Tea and Terrorism Act 2000 Schedule 7. |
Meeting up with old friends and having discussions about the latest developments in Turkey and Kurdistan.
Half way through our tea, in through the door comes a group of women, chatting and grasping bundles of legal papers and looking very worried.
With them is Asye Gul, who has just translated for them at their solicitors who explains what has happened.
3 coaches, 1 from Kurdish Community Centre (KCC) and 2 from Halkevi had set off from London on the evening of Friday the 11th Jan to the demonstration in Paris to mark the first year since the assassination of Kurdish activists, Sakine Cansiz, Leyla Saylemez and Fidan Dogan.
When the coach from KCC with 36 adults and 2 children arrived in Dover it was met with around 50 policemen from London Metropolitan Branch who ordered the travellers off the coach and were escorted, each surrounded by four officers like 'dangerous terrorists' into an area where they were all individually body searched.
Kurdish women were searched by female officers in front of policemen and subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment. The officers were putting their hands into their underwear and raking their hands through their hair. One woman fainted with the shock and embarrassment of the ordeal. Another woman had her veil pulled off her hair in front of male officers.
All the women were in deep shock and embarrassment at the treatment of UK police.
"We were treated like dangerous terrorists" one woman told me.
"I have never been subjected to such degrading and insulting behaviour in my life and now I am afraid to go home in case my home is raided by these people, what can I do? Who will protect me? Why did they do this?" She began to cry.
24 people in total had all their personal money (small amounts of £100, £200 etc that you expect to carry going to another country on a trip) confiscated from them and were charged with "Money laundering for a terrorist organisation!!" under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
All 36 adults on the coach were interviewed under duress and confusion. Many of them did not have English as a first language and when they requested a Kurmanji translator a Sorani translator was provided and when they objected the police ignored their protests and continued the interview brushing their concerns aside saying, "I'm sure you speak English!"
They were pressurised to sign documents they did not understand and are left in deep shock and worry they have been labelled as 'terrorists' and the consequences for them and their families.
They have all taken legal advise and will be taking action against the Metropolitan police.
I came away from the Kurdish Community Centre is shock.
In 20 years of campaigning for Kurdish rights from the UK, I have never come across an incident so grave, designed to criminalise the whole Kurdish community.
With other conversations from other centre members it soon became clear that this is part of a wider intimidation and a seemingly new operation against the Kurdish community in the UK.
No doubt instigated at the request of the Turkish regime, the UK government are now in full swing repressing the Kurdish people in the UK with the full apparatus of the secret state.
The criminalisation of a people who have fled into exile having suffered torture, murder and racism is one of the worst crimes against humanity.
It makes me feel ashamed to be a citizen of this country!
The Guardian has picked it up and reported it. :O)
