http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4072645
Terror Suspect Raised �20,000 to Open School By David Barrett, PA Home Affairs Correspondent The terror suspect granted bail today has admitted he fundraised for a school which numbered among its parents �some of the world�s most wanted men�. He has also said he was innocently involved with another high-profile terror suspect, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Mahmoud Suliman Ahmed Abu Rideh also suggested that he used to travel around Afghanistan disguised as a beggar, with large amounts of cash hidden in a phoney plaster cast. Born to stateless Palestinian parents in Jordan, he came to Britain in 1995 and claimed asylum. He told officials he had been imprisoned in his homeland �because I am religious and I pray�. Abu Rideh was refused asylum the following year but in 1998 was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. He and his wife now have five young children who are at � or are about to start � school. Detained as an international terror suspect on December 19, 2001, Abu Rideh, who is also known as Abu Rasmi, was among the first batch of suspects arrested by police. He was accused of being involved in fundraising and distribution of money for terror groups linked to al Qaida. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac), which hears appeals from those detained under the Government�s emergency anti-terror powers, was told in 2003 that the detainee had procured false documents and helped facilitate the movement of jihad volunteers to training camps in Afghanistan. In response, Abu Rideh said he had only been involved in welfare projects � particularly a school in Afghanistan for the children of Arab speakers. Abu Rideh told Siac in 2003 that he liked to help others, and described his work for a Pakistani organisation called the Islamic Services Bureau. A Siac document, reporting his statement to them, said: �He used to travel around Afghanistan, disguised as a beggar, with large sums of money hidden in a plaster cast on his leg.� He said he helped to set up the school at a cost of �20,000. Admitting he knew the other high-profile terror suspect through relief work, he denied being involved with him in any unlawful way. The Siac hearing asked Abu Rideh to explain a comment in a statement that among fathers at the school were �some of the world�s most wanted men�. He said he could not explain the comment and that it had been guesswork. Siac noted that there was a �substantial� amount of money flowing through Abu Rideh�s accounts at the Arab Bank in London�s Park Lane. The panel said �30,000 had passed through the account in a year � only 40% of which, on Abu Rideh�s evidence, was for his family�s purposes. �As a married man with five children living on state benefits it was difficult to see where the money had come from,� former Siac chairman Mr Justice Collins said. Siac ruled in 2003 that Abu Rideh was a �very successful� fundraiser and �more importantly� was able to get the money to Afghanistan. �Closed� material � secret documents provided by the security services which the detainee or his lawyer are not allowed to see � convinced the panel that the Home Secretary was right to order Abu Rideh�s detention, they concluded in October 2003, a decision they upheld in July 2004. The detainee was initially held at Belmarsh prison in south-east London but was transferred to Broadmoor special hospital in July 2002. Siac heard Abu Rideh had received outpatient psychiatric treatment since his arrival in Britain for episodes of self-harm, anger, shouting and tearing his clothes. A consultant forensic psychiatrist at Broadmoor described the detainee�s rapid deterioration after his detention in Belmarsh. Today�s Siac judgment noted the grounds to believe Abu Rideh was a terrorist were �sound� and that his mental health alone was not grounds to warrant his release. But they concluded that continued detention was a �disproportionate response� to the risk he posed, when alternative methods of control could be used. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! 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