“You can judge a society by the way it treats its prisoners"

Roger calls for a: “little less judgement and a bit more humanity” in the cases of extradited Britains, Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan. 

 

Roger has written to Foreign Secretary, William Hague, concerning the conditions under which Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan are being detained in advance of their trial in October 2013. 

Roger said: “I have heard from constituents that these two British citizens are being held in extremely harsh conditions – solitary confinement - with no communication allowed with their families. Letters have been sent by family members but have not been passed onto the two men. Mr Ahsan has been clinically diagnosed as suffering from Asperger’s and assessed as being at risk of committing suicide. 

He continued: “Personally, I can see no reason why at the very least Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan should not be allowed contact and communication with their families. I have asked William Hague to ascertain what conditions they are being held under and if they have been offered consular services which is the basic right of any British citizen.

 

With the soaring rhetoric of President Obama’s acceptance speech not yet a distant echo and the resonance of a nation born in freedom and tolerance still fresh, I am reminded what one of the world’s most notorious prisoners said: “…. no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”― Nelson Mandela