Al Qaeda crackdown ‘fuelled Yemen unrest’

Weeks of protests across Yemen have brought the 32-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to the verge of collapse.

But the United States, Britain and the neighbouring Saudi Kingdom worry about who might succeed him in a country where Islamist radicals flourish.

Last year, Yemen came under the spotlight after two parcel bombs, which were sent from the country via airfreight to the US, were intercepted in Dubai and the UK. And after a Yemen-based branch of Al-Qaeda claimed that it was behind a failed attack on a US airliner on Christmas Day 2009, the Government stepped up its efforts to clamp down on Islamic militants.

Hundreds were arrested including “Mohamed” – not his real name – a British national. Mohamed has asked to remain anonymous both for what he says is his own safety in Yemen and that of his family in London.

On a sunny afternoon in February last year, Mohamed says he was approached by three plain-clothes officers from the feared Yemeni secret police as he came out of a cafe in the Daa’iri district of Sana’a. Without asking a question, he says, they handcuffed him and threw him into the back of a 4×4 car with tinted-windows. For the next six months, he was in a high-security jail known as Al amn Al qawmiya in the Yemeni capital.

Detentions

The authorities particularly rounded up foreign nationals attending Masjid Sharqain, where Mohamed had been studying Islam. It is a Salafi Madrassa popular with Western students. The Salafi branch of Islam follows the forefathers of Islam but the term is often used to describe fundamentalist Islamic thought.

The 23-year-old admits that after the crackdown some of his friends, including fellow Britons, “got very angry” and went on to join Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP). Others had been under surveillance from the secret police for some time, but he maintains that he is innocent.

“If some of these guys are Jihadis, it doesn’t mean I am one of them,” Mohamed told me. “What brought us together was that we are from similar background, Muslims from the west.

“There are students from all over the world, but it is easier to hang around with the English-speaking boys. I just happened to be one of many innocent men who went to jail because we were perhaps mixing with ‘interesting’ guys.”

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Growing up in Britain, he used to think himself as a tough man but that was just on the streets of London. I met Mohamed in Sana’a and he seemed to be mentally affected. He told me that he will never recover from the painful experience.

“Every night three to six men would take me to the interrogation room upstairs to ask the same questions as if they were reading from a script,” he claimed. “They would kick me; punch me; hang me upside-down; tell me to stand on one leg for a long time and tie me to a door with a chain for hours.

“To be awoken or moved around to different rooms a few times every night was just common practice. That was very much what I endured for the first three months of my six month-ordeal.”

Before he was moved to a “better ward” upstairs, he says, “Tom” and “Jim” – claiming to be US officials – visited him in prison. Mohamed says the two men sounded as though they were sorry for him, sympathised with his situation and tried to befriend him. And the first thing they did was to ask him a list of what he needed most, such as food, clothes, books and DVD players. He says that – to his surprise – they ordered lasagne and burger for him, which was delivered during the meeting.

“Al Qaeda prisoners know the place as ‘the Madrassa’. For them, it’s an opportunity to recruit people and the officials know that.” “Mohamed” on his prison experiences

Mohamed said: “The Americans thought I am stupid: ‘Mate, we help you; you help us out’. That was their main message. But I insisted all along that I was innocent man and should not be in there.

“They talked about benefits: lots of money, latest cars, travelling around the world and all sorts of things. I am not mad about these things. It is Haraam – forbidden. How could I spy on fellow Muslims?”

After three months, he was transferred to a small – but crowded – room upstairs; with 50-60 men in it. Mohamed claims that many of the prisoners in the “better ward” were mentally ill. Some of them would just kick and punch the wall all day long. Others would just scream loudly for hours and hours.

“It was really scary,” said Mohamed. “These mad guys could kill you. You can’t even sleep. You have to be on your guard at all times.”

Mohamed says that the prison, which houses Al-Qaeda figures, is being used as a recruitment centre. He spent time with Al-Qaeda figures and claims the conditions “forced” him to be one of them.

Like in any other prison, he says, he had to be part of a group and Al Qaeda members, who formed their own gang, were the most powerful. Although they target what he calls “soft-Salafis”, they also recruit those who were not there for terrorism-related issues, such as political prisoners, he adds.

‘The Madrassa’

“Al Qaeda prisoners know the place as ‘the Madrassa’. For them, it’s an opportunity to recruit people and the officials know that,” he said. “I think the majority of those who come out of that jail are more likely to be with Al Qaeda. They use sophisticated techniques to make you Jihadi: a mix of lectures, hospitality and threat.”

Mohamed alleges that the prison guards and Al Qaeda members treat some inmates – especially blacks – like slaves. For them, Yemenis would always come first – even the serious Al Qaeda terrorists were treated better, he claims.

“They got the best treatment in jail, so your best survival tool is to join them,” said the Londoner. “When you are with them, you get to eat nice food, exercise and spend more time outside the cell. But those who vigorously argue with their views will suffer.

“On one occasion, they beat up a black American man who was talkative. A group of them attacked and he was heavily bleeding.”

Mohamed, who was reluctant to talk about his life in London, moved to Yemen at the beginning of 2009, after getting into trouble with the British authorities – which he says was of a minor nature. His mother suggested to him he should improve his Islamic knowledge and practice. He admits that all Salafis are not peaceful.

He says his mother paid money to Yemeni officials and middlemen to get him out of jail. Despite the trauma, Mohamed says he is not thinking of coming back to the UK any time soon.

“God knows,” he said. “Though my visa has expired, I am planning to stay on for another year to continue my Islamic study. Then I’ll move to another Muslim country but will have to think hard about that and talk to my family.”

The Yemen Embassy in London declined to comment on Mohamed’s allegations without knowing further details about his identity.

Jamal Osman is a freelance journalist who has worked extensively in the Middle East and Africa