Terrorism and Political Crime

Since the 1970's, members of the Doughty Street crime team have appeared in the vast majority of trials involving serious political violence, from the mainland bombing campaign of the Provisional IRA to recent Al Qaeda inspired plots to cause explosions in the UK and elsewhere.

The work included many of the infamous political "miscarriage of justice" cases of the 1980's and 1990's including the "Birmingham 6", "Guildford 4", the Broadwater Farm Riots, and the murder of PC Blakelock, the Carl Bridgewater murder appeal and numerous cases involving the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad.

In the decade since 9/11, we have been instructed in virtually every major terrorism trial prosecuted in the UK, from the bombings and attempted bombings by Islamist groups to allegations of "domestic terrorism" involving animal rights activists, climate change protesters and others.

As a result, we possess an unsurpassed knowledge of the relevant legislation and developing jurisprudence in this complex area, together with a detailed understanding of the geo-political, religious and ideological material that forms the backdrop to each case. Solicitors know that they need look no further than Doughty Street for the most difficult, grave and high profile of such cases. Recent prosecutions in which members of Doughty Street have been instructed to defend include:-

Cases

Recent Terrorist cases:

• Sadeer Saleem - 7/7 London Bombings.
  
  
• R v Girma - 21/7 London bombers.
  
  
• R v Zaman - Transatlantic Airlines Plot.
  
  
• R v Cosser Ali - wife of mastermind of Airlines Plot-failure to inform.
  
  
• R v Baluch and Marri - incitement of terrorism in Baluchistan.
  
  
• R v Barot & Ors "Gas Limos Project"/radioactive "Dirty Bomb" terrorist trial.
  
  
• Rajib Khan - "Al Qaeda Websites" conspiracy.
  
  
• R v Haji - "Al Quaeda directing" case in Manchester.
  
  
• R v McCarthy - The IRA blackmail case.
  
  
• Sohail Qureshi - " The Lyrical Terrorist".
  
  
• Waseem Khan - soliciting terrorist murder by Al Mujaharoun.
  
  
• Ali Beheshti - Firebombing of publishers.
  
  
• R v Khan - Al Qaeda recruitment case.
  
  
• R v Tharan - alleged receipt of Tamil Tiger funds.

Political protest cases

• Operation Aeroscope - environmental protestors tried for conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station-the prosecution of those in second trial collapsed following requests for disclosure relating to undercover police officer Mark Kennedy. IPCC enquiry to follow.
  
  
• R v Avery and Ors - The most complex animal rights activist case ever. Several members of the DSC criminal team represented defendants charged with conspiracy to blackmail and related offences arising out of the "SHAC" campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences and their suppliers.
  
  
• R v Tadman - Peace activists charged with conspiracy to cause criminal damage after causing £180,000 of damage to an arms factory in Brighton. Defence was one of legal justification on the basis that they were seeking to protect civilian life and property during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2009.
  
  
• R v Broughton - A man accused of carrying out a bombing campaign in opposition to Oxford University's animal experimentation laboratory. The case included the first challenge within this jurisdiction to the reliability of low template DNA evidence.
  
  
• The Sequani Six - The first ever prosecution for conspiracy to interfere with contractual relations; longest running ever animal rights activist trial.
  
  
• R v Bard & Ors - Drax Power Station protest - 29 environmental protestors -defences of "prevention of crime" and "necessity".
  
  
• R v Buxton & Ors [2010] EWCA Crim 2923 - quashing of restraining orders imposed upon a group of environmental activists following an obstruction of the railway at Ffos-y-Fran opencast coal mine in Wales.
  
  
• R v Orton and also R v Evans - allegations of violent disorder arising from a protest at George W Bush's final official visit to Downing Street.