On Saturday the 14th of January, 2023, campaigners of all ages and from various organisations marked the 21st anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo with a procession and vigil in London. 35 men remain in the lawless facility – either cleared for release or detained due to unfair trials/without charge. How can this gross travesty of basic justice under the rule of law be allowed to continue. Blair called it ‘an anomaly that at some point has to be closed’.
The current Foreign Secretary last week on 12th January, in response to a parliamentary written question confirmed that the UK’s position is that Guantánamo should be closed. After our the protest yesterday a delegation on Guantánamo Network members handed in a petition to the the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisting that as a member of the international community and a signatory of International Conventions upholding human rights the UK has a responsibility to take concrete steps to call for the closure of Guantánamo. Unlike other countries in Europe, the UK has never resettled former prisoners who cannot be safely repatriated.
The Guantánamo Network has also urged the UK government to enter into discussion with the U.S. State Department regarding the resettlement of one or more of the 20 men who have been cleared for release and yet continue to languish in Guantánamo. Please join the call for justice for those still detained and for those who have previously been detained for years on end without charge or trial. Visit: www.ukguantanamo.org
Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, was also able to add to his hundreds of photos of people marking the 7671 days the prison has been open. See some of them here:
https://www.closeguantanamo.org/Gitmo-Clock-2023-Photos
https://www.closeguantanamo.org/Gitmo-Clock-2023-Photos-2
We hold vigils in London every month and always need volunteers. Contact us at info@ukguantanamonetwork.org.
