BIRMINGHAM GUANTANAMO CAMPAIGN



WAR ON TERROR - OR

WAR ON THE COMMUNITY?



PUBLIC MEETING

THURSDAY 14 APRIL 05

7.30 PM

CARRS LANE

CHURCH CENTRE

CARRS LANE

BIRMINGHAM B4 7SX





Speakers:

Moazzam Begg, recently released after being detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay without charge or trial.



Natalia Garcia, human Rights Lawyer acting for foreign “international terror suspects”.



Phil Shiner, Public Interest Lawyers, acting on behalf of Iraqi victims of abuse by the British military.



Saeed Siddiq, father-in-law of Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer, a British resident of Saudi origin, currently detained in Guantanamo Bay.

British Residents Ignored by the British Government

There are five British residents still held in Guantanamo Bay –

Bishar-al-Rawi, Jamil-al-Banna, Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer,

Jamal Abdullah and Omar Deghayes. All these men have close family members who are British citizens and have themselves lived in the UK for many years. Not only do they languish in the legal limbo of Guantanamo Bay, no government is acting on their behalf. We call on the British government to work for the release of these men.



Oppose Anti-Terror Law!

After one of the longest parliamentary sittings in history, the government managed to pass a version of its anti-terror bill. Whilst vigorous opposition meant that some measures were modified, it remains a great threat to all our civil liberties. However, Muslim communities will be at even greater risk as Home Office Minister Hazel Blears admitted that the bill would target them. It is important that we continue to voice our opposition to this law.



The recently released detainees from Guantanamo Bay, who were never charged or tried, may now find themselves threatened by the new anti-terror legislation. They have already been refused passports. As Moazzam Begg said in a recent statement “There is an ambience of fear and apprehension that will soon pervade great tracts of the population of this country, if these laws and proposals are not successfully challenged. I have already lived a nightmare once, I do not wish to live it again in my own home”.



War Crimes in Iraq

Instead of bringing freedom and democracy Iraqis continue to suffer as a result of war and occupation, and many have suffered directly at the hands of the British occupying forces. Phil Shiner is acting on behalf of the family of a man who died in British custody. He is also representing several Iraqis who were physically abused in British custody. These incidents raise serious questions about the conduct of the occupying forces, and whether they are abiding by international laws that are intended to guarantee the safety and security of those occupied.





Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign PO Box 12514, Birmingham B16 6AT

 BhamGuantanamoCampaign@yahoo.co.uk