Muslim family thought police raid were armed burglars
Regional-UK, Politics, 6/14/2006

The family of 23-year old Mohammed Abul Kahar, shot by police during a pre-dawn terror raid earlier this month, thought that they were going to be killed during what they believed were armed robbers.

Speaking at their first news conference since their ordeal on June 2, Kahar said Tuesday that he was awaken at 4 am by screams from his younger brother, Abul Koyair.

"I assumed a robbery was happening," he said. "I thought one by one they're going to kill us. At that time I thought I was going to die." Describing when he was shot, Kahar said that he lay bleeding on the stairs of their family home and was then kicked in the face by police and told to shut up.

Both the brothers were arrested and detained for a week under anti-terrorism laws before being released without charge when the police admitted that they were unable to find any evidence against them.

Their sister, Humeya Kalam, earlier today told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she had been "petrified" during the operation, in which police were looking for a suspected bomb factory.

"It was pitch dark, then there was light and guns everywhere," Kalam said. "They were dragging innocent people to the floor, guns to their heads, handcuffing." The sister also said that she had a gun pointing towards her and was dragged down the stairs handcuffed and into a police van.

She said the police did not identify themselves and was only after she saw the van outside the house that she realized they were police and not armed burglars.

On Monday, London mayor Ken Livingstone expressed concern about reported political interference that led to the anti-terror raid after police were said to have expressed doubts about the intelligence.

"If we are now to be told that when the police have doubts about a raid, someone in the Cabinet Office can overrule them and effectively send them in, then this is very worrying indeed," Livingstone said.

The raid by 250 officers, some dressed in chemical weapons suits, has also provoked outrage among Britain's 1.8 Muslim community, with calls for community leaders to withdraw their cooperation with the police until they show more respect.

Previous Stories:
  Muslim family angry at UK police house raid   (6/10/2006)
  House of Islamic scholar raided by UK police   (6/8/2006)
  British Muslims claim being terrorized by police   (6/7/2006)

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