 Guantánamo torture survivor Mohammed al-Qahtani cleared for transfer!Last week, in our case al Qahtani v. Obama, the government made public that, based on his psychiatric condition, Mohammed al-Qahtani has been cleared for transfer from the prison at Guantánamo where he has been detained without fair process for the last 20 years. Mohammed was severely mentally ill long before he was unlawfully rendered to Guantánamo in 2002. Despite the severity of his illness, Mohammed has never posed a risk to anyone but himself. In recent years the voices in his head have increasingly told him to harm himself—by doing things like swallowing broken glass and not disclosing it to his doctors—making his transfer out of Guantánamo an urgent matter. This announcement reflects a reality that our client will always live with: Mohammed al-Qahtani has, for his entire adult life, been schizophrenic. We are hopeful that Mohammed’s torment will be lessened when he is in the care of trusted psychiatrists who speak his native language, far from the scene of his torture, and where he can receive vital support from his family. To learn more about Mohammed al-Qahtani, visit his profile on our website. For more on the latest developments in his case, visit our website for his counsel’s statement. While you’re there, check out our case page. | ||
 Report: People formerly incarcerated in U.S. immigration detention speak out against a system that is “Cruel by Design”ICE detention practices during the pandemic have shone a spotlight on the unacceptable conditions in the U.S. immigration detention system. ICE practices were found to not only spread the coronavirus in and between facilities, but also in communities and globally. A new report highlights the narratives of people who were held in ICE detention and makes clear that cruelty is not an aberration or an accident but the goal of a system built to inflict harm and break people’s spirits. It cannot be remedied through reforms that do not address its perverse logic, the report finds; the system must be altered at its core. Our report “Cruel by Design: Voices of Resistance from Immigration Detention,” published in partnership with the Immigrant Defense Project, reveals that cruelty is part of the everyday experience of people caught in the system. Drawing from dozens of declarations filed in legal proceedings to challenge detention during COVID as well as interviews with formerly detained people, the report details endemic injustices and indignities, including physical abuse, racism, unsafe and unhygienic conditions, retaliation, the use of prolonged solitary confinement, and denial of medical and mental health treatment even as inhumane conditions increase the need for each. Despite the vast harms of the system detailed in the report, those in ICE detention continue to show tremendous will to fight to overcome these systems of oppression. | ||
 Freedom Flicks screening & talkback! “WHO WE ARE: A Chronicle of Racism in America”Join us, The Rising Majority, and the Movement for Black Lives for a virtual screening of WHO WE ARE: A Chronicle of Racism in America followed by an exclusive curated talkback. WHO WE ARE: A Chronicle of Racism in America follows former ACLU deputy legal director Jeffery Robinson as he interweaves lecture, personal anecdotes, interviews, and revelations to draw a stark timeline of anti-Black racism in the United States, from slavery to modern America. Speakers Screening access is limited and only available for 72 hours. Register on the Film Platform's website and enter code: WWA-CCR to secure your spot! The film will be available for a limited time from Friday, February 18, 2022 at 12 p.m. ET to Monday, February 21, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. |
February 18, 2022
