First Response

INTERVIEW WITH FAISAL CHAUDHRY (9.45 p.m.)

‘What time did they take you?’ Kamran asked Faisal Chaudhry. ‘You said it was after prayers at the mosque, but what time was that exactly?’

Chaudhry took a sip from his water bottle. ‘I was at the mosque for sunrise prayers,’ he said. ‘I was walking home at about six thirty. A man asked me for the time. As I looked at my watch, another man grabbed me from behind and put something over my mouth.’

‘The man who spoke to you, what did he look like?’

Chaudhry shrugged. ‘Asian, bearded… He had a woven skullcap and he was wearing a grey Pashtun, the long tunic and pants. But I didn’t get a good look at him.’

‘How old was he?’

‘I don’t know. I didn’t really see him. He had his head down when he spoke.’

‘Do you think it was Shahid?’

Chaudhry frowned. ‘Maybe.’

‘And what happened then?’

‘The next thing I remember is waking up tied to a chair with a hood over my head. Then he told us all what we had to do and that’s when he killed the guy who was arguing.’

‘But you didn’t argue? Or put up a fight?’

Chaudhry tilted his head to one side, frowning. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You didn’t resist?’

‘Are you fucking serious, man? I’d just seen a man blown into a million fucking pieces. We were all in shock. He killed the guy without a second thought.’

Kamran nodded. ‘I understand. But walking into a pub and holding dozens of people hostage, that’s a ballsy thing to do.’

‘Ballsy?’

‘It’s not easy, is what I meant. You had to control a lot of people. You had to get them to do what you wanted them to do.’

‘Hey, now, let’s get this clear,’ said Chaudhry. ‘This wasn’t my fucking idea. I was following Shahid’s orders and he said I was being watched and that if I didn’t follow his instructions he’d detonate the vest. I’d have been dead. Do you get that?’

‘I get it,’ said Kamran. ‘And the people you were holding hostage, they were scared?’

‘Of course they were scared. They knew what was happening. And then that YouTube video started playing. That was heavy stuff. So, yeah, everyone was scared.’

‘What’s your opinion of ISIS, Mr Chaudhry?’

‘Idiots,’ he said.

‘Really?’

‘They’re fucking nutters, seriously. You’ve seen what they do, right?’

‘But you’re sympathetic to Al-Qaeda, aren’t you?’

Chaudhry’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘It’s a feeling I get,’ said Kamran. There was nothing to be gained from letting Chaudhry know that MI5 were aware he had been in an Al-Qaeda training camp.

Chaudhry leant forward, his face so close that Kamran could smell the man’s stale breath. ‘You’re a Muslim, right?’

‘I am.’

‘Then are you telling me you didn’t feel any pride when the Sheikh struck back at the Americans?’

‘By flying planes full of innocent people into office blocks? Why would I take pride in that?’

‘Because finally Muslims were fighting back. For years America helped Israel destroy the Palestinians and the world stood by. But when the Sheikh launched his attacks, the world took notice.’

‘So what happened today, you’re happy with it, are you? You’re happy with what Shahid was trying to achieve?’

‘No fucking way. I was scared shitless. And, like I said, ISIS are nutters. They kill people for the fun of it. You’ve seen what they do to gays? That’s just fucked up. I’ve got gay mates. You don’t go around killing people just because they’re gay. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fight for our religion.’

‘We don’t have to fight for Islam, not in England,’ said Kamran. ‘Here you can be whatever you want to be. Here people aren’t persecuted for their religion.’

‘The fight is a worldwide fight,’ said Chaudhry. ‘We have to support our brothers and sisters no matter where they are.’

‘And what about those countries where women have to cover their faces and are not allowed to drive, where gays are stoned to death and a woman can be beaten for wearing the wrong clothes? You have to support those regimes, do you?’

Chaudhry gripped the plastic bottle so hard that it burst and water spilt over the desk, but he was glaring so intently at Kamran that he didn’t seem to notice. He opened his mouth to speak, then visibly relaxed and sat back in his chair. ‘I want a solicitor,’ he said.

‘You don’t need a solicitor, Mr Chaudhry,’ said Kamran. ‘You haven’t been charged with anything.’

Chaudhry stood up. ‘Then I want to go home. Now.’