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| Armed police raid London mosque |
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| amatullah |
| 01/21/03 at 11:57:16 |
| Armed police raid London mosque By Nick Mead and Sherna Noah, PA News 20 January 2003 Armed police today raided the North London Central Mosque in Finsbury Park, where radical cleric Abu Hamza is based, in an operation linked to the discovery of traces of the deadly poison ricin earlier this month. Seven people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 and were taken to a central London police station. Egyptian-born Hamza, aged 45, was not among those arrested. He said after the raid that people were in the four-storey place of worship in the early hours to "guard it from racists." But the cleric went on to claim that he was not surprised that the mosque had been targeted and said it backed up what he claimed was Prime Minister Tony Blair's "war" against UK Muslims. Speaking on BBC London 94.9, he also said that if any dangerous substances were found in the mosque, they must have been planted by the police, whom he admitted he did not trust. The cleric, who lost both hands and an eye while fighting in Afghanistan against the Soviet occupation, has become one of the most controversial Muslim figures in Britain. Eye-witnesses woken by the operation, which began at 2am, said they saw around 150 police, including armed officers and others carrying ladders and battering rams. Two helicopters circled overhead, training spotlights on the north London mosque and two neighbouring three-storey houses which were also raided. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the operation was "pre-planned and intelligence-led. The Metropolitan Police is aware of the sensitivity of such an operation but evidence gathered during recent counter-terrorist investigations in London and elsewhere has uncovered links between the premises and suspected terrorist activity. "Such evidence has made this operation absolutely necessary at this time." The spokesman said police wanted to make clear that the raid was not against the mosque itself or those who went there to pray, but had targeted specific terrorist suspects. He continued: "The operation is part of ongoing and extensive inquiries by the Metropolitan Police's Anti-Terrorist Branch into alleged terrorist activity in London and elsewhere in the UK. "Although this operation is linked to arrests made in north and east London on January 5, at this stage there is nothing to suggest that chemical substances are on the premises and there is no suggestion at this stage that there is any risk to the public." The spokesman added that police had not entered those parts of the mosque used for prayer, taking "every step possible to show respect for the Muslim faith". Home Secretary David Blunkett said the operation had his "complete support". He said in a statement: "As I made clear yesterday, and repeatedly in recent weeks, we must take firm action to investigate, and if necessary deal with, any potential threat to public safety without fear or favour." Special Branch officers were among those still searching the mosque in St Thomas's Road at dawn. Officers could be glimpsed through the windows of the four-storey mosque. Lights were on in the windows of the minaret-fronted red-brick building. Police maintained a large presence in the area. A quarter-mile area around the mosque was cordoned off to traffic and residents returning to their homes were being escorted by police. Jerry Scanlan, aged 47, landlord of The Auld Triangle pub on the same street as the mosque, said he heard the noise of circling helicopters as he was going to bed just before 2am. "I was just going to bed when I saw two helicopters circling the area," he said. "The searchlights seemed to be focusing on the mosque. "There was a big police presence - around 150 police. "I saw police in riot gear leave the mosque carrying ladders and battering rams. It's a bit of a worry because of everything that's happened recently," he said. A 29-year-old resident, who did not want to be named, said: "I saw at least 20 police motorbikes and 50 riot police in riot gear. "There was a huge presence of police and a helicopter circling above." Scotland Yard said the operation was not connected to efforts by the Charity Commission to expel Hamza from the mosque. The commission said at the weekend it planned to exclude him as an agent of the North London Central Mosque Trust for his "inflammatory and highly political" speeches at prayer meetings. http://news.independent.co.uk/low_res/story.jsp?story=370993&host=3&dir=506 |
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