CAGE International and 40 other organisations have signed a call for an immediate review of the convictions of the ‘Birmingham 4’. First arrested over 10 years ago, these four men were convicted of terrorism offences back in 2017.

The courts sentenced Naweed Ali, Khobaib Hussain, Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz to life in prison following a joint undercover operation by MI5 and West Midlands Police. However, all four men and their legal teams have maintained their innocence throughout.

Now, the 41 organisations have highlighted serious concerns, including:

allegations of evidence being improperly introduced, police being in contempt of court during the trial, and the absence of clear forensic or video evidence linking the defendants to the items in question. Taken together, these issues raise significant questions about whether the men received a fair trial.

You can read the full joint statement here.

Birmingham 4 — ‘Police fabrication and mendacity’

The day after the jury’s original verdict, Gareth Peirce — the solicitor who represented the Birmingham 4 — took the unusual decision to publish a public statement. The Justice Gap reported her words:

We register our unqualified respect for the system we have of trial by jury in this country. But jurors can on occasion get things wrong.

She went on to state that:

There were cases in the 1970s and the early 1980s where West Midlands Police planted and fabricated evidence to such an extent that the squad responsible was completely disbanded and dozens of defendants convicted, one by one had their convictions quashed. This case rests on police fabrication and mendacity in the clearest way.

Accusations of a setup

Now, CAGE and organisations including the Justice Gap, Black Lives Matter UK and APPEAL have put their weight behind a call for authorities to re-examine their convictions and release the Birmingham 4.

They’re demanding that the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) use an exceptional circumstances provision to reopen the case immediately. The special power allows the CCRC to accept a new appeal even without the usual requirement of new evidence.

Likewise, the 41-organisation coalition also questioned the conduct of the West Midlands Police, calling for a full and independent investigation. They explained that:

The convictions rested almost entirely on evidence produced through an undercover operation where the men were set up. West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, working with MI5, established a fake courier company – Hero Couriers – with the aim of ensnaring the men. On Naweed Ali’s first day of work, a ‘kill kit’ was discovered in his car after he had handed his keys to the undercover officer, known only as ‘Vincent’, who had sole and unobserved access to the vehicle for over an hour.

To make matters worse, no DNA, fingerprints or prior surveillance could link any of the four men to the items the police found. Likewise, the court withheld CCTV footage of the period when Vincent was alone with Ali’s car from the jury.

The judge presiding over the trial also found the West Midlands Police officers to have behaved in contempt of court. The officers claimed before the jury that they had never been in contact with one another. However, the evidence of 1,000 deleted messages between the undercover officers belied this falsehood.

History repeating itself?

Over two years ago, a formal application was submitted to the CCRC regarding the treatment of the Birmingham 4. However, to date, the commission has failed to action that complaint. CAGE stated that:

The CCRC was itself established in the wake of the Birmingham Six miscarriage of justice, a case bearing striking similarities to this one, making its continued inaction all the more concerning.

The Birmingham Six were six Irish men who were convicted of pub bombings in Birmingham back in 1975. In 1991, after 16 years in prison, their convictions were overturned due to the flawed and inconsistent nature of the evidence.

Regarding the Birmingham 4, Naila Ahmed — the head of campaigns at CAGE — said:

These four men have been unjustly imprisoned for ten years. There are major concerns about West Midlands Police’s conduct in a joint operation with MI5, especially regarding their undercover officers who have so far evaded any accountability. Any impartial assessment of the facts will recognise this as a gross miscarriage of justice. We urge the CCRC to do the same, and to use the exceptional circumstances provision to refer this case back to the Court of Appeal without further delay.

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