Muslim preacher claims discrimination at Manchester Airport
22.03.08
A Muslim Chaplain says ‘discriminatory’ interrogation is happening on a regular basis at Manchester Airport. Adam Kelwick, from Liverpool, says he was stopped and questioned for 2 hours on arrival at the airport as he returned from a Middle Eastern business trip on Wednesday, and that this is the third time this has happened since the introduction of the Terrorism Act in 2006. He says that officials searched his lap top, phone, asked for his bank account pin number and put a string of questions to him.
The chaplain, who carries out charity work to aid social cohesion, says other friends and colleagues have complained about similar experiences. He said: ‘Some people I know prefer the airports in London, rather than put up with the unreasonable questioning and discrimination at Manchester.'
‘I was asked to remove all of the items from my baggage piece by piece and was then taken into a small room and asked questions like ‘what is your mother’s date of birth?’ and ‘what school did you go to?’. It has happened a few times before at Manchester Airport but never when travelling from Liverpool or London airports.'
‘It is ironic, I was travelling in traditional Muslim dress. An international terrorist isn’t going to fly around the world with a beard and a gown on. It is discriminatory and unfair. The first time it happens you think ‘OK, this is helping to deal with terrorism’ so I don’t mind, but for it to happen on a regular basis is unnecessary.’
He claims that interrogation of this type is part of the reason young Muslims become radicalised.
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