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US is 'acting like a rogue state'
Aug 14 2003
By Paul Groves, Birmingham Post
The US Government has been accused of flouting international law and acting like a rogue state in its treatment of a former Birmingham shopkeeper being held on suspicion of terrorism.
Birmingham Law Society, which represents the biggest legal community outside London, has backed the campaign to have Moazzam Begg and eight other British citizens, including three men from Tipton, being held by the US at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba repatriated.
There is growing concern that the nine men and the 660 other detainees at Camp Delta are being denied basic rights and cannot hope to receive justice under the military tribunal endorsed by US President George Bush.
"It seems this case has become a diplomatic football with the US re-writing international law for its own ends," said Phil Shiner, a spokesman on human rights and international law for BLS.
"When countries like Iraq or Rwanda act in this high-handed fashion there is complete uproar, but it seems we are simply not willing to upset our 'special relationship' with Uncle Sam."
Pressure on the the British Government is increasing after the country's top lawyer held a third meeting with senior US officials this week to discuss the fate of Mr Begg but failed to secure any significant concessions or agreement on repatriation.
Civil rights campaigners on both sides of the Atlantic have led calls for Mr Begg and another Briton listed for the tribunal, Ferroz Abassi, from London, to be released.
