Stop the War predicted 13 years ago that the ‘war on terror’ would, among other things, increase the threat to civil liberties.
Stop the War Coalition
Stop the War Coalition welcomes the release of Moazzam Begg without charges today.
We believe the prosecution against him should never have been brought in the first place, and we find it incredible that he has spent seven months in prison awaiting trial, only for the charges to have been dropped just before his scheduled trial.
This is the second time that Moazzam Begg has been held in prison without charge and subsequently released because there was no evidence against him. He previously spent three years detained by the US in Bagram prison in Afghanistan, notorious for its torture regime, and then Guantánamo Bay, before being released in 2005.
We predicted 13 years ago that the ‘war on terror’ would, among other things, increase the threat to civil liberties.
We have seen since then a whole series of changes in the law, security measures and highly publicised arrests of mainly Muslim people. Many, like Moazzam Begg, have been subsequently released without charge.
Yet these laws have failed in their expressed intent, which is to reduce the threat of terrorism.
That is because terrorism arises from political grievances, and until these are addressed, it will continue. The wars in which the British government has engaged since 2001 have made the threat of terrorism worse.
The latest war, launched in parliament last week, will further worsen the situation.
Theresa May’s speech at the Tory party conference makes clear that the crackdown on civil liberties, on an unprecedentedly wide scale, is set to continue. These disastrous policies must be opposed.
We wish all the best to Moazzam and his family and friends, and will be protesting on Saturday against the third Iraq war in recent times.
Source: Stop the War Coalition
