ie: the part of the 2000 terrorism act that Craig Murray and others have been detained under. To my shame I didn't realise the extent to which this power has been used & abused to target Muslims and non-white people, apparently tied in with the govt's draconian PREVENT strategy from back in 2011, and now being further exploited to harrass migrants:
Nationality and Borders Bill expands ‘draconian’ Schedule 7 stop powers to ‘criminalise’ migrants February 4th, 2022|Press Release, Schedule 7
London – The Nationality and Borders Bill as currently drafted seeks to amend the Schedule 7 powers under the Terrorism Act 2000, to grant the police the power to stop migrants who arrive in small vessels, interrogate them for up to 6 hours and confiscate their electronic devices without the need for suspicion or the right to ‘no comment’. Non compliance to Schedule 7 results in a terrorism conviction. [1]
In 2019, a CAGE report into Schedule 7 outlined how it is used primarily as a surveillance tool, and only 30 of 420,000 people stopped between 2010-2019 were ever convicted under this power. This translates to 99.993% of people stopped being entirely innocent. [2]
This is an exceptional power which we and other experts have warned would only expand once in place. Now, fears and prejudices towards migrants are being exploited to extend Schedule 7 and the powers of the security state. [3] Muhammad Rabbani, Managing Director of CAGE said:
“A CAGE report into Schedule 7 found that this is an institutionally Islamophobic power that strips individuals of their basic rights under the pretense of countering terrorism.”
“The constant framing of refugees as ‘security risks’ has further exacerbated the hostile environment and entrenched anti-migrant rhetoric with counter terror laws, as demonstrated by the proposed expansion of Schedule 7.”
“It is a clear example of the government’s pro-surveillance ideology in the driving seat, and will take us a step closer towards normalising this draconian power to all travellers, even well after they arrive in the UK.”
“As someone who has been stopped under Schedule 7 countless times, I recognise that expanding the power is an attempt to circumvent current legal protections for asylum, and to subject people fleeing conflict to invasive and degrading treatment in Britain. This is about criminalising migrants and refugees, not about safety.”
[3] Julian Assange: Counter-terrorism strategies targeting Muslims will affect the wider population:
Image courtesy of Flickr/Håkan Dahlström
(NOTE: CAGE represents cases of individuals based on the remit of our work. Supporting a case does not mean we agree with the views or actions of the individual. Content published on CAGE may not reflect the official position of our organisation.)
Why this petition matters Started by Cerie Bullivant
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims must investigate the discrimination of Muslims travelling through UK Borders and ensure that Islamophobia at all levels of society is challenged.
UPDATE 18/03/2020: It was revealed this week in the Observer, that a Muslim woman, ‘Asiyah,’ who pursued a judicial review against the police and won, with the help of CAGE and her lawyers, after she was coerced to remove her hijab at Heathrow airport. This is the latest event to highlight the Islamophobic nature of Schedule 7 stops.
More than half a million people have been stopped and interrogated under Schedule 7 powers since their introduction. The Guardian newspaper ran a headline describing these powers as ‘structural Islamophobia’. It followed a new report by CAGE which compiled evidence supporting this claim.
A Cambridge based research found that 88% of people stopped at a particular airport were Muslims. In 2016 the Home Office itself admitted that 78% of those stopped were of ethnic minorities.
What happens during a Schedule 7 stop:
The Police can detain you without suspicion for up to 6 hours. You do not have the right to remain silent The Police can search you and seize your possessions. The Police can confiscate your electronic devices for up to seven days, and they can coerce you to disclose your passwords. The Police can collect and retain your data. The Police can force you to surrender your DNA and fingerprints. The Police can strip search you.
All this without the suspicion of any crime.
Women have had their Hijabs removed. Pilgrims have missed their flights. Children and elders have been detained.
Enough is enough.
It is the duty of the APPG on British Muslims to investigate prejudice, discrimination and hatred against Muslims in the UK. We urge them to investigate the Home Office and Police on the Islamophobic nature of Schedule 7 powers.
Islamophobia at all levels of society must be challenged.
SIGN NOW.
For more on this story read here:
UPDATED 18/3/2020 The Observer: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/mar/14/metropolitan-police-concede-forcing-woman-to-remove-hijab-wrong The Guardian: Detention of Muslims at UK ports and airports 'structural Islamophobia'. 5 Pillars: CAGE calls for repeal of “Islamophobic” Schedule 7 laws The Metro: Muslim couple held by terror cops at Heathrow on return from Hajj. Middle East Eye: UK authorities log religion of people stopped on country's borders, form reveals TRT World: Azad Ali Speaks to TRT about the Structural Islamophobia faced by Muslims at UK Borders CAGE releases first-ever Schedule 7 report evidencing Islamophobia at UK borders, and calls for APPG on British Muslims to investigate the Home Office Tell your story; Ask a question; Interpret generously http://storybythethroat.wordpress.com/tell-ask-listen/
Re: CAGE on Schedule 7
Posted by Ian M on October 21, 2023, 4:11 pm, in reply to "CAGE on Schedule 7"
Officer mocks Prophet while profiling female Muslim convert at UK border August 21st, 2020|Schedule 7, Survivors
Female Officer claiming she was Muslim stopped a Female Muslim Convert and mocked Islam by saying people follow Prophet ‘Ali Baba’. This is Ayesha’s first hand experience at being stopped under Schedule 7.
I am a 23 years old white British Muslim. I am studying and working in Manchester. I was first stopped in London on the way to Cyprus via Istanbul. I was going to Cyprus to see a Sufi Sheikh.
I went in to the airport and checked in. I travel all over the world and used to pass through security in ten minutes. This time, I was wearing hijab covering my neck with a green turban, so I was easily identified as Muslim.
I went to the hand-baggage security and put my bag down. They put it through the scanner a couple times. When I asked what was wrong, the officer said they had seen something suspicious, and it was something to do with a tablet.
It was a small tablet, a Microsoft brand, that I travel with. If I lose it, it does not matter because it is so cheap. They checked it and proceeded to go through all my stuff, completely ransacking my bag. They said it was fine, and I packed it all back up again. “You could be an ISIS bride”
Once I packed up my bag, I then got approached by two police officers, a British Muslim male and white British woman.
I was a bit irritated at that point, because this never happens to me. When they asked me where I was going, I suppose I responded in an irritated way. Big mistake and major life lesson.
Rule Number 1: Anger/Irritation is forbidden.
The Muslim male then stamped his authority on me, and I realised I just had to comply or else I wouldn’t get on the flight. He said to me: “You could be an ISIS bride.”
He then said he was a Muslim, and went on a whole rant about terrorism, saying all these awful things. I said: “I really don’t understand why you are talking about this, as this is so foreign to me.”
He commented about my green turban, and said “I’m glad you’re wearing that as you seem to be a Sufi”. I said to myself: “Thank you very much, I’m glad you think I’m okay as a person.” I stayed calm and polite, trying my best not to let it show that they were bothering me. He made me show him my return flight and they let me go and get on the plane to Istanbul.
In Istanbul there were no issues, a few people looked twice as I was white and Muslim, but nothing happened at the transit, and nothing in Cyprus.
When I arrived back at Manchester, I got off the plane and refreshed my ablution. As I approached the passport control, my passport would not scan to allow me to go through the gates.
A worker directed me to a desk and two police officers were waiting for me. They were both in plain clothes but with badges. I knew they were there specifically for me and that I had been set up. The female officer mocked Islam
I’ve never been good with most authority as I find people use it for oppression rather than support and justice, and at that point when they stopped me, I felt outraged internally. People go round with this law-and-order attitude just to flex their power rather than stand for justice. I made a mental note I refer to in rule number 1.
The female officer started asking me all these questions: “Who were you seeing? Where have you been?” I showed her a picture of my Sheikh and she said “We’re going to have to ask you some more questions”.
We got to the interrogation room, and she asked me if I wanted to pray. She was being really nice…too nice. It was sickening because I could tell she was manipulating me and not genuinely concerned about me.
The first thing they said to me was that I had to answer all their questions, or they would arrest me and take me to prison. I got very concerned at that point, and the questions they asked were so personal. They asked me how much I had in my bank account, for example.
Before I left England to travel, I had left my job and I had left my place, so when they asked me about these things, and I said I did not know what was happening now. I’ve always been a free-spirit. That was suspicious to them.
They took my Qur’an and my Dalail-ul-khariat (a compilation of prayers) and they were searching through these holy books like they were nothing and touching them with their left hands. I felt so exposed, disrespected and powerless. They stripped me of my human rights. It was frightening that this law existed.
During the search, the woman then said to me, “I am Muslim.”
She touched my Dalail and I said be careful with that, and she said “Why, is it a Qur’an? I envisioned her taking out a plastic bag and taking it for evidence. Inside, I laughed at how ridiculous these people looked.
She then said “We are all one, aren’t we? Although some follow the prophet “Ali Baba”.
She was mocking me, and mocking Islam. It was slimy, offensive and obscene.
I just said: “Yes, we’re all from The One. We’re all one humanity.”
They were trying to get a reaction out of me. The whole thing made my skin crawl
I always take a second phone abroad, because I travel a lot. I’ve learnt that it’s good to have two phones in case one gets stolen or lost, so you have something in reserve. You keep one on your person, and one in a safe place like your hostel room.
As the lady was checking all of my luggage piece by piece, she missed my second phone. I decided to tell her about it so that if she happened to see it but ignored it, I could not be called out for not telling her about it.
You should not give these people the opportunity to lay a finger on you. Stay calm and keep ten steps ahead. Do not drain your mental energy on anger as it’ll fill up your mind and you’ll stumble.
Before they took my phone, I asked if I could take the address down where I needed to go as I was viewing flats in the coming days. She said yes, but as I wrote she was peering over my shoulder. She said they needed to know where I was going. Her behaviour was appalling.
They asked for my passwords, which was also very violating. I didn’t think of refusing them, as they said they would arrest me. I was a 22-year-old at the time.
The female officer then started making a big deal about this second phone.
I said: “I’ve been all over the world.”
She said: “I thought you were just this baby.” They were really trying to provoke me but I wasn’t having any of it. I knew they were trying to profile me. By not reacting, I did not give them what they wanted.
They said, “You don’t have much stuff.”
I said: “The more you love, the less you need.”
She told me to take my hijab off. I told her to tell the male officer not to come in. She went outside, then right after she came back inside, he came right in when I had no hijab on.
I felt really violated. Really, the whole thing made my skin crawl. I felt like a caged animal. I was left with no phone, alone in the middle of the night
Eventually they let me go after just over an hour at about 2am. They took all my electronics off me and said “We have to thoroughly search through these”. They sent a young woman out into the world in the middle of the night with no way of contacting anybody else. I had to sit in the airport until 5am, just sitting there telling myself what I would have done, what I should of done.
I went to a friend’s house and sat outside until she appeared.
When I told my mum and family what had happened, they said: “You see, you shouldn’t have become a Muslim.”
I said: “You can put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand, string me up and burn me, and I wouldn’t give Islam up, because it’s the truth.”
Muslims are going to be persecuted more and more, and we have to know our rights under these circumstances.
I feel much more confident now, having gone through this. I know how to stick up for myself. Next time – if there is a next time – I’ve decided I’m going to play ball much more and just sit and watch them make fools of themselves.
Really, it’s awful that people can do this to other human beings who are just living a peaceful life. Allah is in complete control always
I’d advise people who get stopped just to keep calm and comply and let it go over your head. Obviously, if they ask you to take your hijab off, you can assert your rights. However, do not get angry at any point. It only causes loss. The best fighter is always calm.
It seemed to me they were trying to get a reaction out of me so that they could build a profile of me. When you start resisting, they can then make a profile of you.
So, don’t give them anything to use against you. Also, if you do get past the hour of being detained, then ask for a lawyer.
It really has made me stronger. These things are a test for us, and there is a reason these things are happening. Things are always good for the believer.
There have been a lot of times when I feel a lot of hatred from people, and it feels like I am there to dig them into a bigger hole by staying calm. We don’t know what Allah’s plan is for them. The Most Wise knows why things are this way and everything has a reason.
I also had to ask myself as a believer what this experience was bringing up in me, and after stepping back, I felt a lot less angry. I thought how awful it is to be in authority, to be standing over other people, telling them what to do. I would never want to do that. I actually felt more compassion for people trapped in a world of no faith. How exhausting to try and “be something” all the time.
We have to trust that Allah is on our side. The mercy of God is incredible. Really, if we thought about the moment, we would faint. He provides shelter and food even people who don’t pray, so imagine what He is providing for those of us who do pray.
Laughter is the best medicine and remember…this is not real life.
Former ambassador and Assange advocate Craig Murray detained under UK terror laws Kit Klarenberg·October 17, 2023
The former diplomat’s detention is just the latest example of British terror laws being used to harass and intimidate dissidents, while brazenly prying into their private affairs.
On the morning of October 16, counter-terror police in Glasgow Airport detained journalist, whistleblower, human rights campaigner, and former British diplomat Craig Murray upon his return from Iceland. After grilling him intensively about his political beliefs, officers seized Murray’s phone and laptop.
Murray, a proud Scottish nationalist, flew back to Glasgow after several days in Reykjavik, where he attended a popular Palestine solidarity event, and also met with high-ranking representatives of the Assange Campaign, which raises awareness about the plight of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Once his travel documents were processed at passport control, the officer informed him he would be detained for questioning. They then led him to a small backroom to be grilled by three nameless British counter-terror agents.
Murray told The Grayzone that British police warned him he would be committing a criminal offense and would be prosecuted if he refused to answer questions, answered untruthfully, deliberately withheld information, or refused to provide passcodes for his electronic devices. After his phone and laptop were seized for analysis, the interrogation began.
“First, they grilled me about the private Assange Campaign meeting,” Murray told The Grayzone. “You might think they would ask who was there, but they didn’t,” he said, adding, “my guess is they somehow knew already.”
Instead, “all the questions were financial,” Murray says. According to the former British ambassador, officers wanted to know “whether I get money for my contributions to the Campaign, if I get paid by WikiLeaks, Don’t Extradite Assange, even Julian’s family.”
“The answer each time was ‘no,’” Murray says, explaining: “My sources of income and where my money comes from were of particular interest to the officers.”
The one-time diplomat’s popular personal blog was also of interest to the officers, who reportedly demanded Murray tell them whether anyone else had access to it or could publish content on the platform, and if anyone other than himself authored any of its posts.
Strangely, Murray said he was not asked about a single article published on his website. Equally puzzling, he remarked, were the questions about the Palestine solidarity event he attended.
Officers apparently wanted to know why Murray had attended in the first place — “a strange question to ask of someone attending a protest,” he told The Grayzone. Nonetheless, he made it clear that he had gone because he was friends with one of the speakers, a former Icelandic interior minister.
Police reportedly also demanded details on the content of various speakers’ addresses at the event — information which Murray says he could not offer as he doesn’t speak Icelandic. When asked if he planned to attend any similar pro-Palestine events in Britain, he told them, “probably.”
“The weirdest question was, ‘how do I judge whether to share a platform with someone or not?’” Murray says, adding: “I do so based on who’s organizing the event.”
In this particular case, Murray continued, “it was [the] Palestine Solidarity Committee, so I was confident I was in safe hands.” Still, it struck the former ambassador as a bizarre line of questioning.
“My lawyer has never heard of such a question being asked during interrogations before,” Murray said, adding that “they speculate police have a surveillance photo of me in the proximity of someone they consider a ‘terrorist.’”
“I’ve no idea who that could be,” the outspoken human rights campaigner admitted. But, as he quickly observed: “If you attend a rally where 200,000 people are present, you can’t know who everyone is!”
Murray has since consulted with lawyers, who informed him that according to Section 7 of the 2000 Terrorism Act — the draconian legislation under which he was subjected to the intensive questioning — he would be legally entitled to consult a lawyer if the interrogation lasted longer than an hour. ‘A sledgehammer to crack a nut’
Once the hour of questioning was up, the officers sent him on his way, but failed to return his phone or laptop. “I’m used to the idea of British and American spies having my computers,” Murray said.
On a trip to Germany at the end of 2022, two laptops belonging to Murray were stolen in separate locations. The second laptop happened to have been a locally-bought replacement for the first. He believes the thefts were “probably” carried out by “security services,” an interpretation reinforced by the fact the first laptop was stored in a bag containing a large sum of cash, along with vital heart medicine. The culprits inexplicably ignored the former, while pocketing the latter.
When probed by counter-terror cops about the contents of his laptop, Murray says he openly disclosed that device contained copies of leaked private emails of Stewart McDonald, a hawkish, deep state-connected Scottish National Party.
But “I’m not worried about any content on there,” he explained, so “it’s not a problem they have it.”
“I told the officers I pitied whichever poor bastard has to wade through McDonald’s emails,” he joked.
“Interestingly,” Murray notes, “one of them volunteered in response that the contents of seized digital devices are sifted electronically, rather than an individual going over the whole contents.”
“Presumably, algorithms run by keyword searches do the legwork, and whatever that throws up is studied and shared with different agencies,” he speculates.
Murray’s lawyers are now looking into the stop, with an eye on whether his interrogators told him the truth before his questioning began.
This April, British counter-terror police detained the French publisher and political activist Ernest Moret, who had led large protests in Paris against the neoliberal reforms of President Emmanuel Macron. Moret was detained under the same powers as Murray, then arrested when he refused to hand over passcodes to his electronic devices. He was ultimately held in British custody for almost 24 hours.
In July, a damning report by Britain’s terror legislation watchdog concluded the officers who detained Moret had made “exaggerated and overbearing” threats when they claimed that he would never again be able to travel overseas if he didn’t disclose information, as he’d be listed as a terrorist in international intelligence databases. The report also found police grilled him illegitimately regarding legally privileged conversations he had with his lawyer during the interrogation.
Schedule 7 is “powerful” and “must therefore be exercised with due care,” the reviewer said, before ultimately comparing police’s usage of the legislation to interrogate Moret to “using a sledgehammer to crack a nut”:
“This was an investigation into public order for which counter-terrorism powers were never intended to be used,” the report noted, concluding “the rights of free expression and protest are too important in a democracy to allow individuals to be investigated for potential terrorism merely because they may have been involved in protests that have turned violent.”
But when it comes to carrying out political detentions, the legislation in question is not the only one in British officers’ arsenal.
Absent from the report was any reference to Schedule 3, Section 4 of Britain’s 2019 Counter-Terrorism and Border Act, which was used to authorize the detention of this journalist at London’s Luton Airport this May. The provision grants authorities sweeping powers to delve into the personal and professional affairs of dissidents. According to Murray, British counter-terror cops appear to have approached him using “the same playbook” they employed with me.
Under the 2019 Counter-Terrorism and Border Act, which has been harshly criticized by the UN, an individual can be said to be serving “hostile” foreign powers without even knowing or intending to — or the powers in question being aware they are. This Orwellian precept was reinforced by London’s new National Security Act, which was passed in July 2023.
Anyone who has agitated the British national security state and plans on traveling to the UK may want to be careful what they keep on their devices. As one of Ernest Moret’s interrogators boasted to him, Britain is “the only country where authorities can download and keep information from private devices” forever. Tell your story; Ask a question; Interpret generously http://storybythethroat.wordpress.com/tell-ask-listen/