Feature: Chicago activists protest against "black site"

Dressed in orange jail uniform, black mask on her face, Lina Thorne shouted loudly "Stop Torture, America can't wait, World can't wait" before the alleged "black site" Homan Square, in the west of Chicago, on Saturday with a crowd of protesters.

Thorne said in her speech that torture by police is everywhere, and should stop as soon as possible.

Thorne is from an organization called World Can't Wait. After the speech, she covered her face with the black mask again, stood on the snow-covered roadside with another protester dressed in the same attire, holding a banner screaming "shut down Guantanamo".

The Guardian said Tuesday in an investigative report that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) operates an off-the-books interrogation compound in Homan Square, but the police denied the claims Tuesday night, saying that "CPD abides by all laws, rules and guidelines pertaining to any interviews of suspects or witnesses, at Homan Square or any other CPD facility."

In response to the Guardian report, a coalition of activists including Chicago World Can't Wait, Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo, and the Black Lives Matter Movement held a protest Saturday afternoon trying to Shut Down Homan Square.

Standing outside the Square, protesters delivered speeches one by one, condemning the police fiercely. They also shouted slogans like "Freedom first", "Send the tortures to Jail" and "Black life matters".

Someone also demanded a public inspection of Homan Square, asking the police to open the door to prove to them if there were no torture inside the building.

Some also ask how many people were jailed in the building, but the police did not respond. The protesters also called on more people to join the activities to shut down Home square through social media such as twitter and facebook.

On the facebook account of a group named Shut Down Homan Square, organizer "the Chicago Anonymous" said they also demand all people arrested in Chicago be booked immediately upon arrest and given access to a phone with which they can call an attorney.

During Saturday's demonstration, one organizer who called himself Ivavis Mcdermont told Xinhua that he trusted the Guardian story. "It does happen everyday in this country. The torture of police caused many miserable stories not only in America, but also Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries. I will never stop this protest until torture is finished, and the justice comes," he noted. Enditem