Briton who converted to Islam arrested by Kenyan anti-terror police after arms seized
Daily Mail
A British convert to Islam is being held by Kenyan police as part of an anti-terrorism operation.
Graham Adams, 31, who also uses the name Ahmed Khalid Ibrahim since becoming a Muslim as a teenager, was arrested in the port city of Mombasa last Tuesday.
More than 30 people, mostly of Somali origin, were arrested in the capital Nairobi later in the week."He was arrested at the same time as people in possession of illegal hand grenades and guns," said a police spokesman.
"Our investigators are still working on collecting evidence to see if we can charge him."
Human rights campaigners in Kenya have criticised police for targeting the country's large Muslim population in the run-up to elections later this month.
They believe Somalis in particular have been unfairly demonised.
However, the country has been the target of al Qaeda bombers in the past.
More than 220 people died when suicide bomber blew up the US embassy in 1998.
Four years later, 15 people were killed when an Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa was bombed.
They also tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner.
Al-Amin Kimathi, of the Muslim Human Rights Forum, said Adams had been a regular visitor to Kenya for the past seven years and hoped to open a restaurant in Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean coastline.
He said Adams was questioned about links to six Kenyan men arrested last Thursday with grenades in the capital's Eastleigh estate, home to the city's large Somali population.
"He was asked to identify photographs of other alleged terror suspects, two of whom are in court today. He says he knows one who is a business contact in Nairobi," Kimathi said.
He added that Adams, who comes from Manchester, became a Muslim at the age of 18.
The latest arrests come at a time of heightened fears of terrorist attacks.
Kenyan police believe terrorists may be smuggling weapons from Somalia, Kenya's lawless neighbour.
Last week the Foreign Office stepped up its warnings to Britons seeking winter sun in the country.
"There is a high threat from terrorism in Kenya. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers," it warns, adding that previous attacks took place in the run-up to elections.
American citizens were also warned earlier this year that they could be targeted by Islamic extremists based in Somalia.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced out of the Somali capital Mogadishu this year as Islamist fighters battle for control of the city.
A spokeswoman for the British High Commission in Nairobi said Adams had been arrested on immigration charges. "We've requested consular access, but it's not been granted yet," she added.