POLITICS-BRITAIN: More Terrorised than Terrorists

By Sanjay Suri Reprint | | Print |

Sanjay Suri

LONDON, Sep 5 2002 (IPS) - A year since September 11 last year has seen the introduction of dramatic laws to deal with terrorism. But the new laws have been declared illegal by a court, and the British government is now struggling to keep the law in place.

The new law was in force within three months of the September 11 attacks. The first arrests under the law came a week later. The British leadership seemed to have followed strong speeches with firm action. But what these measures have achieved is far from clear.

The new Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act (ATCSA) became law on December 14 after it was hastily debated and passed by Parliament. The Act provides for non-nationals to be detained without charge or trial for an indefinite period of time.

Detention can be ordered if the Home Secretary states that he reasonably believes and suspects a person to be a national security risk and a suspected ôinternational terrorist”. The Home Secretary’s belief and suspicion may be based on secret evidence and then confirmed by a judicial body that can hold hearings in secret. The detainee and their lawyer may be excluded, and the decision based on secret evidence.

Eight people were initially arrested and detained under ATCSA on December 19 last year. Two of those originally detained have “voluntarily” left Britain, and three others have since been arrested. Nine persons are currently detained in two high security prisons in Britain under ATCSA.

Those powers under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA) were found to be discriminatory on July 30 by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. The Court found that the targeting of non-UK nationals was discriminatory and disproportionate. The Court ruled also that the detention measures were not compatible with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The British government has appealed against the judgment.

But the detained men will remain in detention pending a decision on their individual appeals and the Home Office appeal against the immigration commission.

Amnesty International says the detained men are locked up 22 hours a day in isolation ôwith no meaningful activities or adequate access to association time; denial of adequate health care; impediments to contact with the outside world, and strip-searches before and after legal and social visits.” The detainees have described the situation to Amnesty International representatives as “mental torture”.

Amnesty says it is particularly concerned about Mahmoud Abu Rideh, one of the ATCSA detainees currently held in Belmarsh prison. Rideh, a 31-year-old Palestinian refugee, was granted refugee status in 1997 as a torture victim and diagnosed as suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. ôHis mental and physical health have seriously deteriorated as a result of his detention,” Amnesty says. ôHe is suicidal and has been involved in frequent incidents of self-harm.”

Amnesty says that as of July 17 this year none of those had been interviewed by the UK authorities. ôThe government has effectively created a shadow justice system devoid of the crucial components and safeguards present in the criminal justice system,” Livio Zilli of Amnesty International said Thursday.

The British government has an unhappy record so far of accusing people of terrorism and then failing to support the accusations. Algerian pilot Lotfi Raissi was painted a terrorist after a request by the U.S. government for his extradition. He was detained at Belmarsh for five months. The extradition appeal was dismissed by a judge who said that he had received no evidence to support U.S. claims.

ôThe U.S. authorities’ reasons for seeking Lotfi Raissi’s extradition included the fact that his identity and profession fit a certain profile: an Algerian man and a Muslim, a pilot and a flight instructor in the U.S.” said Livio Zilli.

Seven British nationals are being detained in Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. But their rights remain in doubt, as do those of others detained at the centre.

Beyond those detained, the events of September 11 became a turning point in the lives of more than a million Muslims living in Britain. The weeks following September 11 led to a rush of attacks on Muslims and other South Asian or Arabic looking people. Sikhs with their Taliban-like turbans and beards were also attacked. The attacks died out, but the prejudice they left has lingered.

The Muslim Council of Britain, an independent group, has brought out a book to mark the anniversary. Titled ‘The Quest for Sanity’, is a collection of about 30 papers that seek to look at ways life has changed for Muslims after September 11. ôWe are still fighting to dispel those notions that every Muslim is a terrorist,” a spokeswoman for the council told IPS.

With talk now of a war on Saddam Hussein in what is becoming the second major phase of the ôwar on terror”, British Muslims are beginning to fear for their safety again. ôWe have some idea of the kind of xenophobia this sort of thing generates,” the spokeswoman from the Council said. The war on terror may work or it may not, but British Muslims are beginning to feel terrorised again.