US Activists Hold Anti-Torture Protest outside White House (+Photos)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Tasnim) – Dozens of social and human rights activists staged a protest rally in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., demanding the shutdown of Guantanamo prison and the release of detainees.
According to Tasnim dispatches, the demonstration was held on Friday to mark the 14th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantánamo Bay.
The protesters, included members of the US branch of Amnesty International and Witness Against Torture, a group which campaigns to have Guantánamo shut down.
The demonstrators chanted various anti-US slogans and carried placards saying “CLOSE GUANTANAMO,” and “RESIST ISLAMOPHOBIA”.
During the rally, 18 protesters, who had been on hunger strike since last week while wearing prison-style orange jump suits, announced that they will continue their strike until January 11 to sympathize with the victims of torture and Islamophobia.
Monday, January 11, is the 14th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantánamo Bay, and the start of its 15th year of operations.
US President Barack Obama made his vow to close Guantánamo within a year on his second day in the White House in 2009. In recent months, he has stepped up the rhetoric, promising to redouble efforts to close the prison while also heavily criticizing the Republican-controlled Congress for blocking moves to transfer prisoners out of the prison to the US mainland.
