Shut Down Guantánamo! demonstration, Friday 7 May, 6-7pm, US Embassy
London Guantánamo Campaign | 05.05.2010 10:42 | Guantánamo
Friday 7 May, 6-7pm, outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE (nearest tube: Bond Street/ Marble Arch)
Almost 18 months since “pledging” to close Guantánamo Bay within a year, it is clear that President Obama is nowhere closer to closing the illegal prison. Other moves by his administration show that there is still little will to ensure justice and respect for human rights and due process. These measures include:
· Suspending the return to Yemen of prisoners cleared for release. Yemenis make up the largest single nationality held at Guantánamo Bay (over 80 men) and most are free to leave.
· Pressing ahead with a farcical military tribunal against a man who was captured aged 15 (Canadian national Omar Khadr, now 23), in contravention of international law. The key “evidence” against him was obtained through torture.
· Under Obama, the problem of other illegal and secret jails has not gone away. Abuse continues in Iraqi jails; when the US closed down several illegal jails in Iraq last year, most of the prisoners were transferred to other prisons, where they continue to be held without charge or trial. Bagram, Obama’s own Guantánamo, is continuing to grow in size. More cells have been built and more prisoners have entered since Barack Obama became president. The administration has also blocked legal moves to ensure legal rights for prisoners there, including access to their families and legal representation.
Join the LGC at our monthly demonstration as we call on the US government to release all innocent prisoners held without charge or trial indefinitely at illegal prisons all around the world and to shut them down. No to torture! No to arbitrary detention! Yes to justice!
We have been holding regular demonstrations outside the US Embassy since February 2007, first on a weekly basis and monthly since August 2008. When Guantánamo closes, we can call it a day. Until then, please do come and join us. We ask for one hour of your time once a month; prisoners in Guantánamo, Bagram, Iraq, the Horn of Africa, etc., have given years of their life without charge or trial for freedom and justice the American way.
Organised by the LGC: for more details email london.gtmo [at] gmail.com
London Guantánamo Campaign
e-mail:
london.gtmo [at] gmail.com
Homepage:
http://www.guantanamo.org.uk