TerrorismU.K. terror suspects protected by anonymity rules
Two U.K. terror suspects – one an al-Qaeda recruiter, the other involved in the Nairobi shopping mall attack last year – escaped British detention in 2007, but are still protected by court-imposed anonymity orders. Seven men suspected of terrorism will be released into the community in the next few weeks when the control measures restricting their movements expire. These men, too, will benefit from court-ordered anonymity. Security experts say that as is the case with two suspects who absconded in 2007, some or all of the seven terrorism suspects will be in a position to evade surveillance by using their anonymity.
U.K. cabinet ministers are at the center of a security row after it information has leaked that two terrorist suspects who went on the run more than six years ago are still protected by anonymity orders. MI5 describes one of the men as a key al-Qaeda “recruiting sergeant” and the other has been linked to the Kenyan shopping center attack last year.
The Telegraph reports that neither man can be named as they are protected by anonymity orders granted in court, orders which the Home Office has not contested. The court instructed journalists not to publish either of the suspects’ names, even though they may still post a threat.
The senior human rights lawyer who was responsible for reviewing government’s anti-terrorism laws when the two men absconded called on ministers to help lift the orders.
Lord Carlile QC said: “My view is that if they have absconded then, unless there is a national security reason for not naming them, they should lose the right to anonymity and they should be named.”
The Telegraph notes that the anonymity issue will only add to the growing criticism of the government over the system of rules used for dealing with the threat posed by terrorist suspects.
For example, seven men suspected of terrorism will be released into the community in the next few weeks when the control measures restricting their movements expire. These men, however, will benefit from anonymity.
Security experts say that some or all of these men, if they so choose, will be in a position to evade surveillance by using their anonymity.
The two terror suspects at the heart of the recent row fled detention in 2007 and remain at large.
The first, identified by the initials HH, is believed to be in his 30s. He was granted asylum in Britain after claiming he was fleeing persecution in Iraq. Court documents show that he is a suspected al-Qaeda recruiter. He disappeared on 18 June 2007 despite stringent restrictions being placed on his movements.
The second man, known by the initials UA, lived in Manchester and was under a control order, but on 3 January 2007 he escaped police surveillance. Security experts say he was involved in planning the terrorist attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in which seventy-two people were killed, including six Britons.
Robin Simcox, an expert on terrorism and al-Qaeda who has studied both cases, told the Telegraph: “The Home Office should be doing more to provide more details about these men, including their names, so that they can be recaptured.”
The Home Office said it could not discuss the case of either man and said the “imposition and lifting of anonymity orders is a matter for the courts.”
Commenting on the seven suspects soon to be released into the community, the Home Office said police and the Security Service had been working to ready “plans to manage the risk posed by these individuals” once their control orders are removed.
The Metropolitan Police said that both men were “still of interest to us.”
