Two of the ‘North West 10’ have won a landmark High Court victory, overturning the government’s decision to withhold bail on secret evidence. Ten Pakistani students were arrested in April in bungled terror raids across the Northwest and two have been locked up ever since.
Up until now they have been refused the right to see any of the evidence against them. The government must now reveal the evidence they claim shows the remaining prisoners would pose a threat if released on bail.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson says he will appeal against the decision. The judges ruled that the government was wrong to claim that this kind of decision is immune from judicial review. They said – as with other cases – terror suspects must be given evidence of why they are being refused bail.
This ruling does not mean that those imprisoned will have access to all of the information held against them as with normal criminal cases. The government only has to provide enough evidence to show the prisoners would pose a threat if released.
After their arrest in April, Greater Manchester Police found all of the students innocent after two weeks of interrogation. Most have been deported back to Pakistan but three remain in prison today. Despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights earlier this year that holding people on secret evidence is illegal, even after this latest development they will not be allowed to see most of the evidence against them.
Those still being held are classed as category A prisoners, which means they are locked up with murders and rapists. They are frequently strip-searched and have to endure harsh conditions.
http://themule.info/article/high-court-rules-in-favour-of-north-west-10
Home Secretary Alan Johnson says he will appeal against the decision. The judges ruled that the government was wrong to claim that this kind of decision is immune from judicial review. They said – as with other cases – terror suspects must be given evidence of why they are being refused bail.
This ruling does not mean that those imprisoned will have access to all of the information held against them as with normal criminal cases. The government only has to provide enough evidence to show the prisoners would pose a threat if released.
After their arrest in April, Greater Manchester Police found all of the students innocent after two weeks of interrogation. Most have been deported back to Pakistan but three remain in prison today. Despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights earlier this year that holding people on secret evidence is illegal, even after this latest development they will not be allowed to see most of the evidence against them.
Those still being held are classed as category A prisoners, which means they are locked up with murders and rapists. They are frequently strip-searched and have to endure harsh conditions.
http://themule.info/article/high-court-rules-in-favour-of-north-west-10
e-mail:
Homepage:
Comments
Display the following 2 comments