British residents:
Shaker Aamer gave his first interviews to the media this month including
an interview with the Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3357700/Guantanamo-Briton-Shaker-Aamer-relives-14-year-nightmare-savage-abuse-including-agony-hog-tied-45-minutes-time-joy-finally-seeing-family-again.html
and a television interview with the BBC, in which he talked about his time in
Guantánamo and how he is adapting back to normal life since release.
NEWS:
Guantánamo Bay:
The US
administration has announced that 17 prisoners are scheduled to be released in
January, with the first prisoners due to be released in the first week of 2016.
The Kuwaiti parliament has confirmed that a delegation will visit Guantánamo on
5 January to repatriate the last Kuwaiti prisoner Fayiz Al-Kandari, who was
cleared for release a few months ago. The releases will bring the prison
population down to 90. Currently, 48 prisoners have been cleared for release. A
further three prisoners are due to appear before the periodic review board to
determine whether they can released as well. Most prisoners who have appeared
before the board since it recommenced work in late 2013 have been cleared. The first
review will take place on 12 January for Afghan prisoner Haji Hamidullah.
A special report
by Reuters has claimed that the Pentagon has deliberately thwarted Obama’s plan
to close Guantánamo and delay prisoner releases. However, this does not absolve
Barack Obama of his ultimate responsibility to take action to close Guantánamo
Bay, as he has promised since 2008. Nonetheless, during a visit to San
Bernardino, prior to leaving for his Christmas holidays, Barack Obama yet again
affirmed his commitment to close Guantánamo and to go through with his plan to
close the facility (and potentially not end indefinite detention) by possibly
using executive action if Congress fails to approve it.
On 1 December,
Yemeni prisoner, Mustafa Al-Shamiri, 37, appeared before the review board to
consider whether he can be cleared for release. During the review, it emerged
that he had been wrongly profiled by the US military as an al-Qaida
facilitator. The assessment had claimed he had fought in Bosnia in 1995, even
though he would have been 16 or 17 at the time. It appears that his name was
confused with that of other people. He has thus been held on false premises,
like most of the other prisoners, since 2002. A decision on his status has yet
to be made.
Another Yemeni ‘forever’ prisoner Zahir Hamdoun, 36, had his
review board hearing on 7 December, during which his lawyers said that he realized
that it was not possible for him to return to Yemen, and so if he is allowed to
be released to a third country, they are prepared to offer him full support, including
financial assistance, mental health care, etc. He was captured in Pakistan and
handed over to the US in February 2002. The US claims he had been fighting for
the Taleban and had run away. It is likely he was sold to the US by the Pakistani
military. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article48576320.html
On 1st
December, the case of Ali Hamza Al-Bahlul, who was convicted by a military
tribunal in 2008 and has since had his conviction overturned twice, had his case
heard by the federal court of appeals for the third time, with the US
government bringing new arguments to try to make the conviction stand. The conviction
was originally overturned over 3 years ago and those decisions have led to
other convictions being successfully appealed. However, if the US government loses
this case again, it will strongly undermine the already weak premise of
military commissions, and ultimately detention, at Guantánamo Bay. Some of the
legal arguments are discussed here:
Former Yemeni
prisoner, Nasser El-Bahri, in his 40s, died in Yemen on 28 December following a
long illness, his family has reported. He was released from Guantánamo without
charge in 2008. The US military claims he was Osama Bin Laden’s bodyguard.
In June, the last Mauritanian
prisoner in Guantánamo and best-selling author of Guantánamo Diary Mohamedou
Ould Salahi filed an application in the courts to try to compel the government
to give him an immediate periodic review board hearing for his case to be
reviewed and to consider whether he can be cleared for release. The government
rejected the application and on 18 December the court rejected it too, claiming
that it did not have the jurisdiction to order the government to carry out an
immediate review and did not consider the US government to be impeding Ould
Slahi’s access to his legal papers.
The latest
pre-trial hearing in the case of 5 men accused of involvement in the 9/11
attacks in 2001 took place on 8-11 December, the first military tribunal
hearing for almost 10 months. During the hearing, lawyers for the men presented
a motion for the case to be dismissed given how slowly it is progressing – an
actual trial is unlikely to take place until possibly 2020 – and as statements
made by the US president and his administration make it highly unlikely that
the men will get a fair trial and have already prejudiced the proceedings. Other
issues considered were the use of female guards.
Extraordinary Rendition:
Two US citizens
convicted in Italy for their role in the 2003 rendition to torture of Abu Omar,
a Milan imam, have received a partial pardon from the Italian president. Robert
Seldon Lady, a former CIA agent, had his 9-year sentence reduced to 7 years and Betnie
Madero had her 6-year sentence effectively wiped out. The sentences against 26
US citizens were made in absentia and in 2013 Lady was arrested briefly in
Panama pending extradition proceedings by Italy. The ruling means that Lady and
the other 24 whose convictions stand cannot travel to Europe or they will be
extradited to Italy to serve their sentence. Following the Panama incident,
Lady had asked for a pardon. Abu Omar and his wife currently have a case before
the European Court of Human Rights related to Italy’s complicity in human
rights abuses.
On 1st December,
Human Rights Watch marked the first anniversary of the US Senate’s report into
CIA torture with the publication of a report, No More Excuses, setting
out information about the torture report and a roadmap of what states must do
not to ensure accountability and prosecutions for those involved.
LGC Activities:
The final Shut
Guantánamo demonstration for 2015 was on Thursday 3 December at 12-1pm outside
the US Embassy, Grosvenor Sq and 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s Corner, Hyde
Park, Marble Arch. There is no monthly demonstration in January. Our next
demonstration in February will mark 9 years of this action.
On 8 December, the LGC
marked the first anniversary of the partial publication of the US Senate’s CIA
Torture Report in December 2014 with a panel discussion focusing on the UK’s
involvement and the personal, community and military ramifications of the use
of torture. We were joined by Head of Doctors at Freedom from Torture Dr Juliet
Cohen and Veterans for Peace UK coordinator Ben Griffin who both made excellent
contributions A report of the meeting can be read here: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/we-tortured-some-folks-too-event-report.html
Please join us on 11
January to mark 14 years of Guantánamo at our vigil “History in the Making” at
6-8pm outside the US Embassy. We will need volunteers on the day so please let
us know if you can help. This is a candlelight vigil with an open mic so
contributions –speeches, poems, songs – that are relevant are welcome. All are
welcome. Please spread the word: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/history-in-making-vigil-to-mark-14_14.html
and https://www.facebook.com/events/1653637554884473/
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