Petition pases Commons threshold

A petition calling for terror suspect Babar Ahmad to be tried in the UK instead of being extradited to the US has exceeded the 100,000 signature mark, it was revealed here Thursday. More than 103,000 people have backed the Free Babar Ahmad campaign on the Government's official e-petition website, making the issue eligible for a parliamentary debate in the House of Commons, his lawyers said. It is one of only five petitions which have reached 100,000 signatures.Ahmad has spent seven years in British high-security prisons without trial as he fights extradition to the US on terror charges.Calling on the Coalition to confirm a full parliamentary debate will now be held, his family said: "We are overwhelmed by the amount of support for Babar's case. "This shows that the British public is still prepared to stand up against injustice. The Government must now take a bold stance on this issue and stop sweeping it under the carpet like it has done for the last seven years." The American authorities accuse the computer expert of running websites that urged Muslims to fight holy war and conspiring to raise funds for al Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. But Ahmad strenuously denies the allegations and insists he is a peace-loving man dedicated to his family and his local community in Tooting, south London.Ahmad was first arrested by Metropolitan Police officers in a dawn raid on his home in December 2003 on suspicion of leading a group which provided al Qaida and other terror networks with computer, financial and logistical expertise.It was alleged that policemen subjected him to physical, verbal and sexual assaults and mocked his religion during the arrest, making him fear he would die and leaving him battered and bruised all over his body.In March 2009 the police agreed to pay him 60,000 pounds in damages after he brought a personal injury case at the High Court but the four officers accused of beating him up were acquitted after a month-long trial at London's Southwark Crown Court. British-born Ahmad was released six days after his arrest and has never been charged in the UK. But the Imperial College London IT administrator was again held by Scotland Yard officers in August 2004 on an international arrest warrant issued by American federal authorities.Ahmad, who has been imprisoned without charge for longer than any other British citizen detained since the 9/11 attacks, insists he is innocent and is fighting attempts to extradite him to the US to stand trial. Washington has given a written assurance that he will not face the death penalty and will be tried in a federal court rather than a military tribunal. But his lawyers claim his human rights would be breached if he was sent to America because he could face life imprisonment without parole and solitary confinement at a "supermax" jail. The European Court of Human Rights halted extradition proceedings last July but a judge ruled he must remain in custody until a final decision is made later this year.