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February 26, 2014

Former Gitmo Prisoner, Activist Moazzam Begg Arrested in Britain on Claims of Syria Terrorism Ties 
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A former Guantánamo prisoner who spent nearly three years in U.S.
custody without charge has been arrested in Britain on accusations
related to the conflict in Syria. Police say Moazzam Begg is suspected
of attending a terrorist training camp and "facilitating terrorism
overseas." Begg is director of the prisoner advocacy group, Cage.
Earlier this month, he published an article about visiting Syria to
probe reports of U.S. and British complicity in rendering terrorism
suspects to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He also said
his passport was seized last month, writing, "I am certain that the only
reason I am being continually harassed — something that began long
before any visit to Syria — is because [Cage] and I are at the
forefront of investigations and assertions based on hard evidence that
British governments, past and present, have been willfully complicit in
torture." Cage released a statement expressing outage at Begg's arrest,
writing, "Moazzam Begg is just the latest individual drawn by the
humanitarian catastrophe in Syria who has been labelled a terrorist. The
purpose is to intimidate and vilify the wider Muslim community so that
they are prevented from delivering much needed aid to the Syrian
people."

 

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