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Andy Worthington: An Archive of Guantánamo Articles and Other Writing – Part 17, July to December 2014

A birthday card is delivered to 10 Downing Street for Shaker Aamer's birthday on December 21, 2014, by MPs and other supporters. From L to R: Andy Worthington, the co-director of We Stand With Shaker, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Andy Slaughter MP, Peter Tatchell, Caroline Lucas MP, John McDonnell MP and John Leech MP (Photo: Stefano Massimo).

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Friends,

This article is the 17th in an ongoing series of articles listing all my work in chronological order. It’s a project I began in January 2010, when I put together the first chronological lists of all my articles, in the hope that doing so would make it as easy as possible for readers and researchers to navigate my work — the 2,525 articles I have published since I began publishing articles here in May 2007, which, otherwise, are not available in chronological order in any readily accessible form.

I first began researching the Bush administration’s “war on terror” prison at Guantánamo and the 779 men (and boys) held there nearly ten years ago, in the fall of 2005, and began researching and writing about it on a full-time basis in March 2006. Initially, I spent 14 months researching and writing my book The Guantánamo Files, based, largely, on 8,000 pages of documents publicly released by the Pentagon in the spring of 2006, and, since May 2007, I have continued to write about the men held there, on an almost daily basis, as an independent investigative journalist — for two and a half years under President Bush, and, shockingly, for what is now nearly seven years under President Obama.

My mission, as it has been since my research first revealed the scale of the injustice at Guantánamo, continues to revolve around four main aims — to humanize the prisoners by telling their stories; to expose the many lies told about them to supposedly justify their detention; to push for the prison’s closure and the absolute repudiation of indefinite detention without charge or trial as US policy; and to call for those who initiated, implemented and supported indefinite detention and torture to be held accountable for their actions.

As I highlight every three months through my quarterly fundraising appeals, I have undertaken the majority of this work as a reader-supported journalist and activist, so if you can support my work please click on the “Donate” button above to donate via PayPal.

This 17th list, covering July to December 2014, includes articles about 17 prisoners released from Guantánamo in the period (five more were released on December 30, but I didn’t write about them until the start of January 2015, to be featured in the next list). This was progress of a sort (because just six men were released in the first six months of 2014), but it still left dozens of men held at Guantánamo who have been approved for release (at the time of writing, 48 out of the 107 men still held).

Throughout this period, the latest review process at Guantánamo, the Periodic Review Boards, continued, as did the legal challenge embarked upon by a force-fed prisoner, Abu Wa’el Dhiab, who succeeded in getting a US judge to order the government to release videotapes of his force-feeding and “forcible cell extractions,” prior to being released in December.

Also of significance was the launch, in November, of We Stand With Shaker, a campaign I established with the activist Joanne MacInnes, which contributed to the release of Shaker on October 30 this year — a real triumph for campaigners around the world facing what appear to be insurmountable odds.

This was also the time when, finally, the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report into the CIA torture program was published, which sent shockwaves through US society, and revealed, in no uncertain terms, how cruel and brutal and pointless the program had been, and how the CIA had lied to everyone about its alleged significance. Sadly, no one has yet been held accountable, but the very fact that it was commissioned and published is some sort of triumph for the US system of checks and balances, as it is, frankly, inconceivable that a similar project could be undertaken in the UK, with the British Establishment’s obsessive secrecy and unwillingness to be held accountable for anything.

Throughout the period covered by this list, I also continued to write, when time allowed, about the disgraceful war being waged on public services by the Tory-led government here in the UK.

As I always explain when I publish these lists, I remain convinced, through detailed research, through comments from insiders with knowledge of Guantánamo, and through an analysis of classified military documents released by WikiLeaks, that between 95 and 97 percent of the 779 men and boys imprisoned in total were either completely innocent people, seized as a result of dubious intelligence or sold for bounty payments, or Taliban foot soldiers, recruited to fight an inter-Muslim civil war that began long before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and that had nothing to do with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or international terrorism.

The articles I wrote between July and December 2014 are listed below, separated into two categories: articles about Guantánamo and related issues, and articles about British politics. I hope you find the list useful, and will share it if you do.

An archive of Guantánamo articles: Part 17, July to December 2014

July 2014

1. Guantánamo campaigns: For Ramadan, Please Write to the Prisoners in Guantánamo, Forgotten Again

2. Video, Guantánamo, military commissions: Video: Todd Pierce Discusses the Lawlessness of Guantánamo’s Military Commissions on “London Real”

3. Guantánamo, interviews: Andy Worthington’s Interview about Guantánamo and Torture for Columbia University’s Rule of Law Oral History Project

4. Guantánamo, interviews: The Rule of Law Oral History Project: How the Guantánamo Prisoners Have Been Failed by All Three Branches of the US Government

5. Guantánamo, military commissions: The 9/11 Trial at Guantánamo: The Dark Farce Continues

6. Omar Khadr: Canadian Appeals Court Rules That Former Guantánamo Prisoner Omar Khadr Should Be Serving a Youth Sentence

7. Guantánamo, hunger strikes: For the First Time, A Nurse at Guantánamo Refuses to Take Part in Force-Feedings, Calls Them a “Criminal Act”

8. Guantánamo, military commissions: More Farcical Proceedings at the Military Commissions in Guantánamo

9. Guantánamo, hunger strikes: Guantánamo Hunger Striker Abu Wa’el Dhiab’s Wife Calls for Videos of his Force-Feeding to be Made Public

10. Shaker Aamer, UK politics: Photos: Free Shaker Aamer from Guantánamo – Parliamentary Vigil, July 16, 2014

11. Diego Garcia, US-UK extradition: Britain’s latest counterterrorism disasters (for Al-Jazeera – my post here)

12. Guantánamo, Periodic Review Boards: Guantánamo Review Boards Clear Kuwaiti Prisoner Fawzi Al-Odah for Release, But Defend Ongoing Imprisonment of Fayiz Al-Kandari

August 2014

13. Torture, extraordinary rendition:European Court of Human Rights Delivers Powerful Condemnation of US Torture Program and Poland’s Role Hosting a CIA “Black Site”

14. Guantánamo campaigns: Free the Yemenis! Gitmo Clock Marks 450 Days Since President Obama’s Promise to Resume Releasing Prisoners from Guantánamo

15. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, US courts: US Judge Orders Guantánamo Authorities to Allow Independent Doctors to Assess Health of Hunger Striker Abu Wa’el Dhiab

16. Guantánamo, hunger strikes: “Most of the Hunger Strikers Are Vomiting on the Torture Chairs”: Emad Hassan’s Latest Harrowing Letter from Guantánamo

17. Prisoners released from Guantánamo: Pentagon Defends Bowe Bergdahl/Guantánamo Prisoner Swap as Government Accountability Office Delivers Critical Opinion

18. Guantánamo media: Guantánamo Torture Victim Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s Harrowing Memoir to be Published in January 2015

19. Guantánamo, military commissions: Ali Hamza Al-Bahlul, David Hicks and the Legal Collapse of the Military Commissions at Guantánamo

20. Shaker Aamer: Guantánamo Violence: Prisoners Report Shaker Aamer “Beaten,” Another Man Assaulted “For Nearly Two Hours”

September 2014

21. Bagram, Guantánamo: Two Long-Term Yemeni Prisoners Repatriated from Bagram; Are Guantánamo Yemenis Next?

22. Closing Guantánamo: What’s Happening with Guantánamo?

23. Video, Closing Guantánamo: Video: Andy Worthington Discusses the Need to Close Guantánamo on CCTV America with David Remes and J.D. Gordon

24. 9/11 anniversary, Closing Guantánamo: Calling for the Closure of Guantánamo on the 13th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks

25. Guantánamo, hunger strikes: The Despair of Guantánamo’s Most Prominent Hunger Striker

26. US enemy combatants, US courts: Shameful: US Judge Increases Prison Sentence of Tortured US Enemy Combatant Jose Padilla

27. Closing Guantánamo: On Guantánamo, No News is Bad News

28. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, US courts: Life Sentence for Sulaiman Abu Ghaith Discredits Guantánamo’s Military Commissions

29. Abu Qatada, UK politics: Abu Qatada’s Release in Jordan Discredits Tory Hysteria About the Need to Dismiss Human Rights Law

October 2014

30. Moazzam Begg, UK politics: Charges Against Moazzam Begg Dropped; Why Was He Ever Held in the First Place?

31. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, US courts: Judge in Guantánamo Force-Feeding Case Rejects Government’s Call for Secret Hearing

32. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, US courts: In Ground-Breaking Ruling, US Judge Gladys Kessler Orders Guantánamo Force-Feeding Videos to be Made Public

33. Guantánamo campaigns: Gitmo Clock: 500 Days Since Obama’s Promise to Resume Releasing Prisoners; 79 Cleared Men Still Held

34. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, US courts: Experts Deliver Damning Testimony at Guantánamo Force-Feeding Trial

35. Closing Guantánamo: Is President Obama Planning an Executive Order for the Closure of Guantánamo?

36. Torture: Q&A with Andy Worthington After Screening of “Doctors of the Dark Side” in Balham, October 26, 2014

37. Shaker Aamer, UK politics: Shaker Aamer’s Abuse in Guantánamo Dismissed by British Foreign Secretary

38. Guantánamo, hunger strikes, US courts: Judge Grants Government a Month’s Delay in Release of Guantánamo Force-Feeding Videotapes

39. Guantánamo, Periodic Review Boards: Fifth Guantánamo Prisoner’s Release Recommended by Periodic Review Board, But When Will These Men Be Released?

40. Torture, Closing Guantánamo: 12 Nobel Peace Prize Winners Tell President Obama to Reveal Full Details of the US Torture Program and to Close Guantánamo

41. Omar Khadr: Omar Khadr Urges Canadian Government to Respect the Law While Dealing with National Security Issues

November 2014

December 2014

58. Guantánamo, military commissions: Former Guantánamo Military Defense Attorney Todd Pierce Interviewed by the Talking Dog

59. Closing Guantánamo: More Guantánamo Releases Planned Despite Hostility in Congress

60. Guantánamo, hunger strikes: UN Says Force-Feeding at Guantánamo Constitutes Ill-Treatment in Violation of the Convention Against Torture

61. Prisoners released from Guantánamo: Who Are the Six Men Freed from Guantánamo and Given New Homes in Uruguay?

62. Torture, Senate torture report: Punishment, not apology after CIA torture report (for Al-Jazeera – my post here)

63. Video, Shaker Aamer, We Stand With Shaker: Video: Juliet Stevenson and David Morrissey Star in New Film About Shaker Aamer for Human Rights Day, Calling for His Release from Guantánamo

64. Shaker Aamer, We Stand With Shaker: Come and See Andy Worthington and the Four Fathers Play the Campaign Song for We Stand With Shaker in London on Saturday

65. Video, Shaker Aamer, We Stand With Shaker: Video: We Stand With Shaker – Andy Worthington on RT, and the Islam Channel on the Human Rights Day Event with Mark Rylance and Vanessa Redgrave

66. Radio, Shaker Aamer, torture Radio: Andy Worthington Discusses the Senate Torture Report, Guantánamo and We Stand With Shaker with Scott Horton and Pippa Jones

67. Shaker Aamer, We Stand With Shaker: We Stand With Shaker: Open Letter to David Cameron Calls for Release of Shaker Aamer from Guantánamo and His Return to the UK

68. Shaker Aamer: Shaker Aamer Speaks from Guantánamo, and His Family Talk About His 13-Year Ordeal

69. Torture, Senate torture report: Why Guantánamo Mustn’t Be Forgotten in the Fallout from the CIA Torture Report

70. Life after Guantánamo: New Life in Uruguay for Six Former Guantánamo Prisoners

71. Prisoners released from Guantánamo: Four Insignificant Afghan Prisoners Released from Guantánamo

72. Shaker Aamer: Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters Calls for the Release of Shaker Aamer from Guantánamo

73. Video, Shaker Aamer, We Stand With Shaker: Video: For We Stand With Shaker, Frankie Boyle Discusses Shaker Aamer’s Case with Sara Pascoe

An archive of articles about British politics and related issues, July to December 2014

[image error]1. Music festivals: Photos: The Wonderful WOMAD Festival, Charlton Park, Wiltshire, July 2014

2. Save the NHS: Save the NHS: Please Join the Jarrow Marchers in London on Saturday September 6, 2014

3. Save the NHS: Save the NHS: Photos of the People’s March for the NHS in London, September 6, 2014

4. Bedroom tax: Humiliating Tory Defeat in Parliament Over the Reviled and Unjust Bedroom Tax

5. Climate change: Photos: The People’s Climate March, London, September 21, 2014

6. Housing crisis: Photos and Essay: The Inspiring Council House Occupation in Stratford That Is Resonating Across London

7. TTIP: Please Join the European Protests Against the Dangerous Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on October 11, 2014

8. Video, TTIP: Video: I Speak to RT about the Dangers of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) + My Photos of the London Protest

9. Radio, TTIP: Radio: I Discuss Guantánamo, Shaker Aamer, TTIP and the Corporate Takeover of our Lives with Richie Allen on Volcania Radio

10. Anti-austerity protests: Please Support “Britain Needs A Pay Rise,” the TUC March and Rally in London on Saturday, October 18

11. Photos, anti-austerity protests: Photos: “Britain Needs A Pay Rise,” The TUC-Led Protest in London, October 18, 2014 (1/2)

12. Photos, anti-austerity protests: Photos: “Britain Needs A Pay Rise,” The TUC-Led Protest in London, October 18, 2014 (2/2)

13. Activism: Andy Worthington Takes Part in UCLU Amnesty Event, “Why Did I Become An Activist?” on Tuesday October 28, 2014

14. Activism, pacifism: No More War; Wearing a White Poppy for Peace

15. Save the NHS: Victory for Labour MP’s Private Member’s Bill To Repeal the Tory Privatisation of the NHS and Exempt the NHS from the TTIP Agreement

16. Housing crisis: Support Hoxton’s New Era Estate Tenants in Their Struggle Against Rapacious US Landlord Westbrook Partners

Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist, activist, author, photographer, film-maker and singer-songwriter (the lead singer and main songwriter for the London-based band The Four Fathers, whose debut album, ‘Love and War,’ is available for download or on CD via Bandcamp — also see here). He is the co-founder of the Close Guantánamo campaign, the co-director of We Stand With Shaker, which called for the release from Guantánamo of Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in the prison (finally freed on October 30, 2015), and the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by the University of Chicago Press in the US, and available from Amazon, including a Kindle edition — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. He is also the co-director (with Polly Nash) of the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (available on DVD here — or here for the US).