Clive Stafford Smith speaking truth to power
Rehabilitating the image of the west in the eyes of the world by bringing the rule of law back to lawless enclaves like Guantanamo Bay is the long-term goal of Clive Stafford Smith. Rosemary Hartill talks to him about his work
There are risks in doing this kind of work. Clive Stafford Smith is the legal representative of some eighty-five of the 780 or so prisoners that have been, or still are, held in Guantanamo Bay. Unlike some of them, he has not been tortured. But if he reveals publicly an allegation of torture without the permission of the US military censors, he could end up in gaol.
What motivates me above all else is bringing power to the most powerless, the people who are so hated that we want to ritually kill them, or to despise them and lock them up without any due process. There is no greater pleasure than being able to hand someone his or her life back.
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