By: Andy Worthington

Andy Worthington — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:01:02 +0000

Thanks again, Ann. Everything you say is very clear from BB’s statement. I also noticed that he was the only one of the five who used the word “scapegoat” — and it appears to be very apt indeed. Why on earth is the British government intent on sending him back to Algeria when even the secret evidence against him (untested, unchallenged, unproven) led the Law Lords to conclude that he was nothing more than a “small fish”?
http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/02/22/abu-qatada-law-lords-and-government-endorse-torture/

By: Ann Alexander

Ann Alexander — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:44:25 +0000

Of all my friends suffering under immigration bail whose stories were heard at the recent House of Commons meeting, for some reason I can’t explain, BB’s situation has hit me hardest. Perhaps because I have only got to know him recently and his suffering is freshest in my mind. His wife is finding it harder and harder to cope with the terrible restrictions on her husband and family. She is totally reliant on BB and the fear she felt when he was arrested on the orders of the Home Secretary after being released by the SIAC judge, can only be imagined as she knew she would not be able to cope without him – far away from any friends in a town she doesn’t know. Fortunately BB was released the next day but I worry about this family more than any of the others. BB is an exceptional husband and father and I am full of admiration that he has kept his sanity so far. Lets hope secret evidence is soon exposed for what it truely is – evidence extracted through torture – and this lovely family can try to get back their lives.

Comments on: Five Stories From Britain’s Guantánamo: (2) Detainee BB

By: Andy Worthington

By: Ann Alexander