HATE preacher Abu Hamza has complained of the tough conditions behind bars, it was revealed yesterday.
The cleric, serving seven years for inciting murder of non-Muslims, says he is the victim of a prison bullying campaign.And he has even complained about the lack of soft furnishings in his cell.
An Islamic group has taken up the hook-handed preacher’s cause and is demanding human rights organisations help him.
Hamza’s “plight” at top security Belmarsh Prison in south-east London was revealed in a letter from his wife, Nagat Mostafa, to the al-Maqreze Centre for Historical Studies.
In her letter written in May, shortly after her husband had surgery to remove an inch of bone from his infected left arm stump, she asked them to do all they could.
The mother of seven of Hamza’s children wrote: “I would like to bring to your attention the current plight of my husband, currently imprisoned in Belmarsh.
“He was taken from his cell without any prior notification to have an operation to amputate a further part of his arm.
“Firstly, I must say that the reason that his arm needed further amputation was because of the removal of his prostheses, resulting in him constantly putting pressure on the remainder of his fore limbs.
“As there is no soft furnishing in his cell, he has been suffering considerable pain and discomfort.
“After surgery, before he had even recovered from the anaesthetic, he was returned to Belmarsh, only to be told he had to move from his cell to another one.
“He was so weak and unable to stand that he refused, resulting in him being put in solitary confinement.
“No post-operative medical care has been given and the only contact he has had is when food is given to him.” Nagat Mostafa, 46, went on: “My husband says that the racist bullying and Islamophobia against him have intensified,
making his life very difficult.
“As his wife and mother of his children, I urge you to look into his treatment and do all you can to ensure he is properly treated medically, psychologically and physically.”
The al-Maqreze Centre for Historical Studies has pledged to do all it can. Its leader, Hani Al-Sibai, was accused of praising the 7/7 London bombings. He denied this, saying his comments had been wrongly translated.
In a statement, the centre branded Hamza’s treatment “unjust” and said it feared he could die behind bars.
Hamza’s complaints come as prison officers warned they are sitting on a powder keg.
Steve Gough, vice-chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, said when staff confront a Muslim prisoner in Belmarsh, he or she often find themselves surrounded by five or six other Muslim inmates.
He added: “The radical Muslims make the IRA look like kittens.”
The Prison Service said it could not comment on individual cases. But a spokeswoman said: “Every effort is made to ensure the rights of prisoners, whatever their religion, ethnic or cultural background, are respected.”
She added that prisoners could register any concerns all the way up to the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman or their MP.
Abu Hamza is estimated to have already cost his adopted country almost £4million in legal aid, state handouts and the bill for policing the crowd outside Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, where he preached his words of hate.
Costs of keeping him behind bars are around £50,000 a year.
Meanwhile his family get £680 a week in various benefits. They live in a £600,000 London home, which reportedly has been given a £25,000 make-over.
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