The international director of Cage has been found guilty of a terror offence for refusing to unlock his iPhone and laptop while being detained at Heathrow Airport.

Muhammad Rabbani was found guilty of wilfully obstructing a police search under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

He was held under a "sweeping" power, his barrister argued, when he returned from Qatar after attending what he told police was a friend's wedding.

After three hours of interrogation Rabbani was placed under arrest after refusing to provide the PIN and password for his devices.

Rabbani told the court he had an obligation to protect confidential evidence on his iPhone and MacBook Air from a client of Cage's which regarded serious allegations of torture by "US agents".


"It was a case involving the US against an individual who was allegedly tortured over the course of 12 or 13 years in US custody," he said.

"There were around 30,000 (documents) which I was especially uncomfortable handling and I felt an enormous responsibility to try and discharge the trust that was given to me and the lawyers I met at that event."

Cage was set up as a Human Rights organisation to help people imprisoned as part of the so-called War on Terror.

The group gained notoriety after claiming Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, was "extremely kind and gentle" and saying the UK authorities played a major part in radicalising young Muslims.

Feb 2015: Cage research director Asim Qureshi on 'Jihadi John'

The prosecution told Westminster Magistrates' Court that Rabbani was not stopped "randomly", but did not say whether the security and intelligence services had directed police.

The defence for Cage's international director said he was not seeking to wilfully obstruct the police, but protect the integrity of "sensitive documents" in his possession.

Rabbani said he had been stopped between 20 and 30 times before while crossing the British border and had never given his PIN or password to police.

Speaking outside court Rabbani said the Schedule 7 powers amounted to a "digital strip search" and that he had been racially profiled by the officers that stopped him.

He said: "I was prepared from the outset to pay the ultimate price, even if that meant imprisonment."

He said he would launch an appeal against the verdict.

Ibrahim Mohamoud, spokesperson for Cage, said: "Demanding passwords to your electronic devices when there is no suspicion of a crime is a violation of due process."

Mr Mohamoud said Rabbani's case highlights "the need for an urgent debate on the powers granted to state officials that threaten the privacy of us all".

Image: Rabbani vowed to launch an appeal against the verdict

The former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson QC, was critical of the use of Schedule 7 to access individuals' digital devices.

Mr Anderson warned in his annual reports that "a warrant would be required for such inspections" if they were not taking place at borders.

He said there was a "need for clear and proportionate rules governing the data taken from electronic devices" at borders, but noted that the government "declined to apply" his recommendation.

In 2013, the partner of Glen Greenwald, a journalist responsible for reporting many of whistleblower Edward Snowden's spying revelations, was also detained using the same powers at Heathrow Airport.

David Miranda was held for nine hours before being released without charge; the full time allowance under the controversial powers until that limit was reduced to six hours by the coalition government.