MEDIA
RELEASE: Human Rights Activists to Mark International Day in Support of Victims
of Torture, 26 June, with Vigil in Trafalgar Square, 6-8pm
25
June 2013 - for immediate release
The
London Guantánamo Campaign [1] and human rights activists will hold a vigil to
mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture [2] on the north side
of Trafalgar Square, outside the National Gallery, at 6-8pm today, on Wednesday
26 June. Activists will hold up placards in multiple languages calling for an
end to the practice of torture and wearing T-shirts bearing the same message
[3].
Aisha
Maniar, organiser and a spokesperson for the London Guantánamo Campaign, says,
"The theme of this year’s action, across the world, is the right to
rehabilitation [4]. This includes the right to justice and redress. In the UK,
this is not always forthcoming, particularly with the enactment of the Justice
and Security Act 2013 [5] and large-scale cuts to legal aid that effectively
close the doors of justice in the faces of victims.
“Over
the past year, across Europe, we have also seen a decline by states in their
efforts to investigate collusion in extraordinary rendition. This is in spite
of positive results in favour of victims through the judicial process at both
the European Court of Human Rights and in Italy [6] as well as by the European
Parliament [7]. States must demonstrate their commitment to human rights and
the rule of law and not give up their duty to investigate and offer real
remedies to victims of their collusion in torture over the past decade.”
ENDS
NOTES
TO EDITORS
1. The
London Guantánamo Campaign campaigns for justice for all prisoners at
Guantánamo Bay, for the closure of this and other secret prisons, and an end to
the practice of extraordinary rendition. http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com
The
London Guantánamo Campaign will mark International Day in Support of Victims of
Torture, on 26 June, with a vigil in Trafalgar Square at 6-8pm: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/26-june-public-rally-for-international.html
2. In
1998, the United Nations consecrated 26 June each year as International Day in
Support of Victims of Torture: http://www.un.org/en/events/torturevictimsday/
3. The
London Guantánamo Campaign has collaborated with All Riot T-shirts to produce
three T-shirts specifically on the anti-torture theme: www.allriot.com
5. The
Justice and Security Act 2013 received royal assent on 25 April 2013. http://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2013/06/11/tom-hickman-turning-out-the-lights-the-justice-and-security-act-2013/
6. In the
cases of Al Masri v FYR Macedonia [2012] at the European Court of Human
Rights http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/eu/cases/ECHR/2012/2067.html&query=title+%28+masri+%29&method=boolean and in the case of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr
heard by the Italian Court of Cassation and Milan Court of Appeal in 2012 and
2013 respectively against CIA and Italian intelligence agents.
