"I thank God that Murat kept his sanity in the hell of injustice and torture of nearly 5 years in Guantanamo so he could tell his story. May it be studied in every school and college in Europe and the USA. May it help to close down all the illegal and secret prisons and camps, as well as Guantanamo, and restore the prisoners to their families. I am sure Murat's book will educate a whole generation about justice and the defense of human rights." -- Vanessa Redgrave
I really agree with Vanessa's review. This book needs to be studied by the rest of the world, so the mistake that is Guantanamo is not repeated elseware around the globe. It needs to be studied by Americans too, Abu Ghraib isn't the only prison-related atrocity we, America, are guilty of. The horrors of Guantanamo are very real, if every American read this book, and flooded their congressman's mailbox- I believe we could see Murat Kurnaz's hell of 5 years be shut down.
Not everybody in these prisons around the world are guilty of their accused crimes, innocent much like Kurnaz was. To deny that this happens, after reading Five Years in Guantanamo... it would be ignorant to say that while I'm writing, an innocent man is not being detained for a crime he did not commit. It would be ignorant to say that everybody in these prisons is guilty, and they were all given the right to a fair trial.
What makes a trial by jury an American right? Because we said so? We don't hold exclusive ownership of that right, it should be universal, for every human on this Earth to be given that right, regardless of what their backround is or what crime they commited. As humans we need to unite, and stand together. We treat our own species as animals in camps like these, we need to unify as the human race and put an end to it. What made Murat Kurnaz deserving of spending 5 years of his life in Guantanamo for no reason at all? He didn't deserve it, he was treated less than human. It's a despicable thing that we allowed these prisons to be established, the best thing we can do now is shut them down.
This book really opened my eyes to what horrific things transpire in Guantanamo and more than likely others like it as well. It was a close look through the eye of an innocent prisoner, at what it is really like.
