Washington, DC — At noon on July 30, 2013 several American activists who have been on a long-term hunger strike in solidarity with the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay prison will hold a press conference and a creative demonstration outside of the Hart Senate building.
The action will begin with a simulated force-feeding session that shows the brutality of this process of strapping down the prisoner, shoving a feeding tube down his nose and pouring Ensure into his writhing body. There will be doctors present to explain the grueling physical repercussions of the hunger strike and force-feeding. Over 30 of the 100 hunger strikers at Guantanamo are currently being force-fed, a practice which the American Medical Association says constitutes as torture. Activists will highlight the egregious nature of this practice and demand that the Congress and President Obama address the demands of the hunger strikers for justice instead of force-feeding them.
The action will be followed by a press conference featuring activists on long-term solidarity hunger strikes: Vietnam Veteran, Elliott Adams, former President of Veterans For Peace, who will be on day 70 of his strike, and Tarak Kauff, Board of Directors, Veterans For Peace, who will be on day 53. These activists have put their bodies on the line to draw attention to the plight of the prisoners at Guantanamo who face indefinite detention without charge or trial.
“I am on hunger strike in solidarity with prisoners in Guantanamo. Eighty-six of them have been cleared for release for years now, but remain in prison because Congress and President Obama lack the political will to act. So it’s up to us, as Americans of conscience, to draw attention to their plight and demand that our elected officials take action immediately,” said Tarak Kauff.
Join the rally at 11 am at the Hart Senate Building at the corner of 2nd and Constitution Ave.
