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.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
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.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Sign our Open Letter to President Obama: Release Shaker Aamer
Open letter to President Obama from the British Public – We want Shaker Aamer back!
Please sign our open letter from the British public to the American president, demanding Shaker Aamer’s release from Guantánamo Bay and return to the UK.
Shaker Aamer is the last British resident held at Guantánamo Bay and has been held illegally without charge or trial for over nine years. As a result of organising prisoner protests, and standing up for his rights and those of his fellow prisoners, Shaker Aamer was held in continual solitary confinement for several years. He has never faced any charges, and the American government has never provided any explanation as to why it continues to hold him. According to a report in Harper's magazine in 2010, he was a witness to the murder of three prisoners who allegedly “committed suicide” in 2006.
172 prisoners remain at Guantánamo. The American government has no intention of closing the facility soon. The least it can do is allow Shaker Aamer to return to his family in the UK. The London Guantánamo Campaign asks all members of the British public, either in a personal capacity or as a representative of an organisation, political party, faith/social/political group, professional, etc. to sign our open letter to the American President Barack Obama demanding that he return Shaker Aamer to the United Kingdom immediately. Shaker Aamer’s reunion with his family, including the son he has never met, is already nine years too late.
If you would like to add your name to our open letter, which we will send to the American president at the end of each month with the list of signatories until we receive a favourable response, please send an e-mail with your name and town at least, and those of anyone else who wish to sign, to london.gtmo@gmail.com You can add the name of your organisation or group or any other information you wish to. The names of private individuals will be kept confidential.
---------------
Dear President Barack Obama,
We, the undersigned citizens and residents of the United Kingdom, write to you to urge you to release Shaker Aamer, a Saudi prisoner held at Guantánamo Bay for over nine years. Mr. Aamer is a legal resident of the United Kingdom and is married to a British woman with whom he has four children. We would like to see him returned immediately to his family in London.
Mr. Aamer has never been charged or tried and has been cleared for release. The British government does not deem him a threat and requested his return to this country in August 2007. This formal request was followed up recently by requests for his release made to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and Foreign Secretary William Hague. A recently leaked cable from the US Embassy in London also shows that in 2009, British diplomats addressed a request for his release to your ambassador, stating that he would not be prosecuted upon return to the UK. This, and all other requests, have been ignored.
All British residents and nationals who returned to the UK in 2005-2009 have reintegrated back into their communities and into normal, peaceful lives. A member of your diplomatic mission to Luxembourg recently commended one of our former prisoners, Moazzam Begg, for his efforts to close Guantánamo Bay.
Like you, Mr. Aamer is a father. For the past nine years, for reasons unknown to him, his family, or us, he has been denied the opportunity to watch his children grow up, including his youngest son whom he has never met. Mr. Aamer’s family has suffered considerably in his absence, the reasons for which your administration is not prepared to disclose. Ironically, while you to continue to deny him the right to return to his family in London, it is in the very same area that he lived for years, and in which his family still live, that the new embassy of the United States will be located.
We, the British people, would like to see Mr. Aamer return to his family and his community immediately. We urge you to make whatever preparations are necessary to make that happen as soon as is possible. Nine years later, without due process or explanation, we believe this is the most reasonable demand we can make of you.
We look forward to your positive response and welcoming Shaker Aamer back to our country.
London Guantánamo Campaign
Please sign our open letter from the British public to the American president, demanding Shaker Aamer’s release from Guantánamo Bay and return to the UK.
Shaker Aamer is the last British resident held at Guantánamo Bay and has been held illegally without charge or trial for over nine years. As a result of organising prisoner protests, and standing up for his rights and those of his fellow prisoners, Shaker Aamer was held in continual solitary confinement for several years. He has never faced any charges, and the American government has never provided any explanation as to why it continues to hold him. According to a report in Harper's magazine in 2010, he was a witness to the murder of three prisoners who allegedly “committed suicide” in 2006.
172 prisoners remain at Guantánamo. The American government has no intention of closing the facility soon. The least it can do is allow Shaker Aamer to return to his family in the UK. The London Guantánamo Campaign asks all members of the British public, either in a personal capacity or as a representative of an organisation, political party, faith/social/political group, professional, etc. to sign our open letter to the American President Barack Obama demanding that he return Shaker Aamer to the United Kingdom immediately. Shaker Aamer’s reunion with his family, including the son he has never met, is already nine years too late.
If you would like to add your name to our open letter, which we will send to the American president at the end of each month with the list of signatories until we receive a favourable response, please send an e-mail with your name and town at least, and those of anyone else who wish to sign, to london.gtmo@gmail.com You can add the name of your organisation or group or any other information you wish to. The names of private individuals will be kept confidential.
---------------
Dear President Barack Obama,
We, the undersigned citizens and residents of the United Kingdom, write to you to urge you to release Shaker Aamer, a Saudi prisoner held at Guantánamo Bay for over nine years. Mr. Aamer is a legal resident of the United Kingdom and is married to a British woman with whom he has four children. We would like to see him returned immediately to his family in London.
Mr. Aamer has never been charged or tried and has been cleared for release. The British government does not deem him a threat and requested his return to this country in August 2007. This formal request was followed up recently by requests for his release made to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and Foreign Secretary William Hague. A recently leaked cable from the US Embassy in London also shows that in 2009, British diplomats addressed a request for his release to your ambassador, stating that he would not be prosecuted upon return to the UK. This, and all other requests, have been ignored.
All British residents and nationals who returned to the UK in 2005-2009 have reintegrated back into their communities and into normal, peaceful lives. A member of your diplomatic mission to Luxembourg recently commended one of our former prisoners, Moazzam Begg, for his efforts to close Guantánamo Bay.
Like you, Mr. Aamer is a father. For the past nine years, for reasons unknown to him, his family, or us, he has been denied the opportunity to watch his children grow up, including his youngest son whom he has never met. Mr. Aamer’s family has suffered considerably in his absence, the reasons for which your administration is not prepared to disclose. Ironically, while you to continue to deny him the right to return to his family in London, it is in the very same area that he lived for years, and in which his family still live, that the new embassy of the United States will be located.
We, the British people, would like to see Mr. Aamer return to his family and his community immediately. We urge you to make whatever preparations are necessary to make that happen as soon as is possible. Nine years later, without due process or explanation, we believe this is the most reasonable demand we can make of you.
We look forward to your positive response and welcoming Shaker Aamer back to our country.
London Guantánamo Campaign
Friday, February 25, 2011
LGC Newsletter - February 2011
LGC Newsletter – February 2011
NEWS:
British Residents:
British resident Shaker Aamer has now been held at Guantánamo Bay without charge or trial for over 9 years.
On 4 February, a Wikileak cable published in the Daily Telegraph from the US Embassy in London in 2009 showed that British diplomats had raised Shaker Aamer’s case with the US ambassador and sought his return. Officials from the Foreign Office told the US Embassy that they did not believe that he would be prosecuted if returned to the UK or Saudi Arabia. The failure to release Shaker Aamer is largely due to the American administration.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/london-wikileaks/8305176/SCT-AMBASSADOR-DAILEYS-MEETINGS-WITH-UK-OFFICIALS.html
On 5 February, the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign held a vigil outside Downing Street to mark the ninth anniversary of the illegal detention of Shaker Aamer at Guantánamo Bay. Around 40 people attended and were joined by Green MEP Jean Lambert and Kate Hudson from the CND. A letter demanding Shaker Aamer’s release was delivered to Downing Street. For a report and pictures of the demonstration:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/02/473533.html
Guantánamo Bay:
A seventh Guantánamo Bay prisoner has died in detention. Awal Gul, a 48 year old Afghan national, allegedly died of natural causes, most probably a heart attack on 3 February, after exercising. Held for over nine years without charge, the US accused Mr. Gul of being a member of the Taleban and supporting Al Qaeda but never brought any charges against him or produced any evidence to support these claims. His lawyers stated that they cannot know whether the stated cause of death is true. Mr. Gul left Guantánamo Bay in a coffin and was buried in Afghanistan on 7 February. More than 5000 people attended his funeral.
http://www.reprieve.org.uk/2011_02_04awalguldeathingitmo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12361834
This month the Afghan government has been seeking the release of all Afghan prisoners held at Guantánamo, including a senior Taleban commander whose release could help to ease tensions in Afghanistan. There are currently over a dozen Afghan prisoners still held at Guantánamo Bay and it is likely that a delegation will visit the US to press for their release.
While Mohamed Riadh Nasri, a Tunisian prisoner transferred to Italy in 2009, was handed a 6-year sentence on 31 January for “criminal association with the aim of terrorism”, another Tunisian transferred along with him, Adel Ben Mabrouk, was released after his defence and the prosecution jointly pleaded that he had already spent eight years in Guantánamo and 18 months in jail in Italy prior to sentencing. He was given a two-year suspended sentence for associating with terrorists. However, following the recent upheaval in his native Tunisia, his future still remains uncertain.
Lawyers for Omar Khadr have filed papers seeking clemency from the military authorities at Guantánamo Bay so that he can spend a shorter time being held at the maximum security prison there and return to Canada earlier. Under the plea bargain and guilty plea reached in his case last autumn, Khadr must serve at least one year of his eight-year sentence at Guantánamo in a facility in which he is held in almost complete isolation.
The Obama administration notched up its third successive guilty plea in flawed military commission proceedings in mid-February when Sudanese prisoner Noor Othman Muhammad, in his 40s, pleaded guilty under a plea bargain which could see him released by 2015 and in which he must also testify in future cases against other prisoners. He “admitted” to working as a weapons trainer at terrorist training camps, supporting terrorism and conspiring with Al Qaeda. A lot of pressure is put on prisoners to plead guilty under these secret deals in kangaroo court proceedings and after nine years of arbitrary detention with no end in sight, a guilty plea may offer some glimpse of a chance of release from Guantánamo.
Extraordinary rendition:
In late January (27-31), Andrew Tyrie MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition appeared before the Information Tribunal to demand the disclosure of documents he had requested from the Ministry of Defence under the Freedom of Information Act. These documents concern the detention and transfer of detainees by British Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and may contain the names of individuals who have been rendered. The MoD has resisted making these documents public claiming it is expensive to do so and would undermine national security and relations with the US. Mr. Tyrie will continue to press for the disclosure of these documents as they are “important if we are to subject these and other allegations to scrutiny”.
On 4 February, German extraordinary rendition survivor Khaled El-Masri started proceedings in Macedonia against the government for its involvement in his kidnap and rendition. In 2003, in a case of mistaken identity, he was kidnapped while on holiday at the Macedonian border. He was held there for nearly a month before being taken to Afghanistan where he was tortured for four months. The experience has turned his life upside down, yet neither the American nor Macedonian governments have taken any responsibility for his ordeal. At the time, the US, Macedonia and Germany tried to play down what had happened. Similar proceedings were rejected by the US courts. He is suing the Macedonian government for €50,000 in damages and an apology. This case, which may last up to two years, is one of the very few opportunities any of the survivors or victims of extraordinary rendition have had to present their side of the story and seek justice in a court of law.
George Bush cancelled a trip to Switzerland in mid-February where he had been invited to deliver a speech for the United Israel Appeal, fearing that he may be arrested for war crimes or have to deal with demonstrations against him. Human rights groups in the country had been planning both. This would have been Bush’s first trip to Europe since outing himself as war criminal guilty of torture for having sanctioned the use of waterboarding. Human rights organisations had prepared a dossier of evidence for his arrest and instead presented it at a media event.
The forthcoming Gibson Inquiry into the involvement of the British intelligence services in torture, which may start hearing evidence as early as next month, is currently facing a boycott from several human rights NGOs. Nine organisations have been involved in talks with the three members of the inquiry panel concerning the structure of the inquiry, yet there are concerns that it will not meet the standards required under human rights law and may be little more than a pointless exercise with the very security agencies who are to be scrutinised continuing to insist on various information and hearings being kept secret. There are also fears that there will not be sufficient transparency and independence in the proceedings.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/feb/23/torture-inquiry-ngo-boycott-threat
Rangzieb Ahmed, 35, from Rochdale, currently serving a life sentence for terrorism-related offences had his appeal to have his conviction overturned rejected by the Court of Appeal after he argued that he had been tortured at the behest of MI5 in Pakistan. The court held that he had not been tortured but allowed him to appeal to the Supreme Court concerning MI5’s involvement in his case. Some parts of his hearing were held in secret and these were not all mentioned in the open judgment, nor were the points raised about his case by David Davis MP in parliament in 2009 all raised.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/feb/25/terrorist-torture-britain-pakistan-complicity-appeal
LGC Activities:
Ten people attended the February Shut Down Guantánamo! Demonstration which marked the fourth anniversary of our regular presence outside the embassy. The next demonstration is at 12-1pm on Friday 4 March outside the US Embassy, Mayfair and then from 1.15-2.15pm at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. Please join us if you can.
NEWS:
British Residents:
British resident Shaker Aamer has now been held at Guantánamo Bay without charge or trial for over 9 years.
On 4 February, a Wikileak cable published in the Daily Telegraph from the US Embassy in London in 2009 showed that British diplomats had raised Shaker Aamer’s case with the US ambassador and sought his return. Officials from the Foreign Office told the US Embassy that they did not believe that he would be prosecuted if returned to the UK or Saudi Arabia. The failure to release Shaker Aamer is largely due to the American administration.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/london-wikileaks/8305176/SCT-AMBASSADOR-DAILEYS-MEETINGS-WITH-UK-OFFICIALS.html
On 5 February, the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign held a vigil outside Downing Street to mark the ninth anniversary of the illegal detention of Shaker Aamer at Guantánamo Bay. Around 40 people attended and were joined by Green MEP Jean Lambert and Kate Hudson from the CND. A letter demanding Shaker Aamer’s release was delivered to Downing Street. For a report and pictures of the demonstration:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/02/473533.html
Guantánamo Bay:
A seventh Guantánamo Bay prisoner has died in detention. Awal Gul, a 48 year old Afghan national, allegedly died of natural causes, most probably a heart attack on 3 February, after exercising. Held for over nine years without charge, the US accused Mr. Gul of being a member of the Taleban and supporting Al Qaeda but never brought any charges against him or produced any evidence to support these claims. His lawyers stated that they cannot know whether the stated cause of death is true. Mr. Gul left Guantánamo Bay in a coffin and was buried in Afghanistan on 7 February. More than 5000 people attended his funeral.
http://www.reprieve.org.uk/2011_02_04awalguldeathingitmo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12361834
This month the Afghan government has been seeking the release of all Afghan prisoners held at Guantánamo, including a senior Taleban commander whose release could help to ease tensions in Afghanistan. There are currently over a dozen Afghan prisoners still held at Guantánamo Bay and it is likely that a delegation will visit the US to press for their release.
While Mohamed Riadh Nasri, a Tunisian prisoner transferred to Italy in 2009, was handed a 6-year sentence on 31 January for “criminal association with the aim of terrorism”, another Tunisian transferred along with him, Adel Ben Mabrouk, was released after his defence and the prosecution jointly pleaded that he had already spent eight years in Guantánamo and 18 months in jail in Italy prior to sentencing. He was given a two-year suspended sentence for associating with terrorists. However, following the recent upheaval in his native Tunisia, his future still remains uncertain.
Lawyers for Omar Khadr have filed papers seeking clemency from the military authorities at Guantánamo Bay so that he can spend a shorter time being held at the maximum security prison there and return to Canada earlier. Under the plea bargain and guilty plea reached in his case last autumn, Khadr must serve at least one year of his eight-year sentence at Guantánamo in a facility in which he is held in almost complete isolation.
The Obama administration notched up its third successive guilty plea in flawed military commission proceedings in mid-February when Sudanese prisoner Noor Othman Muhammad, in his 40s, pleaded guilty under a plea bargain which could see him released by 2015 and in which he must also testify in future cases against other prisoners. He “admitted” to working as a weapons trainer at terrorist training camps, supporting terrorism and conspiring with Al Qaeda. A lot of pressure is put on prisoners to plead guilty under these secret deals in kangaroo court proceedings and after nine years of arbitrary detention with no end in sight, a guilty plea may offer some glimpse of a chance of release from Guantánamo.
Extraordinary rendition:
In late January (27-31), Andrew Tyrie MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition appeared before the Information Tribunal to demand the disclosure of documents he had requested from the Ministry of Defence under the Freedom of Information Act. These documents concern the detention and transfer of detainees by British Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and may contain the names of individuals who have been rendered. The MoD has resisted making these documents public claiming it is expensive to do so and would undermine national security and relations with the US. Mr. Tyrie will continue to press for the disclosure of these documents as they are “important if we are to subject these and other allegations to scrutiny”.
On 4 February, German extraordinary rendition survivor Khaled El-Masri started proceedings in Macedonia against the government for its involvement in his kidnap and rendition. In 2003, in a case of mistaken identity, he was kidnapped while on holiday at the Macedonian border. He was held there for nearly a month before being taken to Afghanistan where he was tortured for four months. The experience has turned his life upside down, yet neither the American nor Macedonian governments have taken any responsibility for his ordeal. At the time, the US, Macedonia and Germany tried to play down what had happened. Similar proceedings were rejected by the US courts. He is suing the Macedonian government for €50,000 in damages and an apology. This case, which may last up to two years, is one of the very few opportunities any of the survivors or victims of extraordinary rendition have had to present their side of the story and seek justice in a court of law.
George Bush cancelled a trip to Switzerland in mid-February where he had been invited to deliver a speech for the United Israel Appeal, fearing that he may be arrested for war crimes or have to deal with demonstrations against him. Human rights groups in the country had been planning both. This would have been Bush’s first trip to Europe since outing himself as war criminal guilty of torture for having sanctioned the use of waterboarding. Human rights organisations had prepared a dossier of evidence for his arrest and instead presented it at a media event.
The forthcoming Gibson Inquiry into the involvement of the British intelligence services in torture, which may start hearing evidence as early as next month, is currently facing a boycott from several human rights NGOs. Nine organisations have been involved in talks with the three members of the inquiry panel concerning the structure of the inquiry, yet there are concerns that it will not meet the standards required under human rights law and may be little more than a pointless exercise with the very security agencies who are to be scrutinised continuing to insist on various information and hearings being kept secret. There are also fears that there will not be sufficient transparency and independence in the proceedings.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/feb/23/torture-inquiry-ngo-boycott-threat
Rangzieb Ahmed, 35, from Rochdale, currently serving a life sentence for terrorism-related offences had his appeal to have his conviction overturned rejected by the Court of Appeal after he argued that he had been tortured at the behest of MI5 in Pakistan. The court held that he had not been tortured but allowed him to appeal to the Supreme Court concerning MI5’s involvement in his case. Some parts of his hearing were held in secret and these were not all mentioned in the open judgment, nor were the points raised about his case by David Davis MP in parliament in 2009 all raised.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/feb/25/terrorist-torture-britain-pakistan-complicity-appeal
LGC Activities:
Ten people attended the February Shut Down Guantánamo! Demonstration which marked the fourth anniversary of our regular presence outside the embassy. The next demonstration is at 12-1pm on Friday 4 March outside the US Embassy, Mayfair and then from 1.15-2.15pm at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. Please join us if you can.
Friday, February 04, 2011
""Extraordinary Rendition" has a human face, and it is mine"
Today, Khaled El-Masri, a German survivor of the CIA's extraordinary rendition programme will bring a court case against the Macedonian government seeking €50,000 in damages for his torture and abuse and an apology. Similar claims were rejected in the US and Germany. The US has never openly admitted involvement in his ordeal, however the recent Wikileaks showed that diplomats in the US and Germany did their best to keep the story out of the news at the time, in 2004. The case is expected to last at least two years and is one of the few windows of opportunity for some form of justice for the victims of this extra-legal regime. Please read his moving story below in his own words.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5geF4kmsvelogYuvSyKhSVQbizplg?docId=5851097
Also today, former Australian prisoner and survivor of extraordinary rendition, Mamdouh Habib, addressed an anti-Mubarak rally in his town of Brisbane. Mr. Habib recently reached an out-of-court settlement with the Australian government, although Prime Minister Julia Gillard is to launch an inquiry into Australia’s role in his kidnap and torture. Mr. Habib said he would use the undisclosed amount he received under the settlement to sue the Egyptian and American governments for torturing him. He also states that the new Egyptian vice-president Omar Suleiman was personally present on at least one occasion when he tortured. Of Egyptian origin, Mamdouh Habib was rendered from Pakistan to Afghanistan, Egypt and then on to Guantánamo Bay. Omar Suleiman has been closely linked to the CIA programme since the mid-1990s when he helped the Clinton administration design and implement it.
Here is Khaled El-Masri’s public statement about his ordeal (and as read by George Saunders http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/4051/prmID/1873):
The US policy of "extraordinary rendition" has a human face, and it is mine.
I was born in Kuwait and raised in Lebanon. In 1985, I fled to Germany in search of a better life. I became a citizen and started my own family. I have five children.
On December 31, 2003, I took a bus from Germany to Macedonia. When we arrived, Macedonian agents confiscated my passport and detained me for 23 days. I was not allowed to contact anyone.
I was forced to record a video saying I had been treated well. I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken to a building where I was severely beaten. My clothes were sliced from my body with a knife or scissors, and my underwear was forcibly removed. I was thrown to the floor, my hands pulled behind me, a boot placed on my back.
When my blindfold was removed, I saw men dressed in black wearing ski masks. I was put in a diaper, a belt with chains to my wrists and ankles, earmuffs, eye pads, a blindfold, and a hood. I was thrown into a plane, my legs and arms spread-eagled and secured to the floor. I felt two injections and became nearly unconscious. I felt the plane take off, land, and take off.
When we landed again, I was beaten and left in a dirty and cold concrete cell with a bottle of putrid water. I was taken to an interrogation room where I saw men dressed in the same black clothing and ski masks as before. They stripped and photographed me and took blood and urine samples. I was returned to the cell.
The following night my interrogations began. They asked me if I knew why I had been detained. I did not. They told me I was now in a country with no laws, and did I understand what that meant?
They asked me many times whether I knew the men who were responsible for the September 11th attacks, if I had traveled to Afghanistan, and if I associated with certain people in Germany. I told the truth: that I had never been in Afghanistan and had never been involved in any extremism. I asked repeatedly to meet with a representative of the German government, or a lawyer, or to be brought before a court. My requests were ignored.
In desperation, I began a hunger strike. After 27 days without food, I was taken to meet with two Americans — the prison director and another man, referred to as “the Boss.” I pleaded with them to release me or bring me before a court, but the prison director replied that he could not release me without permission from Washington. He also said he believed I should not be detained in the prison.
After 37 days without food, I was dragged to the interrogation room, where a feeding tube was forced through my nose into my stomach. I became extremely ill.
I was taken to meet an American who said he had traveled from Washington and who promised I would soon be released. I was also visited by a German-speaking man who explained that I would be allowed to return home but warned that I was never to mention what had happened because the Americans were determined to keep it secret.
Almost five months after I was kidnapped, I was again blindfolded, handcuffed and chained to an airplane seat. I was told we would land in a country other than Germany, but that I would eventually get to Germany.
After we landed I was driven into the mountains. My captors removed my handcuffs and blindfold and told me to walk down a dark, deserted path and not look back. I was afraid I would be shot in the back.
I turned a bend and encountered three men who asked why I was illegally in Albania. They took me to the airport, where I bought a ticket home (my wallet had been returned to me). I had long hair, a beard, and had lost 60 pounds. My wife and children had gone to Lebanon, believing I had abandoned them. We are now together again in Germany.
I still do not know why this happened to me. I have been told that the American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, confirmed in a meeting with the German chancellor that my case was a "mistake" — and that American officials later denied she said this. No one from the American government has ever contacted me or offered me any explanation or apology for the pain they caused me.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5geF4kmsvelogYuvSyKhSVQbizplg?docId=5851097
Also today, former Australian prisoner and survivor of extraordinary rendition, Mamdouh Habib, addressed an anti-Mubarak rally in his town of Brisbane. Mr. Habib recently reached an out-of-court settlement with the Australian government, although Prime Minister Julia Gillard is to launch an inquiry into Australia’s role in his kidnap and torture. Mr. Habib said he would use the undisclosed amount he received under the settlement to sue the Egyptian and American governments for torturing him. He also states that the new Egyptian vice-president Omar Suleiman was personally present on at least one occasion when he tortured. Of Egyptian origin, Mamdouh Habib was rendered from Pakistan to Afghanistan, Egypt and then on to Guantánamo Bay. Omar Suleiman has been closely linked to the CIA programme since the mid-1990s when he helped the Clinton administration design and implement it.
Here is Khaled El-Masri’s public statement about his ordeal (and as read by George Saunders http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/4051/prmID/1873):
The US policy of "extraordinary rendition" has a human face, and it is mine.
I was born in Kuwait and raised in Lebanon. In 1985, I fled to Germany in search of a better life. I became a citizen and started my own family. I have five children.
On December 31, 2003, I took a bus from Germany to Macedonia. When we arrived, Macedonian agents confiscated my passport and detained me for 23 days. I was not allowed to contact anyone.
I was forced to record a video saying I had been treated well. I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken to a building where I was severely beaten. My clothes were sliced from my body with a knife or scissors, and my underwear was forcibly removed. I was thrown to the floor, my hands pulled behind me, a boot placed on my back.
When my blindfold was removed, I saw men dressed in black wearing ski masks. I was put in a diaper, a belt with chains to my wrists and ankles, earmuffs, eye pads, a blindfold, and a hood. I was thrown into a plane, my legs and arms spread-eagled and secured to the floor. I felt two injections and became nearly unconscious. I felt the plane take off, land, and take off.
When we landed again, I was beaten and left in a dirty and cold concrete cell with a bottle of putrid water. I was taken to an interrogation room where I saw men dressed in the same black clothing and ski masks as before. They stripped and photographed me and took blood and urine samples. I was returned to the cell.
The following night my interrogations began. They asked me if I knew why I had been detained. I did not. They told me I was now in a country with no laws, and did I understand what that meant?
They asked me many times whether I knew the men who were responsible for the September 11th attacks, if I had traveled to Afghanistan, and if I associated with certain people in Germany. I told the truth: that I had never been in Afghanistan and had never been involved in any extremism. I asked repeatedly to meet with a representative of the German government, or a lawyer, or to be brought before a court. My requests were ignored.
In desperation, I began a hunger strike. After 27 days without food, I was taken to meet with two Americans — the prison director and another man, referred to as “the Boss.” I pleaded with them to release me or bring me before a court, but the prison director replied that he could not release me without permission from Washington. He also said he believed I should not be detained in the prison.
After 37 days without food, I was dragged to the interrogation room, where a feeding tube was forced through my nose into my stomach. I became extremely ill.
I was taken to meet an American who said he had traveled from Washington and who promised I would soon be released. I was also visited by a German-speaking man who explained that I would be allowed to return home but warned that I was never to mention what had happened because the Americans were determined to keep it secret.
Almost five months after I was kidnapped, I was again blindfolded, handcuffed and chained to an airplane seat. I was told we would land in a country other than Germany, but that I would eventually get to Germany.
After we landed I was driven into the mountains. My captors removed my handcuffs and blindfold and told me to walk down a dark, deserted path and not look back. I was afraid I would be shot in the back.
I turned a bend and encountered three men who asked why I was illegally in Albania. They took me to the airport, where I bought a ticket home (my wallet had been returned to me). I had long hair, a beard, and had lost 60 pounds. My wife and children had gone to Lebanon, believing I had abandoned them. We are now together again in Germany.
I still do not know why this happened to me. I have been told that the American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, confirmed in a meeting with the German chancellor that my case was a "mistake" — and that American officials later denied she said this. No one from the American government has ever contacted me or offered me any explanation or apology for the pain they caused me.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
LGC Newsletter - January 2011
NEWS:
Guantánamo Bay:
Former Australian prisoner Mamdouh Habib has dropped his case against the Australian government for its complicity in his torture and rendition. Arrested in Pakistan shortly after 9/11, he was held and tortured in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt before being taken to Guantánamo Bay. He was released without charge in 2005. In 2006, he started proceedings against the Australian government, which sought to prevent this, but was last year given the right to bring his case and sue the government. He alleges that Australian agents were present when he was tortured during interrogations. In a similar move to the British government, the case was dropped after a confidential, out-of-court settlement was reached between the parties. Similarly as well, the Australian government does not accept liability for the claims that it was complicit in his torture.
On 6 January, a second Algerian prisoner was forcibly returned to his country. Saeed Farhi Mohammed, 49, was returned to the country even though he had expressed fears about possible further arbitrary detention and torture there. A federal judge ordered his release in November 2009 and held that his detention was illegal. In a similar situation to Ahmed Belbacha, having also been held at Guantánamo Bay for over eight years and having lived in the UK, he appealed against his return to Algeria. Like Ahmed, this was temporarily prevented, however since last year, as with the several other Algerian prisoners in the same situation, he was at risk of being returned at any time. Although his appeal is still pending before the US Supreme Court, he was sent to Algeria nonetheless. There has been no news of his situation since his return there. 173 prisoners remain.
More on this news:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/01/06/us-stop-returns-guantanamo-detainees-fearing-mistreatment
On 11 January, another Algerian prisoner, Abdul Razak Ali, captured in Pakistan in 2002, had his habeas corpus petition rejected. He had been seeking a court order for his release on the basis of mistaken identity, that he had been mistaken for an Al-Qaeda member, but this was rejected by the court.
January 2011 marked two important anniversaries in the current incarnation of Guantánamo Bay: 11 January marked the entry into the tenth year of its operation as an illegal torture and arbitrary detention camp and 22 January marked the first anniversary of President Obama’s order to have the prison closed by early 2010, in one of his first acts as president. Since then, with the small number of prisoners released, continuing allegations of torture at the prison and the recent law passed in Congress to prevent the transfer of any more prisoners to the US mainland until at least October 2011, it is very clear that there is no political will or desire whatsoever to close Guantánamo Bay. President Obama’s office is allegedly working on plans to provide a legal structure for the continuing and indefinite detention without charge or trial of at least 50 of the prisoners who cannot be tried. The almost non-existent column space and air time given to this important issue over the past month show that in international and domestic political circles, this is no longer an issue of concern. That Guantánamo Bay and the illegal apparatus that come along with it will remain open and operational is now a given.
On 25 January, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, 36, who was convicted in November of one out of 285 charges against him linking him to the bombing of US embassies in east Africa in 1998, was handed a life sentence. He was found guilty of conspiracy to damage US property. Earlier in the month, lawyers representing him had pleaded for clemency in his sentencing as he had been tortured and “disappeared” for two years into CIA-run torture prisons, however when sentencing, Judge Kaplan stated that his claims of mistreatment “pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror he and his confederates caused”. Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, took the opportunity of his sentencing, to commend the work of the US civilian courts, as he is still in favour of civilian trials for prisoners as opposed to the military commissions which have since been promoted following the success of this hearing. He is now likely to be held at a super-max facility in the US. Gross abuses of prisoners are rife within the US domestic prison system as well.
For more on this news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12279533
Mohamed Riadh Nasri, a Tunisian prisoner who, along with two other prisoners, was transferred to Italy in 2009, was handed a 6-year sentence on 31 January for “criminal association with the aim of terrorism”. Along with two other prisoners, he had been sent to Italy where they were wanted for prosecution. He had previously lived in Italy. Upon arrival in the country, the three men were held at the notorious Macomer Prison in Sardinia.
Extraordinary rendition:
In spite of the out-of-court settlement between the British government and former Guantánamo prisoners in November 2010, the case was brought to the Supreme Court on 24-26 January as several media and non-governmental organisations (BBC/The Guardian/The Times/Liberty/Justice) are bringing a case against MI5 and MI6 for attempting, in this case, to have evidence heard in secret without the knowledge of the claimants or their legal representatives. This would have involved the use of a “special advocate” system such as is in place for control order and national security deportation cases in which specially-vetted lawyers represent the claimants instead without any access to them. The security agencies argue that no intelligence obtained from abroad, through torture or otherwise, should ever be heard in court. However, last year the High Court held that such a move would undermine a claimant’s right to know what the evidence against them is.
In the light of the embarrassment of the Binyam Mohamed case last year, the government will propose a green paper later this year to restrict, if not to withhold completely, the disclosure of intelligence evidence in court.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/jan/24/guantanamo-inmates-supreme-court-battle%20
LGC Activities:
The LGC held a silent vigil in Trafalgar Square at lunchtime on 11 January to mark the solemn ninth anniversary of the opening of the prison camp in solidarity with the prisoners still held there, including Shaker Aamer. This was preceded by the delivery of a letter, with PeaceStrike, to Downing Street signed by over 75 organisations and individuals demanding that the British government step up its action to help close Guantánamo and the immediate release and return to the UK of Shaker Aamer. The LGC has received official acknowledgement of its letter. A shorter version of the letter was published in the Guardian newspaper on the same day.
Over 70 people attended the vigil which was a bright and colourful display that attracted a lot of attention on a grey day against the wonderful backdrop of the National Gallery. The LGC thanks everyone who attended and made this event a success.
For a report with some pictures:
http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/01/gone-beyond-words-nine-years-of.html
With more pictures:
https://indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/01/471955.html
Videos of the event (both around 3 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSkpCSv-o7U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb2wuVn998Q
To mark the first anniversary of President Obama’s broken promise to close Guantánamo Bay by early 2010, the LGC had the following comment piece published on Open Democracy:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/aisha-maniar/one-year-anniversary-of-obama%E2%80%99s-broken-promise-to-shut-guantanamo-bay
There was no monthly Shut Down Guantánamo! Demonstration in January. The next demonstration is at 6pm on Friday 4 February outside the US Embassy, Mayfair. It will mark the fourth anniversary of our regular demonstrations (first weekly and now monthly) outside the US Embassy. Please join us if you can. Guantánamo Bay must close and the remaining prisoners, like Shaker Aamer, and their families must be reunited. This will only happen through increased public pressure.
We also urge you to join the demonstration outside Downing Street on Saturday 5 February at 12pm to mark the ninth anniversary of Shaker Aamer’s illegal imprisonment at Guantánamo Bay.
Guantánamo Bay:
Former Australian prisoner Mamdouh Habib has dropped his case against the Australian government for its complicity in his torture and rendition. Arrested in Pakistan shortly after 9/11, he was held and tortured in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt before being taken to Guantánamo Bay. He was released without charge in 2005. In 2006, he started proceedings against the Australian government, which sought to prevent this, but was last year given the right to bring his case and sue the government. He alleges that Australian agents were present when he was tortured during interrogations. In a similar move to the British government, the case was dropped after a confidential, out-of-court settlement was reached between the parties. Similarly as well, the Australian government does not accept liability for the claims that it was complicit in his torture.
On 6 January, a second Algerian prisoner was forcibly returned to his country. Saeed Farhi Mohammed, 49, was returned to the country even though he had expressed fears about possible further arbitrary detention and torture there. A federal judge ordered his release in November 2009 and held that his detention was illegal. In a similar situation to Ahmed Belbacha, having also been held at Guantánamo Bay for over eight years and having lived in the UK, he appealed against his return to Algeria. Like Ahmed, this was temporarily prevented, however since last year, as with the several other Algerian prisoners in the same situation, he was at risk of being returned at any time. Although his appeal is still pending before the US Supreme Court, he was sent to Algeria nonetheless. There has been no news of his situation since his return there. 173 prisoners remain.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/01/06/us-stop-returns-guantanamo-detainees-fearing-mistreatment
On 11 January, another Algerian prisoner, Abdul Razak Ali, captured in Pakistan in 2002, had his habeas corpus petition rejected. He had been seeking a court order for his release on the basis of mistaken identity, that he had been mistaken for an Al-Qaeda member, but this was rejected by the court.
January 2011 marked two important anniversaries in the current incarnation of Guantánamo Bay: 11 January marked the entry into the tenth year of its operation as an illegal torture and arbitrary detention camp and 22 January marked the first anniversary of President Obama’s order to have the prison closed by early 2010, in one of his first acts as president. Since then, with the small number of prisoners released, continuing allegations of torture at the prison and the recent law passed in Congress to prevent the transfer of any more prisoners to the US mainland until at least October 2011, it is very clear that there is no political will or desire whatsoever to close Guantánamo Bay. President Obama’s office is allegedly working on plans to provide a legal structure for the continuing and indefinite detention without charge or trial of at least 50 of the prisoners who cannot be tried. The almost non-existent column space and air time given to this important issue over the past month show that in international and domestic political circles, this is no longer an issue of concern. That Guantánamo Bay and the illegal apparatus that come along with it will remain open and operational is now a given.
On 25 January, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, 36, who was convicted in November of one out of 285 charges against him linking him to the bombing of US embassies in east Africa in 1998, was handed a life sentence. He was found guilty of conspiracy to damage US property. Earlier in the month, lawyers representing him had pleaded for clemency in his sentencing as he had been tortured and “disappeared” for two years into CIA-run torture prisons, however when sentencing, Judge Kaplan stated that his claims of mistreatment “pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror he and his confederates caused”. Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, took the opportunity of his sentencing, to commend the work of the US civilian courts, as he is still in favour of civilian trials for prisoners as opposed to the military commissions which have since been promoted following the success of this hearing. He is now likely to be held at a super-max facility in the US. Gross abuses of prisoners are rife within the US domestic prison system as well.
For more on this news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12279533
Mohamed Riadh Nasri, a Tunisian prisoner who, along with two other prisoners, was transferred to Italy in 2009, was handed a 6-year sentence on 31 January for “criminal association with the aim of terrorism”. Along with two other prisoners, he had been sent to Italy where they were wanted for prosecution. He had previously lived in Italy. Upon arrival in the country, the three men were held at the notorious Macomer Prison in Sardinia.
Extraordinary rendition:
In spite of the out-of-court settlement between the British government and former Guantánamo prisoners in November 2010, the case was brought to the Supreme Court on 24-26 January as several media and non-governmental organisations (BBC/The Guardian/The Times/Liberty/Justice) are bringing a case against MI5 and MI6 for attempting, in this case, to have evidence heard in secret without the knowledge of the claimants or their legal representatives. This would have involved the use of a “special advocate” system such as is in place for control order and national security deportation cases in which specially-vetted lawyers represent the claimants instead without any access to them. The security agencies argue that no intelligence obtained from abroad, through torture or otherwise, should ever be heard in court. However, last year the High Court held that such a move would undermine a claimant’s right to know what the evidence against them is.
In the light of the embarrassment of the Binyam Mohamed case last year, the government will propose a green paper later this year to restrict, if not to withhold completely, the disclosure of intelligence evidence in court.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/jan/24/guantanamo-inmates-supreme-court-battle%20
LGC Activities:
The LGC held a silent vigil in Trafalgar Square at lunchtime on 11 January to mark the solemn ninth anniversary of the opening of the prison camp in solidarity with the prisoners still held there, including Shaker Aamer. This was preceded by the delivery of a letter, with PeaceStrike, to Downing Street signed by over 75 organisations and individuals demanding that the British government step up its action to help close Guantánamo and the immediate release and return to the UK of Shaker Aamer. The LGC has received official acknowledgement of its letter. A shorter version of the letter was published in the Guardian newspaper on the same day.
Over 70 people attended the vigil which was a bright and colourful display that attracted a lot of attention on a grey day against the wonderful backdrop of the National Gallery. The LGC thanks everyone who attended and made this event a success.
For a report with some pictures:
http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/2011/01/gone-beyond-words-nine-years-of.html
With more pictures:
https://indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/01/471955.html
Videos of the event (both around 3 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSkpCSv-o7U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb2wuVn998Q
To mark the first anniversary of President Obama’s broken promise to close Guantánamo Bay by early 2010, the LGC had the following comment piece published on Open Democracy:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/aisha-maniar/one-year-anniversary-of-obama%E2%80%99s-broken-promise-to-shut-guantanamo-bay
There was no monthly Shut Down Guantánamo! Demonstration in January. The next demonstration is at 6pm on Friday 4 February outside the US Embassy, Mayfair. It will mark the fourth anniversary of our regular demonstrations (first weekly and now monthly) outside the US Embassy. Please join us if you can. Guantánamo Bay must close and the remaining prisoners, like Shaker Aamer, and their families must be reunited. This will only happen through increased public pressure.
We also urge you to join the demonstration outside Downing Street on Saturday 5 February at 12pm to mark the ninth anniversary of Shaker Aamer’s illegal imprisonment at Guantánamo Bay.
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