Police release two brothers arrested in London anti-terror raid
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at 17:40 on June 9, 2006, EST.
By BETH GARDINER
LONDON (AP) - Two men arrested in a London anti-terror raid last week in which one of the suspects was shot and wounded were released without charge Friday, police said.
Police had said they launched the June 2 raid, whose violence outraged many British Muslims, because of intelligence suggesting there was a risk that one of the men had built an explosive device that could release a toxic chemical gas. Officers stormed into a row house in east London, shooting a 23-year-old man in circumstances that remain unclear and then arresting him and his 20-year-old brother.
London's Metropolitan Police said both suspects were freed Friday evening.
Police, who did not publicly identify the men, said in a statement that detectives were still developing the intelligence they had received and would "continue to exhaust all lines of inquiry."
They said they had completed their search of the east London home where the men were arrested. They did not say what, if anything, they had found, but said they would hand the house back to its occupants.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman thanked neighbours for their "tolerance and understanding" during the search.
Police have defended the pre-dawn raid by almost 250 officers, saying they were responding to "specific intelligence" and had had no choice but to act.
The injured man was treated in a London hospital before being transferred to a high-security police station for questioning. Both brothers had been detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, but their lawyers said they denied any link to terror.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the shooting.
Last year, police at a London subway station shot and killed an unarmed Brazilian man they mistakenly believed to be a terrorist. They have apologized for that shooting, which came a day after four men unsuccessfully attempted to bomb the capital's transport system and two weeks after four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters aboard three London subways and a bus.
About 100 people demonstrated outside a London police station earlier Friday to protest the recent police shooting.
The sister of the injured man had urged supporters to stay away from the demonstration, which she said would cause trouble for the Muslim community.
The demonstrators chanted "Tony Blair - murderer" and held placards that said "Stop police brutality" and "Blair: Shoot first, ask questions later."
Organizers distributed a statement saying Muslims were being treated as second-class citizens, presumed guilty until proven innocent.
"The 'shoot first and ask questions later' policy of Blair and his dictators will not be tolerated by Muslims and indeed it should not be tolerated by anyone in Britain or elsewhere," said the statement, from the group al-Ghuaraba.
The demonstration was peaceful and there were no arrests.
The wounded suspects' sister had argued in a statement that the protest could create another opportunity for Muslims to be "portrayed in a negative light."
The statement from Humeya Kalam was read out at Friday prayers at mosques across the borough of Newham, and it asked people to support a peaceful community demonstration at noon on Sunday in a local park.
A separate protest was planned outside Metropolitan Police headquarters on Sunday
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/WorldNewsArticle.htm?src=w060957A.xml
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
at 17:40 on June 9, 2006, EST.
By BETH GARDINER
LONDON (AP) - Two men arrested in a London anti-terror raid last week in which one of the suspects was shot and wounded were released without charge Friday, police said.
Police had said they launched the June 2 raid, whose violence outraged many British Muslims, because of intelligence suggesting there was a risk that one of the men had built an explosive device that could release a toxic chemical gas. Officers stormed into a row house in east London, shooting a 23-year-old man in circumstances that remain unclear and then arresting him and his 20-year-old brother.
London's Metropolitan Police said both suspects were freed Friday evening.
Police, who did not publicly identify the men, said in a statement that detectives were still developing the intelligence they had received and would "continue to exhaust all lines of inquiry."
They said they had completed their search of the east London home where the men were arrested. They did not say what, if anything, they had found, but said they would hand the house back to its occupants.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman thanked neighbours for their "tolerance and understanding" during the search.
Police have defended the pre-dawn raid by almost 250 officers, saying they were responding to "specific intelligence" and had had no choice but to act.
The injured man was treated in a London hospital before being transferred to a high-security police station for questioning. Both brothers had been detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, but their lawyers said they denied any link to terror.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the shooting.
Last year, police at a London subway station shot and killed an unarmed Brazilian man they mistakenly believed to be a terrorist. They have apologized for that shooting, which came a day after four men unsuccessfully attempted to bomb the capital's transport system and two weeks after four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters aboard three London subways and a bus.
About 100 people demonstrated outside a London police station earlier Friday to protest the recent police shooting.
The sister of the injured man had urged supporters to stay away from the demonstration, which she said would cause trouble for the Muslim community.
The demonstrators chanted "Tony Blair - murderer" and held placards that said "Stop police brutality" and "Blair: Shoot first, ask questions later."
Organizers distributed a statement saying Muslims were being treated as second-class citizens, presumed guilty until proven innocent.
"The 'shoot first and ask questions later' policy of Blair and his dictators will not be tolerated by Muslims and indeed it should not be tolerated by anyone in Britain or elsewhere," said the statement, from the group al-Ghuaraba.
The demonstration was peaceful and there were no arrests.
The wounded suspects' sister had argued in a statement that the protest could create another opportunity for Muslims to be "portrayed in a negative light."
The statement from Humeya Kalam was read out at Friday prayers at mosques across the borough of Newham, and it asked people to support a peaceful community demonstration at noon on Sunday in a local park.
A separate protest was planned outside Metropolitan Police headquarters on Sunday
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/WorldNewsArticle.htm?src=w060957A.xml
