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Islamic Human Rights Commission
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13 February 2008

PRESSRELEASE: UK- IHRC welcomes ruling on freedom of thought

IHRC welcomes the verdict of the Court of Appeal, quashing the
convictions of five young Muslim men, which provides a long awaited
clarification of section 57 of the 2000 Terrorism Act.

IHRC hopes this judgment will stop the criminalisation of Muslim youth
for downloading and reading material that is widely available to
everyone. In some cases people have been charged for accessing material that
is available on ‘YouTube’ and other similar websites.

IHRC Chairman, Massoud Shadjareh, stated:

“Our anti terror strategy should target and bring to account those who
plan criminal acts of terrorism. Instead individuals who write poetry,
read blogs or download material from the internet, are being targeted
because of their ethnicity or religious affiliation.”

For more information please contact the Press Office on (+44) 20 8904
4222 or (+44) 7958 522196 or email info@ihrc.org. [ENDS]
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IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and
Social Council of the United Nations.

Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom

Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: info@ihrc.org
Web: www.ihrc.org