Amnesty holds Guantanamo protest

Amnesty International held a protest in Dublin demanding the closure of the US prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Amnesty International held a protest in Dublin demanding the closure of the US prison at Guantanamo Bay.

A dozen TDs from Fianna Fáil, Labour, Fine Gael, the Greens, Sinn Féin and the Progressive Democrats, as well as a number of Independents, took part in the demonstration at Leinster House.

Amnesty members were dressed in orange jumpsuits to represent Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Amnesty said 30 TDs and Senators have signed a global petition calling for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The petition will be presented to the US Congress ahead of the sixth anniversary of the opening of the prison on January 11th.

READ MORE

Seán Love, director of Amnesty International, Irish Section, said: "While the focus of this event is on Guantánamo, more broadly the detention policies and practices of the United States in the so-called 'war on terror' have seriously undermined the framework of international human rights law.

"When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity."