Brother of Guantanamo Bay prisoner to speak at meetings across Ireland

national | anti-war / imperialism | news report Friday May 19, 2006 13:10 by Irish Anti War Movement - Irish Anti War Movement

Abu Baker Deghayes’ brother Omar has been in Guantanamo Bay prison for five years. The Irish Anti War Movement has organised a tour of meetings next week where Abu Baker will speak about the illegal kidnapping, detention and torture of his brother Omar Deghayes.

Omar and his family left Libya 1986 after his father, a democrat and trade unionist, was assassinated by Colonel Gaddafi's regime. In 2001 Omar travelled to Afghanistan where he met and married his wife and had a son. When war broke out they moved to Pakistan. Omar was arrested by bounty-hunters and sold to the US Military. The only "evidence" for his arrest was a video from the Spanish authorities allegedly showing Omar. But experts have confirmed that the person in the video isn't Omar. While in prison Omar was tortured using pepper spray in his eyes, so much was used that he is now completely blind in one eye. The US authorities also allowed Libyan interrogators to interview him. They threatened him, saying, "In here I cannot do anything, but if I meet you later I will kill you”.

Irish Anti War Movement
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Brother of Guantanamo Bay prisoner to speak at meetings across Ireland
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Abu Baker Deghayes’ brother Omar has been in Guantanamo Bay prison for five years. The Irish Anti War Movement has organised a tour of meetings next week where Abu Baker will speak about the illegal kidnapping, detention and torture of his brother Omar Deghayes.

Omar and his family left Libya 1986 after his father, a democrat and trade unionist, was assassinated by Colonel Gaddafi's regime. In 2001 Omar travelled to Afghanistan where he met and married his wife and had a son. When war broke out they moved to Pakistan. Omar was arrested by bounty-hunters and sold to the US Military. The only "evidence" for his arrest was a video from the Spanish authorities allegedly showing Omar. But experts have confirmed that the person in the video isn't Omar. While in prison Omar was tortured using pepper spray in his eyes, so much was used that he is now completely blind in one eye. The US authorities also allowed Libyan interrogators to interview him. They threatened him, saying, "In here I cannot do anything, but if I meet you later I will kill you”.

Other speakers at the meeting will include Edward Horgan who has just completed a report for the EU parliament on renditions and torture through Shannon Airport. Since the end of 2001 Shannon Airport has been used as a key military base for the US. The Department of Transport’s records show that almost all of the American troops in Iraq have transited through Shannon Airport. These records also show that the CIA has used Shannon Airport to bring people they have kidnapped to torture sites. Shannon is one of the most important nodes in a network of airports used for “extraordinary renditions”. Under this programme more than 10,000 people have been abducted in the last four years and transported to secret prisons, including Guantánamo Bay, where the prisoners have been tortured. All of this has been sanctioned by the very top levels of the US administration.

Richard Boyd Barrett, chair of the Irish Anti War Movement, will speak about Bush’s next target in his ‘war on terror’ - Iran. We are now witnessing a re-run of the lies about Iraq used to justify a new war against Iran. Bush’s opinion poll collapse to 31% is due in large part to the continued protests of the American anti-war movement, 350,000 marched in New York on April 29th. We need to return to the streets in Europe as well to stop support for an attack on Iran and to force our own government to withdraw the use of Shannon Airport from the US Military.

The tour details are:

Belfast Thursday 25th May 8pm Peter Froggit Centre, Queens University.

Dublin Friday 26th May 8pm in the ATGWU Hall, Middle Abbey St.

Tralee Saturday 27 May 3pm in the Grand Hotel, Tralee

Cork Sunday 28th May, 12pm in the Kino screening of the film The road to Guantanamo, followed at 3pm by meeting in An Spailpin Fanach.

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