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July 24, 2013

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Leaders of national religious groups break fast to close Guantanamo at interfaith Capitol Hill gathering
Breaking of the fast preceded Durbin hearing on closing the detention center

WASHINGTON – A group of religious leaders and people of faith came together at an interfaith gathering today to break their fasts together in anticipation of a Congressional hearing about the possibility of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The one-day fast, organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, began at 12 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, and extended through 12 p.m. today. The participants, who broke their fasts at the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, were joined in fasting by almost 200 other clergy and people of faith from across the country.

The religious leaders who spoke at the break fast gathering included Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture; Virginia Farris, Foreign Policy Advisor, Office of International Justice and Peace, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Sandra Sorensen, Director, United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries; Maggie Siddiqi, Program Coordinator, Islamic Society of North America’s Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances; Rabbi Charles Feinberg, Adas Israel Congregation; Diane Randall, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation; and Rev. Amanda Poppei, Unitarian Universalist minister, Senior Leader, Washington Ethical Society.

After breaking their fasts, Killmer and other faith leaders attended today’s hearing, “Closing Guantanamo: The National Security, Fiscal, and Human Rights Implications,” convened by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“The situation at Guantanamo is dire,” said Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. “Most detainees in Guantanamo have never been tried, convicted or even charged with a crime. For years, more than half of them have been imprisoned despite being cleared for release or transfer. Many of these detainees, in a nonviolent protest of their seemingly permanent detention, have been on a hunger strike for almost five months – their only means of protesting their indefinite detention. The U.S. government has responded by force-feeding more than 40 of the hunger strikers – a painful practice that preserves life, but at the cost of the prisoner’s ability to make decisions about his or her own body.

“Now is the time for President Obama to transfer or release these detainees. The current crisis will be resolved only by transferring, releasing, or trying all the prisoners held at Guantanamo and finally ending this chapter in U.S. history.”

Earlier this month, NRCAT united more than 40 senior religious leaders from across the country in signing a joint letter to President Obama urging the administration and Congress to close Guantanamo as soon as possible, expressing the unity of the religious community on the issue.

NRCAT posted information about the national fast and resources for participants, including relevant prayers, at www.nrcat.org/fast2closegitmo2013. Participants were encouraged to share photos on NRCAT’s Fast to Close Guantanamo Facebook event page expressing their reasons for participating in the fast, and NRCAT continues to share participant photos on its website.

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 320 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.

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