WNYPC’s Charley Bowman brave protest -> Arrest, Release, No Charges!!
We are proud and grateful to Charley for putting himself on the line – again – pushing the envelope to protest Guantanamo, Torture and the war on Yemen. He was arrested with 4 others for bannering on the Supreme Court steps. See the press release below for more info.
Charley was held overnight in a very cold cell, with his belt taken away, and appeared in court the following day. After appearing in court, he was taken elsewhere, his personal belonging returned and – no bail, charges, or subsequent appearance needed.
We are grateful to Charley, the other arrestees – including those risking arrest at a sit-in at Sen. McConnelll’s office – and the other activists and organizers, including Kathy Kelly and Brian Terrell of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, the whole Witness Against Torture team, and WNYPC members Tom Casey (chair – Pax Christi WNY; Veterans for Peace #128); and Martin Gugino (Latin American Solidarity Committee treasurer). Another small victory in the struggle. #UnitetheStruggles.
Buffalonian Arrested for Bannering on the Supreme Court Steps at “Stop Torture” protest
Activists Participate in weeklong fast calling on the U.S. to Stop Support for the Murderous War in Yemen and Close the Prison Camp at Guantanamo. On January 9, 2019, five human rights activists, including Dr. Charley Bowman, WNY Peace Center Board Member and past director (and Chair of the WNYPC Environmental Justice Taskforce), were arrested while bannering on the Supreme Court steps, protesting all forms of torture. Their banner stated: “We Target. We Torture. We Terrify,” followed by the question “Who Are We?”
Joining them were dozens of protesters who formed a tableau to denounce US-backed war on Yemen and call for closure of Guantanamo.
Alongside the banner, 36 children’s bookbags were scattered atop bloodied shrouds. Each backpack bore the name of a Yemeni child killed on August 9, 2019 when a Saudi warplane dropped a Lockheed Martin 500 lb. laser guided bomb on their school bus. Remembering the nine prisoners who died in Guantanamo, activists clad in jumpsuits and hoods laid down on bloodied shrouds, across from the backpacks.
The backpacks will be coming to Buffalo for a future protest.
While Supreme Court security guards handcuffed those holding the banner, supporters sang:
“Know where you stand. No more war. Know where you stand and stand there.”
Activists gathered for a week of fasting and action that marks January 11, the seventeenth year since Muslim men have been imprisoned in Guantanamo. “The misery of Muslim people continues,” said Dr. Maha Hilal after reading the names of the Yemeni children being commemorated along with the names of nine Muslim men who have died in Guantanamo.
Below
Photo caption: Witness Against Torture
activists demonstrate at Supreme Court
Photo credits (both): Steve Pavey
Witness Against Torture activists demonstrate at the Supreme Court.jpeg
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