Last night we held a special evening event featuring British writer Andy Worthington, one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on the Pentagon’s Guantanamo Bay prison camp and its post-9/11 alternative “judicial” system for trying people accused of terrorism. Andy is the author of the book The Guantanamo Files, and writes a weekly column and serves as a policy advisor for FFF.
It was a fascinating evening in that not only did Andy deliver a great talk on Guantanamo Bay and the war on terrorism, he also featured a new documentary film that he has co-produced, entitled “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantanamo.”
As I indicated in my introductory remarks last night, some critics of such things as torture, rendition, denial of due process, and so forth write strictly from an intellectual, analytical perspective. Andy does that, but he does more. What comes through so clearly in his writing and speaking is his sense of moral indignity and moral outrage over the fact that the U.S. government is engaged in these sorts of things. The fact that he so passionately believes in such things as civil liberties, due process of law, right to counsel, trial by jury, and habeas corpus is what makes his work doubly attractive.
The film was absolutely great. It revolved around three Gitmo prisoners, two of whom have been released and whose first-hand perspectives about Guantanamo play a prominent role in the film. Providing analysis and commentary are Andy and two top attorneys, Clive Stafford Smith and Tom Wilner, both of whom have played important roles in the defense of Guantanamo inmates.
We’ll be posting a video of Andy’s speech online, most likely by the end of the week. So far, the film is being shown only to a few selected groups in different parts of the country. Presumably it will ultimately be available on the Internet and when it is, we’ll let you know.