The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison

by Andy Worthington

Overview

This is an important book. If you care about our Government's complicity in these illegal and horrific acts then this book provides the evidence. Carefully researched and documented, it reveals a story of appalling brutality. The people are not mere ciphers but, as their stories unfold, their pain becomes our concern' - Ken Loach 'The subject matter of this book is imperative, being the first of its kind to collate and describe accounts from the prisoners themselves and pitting them against the purported reasons for their incarceration - without charge or trial' - Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo detainee and spokesman for CagePrisoners 'A meticulous piece of documentation about torture. It recalls the age old story of the willingness of both governments and ordinary people to inflict pain upon each other for financial and political gain while exercising a misguided sense of power over those peoples perceived as inferior to themselves. This is an extremely vital and important piece of work' - Marty Fisher, Co-Producer of Alex Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side, a film about the U.S. torture activities in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and Iraq

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745326641
Publisher:	Pluto Press
Publication date:	12/20/2007
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist. He has been researching and writing about Guantanamo since 2006, and has worked with the United Nations, WikiLeaks, Reprieve and Cageprisoners. He is the author of The Guantanamo Files (Pluto, 2007).

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. 'Operation Enduring Freedom'

2. The Qala-i-Janghi massacre

3. The convoy of death

4. Tora Bora

5. Escape to Pakistan: 'Osama's bodyguards'

6. Escape to Pakistan: Saudis and Yemenis

7. Flight to Pakistan: the diaspora

8. Kandahar

9. From Sheberghan to Kandahar

10. Others captured in Afghanistan

11. Guantanamo opens

12. House raids and other arrests in Pakistan

13. The capture of Abu Zubaydah and its aftermath

14. Bagram

15. Torture, abuse and false confessions in Guantanamo

16. 'Extraordinary rendition,' 'ghost' prisoners and secret prisons

17. Losing the war in Afghanistan

18. Challenging the law

19. Suicides, hunger strikes, medical malpractice and the abuse of the Koran

20. Endgame?

Notes

Index

Editorial Reviews

"'This is an important book. If you care about our Government's complicity in these illegal and horrific acts then this book provides the evidence. Carefully researched and documented, it reveals a story of appalling brutality. The people are not mere ciphers but, as their stories unfold, their pain becomes our concern'" – Ken Loach

"'The subject matter of this book is imperative, being the first of its kind to collate and describe accounts from the prisoners themselves and pitting them against the purported reasons for their incarceration - without charge or trial'" – Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo detainee and spokesman for CagePrisoners

"'A meticulous piece of documentation about torture. It recalls the age old story of the willingness of both governments and ordinary people to inflict pain upon each other for financial and political gain while exercising a misguided sense of power over those peoples perceived as inferior to themselves. This is an extremely vital and important piece of work'" – Marty Fisher, Co-Producer of Alex Gibney’s Taxi to the Dark Side, a film about the U.S. torture activities in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and Iraq

From the Publisher