Will Miliband address torture evidence?

Tuesday, 24 November 2009 15:48

Louise Christian (pictured), solicitor for former Guantánamo detainee Martin Mubanga, writes in the Guardian’s Comment is Free on the release today of a report by Human Rights Watch exposing the British government's complicity in the torture of terror suspects in Pakistan.

HRW’s report, Cruel Britannia, details the involvement of the British government in the cases of Salahuddin Amin, Zeeshan Siddiqui, ZZ (name withheld), Rangzieb Ahmed and Rashid Rauf.

Despite repeated assurances by the Foreign Secretary that the British government ‘does not condone the use of torture’ the HRW report begs important questions on just how honest and open the government has been in answering these allegations.

The failure of the government to provide the intelligence and security committee with the guidelines given to the intelligence services on interrogating terror suspects has already invited stern criticism from the committee. The committee states on its website:

"Despite repeated requests this guidance has still not been provided…therefore we are not yet able to begin our investigation."

And the High Court last week rejected further efforts by the Foreign Secretary to withhold information in the torture case of Binyam Mohamed.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights in its report on ‘Allegations of UK Complicity in Torture’ noted that the Foreign and Home Secretaries had failed to provide adequate responses to committee requests for oral and written evidence and urged the establishment of an independent inquiry to look into the allegations.

Louise Christian, on CiF, asks:

‘Do we now really live in a country where our government is not made to respond to compelling evidence of our security services' egging on torture by others by (inter alia) removal of fingernails, forcible catheterisation, beatings, hanging by leather straps and rape with a wooden handle? Can the government live with its "legally, morally and politically invidious position" in this sorry story? What can we all do to express our outrage if, once again, it does nothing?’

Comments

Add New