Verily, Allâh enjoins Justice and Correctness, and helping kith and kin and forbids lewd acts and all kinds of evil deed and oppression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed. (An-Nahl: 90)

Write to the forgotten detainees (Updated)

It takes little imagination to visualise life in a prison. The confined cell, the bare walls, the silence, and most of all, the feeling of isolation. Many have no family members in the UK and as a result they have become despondent and desperate. In one case, a detainee was actually seeking permission from a scholar to commit suicide until he began to receive letters from the public, which renewed his desire and motivation to live.

It is not enough that we feel sorry for what they are going through. It is not enough that we shed a few tears when we sit and think about what they are experiencing. Nor is it enough that we lay back and wait for others to take on the responsibility of reaching out to them.

We must not fail them at this critical time. We must hasten to comfort them, and support them at a time when they need us most. We must write letters that give them hope, help strengthen them and motivate them to persevere in remaining patient. We must be their link to the outside world, a link that shows that they have not been forgotten.

Such letter-writing campaigns have proved to be hugely successful – with the 8 Belmarsh detainees receiving 60 letters each in the week that the campaign was first launched and with Babar Ahmad receiving over 50 letters in his first week in prison.

Therefore we urge you all to make it a regular practice to write to at least one prisoner a week and to encourage all your family members and friends to do the same.

The letters can be as short as a paragraph, preferably written in your own handwriting as it is more personal, or if you do not have time to write a letter, you can buy a set of 'Thinking of You' cards. The content of the letters should be encouraging them to be patient, reminding them to have hope and that they have not been forgotten. This should not take more than half an hour and should not cost you more than £3. However, it may give hope to a prisoner for whom half an hour is like half a year.

For more information on why you should write and for ideas on what to write, click here.

If you have included your name and address (preferably a stamped addressed envelope) it is probable that the prisoners will write back to you and you can find out exactly what their situation is like inside. If you still prefer not to leave your name and address, then please write to them anyway.

Please ensure that the prisoner addresses are written exactly as they appear below.


UK PRISONER ADDRESSES

HMP BELMARSH
(Note: the detainees cannot receive books, tapes, clothes etc; money can help prisoners buying extra food and other items but should be sent via special delivery)

HMP WOODHILL
Political Prisoners

Non-Political Prisoners

BROADMOOR
(NB: These detainees can receive books, tapes etc)

Detainee B
He has been released from prison and is now subject to control orders. New mailing adress details forthcoming

Detainee M
He has been released from prison and is now subject to control orders. New mailing adress details forthcoming

Mamdouh Abu Rideh
He has been released from prison and is now subject to control orders. New mailing adress details forthcoming

HMP WHITEMOOR
Detainee’I’ (JG4194)
HMP Whitemoor
Longhill Road
March
Cambs PE150PR

FORMER DETAINEES IN THE UK
If you would like to write to a former detainee, please send mail to
Cageprisoners
PO Box 45768
London
SW16 4PP

We can forward letters intended for all former British Guantanamo detainee:
- Jamal Al Harith
- Asif Iqbal
- Ruhal Ahmad
- Shafiq Rasul
- Tarek Dergoul
- Moazzam Begg
- Martin Mubanga
- Richard Belmar
- Feroz Abbasi

As well as:
- Detainee D (former detainee in HMP Woodhill)
- Detainee M (former detainee in HMP Belmarsh)
- Detainee KM (former detainee in HMP Belmarsh)
- Tahira Tabassum (former detainee in HMP Belmarsh)

USA

CANADA
Mohammad Harakat
Ottawa Carleton Regional Detention Centre
Attention: Mohamed Harkat, inmate
2244 Innes Road
Ottawa, ON
K1B 4C4
CANADA

Source: CagePrisoners