Missing Briton 'kidnapped' by FBI and facing life in prison: Family stunned  as man stripped of his UK passport appears in New York court

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED:23:50 GMT, 22  December 2012| UPDATED:08:15 GMT, 23 December 2012

British man who was controversially stripped  of his citizenship this year by the Home Secretary has been captured by American secret agents and brought before a court in New York on terrorism charges.

The sudden and unexplained appearance of  Londoner Mahdi Hashi in an  American court five months after he went missing in  Africa has prompted  claims that he is the victim of international kidnap or ‘rendition’.

The former care worker, 23, lost contact with his family while staying in  Somalia  this year. When they began looking for him, they were told by  Foreign Office officials that they could not provide assistance because  the Home Secretary had  issued an order depriving him of his British citizenship

Mohamed and Kaltun Hashi were told by someone who had been held with their son that he  had been imprisoned in Djibouti  where he was being questioned and ‘mistreated’ by US agents. In October the US Embassy in London wrote to the family denying any knowledge of Mahdi  Hashi.

Now The Mail on Sunday has discovered that on  Friday he appeared in court in Brooklyn, accused of working with the terrorist group al-Shabaab, which is at war with the government of Somalia. If convicted, he faces a life sentence.

The family deny that Mahdi as ever been involved in terrorist activities and say he was planning to return to London to complete his education.

Documents released by the US Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York say Mahdi and two Swedish men were  detained in Africa by ‘local authorities’ in August before being  handed over to the FBI on November 14 and flown to New York the following day.

Last night The Mail on Sunday broke the news to the Hashi family that their son was in custody.

FULL STORY: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2252304/Missing-Briton-kidn...