PRESS RELEASE from Amnesty International USA via PRNewswire-USNewswire

Amnesty International USA Brings Guantanamo Cell Replica to St. Paul

Human Rights Organization Will Tour Cell across the Nation Urging the Bush Administration to Close Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) will bring its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica to Saint Paul, Minnesota starting Sunday, August 31 through Wednesday, September 3. Visitors are encouraged to experience the cell and push the Bush administration to shut down Guantanamo.

AIUSA's executive director Larry Cox will hold a media availability to discuss the organization's human rights concerns about Guantanamo on Monday, September 1, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in front of the cell replica. Visitors may tour the cell and record a 30-second reaction video that will be posted on youtube.com and AIUSA's tearitdown.org, as well as sign the global petition to shut Guantanamo down. On the outside of the cell are large LCD screens showing a timeline of illegal U.S. detentions and torture, as well as related facts and quotes.

The cell is a replica of a Camp 5 cell. It brings to life the harsh realities of illegal detention to concerned citizens and highlights the human rights violations that Guantanamo symbolizes. The cell includes a steel toilet, florescent lights and a sliding metal door. Detainees reported being held in isolation in similar cells for as long as 23 hours.

Previous stops along AIUSA's national cell replica tour include Miami; Philadelphia; Portland, Maine; Washington, DC; and Denver. The cell replica will also visit Los Angeles.

EVENT: Guantanamo Prison Cell Replica Visits St. Paul

Executive director for AIUSA, Larry Cox, Media Availability

DATE: Sunday, August 31 (3-7:30 p.m.) through Wednesday, September 3
(10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.)

Media Availability, Monday, September 1 (10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.)

LOCATION: 270 W. Seventh Street

Saint Paul, MN