British Muslim Cleared in Post-September 11 Trial
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British Tony Blair with British Muslim leaders. |
LONDON,
Aug 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The first Muslim to be tried
under Britain's sweeping terrorism laws following September 11 was
cleared Friday, August 9, 2002, of offering weapons training over the
Internet.
The
acquittal of Sulayman Zain-ul-abidin, 44, who embraced Islam in 1979,
is seen as a setback for British attempts to crack down on people it
allegedly suspects were linked to the devastating attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Zain-ul-abidin
was charged under the Terrorism Act - a law strongly condemned by
human rights activists - of setting up an Internet site offering
paramilitary training in the United States and of recruiting
terrorists, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
native Londoner left the Old Bailey criminal court with his lawyer
shortly after jurors, who deliberated for five days, handed down their
verdict.
He
smiled but refused to speak to the press as he left by taxi.
"He
has nothing now, yet he is a totally innocent man," said lawyer
Muddassar Arani, who added that it was too early to say whether her
client would consider suing for false arrest.
Prosecutors
alleged that his Internet site, called the Ultimate Jihad Challenge
and offering two-week courses in the U.S. for 3,000 pounds (4,570
dollars), was launched to "assist or prepare for terrorism".
They
also alleged that police found a laptop in a locker belonging to
Zain-ul-abidin containing articles about Osama bin Laden and his
al-Qaeda network, who are blamed by Washington for allegedly carrying
out the September 11 attacks.
However,
Zain-ul-abidin, a chef at a London medical school, defended himself by
arguing that he was prosecuted as a "trophy" terrorist
scapegoat.
He
said in court, "September 11 happened and they have got to show
the public they are fighting Islamic terrorism.
"It's
a joke - the bottom line is that if September 11 never happened I
wouldn't be standing here and trying to justify trying to make a
business.
"I'm
their trophy, I'm their prize. They have got to convict me,"
reported BBC’s online news service.
He
said he was merely running a legitimate security service and that the
only person who took a course in the past two years was a London
supermarket security guard.
Zain-ul-abidin
was arrested three weeks after September 11 and two weeks after going
to a London police station to complain he did not feel safe following
a newspaper article outlining his activities.
A
police spokesman said anti-terrorist investigators believed the
prosecution's case was "properly brought to the court (and)
meticulously prepared".
But
Labor MP Andrew Dismore called the outcome "very
disappointing".
"I
have been following the activities (of the Ultimate Jihad Challenge)
for getting on three years now and certainly from their website there
was, I thought, quite substantial evidence," he said.
However,
John Wadham, director of human rights organization Liberty, said his
group was opposed to people being trained in the use of lethal
weapons. "But the fact remains that offering such training in the
USA is legal," he stressed.
"Since
September 11, draconian anti-terrorism powers have been used to
justify a string of high-profile arrests of people found to have done
nothing wrong," he said.
"It's
a real problem both for the integrity of our criminal justice system
and for the confidence of Britain's Muslims, who have been the target
of most of these arrests."
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