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Amnesty International suspends employee for questioning ties to radical Islamist
By: Mark Hemingway
Commentary Staff Writer
02/08/10 11:29 AM EST
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Though it has gotten little attention stateside, a major controversy is brewing in the British press over human rights organization Amnesty International. For years now, the organization has been promoting Mozzam Begg, a former Gunatanamo detainee who is an unrepentant radical Islamist and supporter of the Taliban. After two years of working within Amnesty International to try and get the human rights organization to stop working with Begg, Gita Sahgal, the head of Amnesty’s gender issues program, has spoken out publicly:
“I believe the campaign [with Begg's organization, "Cageprisoners"] fundamentally damages Amnesty International’s integrity and, more importantly, constitutes a threat to human rights,” Sahgal wrote in an email to the organisation’s leaders on January 30. “To be appearing on platforms with Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment.”
Amnesty International responded by suspending Saghal. Noah Pollak has more thoughts and perspective on the matter.
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