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LONDON — The British police said on Tuesday that they had arrested Moazzam Begg, a former detainee at the American prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, along with three other people from the Midlands region of England on suspicion of terrorism offenses related to the war in Syria, where, intelligence officials say, hundreds of British militants have been drawn to the fight against President Bashar al-Assad.
LONDON — The British police said on Tuesday that they had arrested Moazzam Begg, a former detainee at the American prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, along with three other people on suspicion of terrorism offenses related to the war in Syria, where, intelligence officials say, hundreds of British militants have been drawn to the fight against President Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. Begg, 45, was one of the last Britons held at the naval base in Cuba before his release and return home in early 2005. At the time, lawyers said he and a fellow detainee, Feroz Abbasi, had been held in solitary confinement for nearly two years. He had been detained in Pakistan in 2002 and lived in Afghanistan in the previoius year, when the United States-led war against the Taliban began.
Mr. Begg, 45, was one of the last Britons held at the naval base in Cuba before his release and return home in early 2005. At the time, lawyers said he and a fellow detainee, Feroz Abbasi, had been held in solitary confinement for nearly two years. Mr. Begg was detained in Pakistan in 2002 and had lived in Afghanistan the previous year, when the United States-led war against the Taliban began.
The West Midlands police in Birmingham said Mr. Begg was detained with a 44-year-old woman and her 20-year-old son from the city’s Sparkhill district, along with a 36-year-old man from the nearby Solihull area. The other three detainees were not identified by name.
The West Midlands police in Birmingham said a 44-year-old woman and her 20-year-old son were also detained, along with a 36-year-old man. The three were not identified.
“We can confirm that Moazzam Begg was arrested this morning,” a police statement said.
Identifying Mr. Begg does not imply any guilt, a police statement confirming his arrest said. Counterterrorism police officers were said to be searching the detainees’ homes and to have confiscated vehicles and electronic equipment.
Identifying Mr. Begg does not imply any guilt, the statement said. Counterterrorism police officers were said to be searching the detainees’ homes and to have confiscated vehicles and electronic equipment.
A senior counterterrorism officer, Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards, said all four arrests were connected and had been made on the basis of intelligence reports. There was no immediate risk to public safety, he said.
A senior counterterrorism officer, Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards, said all four arrests were connected and had been made on the basis of intelligence reports. There was no immediate risk to public safety, the officer said.
While the British authorities have expressed concern about their citizens’ fighting in jihadist groups in Syria, Mr. Begg is by far the most prominent of those detained in connection with the war in Syria. The police said he was suspected of attending a terrorist training camp and “facilitating terrorism overseas.”
While the British authorities have expressed concern about their citizens’ fighting with jihadist groups in Syria, Mr. Begg is by far the most prominent of those detained in connection with the war in Syria. The police said he was suspected of attending a terrorist training camp and “facilitating terrorism overseas.”
News of his arrest is certain to stir debate among rights activists who opposed his detention at Guantánamo Bay and supported his protestations that he had never participated in terrorism.
News of Mr. Begg’s arrest is certain to stir debate among rights activists who opposed his detention at Guantánamo Bay and supported his protestations that he had never participated in any form of terrorism. He is currently a director of a nonprofit advocacy group, Cage, campaigning for the release of detainees, most of them Muslims.
Mr. Begg is currently a director of a nonprofit group, Cage, campaigning for the release of detainees, most of them Muslims.
He has written publicly about visiting Syria in 2012 to gather information about the purported involvement of British and American intelligence agencies in the practice of unlawful rendition of prisoners.
On his return, Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, invited him to meet and discuss the situation in Syria.
“MI5 was concerned about the possibility of Britons in Syria being radicalized and returning to pose a potential threat to national security,” he wrote in an article on an Islamist website. “I told them that Britain had nothing to worry about, especially since British foreign policy, at the time, seemed in favor of the rebels.”
About subsequent visits to Syria, Mr. Begg wrote, “I saw the carnage of Assad’s killing machine and I saw the beautiful young faces of children aged beyond their years. I witnessed the harsh winter and saw farmers chop down their olive trees to warm themselves and I heard the horror stories of torture under the rule of both” Mr. Assad and his father, Hafez al-Assad.
He added: “And yes, there were some British fighters too. I do not believe any of them posed any kind of threat to the U.K.”
According to British officials, around 400 Britons have joined the ranks of Islamist forces among the rebels opposed to Mr. Assad since the revolt in Syria began in March 2011. Around 250 of them have since returned. The number of arrests on Syria-related terrorism charges has increased sharply in Britain this year, with 16 people detained in January alone compared with 24 in the whole of 2013.
Last October, Andrew Parker, the head of MI5, said in a speech, “A growing proportion of our casework now has some link to Syria, mostly concerning individuals from the U.K. who have traveled to fight there or who aspire to do so.”
