Guardian Reveals Civil Liberties Violation: Spy Projects on Muslim Areas
Local Editor
A flagrant infringement of civil liberties was revealed by the British Guardian newspaper, as a project to spy on two Muslim areas in Birmingham, UK, using more than 200 CCTV cameras has been dramatically halted.
In its investigation, the Guardian revealed this project was a "counterterrorism" initiative, which officials had concealed and had insisted the £3m project would go ahead following a retrospective public consultation, arguing the cameras would help reduce crime.
Yet according to the Guardian, there was no formal consultation over the scheme, which includes an additional 49 CCTV cameras. The few local councilors who were briefed about the cameras appearing in their constituencies said they were "misled" into believing they were designed to tackle antisocial behavior, drug dealing and vehicle crime.
However, parliament has been asked to denounce Project Champion as a "grave infringement of civil liberties", especially that after the Guardian disclosed the cameras were paid for by the "Terrorism and Allied Matters" (Tam) fund, angry public meetings took place after the exposure of the racist violation of rights under the pretext of counterterrorism.
Under the initiative, Project Champion, two suburbs were to be monitored by a network of 169 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras - three times more than in the entire city centre. The cameras, which include covert cameras secretly installed in the street, form "rings of steel", meaning residents cannot enter or leave the areas without their cars being tracked. Data was to be stored for two years.
Testing of cameras had already begun, and officials had planned to go live in early August. However, the plans were placed in jeopardy after a public outcry over the scheme. Human rights lawyers have pledged to seek a judicial review of the scheme.
Steve Jolly, a local activist leading a campaign to have the cameras removed, called on the deputy prime minister to intervene: "Nick Clegg has made a real point of emphatically drawing attention to the surveillance society and promising to stop unnecessary infringements of privacy," he said.
A flagrant infringement of civil liberties was revealed by the British Guardian newspaper, as a project to spy on two Muslim areas in Birmingham, UK, using more than 200 CCTV cameras has been dramatically halted.
In its investigation, the Guardian revealed this project was a "counterterrorism" initiative, which officials had concealed and had insisted the £3m project would go ahead following a retrospective public consultation, arguing the cameras would help reduce crime.
Yet according to the Guardian, there was no formal consultation over the scheme, which includes an additional 49 CCTV cameras. The few local councilors who were briefed about the cameras appearing in their constituencies said they were "misled" into believing they were designed to tackle antisocial behavior, drug dealing and vehicle crime.
However, parliament has been asked to denounce Project Champion as a "grave infringement of civil liberties", especially that after the Guardian disclosed the cameras were paid for by the "Terrorism and Allied Matters" (Tam) fund, angry public meetings took place after the exposure of the racist violation of rights under the pretext of counterterrorism.
Under the initiative, Project Champion, two suburbs were to be monitored by a network of 169 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras - three times more than in the entire city centre. The cameras, which include covert cameras secretly installed in the street, form "rings of steel", meaning residents cannot enter or leave the areas without their cars being tracked. Data was to be stored for two years.
Testing of cameras had already begun, and officials had planned to go live in early August. However, the plans were placed in jeopardy after a public outcry over the scheme. Human rights lawyers have pledged to seek a judicial review of the scheme.
Steve Jolly, a local activist leading a campaign to have the cameras removed, called on the deputy prime minister to intervene: "Nick Clegg has made a real point of emphatically drawing attention to the surveillance society and promising to stop unnecessary infringements of privacy," he said.
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