STOP PRESS: Since this article was published Ali Aarrass had been extradited to Morocco. European citizens of Moroccan origin fear that counter-terrorism cooperation with Morocco creates a second-class citizenship and denies dual nationals their human rights. In a prison cell in Madrid, Spain, a 45-year-old Belgian-Moroccan dual national is currently on hunger strike. Only an
Theme: Employment
Ricin – a jury man’s journey
A new book on the supposed ricin plot should be recommended reading for anti-terror police and the media as to how not to investigate or report on terrorism. Five men, all Algerians were rounded up by anti-terror police in connection with an alleged plot to produce the deadly poison ricin between September 2002 and January
Study the past if you would define the future*
A report comparing Irish and British Muslim experiences of the government’s counter-insurgency policies provides a unique insight into their impact on those who find themselves on the frontline and national security. The report Countering Terror or Counter-productive?: Comparing Irish and British Muslim Experiences of Counter-insurgency Law and Policy, produced by Professor Mark McGovern with Angela
Learning from the enemy
A report from the Right, making the case for control orders, contains some useful information. The Coalition government is nearing the end of the counter terrorism review, which will decide whether to continue the draconian measures, introduced since 2001, which have so compromised rights such as the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair
Dispatches from the dark side
In this series of essays the solicitor Gareth Peirce, who over decades has represented people subjected to the most egregious human rights violations in the UK, has laid bare the frightening current picture of legal and governmental practice in the UK and the US which shames our civilisation. The essays, which were previously published in
Contempt of court threat for ‘terror’ filmmakers
Two British filmmakers, who highlighted the plight of a Jordanian ‘terror suspect’ being detained without trial in the UK, could face legal action. Fred Grace and Gemma Atkinson, of Fat Rat Films, have been told that the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, may be considering contempt of court proceedings against them for interviewing a terror suspect
Asylum battles: two victories and one setback
The rights of asylum seekers were upheld in two recent court judgments – but those facing deportation on national security grounds were denied justice in a third. In the first case, the charity Medical Justice (MJ) challenged the UK Border Agency (UKBA)’s practice of snatching refused asylum seekers, including children, and removing them from the
Stop and … spy?
Are the security services in the UK so desperate to recruit spies and informers that they stop random travellers coming to the UK in order to recruit them? IRR News has heard that a Sri Lankan man, visiting London was stopped as he passed through the Eurostar terminal in St Pancras and asked to spy
End of Prevent?
The government’s controversial preventing violent extremism programme is apparently to be dismantled. According to a report in the Guardian on 14 July, the Home Office, in addition to carrying out a review of anti-terror powers relating to control orders, stop and search, surveillance and detention powers, is about to dismantle its Prevent Programme. This £60
Fighting ghosts: an interview with Husein Al-Samamara
Below we publish an interview with Husein Al-Samamara, currently subjected to draconian immigration bail conditions in the UK as he fights against his deportation to Jordan, where he was imprisoned and tortured. Husein Al-Samamara was interviewed by Frances Webber in October 2009, but legal issues prevented publication. He recently decided to ‘go public’ about his