– MARTIN MUBANGA

 

* Martin Mubanga was born in Zambia, on 12/24/1972, to a Catholic family. His family  moved to London in 1976 and he was brought up in London UK. Martin  Mubanga is a dual citizen of UK and Zambia as well.  

In 1988 Martin  Mubanga’s mother died from malaria and he, soon afterwards left St George’s school near his home in Kingsbury, which he was attending. He began to be involved in streets crimes and sent, in 1992, to Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution for stealing a car. In Feltham Martin  Mubanga began to take an interest and eventually converted to Islam. In 1995 he spent six months in Bosnia, working with a with Muslim victims of the Serbs’ ethnic cleansing.

Martin  Mubanga left Britain for Pakistan in 10/2000, where he said he was planning to study Islam and Arabic. After a time in Peshawar he entered Afghanistan and attended two Madrasahs (Islamic schools) in Kabul and Kandahar.

Martin  Mubanga had a flight back to Britain booked for 09/26/2001, from Karachi, Pakistan. But after The 9/11, the buses stopped running and he stayed hiding from the bombings in Kandahar. At that stage, while the American bombing campaign began, Martin  Mubanga said he discovered that his British passport went missing. Passport claimed stolen by Martin  Mubanga’s was later found in an Al Qaeda cave in Afghanistan and he was, most likely, labeled as an Al Qaeda supporter.

Through a middle man Martin  Mubanga managed to return to Pakistan and in 02/2002, with his Zambian passport flew to South Africa and from there with a bus to Lusaka, Zambia.  

Martin  Mubanga was living with relatives, in Zambia, when he was arrested, on 03/02/2002, by Zambian police accompanied by CIA agents and handed over to USA authority as part of operation “Extraordinary Rendition”. Martin  Mubanga claimed that an British Intelligence MI6 officer was involved in his arrest and his initial interrogation in Zambia.

At first the USA Intelligence suspected Martin  Mubanga to be an undercover Al Qaeda operative, who had traveled from Afghanistan on a false passport and appeared to be on a mission to reconnoiter Jewish organizations in New York. Documents obtained by The ‘Observer’ revealed that by the end of 10/2004 the Pentagon’s own legal staff had grave doubts about Martin  Mubanga’s status, and had overturned a ruling by ‘Guantanamo’s Combatant Status Review Tribunal’ that he was a terrorist.

Martin  Mubanga was in the second group of UK citizens detained in Guantanamo and sent back to UK on 01/25/2005 along with Moazzam Begg, Feroz Abbasi and Richard Belmar. The four were detained for questioning for few days and released afterwards without charges.

Secret Government documents, revealed on Wednesday 07/14/2010, reportedly suggest Tony Blair ordered, already on 08/26/2002, diplomats to prevent the return to Britain of a UK national detained as a terror suspect and later sent to Guantanamo Bay.

The papers, released as part of a court case being brought by former Guantanamo detainees, show it was decided early in 2002 that the transfer of UK nationals to the US military camp in Cuba was “the best way” to meet the Government’s counter-terrorism goals.

And they reveal concern within the Foreign Office that Martin  Mubanga’s right to consular access was breached as a result of direct interference from 10 Downing Street and that the Government would be “open to charges of concealed extradition” (see -Gitmo Sham).

Martin  Mubanga was among about dozen of former Gitmo detainees that were compensated by the British authorities following a judicial settlement, on 11/15/2010 might (see – Gitmo Copensations ).

 

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