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Bin Laden driver to boycott Gitmo trial PDF Print E-mail

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba – A military judge struggled to begin Guantanamo's second war crimes trial on Monday after a former aide to Osama bin Laden refused to participate, and his Pentagon-appointed lawyer said he would remain silent in solidarity.
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US drops charges against 5 Guantanamo prisoners PDF Print E-mail
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Pentagon said Tuesday it has dropped war-crimes charges against five Guantanamo Bay detainees after the former prosecutor in their cases complained that the military was withholding evidence helpful to the defence
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Taxi to the Dark Side PDF Print E-mail
Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign in association with Repreive is showing the film Taxi to Dark side in Birmingham on thursday the 30th October 7.30 pm at the Birmingham Central Library.

Director Alex Gibney USA Duration 1 Hour 50 minutes

Winner of the Oscar for the documentary feature, Taxi to the Dark Side is a gripping investigation into the reckless abuse of power by the Bush administration

The film show will be followed by a discussion with Andy Worthington of Reprieve and released Guantanamo prisoner Moazzam Begg.

TIckets £ 3.50/£ 2.50 concession available from the library. 

for further info follow the link  www.birminghamboxoffice.com  or ring 0121 303 2323 

 
US drops charges against 5 Guantanamo prisoners PDF Print E-mail
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Pentagon said Tuesday it has dropped war-crimes charges against five Guantanamo Bay detainees after the former prosecutor in their cases complained that the military was withholding evidence helpful to the defence
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Iftar in Solidarity with Binyam - Last Londoner at Guantanamo PDF Print E-mail
The London Guantánamo Campaign and MCHC

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Evening with Moazzam Begg PDF Print E-mail

Venue & Time
Friday the 8th August 8.00 pm
Lightwaves Leisure Centre, Lower York Street, Marsh Way, Wakefield WF1 3LJ

Moazzam Begg is one of nine British citizens who were held in Guantanamo Bay by the government of the United States of America. Begg was labelled an "enemy combatant" by the US government and imprisoned without charge or trial for a crime he did not commit. In the three years he spent in custody, much of it in solitary confienement, he was subjected to over 300 interrogations, as well as beatings, death threats and torture, witnessing the killings of two detainees. Since his reelase he has been working with the human rights organisation, cage prisoners, campaigning for those who remain in Guantanamo.


Venue & Time
Friday the 8th August 8.00 pm
Lightwaves Leisure Centre, Lower York Street, Marsh Way, Wakefield WF1 3LJ

Contact details : 07807 153025 & 07985 382188

www.cageprisoners.com

Urgent Action: Binyam Mohamed, 29 year old British resident in Guantánamo Bay PDF Print E-mail

 

Background:

  • 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.


Yours sincerely



Gordon Brown (Prime Minister)

Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, MP

House of Commons

London

SW1A 1AA

browng@parliament. uk


David Miliband (Foreign Secretary)

Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP

Foreign Secretary,

Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
King Charles St ,
London SW1A 2AH

msu.correspondence@ fco.gov.uk


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.


London Guantánamo Campaign

3 June 2008
Sami Muhyideen Al Haj released from Guantánamo Bay PDF Print E-mail
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
London Guantnamo Campaign and its supporters protesting against extradition of Omar and Jamil PDF Print E-mail
DSCN5556r_sp_emb_group.jpgA 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.
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PAKISTAN : Life of a prisoner in Guantanamo is at risk PDF Print E-mail
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.
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