According to the BBC today, April 9, 2012, successive UK governments have lied to the British people. No surprise there really. Today's report involves the case of a man extradited to the Gaddafi regime in Libya.
Abdel Hakim Belhaj's was deemed a terror suspect by the Gaddafi regime. Currently he is the commander of the Tripoli Military Council.
The BBC report claims, "Mr Belhaj says he was tortured in jail. Successive UK governments have denied complicity in rendition or torture."
According to their report though their denials have all been lies. The report goes on:
A letter from an MI6 officer refers to Abdel Hakim Belhaj's rendition to Libya. It congratulates the Libyans on the "safe arrival" of the "air cargo". Mr Belhaj says he was tortured in jail. Successive UK governments have denied complicity in rendition or torture.But BBC correspondent Peter Taylor says he understands Mr Belhaj's rendition was given ministerial approval. However it is not clear at what level of government the decision was authorised.
The letter from the senior MI6 officer, Sir Mark Allen, to Col Gaddafi's intelligence chief, Musa Kusa, was found last year in the rubble of Musa Kusa's headquarters, which were bombed by Nato. As well as congratulating the Libyans on the arrival of the "cargo", it points out that "the intelligence was British". The letter was sent in 2004 when Mr Belhaj was the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. MI5 believed the group was close to al-Qaeda and involved in recruiting young Muslims in Britain to fight in Iraq."
"it appears MI6 had discovered that Mr Belhaj was in Malaysia and about to head for London in the hope of obtaining political asylum. MI6 informed its foreign intelligence partners, and as a result Mr Belhaj was intercepted in Bangkok, presumably by the CIA, and rendered to Libya. Our correspondent says the letter suggests MI6 was complicit in Mr Belhaj's illegal rendition and alleged torture in Libya - but that MI6 was not acting unilaterally. He says his understanding is that MI6 obtained authorisation from the Labour government of the time for its action." says the BBC correspondent
Opinion: Each such report that becomes public raises more questions. How many innocent people have had their lives ruined on merely a suspicion without a trial? How many times do government's cover up such stories? How come this man could be shipped to Libya? Why did the government feel the need to lie?And for this blogger how come we keep extraditing our citizens to the US on flimsy evidence but cannot send Abu Qatada back to his own country of Jordan for fear of his human rights being infringed?
However perhaps what galls the most is that according to the BBC report The Labour Foreign Secretary back in 2004, Jack Straw, flatly denied any government involvement. He reportedly said last year,
"We were opposed to unlawful rendition. We were opposed to any use of torture or similar methods. Not only did we not agree with it, we were not complicit in it and nor did we turn a blind eye to it." He added: "No foreign secretary can know all the details of what its intelligence agencies are doing at any one time."
Challenged with this latest information Mr Straw's office had no comment to make.
I bet it didn't. Is there any wonder that so many people do not trust any politician nor any political party?
Source and full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17651802
Tags: Libya, Gaddafi, Jack Straw, rendition, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, Abu Qatada, Chirstopher Tappin, UK extradition
Abdel Hakim Belhaj's was deemed a terror suspect by the Gaddafi regime. Currently he is the commander of the Tripoli Military Council.
The BBC report claims, "Mr Belhaj says he was tortured in jail. Successive UK governments have denied complicity in rendition or torture."
According to their report though their denials have all been lies. The report goes on:
A letter from an MI6 officer refers to Abdel Hakim Belhaj's rendition to Libya. It congratulates the Libyans on the "safe arrival" of the "air cargo". Mr Belhaj says he was tortured in jail. Successive UK governments have denied complicity in rendition or torture.But BBC correspondent Peter Taylor says he understands Mr Belhaj's rendition was given ministerial approval. However it is not clear at what level of government the decision was authorised.
The letter from the senior MI6 officer, Sir Mark Allen, to Col Gaddafi's intelligence chief, Musa Kusa, was found last year in the rubble of Musa Kusa's headquarters, which were bombed by Nato. As well as congratulating the Libyans on the arrival of the "cargo", it points out that "the intelligence was British". The letter was sent in 2004 when Mr Belhaj was the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. MI5 believed the group was close to al-Qaeda and involved in recruiting young Muslims in Britain to fight in Iraq."
"it appears MI6 had discovered that Mr Belhaj was in Malaysia and about to head for London in the hope of obtaining political asylum. MI6 informed its foreign intelligence partners, and as a result Mr Belhaj was intercepted in Bangkok, presumably by the CIA, and rendered to Libya. Our correspondent says the letter suggests MI6 was complicit in Mr Belhaj's illegal rendition and alleged torture in Libya - but that MI6 was not acting unilaterally. He says his understanding is that MI6 obtained authorisation from the Labour government of the time for its action." says the BBC correspondent
Opinion: Each such report that becomes public raises more questions. How many innocent people have had their lives ruined on merely a suspicion without a trial? How many times do government's cover up such stories? How come this man could be shipped to Libya? Why did the government feel the need to lie?And for this blogger how come we keep extraditing our citizens to the US on flimsy evidence but cannot send Abu Qatada back to his own country of Jordan for fear of his human rights being infringed?
However perhaps what galls the most is that according to the BBC report The Labour Foreign Secretary back in 2004, Jack Straw, flatly denied any government involvement. He reportedly said last year,
"We were opposed to unlawful rendition. We were opposed to any use of torture or similar methods. Not only did we not agree with it, we were not complicit in it and nor did we turn a blind eye to it." He added: "No foreign secretary can know all the details of what its intelligence agencies are doing at any one time."
Challenged with this latest information Mr Straw's office had no comment to make.
I bet it didn't. Is there any wonder that so many people do not trust any politician nor any political party?
Source and full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17651802
Tags: Libya, Gaddafi, Jack Straw, rendition, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, Abu Qatada, Chirstopher Tappin, UK extradition
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