There is a very real possibility of miscarriages of justice for four young men awaiting extradition to the US. Because of an unfair treaty that bypasses the British judicial system, Syed Talha Ahsan, Gary McKinnon, Richard O’Dwyer and Babar Ahmad seem likely to be sent to an uncertain future, with Talha and Babar placed in American Supermax jails – despite never having faced any charges here in the UK, the Muslim Council said in a statement on Jun 18. The MCB is backing urgent calls for political action so that Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan in particular are not handed over to US authorities. After eight and six years, respectively, in jail neither has had a chance to contest their detention-without-trial. Babar Ahmad is now the longest British detainee who has not been tried in the history of this country.
Farooq Murad, the MCB’s Secretary General, has urged imams within the MCB affiliate network to highlight the issue at the forthcoming Friday congregation. “This makes a sham of British justice,” he said. “Imagine these men were your own family, your brothers and sons. Once extradited to the US, Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan in particular will be placed in the most inhumane and atrocious prison conditions.”