Document - UK: Men persecuted by the authorities demand justice
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Media Advisory
AI Index: EUR 45/058/2005 (Public)
News Service No: 341
12 December 2005
UK: Men persecuted by the authorities demand justice
Four men -- three Algerians and one stateless Palestinian -- and their families have been effectively persecuted by the United Kingdom (UK) authorities for nearly four years. They are among the 10 foreign nationals who on 8 December 2005 won an appeal before the Law Lords who ruled unanimously that information obtained through torture cannot be admissible as "evidence" in UK courts.
The Lord Lords' unanimous judgment in the appeals brought by 10 foreign nationals against their being labelled by the UK authorities as "suspected international terrorists" means that these cases will be sent back to the court that made the original decisions. That court -- the Special Immigration Appeals Commission -- will have to reconsider the "evidence" on which it based its decisions, and ensure that none of it was obtained through torture.
Against the backdrop of this momentous ruling, Amnesty International has just released a report containing the testimonies of four of the men that won the case that led to it. The UK authorities claim these individuals are involved in international terrorism and are a threat to the public. However, at no point during the past four years have any of these four men been charged and tried, let alone found guilty in a court of law in the UK with an offence in connection with these claims. Nor has any of them ever been questioned by the police, the security services or the Crown Prosecution Service since their arrest and detention as "suspected international terrorists".
Representatives of Amnesty International met with the four men and their families and heard their account of their experience. Amnesty International's latest report, United Kingdom: "I want justice", presents their testimonies and the organization's recommendations in their cases.
See: United Kingdom: "I want justice", (AI Index: EUR 45/056/2005) http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engeur450562005
UK: Law Lords confirm that torture "evidence" is unacceptable, (AI Index: EUR 45/057/2005) http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engeur450572005
Public Document
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