Posted on 02/15/2007 5:41:18 AM PST by hippy hate me
LONDON (AFP) - British police were told to apologize after "aggressive" anti-terror raids last year in which two Muslims were arrested but later freed without charge, triggering protests.
One man was shot and injured during the controversial raids in Forest Gate, east London, which came amid heightened security fears in Britain following the July 2005 suicide bombings in London.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it had received 153 complaints from residents affected by the "terrifying experience" when police burst into two houses in Forest Gate on the night of June 1, 2006.
At least two of the 11 occupants were hit, one over the head, while the IPCC also received complaints about swearing, weapons being pointed and neglect of the arrested men while in custody.
But the report clears police of the most serious allegations, including use of excessive force, and has been described as a "whitewash" by Mohammed Abdul Kahar, who was arrested alongside his brother, Abul Koyair.
It is likely to complicate relations between some British Muslims and police at a sensitive time -- earlier this month, nine people were arrested in Birmingham, central England, in anti-terror raids which again sparked protests.
Six men were charged, one over an alleged plot to kidnap and kill a British soldier, and three were released without charge.
One of those freed, Abu Bakr, later said that Britain had become a "police state" for Muslims and that British terror laws were "designed specifically" for them.
Kahar, whose shooting in the shoulder during the Forest Gate raids was ruled accidental by a previous IPCC report, said the latest probe gave police a "green light" to carry out anti-terror operations any way they wanted.
He complained that the police never disclosed who the "criminal" informant was or what intelligence they had.
In a joint statement issued through their solicitors, families caught up in the events said they were "shocked" that the IPCC had not probed how police had assessed the "entirely false" intelligence which led to the raids.
Hanif Dogha, who was hit over the head during the raid and needed stitches, said he was "very disappointed and very upset".
Prime Minister Tony Blair defended the police, however, saying that he hoped that "everyone understands that in doing their job, they are faced with very, very difficult choices."
The Forest Gate operation, which sparked protests from thousands of people in the ethnically mixed area, was carried out by police hunting for a suspected chemical bomb.
One officer has been given a written warning over a neglect allegation, but no-one will be prosecuted despite three assault allegations, the IPCC said.
Commissioner Deborah Glass, who investigated the incident, accepted that police tactics were "very forceful" but added that officers believed they were facing "an extreme lethal threat."
She said police should explain how they evaluate intelligence and prepare better for the possibility their intelligence could be wrong ahead of future raids.
When innocent people were "publicly branded terrorists" or injured, they were entitled to "an equally high-profile public apology," Glass added.
"I am not aware that they apologized to the families ... I am not saying officers should be disciplined as a result of that but I think that is grounds for apology," she said.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Alf Hitchcock, of London's Metropolitan Police, said the force had apologized three times for the disruption and injury caused.
"I do think it had a detrimental impact on community relations at the time," he told BBC radio.
"I think we have made up for that now. We have rebuilt a number of those links and we are going to work with them to defeat terrorism."
But Imran Waheed, of radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said arrested Muslims now faced "a presumption of guilt, trial by media and the punishment of humiliation", not a presumption of innocence.
Sounds like those muzzies sure like to pack their houses full.
This is such a bunch of cr@p. Kind of a shame the police missed...
Coming soon to the USA.........sigh
Guilty conscience? No doubt.
I'm afraid so. Kinda makes me want to move out to some really independent state, like Montana of Idaho, or at least as far away from any decent sized city as I can.
ping
Apparently they don't have a show like COPS over in Britain to acquant the public with the reality of police work.
Yes, Abu, quickly gather up your family and friends and return to Pakistan or whatever country you came from so that you can live under the "freedom" of sharia.
And they will use your laws against you...
When Britain forgot Churchill to come back to Chamberlain...
A lot of terrorists have been arrested these days in France, Denmark, Italy and Netherlands.
drzz
http://leblogdrzz.over-blog.com
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