LGC Newsletter – October 2023

Guantánamo Bay

In a ruling on 27 October, the British investigatory powers tribunal (IPT) “said it will open a second investigation into allegations that the intelligence services” were involved in the mistreatment of a current Guantánamo prisoner, Yemeni Abd Al-Nashiri, and would examine a complaint filed on his behalf.

“Lawyers for Nashiri have argued that there is an “irresistible inference” that the UK’s intelligence agencies, including MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, participated in intelligence sharing relating to al-Nashiri and “were complicit in his torture and ill-treatment”.

“The IPT’s decision to investigate the claims comes after it agreed in May to examine a similar complaint by another man held at Guantánamo, Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

“In its latest ruling, the IPT – a specialist judicial body that hears complaints against the intelligence services – said the underlying issues in both cases “are of the gravest possible kind”.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/29/second-investigation-to-open-into-role-of-british-spies-in-torture-of-guantanamo-detainee

 

Lawyers for two Malaysian prisoners, Mohammed Farik Bin Amin, 48, and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, 46, have negotiated plea deals with prosecutors, to be entered early next year, along with their sentencing. They agreed to “plead guilty to war crimes charges for being accessories” to the 2002 Bali bombings. Charged along with Indonesian prisoners “Hambali”, Encep Nurjaman, the former CIA secret torture prison detainees have had their case severed from his. They are accused of having served as money couriers and providing support to Hambali, who now faces trial alone. The maximum punishment is a life sentence.

“The military disclosed the existence of the deal this week with the release of a court filing by prosecutors and lawyers for Mr. Bin Amin, which scheduled a hearing starting Jan. 15 for the entry of a plea, assembling a military panel and sentencing. The terms were under seal, including any limits on his prison sentence, where he would serve it and whether his testimony was sought against Mr. Nurjaman. Less is known about when Mr. Bin Lep will be sentenced. On Thursday, his lawyer, Brian Bouffard, said only that “Mr. Bin Lep will fully cooperate with the U.S. government.” Christine Funk, the lawyer for Mr. Bin Amin, declined to discuss the deal. But people with knowledge of the agreements said the men were seeking to be sent to a rehabilitation program for Muslim extremists in Malaysia.”

12-20 March 2014: LGC speaking tour with Omar Khadr's lawyer Dennis Edney QC

The London Guantánamo Campaign is pleased to announce that we will be bringing Dennis Edney QC to London on 12-20 March 2014 for a speaking tour

Dennis Edney QC is the Scottish-Canadian lawyer of Omar Khadr, the former Guantánamo prisoner who was arrested aged 15 in Afghanistan, tortured at Bagram, and held in Guantánamo where he is the only person since WWII to be convicted as an adult for war crimes committed as a minor under a secret plea bargain. Omar returned to Canada in September 2012 where he remains in prison and has recently launched an appeal against his US conviction; he also has several cases ongoing in Canada. 

Who is Omar Khadr? Why should you care? Find out here: http://onesmallwindow.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/omar-khadr-the-road-to-justice-starts-here/

 

The London Guantánamo is pleased to present the following schedule of talks in London and York where Dennis Edney QC will speak about his client and the many issues involved in Omar’s unique case. All events are open to the public and free to attend, but prior registration may be necessary in some cases:

Date & Time	Details	Venue
Wednesday 12 March, 6.30-8.30pm	Omar Khadr and the Betrayal of International Law: a public meeting chaired by Professor Bill Bowring Jointly organised by CAMPACC, the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers and the London Guantánamo Campaign  http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/omar-khadr-and-the-betrayal-of-international-law-tickets-10871465847          (booking required)	Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A
Thursday 13 March, 4.00-5.30pm	Defending Guantánamo's youngest prisoner: The struggle to free Omar Khadr Organised by the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York http://www.york.ac.uk/cahr/news/events/events-2014/dennis-edney/	Bowland Auditorium (BS/005), Berrick Saul building, University of York, Heslington, York
Friday 14 March, 1.00-2.00pm	An audience with Dennis Edney QC, chaired by Dr Douglas Guilfoyle Organised by the UCL Faculty of Laws https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-guantanamo-campaign-lecture-an-audience-with-dennis-edney-qc-tickets-10684885781 (booking required)	UCL Faculty of Laws Moot Court Bentham House Endsleigh Gardens London, WC1H 0EG
Friday 14 March, 5.00-7.00pm	Where is the Law in War? An Analysis of Omar Khadr’s case Organised by the Westminster Law Review http://westminsterlawreview.org/downloads/Where%20is%20the%20Law%20in%20War.pdf (booking required)	University of Westminster, 4-12 Little Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7UW
Monday 17 March, 2.00-4.00pm	Omar Khadr: Guantánamo's Child: A Travesty of Justice Birkbeck College, University of London, organised by a coalition of student societies https://www.facebook.com/events/451204031679002/	Room B20, Birkbeck College, Malet Street Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7HX
Monday 17 March, 7.00-8.30pm	Dennis Edney talk on Omar Khadr Organised by Veterans for Peace UK http://veteransforpeace.org.uk/ai1ec_event/dennis-edney/ https://www.facebook.com/events/594319513978013/	Housmans 5 Caledonian Road London N1
Tuesday 18 March, 12.30-2.30pm	Dennis Edney talk at the London School of Economic Organised by the student union (details TBC)	LSE, Holborn, London
Tuesday 18 March, 4.30-5.30pm	QM Amnesty Presents: Guantánamo lawyer Dennis Edney on Omar Khadr Organised by QM Amnesty https://www.facebook.com/events/734735289890035/	Queen Mary, Queen’s Building, Rm W206, QMUL Mile End Rd, London E1 4NS
Tuesday 18 March, 7.00-9.00pm	Defending Guantánamo’s youngest prisoner Organised by Amnesty International UK, with Andy Worthington, journalist, and Aaf Post from Free Omar Khadr Now http://www.amnesty.org.uk/events/defending-guantanamo-youngest-prisoner#.Ux34WIXOlj8	Human Rights Action Centre, 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Thursday 20 March, 7.30pm	March meeting: Q&A with Dennis Edney Organised by Amnesty St John’s Wood http://www.amnesty.org.uk/groups/st-johns-wood-maida-vale-and-camden-town/march-meeting-qa-dennis-edney	Liberal Synagogue in St John's Wood, 28 St. John's Wood Road, NW8 7HA

As a 100% volunteer-run organisation, we need FUNDS to make this tour happen. Please donate to the costs of this visit at http://www.gofundme.com/OmarKhadr  

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Dennis Edney has represented Omar Khadr pro bono both during his detention in Guantánamo and currently in Canada. He is in not receipt of legal aid or assistance to cover steep legal fees in Canada in the fight for justice. Please also consider making a donation to his legal fund: http://freeomarakhadr.com/2014/01/25/helpfreeomar/

For more information about Omar Khadr and international campaign to Free Omar Khadr Now, that the LGC is a part of, visit: www.freeomarakhadr.com

Further information about Omar Khadr via the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims: http://worldwithouttorture.org/2014/03/11/london-guantanamo-campaign-talks-to-highlight-torture-of-omar-khadr/

 

Please use the hashtag #KhadrTour in relation to this series of events

Further details will be updated HERE in due course – watch this space! Also follow us @shutguantanamo and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/London-Guant%C3%A1namo-Campaign/114010671973111 - don't miss out on this unique opportunity!! 

MEDIA RELEASE: London Guantánamo Campaign bringing Dennis Edney QC, lawyer of Canadian former Guantánamo child prisoner Omar Khadr to UK for speaking tour on 12-20 March 2014

The London Guantánamo Campaign [1] will host Dennis Edney QC [2] from 12-20 March 2014 for a speaking tour. The Scottish-Canadian lawyer will be raising awareness about his client, former Guantánamo child prisoner Omar Khadr [3], who remains incarcerated in Canada.
 

The speaking tour [4] which includes 10 engagements in London and York, at universities and with organisations such as Amnesty International, will raise awareness of the various legal issues surrounding Khadr’s case.

Aisha Maniar, a spokesperson for the London Guantánamo Campaign, says, "Omar Khadr’s case demonstrates the flagrant violations of international law committed at Guantánamo Bay by the US and its allies, including Canada. His ordeal did not end upon release in September 2012. As we see now in the UK, stigmatisation through having been held at Guantánamo can lead to further persecution and harassment. 

“The purpose of this tour is to raise awareness of Omar Khadr’s ongoing persecution in Canada, which is a member of the Commonwealth. It is also to demonstrate the support of the British public for Omar Khadr, his lawyer Dennis Edney and the advocacy he does in difficult circumstances, and ultimately the rule of law.”

Dennis Edney QC will be available for interviews.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The London Guantánamo Campaign was set up in 2006 and campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, for the closure of this and other secret prisons, and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition. http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com     

2. Born in Scotland, Dennis Edney graduated in law in 1987 from the University of Northumberland. He practices in the areas of constitutional and criminal law. In 2004, he was appointed foreign counsel for Omar Khadr’s military commission hearing. He has acted as counsel in a number of key cases before both the Supreme Court of Canada and the United States Supreme Court. In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Gerald Galt Human Rights award by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2011. He has lectured extensively on human rights.

3. For more information about Omar Khadr, please see http://freeomarakhadr.com/factsheet/

4. Full details of events held with the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, the Campaign against Criminalising Communities, Veterans for Peace UK, Amnesty International UK and at University College London, University of Westminster, Birkbeck College, the London School of Economics, Queen Mary’s University of London and the University of York are available at http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/12-18-march-2014-lgc-speaking-tour-with.html