afrol News, 26 March - British authorities have ordered an investigation into an alleged Morocco’s involvement in the torture of the country’s resident Binyam Mohamed recently released from the US Military Guantanamo prison.

Mr Mohamed, an Ethiopian citizen with British residency, was detained in Pakistan in April 2002 as he was trying to leave the country on a false passport.

He has claimed that his detention was prolonged while he was tortured in Morocco. But the agent who questioned him has denied threatening or putting any pressure on Mr Mohamed.

The British Attorney General, Patricia Scotland, said in a statement that she had studied evidence, some of it classified, and decided there were grounds for police to investigate allegations made by the former detainee.

"Any decision on whether any person should be charged with a criminal offence can only be taken following the police investigation on the basis of an independent assement of the evidence and the public interest," she said.

Ms Scotland said she had invited the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, to begin an inquiry. "I have expressed to the commissioner the hope that the investigation can be taken forward as expeditiously as possible given the seriousness and sensitivity of the issues involved," she said.

Mr Mohamed who returned to the UK in February 2009 after seven years in custody four of which were spent in the US camp at Guantanamo Bay said the British intelligence agents were aware that he was being tortured and abused by Pakistani authorities during two months of detention but did nothing to stop it.

He was in custody in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan and at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba after being suspected by the United States of having received al Qaeda training in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He was released from Guantanamo and returned to Britain a free man with all the charges dropped.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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