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Free the Birmingham Four
Four Muslim men framed by MI5 and counterterrorism police. Demand their immediate release.
10 years ago, four Muslim men, known collectively as the Birmingham Four, were framed by the West Midlands Police in an undercover police operation and later convicted as terrorists and sentenced to life imprisonment. Their names are Khobaib Hussain, Naweed Ali, Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz.
Evidence from the trial reveals the corrupt nature of the case against the men. This includes a fake gun and shotgun cartridges being found in Naweed Ali’s car after ‘Vincent’, the undercover officer in charge of framing the men and coincidentally a firearms officer and avid shooter, parked Naweed’s car on his first day at work. Additionally, the true identity of ‘Vincent’ remains unknown despite proof existing that he planted evidence against the men and communicated with another officer during his time on the stand against the Judge’s instruction.
Such inconsistencies in the trial should have meant that the case was thrown out. Instead, the four men were convicted of planning a terrorist attack and sentenced to life imprisonment simply because they were set up by the police.
2 years ago, the four men’s lawyers submitted an application to the CCRC, an independent body with the power to reopen legal cases. However, no progress has been made since.
This is why 41 organisations have signed a joint statement urging the CCRC to reopen the Birmingham Four’s case. You can read it here [LINK].
Call to actions:
We urge you to support the men by completing the following:
• Write to the West Midlands Police using the ‘take action’ button
• Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-the-birmingham4
• Set up screenings of the Birmingham 4 documentary. Contact: campaigns@cage.ngo
• Write in solidarity to the men in prison:
Name: Khobaib Hussain
Prison number: A0537CJ
Address: HMP Long Lartin Worcestershire, South Littleton WR11 8TZ
Name: Mohibur Rahman
Prison number: A3480AZ
Address: HMP Full Sutton, York, YO41 1PS
Name: Naweed Ali
Prison number: A0531CJ
Address: HMP Frankland Brasside, Durham DH1 5YA
Name: Tahir Aziz
Prison number: A8301DV
Address: HMP Whitemoor, Whitemoor, Longhill Rd, March PE15 0PR
Or email them:
www.emailaprisoner.com
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Dear Simon Foster,
I am writing to you with urgency in relation to the case of four men, Naweed Ali, Khobaib Hussain, Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz, who were set up by West Midlands Police and have spent the last 10 years in prison for a crime they did not commit.
The men were imprisoned following an investigation led by corrupt police in West Midlands Police called ‘Operation Pesage’. There has been no CCTV, DNA or other evidence linking these men to the items found in the car. Serious concerns have been raised by their lawyers and human rights campaigners, making these convictions unsafe.
The issues include:
• Your officers bragged about their “Oscar performance” while delivering evidence at court via text messages. They also perverted the course of justice by secretly meeting and discussing evidence throughout the trial.
• Evidence emerged that undercover officer “Vincent” fabricated notes in the notebook documenting the operation, having received special permission to handwrite them rather than use the computerised system and getting the dates and times of events wrong.
• CCTV was withheld while “Vincent” was left alone with the car before the security services arrived around one hour and twenty minutes later. This area had CCTV, but none was ever disclosed, not from inside or outside from the public CCTV on the road and its surrounding streets.
• Your officers admitted they had been accused of planting evidence in numerous other cases, other messages exposed the disturbing culture of racism, misogyny and sexual misconduct.
This is not the first time your police force have been accused of such egregious misconduct. This case bears resemblance to the Birmingham Six, when six Irish men were sentenced to life in prison in 1975 after being set up by West Midlands Police, only to have their convictions quashed 16 years later.
I demand:
• That West Midlands Police comply and assist the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) with their investigation into the reopening of this case
• To provide previously withheld evidence
• To disclose the identity of the undercover officer ‘Vincent’ who was the lead officer in ‘Operation Pesage’ in order to properly investigate his conduct in the case
I await your prompt response.
Yours sincerely,
