Don’t worry Andy, it’s never too late. My husband was held (as most Muslims are in Spain) for 3 years and 4 months before he was charged. His trial starts on September 21st, nearly 4 years after his terrible and violent arrest. Thankfully, because of my campaign, 2 Amnesty observers will be present at the trial in order to ensure a fair one (there have been some very unsafe convictions in the past). The Audiencia Nacional (National Court) is an off-shoot from the Franco era and has changed very little. This is where Garzon does all his “investigations” from. He uses the press shamelessly to leak unsavoury (and untrue) stories when it helps the Prosecution to do so. Mounir (my brother in law) was told to say “Viva Franco” after he’d been beaten up by the arresting officers, who filmed everything on their mobile phones (a la Abu Ghraib). It’s a disgrace.

Thanks for that andy. I really appreciate it because what’s happening in Spain is outrageous and is receiving very little attention (other than by Amnesty who have been amazing). The reality is that Spain uses preventative imprisonment for up to 4 years without charge, incommunicado detention in which torture invariably takes place, secret summary so the defence lawyers (mostly employed by the state anyway) can’t mount any defence. What upsets me is that there are parallels to Guantanamo and yet instead of Spain having the decency to investigate allegations of torture or putting an end to incommunicado detention, it decides to prosecute other people from other countries for doing the same thing. if you are interested you can send me your email and I can send you translations of Mohammed’s and others torture statements, translated by someone connected with Reprieve. it does not make pleasant reading.

Hi Khadija,
You know I always want to know more about unjust anti-terror laws. I can only apologize for not having had the time to look in depth at the story of your husband and others …