LONDON, Feb 13: London police were told on Tuesday to apologise for “aggressive” tactics during anti-terror raids in which two Muslims were arrested and one was shot by officers, before being released without charge.The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it had received 150 complaints from those affected by the “terrifying experience” when police burst into two houses in Forest Gate, east London, last June.
At least two of the 11 occupants were hit while the IPCC also received complaints about swearing, weapons being pointed and neglect of the arrested men while in custody.
The report will fuel claims from some British Muslims that police often take a heavy-handed approach to such raids and could further complicate the tense relationship with some in the community.
Earlier this month, nine people were arrested in Birmingham, central England, in anti-terror raids.
Six men were charged, one over an alleged plot to kidnap and kill a British Muslim soldier, and three were released without charge. One of those freed, Abu Bakr, later said that Britain had become a “police state” for Muslims and that British terror laws were “designed specifically” for them.
The Forest Gate raids, which sparked protests from thousands of local people in the ethnically mixed area, were carried out by police hunting for a suspected chemical bomb.
Two brothers, Mohammed Abdul Kahar and Abul Koyair, were arrested and Kahar was shot accidentally by officers on a narrow staircase.—AFP
