Joe Biden

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.

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.

Following up on a recent Associated Press article, in which Ben Fox spoke to attorneys for some of the 40 men still held at Guantánamo, with their messages for Joe Biden about why he must close the prison, finishing the job that Barack Obama started but failed to complete, a policy that was shamefully discarded over the last four years by Donald Trump.

A cross-post, with my own introduction, of a detailed proposal for how Joe Biden can close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, written for Just Security by Benjamin Farley, currently a 9/11 trial attorney, and, from 2013-17, Senior Adviser to the Special Envoy for Guantánamo Closure at the State Department.

Linking to my recent interview — about the future of Guantánamo under Joe Biden, the proposed extradition of Julian Assange, and more — with Andy Bungay and Colin Crilly for Andy’s show on Riverside Radio, a community radio station in Battersea. Andy also played two songs by my band The Four Fathers.

Reprieve has just launched a website counting, in real time, how long their client Ahmed Rabbani has been on a hunger strike — 2,846 days, as of Nov. 17, 2020. This is a shocking amount of time, as is Ahmed’s skeletal state — he weighs just 39 kilos, or 6 stone 2 pounds. I argue that it is time for Ahmed, like other “forever prisoners,” who genuinely don’t pose a threat to the US, to be released.

A link to, and discussion of my half-hour interview on the topic of “Will Joe Biden Close Guantánamo?” with Ebrahim Moosa on South Africa’s Radio Islam International, after the Biden-Harris team’s victory over Donald Trump in the US Presidential Election.