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Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg was among four people arrested in Britain yesterday on suspicion of terror offences relating to Syria, police said.
Begg, 45, who is now a human rights activist, was detained on suspicion of attending a terrorist training camp and facilitating terrorism overseas, said West Midlands Police.
Begg was held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for nearly three years after being arrested in Pakistan in 2002.
The British citizen was released without charge in 2005 and has since become a speaker and activist for a prisoner rights organisation.
Yesterday, he was among four people arrested at their homes in Britain's second city of Birmingham, central England, "on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences".

	This is an arrest, not a charge, and … our naming does not imply any guilt

	POLICE SPOKESWOMAN
A 44-year-old woman and her son aged 20 were held on suspicion of facilitating terror abroad, as was a 36-year-old man at a separate address.
"We can confirm that Moazzam Begg was arrested," a West Midlands Police spokeswoman said.
"This is an arrest, not a charge, and ... our naming does not imply any guilt."
The three homes were being searched by officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, while vehicles and electronic equipment were being removed for forensic analysis.
"All four arrests are connected," said Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards, the unit's head of investigations. "They were pre-planned and intelligence-led."
The suspects were being held at a police station in the Birmingham area.
European countries face a growing number of young people going to fight in Syria, where a civil war is raging involving President Bashar al-Assad's forces, rebels and Islamist fighters.
Britain has seen a major increase in Syria-related arrests in recent months.
Begg is the first former Guantanamo detainee to be arrested in Britain in connection with Syria.
Birmingham-born Begg moved to Afghanistan with his wife and three children in 2001, where he insisted that he was involved in charitable activities. He moved to Pakistan after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and was detained as an "enemy combatant" in Islamabad in 2002.


Ex-Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg arrested in Britain over Syria terror offences

Moazzam Begg was freed from Guantanamo in 2005. Photo: AFP

Terror suspect's escape in a burqa prompts British surveillance review

CCTV footage shows Mohamed entering a mosque wearing Western-style clothes (left) and later leaving in a burqa. Photo: AFP

Mohamed is trying to join up with terror suspect Briton Samantha Lewthwaite, British newspapers said. Photo: AP

Britain braced for copycat terror attacks after soldier's killing

Floral tributes for Drummer Lee Rigby at the scene of his killing in Woolwich. Photo: Reuters

'British soldier' butchered in broad daylight in suspected London terrorist attack

One of the suspected assailants with bloodied hands at the scene attack in Woolwich. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Police officers man a cordoned off area in Woolwich, east London. Photo: AFP

Police close the road on Artillery Place, Woolwich near the scene of the attack. Photo: AP

Police forensics tents and officers at the crime scene in Woolwich. Photo: AFP

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World

Moazzam Begg among four people detained in Birmingham over Syrian 'terror' activities


Ex-Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg arrested in Britain over Syria terror offences

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Moazzam Begg among four people detained in Birmingham over Syrian 'terror' activities

Moazzam Begg among four people detained in Birmingham over Syrian 'terror' activities