Crown drops charges

CHARGES against nine Algerian men arrested in a series of anti-terror raids in Scotland and London were dropped by the Crown office last night.

The men, who appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in January charged under the Terrorism Act 2000, had been released on bail in March, pending further investigation.

A spokesman for the Crown Office revealed that a review of evidence had prompted prosecutors to advise police to abandon the case.

He said: "The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has decided that, based on the evidence available, no further proceedings will be taken at this time against the nine Algerians who appeared on petition at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in December 2002 and February 2003 charged with a contravention of Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

"Following initial investigations, the accused were liberated on March 14, 2003. This announcement follows careful consideration by Crown counsel of the results of the investigation by Lothian and Borders Police and the procurator-fiscal at Edinburgh."

Detectives had until next Friday to come up with sufficient evidence against the Algerians, who were arrested following armed raids on addresses in Edinburgh and in a linked operation in London.

Speculation has been mounting in recent weeks that their case would collapse, after the Crown Office confirmed there had been no date set for either the first court hearing or an application for an extension.

A case must be put before a court within a year of charges, unless a judge agrees to extend the deadline.

The arrested men included five detained during raids in Leith and Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, and four others taken into custody in west London.

Following their release, one of the accused men returned to Algeria, as the bail conditions allow for international travel.

Aamer Anwar, a human rights lawyer acting for a number of the men, demanded an inquiry into the handling of the cases.

He said: "It is simply not acceptable for the Crown to say that there are no further proceedings. The impact of the Terrorism Act on the Muslim and asylum-seeker community has been enormous.

"These men were accused of being terrorists, yet there was never any evidence against them. It seems to me that as soon as the word terrorist is mentioned, people are pronounced guilty.

"We should not forget the lessons of the Birmingham Six, when six Irishmen were framed for a crime they did not commit.

"We demand a full-scale inquiry into who ordered this, and why nearly 2 million was spent on an investigation lasting ten months, and whether the government and security services span more lies to justify a war on Iraq."

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We carried out a thorough investigation under the Terrorism Act, at the direction of the procurator-fiscal, and submitted a formal report on the evidence we gathered.

"That is the police role. The decision on whether the evidence justifies a prosecution is a matter for the Crown Office."

After last December’s arrests, a separate group of Algerians were detained in February in connection with alleged terrorism offences.

These men were released without charge, but many now face action over their immigration status.