Doh!

Victor

Oh come on "A collection of Manchester United memorabilia in Mr Ali’s flat in the city led to sensational stories of a plot to detonate huge bombs during United’s Premiership encounter with Liverpool on April 24." Just how stupid are "people"? At this rate I better hand over the contents of my wallet if I don't want to be arrested for conspiracy to forge currency.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/05/08/story146743.html

UK police 'regret' naming Kurd terror suspects
08/05/2004 - 9:32:20 PM

Police in Britain said today they regretted the negative impact on the Kurdish community of identifying that some of the terror suspects arrested last month were Iraqi Kurds.

Senior officers from Greater Manchester Police met a group of Kurds this afternoon to discuss how the community had been affected by issues surrounding the anti-terror raids.

Following the meeting, held in central Manchester, the group and GMP issued a joint statement.

It said: “We discussed the negative community implications of media coverage of the background of those detained being of Iraqi Kurdish origin, including the fact that Greater Manchester Police confirmed those details.

“The police regret the impact this has had on the wider community. We are keen to emphasise that the Kurdish community works together with the police to tackle crime and improve community cohesion and safety.”

The statement said police accepted that anti-terrorism operations were based on intelligence about individuals and were not targeted at the wider community.

It said positive steps had been agreed upon to improve channels of communication between residents and the police. Other meetings would be held to discuss the matter further.

Last month, nine men and one woman were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism in an operation led by Greater Manchester Police.

The operation involved 400 officers, including members of the security services and the Metropolitan Police’s Anti-Terrorist Branch.

Seven of the suspects were arrested in Greater Manchester, and the other three in Staffordshire, South Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

The 10 were described by police as being of north African and Iraqi Kurd origin and all were released without charge.

Earlier today, two of the suspects, Rebaz Ali and Shadman Sophi, attended the Manchester United game against Chelsea as guests of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association.

IMUSA offered the pair tickets for today’s final home game of the season as a “show of solidarity“.

A collection of Manchester United memorabilia in Mr Ali’s flat in the city led to sensational stories of a plot to detonate huge bombs during United’s Premiership encounter with Liverpool on April 24.

The game eventually passed off peacefully amid a huge security presence.

“We are inviting them to the game as our guests because we want to express our solidarity with them as fellow Manchester United supporters,” said IMUSA secretary Andy Walsh.

Mr Ali has spoken of the alarm he felt at his arrest and is still considering whether to take legal action against GMP.

He left Iraq for Britain three years ago, claiming his life was at risk.

Both his parents, two brothers and two sisters were killed in 1989 by Chemical Ali, one of the most feared men in the regime of deposed tyrant Saddam Hussein.