The international director of the campaign group Cage has pleaded not guilty to a terror offence after refusing to give police the passcode to his mobile phone at Heathrow airport last year.
Muhammad Rabbani, who was arrested in November 2016 and charged last month, was carrying information from a survivor of torture on his device that he did not have permission to hand over, the group has said.
The 36-year-old appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday and stood in the dock to confirm his name, address and date of birth, before pleading not guilty to a single charge under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The charge says that, “on November 20 2016, at Heathrow airport, he did wilfully obstruct, or sought to frustrate, an examination or search”.
His solicitor, Gareth Peirce, said the issues in the case would include “the legality of the stop, the legality of the examination and the legality of the request for Mr Rabbani that he provide the pin number for his phone”.
The chief magistrate, Emma Arbuthnot, said Rabbani, who is from east London, would face a one-day trial at the same court on 25 September. He was released on unconditional bail.
Speaking outside court, Rabbani said: “I have just left Westminster magistrates court where I have pleaded not guilty to the charges against me, which are essentially about a password and my … decision to not hand over that password to protect my confidentiality.”
He added: “I believe the court will find me innocent of all charges, which have implications for lawyers, journalists, doctors, businessmen, anybody travelling with confidential information through the UK borders.”
He has previously stressed that the case has “serious implications for journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders”. A spokesman for Cage, Ibrahim Mohamoud, added: “Rabbani has taken a principled stance to protect the right to privacy in an ongoing case of torture that implicates high-ranking officials. Not only is this of crucial importance, but the outcome of his case has implications for all of our rights to privacy, when there is no suspicion of any crime.”
In 2013, the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, David Miranda, was stopped at Heathrow under the same legislation in the wake of the Edward Snowden case. Miranda launched a successful legal challenge.
