Moazzam Begg on terrorism:
I was armed and prepared to fight alongside the Taliban and al-Qaeda against the U.S. and others, and eventually retreated to Tora Bora to flee from U.S. forces when our front lines collapsed…. [I] knowingly provided comfort and assistance to al-Qaeda members by housing their families, helped distribute al-Qaeda propaganda, and received members from terrorist camps knowing that certain trainees could become al-Qaeda operatives and commit acts of terrorism against the United States.
ITV on Moazzam Begg:
A man from Birmingham has been describing his experiences at the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention camp, on the tenth anniversary of its opening. Moazzam Begg, who’s 36 and from the Sparkhill area of the city, was held captive for three years at the detention centre in Cuba, after he was wrongly suspected of terrorism. Last night, the human rights charity Reprieve and awareness group CagePrisoners launched an online timeline of events at the camp.
BBC News interviewed Begg at his desk, with the Cageprisoners homepage on the computer screen in the background:
Gita Sahgal on the relationship between Amnesty International and Begg’s Cageprisoners, a subject over which she had been suspended:
There has been a history of warnings within Amnesty that it is inadvisable to partner with Begg. Amnesty has created the impression that Begg is not only a victim of human rights violations but a defender of human rights. Many of my highly respected colleagues, each well-regarded in their area of expertise has said so. Each has been set aside.
The topic of Cageprisoners’ working relationship with Amnesty was itself the subject of a BBC Newshour programme.
Other parts of the mainstream media now follow Amnesty’s lead.
