Photos and Report: The 38th Monthly Global Vigils for the Closure of Guantánamo on March 4, 2026
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On March 4, the “First Wednesday” monthly global vigils for the closure of the “war on terror” prison at Guantánamo Bay took place in Washington, D.C., New York City, Detroit, London and Brussels, with former prisoner Mansoor Adayfi holding a solo vigil in Belgrade, and with campaigners in Cobleskill, NY joining us on Saturday March 7, when Gavrilah Wells, an Amnesty campaigner from San Francisco, also sent photos from AIUSA’s Human Rights Conference and AGM in Washington, D.C.
These were the 38th successive monthly vigils for the prison’s closure, after I initiated them in February 2023, following the example established by campaigners in London five months before, securing the support of friends and colleagues across the US, and in Brussels and Mexico City, who, ever since, have shown an implacable commitment to keeping Guantánamo and its many injustices visible, in defiance of the tendency of politicians and the mainstream media to behave as though it no longer exists.
I’m hugely impressed that so many vigils took place given the proximity of the date to the all-encompassing horror of the launch of the illegal and unprovoked joint US-Israeli “war” on Iran just four days before, which, like a black hole of injustice, has understandably swallowed up almost everyone’s time and energy.
Photos and Report: Marking Three Years of the Monthly Global Vigils for the Closure of Guantánamo on Feb. 4, 2026
Please click on either of the ‘Donate’ or ‘Buy’ buttons below (via PayPal or Stripe) to make a donation towards the $2,500 (£2,000) I’m trying to raise to support my work on Guantánamo and on other related topics over the next three months. To get links to all my work in your inbox, please also consider taking out a free or paid subscription to my new Substack newsletter.
On Wednesday February 4, campaigners at nine locations across the US and around the world resumed the monthly “First Wednesday” global vigils calling for the closure of the “war on terror” prison at Guantánamo Bay, which I first initiated three years ago, and which have been running continuously ever since.
Last month, as happens every January, the vigils moved to January 11, to mark the 24th anniversary of the opening of the prison, when an unprecedented 19 vigils took place, 12 in the US and seven at other locations worldwide, as can be seen here.
Photos from the vigils in Washington, D.C., London, New York, Brussels, Portland, OR, San Francisco, Detroit and Cobleskill, NY are posted below, and please read on for my reflections on Guantánamo in 2026. Mexico City had to cancel their vigil at the last minute, but will be back next month — on Wednesday March 4 — while, in Los Angeles, Jon Krampner held a solo vigil, because his regular companions were unable to attend, but no one helped him commit the vigil to posterity by taking a photo. As he said, “I went to the Downtown Los Angeles Federal Building. Early on, two young Latinas briefly video’d me, making a few supportive remarks as they did so. Later on, a young guy walked past me, saying that the entire base should be given back to Cuba. Some people looked at me, many didn’t even appear to notice.”
Photos and Report: 19 Global Vigils for the Closure of Guantánamo on the 24th Anniversary of the Prison’s Opening
Please click on either of the ‘Donate’ or ‘Buy’ buttons below (via PayPal or Stripe) to make a donation towards the $2,500 (£2,000) I’m trying to raise to support my work on Guantánamo and on other related topics over the next three months. To get links to all my work in your inbox, please also consider taking out a free or paid subscription to my new Substack newsletter.
Between Saturday January 10 and Monday January 12, an impressive 18 vigils for the closure of the “war on terror” prison at Guantánamo Bay took place across the US and around the world, marking the 24th anniversary of the opening of the prison, with a 19th taking place on January 15.
Eleven of these vigils were by campaigners who have been taking part in the monthly coordinated “First Wednesday” global vigils that I initiated three years ago, and that have been taking place every month ever since.
Seven of these are at locations in the US — outside the White House in Washington, D.C., in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Cobleskill, NY, and Portland, OR — while the other four are in London, Brussels and Mexico City, with former Guantánamo prisoner Mansoor Adayfi holding a solo vigil in Belgrade.
Eight more groups also joined us. Five of these were in the US — in Augusta, ME, Cleveland, OH, Greenfield, MA and Raleigh, NC, where annual vigils take place on a regular basis, and in Honolulu in Hawaii, while three others, initiated by Mansoor, took place in Rome, Italy, in Warsaw, Poland and at Shannon Airport in Ireland.
Who's still at Guantánamo?
