Category: Activism

News of vigils, protests and what people can do to help us

Join us for our next vigil on 2nd Oct in front of Parliament at 1pm

Vigils against Guantanamo around the world on the first Wednesday of each month

Parliament is open again and the UK Guantanamo Network will greet parliamentarians, as we do on the first Wednesday of every month, with our call to close Guantanamo.

We are joined on that day by groups from around the world and if you have a couple of hours to give on this coming 2nd of October at 1pm, we would love to have your support as well.

These vigils have a slow, steady effect on our elected leaders. They have helped us open doors and establish official connections. Take a long lunch and come join us!

We marked 22 Years of Injustice

Thursday 11th January shamefully marked 22 years since the first detainees were transferred in sub-human conditions to Guantanamo. 30 men still remain in detention. Over half of these men have been cleared for release. Others have been subjected to unfair trials. That makes five presidential administrations, three of them promising to finally close Guantanamo, yet still it sits there making hypocrites of us all.

The UK Guantanamo Network marked the day with a demonstration, marching from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square and hearing speeches by Apsana Begum MP, journalist and campaigner Andy Worthington, Lise Rossi of Amnesty International and others.

11 Jan 2024: One vigil and Two Online Events

Worldwide Vigil Against Guantanamo

A vigil will take place on Thursday 11th January from 1pm – 3pm outside the US Embassy in London, organised by Andy Worthington.  Andy co-ordinates this event with groups in Brussels, Washington DC, Detroit, Mexico City and elsewhere around the world. You can read more about what is happening in other cities here. Please let Andy know if you can attend this vigil so he knows how many people to expect at: andy@andyworthington.co.uk

Online Events on the 11th

The first is from 1700-1800 GMT hosted by the American political think-tank New America, featuring Fionnuala Ni Aoliain, who wrote the recent UN report on Guantanamo, ex-detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi, and journalist Andy Worthington.

https://guantnamoattwentytwowhatisthef.splashthat.com/

The second is from 1830-2030 GMT hosted by CAGE, featuring Fionnuala Ni Aoliain, ex-detainees Mansoor Adayfi and Moazaam Begg, and the lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith who has represented a number of the men, plus two additional recently released detainees.

https://www.cage.ngo/events/guantanamo-at-22

Please also join us for these Guantanamo events in London and online.  The All Party Parliamentary Group for the Closure of Guantanamo, which our group has helped get started, will be meeting at Westminster this month.  Ex-detainees who spoke at the last meeting are now addressing politicians in the United States.

Your support is making a difference!

Vigil at UAE Embassy in London for Ravil Mingazov

Members of the UK Guantanamo Network joined with the family of Ravil Mingazov in front of the London Embassy of the United Arab Emirates on 16 September to call for his release.

Ravil Mingazov, who was held in Guantanamo for 15 years without charge, was released to the UAE in 2017 but was then immediately locked up in prison again, for no discernible reason.

Nick Beals of Reprive told the Guardian “Ravil has been on hunger strike, and we’re aware that he’s being tortured, whilst detained in the UAE as well. He’s been held in solitary confinement for extended periods, and he’s suffered physical abuse at the hands of the guards detaining him.”

The UK Guantanamo Network demands that the former Guantanamo detainee be released from detention in the UAE and reunited with his family in the UK as a matter of urgency.

Ravil Mingazov’s son Yusuf posted a letter into the embassy, signed by MPs and Peers in the All Party Parliamentary Group.

Journalist Andy Worthington, a member of UK Guantanamo Network, has written about Ravil’s case and the vigil at the embassy.

Mr. Worthington gave an eloquent address to the vigil, which you can see on YouTube here:

Other articles on Ravil Mingazov:

The Middle East Eye

The Guardian

The Nation

Guantanamo at 21 – Demonstration in London and petition to the British Prime Minister

On Saturday the 14th of January, 2023, campaigners of all ages and from various organisations marked the 21st anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo with a procession and vigil in London. 35 men remain in the lawless facility – either cleared for release or detained due to unfair trials/without charge. How can this gross travesty of basic justice under the rule of law be allowed to continue. Blair called it ‘an anomaly that at some point has to be closed’.

The current Foreign Secretary last week on 12th January, in response to a parliamentary written question confirmed that the UK’s position is that Guantánamo should be closed. After our the protest yesterday a delegation on Guantánamo Network members handed in a petition to the the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisting that as a member of the international community and a signatory of International Conventions upholding human rights the UK has a responsibility to take concrete steps to call for the closure of Guantánamo. Unlike other countries in Europe, the UK has never resettled former prisoners who cannot be safely repatriated.

The Guantánamo Network has also urged the UK government to enter into discussion with the U.S. State Department regarding the resettlement of one or more of the 20 men who have been cleared for release and yet continue to languish in Guantánamo. Please join the call for justice for those still detained and for those who have previously been detained for years on end without charge or trial. Visit: www.ukguantanamo.org

Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, was also able to add to his hundreds of photos of people marking the 7671 days the prison has been open. See some of them here:

https://www.closeguantanamo.org/Gitmo-Clock-2023-Photos

https://www.closeguantanamo.org/Gitmo-Clock-2023-Photos-2

We hold vigils in London every month and always need volunteers. Contact us at info@ukguantanamonetwork.org.