EHRC misJudgement #freetalha #freebabarahmad

Today we received some bad news, it seeped into our heads through Twitter. 

The European Court of Human Rights have decided that extradition of five UK terrorism suspects to the USA does not amount to ill-treatment (for now).

The ruling was greased by a Guardian legal affairs numpty who found the judgement to be the 'right call', then lauded by the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, even the Opposition front bench and lapped up by the cheerleaders of our increasingly shrill ignocracy.  

A few voices have remained firm in their insistence of a review of the lop-sided US-UK Extradition Treaty and investigation of the police failings that sent seized evidence to the US before the Crown Prosecution Service had a proper look.  HT to MPs Caroline Lucas, Sadiq Khan, Menzies Campbell and Dominic Raab.

The corporate media led with the image of the hook-handed trouble-maker Abu Hamza, who must be the deep state's favourite tool by now, and the 1998 atrocity in East Africa. Some mentioned the South Londoner Babar Ahmad, the longest-serving of the detainees without trial (~8 years). Fewer still got round to Asperger's suffering poet Syed Talha Ahsan (~6 years). Those that did where generally in agreement with their mispelling of Syed as "Seyla".  The Independent has published a sensitive piece on the matter that interview's the families of the 'not-even-properly-accused'.

Courtesy of the British Boredcasting Corporation

We the public are not told the detail's of Haroon Aswat's mental breakdown, or exactly what one must to do exhonerate oneself of terrorism charges by the biggest state terrorist in the history of humankind.. Instead we are treated to lame PR from the US embassy concerning how leisurely their Supermax 'Florence' prison is, how much TV and magazinery inmates get, and plan designs of cells. 

Even in naming of institutions of torture, the euro-centrism remains. I wonder what Michelangelo would make of the space.

These battles are not over yet. Though dishearteningly expectation-matching regarding justice whilst Muslim, we should recognise what we can awaken through justice-based work. A friend agreed with me today that if the Bosnian War was the mobilising issue for Muslims in the West during the 90s, these issues will light us in the coming years.

Is this really surprising? This is a society that stitches up North African herbalists as Ricin plotters, who's injustice system drives its victims insane, and lets off its mass-murdering misleadership.

Our agency has grown in the past 10 years, we have developed individual and collective muscle and analysis of our situation. Through that petition, Nottingham University's anus-exhibiting treatments of Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza, ex-Guantamomo inmate Moazzem Begg's leadership of Caged Prisoners and Redoc's Soundings.

But now its Capoiera Time

In the summer of last year, Talha's poem 'Extradition' was performed at an event to commemorate his arrest (click the video clip below to hear Avaes Mo). He was in my equivalent year, or near about, at Soas and had graduated with a very good result before he was snatched. Although many have accused me of being one, I have not nor ever have been a Soas student.  Yet I can remember him as the kind of bookish chap who would jump if you said boo. The more the public and the establishment is encouraged to humanise and appreiciate him the more readily justice and empathy will flow.

In recent years I have come to know Talha's brother Hamja, curator and founder of OtherAsias, who is a tireless advocate for Talha's case and the oppressed in general.

You can write to Talha, be moved by his poetry, support him and his family through his campaign website

The campaign for Babar Ahmad can be found on the web also, accompanied by the unfortunately ambitious slogan British Justice for British Citizens.  It is manned by none other than Babar's father and a has a solid volunteer base.  Last week BBC Newsnight won the right to to interview Babar from his prison. It was an engaging interview, and Babar appears to have aged considerably over the eight years he has been robbed of freedom. The following morning, I was disturbed to read some amongst the commenterati moaning about the 'outrageous' publicly borne costs of the interview.

Britain can't afford justice and the right to voice?