http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,1487119,00.html
New appeals put anti-terrorism measures to test Steven Morris Thursday May 19, 2005 The Guardian The government faced two fresh challenges to its fight against terrorism in Britain yesterday. A terrorist suspect was given permission by a judge to challenge security measures imposed on him as he awaits trial, while the appeal court heard an attempt by Kamel Bourgass to overturn his conviction for the murder of Detective Constable Stephen Oake. At the high court, lawyers for Mohammed Bhatti, 24, who is accused of being involved in an al-Qaida conspiracy to murder involving dirty bombs, claimed his human rights were being breached because of the number of strip searches he was subjected to. A medical report before the court stated that the searches at Woodhill prison in Milton Keynes had caused Mr Bhatti, as a Muslim, great distress and he was now the victim of severe mental illness. It said that Mr Bhatti was suffering from depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. He is understood to wash himself until he bleeds. Mr Bhatti, of Harrow, Middlesex, was arrested last August and is not expected to stand trial until at least next April, by which time he will have been in custody for 20 months. Lawyers for the Home Office argued that the strict regime in place was necessary to protect the public. Mr Justice Mitting said the case raised questions of importance which should be considered by the high court, although he was not saying the challenge would succeed. The first question was whether it was legitimate to hold unconvicted Category A high-risk prisoners, lsuch as Mr Bhatti, for very long periods without the same safeguards as those available to convicted prisoners. The second was whether regular strip searching of Mr Bhatti could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, contrary to article three of the European convention on human rights. "There is a clear conflict between the need of the state on behalf of its citizens to protect them from grave harm and Mr Bhatti's own right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment," the judge said. The case will now be the subject of a judicial review. Mr Bhatti is one of eight men facing terrorist-related charges of conspiracy to murder. They are also charged with conspiracy to commit a public nuisance by using radioactive material, toxic gas, chemicals or explosives. The Home Office declined to comment. Kamel Bourgass, 31, was convicted of murdering Mr Oake after he was cornered in a flat Manchester in 2003 and jailed for life. He is appealing against his conviction, claiming that the jury at his trial should not have been told of his involvement in a ricin terror plot. But Nigel Sweeney QC, for the crown, said the ricin allegations were central to the case because it explained why he launched his attack. Bourgass was flanked by seven officers as he sat in the dock at Woolwich crown court, south-east London, where the court of appeal was sitting. A decision on the case was deferred. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
