.
Zohra’s son Omar was arrested in Pakistan in April 2002 and transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp. Omar, who has never been charged or tried for a crime, says he has been beaten, blinded in one eye, submerged under water, sexually assaulted and kept in isolation for eight months. His mother, convinced of her son’s innocence, is merely pleading that Omar be charged and tried, or released.
CODEPINK agrees. We think it’s a gross violation of the basic principles of a democratic society to keep people locked up indefinitely, without charges or fair trials. That’s why we’re participating in the January 11 International Call to Close Guantanamo, timed to coincide with the 5 year anniversary of the first prisoners being brought to the island. That’s why we’ve asked Zohra to join us in a unique protest-outside the gates of the Guantanamo Naval Base itself!
On January 9, CODEPINK cofounders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans are leading a 15-person delegation to Guantanamo. The delegation will include family members of detainees, former detainees, constitutional lawyers and US peace activists including Cindy Sheehan and Colonel Ann Wright.
You, too, can stand up against torture and indefinite detention. You, too, can help reinstitute basic democratic rights, like Habeas Corpus, that were stripped by Congress. Here’s how:
1. Join in one of the protests being organized around the country for the January 11 Shut Down Guantanamo Day, or organize one in your community.
2. Contact your congressperson to ask him/her to support restoring Habeas Corpus and repealing the Military Commissions Act.
3. Stage a reading of the play Guantanamo: “Honor Bound to Defend Freedom.”
Visit our No Torture page for even more ideas about how to join our campaign. Let’s use our voices and our bodies to close Guantanamo down.
With gratitude for all of your support,
Dana, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Liz, Medea, Nancy, Patricia, Rae, Samantha, and Sonia
P.S. Thank you to everyone who participated in over 40 CODEPINK vigils around the country to mark the 3000th soldier death in Iraq. Ten CODEPINKers in San Francisco, including co-founder Medea Benjamin, were arrested as they attempted to cross the Golden Gate Bridge in a solemn march of protest. We are grateful to all of our local groups who stop traffic, who open eyes, who spread the word of peace.
P.P.S. Thank you, too, for sending your New Year’s Revolution Resolutions! You continue to inspire us with your creativity and dedication to peace. With all of your help, 2007 will be a banner year for change.
Filed under: Anti-War, international politics, media, social & economic justice, To Study Up On Nonviolence
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