Closing Guantanamo

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.

The video of an online event about Guantánamo at Revolution Books in New York on Jan. 17, in which I appeared with attorney Shelby Sullivan-Bennis. It may have been online, rather than in the bookstore as in previous years, but it was, nevertheless, a powerful and emotional occasion.

A cross-post, with my own introduction, of a powerful op-ed in the Washington Post by two attorneys who represent “forever prisoner” Mohammed bin Lep, explaining how the military commission system is broken, and asking how the US government supposedly justifies holding some prisoners indefinitely without charge or trial because of “flimsy” and untested allegations that purport to prove that they pose a threat to the US.

Video of my half-hour interview, on Jan. 11, the 19th anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo, with Kevin Gosztola of Shadowproof for his YouTube channel. We also discussed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition case, and the Trump-inspired invasion of the Capitol last week.

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.

My assessment of two recent articles, in the New York Times and the Observer, about Joe Biden and Guantánamo, and what we might expect from the new administration regarding the decrepit state of Camp 7, reserved for the “high-value detainees”, the broken nature of the military commissions, and the need for action on releasing six men already approved for release, and the inappropriate imprisonment, without charge or trial, and with no end in sight, of numerous “low-value detainees.”

Linking to, and discussing my recent one-hour interview with Chris Cook on his Gorilla Radio show in Victoria, British Columbia, about hopes for the release of prisoners from Guantánamo, and the eventual closure of the prison, under Joe Biden, and the proposed extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. We also spoke about my photo-journalism project ‘The State of London’, and my band The Four Fathers.

Responding to the good news that Said Nashir (aka Hani Abdullah), a Yemeni prisoner at Guantánamo, has been approved for release by a Periodic Review Board, the first such decision to take place under Donald Trump. Unfortunately, two other men had their ongoing imprisonment approved by PRBs, nearly three and four years after their last hearings took place. These are unacceptable delays, and it is to be hoped that Joe Biden will not only release Nashir (and five other men long cleared for release), but will also urgently overhaul the review process.

A link to, and discussion of my recent one-hour interview with Peter B. Collins, as part of his ‘Last Interview’ series, in which we talked about Guantánamo, and the prospects for its closure under Joe Biden, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition hearing, for which I gave evidence as part of his defence.

My call for donations to support my work over the next three months as a reader-funded journalist and campaigner, calling for the closure of the prison at Guantánamo Bay under Joe Biden, now that Donald Trump’s four terrible years in office are nearly behind us.