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Gitmo Video Game Pulled by Makers

by Kendra Cunningham on June 3, 2009 at 01:51 PM



A video game set at Guantanamo Bay, and made with the help of a former Gitmo detainee, has been pulled by developer T-Enterprise, read a statement posted to its Web site today.

The game, 'Rendition Guantanamo,' was set to come out later this Fall, but, due to extreme reactions and controversy, the company has decided to not release the game at all.

As profiled in a recent CBS News article, 'Rendition: Guantanamo,' was set in the near future, after the compound had been closed by the U.S. Government and taken over by mercenaries who kidnapped the innocent for scientific experiments. The game was designed with the help of Moazzam Begg, a British Muslim who was detained at Guantanamo Bay for three years until he was released in 2005. Begg was brought on by the Glasgow-based company as a consultant to assist with the layout of the virtual Gitmo.


Director of T-Enterprise, Zarrar Chisti has released a letter stressing that major misconceptions about the game fueled the backlash. According to his letter, the main character of the game was not Moazzam Begg, it did not feature the killings of any American or British military, it was not designed to be propaganda or to glamorize terrorism, and it was not a recruiting tool of any kind.

Because of such accusations, from Web sites like KFox and Sweetness & Light, T-Enterprise has stopped production stating, "[As] a direct result of the extreme reaction that the game and its popular misconceptions have provoked, T-Enterprise has decided to pull out of the project and will not be completing 'Rendition: Guantanamo.'" [From RenditionGuantanamo and CBS]

Banned Facebook Groups

    Facebook is a great venue for humiliating oneself with ranting and raving, but, like most things, people can take things too far. Give someone a soapbox (or in this case, a Facebook group) and there are sure to be others crazy enough to follow them. Here are some examples of Facebook groups that crossed the line and were banned from the site.

    Assasinate Evo Morales
    Here's a good way to get your group banned -- call for the assassination of a political leader. Titled 'Global Collection to Hire a Sharpshooter to Liquidate Evo Morales' was taken down by Facebook since it bans threatening violence. No surprises here.

    Getty Images

    Surrey, BC Terrorist Group
    A Facebook group supporting the International Sikh Youth Federation, a banned terrorist organization, was taken down by Canadian Police. Authorities were tipped off to the group because its page depicted a young person holding a prohibited gun, which was eventually traced back to 49-year old Bahadur Sandhur. Police seized it and two others when they investigated his home.

    Dead Babies Group
    Facebook took down a group called 'Dead Babies Make Me Laugh' after the UK Sun was flooded with outraged calls and emails. A running joke on campuses, the group included fake anecdotes about killing babies, but mothers weren't laughing even though the group was created and classified as being "just for fun."

    I Need Sex Group
    Laura Michaels of Bristol, England, created a Facebook group called 'I Need Sex.' According to the UK Sun, the group had more than 100 members after being up for only one hour. Michaels claims to have ended up sleeping with 50 of the group's members -- literally half of the group. Facebook opposes this type of personals-ad use, so the group was taken down.

    KKK group
    Facebook recently shut down a group called the 'Isle of Man KKK.' The group called for the elimination of newcomers from the UK island and featured a picture of a hooded Ku Klux Klan member. Thankfully, Facebook's terms of service prohibits content that is hateful or threatening.

Tags: banned, controversial, controversy, e32009, gitmo, guantanamobay, renditionguantanamo, t-enterprise, top, videogames

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