“MPs and human rights groups yesterday demanded an independent inquiry into the use of UK territory by CIA ‘torture flights’ as fresh questions emerged over the government’s handling of the issue.”
The Guardian, 10th March 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Spain yesterday dropped its attempt to extradite two British residents who had been freed from Guantánamo Bay, after accepting that torture they suffered during five years of American custody had left them too weak to stand trial.”
The Guardian, 7th March 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“European judges have delivered a landmark ruling in the so-called ‘war on terror’, says Robert Verkaik, Law Editor, and it is one that we should all have reason to celebrate.”
The Independent, 5th March 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Britain’s denials that its territories have been used for ‘extraordinary rendition’ were dramatically undermined last night after the United Nations claimed that Diego Garcia has been used as a detention centre to hold US suspects.”
The Guardian, 2nd March
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A former SAS soldier was served with a high court order yesterday preventing him from making fresh disclosures about how hundreds of Iraqis and Afghans captured by British and American special forces were rendered to prisons where they faced torture.”
The Guardian, 29th February 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Hundreds of Iraqis and Afghans captured by British and American special forces were rendered to prisons where they faced torture, a former SAS soldier said yesterday. Ben Griffin said individuals detained by SAS troops in a joint UK-US special forces taskforce had ended up in interrogation centres in Iraq, including the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, and in Afghanistan, as well as Guantánamo Bay.”
The Guardian, 26th February 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“British troops may have executed up to 20 captives in southern Iraq in 2004, human rights lawyers claimed today.”
The Guardian, 22nd February 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Iraqi prisoners held by British troops at a detention centre in Basra were forced to dance ‘like Michael Jackson’ during 36 hours of alleged beatings and sleep-deprivation, according to a High Court writ against the Ministry of Defence.”
The Times, 16th November 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The Ministry of Defence will come under fresh pressure tomorrow to launch an independent inquiry into allegations of abuse of Iraqis by British soldiers after a fierce gun battle with insurgents three years ago.”
The Guardian, 18th October 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The high court yesterday ordered the Ministry of Defence to disclose to lawyers key documents about the circumstances surrounding the death of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi who died in British custody in Basra four years ago. The move came after the lawyers for Mr Mousa’s family and the families of 10 other Iraqis detained by British soldiers accused the MoD of ‘obfuscation and delay’ in providing vital information.”
The Guardian, 4th October 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Lawyers acting for the father of an Iraqi man beaten to death while in the custody of the British military have claimed a breakthrough which could help discover ‘what went wrong and who was responsible’.”
The Independent, 4th October 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“British intelligence and security officials were facing fresh questions about allegations of complicity in torture yesterday after a terrorism suspect appeared in court accused of plotting an al-Qaida attack.”
The Guardian, 20th September 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A British man who was held in Guantánamo Bay has begun a civil action against MI5 and MI6 over the tactics that they use to gather intelligence.”
The Guardian, 12th September 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Lawyers representing the families of Iraqis detained by British soldiers yesterday accused the Ministry of Defence of suppressing crucial information about the circumstances surrounding their mistreatment, including advice given to senior army officers.”
The Guardian, 22nd August 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The family and legal team of a British resident jailed in Spain as a terror suspect claim he is the victim of the Spanish equivalent of Guantánamo Bay. Mohammed Fahsi has been detained for more than 18 months after being arrested by Spanish police who claimed to have struck a blow against a recruiting network that was sending suicide bombers to Iraq.”
The Guardian, 20th August 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Asylum Act provision is incompatible
Regina (Nasseri) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department
Queen’s Bench Division
“An absolute bar preventing the Secretary of State for the Home Department from considering whether certain countries would return asylum-seekers in contravention of their human rights was incompatible with the right to not be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The Times, 3rd August 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication
Closed material can be used in appeals against deportation
MT and Others (Algeria) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department
Court of Appeal
“When a person appealed against an order for deportation because he feared torture or ill-treatment in his home state, in scrutinising the case, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission was entitled to take into account closed as well as open material.”
The Times, 3rd August 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication
“When considering whether an applicant was at risk of torture or ill-treatment contrary to art 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms if deported to his home state on the ground of national security the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (‘SIAC”’ was entitled to have regard to closed as well as open material in scrutinising the case under the statutory scheme. A person who had been recognised as a refugee could lose his status under art 1F(c) of the Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees if he were guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations after recognition.”
WLR Daily, 30th July 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“The deportation of three suspected Algerian terrorists was yesterday halted by appeal court judges who ruled that the UK government could not be certain that they would be safe from torture after they were sent back.”
The Guardian, 31st July 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Attorney-General yesterday demanded an inquiry into the use of torture by British soldiers in Iraq in 2003 which led to the death in custody of Baha Musa, an Iraqi civilian arrested during an arms search. Lord Goldsmith, QC, said it was “inexplicable” that banned techniques were being used when soldiers and officers must have realised they breached the Geneva Conventions.”
The Times, 27th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
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