SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Protesters were arrested in the Senate Visitor's Center Monday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Witness Against Torture)
Marking 13th Anniversary of Guantanamo, Protesters Interrupt Senate to Demand End to US Torture
Civil disobedience culminates week of action protesting state violence 'from Ferguson to Guantánamo.'
Jan 13, 2015
Over a dozen protesters disrupted the Senate Monday afternoon by chanting demands for an end to U.S. torture with impunity.
The civil disobedience, organized by Witness Against Torture, was a dramatic culmination of a week of action in Washington, D.C. to press for the closure of the military's offshore prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as it enters its 14th year.
"Torture, It's Official, Prosecute Now!" protesters shouted in unison, in reference to the recently released, partially-redacted executive summary of the Senate report on CIA torture.
A video by Roll Call shows protesters sitting down on the gallery floor and halting Senate proceedings for at least a minute and a half before 11 people were arrested:
Meanwhile, more protesters filled the nearby Capitol Visitor Center, where they chanted and hoisted two banners which read: "Accountability for police Murder, Accountability for Torture" and "From Ferguson to Guantanamo, White Silence = State Violence" before more people were arrested, bringing the total detained at both actions to 21, according toRoll Call.
Just hours later, members of Witness Against Torture blocked the entrance to the D.C. police headquarters for 28 minutes "in recognition that a person of color is killed by police or vigilantes every 28 hours in the United States," according to an organizational statement. The D.C. Hands Up Coalition stood nearby chanting and singing support for the direct action.
The actions followed an earlier rally for an end to impunity for police who kill people of color and for indefinite detentions without trial in Guantanamo Bay.
Uruj Sheikh, from New York City, declared in a a Witness Against Torture statement that protesters sought "to convey with a new voice that racism and Islamophobia, torture tactics in US prisons like extended solitary confinement and the torture of indefinite detention at Guantanamo are two parts of the same system of white supremacy and militarized violence."
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
Over a dozen protesters disrupted the Senate Monday afternoon by chanting demands for an end to U.S. torture with impunity.
The civil disobedience, organized by Witness Against Torture, was a dramatic culmination of a week of action in Washington, D.C. to press for the closure of the military's offshore prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as it enters its 14th year.
"Torture, It's Official, Prosecute Now!" protesters shouted in unison, in reference to the recently released, partially-redacted executive summary of the Senate report on CIA torture.
A video by Roll Call shows protesters sitting down on the gallery floor and halting Senate proceedings for at least a minute and a half before 11 people were arrested:
Meanwhile, more protesters filled the nearby Capitol Visitor Center, where they chanted and hoisted two banners which read: "Accountability for police Murder, Accountability for Torture" and "From Ferguson to Guantanamo, White Silence = State Violence" before more people were arrested, bringing the total detained at both actions to 21, according toRoll Call.
Just hours later, members of Witness Against Torture blocked the entrance to the D.C. police headquarters for 28 minutes "in recognition that a person of color is killed by police or vigilantes every 28 hours in the United States," according to an organizational statement. The D.C. Hands Up Coalition stood nearby chanting and singing support for the direct action.
The actions followed an earlier rally for an end to impunity for police who kill people of color and for indefinite detentions without trial in Guantanamo Bay.
Uruj Sheikh, from New York City, declared in a a Witness Against Torture statement that protesters sought "to convey with a new voice that racism and Islamophobia, torture tactics in US prisons like extended solitary confinement and the torture of indefinite detention at Guantanamo are two parts of the same system of white supremacy and militarized violence."
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
Over a dozen protesters disrupted the Senate Monday afternoon by chanting demands for an end to U.S. torture with impunity.
The civil disobedience, organized by Witness Against Torture, was a dramatic culmination of a week of action in Washington, D.C. to press for the closure of the military's offshore prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as it enters its 14th year.
"Torture, It's Official, Prosecute Now!" protesters shouted in unison, in reference to the recently released, partially-redacted executive summary of the Senate report on CIA torture.
A video by Roll Call shows protesters sitting down on the gallery floor and halting Senate proceedings for at least a minute and a half before 11 people were arrested:
Meanwhile, more protesters filled the nearby Capitol Visitor Center, where they chanted and hoisted two banners which read: "Accountability for police Murder, Accountability for Torture" and "From Ferguson to Guantanamo, White Silence = State Violence" before more people were arrested, bringing the total detained at both actions to 21, according toRoll Call.
Just hours later, members of Witness Against Torture blocked the entrance to the D.C. police headquarters for 28 minutes "in recognition that a person of color is killed by police or vigilantes every 28 hours in the United States," according to an organizational statement. The D.C. Hands Up Coalition stood nearby chanting and singing support for the direct action.
The actions followed an earlier rally for an end to impunity for police who kill people of color and for indefinite detentions without trial in Guantanamo Bay.
Uruj Sheikh, from New York City, declared in a a Witness Against Torture statement that protesters sought "to convey with a new voice that racism and Islamophobia, torture tactics in US prisons like extended solitary confinement and the torture of indefinite detention at Guantanamo are two parts of the same system of white supremacy and militarized violence."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.