Also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=225756180784961
You are invited to
A PUBLIC RALLY IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF
TORTURE
Trafalgar Square, London
Sunday 26 June 2011, 2-4pm
“This is a day on which we pay our respects to those who have endured the unimaginable. This is an occasion for the world to speak up against the unspeakable.” Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General
Speakers include:
Andy Worthington, journalist
Ilyas Townsend, Justice for Aafia Coalition
Maria Gallestegui, Peace Strike
Naomi Colvin, UK Friends of Bradley Manning
Maya Evans, Justice Not Vengeance
And speakers from Amnesty International, Stop the War, International Committee Against Disappearances, Save Shaker Aamer Campaign and others
Since 1998, June 26th has marked International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. In spite of laws to protect freedoms, torture remains prevalent throughout the world. Men, women, children and entire communities are subject to unspeakable atrocities and the effects that live with them long after the violence ends. We invite you to come and stand up against these atrocities, and join us in solidarity with the victims.
Organised by the London Guantánamo Campaign
and Kingston CND
For more details, e-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com or noelthamel@aol.com
Or call Aisha 07809 757 176/ Noel 020 8395 2656
http://kpc.gn.apc.org/ http://www.londonguantanamo.org.uk/
Friday, May 27, 2011
LGC Newsletter - May 2011
NEWS:
Guantánamo Bay:
The US administration is currently considering whether to allow some of the 171 prisoners remaining at Guantánamo Bay to have family visits. Currently, through the International Red Cross, some prisoners are able to have telephone calls and video links to their families. The scheme would only apply to some prisoners, mainly those, such as Guantánamo’s large Yemeni contingent, who are free to leave but do not have a safe country to go to. Republicans in the US Congress are trying to block the plan as it could cause “security concerns” for the US. The plan itself indicates that after almost 10 years of illegal incarceration, there are no plans in the near future for the release of prisoners.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13382294
Another prisoner has died at Guantánamo Bay in another alleged “suicide”. On 18 May, Inayatullah, a 37-year old Afghan prisoner was found dead in the recreation ground by military guards. The cause of death has not been established. He is the second prisoner to die at Guantánamo Bay this year and the eighth in total. One of the last prisoners to arrive, in 2007, he has never been charged with any crime.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/19/guantanamo-prisoner-dies-apparent-suicide
A former Algerian prisoner, released to France on humanitarian grounds as he cannot return to Algeria, is set to sue George Bush for 8 years of illegal imprisonment at Guantánamo. Saber Lahmer, 42, was arrested by CIA agents in Bosnia in 2001, where he worked and lived. He was held at Guantánamo for the next eight years where he was tortured and was released in 2009, after a habeas ruling proved that allegations against him were unfounded. He plans to sue through the French courts.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gMK_Wpzi-Fr4zKE0HrdJIiTrsYmQ?docId=CNG.0cc97a002f7eab51d35fbc2d30e32185.181
A review petition brought by Omar Khadr, prior to his guilty plea in October last year, was rejected by the US Supreme Court. The review included claims by around 100 prisoners to have parts of their cases reviewed and to ensure that they have at least 30 days’ notice before they are transferred to other countries to prevent them being sent to countries where they may be at risk. The 30 days’ notice was rejected and Khadr could not have his case reviewed as he had waived this right under the plea bargain he made in October 2010. However, Omar Khadr will find out in June if his clemency plea, brought a few months ago, has been accepted, which could see his prison sentence being halved to four years.
Extraordinary rendition:
A case brought against Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., a division of Boeing, by five victims of extraordinary rendition, including British residents Bisher Al-Rawi and Binyam Mohamed, for having organised the flight plans at the various stages of their torture ordeal, was back in the courts this month. The case, brought in 2008, was dismissed as the Bush and then the Obama administrations used the state secrets privilege, citing national security as a concern, to prevent any secrets involving illegal behaviour by the intelligence agencies coming to light, making it impossible for the case to be heard. Following the case being dismissed by the appeal courts, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought it before the Supreme Court to consider whether or not the government could rely on the state secrets privilege to prevent the case being heard. The Supreme Court said that the government could rely on it and effectively prevented the case being heard.
Amnesty International has produced the following document about the ruling:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/044/2011/en
A group of Polish and international human rights NGOs are calling on Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to raise the issue of CIA secret prisons in the country and to cooperate in providing information when the two men meet as part of President Obama’s on-going visit to Europe:
http://www.reprieve.org.uk/2011_05_27_Poland_CIA_Obama_Tusk
LGC Activities:
Four people attended the May Shut Down Guantánamo! demonstration. This month’s demonstration is on Friday 3 June at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair and 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s Corner (Marble Arch, Hyde Park).
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=225756180784961#!/event.php?eid=215457011811523
Various events took place in the UK concerning Guantánamo Bay and prisoners held there to coincide with President Obama’s first state visit on 24-26 May. Amnesty International sent the following letter to Prime Minister David Cameron on 20 May asking for him to raise Shaker Aamer’s case personally with President Barack Obama: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19465
On the day before the visit, Monday 23 May, Maria Gallestegui from Peace Strike delivered a petition to Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister to raise the cases of Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha and call for the closure of Guantánamo. On the first day of the visit, activists from the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign, the London Guantánamo Campaign and others greeted Obama outside Buckingham Palace with a colourful demonstration: http://www.demotix.com/news/702759/protests-take-place-president-obama-visits-buckingham-palace
On the second day of the visit, the London Guantánamo Campaign and Peace Strike continued the protest outside Parliament with a six-hour long vigil calling for Guantánamo’s closure.
The London Guantánamo Campaign also sent a letter to the Guardian and Independent newspapers for publication on the first day of the visit, which was overlooked. It was signed by over 50 individuals and organisations, including former prisoners, politicians and leading lawyers: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/05/unpublished-letters-from-obamas-visit.html
The London Guantánamo Campaign also had the following comment piece published in Open Democracy expressing what we believe the British government should now be doing and telling the US government: http://www.opendemocracy.org.uk/ourkingdom/aisha-maniar/guantanamo-bay-shadow-cast-over-special-relationship
If you have not yet added your name to the open letter to President Obama about Shaker Aamer, please do: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/03/sign-our-open-letter-to-president-obama.html
If you have not yet asked your MP to sign EDM 1093 on Guantánamo Bay, we urge you to do so: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-11/1093
The London Guantánamo Campaign and Kingston CND will be organising a rally in Trafalgar Square on 26 June to mark international day in support of victims of torture. We hope you can join us: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=225756180784961#!/event.php?eid=225756180784961
Guantánamo Bay:
The US administration is currently considering whether to allow some of the 171 prisoners remaining at Guantánamo Bay to have family visits. Currently, through the International Red Cross, some prisoners are able to have telephone calls and video links to their families. The scheme would only apply to some prisoners, mainly those, such as Guantánamo’s large Yemeni contingent, who are free to leave but do not have a safe country to go to. Republicans in the US Congress are trying to block the plan as it could cause “security concerns” for the US. The plan itself indicates that after almost 10 years of illegal incarceration, there are no plans in the near future for the release of prisoners.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13382294
Another prisoner has died at Guantánamo Bay in another alleged “suicide”. On 18 May, Inayatullah, a 37-year old Afghan prisoner was found dead in the recreation ground by military guards. The cause of death has not been established. He is the second prisoner to die at Guantánamo Bay this year and the eighth in total. One of the last prisoners to arrive, in 2007, he has never been charged with any crime.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/19/guantanamo-prisoner-dies-apparent-suicide
A former Algerian prisoner, released to France on humanitarian grounds as he cannot return to Algeria, is set to sue George Bush for 8 years of illegal imprisonment at Guantánamo. Saber Lahmer, 42, was arrested by CIA agents in Bosnia in 2001, where he worked and lived. He was held at Guantánamo for the next eight years where he was tortured and was released in 2009, after a habeas ruling proved that allegations against him were unfounded. He plans to sue through the French courts.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gMK_Wpzi-Fr4zKE0HrdJIiTrsYmQ?docId=CNG.0cc97a002f7eab51d35fbc2d30e32185.181
A review petition brought by Omar Khadr, prior to his guilty plea in October last year, was rejected by the US Supreme Court. The review included claims by around 100 prisoners to have parts of their cases reviewed and to ensure that they have at least 30 days’ notice before they are transferred to other countries to prevent them being sent to countries where they may be at risk. The 30 days’ notice was rejected and Khadr could not have his case reviewed as he had waived this right under the plea bargain he made in October 2010. However, Omar Khadr will find out in June if his clemency plea, brought a few months ago, has been accepted, which could see his prison sentence being halved to four years.
Extraordinary rendition:
A case brought against Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., a division of Boeing, by five victims of extraordinary rendition, including British residents Bisher Al-Rawi and Binyam Mohamed, for having organised the flight plans at the various stages of their torture ordeal, was back in the courts this month. The case, brought in 2008, was dismissed as the Bush and then the Obama administrations used the state secrets privilege, citing national security as a concern, to prevent any secrets involving illegal behaviour by the intelligence agencies coming to light, making it impossible for the case to be heard. Following the case being dismissed by the appeal courts, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought it before the Supreme Court to consider whether or not the government could rely on the state secrets privilege to prevent the case being heard. The Supreme Court said that the government could rely on it and effectively prevented the case being heard.
Amnesty International has produced the following document about the ruling:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/044/2011/en
A group of Polish and international human rights NGOs are calling on Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to raise the issue of CIA secret prisons in the country and to cooperate in providing information when the two men meet as part of President Obama’s on-going visit to Europe:
http://www.reprieve.org.uk/2011_05_27_Poland_CIA_Obama_Tusk
LGC Activities:
Four people attended the May Shut Down Guantánamo! demonstration. This month’s demonstration is on Friday 3 June at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair and 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s Corner (Marble Arch, Hyde Park).
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=225756180784961#!/event.php?eid=215457011811523
Various events took place in the UK concerning Guantánamo Bay and prisoners held there to coincide with President Obama’s first state visit on 24-26 May. Amnesty International sent the following letter to Prime Minister David Cameron on 20 May asking for him to raise Shaker Aamer’s case personally with President Barack Obama: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19465
On the day before the visit, Monday 23 May, Maria Gallestegui from Peace Strike delivered a petition to Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister to raise the cases of Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha and call for the closure of Guantánamo. On the first day of the visit, activists from the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign, the London Guantánamo Campaign and others greeted Obama outside Buckingham Palace with a colourful demonstration: http://www.demotix.com/news/702759/protests-take-place-president-obama-visits-buckingham-palace
On the second day of the visit, the London Guantánamo Campaign and Peace Strike continued the protest outside Parliament with a six-hour long vigil calling for Guantánamo’s closure.
The London Guantánamo Campaign also sent a letter to the Guardian and Independent newspapers for publication on the first day of the visit, which was overlooked. It was signed by over 50 individuals and organisations, including former prisoners, politicians and leading lawyers: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/05/unpublished-letters-from-obamas-visit.html
The London Guantánamo Campaign also had the following comment piece published in Open Democracy expressing what we believe the British government should now be doing and telling the US government: http://www.opendemocracy.org.uk/ourkingdom/aisha-maniar/guantanamo-bay-shadow-cast-over-special-relationship
If you have not yet added your name to the open letter to President Obama about Shaker Aamer, please do: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/03/sign-our-open-letter-to-president-obama.html
If you have not yet asked your MP to sign EDM 1093 on Guantánamo Bay, we urge you to do so: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-11/1093
The London Guantánamo Campaign and Kingston CND will be organising a rally in Trafalgar Square on 26 June to mark international day in support of victims of torture. We hope you can join us: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=225756180784961#!/event.php?eid=225756180784961
Photos courtesy of Peace Strike and Radfax
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Unpublished letters from Obama's visit to the UK
With its focus on the dress sense of Mrs Obama and the Duchess of Cambridge, the media quite literally skirted around important issues of joint US-UK concern, such as Guantánamo Bay, when US President Barack Obama visited London on his first official state visit on 24-26 May.
The following letter sent to the Guardian and Independent newspapers and signed by over 50 prominent individuals, including former Guantánamo prisoners, politicians and leading lawyers, as well as organisations, was overlooked for publication:
President Obama’s visit to the UK offers this government a unique opportunity to demand the closure of Guantánamo Bay and the release and return to this country of two men still held there with links to the UK. Ahmed Belbacha, who formerly resided in the UK, was cleared for release over four years ago and is at risk of forced return to Algeria, where his life would be in danger. UK resident Shaker Aamer, who has a British wife and children, has been imprisoned without charge for close to a decade. The latter's case has been raised with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by William Hague and Nick Clegg, but apparently to no avail.
The time has come for David Cameron to take an unequivocal stand by addressing these issues head on with the US president during his visit to the UK.
Signed: Daniel Viesnik, London Guantánamo Campaign; Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London; Bruce Kent; Louise Christian, Christian Khan Solicitors; Andy Worthington; Ray Silk, Save Shaker Aamer Campaign; John Pilger; Sarah Ludford, Lib Dem MEP for London; Baroness Helena Kennedy QC; John McDonnell MP; Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC, Bindmans LLP; Ruhul Ahmed and Tarek Dergoul, former Guantánamo prisoners; Kika Markham; Omar Deghayes, Legal Director, Guantánamo Justice Centre; Kate Hudson, General Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Professor Bill Bowring, Research Fellow, University of Essex; Natalia Garcia, Tyndallwoods Solicitors; Tayab Ali, Irvine Thanvi Natas Solicitors; Liz Davies, barrister and Chair of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers; Anjum Anwar, Dialogue Development Officer, Blackburn Cathedral; Professor Mark McGovern, Department of Social and Psychological Sciences, Edge Hill University; Faisal Hanjra, Assistant Secretary General, MuslimCouncil of Britain; Sultan Sabri, Surrey Solicitors; Salma Yaqoob; Lord Ahmed of Rotherham; Councillor Jonathan Bloch Lib Dem Councillor for Muswell Hill, London Borough of Haringey; Estella Schmid, Campaign Against Criminalising Communities; Maryam Hassan, Justice for Aafia Coalition; Richard Haley, Scotland Against Criminalising Communities; Katherine Craig, Christian Khan Solicitors; Sarah McSherry, Christian Khan Solicitors; Maria Gallastegui, Peace Strike; Darren Johnson, Green London Assembly Member; Millius Palayiwa, Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, England; Chris Coverdale, Campaign to Make Wars History; Dr Shahrar Ali, Green Party; Simon Moore; Anita Olivacce; David Polden; Chris Cole; Noel Hamel, Kingston Peace Council; Joy Hurcombe, Brighton Against Guantanamo; Frances Webber, vice-chair Institute of Race Relations; Maya Evans; Milan Rai, Co-editor, Peace News; Sam Walton; Ismail Patel, Chair, Friends of Al-Aqsa
The following comment piece requested by the London Evening Standard newspaper was also unpublished:
Despite the great hopes of the international community following President Obama’s election to the most powerful office in the world, the Nobel peace prize winner has shown through his actions his intention to continue where his predecessor left off, dispensing with the inconveniences of international law at will. From “extraordinary rendition”, torture and indefinite imprisonment without charge in legal black holes like Guantánamo Bay and Bagram to extrajudicial executions, Obama has demonstrated the futility of hope in a genuine alternative to the reactionary tendencies of the American political elite. If Bush tarnished the standing of the United States in the world, Obama’s administration has done little or nothing to repair that damage.So, as human rights campaigners, we struggle instead for small victories, like the return to the UK of British resident Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha, previously resident in England and whose life would be at risk if returned to his native Algeria. Neither man has been charged with any crime after almost a decade of incarceration in Guantánamo. The very least the Prime Minister can do when he meets Obama this week is ask for the swift return of the two men to the UK.
Daniel Viesnik, London Guantánamo Campaign
The following letter sent to the Guardian and Independent newspapers and signed by over 50 prominent individuals, including former Guantánamo prisoners, politicians and leading lawyers, as well as organisations, was overlooked for publication:
President Obama’s visit to the UK offers this government a unique opportunity to demand the closure of Guantánamo Bay and the release and return to this country of two men still held there with links to the UK. Ahmed Belbacha, who formerly resided in the UK, was cleared for release over four years ago and is at risk of forced return to Algeria, where his life would be in danger. UK resident Shaker Aamer, who has a British wife and children, has been imprisoned without charge for close to a decade. The latter's case has been raised with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by William Hague and Nick Clegg, but apparently to no avail.
The time has come for David Cameron to take an unequivocal stand by addressing these issues head on with the US president during his visit to the UK.
Signed: Daniel Viesnik, London Guantánamo Campaign; Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London; Bruce Kent; Louise Christian, Christian Khan Solicitors; Andy Worthington; Ray Silk, Save Shaker Aamer Campaign; John Pilger; Sarah Ludford, Lib Dem MEP for London; Baroness Helena Kennedy QC; John McDonnell MP; Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC, Bindmans LLP; Ruhul Ahmed and Tarek Dergoul, former Guantánamo prisoners; Kika Markham; Omar Deghayes, Legal Director, Guantánamo Justice Centre; Kate Hudson, General Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Professor Bill Bowring, Research Fellow, University of Essex; Natalia Garcia, Tyndallwoods Solicitors; Tayab Ali, Irvine Thanvi Natas Solicitors; Liz Davies, barrister and Chair of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers; Anjum Anwar, Dialogue Development Officer, Blackburn Cathedral; Professor Mark McGovern, Department of Social and Psychological Sciences, Edge Hill University; Faisal Hanjra, Assistant Secretary General, MuslimCouncil of Britain; Sultan Sabri, Surrey Solicitors; Salma Yaqoob; Lord Ahmed of Rotherham; Councillor Jonathan Bloch Lib Dem Councillor for Muswell Hill, London Borough of Haringey; Estella Schmid, Campaign Against Criminalising Communities; Maryam Hassan, Justice for Aafia Coalition; Richard Haley, Scotland Against Criminalising Communities; Katherine Craig, Christian Khan Solicitors; Sarah McSherry, Christian Khan Solicitors; Maria Gallastegui, Peace Strike; Darren Johnson, Green London Assembly Member; Millius Palayiwa, Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, England; Chris Coverdale, Campaign to Make Wars History; Dr Shahrar Ali, Green Party; Simon Moore; Anita Olivacce; David Polden; Chris Cole; Noel Hamel, Kingston Peace Council; Joy Hurcombe, Brighton Against Guantanamo; Frances Webber, vice-chair Institute of Race Relations; Maya Evans; Milan Rai, Co-editor, Peace News; Sam Walton; Ismail Patel, Chair, Friends of Al-Aqsa
The following comment piece requested by the London Evening Standard newspaper was also unpublished:
Despite the great hopes of the international community following President Obama’s election to the most powerful office in the world, the Nobel peace prize winner has shown through his actions his intention to continue where his predecessor left off, dispensing with the inconveniences of international law at will. From “extraordinary rendition”, torture and indefinite imprisonment without charge in legal black holes like Guantánamo Bay and Bagram to extrajudicial executions, Obama has demonstrated the futility of hope in a genuine alternative to the reactionary tendencies of the American political elite. If Bush tarnished the standing of the United States in the world, Obama’s administration has done little or nothing to repair that damage.So, as human rights campaigners, we struggle instead for small victories, like the return to the UK of British resident Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha, previously resident in England and whose life would be at risk if returned to his native Algeria. Neither man has been charged with any crime after almost a decade of incarceration in Guantánamo. The very least the Prime Minister can do when he meets Obama this week is ask for the swift return of the two men to the UK.
Daniel Viesnik, London Guantánamo Campaign
Monday, May 23, 2011
PRESS RELEASE: Campaigners urge Prime Minister to press President Obama on Guantánamo during UK visit
To coincide with the first UK state visit of President Obama, supporters of the London Guantánamo Campaign [1] sporting orange jumpsuits will join a demonstration outside Buckingham Palace, organised by the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign, [2] on Tuesday 24 May, from 5pm, to demand the closure of Guantánamo Bay and the swift return to the UK of prisoners Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha.
Daniel Viesnik, speaking on behalf of the London Guantánamo Campaign, said: “Obama’s visit to the UK offers the Prime Minister a unique opportunity to demand and facilitate the rapid closure of Guantánamo Bay, and the release and return to the UK of two remaining prisoners with links to this country, namely British resident Shaker Aamer [3] and Ahmed Belbacha [4], who has previously resided in the UK.
“We understand that the Foreign Secretary, William Hague will once again discuss Shaker Aamer’s case with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the President’s visit. [5] Whilst we warmly welcome this, we also call upon the Prime Minister to raise our concerns with President Obama himself.
“In addition, we should follow the example of other European countries that have, on humanitarian grounds, accepted individuals who are not nationals or former residents, but are in a similar plight to Ahmed Belbacha: cleared for release but unable to return to their country of origin out of fears for their safety.
“The release of men like Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha and the closure of legal black holes like Guantánamo Bay are long overdue.”
ENDS
Notes to the editor:
[1] The London Guantánamo Campaign 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] http://saveshaker.org
[3] UK resident and Saudi national Shaker Aamer, who has a British wife and children living in London, has been imprisoned without charge for close to a decade. His case was raised with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during recent visits to the US by Foreign Secretary William Hague and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, but with no clear signs of progress.
Further information: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/shakeraamer
[4] Ahmed Belbacha, an Algerian national, lived in England for two and a half years whilst seeking asylum. He was cleared for release from Guantánamo in February 2007 and is at risk of forced return to Algeria at any time, where his life and liberty would be in grave danger.
Further information: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/ahmedbelbacha
[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13196881
Daniel Viesnik, speaking on behalf of the London Guantánamo Campaign, said: “Obama’s visit to the UK offers the Prime Minister a unique opportunity to demand and facilitate the rapid closure of Guantánamo Bay, and the release and return to the UK of two remaining prisoners with links to this country, namely British resident Shaker Aamer [3] and Ahmed Belbacha [4], who has previously resided in the UK.
“We understand that the Foreign Secretary, William Hague will once again discuss Shaker Aamer’s case with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the President’s visit. [5] Whilst we warmly welcome this, we also call upon the Prime Minister to raise our concerns with President Obama himself.
“In addition, we should follow the example of other European countries that have, on humanitarian grounds, accepted individuals who are not nationals or former residents, but are in a similar plight to Ahmed Belbacha: cleared for release but unable to return to their country of origin out of fears for their safety.
“The release of men like Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha and the closure of legal black holes like Guantánamo Bay are long overdue.”
ENDS
Notes to the editor:
[1] The London Guantánamo Campaign 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] http://saveshaker.org
[3] UK resident and Saudi national Shaker Aamer, who has a British wife and children living in London, has been imprisoned without charge for close to a decade. His case was raised with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during recent visits to the US by Foreign Secretary William Hague and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, but with no clear signs of progress.
Further information: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/shakeraamer
[4] Ahmed Belbacha, an Algerian national, lived in England for two and a half years whilst seeking asylum. He was cleared for release from Guantánamo in February 2007 and is at risk of forced return to Algeria at any time, where his life and liberty would be in grave danger.
Further information: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/ahmedbelbacha
[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13196881
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
LGC Action alert: David Cameron must demand Shaker Aamer’s release and closure of Guantánamo during Obama’s visit to UK (24-26 May)
Action alert: Write to the Prime Minister: David Cameron must demand Shaker Aamer’s release and the closure of Guantánamo Bay during President Obama’s visit to the UK (24-26 May)
US President Barack Obama will pay an official visit to the UK on 24-26 May. Over the past year, Shaker Aamer’s case has been raised by both Foreign Secretary William Hague and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Following the recent disclosure of prisoner files from Guantánamo Bay through Wikileaks, the government has said that Mr Hague will again raise Shaker Aamer’s case with Mrs Clinton when she accompanies Barack Obama on his visit. Gordon Brown’s government first sought his return to the UK in 2007, along with that of four other men who have since returned. Why Shaker Aamer remains at Guantánamo Bay is unclear.
The London Guantánamo Campaign believes that President Obama’s visit is an ideal opportunity for Prime Minister David Cameron to raise Shaker Aamer’s case at the highest level, to demand his release and positive action, not backtracking, by the US president to close Guantánamo Bay and release all prisoners to safety. Recent disclosures and reports show that there are no grounds, moral, legal or otherwise, for the existence of Guantánamo Bay and instead it poses a security risk to both those detained within and those outside of it. Cameron and Obama must not waste this opportunity to bring Shaker Aamer back to the UK and discuss options and actions that lead to the closure of the prison at Guantánamo Bay almost a decade too late.
TAKE ACTION: Write to the Prime Minister:
Write a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, raising some of the issues above and others or using our model letter below, to demand the release of Shaker Aamer, whom the government claims is the last lawful British resident in Guantánamo Bay, and the closure of the prison in talks with President Obama.
Send a copy to your MP (find them at http://www.theyworkforyou.com/)
You can write to the Prime Minister at:
10 Downing Street,
London,
SW1A 2AA
And e-mail him via: https://email.number10.gov.uk/
LGC model letter (can be copy/pasted or adapted):
Dear Mr Cameron,
I am writing to you concerning your forthcoming meeting with President Barack Obama when he visits the UK later this month. President Obama has recently reneged on his promise to close the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, and has reverted to the dubious practices of his predecessor by authorising the resumption of trial by military commission, and signing an executive order to continue the indefinite detention of several dozen prisoners.
Both the previous UK government and your own have stated a wish to see the prison at Guantánamo closed. According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, “the UK believes that the indefinite detention of detainees is unacceptable and we have repeatedly called for Guantánamo Bay to be closed”. These calls have clearly fallen on deaf ears.
Shaker Aamer, a British resident whose wife and children are British citizens, remains in illegal imprisonment at Guantánamo, with no apparent explanation for his continued detention. Both William Hague and Nick Clegg have raised the matter of his repatriation to the UK with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, “these discussions continue at a senior level” and the BBC reports that Mr Hague will raise this matter again with Mrs Clinton when she accompanies President Obama.
However, as heads of state, surely the time has come for you, as Prime Minister, to address these issues head on with President Obama during his forthcoming visit, to obtain the release of Mr Aamer, and the closure of Guantánamo Bay.
US President Barack Obama will pay an official visit to the UK on 24-26 May. Over the past year, Shaker Aamer’s case has been raised by both Foreign Secretary William Hague and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Following the recent disclosure of prisoner files from Guantánamo Bay through Wikileaks, the government has said that Mr Hague will again raise Shaker Aamer’s case with Mrs Clinton when she accompanies Barack Obama on his visit. Gordon Brown’s government first sought his return to the UK in 2007, along with that of four other men who have since returned. Why Shaker Aamer remains at Guantánamo Bay is unclear.
The London Guantánamo Campaign believes that President Obama’s visit is an ideal opportunity for Prime Minister David Cameron to raise Shaker Aamer’s case at the highest level, to demand his release and positive action, not backtracking, by the US president to close Guantánamo Bay and release all prisoners to safety. Recent disclosures and reports show that there are no grounds, moral, legal or otherwise, for the existence of Guantánamo Bay and instead it poses a security risk to both those detained within and those outside of it. Cameron and Obama must not waste this opportunity to bring Shaker Aamer back to the UK and discuss options and actions that lead to the closure of the prison at Guantánamo Bay almost a decade too late.
TAKE ACTION: Write to the Prime Minister:
Write a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, raising some of the issues above and others or using our model letter below, to demand the release of Shaker Aamer, whom the government claims is the last lawful British resident in Guantánamo Bay, and the closure of the prison in talks with President Obama.
Send a copy to your MP (find them at http://www.theyworkforyou.com/)
You can write to the Prime Minister at:
10 Downing Street,
London,
SW1A 2AA
And e-mail him via: https://email.number10.gov.uk/
LGC model letter (can be copy/pasted or adapted):
Dear Mr Cameron,
I am writing to you concerning your forthcoming meeting with President Barack Obama when he visits the UK later this month. President Obama has recently reneged on his promise to close the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, and has reverted to the dubious practices of his predecessor by authorising the resumption of trial by military commission, and signing an executive order to continue the indefinite detention of several dozen prisoners.
Both the previous UK government and your own have stated a wish to see the prison at Guantánamo closed. According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, “the UK believes that the indefinite detention of detainees is unacceptable and we have repeatedly called for Guantánamo Bay to be closed”. These calls have clearly fallen on deaf ears.
Shaker Aamer, a British resident whose wife and children are British citizens, remains in illegal imprisonment at Guantánamo, with no apparent explanation for his continued detention. Both William Hague and Nick Clegg have raised the matter of his repatriation to the UK with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, “these discussions continue at a senior level” and the BBC reports that Mr Hague will raise this matter again with Mrs Clinton when she accompanies President Obama.
However, as heads of state, surely the time has come for you, as Prime Minister, to address these issues head on with President Obama during his forthcoming visit, to obtain the release of Mr Aamer, and the closure of Guantánamo Bay.
Friday, April 29, 2011
LGC Newsletter – April 2011
NEWS:
Guantánamo Bay:
A court case brought in New York by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Justice and Accountability against a psychologist who had served in the army and at Guantánamo Bay was thrown out by the judge in early April. The case was brought to strip John F. Leso, who was not actually named in the case, of his license to work as a psychologist in New York after he was accused of developing the use of interrogation techniques in 2002 and 2003 at Guantánamo such as sleep deprivation, exposing prisoners to extremes of cold and forcing them to take liquids intravenously. The judge sympathised with the claimants and recognised that there was a moral issue but said that the case was not a matter for the courts to decide. In 2008, the American Psychological Association banned members from taking part in interrogations at Guantánamo and other similar prisons because of the likelihood of a breach of professional ethics. However, the New York board felt that it was not its place to revoke the license in this case.
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP45ec354e2aa8459b90854c40432cbc77.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
Having announced the resumption of military commissions for prisoners facing charges at Guantánamo Bay, the US administration announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men accused of involvement in and masterminding attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in September 2001 will stand trial before military commission at Guantánamo Bay. The defendants may face the death penalty and the chances of them getting a fair trial, given their treatment while in detention, and the negative publicity surrounding their cases, is unlikely. President Obama had previously wanted these five men to be tried before a civilian court in New York; however, there was a lot of opposition to this move. The timing of this announcement is opportune for the American president who will shortly start stepping the campaign for re-election for a second term and comes just months before the tenth anniversary of the 11 September attacks, which allegedly provide the rationale for the existence of the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/04/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-guantanamo-military-trial
In setbacks in the US courts, three prisoners lost separate appeal cases concerning their access to the courts to challenge the grounds of their detention. All three, a Kuwaiti and two Yemenis, have been held at Guantánamo for over nine years. The judges did not give reasons for rejecting the appeals.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/04/scotus.gitmo.appeals/
In a separate case, five Uighur Chinese prisoners, who refused to be moved to Palau or other countries that were willing to accept them, lost a case for the US to consider housing them on the mainland. The US does not consider the men to pose any threat but is keen to send them to other countries which may receive them. China, in which Uighur Muslims are an oppressed ethnic and religious minority, has pressed for the men to be returned there, a move they fear, due to the harsh crackdown on and deaths of Uighurs in custody.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13123591
Former Australian prisoner, Mamdouh Habib, who came to a confidential out-of-court settlement and compensation deal with the Australian government last year, is due to start legal proceedings against Egyptian vice-president Omar Suleiman for his involvement in his torture when he was rendered to Egypt in 2001. Mamdouh Habib alleges that on at least one occasion Omar Suleiman, a senior military official and intelligence chief who has been involved in the US extraordinary rendition programme since then mid-1990s, was present while he was being tortured. Mr Habib alleges that in while Egypt he was subject to electric shocks, cigarette burns and other forms of torture. Egypt denies ever having detained him. Mr Habib is of Egyptian origin and also plans to sue the US administration. This is seen as a key case for human rights in Egypt since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Potential revelations in this case about extraordinary rendition, the involvement of other states and the outsourcing of torture could have serious ramifications for other countries.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/habib-sues-egyptian-vice-president-for-torture/story-e6frg6nf-1226039372352
Following his settlement with the Australian government, it announced that a (non-judicial) inquiry would be launched into Australia’s involvement in his torture. However, the Australian government has recently announced that some of the evidence against it will be heard in private.
Former Tunisian prisoner Adel Ben Mabrouk was deported from Italy to Tunisia on 20 April. One of two men sought by Italy on terrorism charges, he was released recently after he was convicted on lesser charges and the judge deemed that following his eight years of imprisonment at Guantánamo, he had served his sentence and it was commuted. Upon release, following the on-going unrest in Tunisia and elsewhere in the North Africa region, concerns were raised as to his safety on return to the country, however Italy decided to deport him citing public safety and national security concerns. His deportation was made under an agreement between Italian and Tunisian diplomats.
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE73J2H920110420
Amnesty USA has released the following press release concerning his deportation: http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGPRE012202011&lang=e&rss=recentnews
A Saudi prisoner has been charged and faces a military commission over the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. Abdul Rahim Al-Nashiri had been charged previously but the charges were dropped in 2009. He came to Guantánamo in 2006, after having been held for over 4 years at secret detention centres around the world where he was tortured, including having been waterboarded. He was previously sentenced in absentia in Yemen for the attack. While prosecutors are likely to seek the death penalty, a conviction is unlikely due to the serious allegations of torture through which evidence was obtained.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cole-bomber-20110421,0,6793980.story
On 25 April, the Guardian, the New York Times and other newspapers published a series of over 800 files obtained from Wikileaks about Guantánamo Bay, including prisoner files for all the prisoners held there. While not essentially providing very much new information as such, the files confirm what lawyers and human rights NGOs have long been saying about the prisoners and their innocence. The files prove that many prisoners pose no threat at all, were arrested and detained on flimsy bases and often based on hearsay, children and elderly prisoners were held, and that allegations made by a handful of prisoners against others were taken as fact. The process of collecting and analysing intelligence at Guantánamo Bay was extremely poor. The files do not make much reference to torture or interrogation techniques or other jails prisoners may have been held at.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-lift-lid-prison
A press release from Reprieve:
http://reprieve.org.uk/2011_wiki_easter
Following allegations made concerning British resident Shaker Aamer, who is deemed to pose a “high risk” and is accused of being uncooperative in his assessment, the British government has said that it will once again raise his case with the Americans when President Obama visits London next month. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, who has already raised the case with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will do so again: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13196881
A new report by the US-based NGO Physicians for Human Rights accuses doctors who worked at Guantánamo Bay of deliberating hiding the signs of torture in their reports and assessments. A doctor and a retired US Army medical officer, who had access to the files through their work, produced nine case studies of prisoners. In all the cases, they claim that it was impossible for doctors not to have been aware of the effects of the sustained use of torture and questionable interrogation techniques on prisoners. The doctors neglected and failed to report abuses of patients. The study recommends that, if proven, doctors involved should be struck off and face legal prosecution for neglecting their professional duty of care to patients.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-doctors-hid-signs-of-torture-at-guantanamo-2275214.html
Extraordinary rendition:
Following requests made under the Freedom of Information Act in 2008 by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, following allegations made by former SAS soldier Ben Griffin of abuses committed by British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Information Rights Tribunal has ordered the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to release documents relating to British involvement in the rendition of prisoners seized in Iraq and Afghanistan to the US military, who were later tortured and abused. The MoD had claimed that releasing the data would be expensive and would harm international relations. The MoD has 30 days to appeal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/18/extraordinary-rendition-uk-involvement-mod
LGC Activities:
Around a dozen people attended the April Shut Down Guantánamo! demonstration held in solidarity with alleged Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. This month’s demonstration is on Friday 6 May at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair and 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s Corner (Marble Arch, Hyde Park).
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=114513271963590
In response to the latest Wikileaks on Guantánamo Bay, the LGC has put together the following response: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/04/wikileaks-guantanamo-files.html
The following letter concerning Shaker Aamer and Wikileaks by the LGC was published in the Guardian on 28 April: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/28/guantanamo-travesty-justice-shaker-aamer
The LGC held a protest action in Parliament Square on 28 April. Here is a short video of the action. Many thanks to PeaceStrike for facilitating this action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EccPheIlrQ4
If you have not yet added your name to the open letter to President Obama about Shaker Aamer, please do: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/03/sign-our-open-letter-to-president-obama.html
If you have not yet asked your MP to sign EDM 1093 on Guantánamo Bay, we urge you to do so. With the latest revelations through Wikileaks, now is a good time to do so: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-11/1093
Guantánamo Bay:
A court case brought in New York by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Justice and Accountability against a psychologist who had served in the army and at Guantánamo Bay was thrown out by the judge in early April. The case was brought to strip John F. Leso, who was not actually named in the case, of his license to work as a psychologist in New York after he was accused of developing the use of interrogation techniques in 2002 and 2003 at Guantánamo such as sleep deprivation, exposing prisoners to extremes of cold and forcing them to take liquids intravenously. The judge sympathised with the claimants and recognised that there was a moral issue but said that the case was not a matter for the courts to decide. In 2008, the American Psychological Association banned members from taking part in interrogations at Guantánamo and other similar prisons because of the likelihood of a breach of professional ethics. However, the New York board felt that it was not its place to revoke the license in this case.
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP45ec354e2aa8459b90854c40432cbc77.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
Having announced the resumption of military commissions for prisoners facing charges at Guantánamo Bay, the US administration announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men accused of involvement in and masterminding attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in September 2001 will stand trial before military commission at Guantánamo Bay. The defendants may face the death penalty and the chances of them getting a fair trial, given their treatment while in detention, and the negative publicity surrounding their cases, is unlikely. President Obama had previously wanted these five men to be tried before a civilian court in New York; however, there was a lot of opposition to this move. The timing of this announcement is opportune for the American president who will shortly start stepping the campaign for re-election for a second term and comes just months before the tenth anniversary of the 11 September attacks, which allegedly provide the rationale for the existence of the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/04/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-guantanamo-military-trial
In setbacks in the US courts, three prisoners lost separate appeal cases concerning their access to the courts to challenge the grounds of their detention. All three, a Kuwaiti and two Yemenis, have been held at Guantánamo for over nine years. The judges did not give reasons for rejecting the appeals.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/04/scotus.gitmo.appeals/
In a separate case, five Uighur Chinese prisoners, who refused to be moved to Palau or other countries that were willing to accept them, lost a case for the US to consider housing them on the mainland. The US does not consider the men to pose any threat but is keen to send them to other countries which may receive them. China, in which Uighur Muslims are an oppressed ethnic and religious minority, has pressed for the men to be returned there, a move they fear, due to the harsh crackdown on and deaths of Uighurs in custody.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13123591
Former Australian prisoner, Mamdouh Habib, who came to a confidential out-of-court settlement and compensation deal with the Australian government last year, is due to start legal proceedings against Egyptian vice-president Omar Suleiman for his involvement in his torture when he was rendered to Egypt in 2001. Mamdouh Habib alleges that on at least one occasion Omar Suleiman, a senior military official and intelligence chief who has been involved in the US extraordinary rendition programme since then mid-1990s, was present while he was being tortured. Mr Habib alleges that in while Egypt he was subject to electric shocks, cigarette burns and other forms of torture. Egypt denies ever having detained him. Mr Habib is of Egyptian origin and also plans to sue the US administration. This is seen as a key case for human rights in Egypt since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Potential revelations in this case about extraordinary rendition, the involvement of other states and the outsourcing of torture could have serious ramifications for other countries.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/habib-sues-egyptian-vice-president-for-torture/story-e6frg6nf-1226039372352
Following his settlement with the Australian government, it announced that a (non-judicial) inquiry would be launched into Australia’s involvement in his torture. However, the Australian government has recently announced that some of the evidence against it will be heard in private.
Former Tunisian prisoner Adel Ben Mabrouk was deported from Italy to Tunisia on 20 April. One of two men sought by Italy on terrorism charges, he was released recently after he was convicted on lesser charges and the judge deemed that following his eight years of imprisonment at Guantánamo, he had served his sentence and it was commuted. Upon release, following the on-going unrest in Tunisia and elsewhere in the North Africa region, concerns were raised as to his safety on return to the country, however Italy decided to deport him citing public safety and national security concerns. His deportation was made under an agreement between Italian and Tunisian diplomats.
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE73J2H920110420
Amnesty USA has released the following press release concerning his deportation: http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGPRE012202011&lang=e&rss=recentnews
A Saudi prisoner has been charged and faces a military commission over the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. Abdul Rahim Al-Nashiri had been charged previously but the charges were dropped in 2009. He came to Guantánamo in 2006, after having been held for over 4 years at secret detention centres around the world where he was tortured, including having been waterboarded. He was previously sentenced in absentia in Yemen for the attack. While prosecutors are likely to seek the death penalty, a conviction is unlikely due to the serious allegations of torture through which evidence was obtained.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cole-bomber-20110421,0,6793980.story
On 25 April, the Guardian, the New York Times and other newspapers published a series of over 800 files obtained from Wikileaks about Guantánamo Bay, including prisoner files for all the prisoners held there. While not essentially providing very much new information as such, the files confirm what lawyers and human rights NGOs have long been saying about the prisoners and their innocence. The files prove that many prisoners pose no threat at all, were arrested and detained on flimsy bases and often based on hearsay, children and elderly prisoners were held, and that allegations made by a handful of prisoners against others were taken as fact. The process of collecting and analysing intelligence at Guantánamo Bay was extremely poor. The files do not make much reference to torture or interrogation techniques or other jails prisoners may have been held at.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-lift-lid-prison
A press release from Reprieve:
http://reprieve.org.uk/2011_wiki_easter
Following allegations made concerning British resident Shaker Aamer, who is deemed to pose a “high risk” and is accused of being uncooperative in his assessment, the British government has said that it will once again raise his case with the Americans when President Obama visits London next month. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, who has already raised the case with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will do so again: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13196881
A new report by the US-based NGO Physicians for Human Rights accuses doctors who worked at Guantánamo Bay of deliberating hiding the signs of torture in their reports and assessments. A doctor and a retired US Army medical officer, who had access to the files through their work, produced nine case studies of prisoners. In all the cases, they claim that it was impossible for doctors not to have been aware of the effects of the sustained use of torture and questionable interrogation techniques on prisoners. The doctors neglected and failed to report abuses of patients. The study recommends that, if proven, doctors involved should be struck off and face legal prosecution for neglecting their professional duty of care to patients.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-doctors-hid-signs-of-torture-at-guantanamo-2275214.html
Extraordinary rendition:
Following requests made under the Freedom of Information Act in 2008 by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, following allegations made by former SAS soldier Ben Griffin of abuses committed by British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Information Rights Tribunal has ordered the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to release documents relating to British involvement in the rendition of prisoners seized in Iraq and Afghanistan to the US military, who were later tortured and abused. The MoD had claimed that releasing the data would be expensive and would harm international relations. The MoD has 30 days to appeal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/18/extraordinary-rendition-uk-involvement-mod
LGC Activities:
Around a dozen people attended the April Shut Down Guantánamo! demonstration held in solidarity with alleged Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. This month’s demonstration is on Friday 6 May at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair and 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s Corner (Marble Arch, Hyde Park).
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=114513271963590
In response to the latest Wikileaks on Guantánamo Bay, the LGC has put together the following response: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/04/wikileaks-guantanamo-files.html
The following letter concerning Shaker Aamer and Wikileaks by the LGC was published in the Guardian on 28 April: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/28/guantanamo-travesty-justice-shaker-aamer
The LGC held a protest action in Parliament Square on 28 April. Here is a short video of the action. Many thanks to PeaceStrike for facilitating this action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EccPheIlrQ4
If you have not yet added your name to the open letter to President Obama about Shaker Aamer, please do: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/03/sign-our-open-letter-to-president-obama.html
If you have not yet asked your MP to sign EDM 1093 on Guantánamo Bay, we urge you to do so. With the latest revelations through Wikileaks, now is a good time to do so: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-11/1093
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wikileaks: The Guantánamo Files
Wikileaks and Guantánamo Bay have a curious affinity: the treatment of Bradley Manning, the Welsh American US military analyst accused of leaking confidential military data (including the 800+ Guantánamo files), has been compared to that of prisoners held at Guantánamo. In an interview as part of John Pilger’s recent documentary film The War You Don’t See, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange compared Guantánamo Bay to a tax haven, “used for laundering people […] which doesn’t follow the rule of law”. Keeping with the trade in human beings, in breaking the latest Wikileaks, The Guardian referred to prisoners being sent to Guantánamo as being “shipped".
Apart from major breakthroughs, such as discovering the alleged terrorist’s choice of wristwatch, much of what is contained in the files confirms what lawyers representing prisoners and human rights NGOs have been saying all along. They have long said that many prisoners are innocent and have not been involved in any criminal activity. What emerges is the poor use and analysis of intelligence to classify prisoners and then use this as a basis for their detention. For 172 prisoners, including British residents Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha, it continues to provide a basis almost a decade on.
The flimsy nature of the evidence demonstrates why due process and fair trials have never been an option for Guantánamo prisoners. Yet almost a decade later, it also underlines the reasons why a civilised society should not sway from such principles and why they are so essential. Much of the “evidence” is mere hearsay or supposition which for the past decade has been treated as hard fact, used to detain people indefinitely and deny them their basic rights. Had recognised legal and interrogations methods been used ten years ago, the Obama administration would probably not now be facing the dilemma it does with respect to closing Guantánamo. The ill-conceived and brutal methods used have not made anyone safer.
The Obama administration has been quick to condemn the publication of these files even though they largely relate to the Bush era and make little mention of torture and other interrogation techniques or refer to the prisoners’ experiences at other prisons such as Bagram. Indeed, the prisoners’ statements are “included without consideration of veracity, accuracy or reliability”, hence there is no need to work out whether they were obtained through torture or “enhanced interrogation techniques”.
The files reveal just how little truth and justice matter at Guantánamo and no real, defensible pretext has been given for the on-going detention of over 100 men. The latest Wikileaks aside, President Obama has recently played his part in continuing the illegality of the regime at Guantánamo Bay by choosing to resume military commissions and “legalise” the indefinite detention of dozens of prisoners. This is in addition to his broken promise to close the prison by the beginning of 2010.
The treatment of Bradley Manning, the joint US-UK national US army officer alleged to be the source of the leaks, shows the US government’s continuing and deep-rooted contempt for the rule of law. At the Quantico military prison in Virginia, where he was held until recently, Bradley Manning was said to have been kept for up to 23 hours a day in his cell in solitary confinement and only allowed to exercise for one hour with shackles on his legs.
With respect to both the Guantánamo prisoners and Bradley Manning, responsibility does not lie squarely on the shoulders of the American administration. The latest Wikileaks show the British government permitted the rendition of British nationals and residents to Guantánamo early on, despite claims by former intelligence heads and ministers that they had been misled by the US.
In its leading article on the Guantánamo files, The Independent states that “all real movement to close the camp has been abandoned”. Nonetheless, the London Guantánamo Campaign remains committed to working towards the closure of Guantánamo Bay and other prisons similar to it, and justice for the prisoners held there.
Both the US and UK governments claim that they would like to see Guantánamo Bay close, but their actions and words do not match up. With heads of both states due to meet in London next month as part of Obama’s official visit to the UK, now is a good time for both men to seriously discuss the closure of Guantánamo Bay.
Earlier this month, our monthly Shut Down Guantánamo! demonstration outside the US Embassy was held in solidarity with Bradley Manning. The next demonstration, outside the US Embassy at 12pm on Friday 6 May, will be in solidarity with prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Bagram and other similar illegal detention facilities. We invite everyone to join us and make a stand for truth and justice.
The flimsy nature of the evidence demonstrates why due process and fair trials have never been an option for Guantánamo prisoners. Yet almost a decade later, it also underlines the reasons why a civilised society should not sway from such principles and why they are so essential. Much of the “evidence” is mere hearsay or supposition which for the past decade has been treated as hard fact, used to detain people indefinitely and deny them their basic rights. Had recognised legal and interrogations methods been used ten years ago, the Obama administration would probably not now be facing the dilemma it does with respect to closing Guantánamo. The ill-conceived and brutal methods used have not made anyone safer.
The Obama administration has been quick to condemn the publication of these files even though they largely relate to the Bush era and make little mention of torture and other interrogation techniques or refer to the prisoners’ experiences at other prisons such as Bagram. Indeed, the prisoners’ statements are “included without consideration of veracity, accuracy or reliability”, hence there is no need to work out whether they were obtained through torture or “enhanced interrogation techniques”.
The files reveal just how little truth and justice matter at Guantánamo and no real, defensible pretext has been given for the on-going detention of over 100 men. The latest Wikileaks aside, President Obama has recently played his part in continuing the illegality of the regime at Guantánamo Bay by choosing to resume military commissions and “legalise” the indefinite detention of dozens of prisoners. This is in addition to his broken promise to close the prison by the beginning of 2010.
The treatment of Bradley Manning, the joint US-UK national US army officer alleged to be the source of the leaks, shows the US government’s continuing and deep-rooted contempt for the rule of law. At the Quantico military prison in Virginia, where he was held until recently, Bradley Manning was said to have been kept for up to 23 hours a day in his cell in solitary confinement and only allowed to exercise for one hour with shackles on his legs.
With respect to both the Guantánamo prisoners and Bradley Manning, responsibility does not lie squarely on the shoulders of the American administration. The latest Wikileaks show the British government permitted the rendition of British nationals and residents to Guantánamo early on, despite claims by former intelligence heads and ministers that they had been misled by the US.
In its leading article on the Guantánamo files, The Independent states that “all real movement to close the camp has been abandoned”. Nonetheless, the London Guantánamo Campaign remains committed to working towards the closure of Guantánamo Bay and other prisons similar to it, and justice for the prisoners held there.
Both the US and UK governments claim that they would like to see Guantánamo Bay close, but their actions and words do not match up. With heads of both states due to meet in London next month as part of Obama’s official visit to the UK, now is a good time for both men to seriously discuss the closure of Guantánamo Bay.
Earlier this month, our monthly Shut Down Guantánamo! demonstration outside the US Embassy was held in solidarity with Bradley Manning. The next demonstration, outside the US Embassy at 12pm on Friday 6 May, will be in solidarity with prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Bagram and other similar illegal detention facilities. We invite everyone to join us and make a stand for truth and justice.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
LGC Newsletter – March 2011
LGC Newsletter – March 2011 NEWS: Guantánamo Bay: In early March, President Obama approved the resumption of military trials at Guantánamo Bay. Having pledged upon becoming president to close Guantánamo by early 2010 and allow civilian trials for prisoners, he has broken these promises and demonstrated that his administration has no intention to do either. Instead, he is keenly following the policies of his predecessor. In over nine years, only one prisoner has had a civilian trial. The shambolic trials held before military tribunals thus far, including that of child soldier Omar Khadr, have almost always resulted in plea bargains in which the defendant pleads guilty in return for a reduced sentence without any disclosure of any evidence against him or any real attempt to allow him to defend himself. The whole procedure is deeply unfair and flawed. Guilty pleas may arise as a result of the terms of the bargain, which are always kept secret, the possibility of early release, which often comes with conditions and does not ensure release at all, or the realisation that a fair trial at a Guantánamo Bay military court is impossible. Obama suspended the use of military trials on his first day as president when he signed an order for Guantánamo Bay to close by 22 January 2010. As well as lifting this suspension, he has now also signed an executive law to legalise the almost decade-long policy of indefinite arbitrary detention at Guantánamo Bay. Still expressing his verbal wish to see Guantánamo Bay close, his actions demonstrate otherwise. Amnesty International has issued the following relevant document: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR51/016/2011/en/2c6adc7b-f362-4120-b934-a6a0d4d17c6c/amr510162011en.pdf Extraordinary rendition: With the forthcoming Gibson Inquiry due to start proceedings soon, an inquiry whose stated aim is to “draw a line” under the past government’s policy of involvement in torture, new claims have emerged against the British government. A Kenyan national, accused of involvement in planning attacks in Uganda last year, was kidnapped and rendered to that country last summer, where he was held and tortured for two months, before being charged. He and his lawyers claimed that during that time he was questioned by an MI5 agent: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/30/uganda-kenya At the same time, former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has stated that the ISI, Pakistan’s intelligence services, had never been told by the British government – or that it had a policy to this effect – not to use torture when interrogating British nationals. Several claims have been made against the British government by individuals, both British and foreign nationals, while held in Pakistan. Furthermore, this month, the Foreign Office published guidance for all Foreign Office staff overseas on how to report torture or mistreatment they become aware of: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=570338282 LGC Activities: Ten people attended the March Shut Down Guantánamo! Demonstration which was held in solidarity with American political and death row prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal. The next demonstration is at 12-1pm on Friday 1 April outside the US Embassy, Mayfair and then from 1.15-2.15pm at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. This demonstration is in solidarity Bradley Manning, accused of illegally providing military information to Wikileaks. Please join us if you can. This month the LGC launched a new letter-writing campaign for Shaker Aamer: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/03/sign-our-open-letter-to-president-obama.html Each month we will send a letter to the American president signed by UK nationals and residents to the let the American government know that we would like Mr Aamer back. In over 9 years of imprisonment, he has faced no charges and is unlikely to face a military tribunal. It is unclear why the US refuses to release him. More than 100 people from all over the UK added their names to the letter in March – thank you very much! If you have not yet added yours, please e-mail the LGC london.gtmo@gmail.com to do so. The LGC now has a new website: http://londonguantanamo.org.uk/ at which we hope to update information about our campaigns and actions regularly. The LGC can also be followed at: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/ and on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/London-Guant%C3%A1namo-Campaign/114010671973111
Friday, March 25, 2011
Press Release: Campaigners decry involvement of Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib interrogation firms in UK Census
Press Release - Friday, 25 March 2011 - For immediate release
The London Guantánamo Campaign [1] is concerned about the involvement in the upcoming UK-wide Census of two private companies that were contracted to carry out coercive prisoner interrogations at the notorious US military detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, Iraq. [2]
The latest ten-yearly Census will take place this weekend (27 March). It has drawn criticism from a range of peace and civil liberties campaigners opposed to the involvement of US-based military and intelligence agency contractors Lockheed Martin - one of the world’s largest military equipment manufacturers - and CACI - implicated in human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib. Concerns have also been expressed about the intrusiveness of the questions and issues of data confidentiality. [3]
Daniel Viesnik, from the London Guantánamo Campaign, commented:
“Members of the public with valid concerns about excessive state intrusion into their personal lives, or who may feel under particular suspicion by virtue of their ethnic, religious or political background, will be wary of completing the Census. The involvement of two private companies associated with coercive interrogations and other intelligence gathering on behalf of the US authorities will do nothing to allay those concerns, and will understandably result in many individuals choosing not to co-operate.”
ENDS
Notes to editor:
1. The London Guantánamo Campaign 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. The UK subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA was awarded a £150M contract to provide data capture and processing support services for the 2011 Census in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2008/0828_lmuk-2011-census.html
The UK subsidiary of CACI, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, USA, was awarded an £18.5M contract to provide census printing and data capture services in support of the 2011 Census in Scotland.
http://www.caci.co.uk/212.aspx
Links to articles relating to Lockheed Martin’s involvement at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and CACI’s involvement at Abu Ghraib:
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12757
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/06/scotland-census-abu-ghraib
http://www.alternet.org/books/149492/prophets_of_war%3A_how_defense_contractor_lockheed_martin_dominates_the_military_establishment
3. Further information on campaigns around the 2011 Census:
Lockheed Martin and the England and Wales, and Northern Ireland Census:
https://network23.org/countmeout
http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2291/1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/19/census-boycott-lockheed-martin
http://www.nocensustakingpart.co.uk/index.html
http://www.peacenewslog.info/2011/03/how-to-fill-in-your-census-form-without-lockheed-martin-profiting-long-version/
CACI and the Scotland Census:
http://www.ethicalcensus.org.uk
http://www.sacc.org.uk
Privacy and data confidentiality concerns:
http://www.no2id.net
The London Guantánamo Campaign [1] is concerned about the involvement in the upcoming UK-wide Census of two private companies that were contracted to carry out coercive prisoner interrogations at the notorious US military detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, Iraq. [2]
The latest ten-yearly Census will take place this weekend (27 March). It has drawn criticism from a range of peace and civil liberties campaigners opposed to the involvement of US-based military and intelligence agency contractors Lockheed Martin - one of the world’s largest military equipment manufacturers - and CACI - implicated in human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib. Concerns have also been expressed about the intrusiveness of the questions and issues of data confidentiality. [3]
Daniel Viesnik, from the London Guantánamo Campaign, commented:
“Members of the public with valid concerns about excessive state intrusion into their personal lives, or who may feel under particular suspicion by virtue of their ethnic, religious or political background, will be wary of completing the Census. The involvement of two private companies associated with coercive interrogations and other intelligence gathering on behalf of the US authorities will do nothing to allay those concerns, and will understandably result in many individuals choosing not to co-operate.”
ENDS
Notes to editor:
1. The London Guantánamo Campaign 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. The UK subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA was awarded a £150M contract to provide data capture and processing support services for the 2011 Census in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2008/0828_lmuk-2011-census.html
The UK subsidiary of CACI, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, USA, was awarded an £18.5M contract to provide census printing and data capture services in support of the 2011 Census in Scotland.
http://www.caci.co.uk/212.aspx
Links to articles relating to Lockheed Martin’s involvement at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and CACI’s involvement at Abu Ghraib:
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12757
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/06/scotland-census-abu-ghraib
http://www.alternet.org/books/149492/prophets_of_war%3A_how_defense_contractor_lockheed_martin_dominates_the_military_establishment
3. Further information on campaigns around the 2011 Census:
Lockheed Martin and the England and Wales, and Northern Ireland Census:
https://network23.org/countmeout
http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2291/1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/19/census-boycott-lockheed-martin
http://www.nocensustakingpart.co.uk/index.html
http://www.peacenewslog.info/2011/03/how-to-fill-in-your-census-form-without-lockheed-martin-profiting-long-version/
CACI and the Scotland Census:
http://www.ethicalcensus.org.uk
http://www.sacc.org.uk
Privacy and data confidentiality concerns:
http://www.no2id.net
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Response from the FCO to LGC letter of 11 January 2011
On 11 January this year, as part of our actions to mark the ninth anniversary of Guantánamo Bay, the London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC) delivered a letter to the Prime Minister at Downing Street calling on the British government to take action over the closure of Guantánamo and to step up measures to see the illegal prison closed. The letter was signed by 75 individuals and representatives of organisations, including MEPs Baroness Sarah Ludford (Lib Dem) and Jean Lambert (Green) and MPs Caroline Lucas (Green) and John McDonnell (Labour). A short version of the letter was published in the Guardian newspaper on the same day. A further 200 signatures were collected on the same letter and posted to Downing Street later in the day during the LGC’s anniversary vigil.We have now received a response to our letter from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) which is woefully inadequate in view of the ongoing detention without trial or charge of over 170 men for over nine years. The letter simply reiterates the same cut-and-paste points this government and its predecessor have churned out in correspondence over the past several years without addressing the concerns raised by campaigners. Contrary to what Ms Wilson claims, unlike many of its European counterparts, the UK has failed to accept any prisoners with no ties to this country and has failed, after more than 9 years, to secure the release of Shaker Aamer, who has a British family and the legal right to remain in the UK. All other European states have managed to repatriate their nationals and residents. It is unfortunate that this government does not wish to follow the good example set by other European states and accept other prisoners.
At the same time, the Obama administration has now confirmed its plans to move ahead with sham trials through military commissions and the indefinite detention of over 40 prisoners. This comes as no surprise with Obama’s record of broken promises over Guantánamo Bay. However such news is no comfort for the prisoners whose present and future remain hostage to the whims of an extra-legal system of arbitrary detention and abuse. Like Obama’s oral assurances at the time, the British government must go beyond its statements and substantiate its commitment to the closure of Guantánamo Bay through actions, such as those demanded in our letter. The LGC will respond to the FCO and invites those who signed the original letter to respond as well.
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