On Monday and Tuesday thisweek, in New York and London, there will be two screenings of the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (co-directed by Polly Nash and Andy Worthington), which, in the last two years, has had hundreds of screenings during two UK tours, a US tour (plus screenings on two further US visits), and a Polish tour, as well as film festival screenings in the UK, the US and Norway, many of which have featured Andy Worthington answering post-screening questions about Guantánamo past, present and future.
The intention of the screenings, as with every showing, is to raise awareness of the truth about Guantánamo, extraordinary rendition, secret prisons and torture, explaining how the Bush administration turned its back on domestic and international laws, rounding up men and boys in Afghanistan and Pakistan without adequate screening (and often for bounty payments), and also explaining why some of these men may have been in Afghanistan or Pakistan for reasons unconnected with militancy or terrorism (as missionaries or humanitarian aid workers, for example).
With the 10th anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo looming (on January 11, 2012), and 171 men still held with, essentially, no prospect of release, because President Obama has failed to close the prison as promised, and supporters of arbitrary detention have taken the upper hand, it is of enormous importance that Guantánamo remains in people’s consciousness, and that those concerned with human rights and justice continue to take action to secure the prison’s closure.
For British audiences, the film has added significance, as those still held include Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in Guantánamo, whose story is featured in the film, along with those of released prisoners Omar Deghayes and Binyam Mohammed. And the timing is particularly appropriate, because, yesterday, I wrote about Shaker Aamer in an article entitled, After Ten Years in US Custody, British Resident Shaker Aamer “Is Gradually Dying in Guantánamo,” Says Clive Stafford Smith, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of his detention without charge or trial.
The details of the screenings, which are both free, and open to the public are below:
Monday November 28, 2011, 6 pm: Film screening – “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo.” Followed by Q&A with Leili Kashani from the Guantanamo Global Justice Initiative at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Jeremy Varon, Professor of History at the New School and organizer with Witness Against Torture.
The New School, 80 5th Ave., Room 529, New York.
Jeremy writes: “Please join us for a screening of ‘Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo.’ Made by one of the world’s leading Guantánamo researchers, the film tells the tragic, infuriating, and still-shocking tale of the United States’s torture of men at Guantánamo and Bagram prison. It traces the history of US detention policy and, through interviews with lawyers and former detainees, shows the human impact of the violation of basic rights and the rule of law. The film will be followed by a dialogue led by Leili Kashani and Jeremy Varon. The two will discuss the current status of Guantánamo and detention policies, as well as plans for a mass demonstration in Washington, D.C. on January 11, 2012 — the tenth anniversary of the detention facility at Guantánamo.
For further information, please contact Jeremy Varon.
Tuesday November 29, 2011, 5.30 pm: Film screening – “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo.” Followed by Q&A with Andy Worthington.
Middlesex University, Room G190c, The Grove Building, Hendon Campus, London, NW4 4BT.
This event is organised by Amnesty International Middlesex Society.
For further information, please contact Nadira Irdiana, President, Amnesty International Middlesex Society. Also see the Facebook page, and, for directions, see Map 1 here.
For further information about the film, for interviews, or to inquire about broadcasting, distributing or showing “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo,” please contact Polly Nash or Andy Worthington, and please see below for the first five minutes of the film:
Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison.