Events | 2009.06.12
Terror suspect in 'mental torture' claim
• Student was among 12 detained in raids in UK
• Return follows dropping of deportation appeal
A Pakistani student who returned to Pakistan after being detained under British anti-terror laws and then released has accused the government of subjecting him to "mental torture" in custody.
Tariq ur Rehman, 10 other Pakistanis and a British citizen were picked up in daytime raids across north-west England on 8 April. They were released after 14 days when police failed to press charges. Nine of the men are fighting deportation orders issued by the home secretary.
"I fail to understand still why they kept us under detention," Rehman said on arrival at Islamabad airport. "We were accused of being Islamic extremists … I think the mental torture is worse than physical torture."
Rehman accused prison authorities of failing to respect his religious freedom by using sniffer dogs on his prayer mat and insisting on searching his copy of the Qur\'an. He declined to say whether he would sue the government.
The British high commissioner, Robert Brinkley, contested his allegations. "Although these people were not charged, we had intelligence that they were still a danger to the security of people in Britain," he told local television. He said that if Rehman believed he had been a victim of discrimination, he should make an official complaint, adding: "The UK prison service does not tolerate such behaviour."
Rehman returned to Pakistan voluntarily after abandoning an appeal against his deportation at the special immigration appeals court. The nine other Pakistanis, most of whom come from Pakistan\'s North-West Frontier province, have engaged lawyers and are fighting to remain in Britain and finish their studies. They are being held in Manchester and Leeds.
Speaking from Peshawar, Jan Nasrullah Khattak, the father of one of the men, said the authorities had prevented him from speaking to his son by telephone. "I believe the British government is capable of justice. But I\'m sorry to say that on this occasion they won\'t even let a father speak to his son," he said.
The 10 Pakistanis were in the UK on student visas. But Brinkley referred to them as "so-called students" because, he said, several were not studying.
The case has soured relations between Britain and Pakistan, where the students have widespread support. "We want our students to be released and allowed to continue their studies," said a foreign ministry spokesman, Abdul Basit.
The Muslim Council of Britain said the government had dealt with the men in a dishonourable fashion and should apologise.
The raids occurred hours after an assistant commissioner, Bob Quick, the country\'s most senior counterterrorism officer, inadvertently revealed details of the operation when notes he was carrying were photographed outside Downing Street. The blunder cost him his job.
After the Crown Prosecution Service declined to press charges against the men, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police, Peter Fahy, said he was not "embarrassed" by the inquiry. "I do not believe a mistake has been made," he said.
The next bail hearing is due on 27 July.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun[...]tudent-detention-terror-law-uk
