Stripped of His UK citizenship, now in Solitary Confinement

The United Kingdom currently faces several problems especially regarding its immigration rules. One of them is the power of the government to strip of or remove a UK citizenship of a person when that person becomes a threat to the society. This rule may sound judicial and just since it is a punishment for wrongdoing. However, numerous people, even the citizens of the same country, are complaining that stripping of citizenship of a person is a very inhumane act. Recently, the world was bombarded with reports regarding the removal of citizenship of a man in UK whom is also being confined in a large busy metropolis- New York.

Mahdi Hashi is currently being locked in his cell in one of the correctional facilities in Manhattan, New York for being alleged as a terrorist in UK. He is locked for 23 hours a day and only allowed to call his parents for a brief moment once a month. Sometime in 2012, he heard one of the worst news he could have ever heard, that his citizenship in UK have been revoked. Furthermore, he will suffer for a more lengthy time in his cell since his trial will not begin until February 2015. This very long confinement and detention is described as very inhumane and unjust by reporter Juan Mendez.

When Hashi was 5 years old, he and his family fled Somalia due to a terrible civil war causing them to arrive at UK and seek refugee there. When he was 14 years old, he became a UK citizen. When he was 16 years old, he managed to finish his exams and moved to Egypt to study Arabic with some of his fellowmen also coming from London. However, during his trip, he was accused by the authorities of working with Muslim terrorists in which Hashi constantly denied. As a result, he was deported back to UK and from that point, he claimed that he was being abused and tortured by the British authorities.

However, in May 2009, Hashi and his other four accomplices admitted that they were being pressured and threatened by the Muslims to spy on the British authorities He also added that he was very sick of being pressured and abused by both the Muslim terrorists and the British authorities. He was like between two walls with nowhere to go.

Two men named Mohamed Sakr and Bilal al Berjawi, coming from London and Lebanon respectively, became interests to the British authorities until they were proven to be linked and were parts of the terrorists. Both of them were also linked to Hashi although Hashi’s father said that his son has met them only once or twice. However, Sakr and Berjawi died in Somalia in two US drone strikes. Consequently, several men including Hashi were listed as spies for the Americans causing Hashi to be stripped of his UK citizenship as well as solitary confinement. Hashi tried to convince the authorities that he is not related to any rebellious or terroristic acts but no one listened to him.

According to Mendez, terrorists and similar criminals deserve to be punished and judged based on what they have done. However, he said that the current punishments and treatments suffered by Hashi and related suspects are not just and right and that they should be following the basic and fundamental rights.