UK Counter-Terrorism (merged thread)

[JMA]

For many years the Jihadist bookshop 'Maktabah al-Ansar' in Sparkhill, in East Birmingham had a certain notoriety, with repeated police search warrants and finally in February 2007 property was seized that enabled a prosecution in October 2011.

David, so it took from February 2007 to October 2011 to get these people to court? Does any sane person believe the 'war on terror' can be won like this?

[bourbon]

David, frankly I don’t get it. I imagine that monitoring this store could have yield a treasure trove of useful information – why shut down a potential intelligence goldmine?

[davidbfpo]

David, frankly I don’t get it. I imagine that monitoring this store could have yield a treasure trove of useful information – why shut down a potential intelligence goldmine?

This bookshop had a long history, with repeated raids, at least back to 1998 or 2000; it had a physical location till at least 2007 and then went on-line till 2011.

Locally many in the Muslim community knew what it represented and wanted it gone. Frequently the issue of a 'goldmine' or "honey pot" was raised locally and I would suggest by 2007 it's value had diminished. Not to overlook the rumours that the bookshop was a "front" and IIRC the murky role of the initial landlord.

One prominent name linked to the bookshop, a Moazzam Begg, moved on after being a co-founder, including a stint at Guantanamo Bay and became linked to other forms of campaigning:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moazzam_Begg

[davidbfpo]

Not yet reported by the BBC, but it is confirmed as accurate. This is from a website run by supporters of Faraz:

In a damning judgement, the UK Court of Appeal rules that no causal link could be presented that publications produced by the Maktabah bookshop would inspire acts of political violence or terrorism. They said that it was incorrect of the trial judge to permit evidence that those who had carried out acts of terrorism had owned copies of the books or DVDs and that it was a short cut to a conviction.

The judges further explained that when the extent of acts of political violence are considered, the percentage of those who might have read Maktabah publications was very small and so such a causal link was entirely onerous.

Link:http://www.cageprisoners.com/our-wor...of-ahmed-faraz

The ripples from long-running investigation will spread widely, although being the pre-Christmas rush may easily slip from public view.

[carl]

This is one of those cases that highlight the differences between the UK and the US. I'm not so sure the gov would even bring a case like that here, one that seems to me to criminalize unapproved thought. We'll get there eventually though.

[davidbfpo]

Thanks to an observer the recent Appeal Court decision is not as reported, by a very partial source. First a reminder:

...Faraz had been convicted of seven counts of dissemination of terrorist publications and four counts of possession of information likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing for an act of terrorism. Seven other similar charges would lie on file.

From the BBC report upon conviction:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16149299

The observer:

...only the charges of disseminating terrorism literature were quashed. The possession conviction still stands and regardless of the below, he is still a convicted terrorist.

The previously cited source didn't mention this.

I await the post-Xmas reporting of this matter, if there is any. Perhaps even a statement by the police (WMCTU) or prosecution (CPS).

[davidbfpo]

After an unexplained delay the UK press yesterday reported the Court of Appeal decision; the two reports are similar:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...n-quashed.html

The former refers to:

The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed yesterday that it would not seek a retrial, according to a report in the Times (behind a Paywall).

One of the expert witnesses, Matthew Tariq Wilkinson, did contribute an article after the initial conviction 'I was a witness in Ahmed Faraz's trial – this is the first time anyone involved has spoken about what really happened':http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...on?INTCMP=SRCH

The defendant was interviewed by Caged Prisoners after his initial conviction, before being sentenced:http://www.cageprisoners.com/our-wor...blishing-books

How the Court of Appeal's decision has been seen amongst the Muslim communities is unclear, some I expect will suspect it confirms that the British state "pulled out all the stops" to convict the bookseller and now the conviction has been partly overturned.

[davidbfpo]

David, so it took from February 2007 to October 2011 to get these people to court? Does any sane person believe the 'war on terror' can be won like this?

Most UK CT prosecutions take a long time to get to court, although IIRC the prosecution must present within sixty days enough of a case to satisfy the court. Then the court, prosecution and defence set about their own way of doing things, for example how many days will a full hearing take? Finding a court slot for a three month-long trial takes time.

In this case the police in 2007 and in 2010 found a mass of potential evidence, books and recordings. All need to be examined, maybe summarised and submitted for review by expert witnesses. Then there's full disclosure to the defence, who may challenge on various aspects, for example the qualifications of an expert witness, so another has to be appointed.

In this case the defendant was at liberty for most of the time once charged in February 2010.

Then there's the priority assigned to threats to life over incitement, so you can have a tiny team assigned to such a case as this.