Moazzam Begg

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Moazzam Begg before speaking at a meeting about civil liberties

Moazzam Begg (born 1968) is one of nine British Islamists who were held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, by the government of the United States of America. ^[1] He was released on January 25, 2005 along with Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga and Richard Belmar, without charge though he received no compensation or an apology. President Bush released Moazzam Begg over the objections of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the FBI, who warned that Mr. Begg could still be a dangerous terrorist.^[2]

Five other British born men (Ruhal Ahmed, Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Tarek Dergoul and Jamal Udeen) were released in March 2004. At least four other former British residents remain detained in Guantanamo Bay, although none have British nationality.

[edit] Background

Begg is originally from Sparkbrook, a suburb of Birmingham. His father, Azmat Begg, was born in India.

Moazzam Begg was first arrested in 1994 for alleged involvement in a benefit fraud case. His acquaintance, Shahid Akram Butt, pleaded guilty and served 18 months in jail.^[3][4] Charges against Begg were dropped, but a police search of his home found night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, and extremist Islamic literature. His family insist that he was collecting such items as a hobby. ^[5]

He had travelled to Afghanistan and Bosnia and attempted to travel to Chechnya, and fully acknowledges giving financial support for Muslim combatants, but insists that he never took a combat role for himself. ^[6]

He was again arrested in 2000 under British anti-terrorism laws during a raid on the Maktabah Al Ansar bookshop in Birmingham, which he had founded. ^[7] The government retrieved encrypted files from his computer and ordered Begg to open them, but Begg refused and a judge ruled in his favor.^[5] He was released without charge.^[8]

[edit] Arrest

With his wife Zaynab and three young children, Begg moved to Kabul, Afghanistan, in mid 2001. He has always insisted that his move was to fulfil his dream of being a teacher, and he became a charity worker at a school. With the war in Afghanistan in 2001, the family decided to wait out the hostilities in neighbouring Pakistan.

When al Qaeda's Derunta training camp was captured that November, a copy of a money transfer was found that credited an account for Moazzam Begg.^[9] He was seized in Islamabad in February 2002 by the CIA. His family insist that this is a case of mistaken identity.

[edit] Detention in Afghanistan

Begg was held at Bagram airbase for approximately a year, then transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

While at Bagram, Begg reported witnessing two other detainees being beaten to death, and claims to have experienced similar treatment.^[10]

From his original detainment up to the time of his release, he was held for a total of just under three years. The United States government considered Begg an enemy combatant, and claimed that he trained at al-Qaeda terrorist camps in Afghanistan.^[11] He was not charged with any crime nor allowed to consult any legal counsel during that time.

[edit] Denied access to the ICRC

A memo from a meeting held on October 9, 2003 summarizing a meeting between General Geoffrey Miller and his staff and Vincent Cassard of the ICRC, acknowledged that camp authorities were not permitting the ICRC to have access to Begg, due to "military necessity"^[12] an exception allowed for by the Geneva Conventions.

[edit] Defense attorney's allegations

His American lawyer, Gitanjali Gutierrez, received a handwritten letter from him, dated July 12, 2004.^{[13] [14]} This letter is unusual in that it was the first letter to come from a Guantanamo bay prisoner without having been censored by the American officials. It is not clear how this letter escaped the censor. It is not known if he wrote similar letters before. The language of the letter is coherent and purposeful. The full text of the letter was passed to Mr. Begg's American lawyer, thence to his British lawyer, Gareth Pierce.

Several phrases from this letter have been discussed in the media, the most significant being "threats of torture, actual torture, death threats, racial and religious abuse", "cruel and unusual treatment" and "documents ... were signed under duress". The phrase "the deaths of two fellow detainees, at the hands of US military personnel, to which I myself was partially witness" has also attracted much attention, as has his insistence that "I am a law abiding citizen of the UK, and attest vehemently to my innocence, before God and the law, of any crime - though none has even been alleged".

[edit] Begg's known and suspected associations with terrorists

[edit] Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a small trailer, the same width, but shorter, than a mobile home. The Tribunal's President sat in the big chair. The detainee sat with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor in the white, plastic garden chair. A one way mirror behind the Tribunal President allowed observers to observe clandestinely. In theory the open sessions of the Tribunals were open to the press. Three chairs were reserved for them. In practice the Tribunal only intermittently told the press that Tribunals were being held. And when they did they kept the detainee's identities secret. In practice almost all Tribunals went unobserved.

This Tribunal was conducted by a subordinate officer trained in the techniques pioneered by the then Guantanamo commandant, General Geoffrey Miller, to 'set the conditions' for detainees' interrogation, which Miller then took (these methods) to Iraq where he oversaw a similar regime at Abu Gharib. The members of this tribunal were all part of the US military regime that oversaw other prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Prisoners were not allowed any legal representation. Leading New York Judge Susan Mehan said "To call this a tribunal itself is a misnomer, it was constituted as more of an interrogators panel by the Jailors". The tribunal has been likened by Amnesty International to a Kangaroo Court.

The Combatant Status Review Tribunal was held on November 13, 2004.^[18]

The allegations Begg would have faced, during his Tribunal, were:

a. The detainee is a member of al Qaida and other affiliated terrorist organizations.

1. The detainee recruited individuals to attend al Qauida run terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.
2. The detainee provided money and material support to al Qaida terrorist training camps.
3. The detainee has received extensive training at al Qaida run terrorist training camps since 1993. He has been trained on the AK-47, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), handgun, ambush theory, detection of land mines and he manufacture of improvised grenades.
4. The detainee provided support to al Qaida terrorists by providing shelter for their families while the al Qaida members committed terrorist acts.

b. The detainees engaged in hostile acts against the United States or its coalition Partners.

1. The detainee was armed and prepared to fight on the frontlines against US and allied forces alongside Taliban and al Qaida fighters.
2. The detainee retreated to the Tora Bora Afghanistan along with other Taliban and al Qaida fighters.
3. The detainee engaged in these hostil actions while neither he nor his fellow fighters wore distinctive military emblems on their clothes, not followed a typical chain of command.
4. The detainee provided support to Usama Bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network with full knowledge that Bin Laden had issued a declaration of war against the United States and that the al Qaida network had committed numerous terrorist attacks against the United States and its citizens.

The tribunal considered 6 unclassified documents, and 27 classified documents, before they confirmed that he was an "enemy combatant". He was never brought before a US Court of Justice.

[edit] The Tribunal President's view of Begg's POW status

Moazzam Begg asserted that he was not claiming POW status -- because he regarded himself as a civilian. However, he submitted a list of witnesses he wanted to testify on his behalf. He thought two of them, an employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a US officer, could testify that he been classified as a Prisoner of War, and had been issued a POW card. James Crisfield, the legal advisor to the Tribunals, wrote:^[19]

The detainee proffered that this witness was an ICRC employee who would testify that the detainee had previously been issued a POW identity card at a U.S. detention facility in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Tribunal President initially determined that the witness was relevant, but after consultation with the Assistant Legal Advisor, she changed her determination. She based her decision on her conclusion that the Combatant Status Review Tribunals do not have the discretion to determine that a detainee should be classified as a prisoner of war -- only whether the detainee satisfies the definition of "enemy combatant" as provided in references (a) and (b). In my opinion, this decision was correct. It bears noting that in a written statement prepared by the detainee especially for the CSRT, the detainee specifically says that he does not claim POW status (see exhibit D-e).

[edit] Begg's statement

Begg's Personal Representative read a brief statement Begg had dictated.^[20]

[edit] Begg's Personal Representative's challenge to the Tribunal's conclusions

All Personal Representative's completed a form commenting on the Tribunal's conclusions.^[21] Almost all Personal Representatives checked a box signifying they had no comments.

Begg's Personal Representative however wrote a memo where:^[22]

• Begg's Personal Representative challenged the Tribunal's President and the OARDEC legal advisor conclusion that the witness Begg requested, showing he had previously been classified as a POW were not relevant.
• Begg's Personal Representative challenged the Tribunal's fundamental justice because: "...the Tribunal was instructed to assume that the detainee is an enemy combatant does not provide a means of denying the detainee the right to rebut the presumption."
• Begg's Personal Representative asserted that "...the Tribunal incorrectly ruled the above witnesses not relevant because they were not disputing that the detainee aided the Taliban or al Qaida. POW status would not have precluded these facts from being true."
• Begg's Personal Representative disputed the Tribunal President's and legal advisor's assertion that Tribunals did not have the authority to agree to captive's requests to be truthfulness evaluated during a polygraph examination by a polygraph examiner.

• Begg's Personal Representative concluded: "The above-mentioned failure to view relevant testimony denied this detainee adequate due process as outlined in the order of the convening authority."^[22]

[edit] Torture allegations

It was reported in mid-November 2004 that the Britons in Guantanamo Bay "expect to face charges within six weeks".^[23] However by the end of December 2004 this time had passed without any news of charges being laid. Later in 2004, Clive Stafford Smith (a British born lawyer then working in the United States), was allowed to visit Begg and Richard Belmar. Smith said that he had heard "credible and consistent evidence" from Mr. Begg of torture, including the use of strappado ^[24][25]

The Pentagon has maintained that torture is prohibited at Guantanamo bay, that all credible allegations of abuse are investigated, and that "the United States operates a safe, humane and professional detention operation at Guantanamo that is providing valuable information on the War on Terrorism."

[edit] Release

On Monday January 11, 2005, the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced that the four British citizens remaining in Guantanamo Bay would be returned to Britain "within weeks" after "intensive and complex discussions" with the US government. Though they are still regarded as "enemy combatants" by the US government, no specific charges have been brought against any of them.

On Tuesday January 25 2005 Begg and the three other British citizen detainees were flown back to the United Kingdom by an RAF aircraft.^[26] On arrival they were arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken to Paddington Green police station for questioning under the Terrorism Act 2000. By 9pm on Wednesday January 26, all four had been released without charge.

[edit] Appeal to Iraqi kidnappers

On December 9, 2005 Begg made a video appeal to the Iraqi kidnappers of four Christian peace workers.^[27][28] Begg said seeing the peace workers in Orange boiler suits reminded him of his own incarceration in Guantanamo Bay.

[edit] His book

Begg is the author of a book about his Guantanamo experiences published in Britain as Enemy Combatant: A British Muslim's Journey To Guantanamo and Back (ISBN 0-7432-8567-0) and in the United States as Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar (ISBN 1-59558-136-7).^[29][2] It was co-written with Victoria Brittain.

"Much of the Moazzam Begg story is consistent with other accounts of detention conditions in both Afghanistan and Guantanamo," wrote John Sifton, a New York-based official from Human Rights Watch who interviewed former Guantanamo prisoners in Pakistan and Afghanistan.^[30] "It is now clear that there is a systemic problem of abuse throughout the US military's detention facilities — not merely misbehaviour by a few bad apples."

But the New York Times reported "some notable gaps in Mr. Begg's memoir" in that he did not mention a previous arrest nor some of his alleged ties to terrorism. The book also omitted ties that Beggs acknowledged elsewhere, the Times said.^[2]

[edit] Begg comment on Supreme Court ruling

Begg was one of the detainees who would have faced charges before a military commission^[31], but on June 29, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an earlier ruling (Hamdan v. Rumsfeld) that President Bush did not have the authority to set up such commissions.

Begg made the following comment: ^[32]

A lot of us remain skeptical of what this decision will actually accomplish because it only applies to the handful of men who have been charged and Bush has not respected past court decisions. That said, I'm very glad to hear the news and hope it will be the beginning of the end for many of these men." I actually hope it is the beginning of a new beginning. . . .

[edit] References

1. ^ David Ignatius, Have we lost our humanity at Gitmo?, Akron Beacon Journal, June 16, 2006
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Jihadist or Victim: Ex-Detainee Makes a Case, The New York Times, June 15, 2006 mirror
3. ^ ^{a b} Benefit fraud ring funds Islamic terrorists, The Telegraph, November 18, 2001
4. ^ New City terror link, Birmingham Mail, July 23, 2003
5. ^ ^{a b} Briton facing US trial in Cuba was arrested by MI5, The Telegraph, July 6, 2003
6. ^ 'I never took up arms myself' How Moazzam Begg was arrested Channel 4 news February 24, 2005
7. ^ Terrorism act raid on bookshop, The Guardian, March 1, 2000
8. ^ Moazzam Begg, The Telegraph, July 05, 2003 -- background
9. ^ Inside Bin Laden's chemical bunker, The Guardian, November 17, 2001
10. ^ 'Two people were beaten to death': Moazzam Begg interview, Channel 4, February 24, 2005
11. ^ Guantanamo Four are too dangerous to free, says US, The Telegraph, March 8, 2004
12. ^ ICRC Meeting with MG Miller on 09 Oct 2003 (.pdf), Department of Defense, October 9, 2003
13. ^ Full text of Moazzam Begg's letter of July 12, hosted by the BBC
14. ^ Moazzam Begg's letter in PDF format hosted by the BBC
15. ^ ^{a b} Moazzam Begg on His Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! August 1, 2006
16. ^ Did he act alone? Sunday Herald December 30, 2001
17. ^ Bookshop's messages of racist hate, The Observer, February 4, 2007
18. ^ Summary of Evidence memo (.pdf) from Moazzam Begg'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal, September 15, 2004, pages 22-23, hosted by the Associated Press
19. ^ Unclassified dossier (.pdf) from Moazzam Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, hosted by Associated Press
20. ^ Moazzam Begg's statement (.pdf) from Moazzam Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, September 15, 2004, pages 18-19, hosted by the Associated Press
21. ^ Personal Representative Review of the Record of Proceedings (.pdf) from Moazzam Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, November 17, 2004, page 121, hosted by the Associated Press
22. ^ ^{a b} Personal Representative "Comments on Tribunal Result" (.pdf) from Moazzam Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, November 17, 2004, page 121, hosted by the Associated Press
23. ^ Guantanamo Britons are still a threat, says Blair, The Telegraph, November 14, 2004
24. ^ Guantanamo Briton Tortured for Reciting Qur’an: Paper , Islam Online, January 2, 2005
25. ^ Guantanamo Briton 'in handcuff torture', The Guardian, January 2, 2005
26. ^ Guantanamo four arrive back in UK, BBC, January 25, 2005
27. ^ Ex-US detainee pleads for hostage, BBC, December 9, 2005
28. ^ Inter-faith support helped save the Iraq hostages, Lebanon Star, April 7, 2006
29. ^ Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. "Review of "Enemy Combatant"", The Independent, 24 March 2006.
30. ^ Elizabeth Lalas. "Moazzam Begg’s story of detention and abuse: This is Bush’s war on terror", Socialist Worker Online, October 27, 2006. Retrieved on February 23.
31. ^ Profile: Moazzam Begg, Cooperative Research
32. ^ The lost Chinese from Guantanamo, the Supremes and re-taking the Moral High Ground, Blogger News Network, June 30, 2006

[edit] External links

• The Prisoner, NOW on PBS
• US Department of Defense statements