London 'anti-terror' raid last week "Angry families threaten legal action.

[bobbieinok]

There are links here to additional articles about the raid.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1790031,00.html



Angry families threaten legal action against police over anti-terror raid
The Muslim man shot by officers protests his innocence and accuses them of failing to give a warning

Mark Townsend, Anushka Asthana, Antony Barnett and David Smith
Sunday June 4, 2006

Observer

A young Muslim man shot by police on suspicion of involvement in a terrorist chemical plot last night protested his innocence and alleged that police failed to give warning before opening fire.
Solicitors for Mohammed Abdul Kahar and his brother Abul Koyair, who was also seized in a dawn raid on Friday involving 250 police officers, said they denied any wrongdoing.

A family who live next door to the brothers alleged that they were also arrested and assaulted, leaving one man with a head injury and needing hospital treatment. They are considering legal action against the police.

Kahar was shot in the shoulder during the raid in east London as police reportedly searched for a 'suicide vest' that would pump out poison gas - a claim questioned by MI5 yesterday. As he remained under armed guard in hospital, his solicitor, Kate Roxburgh, described her client's account of the shooting: 'He was woken up about four in the morning by screams from downstairs, got out of bed in his pyjamas obviously unarmed, nothing in his hands and hurrying down the stairs. As he came toward a bend in the stairway, not knowing what was going on downstairs, the police turned the bend up towards him and shot him - and that was without any warning.'

She added: 'He wasn't asked to freeze, given any warning and didn't know the people in his house were police officers until after he was shot. He is lucky still to be alive.'

....

Yesterday a family detained by police during the raid also denied any involvement in terrorism activity and said it was considering legal action. In a statement, the family, who lived in the terrace adjoining the brothers' house, said they 'would like to make it clear that we are completely innocent and in no way involved in any terrorist activity'.

The family, reportedly four adults and an eight-month-old child, said that police had questioned them for 12 hours before releasing them without charge on Friday afternoon. They added in a statement: 'We would like to express our deep shock and anger at the operation that took place. My family members and I were physically assaulted. I received serious head injuries that required hospital treatment. We are liaising with our legal team on the course of action to take.'

....

Neighbours also registered their anger towards the police, describing how a younger brother in the family was arrested and 'dragged down the road, put down on the pavement and then plastic sheets were put on him and he was into white overalls'. Others claimed that even the grandmother of the family was led from the home in handcuffs.

more....

[Kagemusha]

1. I've heard an accidental discharge theory.

That would account for the no warning before opening fire, as unflattering - and lawsuit-worthy - that outcome might well be.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. Nah,

SAS in mufti. Know it. No warnings from those lads. They just kill people and break things.

Which is why they make piss-poor officers of the law.

[Kagemusha]

3. Where did you hear SAS fired the shot?....

Excuse me but um, if I may point out the obvious, Sir, the SAS are most certainly not police. So I am genuinely concerned that there is some serious mix-up with the available information here.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. But they didn't kill him

It was just one shot, in the shoulder. So there's no particular reason to think it was the SAS. That doesn't mean it was accidental, of course.