Kuwaiti Family Committee
www.kuwaitifreedom.org
Attorney Returns from Guantanamo to Brief News Media on State of Prisoners Since Suicides at the Detention Camp
WHEN:
Wednesday, July 26, at 9:30 a.m. (EDT)
WHERE:
National Press Club
The Zenger Room
529 14th St., NW
13th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20045
WHAT:
Attorney David Cynamon of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, legal advisor to Kuwaiti prisoners held in the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will provide a first-hand account of the prisoners’ legal developments, testimonies of physical and psychological well-being, and overall health conditions. This is the first media briefing by a lawyer for the prisoners at the camp since the three suicides there in June. In addition, Khalid Al-Odah, father of one of the camp’s prisoners and head of the Kuwaiti Family Committee, will participate in the briefing via telephone from Kuwait City.
WHY:
This special news briefing will provide reporters legal and political insights surrounding the imprisonment of the Guantanamo detainees. For more than four years, these prisoners have been held without any charges brought against them. Cynamon and the Kuwaiti Family Committee are seeking due process for the prisoners, as ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2004 and again last month with the Hamdan decision. Cynamon was in Guantanamo the week of July 10.
WHO:
David Cynamon, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, legal advisor to Kuwaiti prisoners
Khalid Al Odah, head of the Kuwaiti Family Committee, father of prisoner Fawzi Al Odah
CONTACT: Katie Foster (202) 973-1313 / (214) 315-9988 (cell) and kfoster@levick.com.
This media advisory is distributed by Levick Strategic Communications on behalf of the International Counsel Bureau. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
PAST EVENTS
Kuwaiti Family Committee
www.kuwaitifreedom.org
Attorney to Brief Media on Newly Declassified Information on Physical, Psychological Torture and Sexual Humiliation of Kuwaiti Prisoners at Guantanamo
WHEN:
Monday, February 7, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. (EST)
WHAT:
Attorney Thomas Wilner, who represents Kuwaiti prisoners held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will update the media on recently declassified accounts of extremely disturbing physical and psychological torture as detailed by Kuwaiti prisoners.
Khalid Al-Odah, father of Kuwaiti prisoner Fawzi Al-Odah, will provide his insights on these distressing reports.
University of Pittsburgh School of Law Professor John Parry, author of “What is Torture, Are We Doing It, and What if We Are?,” and “Interrogating Suspected Terrorists: Should Torture be an Option?,” will speak about the law of torture and the legal structures that restrain or permit the exercise of torture on individuals.
WHY:
For the first time, notes taken during Wilner’s recent visit with the Kuwaiti detainees at Guantanamo have been declassified, and allegations of abuse and torture resound among the prisoners. Wilner will provide specific details of the abuse allegations, which are timely in light of the FBI’s recent criticism of sexual tactics used by female interrogators, including one female interrogator who tried to break Muslim detainees by wearing tight, sexually suggestive clothing, and in one case, smearing a Saudi man’s face with fake menstrual blood.
For more than three years, the Kuwaitis have been held without any charges brought against them. Wilner and the prisoners’ families are seeking due process for the prisoners, as ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court this past June.
WHO:
Thomas Wilner, Esq., Shearman & Sterling LLP, attorney to Kuwaiti prisoners
Khalid Al-Odah, head of the Kuwaiti Family Committee, father of prisoner Fawzi Al- Odah
John Parry, professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, torture expert
CALL IN NUMBER:
1-877-494-5165 (within the U.S.)
1-405-319-0674 (outside of the U.S.)
Once prompted, please dial the following code: 796910.
CONTACT: Jung Weil at (202) 973-1338 / (202) 277-4223 (cell) and jweil@levick.com.
This press release is distributed by Levick Strategic Communications on behalf of the International Counsel Bureau. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
MEDIA ADVISORY
Douglass Cassel, Director of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law
Khalid Al Odah, head of the Kuwaiti Family Committee, father of prisoner Fawzi Al Odah (via speakerphone)
This press release is distributed by Levick Strategic Communications on behalf of the International Counsel Bureau. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
