Fulbright lecture spans Guantanamo to Morocco

BOWLING GREEN, O.— Fulbright scholar Dr. Abdelaziz Nouaydi will discuss his time spent defending a Moroccan detainee falsely accused and held at Guantanamo Bay in his lecture “Seeking Justice at Guantanamo and After: Stories of the Trials of Moroccan Detainees.”

Presented by Bowling Green State University’s departments of Journalism and Public Relations and Political Science, the lecture will start at 7 p.m. April 1 in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union Theater, followed by a question-and-answer period. The lecture is free.

Dr. Nouaydi will tell the story of one man coming back to Morocco to be tried after being held at the U.S. detention center for more than four years. Arrested in Afghanistan in October 2001, the man was not finally released until May 2007.

“I will be looking at the Moroccan context of the War on Terror, how Moroccan law has been violated and the struggle with Moroccan authorities and the judicial authorities,” said Nouaydi.

Nouaydi, who is both a professor and lawyer, is teaching an undergraduate course at BGSU in international law and a graduate class in media and terrorism. He has argued cases in Morocco for press freedom, homosexual rights, other human rights and terrorism. From 1998-2002, he was the adviser to the Moroccan prime minister for human rights and social dialogue and worked with nongovernmental organizations and trade unions.

He has worked with many international institutions and projects in the areas of government transparency, press freedom and a variety of human rights issues. He has also helped with legal assistance for the cases of other Moroccan detainees.

"Dr. Nouaydi brings a perspective often missing in U.S. media coverage. What does happen to these prisoners after they are released to their home countries?" said Dr. Nancy Brendlinger, an associate professor of journalism and public relations.

For more information, contact Brendlinger at nbrendl@bgsu.edu.

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(Posted March 26, 2010 )