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| Britain |
| British anti-terror police charge eight |
| 2004-08-17 |
| Anti-terrorism police have charged eight men with various offences, including conspiracy to murder. They were also charged with conspiracy to commit a public nuisance by using radioactive material, toxic gas, chemicals or explosives. All eight will appear in Bow Street Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, Scotland Yard said on Tuesday. A ninth man arrested with them on 3 August was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon. The eight were named as Dhiren Barot; Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, 24, from Harrow, Middlesex; Abdul Aziz Jalil, 31, from Luton, Bedfordshire; Omar Abdul Rehman, 20 from Bushey, Hertfordshire; Junade Feroze, 28, from Blackburn, Lancashire; Zia Ul Haq, 25, from Paddington, London; Qaisar Shaffi; and Nadeem Tarmohammed. Police charged them of conspiring "together and with other persons unknown" between 1 January 2000 and 4 August 2004 under the Criminal Law Act 1977. Under the Terrorism Act police had a deadline of Tuesday afternoon to charge them or release them, having questioned them for a fortnight. Three of the nine were also charged under the Terrorism Act 2000. Mr Barot, 32 and from Willesden, London, was also charged with possessing reconnaissance plans of the Stock Exchange in New York, the IMF in Washington, and the Citigroup in New York and having notebooks with information on explosives, poisons, chemicals and related matters. He was also charged with possessing a reconnaissance plan of the Prudential Building in New Jersey, U.S, as was Mr Tarmohammed, 26 and also of Willesden. The plans contained "information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000," police said. Mr Shaffi, 25, from Willesden, was charged with having an extract of the Terrorist's Handbook, Scotland Yard said. It was unclear which court the ninth man, Matthew Monks, 32, of Sudbury, would appear in and a date for his court appearance has not been set. Of course, these were just another bunch of innocent young Muslim men hounded whilst going about law-abiding business... |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #14 Re #13 (PlanetDan) I can't think of one Muslim organization or constituency here in the USA that claims loudly, repeatedly and unconditionally that Islamic terrorists are shameful and disgusting. Here's the petition sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. We, the undersigned Muslims, wish to state clearly that those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent. No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam. We repudiate and dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts. We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the criminal actions of a tiny minority acting outside the teachings of both the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. As it states in the Quran: ‘Oh you who believe, stand up firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even if it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be against rich or poor; for God can best protect both. Do not follow any passion, lest you not be just. And if you distort or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that you do.’ (Quran 4:135) |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-08-17 10:53:51 PM |
| #13 Interesting. A few thoughts: I can't think of one Muslim organization or constituency here in the USA that claims loudly, repeatedly and unconditionally that Islamic terrorists are shameful and disgusting. The fact that there is even one news article (albeit from April) is encouraging. I'm relatively sure that even the mainstream Muslim leaders while rejecting domestic terrorism in the UK, fully support the suicide bombers in Israel. Seems to me one cannot have it both ways. I can't help but believe that it's a small percentage of Muslims who do know something, but do not come forward. From Sept 11 to the present, I firmly believe that the end of Islamic terrorism will not come from our WoT but from reform from the Muslim community. And while I believe that, I am not convinced they either have the will or are capable of executing that reform. |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-08-17 5:52:38 PM |
| #12 Agree with Bulldog - they do support the crackdown, but with reservations. They refuse to see that their community should come under increased scrutiny as a result of recent world events and they appear incapable of reigning in the more extreme factions in the Muslim community - Omar Bakhri Mohamed/ Al-Muj. This adds fuel to the fire amongst the general populace. There were vociferous and multiple condemnations of these arrests from the muslim community as there always is. I'm glad that they've got 'the bad guys' but would love to see the same leaders come forward and publicly eat their humble pie. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2004-08-17 1:38:35 PM |
| #11 At least, the mainstream Muslim leaders reject domestic terrorism. I haven't heard much denouncing of Islamic militancy much further afield... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-08-17 1:29:38 PM |
| #10 Are there any Muslim leaders in the UK who call for the end of Islamic militancy? PlanetDan: Yes |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-08-17 1:25:55 PM |
| #9 Howard: are there ANY UK Muslims who fully support the crackdown? Clearly, this is an obvious cell, hellbent on causing damage and misery. Are there any Muslim leaders in the UK who call for the end of Islamic militancy? |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-08-17 1:18:26 PM |
| #8 This would be (at least part of) the cause of the alerts at the buildings in question. You know, the alerts the Democrats claimed were based on "old intelligence" and were just political ploys. Can we call them traitors yet? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-08-17 12:44:18 PM |
| #7 After the initial hue and cry from the Uk Muslim community concerning the innocence of all those held we shall now witness a deafening... *silence* Now deport the families. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2004-08-17 11:41:16 AM |
| #6 DN - Lol! Shoulda signed that as Loki Al Jizz, heh... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-17 11:36:00 AM |
| #5 Will these fierce Norsemen stop at nothing to reinstitute the cursed Danegeld? |
| Posted by: dreadnought 2004-08-17 11:34:32 AM |
| #4 Matthew Monks, 32, of Sudbury Besides that guy, who must've been working for the Sunday Mirror... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-08-17 11:23:42 AM |
| #3 Dhiren Barot; Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, 24, from Harrow, Middlesex; Abdul Aziz Jalil, 31, from Luton, Bedfordshire; Omar Abdul Rehman, 20 from Bushey, Hertfordshire; Junade Feroze, 28, from Blackburn, Lancashire; Zia Ul Haq, 25, from Paddington, London; Qaisar Shaffi; and Nadeem Tarmohammed. sounds like an IRA cell to me |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-08-17 11:21:54 AM |
| #2 Given the competence of your average jihadi, that's probably all they'd have achieved. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-08-17 11:16:27 AM |
| #1 Since when do "radioactive material, toxic gas, chemicals or explosives" constitute nothing more than a "public nuisance"? |
| Posted by: growler 2004-08-17 11:10:44 AM |