WASHINGTON, May 20 AIUSA-Guatanamo-Cell
Human Rights Organization Will Tour Cell Across the Nation Urging the Bush Administration to Close Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) brings its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica to Portland beginning Thursday, June 5 until Saturday, June 7. On Thursday, June 5, AIUSA members and other activists will gather at 11:30 a.m. in Monument Square in downtown Portland to experience the cell and continue to push the Bush administration to shut down the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Larry Cox, AIUSA executive director, will kick off the event where many participants will be dressed in Guantanamo-style orange jumpsuits. Activists will hold signs urging the U.S. government to stop torture, halt indefinite detention practices and end the use of secret prisons. Visitors will be encouraged to experience the interactive cell on display at the event.
This cell replica will visit cities and towns across the United States. The cell is designed to provide all visitors with a realistic glimpse into the life of a Guantanamo detainee. The replica includes a steel toilet, florescent lights, frosted windows and a sliding metal door. Many detainees are held in isolation in similar conditions for as long as 23 hours a day.
The cell replica will be on exhibit at Monument Square on Thursday, June 5 (10 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.), Friday, June 6 (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and Saturday, June 7 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Visitors may tour the cell and record a 30-second reaction video that will be posted on youtube.com and tearitdown.org, as well as sign the global petition to shut Guantanamo down.
Also on Thursday evening (June 5) there will be another public event featuring Cox, Pardiss Kebriaei from Center for Constitutional Rights and Ben Wizner from the American Civil Liberties Union. The panel event will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Rines Auditorium at the Portland Public Library.
EVENT: National Tour of Guantanamo Cell Replica stop
DATE: June 5, 2008
TIME: Beginning at 11:30 a.m.
LOCATION: Monument Square
Congress Street
Portland, Maine
For more details and further information, contact the AIUSA media office at 202-544-0200 x302.
SOURCE Amnesty International
