“Don’t forget that an al-Qaeda instruction manual captured in 2001 showed that Islamic jihadists are trained to understand and manipulate Western-style legal systems.’’
At some point the West is going to have to face the ugly consequences of these crushing policies. In the Umited States, many of the lawyers who defend Muslim terrorists are subsequently hired by Obama's Justice department. President Obama promoted Tony West to the number three job at the Department of Justice – associate attorney general. West and his San Francisco law firm represented some of the most heinous Islamic terrorist causes, including the American Taliban John Walker Lindh.
These are not criminals. These are acts of war, and should be treated as such. Imagine footing the legal bill for Nazis during WWII.
Terror and the law, a nice little earner for lawyers Telegraph (hat tip David)
The legal aid bill for representing Muslim terrorist suspects has topped £110 million in a decade. So who are the lawyers orchestrating the court appeals of Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza?
They're all so bloody handsome, aren't they?
A high price for British taxpayers: Abu Hamza’s legal aid bills were £17,000 a week back in 2007
On the bustling, cosmopolitan streets of Southall, Muddassar Arani cuts an unassuming figure in her hijab. But this bespectacled middle-aged woman is in charge of a legal empire that has become a mecca for terrorist suspects. Arani and her firm Arani and Co have represented scores of Muslims detained under terror laws, bringing in several million pounds in legal aid fees.
From an anonymous office above a cash-and-carry, she has defended an array of high-profile cases, displaying a forensic knowledge of extradition laws. They include Sheikh Abu Hamza, the hook-handed cleric from Finsbury Park mosque – who has kept her busy with his long fight against extradition to an American supermax prison. She is also defending a British detainee in Guantanamo Bay, and the family of an alleged suicide bomber.
Meanwhile, Gareth Peirce, the veteran of Irish republican legal battles, this week pulled off a breathtaking coup against the Home Office by filing an eleventh-hour appeal to Europe on behalf of her widely demonised client, Abu Qatada.
To the bewilderment of MPs, Peirce’s legal team wrong-footed the Home Secretary Theresa May, and delayed the extremist Muslim cleric’s deportation. He could even be released on bail again. Peirce headed a team of expensive lawyers, including two barristers from Doughty Street Chambers, Raza Husain and Edward Fitzgerald – the husband of Lady Antonia Fraser’s daughter, Rebecca.
One commentator described Peirce as the ''go to’’ female lawyer-of-choice ''for every accused jihadist and IRA suspect”.
So who are the legal teams behind the religious zealots and terror suspects? And most importantly – who is paying for their services, and how much?
While nobody is questioning the motives of Miss Arani or the team representing Abu Qatada, a well-informed source told The Daily Telegraph that questions are being asked about whether some other firms in their wake are using “ambulance chaser’’ tactics. ''The feeling in Whitehall is that these lawyers are actually encouraging terror suspects to take these cases against the Government because there is money to be made,” he said.
“Don’t forget that an al-Qaeda instruction manual captured in 2001 showed that Islamic jihadists are trained to understand and manipulate Western-style legal systems.’’
There are a number of firms who have cornered the ''war on terror’’ market, according to the Legal Services Commission.
At a conservative estimate, based on Freedom of Information releases and parliamentary answers, The Daily Telegraph believes that the bill has topped £110 million over the last decade. The latest figures from 2010 show that Arani & Co earned £4.8 million over six years. They were followed by Birnberg Peirce & Partners, who earned £4.4 million. Imran Khan & Partners took £3.6 million, while the Leeds-based Yasmin & Shaid were paid £3 million. Christian Khan earned £2.2 million. A host of smaller firms also earned millions.
It is believed that the legal aid bill for six prosecutions over a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners in August 2006 hit £30 million. The men were found guilty in July 2010, after the most recent figures were collated. The protracted case of Abu Qatada has cost taxpayers an estimated £1.5 million in legal fees and benefits.
Read the rest.