So in January 2003 when this intelligence from Algeria came to the British they started arresting everyone a week later from all over the country. They came to Belmarsh, took us to the Magistrate’s court and charged us with producing chemical weapons. We didn’t even know which chemical weapon it was supposed to be.

Al-Istiqamah: I read about how the Ricin plot was cited by the Government to divert the public’s attention from their WMD scandal.

Mouloud: Yes, even Colin Powell made a link and said that the Ricin found in the UK originated from Iraq.

Al-Istiqamah: Your trial began in September 2004 and you were acquitted in April 2005?

Mouloud: Yes. It was a seven month trial and the longest in Britain at that time. I spent two and a half years in Belmarsh - as a category A prisoner - before being acquitted. Belmarsh has 4 house blocks. I stayed in Houseblock 1 and Houseblock 3

Al-Istiqamah: You were arrested again in September 2005?

Mouloud: Yes, it was very soon after the 7/7 and 21/7 attacks that they arrested me again. The Home Secretary at the time, Charles Clarke, he decided to blame us (the Ricin co-defendants). He said that because they were watching us, they were diverted and that’s why these July attacks happened. They tried to use our case as a justification to bring in ID cards as well as a reason for having 90 days detention without charge.

Al-Istiqamah: So it was almost three years to the day since your first arrest?

Mouloud: Yes. I had five months of freedom after the jury found us not guilty. I was then re-arrested on the claim that I was a threat to national security because of my involvement in the Ricin plot which never existed! They wanted to deport us. I spent four months in Long Lartin in maximum security in maximum security.

Al-Istiqamah: What was Long Lartin like?

Mouloud: It’s even worse than Belmarsh, that prison. It’s like a prison within a prison. They call it the unit. You’re completely locked-up. You don’t see a clear sky.

Al-Istiqamah: I heard that the brothers call it Long Lockdown?

Mouloud: [Laughs] Yes. Even in Belmarsh the guards would use lockdowns just to have a longer break. We would get one hour a day for association, three times a week. This is your time to have a shower, phone calls etc. If it’s a little bit cloudy, they cancel our time to go to the exercise yard, because of health and safety! We might slip and break a leg if it starts raining.

Al-Istiqamah: After four months, you were released on a control order?

 

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