Skip to main content

WATCH: Ex-Guantanamo Bay guard and former prisoner Moazzam Begg reunite

When the two men met by chance in London more than a decade after Begg's release, the former inmate invited his guard to his home
Moazzam Begg (R) and Albert Melise (L) (Cage)

Moazzam Begg, a British national who was forcibly abducted in 2002 and taken to Guantanamo Bay, has filmed a meeting with his former prison guard, some 14 years after he was first jailed. 

The two men met by chance in London while Begg, who now works for Cage, a UK-based advocacy group working with people impacted by the 'War on Terror', was promoting his recent film talking about his capture and subsequent confession he was forced to make under duress. 

Begg was freed in 2005, but when he bumped into Guantanamo guard Albert Melise, he invited him to his home. The two men have since promoted Begg's film The Confession together. 

In the following clip, filmed earlier this month, the men discuss how they first met under very difficult circumstances with Begg hooded, shackled and thrown into the “worst of the worst place". 

“It’s been 12 years since I last saw you, and the last time that happened, I was in Camp Echo as a prisoner of the United States of America, and you were my guardsman. Your duty was to guard me 24 hours a day sometimes. Tonight, you’re going to be staying in my house. And I got the keys," Begg tells Melise. 

In his darkest of days, however, Begg explains he managed to find solace in the most unexpected of friends, his guard. 

Watch the full exchange here:

Stay informed with MEE's newsletters

Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked

 
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.