UK, Pak security services slammed for ‘collusion in torture

LONDON: Britain and Pakistan have been damned by a leading human rights organisation for complicity and criminal cooperation in torture of British citizens in complete breach of international laws. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) demanded at the launch of its 46-page report titled “Cruel Britannia: British Complicity in the Torture and Ill-treatment of Terror Suspects in Pakistan” here on Tuesday that the evidence was overwhelming — and unchallenged by both British and Pakistani spy and security agencies — and Britain should immediately order an independent judicial inquiry into the role and complicity of British security services in the torture of British national terror suspects of Pakistani origin. Based on accounts from victims, their lawyers, members of the security services closely linked with the torture and ill-treatment of British nationals, the report focuses on cases of five UK citizens of Pakistani origin — Salahuddin Amin, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Rangzieb Ahmed, Rashid Rauf and ZZ, a fifth individual who wishes to remain anonymous — and says they were tortured in Pakistan by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) between 2004 and 2007. Tom Porteous, London director of the HRW, told the media that there was no evidence to suggest that UK officials directly participated in the torture but the evidence was overwhelming that the UK was complicit throughout and indeed encouraged the torture of its citizens. Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at the Human Rights Watch and ‘Cruel Britannia’ researcher, said British intelligence and law enforcement officials turned a blind eye to the extreme torture of British terrorism suspects held in Pakistan and effectively colluded with their Pakistani counterparts. The Pakistani sources added that British intelligence agents were aware at all times that Siddiqui was being “processed” in the “traditional way” and the British were “effectively” interrogating Siddiqui even as the Intelligence Bureau “processed” him.