Having just read (belatedly) the
Telegraph Article about
Mahmoud Abu Rideh a
British al-Qaeda refugee killed in Afghanistan. I thought I would do some limited research on the Background of this man.
Background to Mahmoud Abu Rideh in Britain:Mahmoud Abu Rideh was born in Jordan to Palestinian refugee parents. He came to the UK in January 1995 and claimed asylum, whilst living off benefits with his wife and five children. Initially His asylum claim was refused because his story was not credible but he appealed and was granted refugee status in November 1998!
In December 2001 he was detained under anti-terrorism laws after the then home secretary
David Blunkett concluded he was "
an active supporter of various international terrorist groups, including those with links to Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network". The reasons for which are covered in the Telegraph Article and I quote:
The central allegation was that he had been involved in fund raising and distribution of funds for terrorist groups with links to al-Qaeda as well as procuring false documents and facilitation of the travel for volunteers to training camps in Afghanistan.
Although he was living on benefits, he was said to have raised around £100,000 in just two years, using the Arab Bank in Park Lane to funnel his money to al-Qaeda.
He also held an account at the Wimbledon branch of HSBC entitled “Islamic Services Bureau – Treasurer’s Account.”
He was said to be closely involved with senior extremists and associates of Osama bin Laden both in Britain and overseas.
He spent most of his time after his arrest at
Broadmoor Secure Hospital (I think all Islamist Terrorists are mentally deranged, but the Law says otherwise). Surprisingly he was granted bail in January 2005, due to his deteriorating mental health (surely all the more reason for keeping him in a secure environment?).
This followed the overturning by the
Law Lords of the
Detention without Trial System for Terrorism Suspects (on the 16th December 2004) as this was against
European human rights laws. The same day as
Charles Clarke became
Home Secretary. As the European Laws are binding on this Country a way had to be found that was acceptable to the unelected people who made these laws and so
Control Orders were introduced. This almost exactly coincided with
Mahmoud Abu Rideh's release on bail. Not surprisingly
Mahmoud Abu Rideh became one of those subject to a
Control Order.
In early 2007
Mahmoud Abu Rideh came before
Mr Justice Beatson who on the 4th April 2007 ruled the
order should be quashed, saying "
its cumulative effects in my judgment deprive [Mr Rideh] of liberty, and the secretary of state has no power to make such an order". This judgement came as no surprise to
Home Secretary John Reid (who would probably, if he had stayed in Office the best Home Secretary in living memory) as
Mr Justice Beatson had made the same ruling in a previous case. However unlike most Home Secretaries who would have been '
extremely disappointed' by this judgement,
John Reid immediately issued a new Control Order.
From this moment on there and increasing campaign to get the control order on
Mahmoud Abu Rideh lifted.
When John Reid was sadly replaced by
Jacqui Smith (who's lack of suitability for the post almost matched
David Blunkett's) the campaign got seriously underway with
Amnesty International (UK Branch) launching an appeal and
PetionOnLine (they got 1078 Signatures).
By June 2009 he was working on generating his own publicity by appearing at the reception desk of the Guardian Newspaper. This resulted in the Guardian taking up the cause of this 'tragic figure' with his Walking Stick, worn clothes, visible evidence of self-harm and his tale of how his wife had finally left him with the five children to live with her parents in Jordan. The result was a 'heartbreaking article' and video:
A day in the life of a terror suspect a man driven to despair due his loss of his freedom, his family and with suicide on his mind. Didn't actually mention his pre-British life working for a school in Afghanistan for Arab Speaking children, many of those fathers were some of the world’s most wanted men, or his later work with
Islamic Services Bureau in Pakistan, run by
Osama bin Laden’s mentor
Abdullah Azzam. Or even his publicly known fund raising support of Terrorism whilst in the UK. But hey why spoil a good story!
On the 3rd July 2009
Amnesty International was able to trumpet that the Home Office, now under
Alan Johnson had agreed to allow Mahmoud Abu Rideh to leave Britain (and Never Come back, although wasn't mention in the Amnesty release). So in September 2009 he left Britain but NOT off to Jordan to see the Wife and Children, no destination Syria and by whatever means eventually arriving in Afghanistan and then dying with a group of al-Qaeda Terrorists.
For 14 Years this man and his family lived in Britain at cost to the Taxpayer was a supporter of terrorism and when able was an active participant in raising funds for terrorist organisations and finally achieved what was probably his life's ambition of dying a terrorist. I hope whose who supported him like
Mr Justice Beatson, the
Guardian,
Amnesty International and those who signed petitions are proud that they assisted him to achieve his goal of becoming a Martyr for a cause, that would, if it could, ensure that the very institutions and the people that supported him would be eliminated. In a world run by al-Qaeda, life in the 12th Century AD would appear utopian!
