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Babar Ahmed
Babar Ahmed is a 30 year old IT Engineer whose father immigrated to Britain from Pakistan 40 years ago. He was born and brought up in the UK. He is a British citizen
He was arrested last December and held for six days before being released without charge. While in custody, he sustained 50 injuries, two of them life-threatening
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MY NOTE:[it is alleged that Tooting [London UK] police broke into his flat pushed him prostate on the floor in a praying position while screaming at him:
"Now pray to your God..."
& "Where is your God now...?"
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He was re-arrested in August and held under an extradition warrant from the US who allege that he used the Internet to raise funds for terrorist activities. Under a new extradition agreement the US does not have to produce any evidence in court to substantiate this allegation. - caged prisoners
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Example of ludicrous Press
fear-mongering about Babar's case:
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British terrorism suspect had US Navy plans: prosecutors
August 07, 2004 -
British citizen facing extradition to the United States on terrorism charges was found in possession of detailed military plans for a US Navy battle group in the Gulf, federal prosecutors said.
An indictment unsealed in Connecticut also accused Babar Ahmad, 30, of operating two US-based web sites that solicited financial support for terrorist organizations, including the Taliban and Chechen rebels.
"In order to dismantle terrorist organizations, we must attack them at their roots, so it is critical that we uncover and sever the financing stream and communication that supports the terrorists' violent intentions," said US Attorney Kevin O'Connor.
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Details of the indictment were also read to Ahmad earlier Friday in a court in London, where he had been arrested by British police two days earlier.
Asked if he understood the charges, he replied: "Not really. It's all a bit confusing to me." He was remanded in custody pending a second appearance in a week's time.
O'Connor said the document concerning the US naval battle group operating in the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf in 2001 was found on a floppy disc by British police during a search of Ahmad's parents' house last December.
It specifically described the battle-group's vulnerability to a terrorist attack, and provided examples of how such an assault might be launched, said authorities. "Fortunately no attack occurred, thank God," O'Connor said.
Charges contained in the indictment include conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists -- an offense punishable by life imprisonment -- conspiracy to launder money to support the Taliban, to kill persons in a foreign country, and soliciting crimes of physical violence.
The process of bringing Ahmad to the United States could take years. "Extradition does not move as quickly as any of us would like," O'Connor said, while praising the cooperation of British law enforcement in the case.
The websites allegedly operated by Ahmad offered instructions on how to obtain and send supplies, including gas masks and night vision goggles, to terrorist groups, the indictment said. And they gave precise details of how to get into Afghanistan through Pakistan without being detected.
The indictment also cited e-mail traffic linking Ahmad to the Chechen group that seized a packed Moscow theater in October, 2002. More than 125 of the hostages died in a rescue attempt.
The investigation that resulted in Friday's indictment took more than two years. "We hear often in the United States how patient and persistent terrorists are," O'Connor said. "Cases like this demonstrate that we are more patient and more persistent. "No matter where they're hiding, be it a cave, be it in the ground, be it in a safe house or in the dark corners of cyberspace, law enforcement is there as well," he said.-
source
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False terror alerts need round ups -
When the US Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, stood under the glare of the television lights in Washington a week ago and announced the latest terror alert, a series of events began that seem like episodes from an airport novel.
Barricades were erected in several US cities, surveillance of suspects in London was stepped up, and, as we later learned, an al-Qa'ida computer expert went on emailing his UK contacts under the supervision of Pakistani intelligence. Then there was a wave of arrests in Britain, headlines about a plot to blow up Heathrow airport, police were said to be questioning the leader of a UK terror cell, and revelations about what was on the laptop computers of "significant" figures in al-Qa'ida's attack planning unit. It all read, with enough detail to lend verité, like one of the new breed of terrorism thrillers. Except for one thing. It wasn't the whole book, just a few tantalising chapters. What, then, is the whole story?
Mr Ridge announced on Sunday that the US had "new and unusually specific information about where al-Qa'ida would like to attack". He said it related to al-Qa'ida surveillance of at least five financial institutions in Washington, New York and Newark, New Jersey.
- The Sting and The Spin: Will A Small House in Willesden Unlock The Secrets of al-Qa'ida?
Was Evidence gained under torture?
Al Qaeda's telecommunications engineer Mohammed Naeem Nur Khan, who was arrested this summer, provided information that helped intelligence services catch cells around the world, according to Sejeel Shahed aka Abu Ibrahim the former head of the fundamentalist group "Al Muhajerun" in Pakistan.
In an interview with Asharq Al Awsat, Shahed, who was in prison with Nour Khan in Lahore, claims that the latter was the one who told them about the whereabouts of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani. He says Nour Khan also led the British authorities to a cell in Britain, resulting in the arrest of 13 men in London, including Babar Ahmed, a relative of Nour Khan.
He also told officials about another relative of his living in NY called Jenid Babar, 29, who was later arrested. Shahed says Nour Khan was the only prisoner who was allowed to have a laptop and he was often taken by Pakistani intelligence officials for interrogations. He claims they later found out that he was telling the officials about what's going on inside the prison. Shahed was released from prison and is now in London. He denies having any relations with al Qaeda.
- ABC News
BBC March 2005 - British man 'ran terror websites'
In claims dating back to 1997, the US government accuses Mr Ahmad of "conspiring to support terrorism", saying he "sought, invited and solicited contributions" via websites and emails.
Mr Ahmad could face the death penalty or trial by military commission if extradited.
BBC
The death penalty on evidence gained from torture...what a precedent...
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Terror Suspect Can Be Extradited
A British man accused of supporting terrorism and conspiring to kill Americans can be extradited to stand trial in the United States, a judge ruled Tuesday in the first terrorism case to test new rules allowing U.S. officials to seek extradition without providing evidence of the crimes.
Lawyers for suspect Babar Ahmad said he was being made a scapegoat and vowed to fight his extradition in the High Court.
"This is a difficult and troubling case," said Judge Timothy Workman, who allowed extradition after receiving assurances from U.S. authorities that they would not seek the death penalty or declare Ahmad an "enemy combatant," a category applied to detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and one that affords fewer legal protections.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke, Britain's top law-and-order official, has 60 days to decide whether Ahmad will be extradited. Ahmad's lawyers said they would appeal a decision by Clarke to send him to the United States.
"We are still hopeful he will not be extradited, said Ahmad's father, Ashfaq Ahmad. "The home secretary - let's see what he decides. Even if he decides Babar should be extradited, we will go to a higher court and we will fight it to the very end." - cbsnews
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UPDATE: Terror suspect to be extradited to US
16/11/2005 - British Home Secretary Charles Clarke decided today to order the extradition of British terror suspect Babar Ahmad to the United States.
Ahmad's family said they would be appealing against his extradition in the High Court.
The US alleges that Ahmad, currently being held in jail in the UK, raised money to support terrorism in Chechnya and Afghanistan through internet sites and emails. - IOL
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