London, UK , June 19 – Two men of Algerian origin who have been deported with little publicity to Algeria from the UK over the last few days will almost certainly face torture on their return to Algeria . It is expected that further deportations will follow as Britain and Algeria have recently agreed a bilateral extradition treaty and memorandum of understanding about the treatment of deported terror suspects.
The deportations came after both men agreed to return home by dropping their legal appeals. Four Algerians held for up to four years without charge or trial as terrorist suspects wrote to the Guardian newspaper recently saying they would rather go home than endure the "cruelty" inflicted on them by Britain . "We know that we face torture in our country of origin but some of us have come to the decision that a quick death is preferable to the slow death we feel we are enduring here," they said.
Imran Waheed, a media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said, "It is not surprising that a government that has colluded with the CIA in abducting people for 'extraordinary rendition' turns a blind eye to the significant risk of torture faced by these men. Western governments which preach 'human rights' the world over are now closely associated with rendition, deporting people without charge to face torture and a variety of other draconian measures."
"The need for Memoranda of Understanding with regimes in the Muslim world is a blatant admission that torture is rife in these countries and that individuals deported are at significant risk. These agreements are frankly not worth the paper they are written on."
"It is concerning that these men were so distressed at suffering long term mental anguish that they will take their chances with the torturers in Algeria rather than the draconian policies of the British government."
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