It is heartening to see the sheer volume of messages and concern that has outpoured onto the internet after the tragic loss of former UK detainee Faraj Hassan. A quick google search of his name brings up links from a number of websites that have sought to celebrate his life and death - the emotion from Muslims and non-Muslims has been overwhelming.

There is nothing wrong with this and I greatly welcome the response from the public. What is quite evident is the sheer tragedy that was his life, but at the same time how remarkable he was through his detention and then again through his freedom. For those of us who knew him, we will surely miss him and pray that he is welcomed by Allah SWT.

For me, I feel that this is a time when we should reflect even more on those that have been left behind, the surviving victims of the UK's counter-terrorism policies. Last year Cageprisoners released its report, Detention Immorality, which highlighted the cases of those detained without charge in the UK, including that of Faraj's.  

If we consider simply those who are detained in Long Lartin's isolated detainee unit, then there is much to worry about in terms of the length of their detention and their treatment. Khalid Al-Fawwaz and Adel Abdel Bary have both now been detained without any charges in the UK since 1998 - imagine having been detained for almost 12 years without your family. Both of these men have faced this period with great humility and patience as they seek to try challenge their extraditions to the US. Adel's children have now grown - they have grown in the absence of their father and continue to live their lives knowing that he cannot be accessed.

There are others who have been detained since almost the beginnig of the War on Terror, such as Omar Othman and Detainee U - they have been through a process which is almost identical to that of Faraj Hassan's, except that they continue to be detained until this day. They are also in the segregation unit at Long Lartin as they seek to stop their deportations to their countries of origin. The UK government has never brought any charges against these men, and yet we are told that their detention is necessary for public safety and security.

Another man that is detained with the above men is Babar Ahmad. When I met him recently he described some of the above men as being the closest thing he had ever seen to the character of the Companions of the Prophet (SAWS). He has of course spent the last 6 years facing extradition to the US - and in that time has had family members pass away as he has been cut off from having any reasonable relationship with his family.

These men are alive today and they continue to fight for their lives, to fight for the lives of their families who cannot live in peace without them, and most importantly, fight for us all so that we are not affected by similar policies. That was indeed Faraj's legacy on his freedom, that those who were left behind were never forgotten and that they became the emphasis of his future work - he did not complain about his own condition - rather used his story as a means of highlighting the plight of others.

The feelings that have been expressed over the loss of Faraj must now surely go towards a more positive end - as Faraj himself would have wanted. Let those who cared for him and his beautiful legacy put themselves forward at this time to learn more about the other prisoners in the UK and indeed around the world.

When I think about some of the men above and what they have already lost, and then think of Faraj, I know that I do not want to be in a position again any time soon where I am eulogising over the loss of another human for whom we could have done more.