CPTnet
27 January 2006

TORONTO/WASHINGTON: Final "Shine the Light" vigils for Iraqi detainees
scheduled for Sunday, 29 January

Since 15 January CPT has held daily vigils in Canada, U.S. and the U.K.,
continuing the work of Jim Loney, Norman Kember, Tom Fox and Harmeet Sooden,
who have been missing in Iraq since November 26, 2005. On Sunday, 29
January, Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) and their supporters in Toronto
will gather at the SE corner of Yonge and Dundas for the final of fourteen
dramatic processions "Shining the Light" on the suffering of ordinary
Iraqis, exposing the abuses of Iraqi detainees and calling for an end to the
U.S.-led military occupation of Iraq.

The procession will include a street theatre performance calling for an end
to the human rights abuses in Iraq and will conclude at the U.S. Consulate,
calling for justice for the 16,000 Iraqis detained without trial by U.S.
troops and for an end to the occupation of Iraq. Five people dressed as
hooded detainees, representing all persons held captive by war and
occupation, will lead the procession.

In Washington, D.C. these vigils have begun at institutions that bear key
responsibility for the war in Iraq and have ended in processions to the
White House. Over the next three days, those institutions will include the
Veterans' Administration, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the
White House.

The call to "Shine the Light" on the abuse of detainees and hostage-taking
comes out of CPT's advocacy for Iraqi detainees and their families since
2003. This advocacy was partially responsible for the 2004 disclosure of
the abuses committed by U.S. soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison. Journalist
Seymour Hersch, who broke the stories of the Abu Ghraib abuses to the
mainstream media, has referred to the work of CPT's Iraq team as "cutting
edge."

"Shine the Light" also ties into the disappearance two months ago of four
CPT workers. Christian Peacemaker Teams released a statement on 26 January
saying

"Those of us in CPT and the families of Jim, Norman, Tom and Harmeet
continue to feel their absence acutely. We worry about their physical and
emotional well-being and long to see them, speak to them and be with them
again. We know that thousands of Iraqi families share our grief and
yearning as they wait for loved ones caught in a prison system over which
they have no control. We also know that the world cares less about their
fate than it does about westerners currently in captivity, and for this, we
are truly sorry."

For photographs and other materials, please consult our website:
www.cpt.org/iraq/shinethelight.php for schedule of daily processions,
parallel events, and other materials. People interested in covering the
Washington vigils should contact Cliff Kindy at light@cpt.org ,
312-933-0546, or the Washington Peace Center: 202-234-2000.