Britain to set free 30 ‘high risk’ terrorists India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Britain is all set to release at least 30 “high-risk” terrorists from jail next year. The decision to free Britain ’s most dangerous men came in the wake of a ruling that long sentences for terrorist crimes could “inflame” rather than deter extremism, the Times Online reports. “Care has to be taken to ensure that the sentence was not disproportionate to the facts of the particular offences. If sentences were imposed which were more severe than the circumstances of the particular case warranted that would be likely to inflame rather than deter extremism,” judges noted. According to a report, Britain ’s appeal court has reduced sentences of 25 terrorists out of 26 26-terrorism cases it heard. Others are being released because they serve only part of their term. “Due to the extraordinary number of successful appeals, scores more terrorists will be released. Every single one that comes out will have to be supervised until their full sentence expires,” Harry Fletcher , of the probation service union Napo , said. The leniency of the British appeal court to some convicted terrorists contrasts with America where they can be locked up for their whole lives. One convicted terrorist, Andrew Rowe , who is due for release, has been assessed as "very high risk. Rowe , 38, a Muslim convert, was caught returning to Britain through the Channel Tunnel with instructions on firing mortars and secret codes for terror attacks. Former anti-terror cop Peter Clarke called him a "global terrorist". Rowe was sentenced to 15 years in 2005. He is due to be freed next April after his sentence was reduced to 10 years.