Brown plans to double terror detention limit

By Louise Nousratpour

Morning Star, 26 July 2007

Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed a strong desire to double the current 28-day period of detention without charge or trial for “terror suspects” on Wednesday. But human rights campaigners slammed the proposal, warning that such an “assault on human rights and freedoms” would amount to internment.

During a speech on the “war against terror,” Mr Brown told MPs that the government would put forward a package of measures designed to combat terrorism. These include proposals to extend the pre-charge detention period to 56 days, allowing intercept evidence to be used in court, giving police powers to question suspects after they have been charged and placing a “highly visible” uniformed force at all ports and airports. The phone tapping and post-charge questioning proposals were first tabled by civil rights group Liberty.

Left MP John McDonnell vowed to monitor the proposals “very closely” once they are put to Parliament. He branded the plans “an unacceptable breach of human rights based upon unproved assumptions which will result in human suffering and miscarriages of justice.”

Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German urged MPs to defeat Mr Brown’s draconian proposals, just as they saw off his predecessor Tony Blair’s “disgraceful” plans to introduce a 90-day limit.

“These measures have nothing to do with stopping terrorism and everything to do with creating a climate of fear, where police and the government are given unprecedented powers,” she argued. “This is a complete betrayal of every aspect of our civil liberties and the millions of Labour supporters, many of who thought they would get better from Gordon Brown.”

Ms German warned that the proposals aimed to “criminalise communities – young Muslim men in particular.” She insisted: “The terror attacks in recent years, which many believe are the result of Britain’s foreign policy, will only stop once we pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Nicola Duckworth of Amnesty International UK said that the government had forgotten “the lessons of Northern Ireland in the ’70s, where internment had devastating consequences for those affected and a disastrous impact on human rights, the rule of law and society as a whole.”

Continue reading →

Police call for ‘Guantanamo-style’ powers

By Louise Nousratpour

Morning Star, 16 July 2007

CONCERNS about overt political campaigning by police bosses mounted on Sunday, after chief constables demanded the power to lock up “terror suspects” indefinitely.

Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) president Ken Jones inflamed the debate over detention without trial when he called for more police powers to hold suspects for “as long as it takes.”

He complained that police were “up against the buffers on the 28-day limit,” which is already the longest period of pre-charge detention in any Western country, including the United States.

The matter was reportedly discussed in meetings between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and senior police officers.

The new Premier, who has already signalled his desire to extend the draconian 28-day limit, is believed to be supportive of the ACPO proposals.

His predecessor Tony Blair was defeated in the Commons two years ago when he tried to introduce a 90-day detention period, which was also floated by notorious Metropolitan Police chief Ian Blair.

The ongoing politicisation of senior police officers in recent years has alarmed politicians and civil rights groups alike, who told the force on Sunday to “stay out of politics” and “remember your place” in a democratic society.

They warned that the latest police proposals would amount to Northern Ireland-style internment of the 1970s and would lead to the creation of a Guantanamo Bay-type prison on British soil.

Within 48 hours of the introduction of internment for IRA members in August 1971, mass protests broke out which left 17 dead. Violence and protests continued throughout that year and peaked on January 30 1972 – known as Bloody Sunday, recalled campaigners.

Britain last used internment during the first Gulf war to harass Iraqi exiles accused of links with Saddam Hussein’s state apparatus.

Continue reading →

Lords urged to defend justice

By Louise Nousratpour

Morning Star, 6 July 2007

Civil rights campaigners urged Law Lords to “prosecute, not persecute” terror suspects on Thursday at the start of a six-day hearing into the legality of the repressive control orders regime.

A panel of five Law Lords headed by Lord Bingham began hearing appeals from 10 people placed under control orders – including “house arrest,” tagging, curfews and restricted access to phones and the internet – without charge or trial. They argue that the measures introduced under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 violate their right to liberty and a fair trial.

The hearing includes Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s appeal against a ruling last year by the High Court and Court of Appeal that control orders breached the European convention on human rights.

Amnesty International UK urged Britain’s legal authorities to commit themselves to “prosecuting rather than persecuting” anyone accused of terrorism. It condemned the control order regime as running “counter to the principle of equality before the law,” adding: “It is intrinsically inimical to the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and human rights protection in the UK.”

Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn urged the Law Lords to use their powers to ensure that the right to a “fair and independent” legal process is protected.

“The control orders are a form of executive detention and a denial of access to an independent judicial system and I opposed it in Parliament for those reasons,” he said. “I hope the Law Lords will use their authority to ensure that we maintain the separation between the judiciary and political powers.”

Continue reading →