Feesabilillah

Monday, October 13, 2008

Guantanamo: Demand Justice For The Uighurs Now!

With the stock market drop and new slander tactics in the election crowding the news, you might have missed a key moment in our struggle to close Guantanamo Bay. It was a court decision to free 17 men from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

On October 7, Judge Ricardo Urbina of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (DC) ruled that 17 Uighurs be released into Washington, DC to begin the process of adjusting to their lives outside of Guantánamo.

The ordered release of the detainees is a landmark victory for justice, but efforts to block the decision on the part of the administration leave their futures in limbo. Despite the fact that the government has conceded that the Uighurs are not "enemy combatants," the administration appealed the decision and said that it will go to the U.S. Supreme Court, "if necessary."

On October 8, the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia stayed Judge Urbina's order until it had a chance to review the government's appeal. No decisions will be made until October 16 at the earliest.

The Uighurs cannot return to their native China, where they would face a serious risk of torture or execution, but the U.S. government has failed to find another country willing to accept them. This means that the Uighurs are effectively being detained indefinitely, in violation of the U.S. Constitution and international law.

The Uighurs have been held without charge or trial for almost seven years.

Ensure that justice, and a safe release for the Uighurs, is not delayed any longer: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/c.jhKPIXPCIoE/b.2590179/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&aid=11366

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* Plea From The Brothers: "We all seek your help after Allah (subhaana wa ta'ala). We are going through a very difficult time. It is a responsibility on your shoulders. You must all write to the Home Secretary John Reid and ask him 'why did you put these people behind doors?' Tell Tony Blair, 'why don't you put these people before an ordinary court?' And also try to arrange a big demonstration for our immediate release. We all are innocent and we need to be around our families as everybody lives around his family....we're asking them just to support us, just to go at least for demonstration, just to write, just to do something". Detainee 'AS', Long Lartin

"At 80, Haji Nusrat -- detainee No. 1009 -- is Guantanamo Bay's oldest prisoner. A stroke 15 years ago left him partly paralyzed. He cannot stand up without assistance and hobbles to the bathroom behind a walker. Despite his paralysis, his swollen legs and feet are tightly cuffed and shackled to the floor. He says that his shoes are too tight and that he needs new ones. He has asked for medical attention for the inflammation in his legs, but has not been taken to a hospital" Interpreter to Guantanamo lawyers. (Source: Washington Post)

Write to: (Enter Prisoner name), Camp Delta, P.O. Box 160, Washington DC, 20053, USA. NOTE: Individuals should note that while we have had it confirmed from one of the US lawyers who has visited Guantanamo, that the US government do allow mail from non-family members, all mail is subject to extreme delays as well as censors. Only a few released detainees we spoke to had received mail from non-relatives, in spite of many having been sent. However, letter-writing can be considered a protest action, as it sends a strong message to the US administration that the world has not forgotten the prisoners in Guantanamo, but rather is immensely concerned about what is occuring in Cuba. (Cageprisoners)

** Ways In Which You Can Help ** Write to the detainees to remind them that the ummah have not forgotten them. * Donate or volunteer with Cageprsioners in order to enable them to carry out further research in order to locate the 1000's missing. * Donate or volunteer with Hhugs to aid the brother's families (who have lost their breadwinner in most cases) with their day to day lives. * Generally raise awareness about the effect the war on terror has on the innocent brothers and their families.

“As for the one who can do nothing, then the very least he can do is to raise his arms in the last third of the night praying against the oppressor and the despondent one, asking Allah to relieve us of our woes and to remove the burden from . The Prophet said, “Whoever forsakes a Muslim in a situation while he has the ability to help him, Allah will forsake him at a time when he would want the help of Allah.” (Sheikh Muhammad al-Habdan, sermon: Who Will Stand Up for the Muslim Prisoners?)