Day Four – 30 May 2008
Sentencing of January 11, 2008 Guantanamo Protesters at Supreme Court

Synopsis of Sentencing: Day Four

Sentencing began on the morning of Friday 30 May for the 34 defendants, who had all been found guilty by Judge Gardner on 29 May. As defendants and supporters attempted to file into the courtroom, U.S. Marshals announced a new rule that nobody would be allowed in the courtroom with purses, briefcases, or bags of any kind – only paper and pen. People had little recourse but to leave their belongings in one of the rooms off the entrance of the courtroom. After some confusion, defendants and supporters were allowed into the courtroom. There were more supporters than seats, so supporters attempted to give priority seating to family members and began a list of those waiting outside to replace persons who left the courtroom.

Ellen Davidson, the first defendant to come forward for sentencing, began to make her sentencing statement on behalf of all the defendants, asking for the same sentence for everyone. Judge Gardner insisted that she only talk about herself. A discussion ensued about the defense having conducted the trial as a community and the importance of the collective presence of the group. Judge Gardner rejected the arguments, stating that sentences as well as sentencing statements would be individual. Therefore, the process of sentencing was that each defendant stood up before the bench, stating her or his own name and that of the Guantanamo detainee represented. Ms. Acevedo, the government prosecutor, then reviewed both the prior arrests and prior convictions the government had identified for the defendant and recommended a sentence. This was followed by the defendant’s sentencing statement. Judge Gardner then concluded by pronouncing his sentence for the person.

The sentencing statements are listed below the synopsis in the order the defendants appeared before the court.

The second defendant, Eve Tetaz, stated that she could not comply with probation and was sentenced to 5 days in jail and $50 in court costs. After speaking and receiving her sentence, she thanked the judge and he replied, “You’re welcome.” Attorney-advisor Mark Goldstone asked that she be given credit for time served, and Judge Gardner said he would provide that for all the defendants.

When the third defendant, Ed Kinane, approached the bench, he began to speak and was told he only had two minutes to speak. Defendants argued that because they had been denied the opportunity to shorten the sentencing process by having six people represent the group, each should be allowed to speak as long as necessary. Defendant Paul Magno stood up in the jury box in his orange jump suit in protest. The U.S. Marshals led him out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Judge Gardner warned against any further outbursts and said anyone who spoke would be removed from the courtroom.

At the end of the day, Mr. Magno was the last defendant to be sentenced. He was led back into the courtroom from the holding cell in handcuffs. The government, represented by Ms. Acevedo, described Mr. Magno as one of the main persons who organized the action, including that he had met with intelligence officers prior to the event. She listed some of his prior convictions and prison time and recommended a sentence.

Mark Goldstone, attorney-advisor for the defendants, then spoke on his behalf, saying, “Your Honor, whether Mr. Magno was a main person or a non-main person in the event is irrelevant. His purpose was to illustrate the atrocities at Guantanamo. Ms. Acevedo says he met with intel officers prior to the event. What’s unlawful about that? I would think the government would understand the long tradition of nonviolent civil disobedience that Mr. Magno was following. He’s free to plan, free to entice others to join him in speaking out. Just because he met with intel officers does not mean he’s guilty of a crime. Furthermore, mention of his planning role is inappropriate. I would like to ask for time served. He already spent thirty hours in lockup. He was merely holding a sign on a public area of the plaza. That is the sum of Mr. Magno’s crime: holding a sign.”

Judge Gardner then reviewed Mr. Magno’s record, including his 1984 three-year prison sentence in Federal prison and five years probation for his part in the Pershing Plowshares Disarmament Action. (The group entered a nuclear missile manufacturing plant, poured blood on missile parts, and hammered the weapons). Mr. Magno explained to the judge that this and all his other convictions came out of nonviolent protest against war. He then made his sentencing statement, received his sentence, and was led away by the Marshals.

Ellen Davidson
Your Honor, I am Ellen Davidson, here on behalf of Arkin Mahmud, a 44-year-old Chinese man held in Guantanamo since 2001.

As someone with no prior convictions on record, I respectfully request that you reconsider your decision to sentence us differently, based on whether we have prior convictions.

We were all convicted of the same charge, based on the same behavior. Indeed, many of us were convicted solely on the basis of the fact that we were wearing the same t-shirts as other defendants at the same time in the same place. If only one of us had worn an orange shirt and knelt to pray or bear witness on the steps of the Supreme Court or inside the Great Hall, there would have been no assembly, and no violation of USC40 section 6135. It is precisely because we acted together that we are before this court facing sentencing.

Those who have prior convictions did not behave any differently from those without prior convictions on January 11; in fact no one’s behavior on January 11 has been singled out as more offensive or further outside the law than anyone else’s. We all share equal responsibility for our actions on January 11, and we should, and want to, bear equal consequences.

Further, I want to make the case that our sentences should consist of the time we served on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12. Those 30 hours or more that we all were in custody were spent under conditions so appalling they angered even the judge who arraigned us.

After being arrested at around 1:00 in the afternoon, we were in handcuffs continuously until at least 7:00, some until 11:00 that night. I was more fortunate than most, since, as has been pointed out in testimony, I was cuffed in front due to a shoulder injury. Most of us spent up to 10 hours with our hands cuffed behind our backs.

My experience was fairly typical. I spent the night grouped with 7 other women. We were first put in a cell about 8’ by 6’ with one metal platform for a bed and a toilet that further reduced the space. There was no drinking water. We had finally figured out a way for all of us to lie down when we were transported to a different jail.

As we had been in custody for almost 12 hours, we asked for something to eat. The guard brought each of us a bologna and a cheese sandwich, but came back a few minutes later, asking if we could give back any uneaten sandwiches because there was nothing to give the 15 or male codefendants who had been transported to the jail.

At 5:00 a.m. and again at 8:00 we were moved to cells in different facilities, none of them with water. At this point two of the women in the cell with me became ill from exhaustion and, more important, dehydration. At around 9:00 we were shackled and moved to our final holding cells behind the courtroom. Here, I was with 14 other women in a cell about two-thirds the size of my New York City apartment kitchen. There was no drinking water. Because there was not enough room on the single bench for everyone, we tripped over each other’s legs whenever we had to move around the cell in shackles.

Three of the women in my cell spent the entire day we were held there throwing up from dehydration. One had to go to the emergency room when she was released, and another defendant was hospitalized for dehydration. The judge finally ordered the marshals to bring us water, but they did not give us enough.

The judge began calling us in small groups for arraignment at around 5:00, and it was not until 8:30 that the last defendant was released.

I reiterate that we believe we should all receive the same sentence, and that those 30 hours in conditions so bad that several of us became extremely ill are enough of a sentence for our actions, which were nonviolent and orderly, harmed no one, and were undertaken out of a sense of grave and urgent concern for our Constitution and for our brothers who are tortured and illegally imprisoned at Guantanamo without charge, without habeas corpus, without legal counsel, and almost without hope.

Eve Tetaz
My name is Eve Tetaz, pro se defendant speaking on the behalf of Noor Uthman Muhammed, a Sudanese man imprisoned at Guantonamo Bay. The prosecution asked several of the defendants if they carried a picture of the Guantanamo detainee they represented, or if they wore name tags. Yes, your honor. I have carried Noor Muhammed in my heart since January 11, 2008. I never met Mr. Muhammed, and I know nothing about him except his country of origin and that he is a prisoner. I see his face, however, whenever I look on the face of a laughing child safe and secure in the arms of a loving parent. I see Noor Muhammed now, in the face of 19-year old Ashley who testified so eloquently as to the reasons she felt led to speak truth to power on January 11, 2008.

Your Honor, I do not protest the justice of the law under which I was found guilty. Nor do I negate the right of this court to reach this verdict. Rather, I wish to explain my reasons for maintaining my plea of not guilty for refusing to leave the steps of the Supreme Court on January 11th.

Prior to January 11, I had made numerous fruitless attempts to speak to President Bush, members of his Cabinet and various members of Congress concerning my opposition to the illegal and immoral treatment of Noor Uthman Muhammed. Silence in the face of such abuse is tantamount to condoning the abuse. Your Honor, I cannot – I will not -- remain silent.

In voicing my grief and horror over the blatant disregard for the rights of Noor Muhammed, I was peaceful, respectful; and my actions remained prayerful as I grieved for him and all my brothers who are being abused in the name of justice. When asked to move, I refused in order to show my solidarity with them. All life is sacred; and these men and boys, regardless of religion, ethnicity or country of origin, are members of God’s Holy Family.

Although as a District of Columbia resident I’m denied regular Congressional representation, I am never the less responsible for the policies of those who are elected to represent the people. I honor the Constitution upon which our laws are based; but when the government disregards its laws and wages an unprovoked, pre-emptive aggressive, illegal and immoral war on Iraq that has been condemned by international law and the highest religious authorities - it does so in my name. When my government sets up a detention facility in Guantanamo condemned by the whole world, it does so in my name. When it kidnaps people off the streets in countries around the world and furtively transports them to torture facilities under the direction of American, it does so in my name.

My faith translates into advocating non-violent resistance to all forms of injustice as the sole means of achieving justice and equity for all. We must look for common ground in dealing with our enemies, solve differences without resorting to armed conflict, and replace the desire for revenge with forgiveness and reconciliation. .

Your Honor, the Government does not have the right IN MY NAME to pursue a policy that has already led to untold suffering and destruction of life. NO, Your Honor NOT IN MY NAME!

In closing, I would like to invite you and everyone who is present in this court room to join the defendants in this trial in our refusal to remain silent in the face of injustice. Let us together turn our swords into plowshares so that nations may learn war no more. Thank You.

Ed Kinane
Friends, members of the court, Your Honor,
On January 11, 2008, and the next day at my arraignment, I invoked the name of Massoum Abdah Mouhammad, Guantanamo prisoner #330.
Mr. Mouhammad, an ethnic Kurd born in Syria in 1972, is said to be a Taliban member.
For some years he has been illegally detained at Guantanamo prison.
It’s unlikely Mr Mouhammad has ever heard of me.
Surely, we are very different people; we may well see the world with very different eyes.
Nonetheless he’s my brother; we are kin.

Let me explain.
Many years ago the late Martin Neimoeller, a theologian and former World War I U-boat commander, spoke out against the Nazi menace.
In a well-known quotation Pastor Neimoeller said…
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.*

Pastor Neimoeller knew whereof he spoke.
As a dissenter, Neimoeller himself endured Hitler’s concentration camps, Hitler’s Guantanamos.
Neimoeller’s words have long served as a beacon for me.
Indeed, they helped inspire my participation in what was to be a liturgical event at the US Supreme Court on January 11, 2008,
the beginning of the sixth year of the Guantanamo concentration camp.
You see, your honor, that rogue prison represents,
not only a tragedy for those trapped within it, but a threat to us all.
Not a distant threat, but a close threat.
If courts keep allowing the Cheney/Bush administration to get away with its contempt for law and its barbaric treatment of fellow human beings,
I fear that US citizens may well be next.
I fear I may be next.

Thomas Jefferson declared that “dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”

Since the Viet Nam War era, as conscience has moved me,
I’ve been a dissenter.
I’ve been a dissenter committed to justice and to nonviolence –
not only as a kind of politics, but as a way of life.
So Guantanamo chills me.

As long as Guantanamo remains open it will provide the ongoing precedent, the ongoing model, for rounding up people like me
who dissent from the power structure’s policies.
Such captives could then be subject to Guantanamo-type incarceration: isolated detention, lack of habeus corpus, lack of other due process…
and torture.

[At this point an exasperated Judge Gardner cut me off. With a burly US Marshall standing immediately behind me, I had no choice but to comply. Below is the rest of my prepared statement.]

And after people like me are rounded up maybe whatever administration is in power will begin rounding up people of color
and other stigmatized minorities.
Perhaps one day it will also round up those judges who don’t succumb to careerism,
who resist political pressure,
who respect the Constitution,
who respect international law, supposedly the highest law of our land,
who listen to and honor their conscience,
who believe justice is their calling.

Your honor, although I did not intend to be arrested on January 11,
and although I didn’t expect to spend over 30 hours in detention,
my standing before you today is a win-win situation.
If you “throw the book” at us I’ll be heartened and know our Supreme Court presence must have threatened this nation’s power structure –
a power structure with little respect, not only for our Constitution,
but for human values.
If, on the other hand, you had been willing to sentence us to “time served” I would leave this court knowing that you have listened to us
and knowing that your court respects the larger law it’s pledged to uphold.

[Most of us were subsequently sentenced to pay $50 in court fees, to remain away from the Supreme Court for a year, to ten (or more) days in jail (suspended), and to a year’s probation. In solidarity with the Guantanamo prisoners who never get that option, I told Judge Gardner I would not comply with probation. I was immediately taken away for transport to the DC Dept. of Corrections jail to begin my sentence.]

*There are many versions of Niemoeller’s quotation. See, e.g., the erudite discussion of Niemoeller (1892-1984) on www.history.uscb.edu/faculty/marcuse/niem.htm.
I take this text from the 1997 Syracuse Culture Workers poster reproduced on that website.

Linda LeTendre
Good morning Your Honor, my name is Linda LeTendre and I am here on behalf Sabir Amed Jaman. Let me tell you something about myself: I have been a social worker for 20 years and I founded an agency to work with people who are mentally retarded and developmentally disabled. I sing in the church choir, deliver food baskets, and every Friday morning I volunteer at a local synagogue to bake challah to help the Jews in my community celebrate the Sabbath. My volunteer work has also included a missionary trip to Africa, work with "Peace Works," and being an active Rotarian for over 17 years. But I can tell you that my volunteer work pales in comparison to that of my fellow defendants.

I'll tell you something else about myself: I suffer from – no -- I journey through life with the gift of chronic depression. It doesn't make me sad all of the time. The way it affects me is that I have a hard time organizing my thoughts and remembering things. But for 30 years I have remembered this: In 1978 when the Italian politician Aldo Moro was kidnapped, the government suggested torturing a suspect in custody to enable them to locate him. General Chiesa responded, “Italy can survive the loss of Aldo Moro. It would not survive the introduction of torture.”

Our beloved country will not survive this either. We are not starting down that slippery slope -- we're already halfway there. I went to the Supreme Court to call out the names of those imprisoned and tortured at Guantanamo. My actions were a way to begin to humbly and prayerfully bring our county back up that slope.

Chris Brandt
My name is Thomas Christopher Brandt; I go by Chris Brandt. I am 64 years of age, a carpenter, poet, translator, and a professor of literature at Fordham University. I try to teach my students that studying or making any kind of art without reference to the realities of the world, and without action, is meaningless.

I am here, as I was at the Supreme Court on January 11th of this year, for one purpose – to represent Amir Saïd Jan (whose name I misstated at the arraignment on January 12th as Saïd Ali Jan – I apologize and wish to correct the record, since this is the first time his name has been spoken in a U.S. court of law) and the other men detained at the Guantánamo Bay concentration camp, and to petition for redress on behalf of Mr. Jan and the others, who have been denied habeas corpus rights and subjected to conditions in violation of the Geneva Conventions, and even to torture.

On January 11th I joined with 82 others to do what I felt was the only thing I could do – to exercise my rights of free speech and assembly on behalf of those whom our government has denied those rights. I doing so, aware of the risks to my own person and freedom, I followed in the footsteps of Henry Thoreau, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, César Chavez, and countless others who have advocated speaking truth, non-violently, to power.

I have done so with many of their words in mind, but also with the words of Frederick Douglass, who in 1847 was a keynote speaker at the first women's convention in Seneca Falls, New York. He was asked by a reporter what was the greatest threat facing the natio0n. The reporter expected him to say “slavery” or perhaps in deference to his hosts “the woman question.” Instead he answered, “The death penalty,” since the moment we give government the power of life and death over one person, we have given it all it will ever need to become a tyranny. The same applies if we stand aside today and allow our current government to decide who does and who does not merit the right to habeas corpus. This I – we – cannot and will not do.

May I say that this entire experience has been a privilege. Along with my co-defendants, I have had the privilege of protest, the privilege of due process, and the privilege of appearing before you in this court, your Honor. These are all privileges which Amir Saïd Jan and the other Guantánamo prisoners have never had, and though I am grievously disappointed that you, Judge Gardner, and you Ms. Acevedo, have chosen to stick to the letter of the laws rather than to seek, with us, their spirit, I thank you both. I would only have the privileges accorded us extended to all.

Tarak Kauff
My name is Tarak Kauff, here on behalf of Ali Faruq Ahmed, a 25-year old Yemeni man imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay.

The Government has accused, and now convicted us, of transgressing a statute prohibiting free speech on the grounds of the Supreme Court. I am convinced our action was justified under international law, by the first amendment of our own Constitution and most importantly by truth and conscience.
My action on January 11th was not undertaken lightly. I was aware that there was a possibility, even a probability of arrest. Nobody in their right mind wants to be arrested, to be handcuffed, as it turned out for 9 hours and incarcerated for over 30. I was also aware that the court might not be sympathetic to our motives and that I might be
found guilty, fined and/or face time in jail - a loss of time, money and freedom which as a working man, I can little afford.

None the less, since I am aware of the torture of prisoners and removal of habeas corpus at Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. run prisons - if knowing this, I remained silent, did nothing, did not put myself forward in the most direct way when given the chance, then I would be compelled to consider myself guilty in a much deeper sense - guilty of
betraying my country and my duty as a veteran and a citizen, guilty of abandoning the men and their families whose lives are being devastated at Guantanamo, guilty of renouncing my humanity, guilty of being aware of injustice and being complacent.

I wonder, when the crimes of the Bush Administration are fully revealed, much as the atrocities of the Third Reich were revealed to posterity, how will we face our children, if we did not resist, did not speak out?

This court may have found us guilty as charged, but I believe and I think this court and even the prosecution know that we have not done anything wrong. What we did was right by every standard of decency and in keeping with a long tradition of American civil resistance to injustice.

If we are to lay the burden of guilt, then that guilt belongs massively to the Bush Administration and its agents. At this critical time, it is so clear that America desperately needs to pursue justice, to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes
against humanity, not those of us who nonviolently stand up for truth, justice and humanity.

I would also like to say that I am deeply grateful and proud to be part of this group dedicated to ending torture. I will continue my efforts in this direction until justice has been restored.

Ed Bloomer
Your Honor, I am here with my prisoner Awal Gul. He’s in my heart, and I have a heavy heart today. But I have hope. I feel there will be a new day: a Kingdom on Earth.

Matthew Daloisio
I am Matthew Daloisio, here on behalf of Yasser al Zahrani. I have been silent throughout the trial, in solidarity with the men who are unable to speak. I will accept whatever sentence you give me. My son will be one year old on Sunday, and right now one of the members of my community is giving birth. I will be proud to tell these children what we did at the Supreme Court and here. Now, for one final time, I want to say the name of the person I have been representing. He took his own life at 22 years of age because he was being detained indefinitely without charge. Yasser al Zahrani. Y A S S E R A L Z A H R A N I.

William Pickard
My name is Father William Pickard and I represent Faruq Ali Ahmed. The reason I was here on January 11 were spiritual and political, but yesterday I read a story to a 6 ½ year old child at the Catholic Worker House. That’s why I’m here. For the children.

I’m also here to humanize the prisoners. At the Camp David Accords, there were days and days of discussion. When Egyptian President Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Begin and President Carter were leaving they still had no results. But then began to show each other pictures of their families, and finally the Accords were signed. I’d like to make a suggestion here. I’d like to set up a meeting. Could you meet with a former detainee, and get to know that human being? That would make a better world.

Jerry Breen
My name is Jerry Breen, on behalf of Hosaifa Parhat. I proudly join the statements made by my friends.

Bud Courtney
I am Bud Courtney, and I stand for Khaled Qasim. The video failed to show what I said to the officer when I was asked to leave: I said that my conscience prohibited me from leaving. I will humbly accept any punishment you decide to give me.

Joe Morton
My name is Joe Morton, on behalf of Saleh Mohamed al Zuba. The worst sentence you could give me doesn’t compare to Guantanamo. But I’m surprised that our prior arrests count in our sentencing. I thought that if you were arrested you weren’t guilty until convicted.
Judge Gardner did not respond.

Tim Nolan
I am Tim Nolan, representing Fnu Fazaldad. Judge Gardner, you have heard my testimony. I have faith that my testimony rests in your heart and in the prosecutor’s heart, because the only hope is that this testimony is in people’s hearts.

Judge Gardner responded: You are on trial because of a violation of a Federal statute. It seems to me that you should get Congress to pass another statute. The Supreme Court responds to what is sent to them. What’s the point of going to them?

Paki Wieland
Paki Wieland, representing, Hisham Ibn Ali Sliti, made no statement. However, when she was sentenced to 10 days suspended sentence, she asked Judge Gardner, “If I’m arrested again, I may be brought back here to serve the time – is that right?” The judge told her she could not get re-arrested for probable cause.

Carmen Trotta
I am Carmen Trotta, and during the trial I have been meditating on behalf of Said Ahasin, who was beaten by the Taliban before being sold to the Americans. I plead with the court for mercy and for justice. The only thing I could recommend is that we be granted a commendation for all of us. Unfortunately, you don’t seem to have heard us. We don’t think the police were wrong. You sat here nearly impervious when over 30 citizens came pleading. Law, Order, and Reason. The unity of that trinity is Justice. Justice, without which tyranny occurs. You have admitted almost all priors are for nonviolent convictions. But what you want is to dissuade people from nonviolent dissent. You are doing a disservice to our country. The president has asserted tyrannical powers. People came here to bear witness themselves to you. The only thing I ask is that you commend us and join with us.

Judge Gardner replied, “Thank you sir. So: 10 days in jail suspended; $50 in court costs; 1 year probation and stayaway from the Supreme Court.”

Mr. Trotta responded, “Can I do the time? You’re sending people to jail for supporting Ghandi. That’s degradation of the Constitution. Will you give us a commendation?”

Judge Gardner: “Commendation? What I might personally do is not my job. This is my job.”

Mr. Trotta: “I want you to commend us. Shake my hand.”

Judge Gardner: “The choice is yours. Ten days.”

Claire Schaeffer-Duffy
Claire Schaeffer-Duffy, on behalf of Abbas Hasid Rumi al Naely. The Guantanamo detainees don’t have access to due process. The government has kept them inside with no information about their loved ones. I am a mother with sons from 13 to 23 years old. I think how I would feel if one of them was imprisoned at Guantanamo. I ask you to think of the mothers, wives, and sisters of the men in Guantanamo. We are here to bring their names into what is a public conversation about the situation and condition of these human beings.

Maria Allwine
I am here for Shed Abdur Rahman, a 44-year old Pakistani man who was sold into US custody in a case of mistaken identity. He has been tortured at Guantanamo. As long as he remains in Guantanamo I will be here to speak out. I have been so appalled by what I have observed during this trial. I echo what Mr. Trotta has just said, and I will also say that many of us are taking risks to be here. You said earlier, Judge Gardner, that what you might feel personally had no bearing on your decisions in this courtroom, that you were merely doing your job. But it is past time for you and the rest of this country to be courageous and take a stand. Let me tell you, we are all employed and we all need our jobs. We have families who depend on us. Some of us are in danger of losing our jobs because of the choice we have made to speak out. But we are in a crisis in this country and if we don't all make the choice to oppose what is going on, then we are lost. Those of us here have made a choice – a decision to act on our conscience. I act because I can do nothing else but act. I have to get up each and every morning and look at myself in the mirror. If I am not doing what I am doing, I can not live with myself. If I am not opposing this government's use of torture and indefinite illegal detention as instruments of its foreign policy, I can not live with myself. We are all human beings, and as long as the government treats people in this way, as long as these secret prisons continue, I will engage in these actions.

You said earlier that we should be petitioning Congress, but we all know that Congress has been useless in reigning in the administration. Yes, the Supreme Court has ruled favorably in two previous cases, but Congress has rendered those decisions moot by passing the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The courts are supposed to act as the arm of the government that maintains the laws, but so far the government is doing little to stop the abuses. Habeas corpus, which has been upheld for 800 years in our society, is being denied to people by our government.

It’s time for every American to get up and take any risks necessary to stop what’s going on. Judge Gardner, you can impose any sentence you like. You can not and will not censor peoples' consciences. I will do what my conscience tells me to do to stop these heinous acts by my government. You cannot and will not prevent me from continuing to speak out and acting to stop what this government is doing in my name.

After being sentenced, Ms. Allwine added, “I will be appealing this case before I leave the courthouse today and I am greatly looking forward to appealing your verdict.”

Beth Adams
My name is Beth Adams, and I am here for Mohabet Khan, a 35-year old Afghanistani man imprisoned for too long in Guantanamo. I am the mother of three children and the grandmother of two. I am here on behalf of all children. I will stay involved until the torture is stopped, until the secret prisons are closed.

Brad Taylor
I am Brad Taylor, standing in an American court of law for Abu Faraj al-Libi from Libya. He was illegally detained by American personnel and most certainly tortured in the evil concentration camp that the United States has set up on foreign soil. I will continue speaking out for him.

Christine Gaunt
My name is Christine Gaunt and I am here on behalf of Abdul Razak, who died in Afghanistan. He was innocent, fought against the Taliban.

When sentenced to a 15-day suspended sentence, $50 court costs, and 1-year probation and stayaway order she said, “I respectfully refuse the terms of probation.”

Judge Gardner said, “Then do jail time.”

To which she replied, “I am not afraid of jail,” and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and $50 in court costs.

Nancy Gowan
I am Nancy Gowan. Yesterday I said that the physical abuse I experienced at the Supreme Court paled in comparison to the abuse of Yamatolah Abul Wance. Today, my sentence pales in contrast to his detention at Guantanamo.

Father Emmett Jarrett, TSSF
I have spoken heretofore for Oman Abdul Rahan Ahmad, a prisoner at the U. S. prison camp at Guantanamo, Cuba, who cannot speak for himself. Today I speak for myself.
My name is Emmett Jarrett. I am a husband and father, a poet, an Episcopal priest and a Third Order Franciscan. On December 18, 1976, my hands were anointed to wash people in the waters of life and baptize them into the Body of Christ, and to offer the sacrifice of the Mass for the salvation of the world.

My sentencing for the “crime” of praying on the steps of the Supreme Court of the United States, is a very small thing. Whatever my sentence, I will suffer very little for my action. But I pray that whatever I and my friends do suffer to bear witness against torture, the denial of habeas corpus and basic human rights, and indefinite imprisonment of “enemy combatants” with no claim on American justice, may benefit those prisoners and “complete what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ” (Col. 1:24) for the sake of his people and God’s world.

Thank you, Judge Gardner, for the privilege of sharing the suffering of one of the least of my brothers, and so serving my Lord, Jesus Christ.

Ken Butigan
Your Honor, my name is Ken Butigan and I am here on behalf of Gul Zaman, a 38 year old Afghani man who has been held for years without due process at Guantanamo Bay Prison.

Imagine, sometime in the not so distant future, each of us in this courtroom going to our mailboxes and finding an invitation.

The invitation says that we are cordially invited to a party celebrating the closing of Guantanamo Bay Prison and – even more stupendously – a world free of torture as policy and practice.

What excitement and hope as we sit down to a grand table where we eat till we are full, all of us -- all of us, especially the guests of honor, the inmates currently being held in Guantanamo but who, by then, have been given their day in court. Plates are set in remembrance of those who have already died at Guantanamo.

Sitting together at this grand table, in conversation and silence, we will begin the slow and humbling – but also deeply profound and joyous – process of discovering our humanity once again.

Of course, such a day of celebration will not happen by accident. It will be organized only if each of us, today, join the global effort of re-humanization.

Each of us defendants, but also you, Judge Gardner and you, Prosecutor Acevedo and your team – each of us is being called to respond to this summons of history to work for an end to torture and for a world that prioritizes the well-being of all.

Each of us is being called to help make this future celebration possible.

Kirk Brown
Kirk Brown, for Mohammed Sadiq Adam.

When Mr. Brown received a 10-day suspended sentence, $50 court costs, and a year probation, he refused probation and requested to take a 10-day jail sentence in solidarity with Christine Gaunt. Ann Wilcox, attorney-advisor, requested Youth Act sentencing on the basis of his age. Judge Gardner said he did not qualify for Youth Act sentencing based on his refusal of probation and sentenced him to 10 days in jail.

William Frankel-Streit
I am William Frankel-Streit on behalf of Abdul Nasir. In a study of history, it has been found that no social change ever happened without breaking the law in any country. The way the proceedings are going this morning is an attempt to squash dissent. It seems more totalitarian than democratic. I am in solidarity with those who say they cannot obey probation. Our sentence pales in contrast with the treatment of those in Guantanamo.

Ashley Casale
Your Honor, I cannot, in good conscience, object to any sentence which I am given, because I know that even if I was sentenced to a whole 19 years in a D.C. jail -- the length of my life as I know it -- this would still not equal the suffering experienced by tortured detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison, who know not whether their imprisonment will last 19 years or the rest of their lives. There is no end in sight. I came with others to the Supreme Court on January 11, 2008 to demand an end, to bring that end into sight. I did not come because I think it's cool to get arrested and do jail time. The court finds us guilty of demonstrating without a permit and failing to obey police order in this regard and of this we ARE guilty, but this decision overlooks the deeper issue at hand -- the fact that our acts of nonviolent civil disobedience were for a higher cause. Just as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks broke the law for a more noble cause during the civil rights movement, so too are we called upon to act.

Your Honor, if you dismissed me from this stand now as innocent as opposed to giving me jail time, I would have to leave the courtroom just as somberly either way. How can I be happy to be free when prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay prison face indefinite captivity and no hope of a just trial? If this court has a conscience, certainly it would reverse its decision in order to find the defendants innocent, drop all charges, cease all sentencing, and move instead to place charges against the U.S. government itself for the creation of the Guantanamo Bay prison, and for promoting war, torture and oppression worldwide. I'm worried about the future my generation faces as a result of this court's decision to ignore the real guilty ones and instead sentence the peaceful and loving ones.

We must move forward and keep speaking out on behalf of the voices at the Guantanamo Bay prison that have been silenced. Yes, not only do we have the right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but in the face of such injustices and atrocities we see inflicted on the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay by our government, we have the moral obligation to speak. We will not be silent.

When Judge Gardner asked if Ms. Casale had any questions about her sentence, she said, “Yes, why are you judging the peaceful, not the Bush administration?” Judge Gardner replied, “The Bush administration is not before me; if they came before me, I guess I’d have to judge them.”

Susan Crane
I am Susan Crane, representing Sami al Hajj. I live in Jonah House, a nonviolent faith-based community. We run a food pantry that provides 100 bags of food per week to families in need. We teach nonviolence. We are opposed to nuclear weapons and the Iraq war. I stand on all my convictions, which have been for nonviolent actions. It is important to speak up and put an end to the violent tactics of this country. There has been much talk about legality and law in this trial. It is the acts of the government that are not legal. We were trying to say so in the Supreme Court. We were trying to talk about it. There should not be different standards for individuals and nations.

Your sentence would have a chilling effect on my free expression. I cannot do probation.

Susan Crane was sentenced to 15 days in jail and $50 in court costs.

Ellen Graves
My name is Ellen Graves and I am here in the name of Mohammed Sadiq Adam. I have been here to demonstrate and protest in the capital before, and I feel the courts are stifling protest. But how is it possible to change U.S. policy without making people aware? People detained in Guantanamo don’t have the right to lawyers. We are the only way people of this country can see what’s happening. We should be joined, not stifled, in that work.

Sherrill Hogen
I am Sherrill Hogen representing Ahmed Mohammed. I wish to I object to the harsh treatment by the U.S. Marshals. Judge Gardner, you asked why we didn’t go to Congress. We have been to Congress as well as to the White House. But your question was the beginning of a possible dialogue. I hope we can continue that discussion so you can better understand…

At this point Judge Gardner interrupted Ms. Hogen, saying, “Why do you think I don’t understand?”

Ms. Hogen: I don’t understand all the issues that are important. There’s not enough time to act on all the issues. I am upset because your rulings appear to be designed to keep us from coming back to exercise our rights.

Judge Gardner: Can Congress be defeated?

Ms. Hogen: I wish.

Judge Gardner: You’ll just have to work harder. But what you did on January 11th was while you were on unsupervised probation, and you just got convicted.

Thomas Feagley
Abdullah al-Hamiri is the name I have carried in my thoughts, my prayers, my heart and sometimes in my dreams the past 2-plus years. I would like to make a correction. I was kneeling in front of the banner.

Ever since January 11th, my nephew’s 8-year old son Shando has been wearing an orange Shut Down Guantanamo every Friday. When his teacher asked why, he said that his Uncle Tom had been arrested protesting the way the men there are treated. His mother works for a prison and Sandor knows the difference between treating prisoners with respect or treating them "mean". He told me (whispered) that he was mad at Mr. Bush, "because he's mean to those men".

I had intended to remain silent throughout the entire trial, but having listened to so many others speak so eloquently and passionately, quoting the brilliant words of others, I felt I ought to say at least something. But I couldn't think of any brilliant quotes or eloquent words, so I had no choice but to cheat...and to quote my self.

I had written a poem/song, entitled "The Road to Guantanamo", which I started writing in June 2005 and was inspired to continue working on after going on the Witness Against Tortures walk to Guanatamo, Cuba. After that I got stuck...until receiving unexpected "inspiration" on 10 June 2006.

I finished the poem/song that night/a.m. As someone opposed to the use of torture, I won’t torture anyone by singing my songs, but I would like to recite two verses:

The Road to Guantanamo

Is littered with the Shadows of Lost Lives
Sisters search for stolen Brothers
Husbands cry out for their Wives
Rights have been wronged and wrongs called Right
Mothers mourn and wail mourn and wail mourn and wail
In the early morning light
Gitmo's got no Soul man, Gitmo's gotta go
Gitmo's got no Soul man, Gitmo's gotta go
Gitmo's got no soul man, Gitmo's gotta go gotta go gotta gogogogogogogogogo

The Road to Guantanamo
Is desecrated with Dark Despair
Broken Dreams dangle
Lifeless in the Air
Military prison issue sheets for a Noose
Shoulda set'm free set'm free set'm free
Now we gotta cut'm loose
Gitmo's got no Soul man, Gitrmo's gotta go
Gitmo's got no Soul man, Gitmo's gotta go
Gitmo's got no Soul man, Gitmo's gotta go gotta go gotta gogogogogogogogogo

I would also like to quote a verse from There Ain't No Such Thing As Justifiable War:
The War on Terror is a Terrorist Plot
Designed to steal away all the rights that we've got
We Pledge Allegiance to the Flags
Draped across rows of Body Bags
Haveas Corpus died a dastardly death
If we ain't careful they'll be drawin our Last Breath

Thank you for letting me speak on behalf of Adbullah al-Hamiri.

Arthur Laffin
My name is Art Laffin and I speak on behalf of Mane'I al Otaybi, a Saudi national who was 25 years old when he was taken into U.S. custody in Afghanistan. He died at the Guantanamo military prison on June 10, 2006 of a reported suicide. I stand with all my friends here in a long nonviolent tradition by people of faith and conscience who have acted on behalf of victims of violence. As I tried to say in my closing statement , what is at issue here is: What do we do when human law conflicts with God’s law? My faith tradition tells me we must always uphold God's law. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 146:

Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no salvation.
When they die they, too, return to earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
Happy are those whose hope is in the Lord, their God,
who executes justice for the oppressed;
For the Lord sets prisoners free,
and opens the eyes of the blind;
the Lord raises up those who are bowed down
and loves those who do what is right.
The Lord watches over the strangers, refugees and homeless
and upholds the orphan, the widow and the immigrant.
But the way of the wicked are brought to ruin!
God is sovereign over all earthly rulers and powers.
Let all generations praise God.
Let us praise God forever!

You happen to be the judge, and Ms. Acevedo, the prosecutor. We never would have met had it not been for this trial. I appreciate that we met you. Unfortunately, the legal system puts us in an adversarial position. We reach out to you with all our hearts. We’d love to talk to you and take you out to lunch and discuss these matters further. We may not agree on everything and you might not even like our cooking but we could communicate in a more human way.

Here, Judge Gardner quipped, “Wait until I sentence you.”

A crime is being committed here. We’re trying to stop it. We are reaching out on behalf of the victims of this crime. God’s law supercedes this law of the court. In God’s name, in the name of justice, in the name of the victims, please join with us in doing what you can do to stop this crime.

After receiving his sentence, Mr. Laffin continued: I work and live at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. We serve the homeless and poor of Washington, DC. I have a wife and small child. I have a request, if possible. I have made a commitment to help a friend who is recovering from cancer. I request that I receive the same 10 day sentence that you gave others who are not able to comply with probation.

Judge Gardner replied that Mr. Laffin would have to to serve 29 days in jail if he did not comply with probation.
Also, I would ask that the stayaway from the Supreme Court be rescinded from June 29-July 2 because of an annual vigil and fast that is held there to abolish the death penalty. My brother was a homicide victim and I'd like to attend the vigil at the Supreme Court to repeal the death penalty.

Judge Gardner denied his request saying, and as Mr. Laffin was taken into custody and led away by the Marshals, he recited the Lord’s Prayer.

Malachy Kilbride
I am Malachy Kilbride, here for Sar Faraz Ahmed. I have no comment.

Brian Terrell
I am Brian Terrell, representing Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed al Sawah. I stand on my record. I have a whole list of arrests in Washington DC, but also in Virginia, Illinois, Iowa. The DC arrests were post and forfeit arrests at the White House, with the U.S. Park Service Police. Each case was a peaceful redress of grievance. Each time my rights were violated, though not as egregiously as for the Guantanamo detainees.

I was really taken by a video I saw at the Supreme Court, which was mostly geared toward children. It told of the 1857 Dred Scott case, which said that people born in the U.S. were not persons and had no standing in court. The court’s decision was a blot on our country. If in 1857 someone had held a sign and paraded, harangued, we would look back and say they were standing up for the dignity of the courts. That’s exactly what Guantanamo is about: Are the detainees human beings in the eyes of the law? Do they have rights?

I appreciate your concern for our travel, especially those of us who come from farthest away. I would like to join my fellow travelers serving 10 days in jail, and then we’ll go home.

Paul Magno
I am Paul Magno, on behalf of Jaman Huhammad al Deen. All of the cases for which I have been convicted come out of my nonviolent protest against war. There are four words that matter: conscience, nonviolence, compassion, and law. These principles were all upheld by us in the course of our actions on January 11th and in this trial, thus illuminating justice that has real meaning. They would likewise be honorable practices on the part of the court and the prosecution that would lead them to investigate, indict and put on trial for the crimes at Guantanamo, putting leading officials of the Defense Department, Justice Department and White House in the dock.

Our brothers are suffering, languishing, being tortured at Guantanamo. They have been ignored for too long. The government and the courts have turned their backs on the suffering of the prisoners at Guantanamo, when justice demands that they act on behalf of the prisoners, against these outrages that continue today.

You have a responsibility to take action.
I plead with you, I beg you to do so.
Thank you, sir.