Cases: Shaker Aamer (Guantánamo Bay)
Held in isolation
Shaker Aamer is a long-term British resident who was abducted in Pakistan and sold to US forces for $5,000. He had already applied for British nationality at the time of his abduction.
Shaker and his British wife Zennira have four British children, aged between five and nine, the youngest of whom Shaker has never seen. Even though his family lives in London, the British Government refuses to accept any legal or moral responsibility for his plight.
Shaker suffered particularly vicious torture in the Dark Prison in Kabul. When he arrived in Guantánamo Bay, he became a respected spokesman for the prisoners and was dubbed ‘The Professor’ by the US military. During the prison-wide hunger strike in July 2005, he became a leader on the prisoners’ council and successfully negotiated a settlement with the military before any of the prisoners died. The authorities agreed to respect the Geneva Conventions and treat prisoners who have been neither charged nor convicted of any crime in a humane manner.
Unfortunately, the authorities reneged on the agreement, and when the hunger strike began again on 11 August 2005, Shaker was locked up in solitary confinement in Camp Echo, a facility that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has described as ‘extremely harsh’.
The complete isolation has taken a severe toll on his mental health and placed incredible strain on his family.
To date, the British government has declined to intervene on Shaker’s behalf.
Shaker is represented by Reprieve's Legal Director, Clive Stafford Smith, and by Reprieve’s Senior Counsel, Zachary Katznelson.
Letters to Shaker should be sent to:
Shaker Aamer
ISN 239
Camp Delta
US Naval Base Guantánamo Bay
Washington, DC 20355
USA
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