Griff Witte
By Griff Witte
As a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, Moazzam Begg’s only escape was in his dreams — his nightly chance to leave the grim confines of his US military cell and return to his family in England. But after being held for seven months this year at a maximum security British prison on terrorism charges that were ultimately dropped, Begg, now free, has seen his dreams turn to nightmares. He’s been imprisoned for nearly four years on three continents by the West’s two leading powers, all without a trial.
Amid a new wave of terrorism-related anxiety sweeping Europe as fighters return from Syria, he fears it’s only a matter of time before he’s arrested again. “How many prisons? How many police stations? How many secret detention sites are they going to put me in, and then not try me? And then not give me my day in court?” said Begg, his face scarred by the beatings he says he endured while in US custody.
Begg, soft-spoken and small in stature, has long been a vocal critic of the sort of post-9/11 brutality that was documented this month in chilling detail by the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA torture. But his most recent detention has become emblematic here of what human rights groups, Muslim leaders, terrorism experts and even some security officials say is an overzealous response to the threat posed by European returnees from Syria.
The threat itself is undeniable: Thousands of Europeans have flocked to Syria to fight the regime of President Bashar Al Assad, and many have linked up with the Islamic State or other extremist groups. Speaking on propaganda videos from the battlefield, European fighters have called on their countrymen to carry out attacks at home. When American and British hostages were decapitated, it was a Brit who wielded the knife.
And yet, critics say, European governments may be exacerbating the problem with a heavy-handed response that includes mandatory arrests of returnees, lengthy prison sentences and a lack of lighter alternatives, including reintegration programs.
“Arresting and prosecuting people doesn’t really tackle the root causes of the problem,” said Imran Awan, a criminologist at Birmingham City University who studies counterterrorism strategies. “You just alienate and isolate people even more if the government is locking people up and throwing away the key.”
Policies are expected to get tougher in the months ahead, as several governments push legislation authorising new powers to seize passports. In Britain, the government has fast-tracked a bill that could prevent former fighters from returning home for up to two years, temporarily stripping them of their rights as British citizens.
Experts say the policies fail to distinguish between hardened extremists who pose a legitimate threat to the West and those who travel to Syria for other reasons, including humanitarian concerns and an interest in toppling a Western enemy: Assad.
Begg, for instance, was arrested in February on charges stemming from his travels to Syria in 2012 and early 2013, before the Islamic State even existed in its current form. In an interview in his native Birmingham, Begg said that he never fought, but he acknowledged working with some of the rebels that Britain, the United States and the West were backing in their struggle against the Syrian dictator.
Nearly a year after his return from Syria, Begg was arrested and charged with attending a terrorist training camp. The case against him collapsed in October after Britain’s main domestic intelligence service, MI5, acknowledged to prosecutors that Begg had told them of his plans before he travelled.
Both before and after this year’s arrest, he has been sharply critical of the Islamic State, expressing disgust at the group’s ritualised executions and disregard for civilian life. He even wrote a personal letter from prison to the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, urging him to release British aid worker Alan Henning. It remains unclear whether authorities delivered the letter; Henning was subsequently beheaded.
Begg’s lengthy detention this year has only confirmed the suspicions of many Muslims in Birmingham, and across Britain, that their community is being unfairly targeted. “They feel like they’ve been vilified, demonised and stigmatised,” Awan said.
His case is not the only one that has raised hackles. Two 22-year-olds from Birmingham were both sentenced by a judge to 12 years in prison this month after returning from the Syrian front lines. But the men’s families said that they felt betrayed by the stiff sentences and that they had been promised leniency in exchange for cooperation.
The security crackdown has extended even to those who never travelled to Syria. A 35-year-old mother of six, Runa Khan, was sentenced to five years in prison for posting statements and photos to Facebook. The posts included images of a suicide vest and expressions of hope that her young son would one day become a fighter.
Security officials acknowledge that they are on murky ground when it comes to prosecuting Britons for alleged crimes committed in Syria.
Ironically, by locking up people like Begg, the government is actually silencing those who could best rebut Islamic State propaganda, said Ben Ward, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for Europe. “It removes the voice of people who might actually be most persuasive in directing young people away from violence,” Ben Ward, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for Europe, said.
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By Griff Witte
As a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, Moazzam Begg’s only escape was in his dreams — his nightly chance to leave the grim confines of his US military cell and return to his family in England. But after being held for seven months this year at a maximum security British prison on terrorism charges that were ultimately dropped, Begg, now free, has seen his dreams turn to nightmares. He’s been imprisoned for nearly four years on three continents by the West’s two leading powers, all without a trial.
Amid a new wave of terrorism-related anxiety sweeping Europe as fighters return from Syria, he fears it’s only a matter of time before he’s arrested again. “How many prisons? How many police stations? How many secret detention sites are they going to put me in, and then not try me? And then not give me my day in court?” said Begg, his face scarred by the beatings he says he endured while in US custody.
Begg, soft-spoken and small in stature, has long been a vocal critic of the sort of post-9/11 brutality that was documented this month in chilling detail by the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA torture. But his most recent detention has become emblematic here of what human rights groups, Muslim leaders, terrorism experts and even some security officials say is an overzealous response to the threat posed by European returnees from Syria.
The threat itself is undeniable: Thousands of Europeans have flocked to Syria to fight the regime of President Bashar Al Assad, and many have linked up with the Islamic State or other extremist groups. Speaking on propaganda videos from the battlefield, European fighters have called on their countrymen to carry out attacks at home. When American and British hostages were decapitated, it was a Brit who wielded the knife.
And yet, critics say, European governments may be exacerbating the problem with a heavy-handed response that includes mandatory arrests of returnees, lengthy prison sentences and a lack of lighter alternatives, including reintegration programs.
“Arresting and prosecuting people doesn’t really tackle the root causes of the problem,” said Imran Awan, a criminologist at Birmingham City University who studies counterterrorism strategies. “You just alienate and isolate people even more if the government is locking people up and throwing away the key.”
Policies are expected to get tougher in the months ahead, as several governments push legislation authorising new powers to seize passports. In Britain, the government has fast-tracked a bill that could prevent former fighters from returning home for up to two years, temporarily stripping them of their rights as British citizens.
Experts say the policies fail to distinguish between hardened extremists who pose a legitimate threat to the West and those who travel to Syria for other reasons, including humanitarian concerns and an interest in toppling a Western enemy: Assad.
Begg, for instance, was arrested in February on charges stemming from his travels to Syria in 2012 and early 2013, before the Islamic State even existed in its current form. In an interview in his native Birmingham, Begg said that he never fought, but he acknowledged working with some of the rebels that Britain, the United States and the West were backing in their struggle against the Syrian dictator.
Nearly a year after his return from Syria, Begg was arrested and charged with attending a terrorist training camp. The case against him collapsed in October after Britain’s main domestic intelligence service, MI5, acknowledged to prosecutors that Begg had told them of his plans before he travelled.
Both before and after this year’s arrest, he has been sharply critical of the Islamic State, expressing disgust at the group’s ritualised executions and disregard for civilian life. He even wrote a personal letter from prison to the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, urging him to release British aid worker Alan Henning. It remains unclear whether authorities delivered the letter; Henning was subsequently beheaded.
Begg’s lengthy detention this year has only confirmed the suspicions of many Muslims in Birmingham, and across Britain, that their community is being unfairly targeted. “They feel like they’ve been vilified, demonised and stigmatised,” Awan said.
His case is not the only one that has raised hackles. Two 22-year-olds from Birmingham were both sentenced by a judge to 12 years in prison this month after returning from the Syrian front lines. But the men’s families said that they felt betrayed by the stiff sentences and that they had been promised leniency in exchange for cooperation.
The security crackdown has extended even to those who never travelled to Syria. A 35-year-old mother of six, Runa Khan, was sentenced to five years in prison for posting statements and photos to Facebook. The posts included images of a suicide vest and expressions of hope that her young son would one day become a fighter.
Security officials acknowledge that they are on murky ground when it comes to prosecuting Britons for alleged crimes committed in Syria.
Ironically, by locking up people like Begg, the government is actually silencing those who could best rebut Islamic State propaganda, said Ben Ward, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for Europe. “It removes the voice of people who might actually be most persuasive in directing young people away from violence,” Ben Ward, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for Europe, said.
WP-BLOOMBERG
