Yemeni Detainees at Guantanamo - Why Are They Still There?: 3/25 Free Film and Discussion

[Bob Palmer]

Yemeni Detainees at Guantanamo - Why Are They Still There?

There are currently 56 Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo who have been cleared for release. That means the US government has investigated and found that they are not guilty of any wrongdoing. Many of them have been tortured; all have been held indefinitely for years now. Why is it that, despite the Obama administration's admission that they have no reason to hold these men, no progress is being made in releasing them? The government of Yemen is willing to accept the men if they are released and has asked for US financial support in repatriating them. So what are the real forces at work, here and in Yemen? 

What: Free Film and Discussion
When: 7 pm - 9 pm, Tuesday, March 25
Where: Grace Place, 637 S. Dearborn, Chicago
 
Join us for free film screenings and discussion with Len Goodman, a Chicago lawyer who has represented a Guantanamo detainee and written about the assassination of a US citizen in Yemen by a US cruise missile, Assassinating the Rule of Law.

We’ll screen Laura Poitras’ award-winning film, “The Oath,” that tells the story of two brothers from Yemen, one of whom spent more than 6 years at Guantanamo. She uses footage shot in Yemen and Guantánamo to tell a complex story that “challenges notions of the US post-9/11 strategy.” (IndieWire). Laura Poitras is the filmmaker working with Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill on the new investigative project, The Intercept. 

We’ll also see short clips from other films that take us into the lives – and deaths – of Yemenis held at Guantanamo and the impact of US policy since 9/11 on their families and their country. (Photo: Demonstration calling for the release of Yemenis held at Guantanamo outside the US Embassy there.)

Following the film, we’ll speak with Len Goodman, Chicago criminal defense lawyer who has represented detainees at Guantánamo and written about the killing of US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old sonin Yemen that Jeremy Scahill investigated in his film, “Dirty Wars.” 

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This event is sponsored by the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantánamo (World Can't Wait Chicago, Witness Against Torture, White Rose Catholic Worker, Illinois Coalition Against Torture, Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban Five).
It has been endorsed by the Chicago Chapter of Veterans for Peace (list in formation).