24 November was the eleventh anniversary of Shaker Aamer's initial arrest in Afghanistan. He has been held in Guantánamo since 14 February 2002, and has not been charged with an offence during his imprisonment. Despite being cleared for release in 2007, he remains incarcerated and in very poor health.

 

Recent reports have suggested there may be a window of opportunity for the resolution of Shaker Aamer’s detention in the first few months of President Obama’s second term. Shaker Aamer’s lawyers also believe that the period between the presidential elections and the second inauguration of President Obama in January 2013 will be crucial to building pressure.

 

There are a few things we can do to help maintain pressure:

 

1. Sign the government e-petition asking for the case to be debated in the House of Commons. 100,000 signatures are required, so distributing this as widely as possible would be very useful.

 

2. Write to the UK and US governments. Attached are template letters to William Hague and Barack Obama, which can be edited and adapted. The 'What you can do' PDF from the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign (attached) contains a list of addresses to which you can write.

 

3. Email or write to your MP, or arrange a meeting.