Better to Light a Candle than Curse the Darkness

May Action: Petros Solomon

Burma/Myanmar Action:--
Mother and School Teacher, Ma Khin Khin Leh


Madison Local Group case: Mahamed el Gharani -
Guantanamo Bay

Madison, Local Group case:
To send letters of hope and inspiration to Mohamed:
Mohamed el Gharani
Detainee ISN 000269
PO Box 106
Camp Delta
Washington DC 20355

Mohamed el Gharani, was born in Chad, brought up in Saudi Arabia and moved to Pakistan for better economic and educational opportunities. In order to get a passport that allowed him to travel unaccompanied by an adult, he needed to be over 18. So, he lied about his age. It is believed he was 14 years old when in October 2001 in Karachi, Pakistan, he was detained when police raided the mosque where he was praying.
Mohamed was held in prison in Pakistan until the end of November 2001. He was charged with entering Pakistan with an illegal passport. He then was transferred into US custody in Kandahar, Afghanistan and then to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in January 2002. He was one of the first "enemy combatants" transferred to Guantanamo Bay. He has been in indefinite US military custody without charge or trial for almost six years.
His ill treatment and torture continues while at Guantanamo Bay. Upon arrival, he was allegedly severely beaten again and threatened with torture that "would be worse than anything he had been through in Pakistan."
His body is apparently covered in scars caused by the torture and beatings, his teeth are said to be falling out because of neglect and his tongue is apparently cracked as a result of dehydration.

WE the UNDERSIGNED:
* Call on the U.S. government to set up a commission of inquiry into all aspects of the USA's "war on terror" detention policies and practices.
* Call for Mohamed el Gharani and all other detainees to be given full and fair trials or released.
* Call for the immediate transfer of all children held at Guantanamo Bay.
* Call for a full and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Mohamed el Gharani in US custody in Kandahar air base and Guantanamo Bay, and for all those found responsible for abuses to be brought to justice.
* Restate, no person(s) may be forcibly return to a country where they might be tortured or ill-treated.
* Call on the U.S. Congress to establish a fully independent and impartial commission to conduct public investigations into reports oof abuses by agents of the U.S. government around the world

Send to:
Your Senator in Washington DC 20510 USA

Navy Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris
Commander Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Department of Defense
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
APO AE 09360

Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington DC 20301 USA

Amnesty International USA's "86 It" campaign
Amnesty International USA's Stop Torture campaign
Amnesty International USA's War on Terror work

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