January 11, 2024 marked the 22nd anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Since the year 2002, 780 men and boys, all of them Muslim, have been tortured and abused at the prison. A great majority of the prisoners were never charged with a crime. Currently, 30 men continue to be held, 19 of whom have never been charged with any crime or offense. This is a clear violation of International Law.
The action to Close Guantanamo was co-sponsored by Pax Christi Maine, Peace Action Maine,Witness Against Torture, Maine Veterans for Peace, Smilin’ Trees Disarmament Farm, Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine and others. Twenty people from all parts of Maine came together to protest, listen to speakers and provide educational handouts to passersby.
Among the speakers was Frank Panopoulos, a human rights attorney and Pax Christi member who represents one of the detainees still held in spite of having been approved for release two years ago. Mansoor Adayfi, a survivor released in 2016 after 14 years imprisoned without charge, stated recently, “We owe it to the men still detained in Guantanamo to keep fighting for justice and accountability.” Photo credit: Dorothy Panopoulos Hastings
