Homeland Security

DATE=12/16/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT (CQ)

TITLE=BRITAIN / TERROR (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-321187

BYLINE=MICHAEL DRUDGE

DATELINE=LONDON

CONTENT=

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HEADLINE: British Court Strikes Down Key Part of Anti-Terror Law

INTRO: Britain's highest court has ruled that suspected foreign terrorists cannot be held indefinitely without trial. The ruling is a major blow to the anti-terrorist strategy of Prime Minister Tony Blair, as we hear from VOA London Correspondent Michael Drudge.

TEXT: Commentators say the law lords have dealt Mr. Blair's government what one calls "a crushing defeat," by ruling that foreign terrorist suspects have the same right to legal protection as Britons.

The case involved nine Muslim men, some of whom have been detained without charge for three years under anti-terrorist laws Britain adopted following the September 11th, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Law Lord Thomas Bingham, head of the nine-judge panel, said the suspects' human rights were being violated by the government's anti-terrorist laws.

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"The measures unjustifiably discriminate against foreign nationals on the ground of their nationality, or immigration status."

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One of Britain's leading human rights campaigners, Shami Chakrabarty, from an organization called, Liberty, is hailing the decision.

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"This is the most important constitutional case in British history, quite possibly, and the law lords have spoken clear as a bell. The rights of three centuries to a fair trial should not be suspended."

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The government had argued that it needs the sweeping power to hold foreigners suspected of involvement in terrorism, because of the extraordinary threats Britain faces in the wake of the 2001 attacks.

One of the detainees affected by Thursday's ruling is Abu Qatada, a Syrian cleric identified by British authorities as the spiritual inspiration for Mohammed Atta, the lead attacker on September 11th.

The judges' ruling does not bring immediate freedom to the nine jailed men, but the government will have to take the anti-terrorism law back to parliament for revision.

The matter is the first big challenge for Britain's new home secretary, Charles Clarke, who was only appointed on Wednesday night, after his predecessor, David Blunkett, resigned over a scandal. (SIGNED)

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