The arrest of an academic and a student from the University of Nottingham for the possession of extremist material has provoked outrage on the campus after it was revealed the apparent offence concerned downloading information for a PhD. Politics student Rizwaan Sabir was arrested on May 14 along with a 30-year-old member of staff under the Terrorism Act 2000. Both men were eventually released on May 20, although the staff member was re-arrested on unrelated immigration issues.
Students and staff alike branded the arrest an exploitation of anti-terror laws and stifling of civil liberties. Co-ordinator of Dissertation and Sabir’s personal tutor, Dr Bettina Renz, said that the material in question, an edited version of an al-Qa’ida handbook, was “easily accessible” and available on government websites. The spokesperson of Nottingham University insisted that the police were involved because Sabir had forwarded the information to “a 30-year-old member of clerical staff, who was not connected with the research.” The University seemingly failed to find out that it was emailed to the staff member to print because Sabir’s owns printer was not working.