Category Archives: State Oppression

Police used dum-dum bullets on Brazilian shot at tube station

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Brazilian man killed by police who mistook him for a terrorist was left “unrecognisable” after being shot eight times by officers using “dum-dum” style bullets that are banned from use in warfare.

Reaction to the news from leading British Muslim groups was critical of the police. Azad Ali, chair of the Muslim Safety Forum and a key figure in relations between police and the Muslim community, said: “If this is true this will further exacerbate the community’s already heightened concern about the police’s approach. This will reinforce the view of Jean Charles de Menezes’s family that this was an execution.”

Guardian, 16 November 2005

The battle to banish Babar Ahmad

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Free BabarHome Secretary Charles Clarke has authorised Babar Ahmad’s extradition to face terrorism charges in the US. The decision follows a long fight by the US for his removal and by Mr Ahmad and his supporters against the move. The 31-year-old computer expert from Tooting, south London, is accused of running websites supporting terrorism and urging Muslims to fight a holy war.

BBC News, 16 November 2005

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, stated: “This is a very sad day for all who value fairness and justice. It is unacceptable that under the Extradition Treaty 2003 there is no longer any need for the US government to prove to a UK court or even to the Home Secretary that there is a prima facie case against British citizens. We are very disappointed that the Home Secretary has agreed to this extradition request and we call on him to renegotiate the Extradition Treaty 2003 so that it better protects our citizens – whether Muslims or non-Muslims – from this type of manifest injustice. If our government has any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Babar Ahmad then he should be charged in this country and put on trial here.”

MCB news release, 16 November 2005

Guantánamo inmates to lose all rights

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Human rights campaigners are calling it the “November surprise” – a last-minute amendment smuggled into a Pentagon finance bill in the US Senate last Thursday. Its effects are likely to be devastating: the permanent removal of almost all legal rights from “war on terror” detainees at Guantánamo Bay and every other similar US facility on foreign or American soil.

Observer, 13 November 2005

Muslim warns of community fears

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A leading Welsh Muslim has warned that the detention of a Libyan man in Cardiff six weeks ago is damaging race relations in Wales. Mohammed Javed, chair of the Cardiff Police Advisory Committee, said the case had panicked the community.

“People in Islamic communities are asking, ‘Who is next?’,” he said. “If people can come and pick anybody without disclosing why they are doing it, it will affect race relations in Wales. This one arrest has already made quite a bit of difference to race relations here.”

BBC News, 13 November 2005

Terror bill chilling for Muslims, Blair warned

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The anti-terror bill will create a “significant chill factor” in the Muslim community, censor those who criticise British foreign policy and drive extremists further underground, the government’s advisers warned yesterday.

The fears were voiced by the Muslim community working groups set up by the Home Office to prevent the growth of extremism after the July terror attacks. The warning centres on the remaining provisions in the proposed legislation – such as the ban on the “glorification” of terrorist acts – that are likely to become the next focus of parliamentary dissent after Tony Blair’s defeat on holding terrorist suspects for 90 days without charge.

The Muslim community’s police and security working group report makes clear that many believe the present anti-terror regime is already excessive, and that the measures risk provoking further radicalisation of young British Muslims.

Guardian, 11 November 2005

Police investigate claim that officer threw Qur’an into rubbish bin

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An investigation is under way into claims by a British Muslim man that a police officer desecrated his Qur’an by throwing it into a rubbish bin while arresting him, the Guardian has learned.

The incident is alleged to have happened last Monday in south London and the man also alleges he was assaulted while being detained at his home.

The allegation comes from Mohamed Osman, 29, who says the officer said “fuck you and your Qur’an” before grabbing the holy book and his prayer mat from him. The constable is then alleged to have thrown them into a nearby bin.

Guardian, 7 November 2005