 A Palestinian man, one of 11 foreign terror suspects held by Britain without trial under now-discredited emergency laws, has been granted bail, the government said yesterday. Mahmoud Abu Rideh was arrested more than three years ago after Britain accused him of having links to Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and of raising funds for terror operations. "We will not seek to oppose bail for Mr. Rideh but we will argue that the conditions imposed must be appropriate to address the threat that he poses," a Home Office (Interior Ministry) spokesman said.
Rideh will not be freed until the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which reviews detainees' cases, has agreed what those conditions should be, the spokesman added. Yesterday's verdict come just days after Britain announced plans to overhaul its anti-terrorism laws, which give police powers to jail foreigners without trial indefinitely if they are suspected of being involved in terrorism. It followed a ruling last year by the UK's highest court, the Law Lords, that those powers, adopted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, violated basic rights. Rideh, who was born in Jordan to stateless Palestinian parents, arrived in Britain in 1995 and was given refugee status three years later, according to court documents. He was arrested in December 2001 with then-Home Secretary David Blunkett stating he was "an active supporter of various terrorist groups, including those with links to Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network". He is currently being held at Broadmoor Hospital near London, a top security unit which houses some of Britain's most dangerous mentally ill criminals. |
[Ma'an] A Paleostinian family in Gazoo has received news that their son, Mahmoud Abu Rideh, died a few days ago in a US bombing in Afghanistan.
AN Egyptian terror suspect, held by Britain for three years without trial because he was said to be the leader of an al-Qaeda linked militant group, has been released from prison, the government said today. The Department for Constitutional Affairs confirmed the decision but could give no further details about the conditions of his release. The detainee, known only as "C", was one of 17 men held by Britain under now discredited anti-terror laws which allowed the indefinite detention of foreigners without trial if they were suspected of being involved in terrorism.