[JNV] Jordan delegation and Guantanamo solidarity

[Justice Not Vengeance]

Dear friends

We are very happy to report that in the space of just a few days, due
to your generosity, JNV has raised over =A32000 in pledges for the
Children Against War delegation to Jordan.

This means that Sonia will be able to purchase her tickets today, and
that, when the pledges arrive, she will be able to take over =A3500 in
your donations to support Iraqi refugee families now living in Jordan
in desperate circumstances.

If you would like to increase this amount, please do continue sending
cheques/transferring money to Justice Not Vengeance. (If it is
helpful, the JNV account is categorized as a 'BusinessInvestor'
account at Nationwide.)

Sonia will not be departing (with her adult companion) before 14
August, so pledges can be registered with us <info AT j-n-v.org> until
then (though please post cheques at least two days before this!).

In Jordan, Sonia will be guided by the very wonderful Kathy Kelly of
Voices for Creative Nonviolence. Kathy's latest article is on the VCNV
website:

http://vcnv.org/dancing-in-darkness

Thank you for all your support for the Children Against War
delegation. It is much appreciated.

Below are some appeals for solidarity circulated in the last few days
by Voices in the Wilderness UK.

Best wishes

Maya Anne Evans
Emily Johns
Milan Rai
Justice Not Vengeance



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[B] TAKE ACTION FOR BRITISH RESIDENTS IN GUANTANAMO: AHMED BELBACHA

The London Guantanamo Campaign writes:

British resident in Guantanamo Bay Ahmed Belbacha faces being returned
to Algeria at any time where he is likely to face danger from the
government or religious extremists. Lawyers in the US are trying to
prevent his return to Algeria. Please write to the US authorities to
not return him to Algeria and to the British authorities to urge them
to allow him to return here, as he lived in the UK for over two and a
half years. Take action for Ahmed Belbacha now!

PLEASE WRITE TO THE US AMBASSADOR TO THE UK TO URGE THAT AHMED
BELBACHA NOT BE DEPORTED TO ALGERIA:

His Excellency Mr Robert Tuttle,
Embassy of the United States,
24 Grosvenor Square,
London W1A 1AE.
Website: http://www.usembassy.org.uk
(marked for the attention of the Ambassador)

Remind them that:

* Ahmed Belbacha faces serious dangers if sent back to Algeria, both
from the Algerian government and Islamic extremists

* Diplomatic assurances from Algeria are worthless, given its past
history of abuse of human rights

* The United States cannot deliver people from Guant=E1namo to torture
and abuse =96 that only makes the problem of Guant=E1namo worse.

PLEASE ALSO WRITE TO THE BRITISH HOME AND FOREIGN SECRETARIES to
demand that they allow Ahmed Belbacha to return to the UK, which is a
viable alternative for him:

Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith MP
Home Secretary
The Home Office,
50 Queen Anne's Gate,
London, SW1 9AT
Fax:     020 7219 4815
Email: smithjj@parliament.uk

Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP
Foreign Secretary,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
King Charles St,
London SW1A 2AH

Remind them that:

* Ahmed Belbacha lived in the UK peacefully for 2 =BD years.

* He has been cleared for release by the Americans and there are no
charges against him. He is not deemed to pose a threat.

* The British government can take action to help a resident. A
precedent lies in the return of Bisher Al-Rawi in March 2007.
Ahmed Belbacha faces imminent danger to his life if returned to Algeria.

BACKGROUND

* Ahmed Belbacha, a 36 year old Algerian lived in the UK for two and a
half years from 1999 to 2001. He lived in Bournemouth and worked in
hotels where he won awards and praise for his work, including a large
tip and handwritten note from former deputy prime minister, John
Prescott.

* Ahmed is a talented footballer and played professionally in Algeria.

* In 2001, he left the UK to visit Afghanistan for six months and had
a return ticket to the UK.

* He disappeared there and his family had no news from him for over
two years until 2004 when the Red Cross wrote to inform them that he
was in Guant=E1namo Bay.

* In February 2007, he was cleared for release from Guant=E1namo Bay by
the Pentagon and deemed to pose no threat at all.

* In July 2007, the Algerian authorities said that it was prepared to
take back 7 of its nationals held in Guant=E1namo Bay, including Ahmed
Belbacha. If returned to Algeria, he faces either being jailed and
tortured by the Algerian government or being released and facing
threats to his life from Islamists. If returned to Algeria, Ahmed's
life will be in grave danger.

* He currently faces the prospect of being returned to Algeria any
day. Lawyers for Ahmed are trying to block his return to Algeria.

Take action!
Time is running out for Ahmed Belbacha:
**********************************************************************
[C] TAKE ACTION FOR BRITISH RESIDENTS IN GUANTANAMO: JAMIL EL-BANNA

Last week, a high court judge told Jacqui Smith, the home secretary,
that she had until August 9 to say whether Jamil el-Banna, a British
resident and political refugee incarcerated in Guant=E1namo Bay, will be
allowed to return to the UK. If she fails to do so, Jamil will be sent
back to Jordan where he is faces the possibility of further
incarceration and abuse.

He has a wife and five British children in the UK. However, the
British authorities refuse to allow him back, claiming that he has
forfeited his "indefinite leave to remain" by staying abroad for more
than two years.

PLEASE WRITE TO THE HOME SECRETARY, JACQUI SMITH, and ask her to take
immediate action to ensure that Jamil El-Banna is returned to the UK
NOW:

Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith MP
Home Secretary
The Home Office,
Marsham Street?London SW1P 4DF

Remind her that:

* Jamil has been found innocent by the American authorities and is not
deemed to be a threat to anyone and is now free to leave Guant=E1namo
Bay;

* The UK has a moral and legal obligation towards Jamil under
international conventions having accepted him as a refugee;

* Jamil has a wife and five children, who are British nationals,
living in the UK;

* If the British government does not act IMMEDIATELY to bring Jamil
back to the UK, he will be returned to Jordan where he will face
further illegal detention and torture;

* Furthermore, a precedent lies in the return of Bisher El-Rawi in
March 2007. The British government can take action.

BACKGROUND

* Jamil El-Banna, a 45 year old Jordanian national, has lived in the
UK with his wife since 1994. The couple were granted refugee status in
1997.

* He was kidnapped at Banjul Airport in Gambia in November 2002 along
with his friend, Iraqi Bisher El-Rawi. They had travelled there on a
business trip.

* After being interrogated for a month in Gambia, the pair were taken
to Afghanistan where they were tortured in the notorious "Dark
Prison". During this time, their families had no idea of where they
were.

* In February 2003, they were taken to Guant=E1namo Bay.

* In November 2005, British lawyers for the pair and a third British
resident in Guant=E1namo Bay, Libyan Omar Deghayes, launched a judicial
review of the home secretary's refusal to make representations on
behalf of these men to return them to the UK, in particular given
their refugee status in this country and subsequent duties incumbent
on the UK government under the UN Convention on Refugees.

* In 2006, telegram evidence emerged of the British government's
knowledge and involvement in Jamil and Bisher's kidnap and
"rendition".

* A year after representations were commenced on behalf of Bisher
El-Rawi by the British government, he was released and returned to the
UK in March 2007. The British government has refused to make any such
representations for Jamil.

* In April 2007, Jamil was cleared of all charges by the Pentagon and
is free to leave Guant=E1namo Bay as soon as he has a country to return
to. As a refugee, returning to Jordan would mean he is almost certain
to face further detention and inhumane treatment, although Jordan has
agreed to accept him.

* The British government is still refusing to act on Jamil's behalf,
in spite of its international obligations towards him as a refugee.

* Lawyers for Jamil started an emergency judicial review of the Home
Secretary's inaction in June 2007 which will be heard in July 2007.

* Jamil was in the process of applying for British citizenship when he
travelled to the Gambia.