NEWS:
Guantánamo Bay
Pre-trial proceedings continued in May in the case of five men accused
of involvement in attacks on New York in September 2001. As part of the
proceedings, another prisoner, Abu Zubaydah, who was severely tortured as part
of the CIA’s extraordinary rendition programme but faces no charges, was due to
give evidence on 12 May of the abuses the men claim they face at the secretive
high security Camp 7 where they are all held, away from other prisoners and most
of the prison guards. He was the first person to be subjected to waterboarding
by the CIA and has successfully prosecuted Poland before the European Court of
Human Rights for its role in his rendition and torture. Lawyers for one of the defendants,
Ramzi bin Al Shibh, have tried for over a year to get Abu Zubaydah to testify
about life at the camp to support “al Shibh’s claim
that somebody is intentionally harassing him with noises and vibrations to
disrupt his sleep. The military denies any sleep-deprivation program is
happening, but both the prison and captives consider Zubaydah a respected,
well-behaved block leader.”
Abu Zubaydah decided not to testify as he would not be allowed to talk
about the torture he faced in CIA custody for years before arriving at
Guantánamo Bay in 2006. Had he testified, it would have been the first time he
would have spoken in public since he was kidnapped in Pakistan in 2002. As he
would not be given a fair chance to discuss the issues he wants or talk about
the abuse he has faced, he decided there would be no benefit in testifying.
As part of the pre-trial
hearings, lawyers for the five defendants argued that the tribunal was not
legitimate and that the case against them should be dismissed as it is contrary
to the international law of war. A variety of claims were made against the
legitimacy of the charges in a war situation and whether the court has
jurisdiction to hear the case; the men face the death penalty if found guilty. Prosecution
lawyers defended the legitimacy of the court and the judge has yet to rule on
these motions which go to the very heart of the legitimacy of the court.
Saifullah Paracha, 69, the oldest prisoner held at
Guantánamo, has had his second bid to be cleared for release by the periodic
review board rejected. The former international businessman offered to retire
upon release and close his businesses; his plan is to return to Pakistan and
spend his time with his family. Aged almost 70, his health is declining and he
has never been charged since being kidnapped by the US in 2003. The board
decided that his “continued refusal
to take responsibility for his involvement with al-Qaida” was
the reason for this continued detention. He is considered a very compliant
prisoner but his lawyer argues that he cannot show remorse for things he
maintains he did not do. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article151705882.html
The Spanish Supreme Court upheld
the 11.5-year sentence given to former Moroccan prisoner Lahcen Ikassrien for
having led a terrorist cell in Madrid that allegedly raised funds for ISIS. He
was sentenced in September 2016 along with eight co-defendants.
Former Moroccan prisoner Younes Chekkouri was given a five-year
sentence by the Criminal Court in Rabat on 3 May on charges related to
terrorism. He was charged upon his return to the country in 2015 and was only
released from prison in Morocco on bail in February 2016. His lawyers plan to
appeal the conviction and sentence.
Sabir Mahfouz Lahmar, a former Algerian prisoner arrested in Bosnia
in 2001, who was released and allowed to settle in France in 2009 with his
family, was one of six people arrested in the French city of Bordeaux on 29 May
on claims of being part of a recruitment ring for the Islamic State militant
group. He was later charged with association with a terrorist organisation and
is being held on remand. Given that he is a former Guantánamo
prisoner, he is suspected of having influenced people to go and
fight in Iraq and Syria.
Lawyers in the ongoing case of Yemeni prisoner Hamza Ali Al-Bahlul,
who was convicted by a military commission in 2009 and later won his appeal to
have his conviction quashed twice, have taken the case to the Supreme Court and
are asking the court to settle the issue of the validity of the jurisdiction of
the military commissions: whether or not they have the power to hear the alleged
war crimes cases brought before them.
Lawyers are also asking for clarity on this point in the case of
Abd Al Nashiri, who is currently facing a military commission trial. His
lawyers have already asked the court whether his offences can be classed as war
crimes when they relate to alleged actions in the 1990s, before the war on
terror started; the court replied that it was a legitimate question but one
that should be considered after his trial is complete.
LGC Activities:
The May Shut Guantánamo! monthly demonstration was on 4 May. In
addition to our regular, monthly demonstration outside the US Embassy and Hyde
Park, the LGC also joined a number of other actions to raise awareness of the
ongoing plight of 41 men held at Guantánamo for over 15 years. We joined the
London May Day march on 1st May and the vigil on 17 May to welcome
the release of Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning from jail in the US
following her pardon.
