[Excerpt: The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 allows foreign nationals to be jailed indefinitely without charge or trial if the home secretary rules they are suspected of involvement in international terrorism, and they opt not to be deported to their home country...... It was dealt a fatal blow in December, when Britain’s highest court of appeal ruled that it went against the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which now forms part of British law.]
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/January/theworld_January647.xml§ion=theworld (UAE publication) Britain to end policy of jailing terror suspects without trial (AFP) 26 January 2005 LONDON - Britain is to end a policy of jailing foreign terrorism suspects indefinitely without trial following a landmark legal ruling which declared that it contravened human rights law, the government announced Wednesday. In what amounts to a humiliating about-turn for the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair, the suspects will instead be placed under so-called “control orders”, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said in a statement to parliament. The detainees -- 12 of them, according to reports -- will remain in prison while new legislation is drafted, eventually being subject to sanctions such as curfews and electronic tagging, or a requirement “to remain at their premises”, Clarke said. The new measures will operate alongside a system of “deportation with assurances”, meaning the foreign suspects will only be sent home under guarantees that they will not face death or torture. “Such orders would be preventative -- designed to disrupt those seeking to carry out attacks, whether here or elsewhere, or who are planning or otherwise supporting such activities,” Clarke said, insisting the indefinite detention powers had been necessary. “I can tell the House (of Commons) that the government believes they have played an essential part in addressing the current emergency,” he said. “It is clear from the intelligence reports that I have seen that the existence and use of these powers has helped to make the UK a far more hostile environment for international terrorists to operate in.” While the suspects will remain under tight watch, in effect Blair’s government has been forced to abandon a key plank of its anti-terrorism policy. The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 allows foreign nationals to be jailed indefinitely without charge or trial if the home secretary rules they are suspected of involvement in international terrorism, and they opt not to be deported to their home country. It was dealt a fatal blow in December, when Britain’s highest court of appeal ruled that it went against the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which now forms part of British law. The crushing verdict from a panel of nine Law Lords said the 2001 act contravened the rights legislation both because it was disproportionate and, as it applied to foreign nationals only, it was discriminatory. In a scathing personal ruling, one of the Law Lords, Lord Leonard Hoffman, dismissed government arguments that such detention was needed to protect Britain. “The real threat to the life of the nation, in the sense of a people living in accordance with its traditional laws and political values, comes not from terrorism but from laws such as these,” he said. While defending the measures, Clarke said, “I accept the Law Lords’ declaration of incompatibility with the ECHR of Section 23 of the ATCS Act (Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act)”, the part dealing with detention without trial. The terror suspects -- most of whom have not been identified -- are held mainly at the high-security Belmarsh Prison in London, dubbed by rights campaigners “Britain’s Guantanamo Bay” after the US camp for terror suspects in Cuba. Despite the government reverse, human rights lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith described Clarke’s proposals as a “further abuse of human rights in Britain. “I hope we, as British people, say no, we have had enough,” he said. enditme ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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