Tariq Mahmood (detainee)

Tariq Mahmood
Born Birmingham, United Kingdom
Arrested 2003-10, 2004-2(?)
Rawalpindi
ISI
Released 2004
Citizenship United Kingdom
Detained at Rawalpindi
Charge(s) released after 5 month without charges
Occupation taxi driver
Children 2

Tariq Mahmood is a British Pakistani who was captured in Islamabad by Pakistani security forces in October 2003.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] His family reports that Tariq was tortured, while in Pakistani custody, with the knowledge or cooperation of UK and American security officials.

Background

Tariq Mahmood is a married father of two from Sparkhill, Birmingham.[2] The former taxi driver flew to Pakistan in 2001 to settle a land dispute over a family home there.[8]

Arrest

In October 2003, Mahmood was held on suspicion of being associated with a "banned organization" under the Security of Pakistan Act, Section 10,[9] and was not given immediate access to courts despite his British citizenship.[10]

Mahmood was initially assigned a 10 November 2003 court date in Islamabad, and made court appearances over the following four weeks.[9][10] However, despite the ongoing legal process, his whereabouts became unclear by early 2004.[8][11] Pakistani security reportedly turned him over to American forces, prompting fears he would be sent to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.[2] In February 2004, Pakistani intelligence sources indicated Tariq Mahmood had been transported to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, a "stepping stone" to Guantanamo Bay.[12]

Human Rights Watch listed him as one of 39 ghost detainees in 2005, who are not given any legal rights or access to counsel, and who are likely not reported to or seen by the International Committee of the Red Cross.[13]

On February 19, 2004, The Guardian listed the nine UK citizens then known to have been held in Guantanamo.[14] They listed him as a possible 10th UK citizen held in Guantanamo. His presence in Guantanamo has never been confirmed.[15]

According to articles from The Guardian quoted in a report by a committee of the UK Parliament, Tariq is believed to have made his home in Dubai following his release in 2004.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Opinion No. 29/2006" (PDF). United States Department of State. United Nations Human Rights Council, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. 2005-12-08. pp. 6, 8. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  2. 1 2 3 O'Neill, Sean; Britten, Nick (2003-10-30). "Briton 'to be taken to Guantanamo Bay'". The Telegraph online. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  3. ↑ Agence France-Presse, "Pakistan grills detained British al-Qaeda suspect", November 10, 2005
  4. ↑ O'Neill, Sean (2005-01-05). "Five still held without help or hope". The Times. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  5. 1 2 Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights, House of Commons, House of Lords (2009-08-30). Allegation of UK complicity in torture: twenty-third report of session 2008-09, report, together with formal minutes and oral and written evidence. UK Stationery House. pp. 8, 47, 50. ISBN 978-0-10-844485-2. Retrieved 2011-12-11. Tariq Mahmood, a UK-born man who disappeared in Pakistan in 2003 and who it is now thought lives in Dubai. Family members claim Mr Mahmood was tortured while held in Pakistan in 2003-2004 and that the UK was involved.
  6. ↑ "Fabricating Terrorism: British complicity in renditions and torture" (PDF). Cageprisoners. 2006. Retrieved 2011-12-14. During his interrogations with MI6, various threats were made against him if he did not comply. Particularly worrying for Tariq, was the fact that he was threatened with death for not co-operating.
  7. ↑ "Fabricating Terrorism II: British complicity in renditions and torture" (PDF). Cageprisoners. 2009. Retrieved 2011-12-14. While he was being held by the Pakistanis, he was kept bound and hooded; however, from the accents of those who were interrogating him, he could quite easily discern that there were Pakistani, American and British interrogators questioning him.
  8. 1 2 Lisa Mccarthy; Evening Mail (2003-11-07). "My brother is innocent". icBirmingham. The Birmingham Post. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  9. 1 2 "Blair asked to help terror suspect". BBC News online. 2003-11-25. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  10. 1 2 "پاکستانی برطانوی حراست میں" [Briton in Pakistani Custody] (in Urdu). BBC News Urdu online. 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  11. ↑ "Breakthrough Over Detainee". icBirmingham. The Birmingham Post. 2003-11-08. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  12. ↑ Armadeep Bassey; Sunday Mercury (2004-02-29). "Mystery of the 'lost' Muslims". icBirmingham. The Birmingham Post. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  13. ↑ "List of 'Ghost Prisoners' Possibly in CIA Custody". Human Rights Watch. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  14. ↑ "Full list: Britons held at Guantanamo". The Guardian. 2004-02-19. Retrieved 2011-12-12. Tariq Mahmood, 30, from Birmingham, was arrested in Pakistan in October on suspicion of involvement with al-Qaida and he could be the 10th Briton held at the base, but justice pressure group Fair Trial Abroad said his whereabouts were currently unknown. mirror
  15. ↑ "Guantanamo Britons: Shabby deal fear". Daily Mail online. 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
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