{"id":471,"date":"2010-04-07T09:53:56","date_gmt":"2010-04-07T16:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/?p=471"},"modified":"2010-04-07T10:01:57","modified_gmt":"2010-04-07T17:01:57","slug":"guantanamo-prisoner-may-face-torture-if-u-s-returns-him-to-algeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/?p=471","title":{"rendered":"Guantanamo prisoner may face torture if U.S. returns him to Algeria"},"content":{"rendered":"

A British nonprofit group working to help prisoners \u2013 from death row to Guantanamo \u2013 sent out the following press release. It speaks for itself.
\n<\/em> <\/p>\n

Reprieve
\nApril 6, 2010<\/p>\n

Reprieve<\/a> launches emergency legal action for Guant\u00e1namo prisoner Ahmed Belbacha as US government makes worrying deal with Algeria<\/p>\n

Lawyers for former British resident Ahmed Belbacha yesterday submitted an emergency plea to the US courts seeking to prevent his forced return to persecution and torture in Algeria. <\/p>\n

Ahmed\u2019s legal team is deeply concerned by the Obama Administration\u2019s Easter weekend announcement of a deal with the Algerian government.<\/p>\n

\"Ahmed_Belbacha_Photo_jpg_240x240_q85\"U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Algiers tomorrow (Wed., April 7) \u201cto discuss cooperation on combating terrorism and enhancing law enforcement coordination\u201d and to sign a \u201cmutual legal assistance treaty\u201d with the Algerian Minister of Justice.<\/p>\n

Ahmed, a 39 year-old accountant, was visibly terrified during his attorney visit last week and remains a tragic figure in Guant\u00e1namo. Cleared of all charges by the Bush Administration, he has consistently chosen to stay imprisoned rather than face his fate in Algeria, a country he originally fled after threats on his life by the terrorist group Group Islamique Arm\u00e9 (GIA). <\/p>\n

Ahmed\u2019s plight, together with his gentle nature, has attracted private offers of help from both sides of the Atlantic, but no government has come to his rescue. Reprieve is appealing worldwide \u2013 to the governments of Britain, Ireland and Luxembourg – for help. <\/p>\n

Ahmed\u2019s attorney, Reprieve\u2019s Tara Murray said:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Attorney General Holder travels to Algeria, all signs now point towards Ahmed\u2019s imminent forced transfer to torture and persecution. We implore the European nations of Ireland, Luxembourg and the UK to stand up and put an end to Ahmed\u2019s agony.\u201d <\/p>\n

BACKGROUND:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ahmed Belbacha lived for years in the seaside town of Bournemouth, UK, where he studied English and worked; during a Labour conference he was responsible for cleaning the hotel room of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, from whom he received a healthy tip and note of appreciation. He is now in his eighth year of imprisonment without charge in Guant\u00e1namo Bay.<\/p>\n

Ahmed\u2019s fears about Algeria were confirmed by an alarming \u201cconviction\u201d delivered in absentia by an Algerian court last November. In a disgraceful show trial, where no lawyer was appointed to defend Ahmed, the court sentenced him to 20 years in prison for belonging to an \u201coverseas terrorist group.\u201d Despite repeated requests and extensive investigation, Reprieve\u2019s lawyers have been unable to discover what exactly Ahmed is supposed to have done. No evidence has been produced to support his \u201cconviction,\u201d which appears to be retaliation against Ahmed for speaking out about the inhumane treatment he would be subjected to if sent to Algeria. <\/p>\n

Ahmed had been protected by an injunction barring the U.S. government from repatriating him against his will, but a U.S. judge dissolved the injunction in February. Reprieve immediately requested the decision be reversed, citing the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s ongoing consideration of a related case, Kiyemba v Obama (Kiyemba II), in which it was decided that U.S. courts could not prevent the Obama Administration from forcibly repatriating prisoners to countries where they face persecution. Worryingly, on Monday, 22nd March, the Supreme Court decided not to review Kiyemba II; Reprieve then submitted another plea to D.C.\u2019s federal district court on 24th March, followed by an emergency motion over the Easter weekend following Holder\u2019s announcement. <\/p>\n

Ahmed has been given a room in a flat by a Bournemouth resident, and the Massachusetts town of Amherst<\/a> has offered him refuge in defiance of Congress. So far, however, no government has come forward to help. <\/p>\n

For more information please contact Katherine O\u2019Shea at Reprieve\u2019s Press Office: katherine.oshea@reprieve.org.uk 020 7427 1099\/ 07931592674 or go to http:\/\/www.reprieve.org.uk\/ahmedbelbacha<\/a>. <\/p>\n

(Reprieve, a legal action charity, uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guant\u00e1namo Bay. Reprieve investigates, litigates and educates, working on the frontline, to provide legal support to prisoners unable to pay for it themselves. Reprieve promotes the rule of law around the world, securing each person\u2019s right to a fair trial and saving lives. Clive Stafford Smith is the founder of Reprieve and has spent 25 years working on behalf of people facing the death penalty in the USA. Reprieve\u2019s current casework involves representing 33 prisoners in the U.S. prison at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, working on behalf of prisoners facing the death penalty, and conducting ongoing investigations into the rendition and the secret detention of \u201cghost prisoners\u201d in the so-called \u201cwar on terror.\u201d) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A British nonprofit group working to help prisoners \u2013 from death row to Guantanamo \u2013 sent out the following press release. It speaks for itself. Reprieve April 6, 2010 Reprieve launches emergency legal action for Guant\u00e1namo prisoner Ahmed Belbacha as US government makes worrying deal with Algeria Lawyers for former British resident Ahmed Belbacha yesterday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[164],"tags":[98,99,15,49,43],"class_list":["post-471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-war-on-terror","tag-algeria","tag-guantanamo","tag-larry-johnson","tag-obama","tag-war-on-terror"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":474,"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions\/474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larryjohnsononline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}