why? On Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 6:35 PM, Dana <[email protected]> wrote: > > Now. > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/04/AR2009020402999.html?hpid=topnews > > > LONDON, Feb. 4 -- Two British High Court judges ruled against > releasing documents describing the treatment of a British detainee at > the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but made clear their > reluctance, saying that the United States had threatened to withhold > intelligence cooperation with Britain if the information were made > public. > > "We did not consider that a democracy governed by the rule of law > would expect a court in another democracy to suppress a summary of the > evidence . . . relevant to allegations of torture and cruel, inhumane, > or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be," > Justice John Thomas and Justice David Lloyd Jones wrote. > > The judges decided not to release information, supplied to the court > by U.S. officials, concerning the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, 31, an > Ethiopian-born British resident who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. > > The decision touched off a wave of anger at Washington, from the floor > of Parliament to the offices of human rights groups. > ad_icon > > "The government is going to have to do some pretty careful explaining > about what's going on," said David Davis, a top Conservative Party > leader, speaking in the House of Commons. > > Davis said it appeared the U.S. government had "threatened" the > British government about the repercussions if details of the case were > made public. "Frankly, it is none of their business what our courts > do," he said. > > "The ruling implies that torture has taken place in the Mohamed case, > that British agencies may have been complicit, and further, that the > United States government has threatened our High Court that if it > releases this information the U.S. government will withdraw its > intelligence cooperation with the United Kingdom," Davis said. > > Mohamed was initially charged with planning a "dirty bomb" attack in > the United States. Those charges were later dropped, but Mohamed has > been held at the Guantanamo detention center since September 2004 > after allegedly confessing to being an al-Qaeda operative. > > Mohamed claims that evidence against him is based on confessions > obtained by torture at the hands of U.S. officials and allies in > "secret prisons" in Morocco and Afghanistan and later in Guantanamo. > > Wednesday's ruling was part of a long-running legal battle by > Mohamed's attorneys, who argue that he has committed no crime and is a > victim of torture and rendition by U.S. officials, with British > cooperation. > > Attorneys for several British and U.S. media organizations petitioned > the court to release the information it had about Mohamed's treatment, > which had been redacted from a court ruling last summer. > > On Wednesday, the judges turned down the request to release the > documents, saying that the United States continued to threaten to > punish Britain by withholding intelligence cooperation if the court > released details of Mohamed's treatment. > > Clive Stafford Smith, Mohamed's attorney, told reporters that by not > disclosing the evidence, Britain was guilty of "capitulation to > blackmail." > > "It is hardly Britain's finest hour," he said. "As the judges say, it > is up to President Obama to put his money where his mouth is. He must > repudiate his predecessor's reprehensible policy." > > Officials in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said they were > unaware of any threat from the Obama administration to withhold > cooperation. "We have not engaged with the new administration on the > detail of this case," a Brown spokesman told reporters. > > Also Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to > Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, urging her to clarify the > Obama administration's position on the Mohamed case and to reject what > it described as the Bush administration's policy of using false claims > of national security to avoid judicial review of controversial > programs. > > Anthony D. Romero, head of the ACLU, said, "The latest revelation is > completely at odds with President Obama's executive orders that ban > torture and end rendition, as well as his promise to restore the rule > of law." > >
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