Guantanamo Brits to be freed
2005-01-11 14:58
London - The four remaining Britons held at Guantanamo Bay are to be released, British government sources said on Tuesday.
The decision, to be announced by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to the House of Commons, follows months of negotiations between Washington and London and a direct appeal by Prime Minister Tony Blair to United States President George W Bush.
Lawyer Louise Christian, who represents two of the men, said Britain's Foreign Office had informed her that the four detainees - Moazzam Begg, Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga and Richard Belmar - would be returned in the next few weeks.
It is expected that the four will be questioned by British police under the Terrorism Act on their return, before a decision is made whether they should be released or remain in custody to face trial.
Mentally examined
Five other Britons, detained in Afghanistan late in 2001, were released from the US naval base in Cuba in March, and were not charged with any offence in Britain. Four of them - Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Rhuhel Ahmed and Jamal Al-Harith - have filed a lawsuit in a US court seeking $10m each in damages.
Christian, who represents Abbasi and Mubanga, condemned the men's detention.
"In conditions where they are kept in cages and credible evidence of torture and ill-treatment, I think that makes it urgent the British government gets them back," she said.
Begg's father welcomed the prospect of his son's release.
"First thing, I would like him to be medically and mentally examined," Azmat Beg told GMTV television. "And if he has got charges against him, he should stand trial."
The British government spent months negotiating the men's release with US officials, and stated repeatedly that the proposed military tribunal that Begg and Abbasi were listed to face did not meet international standards of justice.
Some legal experts doubt there will be enough evidence to try any of the returnees because information gleaned from interrogation at Guantanamo would be inadmissible in court.
Torture claims
About 550 prisoners from 42 countries are being held at the remote camp after being swept up in the US-led war in Afghanistan.
In a major setback to the US administration, the US Supreme Court ruled in June that Guantanamo prisoners could challenge their detentions in federal court. Since then, 69 detainees have filed 19 cases challenging the legality of their detention as enemy combatants. Rulings are expected soon.
In an uncensored letter released to his legal team last year, Begg claimed he had been tortured and held in solitary confinement for almost two years.
He claimed he was kidnapped from his home in Pakistan in January 2002 and was held at the US military base at Bagram, near Kabul before being transferred to Guantanamo.
- AP