Albany High Students Protest Guantanamo

Wearing orange prisoner suits and black hoods, members of the Amnesty International Club at Albany High School staged a protest on Solano Avenue calling for the closure of the U.S. prisoner-of-war camp at Guantanamo Bay.

"It's the 11th anniversary of the opening (of the camp)," said junior Nelia Leemans, one of 10 club members participating in the demonstration, which included a mock prisoner cage and took place under the BART overpass.

"It's unjust and unfair because a lot of people are held without trial and without reason," she said.

Some drivers honked in support as they passed the protest, which was scheduled for 2:30-4 p.m.

"We're here to demand that Obama and Congress close Guantanamo immediately," said William Butkus, a Western region field organizer for Amnesty International who accompanied the high school protesters. "There are 166 detainees still in Guantanamo, and many have been in there up to 10 years without trial or charges and who are eligible for release."

The Albany High club was ranked the top high school Amnesty International high school branch in the nation last year, Butkus said.

Students involved in the protest included Leemans, junior Will Colin-Diamond, senior Aya Folk, junior Maria Frauenfelder, junior Rachel Gill, junior Joanne Kirkby, sophomore Sonya Solano and sophomore Alejandra Zeiger.

Protests against Guantanamo were held Friday also in Washington, D.C., London and elsewhere.