As January 11th, the 10th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo approaches, the World Can’t Wait participated in a teach-in with various Chicago-based groups that work to end torture and indefinite detention. The teach-in extended all day and covered many topics related to torture and indefinite detention.
WCW presented a workshop on prosecuting war crimes & provided materials from the War Criminals Watch website. An activist from the Chicago Committee against Political Repression explained the significance of resisting federal grand jury subpoenas that have targeted anti-war & international solidarity activists. A discussion of the NDAA ensued and why getting out in the streets on Jan 11, when Pres Obama will be in Chicago, is more important than ever
Another activist with World Can’t Wait presented his reflections on solitary confinement drawing on his own personal experience in the U.S. prison system. His presentation showed the parallels between the mass incarceration of Blacks in the U.S. , the torturous use of solitary confinement in the U.S. prison system in the “war on drugs” and the use of indefinite detention abroad in the so called “war on terror”. The sharing of his of his experience highlighted the fact that indefinite detention is a form of torture in and of itself.
There was a screening of the film “The Response” . The film is based on actual transcripts from Guantanamo’s detainee status review hearings and shows just how farcical these hearings are without the right the right of habeas corpus and due process and what a horrible nightmare it is for those still Guantanamo. Attorneys Len Goodman and Canadace Gorman were there. Both Len and Candace represent detainees at Guantanamo. Candace stated that there is no difference who the President is when it comes to the policy of indefinite detention and torture of detainees and the government’s refusal to stop it’s abuses of human rights
Events like these both expose these outrageous crimes and emphasize the importance of mass visible resistance to the U.S. policy of indefinite detention and torture.
