Print this article

Send to friend

Since the attacks of 11th September 2001 on the World Trade Centre in the US, Detainee G has been one of the War on Terror’s longest standing victims. Having been through nearly the entire counter-terrorism policies the UK government could conceive and implement, at every turn, he has managed to defeat the allegations against him. Even today he is suffering from a process that denies him his rights and psychologically tortures him and his family. Fighting deportation to his home country of Algeria, he speaks to Cageprisoners about the last seven years.



CAGEPRISONERS: Could you please introduce yourself?

DETAINEE G: I am known as ‘Detainee G’ from Algeria.  I came to the UK in August 1995.  I came because I faced torture.  I was in prison in Algeria, and because of the fear I was obliged to come to Britain to protect myself and protect my family in Algeria.  

CP: What were you scared of in Algeria?

DG: In Algeria, it’s a long story, but since the Islamic party won the vote in Algeria but were then forcefully removed.  I was not a party member but I was a person studying in university, and we were at the time protesting in support of this Islamic group.  And then because of these protests and because we are anti-regime- that was ten years ago- more than 10 years ago (before 1990’s) - I was detained because I was protesting with my brothers.  We were tortured in prison- electric shock and things like that, humiliation.  And then I was obliged to sign a paper to withdraw from this party and stop protesting (because I was a university student).  So at that time they started to kidnap people at night- they go to the families, break (into) the house, and take them…So my father, for my safety, he prepared everything for me and told me it’s better for me to leave- because I was in trouble and all my family will be in trouble. 

CP: So you came to the UK, what were you doing in the UK after 1995?

DG: When I came...why we chose the UK...we saw that there was a nice picture- we heard it’s a country of law, there are many people who fled their country and came to the UK.  We have that nice picture, because everybody was talking about UK- that they respect human rights, they respect their law, you can ask for asylum there, and no-one can touch you, no-one can do nothing wrong to you.  That’s why I chose to come to Britain- this was in August 1995.  And then when I came, the first thing I start, it’s because I left university study- I didn’t finish my French License in mathematics.  So my goal and my aim, it’s to carry on my study.  And my English was poor, so I started to improve my English, and do some stuff like IT, mathematics, electronics, something like that.  I studied in Newham College for further education.  I didn’t work because I have suffered from Polio since I was two years old.  It affected my physical ability to work, so I was concentrating more on studying than on working.  So the whole time I spent in Britain, I was studying.  I got my certificate and my diploma. 

CP: So are you a British resident?

DG: No, I’m not British- the first time I came to Britain I asked for asylum seeker status in the Airport.  I told them this is my Algerian passport, and I fear the regime in Algeria- I want to seek refuge here in Britain.  So after the interview and things like that, they rejected my application once, and you know the procedure takes a long time, and then they didn’t grant me anything at all until I got married to a French national.  I got married to her in, say, 1998- 3 years after I came to Britain. 

CP: And then did you receive French nationality?

DG: Yes, because the marriage took place, they granted me six months under European Community Law.  Until now they consider me of European Community- because I am married to her and have kids and things like that.  And before these six months expired, I was arrested

CP: So when were you arrested?

DG: I was arrested in December 2001.  

CP: What were the circumstances of your arrest? 

DG: It’s…I cannot…When I remember the story of how they arrest us- it’s humiliation... It’s hard to say.  It gave me the opposite picture- of what I was thinking of Britain.  Because when they came- I remember, at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning.  They knocked on the door, of course, they didn’t break the door.  But there were many officers.  I live in a small flat with my wife, and at that time I had a daughter who was two years old.  And then they came- ten or fifteen officers, with some police, and then I can see- it’s like 30 people with or without uniform.  And they came, and the amazing thing is they didn’t tell me anything.  And of course my wife was crying, my daughter was crying- it was night- they were shouting, they were humiliating me and my daughter and my wife.  And the only thing they told me, they give me a piece of paper signed by the Home Office (Blunkett at that time), saying that you are under suspicion of being a terrorist and we have to arrest you.  And I didn’t know what was in the paper- I asked them can they tell what the purpose of arresting me is, or where they want to take me.  They said it’s a secret- we can’t tell you anything.  I told them Ok, can you give me a chance to call my solicitor- they told me no- I had no right to talk to my solicitor, no right to talk to my wife- the only thing I could do was take some clothes and other short-term things like that.  They searched me and they took me straight away.  They didn’t even let me talk to my wife, and I at that time I didn’t know where I was going completely- to the police station, to prison, to Algeria- nothing at all.  So they put me in the police van and took me away.  This is the story. 

CP: And where did they take you then?

DG: I didn’t know at that time, and then straight away they took us to the prison- it was Belmarsh- the secure unit inside Belmarsh.  Belmarsh is a prison, and there is a prison inside the prison which is called the secure unit.  So we were detained in that place. 

CP: How many of you were there?

DG: I think all of us…I don’t remember exactly because I don’t know the other guys, but I can see there is some Algerian, there is one Moroccan, one Tunisian, one Palestinian.  I say it was ten people, more or less. 

CP: And what charge did they bring against you?

DG: The problem is there was no charge.  At the time they arrested us, we didn’t know about this law, but afterwards- after a few months- we started to know- it is legislation, passed quickly by the House of Parliament because of the 11^th September- they passed it quickly in March.  And this legislation is to do with foreigners- if you are a foreigner they can arrest and detain you indefinitely. 

CP: The 2001 Crime and Security Act? 

DG: Yes, so if you are suspicious, they can detain you indefinitely - no trial, no charge, you cannot see the evidence against you, your solicitor cannot see the…It’s completely, you know, you just die…

CP: They suspected you, but they didn’t bring any charges against you?

DG: No charge, no evidence- all is secret- the evidence is secret.

CP: And how many times did they question you?

DG: They didn’t question me.

CP: And you stayed for how long? 

DG: I stayed for nearly three years and a half.

CP: And they didn’t question you?

DG: No, no question, nothing.  Because all the evidence is secret and they cannot…

CP: Don’t you think if they suspected you of some kind of crime they’d want to speak to you?

DG: Even for me it was very shocking, very surprising- for me, for my family- for the community even.  All the community, because I live in East London, and most of the people who live in East London are Muslims (Alhamdulilaah).  When they heard that I was arrested, and they heard that there was such a law, they were all shocked- they were all worrying about themselves, about their children…So this legislation divides the community, and it shows the people that it’s to do with Muslims.  It’s just to do with Muslims, because all the people that were arrested are Muslims. 

CP: Why do you think they detained you though?

DG: I don’t know- I have no clue.  But it might be, it might be because I was attending a Mosque, and there was a Palestinian guy who performed prayer and gave speeches.  I was attending his Mosque- he was in West London, I live in East London.  And this Mosque, it is not illegal to go there, because it is permitted by the Home Office- if they didn’t permit it they would have shut the Mosque.  So it’s a Mosque and everyone is welcome.  So at that time, because it was far away from where I lived, I was attending this Mosque once every two weeks or once a month or something like that.  This might be the cause (of me being arrested).  But when I see the paper, it said you are suspicion one and you belong to a terrorist party in Algeria, not here (in the UK).  You were a member of a party in Algeria (associated with) terrorism.

CP: How were you released in the end from Belmarsh? 

DG: At that time, because I suffer from Polio, I developed mental and physical problems; I lost weight- when they arrested me I was 60kg- during prison I was 40kg.  I had no appetite to eat, my mental problems got worse, and they were obliged to take me to have healthcare.  They took me to healthcare and I spent nearly one year there.

CP: In Broadmoor?

DG: In Belmarsh.  So it’s not really healthcare- I call it “Hell care”, because they put you in a cell for 24 hours…Yes there are many nurses and doctors there, but there are no kinds of activities or education or social association- they just put you in “Hell care”, lock you up in a cell for 24 hours.  It was for me worse in the “Hell care” than in the blocks.  So I stayed there because of my mental and physical problems.  My solicitor Miss Gareth Pierce put a bail application, and the judge granted me (his name was Mr Collins) bail, and then it was rejected by the Home Office.  My family was happy that I was going to be released that day- I don’t remember the month, but it was in 2004.  So they appealed the decision of the judge and they went to the High Court.  They stayed another three months, and the High Court Judge returned the Home Office to the SIAC (Special Immigration Appeals Commission) again- they told them that this case shouldn’t be heard here- it should be heard in the SIAC.  So I have the feeling that they are just playing games and gaining time.  So after four or five months, the case returned again to the SIAC, and the same judge granted me bail.

CP: So this is all recently?

DG: This was back in 2004, under the 2001 Act.  So when he granted me bail, it was appealed by the Home Office, and for three months it went to the High Court, and then it returned to the SIAC again, and then the judge obliged the Home Office to accept the bail.  And then at the end the judge granted me bail, but under very harsh conditions.  I was the only one from all the guys under this Act to be granted bail.  But the bail has very strict conditions- I was happy for the first two or three weeks to be with my family, because you miss them, after a long time like that.  But then it was worse for me, because I was isolated in a one-bedroom flat, me and my wife, under 24-hour home arrest- no phone line, no computer, no visitor…I’m not allowed to talk to anyone, I have to stay at home 24 hours in a small room, I have to call the Tagging company five times day (day and night) - every four hours I had to call the Tagging company with the system.  So it was a nightmare for me, humiliating and like that.  So I stayed under this bail for nearly eight or nine months, and even at this time when I was at home, I wasn’t allowed to see my GP or doctor- I was suffering from mental and physical problems.  Everyone who wanted to visit me- for my solicitor it was OK, but for my GP or my physiotherapist, they have to be cleared.  Being cleared is like having a visa application to travel to another country- you have to bring your evidence; you have to give pictures of yourself, your id, your passport, things like that.  So at home I was suffering for months and months- just to get the clearance of my GP and physiotherapist to visit me, examine me and treat me.

CP: So when were you released from your bail?

DG: I stayed under this bail for nearly seven to eight months, and then the House of Lords said that the legislation was against human rights, it’s humiliation…and I remember one of the lords, he said this kind of legislation, I cannot say terrorism, but makes people more upset about this government and divides the community- the Muslim community feel like they’re being attacked by the Home Office, by this kind of legislation.  So they ruled that the legislation was not OK, and then they released all the guys and put us under another suffering legislation- under Control Orders.  For me, it’s more relaxing than the house arrest I was under, but it is still not…

Detainee G (Asim Qureshi, Cageprisoners)





CP:  What were the conditions? 

DG: The conditions were that I could leave my flat from 7am to 7pm, but all the other conditions were the same- I’m not allowed to have a phone, I’m not allowed to use the mobile, my wife is not allowed to use the mobile inside the house, visitors have to be cleared, I’m not allowed to call someone to arrange a meeting- I’m not allowed to call my GP.  The area is restricted- I’m not allowed to leave the area where I live, which is Forest Gate.

CP:  So how did this affect your family?

DG: It’s a big thing…During that whole time my family was in prison, was under conditions- not just myself. 

CP:  Can you give us some examples of how?

DG: I will give you examples- one day my daughter was in school and she was bleeding.  They wanted to take her to the hospital, but they had no number to call us and tell us, so they just talked to the prison- they couldn’t send someone to come because we no contact number.  This was one incident.  My wife has many friends who she wants to visit, so she has been isolated like me- I’ve been isolated from the whole community, from any email, from any Muslim, from any Mosque.  I’m not allowed at that time to pray Friday- for nine months I wasn’t allowed to pray Friday prayers- even though it is an obligation for Muslims to do, I wasn’t allowed.  And I cannot mention- we were suffering from all means- socially, physically- the Home Office and tagging people can come at any time at night- sometimes at two o’clock, three o’clock, to examine their equipment- their tagging unit.  They can wake you at two or three o’clock- they knock on the door and they come- the Home Office with tagging stuff to check their equipment. 

DG: I just want to tell you something…One small thing.  My washing machine was broken one day, and my wife has to do everything at home, and she has to look after me as a disabled person, and she has to do things outside- she has to take my daughter and do the shopping…So it was very difficult for her, because she had to do everything for herself.  The washing machine was broken, and we had to call the company to send someone to fix it to wash our clothes.  So when we called the Home Office and told them that there is someone coming to fix the machine, they asked for his name, his ID, his passport and stuff like that.  And the company doesn’t know who will be available to come that day, so we were suffering nearly two or three months without a washing machine, so my wife would take the clothes- it was hard for her with my daughter- they go outside, and they washed them in the laundry.  So this is just one example- in Britain we can’t get a washing machine fixed because of this kind of legislation.

CP: And so 7/7 happened, and things changed for you.  How did they change?

DG: We felt that everything that happens in Britain, the Home Office will sacrifice us for what other people have done.  So I haven’t been charged, I have nothing to do with 7/7 or 11^th September- I challenge them, if they have one percent of this against me, they should put it to a normal trial.  And if I am guilty I deserve this- if the judge finds me guilty of anything, I am prepared to spend ten years if there is something I’m guilty of- but I’m not.  We are suffering for something which we don’t know- we stayed under Control Orders for just five months- imagine the guys who were in prison- just five months with their families and children, and then when 7/7 happened (and none of them were related in any way to 7/7), they re-arrested us again.  But I have the feeling that they do it because they are playing political games- to make the public afraid and to show them that they are doing something- this is one hundred- two hundred percent sincerity from me (that I believe) they are doing this to make people afraid and showing them that they are doing something.  So they arrested the same guys and me.

CP: What happened to you when they arrested you?

DG: They arrested me in the same way they did before- they came in the morning, knocked on the door- it was four vans- I am someone with a wheelchair; I cannot even physically move except with (Allah, and then) my wife helping me.  So they come in four vans- twenty, thirty police, between officers, security, immigration, things like that.  They were walking in the street in front of my house, so when I saw them walking in the street with their uniforms, I have the feeling that they are showing the neighbours, the community, that this man is suspected.  They put my family in risk when they do it like that- they can arrest me easily, but they do it like that.  And it was the same story- they show me a paper signed by the Home Office, and they said you are facing deportation to your country.  I told them (during) the first period in 2001, you said you would not deport us to our country because we would face torture, and that that was why you had to keep us in prison indefinitely.  But now it is ok- before it wasn’t ok and you had to stay in prison indefinitely until you died there, but now the story is changing. 

CP: What excuse did they give that it was ok to deport you?

DG: They said because they have a memorandum- these Arab regimes yesterday were dictatorships, anti-democratic- like Jordan, like Palestine, like Egypt, like Tunisia, like Algeria, like Libya, but overnight they became ok.  These governments get a piece of paper that it is ok for them (the detainees) to come and we will treat them well, and they will be very welcome.  But they didn’t get a memorandum from Algeria.  Even despite that they want to deport us.   

CP: And what is your fear about being deported?

DG: My fear is great…I am facing death- if I go to Algeria I will die and make trouble to myself and my family.  When we were in Long Lartin Prison (in northern Britain) under deportation, there were guys who couldn’t stand being in prison, because of their families and things like that, and they were obliged to sign and go.  They gave them the guarantee that they would be safe in Algeria, but when they went to Algeria it is completely the opposite.  One of them I remember, I cannot use names, but he is now facing eight years in prison Algeria, and one of them three years.  So for me they can kill me now or I can kill myself- that is better for me than to go to Algeria.  It is impossible for me to go to Algeria.

CP: So you’re challenging your deportation through SIAC.  What is the difficulty of going through SIAC?

DG: SIAC is a slow court- we have been under this deportation for nearly two years, but nothing has happened- we are still waiting for SIAC, we are still waiting for the Appeal Court, and nothing happened.

CP: Are you able to challenge the evidence against you? 

DG: No, because all the evidence against me is behind closed doors- I cannot challenge anything at all.  Even my solicitor has no idea what is going on there- we have to wait.

CP: And that is where the case is right now- you are waiting to go through the Courts?

DG: Yes, this is the only thing.  But now I know it will take years and years, not months, so imagine the appeal of the Court, the House of Lords, the European Court and things like that, so I will stay suffering with my family for nearly five, six, ten years- it might be indefinite.

CP: As a final question, what kind of message would you want to give to the public?

DG: What can I say?  I am one of the public, and I didn’t hurt even animals here- I lived peacefully, I was a student.  I just want to tell the people it’s not true what the Government is saying.  Yes, there are a few people making trouble, but we cannot because of these few people generalise and put every foreigner under a shadow like that.  If anyone commits anything, there is a Court and a trial and guilty or not guilty and so on.  But I just want to tell the public that the Government cannot use terrorism to fulfil their desire or to have some other purpose behind (anti-terrorism measures).  And we ask the public to stay and support us- I am not a terrorist- I am a Muslim, but in Islam the human soul is very valued (even the soul of animals).  So I am not a terrorist and I challenge the Government to charge me.