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Terror detainee C
released - lawyer
A foreign terror suspect
held in the UK without trial or charge since December 2001 has been
freed from jail with no conditions, his lawyer says. The man, an
Egyptian known only as C, was let out of Woodhill Prison near Milton
Keynes at 1900 GMT on Monday.
Government lawyers had claimed he was the UK leader of Egyptian
Islamic Jihad and had been in contact with prominent Islamic
extremists - claims he denied.
His release comes after three other detainees were granted bail on
Monday. The Home Office is expected to give a statement on Tuesday
afternoon confirming his release.
House arrest
His case had been due to be reviewed at a Special Immigration Appeal
Commission (Siac) hearing on 4 February but he has been released
before it could be held.
C's lawyer said there were no conditions attached to his release and
he would not be placed under house arrest.
At a previous appeal hearing against C's detention, Home Office
lawyers claimed he had already been tried in his absence in Egypt
and sentenced to 15 years in jail - this he denied.
They said he was in a good position to further the aims of Islamic
extremists in the UK and had assisted in fraudulent fundraising,
which he also said was not true.
On Monday, Palestinian detainee Mahmoud Abu Rideh, was granted bail
at another Siac hearing in London.
He had been detained at Broadmoor hospital after being moved from
Belmarsh prison and is still being held, pending a decision on his
bail conditions and his future mental health care.
Two other men, Algerians known only as A and P, were also granted
bail. A decision on their bail conditions is still awaited.
The Home Office said they should be placed under house arrest but
lawyers representing the two men said this would not be acceptable.
The measures which allowed 12 foreign terror suspects to be detained
indefinitely without trial were ruled unlawful by the Law Lords in
December.
To take their place, Home Secretary Charles Clarke has introduced
"control orders" for terror suspects, which include the power to
place them under house arrest.
Source: BBC News
1 February 2005
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