Court is Asked to Quash Order to Supply Notes on Islamist Book

A leading writer on Islamist terrorism went to the high court in London yesterday to fight a police order requiring him to hand over his source material for a book on al-Qaida. Shiv Malik is challenging Greater Manchester police's order to supply material used in writing Leaving al Qaeda: Inside the Mind of a British Jihadist.

Malik is writing the book in collaboration with Hassan Butt, who has spoken widely about his past involvement with terrorist activity, which he says he has now renounced.

The production order to Malik was issued under anti-terrorism laws in March, after references to Butt by a defendant in a criminal trial set for September, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. It stipulates that source material for the book, all material generated as a result of the project and all information in Malik's possession regarding Butt's alleged terrorist activities must be given to police.

If the high court upholds the order and Malik, of Golders Green, north-west London, refuses to comply, he could be subject to contempt of court proceedings and face a possible two-year prison sentence.

A number of media organizations, led by Jonathan Dimbleby, chairman of Index on Censorship, oppose the police action.

Malik's counsel, James Eadie QC, told Lord Justice Dyson, Mr Justice Pitchford and Mr Justice Ouseley that the subject matter of the high court challenge was of "particular importance and concern".

He added: "Terrorism is probably the pressing issue of the age. What makes those who take part in it do so is a subject of the widest public interest, and so is an insight into the reality of what goes on, particularly if it leads someone who was committed to the cause to rethink.

"Serious journalism directed at shedding light on those features, drawing on experiences of an individual who has been there, is of the highest public importance ... This is a case about press freedom - the importance of that having long been recognized as vital in a democratic society."

He said a production order had also been made against Malik's publisher, Constable & Robinson, which last month handed over the manuscript to the police.

Butt was arrested on May 9, but was yesterday released without charge, Manchester police said.

The hearing continues today.