Sunday, May 18, 2025 @ 12:15 PM
Benson Memorial United Methodist Church
4706 Creedmoor Rd, Raleigh
It has been 23 years since the U.S. opened an offshore prison for Muslim men at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The U.S. government chose this location to escape the rule of law—allowing it to detain men secretly and torture with impunity. Hundreds of Muslim men have passed through Guantanamo, and today, 15 remain. Three of them are slated to be held forever, without charge or trial. Now, in 2025, the Trump Administration is expanding Guantanamo once again—this time to imprison immigrants. The President has suggested as many as 30,000 immigrants could be detained there. What can we do to push back?
The event will begin with lunch, followed by a panel discussion moderated by the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director of the North Carolina Council of Churches. Panelists include:
- Yumna Rizvi, Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Victims of Torture, who will speak on the ongoing use of Guantanamo in the U.S. “War on Terror”
- Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell, who previously served as an Infantry Officer in the North Carolina Army National Guard and as an Adjunct Professor of Political Theology and Ethics at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Arlington, VA, and was a member of the NC Commission of Inquiry on Torture
- Joe Furtick, a paralegal with the Immigration Office of Church World Service Durham, who will address the threats facing immigrants and how we can help
Following the panel we will take action together to mobilize against this expansion of injustice.
Schedule of Events:
12:15 PM: Lunch
1 PM : Panel Discussion
3 PM: Action
REGISTER HERE NOW: https://ncchurches.org/event-single/guantanamos-future-detention-expansion-and-resistance
This event is sponsored by the North Carolina Council of Churches and NC Stop Torture Now.
Co-sponsors: Amnesty International, USA, Group 213, Raleigh; North Carolina Peace Action; Veterans for Peace, Eisenhower Chapter 157.