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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2447744/posts

Amnesty chief suspended after attacking group’s links to ‘Britain’s most famous Taliban supporter’
Daily Mail UK ^ | February 9, 2010
Posted on February 9, 2010 12:20:44 PM PST by La Lydia

A senior Amnesty International official has been suspended after attacking the human rights charity for allying itself with ‘Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban’. Gita Sahgal, head of the organisation’s gender unit, branded Amnesty’s links to former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg a ‘gross error of judgment’. She was removed from her post within a few hours of her criticism...and now a bitter war of words is raging between the activist and her employer. Both have angrily defended their position over Mr Begg, 42, a Briton held at Guantanamo for three years until 2005 because of suspected links to al-Qaeda.

Sahgal insists Amnesty, which is the world’s biggest human rights organisation, should not be closely associated with Begg because of his role as a figurehead for a campaign group called Cageprisoners...

It has championed the rights of jailed al-Qaeda members and hate preachers, including Anwar al-Awklaki.

Al-Awlaki, who was subsequently banned from the UK and is now said to be a commander of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is also thought to have met Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of 9/11, Abu Hamza, the hook-handed cleric facing extradition to the U.S. on terror charges and hate-preacher Abu Qatada are also all mentioned on the Cageprisoners website....

Miss Sahgal, 53, an expert on religious fundamentalism who has a 30-year history in human rights campaigning, claims the group ‘actively promotes Islamic Right ideas and individuals’.

Miss Sahgal immediately released an angry statement online, claiming: ‘Amnesty International has sanitised the history and politics of ex-Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg, and completely failed to recognise the nature of his organisation Cageprisoners...Amnesty has created the impression that Begg is not only a victim of human rights violations but a defender of human rights....

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...