Moazzam Begg to be freed as prosecutors drop terror charges

[muriel_volestrangler]

The prosecution of former Guantánamo inmate Moazzam Begg has dramatically collapsed after the prosecution said there was insufficient evidence to bring him to trial on terrorism charges.

An Old Bailey judge entered a formal verdict of not guilty on Wednesday and ordered that Begg be set free immediately from Belmarsh high security prison.

The 45-year-old from Birmingham had spent seven months in custody after being arrested and questioned over a trip he had made to Syria.
...
At a hearing five days before his trial was due to begin, Christopher Hehir prosecuting, said: “The prosecution have recently become aware of relevant material, in the light if which, after careful and anxious consideration, the conclusion has been reached that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction in this case.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/01/moazzam-begg-freed-prosecutors-drop-terror-charges

7 months in custody, and something comes up? That sounds like something came up that proved he was innocent of the charges - so you'd think they never had 'beyond reasonable doubt' in the first place. Very dubious.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Moazzam Begg was in contact with MI5 about his Syria visits, papers show

The terrorism case against former Guantánamo inmate Moazzam Begg collapsed after MI5 belatedly gave police and prosecutors a series of documents that detailed the agency’s extensive contacts with him before and after his trips to Syria, the Guardian has learned.

The documents included minutes of meetings that MI5 officers and lawyers held with Begg, at which he discussed his travel plans and explained he was assisting opposition fighters in their war against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

On seeing the material, Crown prosecutors realised it corroborated Begg’s defence case: he insists he was always perfectly candid with MI5, and says the agency assured him no attempt would be made to hinder him if he wanted to return to Syria.
...
The Crown Prosecution Service says that had it possessed the material, Begg would not have been charged. Begg’s assets remain frozen, however, and he has no access to his bank account, as a result of an order issued by the Treasury after he had been charged with terrorism offences.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/02/moazzam-begg-contact-mi5-agents-papers

MI5 - the biggest bunch of wankers that Britain can cobble together.

[pennylane100]

2. Do you know why he was held in Guantanamo?

Three years without any trial and then shipped back to UK where he has spent the last seven months in jail awaiting charges.

The US and the UK have lost the right to call themselves beacons of democracy. We will never get the privilege back until we start holding our countries accountable when they imprison and torture their own citizens without any proof or any trial.