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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWho is Khalid Qasim?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalid Qassim was kidnapped by the Northern Alliance when he was a young man on his first-ever trip outside of Yemen. He was brutally tortured and forced to confess to a crime he did not commit. He was then sold to the US for a bounty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalid has spent almost half of his life in Guant\u00e1namo Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is just one of more than 100 Yemeni nationals who have been wrongfully imprisoned in Guant\u00e1namo Bay since 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The art of healing<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For many detainees, like Khalid, there is no real support system \u2013 despite them enduring long term imprisonment, solitary confinement and torture. Although the conditions in Guant\u00e1namo Bay have improved over the years, many detainees are traumatised and suffer from physical ailments induced by torture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many, there is just one solace and form of expression \u2013 art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalid \u2013 the artist<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first few years that the prison was open, access to art supplies was limited and reserved only for \u2018well behaved\u2019 prisoners. Over time, access to art supplies has improved, but Khalid is known to have done whatever he could to create \u2013 with or without the desired tools to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Committed to peaceful protest, Khalid has engaged in a number of hunger strikes inside the prison. He\u2019s even demanded to be kept in solitary confinement in protest at the conditions in Guant\u00e1namo and his detention without charge or trial. In total, he has spent seven years of his life in the prison on hunger strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best insight into his internal turmoil is provided by his paintings which conveys his disgust at the injustice that he and other detainees have had to face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see from his artwork, much of what he\u2019s produced is abstract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet artwork, made with rigorous movement, feel extremely expressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalid\u2019s choice of dark colours, including a sea of reds and blacks, could be interpreted as an expression of the pain and suffering that he has endured while imprisoned in Guant\u00e1namo Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalid told us, \u201ceach piece carries several meanings that I did not wish to explain. I prefer that the spectator would extract them. The more one reflects the more meaning he finds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He went on to say, \u201cIn spite of all the negative news surrounding me, my paintings are always powered by optimism rather than despair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s next for Khalid Qasim?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalid, who has not yet been cleared for release, has never been able to contest the allegations against him. His entire 19-year detention is based on hearsay and evidence extracted under torture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US authorities\u2019 decision to deny his rights to demand legal action has made his fight for freedom slow. During recent hearings, the Judge presiding over Khalid\u2019s petition for release has expressed surprise that such a low-level person remains detained in Guant\u00e1namo. Tragically, the prison authorities have stopped Khalid from sharing his artwork and even made it next to impossible to show it to his attorneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalid should be free. Thanks to our lawyers and campaigners, we hope that his wrongful imprisonment will come to an end soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/reprieve.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/15-1024x666.jpeg\")
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