Home Secretary to be sued over MI5 torture allegation

Facing a legal battle: Jacqui Smith
Peter Dominiczak12 April 2012

Jacqui Smith faces legal action over claims that MI5 colluded in the torture of a former civil servant suspected of terrorism.

Lawyers for Briton Jamil Rahman have written to the Home Secretary claiming that she colluded in assault, unlawful arrest, false imprisonment and breaches of human rights legislation.

Mr Rahman claims that he was tortured intermittently over a two-year period in Bangladesh and that two MI5 officers turned a blind eye to his treatment.

He claims that the two men would leave the room where he was being interrogated whenever he refused to answer their questions and that he was severely beaten. He said the MI5 officers would then return to the room to resume the interrogation.

He also said his wife was held in an adjacent room and Bangladeshi officers threatened to rape her. And he claimed that during his interrogation in Bangladesh he was shown hundreds of photographs, including surveillance photographs of friends in the UK, whom he was asked to identify. He also said he was accused of "masterminding" the July 2005 suicide bomb attacks in London.

Under the threat of violence, he claims he made a false confession and said that when he told the two men, who said they were MI5 officers, what had happened they replied: "They haven't done a very good job on you."

Mr Rahman's lawyers said that there is a wealth of evidence to support his allegations, including eyewitness testimony and medical evidence.

His lawyer, Imran Khan, wrote to Jaqui Smith last week telling her of the intention to start legal proceedings against her.

Mr Rahman said he remains deeply traumatised and is receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The latest claims follow accusations by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed, who said he was tortured in Pakistan and Morocco with the knowledge of MI5.

And last month Scotland Yard said it was investigating reports that the security services were complicit in the abuse of 29 prisoners, including Britons, abroad.

Mr Rahman, 31, a British citizen who grew up in south Wales, settled in Bangladesh in 2005 after marrying a woman he met while travelling in the country.

He returned to the UK last year and embarked upon legal action once his wife and child were able to join him earlier this month.

He has not been questioned by police since his return, no attempt has been made to arrest him and he has not been subjected to a control order.

Jaqui Smith and MI5 both declined to comment on the allegations.

A Home Office spokeswoman said Mr Rahman's legal team had written to the Home Secretary and said the Government would respond "in due course".

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