Post by He stayed for four on May 12, 2005 16:18:31 GMT -5
"He stayed for four years and a half in an
underground detention facility...he did not see sunlight,
and could not distinguish between day and night.
The interrogation and torture went hand in hand.
He lost hope in seeing the sun again."
(Uncle of Muhammad Al Zawahiri, rendered and detained in Egypt)
Rachid Ramda: 10 Years of Torture In The Civilised World
When my dear friend the human rights campaigner and the true human Ann Alexander asked me to write something to highlight my plight, I found it so difficult to compress a decade of continuous psychological and mental torture. In some instances there was even physical torture disguised under the mask of the use of minimum force.
What can I say about:
10 years of internment without charge or trial.
10 years buried alive in a coffin of concrete.
10 years of isolation, living in zoo-like cages.
10 years of deprivation of any basic rights.
10 years of dehumanisation and degradation.
10 years of humiliation and indignation.
10 years of racism and discrimination.
10 years of constant fear and anxiety.
10 years of deprivation of seeing my mother, father, and my grandmother who is over 107 years old and her only wish is to see me before she dies.
10 years of deprivation of social visits or any form of proper human contact.
10 years of living in limbo, lost in an abyss, drifting towards the black hole of injustice and political manipulations.
10 years absorbed by loneliness and despondency.
10 years of constant threat to my sanity.
Brothers, sisters, and friends - people kept asking me what they can do to help me. To be honest with you, I don't know what to tell you to do. This is my situation. It is up to you what to do. I am cut off from the outside world. I am living in dark ages of ignorance by my jailers. So I am not able to figure out exactly what you can do. The only thing I am sure of is I need your help.
I am not alone in this abyss. There are other brothers who are enduring the same suffering here. Their names are:
A Makhlulif
M Labsi
H Boudhiba
A Barry
Hilali
T. La Torre
Kadri
Babar Ahmad
Rachid Ramda
Belmarsh
10/05/05
ACT NOW! Write to the Home Office about Rachid's pending extradition. Click here for our revised letter template
Rachid Ramda: Patience and Generosity
"I met Rachid when I was arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2001... You can imagine the day you go to prison and you don’t know anyone, you would want someone like Rachid to be there because he will make you feel very welcome...
He was liked by everybody. He is visited by Muslims and non-Muslims alike because of the two qualities of patience and generosity. Sometimes he would thank me for alleviating him of people because he cannot excuse himself from anyone who comes to him...
On our last encounter we kissed each other according to Arab customs, and he asked me to forgive him for not doing enough for me. We embraced each other because I knew I was going to be sent to Broadmoor that week. We were seeing each other every Friday only for prayers and I knew that was going to be the last Friday I would see him. I cried..."
[More...]
Detainee B, held under control orders
"His spirit was unbreakable... He used to say very beautiful words to me; he used to say, “If Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) accepted from me a single day in prison, I think that would be sufficient.” He gave me very encouraging words, a very patient brother....People have to support this campaign for Rachid because the brother is completely innocent. Even the people who he was charged with in France, a lot of them have been released, so I don’t know why the British Government have still locked him up. The French have no evidence against him. He is a brother suffering in prison for all this time and no one is speaking for him, so the campaign is very important in highlighting his case and calling for his release." [More...]
Ex-Belmarsh Detainee, KM
Interviews
Inside the Wire: A Military Intelligence Soldier's Eyewitness Account of Life at Guantanamo
We speak with former army sergeant, Erik Saar who served as an Arabic translator at Guantanamo Bay for six months. Among the abuses he says he witnessed was sexual abuse, mock interrogations, the use of dogs and a female interrogator smearing what looked like menstrual blood on a Muslim prisoner. He also says children were imprisoned at Guantanamo and that the military ordered them not to speak to the Red Cross.
underground detention facility...he did not see sunlight,
and could not distinguish between day and night.
The interrogation and torture went hand in hand.
He lost hope in seeing the sun again."
(Uncle of Muhammad Al Zawahiri, rendered and detained in Egypt)
Rachid Ramda: 10 Years of Torture In The Civilised World
When my dear friend the human rights campaigner and the true human Ann Alexander asked me to write something to highlight my plight, I found it so difficult to compress a decade of continuous psychological and mental torture. In some instances there was even physical torture disguised under the mask of the use of minimum force.
What can I say about:
10 years of internment without charge or trial.
10 years buried alive in a coffin of concrete.
10 years of isolation, living in zoo-like cages.
10 years of deprivation of any basic rights.
10 years of dehumanisation and degradation.
10 years of humiliation and indignation.
10 years of racism and discrimination.
10 years of constant fear and anxiety.
10 years of deprivation of seeing my mother, father, and my grandmother who is over 107 years old and her only wish is to see me before she dies.
10 years of deprivation of social visits or any form of proper human contact.
10 years of living in limbo, lost in an abyss, drifting towards the black hole of injustice and political manipulations.
10 years absorbed by loneliness and despondency.
10 years of constant threat to my sanity.
Brothers, sisters, and friends - people kept asking me what they can do to help me. To be honest with you, I don't know what to tell you to do. This is my situation. It is up to you what to do. I am cut off from the outside world. I am living in dark ages of ignorance by my jailers. So I am not able to figure out exactly what you can do. The only thing I am sure of is I need your help.
I am not alone in this abyss. There are other brothers who are enduring the same suffering here. Their names are:
A Makhlulif
M Labsi
H Boudhiba
A Barry
Hilali
T. La Torre
Kadri
Babar Ahmad
Rachid Ramda
Belmarsh
10/05/05
ACT NOW! Write to the Home Office about Rachid's pending extradition. Click here for our revised letter template
Rachid Ramda: Patience and Generosity
"I met Rachid when I was arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2001... You can imagine the day you go to prison and you don’t know anyone, you would want someone like Rachid to be there because he will make you feel very welcome...
He was liked by everybody. He is visited by Muslims and non-Muslims alike because of the two qualities of patience and generosity. Sometimes he would thank me for alleviating him of people because he cannot excuse himself from anyone who comes to him...
On our last encounter we kissed each other according to Arab customs, and he asked me to forgive him for not doing enough for me. We embraced each other because I knew I was going to be sent to Broadmoor that week. We were seeing each other every Friday only for prayers and I knew that was going to be the last Friday I would see him. I cried..."
[More...]
Detainee B, held under control orders
"His spirit was unbreakable... He used to say very beautiful words to me; he used to say, “If Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) accepted from me a single day in prison, I think that would be sufficient.” He gave me very encouraging words, a very patient brother....People have to support this campaign for Rachid because the brother is completely innocent. Even the people who he was charged with in France, a lot of them have been released, so I don’t know why the British Government have still locked him up. The French have no evidence against him. He is a brother suffering in prison for all this time and no one is speaking for him, so the campaign is very important in highlighting his case and calling for his release." [More...]
Ex-Belmarsh Detainee, KM
Interviews
Inside the Wire: A Military Intelligence Soldier's Eyewitness Account of Life at Guantanamo
We speak with former army sergeant, Erik Saar who served as an Arabic translator at Guantanamo Bay for six months. Among the abuses he says he witnessed was sexual abuse, mock interrogations, the use of dogs and a female interrogator smearing what looked like menstrual blood on a Muslim prisoner. He also says children were imprisoned at Guantanamo and that the military ordered them not to speak to the Red Cross.