Dear fellow supporters, Please see below complaint to Exeter Mosque and also to Devon and Cornwall Police after the Trustees got the police involved in a civil complaint and in an online petition, where the community was exercising its right to free speech. My children were left frightened after the police kept banging on our door late at night - do not allow the trustees to intimidate us, hold them and the police to account. Complaint to Exeter Mosque: "FAO: Mr Shaheed Ul Hassan, Secretary of the Board of Trustees Dear Mr Hassan, I am writing this email as a complaint against you and the rest of the Board of Trustees. This is with regards to your contacting Devon and Cornwall Police and sending them as though they are your personal enforcers to deal with the public petition and complaint that I uploaded against you. For your information, I have set up this email address to bring together all correspondence regarding this community action against you, and I expect you to respond in writing in accordance with your complaints policy to this email. Last night, I was at home with my wife and my children and I was surprised to hear a very loud banging on my door. This banging was unusual, as it was aggressive and lasted for approximately 20 minutes. This morning, PC 5355 Ian Lugg of Devon and Cornwall Police knocked on my door again, and said that he was visiting me because of the online petition and complaint that I had uploaded on behalf of the community. He was asking me many questions, but I informed him that it was my legal right not to discuss anything with him beyond confirming a few details that everyone already knows i.e. that I uploaded this petition on behalf of others in the community. This is not the first time that you have sent the police to my home to bully me. Last night, the police frightened my wife and my children, and this morning they caused us distress. They also did this last May when you used them again as your personal enforcers due to a civil dispute relating to your discrimination against members of the community and their access to the mosque. You wrote to me about this situation on 9 May 2016, and the email will be used as evidence against you. For your information, another complaint will soon be filed against PC 5355 Ian Lugg with Devon and Cornwall Police. In the interest of transparency and to expose to the world and to the community how you utilise the police to bully and intimidate those who stand against your behaviour, both complaints will be uploaded to the petition website shortly. You ought to know that we will no longer be bullied by you or your friends, and we will seek the help of local authorities, political representatives, the Charity Commission, upstanding members of the police and other law enforcement agencies. Your relations with people who have been welcomed by you to our Mosque concerns everyone, including law enforcement agencies. I expect a full response to this complaint, and I will pursue this until we achieve justice and until we ensure the ongoing protection of the good name and reputation of Exeter Mosque and Cultural Centre from the actions of a few unscrupulous trustees like yourself and other members of their administration. Yours sincerely, Mr Talal El-Sayed" Complaint to Devon and Cornwall Police: "16 January 2018 To whom it may concern, RE: Complaint against PC 5355 Ian Lugg I am writing to raise a formal complaint against PC 5355 Ian Lugg Neighbourhood Beat Manager for the ward of St James and the University of Exeter in the city of Exeter. I would like this complaint to be dealt with as a matter of urgency, and for your response to be sent to the email address provided above. I will also require a copy of your complaints procedure. At around 2030 hrs on the evening of 15 January 2018, I was at home with my wife and my children when all of a sudden we heard an aggressive and violent banging on our front door. As it was late at night, and as we were not expecting anyone to visit, we became concerned and decided we would not answer just in case it was a violent drunk. Even more distressing, this banging on our door lasted for approximately 20 minutes, and all we could see from the peep hole in the door was an intimidating silhouette of a figure, but it was too dark to make anything out. My children became frightened, as did my wife and myself. This morning, 16 January 2018, at approximately 0955 hrs, we heard another knocking at the door, but it was gentler. As it was during the daytime we could now identify that a uniformed officer was at our door, and so we opened the door. The police officer in question was PC 5355 Ian Lugg, and he demanded to speak to me about an online complaint and petition that I and members of the community had gotten together to file against the Board of Trustees of Exeter Mosque and Cultural Centre. The petition raised concerns regarding the trustees’ links to extremist clerics banned by the Home Office from entering our country, as well as other issues that the community had tried to resolve privately but with no action from the trustees. PC Lugg also demanded to know why we did not answer the door on the night of 15 January, and became unduly concerned when my wife said that she wanted to record what he was saying as it was concerning that the police – who deal with criminal complaints – were involving themselves in a civil matter. I informed him that I did indeed upload the petition on behalf of myself and other concerned members of the community, but that I did not have to answer his questions any further. I took his name and epaulet number, and he left. This visit was very distressful to me and my wife. This is not the first time that the police have been used by the trustees, and specifically Mr Shaheed Ul Hassan, to bully and intimidate members of the community on civil matters. I am appalled that your police officers find the time to visit the houses of citizens in the dead of the night and terrify young children, while doing absolutely nothing to investigate the community complaint regarding links to extremist clerics that is now available online and has been reported by the Guardian, amongst others. The Home Office, the ministry that the police answer to, have themselves banned this cleric, yet the police were only concerned about who uploaded the petition and if I was indeed the author of the petition. You are required to provide a full explanation as to why Devon and Cornwall Police seem to consistently get involved with civil disputes, particularly as I have spoken to at least three different families in the Exeter Muslim community who have been visited by the police after the Board of Trustees have filed spurious complaints and have felt intimidated by them. No criminal charges were ever brought, neither against me or members of my family, or the other families mentioned above. In fact, the only time police have been involved in an actual criminal complaint was against Mr Mohammed Tellesy, a trustee, who I am informed was spoken to by PC Costa and who also apologised for assaulting a member of our community on 16 December 2016 – something your colleague can verify. You are also required to explain why PC Lugg, who is responsible for St James and the University of Exeter, saw fit to come to my home in Pinhoe – a completely different area of responsibility. He is nothing to do with my neighbourhood, and any possible criminal investigation must have started at Exeter Mosque, due to the nature of the allegations. PC Lugg was not interested in taking a statement from me regarding any criminal investigation into these very serious allegations that the community has brought to light, but was instead insistent on quizzing me about the nature of my involvement with the petition itself – a wholly incomprehensible and mind-boggling state of affairs. I was never even given a crime reference or log number, which shows that there was no criminal complaint against me, and this was simply a case of police harassment. I feel that the police are being used by Mr Hassan and those who work with him as personal enforcers used to intimidate the Muslim community who do not accept Mr Hassan’s troubling links to questionable characters who may be linked to extremist groups. They similarly ignored repeated complaints about fraud – an actual criminal offence – despite Sergeant Dave Cropp having written a letter dated 7 June 2016 which was published on the Mosque’s public noticeboard making himself available for any further queries. Throughout the last half of 2016, Sergeant Cropp was repeatedly copied into emailed complaints by a financially qualified member of the community regarding potential fraud, and failed to take any action. Please note that this complaint is being raised by me, but as it is resulting from police action taken in relation to a public petition launched by the community, it will be shared publicly. Failure to act on this complaint and hold PC Lugg to account for his actions and his relationship with Mr Hassan and his associates will result in further action, potentially legal, and also possibly with the attention of Ben Bradshaw MP being drawn to Devon and Cornwall Police’s behaviour so he may raise the issue with the Home Secretary, in addition to getting in touch with the national media. Muslims are always maligned for not taking action against potential extremists within their own communities, yet we now have evidence that, when they do, the police instead take action against them rather than investigating a serious allegation. I will also require all responses to be in writing as I have no faith in speaking face to face with your staff, as they already – as noted above – were extremely hesitant to be recorded when my wife said that she wanted to keep a record. All responses must be in writing, to this email address. I will also require a written apology from PC Lugg for the distress that he has caused, on formal headed paper. Besides that, I would like to know what action the Police will be taking to ensure that PC Lugg does not have any illicit relations with Mr Hassan and his associates, and we require the police to investigate the trustees of Exeter Mosque. Kindly confirm receipt, and I expect a full response in writing soon. Yours faithfully, Mr Talal El-Sayed