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How I see America, from a former Gitmo prisoner
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| Parent(s) |
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Jul 02, 2012 01:03pm |
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| Category | Profile |
| Author | Tazeen Ahmad |
| News Date | Monday, July 2, 2012 04:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Moazzam Begg makes an unlikely former terrorism suspect. Soft-spoken, gentle-mannered and with a slight build, the British-born 43-year-old is open to tough questions and does not flinch when pushed on his alleged links to international terrorism.
His fate turned out to be three years in high-security detention, first in Kandahar and Bagram in Afghanistan and then at Guantanamo. The claims made against him were many: being an al-Qaida member, recruiting others to terrorism, providing support and financing, training in terrorist camps in Afghanistan and training others.
Despite this, he was never charged. After his release, Begg accused the British government of complicity while he was in American custody, and received an out-of-court settlement in 2010.
Some consensus, though, has emerged – that he was a victim of human rights violations in the form of being illegally detained and tortured, allegations denied by the U.S. government.
“I was punched and kicked,” he said. “Soldiers cut my clothes off, they shaved my hair and beard forcibly, they took pictures of me naked, dogs frightened me, they interrogated me naked; that was torture.”
He also says he saw two men beaten to death and heard the sounds of a woman screaming next door that he was led to believe was his wife. |
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