Scotland's first terror conviction

Today Atif Siddique from Alva was found guilty of all five terrorism charges he faced.

Given the high profile and dramatic nature of the original arrests last year, it is important to point out that the trial did not uncover a plot, much less an active plot, to cause death and destruction here in Scotland.

What we heard throughout the trial was a story of a teenager who was involved in ideas, particularly on the internet, which he shouldn’t have been. This was motivated clearly by his concern for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, wars in which our country is still involved. The challenge for the Muslim community and wider society is to stress the legitimate forms of dissent against these policies – through the democratic process.

This is important as we see constant attacks on Muslims who engage with politics as engendering a ‘grievance culture’. Muslims will undoubtedly continue to care deeply about what happens abroad and it’s vital that this feeling is represented and articulated through our democratic channels.

Siddique's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, was angry outside the High Court about the verdict. He and Donald Findlay put up a stout defence, but they were always going to find it difficult given how broadly the Terrorism Acts are defined.

Comments

[johnmellor77]

"This was motivated clearly by his concern for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, wars in which our country is still involved. "

So if you set up a website encouraging people to make bombs and engage in domestic terrorism it's ok as long as it's motivated by concern for other people?

Osama, I have missed your crazy talk.

[joe90]

Great to have you back Osama!

Here is Kebz,
a frequent contributor on the very worthwhile MediaLens.org messege board with some pertinent thoughts on the matter -
Another miscarriage of justice or another terrorist locked away?
Justice4thePoor blog
17 Sept 2007

It seems to me that these New Labour anti-terrorists laws are so flexible that perfectly innocent activities and freely available materials can be construed as 'terrorist' in some way -
- laws as flexible to interpretation as this are an abuse by the state of the liberties of its own citizen.

[Osama]

Mellor: "So if you set up a website encouraging people to make bombs and engage in domestic terrorism it's ok as long as it's motivated by concern for other people?"

No, that's why in the sentence immediately preceding the quote you lifted from me I said he was involved in ideas "he shouldn't have been". And in the sentence immediately afterwards, that the proper place to vent frustrations is through the democratic process.

I've not missed your inability to read. Or maybe your ability to read just what you want to read.

[veritas]

Keep your hair on folks - he's been convicted of offences under the Terrorisn Act - he's yet to be sentenced. This won't happen until October 23. The fact that this is his first offence, that there was no actual plot or killing, and that he seems to all intents and purposes to be a foolish young man - will be taken into account by the judge in passing sentence. Expect a light sentence, and with good behaviour he could be out soon.

[Osama]

Veritas, I disagree. If you look at those convicted under the Terrorism Acts to date, some have received swingeing sentences in the order of 20 years for arguably less than what Siddique did.

[johnmellor77]

Ah, yes, "he shouldn't have been involved" in those "ideas."

Yes, you certainly condemn him in the strongest terms!

Instead of just stressing legitimate forms of protest, why not stress just how evil it is to want to bomb people?

[DavidMWW]

I agree with Osama in his pessimistic assessment of this young fool's chances of getting off lightly. The 4 Danish embassy Motoons protestors got overly-severe sentences - ranging from 4 to 6 years - merely for waving ill-advised placards and a doing a bit of Muslimacho posturing. Disproportionate, in my opinion, and not promising for Siddique.

[joe90]

...why not stress just how evil it is to want to bomb people?

How much tonnage of explosives has the British government expended so far in occupied Afghanistan and Occupied Iraq, johnmincer?

How many billions of puonds worth of WMD does Britian use and sell per year johnmincer?

You'd better get in touch with your own British government and let them know how evil they are johnmincer - because they are one of the main sources of bombs and bombs exploding in the world - let us know how you get on.

Campaign Against the Arms Trade

I have not missed the pointlessness that is johnmincer and his non-arguments - or his complete inability to acknowledge when his first objection has been answered, before he moves onto his second objection etc etc

[Fred]

This little piece of shite gloated over footage of people having their throats slit, egged on others to blow innocent people to bits and, according to the security services, was off to join the global jihad (that's code for mass murder, BTW).

Good to see you downplaying his crimes. I'm sure if the situation had been reversed and a nazi BNP supporter had been convicted of exactly the same offences you would be rushing to 'understand' him in the same way.

And you wonder why so many Scots are suspicious.

[veritas]

Osama, let us see what justice a Scottish judge delivers. True, judges, in giving their sentences, have access to material which may not be admissable in court, which may be why those you mention received swingeing sentences. This young man seems incredibly daft to me, to go around telling people at his college he wanted to blow up Glasgow and showing them gruesome videos (which were found in his possession). Also his growing a beard, given his advertised terrorist inclinations: the real suicide bombers tried to blend in. There is a suggestion of a connection to a Canadian plot - maybe there is more to this than was allowed to come out in court - but all in all, he sounds so inept, (his headmaster politely described him as of 'moderate intellectual gifts') he would have been a bit of a liability to serious plotters. So one suspects he was kept at the fringes of anything he may have been trying to get into. But it is frightening that such a gentle soul whose parents were opposed to his developing these sorts of interests could so easily become radicalised, and this seems to have started when he went to Glasgow in 2003-2005. I am hopeful that the judge will be merciful.

[Osama]

Veritas, well put.

Joe, I could point out to him that I've actually organised a demonstration against terrorism, off my own back and in my spare time - the only person in the country that can say that. But that would just lead to him making some other silly point, wasting further time, which I suspect is the motive. Either that or attention seeking.

[Thersites]

"a teenager who was involved in ideas..."
As the "ideas" he was involved in included ideas of how to make weapons and ideas of pictures of suicide bombers and beheadings I take it you would disapprove of people who are convicted and imprisoned for being involved in ideas of child pornography.

[joe90]

16 of the 19 hijackers and suicide bombers of Twin Towers atrocity in 2001 were Saudi Arabian.

Saudi Arabia beheads criminals in public.

Who has the British government allowed to buy £40 billions worth of British bombs, weapons and arms?

Yes that's right, Saudi Arabia -
Saudis buy Eurofighters from UK
BBC
17 Sept 2007

Of course, the British merchants of death are up to their eyeballs in corruption with the House of Fraud -
US to probe BAE over corruption
BBC
26 June 2007

ControlBAE
'Re-open the Saudi corruption inquiry'
CAAT

Saudi Arabia is the government which financed Al Quaedai n Afghanistan, with the help of the American CIA.

If only the British authorities were as keen on prosecuting corrupt British buisnesses, involved in the selling of arms to a dictatorship guilty of beheading people in public and financing international terrorism, as they are with prosecuting daft laddies from Alloa, then the world would be a lot a safer.

However, I do believe this recent British-Saudi arms deal was signed on the 11th of September just there - how appropriate!

The deal was probably signed during the recent London bi-annual human slaughterhouse-fest, where the world's most vicious mass-murders come to buy bombs and stuff, from us peace-loving, law abiding Brits -
Good riddance to arms fair, says Mayor of London
CAAT Press Releases
14 Sept 2007

British Justice - the best in the world!