Tens of political activists have gathered in front of the White House, calling on US President Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo Bay Prison in Cuba, Press TV reports.
The protesters in Washington DC wore prison-style jumpsuits in support of the 166 prisoners being held at the notorious US prison.
As a result of the protest, Pennsylvania Avenue was closed down.
Reports say more than two-thirds of the inmates at the prison are currently on hunger strike.
Å“Itâ„¢s a big difference to know that youâ„¢re on hunger strike and that youâ„¢re probably going to die from it,” human rights activist and hunger striker, Diane Wilson said.
Wilson, on her 10th day of hunger strike in solidarity with the inmates, locked herself to the fence of the White House, demanding Obama to close the prison.
Å“We need to see much more leadership on the part of our nationâ„¢s leaders, in particularly President [Barack] Obama who has the power, not only to close Guantanamo but to release prisoners,” a protester said.
On Saturday, a number of attorneys representing the hunger striking inmates said the prison officials had threatened their clients with humiliating body searches as a tactic to dissuade them from meeting with their lawyers.
The hunger strike at the infamous US military detention facility originally began in early February and has drastically surged in recent weeks.
The detaineeâ„¢s refusal to eat came as an effort to protest the searching of their personal belongings by prison guards as well as their indefinite detention without any charges or the right to a trial.
The US forces recently resorted to force-feeding some of the striking captives via tubes through their nose and into their stomach.
This is while most of the 166 detainees being held at the jail have been cleared for release or have never been charged.
SZH/SS
This article originally appeared on : Press TV