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Britain rolls back on tough post-9/11 terror laws
LONDON Britain on Wednesday overturned some of its most unpopular anti-terrorism measures imposed after the Sept. 11 attacks, but stopped short of ending the contentious practice of ordering suspects not charged with any crime to live under partial house arrest.
| Some of the changes are reasonable, as security consciousness over-reached after 9/11 -- in the U.S. as well, as witness the Department of Homeland Security and Patriot Act. Some of the changes, however, are going to lead to trouble. |
Home Secretary Theresa May told lawmakers she had overhauled draconian powers which were out of step with other Western democracies, but acknowledged stringent curbs were still needed to curtail a small number of extremists.
Following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and 2005 suicide bombings on London, Britain introduced some of the toughest laws in the West, allowing police to hold suspected terrorists for up to 28 days before they must be charged or released. Tony Blair had made an unsuccessful bid to have Parliament approve a 90-day limit.
U.S. authorities have only seven days and French police only six. Under Mays new regime, British police must now lay charges within two weeks.
For too long, the balance between security and British freedoms has not been the right one, May said in a statement.
Police will no longer be permitted to carry out random searches of the public, or prevent tourists from photographing London landmarks on the grounds they are potential terrorist targets.
But May acknowledged that the government would be able to reintroduce a tougher regime on short notice if there were major fears of an imminent attack.
She also confirmed that Britains most contentious power, a house arrest-style program known as control orders, would be reformed rather than scrapped. The orders are used to handle suspects deemed a risk to national security, but who arent accused of a specific crime and cant be deported because European law wont allow them to be sent to countries where they face possible torture.
| If they're dangerous enough to be a security risk, charge and hold them. Control orders only confuse the issue and suggest a sort of 'incarceration lite', which in turn suggests that the person for whom the order is issued isn't really being charged with a crime. It can be mis-used easily. And if you can't deport someone who is dangerous, stash them somewhere -- for example, a military base in Cuba. |
Eight people all British are currently being held under the program, which can impose a curfew of up to 16 hours per day, require a suspect to wear an electronic anklet, restrict their contact with others and ban an individual from using the Internet or traveling overseas.
May said a renamed system will require suspects to wear an electronic tag and stay at a specific address overnight for about eight to 10 hours. An individual will have no Internet access via their cell phone, and only a limited ability to visit websites from any home computer. Suspects could also be banned from visiting specific buildings or streets, and from meeting with certain people.
Unlike in the past, May said the High Court will need to grant prior approval for authorities to impose the new system. An individual must be freed after two years unless police can produce evidence of new terrorist activity.
| Why two years? Either the person is dangerous, and thus should be arrested, charged and tried, or they're not, in which case release them or deport them. |
The changes will also prevent most serious suspected terrorists being moved away from their family and potential conspirators. Ken Macdonald, an ex-director of public prosecution who oversaw the review, said that policy had been a form of internal exile.
| Correct. If they're that dangerous, why allow them around 'potential conspirators'? |
Control orders were imposed after Britains courts outlawed the jailing of suspects without trial in 2004. A total of 48 people have been held under the measures since 2005. Those currently detained include suspects tied to the 2006 plot to down trans-Atlantic airliners with liquid explosives, an alleged senior al-Qaida fixer and a man who repeatedly declared his desire to carry out a suicide attack.
| The first set should be tried and imprisoned, the senior fixer should either be tried or shipped to Guantanamo, and the third one should be committed to a psychiatric facility for evaluation and treatment (or release). |
Mays decision to roll back laws comes despite recent jitters among security officials over possible terrorist attacks against Europe. Nine men were charged last month over an alleged plan to attack Parliament and the U.S. Embassy in London.
She said many tough measures had alienated British Muslims, hampering the work of law enforcement to win their support and gather intelligence on extremists.
| Which wasn't going to work anyway since many of the British Muslims don't consider themselves British, which is the first and most fundamental problem. |
Posted by: Steve White 2011-01-27 |
