By CASSANDRA VINOGRAD
FILE – This is a undated handout file photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, who is being hunted by counter-terrorism officers. Britain’s High Court has revealed that a terror suspect who vanished after switching into women’s clothes at a London mosque is seeking damages from the British government for alleged complicity in torture and mistreatment it was reported on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, 27, evaded a stringent form of government surveillance when he disappeared on Friday wearing a burka. He has not been seen since. (AP Photo/Metropolitan Police, File)
Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed
This is a handout CCTV image issued by the Metropolitan Police of terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, who is being hunted by counter-terrorism officers, leaving the An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre (Mosque) in London dressed in a niqab Friday Nov. 1, 2013 . British officials Monday Nov. 4, 2013 voiced concern over the escape of a terror suspect who vanished after switching into women’s clothes at a west London mosque. The police say it’s still trying to find Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, 27, one of about nine people subject to a restrictive form of government surveillance when he disappeared last Friday. (AP Photo/Metropolitan Police)
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LONDON (AP) — A terror suspect who vanished after switching into women’s clothes at a London mosque is seeking damages from the British government for alleged complicity in torture and mistreatment, the U.K.’s High Court revealed Thursday.
Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, 27, evaded stringent government surveillance when he disappeared Friday wearing a burka. Police are still searching for him.
Mohamed and another man — identified as “CF” — were detained by Somaliland authorities on Jan. 14, 2011, and held until their removal to the U.K. on March 13 of that year. Both claim they were unlawfully detained, tortured and mistreated during the detention in Somaliland.
The two are suing British authorities — including the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defense — for damages, alleging that U.K. officers and agents “encouraged or directly caused, or were otherwise complicit” in their detention and mistreatment.
Mohamed had previously been referred to as “MA” in court papers but the anonymity protection was lifted Thursday in preliminary proceedings at Britain’s High Court following his disappearance.
The Foreign Office said it was unable to comment on the case.
Home Secretary Theresa May has insisted that Mohamed does not pose “a direct threat” to public safety, but lawmakers have expressed outrage over how he was able to disappear while wearing a government GPS tag.
