Inside the world’s hardest jail… filled with 4,000 jihadis
- Shahan Choudhury, 37, and Ibrahim Ageed, 29, are being held in a Syrian jail
- Both former ISIS fighters have spent the past five years in custody
Two Britons who have been stripped of their citizenship are among 4,000 terrorists being held in a prison judged the world’s worst jail by human rights watchdogs.
The men are being held in the Panorama prison in the north eastern Syrian city of Hasakah, which is being run by Syrian Democratic Forces who are supported by the UK and US coalition.
Security experts fear that housing so many radicalised terrorists together is a major blunder because if the men were able to overpower prison guards, they would form a formidable 4,000-strong terrorist army.
About 400 inmates were able to escape from the facility in January 2022.
Among those being held in the prison are Shahan Choudhury, 37, from east London and Ibrahim Ageed, 29. They have both been held for five years.
Shahan Choudhury, pictured, was allegedly radicalised while on remand at Belmarsh Prison in London by hate preacher Anjem Choudary before fleeing to Syria
Ibrahim Ageed, pictured, a former medical student from Leicester, is one of two Britons being held by Syrian Democratic Forces in the north east of the country after being captured while fighting for ISIS
More than 400 inmates managed to escape from the jail in 2022 leading to fears of further break outs
Choudhury’s wife, Mahek, who has also been stripped of her British citizenship, is being held in a refugee camp. Now stateless, she is also prevented from returning to Tower Hamlets.
According to an Amnesty International report, detainees are denied access to adequate food and medical care. The facility has a major outbreak of tuberculosis with one or two men and boys dying from the disease each week.
The Times this week were allowed into the prison to talk to Choudhury and Ageed.
Choudhury was captured in 2019. At the time he was digging graves for jihadis killed during vicious fighting in Baghouz.
He said he has seen worse things in jail than he did while living under ISIS control.
‘In my first year, I watched at least a thousand people die. In my room right now I am crammed with all the Europeans; many of them are dead. One guy from Sweden is currently very sick. He will probably die and we will watch him. They see this as our punishment.’
According to Amnesty International, the UK Government has provided £15m in cash to expand the prison.
In a report, the human rights organisation said: ‘Those detained in Panorama have been denied access to adequate food and medical care leading to illnesses and diseases, including a severe outbreak of tuberculosis that has been ongoing for several years.
‘If left untreated, tuberculosis is fatal in 50 per cent of cases.’
Amnesty International’s UK Chief Executive Sacha Desmukh said: ‘The Government has put considerable resources into the detention facilities in north-east Syria and it has a responsibility to avoid being complicit in the ongoing cruelty and violence of these places.
‘Continued inaction from the Government amounts to connivance in the unlawful detention of UK nationals amid misery, disease and possible death.
‘The UK government has a responsibility for all its citizens, including Shamima Begum, which it can’t cast off when that might suit it.
‘The UK should be helping its citizens stranded in dangerous circumstances in Syria, not barring their safe return to the UK.
‘The UK should support a long-overdue screening process to identify people in detention who need to be immediately released, and it should be working with the Syrian Democratic Forces and the US-led coalition to establish a fair means to finally bring to justice the perpetrators of ISIS’s horrific crimes.’
Choudhury said he travelled to Syria for charity work, although he was in Belmarsh Prison in London where he was allegedly radicalised by hate preacher Anjem Choudary.
Sitting in freezing conditions, Choudhury told The Times: ‘I regret it all, I didn’t know it would turn out this ugly. I would go back and serve my life in a British prison if they would let me. But they probably won’t, so I would go anywhere. I just want to leave.’
US Major General Joel Vowell has warned that housing so many dangerous terrorists at the one location is a security threat.
Amnesty International has warned that inmates at the prison and a nearby refugee camp are being denied access to adequate health care
Choudhury’s wife, who has also been stripped of her British citizenship, is being held in this camp in Hasakeh
He said those being detained should be repatriated to their home nations as a jailbreak could allow ISIS to ‘form an army overnight.’
However, the British government said it has no plans to return jihadis or ISIS brides.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘Our priority remains the safety and security of the UK. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect the UK from those who pose a threat to our security.’
The second Briton being held in the overcrowded jail, Ageed warned: ‘The longer people are kept here, the more ideology breeds in groups.’
Ageed had worked for the NHS in Leicester before moving to Syria.
He said: ‘I was asked by the administration to step in to help save prisoners from dying for a period. There were many sick men.’
He added: ‘I believe that there’s a reasonable concern from the public about detainees going back to Britain. If I was to get a fair trial they would see themselves if I have been part of atrocities or not part of anything.’
The Amnesty report also said women being held in nearby camps have been subjected to torture in order to force confessions.
According to Amnesty there are a total of 20 UK nationals being held in various camps – including Shamima Begum who, according to the charity was ‘groomed and trafficked to Syria’.
