On 23 January, around 500 people turned out for a demonstration calling for justice for the British detainees held in Guantanamo Bay.
Organised by a coalition of the Save Omar, Birmingham Guantanamo, Manchester Guantanamo and Belmarsh campaigns, the aim of the day was to highlight the continuing detention without trial of nine British residents, the credible allegations of routine torture tactics used against detainees, and the ongoing hunger strike at the military prison. One of the detainees - Omar Deghayes - has, along with an estimated 250 others, been on hunger strike for several months. The US military confirmed that they were force-feeding several of the men - a policy also applied during the 2002 hunger strike. In related news, December saw 25 US Christian peace activists set out from Santiago, Cuba, on a 50-mile march to Guantanamo Bay, also in protest of the treatment of the detainees. Susan Crane, one of the marchers, said, “I think it's important for the world to know that there's not a consensus in this country that torture is OK.”