History in the Making: 14 years of Guantánamo Bay

As we have done every year since 2008, the London Guantánamo Campaign organised the main UK event to mark the anniversary of the opening of the US military-run Guantánamo Bay prison camp. As in recent years, it was one of the largest events worldwide, with possibly only a larger protest coordinated by a coalition of US organisations outside the White House in Washington DC. More than 100 people joined the London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC) on a very cold evening for a candlelight vigil, demonstrating the commitment to human rights of the British people and the desire to see Guantánamo closed even after all the British nationals and residents have returned.

Shaker Aamer lights candles at the candlelight vigil

Former prisoner Moazzam Begg

This year’s event, on the evening of Monday 11^th January, entitled “History in the Making”, had a sense of urgency to it: as Guantánamo Bay enters the fifteenth year of its regime of torture and indefinite detention without trial, Barack Obama enters the final year of his second term as president of the United States. It is now six years since he promised to close Guantánamo by January 2010, in an executive decree he signed in one of his first acts as president. With less than one year left to go of his presidency, questions have been raised as to whether he can and will deliver on his many promises to close Guantánamo Bay.

Although there was good news on the day with the repatriation of Saudi Mohammad Abdul Rahman al Shumrani, one of 17 prisoners due to be released this month, the LGC is particularly concerned about the fate of those prisoners who, after 14 years, have not been cleared for release and have not been charged, as expressed in our media release. Obama’s plan appears to be not to close Guantánamo and end indefinite detention but to close the facility and transfer the remaining prisoners elsewhere. The LGC’s rejection of this proposal was made clear on our main banner for the protest: “Shut Guantanamo – Don’t Move It”.

The LGC is pleased to have been joined by a number of former British nationals and residents who were previously held at Guantánamo Bay. With the exception of Shaker Aamer, released in October 2015, all have joined LGC events in the past, but we have not pointed them out in the past, and did not point them out on this occasion, out of respect for their privacy. Former prisoners Moazzam Begg, who was released in 2005, and Shaker Aamer, in his first unmediated address to the public (video below), spoke at the vigil. It was an honour for the LGC to have these two former prisoners share their feelings and views on the 14^th anniversary of Guantánamo with us, and to join us in standing in solidarity with the remaining prisoners.

Jean Lambert MEP

As an open mic event, there were no scheduled speakers. Contributions were also made by Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London, Sheikh Suliman Gani from Tooting Mosque, Lindsey German from the Stop The War Coalition, American peace activist Paul Polansky, John Clossick and Ray Silk from the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign, and campaigners Hamja Ahsan, Peter Tatchell and Dr David Nichol. The event was compered by David Harrold from the LGC and Val Brown from the LGC also spoke about the case of Omar Khadr. 

The LGC was also joined by other prisoner support campaigns, including for Chelsea Manning, and a contribution was also made at the mic by the daughter of Munir Farooqi, a British man currently serving 4 life sentences for terrorism after being set up by undercover police officers. 

Other prisoners whose cases the LGC supports were mentioned, including Dr Aafia Siddiqui and Shawki Ahmed Omar. CND director Kate Hudson gave her apologies for not being able to join activists. Statements were also read out on behalf of Guantánamo lawyers Barry Wingard, whose client Fayiz Al-Kandari returned to Kuwait on 9 January, and Nancy Hollander, who provided a statement about her client, Guantánamo Diary author Mohamedou Ould Slahi (please see below).

As well as an open mic, Sheikh Suliman Gani led activists in reading out the names of the remaining 103 prisoners (there are currently 93) and calls for each of them to be set free. 

The London Guantánamo Campaign will be back outside the US Embassy on 4 February at 12pm for our first monthly Shut Guantánamo! demonstration of 2016, and the 9^th anniversary of our regular protests demanding that Guantánamo closes, outside the Embassy.

Bernard Sullivan, who joined the anniversary vigil for the first time this year, spoke at the vigil and later shared his thoughts about it:

“"Jottings on a Guantanamo Vigil"

I met Shaker Aamer today, and between his media interviews and speeches to the gathering outside the US embassy marking the 14th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo, had the opportunity to speak with him. I found an exceptional character, open, friendly, charismatic, and a motivational orator, who expressed a strong belief in one human race, without distinction of colour, religion or race. A living example of how the human spirit can not only survive the terrible ordeal that he was put through, but can grow enormously from it. He was overwhelmed by the fact that while incarcerated for years with nothing to do but sit in his 6 x 8 cell, many outside with jobs, families, children and many other responsibilities, had given up years of their time to campaign for him and his fellow detainees.

As an active supporter for the closure of Guantanamo of a mere three months standing, I found myself in awe of those around me, but determined to stand with them until the human rights hypocrisy that is Guantanamo is closed for good, and the many innocents held within, are truly free.

Only then, can the USA and its supporting allies begin to emerge from this darkest shadow of their own making, and try to restore the catastrophic loss of trust of countless people around the globe.”

The LGC thanks everyone who joined us and stood with us in solidarity with the prisoners still held at Guantánamo Bay.

Statement by Barry Wingard about his client Fayiz Al-Kandari who was released to Kuwait on Saturday 9 January:

“It has been a long fourteen year road to show that the United States Government had no actual evidence against Fayiz.

It should really come as no surprise, of the 779 men held in Cuba's most notorious prison, fewer than 15 will be given a kangaroo proceeding in the military commissions.  Almost all the guys getting trial "like" proceedings were brought to GTMO from CIA torture sites in 2006 to "scare up the place."

I look forward to seeing Fayiz and his family back in Kuwait where he should have been for the last fourteen years of his life.  I know Fayiz is too smart to hold a grudge as he would say "being angry at others gives them power over you, be strong and ignore those who seek to do you harm.  In that way you show you are stronger than them."

 

Well Fayiz, time to get on with the rest of our lives as we have both been freed from GTMO.  Time to find your wife and start your family my friend.  Let me be the first to welcome you back.”

Statement by Nancy Hollander about her client Mohamedou Ould Slahi, best-selling author, the last Mauritanian in Guantánamo and extraordinary rendition victim, who has yet to be cleared for release:

“I speak to you on behalf of Mohamedou Ould Slahi. I know he would want to thank everyone for your commitment to demand that Guantanamo be closed, that everyone who is not being prosecuted be sent home or to a third country and that that those facing prosecution be tried in a regular United States court with all the constitutional protections that apply to every person---citizen and alien---who is charged with crimes against the United States. Closing Guantanamo means closing it forever, not moving it to another location. Mohamedou Ould Slahi has been incarcerated by the United States for fourteen years. He is an innocent man who has never been charged with any crime. Although he was tortured, he remains unbroken. His dignity, humor and humanity are available for all to see in his memoir, Guantanamo Diary, now available in 21 countries and 19 languages. We will not cease our efforts until he is free. ”

Sheikh Suliman Gani with Shaker Aamer

Further media of this event:

https://activist1.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/former-guantanamo-hostages-and-supporters-hold-candlelit-vigil-calling-for-closure-on-14th-anniversary-of-gitmo-opening/

http://www.demotix.com/news/9439480/vigil-mark-14-years-injustice-brutal-guant-namo-bay-prison#media-9439466

http://www.demotix.com/news/9437168/shaker-aamer-attends-candle-lit-vigil-us-embassy-london

http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2016/01/jan.htm#guantanamo

LGC Newsletter – October 2014

NEWS:

Guantánamo Bay:

In early October, an important court case was held in a US federal court in Washington on the legality of the force-feeding regime for hunger-striking prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. Just days before the hearing before the court in which lawyers for hunger-striking Syrian prisoner Abu Wa’el Dhiab and lawyers for the US government presented their arguments, Judge Gladys Kessler rejected a plea by the US government to have the hearing held in secret on the grounds of national security. She stated in a written ruling that “With such a longstanding and ongoing public interest at stake, it would be particularly egregious to bar the public from observing the credibility of live witnesses, the substance of their testimony, whether proper procedures are being followed, and whether the court is treating all participants fairly”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/02/judge-obama-guantanamo-force-feeding-hearing-secret

The judge also ordered that 20 videotapes showing the force-feeding procedure being administered to prisoners be released by the US military. The military only admitted the existence of the tapes earlier in these proceedings but has refused to allow the court to see them.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/03/guantanamo-force-feeding-videos-released

The hearing started on 6 October, during which his lawyers argued that the force-feeding is a form of torture and not a medical procedure, as claimed by the US administration. They also challenged the violent way in which prisoners are taken and prepared for force-feeding. Although several sessions of the 3-day hearing were held in closed court, important information about hunger strikes at Guantánamo Bay has emerged, such as the fact that six prisoners were on permanent hunger strike between 2007 and the start of the current hunger strike in February 2013, or even longer.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/06/guantanamo-force-feeding-punishment-trial-abu-dhiab

The judge gave the US military until 17 October to release videotapes, however just days before that, it was rumoured that the government might appeal this decision and instead a 30-day extension was given to release the tapes.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2014/10/us-may-appeal-release-guantanamo-force-feeding-video-tap-201410162611733247.html

Later in October, news organisations added to the pressure for the tapes to be released as did Democrat congressmen Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison in a letter to Barack Obama calling the secrecy surrounding the videotapes “contrary to American laws or values” and stating that “The facts pertaining to these practices at Guantánamo should be available to members of Congress”.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/30/congressmen-ellison-grijalva-guantanamo-obama-force-feeding-video

Dhiab was cleared for released in 2009, has never been charged or tried, and is currently awaiting release to Uruguay, as one of six prisoners the country’s government has agreed to accept.

In the military commission case of Saudi Abd Al-Nashiri, a request made in August for an MRI brain scan to see if he has organic brain damage was turned down by Judge Spath on the basis that he felt the medical care at Guantánamo is adequate and a proper administrative request had not been made by his lawyers. He did not mention that the requisite medical equipment was not available at the base.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article2543921.html

With new briefs filed by both sides in the case, the next oral hearing in the case will be held on 13 November.

Estonia has agreed to resettle one of the 79 prisoners who have been cleared for release but cannot return home. It did not say which prisoner it would accept and in the past has said it would not take Guantánamo prisoners

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article2634879.html  

On 22 October, the appeal case of Ali Hamza Al-Bahlul, currently serving a life sentence at Guantánamo Bay, was heard by a panel of 3 judges at the DC Circuit Court after it was sent back there following a decision overturning two of his convictions, for material support of terrorism and solicitation in July, for consideration on the outstanding issue of conspiracy. In the original appeal hearing, all three convictions were overturned but the US government was granted a rehearing en banc (by all 7 judges at the court). This panel sent back four issues related to conspiracy to the original panel of judges to consider. During the oral hearing, lawyers for Al-Bahlul argued that the military commission procedure was unconstitutional and discriminatory. If the arguments put forward by his lawyers are accepted, and the conspiracy charge overturned, it would also overturn other convictions and end pending trials, unless appealed at the Supreme Court. A decision is expected in the next few months.

 http://justsecurity.org/16556/military-commissions-guantanamo/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11181610/Guantanamo-Bay-war-crimes-tribunals-face-shutdown-over-legal-challenge.html

The periodic review board has cleared one Saudi prisoner for release and ordered the continuing detention of another Saudi prisoner. Muhammad Abd Al-Rahman Awn Al-Shamrani, who refused to take part in his review in May, is still considered a risk and was associated with Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. A second man, Muhammad Murdi Issa al-Zahrani, was cleared for transfer. Although several prisoners have been cleared for transfer since the process restarted over the past year or so none of those cleared have been transferred anywhere.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/20/guantanamo-review-board-releases-saudi

In a court case originally brought against the Canadian government in 2004 when he was still held at Guantánamo Bay, for the Canadian government’s complicity in his abuse, a federal judge in Canada has ruled that Omar Khadr can widen the scope of his original case, suing the Canadian government for $20 million and claim that the Canadian government conspired with the US.

The government has asked for the claims in the case, which was reopened by his lawyers last year, to be dismissed but the judges asked for the new claims to be rewritten rather than rejected. He stated “Whether Canada conspired with foreign officials to violate the fundamental rights of a citizen is not a trivial matter” and that whether or not the conspiracy charge could stand was a matter for the trial judge to decide. He awarded costs in the case to Khadr’s lawyers as the Canadian government had “"considerably increased the costs and delay" of the action by opposing the lawsuit amendments, almost all of which he allowed.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/omar-khadr-wins-right-to-to-expand-20m-suit-vs-canadian-government-1.2811226

Although banned from speaking to the media, on 28 October, a week after an attack on a Canadian soldier and proposals to push through strict new security laws by the Canadian government in response, Omar Khadr had his first opportunity to address Canadians in his own words in an op-ed published in the Ottawa Citizen entitled “Khadr: Misguided security laws take a human toll”. In an intelligent and thoughtful article, Khadr states “I will not give up. I have a fundamental right to redress for what I have experienced. But this isn’t just about me. I want accountability to ensure others will be spared the torment I have been through; and the suffering I continue to endure.”

http://freeomarakhadr.com/2014/10/29/op-ed-by-omar-khadr-on-national-security-human-rights/

Extraordinary Rendition:

The trial of Abu Anas Al-Libi, who was kidnapped in Libya a year ago and rendered to the US, was due to start in early November. In early October, Al-Libi asked the judge to suppress statements he made between the time he was kidnapped and when he later appeared in the US on that basis that he feels that those statements were coerced. He was not given legal representation, did not know where he was being held and thought he was going to be taken to Guantánamo Bay. As a result, he had signed a form waiving his legal rights, which he has since retracted. He had been told at the time that he would be held and interrogated on the US military ship he was aboard for over four months. Although he does not claim to have been physically tortured, he was under great psychological pressure.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy in the bombing of two US embassies in Africa in 1998, which killed over 200 people. The hearing has now been put back until January 2015 to give defence lawyers additional time to prepare, including evidence from the UK. Al-Libi’s co-defendant Khaled al-Fawwaz was extradited from the UK in October 2012. A third defendant in the case, Adel Abdul Bary, also extradited from the UK in 2012, pleaded guilty in September and faces a sentence of 25 years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/nyregion/man-charged-in-bomb-plot-seeks-to-toss-rights-waiver.html?_r=0

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-2803537/Embassy-bombing-trial-NY-postponed-2015.html

Poland has lodged an appeal against a ruling in July made by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which found the country complicit in the CIA’s extraordinary rendition programme, by hosting a torture facility. Prisoners held there included current Guantánamo prisoners Abu Zubaydah and Abd Al-Nashiri. The appeal is reported to be based on procedural grounds.

http://rt.com/news/199052-poland-cia-prison-court/

A Russian prisoner held at Bagram since 2009, known only as “Irek Hamidullan”, has been taken to the US where he is to face a terrorism trial on unspecified charges. He is alleged to have been involved in attacks on Americans prior to his capture. This is the first time a prisoner held in Afghanistan is being taken to the US. He is among a group of 13 foreign nationals known to be held by the US at the Parwan facility at Bagram without charge or trial. In 2015, the US must hand over control of prison facilities to the Afghan authorities.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/23/uk-usa-afghanistan-detainee-idUKKCN0IC2F520141023

On 30 October, the Court of Appeal ruled that Abdul Hakim Belhaj and his wife, who were rendered to Libya in 2004 from SE Asia with the assistance of the intelligence services, can sue the UK government. He brought a case against former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who had previously denied any knowledge of his case, and MI6 for complicity in their rendition, which came to light in documents found in a government building in Tripoli following the Arab Spring there in 2011. The High Court had ruled the case could not be heard as it could damage foreign relationships with the US. However, the appeal court judges said a court should hear them. Jack Straw and the government have been given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29831112

LGC Activities:

The October “Shut Guantánamo!” demonstration was attended by 7 people. The LGC is grateful to London Catholic Worker for joining us at this demonstration. The November demonstration will be at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy and 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s Corner, Marble Arch on Thursday 6^th November: https://www.facebook.com/events/558851547591991/

Thanks to Voices for Creative Non-Violence UK for allowing Val Brown to hold a stall to raise awareness about the plight of Guantánamo prisoners at the conference “Afghanistan – The Forgotten War: Britain’s Legacy” on Saturday 11^th October. Speakers at the conference focused on Britain’s military legacy and ongoing involvement, including the environmental impact of war and weapons, the ongoing lethal use of drones and the impact financially and on British armed forces. A report of the interesting and successful conference can be read here: http://onesmallwindow.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/britains-legacy-the-forgotten-war-in-afghanistan/

On 16 October, Aisha Maniar joined John Rees on the Islam Channel’s “The Report” news programme to talk about the ongoing hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay and the struggle to release videotapes showing prisoners being force-fed.

Many thanks to students from Queen Mary University of London’s Amnesty Society for inviting us on 21 October to take part in a talk on torture alongside a speaker from Amnesty International UK’s current ongoing campaign on the theme. Aisha Maniar spoke to around 50 students about the history of Guantánamo, now almost in its 13^th year of operation, as well as the truth and lies surrounding the prisoners, the legality of Guantánamo detention and the use of torture. Short workshops were also held to discuss some of the issues raised.

On 6^th November, the LGC will hold a planning meeting for our January anniversary demonstration at 6:30pm in the café in Friend’s House, Euston Road (opposite Euston station). We are currently in the process of planning its action to mark the 13th anniversary of Guantanamo opening in January 2015 and as usual WE need YOUR help to make it happen. We are holding a meeting on 6 November. Please get in touch or join us if you’d like to be involved.