Render Unto Caesar Remains, Despite Being Approved for at Release in 2007
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E 2002 to Guantánamo where he Render unto Caesar remains, despite being approved for AT release in 2007. He cannot be ST deported to his native Algeria, where Scott Poynting details the British state’s he faces certain torture, and the UK involvement in kidnapping and torture. has meanwhile rejected his asylum application. Former British resident Farhi Saeed bin Mohammed was BRITISH seized in Pakistan in December 2001 he violence of the British state previously because of ‘record errors’ after fleeing Afghanistan, rendered to in the global ‘war on terror’ is a (The Sunday Times, 21 February Guantánamo in February 2002, and THE Tform of state crime, but as 2008). incriminated by evidence of Binyam these crimes are largely committed Instances of British security Mohamed under torture (see below). OF as a ‘junior partner’ in the unlawful services’ abetting foreign intelligence He won a habeas corpus case in violence of a US-led empire’s agencies to seize ‘suspect’ British 2009, but cannot be repatriated to counter-terrorism, they are better citizens and residents usually only his birthplace Algeria for likelihood understood as ‘empire crime’. This come to light with allegations about of torture there and remains article considers three levels of mistreatment or torture: that is, with incarcerated in Guantánamo. complicity by the British state with the second level of complicity. The Other cases, which space precludes detailing here, include VIOLENCE such empire crime. The first level is ‘we didn’t know’ defence is often the willing facilitation of state deployed by the state in these cases, Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el-Banna, kidnapping, either through as with the servicing of rendition Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes, intelligence advice identifying flights, but is less credible here in and Martin Mubanga, all of whom, ‘terrorism suspects’ for unlawful cases of countries and security with Binyam Mohamed, are suing arrest, or by providing landing and services with well-known records of the British government for abuse and refuelling for clandestine flights torture. Over 20 cases have been wrongful imprisonment. All were effecting illegal ‘extraordinary documented of British nationals or rendered to Guantánamo and rendition’. The second is the residents being taken unlawfully into tortured (Deghayes was blinded presence of British state personnel captivity abroad in the ‘war on there), and all allege that MI5 and while agents of allied states in the terror’, held without charge or trial, MI6 colluded in this. Mubanga ‘war on terror’ are perpetrating and interrogated under torture. The attests that an MI6 agent and a US torture, and declining to intervene. great majority of these were military operative tried to recruit him The third, usually in conjunction subjected to ‘extraordinary rendition’ as an undercover agent when he was with the second but with a higher by US forces, mostly to Guantánamo arrested in Zambia in 2002, and that degree of complicity, entails Bay, but also (sometimes as an MI6 connived in his kidnapping and providing information that abets intermediate measure) to rendition to Guantánamo. interrogation under torture, or Afghanistan, being subjected to The third level of complicity receiving and using information physical and psychological abuse involves actual collaboration by UK obtained during interrogation under and interrogation by and on behalf of intelligence services in the torture. This level in the most US agencies. interrogation, under torture, of their extreme cases involves actual The second level of complicity own citizens and residents. Many co-participation in interrogation involves the compliance of UK such cases came to light in the while torture or physical abuse is security services in the torture of its campaign for the release of being committed. citizens and residents by foreign Moazzam Begg, and especially after At the first level, British military powers, by being present and failing his repatriation from Guantánamo, airports have been used by CIA to intervene. We may add, at this through his subsequent activism on rendition flights. The government level, the failure to intervene to behalf of those still incarcerated conceded in 2006 that ‘suspected’ attempt to remove British nationals there and public testimony about the CIA rendition flights landed 14 times and residents from detention regimes regime there. Further evidence still, at RAF Northolt in West London and such as at Guantánamo Bay, where particularly of a documentary nature, RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire torture and abuse are known to be has been disclosed in the case of between October 2003 and May systematically and routinely Binyam Mohamed and other 2004 (The Guardian, 7 March 2006). practised. British citizens and instances of British state complicity In 2008, Foreign Secretary David residents rendered by the CIA and in torture that have been brought to Miliband admitted, having previously tortured, with various degrees of public attention in association with denied it, that two such ‘ghost British complicity, include the Mohamed’s case. planes’ bound for Morocco and following. UK resident Ahmed UK citizen Moazzam Begg was Guantánamo had landed at the Belbacha was sold to the US for taken by the CIA in Pakistan in 2002, Indian Ocean military air base on bounty in Peshawar in December was kept a year in Afghanistan and British territory at Diego Garcia. The 2001, interrogated and tortured in then rendered to Guantánamo, US had not advised Britain Afghanistan and rendered in March where he was illegally detained and 14 ©2010 Centre for Crime and Justice Studies 10.1080/09627251.2010.525919 rCJM No 82.indd 14 30/11/2010 09:57:51 finally released without charge in and then a ‘burning’ liquid poured brutalisation, he was interrogated by E 2005. He was tortured in all three on the wounds. He was also beaten MI5 agents and had questions places, and British agents were and starved at various times, and supplied by Manchester police put to AT present at every stage of his journey continuously subjected to loud him by ISI interrogators. He was ST (Begg, 2007). Ruhal Ahmed, Shafiq music and other noise and deprived convicted in Manchester in 2008 of Rasul, and Asif Iqbal, all British of sleep. While Mohamed was being terrorism offences using evidence citizens from Tipton in the West tortured in Morocco, MI5 was thus extracted, with the court making Midlands, were seized by Northern providing information to the CIA to a secret ruling, after in camera Alliance militia in November 2001 aid in his interrogation. Indeed, MI5 hearings, that the evidence was BRITISH and turned over to US forces in agent ‘Witness B’ travelled to admissible (this ruling and the Afghanistan, where they were Morocco three times over that conviction are since under appeal). detained under abusive conditions period. In cases such as these, the state THE before rendition to Guantánamo British resident Shaker Aamer cannot invoke the ‘bad apple’ where they were unlawfully remains in unlawful detention at defence. Beyond the torture being OF imprisoned until March 2004. In Guantánamo. Like Begg, he was widespread and systematically Guantánamo they were severely taken into captivity by Afghan instituted, the state has benefited tortured: hooded, beaten, kept militias in late 2001, and handed from, as well as encouraged, the naked, menaced with dogs, chained over to US forces. He claims to have torture. in painful postures, subjected to been tortured and threatened with Thus key apparatuses of the extreme cold and noise and light, death in Afghanistan by US agents in British state are shown as knowing VIOLENCE sleep-deprived, and threatened with the actual presence of MI5 and MI6 and willing collaborators in the state shooting. Each were interrogated by officers. He was rendered to violence of ‘empire crime’ in the MI5, as well as US personnel, in Guantánamo in ‘global war on both Afghanistan and Guantánamo. early 2002 and terror’ under US British citizen Tarek Dergoul was has been tortured hegemony. Not also brutally tortured in both there. Beyond the torture all apparatuses Afghanistan (where he had In addition to being widespread and of the state have successive toe amputations – once collaborating been so readily without anaesthetic – after untreated with the US systematically instituted, recruited, infection) and Guantánamo, where state’s however, and he was also sexually humiliated. He kidnapping and the state has benefited the fact that was repeatedly interrogated by MI5 torture, the from, as well as much of the and MI6 in both countries during the British state has account given regime of torture. been accused by encouraged, the torture. here is in the Ethiopian-born UK permanent victims and their public domain resident Binyam Mohamed was lawyers of is thanks to the arrested in Karachi in 2002. US prompting the some old- authorities refused to let him go and arrest and detention without charge, fashioned rule of law insisted upon denied him a lawyer (Reprieve, 2009). and collaborating with foreign in the British (and US) judiciary, as Pakistani security services tortured security services in interrogation well as the persistence of some him, hanging him for a week by his under torture in a number of excellent investigative journalism wrists with his feet barely taking countries, including Pakistan, and the dedication of human rights weight. MI5 operative ‘Witness B’ Bangladesh, the United Arab lawyers and activists. Public went to Pakistan in May 2002 to Emirates, Egypt, Gambia and campaigns of activists have played a interview Mohamed. MI5 was Zambia. Victims include: Faisal crucial part, especially in some key informed by the CIA before this that Mostafa (in Bangladesh in 2009), cases. We do not need to accept that Mohamed was being subjected to Azhar Khan (in Egypt in 2008), the ‘counter-terrorist’ empire crime is ongoing sleep deprivation and Rangzieb Ahmed (in Pakistan in inevitable and illimitable.