By Duncan Gardham,
Qatada, once described as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe," is in discussions to return Palestine, where he was born, instead of battling to avoid deportation. The British Government had previously said it would permit the 47-year-old to leave if he could find a country willing to take him, a hearing of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission was told.
The preacher was released from jail in June after the Government failed to have him deported to Jordan over fears he would not get a fair trial on terrorism charges. He was arrested on Saturday morning at his council home in West London after allegedly breaching his strict bail conditions. His lawyer Edward Fitzgerald QC, said that officials may have thought he plotting to flee Britain but added: "There have been quite above board discussions as to the possibility of him going to a third party country where there would be no risk of torture.
"There is no reason that would be done without the full approval of the Home Office. "He has taken legal advice on renouncing Jordanian nationality and there have been discussions about the possibility of returning to Palestine, the place of his birth. He was born in Bethlehem.
"There was a stage when the Government position was 'you can go wherever as long as you could be accepted there'." Mr Justice Mitting confirmed Qatada would be allowed to go, adding: "These are deportation proceedings. There would not appear to be any reason in principle he should not leave to another country that would accept him."
Mr Fitzgerald said allegations that Qatada was plotting to flee the country unlawfully, which may have been made in one of two closed sessions at the hearing, were "ridiculous" and could have been down to "Chinese whispers" about his negotiations with Palestine. However he admitted: "I am playing a game of blind man's buff," because many allegations against the hate preacher were made in secret, without Qatada or his legal team present, and said he only knew about the fleeing allegation because of newspaper reports. Mr Justice Mitting admitted that the only allegation serious enough to keep Qatada in prison was secret, and indicated he may order it to be disclosed.
The hearing the other evidence includes a video tape allegedly showing him preaching in breach of bail and other material on video tapes, memory cards, computer discs, Sim cards and an mp3 player. He was also allegedly encouraged to join the "mujahideen on the battlefield," on a website posting. Describing the public evidence as an "assault of cynical and tenuous suggestion," Mr Fitzgerald said the 'preaching' video was actually him talking to his children about the importance of Eid and the mp3 player was his son's ipod. Qatada - real name Omar Mohammed Othman - arrived in Britain from Jordan in September 1993 using a forged passport and claimed asylum for himself, his wife and children.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission has previously described him as a "truly dangerous individual" who was "heavily involved, indeed at the centre of terrorist activities associated with al-Qaeda." They said he had given religious authority to numerous high profile terrorists across the world, including those behind September 11 attacks.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Bin Laden's son Omar may go to New Zealand, says wife
NEW Zealand immigration officials will not comment on reports the son of Osama bin Laden may be considering a move there after being refused entry to Spain and Britain. Mr bin Laden and his wife arrived in Egypt from Madrid on Saturday after Spanish authorities refused his request for asylum last week.
The couple, who lived in Egypt for several months in 2007 and 2008, have also been denied entry to Britain. Airport sources in Egypt said Mr bin Laden, who says he does not support violence, had asked to go to Qatar, where as a Saudi citizen he would have right of entry. British authorities have denied him a visa and the Spanish interior ministry rejected his asylum plea on the grounds that it did not consider he was in danger in Egypt.
The Saudi-born 27-year-old is one of the 19 children of the infamous fugitive founder of the al-Qaeda terror group. His British-born wife, Zaina al Sabah, has been reported as saying the couple wanted to go to New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand said today it did not comment on individual cases and could not confirm whether Mr bin Laden had applied for a visa, the New Zealand Press Association reports. Ms Sabah called the Spanish decision "political" and said the couple had been trying to raise money to fly to New Zealand.
She did not say whether they hoped to stay. Mr bin Laden is the fourth child from Osama bin Laden's first marriage. His 52-year-old wife, whom he married in 2007, changed her name from Jane Felix-Browne. Mr bin Laden says he has not spoken to his father since 2000, when he decided to leave a training camp in Afghanistan with his consent.
Ms Sabah told Reuters last week that the couple feared they would be assassinated for condemning the views of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Mr bin Laden had lodged another request for a British visa but this would not be considered until February 2009, his wife said.
The couple, who lived in Egypt for several months in 2007 and 2008, have also been denied entry to Britain. Airport sources in Egypt said Mr bin Laden, who says he does not support violence, had asked to go to Qatar, where as a Saudi citizen he would have right of entry. British authorities have denied him a visa and the Spanish interior ministry rejected his asylum plea on the grounds that it did not consider he was in danger in Egypt.
The Saudi-born 27-year-old is one of the 19 children of the infamous fugitive founder of the al-Qaeda terror group. His British-born wife, Zaina al Sabah, has been reported as saying the couple wanted to go to New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand said today it did not comment on individual cases and could not confirm whether Mr bin Laden had applied for a visa, the New Zealand Press Association reports. Ms Sabah called the Spanish decision "political" and said the couple had been trying to raise money to fly to New Zealand.
She did not say whether they hoped to stay. Mr bin Laden is the fourth child from Osama bin Laden's first marriage. His 52-year-old wife, whom he married in 2007, changed her name from Jane Felix-Browne. Mr bin Laden says he has not spoken to his father since 2000, when he decided to leave a training camp in Afghanistan with his consent.
Ms Sabah told Reuters last week that the couple feared they would be assassinated for condemning the views of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Mr bin Laden had lodged another request for a British visa but this would not be considered until February 2009, his wife said.
Rigid immigration policy hurts U.S.
By Edward Alden
As California knows better than any state in the country, getting immigration policy right boils down to a simple proposition: Let the good people in and keep the bad ones out. We want the scientists at Stanford, the software engineers at Google, and the thousands of men and women who staff the hotels and restaurants and do the hard work that makes California's farms into the nation's breadbasket. We don't want the Salvadoran street gangs in Los Angeles or the al Qaeda terrorists who lived quietly in San Diego before carrying out the Sept. 11 atrocities.
But since 9/11 and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, we have been focused mostly on keeping out those we don't want, and that single-mindedness has come at a high cost. For all the threats that openness can bring, it is the lifeblood of this country's economy and a pillar of our reputation in the world, and restoring a balance will be one of the critical challenges facing the new Obama administration.
In my book, "The Closing of the American Border," I tell many stories of good people who got caught by Washington's post-9/11 effort to secure the borders against terrorists. Faiz Bhora, a young Pakistani, had trained as a doctor in the United States for a decade and was hired by UCLA as a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon to perform the most delicate and life-threatening operations on children. But when he returned home in 2002 to renew his visa to work in the United States, he was kept out of the country for almost a year as a result of an ill-considered Bush administration response that resulted in lengthy security checks on nearly everyone coming to the United States from Muslim countries.
Dia Elnaiem, a Sudanese scientist, had come with his wife and children to UC Davis to do cutting-edge research on leishmaniasis, an insidious and often fatal tropical disease caused by the bite of a tiny sand fly. At the urging of his supervisor, he attended an academic conference in Brazil. But when he tried to return, he was told that as a Sudanese, he must wait for a security background check, even though he had already been approved just months before to come to the United States. He spent six months in Brazil, while his family struggled in Davis and his precious samples of sand flies died in his lab. His research was set back at least two years.
There are dozens of similar tales, which received far more attention abroad than they have here, and they sent a message to many of the world's most talented people that the United States was no longer a welcoming country. Foreign student enrollment dropped after 9/11, while Britain, Germany, Canada and Australia all rushed to prosper from our mistakes and saw double-digit increases. The numbers are now recovering, in part because of the weaker dollar, but we suddenly face competition for the world's best students after decades in which the United States was the only real choice for those with the most talent and ambition.
U.S. companies also found that they could not get visas promptly for overseas employees or bring in potential foreign buyers of their products. They have complained to Washington, but some have quietly moved operations abroad to countries that do not impose such restrictions. Microsoft last year announced that it would outsource its new software development facility to Vancouver, British Columbia, because it could not hire the foreign talent it needs in the United States.
The Sept. 11 legacy has also distorted our immigration priorities in other ways. The Department of Homeland Security is supposed to be protecting us against another terrorist attack; instead, it is pouring most of its resources into routine immigration enforcement aimed at the millions of illegal migrants who have come to the United States seeking a toehold on a better life. The department claims that such measures will help to keep out terrorists and criminals - thus justifying the lengthy detentions and harsh treatment of illegal immigrants that would otherwise be seen as unconscionable - but almost every expert on the subject disagrees.
The measures that have worked since 9/11 have been targeted - watch lists, fingerprints, intelligence on incoming passengers and other schemes designed to find the terrorist and criminal needles in the vast haystack of law-abiding travelers.
The outgoing Bush administration deserves praise for its progress with such targeted initiatives. We are better at keeping bad people out, and in the short run we are safer because of it. But unless we extend a new welcome to those we want by making it easier for them to come to the United States, we will continue needlessly to weaken our economy and diminish our standing in the world. That is too high a price to pay.
Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, is the author of "The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11."
As California knows better than any state in the country, getting immigration policy right boils down to a simple proposition: Let the good people in and keep the bad ones out. We want the scientists at Stanford, the software engineers at Google, and the thousands of men and women who staff the hotels and restaurants and do the hard work that makes California's farms into the nation's breadbasket. We don't want the Salvadoran street gangs in Los Angeles or the al Qaeda terrorists who lived quietly in San Diego before carrying out the Sept. 11 atrocities.
But since 9/11 and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, we have been focused mostly on keeping out those we don't want, and that single-mindedness has come at a high cost. For all the threats that openness can bring, it is the lifeblood of this country's economy and a pillar of our reputation in the world, and restoring a balance will be one of the critical challenges facing the new Obama administration.
In my book, "The Closing of the American Border," I tell many stories of good people who got caught by Washington's post-9/11 effort to secure the borders against terrorists. Faiz Bhora, a young Pakistani, had trained as a doctor in the United States for a decade and was hired by UCLA as a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon to perform the most delicate and life-threatening operations on children. But when he returned home in 2002 to renew his visa to work in the United States, he was kept out of the country for almost a year as a result of an ill-considered Bush administration response that resulted in lengthy security checks on nearly everyone coming to the United States from Muslim countries.
Dia Elnaiem, a Sudanese scientist, had come with his wife and children to UC Davis to do cutting-edge research on leishmaniasis, an insidious and often fatal tropical disease caused by the bite of a tiny sand fly. At the urging of his supervisor, he attended an academic conference in Brazil. But when he tried to return, he was told that as a Sudanese, he must wait for a security background check, even though he had already been approved just months before to come to the United States. He spent six months in Brazil, while his family struggled in Davis and his precious samples of sand flies died in his lab. His research was set back at least two years.
There are dozens of similar tales, which received far more attention abroad than they have here, and they sent a message to many of the world's most talented people that the United States was no longer a welcoming country. Foreign student enrollment dropped after 9/11, while Britain, Germany, Canada and Australia all rushed to prosper from our mistakes and saw double-digit increases. The numbers are now recovering, in part because of the weaker dollar, but we suddenly face competition for the world's best students after decades in which the United States was the only real choice for those with the most talent and ambition.
U.S. companies also found that they could not get visas promptly for overseas employees or bring in potential foreign buyers of their products. They have complained to Washington, but some have quietly moved operations abroad to countries that do not impose such restrictions. Microsoft last year announced that it would outsource its new software development facility to Vancouver, British Columbia, because it could not hire the foreign talent it needs in the United States.
The Sept. 11 legacy has also distorted our immigration priorities in other ways. The Department of Homeland Security is supposed to be protecting us against another terrorist attack; instead, it is pouring most of its resources into routine immigration enforcement aimed at the millions of illegal migrants who have come to the United States seeking a toehold on a better life. The department claims that such measures will help to keep out terrorists and criminals - thus justifying the lengthy detentions and harsh treatment of illegal immigrants that would otherwise be seen as unconscionable - but almost every expert on the subject disagrees.
The measures that have worked since 9/11 have been targeted - watch lists, fingerprints, intelligence on incoming passengers and other schemes designed to find the terrorist and criminal needles in the vast haystack of law-abiding travelers.
The outgoing Bush administration deserves praise for its progress with such targeted initiatives. We are better at keeping bad people out, and in the short run we are safer because of it. But unless we extend a new welcome to those we want by making it easier for them to come to the United States, we will continue needlessly to weaken our economy and diminish our standing in the world. That is too high a price to pay.
Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, is the author of "The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11."
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Manpower company of Nepal submits false documents
QATAR - A manpower company, Destination Overseas, produced fraud documents to step up pressure on the Nepali Embassy here to send employees for underpaid work.
The company requested the embassy over phone to send Yug Bahadur and Dik Bahadur Shrestha of Yaku-3 of Bhojpur for work in the guise of their father. The Shrestha brothers along with one Om Prakash Kewat of Nawalparasi are taking refuge at the embassy now after they were paid 550 riyal monthly, which is lower than the labor agreement signed between the two countries.
Furthermore, the company filed an application in the name of Yug's wife at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking to take initiatives to send them for work. It is learnt that the application was fraudulent. "My wife cannot read and write. But the application bears her signature," Yug Bahadur claimed.In connection with the application, a Counselor Officer at the ministry, Rajendra Pandey, issued order to the embassy to provide necessary help for the victims.The victims said that they could not get the job the overseas company had promised in Nepal.
Nepali Ambassador Dr Surya Nath Mishra said the embassy had not signed any labor agreement below 600 riyal since last January. "We have no objection if they want to work," he said, adding, "But the embassy won't sign labor agreement below that amount."
The company requested the embassy over phone to send Yug Bahadur and Dik Bahadur Shrestha of Yaku-3 of Bhojpur for work in the guise of their father. The Shrestha brothers along with one Om Prakash Kewat of Nawalparasi are taking refuge at the embassy now after they were paid 550 riyal monthly, which is lower than the labor agreement signed between the two countries.
Furthermore, the company filed an application in the name of Yug's wife at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking to take initiatives to send them for work. It is learnt that the application was fraudulent. "My wife cannot read and write. But the application bears her signature," Yug Bahadur claimed.In connection with the application, a Counselor Officer at the ministry, Rajendra Pandey, issued order to the embassy to provide necessary help for the victims.The victims said that they could not get the job the overseas company had promised in Nepal.
Nepali Ambassador Dr Surya Nath Mishra said the embassy had not signed any labor agreement below 600 riyal since last January. "We have no objection if they want to work," he said, adding, "But the embassy won't sign labor agreement below that amount."
UK consular staff issue 300,000 visas wrongly, says expert
London - British consular officials across the world are wrongly approving nearly 300,000 visas to visit Britain every year.
The revelation, which was made during a presentation to the Home Affairs Committee here, has sparked a round of criticism of the Labour government's immigration policy.
"This makes a mockery of Labour's claims to have a grip on our immigration system. It is obvious that its operation is neither firm, nor fair. This error rate not only increases the scope for increased illegal immigration, but is obviously a security threat," said Dominic Grieve, Shadow Home Secretary.
The presentation to the committee was made by Linda Costello-Baker, an independent visa monitor. She said it was "reasonable" to assume that 15 per cent of short-term visa approvals were wrong.
She said that officials were "under pressure" to issue visas to meet productivity targets.
Officials considering visa applications found it much easier to approve visas than reject them, she said, because issuing was a "much faster" process than refusal.
British high commissions, embassies and consulates across the world examine 2.4 million applications each year from tourists, business people and those visiting relatives.
Some of the highest numbers of visa applications are received by offices of the British high commission in India.
"About 80 per cent of visas are issued and yet there has been no external scrutiny over that 80 per cent. I don't think there has been adequate scrutiny of decisions to issue. I think there is pressure to issue visas because it helps people hit their productivity targets," Costello-Baker said. AP
The revelation, which was made during a presentation to the Home Affairs Committee here, has sparked a round of criticism of the Labour government's immigration policy.
"This makes a mockery of Labour's claims to have a grip on our immigration system. It is obvious that its operation is neither firm, nor fair. This error rate not only increases the scope for increased illegal immigration, but is obviously a security threat," said Dominic Grieve, Shadow Home Secretary.
The presentation to the committee was made by Linda Costello-Baker, an independent visa monitor. She said it was "reasonable" to assume that 15 per cent of short-term visa approvals were wrong.
She said that officials were "under pressure" to issue visas to meet productivity targets.
Officials considering visa applications found it much easier to approve visas than reject them, she said, because issuing was a "much faster" process than refusal.
British high commissions, embassies and consulates across the world examine 2.4 million applications each year from tourists, business people and those visiting relatives.
Some of the highest numbers of visa applications are received by offices of the British high commission in India.
"About 80 per cent of visas are issued and yet there has been no external scrutiny over that 80 per cent. I don't think there has been adequate scrutiny of decisions to issue. I think there is pressure to issue visas because it helps people hit their productivity targets," Costello-Baker said. AP
Monday, November 17, 2008
30 with fake visas held
KUALA LUMPUR: Thirty foreign construction workers were detained by the Immigration Department yesterday for possessing fake visas.
They were nabbed by the department's "Black Hawk" squad at a construction site in Jalan Kuda Lari, off Jalan Tun Razak, at 2.30am.Immigration Department enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed said the workers were found hiding in the half-completed underground car park of the building under construction, together with about 70 others who were not detained."We believe the workers were cheated by their employers. They were given fake immigration cards. The employers lied to them, saying their visas had been renewed."He said the immigration card contained a picture of the worker, name, occupation and address of workplace.
Checks revealed the men, from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal, had been working at the site for between two and 10 months.Investigations revealed the workers entered the country legally and worked at plantations and factories before they were lured by the contractor.Ishak said the workers were paid between RM1,000 and RM1,200 monthly, but they had to work daily. The salary is slightly higher than their previous pay in the two sectors.He said the detainees were now in the department's Putrajaya lockup.
They were nabbed by the department's "Black Hawk" squad at a construction site in Jalan Kuda Lari, off Jalan Tun Razak, at 2.30am.Immigration Department enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed said the workers were found hiding in the half-completed underground car park of the building under construction, together with about 70 others who were not detained."We believe the workers were cheated by their employers. They were given fake immigration cards. The employers lied to them, saying their visas had been renewed."He said the immigration card contained a picture of the worker, name, occupation and address of workplace.
Checks revealed the men, from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal, had been working at the site for between two and 10 months.Investigations revealed the workers entered the country legally and worked at plantations and factories before they were lured by the contractor.Ishak said the workers were paid between RM1,000 and RM1,200 monthly, but they had to work daily. The salary is slightly higher than their previous pay in the two sectors.He said the detainees were now in the department's Putrajaya lockup.
34 illegal immigrants nabbed in Malacca
MALACCA: More than 1,000 migrant workers were screened by the authorities during a crackdown on illegal immigrants.
State Public Order chief Supt Fauzi Zaman said 34 illegal immigrants were held during the operation at a shopping complex next to the former bus station at Jalan Tun Ali, which is a favourite haunt for migrant workers.
The joint operation under Ops Sepadu began at 2pm with officers gathering workers from Hang Tuah Mall, Ocean Shopping Mall and the surrounding areas for screening, he told reporters at a press conference yesterday.
From the 1,038 migrant workers screened, 15 Indonesians, nine Bangladeshis, seven Nepalese and three Myanmars were detained for various offences under immigration laws.
He said the aim of the operation was to ensure the city remained free of illegal immigrants, especially in areas located within the city’s tourist belt.
A total of 112 officers from the Immigration Department, National Registration Department, police and Rela took part in the five-hour operation.
State Public Order chief Supt Fauzi Zaman said 34 illegal immigrants were held during the operation at a shopping complex next to the former bus station at Jalan Tun Ali, which is a favourite haunt for migrant workers.
The joint operation under Ops Sepadu began at 2pm with officers gathering workers from Hang Tuah Mall, Ocean Shopping Mall and the surrounding areas for screening, he told reporters at a press conference yesterday.
From the 1,038 migrant workers screened, 15 Indonesians, nine Bangladeshis, seven Nepalese and three Myanmars were detained for various offences under immigration laws.
He said the aim of the operation was to ensure the city remained free of illegal immigrants, especially in areas located within the city’s tourist belt.
A total of 112 officers from the Immigration Department, National Registration Department, police and Rela took part in the five-hour operation.
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