THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
In 2012, a man named Shah Rahman was jailed for being part of a terrorist plot. He and three others were planning to bomb the London Stock Exchange. Their target list also included the US Embassy, then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and two rabbis. Thankfully, undercover police caught them before anyone was hurt.
Rahman was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released in 2017, then sent back to prison in 2022 for breaking the terms of his release. More recently, the Parole Board decided he could be freed again — with strict conditions like GPS tagging and a curfew.
Here is the part that shocks most people: Rahman is originally from Bangladesh. He came to Britain and applied for asylum. That application was rejected. And yet — he was never deported. He is still here.
Why Wasn’t He Just Sent Back?
This is where it gets complicated — but it is actually quite simple once you understand the rule involved.
There is a law called the European Convention on Human Rights. One part of it — Article 3 — says that no one can be sent to a country where they might face torture or really cruel treatment. There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule.
It does not matter who you are or what you have done. If sending you somewhere puts you at risk of being tortured, you cannot be sent there.
A judge looked at Rahman’s case and decided that sending him back to Bangladesh would put him at that kind of risk. So, even though his asylum claim had been thrown out, he was allowed to stay. Not because he deserved to be here — but because the law said he could not be sent back.
Home Secretary Cannot Overrule
The Home Secretary is one of the most powerful ministers in government, responsible for immigration and national security. But when a court makes a ruling on human rights, the Home Secretary cannot simply ignore it. The courts have the final say.
Several Home Secretaries, from both major parties, have complained loudly about this. Some have called for the Human Rights Act to be scrapped or rewritten. But actually doing that is much harder than saying it — the same rules are tied into the Northern Ireland peace agreement and affect Britain’s relationships with other countries.
Massive Security Risk
Rahman already broke his release conditions once. His wife was caught with ISIS propaganda on her phone at Heathrow. The idea that someone with this background is living freely in Britain — even with GPS tagging — makes a lot of people deeply uncomfortable.
Supporters of the current law would say: yes, there is a risk, but we cannot start making exceptions to the rule against torture just because someone is dangerous.
But the public should not have to bear the risk of living alongside someone who plotted to kill them, just to satisfy a legal principle. There has to be a better answer than “sorry, our hands are tied.”
The Bottom Line
Shah Rahman plotted to kill people on British streets. He served time in prison. He cannot be deported. He is free — under supervision — in the UK.
The reason is not that the government is weak, or that politicians do not care about security. The reason is that Britain signed up to a set of human rights rules that are, by design, impossible to override — even in cases like this.
Whether that is a price worth paying is a question that politicians, lawyers, and the public have been arguing about for years. What is clear is that, right now, there is no easy fix.
Rahman’s case will not be the last of its kind. Until Parliament finds a legal way to change the rules — one that actually stands up in court — the same situation will keep happening, and the same frustrating answer will keep coming back: the law says he stays.
References
1.https://www.gbnews.com/news/terrorist-plotting-bombing-released-justice-secretary-snub
2.https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/terrorism-uk-london-bomb-plot-shah-rahman-5HjczYC_2/
