"They told me that I was under arrest on the suspicion of lending financial support for terrorist activity in Kashmir..."

Abu Abdullah, a British Pakistani, was arrested in 2003 and held in HMP Belmarsh for several months. He was subsequently acquitted of financing terrorist activity. In this exclusive interview with al-istiqamah.com he describes his imprisonment in Belmarsh, subsequent acquittal and advises the Muslim community to remain firm upon their deen.

 

Al-Istiqamah: Assalaamu Alaikum

Abu Abdullah: Wa alaikum salaam

Al-Istiqamah: Jazaakullah khayran (May Allah reward you) for giving us this opportunity to interview you.

Abu Abdullah: Barakallahu feekum.

Al-Istiqamah: You were arrested in 2003. Could you describe that day for us?

Abu Abdullah: I remember that I had some friends staying overnight. We had gone out and I remember saying to one of my friends that we were being followed. I had no idea who they could be. I thought it could be anyone, a crook for example. I told my friend to park up somewhere so that it appeared as if we were visiting a certain house. Eventually we came back home. I told him not to park the car outside the house, but to park it elsewhere.

At home, I remember that we prayed Isha and stayed up pretty late. I went to sleep and at around 5:00 AM I was awoken by my friend. He was saying, “Someone’s banging on your door really loudly.” It was the sound of the door being broken down. I was sleeping in the living room and I looked into the passage. I told my friend “Don't panic. It’s just the police.”

Al-Istiqamah: You had no idea why the police were raiding your house?

Abu Abdullah: No, none whatsoever. They came in and asked “Is X [Abu Abdullah's real name] there?” and I said that yes, that’s me. They told me that I was under arrest on the suspicion of lending financial support for terrorist activity in Kashmir. I got up and told them that I need to change into some other clothes, so they escorted me upstairs. I got changed. They said they would have to handcuff me to take me to the car, so I said okay, that’s fine. They handcuffed me, put me in the car and drove me to Paddington Green police station.

Al-Istiqamah: Were they hostile in their treatment of you?

Abu Abdullah: Hmm, no they weren’t hostile. They weren’t armed. I think a lot had to do with my attitude. I was calm. I'm not married and I live alone so I wasn’t faced with worrying about a wife, elderly parents or young children witnessing the raid.

Al-Istiqamah: What happened at Paddington Green?

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