Coming Home: An Interview with Habib Rasul

An Interview with Habib Rasul
Brother of Guantanamo Briton, Shafiq Rasul

CAGEPRISONERS: Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. Habib, can you tell us how you and your family reacted to the wonderful news that Shafiq will shortly be released?

HABIB RASUL: After a week of very bad news and the death of a very close relative, the news of Shafiq's release was overwhelming and shocking. When I learnt that only five detainees were going to be released, I felt great
disappointment. My immediate thoughts were for Mr. Begg (father of Guantanamo detainee, Moazzam Begg) - he has campaigned for two and a half years; I feel very sorry for him. We will still continue to campaign; The campaign is for all the prisoners, not just my brother, and I don't want people to think that we are going to forget about the others.

CP: Going back to 2001, what brought Shafiq to Pakistan?

HR: Basically, he went with the sole purpose of meeting relatives in Pakistan as he had not been there before.

CP: Can you give our readers insight into the ordeal your family has had to endure daily for the past two years that Shafiq has spent in Cuba?

HR: The main person who has been affected is my mother. Shafiq was the youngest of four siblings and it has affected her tremendously, both mentally and physically. The mother of Asif Iqbal a fellow detainee from Tipton, was also affected a lot. She had mental problems previously and these have deteriorated over the past two and a half years.

CP: How do you respond to the claims that your brother was captured along with those Taliban/al-Qa'ida fighters who mutinied in Mazar Sharif, and to US Major General Geoffrey Miller's recent denial that the Britons to be released, even if they no longer pose any threat, were innocent of any crime?

HR: I have a firm belief that if Shafiq had the slightest link with any sort of activities, he would not be freed. They (the Americans) know for a fact he had nothing to do with anything. This is why they released him. If they even had the tiniest shred of evidence against him, they would not have released him.

CP: How much communication has the family had with Shafiq since his detention?

HR: We were not getting a lot of information from the Americans. We received a handful of letters over the past two and a half years. They were heavily censored. I remember once I asked Shafiq in a letter what the conditions were like. His reply, which came several months later, was just "Assalam Alaykum, how are you?" The rest was censored.

Freedom of speech, what freedom of speech??

CP: What impression did his letters give of the conditions in Guantanamo Bay generally and of his treatment there?

HR: Well, in his letters that we did receive there was only small talk - all communications are heavily governed and censored, all I could make out was that his every movement was monitored.

CP: What has been the response of the local Muslim community in Tipton and in the West Midlands?

HP: I've been really disappointed with the response. They could have done a lot more. The community has been hiding really, mainly because they were afraid. Last week, when there were many reporters in Tipton, the local leaders have now started to jump on the band wagon, saying they were really happy that the detainees were coming home; I ask them, "Where were you hiding two years ago?" A lot of hypocrites have started to reveal themselves.

CP: Two years older and wiser, how do you imagine Shafiq has been affected by this terrible experience?

HR: There is going to be both physical and mental damage. If every moment of your life is under total control, then it's going to take quite while for him to recuperate back into society, I don't think Shafiq will be the same Shafiq I knew, two and a half year's back - that Shafiq is lost and gone forever.

I know that Shafiq had a near-death experience, so this terrible experience will affect him for the rest of his life.

CP: What do you anticipate lies in store for Shafiq on his return to the UK?

HR: The media attention is main thing I fear. Life is not going to be normal anymore. Everyone knows who he is now. He won't have the same freedom as everyone else. I'm especially worried about those who say that Shafiq should be tried for treason. He was not proven guilty of any crime.

CP: What was your reaction to Jack Straw's comments that they could still be charged under British Anti-Terrorism Laws, in spite of the Home Secretary assurances that those released are of no threat to the community?

HR: After two and a half years of interrogation by both the US and UK intelligence services, no conclusive evidence emerged, linking them to any sort of wrong doing. On their return they will be questioned once again - I don't know what they are going to be questioned about - maybe they will ask them, "Where are Saddam's weapons of mass destruction???"

CP: Many of the campaigners and families of the detainees have criticised the Foreign Office for not putting 100% effort in, and believe that if the government had wanted to, they could have solved this long ago - do you feel that the British government has done enough for the detainees?

HR: On occasions, talking to the Foreign Office was like talking to a brickwall. It took nearly a year before the Foreign Office bothered to arrange any sort of meeting, and that itself was a total waste of time. I feel a lot more could have been done to ease the pressure of the families i.e. a lot more contact to let us know what was going on in discussions between the US and UK Governments.

CP: In former interviews you said that Britain had "done b****r all" to help your family; has this latest move restored your faith in the British government?

HR: Ask me that in couple of months time. I just want him to get back. I don't want to start criticising the government.

CP: Are you in contact with the families of the other Tipton detainees, Ruhal Ahmed and Asif Iqbal? How have their familes been coping and what is their reaction to their sons' return?

HR: They are happy, of course, but there is a dark cloud hanging over us - will they be detained or free when they return to the UK?

CP: What is your view, in light of the fact that the remaining 4 Britons and the 2 British residents will be remaining in Guantanamo? How do you imagine their families must be feeling?

HR: I'm sure they are bitter about it. I know Azmat Begg has been lobbying for so long and tried very hard. I feel very sorry for his (Moazzam Begg's) family, his wife and kids, four young children. I'd just like to say we are going to be there for them all the way Insha'Allah (if God Wills).

CP: Do you think the latest wave of releases gives hope for the other British and non-British detainees?

HR: Hopefully, the least we should expect is for this concentration camp to be closed down.

CP: Is there any message you would like to give to our visitors? What would you suggest people in Britain or the average Muslim can do to help the brothers in Guantanamo?

HR: Keep on lobbying the government and praying for them (the detainees). Insha'Allah (if God Wills), they will be released one day. Do not give up hope Insha'Allah, and we must not forget those who are still be detained in far worse conditions in Afghanistan.

CP: Finally, what do you think of our site?

HR: Alhamdulillah, I only got to know about it three months ago. A lot of effort has gone into this site - it is an excellent source of information. I would like to thank each and everyone who has been involved in this website, may Allah reward you all for your efforts.