Throwing down a new challenge to the British government's tactics against terrorism, a High Court judge ruled on Wednesday that so-called control orders -- a form of house arrest without trial -- were incompatible with European human rights laws.
The government is expected to appeal the ruling, issued by Justice Jeremy Sullivan, while civil rights groups depicted it as a victory in a sharpening duel over the state's efforts to amass ever greater powers, ostensibly to combat terrorism.
The debate began after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon. But it has become more intense in Britain following last July's bomb attacks in London.
If the government's appeal fails, it will mean the authorities will have to seek some other mechanism to continue holding the six suspects -- a Briton and five Iraqis -- whose cases prompted the ruling.
In his decision, Sullivan said control orders conflict with the right to liberty under the European Convention on Human Rights. The authorities, thus, had no power to make the orders, he ruled.
Control orders provide for the electronic tagging of terrorism suspects who have not been charged with a crime, and for their confinement to their homes for most of the day. So-called controlees may be forced to relinquish their passports and permit unrestricted searches of their homes.
The government of British Prime Minister Tony Blair has displayed increasing irritation with the European human rights legislation, which was drawn up in 1950 and written into British law in 1998.
Control orders were introduced after Britain's highest court, the Law Lords, ruled in 2004 that indefinite detention of foreign terror suspects in prisons contravened the European convention. The orders can be used against Britons and foreigners.
Natalia Garcia, a lawyer for people held under control orders, said her clients were "prisoners without rights who have not been charged with an offense and who, it is now clear, are denied their liberty for political reasons."
The government argues that protecting the public against terror attacks and controlling the movements of suspects should prevail.
VAGUE: The criteria of the amnesty remain unclear, but it would cover political violence from 1999 to today, and those convicted of murder or drug trafficking would not qualify Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the US-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodriguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency. Rodriguez also announced the shutdown
Civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition yesterday filed impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, restarting a process sidelined by the Supreme Court last year. Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The filings come on the same day that a committee in the House of Representatives was to begin hearings into impeachment complaints against Marcos, accused of corruption tied to a spiraling scandal over bogus flood control projects. Under the constitution, an impeachment by the
Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election yesterday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia, to refugees in Australia, Europe and North America, voting takes place in 27 countries — but not China. “Elections ... show that the struggle for Tibet’s freedom and independence continues from generation to generation,” said candidate Gyaltsen Chokye, 33, who is based in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, headquarters of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
RSS