Guantanamo global vigils 2023-26

Promoting an important date in Guantánamo’s calendar: December 6, when the prison will have been open for 8,000 days. Please join me in marking this terrible milestone by taking a photo with the 8,000 days poster via the Close Guantánamo campaign, and, if possible, joining one of the dozen or so monthly coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo, which take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and which, on December 6, happen to coincide with 8,000 days of the prison’s existence.

Linking to and discussing my recent interview with Chris Cook on his Gorilla Radio show in Victoria, Canada, in which we discussed Guantánamo, the coordinated monthly vigils for its closure, which I initiated earlier this year, the ongoing assault by Israel on the civilian population of Gaza, and the global outpouring of support for the Palestinians.

Photos from, and my report about the ten coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place on November 1, 2023 in London, Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, Mexico City, Copenhagen, Detroit, Minneapolis, Cobleskill, NY and Los Angeles. The ongoing vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and, as well as calling for the closure of the prison, also highlight the plight of the 16 men (out of the 30 still imprisoned) who have been approved for release but are still held — as of November 1, between 404 and 5,031 days since the US authorities first decided that they no longer wanted to hold them.

Photos from, and my report about the eleven coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place on October 4, 2023 in Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, Raleigh, NC, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Cobleskill, NY, Detroit, Brussels, Copenhagen and Minneapolis, with photos from London’s belated vigil on October 11 added a week later. The ongoing vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and, as well as calling for the closure of the prison, also highlight the plight of the 16 men (out of the 30 still imprisoned) who have been approved for release but are still held — as of October 4, between 376 and 5,003 days since the US authorities first decided that they no longer wanted to hold them.

Photos from, and my report about the ten coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place on September 6, 2023 in London, Washington, D.C., Mexico City, Cobleskill, NY, Detroit, Brussels, Copenhagen and Minneapolis, and, for the first time, in San Francisco and Saratoga Springs, NY. The ongoing vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and, as well as calling for the closure of the prison, also highlight the plight of the 16 men (out of the 30 still imprisoned) who have been approved for release but are still held — as of September 6, between 348 and 4,975 days since the US authorities first decided that they no longer wanted to hold them.

Photos from, and my report about the seven coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place on August 2, 2023 in London, Washington, D.C., New York City, Mexico City, Cobleskill, NY, Detroit and Los Angeles. The ongoing vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and, as well as calling for the closure of the prison, also highlight the plight of the 16 men (out of the 30 still imprisoned) who have been approved for release but are still held — as of August 2, between 313 and 4,940 days since the US authorities first decided that they no longer wanted to hold them.

Photos from, and my report about the ten coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place on July 5, 2023 in London, Washington, D.C., New York City, Mexico City, Copenhagen, Brussels, Minneapolis, Cobleskill, NY, Detroit and Serbia. The ongoing vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and, as well as calling for the closure of the prison, also highlight the plight of the 16 men (out of the 30 still imprisoned) who have been approved for release but are still held — as of July 5, between 285 and 4,912 days since the US authorities first decided that they no longer wanted to hold them.

Photos from, and my report about the eleven coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place on June 7, 2023 in locations including London, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Detroit, Brussels, Copenhagen, Mexico City, Morocco, Serbia and the Netherlands. The ongoing vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and, as well as calling for the closure of the prison, also highlight the plight of the 16 men (out of the 30 still imprisoned) who have been approved for release but are still held — as of June 7, between 257 and 4,884 days since the US authorities first decided that they no longer wanted to hold them.

Photos from, and my report about the eight coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place on May 3, 2023 in London, Washington, D.C., New York, Mexico City, Brussels, Copenhagen, Detroit and Los Angeles. The ongoing vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and, as well as calling for the closure of the prison, also highlight the plight of the 16 men still held (out of 30 in total) who have been approved for release but, in 13 cases, cannot be repatriated because of US laws, and must be found new homes in third countries.

Photos from, and my report about the eight coordinated global vigils for the closure of Guantánamo that took place on April 5, 2023 in London, Washington, D.C., New York, Mexico City, Brussels, Los Angeles, Raleigh, NC and Cobleskill, NY. The ongoing vigils take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and, as well as calling for the closure of the prison, also highlight the plight of the 17 men still held (out of 31 in total) who have been approved for release but have no idea when, if ever, they will actually be freed.