Thu, 07 Apr 2016
A police officer from Birmingham was involved in making a false 999 call claiming a colleague would be kidnapped by a terrorist linked to Islamic State, in which No5 Criminal Law Barrister Mark Kelly defends.
PC Amar Hussain, 29, is alleged to have been part of a group who sparked a security alert when a call was made to the West Midlands Police, claiming the man referred to as "Irfan the terrorist" allegedly wanted to kidnap a Muslim police officer.
The officer denies two counts of conspiring to attempt to prevert the course of justice along with two other Birmingham men, 26 year-old Adil Bashir and Muhammad Sheikh, 31, who also deny the charges.
A jury at Stafford Crown Court were told that the charges relate to two false and malicious emergency calls that were made to police on September 27, 2014, and one terrorism-related call made on December 8, 2014. Prosecutor Simon Davis said West Midlands Police initiated "unprecedented procedures" to protect it's officers and staff.
All police staff were forced to report they had gone home safely, Mr Davis said "West Midlands Police saw the content of the call as a credible threat to the security and safety of a police offer who may be kidnapped that evening".
“They saw the content of the call as a credible threat to the security and safety of a police officer who may be kidnapped that evening – they had six hours to put procedures in place to minimise the threat and maximise the security and safety of all police staff.”
The court was played the 999 call in which the man claimed he was being asked by Irfan, who supposedly had recently returned from Syria, to drive a car with two others to kidnap a police officer.
The hearing continues.
Click here to read the articles written by The Guardian and Birmingham Mail.
Click here to view Mark Kelly's Crime profile.
