The US consulate in Edinburgh was picketed by demonstrators dressed as detainees from Guantanamo Bay yesterday as part of a worldwide protest marking five years of terrorism suspects being held at the Cuban-based military prison.

Around 40 protesters, most wearing orange boiler suits, gathered in the capital to call for Guantanamo's immediate closure. Eight British residents are believed to be in the prison.

Similar protests took place at US embassies and consulates in London, Washington DC, Tokyo, Rome and Israel.

Glasgow Green MSP Patrick Harvie, who joined the protest, said: "The US has been transporting prisoners to Guantanamo for five years now, and not one trial has taken place. The people held there are all being denied any meaningful kind of justice, and it is the responsibility of decent societies to stand up against this and demand the closure of Guantanamo and the ending of US policies which depend on torture and inhumane treatment."

There are about 400 prisoners in the jail. In its five years, 770 have been held there and only 10 have been charged.

Around 40 prisoners have tried to hang themselves, three successfully, and there are fears others are being driven insane by torture and sensory deprivation.

Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan, who hosted the screening of a film about the prison at Holyrood yesterday, called it a "blot on the landscape of human rights".