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May 24, 2007

UK: Brothers Of Jailed Islamist Are On The Run

News from the Times, BBC, Telegraph, AOL News, This is London, Sky News, Life Style Extra, Guardian and the Sun:

The individuals pictured above are (l to r) Lamine Adam, Cerie Bullivant and Ibrahim Adam. The three were subjected to Britain's controversial "control orders" but it has been announced that all three have now escaped. Brothers Lamine Adam (26) and Ibrahim Adam (20) are related to one recently convicted terrorist. Cerie Bullivant (24) is an associate of the two brothers.

Lamine Adam was mentioned in the Operation Crevice trial, which concluded on April 30. Five people, members of the Al Muhajiroun group, were given life sentences on this date for plotting to blow up planes, trains, pubs, nightclubs and a shopping mall in Kent. The convicted men had been arrested in March 2004 after 600 kilograms of explosive fertilizer, ammonium phosphate, was deposited at a storage depot in Hanwell, west London.

One of those sentenced to life imprisonment on April 30 was 24-year old Anthony Garcia (born Rahman Adam) who is a brother to two of the fugitive suspects. During this trial, Mohammed Junaid Babar gave evidence. This US national turned Islamist supergrass, said at the trial that a plotter from the Crevice cell had wanted "to do something with someone else, as far as making a bomb and hitting a nightclub." When asked who was intended for this, Babar replied: "Garcia's older brother Lamine."

While the Crevice group was making its plans, Lamine Adam had been working as a train driver for the London Underground. He was granted a year's leave of absence. He was banned under his control order from driving on London Underground without written permission from the government. In April, Cerie Bullivant had appeared at the Old Bailey, charged with breaching thirteen of the conditions of his control order.

The Home Secretary, John Reid, made the unprecedented step of releasing details of the three men along with their pictures, after consultations with Scotland Yard. One third of all people who were subjected to the controversial "control orders" are now fugitives. There are three other individuals who are on the run. In October last year, the somewhat censored details of two of these absconders were revealed. 17 control orders have been issued since 2005.

Peter Clarke, head of Terrorism Command for the Metropolitan Police, said: "We know that Lamine Adam, Ibrahim Adam and Cerie Bullivant are associates and may well be together. It is possible the public can help us trace them."

Two of the three men were placed under control orders during the Crevice Trial. Lamine and Ibrahim Adam were given their control orders in February 2007, and Bullivant was issued with such an order in July last year. There are suspicions that they may have been plotting to attack UK troops abroad. They may already have left the country. Algerian-born Lamine and Ibrahim Adam should have reported to a "monitoring company" (not the police) on Monday evening, but did not appear. Cerie Bullivant failed to appear before police on Tuesday. He has since cut his hair short.

John Reid has said today in Parliament: "They are dangerous. We can take nothing for granted, even though the security services assessment is they do not pose a direct threat to the public in the UK. I've never hidden from the house there are limitations in the legislative framework in which we operate. I have consistently made clear control orders are not the best option. They are not in my view even the second best system for tackling terrorist suspects. Under the existing laws control orders are as far as we can go. This is particularly the case for British citizens who want to travel abroad."

Reid promised to introduce new measures against terrorism in a counter-terrorism bill, and also revealed that he is considering removing Britain's obligations to follow the European Convention of Human Rights of 1950 (ECHR). Article 5 of this convention states that everyone has a right to liberty.

The duty of Britain to follow ECHR guidelines is entirely the fault of the Labour party-led government, which in 1988 introduced the Human Rights Act. This act enshrined the tenets of ECHR into UK law. This has crippled anti-terrorism rulings. Article 3 prohibits torture, and as a result Islamists have defied deportation to their home countries, as they feared possible torture. The Human Rights Act has also meant that Afghan terrorists are allowed to stay indefinitely in Britain.

After 7/7 and the problems that the then-Home Secretary Charles Clarke faced in trying to deport foreign-born preachers of hate, Blair mooted the idea of derogation from ECHR, but nothing happened on this account.

Tony Blair said outside Downing Street today: "They (control orders) are not a strong method of keeping people under control. They are the best we can do however within the legislation that exists. If we are going to tackle this terror threat with the seriousness it needs, we need the tough measures necessary to protect this country fully. Control orders are very much a second best option. Unfortunately, we were unable to maintain the legislation which we wanted to do which would give us the power to detain people. In the end, that is the best protection for the British people."

Lord Carlile of Berriew QC is the independent reviewer of anti-terror legislation. He has said on Radio 4 that control orders should be tightened: "Should we go on having control orders or should we allow people, if they want to, to go to the Middle East and kill British, American and other allied soldiers? Or should we possibly look at these control orders afresh and tighten them?" He mentioned the "solid intelligence" which suggests the three are plotting to commit terrorist acts abroad.

A report that he made, published on February 19 of this year, the Second Report of the Independent Reviewer Pursuant to Section 14 (3) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 can be found in pdf format here.

John Reid has already announced that he will be resigning by the end of June, but he promised that before he leaves, he will be introducing his proposed counter-terrorism bill.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 24, 2007 6:16 PM

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Posted by: Berserker at May 25, 2007 8:27 PM

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