Free Harrath, then make him our special guest

Though the deportation of the head of the British Islam Channel, Mohamed Ali Harrath, has been temporarily blocked by an interim interdict, the questions regarding the basis for his arrest and continued detention — at this stage — have yet to be explained by police authorities or the government.

Accepting for the moment that Interpol had issued a warrant, which was acted upon by authorities at OR Tambo, the South African public have to be asking themselves why a man who is no less than an adviser to Scotland Yard on Islamic extremism would be detained in this way.

Harrath has been fêted by politicians with the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, the minister Shahid Malik and the Tory frontbencher Dominic Grieve attending his annual festival. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, gave him a platform to address thousands in Trafalgar Square in September at an official taxpayer-funded event to mark the end of Ramadan. (Times of London)

Accordingly this smacks of the sort of treatment that was given to Professor Habib by the United States when he was declined a visa despite any basis to suggest that he was in any way connected to terrorism. That ban has now been rescinded.

More germane to the issue of South Africa is the fact that it was the Tunisian authorities who approached Interpol pursuant to a conviction that was handed down against Harrath in absentia.

The fact that he wasn’t present during the trial should have sounded some alarm bells immediately.

Before fleeing his homeland he had co-founded the Tunisian Islamic Front, which Tunis accused of seeking to establish a Muslim state by armed revolutionary violence. Harrath insists that the organisation was a non-violent political party set up to oppose what he regarded as Tunisia’s one-party rule.

Of course the fact that Harrath’s Islam Channel is broadcast on DStv, that he has been here before and was accepted as a refugee by Britain has gone straight over authorities’ heads. More important is to pander to another African one-party dictatorship where no dissension is tolerated, opposition groups are brutally dealt with and freedom of expression is totally rejected.

In case the people of that country or overseas find out what the one party are really up to.

Anyone who dares to interfere with one-party rule on this continent often becomes classified as a terrorist. Hardly surprising then to find Mohamed Ali Harrath drawing the short straw.

South Africa, instead of leaping to fulfil the request of Tunisia despite the compelling evidence above should have, at best for Tunis, said Harrath would be returned to Great Britain and at worst for them be more than welcome to enjoy his stay.

South Africa as a democracy needs to send a message to Tunisia that unfortunately Mr Harrath has a heart condition and as soon as he is fit to travel will be allowed to continue his South African trip.

Address your complaints to Interpol or Great Britain, we are not interested.