Category: torture

New Judgment: Shagang Shipping Company Ltd (in liquidation) v HNA Group Company Ltd [2020] UKSC 34 – UKSC Blog

Posted August 6th, 2020 in admissibility, bribery, charterparties, hearsay evidence, news, Supreme Court, torture by sally

‘This appeal arose out of a claim by the appellant under a guarantee of a contract, to charter a vessel which was met with a defence from the respondent that the contract was procured by bribery and that the guarantee was therefore unenforceable. The bribery allegation was based on evidence of confessions that the appellant alleged were obtained by torture and therefore inadmissible.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 5th August 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Gay Conversion Therapy Is Torture, The UK Must Ban It – Each Other

Posted July 17th, 2020 in equality, government departments, homosexuality, human rights, news, sexual orientation discrimination, torture by sally

‘Conversion therapy is a set of pseudo-scientific practices which aim to change, suppress, or divert a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It is based on the assumption that “being lesbian, gay, bi or trans is a mental illness that can be “cured”.’

Full Story

Each Other, 16th July 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

High Court rules on preliminary issues in challenge relating to alleged UK involvement in torture – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 10th, 2020 in chambers articles, closed material, disclosure, human rights, inquiries, intelligence services, judicial review, news, rendition, torture by sally

‘In R (Reprieve & Ors) v Prime Minister [2020] EWHC 1695 (Admin), the High Court made a preliminary ruling that Article 6(1) of the ECHR does not apply to the forthcoming judicial review of the Government’s decision not to establish a public inquiry into allegations that the UK intelligence services were involved in the torture, mistreatment and rendition of detainees in the aftermath of 9/11. It was further held that the claimants are not entitled to the level of disclosure of open material outlined in SSHD v AF (No 3) [2009].’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 9th July 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Daniella Lock: The ‘Third Direction case’ Part One: Miller (Nos 1 and 2) in the National Security Context? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 7th, 2020 in closed material, human rights, intelligence services, investigatory powers, judicial review, news, prerogative powers, torture by sally

‘The ‘Third Direction case’, soon to be brought before the Court of Appeal, concerns the lawfulness of a previously secret national security policy of the UK Government. The policy authorises agents of the Security Service (MI5) to engage in criminal activity, which the claimants allege include the carrying out of torture and murder. Hearings on the case were held in November last year in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), a specialist tribunal which adjudicates complaints on state surveillance and the conduct of the Security Services (MI5, MI6 and GCHQ). The IPT produced a judgment remarkably quickly, published in December.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th July 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

UK intelligence torture case to be held in secret after challenge fails – The Guardian

Posted July 1st, 2020 in closed material, inquiries, intelligence services, judicial review, news, rendition, torture by sally

‘A judicial review aimed at overturning a decision to ditch a judge-led inquiry into the involvement of British intelligence in torture and rendition will be heard in secret after a challenge involving two MPs failed.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 30th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Whitehall held secret review into 15 possible cases of torture or rendition – The Guardian

Posted June 10th, 2020 in government departments, human rights, inquiries, intelligence services, judicial review, news, rendition, terrorism, torture by sally

‘Fifteen potential cases of torture or rendition involving British intelligence at the height of the “war on terror” were examined last year in a secret Whitehall review, whose existence was revealed in court proceedings on Tuesday.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 9th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Why British Troops Must Not Be Placed Above The Law – Each Other

Posted May 28th, 2020 in armed forces, bills, news, time limits, torture, war crimes by sally

‘The outbreak of Covid-19 has demonstrated how quickly our established ideas and normalised ways of thinking can be changed. Work that was called ‘low-skilled’ is now recognised as ‘essential’, the nation has hailed nurses as ‘heroes’, and face masks are a part of routine life.’

Full Story

Each Other, 22nd May 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Bradford gang jailed for ‘sadistic’ torture and murder – BBC News

Posted March 12th, 2020 in murder, news, sentencing, torture by tracey

‘Three drug dealers who brutally tortured and murdered a man have been jailed for life.’

Full Story

BBC News, 11th March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Potential modern slavery victims among dozens facing imminent removal on charter flight to Pakistan – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2020 in asylum, deportation, news, torture, trafficking in human beings by tracey

‘Asylum seekers thought to be victims of torture are set to be forcibly removed to Pakistan on the third charter flight to leave the UK in three weeks, The Independent can reveal.’

Full Story

The Independent, 26th February 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UN warns of rise of ‘cybertorture’ to bypass physical ban – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2020 in defamation, harassment, inquiries, internet, malicious communications, news, rendition, terrorism, torture, United Nations by sally

‘Psychological torture is being exploited by states to circumvent the more widely understood ban on physically inflicting pain and may open the way to a future of “cybertorture”, the UN torture rapporteur has said.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 21st February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

The luck of the law – when is criminal conduct a matter of concern to the international community? – 6KBW College Hill

Posted February 11th, 2020 in chambers articles, genocide, international courts, international law, news, torture by sally

‘Certain crimes transcend the territorial confines of any State and become a matter of concern to the world as a whole. In those cases, where a domestic prosecution is not likely or possible, other States or international courts may step in. Such crimes may qualify by the gravity of the acts themselves, as with genocide or crimes against humanity, or by the context in which they are committed, as in war crimes. Yet two recent cases – one in the UK, one at the International Court of Justice – demonstrate that external political factors can be equally determinative of whether a prosecution for the gravest of crimes will take place.’

Full Story

6KBW College Hill, 11th February 2020

Source: blog.6kbw.com

Congolese torture survivor gets Home Office reprieve – The Guardian

Posted January 15th, 2020 in asylum, deportation, government departments, immigration, news, torture, whistleblowers by sally

‘A torture survivor from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is celebrating after a Home Office U-turn allowed him to stay in the UK.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 15th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Torture charges against former Liberia leader’s ex-wife dismissed – BBC News

Posted December 6th, 2019 in conspiracy, evidence, news, rape, torture, war crimes by sally

‘Torture charges against the ex wife of former Liberian president Charles Taylor have been dismissed at the Old Bailey.’

Full Story

BBC News, 6th December 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rendition: refusal to hold UK public inquiry to face judicial review – The Guardian

Posted December 2nd, 2019 in inquiries, intelligence services, judicial review, news, rendition, terrorism, torture by sally

‘The government’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into allegations that the security services were complicit in the torture and abduction of terror suspects after 9/11 is to be subjected to a full scale legal challenge.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 2nd December 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘I still suffer trauma’: Home Office’s unlawful detentions – case study – The Guardian

Posted November 28th, 2019 in asylum, detention, false imprisonment, news, post-traumatic stress disorder, Supreme Court, torture by sally

‘Mohamed, an asylum seeker from Sudan, tells how he has been imprisoned many times since arriving in Britain in 2012.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th November 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Two Northumberland men sentenced for physical and mental torture of captive – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted November 21st, 2019 in assault, drug offences, false imprisonment, grievous bodily harm, news, sentencing, torture, wounding by tracey

‘Two Northumberland men who subjected a captive man to a night of physical and mental torture have been sentenced to a total of 34 years at Newcastle Crown Court today (20 Nov).’

Full Story

Crown Prosecution Service, 20th November 2019

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

New Judgment: R v TRA [2019] UKSC 52 – UKSC Blog

Posted November 13th, 2019 in appeals, criminal justice, news, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court, torture, war, war crimes by sally

‘The appellant was arrested in the United Kingdom in 2017 and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit torture and seven counts of torture, contrary to the Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 134. The charges relate to events in the early stages of the first Liberian civil war in 1990 when an armed group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia took control of parts of Liberia. Its leader, Charles Taylor, subsequently became President of Liberia in 1997. The point of law raised in the appeal related to the correct interpretation of the term “person acting in an official capacity” in the CJA, section 134(1). The Court of Appeal held that CJA, section 134 is not confined to individuals acting on behalf of a State.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 13th November 2019

Source: ukscblog.com

MI5 policy ‘gives agents legal immunity to commit serious crimes’ – The Guardian

Posted November 6th, 2019 in human rights, immunity, intelligence services, news, prosecutions, torture by sally

‘MI5 operates a partially secret policy that allows agents to participate in serious crimes including torture and killing, a security tribunal has heard.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 5th November 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office ‘doomed to repeat the mistakes of Windrush’ – The Guardian

Posted September 19th, 2019 in asylum, burden of proof, government departments, immigration, news, statistics, torture by tracey

‘The mistakes made by the Home Office over the Windrush scandal are doomed to be repeated unless the department completely overhauls its systems, according to a report about its approach to processing immigration applications.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 18th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK’s Top Spy Watchdog Steps Down, Commits To Review ‘Torture Loophole’ By October – Rights Info

Posted June 3rd, 2019 in intelligence services, ministers' powers and duties, news, torture by sally

‘The UK’s top spy watchdog has announced he will be stepping down in October, a week after a secret policy allowing ministers to approve actions that could lead to torture was revealed.’

Full Story

Rights Info, 31st May 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org