Activists Gather in Chicago Urging to Shut Down Secret Detention Facility

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Dozens of protesters took it to the streets of Chicago on Saturday demanding to shut down the police interrogation "black site" at the city's Homan Square.

“For too long, we as Americans have been subject to brutality at the hands of the police… Specifically black people, poor people and Latino people,” activist Brian Jacob Church said when addressing the crowd Saturday as quoted by The Guardian.

“This building needs to be shut down,” he stated.

During the protest, demonstrators blamed Chicago Mayor Rahm Immanuel and US President Barack Obama for facility’s operations.

According to the Shut Down Homan Square page on Facebook the rally was scheduled to begin at 12:00 local time (18:00 GMT).

On February 24, The Guardian reported that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) was using an abandoned warehouse at Chicago's Homan Square as a site to interrogate criminal suspects. The detained were beaten and held for prolonged periods of time without having an access to a lawyer.

Earlier this month, activists gathered in Chicago in another rally, demanding the closure of the facility.

However, the Chicago Police Department denied evidence that physical violence is a part of interviews with suspects, and emphasized the facility's role as a special unit headquarters.