12 angry men

Timing is important in police matters, so we are led to believe.

A day after the Guardian posted a video showing Ian Tomlinson had been shoved to the ground and batoned by the police before he died – and exposing the police who said they had no contact with him as liars – a massive anti-terrorism raid kicked off in the north west of England.

Coincidence? You tell me.

One minute lying brutal bastards, the next minute the heroic forces protecting us from “an alleged al-Qaida terror plot against the UK, designed to cause mass casualties”.

They arested 12 men. Of these, 11 were Pakistani nationals.

The raid wasn’t a small matter. Prime minister Gordon Brown weighed in to point the finger at Pakistan.

We are dealing with a very big terrorist plot … there were a number of people who are suspected of it who have been arrested. That police operation was successful.

We know that there are links between terrorists in Britain and terrorists in Pakistan. That is an important issue for us to follow through and that’s why I will be talking to President Zardari about what Pakistan can do to help us in the future.

Having one of his imperial moments, was Gordon there. The press were on full bark too. They did not fail to point out

concerns inside government and the security services that the 11 Pakistani nationals being held in the north of England could have gained entry on student visas in order to form a sleeper cell…

Got that? Pakistanis, visas, sleeper cells… oh yeah, and the happy combination of al Quaeda and Easter. See those terrorists get ready to blast, just when it’s all eggs and bunny rabbits and Jesus.

What is the result? Well one result is comments like this, which was attached to a press article about the raids.

They live among us… It’s dark days when all they want to do is harm the society and community they live in.

That’s from a football bulletin board, believe it or not. I specially liked the “they” and “us” bits. Just run that together with all the information about the arrested guys’ nationality. Who do you think the them and the us are supposed to be? Do you get the feeling the 12 men have been presumed guilty at all?

That’s not the only comment like this I’ve heard or read in the last two weeks either. Some have been phrased in worse racist terms that I don’t feel like posting on here.

The thing is, all 12 men are innocent.

The last two men to be released joined nine others given their freedom last night and one freed on 11 April. Opposition parties, human rights lawyers and Muslim groups accused the government of mistreating the suspects and botching the anti-terror operation.

The police have been forced to – grudgingly – admit:

These people are innocent and they walk away … there are constant threats to this country but we totally respect the situation, we respect that they are innocent until proved guilty.

They are still threatening to deport at least nine of the 12 men, despite the fact there is no evidence that there was ever any terror plot or that any of them have done anything wrong at all.

These 12 men have every right to be angry.

I’m angry too. This is just the latest of a succession of terror raids directed against Muslims in Britain who have been arrested under the anti-terror laws in a massive blaze of publicity – despite being innocent of any crime.

Remember the Manchester United bomb plot, the Forest Gate raids – where the £2m operation resulted in an innocent man being shot in his own home – the recent Viva Palestina arrests?

All this is stoking a climate of racism. It is helping to erode our civil liberties. And it took the video of Ian Tomlinson’s last moments off the front pages. Funnily enough.

The film clip is about 12 angry men too.