Government minister joins Christians in calling for Guantanamo closure

-17/02/06

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Government minister joins Christians in calling for Guantanamo closure

-17/02/06

A cabinet minister has joined Christians and other human rights campaigners in calling for the closure of the US prison camp at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

He is the first cabinet minister to do so.

Hours earlier three Britons detained at the US prison were given the go-ahead by the High Court to begin legal moves to seek their freedom.

Under the ruling the three detainees, Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el-Banna, Omar Deghayes and members of their families living in Britain, can seek a court order requiring Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, to press the Americans for their release.

The case could be heard as early as next week after yesterdayís ruling by Mr Justice Collins.

During the hearing the judge remarked that the United Statesí idea of what constitutes torture ìis not the same as ours and doesnít appear to coincide with that of most civilised countriesî.

He added that he had heard on BBC Radioís Today programme about a UN committee report recommending that the Guantanamo detention facility should be closed because torture was still taking place there.

The report, which was ordered by the UN Commission on Human Rights, called on the US Government to refrain from any practice ìamounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatmentî at Guantanamo.

It said that all detainees should be brought to trial or released ìwithout further delayî and the facility closed.

Questions will be asked about why it has taken the UK government so long to call for the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

Bishops in the UK have been campaigning since 2003 for the rights of British detainees at the camp.

Seven Christians protesting the denial of rights to prisoners at the U.S. Naval Base face jail terms of up to 10 years for their protests against it.

In 2004, the World Council of Churches also focused its attention on US torture at the Base.

Mr Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said on Question Time, on BBC1 last night that he would prefer that the camp were closed down.

When asked if this was government policy he said: ìThatís what I think.î Asked if the Prime Minister agreed, he replied: ìI think so, yes. Weíve always said that Guantanamo Bay was something that shouldnít have happened.î

William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, used a speech in the United States yesterday to say that the countryís loss of international goodwill through the existence of Guantanamo and pictures of Iraqi detainees being abused, could eventually prove as costly as the ìsharpest of military defeatsî.

In the High Court yesterday Rabinder Singh, QC, for the three detainees, said that Britain and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, would ìundoubtedly condemnî many of the practices at Guantanamo Bay.

He said that the detaineesí case arose out of what had been described by a law lord as the ìutter lawlessness at Guantanamo Bayî, where people were being detained indefinitely without trial.

He added that the question was how the courts of this country should respond to that lawlessness.
Nine British nationals who were detained there have been flown back and released without charge.


Government minister joins Christians in calling for Guantanamo closure

-17/02/06

A cabinet minister has joined Christians and other human rights campaigners in calling for the closure of the US prison camp at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

He is the first cabinet minister to do so.

Hours earlier three Britons detained at the US prison were given the go-ahead by the High Court to begin legal moves to seek their freedom.

Under the ruling the three detainees, Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el-Banna, Omar Deghayes and members of their families living in Britain, can seek a court order requiring Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, to press the Americans for their release.

The case could be heard as early as next week after yesterday’s ruling by Mr Justice Collins.

During the hearing the judge remarked that the United States’ idea of what constitutes torture ‘is not the same as ours and doesn’t appear to coincide with that of most civilised countries’.

He added that he had heard on BBC Radio’s Today programme about a UN committee report recommending that the Guantanamo detention facility should be closed because torture was still taking place there.

The report, which was ordered by the UN Commission on Human Rights, called on the US Government to refrain from any practice ‘amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment’ at Guantanamo.

It said that all detainees should be brought to trial or released ‘without further delay’ and the facility closed.

Questions will be asked about why it has taken the UK government so long to call for the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

Bishops in the UK have been campaigning since 2003 for the rights of British detainees at the camp.

Seven Christians protesting the denial of rights to prisoners at the U.S. Naval Base face jail terms of up to 10 years for their protests against it.

In 2004, the World Council of Churches also focused its attention on US torture at the Base.

Mr Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said on Question Time, on BBC1 last night that he would prefer that the camp were closed down.

When asked if this was government policy he said: ‘That’s what I think.’ Asked if the Prime Minister agreed, he replied: ‘I think so, yes. We’ve always said that Guantanamo Bay was something that shouldn’t have happened.’

William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, used a speech in the United States yesterday to say that the country’s loss of international goodwill through the existence of Guantanamo and pictures of Iraqi detainees being abused, could eventually prove as costly as the ‘sharpest of military defeats’.

In the High Court yesterday Rabinder Singh, QC, for the three detainees, said that Britain and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, would ‘undoubtedly condemn’ many of the practices at Guantanamo Bay.

He said that the detainees’ case arose out of what had been described by a law lord as the ‘utter lawlessness at Guantanamo Bay’, where people were being detained indefinitely without trial.

He added that the question was how the courts of this country should respond to that lawlessness.
Nine British nationals who were detained there have been flown back and released without charge.