In 2010, president Barack Obama ordered the closure of the US prisons in Cuba. Most of the detainees still there and after 13 years have never been charged with any crimes. Most have been tortured — and some are forced-fed twice daily.
Gulf News has been the first Middle East newspaper to be allowed into the Guantanamo jail. The result?
A multimedia story across platforms that includes interviews, photo galleries, audio and video, also with “Behind the Wire” was the first time that a web project led the story in the GN newsroom.
We decided to plan “Behind the Wire” as a web-led interactive project, primarily because it allowed us to tell the story of Guantanamo Bay in different ways.
The interactive features allowed us to provide details of the 140 inmates; on the cells in which they are held; torture techniques; force feeding and provide a true insight into the camps, like the infamous camp 7 and official documents.
One of the most challenging part producing the project was to reach the fast deadline with the best possible quality on the product. From writing the story, editing the footage and branding the project. It took from Dec 1 to Jan 21 to complete. It was a lot of work, a lot of fun and a real team effort.
The project was awarded as Gold Award by WAN/IFRA Asian Digital Media Awards 2015 and Bronce Award at the Wan/IFRA Middle East Digital Awards.
Profiles of the 140 inmates
Browsing the project.
Samples of Lower thirds.
Promo "Force Feeding"
Gulf News' Behind the Wire promo for Facebook "Force feeding"
Consistent on the branding, a promotion package of videos and images were distributed on internet. Primarily for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
