Discussion of the UK’s tough anti-terrorist laws has focused on the low conviction rate for those arrested under their powers. What is ignored is that, of those who are convicted, many are not Muslim but are White Loyalists and/or racists. According to Home Office figures, since 11 September 2001, 609 people have been arrested and
Theme: Employment
Father speaks out against son’s arrest
At a public meeting held by the ‘Stop Police Terror’ group this week in Tooting, south London, Ashfaq Ahmad called on the government not to extradite his son, Babar, to the US, where he faces terrorism charges. ‘I want you to know the truth about my son despite everything that has happened and all the
Challenging detention without trial
On 6 July 2004, at the High Court in central London, the appeals began of ten men, all foreign nationals, who are challenging their continued detention without trial under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001. The men, many of whom are refugees or asylum seekers, and all of whom are Muslim, have been held
Analysis: the war on terror leads to racial profiling
As IRR News first warned last year, the threat of terrorism is being used as a pretext to discriminate in police stops and searches, particularly against British Asians, a trend confirmed by new figures published last week. Even before September 11, the fight against terrorism was being used to justify a host of new powers
Wrongly accused Man Utd. fans call for apology
Manchester United supporters have been helping Iraqi Kurdish refugees who were wrongly accused of plotting to bomb Old Trafford. On 19 April 2004, over 400 police officers conducted dawn ‘anti-terror’ raids across the UK and arrested ten people on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Within hours, the arrests were
Athens Olympics under the shadow of anti-Muslim racism
The Olympics in Athens this August will be the first summer games since September 11. Amid the fears about a possible terror attack, it is the Muslim community of Athens – many of whose members are actually involved in building the Olympic Village – which is bearing the brunt of a new form of racism.
Detention without trial at Belmarsh
On Sunday 4 April, over 250 people gathered outside Belmarsh maximum-security prison to mark the detention without trial of fourteen men, all foreign nationals, held under the Anti Terrorism Crime and Security Act. The men, who have not been charged or convicted of any offences, are being detained indefinitely because they are suspected of being
Xenoracism reaches Russia
Foreigners and ethnic minorities in Russia are facing a barrage of racially motivated violence encouraged by extreme-Right political groups, Russia’s ‘war against terrorism’ and official indifference to racist crime. She was knifed eleven times while her father was beaten senseless with baseball bats, chains and knuckle-dusters. Nine-year-old Khurshida Sultanova, from Tajikstan, was the latest victim
Young of Belfast speak out against anti-Muslim racism
Cathal Hannan, aged 12, and Connor Scullion, 16, two young journalists from the Children’s Express group in Belfast, write about the experiences of their Muslim friends in the city after September 11: The ‘war on terror’ is now well under way, yet those signs that are presented to us in the West as positive, are
‘Anti-terrorism’ policing leads to arbitrary use of stop and search
From today, the police will have a host of new powers to stop, search and detain suspects. Is the post-Macpherson concept of ‘intelligence-led’ policing giving way to abuses in the name of ‘anti-terrorism’? The Home Office claims that new powers coming into effect today, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, are necessary in the fight