Throughout those same 5 weeks, however, we have observed with fear and horror announcements by the government of the steps it intends to take to change legal certainties that it was previously believed would stand firm in all circumstances. We are particularly concerned that the government is giving a green light to racism and Islamaphobia and signalling a general attack on freedom of expression in the Muslim community

We the following register our grave concerns, and our total and stalwart opposition to the following steps proposed by the government:

1 The removal of trial by jury for offences linked to terrorism
2 The hearing of evidence in secret by judges and special advocates alone in terrorist trials with the accused person not told of the evidence against them and no public accountability
3 The deportation of individuals at risk to regimes known to practise torture in reliance on “diplomatic assurances”
4 The extension of pre-charge detention beyond the already lengthy 14 day period and the encouragement it will give to arrest people about whom there is no reasonable suspicion or intelligence
5 The banning of organisations which are not involved in terrorism or violence and do not advocate it such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir
6 The criminalisation of imams, bookshops, mosques and organisations for the expression of legitimate religious and political ideas (even if such ideas are thought to be offensive or wrong) such as the adoption of sharia law
7 The creation of new offences of indirect incitement to terrorism – even though incitement to murder is already a crime – and of acts preparatory to terrorism – even though existing law already makes it an offence to be knowingly involved in terrorism
8 The amendment or repeal of the Human Rights Act

We the undersigned have not forgotten the experiences of the conflict in Northern Ireland and the lessons of the last 30 years when the removal of fundamental rights and the creation of an entire suspect community achieved nothing other than the continuation of violence, fear, bitterness and the creation of an unbridgeable divide. We call on the government to protect all of the people by advocating a proper and judicious use of the existing law and by realising that over-reaction will be deeply counterproductive.

(The full Report on this topic can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.)

Organisations

Newham Monitoring Project
Islamic Forum of Europe
Birnberg Peirce Solicitors
Christian Khan Solicitors
The 1990 Trust
CAMPACC
National Civil Rights Movement
The Monitoring Project
Hizb-ut-Tahrir
Islamic Human Rights Commission
The 1990 Trust
Bangla 2000
East London Communities Against State against Terror
Stop Political Terror
Statewatch
Muslim Association of Britain
Stop The War Coalition

Individuals

Gareth Peirce (Civil Liberties Lawyer)
Louise Christian (Civil Liberties Lawyer)
Asad Rehman (Chair NMP)
Azad Ali (Assistant Gen Sec IFE)
Karen Chouhan (Director 1990)
Suresh Grover (Chair NCRM)
George Galloway MP
Abdurahman Jafer (Legal Affairs Committee MCB)
Qasim Khwaja (HT)
Ruhul Tarafder (Bangla 2000)
Zareena Mustapha (NMP)
Saghir Hussain (Lawyer/SPT)
Trevor Hemmings (Statewatch)
Ben Hayes (Statewatch)
Naima Bouteldja (Journalist)
Arif Azad (TMG)
Ihtisham Hibatullah (MAB)
Saleh Mamon (CAMPACC)
Sajida Malik (Civil Liberties Lawyer)
Fahad Ansari (IHRC)
Andrew Murray (Chair STWC)
Lindsey German (Convenor STWC)
Andrew Burgin (STWC)
Yvonne Ridley (Islam Channel)

Please add your name by sending a mail to protectourrights@hotmail.co.uk
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