Statement by Ashfaq Ahmad, father of British Hostage Babar Ahmad at Woodhill Prison, pleading for his son's life, at the European Social Forum 15-17th Oct 2004

Not so long ago, British hostage Ken Bigley was killed. His brother Paul, said that the British Government was responsible for his death. The same people responsible for Ken Bigley's death are holding my son hostage since kidnapping him in August 2004.

In December 2003, my son, Babar Ahmad was arrested by British Anti-Terrorist Police at his South London home. He was beaten, tortured and brutalised, suffering over 50 injuries including bleeding in his ears and urine. Photographic and medical evidence is available. The Police ransacked my family's homes, causing one member of the family to have a miscarriage due to the trauma of the ordeal. Babar was held for six days whilst Police searched for evidence of criminal activity. No such evidence was found and he was released without charge. He made a formal complaint against the Police.

On 05 August 2004, the day his complaint was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, Babar was kidnapped on his way home from work, by British Police acting on the orders of the U.S. Government. He was accused of aiding rebels in Chechnya and Afghanistan whilst sitting in Britain. So-called 'evidence' against him was given to the U.S. by British authorities.

Some of this 'evidence' accuses Babar of receiving U.S. Naval battleship plans after emailing a U.S. Naval serviceman. He is supposed to have sent one of these emails on his wedding day and the other whilst on honeymoon on a remote tropical island with no guest Internet access. Independent evidence is available to support this. In addition to this, various newspapers have also claimed that my son was plotting something against the Empire State building. Their 'evidence' to support this is a 1960's/1970's tourist brochure of the building. I would like to mention that firstly, it was not found in my son's residence, as reported, and secondly, that the brochure belongs to me. I was the one who visited the Empire State building in 1973 and obtained the brochure. Surely if somebody was planning to do anything of the sort would they not want a more up to date brochure? These allegations against my son by the media are baseless and incorrect. Such newspapers would benefit from doing their 'homework' properly. Unfortunately, our legal team have told us that under the new, secretly passed 2003 Extradition Treaty between the U.K. and the U.S., we are not allowed to contest either this battleship 'evidence' or any other so-called 'evidence' against my son, as a bar to the extradition. The fact that my son has been permanently resident in Britain since his birth here 30 years ago is irrelevant.

My son still does not face any charges in the U.K. although the British and international media has already declared him guilty of the U.S. allegations. He faces life imprisonment in America and physical, mental and sexual abuse in the manner of Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

We live in an era where democracies go to War, kill thousands of people and destroy hundreds of villages, on what turn out to be lies. Do you think that it is beyond them to kidnap innocent people and hold them hostage, based on lies?

I end with a quote from Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on the death of Ken Bigley:

"To kidnap a man, subject him and his family to the agony of prolonged uncertainty, and then to murder him, and in this way, is inhuman."

I served the British Government as a civil servant for over 20 years of my life. Is the way my family and I have been treated, any less 'inhuman' than this?

Ashfaq Ahmad 16.10.04
Father of Babar Ahmad MX5383, HMP Woodhill, Milton Keynes, MK4 4DA