The end of Belmarsh

[Englander]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1375545,00.html

Charles Clarke must now release the detainees

Louise Christian
Friday December 17, 2004
The Guardian

The government has been given an opportunity to stop blindly following President Bush in suspending human rights to combat terrorism. On Charles Clarke's first day in the job, eight out of nine law lords declared unlawful Blunkett's policy of locking up foreign nationals indefinitely without trial.

It is right that the new home secretary should want time to assess the 102-page judgment, and Charles Clarke has so far said only that the detainees would remain in prison for the time being. But when he does read the judgment in detail he will find that it is going to be nearly impossible for him to do anything other than to release the detainees, many of whom are suffering from mental health problems after three years of incarceration.

The Law Lords found that the Anti Terrorism Crime and Security Act discriminates against foreign nationals because it does not apply to British citizens. But they also went much further by expressing strong views that the indefinite detention is disproportionate and not warranted by the threat from terrorism. It is clear that they have anticipated a move by the government to bring in new legislation which will apply to British citizens, and they send a clear message that this will not do. Most explicit on this point is Lord Hoffman.

Lord Bingham makes clear that the courts will not interfere with the home secretary's view that there is a public emergency threatening the nation. But he also attacked the attorney general for submitting that the courts should not interfere in democratic decision-making by the government, saying: "The function of independent judges charged to interpret and apply the law is universally recognised as a cardinal feature of the modern democratic state, a cornerstone of the rule of law itself." Bingham also shows a way out for the government by pointing out that monitoring of the detainees, once released, would be effective to inhibit terrorist activity.

· Louise Christian from Christian Khan solicitors acts for detainees in Guantánamo Bay

http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/