Anti-Torture Activists to Rally, Commit Civil Disobedience at White House

Posted by , Witness Against Torture at 7:45 AM on April 29, 2009.

The following news advisory comes from Witness Against Torture.

On April 30th, hundreds of human rights activists will gather near the White House to call on the Obama administration to support a criminal
inquiry into torture under the Bush administration and to fully break with past detention policies.

At a rally at Lafayette Park at 11:15 am, members of Witness Against Torture, Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Torture Abolition Survivors Support Coalition will speak out about the need for accountability and an end to Bush-era policies. At noon, sixty activists from Witness Against Torture -- each representing one of the Guantanamo inmates cleared for release but still imprisoned – will risk arrest.

“Despite early, encouraging signs,” says Matthew Daloisio of Witness Against Torture, “the Obama administration has been a disappointment with respect to detainee issues and torture. President Obama has been reluctant to investigate possible, past crimes, and many of the immoral and illegal policies of the Bush administration -- from the denial of habeas rights at Bagram Air Base, to the continued detention of innocent men in Guantanamo -- remain in place. We need accountability, not immunity, and an end to the abuse of detainees. This president and many members of Congress are in office partly
because of their promise to repudiate Bush's detention regime. It's time they live up to that promise."

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS, THURSDAY, APRIL 30
10:15am: Rally at the Capitol Reflecting Pool, followed by detainee
procession to Lafayette Park
11:15 am: Rally at Lafayette Park and detainee procession to the White House
Noon: White House Protest

Witness Against Torture formed in 2005 when 25 activists went to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to protest outside the detention camp. The April 30 demonstration concludes Witness Against Torture's 100 Days Campaign to Close Guantanamo and End Torture.  During the campaign, WAT activists have held a daily vigil at the White House, brought protest signs to confirmation and other congressional hearings, lobbied lawmakers to change detention policies, and hosted numerous public events in the Washington area.

Background on the campaign and WAT demands, http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/475
Details for April 30th, http://www.100dayscampaign.org/a30

Tagged as: torture, guantanamo, barack obama, aclu, amnesty international, witness against torture, 100 days campaign, torture abolition survivo