Tuesday
26 Dec 2006
Did Murder Suspect Escape Airport in Sister’s Veil?
By Annie Jacobsen in category Airport Security & Screening
British detectives tell newspapers that Mustafa Jamma, the lead suspect in the December 2005 murder of a female British Police Officer(Pc), is believed to have escaped from the country via Heathrow Airport — wearing his sister’s veil and using her passport. The incident has sparked new controversy about veiled women in public places in lieu of security concerns.
From the BBC.
The wanted man is the brother of Yusuf Jamma who this week was found guilty of Pc’s Beshenivsky’s murder in Bradford. Some newspaper reports have suggested the 26-year-old stole his sister’s passport after he was put on police wanted lists and wore a full niqab, a veil that totally obscures the face, to evade capture at the airport.
It is understood West Yorkshire Police - who have not commented on reports about the veil theory - regard it only as one of a number of possibilities.
Throughout England, the wearing of veils in public places has been the recent subject of great debate. In October, Cabinet Minister Jack Straw told the BBC that Muslim women who wear veils covering their faces puts a strain on community relations. Prime Minister Tony Blair called the niqab (a veil through which only the eyes can be seen) “a mark of separation.”
The Immigration Act of 1971 requires that every person entering England satisfy an immigration officer as to their nationality and identity but the rules for people exiting the country are not as clear. The Scotsman reports that “officers usually wave passengers through because they have no time to check everyone.”
The Home Office — responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales — concedes that people leaving the country do not face emigration checks. These kinds of security matters, according to British law, are the responsibility of the British Airports Authority (BAA), which runs Heathrow Airport.
British tabloid, The Sun, has launched a media campaign to “close the veil loophole” at airports, one which is says makes “a mockery of Britain’s airport security.” The paper is calling on Home Secretary John Reid to require all passengers to lift their veils for security checks.
England’s only Pakastani-born Bishop, The Rt. Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, issued a statement the day before Christmas urging the British government to introduce legislation to require Muslims to remove the veil when they are at work or traveling. He cited “security reasons.”
(Photo credit: The Sun 12.24.2006)