October 2007
A Two Year Anniversary Approaches
Project Hamad members,
We are writing today because there is a simple act you can do that can
make a world of difference.
We recently sat down with the lawyers of Adel Hamad to get an update
on his situation. We learned that the newest head of Guantanamo has
moved the vast majority of the detainees into 22 hour total lock down.
This is complete isolation from human contact with a mere 2 hours of
“recreation time” occurring in a small concrete room, not outdoors,
and often in the middle of the night. Needless to say, more and more
cases of psychosis and other significant psychiatric conditions are
arising from indefinite detention under these conditions.
Fortunately Adel Hamad is one of about 50 detainees not in lockdown
but morale is still at an all-time low. He has watched many
detainees, some of whom have actual evidence against them, get
released simply because the United States has good relations with
their home countries (Britain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc.). Others
like him—where the government has produced no evidence– hospital
administrators, fruit vendors, people turned in because of bounties
offered by the U.S. or Pakistanis simply for being foreigners or
looking different– remain at Guantanamo for no other reason than the
U.S. is not friendly with their country of origin.
Hamad’s lawyers have just now learned, from their recent trip to
Sudan, that he was cleared for transfer in November of 2005, TWO YEARS
AGO. The U.S. government never shared this information with his own
defense team and obviously do not seem to feel any obligation to
expedite the release of a man that they have charged with no crime.
But we aren’t writing you to share yet another piece of depressing
news you can do nothing about. For the last 10 months we have been
encouraging Project Hamad members to write Adel Hamad at Guantanamo,
to make sure the U.S. government knows he has not been forgotten. We
were operating under the assumption that he might never see the
letters. But he mentioned them to his lawyers as the only bright spot
in an otherwise grim existence.. A parish from the midwest that had
organized a letter writing campaign on his behalf, has received
letters back from Hamad, thanking them, and wishing them well.
We are hoping that you will take a moment, with the two year
anniversary of his “transfer approval” approaching, and write Adel
Hamad.
Adel Hamad (ISN 940)
Camp Delta
P.O. Box 160
Washington DC 20053
USA
Thanks,
Laura, David and Ben
Project Hamad
— David
Oct 28 2007 07:23 pm | Uncategorized and adel hamad and detainee rights and guantanamo and project hamad | No Comments » | Comments RSS