Close Bagram and Guantánamo

On January 11, 2013, the 11th anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo, after the official protest in Washington D.C. came to an need -- consisting of a rally at the Supreme Court, and a march to the White House -- a group of protestors, mainly with the anti-torture group Witness Against Torture, decided to proceed to the White House, to tie 166 orange ribbons on the fence -- one for each of the men still held -- and to sing, softly and beautifully, a song of solidarity with our "Muslim brothers." I was surprised by how deeply moving this whole ceremony was, and relieved that the police didn't arrest anyone.

This banner, as well as calling for the closure of Guantánamo, also called for the closure of its counterpart in Afghanistan, rebuilt and renamed as the Parwan detention Facility, where several thousand prisoners do not even have the limited rights -- to visits by lawyers -- that were won by the Guantánamo prisoners in the Supreme Court.

For more on Bagram, see: www.andyworthington.co.uk/2012/07/20/bagram-still-a-black...

For Witness Against Torture, see: witnesstorture.org/

For further information about Guantánamo, see: www.andyworthington.co.uk/2013/01/12/eleven-years-of-guan...

and: www.andyworthington.co.uk/2012/10/25/who-are-the-55-clear...

Also see my other set of photos of the day of protest here: www.flickr.com/photos/andyworthington/sets/72157632514230...

For more on Andy Worthington, see: www.andyworthington.co.uk/

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