DAR AL HARB - U.K.: THE M.C.B. THROWS ITS WEIGHT AROUND

Muslims call for review of UK's terror arrest laws

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) Thursday called a review of the government's anti-terrorism laws after it was revealed that the arrest of 1,126 people under the legislation had led to only 40 convictions.

"These figures suggest that far too many arrests are carried out without due regard for the need for evidence to sustain the validity of arrests or the laying of formal charges," the secretary general of the mainstream umbrella Muslim organisation Abdul Bari said.

"Such behaviour is bound to cause substantial cracks in public confidence which is critical to the work of the police and other related agencies," Bari warned.

Home Office figures released this week showed that out of all the arrests since 9/11 attacks in the US in 2003, only 221 were charged with terrorism and related criminal offences, while more than half were released without any charges.

The MCB said the latest figures raise serious issues of concern and indeed substantiate fears that the legislation is being used "indiscriminately and disproportionately" against the country's 1.8 million Muslim community.

"If the cause of so many unnecessary arrests lies in the nature of the legislation, then we ask that it be reviewed so that arrests are only made for good reason," it said in a statement.
"If arrests are carried out on the basis of intelligence, as is contended, then these statistics demand a public investigation into the glaring shortcomings in the veracity of our intelligence services," it also added.

The MCB said it was a "shocking revelation" that evidence to justify the laying of charges was found satisfactory in a very small proportion of those arrested and only 3 percent of those were found guilty.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Muslims call for review of UK's terror arrest laws