Musician Holness was one of a gang of six thugs who pounced on two 16-year-old girls as they walked home from a concert.

The blonde and brunette victims, both privately educated, were bundled into a dank garage at council flats in Brixton, South London. They were stripped and raped a savage 45 times by the brutes. During their 1½-hour ordeal, a knife was held to the throat of one girl.

Holness - 18 at the time and going under the name of Gary "Star" Linton - was one of four monsters convicted of raping both victims. He was jailed for seven years. The attack sparked public outcry - with MPs demanding longer sentences for Holness and his fellow rapists.

Yesterday Holness claimed he tried to stop the rapes - a lie he gave during his trial. He said: "Of course I feel for the girls who were attacked all those years ago. I would have loved to sit them down and see how they are doing. "I feel so badly for what those girls went through - and what I have gone through. How much more can a person take?"

He claimed to have assumed his conviction had been quashed when he was freed from jail after only three years. But he said he was shocked to discover it was still on his record when he was arrested for burglary three years ago. Holness was on the Tube train blown up between Russell Square and King's Cross.

He said: "I never asked to be in the public eye by sitting 2ft away from one of the suicide bombers. And I'm not a bad person. I have a good heart."

7/7 revenge attack on disabled Hindu

Indo-Asian News Service London, Aug. 5. - Backlash against the 7 July bombings here is taking on racial dimensions with a disabled Hindu man attacked and called Al Qaeda operative, an Asian human rights campaigner has said.

Describing the case as "very serious," Mr Suresh Grover of The Monitoring Group said the disabled Hindu man was beaten up by his neighbours and left with severe head injuries, The Independent reported.

"We have had calls from South Americans, Eastern Europeans, Hindus and Sikhs. Ten to 15 percent are people are non-Muslims," he said in comments reported yesterday. Mr Grover, a well-known anti-racist activist here, said the scale of the attacks were unprecedented, both in number and severity, in his group's 26-year history.

"We have received over 200 percent more calls since 7 July. I myself have dealt with 83 emergency calls. It is not just abuse, a frightening level is actually attacks," he said.

His comments came as police Wednesday reported a 600 percent rise in violence against Muslims and mosques across Britain since the 7/7 bombings, in which more than 52 people died. "We have restaurant owners receiving visits from people threatening to burn down the building," said Mr Grover. - thestatesman.net

22 September 2005, 1:00pm

For the media to label this crime as Islamic is plain wrong

15th July, 2005 - Fiyal Mughal

The recent bombings across London through the actions of terrorists (and the fall-out to us all as Londoners), should make us more determined to catch them as quickly as possible and put through our judicial process.

But for some of the British media, the acts of terrorism have equated with Islam and Muslims in the UK. Not only is this a blatant over-generalisation of what are complex issues, but also it does a deep disservice to a vast majority of Muslims who have been born and brought up in this country and who also feel that the security of our nation is paramount.

Political, Not Religious Motives It is becoming clear that the hand of Al-Qaeda may be at work here. It has to be stressed that Al-Qaeda is a political movement first and foremost and whilst its followers may regard themselves as Muslims, it is the politicisation of events in the last 15 years that has given rise and credence to this group.

Born out of the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia in the first Gulf War, (which had a deep impact on Osama Bin Laden), it has evolved as politically influenced events have taken place. The withdrawal of Russian forces from Afghanistan, the Gulf War, the end of the civil war in Afghanistan and the take over of Kabul by Taliban forces all shaped the organisation.

The killing of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the then Head of the Northern Alliance's forces on September 9th 2001 and the subsequent attacks on the Twin Towers 48 hours later, do not show motives that are religiously motivated.

Osama Bin Laden has consistently brought up issues on Chechnya, Palestine and Iraq as issues of contention with the West and once again, these show political and not religious motives.

Religion may be laced onto the crimes though we must not fall into the trap of believing that they are because of Islam or Muslims. To do that, we will further alienate a community that has been in the UK for hundreds of years and many of whose ancestors fought in the First and Second World Wars for Queen and Country.

For example, my grandfather was responsible for feeding and protecting British soldiers in Uganda during the Second World War as they made their way up to fighting in the wind swept sands of North Africa. There are numerous examples of heroism by Muslim soldiers who died in action fighting to save their comrades and the values that we hold dear and take for granted today.

Current Context

In July 1995, 8,000 Muslim men and boys were executed and hacked to death by Serb forces in a few days in a carefully prepared killing zone. The aim was to ensure that Muslims and Muslim influence would no longer be visible in the Drina Valley in Eastern Bosnia.

The war against Bosnia was politically and resource driven to ensure that the Serbian Republic hung on to these entities once Croatia had declared independence with Bosnia. Slobodan Milosevic (now sitting in the Hague for Crimes against Humanity), used nationalism and religion as a cover for his political motives.

To date, many people still think that the war against Bosnia was because of religious motives. It was clearly not, though religious tensions were manipulated by the Butcher of Bosnia, Milosevic.

The example provided above should be a warning call to the media not to fall into the trap of labelling whole communities. The bombings in London were indiscriminate and killed Muslims and non-Muslims. Two were placed in areas where there is a high Muslim population, (Edgware Road and Aldgate Station).

Additionally, we all feel a duty to protect our city and our nation and are proud of the fact that the diversity of London will and should not be affected by the actions of criminals and individuals who by their very deeds, should make us understand and give out the hand of friendship to one another.

Fiyal Mughal is deputy president of the Liberal Democrats and chair of the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (EMLD).

asiansinmedia.org

Immigrants 'interrogated over London bombs'

14/12/2005 - A Greek lawyer claimed seven Pakistani immigrants were abducted and questioned by British security agents in Greece following the July 7 bomb attacks in London. Greece's public order ministry denied any involvement in such an incident. Lawyer Frangiskos Ragoussis presented Greek politicians with a report yesterday, alleging his clients - who all live in Athens - were interrogated for several days before being released.

"They were asked whether they had relatives in London, who they were in touch with, what those people's phone numbers were, whether they spoke to them before the bombings and where they lived," Mr Ragoussis told a radio station. Mr Ragoussis said he believed his clients had been questioned by British security officers. He claimed at least another 20 Pakistanis in other parts of Greece were similarly treated after the London Tube bombings, which killed 52 travellers plus four suspected suicide bombers.

In London, a Foreign Office spokesman would not comment on any alleged action by UK security and intelligence services.

Mr Ragoussis said he took his report to parliament after Greek prosecutors failed to act on an earlier complaint. "There was a strange, suspicious silence," he said. "So I could not wait longer."

The Greek public order ministry said it had received no formal complaint on the alleged incident. "No Greek security services were involved," a ministry announcement said. The ministry said a Greek prosecutor had ordered a police investigation into the allegations.

Greek foreign minister Petros Molyviatis said he was unaware of the claims.

Nikos Voutsis, spokesman for the small opposition Left Coalition, said his party had raised the issue four times with the government since July. "It is pathetic that for five months all the Greek authorities have been playing at the game of knowing nothing," Mr Voutsis said.

A spokesman for the 30,000-strong Pakistani community in Greece said the alleged detainees were verbally abused by three men - two of whom spoke to them in English - but were not otherwise harmed.

Javed Aslam, who filed a formal complaint with authorities on July 29 on behalf of the seven people, said the interrogators' main questions concerned phonecalls to England. "All seven were living in the same house. Maybe somebody made a phone call from the house to a friend or relative in England," Mr Aslam told the AP. Aslam said the complaint had not drawn any official response. "We have had no answer," he said. "We are still waiting."

IOL

Greeks name MI6 chief over 'torture of terror suspects'

From John Carr in Athens and Daniel McGrory - [27 12 2005]

THE Government tried last night to block the naming of an MI6 officer alleged to have orchestrated the torture of terrorist suspects in Greece.

It issued a warning to media organisations after a leading Athens newspaper identified the British intelligence officer and 15 Greek agents, alleging that they took part in the arrest and abuse of 28 Pakistan-born detainees who were held in connection with the July 7 bombings in London.

The disclosures sparked a row in Athens, with opposition leaders and human rights groups demanding to know why British agents were allowed to operate in Greece. There are mounting calls for a parliamentary investigation, and George Voulgarakis, the Public Order Minister, faced demands last night to appear before the parliament.

Proto Thema named the British official as the MI6 station chief in Athens. It said that he and a second, unnamed, British agent took part in the interrogation of some suspects, who said that they were hooded and held in secret. One of the migrant workers claims to have had a gun forced into his mouth.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office last night refused to confirm or deny whether the person named in the Greek press works at the British Embassy in Athens. British ministers have until now denied that British officials played any part in this counter-terror operation, which allegedly took place days after the July attacks on three Tube trains and a bus in which 52 passengers died. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, told MPs last week that the reports were "complete nonsense".

Last night Mr Voulgarakis condemned the naming of Greek intelligence officers as "illegal and endangering the safety of our agents in the field". He said that two of the named agents had been withdrawn from postings in Kosovo. When the allegations emerged a fortnight ago, Mr Voulgarakis also denied that the arrests had taken place. The migrant workers said that they were questioned by British investigators about mobile telephone calls linked to the four suicide bombers. They said they were also asked about calls made to a suspect in Pakistan whom the British officials apparently wanted to question about the London attacks.

If the Greek Government bows to demands for an investigation, British ministers may have to defend the behaviour of MI6 agents abroad.

Makis Triantafyllopoulos, publisher of Proto Thema, said last night: "The Greek and British governments have been lying from the start."

Some of the detainees have now given evidence to a magistrate about their treatment. One, Muhammad Munir, claims he was held incommunicado for six days and "hit very hard on the head". He and others said that they were sure the figures questioning them were British, yet all of them spoke fluent Greek. They described "a black British case officer" as taking part in their interrogation.

Most of the 28 men are too frightened to complain about their treatment, saying that they were threatened by the British officers that their families in Pakistan and Britain would suffer if they spoke about the interrogation.

Those who have been persuaded by Pakistani community leaders to give evidence claim they were seized at the homes at night, hooded and driven to secret locations. Some are alleged to have been held at EYP, the headquarters of Greek intelligence.

Gul Nawaz, who has lived in Athens for three years, said in his deposition: "Twice a policeman hit me while I was on the floor. I asked him for some water and he punched me in the face. They took my mobile phone. They wanted to know about my friends in London and relatives and phone calls."

He was asked if he had any links to al-Qaeda. "I said I didn't know. I said I'm just a Muslim and I work to send money to my wife and three children in Pakistan. I never called anybody in London."

The Greek newspaper claims that Costas Karamanlis, the Prime Minister, sanctioned the British-led operation. It names two officials working in his office as taking part in negotiations over this incident. Anastasis Papaligouras, the Greek Justice Minister, has ordered an investigation into the affair.

The US Embassy in London has clarified remarks by Robert Tuttle, the Ambassador, after he told the Radio 4 Today programme that there was no evidence that terrorist suspects were taken to Syria under the process of "special rendition". The embassy acknowledged that there had been reports of a rendition to Syria, but refused to comment further.

- timesonline.co.uk

UK police urged to apologise over terrorism arrests

April 2006 LONDON (Reuters) - A key government adviser on security laws said on Saturday police should apologise to four innocent men held under anti-terrorism powers for two days before being released.

The four were arrested at Stafford General Hospital in central England on Wednesday night after staff became suspicious about their behaviour. The men were held until Friday and Lord Carlile, the UK's independent reviewer of counter-terrorism laws, said the Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police should now issue an apology and hold an inquiry.

"People should not be arrested under the Terrorism Act unless there is a real terrorism issue," he told the BBC. "The police have a wide range of powers enabling them to arrest people for suspicion of crime or suspicion of illegal immigration."

Staffordshire's Assistant Chief Constable, Suzette Davenport, thanked the men, aged 24 to 30, for their "help and understanding" after they were freed without charge on Friday. "Our inquiries have revealed no links with any incident of terrorism or any other type of crime," she said in a statement. She added the police faced the difficult task of balancing the rights of an individual and protecting the wider community.

Queen Elizabeth's visit to the town on Friday went ahead as scheduled. khaleejtimes.com