MEDIA RELEASE: London Guantánamo Campaign to stage “murder scene” outside US Embassy London to mark 100th day of Guantánamo
Hunger Strike, Saturday 18th May, 2-4pm
15 May 2013 - For immediate release
The vast majority of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay [1] have
been on hunger strike since 6 February [2]. The Pentagon currently puts the
number of hunger strikers at over 100 of the remaining 166 prisoners, with over
two dozen prisoners reported to be force fed in a method the UN has described
as torture [3].
On Friday 17 May, the hunger strike will enter its 100th
day. Hunger strikes can be fatal both in the short and longer term with food
deprivation leading to organ failure and other medical complications. At least
8 of the 9 prisoners known to have died at Guantánamo Bay in unusual
circumstances, reported as “suicide” in at least 7 cases, had previously taken
part in sustained hunger strikes. British resident Shaker Aamer [4] is on
hunger strike and reported to being force fed.
As part of an international weekend of action [5], the
London Guantánamo Campaign [6] will hold a demonstration on Saturday 18 May at
2-4pm outside the US Embassy in London. A murder scene will be staged to
highlight the potentially fatal effects of this hunger strike and the culpability
of the US administration for the deaths of prisoners who have died there, all
of whom faced no charges or trial, and in the case of the last fatality had long
been cleared for release [7].
Aisha Maniar, an organiser from the London Guantánamo
Campaign, said:
“Weeks of official denial of the legitimate protest by
prisoners has been met with violence and a lockdown. There has been no attempt
whatsoever to address the issues raised by the hunger strike or to bring this
desperate protest to an end, which inches ever closer to a fatality.
"President Obama’s recent statements on Guantánamo Bay
ring hollow in light of actions he sanctioned just prior to and during this
hunger strike. The time for rhetoric expired long ago as did the indefensible
defences for over a decade of indefinite detention. The current and former US
administrations have deliberately chosen not to close Guantánamo Bay; it
remains as expedient as ever. With hands already steeped in the blood and
physical and psychological torture of prisoners, unless it takes immediate
positive action, the US government will continue to see this situation spiral
out of control with disastrous consequences all round.”
Contact:
E-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITOR
1. 166 prisoners remain at Guantánamo Bay, of whom more
than half have been cleared for release and less than a dozen face charges.
With few exceptions, all have been held for up to and over 11 years without
charge or trial.
2. On 4 March, lawyers for the prisoners wrote to the
prison commander Rear Admiral John Smith raising these matters and the
resulting hunger strike, calling on the US military to “take immediate measures
to bring an end this potentially life - threatening situation in the camps by
addressing the reasons that give rise to it.
“Camp authorities must cease the arbitrary and regressive
practices being reported by our clients, including all intrusive searches of
the Qur’an.”
4. Shaker Aamer was cleared for release by the US
military in 2007. He claims to have been tortured repeatedly during his time in
US custody, on one occasion in the presence of a British intelligence agent. He
has a British wife and four children living in Battersea, south London. Former
Prime Minister Gordon Brown sought his release in August 2007, along with four
other residents held at Guantánamo Bay, the last of whom was released in
February 2009. http://www.reprieve.org.uk/cases/shakeraamer/
5. http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/17-19-may-2013-global-weekend-of-action.html
As well in other countries, actions are also planned in Crewe, Birmingham, Glastonbury, Wirksworth and at the US military base in Menwith Hill.
6. 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
