And he says the ordeal has left him in a “disturbed” mental and physical state. Mr Ibrar, from Ann Place, Little Horton, Bradford, was travelling to Jerusalem as part of a large coach party when he was taken into custody at the Taba Border Crossing.
Mr Ibrar, who has a British passport and no criminal record, said he was made to sit in the same place for seven hours without food or water and was subjected to regular questioning about the reasons for his visit.
The Israeli Embassy in London said it would investigate the matter with the relevant authorities in Israel, but added that it may take “some time.”
A spokesman for the Embassy said: “Of course, every accusation of maltreatment towards foreign visitors to Israel is taken very seriously by us and therefore we shall have to investigate this matter further.”
Mr Ibrar, who was born in Bradford and graduated from the city’s university in 2002, said: “Me and my friend travelled to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt for a summer holiday and, while we were there, we decided to book an excursion to Jerusalem to see the holy sites.
“We were part of a coach party made up of people from Britain, Russia, Slovakia and Poland.
“At the border, we were detained for no reason and were kept for seven hours sitting in one place being questioned every half-hour about why we were there. They asked us about terrorism.
“I believe we were stopped purely because we are Muslims. I can understand they have security concerns but, if they look at our record, we are not criminals or terrorists. It was so traumatic and I was about to cry until my friend told me not to give up hope.”
Mr Ibrar, who has worked for Thomas Cook in Bradford for five years, said it became apparent that Israeli authorities had run a series of security checks on him because they knew all about his family life before even asking him.
He said: “Because my wife has family in Pakistan, they started asking me why she rang Pakistan so often. It was disturbing mentally and physically. We were treated inhumanely.”
By the time Mr Ibrar and his friend were released, their tour bus was long gone and they had to pay £175 for a taxi into Jerusalem – the only money they had with them.
He said: “The whole holiday was a nightmare – the worst I’ve ever had. A lot of people have been suffering from the same problems for the last few years but have been apprehensive about speaking up.”
Mr Ibrar lives with his wife of three years, Nazir, and his two sons, Yasser, aged two, and Hamza, who is 11-months-old.
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Telegraph & Argus |
