If President Biden wants to end “The Forever War,” he must close Guantánamo 

On Tuesday, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, our co-counsel Katya Jestin testified about our client, Majid Khan, and the lessons learned from his case about how to resolve the failed military commissions at Guantánamo and close the prison. She discussed the negotiated resolution of Khan’s case and the completion of his military commission sentence in February 2022, after which he will need to be transferred from Guantánamo. She also addressed Khan’s torture in CIA detention, which included waterboarding and rape, echoing both Khan’s own statement last month and remarks by Committee Chair Senator Durbin. 

While Mr. Khan is unique in having had the opportunity to tell his story publicly, he is not alone. A total of 26 survivors of the CIA’s torture and detention program, including our client Sharqawi Al Hajj, are imprisoned at Guantánamo. Like more than two-thirds of the 39 men still held there, Mr. Al Hajj is not charged with a crime, and he is one of several suffering life-threatening health problems – a result, in part, of his torture. Another of our clients, Sufyian Barhoumi, is one of the 13 men still languishing at Guantánamo even though they have been cleared for transfer. While it might be easy to assume the remaining men are the most difficult cases who cannot be sent anywhere, that is far from true. It is a failure of will that keeps them at Guantánamo.

Continue reading on our website. While you’re there, read Majid Khan’s full statement and his poetry. For more information about this case, visit our case page.

^{_{Photo: Our client, Majid Khan. In March 2003, Khan was captured, forcibly disappeared, and tortured by U.S. officials at overseas “black sites” operated by the CIA.}}

Double your support and help us meet Katherine Franke’s matching challenge! 

Now you can double the impact of your contribution and honor the extraordinary legacy of Michael Ratner! Our dear friend Katherine Franke has generously offered to match up to $333,000 of all new and increased gifts to the Michael Ratner Campaign for the Next Generation! 

Together, we will continue to deepen our capacity to act as the go-to legal and advocacy partner of social justice movements; spend more time on the ground with our partners; and, recruit, mentor, and train young movement lawyers and advocates!  

Check out our 2021 Annual Report and our Winter 2021 Newsletter to see some of what we are accomplishing together, and renew your support with a donation today.