NEWS:
http://www.reprieve.org.uk/press/2013_01_11_after_11yrs_gtmo_brit_still_imprisoned/
A new petition has been put together calling on the Canadian government to release Omar Khadr and seeking his reintegration into Canadian society: sign here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/omar-khadr-takeastandforjustice/
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/25/3200788/appeals-court-throws-out-terrorism.html
This reversal of a Guantánamo military tribunal conviction follows that of Salim Hamdan, which was overturned in October 2012, as the offence of “providing material support for terrorism” did not exist at the time of the actual offence. The US government had until 18 January to appeal this decision, but did not. The question of whether the judgment in the Hamdan case could apply to other cases was one of the issues considered in the Al-Bahlul case.
At the end of January, the cases of five men accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001 resumed at Guantánamo Bay. Although still at pre-trial stage, the key Hamdan ruling has also had an impact on this case. Anticipating the possible overturning of the conviction for conspiracy, which is not considered a war crime, the chief prosecutor in this case Brigadier General Mark Martins asked for the conspiracy charges against the five defendants in the case to be dismissed and for them not to be tried on this count. Although dismissing these charges could undermine the rest of the case, following the judgment in the Hamdan case, a conviction for conspiracy could be appealed and later result in the case, and a conviction made, being thrown out. The five defendants potentially face the death penalty. This request was turned down by the Pentagon. Undeterred, however, Mark Martins has applied again, following the reversal of the Al-Bahlul conviction, which saw a conviction for conspiracy overturned. This has led to a public dispute between the prosecutor it appointed and the Pentagon over whether the US can charge terrorism suspects with offences that are not considered as such under international law. An excellent comment on this in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/sunday-review/military-tribunals-and-international-war-crimes.html?_r=1&
The pre-trial hearings resumed on 28 January. The defendants attended the first day, during which controversy arose after audio to observers at the hearing was cut for three minutes after one of the defence lawyers representing the five prisoners asked if the court needed to meet in secret closed session to discuss some matters, raising questions about whether there is external censorship of the proceedings unknown to those in court: http://rt.com/usa/news/sound-cut-september-11-992/ Pre-trials motions will be discussed all of this week, including a motion by the defence to have the black site secret prisons the five men were held at in various locations around the world, including within the European Union, preserved as evidence.
In the US, the re-inauguration was marred by controversy when at a party to celebrate the inauguration, famous US rap star Lupe Fiasco openly criticised President Obama on his poor first-term record on foreign relations, particularly with respect to war and the Palestinians: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ewU8xoDVY
In the UK, veteran peace campaigner Lindis Percy from the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) was arrested outside the US military base at Menwith Hill for holding up an upside down US flag with the words ‘NOW THEN….SECOND AND ONLY CHANCE OBAMA’
http://www.caab.org.uk/about/caab-reports Ms Percy has been bailed but not charged.
Barely weeks into his second term, President Obama has continued to show his resolve not to close Guantánamo by closing the office of the special envoy for the closure of Guantánamo Bay. Daniel Fried, who has held the post since it was created in 2009 early on in President Obama’s first term, has been re-assigned to another office and the office he was responsible for has closed. Its duties, which including working out diplomatic agreements for the transfer of prisoners, have been reassigned to the office of the State Department’s legal adviser. The removal of a senior official responsible for this task almost immediately into President Obama’s second term shows that the issue is no longer of priority to his administration, in spite of his verbal statements that he would still like to see Guantánamo Bay close: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/us/politics/state-dept-closes-office-working-on-closing-guantanamo-prison.html
The London Guantánamo
Campaign marked the 11th anniversary of the prison camp at Guantánamo
Bay with a day of action on Friday 11 January. The actions consisted of four walking
tours between embassies recounting the journeys of four prisoners to Guantánamo
Bay and a vigil outside the US Embassy on a fairly cold evening attended by over
70 people. Many thanks to everyone who took part, helped in the preparations
and on the day.
To coincide with the anniversary, Aisha Maniar and Val Brown from the LGC gave interviews to Russia Today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiW9GIaCNDs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOwCgubl414
Media coverage of the tours and vigil:
Coverage of the tours:
Photographs of Shaker Aamer tour: http://www.demotix.com/news/1719753/walks-shame-follow-rendition-routes-guantanamo#media-1719592
http://www.demotix.com/news/1719753/walks-shame-follow-rendition-routes-guantanamo#media-1719592
Val Brown leading the Omar Khadr tour shot footage of readings from outside each of the embassies the tour visited:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z6D1ElFqOA (Afghan Embassy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIGEZREpkqg (Spanish Embassy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUUUfn-JAXE (Portuguese Embassy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwq5kqmQFcM (Canadian Embassy)
http://freeomarakhadr.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/remember-canada-is-complicit-in-the-ongoing-torture-of-omar-khadr/
Around 70 people braved the cold weather and joined the vigil in the evening outside the US Embassy:
Video report: http://www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=9498
News reports: http://www.wespeaknews.com/politics/candelight-vigil-to-mark-11-years-of-guantanamo-134196.html
http://aljazeera.net/humanrights/pages/639643f0-446c-4c0f-ad79-5c4c5352b4c8 (Arabic)
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/11/london-protest-marks-11-years-since-establishment-guantanamo-bay-prison/
Photo reportage: http://www.demotix.com/news/1724834/vigil-outside-us-embassy-london-11th-anniversary-guant-namo#media-1724456
http://www.demotix.com/news/1719778/vigil-marks-11-years-detention-guant-namo#media-1719777
http://www.demotix.com/news/1719240/vigil-guantanamo-bay-detainees-outside-londons-us-embassy#media-1719283
http://www.demotix.com/news/1719692/vigil-guantanamo-bay-prison-outside-us-embassy-london#media-1719522
Pictures from protests around the world: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/11/3177614/photo-gallery-01-11-095943.html
Messages of support read outside the US Embassy:
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavillion and Hove): “There is no excuse for the continued existence of Guantanamo Bay or the ongoing detention of British residents such as Shaker Aamer. The Green Party calls on President Obama to keep his promise and end what is a stain on America’s reputation globally.”
Green London MEP Jean Lambert: "11 years too long! Guantanamo Bay must close, and all remaining detainees charged with crimes or allowed to return home."
Lib Dem London MEP Sarah Ludford: "“Barack Obama must finally in his second term fulfil his promise of closing the disgraceful legal black hole of Guantanamo and rebuild the US’ human rights reputation. In any case, my constituent Shaker Aamer must return home to his family in London after 11 years of totally illegal incarceration.”
British Residents:
To mark the eleventh anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Bay on 11
January, Amnesty International UK launched a new petition calling on President
Obama to release Shaker Aamer. The petition which currently has around 20,000
signatures will be delivered to the US authorities on 14 February, the date
marking the eleventh anniversary of Shaker Aamer’s imprisonment at Guantánamo
Bay without charge or trial. The petition can be signed here.
The e-petition to the British Prime Minister currently has around 23,000
signatures: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/33133
This petition can be signed until 20 April 2013; 100,000 signatures on the
petition will lead to a debate on this issue in Parliament.
The human rights NGO Reprieve, representing Shaker Aamer, marked the 11th
anniversary with a press release calling for his release: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/press/2013_01_11_after_11yrs_gtmo_brit_still_imprisoned/
Guantánamo Bay:
Canadian former prisoner Omar Khadr, convicted at a Guantánamo military
tribunal and who is currently serving the rest of his sentence at the Milhaven
Institution in Canada as a maximum security prisoner, has recently reappointed
his former lawyer Dennis Edney: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/omar-khadr-turns-again-to-former-high-profile-lawyer-current-ones-step-down-1.53722
Mr Edney previously represented Omar Khadr when he was held at Guantánamo Bay.
He will take over from his previous lawyers in a case in which he is suing the
government for breach of his human rights. Mr Edney is also likely to appeal
Omar Khadr’s conviction at Guantánamo obtained through a secret plea bargain,
following the recent quashing of other convictions in Guantánamo military
tribunals by the US federal appeals courts. Although Omar Khadr is eligible for
day parole from March this year, as he is currently being held as a maximum
security prisoner, he is unlikely to be considered for parole for another two
years. A new petition has been put together calling on the Canadian government to release Omar Khadr and seeking his reintegration into Canadian society: sign here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/omar-khadr-takeastandforjustice/
It has been a busy month in the US courts for appeals against
convictions at Guantánamo Bay and the resumption of the trial at Guantánamo Bay
of five men accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks in New York in September
2001.
On 25 January, the
federal appeals court overturned the conviction of Ali
Hamza al-Bahlul, a Yemeni prisoner convicted by a Guantánamo military tribunal
in 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment. In this case, in a brief judgment
with no reasons given, convictions for material support for terrorism, conspiracy
and solicitation to commit war crimes were overturned. The only person to have
ever been given a life sentence out of the seven prisoners convicted at
Guantánamo Bay, he has been held alone and away from other prisoners following
his conviction. He will remain locked up in solitary confinement throughout the
three-month period the US government has to appeal.http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/25/3200788/appeals-court-throws-out-terrorism.html
This reversal of a Guantánamo military tribunal conviction follows that of Salim Hamdan, which was overturned in October 2012, as the offence of “providing material support for terrorism” did not exist at the time of the actual offence. The US government had until 18 January to appeal this decision, but did not. The question of whether the judgment in the Hamdan case could apply to other cases was one of the issues considered in the Al-Bahlul case.
At the end of January, the cases of five men accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001 resumed at Guantánamo Bay. Although still at pre-trial stage, the key Hamdan ruling has also had an impact on this case. Anticipating the possible overturning of the conviction for conspiracy, which is not considered a war crime, the chief prosecutor in this case Brigadier General Mark Martins asked for the conspiracy charges against the five defendants in the case to be dismissed and for them not to be tried on this count. Although dismissing these charges could undermine the rest of the case, following the judgment in the Hamdan case, a conviction for conspiracy could be appealed and later result in the case, and a conviction made, being thrown out. The five defendants potentially face the death penalty. This request was turned down by the Pentagon. Undeterred, however, Mark Martins has applied again, following the reversal of the Al-Bahlul conviction, which saw a conviction for conspiracy overturned. This has led to a public dispute between the prosecutor it appointed and the Pentagon over whether the US can charge terrorism suspects with offences that are not considered as such under international law. An excellent comment on this in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/sunday-review/military-tribunals-and-international-war-crimes.html?_r=1&
The pre-trial hearings resumed on 28 January. The defendants attended the first day, during which controversy arose after audio to observers at the hearing was cut for three minutes after one of the defence lawyers representing the five prisoners asked if the court needed to meet in secret closed session to discuss some matters, raising questions about whether there is external censorship of the proceedings unknown to those in court: http://rt.com/usa/news/sound-cut-september-11-992/ Pre-trials motions will be discussed all of this week, including a motion by the defence to have the black site secret prisons the five men were held at in various locations around the world, including within the European Union, preserved as evidence.
As well as marking the eleventh anniversary of the opening of the
current prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, this month also marked the inauguration
of Barack Obama to his second term as president of the United States. The London
Guantánamo Campaign issued the following press release:
http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2013/01/media-release-london-guantanamo.html,
calling on the president to “use this opportunity to put right his failings in
his first term as president and demonstrate his commitment to the rule of law
and the principles of freedom and justice he verbally espouses”. In the US, the re-inauguration was marred by controversy when at a party to celebrate the inauguration, famous US rap star Lupe Fiasco openly criticised President Obama on his poor first-term record on foreign relations, particularly with respect to war and the Palestinians: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ewU8xoDVY
In the UK, veteran peace campaigner Lindis Percy from the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) was arrested outside the US military base at Menwith Hill for holding up an upside down US flag with the words ‘NOW THEN….SECOND AND ONLY CHANCE OBAMA’
http://www.caab.org.uk/about/caab-reports Ms Percy has been bailed but not charged.
Barely weeks into his second term, President Obama has continued to show his resolve not to close Guantánamo by closing the office of the special envoy for the closure of Guantánamo Bay. Daniel Fried, who has held the post since it was created in 2009 early on in President Obama’s first term, has been re-assigned to another office and the office he was responsible for has closed. Its duties, which including working out diplomatic agreements for the transfer of prisoners, have been reassigned to the office of the State Department’s legal adviser. The removal of a senior official responsible for this task almost immediately into President Obama’s second term shows that the issue is no longer of priority to his administration, in spite of his verbal statements that he would still like to see Guantánamo Bay close: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/us/politics/state-dept-closes-office-working-on-closing-guantanamo-prison.html
Extraordinary rendition:
Lawyers for two men held at secret torture facilities in Poland in 2003
and 2004, where they were tortured and subject, among other abuses, to
waterboarding and mock executions have accused the Polish government of
stalling the investigation into Poland’s role in the CIA’s extraordinary
rendition programme to protect the collusion of senior politicians and
officials. The investigation into the allegations made by two current Guantánamo
prisoners Abd El-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah, who both “disappeared” for years and
currently have cases against Poland and Romania pending at the European Court of
Human Rights in Strasbourg for involvement in their torture, started in 2008. However,
last year, the case was transferred from prosecutors in the capital to regional
authorities. The European Parliament has also accused Poland of not doing
enough to investigate, even though credible evidence has emerged, including
documents, of the existence of a secret torture facility and receipts and
agreements relating to its operation on behalf of the CIA: http://rt.com/news/poland-investigation-cia-prisons-839/
On 29 January, lawyers
for almost 1000 prisoners held by the British forces in Iraq between 2003 and
2008 brought a judicial review before the High Court in London to call for an inquiry
into allegations of abuse by British soldiers. These allegations include claims
of sexual and physical abuse by soldiers. The claimants want the inquiry to
demonstrate that Britain broke the international laws of war through the
systematic use of torture. The Ministry of Defence has tried to block such an inquiry
for the past few years and insists, as it did in the Baha Moussa case, that any
abuse was the action of a few bad apples in the army and not the result of an
endemic and systemic culture of torture and abuse, in spite of almost 1000 victim
testimonies to the contrary. As the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War
approaches, permission for this inquiry could be both timely and vital: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/29/iraqi-detainees-demand-uk-inquiry
and http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/19/britain-guilty-systemic-torture-iraq
LGC Activities:
There was no monthly “Shut
Guantánamo!” demonstration in January. The next demonstration will on Thursday
7 February at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, W1A and then
1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s Corner, Marble Arch (Hyde Park): http://www.facebook.com/events/150885085064099/
This action marks the sixth anniversary (first one in February 2007) of our
regular demonstrations outside the US Embassy. We said we’d continue our presence
until Guantánamo closes. From the above news, it is clear that President Barack
Obama has no intention of fulfilling his promise to close Guantánamo any time
soon. Please join us: inspired by an action held by the US NGO Witness Against
Torture (www.witnesstorture.org),
the LGC will hold a “I am still waiting for…” action outside the US Embassy: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.579084985450615.167204.298743860151397&type=1
We invite you to join us with your own banner, or we’ll provide paper and
markers, stating what you are still waiting for vis-à-vis the closure of Guantánamo.
If you cannot join the action, we invite you to make your own banner, pose with
it, and send the picture to us: london.gtmo@gmail.com
The London Guantánamo
Campaign marked the 11th anniversary of the prison camp at Guantánamo
Bay with a day of action on Friday 11 January. The actions consisted of four walking
tours between embassies recounting the journeys of four prisoners to Guantánamo
Bay and a vigil outside the US Embassy on a fairly cold evening attended by over
70 people. Many thanks to everyone who took part, helped in the preparations
and on the day.To coincide with the anniversary, Aisha Maniar and Val Brown from the LGC gave interviews to Russia Today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiW9GIaCNDs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOwCgubl414Media coverage of the tours and vigil:
Coverage of the tours:
Photographs of Shaker Aamer tour: http://www.demotix.com/news/1719753/walks-shame-follow-rendition-routes-guantanamo#media-1719592
http://www.demotix.com/news/1719753/walks-shame-follow-rendition-routes-guantanamo#media-1719592
Val Brown leading the Omar Khadr tour shot footage of readings from outside each of the embassies the tour visited:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z6D1ElFqOA (Afghan Embassy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIGEZREpkqg (Spanish Embassy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUUUfn-JAXE (Portuguese Embassy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwq5kqmQFcM (Canadian Embassy)
http://freeomarakhadr.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/remember-canada-is-complicit-in-the-ongoing-torture-of-omar-khadr/
Around 70 people braved the cold weather and joined the vigil in the evening outside the US Embassy:
Video report: http://www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=9498
News reports: http://www.wespeaknews.com/politics/candelight-vigil-to-mark-11-years-of-guantanamo-134196.html
http://aljazeera.net/humanrights/pages/639643f0-446c-4c0f-ad79-5c4c5352b4c8 (Arabic)
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/11/london-protest-marks-11-years-since-establishment-guantanamo-bay-prison/
Photo reportage: http://www.demotix.com/news/1724834/vigil-outside-us-embassy-london-11th-anniversary-guant-namo#media-1724456
http://www.demotix.com/news/1719778/vigil-marks-11-years-detention-guant-namo#media-1719777
http://www.demotix.com/news/1719240/vigil-guantanamo-bay-detainees-outside-londons-us-embassy#media-1719283
http://www.demotix.com/news/1719692/vigil-guantanamo-bay-prison-outside-us-embassy-london#media-1719522
Pictures from protests around the world: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/11/3177614/photo-gallery-01-11-095943.html
Messages of support read outside the US Embassy:
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavillion and Hove): “There is no excuse for the continued existence of Guantanamo Bay or the ongoing detention of British residents such as Shaker Aamer. The Green Party calls on President Obama to keep his promise and end what is a stain on America’s reputation globally.”
Green London MEP Jean Lambert: "11 years too long! Guantanamo Bay must close, and all remaining detainees charged with crimes or allowed to return home."
Lib Dem London MEP Sarah Ludford: "“Barack Obama must finally in his second term fulfil his promise of closing the disgraceful legal black hole of Guantanamo and rebuild the US’ human rights reputation. In any case, my constituent Shaker Aamer must return home to his family in London after 11 years of totally illegal incarceration.”
