Protest at 'Guantanamo supplier'

Protesters dressed in orange gave a birthday cake to the firm

People campaigning for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay military prison have protested outside a Birmingham factory which they claim supplies chains to it.

The demonstration at Hiatt was held on the fifth anniversary of the US-run camp opening in Cuba.

Protesters, including the Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign, called for the release of prisoners and handed over a birthday cake to the firm.

A spokesman for Hiatt, in Great Barr, refused to comment.

Groups involved in the protest included Amnesty International and Reprieve, a UK charity which represents British residents being held at the camp.

When I was in Guantanamo Bay, one of the things I pointed out to my lawyer was how it was ironic that these shackles were made in England, just like me and him Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo detainee 'My life since Guantanamo'

Organisers of the protest said campaigners dressed in orange clothing similar to that worn by Guantanamo Bay inmates.

Activists arrived at the protest on a truck with a political folk band singing Happy Birthday to mark the camp opening on 11 January 2002.

Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg, from Birmingham, said: "When I was in Guantanamo Bay, one of the things I pointed out to my lawyer was how it was ironic that these shackles were made in England, just like me and him.

"It was very bizarre. Those shackles would often cut into my arms and legs and make me bleed."

A number of protests have been organised around the world on Thursday to coincide with the anniversary, including one outside the US Embassy in London.

The Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign says it raises awareness of imprisonment without trial at the camp and similar US prisons around the globe.