By Mustafa El-Menshawy How is the state of your health now? My health has been deteriorating ever since my detention in November last year. Suffice it to say, I was detained only four days after I underwent heart surgery. In prison, I was denied access to heart specialists for necessary check-ups, despite repeated requests. Even under house arrest, I am unable to visit doctors without prior permission from security forces. It is very painful to experience such injustice -- to be imprisoned illegally and treated roughly in prison. This gruelling experience has had a very negative effect on me psychologically. How do you respond to claims that these are natural procedures that have to be taken in a maximum security cell where suspected members of Al-Qaeda are held? Yes, that's true. But, I should be dealt with as innocent until proven guilty, which is a legal maxim Spanish authorities have failed to abide by in my case. Even before my trial, I was treated as guilty, by both judges and prison authorities. In prison, I was classified as a terrorist despite the fact that Spanish law prevents such labelling before trial. This behaviour, I can confidently say, reflects a blatant violation of the law and human rights principles in the country. How would you describe the charges against you? I believe they are ridiculous and false, since they are primarily unsubstantiated. All legal experts provided by human rights groups or Al-Jazeera, my employer, have said there is no case to make against me. I have no close relations with suspected terrorists whatsoever. As a member of the Syrian community in Spain, I only met them during special occasions or in ceremonies, we exchanged phone numbers and shared mutual sympathy. I was first arrested in September 2003 and released one month later. If there is a case to make against me, why then, have they still not put me on trial? Al-Jazeera and your supporters have accused the US of pressuring Spain to arrest you. Do you agree with these allegations? Yes, I believe the Americans exercised pressures on Spain to detain me. After Spain withdrew its forces from Iraq, a dismayed Washington accused Madrid of dismantling the so-called international coalition against terrorism. In an attempt to prove otherwise, Spain re-arrested me as well as dozens of other "terrorist suspects" in November 2004 without any justifications. Why were you, in particular, targeted by these pressures? US paranoia has made me pay the price for my reports from Afghanistan when the US forces were invading the poor Asian country and later when I reported from Iraq at the time of the US-led offensive in March 2003. The reports hit a nerve with Americans, who deliberately attacked the office in Kabul, the Afghan capital, with four missiles weighing 100 kilogrammes each. One of the missiles, labelled "Made in USA", did not go off and is still standing in the office garden as a reminder of the attack. In March 2003, US forces also shelled the office of Al-Jazeera deliberately, killing my colleague Tareq Ayoub. At the time, I was on air delivering a live broadcast from Baghdad when the US missile struck. When I went to the Palestine Hotel in the Iraqi capital that same day, another missile fell a few metres away from where I was standing. I believe these three attacks were also assassination attempts. To what extent is Al-Jazeera implicated in a case before a Spanish court to indict one of its reporters? By levelling charges of terrorism against me, Al-Jazeera is indirectly targeted. I am fully convinced that there are various parties who seek to harass and affect the editorial policy of the channel, chiefly the US which has repeatedly criticised Al-Jazeera by name. These parties are further antagonised by the fact that Al-Jazeera keeps its principles on screen in gallant defiance of attempts to tarnish its image. What are your expectations in the case? I think the campaign launched by regional and international human rights groups as well as Arab and foreign journalists will help secure my acquittal. My supporters have asked for international observers to attend my trial in order to guarantee that it will be free and fair. Still, are you afraid that you will be found guilty? Judging from my experience with the Spanish judiciary, yes. At first, I thought it would do justice to my case but soon discovered it was deceptive and unfair. Prosecutors have asked for a nine-year jail sentence, which I am afraid could be supported by the judges in my upcoming trial. Frankly, I expect the worst. What are your plans in the future if the case was dropped? I really don't know. I am fed-up with all that has happened. My poor state of health will not permit me to bear any more suffering.
