Terror raid men say search unfair

The two men say they are not hiding anything

Two men living in homes where police carried out raids targeting people suspected of promoting extremist views said they had been "humiliated".

The men said they had been co-operating with police since claims against them came to light and to carry out the raids was "unfair".

Staffordshire Police searched and took items from five homes in Stoke-on-Trent on Tuesday under the Terrorism Act.

No-one has been arrested following the searches.

The raids took place in the Cobridge, Burslem and Tunstall areas of Stoke.

'Not hiding anything'

The two men run a stall in Stoke-on-Trent which sells Islamic literature, CDs and DVDs.

One man, Abu Bosher, said: "To raid our houses for no apparent reason seems unfair. We gave police our leaflets, we gave them our contact details, they know us by our first names.

"Its not like we are hiding anything."

Another man whose home was raided, Abu Saif, said: "I was born and bred in Stoke-on-Trent. All the community know me. They all know I am not a terrorist."

Police said they had recovered a "significant amount" of property, including literature, documents and computers, from the houses.

They said they did not seek to target or criminalise any members of the community.

The raids were part of an investigation launched last autumn, which police said had been prompted by concerns from within the local community.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version