Police end search of home of British teenager killed while fighting in Syria
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Version 0 of 1. Police have finished searching the home of a British teenager who was killed while fighting in Syria, taking away material "which may be relevant to the inquiry". Officers from the South East Counter Terrorism Unit (Sectu) and Sussex police raided the home of 18-year-old Abdullah Deghayes on Tuesday after a warrant was issued under the Terrorism Act 2000. Abdullah, from East Sussex, whose uncle Omar Deghayes was held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp between 2002 and 2007, died in the war-torn country last month. Sussex Police said the address in Arundel Drive East, Saltdean, near Brighton, was one of four to be searched in the Brighton and Hove area. While the two-day search took place in Saltdean, Abdullah's father, Abubaker Deghayes, and the rest of the family were made to relocate to a hotel, according to Cage, an independent advocacy organisation which says it works with communities affected by the war on terror. A police spokesman said: "The search at the Saltdean address finished this afternoon [Wednesday] and material which may be relevant to the inquiry has been taken away for examination. "The searches at three addresses in Brighton and Hove finished yesterday [Tuesday]. No arrests have been made. "The people at the addresses and the wider community in those areas are again thanked for their co-operation." Mr Deghayes previously revealed his other two sons, Jafar and Amer, also travelled to Syria, and that Amer suffered a bullet wound to his stomach in the battle in which his brother was killed. Chief superintendent Nev Kemp, Brighton and Hove divisional commander, said the searches were a necessary part of the force's continuing work to safeguard communities locally and nationally, including those who have links to Syria and that he did not wish to cause any further distress to Mr Deghayes or his family. A spokesman for Cage said Mr Deghayes had told him that he did not know what the police were searching for but that the warrant he was shown said officers were looking for literature inciting terrorism. Asim Qureshi, from Cage, said: "Displacing a family in this way is clearly disproportional and extremely damaging. "We call on the police to show restraint in their dealings with a family that has yet to come to terms with the death of their son. "We are also concerned with the damaging effects raids like this have on community relations." |