POLICE have raided the home of a Muslim who went on TV praising his dead brother for fighting “holy war” in Syria.
By Dominik Lemanski and Neil Doyle
TARGET: Mustakim during his interview on Newsnight [IG/BBC]
Mustakim Jaman was on Newsnight in December to talk about his older sibling Ifthekar – who boasted of fighting a “five-star jihad”.
Now he has been targeted by police amid fears he too may go to the Middle East.
The Jaman family home was searched as part of an operation to stop young Muslims joining the Syrian conflict.
Last week, Mustakim took to Twitter to complain about the raid which he claimed was done under the Terrorism Act.
The 22-year-old told followers his family home near Portsmouth had been searched for two days.
He said: “All of our phones are gone, so just a heads up for anyone trying to contact us.
“Before anyone starts running their mouths, it wasn’t to do with our tweets or ‘being careful’ it was more related to something else.
“Brothers, be cautious, this is only the beginning of a wider investigation…don’t give them a reason to take advantage.”
Hampshire police said no arrests were made.
After the raid, Mustakim and his family had a message of support from Jeremiah Adebolajo, brother of Lee Rigby’s killer Michael Adebolajo.
On Newsnight, Mustakim said his brother died “doing a good deed” and was always trying to be the “best Muslim” he could.
A BBC spokesman said: “The comments of Mustakim and Ifthekar Jaman were reported in the context of a film about the connections between foreign jihadis fighting in Syria and their motivations for joining.
“It is squarely in the public interest to investigate and understand how and why British Muslims have become involved in the conflict.”
Newsnight came under fire for giving “crystal Methodist” Paul Flowers an easy ride, offering a platform to the man cleared of killing PC Keith Blakelock and calling fantasist Cody Lachey an Afghan war hero before he was exposed by this newspaper.
Source: Daily Star
