Raid brother tells of death fears

The man who was shot during an anti-terrorist raid in east London has spoken of his terror at being arrested.

Brothers Abul Koyair, 20, and Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, who was shot in the shoulder, were released without charge a week after the raid in Forest Gate.

At a media conference, Mr Kahar told how he thought he was going to be killed during the police operation.

He said: “I thought one by one they’re going to kill us. At that time I thought I was going to die.”

Earlier their sister Humeya Kalam told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re just a normal family, normal average family.”

She said she had been “petrified” and did not realise it was a police raid until she went outside the house after the dawn raid.

“The police didn’t identify themselves until I left the house. I was dragged down the stairs into the police van. When I saw the police van, obviously I realised these were police.

“I thought they were armed burglars and I was going to die.”

The brothers, who had been held under the Terrorism Act 2000, were released on Friday after police found no trace of an alleged chemical device at their home.

Mr Kahar was shot and injured during the raid, which police said followed “specific intelligence” of a terrorist threat.

Ms Kalam added that her brothers had both been badly affected by the experience.

“They are in a considerable amount of pain, both physically and mentally,” she said.

A spokesman for community organisation the Newham Monitoring Project, which has been supporting the family, said:

The solicitor for the two brothers reportedly said they planned to sue the police.

The police have defended the raid and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating.

On Sunday, about 300 Muslims protested outside Scotland Yard against the tactics used by police in the raid by some 250 officers.

BBC