Carl Gardner @carlgardner has published a blog post Abu Qatada's bail conditions imposed by the secretive Special Immigration Appeals Commission
The conditions of his bail are extraordinary - and I thought you'd like to see what they are. Here's a copy of the "bail order" made by Mr. Justice Mitting on 13 November 2012, following Qatada's successful appeal to SIAC.
This links to a (.pdf) image scan of a fax on DocumentCloud (why are UK Courts still in the 20th Century ?) http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/612980/abu-qatada-bail-order-november-13-2012.pdf
With the help of Google Drive, Spy Blog has converted this into a more search engine friendly format:
Remember that Abu Qatada has not been charged, let alone convicted of any criminal offences in the UK.
If the following bail conditions had been applied, which exceed the conditions which a non- ECHR derogating Control Order or a current Terrorism prevention and Investigative Measure order could impose.
sc/15/2005
IN THE SPECIAL IMMIGRATION
APPEALS COMMISSIONOmar OTHMAN aka ABU QATADA (O)
Appellant v
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT
Respondent
BAIL ORDER
13 November 2012
BAIL ORDER 13 November 2012
SIAC orders the release of Omar Othman. the Applicant. on bail to appear at SlAC as and when directed by SlAC on his own recognisance (£nil) on the following conditions:
(1) He shall permit himself to be with and shall thereafter at all times wear an electronic monitoring tag ("the tag"). The Applicant shall permit himself to be fitted with the tag in prison or at his home, or elsewhere directed by or on behalf of the SSHD and for those purposes and for the purpose of' conveying him to his home, he shall accept the directions and control of those authorised by the SSHD to convey him there. The Applicant must not damage or tamper with the tag. the tag monitoring equipment. and / or the telephone provided by the monitoring company (including the associated line). The Applicant must charge the tag on a daily basis using the charging equipment provided by the monitoring company. The Applicant must not remove the charging equipment his residence without thc pemtíssion of the Home Office.
(2) He shall reside at [censored] and the Secretary of State ["The Residence"] and shall remain in The Residence at all times, save for one period of eight hours every day of the week. "The Residence" in the case of a house encompasses only the house and does not include any outside space associated with it. "The Residence" in the case of a flat encompasses that flat and. in particular, does not include any communal area either inside or outside to which any person not within the residence would have unrestricted access.
Literally house arrest
(2A) The Applicant shall be permitted outside The Residence 8.00 - 16.00 each day subject to the marked boundary notified to SIAC. The Applicant shall not be permitted to enter any rail station including any London Underground station within the marked boundary.(3) The Applicant must report to the monitoring company by telephone on the occasion he leaves the residence each individual curfew period has ended and on the last occasion he returns to it before the end of each individual curfew period begins.
(4) He must permit entry to persons identifying themselves as police representatives of the SSHD or of the monitoring company at any time to ven'fy his presence al thc residence and / or to monitor his compliance with the bail conditions imposed by SlAC. Such monitoring may include but is not limited to:
- (a) a search of the residence or any vehicle owned. of' which he is the registered keeper or used by the Applicant or any member of his family;
- (b) removal of any item to ensure compliance with the remainder of the conditions as imposed by SIAC;
- (c) inspectìon/modification or removal for inspection/modification of any article lo ensure that it does not breach the conditions imposed by SIAC;
- (d) permitting the installation of such equipment as may be considercd necessary to ensure compliance with the conditions imposed by SIAC;
- (e) the taking of his photograph.
(5) The Applicant shall not apply for or have in his possession any travel ticket which would take him to an arca outside that marked on the attached map unless it be for the purpose of a visit to which the SSHD has consented.
(6) The Applicant shall be prohibited from boarding. entering or riding any motorised vehicle
(7) The Applicant shall not permit any person to enter his residence, save for:
- (a) the following family members;
- (i) his wife
- (ii) his children
- (b) his nominated legal representative;
- (c) in an emergency. members of the emergency services or health care or social work professionals;
- (d) any person aged 14 or under;
Are there really no potential terrorists under the age of 14 ?
- (e) any person required to be given access under the tenancy agreement for the residence. a copy of which shall be supplied to the SSHD;
- (f) any person required to be given access further lo paragraph 4 above.
He shall not permit any other individual to enter his residence except with prior approval of the SSHD, ln relation to those other individuals, hc must supply the name. address. date of birth and identity photograph of the individual. The prior approval of the SSHD shall not be required for subsequent visits by an approved individual.
The Applicant shall not permit more than one individual to be present with him in his residence at any time, The individuals at paragraphs 7(11), (b), (c) and (f) above are to be disregarded for the purposes of lhis restriction.
(8) He shall not, outside of the residence
- (a) meet any person by prior arrangement. other than:
- (i) a person to in obligation 7(a) (i) above;
- (ii) for health or welfare purposes at an establishment on a list provided to
and agreed by the SSHD before
- (iii) for academic or training purposes establishment notified and agreed by
the SSHD before his attendance in accordance with paragraphs 17 and 18 below;
- (iv) emoloyment purposes at a place of employment notiñed and agrcod by the SSHD before: his attendance in accordance with paragraph 19 below;
or
- (b) attend any prearranged meetings or gatherings save with the prior agreement of the SSHD.
The Applicant must supply such infomation as is considered necessary by the SSHD for her to consider any request for such agreement. If the agreement is made subject to conditions. the Applicant must comply with the conditions. For the avoidance of doubt. a meeting shall be deemed to take place outside of the residence if one or more parties to it are outside the residence and a meeting comprises the Applicant meeting with one or more other individuals.
ln the event that the Applicant finds himself in a genuinely chance situation whereby he encounters an acquaintance in the street without pre-arrangements. or he is approached by any individual outside his residence (except in the course of the trade or profession such as shopkeeper or bus driver) the Applicant must, after any initial greetingn disengage from the situation (whether by explaining the terms of his bail order or by making an excuse). If the Applicant wants to spend further time with the acquaintance he has just encountered, he should instruct his legal team to make an application for him to meet with the person at a later date in accordance with the conditions of his bail.
Any person who the Applicant has been given permission by the SSHD to meet outside his residence shall be on the list of cleared visitors and a list of cleared visitors will be exchanged between the parties for the avoidance of any doubt.(9) He shall not. directly or indirectly, at any time or in any way, associate with or have any communications from or with the following individuals or groups of individuals:
- (a) Those contained within the conñdential annex supplied to SIAC. SASO and the Applicant.
- (b) Any individual who has been notified to him by the SSHD and / or who is, at the relevant time, subject to a TPIM imposed under the TPIM Act 2011 or SIAC imposed bail.
- (c) Any person currently in prison, whether on remand or following conviction;
- (d) Any person who has previously been convicted of a TACT offence (1)
- (e) Any person not physically present in the United Kingdom.
(1) A criminal offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 or, the Terrorism Act 2006.
(10) He shall not :
- (a) Bring or permit into the residence, or
- (b) Use or keep (whether in or outside the residence, whether directly or indirectly)
- i. any mobile telephone. whether or not it is capable of connecting to the internet; or
- ii. any computer whether or not it is capable of connecting to the ìnternet; or
- iii. any communications equipment or equipment capable of connecting to the lnternet or components thereof (including but not limited to mobile telephones, fax machines, pagers, computers. public telephone and / or intemet facilities) or electronic storage devices (including but not limited to zip writable DVD or CDs and / or USB pen drives) other than one telephone line in the residence (other than the dedicated line maintained by the monitoring company). The telephone must on request be delivered up to a person authorised by thc SSHD for inspection and approval prior to it being permitted into or to remain in the residence.
What is the point of the restrictions on " electronic storage devices (including but not limited to zip writable DVD or CDs and / or USB pen drives)" ? Without a computer what use are they ?
There is no restriction on CD or DVD or USB pen drive reading devices e.g. a moderne televeision
.
- (c) It shall not be a breach of this condition to permit any person to bring into the residence a mobile telephone provided that any such mobile remains switched off at all times whilst the Applicant is also in the residence
(11) For the avoidance of doubt:
- (a) He may not use any mobile communication device including mobile phone;
- (b) He may not use any landline phone, whether private or public, outside the residence;
- (c) He may not permit while he is in the residence any other person to use a mobile phone in the residence;
- (d) He may not use any computer or connect to or use by any means, directly or indirectly, the internet at any time:
- (e) He may not permit any person to bring any computer into the residence; and
- (f) He must not possess or use, whether inside or outside the residence. whether directly or indirectly, any computer or component thereof whether or not it is capable of connecting to the internet
If Abu Qatada really is still such a lynchpin of Al Qaeda, then why are the authorities not actively encouraging him to communicate by mobile phone and by the internet ?
Surely they will then either gather enough evidence to convict him of a terrorism offence or they will harvest a treasure trove of intelligence about his contacts and co-conspirators ?
Trying to ban him from communicating only gives himthe moral authority of a political and religious dissident.
(12) He shall not maintain or use more than one account ("account" including amounts in which he has an interest or over which he has any element of control). Such account must be held with a bank or other approved financial institution within the UK. The following information must be provided to a person authorised by the SSHD;
- (a) details of a permitted account opened or closed subsequent to the release on bail. within 2 days of its opening or closing;
- (b) statements of the permitted account on a monthly basis, to be provided within 7 days of their receipt.
(13) He shall not have in his possession at any time any credit, debit or switch card not issued to him by the issuing bank or store in the name in which he is hereby bailed.
(14) He shall not transfer. or arrange for others to transfer, any money, or send any documents or goods to a destination outside the UK (whether by himself or through an intermediary) without the prior consent of the SSHD.
(15) He shall not buy. sell or in any way procure, provide to others, or assist in procuńng or providing to others, any form of communications equipment or computer equipment.
(16) He must surrender his passport, identity card or any other travel document to a police officer or other persons authorised by the SSHD as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event no later than 24 hours after release on bail. He shall not apply for or have in his possession or available for his use any passport, identity card, travel document(s) or travel ticket which would enable him to travel outside the United Kingdom.
(17) He shall not commence any training course or academic study course provided by a third party unless and until:
- (a) he has provided thc SSHD with the following information at least 7 days prior to the commencement of the training course or academic study course:
- (i) the name and address of his training course provider or academic study course provider;
- (ii) the nature and location of his training course or academic study course;
- (iii) if known, the date on which he expects the training course or academic study course to commence and the timing of the training course or academic study course: and
- (b) he has received approval in writing from the SSHD for his attendance at the training course or academic study course.
(18) Where he is already undertaking a training course or academic study course, he must provide the SSHD within 7 days of notification of the imposition of this obligation with the details required under obligation 17(a). He must immediately cease his involvement in the training course or academic study course if he receives notification in writing the SSHD to do so.
(19) He must not take up any new employment unless and until;
- (a) he has provided the SSHD with thc following information:
- (i) the name and address of his intended employer
- (ii) the nature and location of his work; and
- (iii) if known. the date on which he expects the new employment to commence, and
- (b) he has received approval in writing from the SSHD for the new employment
(20) The Applicant is not permitted to lead prayers, give lectures. preach or provide religious instruction or advice, other than to his wife and children at his residence.
Either his religious preaching is a danger to national security, or it isn't.
Why are his wife and children still being put at risk of brainwashing ?
(21) The Applicant is not permitted to publish or permit to be published any document or statement without the prior approval of the SSHD and shall not make any statement that he has reason to believe is likely to be published.
This is Prior restraint by the executive on freedom of speech on any topic whatsover, no matter how irrelevant to "national security"
(22) The Applicant is not permitted to attend any mosque.
He could still attend a Church or a Synagogue or Temple though.
If Abu Qatada was a Christian or a Jew or a Hindu or a Sikh etc., would such a bail condition have been applied to any place of their places of worship ?
Surely this bail condition is a propaganda victory for those who claim that Abu Qatada is somehow fighting to defend Islam.
(23) His contact number for the Immigration Service is [censored]This number can be reached seven days a week from 7am to 8pm.
MR JUSTICE MITTING
l have read. understood and undertake to abide by the above terms.
SIGNED ......................
There do not seem to be any restrictions on film cameras, tape recorders, video tape recorders and cameras, solid state audio recorders or video cameras etc. which do not use removable CD / DVD or USB flash memory either by Abu Qatada or his visitors.
In theory Abu Qatada could have recorded hate sermons and had them distributed overseas by confederates.
There do not seem to be restrictions on his use of photocopiers, printing presses, or on mechanical or electric typewriters.
There do not seem to be any restrictions on the use of postal or courier services. No doubt any letters or packages are likely to be intercepted under RIPA, but there is ban on using them.
In theory, Abu Qata could have published samizdat publications.
Compare these bail conditions with TPIMs, the replacement for Control Orders
Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011
Independnet Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson Q.C. 's first report on TPIMs (March 2013)
http://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/publications/first-report-tpims?view=Binary
No restrictions on religious activities allowed under a TPIP