PRESS RELEASE
Witness Against Torture
www.100dayscampaign.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2009

CONTACT:
Frida Berrigan, 347-683-4928, frida.berrigan@gmail.com
Gary Ashbeck, 410-913-2342, cruz69j@hotmail.com

ANTI-TORTURE ACTIVISTS MARK SEVENTH (AND LAST) YEAR OF GUANTANAMO INJUSTICE WITH RALLY AND FAST

WASHINGTON, January 11, 2009- More than 200 human rights advocates gather to observe the seventh anniversary of the Guantanamo prison today with a rally in DuPont Circle and a dramatic prisoner procession through the city. The event also marks the beginning of the nine-day Fast for Justice which involves nearly 100 people and takes place against the backdrop of yesterday’s shocking revelations that 30 men at Guantanamo are engaged in a hunger-strike.

The activities, organized by Witness Against Torture, are aimed at encouraging President-Elect Barack Obama to keep his promise to close Guantanamo and end torture in his first days of office.

Events begin in DuPont Circle Park at 12:45 pm, with a rally featuring representatives of leading human rights organizations Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Calling for justice for the detainees and accountability for possible U.S. crimes, the gathering will draw inspiration and strength from Obama’s concrete commitments to close Guantanamo.

Just days ago, President-Elect Obama asserted, “Under my administration, the United States does not torture. We will abide by the Geneva Conventions… We will uphold our highest values and ideals.”

“We need justice, not more politics of fear,” comments Valerie Lucznikowska of September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, who will speak at the rally. “This is the promise Obama represents, and we will hold his administration to it.”

Between two sets of compelling speakers, more than 150 demonstrators wearing orange jumpsuits and hoods will set off on a march to dramatize the plight of the detainees still at Guantanamo.

While making final preparations for the day’s events, organizers were saddened by the U.S. Navy’s reports that 30 men at Guantanamo are on hunger strike, and all but five are being subjected to force-feeding. “With our fast, we join our voices and our bodies with these men on hunger strike in the sincere hope that President Obama fulfills his promise and ends the injustice that is Guantanamo,” said Matthew W. Daloisio of New York, an organizer with Witness Against Torture and one of the fasters.

Half of the Fasters for Justice are in Washington, DC and will be a public witness for a portion of each day through Tuesday, January 20. The rest of the fasters are participating from around the country. The fast will be broken in a sunrise ceremony on Inauguration Day in McPherson Square, DC. (For details and updates, visit http://www.100dayscampaign.org/fast)

The event is part of Witness Against Torture’s 100 Days Campaign to Close Guantanamo and End Torture. Other participants in the day’s events include The National Religious Campaign Against Torture and the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition.

Event: Fast and Rally Calling on Obama to Close Guantanamo and End Torture
Date and Time: Sunday, January 11; 12:45 pm
Location: DuPont Circle Park, Washington, D.C., NW

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