Date:10/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/10/stories/2007021001191600.htm

International

Kidnap plot: not a police state, says Britain

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Five men of Pakistani origin have been charged in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

They were arrested after a series of high-profile pre-dawn raids in Birmingham on January 31 amid police claims that they were plotting to carry out an "Iraqi-style'' beheading "live'' on the net to deter Muslims from taking part in British army operations in Muslim countries.

Three have been released without charge and one is still in police custody.

Among those charged on Friday, only one — Parviz Khan (36) — is accused specifically of plotting the alleged kidnapping while the other four face charges relating to supplying equipment and funding for a terrorist act.

All five will be tried under the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Terrorism Act 2000.

Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw, of West Midlands Police, described it as a "major investigation.''

The case has raised tensions among the Muslim community in Birmingham with police facing accusations of leaking "unsubstantiated'' allegations about the arrested men to portray Muslims as a "threat.'' On Thursday, a man who was released without charge described the raids and arrests as part of a "political game'' to "defame'' Muslims. Abu Bakr (27) said though he was detained for a week he was questioned for barely a few hours and about matters which were not directly related to the alleged plot. He said Britain was turning into a "police state''— an allegation strongly denied by Downing Street.