(JollofNews) – A Gambian woman who was detained by British anti-terrorism police investigating Wednesday Afternoon’s terror attack in London has been released on bail.
Rohey Hydara, 39, was released on Friday pending further inquiries. She was arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. Seven out of the 11 people who were arrested since Wednesday have now been released with “no further police action”.
Ms Hydara’s husband, Khalid Masood, has been name by police as the man who carried out deadly terror attack outside Westminster which killed five people including PC Keith Palmer, 48, Aysha Frade and US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, an a 75-year-old man. About 40 people were also injured while seven are reported to be in critical condition in hospital.
The couple who met in Luton had lived in at least two separate addresses but it was unclear what their relationship was at the time of the incident.
Masood, 52, was born as Adrian Elms in Kent and was shot dead by police. He had not been the subject of any current police investigations.
The so-called Islamic State group has said it was behind the attack.
Meanwhile police are appealing for information as they try to establish whether Khalid Masood acted alone or was directed by others.
They said the investigation would focus on Masood’s “motivation, preparation and his associates”.
Mark Rowley, assistant deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said they would investigate whether Masood “acted totally alone inspired by terrorist propaganda, or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him”.
“There might be people out there who did have concerns about Masood but did not feel comfortable for whatever reason in passing those concerns to us,” he said.
There are many casualties of the catastrophic Jammeh era. Young Gambians women who end up in Europe away from their support system, family and friends. They occasionally end up married to men like this idiot. They are victims like many and our leaders must do all it can to make it attractive for them to return home.
Indeed, antiterrorism laws and collaboration on that basis among E.U. Countries has build the engines for racist exercises in some of the E.U countries where institutional racism is a complacency and phenomenal.
My experience is that, any such uncalculated move by British authorities opens chance for certain elements to institutionally justify and exploit hidden racist agenda through authority in those E.U countries with remarkable social discrimination.
I gather the woman has been arrested instead of being taken in for questioning, a process that could have taken place in her house through a court order. If found innocent, she should be apologised or even compensated for a horrible misnomer like this. A Gambian woman…Terrorism? Come on….. The U.K needs to set better examples for the E.E.C if they want to prove they have a value for the values that distinguish them from many European countries.
Bourne, this is a very sad tragedy and i truly feel sorry for this lady. However no security apparatus can take a chance when it comes to fighting terrorism. The idea of inviting someone suspected of involving in terrorism for a chat is naive. It doesn’t matter if the person was not even aware of the fact that their activities are helping terrorists. To be effective in fighting terrorism, security services could not afford to loose the element of surprise. I agree with Dr Sarr that many of our sisters have left the Gambia in search of greener pastures due to the hardship Jammeh created and many of them have become victims of perverse sadistic men and women. This lady may have been such a victim but there will not be any compensation for her because she was not wrongfully arrested when one follows the UK anti-terror laws. Depending on what her status is in the UK, the Home Secretary can strip her of her British citizenship or revoke her indefinite stay in the UK. She really needs support in any form to help her through these difficult times. We should all advise our friends and brothers and sisters to always be vigilant and be careful about the people they associate with. We may all be Muslims but the way we practice Islam in the Gambia is different from the way certain communities do here in the UK. We should stay away from people who are intolerant of others because that’s not what our parents teach us in the Gambia.
Buba, agree with both you and Dr. Sarr as to how many Gambians have become casualties of the Jammeh terror regime abroad. I understand too why no chance can be taken when it comes to fighting terrorism. The most tragic thing here in fact is the loss of innocent lives by a lunatic under the cover of Islam. However, the ‘rule of law’ as the term itself implies must always exhibit it’s distinguished values different from the horrible acts of fanatic criminals like Mr. Masood. My views are not an underestimation of the British anti-terrorism operations but indeed a concern as to what the consequences of any miscalculated approach could be. The lady at the time of the crime was not even married to this idiot and therefore in my opinion doesn’t warrant a raid on her residence but vigilance on her, with professionalism. My point here can be heeded to if you can recall the accidental shooting of a Brazilian national during the 2004 or….Is it 2005.
Nonetheless, as I have always claimed in related issues, a lot of deliberate wrong doings especially discriminative ones tend to be justified elsewhere or in certain European countries and they’ll in most cases insinuate that ‘even the British’ had done this bad and that worst. I would say first hand experience is what influenced my views here.
May the families and loved ones of the victims of the cowardly killings find hope and comfort in life because they definitely won’t be in a mood for such a debate.
To write during the 2004…Or is it 2005 London tube terrorist attacks.
Bourne, i get the point you are making and you are right because far right movements are using this anti terror laws to their advantage all over Europe. It is really tragic that innocent people lost their lives because of this lunatic. The Gambian lady may not be married to him but if they are still in touch the police would not know what their current relationship is. It will really surprise me if she was knowingly participating in terrorism. I do sincerely hope things work out well for her. The Gambian Embassy should provide consular support for her and any dependents if she is still officially a Gambian.
Yeah Buba, good to know you’ve pinpointed on my views. You maybe right too that the Gambian lady might be having contact with the lunatic untill the time of his committing multiple murders but, we all know or understand the legal implications of marriages in the West more so after divorce, even in the case of marriages without offsprings. The bottom line is, it’ll be a devastating shock that a Gambian woman….A Gambia woman, is even complacent, muchmore becomes an accomplice to any form of terrorist crime. It is very naive too negotiating our innocence and human rights, in whatever case, within the frames of the rule of law, because of fear of being stripped off our legal statuses in the West. Unlike the U.K, in some parts of Europe, you can be threaten with even deportation trying to demonstrate or defend one’s human rights values, a reason why some would put many elements of the West in the same basket with dictatorships of atrocities in Africa. Peace and one love across the four corners of the world is the only way to win over extremist, fanatic lunacy.