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British men in incommunicado detention in the US

Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan have been in US custody for over 3 weeks, but their families have so far received neither phone calls nor letters from them. Please contact your MP to raise your concerns over this.

Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan were extradited from Britain to the US in the early hours of Saturday 6 October. They were then charged in the US District Court in New Haven, Connecticut with various “terrorism” offences connected with their alleged association with an obsolete muhajideen media outlet concerned with Bosnia, Chechnya and Afghanistan. Both men have entered "not guilty" pleas. Their trial is scheduled for October 2013.

They are currently being held at the Northern Correctional Institute, Somers, Connecticut. They are likely to be in single cells and locked down most of the time. They have been in US custody for 3 weeks, but their families have so far received neither phone calls nor letters from them.

Both men were able to send and receive mail freely and make phone calls freely while held in British prisons pending their extradition. No security problems ever resulted from this.

Talha Ahsan is particularly vulnerable to the psychological harm that comes from this sort of isolation. He has been diagnosed as suffering from Asperger's Syndrome and a depressive disorder.

Ahmad and Ahsan were held without trial in Britain for 8 years and 6 years respectively while contesting their extradition to the US.

Abu Hamza al-Masri, Adel Abdel Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz, all of whom were extradited from Britain to the US at the same time as Ahmad and Ahsan, are most probably being held under similar conditions of isolation. All are charged with terrorism-related offences; all have entered "not guilty" pleas.

Abu Hamza al-Masri is a British citizen (by marriage) who was born in Egypt. Adel Abdel Bary is an Egyptian citizen who was living in Britain prior to his detention there in 1999. Khaled al-Fawwaz is a Saudi citizen who was living in Britain prior to his detention there in 1998. Adel Abdel Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz are the two longest-serving prisoners to have been held without charge in the modern history of Britain. Like Ahmad and Ahsan, these men were able to send and receive mail freely and make phone calls freely while held in British prisons.

Please contact your MP to let them know that you are concerned about the treatment of these men. Ask them to urge the Foreign Office to raise the issue with the US and press the US authorities to take urgent steps to facilitate contact between these five men and their families.

You can use www.writetothem.com to contact your MP

More information

For more background about Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan, watch the video Extradition at www.extraditionfilm.com

For information and updates about Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan, "like" the Free Babar Ahmad and Free Talha Ahsan pages on Facebook.

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