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| India-Pakistan |
| Shujaat gives horrific details of sonÂ’s, brotherÂ’s interrogation |
| 2008-02-02 |
| LONDON: Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Friday shared shocking details about the 21-hour-long humiliation his brother Wajahat Hussain, son Shafay Hussain and two nephews suffered at the hands of the British cops last week, when they were stripped twice, handcuffed and kept hungry for 10 hours in the Paddington Green police station where top terrorists of Al-Qaeda were interrogated. The family members of Shujaat were also put questions about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in addition to their links with those 11 Pakistanis who were arrested in Spain on charges of planning to bomb the city. Former PM Shujaat Hussain claimed that his family members were tortured by the British police during the investigation at the detention centre in the heart of London “through high-powered lights” in their cells. A quick look at the six pages containing the shocking details of the high drama at Gatwick Airport with the family of Shujaat, established one thing that what was reported earlier in the Pakistani media on this issue was only a tip of the iceberg. Shafay Hussain disclosed that he was strip-searched by the British police along with his two cousins and was given neither any food or water despite his repeated requests to the investigators that he was a diabetic patient and might collapse. The shocking details of the investigations spread over six pages were handed over to Pakistani journalists during a press conference. One of the nephews of Shujaat Hussain detailed his ordeal and wrote that he had started weeping at the humiliation they all had to face after being arrested at the airport. Shujaat had flown from Islamabad to London along with Senator Mushahid Hussain and Tariq Azeem to sue the British government after his family members were subjected to strip search and highhandedness at the airport. He said he had already sent his complaint to the British authorities and President Musharraf, too, had taken serious note of the incident. However the statement of Ch Wajahat Hussain was missing from those pages as only Shafay Hussain, Farasat Chattha, Harris Elahi and others unfolded the details full of drama and the action taken against them. Farasat Ali Chattha, the nephew, also confirmed that he was stripped, handcuffed and kept hungry for many hours in the detention centre after put under arrest under terrorism laws. Likewise, Shafay Hussain also confirmed that he was stripped in the name of search. However, the ordeal of Haaris Elahi given in writing sums up the incident and what actually happened with all of the six passengers after they were picked up from the airport. In his written statement given to media, Shujaat said, his son Shafay accompanied by his two cousins went on a holiday to Spain. They spent four days in Barcelona. His son is diabetic, there his sugar level dropped. Consequently, he fainted and was under treatment in hospital. “Being informed about my son’s condition, I asked Wajahat, who was in Paris, to go to Barcelona to look after him. Wajahat accompanied by his two friends went there and then decided to bring him to London. Their flight was scheduled for Jan 24. “On arrival at Gatwick, the aircraft was surrounded by the police. My brother, son, two nephews and two friends were taken into custody by the police from inside the plane. Police refused to allow them to make any call to Maleeha Lodhi, the High Commissioner to the UK. “From the airport, they were taken to Cordon police station, where they were put in separate cells and two officers were attached to each of them after arresting them under terrorism charges. Their baggage was searched and articles seized. My son was not feeling well because of diabetes and he repeatedly requested the officer to provide him medical assistance, which was denied. After 10 hours’ detention, the officer told them that their detention time had expired as now they were under arrest. “At Cordon police station, they were handcuffed and transferred in separate vehicles to Paddington station where they were detained. They were locked in separate cells and were tortured through high-voltage lights and remained locked for seven hours and refused Halal food. A lady solicitor arrived who termed their detention illegal and warned police of serious repercussions of keeping innocent people in detention without any authority for such a long time. But, instead of releasing them, police escorted them even inside the airport and they were sent back to Pakistan. They all remained in custody for 21 hours.” APP adds: Shujaat called on the British authorities to expunge all the references relating to the detention of his brother Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, son Chaudhry Shafay Hussain and other relatives at the Gatwick Airport on January 22. The PML-Q chief said he also wanted all the DNA and police reports be retired and destroyed in order to clear the name of his immediate family members who suffered unnecessarily at the hands of the British Police on their arrival from Spain. Shujaat told the newsmen that he was not happy with regrets offered by the British government on this incident and came to London to ensure proper investigation into the whole episode. On Thursday, a senior Foreign and Commonwealth Official and former British high commissioner to Pakistan, Mark Lyall Grant, met the PML-Q chief and expressed regrets over the incident. Shujaat said the matter was also taken up by President Pervez Musharraf when he met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London last week and asked for detailed investigation into the whole matter. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #6 The sooner ALL of these barbarians are harshly dealt with the better. |
| Posted by: jds 2008-02-02 21:43 |
| #5 Have you actually looked at a Paki poobah under fluorescent lights? The HORROR. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-02-02 17:37 |
| #4 were tortured through high-voltage lights Jesus H. Farking Christ. This is how desperately our enemies are clinging to the "torture" lie -- bright lights are now "torture". |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2008-02-02 15:50 |
| #3 Are their heads still attached? So shut the fuck up... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-02-02 15:42 |
| #2 The horror! 10 hours in jail. No halal food. Lightbulbs that run on the devilish 240 high voltage. No goats for company. Those wicked Brit coppers! |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-02-02 15:11 |
| #1 For a Pakistani paper to complain about British "torture" is pretty rich. The way Pakistani police treat prisoners is worse than has been seen in Britain since the 18th century. That doesn't even count the way the Taliban treat their prisoners. Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2008-02-02 14:40 |