Code Pink: Adel Hamad Is Free From Guantanamo

[Hissyspit]

http://codepinkdc.blogspot.com/2007/12/adel-hamad-is-free-from-guantanamo.html

Adel Hamad is free from Guantanamo

Dear All,

After a wonderful 12 days at the CodePINK House in DC, I received one of the most awesome gifts I've ever gotten. Adel Hamad's attorney, William Teesdale, wrote to me to let me know that he is free and home with his family.

It all started when I decided some time ago that I simply had to do something about the horror happening in my name at Guantanamo prison.

I found a detainee named Adel Hamad, #940, and started to stand for him in orange jumpsuit, black chains and black hood. Not long after that my dear friend Liz (Arizona coordinator and full time DC House CODEPINKer) and I joined our efforts. We learned all we could about Adel.

He was a hospital worker in Afghanistan with family and friends galore. A hard working family man dedicated to helping others at work and in his community. He had 2 grandchildren when he was arrested - 4 more were born during the 5 years he was at GITMO. He was taken from his bed in the middle of the night and someone in his village was paid $25,000 by our government to turn him in. This was an easy U.S. campaign in a country where the average pay is less than $300 a year. America did not know that the hooded and chained men being transferred roped together like animals were not all terrorists who hated us - many were and are still innocent men.

College students started an Internet campaign called Project Hamad - they printed tee shirts and petitions and pressed forward for his release.

Last year he was so discouraged that he stopped seeing his attorney, William Teesdale, and started to suspect that he was being betrayed by William. Adel started to go blind from looking thru chain link fence for so long. He had been tortured for years, lived in a small windowless room and was at the end of his rope. Thanks to the persistence and dedication of Mr. Teesdale, Adel came back into the program and found the courage to carry on. You can imagine the joy in Mr. Teesdale's e-mail that Adel was, finally, free.

- snip -

The only greater joy will be when our troops are coming home to stay, for good. Peace Lydia

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd; that poor man. 5 years in Gitmo for what exactly? nt

[eShirl]

2. for nothing. All for nothing.

[Hissyspit]

3. Kick n/t

[Thickasabrick]

4. Many thanks to Project Hamad. Here is a link to video of his

homecoming.

http://projecthamad.org/blog/2007/12/15/video-from-adel-hamads-homecoming

[mmonk]

5. Nominated for Hamad

and all those held illegally for a status offense without due process.

[Hissyspit]

6. Late-night kick. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Colonel Ann Wright told us that all of the detainees at Gittmo were bought

$25K for al qaeda and $5K for taliban.

You know all that money that went missing in Iraq?

[Solly Mack]

8. Good