Al-Istiqamah: We did an interview with Moazzam Begg’s wife Zaynab a few years ago, whilst her husband was in solitary confinement in Cuba. She stated that a lot of the time individual guards at Guantanamo would put their foot down, in order to throw their weight around.

Mrs Khyam: Here too, they do what they want. Anything to make it hard for us, they have done.

Al-Istiqamah: Do you think that there is much of a difference in attitude amongst the guards in Frankland, as compared to the guards in Cuba? Not the conditions, but the attitude towards Muslim inmates?

Mrs Khyam: I don’t think there is much difference. They all look at the Muslim inmates as though they are traitors and big enemies. They’ll talk down to you and at times, abuse their authority. It happens to black prisoners too a lot of the time, but to a lesser extent.

Al-Istiqamah: There are murderers and rapists in Frankland who are not getting this treatment, even though your husband has never taken a life.

Mrs Khyam: Exactly. That’s the whole issue. None of them have killed anybody. I can’t see my husband, as he said that it’s too racist there for me to appear veiled. So my right to see my husband, my right to family life has been taken away. He rings for five minutes, and I never get enough time to fit everything I want to say in five minutes. He says “Quickly tell me everything” So I go through messages from his solicitor, his mother, his brother etc, and I barely get time to say anything from myself, when he tells me “I’ve got to go now”. The guards come to take him back to his cell. In a convicted prison, things are supposed to be less restrictive with regards to phone calls. They are meant to be let out more. It’s supposed to be about reform, you know? How are you supposed to change when you are in solitary confinement? Locked up all the time. He doesn’t have any reading materials, nothing. If anything, it’s going to make him more frustrated and bitter.

Al-Istiqamah: So Omar’s imprisonment, let alone being in segregation, it puts a lot of stress on the family?

Mrs Khyam: It is a huge amount of stress and I’m dying to see him. I can’t rest. I can’t see for myself if he’s okay. I can hear his voice on the phone and he definitely doesn’t sound okay. It’s driving me mad. I said I would take off my niqaab (veil) just as a one-off to see him, but he refused. I used to see him on a weekly basis, sometimes even twice a week. I’ve never been this long without seeing him. He needs to see me too; he needs that support. He doesn’t want me to come, as he would have a visit in the main visiting room, with everyone else there. He is worried about me getting hassle.

Al-Istiqamah: It’s not just himself he is worrying about, but you and his family too?

 

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