July 10 in Chicago: Shut Down GUANTANAMO!

From the July 10, 2015 Al Quds rally in Chicago:

Coalition members Bob Palmer, Eldon Grossman, Buddy Bell,
unidentified, and Jerry Parker.

June 25: Discussion of "Guantanamo Diary" at 8th Day

Guantanamo Diary
by Mohamedou Ould Slahi

Join us for a discussion of

Guantanamo Diary

Thursday, June 25, Noon to 1:30 PM

8th Day Center for Justice

205 W. Monroe, Suite 500, Chicago

With the publication of this book, we are able to read for the first time a diary written by a man who is still held in Guantanamo. It has been called an “unprecedented international publishing event,” only possible after years of legal battles to gain its release from U.S. government censors. Beyond the record of unspeakable abuse and torment, it is also a very personal story of the author’s humanity, grace and even humor.

H. Candace Gorman will bring her experiences fighting for Guantanamo detainees into our discussion. She is the principal in the law office of H. Candace Gorman. The firm concentrates in civil rights and human rights. Since 2005, Candace has represented three Guantanamo detainees, one still remains at the Guantanamo prison. She also maintains a blog about Guantanamo litigation at http://gtmoblog.blogspot.com/

H. Candace Gorman

This event is part of the Lunch & Learn monthly series hosted by 8th Day Center for Justice and it is being held as part of honoring survivors of torture. June 26 is the International Day in Support of Survivors of Torture, established by the United Nations in 1998. June 26 is the date the U.N. Charter was signed in 1945. We will let you know of other events planned in conjunction with this day.

Join us, whether you’ve had a chance to read the book in its entirety or not. If you have read the book, please consider sharing a passage with us that is particularly meaningful to you. We will also have a few copies available for purchase.


“Anyone who reads Guantanamo Diary - and every American with a shred of conscience should do so, now - will be ashamed and appalled. Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s demand for simple justice should be our call to action.” Glenn Greenwald, Author of No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, The NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State

“A vision of hell, beyond Orwell, beyond Kafka: perpetual torture prescribed by the mad doctors of Washington.” John Le Carré , Author of A Delicate Truth


Related posts


Members of the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo members share excerpts from Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi during the Justice Walk on Good Friday 2015 in Chicago.

(See Good Friday 2015: How can we help to shine the light? )

People around the country are reading Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a book that shines a light on the U.S. conspiracy to detain and torture Muslim men, and the triumph of the human spirit over those acts. The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo and others are joining the effort to study this book and share its contents widely.

(See Chicago Digs Into ‘Guantánamo Diary’ by Mohamedou Ould Slahi )











Members of the Northwestern University community participated in May 2 in a marathon reading of Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s Guantánamo Diary.

(See At Northwestern on May 2, 2015: Public Reading of "Guantánamo Diary" )

At Northwestern on May 2, 2015: Public Reading of "Guantánamo Diary"

Sponsored by these Northwestern University organizations: Religious Studies, International Studies, Legal Studies, Middle East and North African Studies (MENA), Political Science, the Buffett Institute, and American Studies:

"You are invited to join us in an unprecedented event: on Saturday, May 2nd there will be a public reading at Northwestern University of Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s Guantánamo Diary.

"Although never charged with a crime, Slahi has been imprisoned for more than thirteen years in the American facility in Cuba and frequently subjected to “special interrogation techniques” that have included the full repertoire of tortures.

"Slahi’s Guantánamo Diary has been called a “vision of hell beyond Orwell, beyond Kafka” and at the same time, a powerful expression of—and summons to—“enduring faith in our common humanity.”

"We strongly believe all of us at Northwestern must attend to this book carefully in order to better understand what has happened in and to United States and the world over the past several decades, and what continues to happen. The future of our democracy depends on it.

"The reading will take place in The Graduate School Commons at Seabury, on Sheridan, beginning at 8:00 in the morning. We invite you to take one of the 15-minute time slots and read from the text. Please use this sign-up link to let us know as soon as possible whether you will be able to join us."


Related posts

Members of the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo members share excerpts from uantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi during the Justice Walk on Good Friday 2015 in Chicago.

(See Good Friday 2015: How can we help to shine the light? )

People around the country are reading Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a book that shines a light on the U.S. conspiracy to detain and torture Muslim men, and the triumph of the human spirit over those acts. The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo and others are joining the effort to study this book and share its contents widely.

(See Chicago Digs Into ‘Guantánamo Diary’ by Mohamedou Ould Slahi )

Good Friday 2015: How can we help to shine the light?

The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo participated in the April 3, 2015, Good Friday Justice Walk sponsored every year by the 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago:

Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo members
reading on Good Friday 2015. (Photo courtesy FJJ.)

Today we remember the prisoners at Guantanamo, most of them never charged with any crime. They have been stripped of their clothes, their ties to their families, their rights, and their identities. They have been humiliated and tortured.

With the courage of their hunger strikes, their legal battles, and their words they shine a light on Guantanamo, and they call on us to work for justice.

Today we share words from the Guantanamo Diary of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, stripped, tortured, and still imprisoned at Guantanamo since 2002, though never charged, and though a federal judge ordered his release in 2010.

Reader 1: “I was deprived of my comfort items, except for a thin iso-mat and a very thin, small, worn-out blanket. I was deprived of my books, which I owned, I was deprived of my Koran, I was deprived of my soap. I was deprived of my toothpaste and the roll of toilet paper I had. The cell – better, the box – was cooled down to the point where I was shaking most of the time. I was forbidden from seeing the light of the day…” (218)

Reader 2: [The interrogator tells him] “We’re gonna put you in a hole for the rest of your life. You’re already convicted. You will never see your family.” (238)

Guantánamo Diary
by Mohamedou Ould Slahi

Reader 3: “…in the secret camps [section of GITMO] the war against the Islamic religion was more than obvious. Not only was there no sign to Mecca, but the ritual prayers were also forbidden. Reciting the Koran was forbidden. Possessing the Koran was forbidden. Fasting was forbidden. Practically any Islamic-related ritual was forbidden.” (265)

Reader 4: [The interrogator tells him] "In the eyes of the Americans, you're doomed. Just looking at you in an orange suit, chains, and being Muslim and Arabic is enough to convict you."(220)

Reader 5: “I have only written what I experienced, what I saw, and what I learned first-hand.” (all from 369-70)

All: Mohamedou Ould Slahi - Thank you for shining the light

Reader: “I have tried not to exaggerate nor to understate. I have tried to be as fair as possible, to the U.S. government, to my brothers, and to myself.”

All: Mohamedou Ould Slahi - How can we help to shine the light?

Reader: “I don’t expect people who don’t know me to believe me, but I expect them, at least, to give me the benefit of the doubt.”

All: Mohamedou Ould Slahi - How can we help to shine the light?

“…if Americans are willing to stand for what they believe in, I also expect public opinion to compel the U.S. government to open a torture and war crimes investigation. I am more than confident that I can prove every single thing I have written in this book if I am ever given the opportunity…”

All: Guantanamo prisoners and hunger strikers, we thank you for shining the light.

Reader: Just as the prisoners at Guantanamo shed light through their courage, we thank the families of people who are tortured in U.S. jails and prisons and even murdered by the police. These families have been stripped of their loved ones but refuse to accept this injustice. Their courage shines a light for all of us to stand for justice.

All: Guantanamo prisoners and families of those whose lives are stolen by police in the US, we thank you for shining the light.

 

Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo members participating
 in the Good Friday 2015 Justice Walk. (Photo courtesy FJJ.)

Chicago Digs Into ‘Guantánamo Diary’ by Mohamedou Ould Slahi

Mohamedou Ould Slahi

People around the country are reading Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a book that shines a light on the U.S. conspiracy to detain and torture Muslim men, and the triumph of the human spirit over those acts.

The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo and others are joining the effort to study this book and share its contents widely.

Slahi is a Mauritanian man detained at Guantánamo Bay Detention Center who managed to write a diary in English and go through the necessary procedures to enable the (highly redacted) manuscript to reach the outside world. Larry Siems, an editor who has never been able to meet Slahi, prepared the book for publication.

We'll be adding information here about upcoming events in Chicago related to Guantánamo Diary, as well as commentary from CCSDG participants.

In the meantime, please check out some of the many reviews and commentaries emerging in the mainstream press about Guantánamo Diary.

Guantánamo Diary
by Mohamedou Ould Slahi

Democracy Now, "Inside the U.S. Torture Chambers: Prisoner’s Guantánamo Diary Details 12 Years of Abuse, Terror" (January 22, 2015)

C-SPAN, "Book Discussion on Guantánamo Diary: Nancy Hollander and Hina Shamsi talked about Mohamedou Slahi and his book, Guantánamo Diary." (January 23, 2015)

The New York Times, "From Inside Prison, a Terrorism Suspect Shares His Diary (‘Guantánamo Diary’ by Mohamedou Ould Slahi)" by Scott Shane (January 25, 2015)

CNN Money, "Guantanamo detainee's diary is a New York Times best seller" (January 29, 2015)

January 2015 Activities and Updates: In Chicago, Protest Unending Guantanamo Detention and Torture

Chicago Coalition member Jill McLaughlin leading the
speak-out during the January 15, 2015, protest in Chicago.
(See the full photo album on Facebook - photos courtesy FJJ.)

Many members of the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo participated in the national mobilization in Washington, D.C. - an annual event focusing on the January 11 anniversary date of the establishment of Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.

In Chicago, there were three events:

Andy Worthington on Worldview
Thursday, January 15, 2014 12:00 noon

"Andy Worthington will be interviewed on Jerome McDonnell’s Worldview program at noon on Thursday, January 15, about the current situation of detainees still held at Guantanamo and protests around the world this past weekend on the 13th anniversary of the opening of that torture camp. Listen in, then join us at 4:30 for a creative outdoor protest and at 7:00 at Grace Place." [details below].

"Please respect the rights of ALL God's children."
January 15, 2015, demonstration in front of the Art
Institute of Chicago. (Photo courtesy FJJ.)

Guantanamo 13 Yrs Later: Not One More Year of Torture and Indefinite Detention
Thursday, January 15, 2014 4:30 p.m.
Art Institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Avenue

"We will begin the day's events with a powerful and creative action in front of the Art Institute at 4:30pm (look for the orange jumpsuits) which will be followed by a spirited march, with some in orange jumpsuits and black hoods, to the Federal Courthouse (Dearborn and Jackson). We will then march to Grace Place for the evening event with Andy Worthington, Candace Gorman, and Debra Sweet . . ." (see event below)

Panelists at the Thursday night event Andy Worthington, Candace Gorman,
and Debra Sweet (first, second, and fifth from left). The group also includes
(l-r) CCSDG regulars Barbara Lyons, Jerry Parker, Mario Vanegas, Jay Becker,
Marie Shebeck, Joe Scarry, and Eldon Grossman. Barbara holds a poster from
the "We Stand with Shaker Aamer" campaign. (Photo courtesy Lina Thorne.)

How To Shut Down Guantanamo : Andy Worthington, Candace Gorman, Debra Sweet
Thursday, January 15, 2014 7:00 p.m.
Grace Place
637 S. Dearborn

"Come hear Andy Worthington, author of "The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison;" Debra Sweet, National Director of World Can't Wait; and Candace Gorman, an civil rights attorney who represents a man detained at Guantanamo. They will speak about the current situation at Guantanamo Bay Prison and what it will take to finally win freedom for the men still held captive there."



Related developments

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department's just-retired special envoy for closing Guantanamo said in The New York Times in his outgoing statement, "As a high-ranking security official from one of our staunchest allies on counterterrorism (not from Europe) once told me, 'The greatest single action the United States can take to fight terrorism is to close Guantánamo.' (emphasis added) ("The Path to Closing Guantanamo," by Cliff Sloan, January 5, 2015.)


Recent releases:

January 15, 2015 - Guantánamo sends 5 Yemeni detainees to Oman, Estonia

to Oman:
Khadr al Yafi (of Yemen)
Abd al Rahman Abdullah Abu Shabati (of Yemen)
Fadil Husayn Salih Hintif (of Yemen)
Mohammed al Khatib (of Yemen)

to Estonia:
Ahmed Abdul Qader (of Yemen)

December 30, 2014 - US releases 5 Guantanamo prisoners, sends them to Kazakhstan:

Adel Al-Hakeemy (of Tunisia)
Abdallah Bin Ali al Lufti (of Tunisia)
Asim Thabit Abdullah Al-Khalaqi (of Yemen)
Muhammad Ali Husayn Khanayna (of Yemen)
Sabri Mohammad al Qurashiv (of Yemen)

December 20, 2014 - U.S. sends four Guantanamo prisoners home to Afghanistan:

Shawali Khan (of Afghanistan)
Khi Ali Gul (of Afghanistan)
Abdul Ghani (of Afghanistan)
Mohammed Zahir (of Afghanistan)

December 7, 2014 - Six Guantanamo prisoners fly to Uruguay for resettlement:

Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa Diyab (of Syria)
Ahmed Adnan Ahjam (of Syria)
Ali Hussain Shaabaan (of Syria)
Omar Mahmoud Faraj (of Syria)
Abdul Bin Mohammed Abis Ourgy (of Tunisia)
Mohammed Tahanmatan (of Palestine)

November 22, 2014 - U.S. releases Guantanamo prisoner to Saudi Arabia:

Muhammad Murdi Issa al-Zahrani (of Saudi Arabia)

November 20, 2014 - 5 Guantánamo Inmates Are Sent to Eastern Europe:

to Slovakia:
Hisham Bin Ali Bin Amor Sliti (of Tunisia)
and Hussein Salem Mohammed, (of Yemen)
to Georgia:
Slah Muhamed Salih al-Zabe (of Yemen)
Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh al-Bedani (of Yemen)
Abdel Ghalib Ahmad Hakim (of Yemen)

November 5, 2014 - Kuwaiti Released From Guantánamo Under New Review System:

Fawzi al Odah (of Kuwait)

Related posts

Chicago was the site of major protests against U.S. detention practices in Guantanamo, as well as in Bagram, other prisons throughout Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the world, on and around January 11, 2012. We called for an end to indefinite detention, unfair trials, and torture.

(See Chicago Protests Guantanamo Detention)

Watch, Discuss, Spread the Word: "Camp X-Ray"

Members of the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo attended a screening of the new film Camp X-Ray yesterday at the Siskel Film Center.

Peyman Moaadi and Kirsten Stewart in Camp X-Ray

The Siskel website describes Camp X-Ray as follows:

2014, Peter Sattler, USA, 117 min.
With Kristen Stewart, Peyman Moaadi

“Riveting…there’s not a moment Stewart’s onscreen here where she isn’t completely transfixing.” –David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Two mesmerizing performances anchor this story of a psychological cat-and-mouse game set in the unlikely confines of Gitmo, the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay. Amy (Stewart), a recent Army recruit uneasily finding her footing among male fellow soldiers, is on suicide watch guarding Middle Eastern detainees in solitary confinement. Among them is English-speaking Ali (Moaadi of A SEPARATION), an immigrant picked up in New York in the wake of 9/11. Although they are technically enemies, both their lives are shaped by loneliness and fear, factors that create a climate in which respect and an odd sort of friendship take root. DCP digital.

Members of CCSDG felt the film is important for as many people as possible to view, and talk about. They felt that it is particularly valuable to see the film together with other people, and discuss the film afterward.

We felt it would be valuable to contribute individual reflections on the film in the comment section here. Please join us in sharing your thoughts, and please encourage people to see this film and learn more about the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.