A schoolboy has been questioned by anti-terrorism police because he wore a "Free Palestine" badge to school.
Rahmaan Mohammadi's teachers at Challney High School for Boys in Luton referred him to police under Prevent - the controversial government anti-radicalisation programme, which critics have claimed is heavy-handed, discriminatory and ineffective.
As well as wearing pro-Palestine badges and wristbands, Mohammadi was in possession of a leaflet advocating Palestinian rights by pressure group Friends of al-Aqsa. He had also asked for permission to fundraise for children affected by the Israeli occupation.
Mohammadi described his experiences at a meeting of campaign group Students Not Suspects at Goldsmiths University in London. He alleged that police warned him not to talk about Palestine in school, and further claimed that staff members had approached his 14-year-old brother and pressured him to to tell Rahmaan to "stop being radical".
Last year, hundreds of academics signed an open letter in the Independent criticising the "chilling effect" of the Prevent strategy on free speech and political dissent in the UK.
The £40m programme has been plagued with problems since its inception 12 years ago. Critics say it has fostered an atmosphere of Islamophobic paranoia which is more likely to fuel radicalisation than prevent it.
Internal police statistics obtained via a Freedom of Information request suggest only 20% of people referred to Prevent are assessed as at risk of radicalisation.
Prevent also came under fire last year for exending its legal obligation of surveillance into nursery schools, since which time children as young as three have been referred under the programme.
Bedfordshire Police told the Sunday Times: "The officers spoke to the boy and were satisfied that he was not at risk and he was given advice and support."
