During an English lesson at school, a ten year old Muslim boy in the UK mistakenly wrote that he lived in a “terrorist house” instead of a “terraced house.” What was shocking was that this simple spelling mistake led to the police coming to his home and interviewing him, as well as examining the family laptop.
The day after the English lesson, the police showed up at his house in Accrington, Lancashire, according to the BBC. It is believed that his teacher must have reported him, a likely scenario given the passing into law of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act last year.
Under the act, teachers are obliged to report anything suspicious to authorities.
The family of the boy are demanding an apology from the school and police after the incident, saying that “they shouldn’t be putting a child through this.”
"You can imagine it happening to a 30-year-old man, but not to a young child," the boy's cousin told the BBC. "If the teacher had any concerns it should have been about his spelling.
"He's now scared of writing, using his imagination."
Lancashire Police said: "This was reported to the police but was dealt with by a joint visit by a PC from the division and social services, not by anyone from Prevent.
"There were not thought to be any areas for concern and no further action was required by any agency."
Prevent is the UK’s anti-radicalisation programme, aimed at discouraging people from joining extremist groups.
