Human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce likened the present situation where a
person can be held without trial on the basis of secret evidence as “a
national emergency.”
Addressing a House of Commons meeting on the use of secret evidence to
detain individuals without trial, Mrs Peirce said “Here today we have
something extremely ugly and dangerous: two evils coming together in
torture and secrecy.”
Mrs Peirce has been defending a number of individuals incarcerated
without trial on the basis of secret evidence for a number of years.
Since 2001, the government has used the immigration court system
involving the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) to
incarcerate a number of individuals first in prison and then under
control order style detention in premises around the country. The
government has been seeking to deport the individuals concerned to
countries, like Jordan and Algeria, where they previously fled for fear
of torture and ill treatment.
Dinah Rose QC told of a situation in the SIAC court where a man asked
the judge why he was being sent to prison. “The judge said he couldn’t
tell him that,” she said.
Ms Rose explained that SIAC acted like and sounded like a court with
judges and lawyers but it was not possible to test evidence which is the
function of a court.
Human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce likened the present situation where a
person can be held without trial on the basis of secret evidence as “a
national emergency.”
Addressing a House of Commons meeting on the use of secret evidence to
detain individuals without trial, Mrs Peirce said “Here today we have
something extremely ugly and dangerous: two evils coming together in
torture and secrecy.”
Mrs Peirce has been defending a number of individuals incarcerated
without trial on the basis of secret evidence for a number of years.
Since 2001, the government has used the immigration court system
involving the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) to
incarcerate a number of individuals first in prison and then under
control order style detention in premises around the country. The
government has been seeking to deport the individuals concerned to
countries, like Jordan and Algeria, where they previously fled for fear
of torture and ill treatment.
Dinah Rose QC told of a situation in the SIAC court where a man asked
the judge why he was being sent to prison. “The judge said he couldn’t
tell him that,” she said.
Ms Rose explained that SIAC acted like and sounded like a court with
judges and lawyers but it was not possible to test evidence which is the
function of a court.
Ben Ward from Human Rights Watch, which has intervened in several cases
in which secret evidence has been used, also addressed the legal
situation of the individuals and families affected.
Accounts written by five men being detained were read out by actors, who
included Honor Blackman who read an address from a prisoner known only as Y.
Chaired by Labour MP Diane Abbot, the meeting was co-sponsored by the
Campaign against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC), Peace and Justice
in East London, Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC),
Cageprisoners, Association of Muslim Lawyers, Brighton Against
Guantanamo and the Muslim Prisoner Support Group.
Other MPs attending the meeting included Conservative David Davis,
Liberal Democrats Sarah Teather and Lynne Featherstone and Labour’s
David Leppard and Kelvin Hopkins.
Contact: Jackie Chase jackie.chase@virgin.net
