Former Guantánamo detainees set for payouts after winning secrecy appeal

[CHIMO]

Source: guardian.co.uk

British residents held at Guantánamo Bay could be offered millions of pounds in compensation for wrongful imprisonment and abuse after the court of appeal today dismissed an attempt by MI5 and MI6 to suppress evidence of alleged complicity in torture.

The judges ruled that the unprecedented legal move by Britain's security and intelligence agencies – which the attorney general and senior Whitehall officials backed – to suppress evidence in a civil trial undermined the principles of common law and open justice.

MI5 and MI6 said evidence in the case should be kept secret from everyone except the judges and "special advocates" (vetted barristers). The Guardian, the Times, the BBC, and the civil rights groups Justice and Liberty intervened, arguing that at stake was the right to a fair and open trial, the right to freedom of expression and the public's right to know what agents of the state are or have been doing on its behalf.

Former detainees – Binyam Mohamed, Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el-Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes and Martin Mubanga – deny any involvement in terrorism and allege that MI5 and MI6 aided and abetted each man's unlawful imprisonment and extraordinary rendition. The five are seeking compensation for abuse and wrongful imprisonment.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/04/government-secret-evidence-guantanamo-torture1

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[Ian David]

2. Gee, nobody ever sued Jack Bauer!

:sarcasm: