Rizwaan Sabir, a former University of Nottingham student who was wrongfully arrested under the Terrorism Act, has now found that police "made up" key evidence against him. An internal report by the West Midlands police also stated that interviews with witnesses in the case were “incorrectly recorded” although no officers will face disciplinary action. Sabir has labelled counter-terror oper…

On Sunday 15th July, the Observer revealed that West Midlands police officers had "made up" evidence against a University of Nottingham student in 2008. Rizwaan Sabir was wrongfully accused of "collecting information of a kind to provide practical assistance to a person committing an act of terrorism" after coming into possession of a document for his PhD proposal. An internal West Midlands police…

An investigation into the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit which arrested Nottingham student, Rizwaan Sabir, in 2008, has concluded that officers "made up" evidence against him.

Critics say that link to government's counter-terrorism strategy targeting radicalisation 'could fuel Islamophobia'.

Confidential documents relating to a "major Islamist plot" have revealed that security staff from a leading university have been secretly filming students on campus as a method of monitoring potential extremists.

More than 200 university documents – along with material from th…

There has been growing anger at the University of Nottingham’s attempts to silence Dr Rod Thornton, author of a critical article which exposes the complicity of university management in the wrongful arrests of the ‘Nottingham Two’. A student and a member of staff – Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza – were arrested as suspected terrorists in May 2008. On Tuesday 10th May, a letter calling…

"REINSTATE DR ROD THORNTON", DECLARE WORLD SCHOLARS AHEAD OF PROTEST

In a letter published by The Guardian on May 10 2011 [1], 70 leading academics and scholars from across the world, including Professors Noam Chomsky, Neera Chandhoke, Paul Gilroy and Charles Tripp, have called for the reinstatement of Dr. Rod Thornton (QGM) with immediate effect. This letter comes ahead of Thursday's (12 May) pl…

Last week, an article entitled, ‘Radicalisation at universities or radicalisation by universities?’ by University of Nottingham academic Rod Thornton was published, shedding more light on the case of the “Nottingham Two”. This article has now been removed from the website of the British International Studies Association (BISA) allegedly under pressure from the University, who have also now sus…

The website of the British International Studies Association [1] has removed a whistle-blowing article written by Dr Rod Thornton [2], a former soldier turned academic who served in a counter-terrorism role in Northern Ireland. Dr Thornton’s article – ‘How a student’s use of a library book became a “major Islamist plot”’ - exposes how senior management at the University of Nottingham…

An extensive paper on the case of the Nottingham Two has been published by University of Nottingham academic, Rod Thornton. Pieced together from heavily redacted Freedom of Information requests, Rizwaan Sabir’s Data Protection Access requests and even meetings with Special Branch officers, it paints a damning picture of the University’s management. Entitled Radicalisation at universities o…

Rod Thornton, a University of Nottingham lecturer who became embroiled in the struggle for justice for Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza, has published his extensive account of the case of the Nottingham Two. Pieced together from heavily redacted Freedom of Information requests, Rizwaan's Data Protection Access requests and even meetings with Special Branch officers, it paints a damning picture of th…

Radicalisation at universities or radicalisation by universities?: How a student’s use of a library book became a “major Islamist plot”

Rod Thornton

In May 2008, on the campus of the University of Nottingham, two men of ethnic minority background - a student and an administrator - were arrested and held for six days under the Terrorism Act 2000. Their crime was to have in their posses…

Hicham Yezza and Rizwaan Sabir were arrested under the Terrorism Act in May 2008 at the University of Nottingham. In the pair's first joint interview since those events, Riseup Radio spoke to them about the persecution they've faced since the arrests, the plight of other Muslims accused of terrorist offences, the government's anti-terror strategies, the growth of Islamophobia in the media and in t…