‘The Home Office has pursued a policy of psychological brutality by locking up scores of torture survivors in solitary confinement for indefinite periods, according to fresh testimony from immigration detainees.’
The Guardian, 15th May 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘What a High Court judge said yesterday were among “the most serious allegations ever levelled against English solicitors in civil proceedings” will be heard in January 2023, he has decided.’
Legal Futures, 6th May 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Peers behind a cross-party amendment to halt plans to restrict prosecutions of torture and war crimes by British soldiers serving abroad are hopeful of inflicting a high-profile defeat on the government in the Lords on Tuesday.’
The Guardian, 13th April 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A former senior legal officer for the British Army has spoken out against The Overseas Operations Bill currently on its way through parliament, saying it does nothing to protect soldiers and breaches international law.’
Each Other, 12th January 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘On 5 August 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in Shagang Shipping Company Ltd (in liquidation) v HNA Group Company Ltd [2020] UKSC 34; [2020] 1 W.L.R. 3549. Against the background of a commercial charterparty dispute, this appeal raised important questions about the admissibility of evidence potentially obtained through torture.’
UKSC Blog, 8th December 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
‘A bill allowing confidential informants working for MI5 and the police to break the law will be introduced on Thursday amid a row about whether committing crimes such as murder and torture should be explicitly banned.’
The Guardian, 24th September 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Pro-democracy activists have launched a private prosecution in London against five British officers working for the Hong Kong police, alleging they have taken part in brutal actions against protesters.’
The Guardian, 10th August 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘This appeal arose out of a claim by the appellant under a guarantee of a contract, to charter a vessel which was met with a defence from the respondent that the contract was procured by bribery and that the guarantee was therefore unenforceable. The bribery allegation was based on evidence of confessions that the appellant alleged were obtained by torture and therefore inadmissible.’
UKSC Blog, 5th August 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
‘Conversion therapy is a set of pseudo-scientific practices which aim to change, suppress, or divert a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It is based on the assumption that “being lesbian, gay, bi or trans is a mental illness that can be “cured”.’
Each Other, 16th July 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘In R (Reprieve & Ors) v Prime Minister [2020] EWHC 1695 (Admin), the High Court made a preliminary ruling that Article 6(1) of the ECHR does not apply to the forthcoming judicial review of the Government’s decision not to establish a public inquiry into allegations that the UK intelligence services were involved in the torture, mistreatment and rendition of detainees in the aftermath of 9/11. It was further held that the claimants are not entitled to the level of disclosure of open material outlined in SSHD v AF (No 3) [2009].’
UK Human Rights Blog, 9th July 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The ‘Third Direction case’, soon to be brought before the Court of Appeal, concerns the lawfulness of a previously secret national security policy of the UK Government. The policy authorises agents of the Security Service (MI5) to engage in criminal activity, which the claimants allege include the carrying out of torture and murder. Hearings on the case were held in November last year in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), a specialist tribunal which adjudicates complaints on state surveillance and the conduct of the Security Services (MI5, MI6 and GCHQ). The IPT produced a judgment remarkably quickly, published in December.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th July 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘A judicial review aimed at overturning a decision to ditch a judge-led inquiry into the involvement of British intelligence in torture and rendition will be heard in secret after a challenge involving two MPs failed.’
The Guardian, 30th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Fifteen potential cases of torture or rendition involving British intelligence at the height of the “war on terror” were examined last year in a secret Whitehall review, whose existence was revealed in court proceedings on Tuesday.’
The Guardian, 9th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The outbreak of Covid-19 has demonstrated how quickly our established ideas and normalised ways of thinking can be changed. Work that was called ‘low-skilled’ is now recognised as ‘essential’, the nation has hailed nurses as ‘heroes’, and face masks are a part of routine life.’
Each Other, 22nd May 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘Three drug dealers who brutally tortured and murdered a man have been jailed for life.’
BBC News, 11th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Asylum seekers thought to be victims of torture are set to be forcibly removed to Pakistan on the third charter flight to leave the UK in three weeks, The Independent can reveal.’
The Independent, 26th February 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Psychological torture is being exploited by states to circumvent the more widely understood ban on physically inflicting pain and may open the way to a future of “cybertorture”, the UN torture rapporteur has said.’
The Guardian, 21st February 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Certain crimes transcend the territorial confines of any State and become a matter of concern to the world as a whole. In those cases, where a domestic prosecution is not likely or possible, other States or international courts may step in. Such crimes may qualify by the gravity of the acts themselves, as with genocide or crimes against humanity, or by the context in which they are committed, as in war crimes. Yet two recent cases – one in the UK, one at the International Court of Justice – demonstrate that external political factors can be equally determinative of whether a prosecution for the gravest of crimes will take place.’
6KBW College Hill, 11th February 2020
Source: blog.6kbw.com
‘A torture survivor from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is celebrating after a Home Office U-turn allowed him to stay in the UK.’
The Guardian, 15th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2023