Please write a letter of support to Adel Hakeemy

Adel Hakeemy has been held in Guantánamo Bay since 2002 - a letter from the outside world would let him know that he has not been forgotten.

Adel was born in Tunisia in 1969, but the country’s high rates of unemployment spurred him to migrate to Italy at the age of 16. For the next eight years he lived there legally, working as a chef in several well-respected restaurants. He speaks fondly of the Italian people and of his time in Italy, and would welcome the chance to resume his life there.

In the late nineties, Adel decided to travel to Pakistan, in the hope of finding a woman who shared his Muslim faith and getting married. He did indeed find a wife, but as a condition of the marriage, Adel agreed to his in-laws’ request that he move with them to Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He settled into his new home, and there were plans to open a European-style snack stand in Kabul with Adel as the chef, but these plans were interrupted by the invasion of Afghanistan.

Adel fled the war zone, but was kidnapped by the Pakistanis and handed over to the Americans. He was taken first to Kandahar, where he was grievously abused, and then to Guantánamo. Adel’s wife was pregnant when he was picked up, and he now has an eight-year-old daughter whom he has never met. He is desperate to rebuild his life, but cannot return to Tunisia as he would almost certainly face torture. 

You can write to Adel at:

Adel Hakeemy

ISN #168

U.S. Naval Station

Guantanamo Bay

Cuba

Washington, D.C. 20355

United States of America