A COLLEGE dropout from Croydon, south London, is believed to be
being held prisoner in America's high-security jail in Cuba for supporters
of Osama Bin Laden. Feroz Abbasi, a 22-year-old former computer student,
is listed among more than 100 men sent to "Camp X-Ray" for interrogation.
Abbasi, who disappeared from Britain a year ago, was set to be
questioned this weekend by MI5 officers who are trying to prevent further
terrorist atrocities. He is believed to have been taken prisoner in Konduz
in northern Afghanistan in December. He was flown to Cuba hooded and
shackled with other suspected members of Al-Qaeda.
Red Cross officials in Washington said Abbasi appeared on a list of the
first batch of prisoners sent to the camp at Guantanamo Bay. The caged
prisoners have been described by Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence
secretary, as "the hardest of the hard core" fighters captured in
Afghanistan.
This weekend Abbasi's mother, Zumrati Juma, said she was terrified
about her son's future at the hands of the American judicial system. "I
hope they will not use the death penalty," she said. "Whatever they are
going to do to them, at least I have the right to see my child."
The disclosure will increase suspicion that Britain has been a breeding
ground for terrorists. Zacarias Moussaoui, the suspected 20th hijacker who
was charged in connection with the September 11 attacks, and Richard Reid,
the failed shoe-bomber, both lived in Britain.
Officials admit there is a remote possibility that the man in American
custody may be merely using Abbasi's name. They expect to confirm his
identity in the next few days.
Juma said she reported her son missing a year ago but believed there
was little interest in his case until a few days after the World Trade
Center attack when she received a phone call from police asking if she had
heard from him.
She last saw him on December 12, 2000, when he visited the family's
terraced house and demanded a pair of army boots he said he had left
there. She was struck by how he had changed. He had said he wanted to
travel to Afghanistan.
He had already abandoned his British education in favour of Islamic
studies. She believes he was "brainwashed" after falling under the
influence of Abu Hamza, a radical cleric based at Finsbury Park mosque in
north London. Hamza is wanted abroad for masterminding a bombing campaign
in the Middle East.
"I was worried that he was leaving his education and going into
religion," said Juma last week. "But not as worried as I am now."
Abbasi was born to Muslim parents in Uganda but moved to Britain with
Juma when he was eight. Initially he showed little interest in religion,
developing instead a liking for the music of the singer Michael
Jackson.
A quiet and polite pupil, he achieved impressive GCSE results. After
sitting science-based A-levels he enrolled on an HND course in computer
automation and networking at Nescot college of further and higher
education in Epsom, Surrey. By the end of the second term of his course he
had become disenchanted and was considering dropping out. A solo trip to
Europe to rethink his future triggered a series of events that changed his
life.
While in Switzerland he was robbed. As he wandered the streets lost and
confused, he was approached by a Kashmiri refugee who convinced him to put
his trust in Allah. "I believe 100% that this is where all this started,"
said Juma. Two days after returning from Europe, Abbasi told her he was
leaving his studies to "seek Islamic knowledge".
He initially sought spiritual guidance at a mosque in Croydon but
complained the teaching was too superficial. He was pointed towards
Finsbury Park: worshippers at the mosque included Moussaoui, now in
custody in America. Reid, the Briton accused of trying to detonate a shoe
bomb on an American Airlines flight, also attended, as did Djamel Beghal,
believed to have been Bin Laden's European operations director.
Abbasi went to Finsbury Park at weekends initially but by spring 2000
was spending much of his time there. He told his mother he was working as
a volunteer security guard at the mosque in exchange for food and
accommodation in a hostel. When she tried to call him, she reached only an
answering machine.
After three weeks she visited the mosque and spotted him walking along
the road. "He just said to me, 'I have decided what I want to do. If you
disagree with it I am just going to stay in the mosque, because I want to
seek this knowledge'," she said.
Fearing she would lose contact with her son for good, she agreed to
give him time to find his feet, hoping he would later resume his education
and find a job.
Abbasi became involved in setting up an internet site to raise funds
for mujaheddin fighters in Afghanistan and Bosnia. The website was run by
the Supporters of Shariah, a militant organisation formed by Hamza. He is
wanted in Yemen where he is accused of training and recruiting British
Muslims for a foiled bombing campaign against western targets in 1999.
Abbasi traded the jeans and trainers he used to favour for traditional
Pakistani dress. His hair was long and he tried to grow a beard. He even
threatened to disown his younger half-brother and half-sister — both of
whom were born to a Christian father — if they failed to embrace Islam by
the time they turned 16.
"He said to me that he was not supposed to have contact with
non-Muslims," Juma recalled. "Even when they phoned he would not
answer."
Juma heard nothing more from her son and reported him missing after
again visiting Finsbury Park mosque and being told he had left. She
searched for him unsuccessfully for a year, but was convinced he had
travelled abroad.
"Feroz mentioned that to be a true Muslim and go to heaven he would
need to live in a country like Afghanistan, where the western world does
not have influence," she said. "When September 11 happened, I just thought
to myself, 'Oh my God! What if it is Feroz?'"
Three days after the attacks, police showed interest in tracking down
her son. Officials have still to confirm Abbasi's identity and it is
possible that it has been stolen by an Al-Qaeda member to disguise
himself. Abbasi's name appears on a list of suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban
troops drawn up by US officials, which was passed to the Red Cross
delegation visiting the Guantanamo Bay base to ensure the welfare of
detainees.
A team of British officials, including MI5 officers, are to interview
suspects there as part of the inquiry into the September 11 attacks. The
British delegation is seeking information about their activities and
trying to confirm the identities of those claiming to be British.
Juma, who has spent months fearing that her son had died fighting for
the Taliban in Afghanistan, described the appearance of his name on the
Camp X-Ray list as "a breakthrough. I used to pray. I used to take my
lunch break to go to the mosque. But my son's disappearing really shook my
faith".
The US authorities have yet to decide how they intend to deal with the
suspects. Some are likely to be brought before closed military tribunals,
others could be tried in US civilian courts, and some might be sent back
to their home countries for prosecution. Last week Hamza claimed he was
unsure about whether he had met Abbasi. "There are a lot of people called
Abbasi at the mosque," he said.
Investigators are studying e-mail traffic for further clues about the
Al-Qaeda network in Europe. Reid is alleged to have used a cybercafe in
Paris to ask for advice about his plan to bomb an American plane. He was
scheduled to fly on December 21, but missed his flight after being quizzed
at the airport. "I missed my plane, what should I do?" he wrote. His
correspondent, who has not been identified, allegedly replied a few hours
later: "Try to take another one as soon as possible."
