Former Guantanamo prisoners establish “Guantanamo Justice Center”

The GJC, with offices in Geneva and London aims: to help coordinate assistance for prisoners who are often subjected to torture and abuse, and remain beyond the rule of law at Guantanamo Bay; to assist former prisoners reintegrate into society in a positive and constructive manner; and to assist the family members of those being held. The GJC's main concern is that many of the victims have returned to countries with limited resources and governments hostile to human rights. Sami Al-Haj, the GJC's President, will run the organization along with British former prisoners of Guantanamo to be considered as founders.

What of Guantanamo Bay Prison? Since 7 October 2001, approximately 775 detainees have been brought to and detained in Guantanamo Day Detention Center.  As present figures stand, nearly 500 have been released without charge and 229 remain in detention. What was once a US Naval Base for housing Cuban and Haitian refugees has now become the "gulag of our times", as described by Amnesty International Secretary General, Irene Khan. According to a May 2007 report by Martin Scheinin, UN Rapporteur on rights in countering terrorism, the United States "violated international law, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), that the Bush Administration could not try such prisoners as enemy combatants in a military tribunal and could not deny them access to evidence used against them."  Human rights NGOs have argue that the tribunals held at Guantanamo Bay violate the Nuremberg principles and are counter to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Serious allegations of torture, both physical and psychological, have been reported by ex-prisoners: Forced drugging, religious persecution, sexual degradation, and beatings are only a few of the claims to have been revealed. These arbitrary and indefinite detentions have in some cases led to suicide and most often to permanent psychological damage.

In an effort to soothe the wounds of the individuals and communities victimized by the travesty of justice and human rights in Guantanamo, the GJC hopes that their endeavor will prevent history from repeating itself.

The GJC's inauguration comes at a time when renewed calls for justice in Guantanamo have put inescapable pressure on the US. Since Barack Obama's executive order to close Guantanamo Bay on 23 January 2009 there now exists an impetus for change.