Moazzam Begg

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Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg
Arrested:	February 2002 Islamabad, Pakistan by the CIA
Released:	January 25, 2005 Paddington Green Police Station , London, England
Citizenship	British
Detained at:	Guantanamo Bay
Alleged to be a member of:	Al Qaida
Charge(s):	None
Status	Released (UK government has placed conditions on traveling abroad)[1]
Spouse:	Zaynab Begg
Parents:	Azmat Begg
Children:	3

Moazzam Begg (born 1968) is one of nine British Muslims who were held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, by the government of the U.S..^[2] He was released on January 25, 2005 along with Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga and Richard Belmar, without charge, though he received no compensation or apology.

President Bush released Begg over the objections of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the FBI, who alleged that Mr. Begg could be dangerous terrorist.^[3] After his release from Guantanamo, Begg appeared in the Islamist propaganda video "21st Century CrUSAders" and said the War on Terrorism is really a war against Islam.^[4][5] He has since toured as a speaker about his time in Guantanamo and other detention facilities, characterising the British response to terrorism as racist.^[6]

Five other British born men (Ruhal Ahmed, Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Tarek Dergoul and Jamal Udeen) were released in March 2004.

Background

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

As a youth, Moazzam Begg became a member of a gang in Birmingham called "The Lynx Gang."^[7]

He was first arrested in 1994 for alleged involvement in a benefit fraud case. The leader of The Lynx gang, Syed Murad Meah Butt known as Niaaz, now residing in Glasgow, Scotland,^[8] pleaded guilty and served 18 months in jail.^[9][10] 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. Upon his return from Guantanamo Begg has been asked about this report several times during the hundreds of public meetings, lectures and interviews he's conducted. He states that the items mentioned were in fact a flak jacket, for protection against shrapnel from mines in Bosnia - one of the most heavily mined countries in the world; a hand-held night vision lens, to help navigate Bosnian streets that were devoid of electricity; and, he says, he knows of no 'extremist Islamic literature' being seized at the time. The latter point, he says, is particularly relevant since in 1994, one would be hard pressed to find something fitting the category of 'extremist Islamic literature' in the way it does today. The items he says were seized are no different to what many aid-workers operating in conflict zones might be expected to carry.^{[11] [12]}

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.^[13]

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.^[14] The British government retrieved encrypted files from his computer and ordered Begg to open them, but Begg refused and a judge ruled in his favor.^[12] He was released without charge.^[15]

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 fulfill 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.

The Guardian reported that 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. However, since his release, upon questioning about this report, Begg has stated that he is unaware of such a transaction and has pointed out that no one can source this money transfer, the amount, dates and places allegedly mentioned in it. In fact, he points out that it would have been impossible to tranfer money to bank accounts in Afghanistan at a time when the banking system in the country was not operational.^{[16] [17]} He was seized in Islamabad in February 2002 by the CIA. His family insists that this is a case of mistaken identity.

Detention in Afghanistan

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

Begg claimed that while at Bagram, he witnessed two other detainees being beaten to death.^[18] He is featured in the film Taxi to the Dark Side talking about one of the deaths.

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.^[19] He was not charged with any crime nor allowed to consult any legal counsel during that time.

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"^[20] an exception allowed for by the Geneva Conventions.

Defense attorney's allegations

His American lawyer, Gitanjali Gutierrez, received a handwritten letter from him, dated July 12, 2004.^[21][22] 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 Peirce.

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".

Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 3 x 6 meter trailer. The captive sat with his hands cuffed and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.^[23] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.^[24]

Initially the Bush Presidency asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush Presidency's definition of an enemy combatant.

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Moazzam Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on September 15, 2004.^[25] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

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

1. The detainee recruited individuals to attend al Qaida 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 hostile 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.

Transcript

The Combatant Status Review Tribunal was held on November 13, 2004.^[26] Begg's unclassified dossier was published in early 2005, and hosted by the Associated Press. On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a Summarized transcripts from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[27] 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.

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:^[28]

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).

Begg's statement

Begg's Personal Representative read a brief statement Begg had dictated.^[29]

Begg's Personal Representative's challenge to the Tribunal's conclusions

All Personal Representatives completed a form commenting on the Tribunal's conclusions.^[30] Almost all Personal Representatives checked a box signifying they had no comments.

Begg's Personal Representative however wrote a memo where:^[31]

• 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."^[31]

Torture allegations

It was reported in mid-November 2004 that the Britons in Guantanamo Bay "expect to face charges within six weeks".^[32] 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^[33][34]

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."

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.^[35] 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.

Appeal to Iraqi kidnappers

On December 9, 2005 Begg made a video appeal to the Iraqi kidnappers of four Christian peace workers.^[36][37] Begg said seeing the peace workers in Orange boiler suits reminded him of his own incarceration in Guantanamo Bay. He was later joined in his plea by Islamist Mohammed Mahdi Akef and the Muslim Brotherhood.^[38]

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).^[39][3] 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.^[40] "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.^[3]

Begg comment on Supreme Court ruling

Begg was one of the detainees who would have faced charges before a military commission,^[41] 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:^[42]

"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."

See also

• Babar Ahmed
• Lynx Gang

References

1. ^ Moazzam Begg on His Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! August 1, 2006
2. ^ David Ignatius, A Prison We Need to Escape, Washington Post, June 14, 2006
3. ^ ^{a b c} Jihadist or Victim: Ex-Detainee Makes a Case, The New York Times, June 15, 2006 mirror
4. ^ Bookshop's messages of racist hate, The Observer, February 4, 2007
5. ^ "21st Century CrUSAders: A War on Muslims in Iraq and Palestine" DVD/VHS, Green 72 Media, 2005.
6. ^ Moazzam Begg draws large audience for UCL Human Rights Programme, UCL, January 17, 2008
7. ^ Moazzam Begg Interview, Liverpool's The Nerve, Spring 2007
8. ^ RETURN OF THE ‘ENEMY COMBATANT: An interview with Moazzan Begg, Muslim Minorities blog, March 14, 2007
9. ^ Benefit fraud ring funds Islamic terrorists, The Telegraph, November 18, 2001
10. ^ New City terror link, Birmingham Mail, July 23, 2003
11. ^ http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2008/04/02/moazzem-begg-i-saw-a-prisoner-beaten-to-death-100252-20707080/
12. ^ ^{a b} Briton facing US trial in Cuba was arrested by MI5, The Telegraph, July 6, 2003
13. ^ 'I never took up arms myself' How Moazzam Begg was arrested Channel 4 news February 24, 2005
14. ^ Terrorism act raid on bookshop, The Guardian, March 1, 2000
15. ^ Moazzam Begg, The Telegraph, July 5, 2003 -- background
16. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/moazzam-begg-we-have-to-negotiate-with-alqaida-396197.html
17. ^ Inside Bin Laden's chemical bunker, The Guardian, November 17, 2001
18. ^ 'Two people were beaten to death': Moazzam Begg interview, Channel 4, February 24, 2005
19. ^ Guantanamo Four are too dangerous to free, says US, The Telegraph, March 8, 2004
20. ^ ICRC Meeting with MG Miller on 9 October 2003 (.pdf), Department of Defense, October 9, 2003
21. ^ Full text of Moazzam Begg's letter of July 12, hosted by the BBC
22. ^ Moazzam Begg's letter in PDF format hosted by the BBC
23. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
24. ^ "Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials". United States Department of Defense (March 6, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
25. ^ OARDEC (September 15, 2004). "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal - Begg, Moazzam" pages 22-23. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
26. ^ OARDEC (13 November 2004). "Summarized, Unsworn Personal Representative Statement with absent Detainee" pages 18-19. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
27. ^ "US releases Guantanamo files", The Age (April 4, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-03-15. 
28. ^ Unclassified dossier (.pdf) from Moazzam Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, hosted by Associated Press
29. ^ Moazzam Begg's statement (.pdf) from Moazzam Begg's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, September 15, 2004, pages 18-19, hosted by the Associated Press
30. ^ 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
31. ^ ^{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
32. ^ Guantanamo Britons are still a threat, says Blair, The Telegraph, November 14, 2004
33. ^ Guantanamo Briton Tortured for Reciting Qur’an: Paper , Islam Online, January 2, 2005
34. ^ Guantanamo Briton 'in handcuff torture', The Guardian, January 2, 2005
35. ^ Guantanamo four arrive back in UK, BBC, January 25, 2005
36. ^ Ex-US detainee pleads for hostage, BBC, December 9, 2005
37. ^ Inter-faith support helped save the Iraq hostages, Lebanon Star, April 7, 2006
38. ^ Muslim Brotherhood leader calls for release of British hostage, The Independent, December 10, 2005
39. ^ Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (24 March 2006). "Review of "Enemy Combatant"", The Independent. 
40. ^ Elizabeth Lalas (October 27, 2006). "Moazzam Begg’s story of detention and abuse: This is Bush’s war on terror", Socialist Worker Online. Retrieved on 2007-02-23. 
41. ^ Profile: Moazzam Begg, Cooperative Research
42. ^ The lost Chinese from Guantanamo, the Supremes and re-taking the Moral High Ground, Blogger News Network, June 30, 2006

External links

• CagePrisoners.com - featuring articles by Begg
• The Prisoner, NOW on PBS
• US Department of Defense statements
• Vikram Dodd, Tania Branigan (January 12, 2005). "Health fears for 'torture victims'", The Guardian. 
• A conversation about detainment, torture, and civil liberties, via videoconference from the U.K. with Moazzam Begg, November 12, 2006

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