The British Library was criticised on Friday by academics around the world for refusing to house the master copy of the largest digital archive of Taliban manuscripts and literature, citing fears of contravening the UK's anti-terror legislation, reported AFP.
A spokesperson for the British Library said it was "no currently able to acquire a copy of the archive", which includes laws, official newspapers, maps, poetry and radio broadcasts, stating that "it is a large digitised archive which contains material that could contravene the Terrorism Act".
"The legal advice received jointly by the British Library and other similar institutions advises against making this type of material accessible," she added.
"It's surprising and disappointing," the lead researcher, Alex Strick van Linschoten, who is based in Berlin said.
"There's no recipes for making bombs or anything like that. These are documents that would help people understand history, whether it's Afghans trying to learn about their recent past, or outsiders wanting to understand the movement." he added.
"Any scholar would realise it's essential to read primary documents related to your subject if you want to understand militant groups, but there is a climate of fear among academics who study this kind of material because UK law is very loose."
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A spokesperson for the British Library said it was "no currently able to acquire a copy of the archive", which includes laws, official newspapers, maps, poetry and radio broadcasts, stating that "it is a large digitised archive which contains material that could contravene the Terrorism Act".
"The legal advice received jointly by the British Library and other similar institutions advises against making this type of material accessible," she added.
"It's surprising and disappointing," the lead researcher, Alex Strick van Linschoten, who is based in Berlin said.
"There's no recipes for making bombs or anything like that. These are documents that would help people understand history, whether it's Afghans trying to learn about their recent past, or outsiders wanting to understand the movement." he added.
"Any scholar would realise it's essential to read primary documents related to your subject if you want to understand militant groups, but there is a climate of fear among academics who study this kind of material because UK law is very loose."
See more here.