US no nearer to closing Guantanamo: Activist

Massoud Shadjareh, head of the Islamic Human Rights Commission in London, was interviewed by Press TV on the clearance for release of an Afghan man from the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: The Afghan detainee who goes by the name Obaidullah has been cleared for release from Guantanamo with no charge or trial whatsoever. Fourteen years being held for nothing. There are many questions surrounding this case. The first one is that why are these detainees not given a fair trial?

Shadjareh: This is the whole thing about the Guantanamo prison. The reality is it is a hellhole. It is a black hole of injustice against common justice and international law and the reality is that no one has been released. There is no accusation addressed against any of them whatsoever. This particular case is no different to all those before that have been released.

The reality is that all these people there was no evidence against them; there was no credible accusation and they were held without any charge, without any reasoning, and this is why really what Guantanamo has stood for it, it really is a shame for whole of international community and definitely for the United States; and if you remember Obama when he came to power, he promised to close it. Now eight years down the road and we are no nearer to closing this hellhole than before and really it is outrageous that still people are being held there without any real accusation, without any proof of any guilt whatsoever.

Press TV: Why has President Barack Obama failed on his campaign promise eight years ago to close Guantanamo?

Shadjareh: There are different sort of variations of why that happened but the reality is that United States does not care about injustice that is actually unleashing on international community and indeed on these individuals and the reality is that no one cares, neither institutions like UN or any international court or no one is there to hold United States accountable and what makes it much worse is that because United States ... is getting away with it, then we see the level of injustice in similar things is being implemented elsewhere in the world, the situations, what is happening in places like Bahrain and so forth, it really is an indication of legitimization of these acts by the United States who is behaving so badly.

Press TV: We know that 14 years this man, Obaidullah, spent in Guantanamo. How can these 14 years be compensated?

Shadjareh: The United States has not compensated anyone for these barbaric and ..., these are not people who have been just held. They have been held in one of the worst conditions in the world. They have been in solidarity confinement. They have been tortured. They have been abused and there is no right of re-address and up to now not even a single one of those ex-detainees have been able to actually sue or get any compensation. Those who received compensation like the Guantanamo ex-prisoners in Britain they got compensation from the British government not from the United States.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk