Briton held in Camp X-ray to return home tomorrow
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A British man detained by the US authorities for three years and held at Guantanamo Bay could be reunited with his family as early as tomorrow.
A British man detained by the US authorities for three years and held at Guantanamo Bay could be reunited with his family as early as tomorrow.
Moazzam Begg, 37, from Birmingham, was arrested in Pakistan by the CIA in February 2002 and was held in Afghanistan for a year before being transferred to the camp in Cuba.
Mr Begg was expected to return to Britain tomorrow following reports that he was due to be released last night.
The news of his imminent release comes a week after Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, announced that he had secured the freedom of four Britons in Guantanamo Bay after "intensive and complex" discussions with the US.
The remaining three Britons, Martin Mubanga, Richard Belmar and Feroz Abbasi, all from London, are also expected to return to the UK within weeks, according to Mr Straw, who confirmed that the police and the Crown Prosecution Service would determine whether the four would be detained for questioning under anti-terror laws upon their return to the UK.
The family of Mr Begg, who is married with four children, welcomed the news but expressed concerns about his health in the light of his detention.
Azmat Begg, his father, who was travelling to London with the family to welcome him back, said: "It is exciting. So far as I'm concerned, I have hope and happiness but I am worried about his health. He will not be able to give any interviews because he was in solitary confinement for so long he will not be able to speak, I'm sure
"He shouldn't be bothered by anyone, not the police, because he's not in a right condition mentally or physically.".
The imminent release of Mr Begg comes amid increasingly high-profile opposition to the Government's controversial anti-terror laws. Yesterday, the Law Society, which represents 90,000 solicitors in England and Wales, attacked the legislation and urged ministers to "resolve the plight" of nine men interned in the UK.
The men have been held without charge or trial at Belmarsh and Whitemoor prisons for three years and can be detained indefinitely. The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, introduced in after the 11 September attacks, allows foreign nationals suspected of terrorist involvement who cannot be deported to be detained indefinitely without trial.
Edward Nally, the president of the Law Society, condemned the implications of the anti-terror laws. "Indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial is totally unacceptable," he said. "Some of these prisoners have now been detained for three years and the time has come for them to be tried or released. The rule of law must prevail and the Government can no longer ignore the law lords' ruling [that detention of the nine men was unlawful as it contravened international human rights law]. What is happening contravenes fundamental legal principles."
He added: "The Law Society fully accepted the urgent need for the Government to reassess the country's security needs in the aftermath of 11 September.
"We recognise that the Government has a difficult balancing act. But it is essential that emergency terror legislation protects the country without compromising the Government's duty to uphold fairness and justice."