• Press Release

Broad Coalition Calls on President Obama to Keep His Promise and Shutter Guantanamo Bay Now

January 7, 2013

Groups will mark 11th anniversary of first detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay with rally, march and vigil starting at Supreme Court

Contact: Sharon Singh, [email protected], 202-675-8579, @spksingh

(Washington, D.C.) – A broad coalition of human rights groups and other like-minded organizations will mark the 11th anniversary of the first detainees being jailed at the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Friday, January 11, 2013, with a rally, march and vigil in Washington, DC. The participants will begin with a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, then march on Pennsylvania Avenue to the southeast corner of the Ellipse, for a vigil with the White House in the background.

There are solidarity events occurring in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami and London, England.

The organizations are urging President Barack Obama to keep his promise and shut down the detention facility. The activists are calling on the Obama administration and Congress to uphold the rule of law. During the event, activists will be wearing orange jumpsuits and holding a myriad of signs and other visuals expressing their desire to close down the detention center.

Media is encouraged to attend and cover the rally, march and vigil. Details below:

What: 11th anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay prison –

Date: Friday, January 11, 2013

Time/Location:

Rally: 12:00 p.m., U.S. Supreme Court

March: 12:15 p.m., Pennsylvania Ave to Ellipse

Vigil: 1:15 p.m., Southeast corner of the Ellipse

Participating organizations:Amnesty International USA, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Catholic Worker, CloseGuantanamo.Org, Code Pink, Center for Constitutional Rights, Council on American Islamic Relations, International Justice Network, Liberty Coalition, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, No More Guantánamos, North Carolina Stop Torture Now, Pax Christi USA, Physicians for Human Rights, Rabbis for Human Rights North America, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, North Carolina, Tackling Torture at the Top, Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition, United Nations Association-USA East Bay Chapter, Veterans for Peace, Voices for Creative Non Violence, War Resisters League, Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture, Witness Against Torture, Women Against Military Madness, World Can’t Wait. For more information, go to www.amnestyusa.org/gitmo.