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Past Event: Close Guantánamo Volunteer Activist Night

On Tuesday, Jan. 8, more than 70 activists from around the Bay Area gathered at the ACLU of Northern California in San Francisco to demand the close of the Guantánamo Bay detention center. We thank all those activists who were there in person and in spirit.

The event featured ACLU Staff Attorney Hina Shamsi, who discussed her firsthand experiences at the Military Commissions Proceedings at Guantánamo and the legal objections to the detention center. Almerindo Ojeda, Director of the Center for Human Rights at UC Davis, recounted testimonials from individuals such as translators and military police who have observed, firsthand, the atrocities occurring daily at the detention center. Walesa Kanarek, Field Organizer, and Mona Cadena, Deputy Director, of Amnesty International USA -- West discussed ways attendees can get involved in the fight to close torture facilities such as Guantánamo Bay.

Activists took action by writing letters to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, signing an online petition, and challenging themselves to talk to 10 people on or before Friday Jan. 11, the sixth anniversary of the arrival of the first prisoners at Guantánamo, about closing this institution.