Steven Candia and Agencies
16 September 2008
Kampala — Two South African men arrested over terrorism are considering suing Uganda at The Hague-based International Criminal Court over allegations of torture and Islam-phobia.
Mufti Hussain Bhyat and Haroon Saley, who were deported, believe that they were singled out due to their religious background.
However, the Ugandan Government has dismissed their claims.
"To the best of our knowledge, the two were treated well but if they have any complaints, the Government is ready to listen to them as long as they raise them through the South African authorities," internal affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda said yesterday.
"Uganda has its own criteria of handling issues connected with terrorism and it is on the basis of this that they were arrested, questioned and sent back to their country."
Bhayat and Saley, both Islamic relief workers, were arrested in August at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda.
The Anti-Terrorism Task Force questioned them for a number of days.
Only the Ugandan Police are authorised to detain a suspect, who within 48 hours, must be transferred to the court to be charged or released.
The media reported that the two were in Uganda to offer relief assistance on behalf of their charity, the Crescent of Hope, only to be detained upon landing.
Bhayat and Saley alleged that while in detention, they were given little food and no water.
Bhayat said apart from a few men dressed in military attire, they were questioned for up to four hours at a time by men dressed in civilian attire.
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