Man involved in terrorism-related activity loses High Court case over passport

A British national involved in terrorism-related activity has lost his High Court case over the cancellation of his passport.

The 34-year-old man, who was born in Bangladesh and lives in London, challenged the Home Office's March 2015 decision, upheld a few months later, that it was not in the public interest that he should hold a passport.

The man, identified only as MR, acknowledged that from 2008 to 2011 he had some involvement with two organisations now proscribed under the Terrorism Act but said that his religious views were mainstream and moderate and he regretted his past association.

MR, who used to work in the NHS, said that he travelled to Turkey in February 2014 to investigate the possibility of setting up a confectionery business.

After he was arrested for overstaying his visa and removed to Sweden, he travelled to Egypt, Greece and Bulgaria, from where he was deported on national security grounds.

The basis for cancellation was that it was assessed that, between his arrival in Turkey and his arrest, MR travelled to Syria to engage in terrorism-related activity - likely to have included fighting - and had maintained a close association with a proscribed Islamist extremist group in which he may continue to play a significant role.

It was believed that he went to Bulgaria with the intention of entering Turkey for onward travel to Syria.

On Friday in London, Lord Justice Bean and Mr Justice Supperstone dismissed the case.

They rejected argument that the decision was illogical or not properly supported by evidence.

"We consider that in the present case, the Minister of State was entitled to take the view that given the assessment of the claimant's activities, association and travel - to Syria and elsewhere - and the perceived risk of his seeking to travel to Syria again, the withdrawal of his passport was a proportionate step, and was also necessary in the sense that there was no other reliable way of preventing him from leaving the country."

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