12.11.24
My obituary for former Guantánamo prisoner Abdul Rahim Rabbani, who died on November 1 at just 57 years of age. A chef, he was seized with his brother Ahmed, a taxi driver, during a number of house raids in Karachi, in Pakistan, on September 11, 2002, and the brothers spent a year and a half in CIA “black site” torture prisons before being flown to Guantánamo in September 2004, where they were held without charge or trial for 18 and a half years until their release in February 2023. The US authorities claimed that they were “Al-Qaeda facilitators”, but never put them on trial, suggesting that their supposed evidence was non-existent. Nevertheless, the brothers were repeatedly recommended for ongoing imprisonment without charge or trial by various high-level government review processes until May 2021, when Abdul Rahim was recommended for release by a Periodic Review Board, with a similar recommendation for Ahmed following in October 2021. Unfortunately, inadequate medical treatment at Guantánamo, and the inadequate provision of care in Pakistan after his release, contributed significantly to Abdul Rahim’s death, a problem that afflicts numerous former prisoners, and that was highlighted in a withering report last year by UN Special Rapporteur Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, after a visit to the prison, and numerous meetings with former prisoners.
24.2.23
Celebrating the release from Guantánamo of two Pakistani brothers, Ahmed and Abdul Rahim Rabbani, who were held without charge or trial for over 20 years, first in CIA “black sites,” and, since September 2004, at Guantánamo, where they were finally approved for release by Periodic Review Boards in 2021. With their release, 18 other men, also approved for release, are still held, and the Biden administration needs to make their release a priority.
8.2.23
Linking to the video of my recent interview on Al Jazeera about the release from Guantánamo of Majid Khan, who has been resettled in Belize, almost eleven months after his terrorism-related sentence came to an end. I was also pleased to have had the opportunity to highlight how 20 other men, also approved for release, are still held, and to explain how unacceptable this is, and that it is because their approval for release came about through purely administrative review processes that, shamefully, have no legal weight.
6.2.23
The latest good news from Guantánamo, as Majid Khan, whose terrorism-related sentence came to an end nearly a year ago, has been resettled in Belize. Sadly, I have to contrast his situation with that of the 20 other men still held at Guantánamo, never even charged with a crime, who have also been approved for release, but whose freedom isn’t being prioritized by the Biden administration, because the recommendations for their release were made via a purely administrative process, which has no legal weight.
3.11.22
Celebrating the release of Saifullah Paracha, Guantánamo’s oldest prisoner, but also explaining in detail how unreliable information obtained through the coercive interrogation of his son, Uzair, was used to justify Saifullah’s imprisonment, even after Uzair had his sentence quashed by a federal court judge on the US mainland.
16.8.22
Looking at the problems faced by the US government in finding a third country prepared to offer a new home to Guantánamo prisoner Majid Khan, whose sentence for involvement in terrorism ended on March 1 this year. Khan is thoroughly repentant about his actions, and has cooperated with the authorities on other terrorism-related cases, but it remains uncertain whether another country can be found that will take him in. As a cooperating witness, he should, it seems to me, be resettled with his family under a new identity in the US, but that is currently illegal under provisions in the annual National Defense Authorization Act introduced by Republicans during the Obama presidency, and maintained ever since.
19.6.22
The latest news in the case of Guantánamo prisoner Majid Khan, who has submitted a habeas corpus petition seeking his release, 100 days since his sentence for involvement with terrorism ended. While Khan should have the law on his side, I also compare his case to that of the 20 other men approved for release by administrative review processes, but also still held, for whom, shamefully, no legal mechanism at all exists to compel their release.
1.4.22
It’s ten years since Majid Khan agreed to a plea deal at Guantánamo, and a month since his sentence came to an end, and yet, despite it being clear throughout this entire period that he would be eligible for release in March 2022, the US government has made no plans for his release.
10.11.21
The second part of my transcript of the powerful statement that Guantánamo prisoner and CIA “black site” torture victim Majid Khan read out at his sentencing hearing, with its powerful combination of contrition, on the one hand, and the brutality of his torture on the other, which seemed to be undertaken with no regard for discovering the truth, as he had persistently showed a willingness to cooperate with his interrogators.
9.11.21
A transcript of the first part of Majid Khan’s statement at his recent sentencing hearing at Guantánamo, in which he recounted his early life, how he was preyed on by al-Qaeda supporters following the death of his mother, and the horrendous torture to which he was subjected in a number of CIA “black sites”, despite having made it clear from the time of his capture that he intended to be as cooperative as possible.
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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