Just to make it quite clear...
Jackie Chase from Save Omar speaking
candles for the remaining detainees - 277 to date
Andy Worthington - author of "The Guantánamo Files"
Dr Shahrar Ali - Green Party candidate for London Mayoral Elections
calling for justice
We were joined by the Save Omar Campaign from Brighton who performed their street theatre piece “Air Guantánamo”, poems and passages written by Guantánamo detainees were read and a few speeches were given. Around 50 people braved the cold and attended. The vigil was well attended by young people, which is always encouraging. Two letter-writing actions were also launched for the two remaining British residents in Guantánamo Bay – Binyam Mohamed, a 29 year old Londoner and Ahmed Belbacha from Bournemouth. The letters can be copied and pasted to the FCO, Home Office and the Prime Minister from www.guantanamo.org.uk
Thank you to everyone who has joined us over the past year. The news from Guantánamo is always grim. In recent weeks, disclosures have been made of the first known contraction of HIV (which has now developed into AIDS) by a detainee in Guantánamo Bay due to medical abuse and complicity in torture
http://cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=23201 The US military has refused to hand his medical file over to his lawyer but at the same time denies that any detainees have contracted HIV through medical abuse. The American military has also revealed that beyond the horrors of what we already know happens at Guantánamo, there is a further Camp 7 whose whereabouts is kept secret and where detainees such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed are kept. The LGC will be outside the US Embassy this Friday at 6-7pm as per usual. We are usually found behind the “building works” right opposite the entrance to the Embassy in Grosvenor Square, near Oxford Street (nearest tube: Bond Street/ Marble Arch). Come and join us and call on the American government to stop torture, “disappearances” and arbitrary detention in the “war on terror”. No to torture! No to detention without trial!
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Reprieve press release -death penalty being sought against alleged 9/11 plotters
11.02.2008 18:09
Reprieve Denounces Decision by United States to Seek Death Penalty Against Alleged September 11 Plotters
Monday 11th February: Legal action charity Reprieve, which provides frontline investigation and legal representation to prisoners denied justice from death row to Guantánamo Bay, has condemned the decision by the United States to seek the death penalty against six prisoners for their alleged role in September 11. The United States Military is reportedly about to charge six Guantánamo Bay prisoners before military commissions and seek their execution.
Commenting today Clive Stafford Smith, Director of Reprieve said:
“Going for the death penalty against these men is absolutely the wrong decision. September 11 was one of the worst single crimes in history. But think about what is going on in terrorists’ heads: they want to be martyrs. If we execute them, we fulfill their greatest wish. They become heroes to their fanatical followers. That makes us all less safe.
“Military commissions in Guantánamo Bay are not about justice – they are about politics. The proceedings these men would face are deeply flawed. Someone could be put to death based on secret or third or fourth-hand evidence. That is not the American way.”
The United States Supreme Court will decide before the end of June what rights prisoners in Guantánamo Bay have, including whether or not the United States Constitution applies to them. If it does, these commissions will likely be struck down as illegal.
Clive Stafford Smith, Director of Reprieve added:
“What will the US achieve by hauling these men before a kangaroo court and executing them? Anyone can see the hypocrisy of espousing human rights, then trampling on them. We will infuriate our allies who firmly oppose the death penalty. We will anger the world. The most effective counter terrorism strategy is the enforcement of human rights.”
Ends
Notes to editor:
The six prisoners reportedly set to be charged are: Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Mohammed al-Qahtani, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali (known as Ammar al-Baluchi), Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, and Walid bin Attash.
For interviews or further information please contact the Reprieve Press Office on: 020 7131 3609 / 07766 017 985.
UK Charity Reprieve provides frontline investigation and legal representation to prisoners denied justice by powerful governments across the world, from death row to Guantánamo Bay.
We prioritise the cases of prisoners held governments that should be upholding the highest human rights standards enshrined in international law.
We help prisoners facing the death penalty, particularly in America or when British nationals are involved. And we help prisoners denied justice in the name of the “war on terror”, such as those held without charge or trial in Guantánamo Bay and the countless secret prisons beyond. None of these prisoners can afford to pay for representation.
LGC