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16-Jul-2004

Mother of British resident detained at Guantanamo Bay speaks out!!!

by: Mark Jennings

London: His story of incarceration reads as follow. He was detained on 8th November 2002, at Banjul airport by the Gambian authorities with his brother Wahab and friends Jamil El-Banna and Abdullah El-Janoudi. They were questioned by the Gambian National Intelligence Agency and were shortly afterwards handed over to US interrogators, believed to be from either the CIA or US Military Intelligence. After 27 days of intensive interrogation, Wahab al-Rawi and Abdullah El-Janoudi (both British passport holders) were both released without charge and repatriated back to the UK. Bisher (who holds Iraqi nationality, although he and his family have liven in the UK for 20 years) continued to be held and was flown out of the Gambia to Baghram Air Force Base, Afghanistan, late in 2002. He finally surfaced in Guantanamo Bay in early March 2003.

Being at Guantanamo is like being in a Kafkaesque diplomatic and consular limbo, because the American administration has classified any detainees as ‘enemy combatants’ and beyond the Geneva Convention. Moving him from Gambia to Afghanistan was illegal, as habeas corpus proceedings were pending in the Gambian courts.

This is the second time in 25 years that Mrs Sayyadi has been forced to endure the incarceration of a close member of her family. Her late husband, Dr al-Rawi, was himself imprisoned and tortured for two years, by the Ba-athist regime in Iraq. Dr al-Rawi represented the interests of US companies there including Cyanamid.

The family and their MP, Edward Davey (Liberal Democrat-Kingston and Surbiton), met the Foreign Secretary on 28th April to discuss Bisher's case. The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, was adamant that the British Government is unable to make formal representations on Bisher's behalf as he kept Iraqi citizenship, but had promised to reflect further on the case.

Statement by Mrs Jahida Sayyadi - Mother of Bisher al-Rawi

I am not going to talk about my son's detention in Guantanamo using the sort of sentimental vernacular that is expected from an agonized mother. Yes, the horrifying event has rendered me very emotional, strained and ragged by anxiety -for it is my beloved son whose destiny and life are under jeopardy. (…)

I am truly thankful to all those who tried, or have been trying, to be of a great help to me. At the moment, however, it is not my prior concern to expose to you the sort of suffering I have been through as a mother. For I am striving through this appeal to make people see that what a threat and what a bereavement once rules, conventions, principles, systems and morals are violated by very those who are believed to have set out standards thereof, by those who are constantly blaming or punishing others for not implementing, human rights democracy and for not being "civilized." I will try my best not to sound sullenly and grumpily subjective, self-pitying or even biased since I am talking about a personal experience - and who can afford not to be when the victim is one's own son!! (…)

All judicial laws and all divine doctrines make it clear that verdicts cannot and should not be made until the accused is taken to the court and allowed to defend him/herself. Verdicts follow hearing sessions; they are based on evidence and investigations in addition to other so many legal procedures. The kind of sentence the judges and the jury reach is determined by the rationale and solidity of attestations and proofs submitted in the court. Yet my son was denied not only a fair trial, but also an accusation statement. (…)

The appalling and dehumanising conditions of the Guantanamo prisoners are no longer a hidden reality. Those who have been detained and released speak about their turmoil in the prison with lots of sadness, frustration that is not devoid of anger. It is taking them months and months to recover from their excruciating experiences-- that is if they ever completely recover. The appalling conditions constitute an overt and shocking violation of all international and universal conventions and declarations stating how a prisoner of war should be treated or human rights be retained. Even worse is the fact that many of those young men are being detained for no declared or identified criminal act.

Is it being labelled as Iraqi, or as a Muslim a sufficient ground for random condemnations and for the cruellest type of torture and imprisonment? Who is in charge of the Guantanamo jails? Is it not the country to be reputed for its unequivocal leadership in safeguarding emancipation values, democracy, individual liberty, human rights, freedom of speech, human dignity, the right to self determination and equality? Are the above the sole rights of one nation or one race and not the other? Does not this reflect an obvious double standard in application and an unbridgeable gap between theory and practice?

Terrorism is a fatal sin and killing innocent people can never be a forgivable act. Yet, to terrorize, to dehumanise, to torture, and to hold innocent people captives of the worst and most demoralizing conditions in the name of fighting terrorism is also in itself an act of terrorism. (..)

The Guantanamo detainees, whether proved guilty or not, are deprived of so many, if not all, of their human rights. The physical and psychological pressure they undergo is beyond any description. They are not allowed any sort of contact with the outer world, neither with their families nor with any other organizations. They are denied lawyers and access to any official and non-official parties; even those internationally acknowledged parties, to help them get acquitted. The pressure and torture they go through also creep to their families, friends and beloved ones. It does break my heart that I know nothing about my son's release, forgive me now for falling into the trap of sentimentalism and not keeping my promise it seems I cannot help it, so forgive me for being a mother!). It really aches to know that a severe punishment is being inflicted on my son for no reason other than his ambition to carry on with a positive energy he once felt and which led him to work on a productive project in Gambia. (..)

Bisher had a vision and decided to go on with it along with his brother and friend. He never knew that the cost for believing in his vision would be unaffordable. The educational environment of the schools that Bisher attended in England encouraged students to cherish their creativity and develop their own special skills. His keenness on making a difference by starting a work of his own and utilizing his own potentials was expected. He thought that the peanut oil processing project in Gambia would help him realize his dream to be an independent businessman. Since his early childhood, Bisher has had lots of good potentials and skills. I, his mother, have always worked hard to develop those potentials in him. It never occurred to me or him that he would pay a ruthless penalty for being skilful and imaginary. (..)

As I mentioned earlier, it is not sympathy that I am seeking from readers by writing this. But what is the rational behind jailing three persons for the same accusations and under the same conditions and then releasing two and keeping one? My family fled the Saddam regime almost twenty years ago. We sought in Britain peace and justice. My daughter, my eldest son and myself have become British citizens. The only one who has retained his Iraqi nationality is my son Bisher. Is this a criminal offence for which he deserves detention in one of the darkest places in the world? (…)

I am not urging you to devise special rules to help my son out of his torment. I am not seeking sympathy and soothing words. All what I beseech is that go by your own books and help us implement your own rules. (…) Go back to the Geneva conventions, to human rights declarations, and to other hundreds and hundreds of documents that have been signed and endorsed to secure the human dignity and rights to a decent living. Almost not a single day passes without hearing on the news an official condemnation, or criticism, or denunciation of countries and individuals for not abiding by those declarations or conventions. (…)

I have raised my son to respect the rights of the others. I tried my utmost best to enable him understand and respect the law. And I think I have done a good job. I know that some might argue that I am his mother and I am not expected to say otherwise. But there are other witnesses, from Britain and from outside Britain. They can tell that Bisher has never broken any rule and has only been particularly keen on giving. So do not exempt him from your rules. I seek justice and not forgiveness. My son has done nothing to be forgiven for (…).

Source: Mark Jennings/Mrs Jahida Sayyadi