Witness Against Torture - release

PRESS RELEASE: Over 80 Arrested in Guantánamo Protests at Supreme Court

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:26:38 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 11, 2008

DIRECT ACTION TODAY DEMANDED SHUT-DOWN OF GUANTANAMO AND AN END TO TORTURE AND INDEFINITE DETENTION

WASHINGTON, DC – Early this afternoon, over 80 activists organized by Witness Against Torture delivered a message to the U.S. Supreme Court demanding the shut-down of the U.S. prison at Guantánamo and justice for those detained there. 35 activists were arrested inside the Court building and another 35 on the steps. The arrests followed a solemn march from the National Mall of 400 persons that included a procession of activists dressed like the Guantánamo prisoners in orange jumpsuits and black hoods – part of an International Day of Action that was endorsed by over 100 groups and that included 83 events around the world.

Former Guantanamo Detainees Deliver Letter to 10 Downing Street

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:21:26 -0500

PRESS RELEASE

09 January 2008

Former Guantanamo Detainees Deliver Letter to 10 Downing Street
_________________________________________________________

LETTER EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:00hrs GMT FRIDAY 11^th JANUARY

As Supreme Court Hears Guantanamo Cases Concerned Citizens Fast and Vigil Outside

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:19:18 -0500

WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, December 5th, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments asserting the legal rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees.

DRAMATIC DEMONSTRATION TO CALL FOR SEN SCHUMER TO VOTE DOWN ATTORNEY GENERAL

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 06:44:47 -0500

News Advisory from WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE
DRAMATIC NOV. 6 DEMONSTRATION OUTSIDE SENATOR SCHUMER’S OFFICE TO CALL FOR SCHUMER TO VOTE DOWN ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINATION

MICHAEL MUKASEY WRONG ON TORTURE, ILLEGAL SPYING, PRESIDENTIAL POWERS

CHARGES DISMISSED FOR ANTI-TORTURE ACTIVISTS, BUT FOURTEEN OF THEM ARE LATER ARRESTED AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 16:32:19 -0400

On April 18, 2007 at 9:30 AM, around fifty anti-torture activists went to U.S. District Court, 333 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. for trial to face a charge of disorderly conduct as a result of a January 11 arrest in the atrium of the same courthouse. Courthouse officials seemed surprised that the defendants appeared in Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson’s courtroom.

CCR Release: Supreme Court Denies Immediate Review of Guatanamo Cases

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 11:03:55 -0400

Supreme Court Denies Immediate Review of Guatanamo Cases

CCR Disappointed That Clients May Wait Another Year In Detention Without Meaningful Way To Challenge Imprisonment

New York and Washington, DC - The Supreme Court announced today that it would not be hearing the cases of the Guantánamo detainees for the time being. The Court denied the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and co-counsel's motion to hear the case with three justices dissenting and two issuing a statement that the detainees should exhaust the process set up by the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), allowing for limited appeals from the decisions of military review panels, before they would consider ruling on constitutional questions. Attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights expressed disappointment with the ruling.

International Day of Action Press Release

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 13:57:07 -0500

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
Witness Against Torture

Press Release

January 11th, 2007:
The International Day to Shut Down Guantánamo

International Delegation Travels to Guantanamo, Cuba to Protest Infamous US Prison

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 07:03:57 -0500

On January 9-13, a first-ever international delegation of former prisoners, families of current prisoners, US lawyers and human rights activists will travel to Guantanamo, Cuba to hold a conference on prison abuses and march to the Cuban-side security gate of the US Naval Base to call for the closure of the illegal prison.

International Day of Action Begins with Warsaw 1/6/07

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 01:56:23 -0500

Warsaw, Poland
Damien Moran
Approximately 40 people from various anarchist groups, including the Warsaw Anarchist Federation, Anarchist Black Cross, and the Pupil's Initiative gathered at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw at 12 noon on Saturday January 6th (I know, 5 days early!) in solidarity with the International campaign to Shut Down Guantanamo.

CATHOLIC JUSTICE ACTIVISTS MARK INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY WITH “END TORTURE – SHUT DOWN GUANTANAMO” VIGILS

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 04:11:13 -0500

For Immediate Release: December 8, 2006
Contact: Matthew W. Daloisio, 201.264.4424; Frida Berrigan, 347.683.4928; Ethan Vesely-Flad, 510.701.5267

Catholic Justice Activists Mark International Human Rights Day With "End Torture – Shut Down Guantanamo" Vigils at St. Patrick's Cathedral & Other Catholic Cathedrals Nationwide; Vigils to be held in NYC, Des Moines, Boise, Wichita, Winona, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Washington DC, & at Loyola University in Chicago

10/17: Religious Groups Mourn Death of Habeas Corpus

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 18:19:08 -0400

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

(Washington, D.C.) Over 200 people from various religious denominations and organizations demonstrated today in front of the White House against the President's signing into law the Military Commissions Act. Sponsored by the Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture (WRRCAT), the participants held what they called a "People's Signing Ceremony" outside the White House as the President conducted the official signing ceremony with Members of Congress inside the White House.

TWENTY FIVE ARRESTED AT THE US MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS SAYING NO TO TORTURE, SHUT DOWN GUANTANAMO

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 17:01:24 -0400

Undeterred by inclement weather, more than 60 people marched in a solemn procession from the United Nations to the US mission to the United Nations. Carrying signs that read Shut Down Guantanamo, the group marked the United Nations Day for the Victims of Torture. The procession, which included rabbis, priests, nuns, college students and human rights activists, was led by a cage on wheels representing the Guantanamo prison cells in which over 400 men remain, some for more than 4 years.

WAT Responds to President Bush on Guantánamo

Wed, 10 May 2006 12:03:32 -0400

May 10, 2006

Witness Against Torture: A Campaign to Shut Down Guantánamo responded today to President George Bush's statements on German television last week about the U.S. prison. According to a transcript of the program released on Sunday, President Bush acknowledged the prison was a "sensitive issue," and said, "I would like to close the camp and put the prisoners on trial." He went on to say that, "Our top court must still rule on whether they should go before a civil or military court… They will get their day in court. One can't say that of the people that they killed. They didn't give these people the opportunity for a fair trial." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/08/politics/main1596464.shtml

15 Arrested at White House in Anti-Torture Protest

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 22:05:36 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today a group of 75 people from Witness Against Torture (the group that marched to Guantanamo in December) continued their protest against the U.S. government's practice of torture and indefinite detention with a march from the Supreme Court to the Capitol, the Justice Department and the White House. The vigil ended with the arrest of 15 of the activists in front of the White House.

U.S. Christian Group that Marched to Guantanamo Continues Protest in Washington D.C.

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 17:36:00 -0500

The U.S. Christian group Witness Against Torture, which marched for five days in December from Santiago, Cuba to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo, brings to Washington D.C. its demands for the closure of the U.S. base, the release of the Guantanamo detainees and an end to U.S. practices of torture and abuse. The group’s demands have been amplified now as a United Nations report, foreign ambassadors to the U.S., and world religious leaders call on the U.S. to close the detention facility.