Babar Ahmed is standing for the Peace and Progress Party in the London seat of Brent North. Unlike most candidates, he hasn't been out and about on the campaign trail as his bid for election is being conducted from behind the walls of Belmarsh high security prison, dubbed 'Britain's Guantanamo'. We caught up with Uzma Qureshi, his wife and election agent, tonight just after polls closed.
"Babar's candidacy is unique because he is standing purely on issues of justice and human rights. We wanted to use the campaign to raise awareness of his case, and also to raise the profile of these issues so that all candidates in Brent North start to address them. We're saying that a vote for Babar is a vote for justice.
"The responses on the doorstep during the campaign have been generally been positive and many people have been affected by his case.
"There's also been a lot of support in Tooting, where Babar lives, including a very positive response from the Labour candidate there Sadiq Khan.
"The campaign won't finish
even if Babar comes home tomorrow, because the anti-terror measures affect many others.
They are principally targeting the British Muslim community.
"These laws have spread a real climate of fear. The statistics speak for themselves with over 700 people arrested so far,
but very few convictions. That's a stark difference.
"We still haven't seen justice after Babar was assaulted during his arrest [in December 2003] and the recent tribunal against the arresting officer was like a mock trial. The police officers who took him were told that Babar was as dangerous as Kamel Bourgas. That's ridiculous and raises serious questions about the police 'intelligence' - Baber has no criminal record, not even so much as a parking ticket or points on his license, and no record of violence at all." OR
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