Libyan freed after six years of detention in UK
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, Dec 22, IRNA -- Cageprisoners human rights group has welcomed the freeing of a Libyan national detained under Britain’s terrorism laws for the past six years.
Faraj Hassan, previously known as prisoner AS, won a long-running court battle with the British government after the control order imposed upon him was declared illegal in nature on Monday.
“The ruling shows that the use of secret evidence contravenes emphatically the principle of due process,” a spokesman for Cageprisoners told IRNA.
“What became apparent throughout the case was that the evidence used by the government was circumstantial, false or negligently poor in nature,” the spokesman said.
Hassan, an Italian resident, was imprisoned for four years shortly after arriving in the UK in 2002. He was then subjected to virtual house arrest under a control order until his release.
“A control order is nothing more than a euphemism for what is basically Apartheid style house arrest. Likewise there should be no doubt that its purpose is the same as well: to break you and make you want to leave that country,” he said in a statement.
His solicitors won a major court victory in June when Law Lords ruled that the use of secret evidence in the imposition of control orders by the government was illegal.
Last month, a report entitled ‘Detention Immorality' by Cageprisoners found that powers enacted by the UK government to detain 71 Muslims without charge finds effectively deny basic rights for a fair trail.
Commenting on the Libyan case, former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg questioned how can a person or their solicitors mount an effective defence if they cannot hear the evidence that is being used against them.
“The use of secret evidence makes a mockery of due process and allows the government to abuse its power,” said Begg, who helped to set up Cageprisoners.
He expressed hope that the latest ruling will be “another significant step in restoring the legal system which has become so eroded in Britain.”
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End News / IRNA / News Code 857542
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