Feroz Abbasi

AKA Malcolm X. I am not anti-American and I did not come here to condemn America. I want to make that very clear. I came here to tell the truth and if the truth condemns America, then she stands condemned...(inaudible) The sun rising is splendour. A notice. It is my duty as a Muslim to warn all who are involved in this matter that they are personally responsible for their actions at all times before Allah. Allah says in this uncreated word that is the Koran. Is the man who believes no better than the man who is rebellious and wicked? Not equal are they. For those who believe and do righteous deeds are gardeners as hospitable homes for their good deeds. As to those who are rebellious or wicked their abode will be the fire. Every time they wish to get away from there they will be forced there into and it will be said to them, Take ye the penalty of the fire which ye will want to reject as false. And indeed we will make them taste of the penalty of this life prior to the supreme penalty in order that they may repent and return. And who does more wrong than one to whom are recited the signs of his lord and who turns away there from. Vary from those who transgress we will exact due retribution. Chapter 32 Al Sajdah, verses 18–22.

In January 2012, Abbasi talked to The Observer about his life since his release. He was finding it difficult to get back to ordinary life.

On 4 March 2006, following a Freedom of Information Act request from the Associated Press, 5000 pages of information were released containing the names and home countries of many detainees in Guantanamo Bay. Amongst this documentation is a transcript of the hearing at which Feroz Abbasi was present. Mr. Abbasi's session, begins on page one of this PDF file.

On 12 July 2006, the American magazine Mother Jones provided excerpts from the transcripts of a selection of the Guantanamo detainees. Abbasi was one of the detainees profiled.

Feroz Abbasi is one of nine British men who were held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. Five were repatriated in March 2004, and released by the British government the next day. He was released from detention on 25 January 2005 along with Moazzam Begg, Martin Mubanga and Richard Belmar. Abbasi's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 24. The Department of Defense reports that he was born on 29 October 1979 in Entebbe, Uganda.

On 28 January 2005, after Abbasi's release, the US authorities released to the BBC further details of their allegations, as well as a statement allegedly written by Abbasi which, they claimed, was a handwritten autobiography written whilst in detention. The document allegedly describes his anguish and low self-esteem before he left England and outlines how a jihad group works and describes his training and use of weapons. But, Abbasi's lawyer confirmed Abbasi's claims to have been tortured, as a result, the statement was legally worthless as evidence.

On Monday 11 January 2005, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced that the four Britons in Guantanamo Bay: Moazzam Begg, Martin Mubanga, Richard Belmar and Feroz Abbasi, would be returned to Britain "within weeks" after "intensive and complex discussions" with the US government. Although they were still regarded as "enemy combatants" by the US government, no charges have ever been brought against any of them.

On 25 January 2005, Abbasi, along with the three other British citizens, was flown back to the United Kingdom by an RAF aircraft. On arrival they were arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken to Paddington Green Police Station for questioning under the Terrorism Act 2000. By 9pm the next day, 26 January, all four had been released without charge.

The BBC learned on 15 February 2005 that Abbasi and Martin Mubanga had received letters from the British government telling them that they would not be allowed passports. Using the Royal Prerogative for the first time since 1976, the government withdrew the passports for the time being due to evidence gathered against them by the US. The British government suggested they were likely to take part in action against UK or allied targets if they left Britain. It was unclear whether the evidence was gathered in Guantanamo, where their lawyer has alleged Abbasi and Mubanga suffered torture, or whether this measure was part of the conditions agreed with the US government for their release.

His mother and his lawyers argued that Abbasi was one of a small group of idealistic young Muslim men who found themselves caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. She said she was worried for his mental welfare and, by his release, had not heard from him since late-2003. British officials last visited him at Guantanamo in April 2003.

In November 2002, the British Court of Appeal said it found his detention at Guantanamo "legally objectionable", but stopped short of forcing the government to intervene on his behalf. In 2003, the US Government announced that Abbasi would be one of the prisoners facing charges before a military tribunal, although it was announced that he would not face the death penalty if convicted. In mid-November 2004, the press reported that the Britons in Guantanamo Bay "expect to face charges within six weeks", however, no charges were laid against them.

Nothing more was known about him until Abbasi was reportedly detained in December 2001, in Kunduz in the north of the country.

The US government alleged that Abbasi attended four separate al-Qaeda training courses from January to August 2001 at the Al Farouq training camp, near Kandahar, and also at the nearby camp, Ubaida. He was taught urban warfare, assassination techniques, intelligence collection and surveillance. They allege that he volunteered to participate in suicide operations and met Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of al-Qaeda, three times. He was alleged to have fought with al-Qaeda and Taliban forces against US and coalition forces in Afghanistan. When he was captured by the Afghan Northern Alliance, they claim he had hand grenades strapped to his legs and was carrying a military radio. He was handed over to US forces. They referred to him as "the SAS guy" in reference to his extensive training, and shipped him to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2002.

After his return, he began to attend the moderate local mosque in Croydon. He became more fervent, becoming involved with and in spring 2000 moving into the radical Finsbury Park mosque. There he helped set up a website for a militant Islamic group. Because his half-brother and half-sister had a Christian father, he stopped talking to the family and eventually disappeared. The family last saw him in 2000, as he was preparing to leave for Afghanistan.

Abbasi moved to Britain with his mother Zumrati Juma, a social worker, and family when he was eight. They lived in Croydon, South London. Abbasi attended Edenham High School in Shirley, Croydon, gaining good GCSE grades. He is said to have been a well-behaved and conscientious school pupil, interested in roller blading and Michael Jackson. He took his A-levels at John Ruskin College (1996–1998) and enrolled in a two-year computing course at Nescot College in Epsom, which he did not finish. He started traveling.