Fears for treatment of al-Qaeda suspects

9:31am Monday 1st December 2003

Fears are growing about the mental health of al-Qaeda suspect and Croydon student Feroz Abassi amid news that the 23-year-old is suffering from depression.

Reports claiming he has been diagnosed with depression prompted fresh concerns that he may have been subjected to torture methods. His mother Zumrati Juma has said her son has hinted at a reason behind his failure to write to her.

It was revealed last week that she received 11 letters from her son in one batch in August with blocks of paragraphs blanked out by American censors.

Her solicitor Louise Christian fears Abassi may have been subjected to, what Americans call, torture-lite' methods like sleep deprivation and exposure to bright light to pressure him into making a plea bargain.

The former Edenham High pupil has been held at a military camp in Cuba for nearly two years without charge or access to a lawyer, suspected of fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell hinted the issue of the British detainees "may be resolved soon" last week.