As you can probably gather I am actively trying to build up resources, gather information and be more pro-active in the campaign against extending the 28 days pre-charge detention period. Feel free to use this button on your blog or change it around. I’ll be posting more buttons soon.
Today, two new reports will put more pressure on the government.
In separate reports, Amnesty International [here] and Justice [here] both said there was no case for extending the current limit of 28 days — higher than any other European Union state or the United States — for the detention of terrorism suspects. Amnesty set out 10 reasons why extending pre-charge detention was unjustified while Justice said that U.S. laws limiting detention to 48 hours have not stymied terrorism investigations there.
I can’t find either report though, anyone have links? In the Guardian today Marcel Berlins calls Brown’s obsession with extending the 28 days “increasingly incomprehensible”.
Yesterday, Henry Porter’s latest column was bang on the money:
What is needed - and here I hope someone is listening - is a mass movement on the lines of the Countryside Alliance, which goes across all parties and absorbs the skills and expertise of countless activists. Now is the moment to create a movement in defence of our privacy, security and freedom.
He’s referring to campaigning against ID cards but this equally applies to this. Anthony Barnett from OurKingdom and Lynne Featherstone MP are willing to sign up. Are you?
Campaign page
Yes, most definitely.
Meant to say - why don’t we divide up Labour MPs among us (as it were) and write to them all, asking for their position on this and a justification for that position? Then we can post all responses and non-responses, etc. (This may have already been suggested. Apologies if it has - been out of the loop for a week or so).
I’m writing to my MP as we speak, but am happy to write to the As to Ds or whatever.
We could put up a standard letter on the site that others could use to contact their MPs (editorial version of the buttons, etc).
Just a few ideas, anyway.
PS - I think 28 days is pretty extreme as well.
Amnesty’s ‘report’:
Amnesty International UK today released ‘Ten good reasons why extending pre-charge detention is a bad idea’, outlining the strong case against government proposals to extend the time for which police can hold terrorism suspects without charge.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17539
Justice’s report:
From Arrest to Charge in 48 Hours: Complex terrorism cases in the US since 9/11
The UK government argues that the increasing complexity of terrorism cases requires the extension of pre-charge detention beyond 28 days. In the US, however, the Fourth Amendment limits the maximum period of pre-charge detention in criminal cases to 48 hours. JUSTICE has released a report examining ten of the most high-profile alleged terrorism plots in the US since 9/11, showing how the increasing complexity of cases has not prevented each suspect being charged within 48 hours of their arrest. Click here for a pdf copy of the report or click here to read the press release (November 2007)
Press release: http://www.justice.org.uk/images/pdfs/press221107.pdf
Report (large): http://www.justice.org.uk/images/pdfs/FromArresttoChargein48Hours.pdf
I’m worried about this debate and I fear we will lose it.
The Italian case in which Meredith Kircher was killed has seen the suspects detained ‘for up to one year’ while investigations are undertaken.
That sounds a lot like 365 days detention without charge to me.
So is this common across Europe? Because if it is I fear our Government and the British public are likely to feel very comfortable extending our more modest 28 days for terrorist suspects both in length and in scope. (so to other crimes).
And more importantly, as a fairly well informed left winger, how did I never hear of any campaigns to get rid of such barbaric practice in Italy?
This shows we really must work harder to campaign against bad practice everywhere to ensure good practice here in the UK. A left wing movement has to be international in outlook.
We at Amnesty UK have started a campaign aimed at opposing human and civil rights abuses in the ‘war on terror’. It’s called Unsubscribe: http://www.unsubscribe-me.org
We oppose the extension to the period of pre-charge detention and are currently actively campaigning to get MPs and other elected representatives to add their names to a declaration that shows exactly how Guantanamo Bay can be closed down.
I have just signed the unsubscribe campaign.
Although does anyone here know if Amnesty campaigns against the detention of suspects in italy for up to one year without charge?
Hell yeah! This post sounds really good. Reading your blog is useful and interesting. Keep it that way.
- direct link -
Kate Belgrave