Andy Worthington: An Archive of Guantánamo Articles, Other Campaigning and Photos – Part 14, January to June 2013

8.12.13

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Nearly eight years ago, I began researching Guantánamo and the 779 men (and boys) held there, writing about them, and campaigning to get the prison closed. I spent that first 14 months researching and writing my book The Guantánamo Files, based, largely, on 8,000 pages of documents publicly released by the Pentagon, and, since May 2007, I have continued to write about the men held there, to expose the lies told in the “war on terror,” and to push for the prison’s closure — as a full-time independent investigative journalist.

As I prepare to embark on my quarterly fundraising appeal (in which I’m hoping to raise $2500 to support my work for the next three months), please click on the “Donate” button above to donate via Paypal if you can help to support my work, which is largely funded by you, my readers and supporters. Most of the 138 articles I wrote in this period were written without any financial support except your donations.

In January 2010, I began to put together chronological lists of all my articles, in the hope that doing so would make it as easy as possible for readers and researchers to navigate my work — the 2,120 articles and pages I have published in the last six and a half years.

This 14th list — which began with my annual visit to the US to campaign for the closure of Guantánamo, on the anniversary of its opening in 2002 — marked a renewed focus on Guantánamo, after the men still held embarked on a prison-wide hunger strike that awakened the world’s media to the ongoing injustices of Guantánamo, and put pressure on President Obama to revisit his failed promise to close Guantánamo and to resume releasing prisoners, which he had largely stopped doing three years ago when confronted by opposition in Congress. In the last three years, just ten prisoners have been released, even though 82 of the remaining 162 prisoners were cleared for release in January 2010 by the high-level, inter-agency Guantánamo Review Task Force that President Obama established shortly after taking office in 2009.

It was reassuring that the focus of the world was back on Guantánamo, but it was also troubling what it had taken for this interest to be awakened, and what that meant for the men risking their lives by starving themselves, especially as the Obama administration began responding to the hunger strike with violence, and, in the cases of persistent hunger strikers, with force-feeding, which medical professionals regard as abusive and unacceptable.

In this period, I also continued to be involved in campaigning to resist the age of austerity cynically introduced by the Tory-led government here in the UK, which is being used to wage a disgusting and disgraceful civil war against the poor, the unemployed and the disabled, and whose main aim is to destroy the state provision of services. Specifically, much of my attention was focused on the campaign to save Lewisham Hospital, my local hospital in south east London, and the wider campaign to save the NHS in general. A high point in the campaigning was the 25,000-strong march and rally for Lewisham Hospital, which took place in January, and which I photographed, along with many other Save Lewisham Hospital protests, as well as other campaigns, for the NHS, and for Shaker Aamer. I also continued to take photos of London in general, for my ongoing project, “The State of London” (for which I’ll be launching a new website soon), although I ran out of opportunities to publish any of these photos when the Guantánamo hunger strike began to dominate more and more of my time.

As I explained last month when I published the list of articles I wrote between January and June 2012:

I hope this archive is more than a largely pointless exercise in nostalgia, and that it will be of some use. On Guantánamo, my intention all along has been to puncture the Bush administration’s propaganda about the prison holding “the worst of the worst” by telling the prisoners’ stories and bringing them to life as human beings, rather than allowing them to remain as dehumanized scapegoats or bogeymen.

This has involved demonstrating that the majority of the prisoners were either innocent men, seized by the US military’s allies at a time when bounty payments were widespread, or recruits for the Taliban, who had been encouraged by supporters in their homelands to help the Taliban in a long-running inter-Muslim civil war (with the Northern Alliance), which began long before the 9/11 attacks and, for the most part, had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or international terrorism.

As I explained in the introduction to my four-part Definitive Prisoner List (updated in April 2012), I remain convinced, through detailed research, through comments from insiders with knowledge of Guantánamo, and, most recently, through an analysis of classified military documents released by WikiLeaks, that “at least 93 percent of the 779 men and boys imprisoned in total” had no involvement with terrorism.

The articles I wrote — and the photos I published — between January and June 2013 are listed below, separated into three categories: articles about Guantánamo, articles about British politics, and photos. I hope you find the list useful.

An archive of Guantánamo articles: Part 14, January to June 2013

January 2013

February 2013

17. Shaker Aamer, Omar Deghayes, radio: Guantánamo and Shaker Aamer: Andy Worthington and Omar Deghayes in Conversation on Radio Free Brighton
18. Guantánamo, military commissions: On Terrorism, America Has Lost Its Way (US appeals court throws out Guantánamo convictions)
19. Shaker Aamer: Free Shaker Aamer from Guantánamo: Join the Protest outside Parliament on February 13, 2013
20. Close Guantánamo: The Relentless Importance of Closing Guantánamo
21. Shaker Aamer, photos: Photos of the Protest Calling for Shaker Aamer’s Release from Guantánamo, and a New Challenge to the UK Government
22. Aafia Siddiqui: Andy Worthington and Omar Deghayes Discuss Aafia Siddiqui in East London, Saturday February 23, 2013
23. Torture, extraordinary rendition: America’s Disappeared
24. Torture, extraordinary rendition, radio: Radio: Guantánamo, Black Sites and Torture – Andy Worthington Talks to Scott Horton
25. Guantánamo, Periodic Review Boards: The Forgotten Prisoners of Guantánamo

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

60. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, radio: Andy Worthington Discusses the Guantánamo Hunger Strike on the BBC
61. Guantánamo campaigns: Please Sign the Petition to President Obama: Close the Prison at Guantánamo Bay
62. Close Guantánamo: Editorials Call for the Closure of Guantánamo in the New York Times, Washington Post and Guardian
63. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, radio: Radio: Andy Worthington Discusses the Guantánamo Hunger Strike with Scott Horton, Dennis Bernstein and Pippa Jones
64. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, President Obama: Eloquent But Unconvincing: President Obama’s Response to the Guantánamo Hunger Strike
65. Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks: WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning: Andy Worthington Speaks at a London Event with Chase Madar and Ben Griffin, May 8, 2013
66. Afghans in Guantánamo, hunger strikes: Voices from Guantánamo: Obaidullah, an Afghan, Says “There is No Hope that We Will Ever Leave Here”
67. Close Guantánamo: 25 Former Prisoners Urge President Obama to Close Guantánamo
68. Moroccans in Guantánamo, hunger strikes: From Guantánamo, Younus Chekhouri Speaks About the Prison Clampdown: “Everyone is Traumatized by What Happened”
69. Close Guantánamo: Close Guantánamo: President Obama, Drop Your Ban on Releasing Yemenis
70. Solitary confinement: Solitary Confinement is Torture and is Official US Policy: Supermax Film Premieres in London, April 16
71. Shaker Aamer, UK politics: Shaker Aamer, Abandoned in Guantánamo
72. Shaker Aamer, hunger strikes: “Torture is for Torture, the System is for the System”: Shaker Aamer’s Letters from Guantánamo
73. Close Guantánamo: Closing Guantánamo: Obama Administration Responds to Calls for Action by Carl Levin, Harold Koh and 200,000 Concerned Citizens
74. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, TV: Video: 100 Days of the Guantánamo Hunger Strike – Andy Worthington Speaks to RT and Press TV, as Global Actions Take Place
75. Guantánamo, hunger strikes: Guantánamo Hunger Strike: Obama Administration Hints at Progress on Releasing Yemenis
76. Close Guantánamo: European Parliament to Debate Motion Calling for Closure of Guantánamo
77. Guantánamo campaigns: Close Guantánamo: Hundreds of Thousands of People Sign Avaaz Petition Calling for Action from President Obama
78. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, President Obama: As Guantánamo Prisoners Send Pleas to President Obama, Media Reports Plans To Free 86 Men Long Cleared for Release
79. Close Guantánamo, President Obama: Obama on Guantánamo: Yemeni Ban Lifted, Prisoners to Be Released
80. Close Guantánamo, President Obama: On Guantánamo, the Three Steps Obama Needs to Take Now
81. Close Guantánamo, President Obama: Why We at “Close Guantánamo” Have Cautious Optimism Regarding President Obama’s Plans for the Prison
82. Guantánamo media: For My Guantánamo Work, I’ve Been Short-Listed for the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism
83. Bradley Manning: Please Support the International Day of Action for Bradley Manning on Saturday June 1, 2013
84. Close Guantánamo: Close Guantánamo, Free the Afghans
85. Shaker Aamer: From Guantánamo, Shaker Aamer Tells BBC He Is “Falling Apart Like An Old Car”

June 2013

86. Guantánamo media: EXCLUSIVE: Two Guantánamo Prisoners Released in Mauritania (NOTE: This story turned out to have been mistaken)
87. Deaths at Guantánamo: Remembering a Death at Guantánamo, Six Years Since I Began Writing About the Prison as an Independent Journalist
88. Guantánamo media: Pentagon Denies Reports That Two Guantánamo Prisoners Were Released to Mauritania
89. Guantánamo media: My Exchange with Guantánamo Spokesperson Who Called Me An “Activist” and Not A “Real Journalist”
90. Guantánamo, hunger strikes: Don’t Forget the Hunger Strike at Guantánamo
91. Close Guantánamo: Further Calls for the Closure of Guantánamo from the United Nations and the European Parliament
92. Mauritanians in Guantánamo: Ahmed Ould Abdel Aziz: The Mauritanian Teacher Still Awaiting Release from Guantánamo
93. Film reviews: “Dirty Wars”: An Immensely Powerful Anti-War Film, Uncovering Obama’s Global “War on Terror”
94. Deaths at Guantánamo: The Season of Death at Guantánamo
95. Bradley Manning, radio: Radio: Andy Worthington Defends Bradley Manning and Whistleblowers on Voice of Russia
96. Guantánamo, hunger strikes: Guantánamo Stories: 19 of the 43 Men Being Force-Fed in the Prison-Wide Hunger Strike
97. Shaker Aamer, UK politics: From Guantánamo, Shaker Aamer Speaks, As His Lawyers Urge Cameron to Ask Obama for His Return at the G8
98. Life after Guantánamo: EXCLUSIVE: Former Guantánamo Prisoner Shamil Khaziev Detained in Holland
99. Military commissions: US Military Admits Only 2.5 Percent of All Prisoners Ever Held at Guantánamo Will Be Tried
100. Close Guantánamo: Close Guantánamo: We Still Have Three Urgent Demands for President Obama
101. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, TV, radio: TV and Radio: Andy Worthington Discusses the Ongoing Guantánamo Hunger Strike on Press TV and on KBOO FM
102. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, force-feeding: 150 Doctors Condemn Force-Feeding at Guantánamo; Ahmed Belbacha Describes It As a Painful Ordeal
103. Shaker Aamer, UK politics: “I Wish I Was Dead,” Shaker Aamer Says from Guantánamo, as David Cameron Writes to His Daughter
104. Guantánamo, torture: Guantánamo Protests on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture in Washington D.C. and London
105. Guantánamo, torture, video: Video: Culture of Impunity – New Online Film Includes Andy Worthington Talking About Guantánamo, Torture and Ibn Al-Shaykh Al-Libi
106. Guantánamo: The Guantánamo Review Task Force’s Decisions on Who to Release, Try and Hold Indefinitely Are Finally Released
107. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, radio: Radio: Andy Worthington Discusses the Guantánamo Hunger Strike with Scott Horton
108. Edward Snowden, radio: Radio: Andy Worthington Discusses Edward Snowden, Whistleblowers and the Overreach of Surveillance on Voice of Russia
109. Guantánamo, habeas corpus: Judge Calls for An End to Unjust Provisions Governing Guantánamo Prisoners’ Habeas Corpus Petitions
110. Guantánamo events: Andy Worthington Attends Protest Against US Bases in UK and Discusses Guantánamo at Menwith Hill Base on July 4

An archive of articles about British politics, January to June 2013

January and February 2013

1. Save Lewisham Hospital: Save Lewisham Hospital: We March Again This Saturday, January 26 – Let’s Make It Massive!
2. Save Lewisham Hospital, photos: Save Lewisham Hospital: Photos of the Huge March on January 26, 2013
3. Save Lewisham Hospital, photos: Save Lewisham Hospital: More Photos of the Massive Protest on January 26, 2013
4. Save Lewisham Hospital: Tories Endorse NHS Proposals to Disembowel Lewisham Hospital
5. Save the NHS: Defend London’s NHS: Join the Week of Action from February 9 to 16
6. Save the NHS: Save London’s NHS: Week of Action Begins – Join Us in Parliament on February 11
7. Save Lewisham Hospital, photos: Photos: Save Lewisham Hospital Rally, February 15, 2013
8. Save the NHS: Defend London’s NHS: MPs, Doctors and Activists Describe An Unprecedented Threat to the NHS
9. Save the NHS: The Destruction of the NHS in North West London
10. Save the NHS: URGENT: Save the NHS Now! Legislation Enforcing Privatisation Will Be Passed in a Month Unless We Act

March to April 2013

11. Save Lewisham Hospital: Save Lewisham Hospital: Legal Challenge Goes Ahead, Plus New Actions Confirmed
12. Save the NHS: Government Climbdown Over Plans for Enforced NHS Privatisation
13. Save Lewisham Hospital, photos: Born in Lewisham: Photos of the Protest to Save Lewisham Hospital, March 16, 2013
14. Save Lewisham Hospital, photos: More Photos from “Born in Lewisham,” the Protest to Save Lewisham Hospital, March 16, 2013
15. Save the NHS: Intimations of Mortality Revisited; or Why I Will Always Fight to Save the NHS
16. Save the NHS, photos: Save the NHS: Photos and Report from the Lobby of Parliament on March 26 to Scrap the New Regulations Enforcing NHS Privatisation
17. Save the NHS, photos: Protest Photos: Shaker Aamer and Guantánamo, and an NHS Roadblock Outside Parliament
18. Austerity, welfare reform: The Tories’ Cruelty Is Laid Bare as Multiple Welfare Cuts Bite
19. Margaret Thatcher: “Kindness is Better than Greed”: Photos, and a Response to Margaret Thatcher on the Day of Her Funeral
20. Save the NHS: Save the NHS: Urge the Lords to Fight Privatisation, Plus Updates from Lewisham
21. Save the NHS, photos: This was the Week the NHS Died, and No One Cares

May to June 2013

22. Save the NHS: Save the NHS: The Next Moves for Campaigners, and a Transcript of the Lords’ Debate on Section 75
23. Save the NHS, Guantánamo, photos: Photos: A Year of Protest – The NHS, Disabled Rights, Guantánamo, Bradley Manning and the Occupy Movement
24. Save the NHS: Defend London’s NHS Protest on May 18 Coincides with Savage Cuts and Possible Collapse of A&E Departments
25. Battle of the Beanfield, UK civil liberties: It’s 28 Years Since Margaret Thatcher Crushed Travellers at the Battle of the Beanfield
26. Anti-austerity protests: Join the Anti-Capitalist Week of Action in London Against the G8
27. Stonehenge, UK civil liberties: Memories of Youth and the Need for Dissent on the 29th Anniversary of the last Stonehenge Free Festival
28. Save Lewisham Hospital: Save Lewisham Hospital: Please Get Involved in “Justice for Lewisham Week,” June 29 to July 5, 2013

My photos of London (and the US and other places in the UK)

January and February 2013

1. Photos of Greenwich on the Last Day of the Year
2. Photos: Deptford and Rotherhithe on New Year’s Day
3. Photos: First Snow in London
4. Photos of London: Hilly Fields in the Snow
5. London in the Snow: Photos of Brockley and New Cross
6. Photos: Brighton at Night, in the Rain – and a Guantánamo event at the University of Sussex
7. Photos of Brighton: The Sea and the Storm
8. An Englishman in New York: Photos of a Walk from Brooklyn to Manhattan
9. Photos: Mostly Camberwell, At Night
10. Shops, Flags and the BBC: Photos of Regent Street in September
11. Suddenly, Snow: Photos of Brockley at Night
12. Consumer Overkill: Photos of Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square
13. In the Belly of the Beast: Photos of a Walk through Lower Manhattan
14. Adventures in History: Photos of the Mile End Road
15. Photos: From Mile End to Bow and Stratford on a Summer’s Day

March to April 2013

16. East End Odyssey: Photos of a Journey from Leyton to Poplar
17. Photos of Poplar Dock, Canary Wharf and Greenwich on the Eve of the Olympics
18. Night Lights: Photos of a Journey from Camberwell to New Cross at Night
19. Curious Insomnia: Photos of a Journey through Deptford and Millwall to Canary Wharf at Night
20. While Tyrants Sleep: Photos of Canary Wharf at Night
21. A Rainy Easter: Photos of Chesil Beach in Dorset
22. Fog, Prison and the Sea: Photos of the Isle of Portland at Night
23. Photos: A Bright Morning on Chesil Beach in Dorset

Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist, activist, author, photographer and film-maker. He is the co-founder of the “Close Guantánamo” campaign, and the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. He is also the co-director (with Polly Nash) of the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (available on DVD here — or here for the US).

To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to Andy’s RSS feed — and he can also be found on Facebook (and here), Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Also see the four-part definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, and “The Complete Guantánamo Files,” an ongoing, 70-part, million-word series drawing on files released by WikiLeaks in April 2011. Also see the definitive Guantánamo habeas list and the chronological list of all Andy’s articles.

Please also consider joining the “Close Guantánamo” campaign, and, if you appreciate Andy’s work, feel free to make a donation.

3 Responses

Andy Worthington says...

On Facebook, Willy Bach wrote:

Andy, thanks for this immense body of work and all the research that went into it. You have placed it on the public record beyond deniability.

...on December 9th, 2013 at 9:02 am
Andy Worthington says...

Erling Borgen wrote:

Impressive work, Andy. Respect! This is what journalism is about. Thank you!

...on December 9th, 2013 at 9:03 am
Andy Worthington says...

Thanks, Willy and Erling. I am very proud of both your endorsements!

...on December 9th, 2013 at 9:04 am