we can't turn any of them away

As blows from the metal pipe rained down on him and burning cigarettes were stubbed out on his head, Mohammed continued to deny that he was an interpreter for the British Army in Basra.

The unemployed 36-year-old was seized when an armed gang raided his sister’s house. “They beat me with metal pipes and wooden sticks, burnt me with cigarettes, hit me with a cable and screamed in my face saying bad words about me,” said Mohammed, a married father with a five-month-old daughter.

…The man his kidnappers were really after was Mohammed’s brother-in-law, Abu Abdullah, who has worked for the British Armed Forces since 2003. “He was kidnapped because of me,” said Abu Abdullah, who translated for John Reid, when he visited Basra in 2005 as the Defence Secretary.

The experiences of the two men underline the dangers for Iraqis of having even an indirect relationship with the British in Basra.

It’s not just interpreters. And time is short. So write to them. And sign the petition.