Re: Report | The Constitution in Crisis

In article <ijfqf.6163$ka.542@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, harinam108@xxxxxxxxx
(Acharya) wrote:

> Lawyers opinions have not amounted to anything in the removal of Saddam's
> fascist dictatorship.

Maybe not, but they are going to amount to something in the removal of Blair's
fascist dictatorship.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article334548.ece

By Cathy Gordon and John Aston, PA
Published: 21 December 2005

The Government today lost a challenge to a High Court ruling which overturned
its refusal to order an "independent and effective" inquiry into the death of an
Iraqi civilian allegedly unlawfully killed by British troops.

The families of five other Iraqi civilians who are seeking inquiries into their
deaths - but lost in the High Court - lost challenges in the Court of Appeal
against that decision today.

In December last year, two judges in London ruled in favour of the family of
hotel worker Baha Mousa, 26, who was allegedly tortured and beaten to death
while in custody in September 2003.

But the five other families had applications for judicial reviews rejected.

All six families had claimed that they were entitled under human rights laws to
unprecedented investigations into whether troops were guilty of unlawful
killing.

Decisions in all of the appeals were given by Lord Justice Brooke, sitting with
Lord Justices Sedley and Richards

Lawyers described their ruling as a "landmark" judgment.

Two High Court judges ruled last December that the case of Mr Mousa, who was in
the custody of British troops at the time of his death, came within the UK's
jurisdiction.

But the other five cases, where those allegedly unlawfully killed were not in
custody, failed.

In a statement given out today after the Court of Appeal judgment, lawyers for
the families said: "The Court of Appeal have today handed down a landmark
judgment about the torture and abuse of Iraqi civilians in detention with UK
Armed Forces in occupied Iraq."

It continued: "The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's ruling from December
14 2004 that the European Convention on Human Rights and Human Rights Act 1998
do apply to detention cases.

"It extended the scope of jurisdiction to include cases of Iraqi civilians being
deprived of their liberty generally and then tortured."

The High Court had found only that jurisdiction extended to a prison on a
quasi-territorial basis.

The lawyers described it as an important extension and "will mean that many
cases involving death and torture in situations where Iraqis have been deprived
of their liberty will now have to be the subject of independent and proper
investigations".

Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, said there must now be an independent
investigation into Mr Mousa's death.

He commented: "The Government must follow the court's very clear ruling that the
military system of investigation and prosecution in torture and abuse cases is
fundamentally flawed."

Mr Shiner added: "It requires urgent and far-reaching reform."

He said the Government had argued that the Human Rights Act did not extend
beyond the UK, but the court found against it on that point.

"This has very important implications, as otherwise violations of human rights
by the actions of UK officials and agents around the world could only be
remedied by cases taken to the European Court of Human Rights."

In the five other cases, in which appeals were rejected today, the court found
that the European Convention on Human Rights Act did not apply as the Iraqis who
died had not been deprived of their liberty and therefore the requisite
authority and control by state agents was not present.

Mr Shiner said the Court of Appeal had "lambasted" the military system of
investigating and prosecuting incidents of alleged torture and unlawful killings
in occupied Iraq by UK Armed Forces.

He said the court had called on the Government, the military prosecuting and
police authorities, to "study with 'great care' the numerous critical points
made by the legal team on the military system of justice as it applied in these
cases."

The five other test cases included the case of Hazim al-Skeini, 23, who was
allegedly shot dead on August 8, 2003, by a British soldier.

Family lawyers say he was unarmed and no threat. He was shot several times in
the stomach and was dead on arrival at hospital.

It was said that British soldiers were responding to traditional rifle shots at
a funeral, mistaking them for "a dangerous gun battle".

In the case of Waleed Muzban family lawyers say he was driving home from work on
August 24, 2003, in a people-carrier when he was hit by a barrage of bullets
fired by British soldiers. He died in hospital. The British army impounded the
vehicle.

Three days later Raid al Musawi, a 29-year-old local policeman, was shot at
about 10pm by a British patrol. He was on his way to deliver petitions,
containing suggestions and complaints, to a local judge's house. He died from
his gunshot wounds nine weeks later in hospital.

In November 2003, Muhammad Salim, a 45-year-old teacher, was allegedly shot by a
soldier after a raid by British troops on his family home near midnight.

Family lawyers say the front door was broken down. Salim was confronted and shot
by a soldier in the hallway.

They say the entire raid has been acknowledged to have been in the mistaken
belief that it was on an armed group. He later died in hospital.

On November 10, 2003, Hanan Schmailawi was sitting down to her evening meal with
her husband and family in the educational complex where they lived.

She was hit by machine gun fire and died in hospital.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article334548.ece



Alan

"Can't you see we're still here,
Can't you see we're still here,
Singing loud; Singing clear,
We shall not go under,
We're still here."

Nemesis Peace Centre

http://www.veloceraptor.free-online.co.uk/protector.html

Abuse of Women and Children

http://theoriginalfirebird.blogspot.com/

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http://lordcerneabbas.blogspot.com/

Absolute Anarchy

http://lordcerneabbastoo.blogspot.com/

http://www.john-lennon.com/
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