Friday, November 14, 2014

I'll strip returning jihadis of passports for two years vows PM: Cameron says plans will prevent suspects returning to wreak terror on the UK

British jihadis fighting in Syria and Iraq will have their passports cancelled for at least two years to prevent them returning to wreak terror in the UK, David Cameron announced on Thursday evening.
Downing Street said the plans would give Britain the toughest anti-jihadi powers in the Western world outside the US, and would ensure fighters were only let back in to the UK ‘on our terms’.
However, they will place ministers on collision course with judges and human rights lawyers. And they risk infuriating allies such as Turkey and Germany, which could find themselves having to deal with British extremists stranded abroad.
David Cameron's plans would see Aine Davis (crouching, second from right) have his passport cancelled for two years after he fled to Syria to fight for Islamic State
David Cameron's plans would see Aine Davis (crouching, second from right) have his passport cancelled for two years after he fled to Syria to fight for Islamic State
The Prime Minister’s announcement came as he outlined a raft of new measures to counter the threat posed by Islamist fanatics in a speech to the Australian parliament in Canberra. 
He is about to embark on talks with world leaders at the G20 summit in Australia on tackling so-called foreign fighters.
The measures also include plans to streamline existing powers to confiscate the passports of Britons thought to be planning to travel to Syria.
They will also be extended to under-18s for the first time to combat the threat posed by teenage jihadis.
And airlines will be warned that they could be fined or have their licences to operate in the UK revoked unless they co-operate fully with the security services to identify and prevent banned suspects from boarding flights home.
But it is the introduction of ‘temporary exclusion orders’ that will prove the most controversial.
On the orders of Home Secretary Theresa May, legal papers will be served to a suspect’s last-known address in the UK and they will be placed immediately on international ‘no-fly’ lists.
Any airline that allows a suspect to board a plane to the UK could find its aircraft turned back. And any banned individuals who manage to sneak back into Britain would commit an offence carrying a five-year jail term.
David Cameron made the announcement in Australia, where he has met the country's prime minister Tony Abbott
David Cameron made the announcement in Australia, where he has met the country's prime minister Tony Abbott
The order could also be extended indefinitely if they are still deemed a threat after two years.
Individuals who insist on returning to Britain will be permitted to do so without a passport – but only under strict police supervision. Detectives will be sent to accompany them home, where they could face prosecution or surveillance.
Those who refuse these terms will be effectively marooned abroad without a passport – probably in a so-called transit country, such as Turkey or Germany. Downing Street last night said diplomatic talks were continuing with these countries about how these individuals should then be dealt with.
The plan is designed to get round international laws that prevent the UK stripping the citizenship of British subjects and rendering them stateless, which had been Mr Cameron’s initial plan. 
It will be included in a new Counter Terrorism Bill, which will be published this month and rushed through Parliament by the end of January. 
A spokesman said that Attorney General Jeremy Wright had signed off the measures as being consistent with international law.
But they risk being caught up in a legal minefield. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve has warned that removing passports from British citizens abroad is ‘likely to be a non-starter’.

EVERYONE THINKS I WAS LET OFF FOR MY LOOKS, SAYS 'JIHOTTIE'

The woman dubbed the ‘Jihottie’ in a landmark terrorism case has claimed the public think she was cleared because of her looks.
Nawal Msaad, 27, earned her nickname after she posted photos online of the glamorous outfits she would be wearing to her trial.
The university student even decorated the electronic tag on her ankle with jewels.
She was eventually acquitted of trying to smuggle £16,500 in her underwear to a jihadi fighter.
Amal El-Wahabi was jailed for two years and four months for arranging to transport cash to her husband, a Muslim convert fighting in Syria
Nawal Msaad, 27, was dubbed the 'Jihottie' after posting photos of outfits she planned to wear to her trial
Nawal Msaad (right), dubbed the 'Jihottie', spoke for the first time since she was acquitted of smuggling £16,500 in cash to a jihadi fighter, but her friend Amal El-Wahabi (left) was jailed
Yesterday, as Miss Msaad spoke out for the first time since her acquittal, her friend Amal El-Wahabi was jailed for two years and four months for arranging to transport cash to her 30-year-old husband Aine Davis, a Muslim convert fighting with IS.
It is the first prosecution in Britain of funding terrorism in Syria.
Miss Msaad, a Muslim, complained of sexist treatment in the media and said she has received abuse from the Muslim community and threats of sexual violence on social networking sites for the way she dressed during her trial.
‘A lot of people think that I’m the smuggler who got away with it, that the jury only let me off because of my looks,’ she told Channel 4 News.
‘I was supposed to be a jihadi, but there I was dressed in skirts and matching blazers. Many people couldn’t handle this.
‘I was getting stick from the Muslim community, from people really bothered by the way I dress, sending me messages that I should cover up.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2833888/I-ll-strip-returning-jihadis-passports-two-years-vows-PM-Cameron-says-plans-prevent-suspects-returning-wreak-terror-UK.html#ixzz3J3IAjac1
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

No comments: