ALERTS

<p style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Statement of support for Moazzam Begg</b></p> 25/02/14 We, the undersigned, show our support and solidarity for the former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Moazzam Begg, who has been arrested over allegations of terrorism. Until the allegations are tested and challenged in a court of law we reiterate the fundamental right of all to presumption of innocence. Our experience with Moazzam Begg has been in his role as one of the foremost advocates against the abuses taking place in Guantanamo Bay, and as part of the wider programme of unlawful detentions and complicity in torture. Moazzam has worked tirelessly with CAGE and other human rights organisations in order to work for the settlement of Guantanamo Bay detainees to third party countries. For now we call upon the police to be vigilant in how Moazzam is treated in detention given the trauma he was subjected to while detained at Guantanamo Bay. We extend our support to his family as well as his colleagues at CAGE. <p style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Signatures</b></p> <strong>Muhammad Rabbani</strong>  Managing Director, CAGE <strong>Asim Qureshi</strong>   Director, Catalyst Worldwide Consulting <strong>Sir Geoffrey Bindman</strong>  Human Rights lawyer and Founder of Bindmans LLP <strong>Victoria Brittain</strong> Journalist and author of Shadow Lives: The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror <strong>Clive Stafford-Smith</strong>  Director, Reprieve <strong>Clare Algar</strong>   Executive Director, Reprieve <strong>Cori Cryder</strong>   Strategic Director of Abuses in Counter Terrorism, Reprieve <strong>Polly Rossdale</strong>    Deputy Director of Abuses in Counter Terrorism, Reprieve <strong>Major Todd Peirce</strong>   Former US military attorney <strong>Cheryl Bormann</strong>  Attorney for Guantanamo Bay detainee <strong>Captain Michael Schwartz</strong> US Military attorney <strong>Lt Cmd Kevin Bogucki</strong>  US Military attorney <strong>Jim Harrington</strong>   Attorney for Guantanamo Bay detainee <strong>Sami El-Haj</strong> Manager of Public Liberties and Human Rights, Al Jazeera and Former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Qatar <strong>Jarallah al-Marri</strong>  Former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Qatar <strong>Tarek Dergoul</strong>    Former Guantanamo Bay detainee, UK <strong>Omar Deghayes</strong>  Former Guantanamo Bay detainee, UK <strong>Bisher al-Rawi</strong>   Former Guantanamo Bay detainee, UK <strong>Phil Shiner</strong>    Principal, Public Interest Lawyers <strong>Mourad Dhina</strong>   Executive Director, Al Karama <strong>Frances Webber</strong>   Vice-chair, Institute of Race Relations <strong>Terry Holdbrooks</strong>   Former Guantanamo Bay guard <strong>Prof Bill Bowering</strong>   Barrister and Lecturer at Birkbeck University of London <strong>Prof Laleh Khalili</strong>  Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies <strong>Prof David Miller</strong>  Professor at the University of Bath <strong>Saghir Hussain</strong>   Solicitor, HMA Solicitors <strong>Eeva Heikkila</strong>   Barrister, 9 Bedford Row <strong>Toby Cadman</strong>   Barrister, 9 Bedford Row <strong>Christopher Stanley</strong>  Legal Officer, Rights Watch UK <strong>Daniel Carey</strong>   Solicitor, Deighton Peirce Glynn <strong>Dr Ruth Blakely</strong>   Co-Director, The Rendition Project and University of Kent <strong>Dr Sam Raphael</strong>  Co-Director, The Rendition Project and Kingston University <strong>Carla Ferstman</strong>   Director, Redress <strong>Dr Scharlette Holdman</strong>  Mitigation specialist <strong>Dr Nisha Kapoor</strong>  Lecturer, University of York <strong>Dr Anas al Tikriti</strong>  CEO, The Cordoba Foundation <strong>Dilower Khan</strong>   President, Islamic Forum of Europe <strong>Russell Fraser</strong>    Solicitor, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers <strong>Malachy Killbride</strong>   Witness Against Torture <strong>Wendy Pettifer</strong>   Solicitor, Hackney Law Centre <strong>Paul Heron</strong>    Solicitor, Public Interest Lawyers <strong>Cianan Good</strong>   Solicitor, Public Interest Lawyers <strong>Adriana Edmeades</strong>  Paralegal, Public Interest Lawyers <strong>Beth Shiner</strong>   Trainee solicitor, Public Interest Lawyers <strong>Emily McFadden</strong>   Trainee solicitor, Public Interest Lawyers <strong>Leisha Shiner</strong>   Paralegal, Public Interest Lawyers <strong>Paul McNab</strong>   Practice Manager, Public Interest Lawyers <strong>Estella</strong> <strong>Schmid </strong>  Campaign Against Criminalising Communties (CAMPACC) <strong>Les Levidow </strong>  Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) <strong>Anne Gray</strong>   Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) <strong>Patrick Carty</strong>   Justice Watch, Ireland <strong>Coleen Rowley</strong>   Tackling Torture at the Top <strong>Sonja Johnson</strong>   Tackling Torture at the Top <strong>Gary King</strong>   Tackling Torture at the Top <strong>Thomas Dickinson</strong>  Tackling Torture at the Top <strong>Mike Madden</strong>   Tackling Torture at the Top <strong>Lindsey German </strong>  Stop the War Coalition <strong>Abdullah Hasan </strong>  UKIM Masjid Khadija IADA <strong>Azad Ali </strong>  Muslim Safety Forum <strong>Dr Omer El-Hamdoon</strong>   Muslim Association of Britain <strong>Sharhabeel Lone  </strong> Kentish Town Community Organisation <strong>Dr Uthman Lateef</strong>   Khateeb &amp; Researcher <strong>Mohammad Sawalha </strong>  President, British Muslim Initiative, UK <strong>Mohammed Kozbar</strong>   Islam Expo <strong>Saleem Kidwai, OBE  </strong> Muslim Council of Wales <strong>Mrs Firdous Arif</strong>   Muslim Women's Association UK <strong>Dr Sheikh Hojjat Ramzy</strong>   Oxford Islamic Information Centre <strong>Muhammad Jinani</strong>   Young Muslim Organisation UK <strong>Sister Helen Prejean</strong>   Author of <em>'Dead Man Walking'</em> and internationally known Social Activist <strong>Rizwan Sabir</strong>   University of Bath, UK <strong>John McLoughlin </strong>  UNISON <strong>Bob Pitt</strong>   Editor, Islamophobia Watch <strong>Abdullah Faliq </strong>  Chair, Enough Coalition Against Islamophobia <strong>Fareena Alam </strong>  Social Activist <strong>Professor Richard Jackson</strong>   The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, NZ <strong>Arun Kundnani</strong>   Author of <em>'The Muslims are Coming'</em> and <em>'End of Tolerance',</em> US <strong>Imam Shakeel Begg </strong>  Imam, Lewisham Islamic Centre, UK <strong>Abdur Raheem Green</strong>   Co-Founder, Islamic Education and Research Academy, UK <strong>Yusuf Chambers</strong>   Co-Founder, Islamic Education and Research Academy, UK <strong>Saqib Sattar </strong>  Vice-Chairman,Islamic Education and Research Academy, UK <strong>Saleem Chagtai</strong>   Islamic Education and Research Academy, UK <strong>Hamza Andreas Tzortzis</strong>   Islamic Education and Research Academy, UK <strong>Abdullah al-Andalusi</strong>   Spokesman, Muslim Debate Initiative, UK <strong>Shaykh Abu Abdissalaam</strong>   Islamic Scholar, UK <strong>Shaykh Shafiur Rahman </strong>  Islamic Scholar, UK <strong>Shaykh Suliman Ghani</strong>   Islamic Scholar, UK <strong>Shaykh Shams Muhammad </strong>  Islamic Scholar, Khalifa Foundation, UK <strong>Zahed Ahmed </strong>  Khalil Foundation, UK <strong>Imam Wasim Kempson </strong>  Imam, Al-Muntada al-Islami, UK <strong>Omar Ali</strong>   President, FOSIS, UK <strong>Ibrahim Ali </strong>  Vice-President of Student Affairs, FOSIS, UK <strong>Mohammed Kozbar </strong>  Director, Finsbury Park Mosque, UK <strong>Tafazal Mohammad  </strong> Managing Director, Muslim Youth Skills, UK <strong>Arzu Merali</strong>   Islamic Human Rights Commission <strong>Baher Azmy</strong>   Centre for Constitutional Rights, USA <strong>Wells Dixon</strong>   Centre for Constitutional Rights, USA <strong>Omar Farah</strong>   Centre for Constitutional Rights, USA <strong>Shane Kadidal </strong>  Centre for Constitutional Rights, USA <strong>Pardiss Kebriaei </strong>  Centre for Constitutional Rights, USA <strong>Ben Hayes</strong>   Statewatch <strong>John Pilger</strong>   Investigative Journalist <strong>Mark Steel</strong>   Comedian <strong>Joy Hurcombe</strong>   Chair, Save Shaker Aamer Campaign <strong>Farooq Murad </strong>  Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain <strong>Supporters from South Africa </strong> Feroze Ahmed Boda (Advocate), Yusuf Dockrat (Advocate), Shabnem Mayet (Advocate), Yusuf Ismail (Attorney), Yousha Tayob (Attorney), Afzal Mosam (Advocate), Zaheer Adam (Attorney), Ziyad Patel (Attorney), Farhana Ismail (Attorney), Nasser Tayob (Attorney), Nadeem Mohammed (Attorney), Afzal Abba (Attorney), Ridwaan Boda (Attorney), Nazmeera Cassim (Psychiatrist), Muhammad Kajee (Advocate), Shehnaaz Rawat (Advocate), Ahmed Cajee (Advocate), Hassen Kajee (Advocate) <hr /> <p style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Statement of support from Terry Holdbrooks, former Guantanamo Bay guard</b></p> 28/02/2014 I will always be grateful that Moazzam was in GTMO when I was there.  He worked as an intermediary for the guards and detainees and continually helped keep the peace.  His ability to reason with the most hate filled, brainwashed and socially inept of guards was a valuable asset for everyone.  It would not matter if the guard was an outright white supremacist, Moazzam could reason with them, and in doing so, he helped to keep the peace in an environment prone to unpleasant circumstances. Being that Moazzam was a peace keeper, he was someone I could always rely on for conversation, as well as information.  Moazzam was forthright in sharing with me much of the intelligence the Army had not, and in doing so, he genuinely opened my eyes to the reality of what was going on in GTMO.  People like Moazzam, and many others, helped me to see the grave mistake that the <em>"war on terror"</em>  is, as well as showed me the sincere beauty in Islam, which the Army had told me was an inherent evil in the world. It could be argued that Moazzam is a charismatic speaker and manipulator, but I would have to reply with what wrongs has he committed?  America smacked him in the face and labelled him for the rest of his life, and he returned the deed with devoting his life to helping those who are in need.  Americans seem to talk about the reverence they hold for Jesus, how he always turned the other cheek and then Americans themselves seem to be incapable of doing the same.  Moazzam was more of an American in mind and spirit than the individuals who were working in GTMO.  He is a representation of freedom, honesty, wisdom, and diligence.  I can only pray that this farce the UK is currently perpetrating against him ends quickly, with peace.