To wrap up this extraordinary series, we look at the prospects for closing Guantánamo, the need for mechanisms that hold States accountable for their crimes - and what the facility’s legacy means for international human rights. For the last time, criminal defence lawyer, Nancy Hollander, and Professor Sir Malcolm Evans come together to discuss how the United States of America ignored international human rights treaties – and what can be learnt from the role the University of Bristol's Human Rights implementation Centre already plays in reducing incidence of torture around the world.

4.Guantánamo Bay – Closing the door?

Professor Sir Malcolm Evans, Co-Director of The Human Rights Implementation Centre and the former Chair of the UN’s Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, hosts this series which explores the shameful 20th anniversary of the Guantánamo Bay Detention camp, discussing its impact and its legacy with former prisoner, Mohamedou Ould Slahi and his defence lawyer, Nancy Hollander.

In this episode:

For our fourth and final episode, Malcolm is joined by Nancy Hollander - an internationally recognised  criminal defence lawyer who represented former Guantánamo detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi.

Mohamedou was incarcerated at the naval base after being accused of involvement in planning the September 11 atrocities. He was one of the facility's first inmates. Here, Mohamedou endured years of torture, including assault, being blasted with heavy metal music and strobe lighting, and deprived of sleep for 70 days. Malcolm and Nancy discuss what closing Guantánamo looks like, the need for mechanisms that hold States accountable for their crimes – and the need for Guantánamo to not become a shield behind which others committing such acts can hide.

Further Reading/Viewing:

Guantánamo, torture and the mechanisms for change – bristol.ac.uk/research-guantanamo

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.