Guantanamo media

A link to the video of a two-hour Action4Assange show I took part in on Saturday, discussing the proposed extradition of Julian Assange, my statements during the recent hearings at the Old Bailey, and the significance of the classified military files from Guantánamo, released by Wikileaks in 2011, on which I worked as a media partner. Also interviewed was filmmaker Juan Passarelli.

Sad news via the United Nations and the Associated Press, updating the story of 18 Yemenis sent to the United Arab Emirates between 2015 and 2017, after being unanimously approved for release from Guantánamo by high-level US government review processes. Promised new lives, they — and a handful of other ex-prisoners, including some Afghans and Guantánamo’s last Russian prisoner — found themselves imprisoned in abusive conditions instead, and, adding insult to injury, the Yemenis are now being threatened with repatriation to Yemen, where their lives are at risk.

An update in the story of Asadullah Haroon Gul, a genuinely insignificant prisoner, and one of the last two Afghans at Guantánamo, who has been on a hunger strike for five months, and weighs just 110 pounds. AFP recently visited his family in the refugee camp where they live, in north western Pakistan.

Promoting “Guantánamo Voices: True Accounts from the World’s Most Infamous Prison,” a powerful new book, written by multi-media journalist Sarah Mirk, and illustrated by a number of talented graphic artists, drawing on interviews with nine people who know the prison well, including former prisoners and lawyers. A perfect gift for enlightened friends, friends who need enlightening, birthdays and Christmas!

A link to, and discussion of my interview with the indefatigable US radio host Scott Horton about my statements in support of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange that were read into the court’s evidence during his extradition hearings in London. My statements were based on my work with WikiLeaks as a media partner on the release of classified military files from Guantánamo in 2011, and I was pleased to have the opportunity to explain why the release of these files was so important.

A cross-post, with my own introduction, of a detailed proposal for how the prison at Guantánamo Bay can be closed, if Donald Trump is removed from the White House in November, as written by representatives of six NGOs for the Just Security website.

As Julian Assange’s extradition hearing continues at the Old Bailey, I cross-post, with my own introduction, an analysis and appreciation of my work on the Guantánamo files released by WikiLeaks in 2011 (on which I worked as media partner), as written by Patrick Lawrence for Consortium News.

A cross-post, with my own detailed introduction, of an important New York Times article by longtime Guantánamo watcher Linda Greenhouse, examining the shameful recent ruling by a panel of appeals court judges in Washington, D.C., denying that due process rights extend to the Guantánamo prisoners.

A link to, and description of “Unpacking 9/11 19 Years Later,” a one-hour show on Salaamedia in South Africa, on which I appeared with Moazzam Begg and host Inayat Wadee to discuss the sad and shameful legacy of the US’s response to the events of that terrible day.

Here’s a cross-post, with my own introduction, of a poignant and powerful letter from Guantánamo, published by Esquire Middle East. The letter was written by Abdul Latif Nasser, a Moroccan prisoner, approved for release in 2016, but still held, who describes the difficulty of coming to terms with the terrible truth that, under Donald Trump, there is no chance that he will be freed.