FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2009

CONTACT: Matt Daloisio, 201-264-4424, daloisio@earthlink.net; Helen Schietinger, 202-722-4333, h.schietinger@verizon.net

On Thursday, April 30th, 62 members of Witness Against Torture were arrested at the gates of the White House demanding that the Obama administration support a criminal inquiry into torture under the Bush administration and release innocent detainees still held at Guantanamo. Facing the White House, each of the arrestees wore the name of a Guantanamo inmate who had been cleared for release or who had died at the prison. A giant banner they carried read "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied."

"We sent a powerful message to the Obama administration and beyond," said Witness Against Torture's Matthew Daloisio, "that the rule of law can be restored only if the law is enforced. President Obama cannot deny indefinitely the mounting evidence of torture under Bush, and must move to hold those who committed, ordered, and justified torture to account."

"We came to Obama's door," said arrestee Carmen Trotta "to represent the humanity and need for justice of those still held at Guantanamo, many of whom are innocent of allegations of terrorism. The crime of indefinite detention must end now. True change means breaking with the detention policies of the Bush administration."

The arrestees were charged with "failure to obey a lawful order" when they refused to leave the White House sidewalk. They were released several hours after their arrest.

Witness Against Torture will continue its activities until the prison at Guantanamo and similar facilities are closed, torture is decisively banned, and those who devised torture policies and committed acts of torture are held to account.

Witness Against Torture formed in 2005 when 25 activists went to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to protest outside the detention camp. The April 30 demonstration concluded Witness Against Torture's 100 Days Campaign to Close Guantanamo and End Torture. During the campaign, WAT activists have held a daily vigil at the White House, brought protest signs to confirmation and other congressional hearings, lobbied lawmakers to change detention policies, and hosted numerous public events in the Washington area.

###