RE: 2000 Days of Guantanamo Launch of Exhibition ‘Guantanamo: Portraits of Injustice’ followed by public meeting on Wednesday 4 July 2007, 6.30 pm, Committee Room 10, House of Commons Letter to new Prime Minister Gordon Brown On 4th July, as Americans celebrate their Independence Day, the Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay reaches its 2000th day of operation. The Guantanamo Bay prisoners are denied those cherished rights: the ‘inalienable rights’ to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’, the rights to a speedy trial, humane treatment and due process contained in the US Bill of Rights.
Launch of Exhibition: ‘Guantanamo: Portraits of Injustice’ and Meeting calling on the new Prime Minister to take action to close Guantanamo and bring back the British Residents.
This day will be marked with the launch of an exhibition called ‘Guantanamo: Portraits of Injustice’. The launch will take place at the House of Commons with support from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo. Also an open letter has been written to the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, urging him to endeavour to bring them back home (see attachment). Musurut Dar, creator of the exhibition, commented on the inspiration behind the event, “The idea of this exhibition came to me after I met Moazzam Begg, after his release from Guantanamo. I was touched by his story of injustice and his humanity. I wanted to share the stories of the British detainees, so that others would see the injustice that is - Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. ‘Guantanamo: Portraits of Injustice’ calls on you to look beyond the stereotype and see the sons, brothers, fathers and husbands who have been imprisoned and do not have the right to know why they are being detained or the right to a fair trial. It calls on you to note the fact that to date none of these men, despite years of incarceration and alleged torture, have been convicted of a crime under the due process of law by the USA. We cannot carry on ignoring this injustice “.
Individuals and Organisations sign open letter to new PM Gordon Brown
Signatories to the letter include: former Guantanamo detainees, Manfred Nowak, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Lord Nazir Ahmed, Baron Dholakia, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Baroness Frances D’Souza, Clare Short MP, Caroline Lucas MEP, Sajjad Karim MEP, Clive Stafford Smith and Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International.
Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo detainee said,
“It is important that the unlawful detentions in Guantanamo Bay are continually highlighted. This exhibition is the first of its kind and will serve to show the human aspect behind this tragedy. Guantanamo must be closed and our hope is for the new PM to take notice and bring our British residents home.”
2000 days of illegal imprisonment; 2000 days of captivity; 2000 days of torture; 2000 days of brutality; 2000 days of injustice. 4th July 2007 marks 2000 days of Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.
Notes for Editors
1. The launch of the exhibition and public meeting will take place on:
Wednesday 4th July 2007 at the House of Commons, St Stevens Gate, Committee Room 10, London SW1A OAA
6.30pm; viewing of exhibition and press interviews with speakers 7.00pm - 9.30pm; public meeting, press welcome
Confirmed speakers include: Moazzam Begg (Cageprisoners); ex-Guantanamo detainee Gareth Peirce (Birnberg Peirce); lawyer for Guantanamo detainees Amnesty international Aliya Frostrick, Medical Foundation for the care and victims of Torture Reprieve; legal counsel for Guantanamo Detainees Sarah Teather MP (All Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo) Desmond Fernandes (CAMPACC) Victoria Brittain (Author and playright)
2. The letter will be delivered to the PM Gordon Brown on the 4th July and is embargoed for the press until 4th July 2007 00:00hrs.
3. For further information about the meeting and interviews with speakers, please call; Jackie Chase from the National Guantanamo Coalition on 07796478421.
4. For further information about the Exhibition please contact; Musurut Dar on 07932140599 or email;
. Jpegs images of the exhibition are available for single use in support of articles relating to the launch of the exhibition and 4th July event from www.i4images.com/guant. Approval must be sought for all other usage of the portraits from Musurut Dar. All images are copyright to Ian Reynolds.
16th of November marks the 4th anniversary of the kidnap and rendition of Jamil El-Banna and Bisher El-Rawi, still held at Guantanamo Bay. To mark the event meetings are held in Edinburgh, Birmingham and London.
In Edinburgh campaigners will be screening the documentary "Outlawed: Extraordinary Rendition, Torture And Disappearances in The "War On Terror” the film will be shown at 7.30pm Thursday 16 November at the Augustine Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh and is being screened with the support of Scotland Against Criminalising Communitiies, Edinburgh Stop The War Coalition, and the Islamic Society of Edinburgh University. will be followed by a panel discussion. Panellists include Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, and Aamer Anwar, a Glasgow-based lawyer well-known for his work on behalf of refugees and asylum-seekers.
In Birmingham the Guantanamo campaign has been collecting signatures to petition Birmingham Council to pass a resolution demanding that the British government act on behalf of these residents, obtain their release from Guantanamo and return them to the safety of their homes and families in Britain. Birmingham Council passed a similar resolution demanding Moazzam Begg’s release prior to his return to Britain. We are now asking the Council to extend that resolution to include British residents still held at Guantanamo. The petition will be presented to the leaders of the council from all political groups at a Public Meeting arranged for the 16th November 2006, 7.30 pm at Carrs Lane Church Centre. This will be an opportunity for Birmingham residents to debate the issues of Guantanamo and the deterioration of human and civil rights in this country, with their elected representatives. Speakers will include Dr David Nichols who has been campaigning against the forced feeding of detainees at Guantanamo. Earlier this year three detainees died at Guantanamo in suspicious circumstances and as yet there has been no independent enquiry to establish the cause of these deaths.
In London, the London Guantanamo Campaign will be holding a public meeting at on thursday 16th November 2006 between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. at the Pakistani Community Centre, Marley Walk, Station Road, Willesden Green, NW2 3HP with Sarah Teather MP Jamil El-Banna’s Member of Parliament. Other speakers will include Yvonne Ridley (Islam Channel, Respect), Zachary Katznelson (REPRIEVE, Legal representative of Guantanamo Detainees) And Asim Qureshi (CAGEPRISONERS)
Most of the British residents currently held at Guantanamo came to Britain to seek sanctuary. For example, Omar Deghayes, one of the British residenst still held in Guantanamo Bay, escaped as a child with his family from Libya after his father, a lawyer, was executed by the the Ghaddafi regime for defending trade unionists. His sister, Amani Deghayes, a British citizen, said in a recent statement ‘We are very sad and disappointed that we are still talking about the release of my brother Omar from Guantanamo after all this time. It’s been over four years of detention and torture which has shocked us to the core…… we hear of his deliberate blinding, of his constant beatings resulting in various broken limbs. We hear of simulated drownings, starvation and thirst….’ She talks of her despair at the coldness and inhumanity of the British Government who refuse to take any action on behalf of Omar and the other British residents, whilst they maintain that they respect human rights. This she contrasts this with ‘the warmth and sympathy that comes from ordinary people who give up so much to support our cause.’
Issued on behalf of the National Coalition of Guantanamo Campaigns
On the second day of the appeal hearing into the judicial review case brought by solicitors representing the families of Omar Deghayes, Jamil El-Banna and Bisher El-Rawi, Rabinder Singh QC, representing the families, finished presenting theircase at around midday. Christopher Greenwood QC, representing the government, then started his reply. He will continue presenting the British government’s case tomorrow when the appeal hearing is likely to end.
The family of Omar Deghayes attended the court today. Four demonstrators from the London Guantanamo Campaign held a demonstration outside the court to show their support for the families. The demonstration was largely successful with the visual display outside the court drawing a lot of attention. The demonstrators spoke to many members of the public interested in their protest, including tourists visiting London, among them some American soldiers; everyone the demonstrators spoke to expressed their sympathy with the plight of the three families and wished them good luck and a positive outcome to the case. Tourists and passers-by took pictures of the magnificent display outside the court, although grumpy court staff insisted that the Amnesty International banners be removed from the railings outside the court; the banners which offended no one yesterday when attached to the same railings continued to attract attention when laid out in the street. A donation was even made by a passer-by to help the demonstrators in their campaign. The message from passers-by outside the Royal Courts of Justice was unanimously one of sympathy with the families and hope that these men and their families will get justice after four long and painful years.
The case and the demonstration outside the Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand, London, continues tomorrow. The demonstration will start at 10am and the hearing will start at 10.30am. Please come and show your support to the families and call for justice and freedom for Omar Deghayes, Bisher El-Rawi and Jamil El-Banna.
International Protest Day calls for the end of Guantánamo Bay
Guantánamo Bay, a result of the Bush Administration’s ‘War on Terror’ has been the cause of much injustice and heartache for families around the globe. The base set up four years ago has become notorious for the inhumane treatment of detainees. The recent tragic death of the three young men whilst detained has caused further controversy and calls for the illegal base to be closed down. These men along with hundreds of other innocent people have been arrested unlawfully and detained with neither charge nor trial.
Reports of inhumane treatment and torture of both physical and psychological have been revealed to face detainees daily when imprisoned at the base. The international community along with the UN have persistently called for closure of Guantanamo and regardless of much pressure, very little has been carried out in order to getting any closer to the permanent closure of the base. On the 15th of July 2006, the National Guantánamo Coalition along with many supporting organisations have called for an International Day of Protest demanding the closure of the base. The demonstrations call to the end of detention, illegality, torture, deaths and Guantanamo Bay as a whole. The worldwide demonstrations will be held in the United States, Australia, Kuwait and Bahrain. The participation of countries worldwide highlights the coming together of people of all different races and religions in order to protest as one body against Guantanamo Bay, and demand for the detainees to be given their basic human rights.
MEETING POINT: Marble Arch at 12pm – Saturday 15th July 2006. The demonstration will make its way through central London, passing by the Home and Foreign Offices, and arrive outside the US Embassy where a number of speakers will call for the end to injustice. London Contact: Asim Qureshi Email:
Number: 0044 (0) 7973264197 Birmingham Contact: Naeem Malik Email:
Number: 0044 (0) 7721427690 Brighton Contact: Jackie Chase Email:
Number: 0044 (0) 7796478421 Manchester Contact: Tariq Mehmood Number: 0044 (0) 7808173031
Binyam Mohamed is a 29 year old Ethiopian who came to the UK in 1994 as an asylum seeker. He lived in Notting Hill, West London, for seven years.
In June 2001, he travelled to Afghanistan to see whether it was a 'good Islamic country or not'. After 9/11, he left for Pakistan. In April 2002, he tried to return to the UK but was arrested at the airport. For the next three months, he was imprisoned by the Pakistani authorities.
In July 2002, he was transferred to American custody. The CIA flew him to Morocco where he was held for 18 months, during which time he was subject to torture and gross human rights violations. He eventually confessed to being involved in the 'dirty bomb' plot targeted at the US with Jose Padilla.
In January 2004, he was rendered to Afghanistan where he was held in Kabul's notorious 'Dark Prison' for five months where he endured further torture. The Americans then took him to Bagram and then Guantánamo Bay in September 2004 where he has been held ever since.
In November 2005, he was charged with conspiring to plot terror attacks against the US; the evidence for this was procured through torture in Morocco. He had a preliminary hearing in June 2006 but his trial was halted when, later in 2006, the US Supreme Court ruled that the trials were illegal.
In August 2007, the British government made representations with the American government to have five British residents, including Binyam Mohamed, returned to the UK. The British government does not believe he poses a threat.
In May 2008, charges were brought against Binyam and he currently faces the prospect of a military tribunal and, if convicted, the death penalty. He is unlikely to receive a fair trial at Guantánamo Bay.
In recent months, Binyam Mohamed's physical and mental health has deteriorated considerably, to the extent that he has taken to smearing the walls of his cell with his own faeces. He is suffering from severe depression.
Take action!!
Binyam Mohamed has been held in Guantánamo Bay for three and a half years and has been subjected to nearly six years of abuse. He is currently facing a military tribunal at Guantánamo Bay and the death penalty if convicted. He has no hope of receiving a fair trial at Guantánamo according to his lawyers.
Write to the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband and your own MP:
¨Tell them that Binyam Mohamed's case is of the utmost urgency. He is close to a complete breakdown and his behaviour, including smearing his excrement on the walls of his cell, demonstrates severe depression. The British government must act on humanitarian grounds to have Binyam released immediately.
¨The UK government must release information that it has in its possession that show that Binyam was a victim of extraordinary rendition and could lead to his release.
¨The British government must act at the highest level to ensure that Binyam is released and does not face a military tribunal. Allowing Binyam to face a military trial would be an effective endorsement of the death penalty and would undermine the rule of law.
Sample letter:
Dear Mr Brown/Miliband/ Your own MP
I am writing to you concerning Binyam Mohamed, the London man who is being held at Guantánamo Bay and faces terrorism charges. The suffering this man has endured in six years of illegal detention in Morocco, Afghanistan and Guantánamo is shocking. Anyone with knowledge of even the sketchiest details of his treatment, and having any concern for justice and the rule of law, could feel nothing but revulsion.
News of his being charged after six years, with conspiring to commit terrorism offences in the US, to be tried by military tribunal, and using evidence obtained under extreme, prolonged torture, is of grave concern. In these circumstances, he cannot receive a fair trial.
Furthermore, I am concerned that if convicted Binyam faces the death penalty. By failing to challenge the use of military tribunals, which undermine the rule of law and by standing by while Binyam faces such a trial, the UK would be condoning the death penalty, which we do not allow here.
It is also of deep concern that the UK Government is not willing to defend itself against allegations that it appears to have been complicit in Binyam's rendition and ill treatment, or to comply with his lawyers' request for the release of documents which could aid his case.
I call on the Government to do everything in its power to assist this man in obtaining his full human rights, and ultimately his freedom.
Also write to your MP (contact details at www.theyworkforyou. com) and ask them to contact and bring pressure to bear on the Foreign Secretary concerning Binyam Mohamed on your behalf.
In the early hours of this morning Reprieve client and Al Jazeera journalist, Sami Al Haj, was finally released from Guantánamo Bay and reunited with his wife and young son in Sudan. Noticeably weak after over six years in US custody – and his 16-month hunger strike – Sami nevertheless spoke up for his fellow prisoners from his hospital bed in Khartoum. He later spoke to Zachary Katznelson, Reprieve’s Senior Counsel, to thank Reprieve and our supporters for their work on his behalf. For more details Click here
A series of events took place in London this week calling for justice for Guantánamo detainees past and present, and for the detention camp to be closed down, taking in protests outside the Spanish Embassy and Westminster Magistrates’ Court, London Fashion Week and a packed meeting with Moazzam Begg in East London.
On Tuesday 12 February, seven activists from the London Guantánamo Campaign and the Muslim Prisoner Support Group held a lunchtime demonstration outside the Spanish Embassy in Knightsbridge. Peaceful yet vociferous, the message got through to the Embassy staff inside where a meeting was taking place.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the deteriorating health of a Pakistani prisoner detained in a U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . The prisoner is suffering from a serious heart ailment and his health has worsened since he was first imprisoned there in September 2004. The government of Pakistan has not intervened to ensure he is afforded with adequate medical attention. He has been charged for alleged involvement in the September 11 attack but has since not been tried nor produced in court. The prison's medical facilities are inadequate and his request for treatment outside the prison has been denied.
The National Coalition
On the second day of the appeal hearing into the judicial review case brought by solicitors representing the families of Omar Deghayes, Jamil El-Banna and Bisher El-Rawi, Rabinder Singh QC, representing the families, finished presenting theircase at around midday. Christopher Greenwood QC, representing the government, then started his reply. He will continue presenting the British government’s case tomorrow when the appeal hearing is likely to end.
A series of events took place in London this week calling for justice for Guantánamo detainees