The wife of a British man held without charge in Iraq for a year is calling on the UK government to step up its efforts to secure the release of her husband.

Ramze Shihab Ahmed, a 68-year-old dual Iraqi-UK national who has lived in the UK since 2002, was arrested by security officials in a relative’s house in the city of Mosul on 7 December 2009.

Ramze Shihab Ahmed, who had travelled to Iraq to try to secure the release of his detained son ‘Omar, was first held in total secrecy for nearly four months before being able to phone his wife in London. He has told his wife of how he was tortured – including with electric shocks to his genitals and suffocation by plastic bags.

Amnesty International has launched a campaign calling for Ramze Shihab Ahmed to be released unless he is charged with a recognisable criminal offence and fairly tried, as well as insisting that the alleged torture is fully investigated.

Ramze Shihab Ahmed’s wife, Rabiha al-Qassab, a 63-year-old former teaching assistant who lives in north-west London, said:

I can hardly believe that a whole year has gone by with my husband in jail like this. It’s disgraceful what they’re doing to him. He doesn’t even know what he’s accused of.

An Iraqi judge recently visited my husband and assured him that the ‘confession’ that the interrogators tortured out of him will be disregarded and that they’ll re-investigate the case. This is better news but I want to see the Iraqis say either we’re charging him or – much more likely – we’re going to release him.

After his arrest last December Ramze Shihab Ahmed was held in a secret prison at the old Muthanna airport in Baghdad, before being relocated to Baghdad’s al-Rusafa Prison where he is still held.

He has been interrogated about alleged links to al-Qa’ida and reportedly forced to make a false confession following torture and while blindfolded.

In September Amnesty published a report showing that an estimated 30,000 detainees were held without trial in Iraq, many of whom had recently been transferred from US custody.

Reader comments

1. Liberal Conspiracy

   Campaign launched to release Briton from Iraq http://bit.ly/gj3IZy

2. John Drake

   RT @libcon: Campaign launched to release Briton from Iraq http://bit.ly/gj3IZy

3. Gordon Kennedy

   Why whistleblowers like #Assange are required http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/12/07/campaign-launched-to-release-briton-from-iraq/