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UK Terror Investigations - Update and News Roundup - July 16

By Jeffrey Imm

Update and news roundup of UK terror plot investigation activities and related news:

UK Car Bomb Suspects Status: Three Charged, Three Released, Two Being Questioned:

UK Car Bomb Suspects Charged:
-- July 6, 2007: Iraqi Dr. Bilal Talal Samad Abdullah charged by UK with conspiracy to cause explosions. BBC reported freezing of his assets on July 11, 2007.
-- July 14, 2007: Dr. Sabeel Ahmed charged by UK under Section 38(B) of the Terrorism Act 2000 that he had information which he "knew or believed may be of material assistance in preventing the commission by another of an act of terrorism". BBC reports that Dr. Sabeel Ahmed has been remanded in custody until August 13, 2007. This same report indicates that "Dr. Sabeel Ahmed holds no tenancy agreement for his home in Ramilies Road, Liverpool, and has not applied to extend his working visa, the court also heard."
-- July 14, 2007: Dr. Mohammed Haneef charged by Australian police with providing "reckless support" to a terrorist organization. On July 16, an Brisbane, Australia magistrate released Dr. Mohammed Haneef on bail. The Australian reports that "federal prosecutors failed to convince a magistrate the Indian-born man was too dangerous to release." However, the Australian federal government then used immigration laws to keep Dr. Mohammed Haneef under detention. The Australian reported that Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews revoked Dr. Haneef's visa, and "citing 'national interest, national security' - said it was not appropriate for him to 'move freely in the community'. " Australian news media report that Dr. Haneef's lawyer would appeal this visa cancellation. On July 12, BBC reported that bureaucratic wrangling between India and Australia was hampering the inquiry into Dr. Mohammed Haneef.

UK Car Bomb Suspects Released Without Charge:
-- July 15, 2007 - two Paisley medical workers. BBC reports two car bomb suspects released: "Two men arrested in connection with the failed car bomb attacks in Glasgow and London in June have been released without charge. The men, aged 28 and 25, had been arrested by Strathclyde Police at the residences of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley on 2 July."
-- July 13, 2007 - Marwa Asha. BBC reports that Marwa Asha, wife of Dr. Mohammed Asha, was released without charge

UK Car Bomb Suspects Still Being Questioned:
-- Dr. Mohammed Asha arrested June 30, 2007. BBC states that he "remains in custody at Paddington Green police station." London Times reports that "[p]olice have been given until July 21 to continue questioning".
-- Engineer Kafeel Ahmed remains hospitalized under police guard

UK Hospital Security Must Be Tightened.
Daily Telegraph and Sky News reported on the poor security in British NHS hospitals. The Daily Telegraph stated that "Poor security in hospitals could give terrorists working in the NHS easy access to deadly chemicals and viruses, an expert warned yesterday. Hospitals are 'just as vulnerable as any nightclub', a security management specialist based in a London hospital told the Health Service Journal." Sky News reported that security management specialist stated "Most hospitals give staff cards that let them into certain areas, but it's easy to lend someone your pass...That could give them access to X-ray machines, isotopes, chemicals and disease slides. It could be days before anyone realised a virus was missing.' "

UK Security Minister: UK monitoring 30 terror cells, 2000 suspects.
Australian News reported that UK Security Minister Alan West told BBC radio that "Britain's security services believe up to 30 Islamist militant cells are plotting attacks and they are monitoring 2000 suspects and another 2000 sympathisers". Security Minister West was reported as saying: "There are 30 that are actually being looked at very closely indeed because they have got to the stage where they are gathering materials and doing things which could lead in fairly short term to doing something if they wanted to. This means that effectively about 2000 individuals are being monitored in varying degrees of closeness and probably about another 2000 loosely connected to them. The scale of this whole thing is quite dramatic."

UK Missile Plans Terrorist Found Guilty
On July 13, the Khaleej Times reported that "Yassin Nassari, 28, was found guilty of possessing documents likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism...[t]he charges related to computer files on the hard drive of Nassari’s computer -- including plans for building a missile". Yassin Nassari's wife was found not guilty of of failing to disclose information to police. Khaleej Times reports "[a]mong the evidence produced in court was a letter written by El-Hor to Nassari in which she wrote she was proud of him and happy that Allah had granted him the chance to be a shaheed (martyr) in the cause of jihad, or holy war."

UK Suspected July 21, 2005 Al Qaeda Operative Free in London.
The July 15 London Times reports that a suspected Al-Qaeda operative for the July 21 bomb plots is walking freely in London. London Times states that "[suspected] Al-Qaeda operative who is believed by MI5 to have played a key role in the events leading up to the July 21 failed bombings is at liberty and living in east London. Mohammed al-Ghabra, a 27-year-old Syrian who has been given British citizenship, is said by security sources to have arranged for the leader of the failed 21/7 London suicide attacks to travel to Pakistan for terrorist training."

London Times reports that the British Treasury stated "Al-Ghabra has organised travel to Pakistan for individuals seeking to meet with senior Al-Qaeda individuals and to undertake jihad training. Several of these individuals have returned to the UK to engage in covert activity on behalf of Al-Qaeda. " British Treasury claimed it had information showing he had undertaken jihadi training at a terrorist camp in Kashmir.

UK Considering Restrictions on Offenders in Foreign Travel
The July 12 Guardian reported that UK Prime Minister "Gordon Brown is considering introducing restrictions on offenders traveling to Pakistan and other countries in an attempt to stop radical Muslims going abroad for training by terror groups" and that "[t]ravel to certain countries could be restricted, and those convicted of less serious crimes could be included in a ban". AP also reported that "Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has been ordered to examine possible restrictions on the travel of those convicted of terrorism and other offenses."

UK Terrorist Dhiren Barot Attacked in Prison
On July 15, 2007, Channel 4 reports that convicted British Jihadist terrorist Dhiren Barot was attacked in at the Frankland prison and scalded with hot water. Barot is serving a 40 year sentence. Barot's lawyer is calling for a special area for Muslim terrorists and "for Muslim prisoners to be given special rights in jail." Channel 4 has also provided a video on this report.

The Daily Mail reported that lawyer Mudassar Arani it is unfair they must undergo frequent searches and curbs on meeting other imprisoned radicals. The Daily Mail reported that Dhiren Barot "was moved to a Durham jail after bosses at Belmarsh in London feared he was radicalising Muslims there."

Debate on UK Detention Policies
The UK police have raised issues on the limitations of the 28 day detention policy. Sky News reports that the UK's Association of Chief Police Officers stated that "said police were struggling to operate within this limit [of 28 days for detention], stressing the global scale of terror investigations and the need to arrest suspects early.' " The police officers' organization representative stated that "police were 'up against the buffers' on the 28-day limit." The Daily Telegraph reported that "[a] senior police chief ignited a major row yesterday after calling for terror suspects to be kept in custody 'for as long as it takes' without charge."

Australia News reports that UK Security Minister Alan West felt that "the police and security services needed more time to analyse the data, and were hamstrung by the 28-day limit on holding suspects. 'I think, looking at the complexity of this, there will be occasions when we need more than 28 days'."

The London Times also reports that the UK Security Minister Alan West is opposed to Parliament making decisions to amend laws to extend the detention period for terrorist suspects, and is advocating that such issues should only be dealt with by British courts.

Tablighi Jamaat and "Mega Mosque"
The July 15, 2007 Daily Express reported that the new "mega mosque" being planned for London "is being funded by the fundamentalist Tablighi Jamaat sect. One member of the sect is said to be Kafeel Ahmed, who was engulfed in flames when a Jeep laden with gas canisters crashed into a Glasgow Airport building two weeks ago. The 7/7 suicide bombers Moham­med Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer attended the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat at Dews­bury, West Yorkshire."

UK Car Bomber Kafeel's dream was to build India housing complex where Shariat would rule.
Rediff India News reports the British car bomber Kafeel Ahmed "had a dream of constructing a housing complex on the outskirts of Bangalore where Shariat would have been the rule of law."

UK Former Jihadist Speaks Out.
Former British Jihadist Hassan Butt speaks out in the July 14 London Times, challenging British Muslims to deal with Jihadism in the UK. Butt states "[w]e can no longer turn a blind eye to the driving force behind terror attacks both at home and abroad. It should not matter how painful or embarrassing this admission may be, and nor should it matter how taboo this subject is."

UK Passport Issuance Control Sought
The Daily Mail, reporting over concerns in laxity in issuance of British passports, reported on July 12 that "[m]ore than a million British passports have been issued to immigrants over the past decade according to new Government figures. The 1,020,510 total - an average of 102,000 every year - means an immigrant is granted British citizenship every five minutes. Under current rules, even heinous criminals - including murderers and rapists - can be approved for a passport if they wait for a 'clear period' before applying."

Sources:

July 17, 2007 - The Australian: Canberra's court bypass traps doctor

July 16, 2007 - Australian news: Haneef lawyer to appeal visa cancellation

July 16, 2007 - Australian news: UK monitoring 30 terror cells, 2000 suspects

July 16, 2007 - BBC: Bomb accused remanded in custody

July 16, 2007 - London Times: Suspects released as police seek extended detention

July 16, 2007 - Daily Telegraph: Anger over call to hold suspects indefinitely

July 16, 2007 - Sky News: Police Demand Greater Powers On Terror

July 16, 2007 - London Times: Leave terror detention to courts, says Brown's new security minister

July 16, 2007 - Rediff India: Kafeel's dream was to build housing complex where Shariat would rule

July 15, 2007 - London Times: Fixer for 21/7 plot free in London

July 15, 2007 - Channel 4: Terrorist Barot 'attacked in prison'

Channel 4 Video on Dhiren Barot Attack -- alternate link

July 15, 2007 - Daily Express: Fears grow over "mega mosque"

July 15, 2007 - BBC: Two bomb attack suspects released

July 14, 2007 - The London Times: Muslim heads stuck firmly in the sand

July 13, 2007 - BBC: Woman in UK bomb probe released

July 13, 2007 - Khaleej Times: Husband guilty, wife freed in UK terrorism trial

July 13, 2007 - Daily Mail: Jailed terrorist fanatics 'should be treated as prisoners of war'

July 12, 2007 - BBC: Red tape holds up UK terror probe

July 12, 2007 - Guardian: Offenders may be prohibited from traveling to Pakistan

July 12, 2007 - AP: Travel bans considered to stop Britons from training for terrorism overseas

July 12, 2007 - Daily Telegraph: Hospitals 'must tighten security'

July 12, 2007 - Sky News: NHS: Could Terrorists Spread Killer Virus?

July 12, 2007 - UK News of World: Al Qaeda evil is spreading like a virus

July 12, 2007 - Daily Mail: Another foreigner gets a UK passport every five minutes

July 11, 2007 - BBC: Assets of terror suspect frozen