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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">DATE: January 2, 2007</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">FROM: <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Pioneer</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> Coalition Against Secrecy and
Torture</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Marty Nathan
413-584-1079 or <A href="mailto:martygjf@comcast.net">martygjf@comcast.net</A>
</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><STRONG>“Fifth
Anniversary of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Guantanamo</st1:City></st1:place> Prison Marked by Local Actions
Demanding Its Closure”</STRONG></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">On Thursday, January 11 the Pioneer Valley
Coalition Against Secrecy and Torture (PVCAST) will mark the fifth anniversary
of the opening of the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>
prison at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Guantanamo</st1:City></st1:place> with a “Shut Down Guantanamo”
demonstration from noon to 1 pm on the lawn of First Churches, <st1:address
w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">129 Main Street</st1:Street>, <st1:City
w:st="on">Northampton</st1:City></st1:address>.</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US">In <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Amherst</st1:City></st1:place> the January 11<SUP>th</SUP> anniversary
will be marked by a candlelight vigil on the Common at 7 pm followed at 7:30 by
the showing of a short film at the Unitarian Society of Amherst, <st1:Street
w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">121 North Pleasant
Street</st1:address></st1:Street>. Speaking on the Common and at greater
length at the film showing will be Attorney Buz Eisenberg who helped secure the
repatriation of a young Saudi detainee in 2004 and currently serves on a legal
team seeking habeas corpus rights for many other detainees. The film, produced
by Amnesty International, is titled "Outlawed: Rendition, Torture and
Disappearances in the War on Terror". The Amherst events are sponsored by the
local social justice group SAGE and the Amherst group of Amnesty International,
in cooperation with PVCAST.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">In the past five years more than one thousand men
and boys have been imprisoned at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Guantanamo</st1:City></st1:place>. Accounts of cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment have been condemned by the United Nations, Human Rights
Watch and other reputable bodies. </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Not a single prisoner has been charged, tried or
convicted of any crime. Many have been released because no evidence has been
found against them, but more than 430 men remain in indefinite detention without
hope of release.</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Far from shutting down
the prison, a permanent prison has recently been built and the Defense
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Department
is claiming the right to build a new courthouse at <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Guantanamo</st1:City></st1:place>, without
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Congressional approval,
at an estimated cost of $125 million, in spite of an already existing courtroom.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">PVCAST was formed last year to educate the public
about and demand an end to government sanctioned torture, “extraordinary
rendition” (<SPAN class=textblurbtorture>abducting foreign nationals for
detention and interrogation in secret overseas prisons)</SPAN> and domestic
surveillance of American citizens. The Coalition held a community forum last
spring and is currently circulating a petition asking for the repeal of the
Military Commissions Act<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
</SPAN>which further deprives <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Guantanamo</st1:City></st1:place> detainees of fair treatment and fair
trials.</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The actions on January 11, 2007 are part of an
“International Day to Shut Down Guantanamo.” Local endorsers include the Western
Mass AFSC, ACLU of Massachusetts,<SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> </SPAN>Smith College Group and
Groups 76 and 128 Amnesty International, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Arise
for Social Justice, Buddhist Peace Fellowship-Pioneer Valley, Granby / South
Hadley Peace and Justice Committee, Justice for Woody, Men’s Resource Center,
Northampton Committee to Stop the War in Iraq, Out Now, Pioneer Valley
Interfaith Coalition for Peace and Justice, Rosenberg Fund for Children, SAGE,
and Social Workers for Peace and Justice.<SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </SPAN></P>
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