February 21, 2006

Ask Amnesty Online Discussion Series: Lives torn apart (Part two of a three-part series)

Please join Moazzam Begg today from 1:00-2:00 PM EST for the second of a three-part online discussion series on the impact of indefinite detention and extraordinary rendition on detainees and their families.

Moazzam Begg was arrested in Pakistan and held by U.S. agents at Bagram Airforce Base in Afghanistan for one year before being transferred to Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo Bay. He was released from Guantanamo in January 2005 after more than three years of detention where he faced ill-treatment. Moazzam was never charged with a single crime or given a fair trial.

Featured Guest: Moazzam Begg

From our featured guest: "I look forward to speaking with you today."

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Question Submitted by Elizabeth:

how do you get the legal help needed when his cival rights have been violated. This happens to minorities in the USA every single day.

Moazzam Begg answers:

The short answer is 'I don't know'. We didn't get any civil rights. The decision for our release was only the result of supposedly 3 years of transAtlantic negociations!
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Question Submitted by Sandra:

Sir, I am saddened by your story. As an American woman, what can I do to help the human rights cause? Thank you.

Moazzam Begg answers:

I think keeping abreast of the latest campaigns as highlighted by Amnesty, Cageprisoners.com, Reprieve; the CCR and ACLU in the US wouyld be a very good point to start.
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Question Submitted by Caroline:

The treatment of detainees is in direct violation of the laws and the stated values of the United States. Have you been shocked by the lack of widespread outrage in the US?

Moazzam Begg answers:

I was shocked by the behaviour of US troops and law enforcement. The US public, I believe, is regularly fed with a diatribe of rhetoric about protecting US citizens, as if those of us who had the misfortune of not being US citizens were undeserving of protection from abuse and murder.

And after 3 years of conversations and interrogations by Americans it saddened me to discover how dislocated from the rest of the world most tended to be. So I was not surprised to find the lack of outrage: after all, we are the'worst of the worst.'

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Question Submitted by kyle:

how extensively is torture used in the camps

Moazzam Begg answers:

In Bagram and Kandahar, torture was a given: the norm. There were many conscious US soldiers who were very uncomfortable about this, but the practices including beatings, being hog-tied, suffocation with a black cloth mask, family threats, sleep deprivation, violations of the genitals, being suspended on a metal gate with hands tied above the head and hooded, abuse of religious practices, ripping up the Quran and urinating on it, dehumanization with caricaturing detainees as rats on tshirts...The list is literally long enough to write a book about - which I have.

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Question Submitted by Rob:

how do we really effect change...these issues are systemic, since governments are ruled by the few, the rich, the selfish, the powerful who can afford to pay their legal teams to insulate their unethical actions.

Moazzam Begg answers:

The more these scandals and abuses are exposed through the media and activist organisations - like Amnesty - the more pressure is placed upon bodies like the UN that can prove very embarrasing for countries that claim to be at war to protect human rights in the first place

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Question Submitted by Martha:

Could you please compare the treatment you received and witnessed at Bagram with that of Guantanamo? -and- What were the circumstances of your release? I understand there may be many more innocent people still in custody. Why were you one of the "lucky" ones (if "only" three years of abusive treatment can be called that)?

Moazzam Begg answers:

You have many questions here and your short questions would be fully answered in my book entitled 'Enemy Combatant' released on 6th March.

I will say simply that Bagram and Kandahar are/were secretive facilities to which the media has no access. Hence, it is of little surprise that the abuses there - including murder - are not reported as much, and little is done to redress the siuation even out of the few prosecution cases that have reached the courts. I witnessed killings of detainees myself by US MPs. The heaviest sentence served on the perpetrators was 5 months in a military brig. One was demoted and the rest left the army with an honourable discharge.

Be clear about this: the majority of the detainees in Gitmo are innocent of committing acts of belligerence against the US. When people talk about 'innocence' or 'guilt' they generally know what they stand accused of, as in a crime. Not so in Gitmo.

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Question Submitted by constance kosuda:

are you planning, with the help of Amnesty or any other group, to file a lawsuit for damages including punitive damages against each and every individual and entity involved in perpetrating this outrage???? that's the way to go, just so you know.

Moazzam Begg answers:

Actually, I would welcome some help in this matter. I have begun a case against the UK government for complicity, but I don't know how it woeks in the US. Is it true that Bush, as CinC of the military is immune from prosecution? If not then I am not sure exactly who to go after: Rumsfeld, Miller, Hood?

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Question Submitted by Steven:

Is there anything that can be learned from your experience so that others can avoid your unfortunate experiences?

Moazzam Begg answers:

I think, even for people like me who have suffered at the hands of the US to emphasise the importance of reconciliation. There were many guards who I regard as my friends and I hope that something of our interaction could help to pave the way for mutual, respectul dialogue - before the world spirals into a place where the voice of reason is drowned and hatred is supreme.
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Question Submitted by Frank A. Walter:

The fascists have taken control of our government; they rig elections; they flaunt international law; they have made America a pariah state; they spend disproportionate funds on the military; they engage in genocide; they have murdered 150,000 innocent Iraqi people, wounded 25,000, destroyed one trillion dollars worth of Iraqi property, caused the death of 2300 American soldiers, the wounding of 18,000 the depletion of our treasury (one trillion dollars)! What can we do to get our country back from these war criminals?

Moazzam Begg answers:

All that you say is right, and more. The US has some very important questions to answer about itself: not just now, but even in modern history. The US - to many of us outside it - seems like the most violent place on earth, both internally and when it ventures out. I was safer in Afghanistan!
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Question Submitted by Patti:

Mr. Begg - I will not be able to join the online discussion, but as the mother of a US soldier who has served his country in Afghanistan and Iraq, I am pleased that you have been returned to society in one piece, regardless of the atrocities you have faced in this time of war. As an advocate of peace myself, what now do you feel you should do to effect a peaceful solution to move forward as we all think globally about world peace? Or do you just want to complain about your ill treatment?

Moazzam Begg answers:

At many events I have spoken about my relations with the soldiers. In fact, I have been accused of being too kind to my captors - several times - even by my supporters! If it seems to you like I'm 'complaining' when I answer questions about abuses and torture, then I am sorry that is the case. But I did not come to America - America came to me, and hundereds of others. I'm afraid people are interested in this story because of the abuses - it's what everybody asks about, except my wife, father, brothers and children. They are too afraid to discover the answers.

I gave my address to several US soldiers and welcomed them to visit my home after I (hopefully was released) at a time when the abuses where occurring. I considered some of them to be my friends and they are welcome, to this day. I think that speaking to each another - and letting people know that this is my choice (despite the threats we would likely face) is a way forward, out of this mess that is not of my making. But, unsurprisingly, NO US soldier invited me back to their houses once I was (hopefully released). I do not hate Americans, or even the US military. But I do hate what they have done in your name.

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Question Submitted by Katie:

Were you allowed access to legal counsel? If so, what steps did they take and did they have any part in securing your release?

Moazzam Begg answers:

I was given access to an attorney after more than 2 and a half years in custody. The lawyers helped to highlight some of the abuses through the media, but the decision to release was made between US and UK governments
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Question Submitted by Dan:

U.S. policy regarding its so-called "unlawful combatants" seems likely only to increase the strength of violent, anti-western, Islamist groups because it decreases the credibility of pro-western Arab attitudes and generates little useful intelligence. From your experience, what did you think was the purpose of Guantanamo Bay and renditions to even worse torture facilities? Is their a method to my government's madness? Thank you.

Moazzam Begg answers:

I think that perhaps Bush and entourage are true believers in what they're doing. 9/11 gave then carte blanc for Gitmo and place like it, or worse. When citizens of coalition states are dressed in orange and executed in Iraq you can see what the message is and where it's coming from. The perception is that the war on terror is here to stay, as long as there are people to wage it against - involved or not.
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Question Submitted by Dave:

Do you ever seen the world being able to succeed in getting the US to close Camp X-Ray?

Moazzam Begg answers:

The Bush admin. has dug itself into a pit so deep in Gitmo, it seems difficult to envisage them closing it down. Still, powerful voices from the US's closest allies in the UK, Germany and the UN have called for just that. I remain optimistic....
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Question Submitted by Janice:

Would the Geneva Convention apply to all these cases? If so, why are these cases not presented to the World Court at The Hague? This is kidnapping and torture (rendering?? isn't this the Bush Cabal's term??)These cases are disgusting, racist and just angers anyone with an ounce of dignity for humankind.

Moazzam Begg answers:

According to the US admin, "Geneva Conventions" do not apply; US law does not apply, US Code of Military Justice does not apply, International does not apply. Even the iguanas on Gitmo are protected by laws. Not so the detainees...
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