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Video: Murat Kurnaz, former detainee at Guantánamo and Afghanistan

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:55:34 +0100

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Murat Kurnaz was arrested in Pakistan in November 2001, and then held in US custody in Afghanistan and Guantánamo.

He was detained without charge or trial for nearly five years.

Released in August 2006, he is now back home in Bremen, Germany.

Different voices

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:52:17 +0100

When Amnesty International presented Report 2008 to the media at The Foreign Press Association in London on 27 May, several people involved in human rights campaigning around the world were invited as special guests. We caught up with three of them.

The first female judge to work at the High Court in Pakistan, Majida Razvi, is now retired. She is currently a women's rights defender and one of seven trustees of the Panah Shelter Home for women in Karachi.

Panah seeks to provide a peaceful haven and temporary refuge for women who are victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, or under threat of honour killings.

Majida Razvi says she's happy to support the launch of Amnesty International's Report 2008 because "we established the shelter homes in 2001 and the seed money was given by Amnesty International to start with. Also other organizations connected to Amnesty International have been helping us in Karachi. So I think Amnesty International has been a great help and I hope it will be in the future."

Since starting Panah, Majida Razvi says the greatest change she has noticed is the overall awareness of the issues surrounding violence against women. "We are not only providing shelter for these women but we are also trying to create awareness amongst these women by holding workshops and the like."

"There's a greater awareness amongst the public now too. We've also been successful in changing the attitude of the police and the judiciary, trying to get them to be more sympathetic and polite to women who are victims. We need a revolution in the mind of the public and in the minds of men and also in the minds of the women who are governed by their husbands, and by the mullahs of the area."

A young Brighton-based Zimbabwean, Alois Mbawara, has been living in exile in the UK since 2002. He is one of the founding members of Free-Zim Youth, an organization that tries to influence institutions and organisations to take a tougher stance on Harare.

"We are young Zimbabweans in exile who fled the repression and political violence in Zimbabwe," says Mbawara. "As citizens of Zimbabwe we need to be exposing the gross human rights violations being perpetuated by the Mugabe regime. So that's how we came up with the idea for this civic organization to lobby the African Union, to get it to take a stance on what is happening in Zimbabwe.

Mbawara explains why he agreed to join Amnesty’s launch event "It's good exposure. In particular it gives us a multilateral venue to express what is happening in Zimbabwe. It is an historical opportunity to express our views on the political nature of Zimbabwe."

He adds that Amnesty’s work has been helpful in "documenting the day-to-day lives of the ordinary person in Zimbabwe. I have to stress that, due to the lack of free press and media, even people who work for human rights organizations don't have access to information about the political violence in Zimbabwe and are unable to publicize it. So, Amnesty International plays a very pivotal role."

Since starting Free-Zim Youth, Mbawara says their advocacy work, lobbying and demonstrations have had an effect. "Some may call it undiplomatic but we had to confront South African leaders when they came over to the UK and say to them 'now look here, you need to be in a position to do something'" he says, recalling the group's protest during South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dhlamini Zuma's 2006 lecture at the London School of Economics.

"We have been having a positive response from that. The South African government has since released a critical statement that they will take a tough stance on what is happening in Zimbabwe."

Released from Guantánamo on 24 August 2006, German-born Turkish national Murat Kurnaz had been held for four years and eight months without charge or trial, despite little evidence to link him to "terrorist" activities. Both US and German intelligence services secretly acknowledged this, yet it took years to secure his release.

Kurnaz has alleged that he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in US custody. His book, Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantánamo, was launched at an Amnesty International event in Belfast on May 8. John Le Carre called it "The most compassionate, truthful and dignified account of the disgrace of Guantanamo that you are ever likely to read." Patti Smith wrote a song about Kurnaz called "Without Chains" in 2006. She also wrote the foreword to his book.

Kurnaz says he agreed to attend the launch of the Amnesty International Report 2008 because "I like to use all the chances I have to talk, not for me, because I am already a free man, but I'm still trying to help the ones still held in torture camps and prisons and I'm campaigning against those people supporting torture and building torture camps."

Speaking about Amnesty International, Kurnaz says "Amnesty International is trying to show the people what is going on. It's up to the people, when they know the truth, then they can try to make things change."

While positive, Kurnaz concedes that change won't happen overnight. "Because things that have happened in the past have come to light, maybe they won't happen again in the future. I feel like even if it's very slow, things are going to get changed. A few days ago I was the first former Guantánamo detainee to testify before the American Congress. It was the first time they had talked about Guantánamo. I hope this will mean big changes for the future."

Parliamentarians meet US authorities over illegal detentions

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:49:40 +0100

International parliamentarians are meeting with US government officials from 14-16 May 2008 to discuss Amnesty International's framework to end illegal US detentions.

Sir Menzies Campbell, Member of the UK Parliament, and Christophe Strasser, Member of the German Bundestag, will represent the 1,236 parliamentarians from 30 countries that have already joined the call to US authorities to end illegal detention at Guantánamo and elsewhere, in accordance with Amnesty International's framework.

Sir Menzies Campbell and Christophe Strasser will meet with officials from the US Department of State, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Office of Senator McCain and the US Navy, among others.

Replica Guantánamo cell touring the US

Since 8 May, a replica of a maximum security cell at Guantánamo has been touring the US. The tour, organized by Amnesty International, is a way to enable people to get a glimpse of the harsh realities of illegal detention and prolonged isolation.

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, ex-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a representative of the Global Elders, visited the cell in Miami on 10 May and spoke to Amnesty International activists who had gathered for a concert and rally.

Video: Worldwide actions to close Guantánamo

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:28:43 +0000

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Thousands of people, including Amnesty International members and supporters from around the world, have taken action to mark the sixth anniversary of the first transfers of detainees to Guantánamo. Amnesty International staged protests in 30 countries on Friday, 11 January.

The world shouts 'Close Guantánamo'

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:55:25 +0000

Click on the pictures to the right to watch a slideshow with images of the day.

More than simply a call for closure, Amnesty International once again presented the US government with the organization’s framework for ending illegal detentions, whether at Guantánamo or elsewhere. This time, the framework was supported by over 1,200 parliamentarians from around the world.

In some countries, including Belgium and Ireland, some of the parliamentarians accompanied Amnesty International activists at their events and demonstrations.

The infamous orange jumpsuit – closely associated with the inhumanity and illegality of Guantánamo – became once more the icon of this anniversary. There was also street theatre, poetry readings, the recreation of Guantánamo cells in city centres, speeches, rallies and cyber activism.

US military chief wants to close Guantánamo

On Sunday, two days after the anniversary, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Navy Admiral Michael Mullen became the latest US official to say that Guantánamo should be shut down.

“More that anything else, I just think it has been the image – how Gitmo has become around the world, in terms of representing the United States. I believe from the standpoint of how it reflects on us that it’s been pretty damaging.”

What you can still do

Go to tearitdown.org and add your support to Amnesty International’s framework to end illegal US detentions.

Post a tearitdown banner in your website or blog.

Murat Kurnaz has been released from Guantánamo!

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:21:36 +0000

"Thank God, I am well, but just God that created us knows when I will come back."

Murat Kurnaz wrote these words to his family from Guantánamo in March 2002. His dreams of returning home to Germany have only now, finally, been realised.

Released from Guantánamo on 24 August 2006, Murat Kurnaz had been held for four years and eight months without charge or trial. The only contact he had been allowed with his family was through heavily censored letters.

In a statement, his German lawyer said: "He is now again in the circle of his family. Their joy at embracing their lost son again is indescribable".

Murat's mother, Rabiye Kurnaz, dedicated these past years to campaigning for her eldest son's release. In November 2005 she attended an international conference organized by Amnesty International and Reprieve where she spoke of her hopes of being reunited with her son. Now these hopes have become a reality.

Murat Kuraz is a Turkish national who was born in Germany in 1982. His prolonged detention in Guantánamo had been complicated by his status – lacking German citizenship, the German authorities had refused his return to Germany. The Turkish authorities had shown little interest in his case.

It was only after intense lobbying from his family, lawyers and AI members around the world, including in his home town of Bremen, that the German authorities began to act on his behalf, finally paving the way for his return.

Murat Kuraz had been arrested in Pakistan in November 2001. Soon afterwards he was transferred to US custody in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His family learnt that he was held in Guantánamo in January 2002 and received the first letter from him in March that year. He has alleged that he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in US custody.

Like many others held at Guantánamo, Murat Kurnaz was held for years despite little evidence to link him to "terrorist" activities. Both US and German intelligence services had secretly acknowledged this, yet it took years to secure his release. In January 2005, a US federal judge cited his case as illustrative of the inherent unfairness and fundamental flaws of the administrative review process the military authorities conduct in Guantánamo.

Murat Kurnaz is finally reunited with his family, but the effects of his long-term detention in Guantánamo will remain. His release is a victory for human rights, but also serves as a reminder that more than 400 men remain detained. Under the administrative review procedure, about 300 of these detainees are currently neither slated for release nor transfer to the custody of another government.

AI members worldwide continue to call on US authorities to close Guantánamo and for the release or fair trial of all those held. AI also continues to lobby governments to act on behalf of people from their countries – residents or nationals – detained at Guantánamo.