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London Guantanamo Campaign Newsletter PDF Print E-mail
London was at some stage home to the majority of the British residents currently detained in Guantánamo. The London Guantánamo Campaign was set up in March 2006 with the following aims:-

  •  To demand the return to the UK of all British residents imprisoned in Guantánamo, calling for justice – this means due process or immediate release.
  • To support the families of the detainees.
  • In the long-term, demand justice for ALL prisoners in Guantánamo and other illegal prisons.
The LGC is currently working with several families of the British residents campaigning alongside them for justice for their loved ones.
Current actions include:-
 -Monthly stalls in north and west London (Brent and Ladbroke Grove) to raise awareness about the plight of prisoners held without charge or trial in Guantánamo and to raise awareness about the local angle. Please contact the LGC if you’d like to get involved.

  • Urgent Action – please write to your MP and demand an inquiry into the deaths of two Saudi nationals and a Yemeni in Guantánamo in early June: http://cageprisoners.com/campaigns.php?id=329
  • Write to your MP and ask them to ask the government questions about its complicity in the rendition of three British residents (Binyam Mohammed, Bisher El-Rawi and Jamil El-Banna – further details below) and what it can do to help these men.
  • The LGC holds monthly campaign meetings in Willesden, NW London, which are open to everyone. Please contact us for details of the next meeting.

Upcoming events about Guantánamo in London:-

Reprieve and Sarah Teather MP invite you to a Parliamentary Meeting: “Guantanamo: How Do We Close It Down?”
13th July 4-5.30pm on 13th July, committee room 20, the Houses of Parliament
 
 
Speakers will be:- 
  • Sarah Teather MP
  • Mrs S. El-Banna  - wife of Jamil El-Banna, British resident in Gitmo
  • Mrs Z. Aamer  - Wife of Shaker Aamer, British resident in Gitmo
  • Amani Deghayes - sister of Omar Deghayes, British resident in Gitmo
  • Moazzam Begg – British citizen released from Gitmo
  • Zachary Katznelson – Senior Counsel, Reprieve
  • James Welch – Legal Director, Liberty
  • Asim Qureshi - Cageprisoners

The focus of the meeting will be on how the British government can best help the Americans close down Guantanamo Bay, something President Bush has repeatedly stated he would like to do. 
 
The United States’s obligations under the Convention Against Torture as well as its own rule that “enemy combatants” are not allowed onto US soil mean that for many of the remaining prisoners in Gitmo, there is simply nowhere for them to go unless a third party state agrees to accept them.  The United States has confirmed that they would welcome any offers in this regard. 
 
In the cases of the 8 British residents still imprisoned in Gitmo, there is one immediate thing that our government can do to help the Americans out: that is to demand the return to the UK of the residents Omar Deghayes, Jamil El-Banna, Bisher Al-Rawi, Binyam Mohamed, Shaker Aamer, Ahmed Errachidi, Ahmed Belbacha and Abdelnour Sameur.  The UK is a home to these men.  Our government would help the United States immensely by accepting the return of the men to Britain.
 
Please join us for a discussion of these important matters. All are welcome and please invite your MP to attend.
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