09/02/2007

Five in court charged with terrorism offences

Five men arrested in a series of anti-terrorism raids in Birmingham last week have appeared in court charged with terrorism offences.

One man, Parviz Khan, 36, has been charged with plotting to kidnap and kill a British soldier. He has also been charged, along with the other four men, with supplying equipment and funding for a terrorist act.

The other men have been named as Hamid Elasmar, 43, Amjad Mahmood, 31, Mohammed Irfan, 30 and Zahoor Iqbal, 29. Mr Mahmood also faces a charge of failing to disclose information of material assistance in preventing an act of terrorism.

All four appeared before City of Westminster magistrates in London on Friday. They have been remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on February 23.

Nine people were arrested during last week's raids. Three men have been released without charge. One man remains in custody and police have until 4am on Saturday to continue questioning him.

West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw gave a press conference earlier on Friday in which he said that police had made "extraordinary progress" in the last week, but said that the inquiry was not yet completed.

More than 4,500 exhibits, including computers, mobile phones and documents, have been seized and are being examined by police, ACC Shaw said.

(KMcA)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

29 May 2015
23 Charged With Drug Offences Following Raids
More than 20 people have been charged with drug offences following a number of raids carried out in London, Gravesend, Dover and Deal. A total of 23 people were arrested during twenty raids carried out over three days. The suspects, ranging in age from 17 to 52, have all been charged in connection with the supply of class A drugs.
09 June 2010
Arrests Made Over Fatal Stabbing
Three men have been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a teenager in east London earlier this year. Godwin Lawson, a 17-year-old footballer from Enfield, north London, died after he was stabbed in Stamford Hill on 27 March. Two other men, aged 18 and 20, were also stabbed during the incident.
19 January 2015
Mobile Customers To Share £1m Refund
Mobile provide EE is to refund around £1m to a number of customers wrongly charged VAT between October 2012 and October 2014. It is understood that EE customers who travelled outside the EU during those dates and used internet data were affected by the charges. The company estimated it as being about 0.5% of its customers.
08 April 2014
Shrien Dewani Extradited To South Africa
British man Shrien Dewani, 34, suspected of arranging the murder of his 28-year-old wife on their honeymoon has arrived in South Africa to face trial after a three-year legal battle against extradition due to his mental health problems.
17 April 2008
Teen Remanded Over Rhys Jones' Murder
A teenage boy has appeared in court today, charged with the murder of Merseyside schoolboy Rhys Jones. The 17-year-old appeared before Liverpool Magistrates Court charged with the fatal shooting of eleven-year-old Rhys in Croxteth, Liverpool, last August.