Guantanamo 20th anniversary

Recently discovered videos of speakers at the rally for the closure of Guantánamo that was held in London in January 2022, featuring speakers including John McDonnell MP and myself, to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the prison.

Linking to, and discussing the video of a powerful online Guantánamo event hosted by Revolution Books in Harlem on Sunday January 30, featuring myself, former prisoner Mansoor Adayfi, and attorney Shelby Sullivan-Bennis, who represents a number of the men still held.

Linking to and discussing “Reaction to 9/11: Dialing Back Civil Rights, Violation of Human Rights,” a discussion about 9/11, Guantánamo and the US’s post-9/11 torture program, featuring myself, Mohamedou Ould Slahi and Elizabeth Miller, broadcast by WVIA, a PBS-affiliated channel in Pennsylvania, as part of an ongoing series of shows, “Conversations for the Common Good,” produced in conjunction with Bloomsburg University.

Following up on the good news that five prisoners at Guantánamo were recently approved for release by Periodic Review Boards, I contrast that story with the monstrous plight of another prisoner, Khaled Qassim, who has been held for nearly 20 years without charge or trial, and who recently had his ongoing imprisonment without charge or trial approved by a PRB, on the basis that he is not compliant enough, even though the authorities acknowledged that, prior to his capture, he had a “low level of training” and a “lack of leadership in al Qaida or the Taliban.”

Linking to my media appearances marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantánamo Bay — on Turkish TV, with Mark Fallon and Tracy Doig of Freedom from Torture, and, in the US, with Scott Horton and with Rebecca Myles in New York.

My detailed analysis of the stories of the five men who have recently been approved for release from Guantánamo by Periodic Review Boards (a review process set up under President Obama), which reveals, on the part of the US government, a total lack of justification for depriving them of their liberty for 20 years, without charge or trial, and, in some cases, makes it clear that they should never have been held by the US or brought to Guantánamo in the first place.

The second of a number of articles covering events marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantánamo Bay on Jan. 11, 2022 — a “Virtual Rally,” entitled, “Disrupt, Confront, and Close Guantánamo,” featuring numerous speakers, myself included, and also including moving videos of former prisoners, and the family of one of the 39 men still held.

The first of a number of articles covering events marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantánamo Bay on Jan. 11, 2022 — an online panel discussion, hosted by New America, at which I joined Tom Wilner, Karen Greenberg and Peter Bergen to discuss whether President Biden can or will finally close the prison.

My article marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantánamo Bay, providing a recap of its many grievous injustices, past and present, and calling on President Biden to find the political will to finally close it for good.

My photos of, and a report about the protest for the closure of Guantánamo that took place in central London on Jan. 8, 2022, with a march of 39 campaigners in orange jumpsuits and hoods, representing the 39 men still held, and speakers in Trafalgar Square.