Help Maher Rafat al-Quwari by writing to the US authorities

Maher Rafat al-Quwari is a stateless Palestinian.  A year ago, his lawyers learned that he has been declared eligible for release from Guantánamo, but he remains confined for between 22-23 hours a day in an individual, enclosed, steel cell -almost completely cut off from human contact.  The cell has no window to the outside or access to natural light or fresh air. He is effectively stuck there as he has no residency papers and no country to return to.  His lawyers are seeking residency for him in a safe third country.

Write to the US authorities:

• Noting that Maher Rafat al-Quwari has been cleared for transfer from Guantánamo for the past year, indicating that the US authorities do not intend to charge or try him;
• Calling on the US authorities to actively and urgently facilitate the search for a durable solution for Maher al-Quwari in a third country, taking into account his individual views and preferences;
• Appealing for Maher Rafat al-Quwari’s family to be kept fully informed of his status, health and well-being, and for the US authorities to ensure that he has adequate communication with his family;
• Calling on the authorities to take immediate steps to improve the conditions of confinement for those detained in isolation, including in Camp 6, in line with international standards;
• Urging the authorities to investigate all allegations that Maher Rafat al-Quwari was tortured or ill-treated in US custody, to make the findings public, and to ensure that anyone responsible for such treatment is brought to justice;
• Calling on the USA to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay and either release the detainees held there or charge and try them in accordance with international law in an independent and impartial court, without recourse to the death penalty.