Mansoor Adayfi

Mansoor Adayfi is a writer, human rights advocate, and former prisoner who spent around 15 years at the US military camp in Guantánamo without charges or trial. He was resettled to Serbia in 2016 as part of an agreement between the US government and Serbia. Since his release, he has taken a few steps toward his goals. In 2021, he completed his bachelor's degree in management, and he is currently working towards a master's in Project Management. Based on his graduation thesis, "Rehabilitation and Integration of Former Guantanamo Prisoners into Social Life and the Labor Market," along with American lawyers and US-based NGOs, he founded GSF (Guantanamo Survivors Fund).
Among Mansoor's works are the New York Times Modern Love column titled "Taking Marriage Class at Guantánamo" and the op-ed "In Our Pr*son by the Sea." He wrote the introduction, "Ode to the Sea: Art from Guantánamo Bay," for the 2017-2018 exhibition of prisoners' artwork at the John Jay College of Justice in New York City and contributed to the scholarly volume, "Witnessing Torture," published by Palgrave, and to the ECCHR Special publication 2022, "Rupture and Reckoning - Guantanamo turns 20," and others.
In 2018, he participated in the creation of the Whicker Prize-winning radio documentary, "The Art of Now" for BBC radio about art from Guantánamo and the CBC podcast, "Love Me," which aired on NPR's Snap Judgment. Regularly interviewed by international news media about his experiences at Guantánamo and life after, he was also featured in "Out of Gitmo," a documentary in PBS's Frontline series. In 2019, he won the Richard J. Margolis Award for nonfiction writers of social justice journalism. His first book, "DON'T FORGET US HERE, LOST AND FOUND AT GUANTÁNAMO," was published by Hachette to critical acclaim with reviews in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, among numerous others. It won the 2022 Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award. Together with his friend and editor, Antonio Aiello, he was a Sundance Institute Fellow in Episodic TV to adapt his book into the television show, "From Guantánamo, With Love," now in development with Diversity Hire, Inc. Mansoor and Aiello also adapted "Life After" into a feature film by the same name, currently a finalist in the Sundance Feature Film Development category and in development with Process-Media and Diversity Hire, Inc. His new audiobook, "Letters from Guantanamo," was recently published by Audible on the 9th of May, 2024.

Mansoor is a prominent advocate for the closure of Guantanamo, dedicated to seeking justice and accountability. He remains actively involved in efforts to address the ongoing issues surrounding Guantanamo and currently serves as the Guantanamo Project Coordinator CAGE International.

Website:https://www.mansooradayfi.com/

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Queen's University Belfast - School of Law, Moot Court, Belfast, United Kingdom