Overview
In 2006, four years after the illegal prison in Guantanamo Bay opened, the Pentagon finally released the names of the 773 men held there, as well as 7,000 pages of transcripts from tribunals assessing their status as 'enemy combatants'. Andy Worthington is the only person to have analysed every page of these transcripts and this book reveals the stories of all those imprisoned in Guantanamo. Deprived of the safeguards of the Geneva Conventions, and, for the most part, sold to the Americans by their allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the detainees have struggled for five years to have their stories heard. Looking in detail at the circumstances of their capture, and at the coercive interrogations and unsubstantiated allegations that have been used to justify their detention. Stories of torture in Afghanistan and Guantanamo are uncovered, as well as new information about the process of 'extraordinary rendition' that underpins the US administration's 'war on terror'. Who will speak for the 773 men who have been held in Guantanamo? This passionate and brilliantly detailed book brings their stories to the world for the first time.
Full Product Details
Author: Andy Worthington
Publisher: Pluto Press
Imprint: Pluto Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.00cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 23.00cm
Weight: 0.479kg
ISBN: 9780745326641
ISBN 10: 0745326641
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 20 October 2007
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
'An important book. If you care about our Government's complicity in these illegal and horrific acts then this book provides the evidence.' Ken Loach Extraordinary rendition, false imprisonment, inhumane treatment - including torture and death in secretive detention sites - has forever destroyed the lives of hundreds of men, of whom I was one. This book is the first of its kind to collate accounts from the prisoners themselves. Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo detainee and spokesman for CagePrisoners Guantanamo Bay is a legal black hole. ... This book is the closest many of the prisoners will come to a fair trial. Andy Worthington [uses] the US government's own documents to prove that innocent people were swept up in the post-9/11 panic. This is important work, impressively written. Clive Stafford Smith, Legal Director of Reprieve, and author of Bad Men: Guantanamo Bay and the Secret Prisons Stunning. ... [Worthington] undermines claims that the prison camp is filled with vicious killers and terrorists. Marc Falkoff, lawyer for 17 Yemeni prisoners and editor of Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak A meticulous [book] about torture at the beginning of the twenty-first century. [Written with] poignancy, compassion and outrage. Marty Fisher, Co-Producer of the film, 'Taxi to the Dark Side' [This book is] an important tool for coming to grips with how we as a nation allowed indefinite detention without charge, extraordinary rendition and torture to become national policies. Candace Gorman, lawyer for two Guantanamo prisoners
This is an important book. If you care about our Government's complicity in these illegal and horrific acts then this book provides the evidence. Carefully researched and documented, it reveals a story of appalling brutality. The people are not mere ciphers but, as their stories unfold, their pain becomes our concern. -- Ken Loach Extraordinary rendition, false imprisonment, inhumane treatment ... has forever destroyed and reshaped the lives of hundreds of men, of whom I was one. The subject matter of this book is imperative, being the first of its kind to collate and describe accounts from the prisoners themselves and pitting them against the purported reasons for their incarceration - without charge or trial -- Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo detainee and spokesman for CagePrisoners The [book] is a meticulous piece of documentation about torture. ... It recalls the age old story of the willingness of both governments and ordinary people to inflict pain upon each other for financial and political gain while exercising a misguided sense of power over those peoples perceived as inferior to themselves. This is an extremely vital and important piece of work. -- Marty Fisher, Co-Producer of Alex Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side , a film about the U.S. torture activities in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and Iraq
Author Information
Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist. He has been researching and writing about Guantanamo since 2006, and has worked with the United Nations, WikiLeaks, Reprieve and Cageprisoners. He is the author of The Guantanamo Files (Pluto, 2007).
