PRESS RELEASE

BINYAM MOHAMED:

30 TODAY AND IN GUANTÁNAMO BAY!

24.7.08


THE LONDON GUANTÁNAMO CAMPAIGN is to hold a mock birthday party outside 10 Downing St, on Thursday the 24th of July, from 6 to 8pm.

On Thursday the 24th of July, London man Binyam Mohamed will turn thirty. For six years Binyam has been held without trial by the US authorities. Resident in west London for over seven years, he was captured in Pakistan and “rendered” to Morocco, where he suffered severe torture for 18 months. He is currently suicidal and suffering post traumatic stress disorder. He is also on hunger strike and being force fed by military guards.

In June, charges were brought against him by the US military, charges which are based solely upon “evidence” extracted from him under torture. He is to be tried by an unfair military tribunal, and could face the death penalty.

BINYAM’S FAMILY PLEAD FOR HIS RELEASE. In a statement which pleads with Gordon Brown to obtain his release, Binyam’s brother says, “Six years is too long Mr Prime Minister. My brother is at the verge of taking his life. My family and I have lost him for the past six years. We do not want to lose him forever. My brother is an innocent man who has endured torture beyond one's imagination, torture which is only seen in movies. He is being tortured as we speak right now. My only wish right now is to touch my brother hug him and talk to him. Please make my wish come true and make this year to be the last for my brother to celebrate his birthday in Guantánamo.”

THE “PARTY” At 6pm, protestors will gather outside Downing St for a noisy, highly visual protest, with orange jumpsuits, lots of percussion, and chanting.

ACTION DEMANDED OF THE USA. The London Guantánamo Campaign demands that the USA authorities immediately drop the charges against Binyam, and arrange for his release and return to this country.

ACTION DEMANDED OF THE UK GOVERNMENT. The UK Government is in possession of documents which, if handed over to the Americans, could prove that allegations against Binyam are false, and based solely upon information procured through torture. The Government refuses to do this. The London Guantánamo Campaign demands that the Government fulfils its moral obligations, by handing these documents over, and taking all possible steps to secure Binyam’s immediate release and return home.


NOTES TO EDITORS

Binyam Mohamed was born in Ethiopia in 1978 and came to Britain in 1994, where he lived for seven years, latterly in the Ladbroke Grove area. He sought political asylum, and was given leave to remain.
In 2002 he was kidnapped while in Pakistan, and handed over to the CIA who illegally “rendered” him to Morocco. After 18 months of interrogation under torture, he was “rendered” again to an underground prison in Kabul, before finally being taken to Guantánamo Bay in September 2004, where he has been held without trial ever since.
This event is supported by Reprieve and Brighton Against Guantánamo.
The London Guantánamo Campaign campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantánamo bay, for the closure of this and other secret prisons, and for an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition.

Contact:
 london.gtmo@googlemail.com

www.guantanamo.org.uk