Related: Obama Invokes Tyranny of State Secrets
"US threat over intelligence is cited; British judges withhold files" by Mary Jordan, Washington Post | February 5, 2009
LONDON - Two British High Court judges ruled against releasing documents describing the treatment of a British detainee at Guantanamo Bay prison, but made clear their reluctance, saying the United States had threatened to withhold intelligence cooperation with Britain if the information were made public.
As I've often been told here, if you got nuthin' to hide.
"We did not consider that a democracy governed by the rule of law would expect a court in another democracy to suppress a summary of the evidence . . . relevant to allegations of torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be," Justice John Thomas and Justice David Lloyd Jones wrote.
The judges decided not to release information, supplied to the court by US officials, concerning the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, 31, an Ethiopian-born British resident who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. The decision touched off a wave of anger at Washington, from Parliament to the offices of human rights groups.
"The government is going to have to do some pretty careful explaining about what's going on," said David Davis, a top Conservative Party leader, who said it appeared the US government had "threatened" the British government about the repercussions if case details were made public. "Frankly, it is none of their business what our courts do," he said.
"The ruling implies that torture has taken place in the Mohamed case, that British agencies may have been complicit, and further, that the United States government has threatened our High Court that if it releases this information the US government will withdraw its intelligence cooperation with the United Kingdom," Davis said.
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Why would Britain need our help anyway?
Ever hear of Mr. Aswat or Mr. Khan, readers?
Also see: May Day Memories: British Patsies
May Day Memories: The U.S. Connection
Terror Expert: London Bomber Was Working For MI5
LONDON - Foreign Secretary David Miliband of Britain yesterday defended his decision to oppose the release of evidence on the alleged torture of a former British resident at Guantanamo Bay.
Translation: blackmail works (but don't you do it!)
A ruling by two senior British judges on Wednesday, accusing the United States of threatening to end intelligence cooperation if Britain published full details of the case, enraged opposition politicians and media. It sparked a debate about secrecy and alleged human rights violations in the US "war on terror" and raised questions about the close relationship between Britain and the United States.
Really? Where? Because this was the last I saw of it in my War Daily.
Appearing before Parliament to explain his decision, Miliband denied that the US position constituted a threat. "It is essential that the ability of the United States to communicate such material in confidence to the UK is protected. Without such confidence they will simply not share that material with us," he said.
The case centers on an application by British media to the court for the full release of evidence the British government held about the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian-born British resident held at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.
The judges said advice from Britain's Foreign Office was that publication of the contested seven paragraphs could lead to reduced intelligence cooperation and prejudice Britain's national security. Following Miliband's comments, Mohamed's lawyers made an application to the High Court for the judgment to be reopened.
"The claimant invites the Court to . . . order the defendant [Miliband] to swear evidence setting out the complete and accurate factual position as to the making of a threat; and the maintenance of any threat by the Obama administration," Leigh Day and Co solicitors said on their website.--more--"
Nope, they never got back to the U.S. torture; however, this did appear in the Zionist War Daily's agenda-pushing pages:
"Britain raises worry over Iran trial" by Reuters | February 17, 2009
Are you kidding me?
LONDON - Britain voiced concern yesterday at the imminent trial in Iran of seven members of the Baha'i faith who are accused of spying for Israel and could face the death penalty.
(Blog author is astonished. Israel really has western governments by the balls, don't they? There can be no other explanation for defending Israeli spy rings)
"I am very concerned at news that seven leading members of the Iranian Baha'i community . . . have been charged with spying for Israel, 'insulting religious sanctities,' and 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic,' " Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said in a statement.
"It is hard not to conclude that these people are being held solely on account of their religious beliefs or their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and association."
BULL!! Iran has 25,000 Jews (most in the Middle East save for Iz-ray-HELL) and they ain't clamoring to leave because they are treated with respect.
Rammell said the seven had to wait more than eight months to be told of the charges against them. They had not been given access to their lawyer and their lawyer has not been given access to their case files, he said.
Doesn't seem to be too much of an issue (nor does torture) when it comes to covering it up for the AmeriKans, limey scums.
Rammell said there had been a serious deterioration in Iran's human rights environment in the past few years, including a worsening crackdown on human rights defenders.
Coming from a lying, invading, mass-murdering, occupying, and torturing nation, I really can't complain about others right now.
Oh, yeah, about those HUMAN RIGHTS!
"Jurists decry impact of US terror war" by International Herald Tribune | February 17, 2009
GENEVA - The US war on terror has done "immense damage" to international law, lacks a credible legal basis, and should be repudiated by the administration of President Barack Obama, a panel of eminent judges and lawyers said yesterday.
Naw, he's going to continue it with a smiley face.
The panel, organized by the International Commission of Jurists, a nongovernmental rights group, criticized the culture of secrecy associated with the violation of international laws, which it said afforded impunity to those acting unlawfully. The report said abuses were becoming pervasive in democratic as well as repressive states....
Ain't you PROUD of that LAND of the FREE, HOME of the BRAVE CRAP now?
The "war paradigm" adopted by the administration of former president George W. Bush to combat terrorism after 9/11 "has done immense damage in the last seven years to a previously shared international consensus on the framework underlying both human rights and humanitarian law," the report said. "This consensus needs to be recreated and reasserted."
And they are NOT EVEN TOUCHING UPON the ABOMINABLE LIES surrounding that FALSE-FLAG EVENT!
The panel recognized the threat posed by terrorism and that states have a legal duty reinforced by UN resolutions to protect their citizens. But their actions must be in accordance with the requirements of international law, Chaskalson said. "Otherwise they become lawbreakers" with serious consequences for their own societies and international order, he said.
Already been shatterd.
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