MEDIA RELEASE: Campaigners mark Guantánamo 11th anniversary with day of action on Friday 11 January, London

All Roads Lead to Guantánamo – series of afternoon “rendition tours”, leading to vigil outside US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, at 6-8pm

10 January 2012 - For immediate release

Photo opportunity: During the vigil at the US Embassy, there will be a visual display with activists dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods.

Just one week before the inauguration of Barack Obama to his second term, the illegal US military prison camp at Guantánamo Bay will mark its eleventh anniversary; the closure of the prison was once a key election pledge, and the subject of a presidential decree in his first term.

Campaigners in London, led by the London Guantánamo Campaign [1], will mark the anniversary with a symbolic action designed to draw attention to the ongoing plight of individuals caught up in Guantánamo's nefarious web as well as states that have colluded in its continuing existence. It will begin with a series of afternoon walking tours, recounting the journeys of five prisoners to Guantánamo Bay [2]. Each tour will take in the embassies of the states that facilitated their rendition there [3].

All the “roads” travelled will converge for a candlelight vigil outside the US Embassy at 6pm, where the names of the prisoners will be read out in the style of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo [4], as well as messages to President Obama about Guantánamo Bay.

Aisha Maniar, an organiser from the London Guantánamo Campaign, said:

“We’re calling on President Obama to take the opportunity presented by his re-election to make good on his first term presidential decree and election pledge. Eleven years of political inertia, excuses and downright lies have resulted in eleven years of arbitrary detention, torture and legal limbo for 166 prisoners. Four prisoners have died during President Obama’s first term and only 72 have been released [5], even though many more are cleared for release.

 

“The failure of the United States to recognise international law and due process rights is also the failure of the international community, through its collusion in the torture and “rendition” of these men to Guantánamo Bay, and its failure to assist in closing it down. However, campaigners around the world will not be silenced. We will continue to remind the US government and all other complicit states of their obligations under international law and of the human rights norms they claim to support.”

Contact: e-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com

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 daytime tours will cover the journeys to Guantánamo Bay of the five following prisoners:

1 - Shaker Aamer (Saudi national, British resident: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/cases/shakeraamer/)

2 - Ahmed Belbacha (Algerian national, British resident: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/cases/ahmedbelbacha/)

3 - Omar Khadr (Canadian child prisoner released September 2012, convicted in military tribunal: www.freeomarakhadr.wordpress.com)

4 - Abd El-Rahim Al-Nashiri (Saudi victim of extraordinary rendition, facing trial and death penalty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahim_al-Nashiri)

5 - Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif (Yemeni prisoner died at Guantánamo Bay, September 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/opinion/sunday/death-at-guantanamo-bay.html)

3. The tours will take place in the afternoon after 2pm (starting at different times). They may be joined by sending an e-mail to the London Guantánamo Campaign london.gtmo@gmail.com or can be followed online via social media: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AllRoadsLeadToGuantanamo), Twitter @allroadsleadg11 and Tumblr http://thelondonguantanamocampaign.tumblr.com/

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_of_the_Plaza_de_Mayo

5. http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/USLS-Fact-Sheet-Gitmo-Numbers.pdf

Where is the world....?

They are artists of torture,
They are artists of pain and fatigue,
They are artists of insults and humiliation.
Where is the world to save us from torture?
Where is the world to save us from the fire and sadness?
Where is the world to save the hunger strikers?

-Adnan Latif* (found dead in his cell, 8 September 2012)

On Friday 11^th January, the London Guantánamo Campaign invites you to join us in this part of the world to mark the 11^th anniversary of the opening of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp. Falling just days before Barack Obama is inaugurated for his second presidential term, he has made it harder to close Guantánamo Bay by signing into law the National Defense Authorization Act 2013, imposing restrictions on the transfer of prisoners for another year. This year: take action and make a difference. With less than a week to go, there is still much you can do:

1 – Join one of our educational “All Roads Lead to Guantánamo” daytime tours of embassies, recounting the journeys of five prisoners to Guantánamo Bay. Joining one of our tours is easier than joining a gym and you’re guaranteed to get exercise (and learn something useful!). For more details and TO JOIN, please e-mail us at london.gtmo@gmail.com and visit: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2012/11/your-invitation-to-join-us-to-mark-11.html

Your help with this part of the action will be greatly appreciated.
*Adnan Latif is one of the prisoners whose journey we will recount

2 – Join our vigil outside the US Embassy at 6-8pm. All are welcome: http://www.facebook.com/events/137186296431211/ Any help with the vigil will also be greatly appreciated.

3 – As part of the vigil, we will be reading out YOUR messages to President Obama about Guantánamo Bay. Please send us your short messages: 50 words maximum (Tweet/SMS length) by e-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com / on our Facebook Page (below) or Twitter (@allroadsleadg11) 

4 – On Monday 7^th January, Aisha Maniar from the LGC will speak at the Brent Stop The War meeting about what is currently happening at Guantánamo Bay, actions to mark the 11th anniversary and what President Obama should do about the prison. 7:30pm, Rumi’s Cave, 26 Willesden Lane, NW6 7ST (Tube: Kilburn, buses: 98, 316, 332, 16, 189, 328)

http://stopwarbrent.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/brent-stop-the-war-meeting-monday-7th-january-2013/

5 – Need more information?

Watch our promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzhe9BnrGIk
Read an article about why this action matters and you should be a part of it: http://onesmallwindow.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/guantanamo-bay-epic-fail-for-obama/

6 – Spread the word – let your friends and family know about the day of action:

Like our page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllRoadsLeadToGuantanamo from where you can follow the action on the day as well as at:

Twitter: @allroadsleadg11 https://twitter.com/allroadsleadg11  

Tumblr: http://thelondonguantanamocampaign.tumblr.com/  

LGC blog: www.londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com  

The action on the day will be educational and interactive; follow our updates on the various tours, news on prisoners, facts about Guantánamo Bay and what you can do, and give us your feedback online.

Be a part of history. We hope to see you there – in person or virtually – and send a strong message to President Obama, weeks before he assumes his second term in office, that GUANTANAMO MUST CLOSE.

For any queries, or further information, please contact the London Guantánamo Campaign

LGC Newsletter – December 2012

NEWS:

British Residents:

Shaker Aamer has launched a defamation action against the British intelligence services MI5 and MI6 for making “knowingly false statements” to the US military about him. These include allegations that he is a member of Al Qaeda and helped to recruit people to fight in Afghanistan. The action was announced by Reprieve, the legal charity representing Shaker Aamer, and comedian Frankie Boyle, who put up the money to bring the case from a libel case he had won earlier against a newspaper and had donated to Reprieve. The government has not commented on the case.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20715511

Earlier this month, it was announced that officers from Scotland Yard will go to Guantánamo Bay to question Mr Aamer about allegations of abuse and torture he has made against the British intelligence services which are currently being investigated by the Metropolitan police: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hopes-rise-for-guantanamos-last-uk-inmate-8373869.html

Guantánamo Bay:

Amnesty Canada has launched a new campaign for former Guantánamo prisoner Omar Khadr who was returned to the country in September 2012, where he was promptly sent back to prison and is awaiting parole. Omar Khadr continues to be held in solitary confinement with limited access to other prisoners and facilities. Having spent all of his adult life thus far at Guantánamo Bay, he is finding it hard to adapt to life outside, a task not facilitated by his continuing imprisonment. Take action for Omar Khadr: http://www.amnesty.ca/get-involved/take-action-now/omar-khadr-the-case-is-not-closed

The US military has stated the official cause of death of Yemeni prisoner Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif who died in September 2012 is suicide. His body was recently repatriated to Yemen and there has been much controversy over the possible cause of his death following over a decade of abuse. Claiming his death to be caused by substance abuse, the US military also claimed that he was suffering from acute pneumonia at the time of death. Earlier in the month, investigative journalists Jason Leopold and Jeff Kaye from Truth Out unveiled further facts surrounding the death of Mr Abdul Latif and contradictions in the official story about his death: http://truth-out.org/news/item/13234-latif-letter-about-guantanamo-speaks-from-the-grave-i-am-being-pushed-toward-death-every-moment

Extraordinary rendition:

On 13 December, the government announced that it had reached a £2.2 million settlement with the family of Sami Al-Saadi, one of two Libyan men whose rendition to torture in Libya it had facilitated in 2004. The pay-out ends the family’s litigation against the UK authorities; however, the family of another man, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, are continuing their action against the government. Mr Al-Saadi, his wife and four children were forcedly rendered from Hong Kong to Libya where they were detained and tortured. Although the settlement means that the government has not made an admission of liability, the settlement is tantamount to an admission of guilt. Mr Al-Saadi made the following statement about why he decided to settle: “My family suffered enough when they were kidnapped and flown to Gaddafi’s Libya. They will now have the chance to complete their education in the new, free Libya. I will be able to afford the medical care I need because of the injuries I suffered in prison.

“I started this process believing that a British trial would get to the truth in my case. But today, with the government trying to push through secret courts, I feel that to proceed is not best for my family. I went through a secret trial once before, in Gaddafi’s Libya. In many ways, it was as bad as the torture. It is not an experience I care to repeat.

“Even now, the British government has never given an answer to the simple question: ‘Were you involved in the kidnap of me, my wife and my children?’” [Source: Reprieve]

Speaking one day before the Justice and Security Bill was debated in the House of Commons, Chichester Conservative MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Extradition Rendition made the following statement in a press release:

“For over six years, the APPG has been trying to get to the truth about alleged British complicity in the kidnap and torture of detainees. We still don’t know it. Mr al-Saadi’s case highlights the need to hold a full judge-led inquiry as soon as possible. Only then can we draw a line and move on.

This is the sort of case that could be caught by the secret courts provisions of the Justice and Security Bill. In the future, if the Bill comes into effect unamended, a person suing the Government for his rendition and torture could be shut out of his own case. So would the lawyers for the claimant, the press, and the public. Any evidence deemed damaging to national security would require the case to be heard in secret. The judge would only hear the Government’s evidence and the claimant wouldn’t be able to challenge it. The claimant wouldn’t know why he or she won or lost; what allegations were made against him; or what case was made on his behalf by the Special Advocate. This flies in the face of the fundamental principles of our legal system and is unacceptable.”

On 13 December, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg unanimously found Macedonia guilty of involvement in the torture, abuse and illegal imprisonment of German rendition victim Khaled El Masri. In its judgment, the court condemned the use of torture and rendition by the CIA and called the extraordinary rendition programme “torture” for the first time. El Masri has also unsuccessfully tried to bring actions against other states involved in his torture. On holiday in 2003, he was kidnapped at Skopje airport in Macedonia, tortured there for almost a month, before being taken to Afghanistan for several months where the abuse continued. When the Americans realised they had the wrong man, he was released by the road side in Albania and told that no one would believe him if he told them of his ordeal. However, the European Court found Mr El Masri’s claims to be founded “beyond reasonable doubt” and ordered Macedonia to pay him 60,000 euros in compensation in this landmark legal ruling.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/dec/13/cia-tortured-sodomised-terror-suspect

LGC Activities:

The December monthly LGC demonstration was a special demonstration to mark Human Rights Day on 10 December. Around 20 people joined in a reading of articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There will be NO monthly demonstration in January due to the anniversary event on 11 January.

The LGC invites you get involved in our action to mark the 11^th anniversary of Guantánamo Bay on Friday 11 January 2013. For more details on what we are planning and how you can get involved: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2012/11/your-invitation-to-join-us-to-mark-11.html Please join us if you can. You can also follow our progress and get involved via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AllRoadsLeadToGuantanamoTwitter: @allroadsleadG11 and Tumblr: www.thelondonguantanamocampaign.tumblr.com

Aisha Maniar from the London Guantánamo Campaign will be speaking on Monday 7th January 2013 at 7.30pm at a Brent Stop The War meeting, "All Roads Lead to Guantánamo" about the latest challenges for President Obama, soon to be reinaugurated, with respect to Guantánamo and upcoming actions to mark the eleventh anniversary. All welcome. The meeting is at Rumi's Cave, 26 Willesden Lane, NW6 7ST (nearest underground: Kilburn). For more details, e-mail brent@stopwar.org.uk

On Friday 11th January 2013… All Roads Lead to Guantánamo Bay: How Can You Get Involved?

It is now less than one month until the 11^th anniversary of Guantánamo Bay on 11 January 2013 and the London Guantánamo Campaign’s “All Roads Lead to Guantánamo” day of action. 166 prisoners remain there, almost entirely without charge or trial after a decade. In his first term in office, President Obama has failed to live up to the principles of freedom, justice and human rights he claims to espouse. The responsibility thus falls on the shoulders of civil society – us – to take action.

There are lots of ways in which you can get involved in this day of action from ALL OVER THE WORLD. For the past 11 years, the US and other governments have had plenty of excuses for inaction, what’s YOURS?

1 – Join our educational tours retracing the journeys of five prisoners to Guantánamo Bay: some who remain, some who have died, and some who were never near Afghanistan in the first place. The purpose of the tours is to raise awareness. We would especially appreciate the involvement of people who can help to provide live streaming of the tours, and provide updates on the tours as they progress through videos, pictures, audio, text comments, etc. relayed via e-mail/SMS/Twitter/Facebook and Tumblr.  For more information on the tours and to join, please e-mail us: london.gtmo@gmail.com For more details: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2012/11/your-invitation-to-join-us-to-mark-11.html

2 – As part of our vigil outside the US Embassy at 6-8pm in the evening: http://www.facebook.com/events/137186296431211/ we will be reading out YOUR messages to President Obama about Guantánamo Bay. Please send us your short messages: 50 words maximum (Tweet/SMS length) by e-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com/ on our Facebook Page (below) or Twitter (@allroadsleadg11) 

3 – Please help raise awareness of this event and anniversary: invite your friends and family to join.

Watch and share our promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzhe9BnrGIk&feature=plcp

You can follow the news and action from now and on the day (live) on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllRoadsLeadToGuantanamo
Twitter: @allroadsleadg11 https://twitter.com/allroadsleadg11
Tumblr: http://thelondonguantanamocampaign.tumblr.com/
LGC blog: www.londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com

We anticipate the action on the day to be educational and interactive, so we look forward to you staying tuned to our updates on the various tours, news on prisoners, facts about Guantánamo Bay and what you can do, as well as your feedback. Feel free to share any relevant information – from around the globe - with us too!

 4 – If you can only attend the vigil we are organising outside the US Embassy in the evening, we would appreciate help with:

-          Holding up banners

-          Stewarding

-          Reading out messages and the names of current prisoners

-          General organisation

5 – The London Guantánamo Campaign is an entirely volunteer organisation. We too will be taking time off our day jobs. We largely fund our own activities, however if you are able to make a small contribution to the cost of the banners we will use on the day – outside the embassy and as part of the tours – it would be greatly appreciated. Please e-mail us for more details on how to do this.

6 –If you are a filmmaker, photographer or media worker, and you’d be interested in covering this action (tours/vigil), please get in touch with the co-ordinator, Aisha Maniar, at the e-mail address below. More details on media involvement: http://www.spectacle.co.uk/spectacleblog/guantanamo/london-guantanamo-campaign-11-january-2013/

Be a part of history. We hope to see you there – in person or virtually – and send a strong message to President Obama, weeks before he assumes his second term in office, that GUANTANAMO MUST CLOSE.

For any queries, or further information, please contact the London Guantánamo Campaign

LGC Newsletter - November 2012

NEWS:
British Residents:
November 24 marked the eleventh anniversary of Shaker Aamer’s capture in Pakistan and illegal detention without trial or charge. In 2001, he was captured and shortly thereafter sold to the US military for a bounty by his captors. He has been held ever since in Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay, since February 2002, without charge or trial and has been beaten and abused frequently. Supporters from the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign marked the anniversary with a vigil in Trafalgar Square. 

Guantánamo Bay:

Barack Obama was re-elected president of the United States for a second term on 6 November. Immediately thereafter, human rights advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others, such as Amnesty International, called on the president to make good on his broken first term promise to close Guantánamo Bay, and to end indefinite detention and drone strikes: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/11/aclu-urges-obama-to-close-guantanamo-during-second-term.php
Shortly before the election, Barack Obama reaffirmed on US TV his wish to close Guantánamo Bay in non-specific terms.
Since then, a report published on 27 November by the official Government Accountability Office (GOA), led by Senator Dianne Feinstein, stated that the 166 remaining prisoners could be safely reabsorbed into the US penitentiary system and identified almost 100 facilities in the US mainland where they could be held: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/11/government-report-guantanamo-detainees-could-be-safely-absorbed-by-us-prisons.php Such a move would require legislation and the Department of Justice would not be able to authorise such movement itself.
Since then, however, the Senate has voted to prevent the transfer of any Guantánamo prisoners to the US mainland in the coming year in an amendment proposed to the National Defense Authorization Bill 2013; this bill must be passed every year and the act which resulted in early 2012 saw the introduction of indefinite detention for American citizens. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/senate-votes-bar-transfer-guantanamo-bay-detainees-u-s-year-article-1.1210713  Human rights groups had written to President Obama before the vote asking him to use his presidential powers to veto the vote if measures were passed to prevent him closing Guantánamo, but senators have voted against it in any case: http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2012/11/groups-call-on-obama-to-veto-ndaa-over-potential-guantanamo-150415.html The final decision, as with the introduction of indefinite detention for US citizens last year, lies with the president himself.
While disputes and wrangling continue over who is to blame for the almost 11-year history of Guantánamo and who is preventing its closure – Congress or the Senate – the actual issue of the on-going detention and abuse of prisoners outside of the known confines of the law is brushed aside. In spite of the “hope” raised by the GOA report, the fact remains that the vast majority of prisoners are not “bad men” and do not need further incarceration but to be repatriated to their countries of origin and their families. Such is the case of both British residents, Shaker Aamer and Ahmed Belbacha, who were cleared for released almost 6 years ago, and over 30 Yemeni prisoners, who are prevented from leaving due to a ban on their return to Yemen. The responsibility for that, however, lies with the countries they have come from as well, such as the UK, who should be making greater efforts to repatriate their nationals and residents.

To this end, this month, Yemen’s new president officially demanded the return of 80 prisoners to the country and the repatriation of the body of the late Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif, who died at Guantánamo in September. The government said it was dropping the demands the former president, deposed in the Arab Spring, had made for their return. It also rejected attempts to send them to third countries, demanding they be returned to their families. http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=6211&MainCat=3

An autopsy has been carried out on the body of Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif, a Yemeni prisoner who died at Guantánamo in September this year. The manner of death has been given as suicide but the cause of his death has not been disclosed, although there are alleged inconsistencies with the stories that emerged at the time of his death, for example concerning whether there were signs of self-harm. His body is currently in the process of being returned to his family in Yemen; however, they will not be able to hold an independent autopsy to determine the cause of his death as his organs are reported to have decomposed since his death. The official story on his death, as with those of 8 other prisoners over the past 6 years, remains a mystery: http://truth-out.org/news/item/12967-latif-autopsy-report-calls-gitmo-death-a-suicide-mystery-endures  

Extraordinary rendition:

Two NGOs, the Canadian Centre for International Justice and the American Centre for Constitutional Rights have brought a complaint to the United Nations Committee Against Torture against Canada on behalf of former Guantánamo prisoners Hassan bin Attash, Sami el-Hajj, Muhammed Khan Tumani and Murat Kurnaz for the country’s failure to arrest former US president George W Bush during his visit there last October. The complaint claims that Canada breached its obligations under the Convention Against Torture by failing to arrest and investigate George Bush for his involvement in war crimes against the men in Afghanistan and at Guantánamo, where they were held illegally and tortured.

The British Ministry of Defence has conceded that it cannot hand over prisoners it has captured to the authorities in Afghanistan due to the high risk of torture and abuse in Afghan prisons: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/29/defence-secretary-prisoners-afghan-security There is now a moratorium on the handover of prisoners by British troops. Earlier in the month, on 19 November, Afghan forces took control of Bagram on the order of President Karzai, claiming that the US had failed to honour its side of the agreement on the handover of the prison. While the Afghan authorities have released a number of former prisoners placed under their control over the past 9 months, concerns remain for the 57 foreign nationals the US wishes to retain control over. The move has been welcomed by some human rights NGOs; however conditions of detention by the Afghan authorities are not necessarily better than those of the US: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/world/asia/karzai-orders-takeover-of-afghan-prison.html?_r=0

LGC Activities:

The November monthly LGC demonstration was a special demonstration to mark the US elections on 6 November and was held in solidarity with a number of other grassroots campaigns for human rights with a focus on joint UK-US issues, such as the case of Shaker Aamer and Bradley Manning. The LGC was also joined by a number of outstanding young spoken word artists who made an artistic contribution. Around 50 people attended and showed solidarity. Videos of almost all the speakers are available on the LGC’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LondonGtmoCampaign?feature=mhee

Media on the demonstration: http://www.demotix.com/news/1577350/london-guant-namo-campaign-holds-protest-outside-us-embassy?lbclear=74#media-1577324

Next month’s demonstration will exceptionally move to Monday 10^th December at 6-8pm to coincide with International Human Rights Day. We invite you to join us in a reading of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=eng) you may read whichever article you believe to be most relevant. These rights are supposed to apply to all people and all times. Reading not compulsory: http://www.facebook.com/events/407857662620286/  

 The LGC invites you get involved in our action to mark the 11^th anniversary of Guantánamo Bay on Friday 11 January 2013. We will be holding a planning meeting in the Café in the Crypt, St Martin’s in the Field Church, off Trafalgar Square (opposite National Gallery) at 2-4pm on Sunday 2 December. For more details on what we are planning and how you can get involved: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2012/11/your-invitation-to-join-us-to-mark-11.html  Please join us if you can. You can also follow our progress and get involved via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AllRoadsLeadToGuantanamo and Twitter: @allroadsleadG11

Your invitation to join us to mark 11 years of Guantánamo Bay: All Roads Lead to Guantánamo

You are cordially invited….

Looking for the ultimate cure to the January blues? Looking for a New Year’s resolution you can keep? …The London Guantánamo Campaign may have an answer for you…

We invite you to join us on our “All Roads Lead to Guantánamo Bay” tour on Friday 11^th January. We invite you, at no additional cost to yourself*, to join us on one of several journeys across the capital, visiting different embassies to recount the tortured journeys of several of the almost 800 men who have been sent to Guantánamo Bay over the past 11 years, ending at the ultimate destination of the US Embassy in Mayfair for a vigil at 6pm. Some of the prisoners have been released, some have died there and some still remain…

We offer you a variety of tours of varying lengths (average: 1.5 – 3.5 hours) for different prisoners, which you may choose from. You may join all or part of a tour. The tours will take place during the daytime. It may be necessary to arrange to take time off work or study to join in. We anticipate that some of the shorter tours will be suitable for those with mobility issues and/or with small children.

We appreciate that it may not be possible for everyone to take time off work and join us in the daytime. In that case, you can follow the action as it unfolds across the capital via Twitter and Facebook. We’d also like you to make your own way to the US Embassy at 6pm and join us for a candlelight vigil calling on the closure of Guantánamo Bay on its 11^th anniversary. In the following weeks, President Obama will be inaugurated for a second term, so come on London (and the UK), let’s send him a strong message: second time around, Obama, YES YOU CAN!

How to join a tour:

We are looking for both “tourists”to join the tours and “tour guides” to lead them; all information provided in the latter case. Simply send an e-mail to the London Guantánamo Campaign: london.gtmo@gmail.com and we will send you details of the routes and prisoners whose journeys we are retracing for you to decide which one you would like to join. You will then be put in touch with the “tour guide” who will provide you with more details of the specific route. If you would like to get involved in planning, please let us know.

On the day, it is up to you if you wish to wear an orange jumpsuit or your usual attire.

Still not convinced?!

Please check out our video with good reasons why you should join this unique and important action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzhe9BnrGIk

Update:
The London Guantánamo Campaign has now organised five "tours" for the 11th January action - of varying lengths (mainly 1-3 hours) starting at different times that afternoon. There is one longer tour (for the fit and active) covering a particularly cruel journey to Guantánamo and one "slow" tour for a deceased prisoner. The tours are educational, so if you don't know much about Guantánamo Bay and what's been happening over the past 11 years, we hope we can enlighten you.
You can also keep up to date and interact with this action via Facebook “All Roads Lead to Guantanamo” or Twitter @allroadsleadG11

* Approximate cost of travel in the zone 1 & 2 areas of London by public transport will be notified to tourists; however, the London Guantánamo Campaign cannot offer to help cover individual costs of transport, food, etc.

All Roads Lead to Guantánamo Bay...on 11th January 2013

11 YEARS OF TORTURE, INJUSTICE, RENDITION AND ARBITRARY DETENTION

11 YEARS OF GUANTÁNAMO BAY

 

on Friday 11th January 2013

all roads lead to Guantánamo Bay

The world has too long turned a blind eye and connived in the illegal practices associated with it. Around 160 prisoners remain there.

The London Guantánamo Campaigns invite you to join us as we mark this 11th anniversary with a mystery tour across the capital, recounting the journey of 11 PRISONERS, visiting the embassies of the countries involved in torture flights and extraordinary rendition and leading up to a candlelight vigil outside the US Embassy at 6pm

 

JOIN US….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzhe9BnrGIk

Please feel welcome to visit our Facebook page:

All Roads Lead To Guantanamo

or follow us on Twitter @allroadsleadG11                                                                                                                                                                        For more details and to sign up for the tour, please e-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com or call: 07809 757 176

www.londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com

MEDIA RELEASE: “Truth, Justice and the American way?” British activists to mark US elections with demonstration outside US Embassy, 6pm on 6 November 2012

MEDIA RELEASE: “Truth, Justice and the American way?” British activists to mark US elections with demonstration outside US Embassy, 6pm on 6 November 2012

5th November 2012 – for immediate release

The London Guantánamo Campaign [1] will hold a demonstration, “Truth, Justice and the American Way?”, outside the US Embassy in London at 6-8pm on Tuesday 6^thNovember to coincide with the US presidential elections. Speakers from various organisations and performers will raise human rights concerns of common interest to the US and the UK [2].

Aisha Maniar, an organiser for the London Guantánamo Campaign, says, “Four years ago, a new American president, Barack Obama, promised the world a change it could believe in. One change he put his name to in writing was the closure of Guantánamo Bay and the end of military tribunals there. That has not materialised; the American administration has added drone attacks to its repertoire of extralegal activity, expanded the scope of arbitrary detention without charge or trial, [3] and over 160 prisoners remain at Guantánamo Bay after almost 11 years, including British resident Shaker Aamer [4].

“The continually deteriorating human rights situation would not be possible without the collusion of its allies, such as Britain, which has recently seen fit to extradite its own citizens to potential cruel and unusual treatment in US Supermax prisons, has turned a blind eye to the plight of US-UK national Bradley Manning, and is seeking to protect allies such as the US and potentially illegal intelligence-gathering activity by both countries through the Justice and Security Bill [5]. The world deserves much better than this.”

Contact: e-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com
ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS
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 full list of speakers:

Chris Nineham (Stop The War Coalition), Dr Shahrar Ali (Green Party), Joy Hurcombe (Save Shaker Aamer Campaign), Hamja Ahsan (Free Talha Campaign), Aviva Stahl (Cageprisoners), Anthony Timmons (WISE Up for Bradley Manning), Ilyas Townsend (Justice for Aafia Coalition); performances by Miz The Poet, Ibrahim Sincere and Ed Greens.

http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/demonstration-truth-justice-and.html
3. In the National Defense Authorization Act 2012: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr1540enr/pdf/BILLS-112hr1540enr.pdf

4. Shaker Aamer was cleared for release by the US military in 2007. He claims to have been tortured repeatedly during his time in US custody, on one occasion in the presence of a British intelligence agent. He has a British wife and four children living in Battersea, south London. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown sought his release in August 2007, along with four other residents held at Guantánamo Bay, the last of whom was released in February 2009. http://www.reprieve.org.uk/cases/shakeraamer/

Number of prisoners still at Guantánamo Bay: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/USLS-Fact-Sheet-Gitmo-Numbers.pdf

5. Former Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke recently speaking about the bill: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20182465

Newsletter - October 2012

NEWS:
British Residents:
Documents from Guantánamo Bay declassified in September show that Shaker Aamer is continuing to suffer abuse and was beaten up by guards as recently as April this year for refusing to return to his cell, where he is held for up to 22 hours a day, after exercise. His lawyers have also confirmed that during visits, he shows visible signs of having been beaten. Shaker Aamer further claims that following visits from his lawyers, he is often beaten up by soldiers. The Metropolitan police are continuing investigations into claims that MI6 were present when he was tortured in Afghanistan, and interrogated him in Afghanistan and at Guantánamo Bay.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2213961/The-Briton-Guantanamo-MI6-watched-U-S-soldiers-repeatedly-smashed-head-wall.html 

Guantánamo Bay:

The credibility of the military commission system at Guantánamo Bay was struck a harsh blow when the conviction of Salim Hamdan, a former Yemeni prisoner convicted in 2009, was overturned by a US federal appeals court. Mr Hamdan, who had worked as a driver for Osama Bin Laden, was charged with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism. He was convicted of the latter charges, but following his capture in Afghanistan in 2001, he had already served his 66-month sentence by the time he was convicted and was released and returned to Yemen in 2009. The court overturned the conviction as the offence of “providing material support for terrorism” did not exist as a war crime at the time the charges were brought. The 2006 Military Commissions Act, creating military tribunals at Guantánamo, did not allow for Mr Hamdan to be tried retrospectively for an offence that did not exist at the time. In making his judgment, Judge Brett Kavanaugh said, “If the government wanted to charge Hamdan with aiding and abetting terrorism or some other war crime that was sufficiently rooted in the international law of war at the time of Hamdan's conduct, it should have done so”. Salim Hamdan admitted to working for Osama Bin Laden during his trial, but said that he was working for a wage and not to wage war. The ruling raises questions about other convictions at Guantánamo Bay. The day following this ruling, Australian David Hicks said that he would be appealing his conviction too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/us/politics/appeals-court-overturns-terrorism-conviction-of-salim-ahmed-hamdan-bin-ladens-driver.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&  

In mid-October, pre-trial hearings resumed in the case of five men accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks in New York. This is the first time they have appeared in court in over 5 months. All five men, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, “disappeared” into secret CIA-run jails for several years before being taken to Guantánamo Bay and face the death penalty if convicted. The procedural issues discussed included secrecy during the hearings. At the earliest, the actual trials are not expected to start before next summer, almost 12 years after the attacks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19956639

Wikileaks has started the release of more than 100 classified or restricted files from the US Department of Defense relating to procedures on prisoner handling in Iraq, Afghanistan and at Guantánamo Bay. These documents can be accessed at: http://wikileaks.org/detaineepolicies/  

In further pre-trial hearings in his case, Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri, accused of plotting an attack on a US warship in the Gulf of Aden in Yemen in 2000, threatened to boycott his trial due to mistreatment by US soldiers, unnecessary aggression and the requirement that he wears shackles during the hearing. Mr Al-Nashiri, who currently has a case at European Court of Human Rights against Poland for its involvement in his torture there, where he was allegedly waterboarded, faces the death penalty if convicted. He did not attend the first day of the hearing. At the hearing, his lawyers urged the judge to drop the charges against him and try him before a civil court, as Yemen and the US were not engaged in hostilities at the time, meaning that his actions did not constitute war crimes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/us/politics/guantanamo-detainee-al-nashiri-protests-use-of-chains-for-court.html

Extraordinary rendition:

The first evidence has been filed by lawyers in the criminal case of Abdel Hakim Belhaj and Sami Al-Saadi, who were rendered to Libya in 2004 with the direct help of the UK intelligence services. Former foreign secretary Jack Straw and Sir Mark Allen, a former senior MI6 officer, have been named in the evidence as defendants. As well as describing the torture the two men and their families faced, the documents state that both the government and the intelligence services knew and were aware of the risk of torture.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/10/jack-straw-torture-libyan-dissidents?newsfeed=true

Yunus Rahmatullah, a Pakistani prisoner held at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan without charge or trial since 2004, following his arrest and handover to the US military by the British army in Iraq, was subject to a British Supreme Court ruling on 31 October. Lawyers for Mr Rahmatullah in the UK, acting on behalf of his family, brought a case against the British government to compel it to seek his release, as under a memorandum of understanding between the US and UK (one of the documents recently released by Wikileaks), he continued to remain under British control. The court of appeal had previously upheld this - his right to habeas corpus - and ordered the government to seek his immediate release. The US government refused to cooperate, as Pakistan has also sought his release and he is a Pakistani national. Cleared for released more than 2 years ago and one of several prisoners whose release Pakistan has sought, it is unclear why Mr Rahmatullah continues to be held at Bagram. In its ruling, the Supreme Court upheld his right to be released but agreed with the government that it had no power to order this from the US and that it could effectively do nothing. His lawyers, however, maintain that his handover was a breach of the Geneva Conventions and that the UK is accused of war crimes in his case, which is currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20151617

LGC Activities:

The October “Shut Down Guantánamo!” demonstration was held on 4^th October and was attended by 6 people. This demonstration was held in support of Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan, two British nationals from south London, who lost their appeal and were extradited to the US the next day: http://www.demotix.com/news/1498117/shut-down-guant-namo-protest-calls-halt-extraditions-london/all-media

Next month’s demonstration will exceptionally move to Tuesday 6^th November at 6-8pm to coincide with the US elections, with speakers and spoken word. Please join us if you can: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/demonstration-truth-justice-and.html

The LGC's 26th June action to mark international day in support of victims of torture features on the cover of a new report by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). See also page 28 for further information about our "London Says "No to Torture" action: http://www.irct.org/media-and-resources/library/26-june-global-report.aspx  Many thanks to everyone who took part in that action.

The London Guantánamo Campaign is currently setting up its action to mark the 11^th anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Bay on 11^th January 2013. Under the heading of “All Roads Lead to Guantánamo", we are planning a day of action taking in actions outside embassies involved in the journey of prisoners to Guantánamo, culminating in a vigil outside the US Embassy. We will be holding a planning meeting on Saturday 10^th November at 2-4pm in the basement café in Westminster Central Hall. Please join us if you can. You can also follow our progress and get involved via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AllRoadsLeadToGuantanamo and Twitter: @allroadsleadG11

Demonstration: Truth, Justice and the American Way? 6 November

On the day of the US Presidential Elections, the

London Guantánamo Campaign invites you to join us at a demonstration

TRUTH, JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY?

Outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, W1A 1AE

On Tuesday, 6 November, 6-8pm

to protest ongoing abuses of human rights and collusion between the British and US governments

Speakers include:

Hamja Ahsan (Free Talha Ahsan Campaign)

Joy Hurcombe (Save Shaker Aamer Campaign)

Ilyas Townsend (Justice for Aafia Campaign)

Anthony Timmons (WISE Up for Bradley Manning)

Aviva Stahl (Cageprisoners)

Dr Shahrar Ali (Green Party)

Chris Nineham (Stop The War Coalition)

Speaker from Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!

Poets: Mizan the Poet, Ibrahim Sincere, Ed Greens

http://www.facebook.com/events/236145306511933/

For more details: e-mail london.gtmo@gmail.com

www.londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/shutguantanamo

N.B. This demonstration replaces our regular monthly demonstration for November