DOZENS of protesters clad in orange prison jump suits and duffle bags over their heads gathered outside Churchill Square this afternoon.

Amnesty International campaigners staged the demonstration outside the Brighton shopping centre at 1pm, to raise awareness of 40 terror suspects who are jailed by the United States at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Calling for the facility to close, they stood silent on the street while holding pictures of the alleged terrorists.

According to the group, the men have been in detention for almost 20 years without a trial or without being formally charged with a crime.

The Argus: Protesters held pictures of the 40 men inside the prison Protesters held pictures of the 40 men inside the prison

Sarah Birch of the Lewes Amnesty Group told The Argus those detained have been ‘torn away from their loved ones’.

"It could be any of us. These people that are detained are fathers, children, brothers and sisters.

"They have been torn away from their loved ones.

"Even someone who has been convicted of murder in the UK gets to have visits from their children and their family.

"So not only are they being held without charge or trial but they are being held incommunicado with their families."

The Argus: Some wore duffle bags over their heads Some wore duffle bags over their heads

Guantanamo Bay was set up under President George W Bush as part of the “War on Terror” in the wake of the bombing of the World Trade Center in 2001.

The military prison houses militants and suspected terrorists captured by the US.

The Argus previously reported on the case of Omar Deghayes from Saltdean who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. He was held captive until his release in 2007.

Amnesty has called on the USA to stop executions, free refugee children, close Guantanamo and stop police brutality. For more visit: amnesty.org