| Andy Worthington | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Journalist, historian, film director |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Subjects | Social history, the war on terror |
|
www.andyworthington.co.uk |
|
Andy Worthington is a British historian, journalist, and film director.[1][2][3][4][5][6] He has published three books, and been published in numerous publications. In 2009 Worthington was the co-director of a documentary about the Guantanamo detainees.[7][8][9] Worthington is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, a liberal weblog.[10] Worthington published what has been described as the most definitive annotated list of all Guantanamo detainees.[11][12] In January 2010 he published the first annotated list of Bagram detainees.[13]
Worthington's most recent book is The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison.[14] Following its publication in October 2007, Worthington has published articles supplementing the information in his book, to track new developments. Michelle Shephard, author of Guantanamo's Child, when summing up other books on Guantanamo, described his book as: "Perhaps the single most important book to cover the big picture of Guantanamo", even though he "has never even been to Guantanamo Bay."[15] Stephen Grey, writing in The New Statesman, called the book: "a powerful, essential and long-overdue piece of research".[16]
Worthington and Polly Nash co-directed Outside the Law: Stories from Guantanamo, a 75-minute documentary.[7][8][9] The film focuses on the cases of United Kingdom citizen Moazzam Begg, and Omar Deghayes and Shaker Aamer, legal residents of the UK. In addition to interviews with Begg and Deghayes, there are interviews with lawyers Clive Stafford Smith and Tom Wilner, and Worthington himself. The film premiered at the Human Rights Film Festival in Oslo, Norway, in February 2010.
Worthington articles have been published in the New York Times, The Guardian, the Huffington Post, AlterNet, ZNet, the Future of Freedom Foundation and Amnesty International. In 2008 he wrote the entry "Guantanamo Scandal" for Microsoft Encarta. In 2008, he started writing articles for Cageprisoners, and became its Senior Researcher in June 2010.[17]
Worthington has made numerous radio and television appearances as a commentator on Guantanamo since the publication of the book.[1][18][19]
His two earlier books were: Stonehenge: Celebration & Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield.[20][21] The first book concerns modern celebrations at the ancient astronomical site, and the differing interpretations of modern celebrants. The second book concerns a large confrontation between police and new age celebrants traveling to Stonehenge on 1 June 1985.
On 16 June 2009 Worthington revealed new information on the death of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi a former US ghost prisoner who died in a Libyan jail. He described in particular the prisons in which al Libi was held, and the ways in which torture was used by his interrogators.[22]
Worthington reported that former Guantanamo detainee, United Kingdom resident, and citizen of Libya Omar Deghayes was his link to a source within Libya who had spoken with Al Libi prior to his death.[22] Based on his Libyan source Worthington was able to offer a more detailed timeline of Al Libi's last years.
In 2010, Amnesty International was criticized for its partnership with Cageprisoners' Moazzam Begg by Gita Sahgal, its former Gender Unit head. Worthington defended Amnesty International and Begg, citing Islamophobia. He said, "I know from personal experience that Moazzam Begg is no extremist. We have met on numerous occasions, have had several long discussions, and have shared platforms together at many events."[23]