Brothers stuck in hotel: Anti-terror raid in London
LONDON, July 23: Two London brothers who were wrongly arrested in an anti-terror raid have been stuck in a hotel since the British police released them without charge last month, their lawyer said on Sunday.
Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, and his 20-year-old brother, Abul Koyair, have lived in a hotel — along with immediate relatives — since police freed them a week after a June 2 raid on their London home that turned up nothing suspicious.
The family home in Forrest Gate, east London, was made uninhabitable during the raid by 250 officers and the subsequent police search.
Lawyer Gareth Peirce, who is representing Abdul Kahar, who was shot and wounded in the chest, and his younger brother said the family did not know when they would be able to return home.
“They don’t want to be in a hotel, they only want to live in their own home,” Peirce said.
“Living in a hotel is not what any normal family want to do, and the family don’t want to be doing it. The fact they can’t be in their home is entirely down to one cause, and it’s not their doing,” she said. “They are frustrated and being very poorly served in all of this.”
The Sunday Telegraph newspaper said the family are staying at a Holiday Inn in central London in a number of rooms.
Asked about efforts to rebuild their home, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We met with the owners of the property on June 12...and drew up a schedule of work. In the meantime alternative accommodation has been provided.
“Since June 17 we’ve met the family’s expenses and immediate needs. We are not going into details about that,” he said.
He added that details of the accommodation were the subject of ongoing legal negotiations and could not be discussed.
The police came under fire for the massive raid, which police at the time said was in response to credible intelligence about a possible chemical weapons factory at the house.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) watchdog is investigating the raid.—AFP
