FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2014
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National Interfaith Anti-Torture Group Calls for Jan. 11 Prayer Circle to Close Guantanamo
12th Anniversary of Guantanamo’s Opening is Saturday
WASHINGTON – With the 12th anniversary of the day the first detainees were imprisoned at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay approaching this Saturday, January 11, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, an organization representing thousands of people of faith from diverse religious groups across the country, will sponsor a “virtual prayer circle” at 12 p.m. EST on Saturday. On this 12th anniversary, people of faith around the country and globe will at the appointed time join in prayer – whatever their religion – and call for Guantanamo’s closure.
In Washington, NRCAT will join fellow faith-based organizations and human rights groups at 12 p.m. on Saturday for a rally in front of the White House followed by a procession from the White House to the Museum of American History. Participants will include people wearing orange jumpsuits to show solidarity with Guantanamo detainees. Rev. Ron Stief, NRCAT’s executive director, will speak at the rally and lead an interfaith invocation, coinciding with NRCAT’s call for a “virtual prayer circle.”
“Guantanamo has become an internationally recognized symbol of torture and of the nation’s failure to respect the basic dignity inherent in all people,” said Rev. Ron Stief, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. “As people of faith, we believe that torture is a moral abomination that runs contrary to the teachings of all religions, and so we join in prayer to break the silence of neglect of the 155 detainees still imprisoned at Guantanamo.
“We call on President Obama to use the new authority given to him by Congress to transfer significant numbers of detainees out of Guantanamo, which will allow him to follow through on his past promises by dramatically reducing the prisoner population at Guantanamo, a symbol of U.S. torture. The more than 325 religious organizations that belong to the National Religious Campaign Against Torture affirm the need to close Guantanamo and put an end to this sad and immoral chapter of U.S. history.”
Participants have been urged to share their prayers, reflections and concerns through social media, using the hashtags #Pray2CloseGitmo and #CloseGitmo.
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 325 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.
Follow NRCAT on Twitter at @NRCATtweets and on Facebook at facebook.com/nrcat
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