Church

4th & E Street NW. The discussion will feature activists and attorneys involved in the struggles against police violence, racial profiling, and US detention policies.

Sunday, January 11th 1pm: Interfaith Prayer Vigil (Sponsored by NRCAT and Interfaith Action for Human Rights) 1:30pm Rally to close Guantánamo at the White House followed by a march to the Department of Justice. Click here to read The Call to Action.

Monday, January 12th: Witness Against Torture’s Nonviolent Direct Action. TBD.

We shut down a Federal Court when the courts refused to allow the men from Guantánamo in. We held a memorial in the Capitol Rotunda for men who had died at Guantánamo. We shut down the United States Supreme Court calling for justice for men in Guantánamo. We have lined the sidewalk in front of the White House hundreds of times, in orange jumpsuits and black hoods. We took over the Museum of American History imploring “Make Guantánamo History!”

This year, as 132 men remain in Guantánamo,as we enter the 14th year of the prisons existence, as 64 men are cleared for release…

We are looking for 64 people to join us on January 12th.

Fast with us in your home community:

You are invited to join us from afar. Every year people join us in fasting and organizing actions in their home communities. During this time, we will stay connected with you through our daily updates and direct contact, as helpful. If you are considering fasting with us from afar please let us know!

If you have any questions, please email us at witnesstorture@gmail.com

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A Promise Still to Keep: Close Guantánamo, Stop Torture, and End Indefinite Detention

Campaigns // Film

On the second day of his administration, President Obama pledged to close the detention facility at Guantánamo and reaffirmed the ban on torture. But Guantánamo remains open.

On January 11, 2015 the detention facility will enter its fourteenth year of operation. Despite the recent release of some detained men, more than 100 remain at Guantánamo, including dozens who are cleared for transfer — the great majority of whom are from Yemen. Those still detained suffer the torment of separation from their families and ongoing, indefinite detention. Some detainees remain on hunger strike and are brutally force-fed.

The Senate report on the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program describes acts of torture that shock the conscience. President Obama banned the CIA torture program by executive order when he took office, but that is insufficient to ensure that torture and other ill-treatment are never used again. Obama’s Justice Department has refused to prosecute those who authorized, ordered, designed and carried out a torture program that is in plain violation of U.S. law and treaty obligations.

President Obama, whose second term will soon end, must fulfill his promise to close the detention facility and end torture. The time to act is now.

Please join human rights activists, torture survivors, Guantánamo attorneys, 9-11 family members, ex-military officials, and members of diverse faith communities in Washington, D.C. on January 11, 2105 as they call on the Obama administration and congress to close Guantánamo, end indefinite detention, ensure accountability for torture, and reaffirm the absolute ban on torture. We will rally at the White House at 1 pm and then march to the Justice Department.

Sponsors: Amnesty International USA, the Blue Lantern Project, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CloseGitmo.net, Code Pink, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the National Religious Coalition Against Torture, Reprieve, September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, the Torture Abolition and Survivor and Support Coalition, Veterans for Peace, We Stand with Shaker, Witness Against Torture, World Can’t Wait, and others.

December Newsletter

News // Film

Torture Report Released: The US tortured. The CIA lied. Will there be accountability?

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the CIA’s interrogation and detention program was released on Tuesday. The findings are horrifying. Detainees were forced to stand on broken limbs, deprived of sleep for up to 180 hours, and subject to “rectal feeding.” There were mock executions and threats to kill and rape family members. One man froze to death and another was shackled to walls and literally forgotten about.

The report concludes that this torture did not stop a single terrorist attack and that the CIA lied to congress, the news media, and even the White House about the techniques used in the interrogations and the “efficacy” of the program. Finally, the report focuses only on a narrow slice of the US’s brutal, global counter-terrorism program, which tortured far more people than the detained men profiled in the study.

Despite the clear commission of crimes by the CIA, its contractors, and the high-level officials — including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld — who designed or authorized the program, the Obama administration continues to refuse to hold anyone accountable for state torture.

Click here to take action by signing this letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to prosecute high-level government officials who authorized, justified, and covered up these monstrous crimes.

To read more news on the report click below:
The Guardian
The Washington Post
The whole 500 page Executive Summary

Six men released from Guantánamo: 136 Remain

We are excited to announce that there were six men released to Uruguay last weekend. After 9 months of negotiations, President José Mujica and the Obama administration agreed on that Abu Wa’el Dhiab (Syria), Ahmed Adnan Ahjam (Syria), Ali Hussein al-Shaaban (Syria), Abdelhadi Faraj (Syria), Mohammed Taha Mattan (Palestine), Abdul Bin Mohammed Abis Ourgy (Tunisia) will resettle there as refugees. We will continue to keep them in our prayers and thoughts as they transition out of cells of Guantanamo into the fresh air of freedom. For more information on the release, click here.

These releases bring us one step closer to shuddering the prison. However, 136 people remain. 68 have been cleared for release. 58 are “forever” detainees. 10 detainees are in the Military Commission system.

You’re invited to the January Fast For Justice: January 5^th thru the 13th

Join the Witness Against Torture community as we gather in Washington, DC to remember the opening of the prison camp in Guantánamo. This January 11th, 2015, marks the beginning of 14 years of torture and indefinite detention. Right now, 136 men remain, half of whom have been cleared for release but remain held without charge or trial. The administration will not disclose how many of them continue to hunger strike and how many are force-fed.

We celebrate the freedom of those recently released. Yet, we must continue to pressure the Obama administration to fulfill its promise to finally shut down the prison and charge or release all those detained.

We invite you to come to D.C. as our community gathers from Monday, January 5th until Tuesday January 13th, to fast in solidarity with the men at Guantánamo, especially those who remain on hunger strike, and to use our creative energy to encourage citizens and government officials in Washington, DC to see the humanity of the men in Guantánamo and call for the closure of the prison.

We will continue to struggle until all those unjustly detained are free.

If you can only come for a day or two, consider joining us for the major events with our coalition partners:

Saturday, January 10^th: Institutionalized Brutality and Torture: Guantanamo to Ferguson (Evening Panel Discussion Location TBA)

Sunday, January 11^th 1pm: Rally to close Guantanamo at the White House followed by a March to the Department of Justice.

Monday, January 12^th: Witness Against Torture’s Nonviolent Direct Action. Sign up to be ONE of SIXTY-EIGHT?

We shut down a Federal Court when the courts refused to allow the men from Guantanamo in.
We held a memorial in the Capitol Rotunda for men who had died at Guantanamo.
We shut down the United States Supreme Court calling for justice for men in Guantanamo.
We have lined the sidewalk in front of the White House hundreds of times, in orange jumpsuits and black hoods.
We took over the Museum of American History imploring “Make Guantanamo History!”

This year,
as 136 men remain in Guantanamo,
as we enter the 14th year of the prisons existence,
as 68 men are cleared for release…

We are looking for 68 people to join us on January 12th.

Please RSVP or contact us for more Information at witnesstorture@gmail.com.

News from our Partner Organizations:

Please help spread the word on the new “We Stand With Shaker.” site launched by Andy Worthington and friends. Support them by taking a photo with a sign that reads “I Stand with Shaker.” Submit your photos here.

The film “Waiting for Fahd” is now live at Center for Constitutional Rights! It’s only 15 minutes long and very important to watch. Please spend the time to hear the wordsfrom his family and then share his story on social media. Fahd was captured at age 17, and cleared by both the Bush and Obama administration. He remains in Guantanamo.

Witness Against Torture on Social Media:

Donate to support our work:

Join Us in DC 1.11.15

Fast for Justice 2015 // Film

We will continue to struggle until all those unjustly detained are free.

If you can only come for a day or two, consider joining us for the major events with our coalition partners:

Saturday, January 10th: Institutionalized Brutality and Torture: Guantanamo to Ferguson (Evening Panel Discussion Location TBA)

Sunday, January 11th 1pm: Rally to close Guantanamo at the White House followed by a March to the Department of Justice.

Monday, January 12th: Witness Against Torture’s Nonviolent Direct Action. Sign up to be ONE of SIXTY-EIGHT?

We shut down a Federal Court when the courts refused to allow the men from Guantanamo in. We held a memorial in the Capitol Rotunda for men who had died at Guantanamo. We shut down the United States Supreme Court calling for justice for men in Guantanamo. We have lined the sidewalk in front of the White House hundreds of times, in orange jumpsuits and black hoods. We took over the Museum of American History imploring “Make Guantanamo History!”

This year, as 136 men remain in Guantanamo,
as we enter the 14th year of the prisons existence,
as 68 men are cleared for release…

We are looking for 68 people to join us on January 12th.

Please RSVP or contact us for more Information at witnesstorture@gmail.com.

November Newsletter: Prisoner released, New project on Guantanamo, January 11th

News // Film

As we send this newsletter on a day set aside in the United States to recognize those who have fought in past wars (and fight for a world in which there is no war), we want to recognize the important voices of some in the military who have been in Guantanamo – like Terry Holbrooks, author of ‘My Time as a Guantanamo Bay Guard,’ and the unidentified Guantanamo nurse who refused to participate in forced feedings.

We also lift up the voices of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and celebrate the work they have done and continue to do – as we also mourn the losses these past weeks to their community.

Here at Witness Against Torture, we are busy preparing for our Annual Fast and Week of Action in January, and hope you will join us!

Last week brought a flurry of news and activities focused on Guantanamo. The news has been both hopeful — Fawzi al Odah was released from the indefinite detention; and frustrating — a judge refused to stop the brutal forced feeding of the hunger strikers.

We are also excited about a newly released project by Vice News featuring writings and art from men in Guantanamo.

Fawzi al Odah is released from Guantánamo.

Witness Against Torture applauds the release of Fawzi al Odah to Kuwait. Now 37 years old, he was held for nearly 13 years in Guantanamo but never charged with a crime. Today, we are thankful that Odah can finally embrace his love ones.

Currently, there are 148 detainees left at Guantanamo. 79 of them have been cleared for release.

Judge Kessler refuses to intervene in Wa-ei Dhiab Forced Feeding Case.

Wa- ei Dhiab is a Syrian man held without charge or trial at Guantánamo since 2002 and cleared for release in 2009. According to his attorneys, he has been forcibly extracted from his cell and force-fed as many as three times a day since the start of the hunger strike in 2012.

In October, WAT was present at the court hearing for Dhiab. The case sought to put a stop to the brutal forced-feeding of the men at Guantánamo protesting their indefinite detention and abuse at the prison. Click here to read courtroom reports by our own Helen Schietinger.

Initially, we were hopeful when Judge Gladys Kessler decided not to hold a secret court and demanded the release of the force-feeding videos. However, as of last week, she has refused to intervene and stop the forced feedings, saying there was “not sufficient evidence to demonstrate deliberate indifference on the part of the government.”

Over the course of the last month, WAT have published a series of posters highlighting this case. Click here to to see them.

READ & CIRCULATE — Vice News launches impressive collection of stories entitled “Behind the Bars: Guantánamo.”

Behind the Bars is a collection of stories about the prison system and the people ingrained in it. Part one of this series focuses on the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. The series contains writing and art from men in the prison, lawyers, and academics. Please comment on and share these stories.

JOIN US in Washington D.C. for the annual Fast and Week of Action, January 5th -13th, 2015

The Witness Against Torture community will gather, fast and take action in Washington D.C. to remember the opening of the prison camp in Guantánamo. This January 11th, 2015 marks 13 years of torture and indefinite detention at Guantánamo Bay. Join us (and let us know you will be coming – more details for those who rsvp to witnesstorture@gmail.com

The image above is from our latest postcard to promote the fast and gathering. You can print this out and pass them around to your friends, family and organizing groups. LIMITED OFFER: We will mail you 20-50 postcards. Please request via email witnesstorture@gmail.com with your name, mailing address and the number of postcards.

Click below to download and print post cards:

WAT-Jan-2015-Postcard-Front

WAT-Jan-2015-Postcard-Back

Witness Against Torture on Social Media:

Please “like us on Facebook & follow us on Twitter & Instagram
Check out our latest news and updates on Tumblr.
Post any pictures of your local activities to our flicker account and we will help spread the word.

Donate to support our work:

Forced-Feeding is Torture! No Secret Courts!

News // Film

Forced-Feeding is Torture! No Secret Courts!

Emergency Call to Action and Solidarity Fast – Witness Against Torture
Gather at the US Federal District Court (333 Constitution Ave) on Oct. 6 and 7
8:30 am. 333 Constitution Ave, Washington, D.C.

On Monday October 6 a trial will begin in which attorneys for Wa-ei Dhiab will seek a stop to the brutal forced-feeding of men at Guantánamo protesting their indefinite detention and abuse at the prison. Witness Against Torture is calling for a public presence at the courthouse to demand an end to forced-feeding and the closing of Guantánamo.

Dhiab is a Syrian man held without charge or trial at Guantánamo since 2002 and cleared for release in 2009 by the US government. He has, according to his attorneys, been forcibly extracted from his cell and force-fed as many as three times a day since the start of the most recent Guantanamo hunger strike in the winter/spring 2012.

Dhiab’s lawsuit seeks an end to forced-feeding. Justice Gladys Kessler, who is hearing the case, has described forced-feeding at the prison as “painful, humiliating, and degrading.” The lawsuit is our best chance to have the courts do what President Obama has been unwilling to do — end forced-feeding.

dhiabInvite

Pack the Court – No Secret Trials

Dhiab’s attorneys will present as evidence videotapes showing Dhaib being violently extracted from his cell and/or force-fed. The government has petitioned that the trial be held entirely in secret so that the press and public may not see or otherwise learn about the gruesome reality of forced-feeding. Judge Kessler has denied the request, describing the government’s request of a secret trial as “deeply troubling.” As of today, portions of the trial will be open to the public.

We need to pack the courthouse and demonstrate that the torture of forced-feeding is immoral, illegal, and unacceptable.

Plan on attending the hearing. The attorneys for Dhiab have requested that there be no signs or anything else that may irritate the judge. Our presence, and gestures of our protest such as orange ribbons on our clothes, will convey our protest.

Click here to read recent news stories:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article2295641.html

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/02/judge-knocks-government-attempt-keep-gitmo-hearing-secret/

Fast for Dhiab and the Hunger Strikers — Fast for Justice

Witness Against Torture is calling for an emergency fast in solidarity with Wa-ei Dhiab, other hunger strikers, and all the men at Guantánamo. Please consider fasting on October 6 and/or October 7.

If you plan to fast, send an email to witnesstorture@gmail.com. Please included in the email where you live and a brief statement as to why you are fasting.

Witness Against Torture will report to the media, Dhiab’s attorneys, and the public the numbers of those fasting and convey, through attorneys, your messages to Dhiab and others at Guantánamo.

Furthermore, please consider making two phone calls to:

1. Cliff Sloan at the State Department (202-647-4000) to insist he tells the military to stop the inhumane practice of force feeding prisoners on hunger strike and to work more quickly to shut the doors and empty the cells of the prison.

2. U.S. Southern Command (305-437-1213) to decry the conditions at Guantánamo, especially the force feeding.

Example script: I am fasting for 24 hours in solidarity with the prisoners at Guantánamo, especially for those who are on hunger strike and being force fed. I am particularly mindful of Wa-ei Dhiab, a prisoner who is being represented by attorneys in Federal District Court October 6th and 7th. His attorneys are seeking a stop to the brutal force-feeding of men at Guantánamo protesting their indefinite detention and abuse at the prison I am calling today out of concern for him and for the rest of the prisoners. I am asking you to stop the inhumane practice of force feeding and resume releasing the number of prisoners on hunger strike.

The men at Guantánamo have repeatedly expressed how important it is to them to know that people in the United States and the world fast in solidarity with them.

Join us on Monday, October 6th at 8:30 am. 333 Constitution Ave, Washington, D.C.

Witness Against Torture on Social Media:

Please “like us on Facebook & follow us on Twitter & Instagram

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

Donate to support our work:

September Newsletter

News // Film

Dear Friends,

Over the course of the last month, as we watch the events of Ferguson, Gaza, and Iraq unfold, we are reminded of the great need for justice and human rights in our world. Yes, we are saddened by the violence and deaths that continue in our communities both close and afar. However, the story does not end there. We are also encouraged by the strength of the grassroots community to resist police brutality, remain steadfast in their hope for freedom, and the capacity to resist non-violently in the midst of such repression. They remind us of the need to continue in our work even when things seem difficult, as they do with Guantanamo these days.

We have not forgotten the 149 men who continue to languish in Guantanamo, and we hope that our advocacy and witness give them strength to endure the endless inhumane treatment of our government. Emad Hassan, who is known in Guantanamo Bay by the prisoner number ISN 680, has been in Guantanamo Bay for 12 years. In 2009 he was cleared for release by six different branches of the U.S. government. He is on hunger strike to protest his unjust detention. In the Baltimore Sun he writes, “All I am asking from the United States government is for my humanity to be recognized… All I ask is to live free.”

Witness Against Torture and other NGOs request release of Force Feeding Tapes; No Response from Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has ignored a letter from a group of NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, the ACLU, Physicians for Human Rights, Reprieve and Witness Against Torture, in which we ask him to release the videotapes of detainees being force-fed.

The signatories write in the letter: “This administration has promised the American people transparency in the conduct of government affairs. If, as the government repeatedly claims, the force-feeding of hunger striking detainees at Guantanamo Bay is being done in a lawful and humane manner then subjecting these videotapes to public scrutiny would seem to be the best way to demonstrate this fact.”

Alka Pradhan, a Reprieve attorney for Abu Wa’el Dhiab, who has been cleared for release since 2009, said: “It is very disappointing that the man in charge of overseeing Guantanamo – where our client is being held without charge or trial, despite having been cleared for release years ago by President Obama’s administration – is ignoring this letter by some of the most prominent NGOs in the world. The methods being used to force-feed our desperately ill client are gratuitously brutal. President Obama keeps saying that he wants his administration to be transparent and accountable; one way to prove that he means it is for his Secretary of Defense to respond to this important letter and make the video tapes available for the public to see the ongoing abuse at Guantanamo.”

Read Declassification Request

Join us in Washington D.C. for the annual Fast. January 5th -13th, 2015

Join the Witness Against Torture community as we gather in Washington D.C. to remember the opening of the prison camp in Guantanamo. This January 11th, 2015, marks 13 years of torture and indefinite detention. Right now 149 men remain, 79 of whom have been cleared for release but remain held without charge or trial. The administration will not disclose how many of them continue to hunger strike and how many are being tortured through the brutality of force feeding. We continue to struggle until all those unjustly detained are free.

If you can only come for one day, join us for the major event with our coalition partners on January 11th. Or join us as we gather in community all week, from Tuesday January 5 until Tuesday January 13th, to fast in solidarity with the men at Guantanamo, especially those who remain on hunger strike, and to use our creative energy to encourage citizens and government officials in Washington D.C. to see the humanity of the men in Guantanamo and call for the closure of the prison.

We fast because you hunger strike, we struggle till you live free.

For more information about coming to DC contact us at witnesstorture@gmail.com

Take Action Today to support Torture survivor Abou ElKassim Britel

North Carolina Stop Torture Now is sponsoring a petition asking four national leaders to acknowledge and apologize for the wrongful imprisonment and torture of Abou ElKassim Britel. He was arrested in 2002, imprisoned, brutally tortured, and detained until 2011. He has never received an official acknowledgement of wrongdoing, apology, or restitution from Pakistan, The United States, Morocco, or Italy, the governments responsible for his ordeal.

You can sign the petition today demanding that President Barack Obama of the United States, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan. As the leaders of the four countries implicated in Britel’s harrowing ordeal, they must take responsibility and apologize. Please take action today and spread the word through social media with #BritelApology

Please click here to view and sign the petition.

Click here for more information.

Witness Against Torture Writes to Pope Francis.

On August 23rd, we reached out to Pope Francis inviting him to do more for the men in Guantanamo. A WAT committee sent a letter thanking him for his words on June 26th, 2014, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, when he offered a “firm condemnation of every form of torture” and characterized torture as a “moral sin” and a “very serious sin.” Finally, our letter invited him to consider some concrete action he could take to help end the torture that continues in Guantanamo.

Here some of the actions we invited him to consider:

“We ask you to participate in this worthy effort to close Guantanamo, in whatever way you can. From our perspective, these are some possible actions:

• Meet with men who were once imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay, as well as attorneys and activists associated with the effort to close the prison, to better understand the issue and to exchange ideas about possible responses. We would be honored if you welcomed an audience of members of our organization.

• Make a statement that condemns the practice of indefinite detention—itself a form of torture—at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, perhaps on a significant date like 11 January, the anniversary of the opening of prison camps in Guantánamo Bay.

• Direct Cardinal Pietro Parolin to participate in diplomatic negotiations with countries around the world, especially the United States, to repatriate prisoners or resettle them in third countries. He could work quietly behind the scenes or make a public plea for the cooperation of every state in this effort.

• Offer detainees temporary resettlement in Vatican City… Our hope is that when one state takes the lead, others will follow. The United States bears responsibility for the prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, but any assistance from the Vatican, through a profound act of mercy, could help tip the scales toward greater involvement of many countries in this effort.”

Click here to read the full version.

Witness Against Torture’s Friday Fast for Justice:

Join in solidarity with the men on hunger strike in Guantanamo by fasting on Fridays. We invite you to consider joining the Friday Fast for Justice. Go without food in solidarity with the hunger strikers in Guantánamo. If you are already participating in or are interested in participating please sign up here. You can commit to fasting on a specific Friday; weekly for a particular time period; until Guantánamo is closed; or whatever you are willing and able to do.

If you join the fast, we would ask you to:

1. Fast on Friday, in any form you like.

2. Make three phone calls (Click here to see who we are currently focusing our calls on)

3. Write to a prisoner at Guantánamo. (Click here for instructions on how)

Witness Against Torture on Social Media:

Please “like us on Facebook & follow us on Twitter & Instagram

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

Donate to support our work: