Binyam Mohamed Vs Milliband & The Government

Well there doesn't seem to be a great choice of things to get upset about today except for one. So far the news on TV is dominated by the Oscars and of course the arrival or rather the return of Binyam Mohamed after 4 years in prison without charge or trial at Guantanamo Bay with a further 3 years incarcerated at the hands of the US.

In case there is any confusion about who this chap is, this is the chap who David Milliband tried to cover up and silence. This is the man who was tortured whilst in captivity with the full knowledge, cooperation of and exploitation by the British government. Mohamed said of his ordeal:

"For myself, the very worst moment came when I realised in Morocco that the people who were torturing me were receiving questions and materials from British intelligence."

He added: "I had met with British intelligence in Pakistan. I had been open with them. Yet the very people who I had hoped would come to my rescue, I later realised, had allied themselves with my abusers.

"I am not asking for vengeance; only that the truth should be made known, so that nobody in the future should have to endure what I have endured."

I hope that his legal team and both Amnesty International and Reprieve who are involved in this issue advise him strongly to reconsider his position and go absolutely for out and out vengeance. The only way to get any kind satisfactory outcome from this situation is to make it as personal as his abusers made it with him. I'm not suggesting of course that he exacts like for like revenge and not for obvious practical reasons, but because it's important to take the moral high ground and that shouldn't be too difficult anyway against the UK government. It is vital that everyone knows the detail of his ordeal, what happened to him, who was responsible for his treatment and who sanctioned it. I'm not just talking about the people on the ground, but the politicians, the decision makers who were ultimately responsible for this appalling breach of human rights.

Torture is and should always be morally unacceptable and its prohibition is in fact an absolute legal right under the government's own Human Rights Act 1998. This means that any British officials or government departments that are responsible for or have a hand in the prolonged imprisonment and torture of this unfortunate individual are on the wrong side of the law. This presents an interesting choice. Either those acting unlawfully need to be sacked and made accountable in court for their actions or the government will accept that their own legislation is not worth the paper it is written on.

In reality, what will happen is the government will order an enquiry and will be long gone by the time it reports. Those responsible will be off working in Europe or in the Lords by that time and will never be made to scoop their political poop on this issue, which as an issue will probably ultimately achieve nothing...and that drives me to lunacy.