30 A. AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT avoid being followed. When he was arrested in September 2002 he was found in possession of a false Belgian passport bearing the photograph of a senior member of the Abu Doha group. He was alleged to have been heavily involved in the supply of false documents and the fraudulent use of cheque books and credit cards. 68. The applicant filed a written statement in which he denied being an international terrorist. He admitted that he had travelled to Afghanistan in 1999 and that he had attempted to go to Chechnya in 2001, but claimed that his interest in these countries was no more than that shown by many devout Muslims. He refused to participate in the hearing of his appeal or to be represented by a lawyer, in protest at the fundamental unfairness of the procedure. In view of the applicant’s position, the special advocates decided that his interests would best be served if they refrained from making submissions on his behalf or asking questions of the witnesses in the closed session. 69. In dismissing the applicant’s appeal, SIAC held as follows: “We recognise the difficulties faced by an Appellant who only sees only the open material and can understand [the eleventh applicant’s] perception that the procedures are unfair. However, each case will turn upon its own individual facts, and it would be wrong to give the impression, which [his solicitor] sought to do, that this particular Appellant had been placed in a position where he was prevented by reason of the procedures under the Act from mounting an effective defence in response to the case made against him. We have summarised the information made available to [the eleventh applicant] at the various stages of the procedure ... and [his] response to this information in his written statement. While some of the assessments in the open material can fairly be described as general assertions unsupported by any documentary evidence, in response to which [the eleventh applicant] would not have been able to give any more than an equally general denial, it is clear that in respect of other assessments [he] was provided with a great deal of detailed information: names, dates, places and supporting documents. [The eleventh applicant] is in the best position to give an account of his whereabouts and activities since he first claimed asylum in 1998. His written statement is significant not so much for what it says, as for what it does not say. To take one example: the visit to St Albans and the photo-booth where [the eleventh applicant] says that the Respondent’s specific assertion is ‘completely wrong’ ... [The eleventh applicant] has not denied that he went to St Albans. He knows who accompanied him and why they went there. He has not explained why they went there, nor has he identified his companion, despite having been provided with the photographs taken during the surveillance operation. ...” SIAC continued by noting the inconsistencies in the applicant’s various accounts of his trips to Afghanistan, Georgia and Dubai and his failure to deal with the Secretary of State’s allegations that he had associated with various members of the Abu Doha group, identified by name. SIAC continued: