Osama Hassan Ahmed Mohammed (اسامة حسان أحمد) was arrested on 28 September 1998 in the United Kingdom under accusation of membership in al-Jihad.[1] Along with seven other Middle Eastern men living in Britain, he was arrested in a raid called Operation Challenge, planned by the Met, MI5, and the FBI and approved under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989.[1] [2] [3] They were all released on lack of evidence but police quickly re-arrested Mohammed on grounds of national security.[4] He was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labour.[4] The home office attempted to deport him to Cairo but the Egyptian government pushed back, saying they could not "guarantee his safety."[4] Six months after the arrests, British Muslims staged a demonstration in front of 10 Downing Street to protest the continued incarceration of the seven men.
In 1998, just prior to his arrest, Mohammed came to the UK from Albania.[4] His wife, who lived in Hayes with their four children, had cancer.[4]