January 2015 Activities and Updates: In Chicago, Protest Unending Guantanamo Detention and Torture

Chicago Coalition member Jill McLaughlin leading the
speak-out during the January 15, 2015, protest in Chicago.
(See the full photo album on Facebook - photos courtesy FJJ.)

Many members of the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo participated in the national mobilization in Washington, D.C. - an annual event focusing on the January 11 anniversary date of the establishment of Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.

In Chicago, there were three events:

Andy Worthington on Worldview
Thursday, January 15, 2014 12:00 noon

"Andy Worthington will be interviewed on Jerome McDonnell’s Worldview program at noon on Thursday, January 15, about the current situation of detainees still held at Guantanamo and protests around the world this past weekend on the 13th anniversary of the opening of that torture camp. Listen in, then join us at 4:30 for a creative outdoor protest and at 7:00 at Grace Place." [details below].

"Please respect the rights of ALL God's children."
January 15, 2015, demonstration in front of the Art
Institute of Chicago. (Photo courtesy FJJ.)

Guantanamo 13 Yrs Later: Not One More Year of Torture and Indefinite Detention
Thursday, January 15, 2014 4:30 p.m.
Art Institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Avenue

"We will begin the day's events with a powerful and creative action in front of the Art Institute at 4:30pm (look for the orange jumpsuits) which will be followed by a spirited march, with some in orange jumpsuits and black hoods, to the Federal Courthouse (Dearborn and Jackson). We will then march to Grace Place for the evening event with Andy Worthington, Candace Gorman, and Debra Sweet . . ." (see event below)

Panelists at the Thursday night event Andy Worthington, Candace Gorman,
and Debra Sweet (first, second, and fifth from left). The group also includes
(l-r) CCSDG regulars Barbara Lyons, Jerry Parker, Mario Vanegas, Jay Becker,
Marie Shebeck, Joe Scarry, and Eldon Grossman. Barbara holds a poster from
the "We Stand with Shaker Aamer" campaign. (Photo courtesy Lina Thorne.)

How To Shut Down Guantanamo : Andy Worthington, Candace Gorman, Debra Sweet
Thursday, January 15, 2014 7:00 p.m.
Grace Place
637 S. Dearborn

"Come hear Andy Worthington, author of "The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison;" Debra Sweet, National Director of World Can't Wait; and Candace Gorman, an civil rights attorney who represents a man detained at Guantanamo. They will speak about the current situation at Guantanamo Bay Prison and what it will take to finally win freedom for the men still held captive there."



Related developments

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department's just-retired special envoy for closing Guantanamo said in The New York Times in his outgoing statement, "As a high-ranking security official from one of our staunchest allies on counterterrorism (not from Europe) once told me, 'The greatest single action the United States can take to fight terrorism is to close Guantánamo.' (emphasis added) ("The Path to Closing Guantanamo," by Cliff Sloan, January 5, 2015.)


Recent releases:

January 15, 2015 - Guantánamo sends 5 Yemeni detainees to Oman, Estonia

to Oman:
Khadr al Yafi (of Yemen)
Abd al Rahman Abdullah Abu Shabati (of Yemen)
Fadil Husayn Salih Hintif (of Yemen)
Mohammed al Khatib (of Yemen)

to Estonia:
Ahmed Abdul Qader (of Yemen)

December 30, 2014 - US releases 5 Guantanamo prisoners, sends them to Kazakhstan:

Adel Al-Hakeemy (of Tunisia)
Abdallah Bin Ali al Lufti (of Tunisia)
Asim Thabit Abdullah Al-Khalaqi (of Yemen)
Muhammad Ali Husayn Khanayna (of Yemen)
Sabri Mohammad al Qurashiv (of Yemen)

December 20, 2014 - U.S. sends four Guantanamo prisoners home to Afghanistan:

Shawali Khan (of Afghanistan)
Khi Ali Gul (of Afghanistan)
Abdul Ghani (of Afghanistan)
Mohammed Zahir (of Afghanistan)

December 7, 2014 - Six Guantanamo prisoners fly to Uruguay for resettlement:

Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa Diyab (of Syria)
Ahmed Adnan Ahjam (of Syria)
Ali Hussain Shaabaan (of Syria)
Omar Mahmoud Faraj (of Syria)
Abdul Bin Mohammed Abis Ourgy (of Tunisia)
Mohammed Tahanmatan (of Palestine)

November 22, 2014 - U.S. releases Guantanamo prisoner to Saudi Arabia:

Muhammad Murdi Issa al-Zahrani (of Saudi Arabia)

November 20, 2014 - 5 Guantánamo Inmates Are Sent to Eastern Europe:

to Slovakia:
Hisham Bin Ali Bin Amor Sliti (of Tunisia)
and Hussein Salem Mohammed, (of Yemen)
to Georgia:
Slah Muhamed Salih al-Zabe (of Yemen)
Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh al-Bedani (of Yemen)
Abdel Ghalib Ahmad Hakim (of Yemen)

November 5, 2014 - Kuwaiti Released From Guantánamo Under New Review System:

Fawzi al Odah (of Kuwait)

Related posts

Chicago was the site of major protests against U.S. detention practices in Guantanamo, as well as in Bagram, other prisons throughout Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the world, on and around January 11, 2012. We called for an end to indefinite detention, unfair trials, and torture.

(See Chicago Protests Guantanamo Detention)