21 May 2014 13.30hrs

A search at the Brighton family home of a Briton killed fighting in Syria has continued into a second day.

Abu Bakr Deghayes, father of British teenager Abdullah Deghayes who was killed last month in Syria, spoke to CAGE by phone from a hotel room where he has been staying with his family. They were forced to relocate to a hotel after the police search of their house continued through the night and into the morning.

Abu Bakr Deghayes said to CAGE: "It’s now 2 days and my family life has been severely disrupted. I don’t know what they are looking for. I read on the search warrant that they wanted to find literature inciting terrorism; I have Castro books, is that terrorism?"

Asim Qureshi of CAGE, said: ‘'Displacing a family in this way is clearly disproportional and extremely damaging. We call on the police to show restraint in their dealings with a family that has yet to come to terms with the death of their son. We are also concerned with the damaging effects raids like this have on community relations.”

[ENDS]
 
Notes:
1.     CAGE (formerly known as CagePrisoners) is an independent advocacy organisation that works to empower communities affected by the War on Terror and to highlight abuses of due process. 
 
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Contact:            Mr Amandla Thomas-Johnson
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(NOTE: CAGE represents cases of individuals based on the remit of our work. Supporting a case does not mean we agree with the views or actions of the individual. Content published on CAGE may not reflect the official position of our organisation.)