Getting a Glimpse of Guantanamo

Published on May 9, 2008 - 9:42:49 AM

By: Amnesty International

May 8, 2008 -- Amnesty International is bringing a life-size model of a maximum security cell at Guantanamo to cities across the USA. The tour is a way to enable people in the United States to get a glimpse of the harsh realities of illegal detention and prolonged isolation.

Most of the detainees at Guantanamo are held in isolation, many of them with virtually no access to natural light or contact with other human beings, for up to 24 hours a day. Compounding their suffering is the fact that they have no indication of when or if they will be freed from Guantanamo.

Most are detained without charge. Those who have been charged face unfair trials by military commission. Some may face execution.

Starting in Miami on 8 May, the tour will make a stop in Washington D.C. on 26 June, to mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Visitors to the cell are encouraged to enter and to experience the conditions of isolation and then share their experience in a video message. Watch a panoramic photo from inside the model cell to get an idea. And before leaving, they can also take action to end illegal US detentions at Guantanamo and elsewhere.

Follow the cell as it travels across the USA:

* View the videos and leave your comments: http://celltour.amnesty.org/

* Watch the pictures of the cell in Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/counter-terror-with-justice/sets/72157604707494130/

Website: www.amnesty.org

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