Demonstration To Mark Eight Years Of Shaker Aamer’s Illegal Detention At Guantánamo

Saturday 6 February, 12-2pm, Downing Street

The Save Shaker Aamer Campaign (SSAC) will hold a demonstration opposite Downing Street on Saturday 6 February from 12 to 2pm. This date marks exactly eight years since Shaker Aamer, a British resident, arrived at Guantánamo Bay. Although the Americans cleared him for release in 2007, he remains at Guantánamo in solitary confinement.

The demonstration will call on the British government to be far more forceful in its demand for his release and return to the UK. Shaker has a British wife and four children. He has never met his youngest son who is aged seven. In spite of his innocence, the British government has been slow to take action to bring him home to his family.

Speakers at the demonstration include Jean Lambert MEP, Martin Linton MP, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Imam Suliman Ghani, John Clossick SSAC and David Harrold LGC.

Demands:

The SSAC calls for the immediate release and return of Shaker Aamer to his family in London to put an end to his shameful treatment. The SSAC demands that the British Government take a more forceful and robust approach with the US administration and set up proper negotiations to achieve a successful outcome. We request that everyone writes to the Foreign Secretary Rt. Hon David Miliband, Foreign Office, King Charles Street, SW1A 2AH and request Mr. Milband meets with a ‘Save Shaker Aamer Campaign’ deputation to discuss the way forward.

Background:

Shaker Aamer is a 42 year old Saudi national. He lived in the UK for many years in the 1990s, marrying a British woman. They have four children. As an aid worker in 2001, he was captured by the Americans in Pakistan, tortured there and in Afghanistan before being sent with the first group of prisoners to Guantánamo Bay in February 2002. He has been held there ever since.

His return to the United Kingdom was sought by the British government in August 2007, along with four other men, all of whom have since returned to the UK, the last being Binyam Mohamed in February 2009. The British government has stated that it does not believe him to pose a threat or have committed any crime; yet it appears half-hearted in its efforts to release him.

In January 2010, following a High Court battle, the Foreign Office released documents that proved that MI5 agents were present when Mr. Aamer was tortured in Pakistan in 2001. Also in January, a report in the American magazine Harpers alleged that the US is reluctant to release Mr. Aamer as he was a witness to and a victim of abuse that led to the deaths of three prisoners at Guantánamo Bay in 2006. He was at one point continually held in isolation for over three years and subjected to sensory deprivation, unaware of whether it was day or night.

Mr. Aamer is an eloquent champion for the human rights of his fellow prisoners and organised hunger strikes to win them ordinary decent treatment. He has been force-fed on many occasions and suffered other abusive treatment as punishment for being outspoken. In over eight years, Mr. Aamer has never been charged or tried or accused of any wrongdoing.

John Clossick, from the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign, says, “UK Resident Shaker Aamer has been held in the harshest of conditions in Guantánamo without charge or trial, for eight years - this is concentration camp justice. Our Government has recognised his legal right to return and has requested that the US release him. Shaker was cleared for release by the US in 2007. His only wish is to return to his home in the UK, he has a home and family in the UK. Shaker’s treatment is in breach of his human rights, he is the victim of gross injustice. His health has deteriorated and his life is at risk. His wife and four young children, who are British citizens, are being denied the right to a family life which should be guaranteed under international law”.

Aisha Maniar, from the London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC), says, “No British national or resident has returned from Guantánamo Bay without intervention at the highest levels by the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary. The government has been able to secure the release of all other British prisoners, so why not Mr. Aamer after eight years? The British government must show its commitment to human rights and the rule of law by ensuring that Mr. Aamer is released from Guantánamo Bay and returns to his family in the UK immediately. It must also demonstrate its verbal commitments to helping the US close Guantánamo Bay. It is the very least the government can do”.

The Save Shaker Aamer Campaign (SSAC) is an organisation dedicated to bringing about the release of Shaker Aamer from Guantánamo Bay and his safe return to his family in London. SSAC is supported by a broad range of participating organisations. Local organisations involved include Labour Party Branches (Wandsworth), Battersea Islamic Culture & Education Centre, Wandsworth Stop the War Coalition, Wandsworth Green Party, Battersea & Wandsworth TUC, South London Communist Party of Britain, Tooting Islamic Centre, Socialist Workers Party, Lambeth & Wandsworth Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The campaign is also supported by the London Guantánamo Campaign, Cageprisoners, Stop the War Coalition, Kingston Peace Council, Brighton Against Guantánamo, and Amnesty International.

Contact: Ray on 07756 493 877