WEB UPDATES – TACTICAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST TORTURE

Date 08/03/2006

Section E-Magazine/ Issue 1

AIDOC ACT 40/014/2006

Feature 1 - Main article (title)

Guantánamo: Four years is too long

"The United States Government should close the Guantánamo Bay detention facilities without further delay", UN report on Guantánamo Bay (February 2006).

Main article (some 280 words)

It is time to close the US detention centre at Guantánamo Bay. The detainees there, numbering some 500, must be released unless charged with recognizable criminal offences and brought to fair trial. The US government has no case, morally or legally, for keeping it open.

Amnesty International has been consistently calling for Guantánamo to be closed.

Five UN experts recently issued a report on violations of human rights at Guantánamo and called for the camp’s closure. Among other things, the UN experts found that interrogation techniques used at the detention centre amount to torture.

The UN report has unleashed condemnation of the US government at home and abroad.

Kofi Annan has said that the US administration needs to shut down Guantánamo "as soon as is possible". The European Parliament has also called for the detention facility to be closed.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, integral in the post-apartheid reconciliation in South Africa, has renewed his call for Guantánamo to be shut down, stating that "the rule of law has been subverted horrendously". The Archbishop of Canterbury called the camp an "extraordinary legal anomaly" which set dangerous precedent. A spokesperson for the Vatican stated that it was "clear that in this prison man’s dignity is not being respected at all".

In the US, thousands of people have endorsed an open letter issued by the National Council of Churches asking the government to close Guantánamo. Former US presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have also called for the detention facility to be shut down.

Increasingly isolated, the USA has sought to question the credibility of the UN report. Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan stated that the UN experts did not visit Guantánamo, overlooking the fact that the US authorities have consistently refused any meaningful inspection of the camp by independent human rights monitors.

Add your voice to the global chorus calling for the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay to be closed!

You can make a difference. Take action now!

See a slideshow on the impact of Guantánamo Bay on the detainees and their families

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https://intranet.amnesty.org/adam/en/7715/detail.html

Feature 2 (70-80)

UK – Human rights: A broken promise

The UK government’s policies and actions at home and abroad are sending a "green light" to other governments to abuse human rights. In a recent report, Amnesty International examines the global impact of the UK’s counter-terrorism measures and its actions abroad.

"I think we can safely say, in relation to internment without trial, this country succeeded in bringing itself into disgrace internationally, it shamed itself" Gareth Peirce, a UK human rights lawyer.

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http://www.amnesty.org/images/resources/usa/8366_UK200x150.jpg

Feature 3 (70-80)

Mother’s plea

Rasul Kudaev is an ex-Guantanamo detainee now imprisoned in Russia, where he reportedly has been tortured. His mother, Fatimat Tekaeva, has been campaigning on behalf of her son. She claims that Rasul Kudaev needs urgent medical treatment due to his poor health. Rasul Kudaev must be given immediately all necessary medical care and access to his family and to a lawyer of his choice. He should not be tortured or ill-treated.

Join Fatimat Tekaeva in protecting the human rights of her son.

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https://intranet.amnesty.org/adam/en/8041/detail.html

Feature 4 Voices against torture (40-50 words)

Voices against torture

"I first thought they would keep me in that… I call now the grave for a short period… but I was kept in that dark filthy cell for about 10 months and 10 days. That was torture." Maher Arar, released detainee tortured in Syria.