Reprieve for Ahmed Belbacha

By CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH, CORI CRIDER and AHMED GHAPPOUR

Published on November 06, 2009

Hearty greetings from Britain! We write as attorneys at Reprieve, a U.K. charity that strives to bring the light of justice to the dark corners of the "war on terror."

Reprieve has represented dozens of Guantanamo prisoners over the years. One of the men we assist is Ahmed Belbacha.

We have followed your lively discussion about bringing Ahmed to Amherst, and we welcome it.

Public debate is in the highest tradition of American democracy. We do feel compelled to correct some errors that have run to Ahmed's detriment in your papers, as Ahmed cannot bear witness for himself.

Ahmed Belbacha fled Algeria for the U.K. in 1999. He was forced out of his homeland because the Groupe Islamique Arme, or GIA, threatened his life and his family. Ahmed was an accountant for the state oil company, Sonatrach, and had been drafted for a second round of military service. The GIA had a habit of murdering both Sonatrach employees and Algerian soldiers in this period.

In a prior letter to your paper, a correspondent suggests that Ahmed held common cause with the GIA. With all due respect, this is false. It also makes no sense. A man forced to flee death threats and seek asylum in England is unlikely to join the very group that drove him into hiding.

The same goes for the suggestion that Ahmed was an acolyte of the London imam Abu Hamza. Ahmed lived in Bournemouth for the majority of his time in the U.K. It is a mid-sized town on the Dorset coast with its own friendly mosque. Abu Hamza, an outspoken supporter of the GIA, preached in London. The idea that Ahmed would have paid forty pounds to attend a paean to the group that planned to kill him is silly.

On his travels through Pakistan and Afghanistan, Ahmed did briefly stay in a Jalalabad house. There is zero evidence that the house had anything to do with terrorism. Ahmed, who had been conscripted into the Algerian army and received military training there, has always denied the slightest interest in any sort of jihadi training.

Whence these dubious accusations? Your correspondent does not say. Like every man in Guantanamo, Ahmed has had to do battle with secret evidence for years. All Ahmed can do is deny these allegations - as he consistently has. In 2005, he testified before his tribunal that "he did not want anything to do with the GIA (Armed Islamic Group) as they were terrorists and very bad people."

Someone must realize that he is telling the truth, as he was cleared for release three years ago, under President Bush.

How could the Department of Defense get things so wrong? One, many Guantanamo prisoners were simply sold to the U.S. for bounties. Those collecting the loot made up stories against them. Two, many prisoners were tortured into bearing false witness against their fellow inmates. Three, a smaller set of prisoners - in an effort to avoid abuse and earn favors - fabricated tales about dozens of men. We may never know what produced the lies about Ahmed. We can at least cease repeating them, and revert to the timehonored American tradition of presuming people innocent until the government sees fit to produce evidence against them.

As for his ideology: Ahmed would entirely understand that the people of Amherst wish to maintain a peaceful, pluralistic community. His legal team includes a woman from Texas, a member of the Jewish faith, and a Muslim-American. We have been visiting Ahmed in Guantanamo for more than two years, and can say unreservedly that he is the furthest thing from a hard-boiled and hateful anti-American one can imagine.

But you do not have to take our word for it. We encourage anyone interested in the truth to speak to Ahmed's British friends and employers in Bournemouth, who have spoken of his warmth and humility. Or to James Armstrong in Dorchester, who corresponded with Ahmed and found him so kind that he offered Ahmed a place in his flat should Ahmed ever return to Britain. (Unfortunately, David Miliband insists the U.K. has "done its part" and refuses to take more prisoners from Guantanamo.) We only regret that Ahmed, a warm and gentle soul, cannot simply attend your town hall meeting himself. All we ask is that people consult the facts.

This morning, we caught up with Mr. Armstrong on the phone. He is still waiting for the U.K. to bring Ahmed to Dorchester. Meanwhile, he asked us to say to the people of Amherst: "Good on you for helping Ahmed!"

You have our sincere thanks for your offer of help. After eight years in Guantanamo, Ahmed needs all the friends he can get.

Clive Stafford Smith, Order of the British Empire, Cori Crider and Ahmed Ghappour, all work for Reprieve, a U.K.-based organization dedicated to the representation of inmates on death row and in Guantanamo.