After more than 13 years detained without charge or trial in Guantánamo Bay, Shaker Aamer, 46, has finally been released! His plane touched down at Biggin Hill airfield Friday afternoon, October 30. He told supporters, "The very first thing I want is a cup of coffee, then for a doctor to look me over."
His wife, a British citizen, was pregnant with their fourth child when Aamer, originally from Saudi Arabia and a British resident, went to Afghanistan in 2002 to do charity work. He was captured by anti-Taliban Northern Alliance bounty hunters, who sold him to US troops. He was imprisoned in Afghanistan before being moved to Guantanamo, where he engaged in hunger strikes to protest his confinement. He was violently force fed through a tube up his nose. He was cleared for release in 2007 but the US continued to detain him.
His haunting voice could be heard on 60 Minutes in November of 2013, as he yelled, "Please, we are tired. Are you just going to leave us here to die? Tell the world the truth. Open up the place!" through the wall of his cell, knowing that newsmedia were there. The reporter (Barbara Walters?) seemed genuinely shocked that the detainee spoke perfect English, and at the level of his despair. [ YouTube.com/watch?v=HVDgz4v8WZY ]
As an English speaking inmate of Guantanamo, he served a valuable role in organizing prisoners and negotiating with the US government to end hunger strikes before people died. However, after gaining false promises from officials, Aamer was put into solitary confinement. His sudden release came as a blessed surprise.
His family eagerly awaits his arrival. His daughter, said to be an A level student, whom he has not seen since she was 4, turned 18 just days before his release. He has never before met his youngest child, a son who is now 13.
Amnesty International, which was supportive of Aamer's release, asks: "Why was he detained at all, and why was his release delayed when he was twice cleared for transfer out of Guantánamo, in 2007 and in 2009? And what role did the UK play in his detention and treatment? Shaker Aamer says he was repeatedly abused in both Afghanistan and in Guantánamo. His claims of interrogation and abuse in Afghanistan in the presence of MI5 officers highlight once again the need for an independent judge-led inquiry into allegations of UK involvement in torture and rendition."
On October 11, 2015 after the Mail on Sunday reported that Shaker Aamer had stated in a phone call to his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, that he was hunger striking to protest his constant and ongoing abuse, and his fears that, due to his weakened state, he wouldn't live to see his family again, We Stand With Shaker's directors, Joanne MacInnes and Andy Worthington, author of "The Guantanamo Files," set up a new campaign, Fast For Shaker, in which celebrities, MPs and members of the public were encouraged to show solidarity with Shaker by pledging to undertake a hunger strike of their own for a minimum of 24 hours, on a day of their choosing.
It could be that the UK really did not want to touch this issue of their involvement in the US torture rendition program, but this coalition of activists generated enough public attention to force their government to act decisively to return Aamer back home. Somehow, between October 11 and October 30, something magical happened. People suddenly passionately threw themselves into caring about this man, who has been simmering on the back burner for over a decade.
It may seem completely bizarre but the gimmick that proved so effective was a 20 foot tall blow up dummy with Aamer's smiling face, dressed in an orange jumpsuit. His shirt bore the words: "FREE SHAKER AAMER. CLEARED FOR RELEASE. STILL IN GUANTANAMO. WHY?" Many many celebrities and political officials posed with it for photographs holding signs saying, "I STAND WITH SHAKER" and "I FAST WITH SHAKER." [See photos at westandwithshaker.org] Maybe because this street theater tactic was so bizarre and comical, it made publicly talking about illegal rendition possible and gave the detainee a friendly funny human image.
Upon his release, Aamer made this public statement: "The reason I have been strong is because of the support of people so strongly devoted to the truth. If I was the fire to be lit to tell the truth, it was the people who protected the fire from the wind. My thanks go to Allah first, second to my wife, my family, to my kids and then to my lawyers who did everything they could to carry the word to the world. I feel obliged to every individual who fought for justice not just for me but to bring an end to Guantánamo. Without knowing of their fight I might have given up more than once; I am overwhelmed by what people have done by their actions, their thoughts and their prayers and without their devotion to justice I would not be here in Britain now. The reality may be that we cannot establish peace but we can establish justice. If there is anything that will bring this world to peace it is to remove injustice."
"We also recall the 112 other men still held at Guantánamo, and note that 52 of them have also, like Shaker, been approved for release by high-level US government review processes. We call for them also to be released as soon as possible," stated Andy Worthington.
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1626.htm
Showing posts with label Shaker Aamer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shaker Aamer. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Shaker Smiles: He Was in Gtmo for 14 Years Without Charge.
The Obama administration finally yielded to a lengthy campaign to secure the British resident Shaker Aamed's release, after Guantanamo journalist Andy Worthington wrote an open letter to President Obama for Independence Day, which was signed by nearly a hundred celebrities, including Roger Waters, Sting, Patrick Stewart and London's Mayor Boris Johnson.
As a result, President Obama discussed the decision to move Aamer, whose case has become a cause celebre among rights groups in Britain, with Prime Minister David Cameron in a phone call. On November 11, 2015, a beautiful photo and statement from the brother was released by friends.
"I can't tell you how much I want to speak to all of you and stand with all of you, carrying on the struggle for justice for everybody who has been oppressed and needs our help. If there is one thing we can do to save the whole world it is to fight for justice. We will work hard together to close Guantánamo and every unlawful facility run by any government worldwide. Justice has no colour or religion or race.
"I promise all of you good people — those whose names I know, and those whose names I do not know — that my heart and my spirit feel your thoughts of justice. I care for you all.
Yours sincerely,
Shaker Aamer ISN 239"
PHOTO
AndyWorthington.co.uk/2015/11/11/a-photo-and-a-mesage-from-shaker-aamer-to-his-supporters/#sthash.JxodaWEp.dpf
Clive Stafford Smith predicted in the Guardian last September that when Shaker Aamer is free from Guantanamo, the slurs will start.
"My maternal grandmother once gave me some advice that has never left me: when someone does you wrong, bizarrely, they will invariably hate you for it. This stems from a very human desire not to admit mistakes. Therefore if you want to salvage a relationship with the person who wronged you, you must go out of your way to be kind to them."
Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in Guantánamo Bay has been done a terrible wrong - held for almost 14 years without charges, tortured over and over. He has never met his youngest son Faris, who was born on the very day he arrived in the notorious US military base.
"And why has he been held so long? Because not only was Aamer a victim of abuse but he also witnessed the torture of others, most catastrophically Ibn Sheikh al Libi, who "confessed" falsely that al-Qaida was in league with Saddam Hussein on weapons of mass destruction. This was repeated by President George W Bush himself as a reason to go to war in Iraq - so here we are, tens of thousands of dead people later, and we know it was false. Al Libi merely told his torturers what they wanted to hear, to try to end the pain," writes Smith.
There is one matter that is beyond all doubt: The US military and the UK intelligence services will start briefing against Aamer. They will do this because they know they have done him wrong, and they hate him for it. They feel a very human urge to prove that they were justified and, in their distorted morality, that can only be true if he is a very, very bad man indeed. They always do this.
"In Aamer's case, the defamation has already begun. The moment the 30-day notice was given, Texas Congressman Mac Thornberry sent a statement to the Washington Post that Aamer was far too dangerous to be released - apparently forever," reports Worthington.
You do not publish devastating rumours about a person who has no way to defend himself, without checking and double-checking your source - even when it concerns a powerless person held incommunicado for more than a decade, like Aamer.
"Those who wish to prove that they were right to indulge in a spot of torture are very sad and misguided people."
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1628.htm
As a result, President Obama discussed the decision to move Aamer, whose case has become a cause celebre among rights groups in Britain, with Prime Minister David Cameron in a phone call. On November 11, 2015, a beautiful photo and statement from the brother was released by friends.
"I can't tell you how much I want to speak to all of you and stand with all of you, carrying on the struggle for justice for everybody who has been oppressed and needs our help. If there is one thing we can do to save the whole world it is to fight for justice. We will work hard together to close Guantánamo and every unlawful facility run by any government worldwide. Justice has no colour or religion or race.
"I promise all of you good people — those whose names I know, and those whose names I do not know — that my heart and my spirit feel your thoughts of justice. I care for you all.
Yours sincerely,
Shaker Aamer ISN 239"
PHOTO
AndyWorthington.co.uk/2015/11/11/a-photo-and-a-mesage-from-shaker-aamer-to-his-supporters/#sthash.JxodaWEp.dpf
Clive Stafford Smith predicted in the Guardian last September that when Shaker Aamer is free from Guantanamo, the slurs will start.
"My maternal grandmother once gave me some advice that has never left me: when someone does you wrong, bizarrely, they will invariably hate you for it. This stems from a very human desire not to admit mistakes. Therefore if you want to salvage a relationship with the person who wronged you, you must go out of your way to be kind to them."
Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in Guantánamo Bay has been done a terrible wrong - held for almost 14 years without charges, tortured over and over. He has never met his youngest son Faris, who was born on the very day he arrived in the notorious US military base.
"And why has he been held so long? Because not only was Aamer a victim of abuse but he also witnessed the torture of others, most catastrophically Ibn Sheikh al Libi, who "confessed" falsely that al-Qaida was in league with Saddam Hussein on weapons of mass destruction. This was repeated by President George W Bush himself as a reason to go to war in Iraq - so here we are, tens of thousands of dead people later, and we know it was false. Al Libi merely told his torturers what they wanted to hear, to try to end the pain," writes Smith.
There is one matter that is beyond all doubt: The US military and the UK intelligence services will start briefing against Aamer. They will do this because they know they have done him wrong, and they hate him for it. They feel a very human urge to prove that they were justified and, in their distorted morality, that can only be true if he is a very, very bad man indeed. They always do this.
"In Aamer's case, the defamation has already begun. The moment the 30-day notice was given, Texas Congressman Mac Thornberry sent a statement to the Washington Post that Aamer was far too dangerous to be released - apparently forever," reports Worthington.
You do not publish devastating rumours about a person who has no way to defend himself, without checking and double-checking your source - even when it concerns a powerless person held incommunicado for more than a decade, like Aamer.
"Those who wish to prove that they were right to indulge in a spot of torture are very sad and misguided people."
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1628.htm
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