[NetBehaviour] Research into Islamic terrorism led to police response.

[marc garrett]

Research into Islamic terrorism led to police response.

By Melanie Newman

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.”

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