Family fears for Guantanamo man handed to Morocc

RABAT, Apr 30 (Reuters) The family of a Moroccan man freed by the United States from Guantanamo Bay last week said they feared for his wellbeing today as Moroccan authorities declined to reveal his whereabouts.

Ahmed Errachidi, who spent more than five years at the US detention camp for terrorist suspects in Cuba, has not been heard from since U.S. authorities confirmed four days ago that they had handed him over to Morocco.

''Petitioner Errachidi...has been released from United States' custody and transferred to the control of the government of Morocco,'' a U.S. Department of Justice official said in an email to Errachidi's U.S. lawyer dated April 26.

A Moroccan government official told Reuters: ''It's true he was extradited to Morocco.'' But he said he was unable to provide any additional information on the case.

Errachidi, who lived for 17 years in London and worked as a chef at well known restaurants including the Hard Rock Cafe, suffers from bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression.

''Ahmed has been mentally ill since the 1990s,'' said a family member who asked not to be identified. ''Either he's smiling and laughing all the time, or he's crying all the time...The question now is: where is he? We're very worried, he needs to take medicine.'' The relative said a human rights lawyer presented a written submission to the Moroccan prosecutor's office on Monday seeking information about Errachidi's fate.

''He said simply: ''He's my client, and I need to know where he is,''' the relative said. ''We haven't got a reply.'' Errachidi, 41, has a wife and two young sons living in Morocco.

''ARRESTED IN PAKISTAN'' According to the British-based legal charity Reprieve, which represents him, he was arrested in Pakistan after travelling there in 2001 on a business venture to fund a cardiac operation for his younger son, Imran.

Reprieve says Errachidi had the idea of importing silver jewellery from Pakistan to raise money.

While there, he was affected by television footage of the US invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan and went to try to help refugees from bombing raids, a decision his lawyers say reflected his erratic judgement due to his illness.

Once in Afghanistan, he soon realised there was nothing he could do and that it was dangerous to stay, but he was detained after crossing back into Pakistan.

''The Pakistani authorities told him that he would be deported, but after a couple of days, Pakistani officials instead sold Ahmed to the US military for a bounty that was negotiated while he stood by in shackles and a hood,'' Reprieve said in a press release on the case.

The family member said the amount was 500 dollars.

Reprieve's legal director Clive Stafford Smith wrote in a fax to Morocco's justice minister on Saturday he was willing to travel to Morocco if needed and could supply copious evidence proving Errachidi's innocence.

Chris Chang, an investigator for Reprieve, said the organisation assumed Errachidi was in police custody but had no confirmation.

''We haven't had any news. We're just completely in the dark, to be honest,'' he said.

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