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Family of suspect fear torture (Barf Alert)
THE family of Zambian-held London bombings suspect Haroon Aswat said overnight they feared he may be extradited to face torture in the United States, and criticised Britain's handling of the situation.The British national is suspected of links to the July 7 London terror bombings and is also wanted by US authorities over alleged attempts to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon. "We are extremely concerned, distressed and disappointed by the attitude of the British government and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in not providing consular access to Haroon," the man's family said in a statement. British officials have refused to comment on reports that Aswat is the suspected mastermind behind the July 7 blasts that killed 56 people, including four suicide bombers, in three blasts on the London subway and one on a bus. Aswat, 31, who hails from West Yorkshire in northern England, was detained on July 20 and is being held in the Zambian capital Lusaka, police confirmed Saturday. Britain was understood to be seeking access to Aswat. His parents, originally from India but who now live in Batley in West Yorkshire, the county home to three of July 7 suicide bombers, blasted the failure of British authorities to contact him. "It is very worrying that after more than 10 days the British government is still unable to verify that the British citizen detained is actually Haroon," they said. "Our son, albeit estranged for many years, is surely entitled to the presumption of innocence, as any other British citizen. The family noted press reports that unnamed British officials are in discussions with the US government over extradition of Aswat. "Yet our government and the FCO is dilly dallying and does not have the decency to confirm Haroon's detention." "We wonder whether the government's attitude would have been any different if it was a white, non-Muslim citizen detained in a foreign country?" they said. Posted by: tipper 2005-07-30 |
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