Three men charged after ‘highly targeted attacks’ against Pakistani dissidents

Three men have been charged after a series of “highly targeted” attacks against two Pakistani dissidents living in Britain.Police carried out a series of seven raids and arrests this week in London, Essex and the Midlands after four attacks, which began on Christmas Eve.The attacks took place in Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire against two prominent supporters of the jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan.One of the victims, human rights lawyer Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a former member of Khan’s cabinet, told the Guardian he had been punched up to 30 times by a man who knocked on his door and checked his identity.Counter-terror police (CTP) said it took over the investigations from local police because of the “highly targeted nature” of the attacks.On Friday, CTP London said three men had been charged, and all are British nationals.Karl Blackbird, 40, from Bedworth, has been charged with conspiracy to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in respect of two alleged attacks on 24 December.Clark McAulay, 39, from Coventry, has been charged with conspiracy to assault occasioning actual bodily harm over an incident in Chesham.Doneto Brammer, 21, from Wood Green, London, has been charged in connection with the alleged attack on 31 December at Akbar’s home in Cambridgeshire.Brammer is charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, and conspiracy to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.All three men were charged on Friday and will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Saturday.Police had arrested a man aged 34 in Essex on 5 January, who was released on bail.On Wednesday, five more people were arrested, including three of those now charged. Other arrests took place of a man, 30, in Birmingham and a woman, 40, in north London, both of whom have been released on bail.The seventh arrest on Friday was of a 25-year-old man who was arrested in Warwickshire and remains in custody in a London police station.Counter-terrorism detectives say they also carried out a series of searches, with four in Birmingham, one in Coventry, one in Warwickshire and two at sites in London.Police said the investigation continues and added: “Detectives are keeping an open mind as to any potential motivation behind the incidents. Officers are also keeping an open mind as to whether any of the incidents are potentially linked, and this remains an active line of inquiry being considered.”Akbar, 48, told the Guardian he was in hiding after the attacks: “They are trying to scare and intimidate me, and I am pretty scared. I fear for my life and for my family’s lives.”The human rights barrister added: “I am a Pakistani dissident living in exile here. I am an open critic of the Pakistani regime, which is backed by the military.“I cannot say who did it. However, one thing is certain: it was a targeted attack and the people who attacked were probably hired by someone.”