A jury trial for five anti-torture activists begins on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 in D.C. Superior Court before Judge Fisher. They are charged with unlawful conduct in the citizen’s gallery at the House of Representatives on June 23, 2011, and face jail time if convicted.
“Our strategy is to put Guantanamo on trial,” says Josie Setzler, a human rights advocate and grandmother from Ohio, “and demand that Congress and the President close Guantanamo and restore the U.S. Constitution.” The press conference will discuss the court case and the larger issues of torture, Guantanamo, and the NDAA.
The defendants — Brian Hynes of the Bronx, NY, Judith Kelly of Washington, DC, Mike Levinson of New Rochelle, NY, Carmen Trotta of New York City, NY, and Josie Setzler of Freemont, Ohio—were among fourteen originally arrested and charged. All are members of Witness Against Torture, which will maintain a solemn presence of “detainees” in orange jumpsuits and blacks hoods outside the courthouse for the duration of the trial.
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