SAS in Somalia & Rendition of UK citizens
Bob | 11.02.2007 15:49
Somali Britons caught by SAS face executionAbul Taher and Rob Crilly
FOUR British citizens have been deported from Kenya to Somalia where they face terrorism charges carrying the death penalty for allegedly fighting alongside Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.
Their lawyer, Louise Christian, said their families had been assured by the Foreign Office that they would be returned to the UK this weekend, and accused it of “failing abysmally in its responsibilities.”
“They face torture, arbitrary detention and capital punishment,” she said. “This is the first time there’s been evidence of direct participation in an act of extraordinary rendition by the British government.” The Foreign Office said it was powerless to intervene because it was the decision of the Kenyan government.
The Muslim Human Rights Forum in Nairobi warned that foreign alleged jihadists recently sent back to Somalia have been executed.
The four Britons, sent to the southern Somalian town of Baidoa, were captured by SAS troops working with the Kenyan antiterrorist police on January 20. They are alleged to have “good links” to Al-Qaeda, one defence source said.
The SAS have been acting as a “screen” on the Kenyan border to trap terrorists fleeing American special operations forces in Somalia after the defeat of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) militias.
The four Britons were among 15 alleged jihadists picked up at the border post of Kiunga on January 20 after walking through malaria-infested mangrove swamps. One Kenyan police official said: “They said they had walked [300 miles] from Mogadishu, and they looked like it. They were never going to put up much of a fight.”
Kenyan security officials said the fighters were on their way to the island resort of Lamu, an Al-Qaeda haven.
The British Muslims were named by the Kenyan authorities as Mohammed Ezzouek, Hamza Chentouf, Shah Jehan Janjua and Fesal Afshar Zabe-qun. They are believed to be British-born, in their twenties, from central and west London.
Ezzouek’s mother Malika, who has five children, claimed last week that she had no idea he was in Somalia. She said she had paid his airline ticket to Egypt, where he flew five months ago to study in a Koranic school.
“I am very worried about him because I know he has done nothing wrong,” she said. “My son is innocent. He is not an extremist.”
She said police had taken away her son’s computer and holiday photographs in a raid on her council house near Regent’s Park, and told her that he had been caught with weapons at the Somali border.
Last week neighbours said the 22-year-old had become a devout Muslim about two years ago. One said Ezzouek attended the nearby Regent’s Park mosque, not known for extremism. “He was a very nice man. His father is also very nice — he works as a chef in a local hotel. Mohammed would be the last person on earth to do something like that,” said the neighbour.
Chentouf lived nearby with his family in the Westbourne Park area of west London. Janjua, 22, is believed to be from Hounslow, west London.
British consular staff have had no access to the men, who are all believed to be in poor health. Janjua has a broken nose and foot injuries caused by a bullet wound, a police source said.
Additional reporting: Michael Smith
FOUR British citizens have been deported from Kenya to Somalia where they face terrorism charges carrying the death penalty for allegedly fighting alongside Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.
Their lawyer, Louise Christian, said their families had been assured by the Foreign Office that they would be returned to the UK this weekend, and accused it of “failing abysmally in its responsibilities.”
“They face torture, arbitrary detention and capital punishment,” she said. “This is the first time there’s been evidence of direct participation in an act of extraordinary rendition by the British government.” The Foreign Office said it was powerless to intervene because it was the decision of the Kenyan government.
The Muslim Human Rights Forum in Nairobi warned that foreign alleged jihadists recently sent back to Somalia have been executed.
The four Britons, sent to the southern Somalian town of Baidoa, were captured by SAS troops working with the Kenyan antiterrorist police on January 20. They are alleged to have “good links” to Al-Qaeda, one defence source said.
The SAS have been acting as a “screen” on the Kenyan border to trap terrorists fleeing American special operations forces in Somalia after the defeat of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) militias.
The four Britons were among 15 alleged jihadists picked up at the border post of Kiunga on January 20 after walking through malaria-infested mangrove swamps. One Kenyan police official said: “They said they had walked [300 miles] from Mogadishu, and they looked like it. They were never going to put up much of a fight.”
Kenyan security officials said the fighters were on their way to the island resort of Lamu, an Al-Qaeda haven.
The British Muslims were named by the Kenyan authorities as Mohammed Ezzouek, Hamza Chentouf, Shah Jehan Janjua and Fesal Afshar Zabe-qun. They are believed to be British-born, in their twenties, from central and west London.
Ezzouek’s mother Malika, who has five children, claimed last week that she had no idea he was in Somalia. She said she had paid his airline ticket to Egypt, where he flew five months ago to study in a Koranic school.
“I am very worried about him because I know he has done nothing wrong,” she said. “My son is innocent. He is not an extremist.”
She said police had taken away her son’s computer and holiday photographs in a raid on her council house near Regent’s Park, and told her that he had been caught with weapons at the Somali border.
Last week neighbours said the 22-year-old had become a devout Muslim about two years ago. One said Ezzouek attended the nearby Regent’s Park mosque, not known for extremism. “He was a very nice man. His father is also very nice — he works as a chef in a local hotel. Mohammed would be the last person on earth to do something like that,” said the neighbour.
Chentouf lived nearby with his family in the Westbourne Park area of west London. Janjua, 22, is believed to be from Hounslow, west London.
British consular staff have had no access to the men, who are all believed to be in poor health. Janjua has a broken nose and foot injuries caused by a bullet wound, a police source said.
Additional reporting: Michael Smith
Bob