In March 2009, Babar Ahmad brought a personal injury claim against Scotland Yard after being subjected to “a serious, gratuitous and prolonged” attack whilst in police custody. He was awarded £60,000 personal injury compensation by the High Court. However, the four police officers suspected of assaulting him were cleared of all charges last week.
37 year old, Mr Ahmad, was arrested in December 2003 on suspicion of leading an al-Qai’da support group. He claimed the police officers assaulted him in his own home and that the abuse continued in a police van and once he arrived at the police station.
During the course of the trial, members of the jury listened to a recording from an MI5 bug hidden in Ahmad’s home. Screams and shouts were captured by the bug but no voices.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court found the four police officers not guilty of attacking Ahmad in the month long trial. They were not told about the previous civil case brought by Ahmad’s personal injury solicitors.
The solicitor acting for the police officers, Colin Reynolds, said the officers were now looking forward to putting these unsubstantiated allegations behind them.
There have been no charges brought against Mr Ahmad in connection with his arrest. But he has been in prison for almost seven years awaiting extradition to the United States for alleged terrorism offences. Ahmad has even appealed to David Cameron to either release him or give him a British trial.