Thirteen men arrested in an anti-terrorist swoop faced questioning yesterday following a series of raids which police said were part of a continuing investigation.
The arrests brought complaints from the Muslim community that it was being targeted unfairly -- a claim supported by a parliamentary report released yesterday.
The men, in their 20s and 30s, were arrested in London, Bushey, Luton and Blackburn.
All were arrested "on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism," and were brought to London for questioning, the Metropolitan Police said.
Police released no details of the nationality and religious affiliation of those arrested, but news reports yesterday suggested that at least some of the suspects are of south Asian origin and are Muslims.
"There is a feeling in the community that they are being victimized," said Yasin Rehman of the Luton Council of Mosques. One of Tuesday's arrests was in Luton, 50km north of London.
Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights supported that complaint, and called for changes in the emergency laws enacted soon after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the US.
"There is mounting evidence that the powers under the Terrorism Act are being used disproportionately against members of the Muslim community in the UK," the committee reported.
The UK opted out from a part of the European Convention on Human Rights to enact legislation to allow some suspects to be imprisoned without trial.
"If the threat from international terrorism is to continue for the foreseeable future, the committee considers that an alternative way must be found to deal with that threat without derogating indefinitely from important human rights considerations," the legislators reported.
The arrests did not appear to be linked to information Pakistani authorities recently said they had uncovered about threats to the UK and US.
Pakistan's information minister said on Monday his country found plans for new attacks against the US and UK on a computer seized during the arrest last month of a senior al-Qaeda suspect wanted for the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa.
Asked whether the arrests on Tuesday were linked to the recent Pakistani discovery, UK police declined to answer directly, but noted that the investigation leading to the arrests had been underway for some time.
Police will have up to two weeks to hold the men arrested on Tuesday before deciding whether to charge them.
UK authorities say the threat from terrorism remains high, but they have not warned of any specific threat like that announced in the US.
The intelligence behind the latest US terror warnings was as much as four years old, and law enforcement officials are trying to determine whether the plot was current.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS