London - British police were Wednesday accused of a 'serious
breach of human rights' by lawyers representing 11 Pakistani students
and one Briton freed without charge following their high-profile
arrest under terrorism laws on April 8.
Police Wednesday released the remaining two of the men held in
custody without charge for two weeks following the arrests in
Manchester, Liverpool, and the northern county of Lancashire. One of
the suspects was released last week, and nine were set free late
Tuesday.
At the time, police said the men were suspected of having plotted
a major terrorist attack on 'soft targets' in Manchester, while Prime
Minister Gordon Brown underlined that the arrests were linked to a
'very big attack.'
Eleven of the men, arrested in broad daylight on campuses in
Liverpool and at shops, homes and internet cafes in Manchester, were
Pakistani nationals in Britain on student visas, police said.
The British government said it plans to deport the men on 'grounds
of national security.'
The arrests led to tension with Pakistan as Brown urged the
authorities in Islamabad to 'do more' to combat terrorism, while
Pakistani officials insisted the arrests in Britain had nothing to do
with them and were a matter for the British police.
Lawyers acting for the men freed late Tuesday and Wednesday
described their arrests and detention as a 'very serious breach of
their human rights.'
But police in Manchester defended the operation, saying that it
was 'wholly justified' in the interest of national security.
The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Peter Fahy,
said: 'When it comes to the safety of the public we can't take any
chances - we must act on information we receive. We don't take these
decisions lightly and only carry out this kind of action if it was
wholly justified.'
But Mohammed Ayub of Chambers Solicitors in Bradford, representing
the men, said: 'Our clients have no criminal history, they were here
lawfully on student visas and all were pursuing their studies and
working part-time. Our clients are neither extremists nor
terrorists.'
'Their arrest and detention has been a very serious breach of
their human rights.'
The men would fight their deportation as this would only 'add
insult to injury,' said Ayub.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) accused the government of
'dishonourable' behaviour.
'When these arrests took place, in very dramatic circumstances
with students being pulled from universities and thrown to the floor,
we were told by the Prime Minister no less that this was part of a
very big terrorist plot,' said MCB spokesman Inayat Bunglawala.
'Clearly there just has not been the evidence produced to
substantiate such a plot,' he said.
'And now ... instead of releasing them with good grace and making
clear a mistake has been made, the government is seeking to deport
them citing a very vague national security threat. That is a very
dishonourable way of proceeding,' said Bunglawala.
The massive police operation on April 8 was brought forward
following an embarrassing security breach by Scotland Yard's anti-
terrorism chief, Bob Quick, who resigned after being photographed
carrying documents clearly marked 'secret' with details of the police
investigation to a government briefing.
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