LOC21:47
18:47 GMT
LONDON, Nov 17 (KUNA) -- An MI5 (domestic intelligence service) officer
will not be prosecuted over claims he was complicit in the torture of former
Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed, it was announced this evening.
Scotland Yard launched an inquiry after Mohamed said an employee of the
Security Service was aware of his ill-treatment while he was being held in
Pakistan in 2002.
But director of public prosecutions (DPP) Keir Starmer said there was
"insufficient evidence" to prosecute the man, known as witness B, for any
offence.
In a statement Starmer said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has advised the
Metropolitan Police that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute witness B
for any criminal offence arising from the interview of Binyam Mohamed in
Pakistan on 17 May 2002.
"We are unable to release further information at this stage because the
wider investigation into other potential criminal conduct arising from
allegations made by Mohamed in interviews with the police is still ongoing."
The "wider investigation" is understood to refer to an inquiry into claims
MI6 officials have also been linked to torture. Detectives from Scotland
Yard's specialist crime wing are examining "the conditions under which a
non-Briton was held" and "potential involvement of British personnel".
A Metropolitan Police spokesman declined to comment.
He said: "We will not give a running commentary."
MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans welcomed the DPP's decision.
"I am delighted that after a thorough police investigation the Crown
Prosecution Service has concluded that Witness B has no case to answer in
respect of his interviewing of Binyam Mohammed," he said in a statement.
"Witness B is a dedicated public servant who has worked with skill and
courage over many years to keep the people of this country safe from terrorism
and I regret that he has had to endure this long and difficult process."
Mohamed, an Ethiopian Muslim convert who lived in west London after seeking
asylum in 1994, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002.
He claimed he was tortured into falsely confessing to terrorist activities
and held incommunicado without access to a lawyer for more than two-and-a-half
years.
The terror suspect said he was secretly transported to Morocco and tortured
before being flown to Afghanistan and then Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in September
2004.
The United States government dropped all charges against him in October
2008 and he was released and returned to Britain in February 2009.
It emerged yesterday that secret payouts will be made to 16 former
Guantanamo Bay detainees, including Mohamed. Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke
said the controversial move was necessary to avoid a protracted, complex and
expensive legal battle.
Others are believed to include Bishar Al Rawi, Jamil El Banna, Richard
Belmar, Omar Deghayes and Martin Mubanga. Their allegations included claims
that the Government knew they were being illegally transferred to Guantanamo
Bay but failed to prevent it.
There were also allegations that British security and intelligence
officials colluded in their torture and abuse while they were held abroad.
Other allegations included that British agents witnessed mistreatment,
including the use of hoods and shackles.
Starmer's decision could bring a broader inquiry into claims of British
complicity in torture during the war against terror a step closer. (end)
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