A variety of events coming up in London over the next week calling for the closure of Guantánamo Bay and for Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes not to be extradited to Spain following years of torture and abuse in GTMO and Bagram. Organised by the London Guantánamo Campaign
Friday 8 February 2008: 6-8pm: Anniversary Vigil: A Year of Witness to the Horrors of Guantánamo : US Embassy
On 8 February, the LGC will have held a weekly vigil outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, every week for a year (except 11 January).
Join the LGC for a special 2-hour vigil, from 6-8pm to call on the American and British governments to respect human rights, shut down Guantánamo and repatriate the “Guantánamo refugees” to safe third countries where they will not face further abuse and torture, or even death. Including: guest speakers, open mic for the public, reading of poems by Guantánamo detainees, performance of "Air Guantanamo" street theatre piece by the Save Omar Campaign.
Tuesday 12 February 2008: 12-2pm: No Extradition to Spain! Demonstration outside the Spanish Embassy, Knightsbridge
In protest at the Spanish government's extradition request for Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes under a European extradition warrant. After five years of torture, abuse and interrogation in Guantánamo Bay and Bagram, neither man should stand trial for terrorism charges against them in Spain.
The London Guantánamo Campaign and the National Guantánamo Coalition are calling on the Spanish government to drop the extradition request which is based on inadequate evidence and comes far too late in the day. These men have suffered over five years of detention without charge or trial. They have suffered enough.
The London Guantánamo Campaign will protest outside the Spanish Embassy, 39 Chesham Place, SW1 at noon on Tuesday, 12 February 2008.
Organised by the London Guantánamo Campaign, the Save Omar Campaign and the Muslim Prisoner Support Group
Thursday 14 February: 9.30am: Horseferry Road Magistrates Court: Protest against extradition to Spain:
The London Guantánamo Campaign and the Save Omar Campaign will be holding a demonstration outside Horseferry Road Magistrates Court, 70 Horseferry Rd, London, SW1P 2AX on the morning of Omar Deghayes and Jamil El-Banna's extradition to Spain hearing. Please come and show your support for these ex-Guantánamo detainees and their families (police have been notified, in line with SOCPA s133).
For more details of these events, please contact the London Guantánamo Campaign:
london_gitmo@yahoo.co.uk
Who are Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes?
Jamil El-Banna is a 45 year Jordanian who has lived in the UK with his wife since 1994. He has refugee status. He travelled to Gambia in November 2002 with his business partner Bisher El-Rawi where they were both kidnapped at Banjul airport. They were held and interrogated for one month without their families knowing their whereabouts. They were then taken to Kabul, Afghanistan, where they were held in the notorious “Dark Prison” for three months and then transferred to Guantánamo Bay in the spring of 2003. Bisher El-Rawi was released in March 2007.
Omar Deghayes is a 38 Libyan who has lived in the UK since the 1980s after his family fled Libya after the regime there tortured and killed his father. Having completed a law degree, Omar decided to travel after graduating, and while travelling through Afghanistan met his wife. After the Americans started bombing the country, he and his family fled to safety in Pakistan where they were captured. His wife and child managed to escape but Omar was taken to Bagram and then on to Guantánamo Bay. Both men have faced torture and abuse in Afghanistan and Guantánamo.
On 8 February, the LGC will have held a weekly vigil outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, every week for a year (except 11 January).
Join the LGC for a special 2-hour vigil, from 6-8pm to call on the American and British governments to respect human rights, shut down Guantánamo and repatriate the “Guantánamo refugees” to safe third countries where they will not face further abuse and torture, or even death. Including: guest speakers, open mic for the public, reading of poems by Guantánamo detainees, performance of "Air Guantanamo" street theatre piece by the Save Omar Campaign.
Tuesday 12 February 2008: 12-2pm: No Extradition to Spain! Demonstration outside the Spanish Embassy, Knightsbridge
In protest at the Spanish government's extradition request for Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes under a European extradition warrant. After five years of torture, abuse and interrogation in Guantánamo Bay and Bagram, neither man should stand trial for terrorism charges against them in Spain.
The London Guantánamo Campaign and the National Guantánamo Coalition are calling on the Spanish government to drop the extradition request which is based on inadequate evidence and comes far too late in the day. These men have suffered over five years of detention without charge or trial. They have suffered enough.
The London Guantánamo Campaign will protest outside the Spanish Embassy, 39 Chesham Place, SW1 at noon on Tuesday, 12 February 2008.
Organised by the London Guantánamo Campaign, the Save Omar Campaign and the Muslim Prisoner Support Group
Thursday 14 February: 9.30am: Horseferry Road Magistrates Court: Protest against extradition to Spain:
The London Guantánamo Campaign and the Save Omar Campaign will be holding a demonstration outside Horseferry Road Magistrates Court, 70 Horseferry Rd, London, SW1P 2AX on the morning of Omar Deghayes and Jamil El-Banna's extradition to Spain hearing. Please come and show your support for these ex-Guantánamo detainees and their families (police have been notified, in line with SOCPA s133).
For more details of these events, please contact the London Guantánamo Campaign:
london_gitmo@yahoo.co.uk Who are Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes?
Jamil El-Banna is a 45 year Jordanian who has lived in the UK with his wife since 1994. He has refugee status. He travelled to Gambia in November 2002 with his business partner Bisher El-Rawi where they were both kidnapped at Banjul airport. They were held and interrogated for one month without their families knowing their whereabouts. They were then taken to Kabul, Afghanistan, where they were held in the notorious “Dark Prison” for three months and then transferred to Guantánamo Bay in the spring of 2003. Bisher El-Rawi was released in March 2007.
Omar Deghayes is a 38 Libyan who has lived in the UK since the 1980s after his family fled Libya after the regime there tortured and killed his father. Having completed a law degree, Omar decided to travel after graduating, and while travelling through Afghanistan met his wife. After the Americans started bombing the country, he and his family fled to safety in Pakistan where they were captured. His wife and child managed to escape but Omar was taken to Bagram and then on to Guantánamo Bay. Both men have faced torture and abuse in Afghanistan and Guantánamo.
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