Guardian : Pakistani court orders release of British terror suspect

Pakistani court orders release of British terror suspect

James Sturcke and agencies | Guardian Unlimited | November 15, 2007

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan today ordered the release of a Birmingham man wanted in Britain in connection with an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic jets.

Rashid Rauf is now likely to be deported to Britain, his lawyer, Hashmat Habib, said.

The decision immediately sparked suspicion that the Pakistani authorities were attempting to divert criticism from the political crisis sweeping the country.

The court in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad, ordered Rauf, a British Muslim of Pakistani origin, to be released after the prosecution withdrew the case against him, Habib said.

Pakistani police arrested Rauf in August 2006 following a tip-off from British counterparts, who have described him as a key suspect in the alleged terror plot to blow up jets flying from Britain to the US.

His arrest sparked a series of raids in the UK and the swift tightening of hand baggage restrictions. Fifteen people have been charged with terrorism offences in connection with the alleged plot.

Rauf had been charged in Pakistan with possession of 29 bottles of hydrogen peroxide - a key ingredient used in the manufacture of bombs by al-Qaida in the past - and the possession of fake South African identity papers.

Rauf's family in Pakistan said the charges against him were "cooked up". One said he had bought the hydrogen peroxide to bleach his beard.

Earlier this year, the Guardian revealed that Crown Prosecution Service lawyers had flown to Islamabad to try to secure his extradition.

British authorities were engaged in secret negotiations to swap him for up to eight people living in the UK who the Pakistani authorities claimed were involved in an uprising in the western oil-rich province of Baluchistan.