Months of Terror for Man Held by 'Mistake'

By Jeremy Armstrong

A FATHER of four said yesterday he was held for nearly five months because he had a similar name to a terror suspect.

Khaled el Masri, 41 - Lebanese born but a German national for 10 years - was taken prisoner on holiday in Macedonia on December 31 2003.

He was held there 23 days and told to confess he was an al-Qaeda terrorist.

He said: "I heard the door being closed and then they beat me from all sides with hands and feet.

"With knives or scissors they took away my clothes in silence ... They stripped me naked. I was terrified.