Calendar

We’re excited to announce that Equal Exchange will be donating a portion of their sales to IRTF when you shop their online store. 

From now through January 16, when you use discount code IRTF10 on any order at equalexchange.coop, you’ll get 10% off your entire order, plus 10% will be donated to IRTF, directly supporting our solidarity work. Find organic and fairly traded coffees, teas, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, dried fruits, and even olive oil—all from small farmer co-ops, available by the case for stocking up.

But wait, there’s more! If you choose to continue shopping at equalexchange.coop in the future after the Give 10%, Get 10% code has expired, you can always use donation code IRTFDonate to ensure that 10% of your purchase will be donated back to us. 

2 promo codes to use when shopping from equalexchange.coop: A “Give 10/Get 10” short-term code: IRTF10 (12/1/25 - 12/31/25) + an ongoing Donation code: IRTFDonate starting 1/1/26 for 10% of order to be donated to IRTF.

Equal Exchange was founded in 1986 to support small farmers in Nicaragua by importing their coffee despite the US embargo against the Sandinista Government. Forty years later, this worker-owned co-op continues to prove that a more democratic food system is possible.

Your purchases enables us to continue our ongoing human rights work.

to shop Equal Exchange click here

Make your new year's resolution to be a revolutionary! Please join the Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community for our Palestine Advocacy 101 event, an opportunity to connect with us and our coalition partners, learn more about our work, and find ways to get more involved. The event will be Saturday, January 10 from 2-4 PM at Harbor and Bridge on 4321 Bridge Ave, Cleveland. You'll have the opportunity to learn more about CPAC, connect with our coalition organizations, and plan your next steps to fight for justice in Palestine and in Cleveland!

Join us with Witness against Torture members, faith communities, university students  and others on Monday January 12th, for a witness at the Celebreeze Federal Building at East 9th & Lakeside from Noon to 1:30 pm. We will witness with signs, banners, and flyers inside and outside the Federal Building.  

Witness Against Torture formed in 2005 when 25 Americans went to Guantánamo Bay and attempted to visit the detention facility. Once they returned from that journey, they began to organize more broadly to shut down Guantánamo, working with interfaith, human rights and activists’ organizations. They have planned a series of nonviolent direct actions to expose and decry the administration’s lawlessness, build awareness about torture and indefinite detention amongst Americans and forge human ties with the prisoners at Guantánamo and their families.

See the Facebook event here

https://www.facebook.com/share/19zi5E1cSN/ 

More from Witness Against Torture (WAT)

January 9 @ 8pm ET:  Jeremy and Frida discuss Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War.  The Friday WAT Zoom gathering features Jeremy Varon -- who wrote the book -- and Frida Berrigan -- who reviewed it. Join us to discuss WAT's role in resisting the US War on Terror after 9/11.  (Hint: You're not required to read it first, but you'll want to after this Zoom circle!)

Join the GTMOClock: On J11, Guantanamo will have been open for 8,767 days.  Print out the poster, photograph vigilers holding it, and send Andy the photos for the GTMO Clock website.

January 11 @ 4 pm ET:  Story-telling with Mansoor is the theme of the Sunday WAT Zoom gathering.  Mansoor Adayfi will talk about what he was doing on the inside while we were busy in the streets on the outside -- and what he's up to today (right now he's on a hunger strike -- read his article listed below).  Come to this gathering with your own memories to share. 

Be a sustaining WAT member!

Wanted: a few more small, monthly donations ($10-25) to support WAT's ongoing expenses.  Click here.

WAT's has a small budget to cover the costs of communication and outreach (the website is also our archive: check it out!).

So if you're one of the people who sends a small donation each month, thank you!  Now we need a few more monthly donors to keep us secure:
 

Click to donate to Witness Against Torture!    

Help the Guantanamo Survivors Fund support more survivors 

The Guantanamo Survivors Fund continues to raise money and send it to Guantanamo survivors abandoned by the U.S.  WAT has always demanded government accountability and reparations for survivors, and we refuse to stand by while they suffer.  WAT members are a vital source of funding for the Guantanamo Survivors Fund.  
 

Please donate now!  

Food for thought (and for groaning)

Jeremy Varon's new book -- Our Grief is Not a Cry for War: The Movement to Stop the War on Terror -- is a powerful history of the global protest movement against the 'War on Terror,' including, of course, Witness Against Torture.

Mansoor Adayfi explains: Why I am on hunger strike in solidarity with Pal Action detainees!    

Andy Worthington has written an article whose title says it all: “More Horrific Than Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo”: The Unsalvageable Depravity of Israel’s Prisons for Palestinians

And Andy's recent article walks us through the 24-year history of Guantanamo Prison. 

Call Your Representatives

You can find your House and Senate representative’s contact information here.
You can also call the White House (202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414), the US embassy in Cuba (305-326-2755) and Southern Command (305-437-1213), which oversees the running of the prison.

We have provided some talking points below. You can read our News updates and also follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more up to date information on what is happening at Guantánamo Bay Prison.

• Each Guantánamo detainee must either be charged and fairly tried in federal court, or be released to countries that will respect their human rights.
• Expedite the release of those that are cleared. 35 of the current prisoners have been cleared for release, yet they continue to languish behind bars. Justice delayed is justice denied.
• Release the men who have been tortured. The US is a signatory of the UN Convention Against Torture. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has reported that the Guantánamo Bay prison is non-compliant to this Convention and has named indefinite detention as a form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s Torture Report has extensively documented instances of torture by the CIA. Some of the victims are currently housed in Guantánamo.
• Provide reasonable resettlement options, including torture treatment services and reparations. To ensure accountability for torture and indefinite detention, released prisoners should be provided with critical social services to facilitate their re-entry into society.
• Publicly acknowledge and apologize for the egregious human rights violation at Guantánamo during the War on Terror. This acknowledgement is essential for preventing torture, indefinite detention, and other violations from being perpetrated by future administrations.
• Close the base. The U.S. must immediately relinquish Cuba’s sovereign territory.

The Cleveland Mediation Center will teach us about De-Escalation with opportunities to practice the skills.

The session will cover:

• What is conflict?
• Preparing yourself for de-escalation
• How demographics come into play
• De-escalation techniques
• De-escalation practice

to register click here

Join us in person at 6:30 for heavy appetizers or online starting at 6:45. The Zoom link will be provided in the confirmation email. 

So if you missed Parts 1 and 2 of the series that were presented in November and December at our Chapter Gatherings, you will have an opportunity to experience both of them on: 

Saturday, January 24th 

Registration:  RSVP to reserve seat to: racialequitybuddies@gmail.com

Suzanne Zilber from SURJ NEO and Josiah Quarles from Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless will co-faciitate this event sponsored by Racial Equity Buddies.   

Our part 2 verison for this training will be improved by the feedback we received on December 9th.

This training is informed by successful international movements to resist dictators and authoritarian rule.

 Participants will learn

● How to identify institutions that uphold regimes

● Strategies for how to make demands and then encourage cooperation, or impose costs on those institutions.

The emphasis is on nonviolent noncooperation tactics. The training is interactive and we will practice the application to local threats.