Nottingham Two
Encyclopedia
The Nottingham Two were a student and a staff member of the University of Nottingham
arrested in May 2008 for suspected involvement with Islamic terrorism. University staff had notified the police after finding an English copy of the so-called
Al Qaeda Training Manual on a computer. Both men were released without charge in the following week after it became clear that the document, freely available from US government websites, was used for research about terrorism in the context of a university course, and that neither had any other connection to terrorism.
The case was complicated by the fact that one of the two was re-arrested on immigration charges immediately after the release. It was reported widely, especially by the Guardian
and by Times Higher Education, and became the subject of a short book in 2009. The case resurfaced in 2011 after a lecturer at the University of Nottingham, Rod Thornton
, was suspended for producing a report that seemingly exposed the University of Nottingham for being involved in serious misconduct regarding the arrests and subsequent treatment of both men.
Rizwaan Sabir, born 1985, grew up in Nottingham
. After completing his undergraduate degree in politics at Manchester Metropolitan University
, he went on to study for a Master's degree in International Relations at the University of Nottingham
. Until September 2009 he was working on a PhD at the University of Nottingham
on the evolution of global militant Islam. At present he is researching English and Scottish counterterrorism for his PhD at the University of Strathclyde
.
Hicham Yezza studied for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at Nottingham University before gaining employment in the School of Modern Languages. He was active in university politics, having served as a member of the University Senate, the Student’s Union Executive Committee and was a co-founder of the Arabic society. In 2003 he founded Ceasefire Magazine, an independent magazine whose editor he remains.
website. The document, known as the Al-Qaeda training manual, is also available in book form from Amazon.
Sabir was in the process of preparing his forthcoming PhD proposal, and he was being advised and helped by his friend Hicham Yezza, who was a member of staff at the university of Nottingham at the time. Sabir often sent Yezza copies of documents and reading materials he was using for his research, and the Al-Qaeda manual was one of them. The document was noticed on Yezza's computer by a colleague and as a result the university authorities notified the police.
On 14 May 2008, Yezza was arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000
on suspicion of being involved in the "commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism". When Sabir tried to support Yezza, he was arrested under the same charge.
The arrest sparked a debate over academic freedom when it was revealed that the document was related to research at the University.
On 20 May 2008, Sabir and Yezza were released without charge. Upon his release, Sabir stated: "the power of the state hit me as hard as it could", and described his experience as "the most degrading, dehumanising encounter [he had] ever experienced". According to reports by Al-Jazeera, Sabir stated he was "subjected to psychological torture" and believed that "If [the UK] is trying to stop the radicalisation of Muslims the way to do that is not by locking away innocent people... That will only exacerbate the problem." Sabir stated that he would continue with his PhD despite the recent events and use his experiences to raise awareness of the draconian anti-terror powers that the government
had implemented.
charges. He was issued with a removal order but the plans to deport him before any judicial review could take place were eventually cancelled. Former British Ambassador Craig Murray
suggested that the handling of the incident is evidence of Islamophobia
. In 2009, Yezza was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment for Visa irregularities, but was released after five months.
After Sabir was released, Sir Colin Campbell
, then Vice-Chancellor of the University, controversially stated:
Due to the arrests, the University of Nottingham
came under intense criticism for sacrificing academic freedom
and failing to protect the right of its students and staff from conducting research free from the threat of arrest and detention under the Terrorism Act
. Criticism for the University of Nottingham was increased when the Politics Department established a “module review committee” that “scrutinises” the “reading lists of lecturers” in case they contain “material that is illegal or could incite violence”.
David Miller, professor of sociology at the University of Strathclyde
and the convenor of Teaching About Terrorism, said “Nottingham's review policy represented a fundamental attack on academic freedom. The module review committee is a censorship committee: it can't operate as anything else. The university is acting as the police, one step removed."
Critics argued that the University of Nottingham's stance was setting a very dangerous precedent for research on an issue (terrorism
) that is very contemporary and very popular amongst many university students. A lecturer
in the school
of politics
and international relations
stated:
increased after the only terrorism expert at the institution, Dr Rod Thornton
, decided that because of the university's lack of willingness to provide assistance and guidance to him regarding reading lists and terrorist publications and whether they were okay to disseminate and legitimate to hold, he was no longer willing to risk his own security and liberty by teaching terrorism at Nottingham University. As a result, terrorism is no longer being taught at the University of Nottingham.
For an April 2011 conference of the British International Studies Association
(BISA), Thornton prepared a long paper about the behaviour of Nottingham University's management team following the arrests of Yezza and Sabir. In the document, Thornton gave details of systematic persecution and lies allegedly perpetrated by the management against Yezza, Sabir and junior academics at the university.
One of Thornton's colleagues at Nottingham complained to BISA about alleged defamatory content of Thornton's paper, and a spokesman for the university called it "highly defamatory of a number of his colleagues". The paper was removed from BISA's website.
In early May 2011, Thornton was suspended from his duties for the "breakdown in working relationships" caused by the paper. In an open letter published in the Guardian, 67 international researchers including Noam Chomsky
asked for Thornton's reinstatement and an independent examination of the university's actions, saying that Thornton's paper "carefully details what appear to be examples of serious misconduct from senior university management over the arrest of two university members". At present, a campaign calling for the reinstatement of Dr Rod Thornton and for a public inquiry into the University of Nottingham's actions is ongoing.
, Special Branch
, Home Office
and Crown Prosecution Service
documents, which they claimed, corroborated the claims made by Dr Rod Thornton
that the University undertook a campaign of sabotage against the Nottingham Two before and after their arrest.
Amongst the leaked material contained information and records that the University of Nottingham
security staff had been secretly recording protests and keeping a log of Middle East related events, such as talks and seminars.
The University of Nottingham claimed that "no footage of protests was retained or passed to other authorities, including the police or government. He said that security staff kept lists of protests in case extra security was required "because of their subject matter".
Commenting on the Nottingham Case, Shami Chakrabarti
, the Director of the Human Rights group Liberty
told the Observer: "Is it right that universities are taking on policing duties?"
On 22 June 2011, the Chair of the British International Studies Association
wrote an open letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham
, Professor David Greenaway, which stated that there was a "strong feeling of unease and concern across [BISA] over the issue of academic freedom raised by, but certainly not confined to, the ongoing case of Dr Rod Thornton
". The letter also called for the University of Nottingham to "consider" supporting an independent inquiry into the allegations and issues raised in Thornton's report.
to discuss Terrorism in Britain and the topic of his arrest. He also appeared on various news channels in 2008 as a critic of the governments proposals to increase pre-charge detention for terror suspects from 28 days to 42 days.
On 6 June 2011, Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza appeared on the BBC's flagship Newsnight
Programme to discuss their arrests and the Conservative government's re-introduction of the 'Preventing violent extremism' strategy.
Hicham Yezza continues to be the editor of the political and cultural Ceasefire Magazine, for which Rizwaan Sabir writes a bi-weekly column entitled Sabir on Security.
. In September 2011, before the case reached trial, the police agreed to pay Sabir compensation of £20,000 to settle the claims against them.
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
arrested in May 2008 for suspected involvement with Islamic terrorism. University staff had notified the police after finding an English copy of the so-called
Al Qaeda Training Manual on a computer. Both men were released without charge in the following week after it became clear that the document, freely available from US government websites, was used for research about terrorism in the context of a university course, and that neither had any other connection to terrorism.
The case was complicated by the fact that one of the two was re-arrested on immigration charges immediately after the release. It was reported widely, especially by the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and by Times Higher Education, and became the subject of a short book in 2009. The case resurfaced in 2011 after a lecturer at the University of Nottingham, Rod Thornton
Rod Thornton
Rod Thornton is an academic at the University of Nottingham's department of Politics and International Relations. He was suspended in spring 2011 after publishing an article critical of the University of Nottingham's handling of the arrest of one of its students.-Academic career:Rod Thornton is a...
, was suspended for producing a report that seemingly exposed the University of Nottingham for being involved in serious misconduct regarding the arrests and subsequent treatment of both men.
Background
Nottingham University's School of Politics and International Relations has been involved in terrorism-related research and higher education, including a taught MA course in "International Security and Terrorism".Rizwaan Sabir, born 1985, grew up in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. After completing his undergraduate degree in politics at Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
, he went on to study for a Master's degree in International Relations at the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
. Until September 2009 he was working on a PhD at the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
on the evolution of global militant Islam. At present he is researching English and Scottish counterterrorism for his PhD at the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
.
Hicham Yezza studied for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at Nottingham University before gaining employment in the School of Modern Languages. He was active in university politics, having served as a member of the University Senate, the Student’s Union Executive Committee and was a co-founder of the Arabic society. In 2003 he founded Ceasefire Magazine, an independent magazine whose editor he remains.
Arrests and release
In 2008 Rizwaan Sabir downloaded a 140-page document connected to his research on militant Islam from the US Justice DepartmentUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
website. The document, known as the Al-Qaeda training manual, is also available in book form from Amazon.
Sabir was in the process of preparing his forthcoming PhD proposal, and he was being advised and helped by his friend Hicham Yezza, who was a member of staff at the university of Nottingham at the time. Sabir often sent Yezza copies of documents and reading materials he was using for his research, and the Al-Qaeda manual was one of them. The document was noticed on Yezza's computer by a colleague and as a result the university authorities notified the police.
On 14 May 2008, Yezza was arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
on suspicion of being involved in the "commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism". When Sabir tried to support Yezza, he was arrested under the same charge.
The arrest sparked a debate over academic freedom when it was revealed that the document was related to research at the University.
On 20 May 2008, Sabir and Yezza were released without charge. Upon his release, Sabir stated: "the power of the state hit me as hard as it could", and described his experience as "the most degrading, dehumanising encounter [he had] ever experienced". According to reports by Al-Jazeera, Sabir stated he was "subjected to psychological torture" and believed that "If [the UK] is trying to stop the radicalisation of Muslims the way to do that is not by locking away innocent people... That will only exacerbate the problem." Sabir stated that he would continue with his PhD despite the recent events and use his experiences to raise awareness of the draconian anti-terror powers that the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
had implemented.
Immediate aftermath
Following the terrorism charges Yezza faced deportationDeportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
charges. He was issued with a removal order but the plans to deport him before any judicial review could take place were eventually cancelled. Former British Ambassador Craig Murray
Craig Murray
Craig John Murray is a British political activist, former ambassador to Uzbekistan and former Rector of the University of Dundee....
suggested that the handling of the incident is evidence of Islamophobia
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
. In 2009, Yezza was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment for Visa irregularities, but was released after five months.
After Sabir was released, Sir Colin Campbell
Colin Campbell (academic)
Sir Colin Campbell, DL, FRSA, an academic lawyer, was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, England and served until 2006 as Her Majesty's First Commissioner of Judicial Appointments....
, then Vice-Chancellor of the University, controversially stated:
The entire incident led to public criticism at the time of Campbell, who appeared unwilling to defend the notion of academic freedom in his response to the arrest.
"There is no 'right' to access and research terrorist materials. Those who do so run the risk of being investigated and prosecuted on terrorism charges. Equally, there is no 'prohibition' on accessing terrorist materials for the purpose of research. Those who do so are likely to be able to offer a defence to charges (although they may be held in custody for some time while the matter is investigated).
Due to the arrests, the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
came under intense criticism for sacrificing academic freedom
Academic freedom
Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.Academic freedom is a...
and failing to protect the right of its students and staff from conducting research free from the threat of arrest and detention under the Terrorism Act
Terrorism Act
-United Kingdom:* Prevention of Terrorism Acts passed between 1974 and 1989 to deal with terrorism in Northern Ireland* The Terrorism Act 2000* The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001* The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005* The Terrorism Act 2006...
. Criticism for the University of Nottingham was increased when the Politics Department established a “module review committee” that “scrutinises” the “reading lists of lecturers” in case they contain “material that is illegal or could incite violence”.
David Miller, professor of sociology at the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
and the convenor of Teaching About Terrorism, said “Nottingham's review policy represented a fundamental attack on academic freedom. The module review committee is a censorship committee: it can't operate as anything else. The university is acting as the police, one step removed."
Critics argued that the University of Nottingham's stance was setting a very dangerous precedent for research on an issue (terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
) that is very contemporary and very popular amongst many university students. A lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
in the school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
of politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
stated:
“We are greatly concerned by the disproportionate nature of the university’s response to the possession of legitimate research materials. Both the individuals are unreservedly innocent and they and their families and friends and have been greatly distressed by the overzealous police investigation. It is crucial that we do not let concerns for security become the enemy of liberty and academic freedom”
Suspension of terrorism research
Criticism of the University of NottinghamUniversity of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
increased after the only terrorism expert at the institution, Dr Rod Thornton
Rod Thornton
Rod Thornton is an academic at the University of Nottingham's department of Politics and International Relations. He was suspended in spring 2011 after publishing an article critical of the University of Nottingham's handling of the arrest of one of its students.-Academic career:Rod Thornton is a...
, decided that because of the university's lack of willingness to provide assistance and guidance to him regarding reading lists and terrorist publications and whether they were okay to disseminate and legitimate to hold, he was no longer willing to risk his own security and liberty by teaching terrorism at Nottingham University. As a result, terrorism is no longer being taught at the University of Nottingham.
For an April 2011 conference of the British International Studies Association
British International Studies Association
The British International Studies Association is a learned society that promotes the study of international relations and related subjects through teaching, research, and facilitation of contact between scholars. BISA has an international membership where 40 countries are represented. The current...
(BISA), Thornton prepared a long paper about the behaviour of Nottingham University's management team following the arrests of Yezza and Sabir. In the document, Thornton gave details of systematic persecution and lies allegedly perpetrated by the management against Yezza, Sabir and junior academics at the university.
One of Thornton's colleagues at Nottingham complained to BISA about alleged defamatory content of Thornton's paper, and a spokesman for the university called it "highly defamatory of a number of his colleagues". The paper was removed from BISA's website.
In early May 2011, Thornton was suspended from his duties for the "breakdown in working relationships" caused by the paper. In an open letter published in the Guardian, 67 international researchers including Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
asked for Thornton's reinstatement and an independent examination of the university's actions, saying that Thornton's paper "carefully details what appear to be examples of serious misconduct from senior university management over the arrest of two university members". At present, a campaign calling for the reinstatement of Dr Rod Thornton and for a public inquiry into the University of Nottingham's actions is ongoing.
Leaked Documentation & Unileaks
On 12 June 2011, the whistle-blowing website Unileaks.org and the campaign created in support of Dr Rod Thornton, S.W.A.N, leaked in excess of 200 internal university, policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
, Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
and Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
documents, which they claimed, corroborated the claims made by Dr Rod Thornton
Rod Thornton
Rod Thornton is an academic at the University of Nottingham's department of Politics and International Relations. He was suspended in spring 2011 after publishing an article critical of the University of Nottingham's handling of the arrest of one of its students.-Academic career:Rod Thornton is a...
that the University undertook a campaign of sabotage against the Nottingham Two before and after their arrest.
Amongst the leaked material contained information and records that the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
security staff had been secretly recording protests and keeping a log of Middle East related events, such as talks and seminars.
The University of Nottingham claimed that "no footage of protests was retained or passed to other authorities, including the police or government. He said that security staff kept lists of protests in case extra security was required "because of their subject matter".
Commenting on the Nottingham Case, Shami Chakrabarti
Shami Chakrabarti
Shami Chakrabarti CBE , has been the director of Liberty, a British pressure group, since September 2003. Chakrabarti is the Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University.-Early life:...
, the Director of the Human Rights group Liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
told the Observer: "Is it right that universities are taking on policing duties?"
On 22 June 2011, the Chair of the British International Studies Association
British International Studies Association
The British International Studies Association is a learned society that promotes the study of international relations and related subjects through teaching, research, and facilitation of contact between scholars. BISA has an international membership where 40 countries are represented. The current...
wrote an open letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, Professor David Greenaway, which stated that there was a "strong feeling of unease and concern across [BISA] over the issue of academic freedom raised by, but certainly not confined to, the ongoing case of Dr Rod Thornton
Rod Thornton
Rod Thornton is an academic at the University of Nottingham's department of Politics and International Relations. He was suspended in spring 2011 after publishing an article critical of the University of Nottingham's handling of the arrest of one of its students.-Academic career:Rod Thornton is a...
". The letter also called for the University of Nottingham to "consider" supporting an independent inquiry into the allegations and issues raised in Thornton's report.
Media Appearances
On 27 January 2011, Rizwaan Sabir appeared on 10 O'Clock Live10 O'Clock Live
10 O'Clock Live is a British satirical comedy/news television programme presented by Charlie Brooker, Jimmy Carr, Lauren Laverne and David Mitchell....
to discuss Terrorism in Britain and the topic of his arrest. He also appeared on various news channels in 2008 as a critic of the governments proposals to increase pre-charge detention for terror suspects from 28 days to 42 days.
On 6 June 2011, Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza appeared on the BBC's flagship Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
Programme to discuss their arrests and the Conservative government's re-introduction of the 'Preventing violent extremism' strategy.
Hicham Yezza continues to be the editor of the political and cultural Ceasefire Magazine, for which Rizwaan Sabir writes a bi-weekly column entitled Sabir on Security.
Legal settlement
Rizwaan Sabir subsequently brought legal proceedings against Nottinghamshire police for various claims including false imprisonmentFalse imprisonment
False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
. In September 2011, before the case reached trial, the police agreed to pay Sabir compensation of £20,000 to settle the claims against them.
External links
- Support the Whistle Blower At Nottingham (S.W.A.N) - Support group for Dr Rod ThorntonRod ThorntonRod Thornton is an academic at the University of Nottingham's department of Politics and International Relations. He was suspended in spring 2011 after publishing an article critical of the University of Nottingham's handling of the arrest of one of its students.-Academic career:Rod Thornton is a...
. - Teaching Terrorism – Blog of the Teaching About Terrorism Special Interest Group at the Higher Education AcademyHigher Education AcademyThe Higher Education Academy is an independent organisation in the United Kingdom that supports higher education institutions with strategies for the development of research and evaluation to improve the learning experience for students.-History:...
- Free Hicham Yezza – Support group
- Ceasefire Magazine – Magazine founded and edited by Hicham Yezza