Art from Guantánamo

Twenty-four years without charge, without trial, without communication - but not without a voice. What role can art and artivism play in the pursuit of justice?

Abu Zubaydah is a 55-year-old Palestinian who has been detained in Guantánamo Bay for 24 years. In the aftermath of 9/11, he was secretly held and brutally tortured by the CIA, with the complicity of many states, including the UK. He is dubbed the “forever prisoner” as the US claims the right to continue to detain him without any such charge or trial for the remainder of his life. Many facts surrounding that torture and complicity remain classified, and his conditions of confinement at Guantánamo mean that he is not allowed to communicate with the outside world. In this exhibition, he speaks through his art. It urges us to reflect, learn and act to end torture, arbitrary detention and the inhumanity of Guantánamo.

The artwork by Abu Zubaydah gives graphic insight into his experience. It mainly depicts the impact of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” inflicted by the CIA with approval from the highest level of the US government. Some convey the hopelessness of being detained with no prospect of trial or release. Some of the most recent ones show his concern for the world beyond Guantánamo. In this exhibition, his art is displayed alongside judgements in his favour that confirm his detention as “anathema to the rule of law”, ongoing torture and call for his “immediately release”.

More about this exhibition

This exhibition is organised by LSE Law School with Human Rights in Practice and Human Rights in the Picture, in association with LSE Arts.

The exhibition forms part of a project focused on exposing and ending Abu Zubaydah's ordeal. Multiple legal cases have been brought on his behalf, clarifying the violations and responsibilities of many states, including the UK. Most recently, a substantial settlement was reached between the UK Government and Abu Zubaydah, to end his civil claim concerning the security and intelligence agencies’ complicity in his torture and rendition. As of today, he remains in unlawful detention at Guantánamo.

Art and justice together call for an end to the notorious detention of the “#ForeverPrisoner.” This idea is explored in The Forever Prisoner, a 2021 documentary by Alex Gibney, which examines the United States’ use of torture and extraordinary rendition. The film focuses on Abu Zubaydah, the first “high-value detainee” subjected to the CIA’s programme.

Please be advised this exhibition is not easy viewing. It contains graphic depictions of torture and abuse which may be distressing to viewers.

About the team

Marie Petersmann is Assistant Professor of Law at LSE Law School. Her work lies at the intersection of international law, critical theory, ecology and climate justice. She is the author of When Environmental Protection and Human Rights Collide (CUP, 2022); co-author, with Julia Dehm, Kathleen Birrell, and Afshin Akhtar-Khavari, of Law and the Inhuman (CUP, forthcoming 2026); and co-editor, with Dimitri Van Den Meerssche, of Underworlds: Sites and Struggles of Global Dis/Ordering (forthcoming).

Alexandra Klegg is Head of Events, Communications and Creative Projects at LSE Law School. Her work focuses on strategic event planning, delivering an extensive academic events programme with the Events Team and developing a range of communication channels with all stakeholders. She oversees brand image, podcasts, and leads various creative projects within the Law School. Alexandra is also the Production Editor of the annual alumni magazine Ratio.

Helen Duffy is Professor of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the University of Leiden, and Director of Human Rights inPractice (HRiP), an international law practice specialising in strategic litigation in the European, African, Inter-American and UN systems. Her practice has included several cases on rendition, torture, and Guantánamo. She represents so-called ‘forever prisoner’ Abu Zubaydah since 2009. She is the author of The ‘War on Terror’ and the Framework of International law (CUP, 2015) and Strategic Human Rights Litigation: Understanding and Maximising Impact (Hart, 2018); and co-editor, with Ziv Bohrer and Janina Dill, of Law Applicable to Armed Conflict (CUP, 2020).

Related events

The Forever Prisoner film screening

Join LSE Law School for a screening of The Forever Prisoner by Alex Gibney (2021) on Monday 11 May and hear from the authors of The Forever Prisoner: The Full and Searing Account of the CIA’s Most Controversial Covert Program. Register here to book your place.

‘War on Terror’: Legacy, justice, art

LES Law School will be hosting a conference on Tuesday 12 May to mark the opening of the exhibition and to discuss the themes it raises. This event brings together international law scholars, practitioners, journalists and artists to reflect on the legacy of the so-called ‘war on terror’ (WOT) today, and the implications for the future. The conference programme is available here.
Register here to book your place.
The discussion will be followed by a public reception in the gallery from 6:30pm on Tuesday 12 May to launch the exhibition.

Exhibition Launch: Reception

Tuesday 12 May, 6.30pm, Atrium Gallery. Free admission, no registration required.

From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this exhibition you check back on this listing before visiting.

LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.