2/23/2009

So why was Binyam Mohamed in Afghanistan ?

Getting away from the fact that released detainee Binyam Mohammad appears to have been tortured by US officials, something which any true believer in democracy is totally opposed to, how many others feel less safe because he is in the country tonight ?

As I understand it he came to the UK from Ethiopia, but despite having no links with Pakistan he travelled there and then on to Taliban controlled Afghanistan, strangely leaving Afghanistan when the Taliban were overthrown and was then captured by the US when trying to use a false passport to travel back to the UK.

Why does someone visit Afghanistan ? Why would he use a false passport ? Why was Afghanistan the sort of place he wanted to be in when Taliban controlled but not the sort of place to be when run by Afghans ?

Do these actions concern you ? They would me, but then we let him back in to the UK.

I don't have the answers, just lots of questions.

5 comments:

Malcolm Redfellow said...

Go, Nich! Go!

To which could be added all sorts of queries:
about the curious re-re-re-editing of his wikipedia entry;
the inconsistencies about his entry to the UK and claim for political asylum;
whether or not he is a convert to Islam;
about that large 58-reg car that collected him from Northolt (with very protective minders).

Why do I know someone, somewhere will make a pot of money out of this?

Nice one from the MinJustice that he is effectively on probation, "provided he keeps within the law".

Sorry, but have we all acquainted ourselves with the rights and liabilities of the UK-USA Intelligence Agreement (of 1948!)? It's pretty well documented, and critiqued in numerous academic studies. We've not done too badly out of it. Nor will any, any UK government rattle the cage. Pity the senior judiciary don't see it that way.

Beyond that, what got my goat was the emphasis in every news-cast that he is a "British resident". Not an illegal who has been granted permission to stay. Despite today's headlines, I actually wonder if the UK didn't do rather nobly by Mr Binyam Mohamed. And also got Barack Obama off one little hook (what's the quid-pro-quo?).

lizw said...

I hope we Lib Dems haven't reached the point where we consider someone's choice of travel destination a valid ground for suspicion. As for the passport, he may well have been having trouble travelling on the ID papers he would have got as someone with only "leave to remain" in the UK - not all countries will recognise those for travel. Many genuine refugees fall through the cracks in this way because of the illiberal asylum regime Labour and the Tories have implemented in this country.

Nich Starling said...

Yes, heaven forbid that we should accuse the Mitfords of having Nazi sympathies for visiting Nazi Germany during the war or that we should accuse a man of having Taliban sympathies for visiting Afghanistan, a country he had no link with at all, when ruled by them.

Anonymous said...

You missed the bit about being kidnapped and torured with the complicity of the UK government.

Are 'we' terrorists?

Nich Starling said...

I clearly mention his torture. Learn to read !

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