Poems From GuantánamoGuantánamo Bay
The prison camp at Guantánamo Bay remains open more than a decade after the first detainee was transferred. Of the men still held 12 were in the original group first taken there.
In the intervening ten years, the US detention facility has made headlines because of allegations of torture, enforced disappearances and illegal detention.
President Obama pledged to close Guantánamo by 22 January 2010 but, with the camp now in its eleventh year, the disregard for human rights continues.
Bring Shaker home from Guantánamo
On taking office in 2009 President Obama pledged to close Guantánamo by 2010. But it is now 2013 - eleven years since the first prisoners were first transferred to the prison cam - and the world is still living with this insult to justice. It's time for Obama to come good on his promise. |
When
Shaker Aamer was detained by Afghan forces in November 2001 he was a
healthy man in his early 30s who lived with his wife and four children
in Britain. Shaker is now 44-years-old and has spent nearly 11 years
behind bars at the notorious prison camp in Guantánamo Bay. He is
riddled with arthritis and other health issues, the result - he and his
lawyers claim - of years of brutal torture and solitary confinement, as
well as inadequate medical care. He has endured all of this despite
being cleared for release in 2007 and never being charged, tried or
convicted of any criminal offence. - Our report: Guantánamo: A Decade of Damage to Human Rights (PDF)
- Blog: Guantánamo: ten years and counting
Happy holidays?
What happens when a average dude named Rob (Dileep Rao, Avatar and Inception) goes to a travel agency looking for a relaxing vacation? Will he be eligible for the "Not-so Geneva Package" and heading off to Guantánamo Bay?
Former detainee BINYAM MOHAMED's LAWYER SPEAKS OUT
Binyam Mohamed has now returned home from Guantánamo Bay, where he was held for over four years. Amnesty has an exclusive interview with his military lawyer Lt. Col Yvonne Bradley, who represented Binyam while he was held at the camp. Here she gives an open and honest interview about his case and how he was treated. Find out more about Binyam's case
More videos
- Video - Nadja Dizdarevic, wife of Bosnian Guantánamo detainee Boudella al-Hajj tells of her experience (Requires free Real Media Player)
- Video - Martin Mubanga who was detained for 33 months in Guantánamo Bay and released without charge tells of his ordeal (Requires free Real Media Player)
- Video: Testimonies of Guantánamo Bay detainees and their families
- Video: Mother of Guantánamo Bay detainee Abdel Aziz al-Sawaidi
- Video: 'Guantánamo Waiting for Justice' related to Adel Hamad's case
Get creative
Young people in schools across the UK have customised figures in Guantánamo Bay jumpsuits to say whether they think the prison should be closed or remain open. See the results and submit your own figure |
Moazzam Begg
Requires free Real Media Player |
Moazzam Begg was abducted in January 2002 from his home in Islamabad by Pakistani and US
agents. Watch clips of Moazzam Begg talking about Poems from Guantánamo
This extraordinary anthology of poems is written by men imprisoned in Guantánamo
Bay. Since 2002, at least 775 men have been held in the US detention centre. They
wrote their poems with little expectation of ever reaching an audience beyond
a small circle of their fellow prisoners.
The first poems were scratched on to styrofoam cups and passed from cell to cell. Many were destroyed by prison guards.
Further information
- Status of UK residents in Guantánamo (Word)
- Read the timeline 2001 - 2007 (Word)
- Guantánamo in numbers (Word)
