‘Outside the Law’ is a powerful film that has helped ensure that Guantánamo and the men unlawfully held there have not been forgotten.”
Kate Allen, Director, Amnesty International UK
“[T]his is a strong movie examining the imprisonment and subsequent torture of those falsely accused of anti-American conspiracy.”
Joe Burnham, Time Out
As featured on Democracy Now!, ABC News and Truthout.
Readers in the US who want to see the documentary fim, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo,” which I co-directed with my filmmaker friend Polly Nash, can now bypass the previous route to buying a DVD in the States — via the production company here in the UK — and buy it direct from The World Can’t Wait in New York, for just $10 post free.
With Guantánamo not closing anytime soon — if ever — through the cowardice of President Obama and the relentless negative campaigning of Republicans, it is more important than ever that US citizens who care about the crimes and injustices committed in their names have the opportunity to discover the truth, and “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” provides the perfect opportunity to discover the truth about Guantánamo, telling the story of the prison, and of the prisoners Shaker Aamer (still held), and Binyam Mohamed and Omar Deghayes (both released), through the testimony of former prisoners, lawyers Tom Wilner and Clive Stafford Smith, and Guantánamo expert Andy Worthington.
As the publicity for the film states:
“Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” tells the story of Guantánamo (and includes sections on extraordinary rendition and secret prisons) with a particular focus on how the Bush administration turned its back on domestic and international laws, how prisoners were rounded up in Afghanistan and Pakistan without adequate screening (and often for bounty payments), and 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).
The film provides a powerful rebuke to those who believe that Guantánamo holds “the worst of the worst” and that the Bush administration was justified in responding to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by holding men neither as prisoners of war, protected by the Geneva Conventions, nor as criminal suspects with habeas corpus rights, but as “illegal enemy combatants” with no rights whatsoever.
At the heart of the film are the prisoners themselves — Moazzam Begg and, in particular, Omar Deghayes, who brings a real vulnerability to his recollections of the torture he endured, emphasizing, as if any emphasis should be required, that in its desire to paint the prisoners as the “worst of the worst,” the Bush administration successfully dehumanized the men, making it easy to forget that, behind the rhetoric of the “War onTerror” were real human beings, with families, and with their own hopes and fears.
Often these men were innocent of any involvement in militancy, let alone terrorism, but whether “guilty” or not, none of them deserved to be subjected to torture, abuse and arbitrary and indefinite detention by a US administration that forgot the difference between right and wrong, and left a legacy of indefinite detention without charge or trial at Guantánamo that ought to shame America to this day.
The continued existence of Guantánamo suggests, incorrectly, that, beyond holding prisoners as criminal suspects to be put forward for trials, or as prisoners of war protected by the Geneva Conventions, there remains a third category of prisoner — what Bush called “enemy combatants” — who have no rights whatsoever, whereas this is not a position that can or should be tolerated in any society that regards itself as civilized.
By showing the human face of Guantánamo, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” provides a powerful explanation of why pressure must be maintained to secure the closure of Guantanamo, now in its tenth year of operations, and the filmmakers are delighted to be working with The World Can’t Wait to make DVDs of “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” available to US audiences.
Andy has been a guest of The World Can’t Wait in the US on three occasions — in November 2009, October 2010 and January this year — and thoroughtly supports the organization’s campaigning work to bring to an end “the murderous, unjust and illegitimate occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan; the global ‘war of terror’ of torture, rendition and spying; and the culture of bigotry, intolerance and greed” in the US, which were initiated by the Bush administration, but have largely continued under President Obama.
For further information, 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:
Feedback
““Outside the Law” is essential viewing for anyone interested in Guantánamo and other prisons. The film explores what happens when a nation with a reputation for morality and justice acts out of impulse and fear. To my mind, Andy Worthington is a quintessential force for all things related to the journalism of GTMO and its inhabitants. As a military lawyer for Fayiz al-Kandari, I am constantly reminded that GTMO is ongoing and that people still have an opportunity to make history today by becoming involved. “Outside the Law” is a fantastic entry point into the arena that is GTMO.”
Lt. Col. Barry Wingard, military defense attorney for Guantánamo prisoner Fayiz al-Kandari
“I thought the film was absolutely brilliant and the most powerful, moving and hard-hitting piece I have seen at the cinema. I admire and congratulate you for your vital work, pioneering the truth and demanding that people sit up and take notice of the outrageous human rights injustices perpetrated against detainees at Guantánamo and other prisons.”
Harriet Wong, Medical Foundation for Care of Victims of Torture
“[T]hought-provoking, harrowing, emotional to watch, touching and politically powerful.”
Harpymarx, UK blogger
“Last Saturday I went to see Polly Nash and Andy Worthington’s harrowing documentary, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” at London’s BFI. The film knits together narratives so heart-wrenching I half wish I had not heard them. Yet the camaraderie between the detainees and occasional humorous anecdotes … provide a glimpse into the wit, courage and normalcy of the men we are encouraged to perceive as monsters.”
Sarah Gillespie, singer/songwriter
“The film was great — not because I was in it, but because it told the legal and human story of Guantánamo more clearly than anything I have seen.”
Tom Wilner, US attorney who represented the Guantánamo prisoners before the US Supreme Court
“The film was fantastic! It has the unique ability of humanizing those who were detained at Guantánamo like no other I have seen.”
Sari Gelzer, Truthout
“Engaging and moving, and personal. The first [film] to really take you through the lives of the men from their own eyes.”
Debra Sweet, The World Can’t Wait
“I am part of a community of folks from the US who attempted to visit the Guantánamo prison in December 2005, and ended up fasting for a number of days outside the gates. We went then, and we continue our work now, because we heard the cries for justice from within the prison walls. As we gathered tonight as a community, we watched “Outside the Law,” and by the end, we all sat silent, many with tears in our eyes and on our faces. I have so much I’d like to say, but for now I wanted to write a quick note to say how grateful we are that you are out, and that you are speaking out with such profound humanity. I am only sorry what we can do is so little, and that so many remain in the prison.”
Matt Daloisio, Witness Against Torture
A very good film. I can’t say I loved it, but only because of the subject matter. Having widely read your site, there wasn’t much new information to me, so I’m definitely not a typical viewer. I can only imagine how a neophyte would react to all this info for the first time presented this way. I can say that this film had to be made. Visuals and people are vital storytelling tools. In an interview I read with Clive, the true fact was highlighted that the story needs a face, a person, to reach more people. Omar, Moazzam, Binyam and Shaker’s stories make this film powerful. In particular, Omar’s last scene struck me. I don’t know about in Britain, but my experience previous to lots of reading was that I’d heard of Binyam because of the specific torture he received and heard of Moazzam because of the Amnesty International dust-up. That’s tragic. Keep showing this film!
Norwegian Shooter, US blogger
Comments after the UK launch
“The film was brilliantly powerful — both understated and shocking. All night I have had the images in my head and thoughts of these men who, even when released, can’t contact their families. I hate to admit I had no idea about extraordinary rendition — you have lifted the lid on a world that far too many people, like myself, find too easy to avoid.”
A viewer
“I have just returned from a rather extraordinary evening. I attended the film premiere of Andy Worthington and Polly Nash’s film “Outside the Law” — a feature length documentary about Guantánamo. I urge you all to see it. Please do and then when you have seen it pass it on to your friends and family. I have not seen anything at all that compares to understanding the magnitude of what has been happening in Guantánamo and Bagram. After seeing this film and then staying for the Q&A, which featured the film makers, as well as former detainees Omar Deghayes and Moazzam Begg, I was moved, inspired and angered beyond any other event I have been to. People left the venue with changed opinions, far better informed and shocked. Once again please do try and get to a screening.”
Saleyah Ahsan, journalist and filmmaker
“The film was intense and powerful, mostly because it did not attempt in any way to emotionalise the story it was laying out before us. [Andy] Worthington, Clive Stafford Smith and others simply told the story of how the US abandoned habeas corpus and found itself in a kind of war with its own legal system, whilst [Moazzam] Begg and [Omar] Deghayes told the tale of what it was like to be on the receiving end of this historic aberration of justice.”
The Osterley Times
Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison.