Response: Research on terrorism is invaluable – but we do it under fear of arrest | Comment is free | The Guardian
The MI5 analysis, said the Guardian, is “based on hundreds of case studies of those involved in or closely associated with terrorism”. But if university staff or students had that sort of close contact with “those associated with terrorism”, they might find themselves locked up. Guidelines for universities in dealing with violent extremism say “we should never overstate the menace we face from violent extremism”, and the higher education minister, Bill Rammell, has said that the academic study of terrorism must extend to the “furthest limit of inquiry” and that it is “entirely acceptable and indeed necessary for academics to seek to understand and explain what motivates violent extremists”.All this would lead one to believe that we have a sensible and reasoned approach to the problem, but in reality we had a man locked up for a week for possessing a document downloaded from a US government website. Reading Yezza’s account of how he doodled in Mills and Boon novellas and compiled lists in his mind to stay sane in his cell (Britain’s terror laws have left me and my family shattered, August 18) really brought home the need to get the situation resolved.
Last month I spoke to a UCU member who is an expert on terrorism. He told me that we have learned the most from in-depth studies of the written materials of terrorist groups, and in-depth interviews with their members. The government has to clarify the current legal situation regarding research on terrorism and violent extremism and clearly articulate that to universities, staff and students. Research in difficult and dangerous areas must continue – without the fear of arrest for students or staff.
Hicham Yezza and Rizwaan Sabir were arrested because Sabir had emailed Yezza a declassified open-source document, called the al-Qaida Training Manual, available on a US government website. I was struck by this case, since I have downloaded the manual and probably from the same US government website. I also know of one student who did the same for his master thesis here. Fortunately nothing has happened (yet?) but this case makes you fear for academic freedom.
