Reprieve and Agent Provocateur

This is from a recent email circulated around our department.

Reprieve and Agent Provocateur [possibly NSFW] recently unveiled a new line of Guantánamo-orange underpants emblazoned with the slogan Fair Trial My Arse. We currently have a limited number of these knickers, which were featured in Vivienne Westwood’s London fashion week show, being auctioned on eBay. 100% of the final bidding price will go to Reprieve.

As all this is quite a diversion from our usual work (legal briefs), I wanted to tell you more about them and the issues that we hope that the knickers will highlight.

The Fair Trial My Arse lingerie initiative came about when US military authorities bizarrely and falsely accused Reprieve lawyers of smuggling Under Armour underpants and Speedo swimming trunks to a Guantánamo prisoner, Shaker Aamer. Shaker is a British resident who has endured six years of imprisonment in Guantánamo Bay, without charge or trial. Almost 280 men remain in Guantánamo Bay, yet only 14 of them stand charged with any crime.

Prompted by this strange story, and the fact that the small number of Guantánamo prisoners being put before a military court can be convicted based on secret evidence and evidence gained from torture, Agent Provocateur developed handcuff-accessorized bikini-briefs in Guantánamo orange, emblazoned with the slogan Fair Trial My Arse across the rear. They are being sold in Agent Provocateur stores in aid of Reprieve as well as on our eBay site. Reprieve Director Clive Stafford Smith presented the first pair of pants to Gordon Brown on February 14th as a special Valentine’s Day gift, with a letter asking him to intervene in the plight of British residents Shaker Aamer and Binyam Mohamed in Guantánamo Bay.

It is hoped that the limited-edition bikini-briefs will highlight the inhumane and illegal treatment of prisoners held without trial in Guantánamo Bay and in countless other secret prisons round the world.

Please do check out the knickers and make a bid at ebay.

Thanks for your support,
Reprieve

Unfortunately the knickers are a little pricey but I wanted to draw your attention to the initiative anyway.

There are lots of stories about this around the web. Combine some or all of these search terms: reprieve, agent provocateur, knickers, clive stafford smith, gordon brown, london fashion week, vivienne westwood.