UK medical students arrested in Israel

By Clare Hughes London

Two fourth year medical students were arrested in the Middle East during their elective. Israeli authorities held Ayaz Ghani and Tahseen Chaudhry, who are studying at Birmingham University, for 11 days as they tried to enter Israel from Jordan.

Chaudhry said, "They told us we were being arrested because we looked suspicious; I think because we were two British Asians. We were constantly asking for access to the British Embassy but they initially told us they wanted to ask questions because we looked suspicious so I thought we would only be held for a few hours.

"We were held in separate dirty cramped dark cells with a mat on the floor and a dim light that was always on. It was a bit like a medieval dungeon. Israeli security officials interrogated us every day. I felt they were treating us as if we were guilty rather than just looking suspicious. They interrogated us as if we had information to give.

"Finally the authorities let us go but didn't apologise or give an explanation other than that we'd been held because of increased terrorism in the area."

Ghani and Chaudhry had been on their elective in Cape Town, South Africa, with a trauma unit for three weeks before they started their tour of the Middle East. The pair had visited Syria, Lebanon, and Jordon before trying to enter Israel.

Israelis have been particularly suspicious of British Muslims since two were alleged to have been involved in a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

Following their release Ghani and Chaudhry were detained by Jordanian authorities for two days before being allowed to fly home. Chaudhry said, "I don't know why we were held, they didn't give us an explanation but they did apologise when they let us go."

Tahseen's sister, Samena, who is a preregistration house officer said, "Tahseen had been emailing us nearly every day during the elective but then he stopped sending emails. We knew he'd gone backpacking but started to get worried so on the 11th day we phoned the foreign office. They told us what had happened and that they'd known within 24 hours of their arrest.

"It was difficult for all the family. We thought they'd been tortured and held somewhere until their wounds had healed. At one point we were worried that they could have been shot."

Ghani and Chaudhry arrived back in Britain on 4 June and are now seeking legal advice about their ordeal.

The Foreign Office is advising against travel to the West Bank and Gaza. Any British or other foreign nationals who do travel to the area are likely to be questioned at length by the Israeli authorities and possibly denied entry.