Yahoo – AFP,
1 Oct 2014
 |
Former
Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam
Begg, seen here in 2012, has been in custody
since March (AFP Photo/Carl Court)
|
The
45-year-old, who fought in Bosnia in the 1990s and admitted training young men
in Syria "to defend civilians" against President Bashar al-Assad's
regime, had been in custody since March awaiting trial.
"I
wanted my day in court but I was very happy," Begg told reporters outside
the high-security Belmarsh prison in southeast London shortly after being
released.
"I
think that it's important to point out some of the government's failures in its
foreign policy and its internal policy -- it's clear demonising of the Muslim
community."
The Crown
Prosecution Service made the dramatic announcement during a pre-trial review at
the Old Bailey court in London, where Begg was appearing via videolink.
"The
prosecution have recently become aware of relevant material and in light of
which, after careful and anxious consideration, have reached the conclusion
that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction in this case,"
prosecuting lawyer Christopher Hehir said.
Begg was
arrested in February at his home, accused of providing terrorist training
between October 2012 and April 2013, and funding terrorism between July and
August 2013.
His arrest
caused headlines because of his high profile, and police conceded that
questions were now going to be asked about why he was charged in the first
place.
From
Guantanamo to rights campaigning
Born in
Britain, Begg fought in Bosnia in the 1990s and moved with his family to
Afghanistan in 2001.
He was detained
in Pakistan in January 2002 and spent nearly a year in prison at Bagram, the
main US airbase in Afghanistan, before being sent to the notorious US detention
camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba until his release without charge in January
2005.
Returning to
Britain, he became director of a human rights organisation, CAGE, and a vocal
critic of the rights of those detained under the so-called "War on
Terror".
After the
Arab Spring, he visited Syria twice, as well as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, to
conduct what he said were investigations into the British government's role in
human rights violations, according to CAGE.
His lawyer
Ben Emmerson said he made no secret of his visits to Syria but was not guilty
of terrorism.
"Mr
Begg did not train anyone for the purposes of terrorism as defined in the 2001
act," Emmerson told the court.
"Mr
Begg says he was involved in training young men to defend civilians against war
crimes by the Assad regime."
Some 500
British citizens are believed to be fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and
Syria and Britain has stepped up checks to prevent them leaving and has
arrested returnees.
In his
speech to the Conservative Party conference, Prime Minister David Cameron had a
message for Britons who travel to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State
jihadist group.
"You
have declared your allegiance. You are an enemy of the UK and you should expect
to be treated as such," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.