LONDON: A resident of Britain held at the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been charged with terror offences, British legal charity Reprieve said on Saturday. The case of Ethiopian-born Binyam Mohamed, 29, from London, will now be referred to the US military’s Convening Authority, which has 30 days to decide whether to press ahead with the charges, the charity said. Reprieve said Mohamed denies any wrongdoing, adding: “Mr. Mohamed is indeed being charged, but we are unable to supply further detailed information until the Pentagon officially produces the charge sheet of allegations against him.”
Mohamed, who was detained in Pakistan in 2002, is the last remaining Guantanamo detainee with a right to return to Britain. Last year, three British residents held at the prison in Cuba were allowed to return home and a fourth was transferred to Saudi Arabia. Human rights lawyer and Reprieve director Clive Stafford Smith said: “I visited Binyam in Guantanamo just a week ago, and he is in a very bad state … Surely the least the British government can do is insist that no British resident be charged in a kangaroo court based on evidence tortured out of him with a razor blade … If Binyam‘s trial by Military Commission proceeds, all it will produce is evidence not of terrorism, but of torture, which will embarrass both the British and the American governments.” The Independent newspaper reported Friday that Mohamed had written to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to plead for help in securing his release. – AFP
Footnote: Regarding writing Brown – forgive my cynicism but a fat lot of good that will do. He’s as bad as our Rummy was. Of course, we could all write him….. please go here and email Mr. Brown our thoughts about what he’s doing regarding this situation.
