March 19, 2008
Detainee Y is a torture survivor who had been granted refugee status in the UK. In 2005, he was acquitted, together with others, of all charges in connection with an alleged conspiracy to produce poisons and/or explosives. He was released from custody in April 2005, where he had been held since January 2003. He was later re-arrested and held pending deportation.
Detainee Y appealed to SIAC against being labelled a risk to national security by the UK authorities, as well as on the grounds that returning him to Algeria would expose him to a real risk of torture.
In reaching its decision, SIAC relied on secret intelligence provided by the UK authorities that was withheld from Detainee Y, his lawyers of choice and the public. The SIAC proceedings did not afford Detainee Y the right to due process of law nor his right to court procedures that treat both parties equally, making it impossible for him to effectively refute the UK authorities’ case that he was a national security risk.
SIAC also failed to recognize the real risk of torture Detainee Y faces if returned to Algeria. If returned, he is likely to be taken into the custody of the Department for Information and Security (DRS). It specializes in interrogating people thought to possess information about terrorist activities, and is widely known to practice torture and other ill-treatment. The risk of torture faced by individuals who are arrested by the DRS has been extensively documented by Amnesty International.
We, the undersigned, request that Detainee Y be released or charged and tried in open court on the evidence supposedly held against him. To deport him to Algeria would be tantamount to condemning him to torture and possibly subsequent death.
