Posted: 18 December 2003
The system permits potentially indefinite detention on the basis of secret
"evidence" and allows the use of "evidence" extracted under torture.
Amnesty International made the fresh call after the Privy Counsellor
Review Committee's report on the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act
2001 (ATCSA) was presented today to Parliament.
Among other things, in this report, the Privy Counsellors "strongly
recommend that the powers which allow foreign nationals to be detained
potentially indefinitely should be replaced as a matter of urgency", and
that they should be replaced with measures that do "not require a
derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights".
Amnesty International too has recommended that the UK Government repeal
the powers in Part 4 of the ATCSA under which foreign nationals can be
detained indefinitely without charge or trial.
The organisation awaits urgently a detailed and considered response from
the UK Government to the concerns and recommendations outlined in its
report United Kingdom: Justice perverted under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and
Security Act 2001, issued on 11 December 2003.
On 19 December six of the 14 individuals currently held under the ATCSA
powers will have been detained without charge or trial for two years.
Background
In April 2002, the UK Home Secretary charged nine Privy Counsellors with
reviewing the ATCSA and reporting to the UK authorities.