April 25 - Weekly Vigil to Shut Down Guantanamo (U.S. "Justice" Process Discredited)

Judge Pohl (from a 2013 Guantanamo court sketch by Janet Hamlin)
"a bench order to anyone who ever served on the defense teams of the
Sept. 11 case to find out if any of them indeed were approached . . ."

from The Miami Herald . . .

From Tragedy To Farce: Latest Guantánamo Disclosures Further Discredit The Justice Process

April 19, 2014—Another week of hearings at Guantánamo, another series of jaw-dropping revelations and rulings that underline the futility of the whole enterprise. That the system isn’t working has long been obvious. Now the tragedy is turning into farce.

Exhibit A: The disclosure that the FBI allegedly tried to turn a member of the defense team for 9/11 defendants into a confidential informant, spying on colleagues on behalf of the U.S. government.

Did the FBI not realize that by doing so the agency was damaging the trial procedure at Guantánamo (such as it is)? Did it really believe it could flip a member of the defense team and keep it secret? No wonder some skeptical family members of 9/11 victims believe the whole thing was a deliberate effort to derail the hearings. What else are they to think?...

The upshot is another delay in an absurdly long process. This is the 10th round of hearings for the 9/11 defendants since the five accused were formally charged (finally) two years ago. If a violation occurred, it could require reappointment of a new defense team, setting the process back yet again for who knows how long.

Here’s why these disclosures matter: The American justice system is only as good as the worst practices it tolerates, and the practices at Guantánamo serve only to bring discredit on the very concept of justice.

(Read the entire Miami Herald editorial.)

338 Days Since President Obama’s Renewed Promise to Close Guantánamo: Only 12 Men Released as of April 25, 2014

• 154 men remain imprisoned. 145 of them haven’t been charged.
• 76 men have been cleared for release, most of whom have been imprisoned without charge for more than 11 years.
• Reportedly, 21 men are on hunger strike and 16 are being force-fed (http://aje.me/1nmzizK). Force-feeding is in violation of Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A mass hunger strike began on February 6, 2013. At its height, in June 2013, 106 men were reportedly participating in the hunger strike. On December 3, 2013, the U.S. military stopped daily reporting on the number of hunger strikers.

Find out more about efforts to end indefinite detention and torture by the U.S. Government at Guantánamo Bay. Please sign petitions addressed to President Obama at the websites marked with a **.

**CLOSE GUANTÁNAMO: A group of lawyers, journalists, retired military personnel and others who believe that Guantánamo undermines our values and harms national security.

**WORLD CAN'T WAIT: A national movement formed to halt and reverse the terrible program of war, repression and theocracy under the Bush and Obama regimes.

WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE: Formed in 2005, when 25 Americans attempted to visit Guantánamo.

ILLINOIS COALITION AGAINST TORTURE

ANDY WORTHINGTON: Investigative journalist, author, filmmaker, photographer and Guantánamo expert

VIDEO OF MOS DEF BEING FORCE-FED

MIAMI HERALD COVERAGE

Track the days since Obama’s promise: GTMOCLOCK

Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantánamo: World Can’t Wait, Witness Against Torture, White Rose Catholic Worker, Illinois Coalition Against Torture, Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban Five

Join our weekly vigil Fridays 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the corner of Dearborn and Jackson to support the hunger strikers and help demonstrate growing public support for closing Guantánamo! (On May 23, we will gather at Water Tower Park, Chicago and Michigan, as part of a national day of action on the 1 year anniversary of President Obama’s renewed promise to close Guantánamo.)


Related posts

The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo holds weekly vigils at Dearborn and Jackson in Chicago every Friday at 4:30 p.m. to support the Guantanamo Hunger Strikers and to demand that Guantanamo be shut down. (Learn more about weekly vigils by the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo.)

"We who believe in freedom cannot rest!" (Shut Down Guantanamo!)

On Good Friday 2014 (April 18), members of the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo participated in the 34th annual 8th Day Center Good Friday Justice Walk. The theme for the walk was "We who believe in freedom cannot rest!" and this certainly resonated with the work of the Coalition.

Below is text of our station (#9 - Executed) together with photos from the day and images of the detainees whose writings were used.


OPENING PRAYER

Jesus, our Tortured Brother,
In this world, so many are
forced to walk your path today —
the suffering and pain, the
humiliation, sense of betrayal and
abandonment,
for those with power, the
Romans of today, continue to
condemn others to modern crosses.
You said that what was done to the least of these was done to
you and so each day,
You are tortured anew.

(Sister Dianna Ortiz, OSU)

READER ONE

My name is Shaker. Please can you remember this name for me, because I hardly can anymore.

Here, they call me 239. In fact, I call myself 239. It feels so strange to witness my name slipping away from me.

I wonder how long it is going to take for all of us here in Guantánamo to slip away from the world’s memory?

We have lost years of our lives here - and some (three times as many as have been convicted) have actually died.

We have lost our sanity, our health, our humanity and our dignity. Yes, we seem to have lost everything.

But I believe we are gradually rediscovering hope and, with hope, we will relocate our lives and everything else that is meaningful.

Meanwhile our tormentors are losing everything and, the more they lose, the more they torment us. I can’t describe what they are doing. The world must hasten to compel the US government to solve this dilemma before it is too late. Candles cannot burn forever.

(Shaker Aamar)

ALL:

Where is the world to save us from torture?

Where is the world to save us from the fire and sadness?

Where is the world to save the hunger strikers?

(Adnan Latif)

READER TWO

O prison darkness, pitch your tent.
We love the darkness.

For after the dark hours of the night,
Pride’s dawn will rise.

Let the world, with all its bliss, fade away -
So long as we find favor with God.

A boy may despair in the face of a problem,
But we know God has a design.

Even though the bands tighten and seem unbreakable,
They will shatter.

Those who persist will attain their goal;
Those who keep knocking shall gain entry,

O crisis, intensify!
The morning is about to break forth!

(Abdulaziz)

ALL:

Where is the world to save us from torture?

Where is the world to save us from the fire and sadness?

Where is the world to save the hunger strikers?

CLOSING PRAYER

Jesus, our Guardian of the Wounded and Tortured,
Bid us to look into the secret prisons—the unmarked
graves—the hearts and minds of the torture survivors,
Bid us to wipe the tears of the families of those whose
decapitated bodies were cast into the open sea,
Bid us to embrace the open wounds of the tortured.
Jesus, Guiding Spirit,
Teach us to be in solidarity with those who hang from
these crosses,
Call out to those who torture, “Know the evil you have
done and repent.”
Call out to the rest of us, “What meaning does love have
if you allow torture to continue unopposed?”
In the name of all the tortured of the world, give us the
strength, give us the courage, give us the will to bring this
horror to an end, in the name of love, justice, and the God of
us all. Amen

(Sister Dianna Ortiz, OSU)

Justice Walk photos courtesy FJJ.

Vigils to Shut Down Guantanamo

NOTE: As we enter Summer 2015, we are moving to a schedule of intermittent vigils. Check this space and our Facebook page for info on plans for specific Fridays during Summer 2015.


The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo holds vigils at Dearborn and Jackson in Chicago - traditionally on Fridays at 4:30 p.m. to support the Guantanamo Hunger Strikers and to demand that Guantanamo be shut down.

Some of us wear orange jumpsuit and black hoods, while others talk with people on the street. As each day passes the more urgent the situation for the men still remaining becomes. The only way to ensure the health and safety of these men and end the Hunger Strike is that the 86 cleared for release be released and the rest be charged and given a fair trial. It is on us to keep the hunger strike and the humanity of these men in the public eye.

Related posts

April 25, 2014 vigil: "Another week of hearings at Guantánamo, another series of jaw-dropping revelations and rulings that underline the futility of the whole enterprise. That the system isn’t working has long been obvious. Now the tragedy is turning into farce."

We Need YOU! Support the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo

January 10, 2014 in Chicago - "CLOSE GITMO" by Overpass Light Brigade
Photo courtesy FJJ

The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo (CCSDG) consists of individuals and member organizations.

The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo:

* holds weekly vigils to keep the plight of Guantanamo detainees in front of the public
* holds monthly events to educate the public about indefinite detention at Guantanamo and related aspects of the U.S. "war on terror"
* joins in large-scale mobilizations at a national and international level aimed at bringing about the closure of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center and justice for the U.S. detainees in the "war on terror"

CCSDG member organizations are committed to:

* encouraging member participation in Coalition events
* contributing to outreach and promotion
* assisting in event planning and support,
* providing other forms of assistance.

Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo member organizations are:

8th Day Center for Justice
Amnesty International USA, Midwest Regional Office
Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR)
Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights (CCDBR) 
Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban Five
Chicago World Can't Wait^*
Gay Liberation Network (GLN)
Hyde Park Center for Nonviolent Action
Illinois Coalition Against Torture^*
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) - Chicago
No Drones Illinois
Nonviolent Action Party
Radical Public Health (UIC)
Veterans for Peace (VFP), Chicago Chapter
White Rose Catholic Worker^*
Witness Against Torture Chicago<sup>*

*</sup> denotes founding member

(See brief descriptions  of each below.)

Please contact chicagoshutdownguantanamo (at) gmail.com to join the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo as an individual or as a member organization.


Chicago World Can't Wait - World Can't Wait is a national movement formed to halt and reverse the terrible program of war, repression and theocracy that was initiated by the Bush / Cheney regime and the ongoing crimes that continue to this day. For more information, contact: chicago (at) worldcantwait.net

Illinois Coalition Against Torture - The Illinois Coalition Against Torture (ICAT) is an association of individuals and community-based organizations whose goal is to end U.S. torture by state actors at all levels of government at home and abroad.   We also want to eliminate the culture of impunity regarding torture through influencing public opinion and advocating for political change. For more information, contact: ilcoalitionagainsttorture (at) gmail.com

White Rose Catholic Worker - a community in the Catholic Worker Tradition of hospitality, nonviolence and simplicity striving to practice the works of mercy, peacemaking and education for social justice. The community runs an urban house of hospitality in Little Village and a rural/suburban organic farm outside Monee.

Witness Against Torture Chicago - A chapter of Witness Against Torture, which formed in 2005 when 25 Americans went to Guantánamo Bay and attempted to visit the detention facility, and subsequently began to organize more broadly to shut down Guantánamo, working with interfaith, human rights and activists’ organizations. Witness Against Torture has planned a series of nonviolent direct actions to expose and decry the administration’s lawlessness, build awareness about torture and indefinite detention amongst Americans and forge human ties with the prisoners at Guantánamo and their families. In 2007, Witness Against Torture began marking January 11th– the date that the first “war on terror” prisoners arrived at Guantánamo Bay in 2002– as a day of national shame, organizing major demonstrations and civil resistance at sites in Washington, DC and around the country. For more information about the Chicago chapter, please contact: chicagoshutdownguantanamo (at) gmail.com