Zachary Philip Katznelson is a lawyer and formerly Legal Director for the human rights group Reprieve. Katznelson and his colleagues represented over 50 people imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. He has written numerous newspaper

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...

s and was frequently quoted in the British press.

Comments on Guantanamo captives' cases

The

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

quoted Katznelson's comments following the release of Bisher Al Rawi: : On 6 September 2009, Katznelson made what ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' characterised as "extraordinary claims" on behalf of his client

Shaker Aamer Shaker Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Aamer (born 21 December 1966)Bagram Theater Internment Facility The Parwan Detention Facility (also called Detention Facility in Parwan or Bagram prison) is Afghanistan's main military prison. Situated next to the Bagram Air Base in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan, the prison was built by the U.S. during t ...

. Aamer claimed some of the interrogators who abused him in Bagram, in early 2002, represented themselves as

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...

officers. Aamer told him about feeling terrified as he recovered from one stunning beating that his interrogators had left him alone in a room with a pistol on the table. Aamer told him that the interrogators who represented themselves as MI5 officers offered him a choice. If he agreed to spy on suspected

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

s living in the UK he could be released to the United Kingdom. Alternatively he could remain indefinitely American custody. Commenting on Aamer's report that he had been left alone with a gun Katznelson said: Commenting on Aamer's report that MI5 had tried to recruit him as a spy Katznelson said:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katznelson, Zachary Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Guantanamo Bay attorneys British lawyers British activists