Two Britons who have been stripped of their citizenship are among the 4,000 terrorists held in a prison considered the worst prison in the world by human rights organizations.
The men are being held in the Panorama prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakah, run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is supported by the UK-US coalition.
Security experts fear that housing so many radicalized terrorists together is a big mistake because if the men could overpower the prison guards, they would form a formidable 4,000-strong terrorist army.
About 400 inmates were able to escape from the center in January 2022.
Among those detained in prison are Shahan Choudhury, 37, from east London, and Ibrahim Ageed, 29. Both have been imprisoned for five years.
Shahan Choudhury, pictured, was allegedly radicalized while on remand in London’s Belmarsh Prison by hate preacher Anjem Choudary before fleeing to Syria.
Ibrahim Ageed, pictured, a former medical student from Leicester, is one of two Britons held by the Syrian Democratic Forces in the north-east of the country after being captured while fighting for ISIS.
More than 400 inmates managed to escape from prison in 2022, raising fears of new escapes.
Choudhury’s wife Mahek, who has also been stripped of her British citizenship, is detained in a refugee camp. Now stateless, she too is prevented from returning to Tower Hamlets.
According to an Amnesty International report, detainees are denied access to adequate food and medical care. The center has a major outbreak of tuberculosis and one or two men and boys die from the disease each week.
The times This week they were allowed into the prison to talk to Choudhury and Ageed.
Choudhury was captured in 2019. At that time he was digging graves for jihadists killed during the fierce fighting in Baghouz.
He said he has seen worse things in prison than while living under ISIS control.
‘In my first year, I saw at least a thousand people die. In my room right now I am crowded with all the Europeans; many of them are dead. A boy from Sweden is currently very sick. He’ll probably die and we’ll keep an eye on him. “They see this as our punishment.”
According to Amnesty International, the UK government has provided £15 million in cash to expand the prison.
In a report, the human rights organization said: ‘Detainees at Panorama have been denied access to adequate food and medical care, leading to illness and disease, including a serious outbreak of tuberculosis that has continued for several years.
“If untreated, tuberculosis is fatal in 50 percent of cases.”
Amnesty International UK Executive Director Sacha Desmukh said: “The The government has committed considerable resources to detention centers in northeastern Syria and has a responsibility to avoid being complicit in the ongoing cruelty and violence there.
‘Continued inaction by the Government amounts to collusion in the unlawful detention of UK citizens amid misery, disease and possible death.
‘The UK Government has a responsibility to all its citizens, including Shamima Begum, which it cannot abdicate when it suits it.
‘The UK should help its citizens stranded in dangerous circumstances in Syria, without preventing their safe return to the UK.
“The UK should support a long-delayed screening process to identify detainees who need to be released immediately, and should work with the Syrian Democratic Forces and the US-led coalition to establish a fair means to finally bring them to justice. to the perpetrators of ISIS’s horrific crimes.’
Choudhury said he traveled to Syria to do charity work, although he was in Belmarsh prison in London, where he was allegedly radicalized by hate preacher Anjem Choudary.
Sitting in freezing conditions, Choudhury told the Times: “I regret everything, I didn’t know it would end so badly.” He would come back and serve my life in a British prison if I was allowed. But they probably won’t, so I’d go anywhere. I just want to leave.’
US Major General Joel Vowell has warned that harboring so many dangerous terrorists in one place is a security threat.
Amnesty International has warned that inmates at the prison and a nearby refugee camp are being denied access to adequate healthcare.
Choudhury’s wife, who has also been stripped of her British citizenship, is detained in this Hasakeh camp.
He said those detained should be repatriated to their home countries, as a prison break could allow ISIS to “form an army overnight.”
However, the British government said it has no plans to return jihadists or ISIS brides.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘Our priority remains the security of the UK. “We will continue to do everything necessary to protect the UK from those who pose a threat to our security.”
Ageed, the second Briton detained in the overcrowded jail, warned: “The longer people are kept here, the more ideology is bred in the groups.
Ageed had worked for the NHS in Leicester before moving to Syria.
He said: ‘The administration asked me to intervene to help prevent prisoners from dying for a time. There were many sick people.
He added: ‘I think there is reasonable concern on the part of the public about the return of detainees to Britain. “If I had a fair trial, they would see for themselves whether I have been part of atrocities or I have not been part of anything.”
The Amnesty report also claims that women detained in nearby camps have been subjected to torture to force them to confess.
According to Amnesty, there are a total of 20 UK nationals held in various camps, including Shamima Begum, who the charity says was “groomed and trafficked to Syria”.