I was kicked after being shot, says terror raid Muslim

The freeing of two innocent men arrested in the June 2 police raid in Forest Gate, London underscores the dubious character of all of the claims made by the government, the police and security services in pursuit of the “war on terror.”

Some 250 police officers were mobilised for the dawn raid on the poor immigrant neighbourhood in east London. Two houses were targeted based on intelligence that they were the location for a chemical bomb factory run by two brothers, Mohammed Abdul Kahar and Abdul Koyair.

The raid was brutal. Fifty of the officers, some armed and dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, broke down the front door and ran into the house without warning those inside that they were police. Shortly afterwards, Koyair was shot in the shoulder in circumstances that remain shrouded in mystery. He was rushed to hospital and his brother was taken to Paddington Green high security police station.

Members of another family who occupied the adjoining property stated that they were physically assaulted during the raid, with one man receiving serious head injuries that required hospital treatment.

Only hours after the raid, questions began to emerge as to its conduct: Why were so many officers involved? Why had a no-fly zone been established over the area and police given protective clothing whilst no effort had been made to evacuate residents?

Twelve hours after being detained the neighbours were all released without charge.

Within 24 hours it was clear that police had found no trace of chemicals, much less the suicide belt that some claimed they had been searching for. It also transpired that the raid had been mounted based on allegations from a single source. Despite this, on June 7 the police were given permission to hold the two brothers for an additional 48 hours after the initial warrant for their detention had passed.

More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/jun2006/terr-j13.shtml

The man shot in the east London terror raid described today how a police officer fired at him from close range without identifying himself first.

Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, was speaking publicly for the first time since the raid on his family home in Forest Gate on June 2 in which he and his 20-year-old brother were arrested.

He said he had been woken by the screams "like I had never heard before" of his brother, Abul Koyair, at 4am. Assuming it was a robbery he ran downstairs with his brother directly behind him.

"I saw an orange spark," Mr Kahar said. "I fell against the wall. I slipped down.

"I saw blood running down my chest and saw a hole in my chest. I knew I had been shot." The brothers - who deny any involvement with terrorism - were held at Paddington Green police station until being released without charge on Friday.

Speaking quietly and haltingly, at times having to stop because he was overcome by emotion, Mr Kahar said he had been shot from a distance of "two to three feet" by a man at the bottom of the stairs.

He said the bullet passed through the right-hand upper part of his chest and exited through his shoulder.

Mr Kahar was insistent that the gunshot was not a mistake. "He [the policeman] looked at me straight away and shot. We had eye contact and he shot me straight away."

He stressed that the man did not identify himself as a policeman. "He was saying 'Just shut the fuck up, stay there, stay there'."

More
http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1796442,00.html

The man who was shot during an anti-terrorist raid in east London has said he feared he would be killed.

Abul Koyair, 20, and his injured brother Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, were released without charge a week after the raid on their Forest Gate home.

Mr Kahar said: "I thought one by one they're going to kill us. At that time I thought I was going to die."

The police earlier said they were acting on "specific intelligence" that a chemical device was in the house.

According to the brothers' lawyer, the unsuccessful police search included digging up plants in the garden and drilling holes in the shower.

Mr Kahar said he "had no idea" who spoke to the police, prompting the raid.

'Seemed like fire'

"From my point of view the person who did this they have terrorised me and my family," he said.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Kahar said he was in great pain when he was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound, saying: "It seemed like fire. I was burning."

At one point Mr Kahar broke down in tears as he described the raid, involving 250 police, which he initially thought was a robbery.

He described the moment when he was shot. "We both had eye contact, he shot me straight away," he said.

More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5075352.stm