BRITAIN:Journalistic material about a man who claimed to be a British jihadist was needed to investigate whether he was a terrorist or a liar set on milking the media, the British high court heard yesterday.
Three judges were told by Andrew Edis QC, for Greater Manchester Police, that the scenario concerning Hassan Butt was either "a repeat in a small way of the Adolf Hitler diary situation, or that he was a terrorist".
The "hard real evidence" of tape-recorded interviews with Mr Butt which freelance journalist Shiv Malik says he has, was required to help determine the truth about Mr Butt - who was released without charge yesterday after being arrested on May 9th.
Mr Edis was responding to judicial review proceedings brought by Mr Malik over a "production order" obtained from a judge by the police in March under the 2000 Terrorism Act.
This requires Mr Malik to disclose all source material for a book he is writing, Leaving al-Qaeda: Inside The Mind Of A British Jihadist, in collaboration with Mr Butt, who has spoken widely about his past involvement with terrorist activity, which he says he has now renounced. Refusal to comply with the order could lead to contempt of court proceedings and a possible two-year jail sentence for Mr Malik.
The order was obtained following references to Mr Butt by "A", a defendant in a forthcoming criminal trial set for September, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Mr Edis said that after his arrest, Mr Butt had told police that he never was in al-Qaeda and that he had complained about the book's title to Mr Malik, who told him to ignore it.
"At every point, when he is asked about what he said to the media about terrorist activities, he says it was all lies in order to become famous and to make money out of media outlets."
Mr Edis said that no one was interested in Mr Malik's sources unless they in some way contributed to the material in the book.
That was an important point in terms of proportionality and Mr Malik's ability to function as an investigating journalist.
"The investigation is not into everything Mr Malik may know about terrorism in the UK. It is an investigation into Hassan Butt and, therefore, what the police require is evidence of what Mr Malik knows about him, particularly what he knows about him from his own mouth."
Mr Malik's counsel has said that the case has important ramifications for press freedom.
Judgment was reserved in the case yesterday.
- (PA)