Church hosts media conference for Muslim terror raid brothers
-13/06/06
Emmanuel Angli
Church hosts media conference for Muslim terror raid brothers
-13/06/06
Emmanuel Anglican Church in Forest Gate, a neo-Gothic style building on the corner of Upton Lane, today found itself hosting a press conference which received international coverage ñ as 23-year-old British Muslim Mohammed Abdul Kahar described how he was shot in the chest by armed anti-terror officers during a controversial dawn raid at their house on 2 June 2006.
Mr Kahar, accompanied by Abul Koyair, who was also arrested in the raid, fought back tears as he described how he rushed to the dark upstairs hallway when he heard his brother screaming, and was then thrown back against the wall as he was shot in the chest with no apparent warning.
He claims the police then beat him with the butts of their guns, verbally abused him and repeatedly punched him in the face before dragging him roughly down the stairs by his feet.
Ironically, Kaharís brother had in the recent past enquired about becoming a Community Support Officer with the Metropolitan Police, but now his family say they do not want him to go ahead. This will be seen as another PR blunder by the police.
The police have faced mounting criticism for the operation, which involved 250 officers and has produced no trace of the chemical weapons or terror cell activities which the intelligence tip-off they acted on alleged.
The two brothers, whose legal representatives include well-known miscarriage of justice solicitor Gareth Pierce, said they wanted justice and an apology, not compensation.
Mohammed Abdul Kahar said that the police seemed to have encouraged the hospital to hurry the treatment of his arm because they were so keen to question him.
They then reeled a list of names and organisations and asked if he had links with them ñ ending with a poor taste ëjokeí enquiry about whether he was a member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan.
Both brothers vehemently deny any extremist links and stress that they are wholly opposed to violence.
The whole incident is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who were granted swift access to the scene ñ in contrast to the mix-up in the aftermath of the mistaken lethal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell tube last year, following the June 2005 London bombings.
The Met also sent in community officers to reassure local people. They have received unqualified backing from the Prime Minister, and some sympathy for finding themselves in ìan impossible situationî from London Mayor Ken Livingstone ñ who himself complained of police heavy-handedness and victimisation when he headed the Greater London Council in the 1980s.
The two brothers and their family have distanced themselves from extreme Islamists who have tried to capitalise on the raid, while clearly being upset, bewildered and outraged.
But they welcomed a dignified protest at Scotland Yard on Friday headed by the Muslim Council of Britain and the Muslim Association of Britain.
Local church and other faith leaders have sent them messages of sympathy, support and prayers. The men were both released without charge after their police interrogation.
The affair is another blow to the UK authorities as they seek to combat terrorist activities. Commentators suggest that different factions may have been feeding false information against each other to the police, or that the misinformation may be a deliberate act of sabotage.
But civic and human rights groups feel that a re community-oriented approach to policing and security is now needed.
Meanwhile, some police sources have suggested to sympathetic media contacts that the shooting may have happened accidentally.
The gloves an armed officer was wearing, part of a bulky chemical suit, meant that he may not have known he had pulled the trigger, it has been said.
However this would raise serious questions about operational competence and effectiveness, and is unlikely to help smooth over a troubled situation.
Emmanuel Church, where the media conference descended today, is near the Kahar home. It was originally built in 1852 and then enlarged 1890. It is round the corner from the police station in Romford Road.
[Also on Ekklesia: Call made for Muslim community not to cooperate with police 07/06/06; Muslim Council of Britain chooses new head 05/06/06; Muslims are concerned at UK anti-terror tactics 03/06/06; Beyond the politics of fear An Ekklesia response to the London bombings; Concerns grow over Stockwell killing; Church report backs shoot-to-kill policy; Religious leaders call for action after shooting of innocent man; Muslim tells Christians ‘War on Terror’ seems like ‘War on Islam’; Ex-spy wages peace on terror in the Middle East; Canterbury Cathedral invited to turn tables on war games; Christian peacemakers protest on third anniversary of Iraq invasion; Canterbury Cathedral urged to turn wargame row into peace pledge; Global faith gathering tackles religious roots of terror; Six point alternative to war]
Church hosts media conference for Muslim terror raid brothers
-13/06/06
Emmanuel Anglican Church in Forest Gate, a neo-Gothic style building on the corner of Upton Lane, today found itself hosting a press conference which received international coverage ñ as 23-year-old British Muslim Mohammed Abdul Kahar described how he was shot in the chest by armed anti-terror officers during a controversial dawn raid at their house on 2 June 2006.
Mr Kahar, accompanied by Abul Koyair, who was also arrested in the raid, fought back tears as he described how he rushed to the dark upstairs hallway when he heard his brother screaming, and was then thrown back against the wall as he was shot in the chest with no apparent warning.
He claims the police then beat him with the butts of their guns, verbally abused him and repeatedly punched him in the face before dragging him roughly down the stairs by his feet.
Ironically, Kaharís brother had in the recent past enquired about becoming a Community Support Officer with the Metropolitan Police, but now his family say they do not want him to go ahead. This will be seen as another PR blunder by the police.
The police have faced mounting criticism for the operation, which involved 250 officers and has produced no trace of the chemical weapons or terror cell activities which the intelligence tip-off they acted on alleged.
The two brothers, whose legal representatives include well-known miscarriage of justice solicitor Gareth Pierce, said they wanted justice and an apology, not compensation.
Mohammed Abdul Kahar said that the police seemed to have encouraged the hospital to hurry the treatment of his arm because they were so keen to question him.
They then reeled a list of names and organisations and asked if he had links with them ñ ending with a poor taste ëjokeí enquiry about whether he was a member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan.
Both brothers vehemently deny any extremist links and stress that they are wholly opposed to violence.
The whole incident is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who were granted swift access to the scene ñ in contrast to the mix-up in the aftermath of the mistaken lethal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell tube last year, following the June 2005 London bombings.
The Met also sent in community officers to reassure local people. They have received unqualified backing from the Prime Minister, and some sympathy for finding themselves in ìan impossible situationî from London Mayor Ken Livingstone ñ who himself complained of police heavy-handedness and victimisation when he headed the Greater London Council in the 1980s.
The two brothers and their family have distanced themselves from extreme Islamists who have tried to capitalise on the raid, while clearly being upset, bewildered and outraged.
But they welcomed a dignified protest at Scotland Yard on Friday headed by the Muslim Council of Britain and the Muslim Association of Britain.
Local church and other faith leaders have sent them messages of sympathy, support and prayers. The men were both released without charge after their police interrogation.
The affair is another blow to the UK authorities as they seek to combat terrorist activities. Commentators suggest that different factions may have been feeding false information against each other to the police, or that the misinformation may be a deliberate act of sabotage.
But civic and human rights groups feel that a re community-oriented approach to policing and security is now needed.
Meanwhile, some police sources have suggested to sympathetic media contacts that the shooting may have happened accidentally.
The gloves an armed officer was wearing, part of a bulky chemical suit, meant that he may not have known he had pulled the trigger, it has been said.
However this would raise serious questions about operational competence and effectiveness, and is unlikely to help smooth over a troubled situation.
Emmanuel Church, where the media conference descended today, is near the Kahar home. It was originally built in 1852 and then enlarged 1890. It is round the corner from the police station in Romford Road.
[Also on Ekklesia: Call made for Muslim community not to cooperate with police 07/06/06; Muslim Council of Britain chooses new head 05/06/06; Muslims are concerned at UK anti-terror tactics 03/06/06; Beyond the politics of fear An Ekklesia response to the London bombings; Concerns grow over Stockwell killing; Church report backs shoot-to-kill policy; Religious leaders call for action after shooting of innocent man; Muslim tells Christians ‘War on Terror’ seems like ‘War on Islam’; Ex-spy wages peace on terror in the Middle East; Canterbury Cathedral invited to turn tables on war games; Christian peacemakers protest on third anniversary of Iraq invasion; Canterbury Cathedral urged to turn wargame row into peace pledge; Global faith gathering tackles religious roots of terror; Six point alternative to war]