15.3.22
My reflections on meeting the author and former Guantánamo prisoner Mohamedou Ould Salahi for the very first time in London last week, during his ongoing UK speaking tour, 16 years after I first began following his case, and 13 years after Mohamedou first saw me on TV in Guantánamo calling for the prison’s closure.
4.3.22
I’m delighted to publicise the first ever UK speaking tour — throughout March 2022 — by former Guantánamo prisoner, torture victim and best-selling author Mohamedou Ould Salahi (aka Slahi), with events in cities including London, Cambridge and Edinburgh, and also in Brighton and Tunbridge Wells, where I’ll be joining him. Some of the events will also feature screenings of ‘The Mauritanian’, the film based on Mohamedou’s memoir, ‘Guantánamo Diary’, featuring Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster and Benedict Cumberbatch.
29.1.22
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.
6.11.21
Publicizing a great two-day online conference about Guantánamo on Nov. 12 and 13, hosted by the University of Brighton, which I’ve been organizing with Sara Birch, a law lecturer at the university, featuring former prisoners, panels of lawyers and other experts, and academic papers from around the world.
26.3.21
A cross-post of a detailed article about Guantánamo activism over the last 12 years, from President Obama’s eight years in office, through the four lamentable years of Donald Trump, to the current hopes pinned on President Biden. Written by Jeremy Varon of Witness Against Torture, it was originally published on the Waging Nonviolence website.
11.2.21
My review of “The Mauritanian,” the film based on the best-selling memoir “Guantánamo Diary” by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who, based on nothing more than suspicion, was subjected to a horrendous torture program at Guantánamo in 2003, and, despite the case against him collapsing, wasn’t released until 2016.
2.2.21
A cross-post, with my own introduction, of an open letter to President Biden, urging him to close Guantánamo, which was written by seven former prisoners who are also authors: Mansoor Adayfi, Moazzam Begg, Lakhdar Boumediene, Sami Al Hajj, Ahmed Errachidi, Mohamedou Ould Slahi and Moussa Zemmouri.
24.1.21
Here’s the video of, and a discussion of, an online Guantánamo meeting on January 11, 2021, the 19th anniversary of the opening of the prison, featuring guest speakers Mohamedou Ould Salahi and myself, and hosted by the Lewes Amnesty Group.
8.1.21
Monday January 11 marks the 19th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantánamo Bay, and unfortunately, because of Covid, the annual vigil outside the White House has been called off, as has my annual visit. However, various online events are taking place instead, which are listed here.
5.9.19
In my latest article, I follow up on a recent article about former Guantánamo prisoner Mohamedou Ould Salahi for Middle East Eye by Amandla Thomas-Johnson, who visited him in Mauritania. I focus in particular on Salahi’s belief in the importance of forgiveness, which is always extraordinarily powerful when it comes from people who have been subjected to appalling treatment.
Investigative journalist, author, campaigner, commentator and public speaker. Recognized as an authority on Guantánamo and the “war on terror.” Co-founder, Close Guantánamo and We Stand With Shaker, singer/songwriter (The Four Fathers).
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