At 05 35 on Wednesday 21st June, I and my younger sister Dr Rehiana Ali were arrested from our flat in Leeds by West Yorkshire Police. My sister is a Cambridge educated Consultant Neurologist (with a PhD in Neurosciences from Imperial College London) and I am a former banking lawyer. Two Muslim female professionals with no criminal record.
You would wonder if this was a drug raid? A murder? No. the alleged crimes were “harassment and malicious communications”. The irony was staggering. You can reach for all the “normal” explanations but if you find one, please do share it. A lot of (normal and intelligent) people are scratching their heads. So what possessed West Yorkshire Police to send four police officers to terrorise two Muslim women at 05 35 on Wednesday 21st June 2023?
Well, the story started on 16th March 2022 when we learnt that our brother Farooq Ali, a Biochemistry graduate of Imperial College London, was dead. No doubt we were expected to bury him and return quietly to the UK and get on with the mundane. But something was wrong and when we discovered the lies and suspicious activity we wanted a proper investigation. This was never forthcoming and we are awaiting a decision at the Islamabad High Court because all the evidence points to our brother having been murdered.
From the very beginning, the British institutions were less than helpful. We were UK citizens yet criminals got more help from the British High Commission (BHC) in Islamabad than we did. We were told to get an FIR registered which the police refused. I later learnt that probably one phone call from their office would have generated a FIR yet I was forced to get one through the Courts. They justified every single delay by Islamabad Police. In August 2022, they defended attempts by Islamabad Police to change the exhumation report. In October 2022, they – along with Islamabad Police – accused my sister of taking my brother’s phone and laptop and refusing to hand it for forensics.
When asked where was the evidence that this had been requested previously, there was no reply. And they wouldn’t answer the obvious question – my brother’s hotel room and all the contents were in Police custody on 16th March and we only arrived in Pakistan on 17th March. The items were given to us by Police who no doubt were expecting us to leave the country after the funeral and a lot of “As God Wills it” utterances so common amongst our People.
“Yasmin Ali – Farooq’s elder sister by three years. She completed her law degree. She worked as a paralegal before completing her training contract at Osborne Clarkes in 2007 – a top 30 Law firm in the UK and then worked as a Banking lawyer for 2 ½ years – being at Wragge and Co, a top 25 law firm. She was then “blacklisted”. Like her sister, Dr Rehiana Ali, her only priority now is getting justice for her beloved brother Farooq.“
These accusations were clearly nonsensical. Then in December it was the British High Commission (BHC) who were at pains to put forward false allegations against my murdered brother of heroin use – following an email from an errant sibling Yusuf Ali (married to a woman whose brother is actually rumoured to be involved in drugs) claiming so! My brother Farooq was against all drugs – he refused to even use paracetamol himself.
No doubt the authorities now regret not planting drugs in his room. Islamabad police have accepted that Yusuf Ali has provided no evidence and has therefore lied to pervert the course of justice. When questioned on this, the BHC refused to explain their actions or correct the record. They then began to breach confidentiality and data protection (of which they are so fond) by supplying reports to Yusuf Ali to deliberately malign our brother Farooq and the Justice campaign. When questioned, Doug McMillan, Acting Head of FCDO, refuses to engage in any more email correspondence! This vow of silence is odd. Why are the British not helping us?
But matters now took a more sinister turn. I criticised the lack of help from the British government at the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council on 22nd March 2023. Within 3 weeks of that, I was stopped at Leeds-Bradford Airport and my cabin suitcase which never had issues before was now flagged up for “military explosives”. The theme that is being built up is surely becoming obvious? They took my details and despite numerous requests refuse to share that form. According to the CEO of Leeds Bradford Airport Vincent Hodder they no longer have the form and he was sorry for the poor experience I encountered – lessons will be learnt etc etc.
Since November 2022, we have been harassed and maligned by this younger sibling and his wife. They usurped the social media accounts that belonged to us and Yusuf Ali is on record as saying he wishes to “damage and ruin” the campaign which the West Yorkshire Police are aware of. Fake twitter accounts and fake emails have been set up to malign us and despite appeals to Police to help, they have refused to investigate. In March 2023, we visited the Chief Constable John Robin’s office in Wakefield and were assured subsequently by Inspector Paul Wood that the matter would be dealt with – all actions since reneged on. Instead, we were arrested and all our laptops and mobiles seized – so why was the same process not followed with Yusuf Ali and Abda Rafiq? Why are these two individuals being protected? On whose orders?
Continued
The views expressed in this Op-ed and following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the TLTP.
