Buckle up, friends. Tomorrow, Jan. 11, is the 20th anniversary of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. In 2022, torture endures, arbitrary detention is the norm, and 39 men remain illegally held by the USG. (THREAD)
👇🏿I took this photo of Camp X-Ray yrs ago. #CloseGuantanamo #GITMO20
👇🏿I took this photo of Camp X-Ray yrs ago. #CloseGuantanamo #GITMO20
In light of this grim anniversary, and the continuing humanitarian crisis at Guantanamo, here are 20 Gitmo resources that I personally recommend, including firsthand accounts from its victims. #CloseGuantanamo @WhiteHouse you may find these useful.
1. My first deep dive into post-9/11 Gitmo, then just over 10 yrs old. H/t to colleagues @krhawkins5, @kenteiler, leader @nelewi. Our investigation spanned continents, and I still consult interviews we conducted of former prisoners/foreign govt officials. opensocietyfoundations.org
2. Many GTMO detainees shd never have been there. They were sold to the US for bounty, a fact confirmed by @P_Musharraf in his autobiography. Maj Gen Dunlavey, first JTF commander, went to Afghanistan in *late 2002* to complain abt unnecessary transfers:
latimes.com
latimes.com
3. Gitmo is, above all, a lesson in how to institutionalize racism for those of us who weren’t around just after 1776. This piece by @Dr_Maha_Hilal (whose book will be out soon) explains why: businessinsider.com
4. In 2004, SCOTUS ruled that GTMO detainees had the right to challenge their detention - allowing lawyers at GTMO for the first time. @DavidColeACLU’s retrospective of Rasul v. Bush captures the frustration in implementing any law at GTMO, even today: newyorker.com
5. The only "control" Ds have is choice to eat, or not. W/ @ReprieveUS, I litigated @DeptofDefense's violent force-feeding of Abu Wa’el Dhiab. The videotapes (classified) are nightmarish - burned in my brain. One Navy nurse refused to FF, was nearly fired: theguardian.com
6. The “high value detainees” - so called bc they’d been tortured at @CIA black sites - were rendered to GTMO in Sept 2006. By that time, @CIA personnel had recorded my client @BaluchiGitmo’s psychological deterioration from their torture experiments. wamu.org
7.Remember how most detainees never fought against US? Didn’t stop @BarackObama from opposing every habeas petition, one factor that ACTUALLY prevented him from closing GTMO. He blames Congress, but nothing prevented clearing/transferring detainees abroad. washingtonpost.com
8. After transfer, detainees were often left in unfamiliar countries without family or financial support. Lakhdar Boumediene and Mustafa Ait Idir wrote a book abt GTMO/post-GTMO experiences, and spoke movingly at our 2017 NATSECDEF conf: facebook.com
CC @Dan_Norland
CC @Dan_Norland
9. Even detainees sent to home countries were often not safe. My former client Younous Chekkouri was disappeared, in violation of negotiated assurances, upon his transfer in 2015: washingtonpost.com
10. USG's propaganda abt GTMO has centered on dehumanization of detainees, so Americans wouldn't protest the abuse. In 2018, my friend/artist/all-round savant @MansoorAdayfi broke through that wall w/ a heartbreaking piece for @nytimes Modern Love: nytimes.com
11. Mansoor and others, including @BaluchiGitmo & @abdelmalik37, also depicted their struggles through artwork. In 2017, @artcrimeprof curated a major exhibition of GTMO art. To retaliate, @DeptofDefense illegally asserted ownership over detainee art. artfromguantanamo.com
12. Human rights allies, including Prof. Jane Ginsburg of @ColumbiaLaw, @tony2gammidge, Valerie Lucznikowska of @PeacefulTomorro, & @MsLagerfelt, filed statements on behalf of GTMO artists/artwork. Military judge ruled against us,but exhibition continues: mc.mil
13. @BaluchiGitmo’s watercolor “Vertigo at Guantanamo” showed the ongoing effects of his torture, for which USG refuses him medical care. @P4HR and @CVTorg documented the crisis of medical care at GTMO in a blistering 2019 report:
phr.org
phr.org
14. The trauma of detainees' torture - often inflicted by doctors - intensifies with each year without medical treatment. They relive horror like this every day: witnesstoguantanamo.com
15. Abu Zubaydah, the first detainee disappeared/tortured by @CIA, drew these depictions of his own torture. The USG never officially called his treatment “torture” until SCOTUS justices did so in September 2021: nytimes.com
16. In 2018, @UN_SPExperts Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that detention at GTMO was illegal, that military commissions were fundamentally unfair, and called for @BaluchiGitmo’s release.
The USG - human rights champion - ignored the opinion:
ohchr.org
The USG - human rights champion - ignored the opinion:
ohchr.org
17. The pitfalls of an illegally constituted military court to prosecute/execute solelyMuslim men were showcased by @JHamilton71 and @fieldofvision
in “The Trial,” a short doc featuring my legal team and the 9/11 case:
fieldofvision.org
in “The Trial,” a short doc featuring my legal team and the 9/11 case:
fieldofvision.org
18. Last fall, several former prisoners, including @Moazzam_Begg, @MohamedouOuld, @MansoorAdayfi, and others, called for GTMO closure with a straightforward plan. Watch their video here (h/t @uk_cage)
youtube.com
youtube.com
19. 20 years later, you want to know where Guantanamo sits in America’s history? Read this piece by my friend/colleague @br_farley: theatlantic.com
20. Perhaps the one constant at Guantanamo for 20 yrs, other than abuse, is @carolrosenberg. It is in massive part bc of Carol that the world knows as much as it does about Guantanamo. Follow her. Read her reporting. And someone give the lady a @PulitzerPrizes already.
A few closing thoughts.
@POTUS came into office saying he planned - again - to close Gitmo. Instead, he’s building new courtrooms there. Ask him why.
nytimes.com
@POTUS came into office saying he planned - again - to close Gitmo. Instead, he’s building new courtrooms there. Ask him why.
nytimes.com
I’ve been a member of the Gitmo Bar for more than eight years, and derive constant inspiration from my colleagues, some of whom have spent all twenty years at GTMO.
There is nothing but shame in the USG’s continuing crimes at Guantanamo. There can be no pride or patriotism in what USG officials continue to perpetrate in the facility or at the commissions.
On our side, there is little but frustration at each passing year and each physically deteriorating client. But at least this issue is black and white, and we know what side we’re on. Now @WhiteHouse needs to pick a side.
Fin/
Fin/
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