Transcript of the conversation with Moazzam Begg, former detainee at Guantanamo and Outreach director for CAGE.
#BrothersBehindBars
Q) Very pleased at the recent news that Shaker Aamer after 14 years of incarceration is back in the UK - however many non British Muslim detainees cannot return to their country of origin or live a normal life after Guantanamo. For instance detainees are treated very badly in Azerbaijan. Can you speak about adopting to a normal lifestyle post Guantanamo?
Moazzam: there have cases, for example of several Syrians and Tunisians who were relocated to Uruguay, they were sent to a society where they didn't know the language, no relatives and no communication. There have been others who have been literally sent to places that you didn't know even existed on the map - for example Turkistani Uyghur Muslims were sent to Guantanamo, for some of them if they were repatriated to their homelands some would be subject to more torture, this is the worse case scenario and so after years and years of detention without trial cannot be reunited with their families.
Q) What is the most dangerous aspect of the Counter Terrorism and Security [CTS] Bill? [from my conclusion it the expansion of the TPIM system - Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures ], in the public there has been a lot of attention on targeting students [which is very alarming of course] but not enough education on the TPIM measures
Moazzam: TPIMS are re-branding the control order regimes that were scrapped for being too draconian. TPIMS can lead to enforced relocation within Britain from one city to another, [this can entail uprooting families if an individual from this family is placed on a TPIM]. The other part of the CTS Bill of course is that people are now under a statutory duty to essentially report on fellow citizens within society - and what happens if they don't? Doctors, nurses, teachers and others in the public sector will 'report' on others which is a very dangerous and on what basis are they 'reporting people? We need to be highly critical about this.
Q) Can you speak about brothers you were incarcerated with inside Belmarsh whilst you were on remand for up to 7 months? [Moazzam was subsequently cleared of all charges against him]
Moazzam: There were numerous people from different backgrounds with all sorts of allegations against them, the common factor was that they were victims of crimes themselves, crimes which the British intelligence and the state have perpetuated, also a great number of people have been detained from their return from Syria and they no longer want to be part of the conflict due to the rise of ISIS but that didn't stop their prosecution, there is a fear factor that is played upon, some are found 'guilty' and there are many who have been cleared.
Q) What can Muslims do to equip themselves in the foreseeable future due to the 'war on terror' conditions?
Moazzam: Knowledge is power and power can set you free, this is why it's important for people to arm themselves with details and the duplicity & the hypocrisy of the British state. Many whites, and non Muslims are never described as 'terrorists' despite using all sorts of explosive devices and other means to attack civilians. Europol - a study from 2007 - 2014 shows that the majority of terrorist acts were not carried out by Muslims. Only 0.7% of terrorist cases were Muslims, which begs the question, what about the 99.3% of terrorism not committed by Muslims?
