[Infowarrior] - Postgrad student's research led to 'bad' terror arrest

[Richard Forno]

Research into Islamic terrorism led to police response

22 May 2008

By Melanie Newman

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=402125&c=2

A masters student at the University of Nottingham who was arrested  
under the Terrorism Act under suspicion of possessing extremist  
material was studying terrorism for his dissertation, Times Higher  
Education can reveal.

Academics and students have expressed concerns about the police’s  
handling of the case, which saw police searching campus property.

Rizwaan Sabir, a 22-year-old who was studying in the politics  
department, was arrested along with a 30-year-old member of staff.  
Both were released without charge on 20 May after having been held in  
custody for six days.

Mr Sabir’s lawyer, Tayab Ali of McCormacks solicitors in London, told  
Times Higher Education that as preparation for a PhD on radical  
Islamic groups, Mr Sabir had downloaded an edited version of the al- 
Qaeda handbook from a US government website. It is understood that Mr  
Sabir sent the 1,500-page document to the staff member - who was  
subsequently arrested - because he had access to a printer. Mr Ali  
said: “The two members of the university were treated as though they  
were part of an al-Qaeda cell. They were detained for 48 hours, and a  
warrant for further detention was granted on the basis that the police  
had mobile phones and evidence taken from computers to justify this.”

The case highlights concerns that new anti-terrorism legislation  
allowing detention for 28 days without charge would lead to people’s  
being held for extended periods on the “flimsiest of evidence”, Mr Ali  
said.

“Why did it take so long for the police to reach the conclusions they  
did?” Mr Ali asked. “These are not unqualified police, they are the  
top counterterrorism command for the region. They should know the  
difference between a book that is useful for terrorism and one that is  
not.”

Academics at Nottingham have expressed deep concerns about the  
arrest’s implications for academic freedom. Bettina Rentz, a lecturer  
in international security and Mr Sabir’s personal tutor, said: “This  
case is very worrying. The student downloaded publicly accessible  
information and provoked this very harsh reaction. Nobody tried to  
speak to him or to his tutors before police were sent in. The whole  
push from the Government is on policy relevance of research, and in  
this case the student’s research could not be more policy relevant.”

Alf Nilsen, research fellow in law and social sciences, said: “What  
we’re seeing here is a blatant attack on academic freedom – people  
have been arrested for being in possession of legitimate research  
materials. How can we exercise our academic freedom if we are at risk  
of being arrested for possession of subversive material? This sets a  
very alarming precedent. Academic freedom on campus should be  
guaranteed for all staff and students regardless of their ethnic or  
religious backgrounds.”

Dr Nilsen added: “I perceive the current incident at Nottingham to be  
occurring in tandem with several other attempts by UK authorities to  
increase surveillance of the academy and, in particular, non-Western  
students and staff, and moreover as an episode that is symptomatic of  
a more general curtailment of civil liberties in UK society, which  
seems to particularly affect and victimise non-Western citizens.”

Students at Nottingham are circulating a petition asking for the  
university to guarantee that the freedom of academics and students  
will be protected. It asks the university to acknowledge its  
“disproportionate response” to the possession of legitimate research  
materials.

A spokesman for Nottingham confirmed that the police had been called  
after material was found on the computer used by a junior clerical  
member of staff. “There was no reasonable rationale for this person to  
have that information,” he said. “The police were called in on the  
basis of reasonable anxiety and concern. In response to that, the  
police made a connection with a student who, we understand, was  
impeding the investigation and arrested that person.”

He added that the edited version of the al-Qaeda handbook was “not  
legitimate research material” in the university’s view.

A Nottinghamshire police spokesman said the police had applied for a  
warrant to extend the detention. “The judge was satisfied with the  
evidence presented and granted the extension,” he said.

melanie.newman at tsleducation.com