Guantánamo Bay
The chief prosecutor in the case of five men accused of involvement in the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York City has announced his surprise retirement. Army Brigadier General Mark Martins, who has held the position for over a decade, had previously delayed his retirement and was due to remain in the position until 2023. His retirement makes a trial in the case “appear increasingly unlikely.” A message sent to the families of the victims of the attacks stated that he was stepping down "in the best interests of the ongoing cases." His retirement is effective as of 30 September.
Moroccan prisoner Abdullatif Nasser is the first prisoner to be transferred from Guantánamo by the Biden administration. He was repatriated to Morocco where he was reunited with his family in time for the Eid festival on 20 July. Nasser was cleared for release in July 2016. There are currently 39 prisoners held at Guantánamo, 10 of whom are cleared for release.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/19/guantanamo-bay-prisoner-biden-admin-first-transfer
Pre-trial hearings have now resumed at Guantánamo Bay following a delay of over 18 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with one held in the case of Nashwan Al-Tamir (Abdul Hadi Al-Iraq), on 13-14 July. It consisted mainly of questions put to the new judge in the case and concerning the defendant’s ability to participate in the proceedings. For details of the proceedings, please see:
On 27 July, a brief hearing was held in the case of Majid Khan, who has been awaiting sentencing for almost a decade. In this brief hearing, the prosecution and defence also put questions to the new judge concerning his ability to deal with the case but did not object to his appointment.
UN Special Rapporteurs raised further concerns this month over the safety of men released by the Obama administration to the UAE under a secret agreement. Concerns were raised about the potential forced repatriation to Russia of Ravil Mingazov, who along with 18 Yemenis, has essentially been detained with limited access to family, lawyers and medical care since arriving in the UAE. The Russian authorities informed Mingazov’s family of his potential repatriation. Other Russian prisoners sent home have been subject to further persecution including torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killing.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27255&LangID=E
While the Special Rapporteurs in their statement “welcome[d] the [UAE] Government’s decision not to repatriate these [18] Yemeni nationals” they had raised concerns about in October 2020, it has now been reported, according to their families and the Yemeni government, that 6 of these men were returned to Yemen in late July. After transfer from Guantánamo to the UAE, the men remained in detention. Concerns have been raised about the risk to the men in being returned to an active war zone. The men have yet to be released to their families, but the Yemeni authorities said they will continue to monitor them after release, which is more likely a request of the US than the UAE. The UAE is not the first state to repatriate former prisoners after having accepted them. In 2018, Senegal sent two prisoners back to their native Libya where, upon arrival, they promptly disappeared.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-africa-yemen-d77ecfc5cc02de4bd49618765eda0777
LGC Activities
The August monthly Shut Guantánamo! protest is on Thursday 5th August at 12-2pm outside the US Embassy in Nine Elms (Nine Elms Lane, SW11 7US, nearest underground: Vauxhall). https://www.facebook.com/events/346316563824547/ If you require more details about this event, please email us at london.gtmo [at] gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment