Government backs S Arabia on ruling - ic.wales.co.uk - 4/17/2006

[Coastie for Truth]

The Government is to support Saudi Arabia in its attempt to overturn a court ruling that allowed foreign officials accused of torture to be sued in the British courts.

Lawyers for three alleged torture victims won the right to sue Saudi officials for damages after a Court of Appeal ruling in October 2004. Saudi Arabia is taking the case to the House of Lords next week in a final attempt to block the claims on the grounds that its officials are protected by state immunity.

But it has emerged that the Government will intervene in the case, due to be heard on April 26, and argue that immunity should cover individual foreign officials.

The civil action that has sparked the Lords case was brought by solicitors for Sandy Mitchell, Les Walker and William Sampson. They, and a fourth man, Ron Jones, claim they were tortured while held in Saudi jails on false charges relating to a series of bombings in the capital Riyadh in 2002/03.

<<<snip>>>

A member of Bindman & Partners, the law firm acting for the men, told The Guardian newspaper that it was "quite angry" at the Government's decision to intervene. The member of the firm told the Guardian "We say the inevitable conclusion is that they are supporting the right of torturers to continue to torture with impunity," The Bindman and Partners lawyer continued "(The government's argument) is that state immunity is so important it has to be protected. We say there's no challenge to state immunity and it's not being undermined."

[Jim Sagle]

1. Absolutely disgusting.

[Jim Sagle]

2. Where's the outrage?

[bemildred]

3. The notion that states should be immune from tort damage due

to their own misbehavior is wrong. If there are rules,
they must apply to everyone, or they are not really rules.
The problem is that nearly all governments are guilty.