British anti-terrorist police yesterday arrested six people who were suspected of raising funds for terrorism and inciting others to commit terrorist acts overseas.
Abu Izzadeen, an outspoken Islamic activist who heckled British Home Secretary John Reid on live television last year, was among those arrested, said Anjem Choudary, the former leader of the militant group al-Ghurabaa.
Police would not confirm Izzadeen was one of the men arrested in five raids in London and one in Luton, northwest of London. Police said the six, who range in age from 21 to 35, were being held at an unnamed central London police station under the Terrorism Act.
Police said they were still conducting searches.
"The arrests form part of a long-term, pro-active and complex investigation into alleged incitement and radicalization for the purposes of terrorism, as well as alleged provision of financial support for international terrorism," a police spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with force policy.
Choudary said Izzadeen -- a former spokesman for his group which was outlawed in July -- and the others were arrested between 5am and 6am for fundraising activities in November 2004.
Choudary said all were innocent.
"People collect a lot of money for orphans and widows at Ramadan, but we know Muslims are guilty until they can prove themselves innocent," he said.
Izzadeen already faces charges of encouraging terrorism after he was arrested in February and released on bail.
The earlier charges relate to a speech he gave in Birmingham last year, where he allegedly praised the suicide bombers behind the July 7, 2005, London transit attacks that killed 52 commuters.
The former electrician, who is also known as Omar Brooks, was born into a Christian Jamaican family in east London, where he lives with his wife and three children. He converted to Islam when he was 17.
The curtains were drawn at Izzadeen's home yesterday as plainclothes police searched inside and outside.
Neighbors said police activity was a regular occurrence at the house.
"I see him, I don't talk to him. He looks down his nose at everyone. He doesn't mix with anyone," said neighbor Natalie Hayes, 36.
Izzadeen gained national notoriety when he interrupted a meeting Reid called last year to ask Muslim parents to watch for signs that extremists were brainwashing their children.
Izzadeen called Reid "an enemy of Islam" and "a tyrant."
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese