British police admit abusing terror suspect

The British Metropolitan Police on Wednesday admitted abusing a terror suspect, subjecting him to prolonged violent assaults and religious mockery. The force made the admissions in London's High Court and agreed to pay 34-year-old Babar Ahmad 60,000 pounds in damages. Lawyers for Met Commissioner Paul Stephenson, the country's top officer, conceded that Ahmad was the victim of gratuitous violence during a pre-dawn arrest at his home in Tooting, southwest London, in December 2003. Computer support analyst Ahmad was never charged with any offences arising out of his arrest. The Met admitted that Ahmad suffered a sustained and brutal beating, despite his offering no resistance. The suspect was twice placed him in a life-threatening neck hold and one officer wrenched his genitals. Others deliberately pulled him about by his handcuffs, causing him excruciating pain. Officers openly mocked his Islamic faith, forcing him into a praying position with one shouting: "Where is your God now?" "Considering all the factors involved, the Metropolitan Police Service has admitted liability in relation to this case, and the claim has now been settled," the force said in a statement. "The police are duty-bound to act on information that identifies a real and serious terrorism threat to the safety of the public and it is a regrettable consequence of such operations that force may need to be used. "However, we recognise any use of force must be proportionate and reasonable." Ahmad was arrested again in 2004 following an extradition request from the United States. He is accused of running websites raising funds for the Taliban and Chechen separatists in the 1990s, inciting murder and urging Muslims to fight a holy war. Ahmad has been detained in prison ever since his 2004 arrest, awaiting a decision on whether his extradition would break human rights laws. In a statement read by his relative Fahad Ahmad outside court, Ahmad said he was pleased that the Met had accepted that its officers subjected him to "physical abuse". "This abuse took place not in Guantanamo Bay or a secret torture chamber but in Tooting, south London," the statement said. "I can now put this incident behind me and focus on the fight to prevent my extradition to the United States. "The path to justice is long and difficult but, as long as you remain steadfast upon it, you will get there in the end."