Report: Parliamentary Briefing on Case of Mohamedou Ould Slahi: 19 April 2016

A well-attended and informative meeting was held at the Houses of Parliament on 19 April to provide information and an update on the case of best-selling author and Guantánamo prisoner Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who has been held without charge or trial since November 2001, when he was kidnapped from his native Mauritania by the CIA. From there, he was taken to Jordan and tortured before being taken to Bagram, Afghanistan, where he faced further abuse before he was taken to Guantánamo in November 2002. For several years, his whereabouts were unknown to his family; he had simply “disappeared”.

(L-R) Jamie Byng, Jo Glanville, Nancy Hollander, Yahdih Ould Slahi

The meeting was hosted by Tom Brake MP (Lib Dem, Carshalton and Wallington), who stated that “as long as Guantánamo is open it remains a blot on US justice.” As part of the meeting, a letter was announced, for MPs and peers to sign (please see below), to be sent to the US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter demanding that he “Immediately certify to Congress that Mr. Slahi will be released” and “Ensure that Mr. Slahi is quickly transferred out of Guantánamo Bay so he can restart his life as a free man.”

The meeting was started and concluded with readings from Guantánamo Diary, as well as before the Q&A session. The readings were provided skilfully by actors Sanjeev Bhaskar and Toby Jones; they were to be joined by actor Jude Law who was unable to make it to the meeting.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s lawyer, Nancy Hollander spoke about his case. She took up the case in 2005 after having being contacted by a lawyer in France who via a lawyer in Mauritania had learned that his family thought he might be held at Guantánamo Bay and wanted to find out if it was true. Ms Hollander applied through the courts to find out from the US government. Once it was ascertained that he was being held at Guantánamo, she went to meet him with fellow lawyer Sylvia Royce. When they met him for the first time, they were bemused to find him smiling and with his arms out to welcome them but he did not come towards them; he stood where he was. They later realised that was because he was shackled. So they went towards him and embraced him. 

He had asked the guards to give him paper and wrote 90 pages about his life, kidnap and torture. At that point, his lawyers did not know if his story was true, but that turned out to be the case. His writings show that throughout he has maintained his dignity and humanity. Incredibly, Mr Ould Slahi wrote in English, a language he largely picked up after his imprisonment and through talking to guards, many of whom developed a friendly and warm relationship with him.

In 2010, Mohamedou Ould Slahi was granted a hearing in the US federal court. Judge Robertson, at the time, ordered his immediate release as there was no evidence to support his continued detention. As in many other cases, the Obama administration appealed the case. The court of appeal asked for the case to be reheard but it never happened. In 2011, Barack Obama issued an executive order setting up the Prisoner Review Board to consider all cases such as Mr Ould Slahi’s of prisoners who have not been cleared for release but potentially could be. The Board was to conclude its work within one year but did not even start until 2013, and has to date not considered each of the several dozen cases before it. It is only now, on 2 June, that Mohamedou Ould Slahi will go before the board for the first time.

Ms Hollander said that it is important that everyone should read his book and learn his story and ultimately help in the effort to free Mohamedou Ould Slahi and close Guantánamo. 

Yahdih Ould Slahi and Nancy Hollander

Speaking through a German interpreter, Yahdih Ould Slahi, Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s younger brother, said that if he was to talk about his brother’s case and the impact it has had on his family, he would probably be there all night and the next day, but that his family had forgiven those who had harmed his brother and they just wish that he can go home. He thanked the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and everyone involved in the campaign for justice for his brother.

He said that on the day Mohamedou Ould Slahi was arrested, he was at home with his mother. They were both reassured that he would only be held in Mauritania. Instead he was taken to Jordan. Not knowing where her son was, his mother would take clothes and food to the police to give to Mohamedou Ould Slahi thinking that they were giving it to him. Yahdih Ould Slahi said that he was not surprised by the corrupt actions of Mauritanian officials but was surprised that the US would behave the way it did. He said that he wanted the American people to know that “The pain caused on and after 9/11 isn’t only the US’s pain, it’s our pain too.”

Yahdih Ould Slahi said, “We hope and we live in hope that Guantánamo will be closed one day as President Obama said. I don’t know why it isn’t.”

Jo Glanville from English Pen described Guantánamo Diary as an extraordinary book “full of humanity”. Mohamedou Ould Slahi wrote the book in English even though he had learned this language there simply by communicating with guards. She called it “the prison memoir of our times” and of particular importance as he was “’disappeared’ by a country that sees itself as a beacon of human rights”. Picking up on the issue of censorship – it took many years for the book to see the light of day – she mentioned that it contains 2600 redactions, including of whole pages and sections. Ms Glanville stated that censorship is integral to the post-9/11 US and the secrecy surrounding the US’s practices at Guantánamo and elsewhere needs to be broken down.

Jamie Byng, from Canongate, publisher of Guantánamo Diary said that in reading the manuscript he was “humbled, enraged but also moved by how Mohamedou Ould Slahi expressed himself so articulately.” The book has been translated and published in 24 languages and more are planned. He called it an important human document and a reminder of what still happens at Guantánamo. Mr Byng said there is a need to show solidarity in Britain to get Mohamedou Ould Slahi released.

There are currently plans to turn the book into a film produced by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Unfortunately, only a handful of MPs were present at the otherwise well-attended event. The US ambassador to the UK declined an invitation to attend the meeting. The Mauritanian chargé d’affaires attended and said on behalf of his government that the Mauritanian authorities are willing to receive Mohamedou Ould Slahi and have him return home to his family. He pointed out that two other former Guantánamo prisoners have been released to the country and have been resettled. He said that his country is opposed to arbitrary detention and detention without trial.

The LGC thanks the organisers of this successful meeting

What can you do to help Mohamedou Ould Slahi?

1 – On the same day, the ACLU launched a new petition to US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter: add your name to it and share it on social media https://action.aclu.org/secure/freeslahi

2 – There is also a new petition on Change.org https://www.change.org/p/secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-release-my-brother-from-guantanamo    Please sign and share  

3 – The following letter will be signed by British politicians and celebrities to be sent to US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter. Please send it to your MP (find them at www.theyworkforyou.com) and ask them to add their name to it – please let us know their response:

Dear Secretary Carter,

Mohamedou Slahi has been unlawfully imprisoned by the U.S. government for 14 years. Thirteen of those years have been at Guantánamo Bay prison, where he was subjected to gruesome torture.

Mr. Slahi has never been charged with a crime.  He has never taken part in any hostilities against the United States. A former chief military prosecutor in the Guantánamo military commissions, Colonel Morris Davis, has said he couldn’t find any crime with which to charge Mr. Slahi.

At long last, Mr. Slahi has been granted the Periodic Review Board hearing he should have had five years ago. At this hearing he can prove he’s not a threat to the United States and that there is no reason to continue to hold him.

Despite all his suffering, Mr. Slahi has repeatedly stated - including in his best-selling book - that he bears no ill will towards anyone.

Assuming a positive outcome in Mr. Slahi’s Periodic Review Board hearing, we the undersigned, call upon you to:

1. Immediately certify to Congress that Mr. Slahi will be released.

2. Ensure that Mr. Slahi is quickly transferred out of Guantánamo Bay so he can restart his life as a free man.

You can learn more and read extracts from Guantánamo Diary at: http://guantanamodiary.com/

LGC Newsletter – May 2015

BRITISH RESIDENTS:

On 19-20 May, a delegation of four British MPs – Jeremy Corbyn (Labour), Andy Slaughter (Labour), Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) and David Davies (Conservative) – from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shaker Aamer travelled to the US to raise awareness of the plight of the last British resident in Guantánamo Bay, Shaker Aamer, who has been held there without charge or trial for over 13 years. During the intense two-day visit, meetings were held in Washington between the MPs and the British Ambassador, the Special Envoy for the Closure of Guantanamo, Ambassador Paul Lewis from the Pentagon, acting Special Envoy Charles Trumbull from the State Department. They held discussions with influential Senators and attorneys including John McCain (Rep. Arizona), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Joe Manchin (Dem, West Virginia), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Bill Monahan, senior  counsel to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Patrick Leahy, (Dem. Vermont), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dianne Feinstein (Dem, California), Chair and ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Dick Durbin, (Dem. Illinois), Chair and Ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. US officials were informed of concerns and interest in the UK in the case and popular support for Shaker Aamer to return to his family here, as well as MPs raising the fact that the continued detention of Aamer, in spite of repeat requests from the UK for his return, is undermining the special relationship between the two states.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3093676/Special-relationship-UK-risk-case-Guantanamo-Briton-Shaker-Aamer.html

Funding for the delegation was made possible through efforts by the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign, including a day-long ‘cage’ action in Trafalgar Square on 16 May, which raised both funds and awareness.

Following similar media reports in April, on 27 May, Shaker Aamer’s lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith from Reprieve reported on BBC radio that he had been informed by various US officials that Shaker Aamer could be released within weeks and could be reunited with his family as early as June. However, similar reports by officials have been made in the past and did not materialise.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32899003

NEWS:

Guantánamo Bay:

On 1^st May, in an unusual step, the US government won a military commission appeal which means that the conviction of former Sudanese prisoner, Ibrahim Al-Qosi, who was convicted in 2010 and returned to Sudan in 2012 after serving his sentence, remains intact. In a short judgment, judges dismissed the appeal as his lawyer lacked jurisdiction as she did not have his permission to represent him in the appeal. The military commission court had however denied her application for funding to travel to Sudan to get his permission to do so. One of his convictions – for material support for terrorism – has since been successfully appealed by others. This is only the second of seven sentences handed down by the military commission court that remains intact.

It is not just the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay that US military staff bully and abuse. Although no one has been charged or convicted for the abuse of prisoners, in mid-May, Staff Sgt. Dustin A. Barker from Scott, Kentucky was found guilty of ‘hazing’ -humiliating and intentionally physically abusing - Marines at Guantánamo in 2013. In one incident he ordered one marine to punch another so hard that he urinated blood. He was found guilty of the charges and demoted in rank.

http://usmclife.com/2015/05/marine-convicted-of-hazing-incidents-has-rank-reduced/

A retired Supreme Court judge has called for some prisoners to be compensated for having knowingly been held illegally by the US. He said that prisoners who continue to be detained after being cleared for release should be given reparations as the US knows that they do not pose a threat to it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/05/05/john-paul-stevens-says-some-guantanamo-bay-detainees-should-be-given-reparations/

Having won the right to be bailed by a Canadian court in late April, Omar Khadr’s hearing at which his bail term would be heard was delayed from Tuesday 5 May to Thursday 7 May, as there was an election being held in the state of Alberta. On Thursday, the judge agreed to generous bail terms while Khadr appeals his military commission conviction in the US and dismissed an appeal against bail by the Canadian government. Leaving the court, it was the first time Khadr has walked through a door pushed by him and freely in almost 13 years. He is currently living with the family of his lawyer Dennis Edney QC in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He spoke to the press on the evening of his release and was the subject of a documentary – the first time he has been able to speak to the press – that was aired on Canadian television on 28 May and will be repeated on Al Jazeera in early June.

On 14 May, in a further victory, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that – while detained – Omar Khadr should be treated as a juvenile and not an adult offender. Now bailed, the ruling in moot but was brought by his lawyers to have removed to a provincial correctional facility rather than a federal penitentiary.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/14/canada-guantanamo-omar-khadr-child-offender

On 19 May, four former prisoners accepted as refugees in Uruguay who had held a protest outside the US Embassy in the capital Montevideo demanding extra support and that the US gives them reparations for holding them illegally for 13 years struck a deal with Uruguayan government negotiators. The deal, which is not much of a real improvement on the original deal offered to the men, will see them receive rent for their own homes, assistance in finding jobs and learning Spanish and a small monthly stipend to cover their basic needs. Since arriving in the country at the end of last year, the six men who are all torture survivors and in need of rehabilitation, have all struggled. They were given a flat to share but wanted privacy. They were offered menial jobs, such as working as fruit pickers, even though the jobs were sometimes difficult to get to and difficult to carry out given their physical health. In addition, the men were seeking to bring their families to the country – four of the men are from Syria and their families are still in the war-torn country – but the small wages they will receive in addition to the stipend will not be sufficient to do this. As proof that the men are eager to adapt to their new surroundings and to get on with their lives, local Uruguayan media has reported that two of them will be getting married to Uruguayan women at the beginning of June.

Asim Thabit Abdullah al-Khalaqi, 47, a Yemeni prisoner held without charge or trial at Guantánamo for over 12 years and released to Kazakhstan at the end of 2014, died on 7 May. He is reported to have been in poor health and died of kidney failure. It is reported that poor medical care at Guantánamo may have contributed to his death.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/22/guantanamo-detainee-asim-thabit-abdullah-al-khalaqi-dies-kazakhstan

 

Extraordinary Rendition:

Prosecutors in Scotland investigating the use of airports in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Prestwick and Aberdeen for CIA torture flights have submitted a request to the US authorities to receive a complete and unredacted version of the Senate torture to help its inquiries.

http://rt.com/uk/259973-reprieve-cia-scottish-airport/

LGC Activities:

The LGC May Shut Guantánamo demonstration was attended by 9 people. We were joined by the family of American prisoner in Iraq Shawki Ahmed Omar. The June demo will be on Thursday 4 June: https://www.facebook.com/events/1612696089007212/

LGC Newsletter – March 2015

BRITISH RESIDENTS:

Shaker Aamer’s case was subject to a backbench debate in parliament, which activists have been calling for since at least 2013, on 17 March. During the debate on his plight, the motion ‘That this House calls on the US Government to release Shaker Aamer from his imprisonment in Guantánamo Bay and to allow him to return to his family in the UK’ was passed and a number of MPs made strong, clear statements about Shaker Aamer’s ongoing plight. However, junior Foreign Office (FCO) minister Tobias Ellwood speaking on behalf of the FCO did not answer questions about why Shaker Aamer is still in Guantánamo Bay, what the British government is currently doing or where negotiations stand between the US and British governments. Instead, he prevented any useful debate by putting down the answers to being “intelligence matters” he could not share with the MPs in public.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm150317/debtext/150317-0003.htm#15031763000001

On the same day, through redacted documents obtained through freedom of information requests in the US, Shaker Aamer’s lawyers at Reprieve obtained documents showing that US officials discussed sending him back to Saudi Arabia while giving assurances to the UK government at the same time.

http://www.reprieve.org.uk/press/us-discussed-sending-guantanamo-brit-to-saudi-despite-promise-to-uk/

To coincide with the debate, a day of action was held with Amnesty International delivering a petition calling for Shaker Aamer’s release and return from Guantánamo to the UK, signed by over 40,000 people

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/marathon-running-birmingham-doctor-go-downing-street-petition-guant%C3%A1namo-detainee

The Save Shaker Aamer Campaign held a colourful demonstration in Parliament Square and before lunchtime a rally was held inside parliament with speeches by MPs such as Caroline Lucas, John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn and by campaigners including Andy Worthington and Dr Dave Nicholls who delivered the Amnesty petition. The debate and rally were attended by Shaker Aamer’s three sons and other family members. He has never met his youngest son.

More on this day of action:

http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2015/03/18/uk-government-backs-parliamentary-motion-to-secure-release-of-shaker-aamer/

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/29797-shaker-aamer-hostage-to-the-special-relationship

The cross-party parliamentary group for Shaker Aamer met twice in March. It now has over 40 members, since being set up by John McDonnell MP in November 2014, from all parties. It is currently planning a delegation to visit the US after the general election in May.

NEWS:

Guantánamo Bay:

On 9 March, the US Supreme Court dismissed two appeals by Guantánamo prisoners. In the first case, a Syrian-Kurd Abd al-Rahim Abdul Razak al-Janko, whose release was ordered in 2009 and had been captured while being held prisoner by the Taliban, had his appeal to sue the US government for unlawful detention and torture dismissed and a 2014 judgment in favour of the US government upheld, stating that he cannot sue the US for damages. In the second case, Saudi prisoner Mohammed al-Qahtani, who is still held at Guantánamo, lost a case brought on his behalf by the Center for Constitutional Rights for photos and documents of his torture to be released and made public. The reason was that their disclosure would harm “national security”.

http://rt.com/usa/239085-scotus-rejects-gitmo-appeals/

Although the case of five prisoners alleged of involvement in the 9/11 attacks in New York has been adjourned until 20 April, on 10 April, in the case of one prisoner, Mustafa Al-Hawsawi, Judge James Pohl, overseeing the case, released a two-page order stating, following a request by his defence team, that the court cannot intervene to order medical care for him. While held at CIA secret prisons, he was subject to torture that amounted to rape and as a result has caused him long-term physical problems and continued bleeding, for which he has yet to receive adequate treatment, more than a decade later. When making the request in February, it was the first time his lawyers had spoken about the torture he suffered, following the release of the redacted Senate CIA torture report. His lawyer “specifically cited a reference to an investigation of allegations that CIA agents conducted medically unnecessary rectal exams with excessive force on two detainees, one of them Hawsawi, who afterward suffered an anal fissure, rectal prolapse and haemorrhoids.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article15621776.html

On 5 March, Yemeni Saeed Sarem Jarabh, 36, became the latest prisoner to be cleared for release by the periodic review board, bringing the total number of prisoners held but who have been cleared for release to 58 out of 122 remaining prisoners. However, the administrative extra-legal review board ruled that his compatriot Khaled Qasim was not cleared due to his non-compliant behaviour at Guantánamo. A new review has been scheduled for 6 months’ time.

http://news.yahoo.com/yemeni-eligible-release-guantanamo-panel-194628491.html

Omar Khadr, who is currently held at the medium-security Bowden Institution in Innisfail, Canada, had a bail hearing on 23-24 March in Edmonton. His lawyers have applied for bail pending the outcome of his military tribunal conviction appeal in the US and his lawyer Dennis Edney QC and his wife Patricia have offered to take Omar into their own home. Questions about security and legality were raised in the case which is the first of its kind anywhere, where bail is applied in the enforcement of a sentence handed down in another country. If successful, lawyers for Khadr and the Canadian government will return to court to agree bail conditions. The judge reserved judgment and did not give an indication of when she is likely to make her decision. The hearing was very well attended by supporters of Khadr, so much so proceedings were moved to a larger courtroom. Omar Khadr attended on both days too.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/bail-decision-for-omar-khadr-in-hands-of-judge-after-two-day-hearing/article23625092/

Extraordinary Rendition:

The US military released 43 Pakistani prisoners from Bagram this year, who have all now returned home. Only 6 foreign nationals remain there, in US detention - two Tunisians, two Tajiks, an Uzbek and an Egyptian. Their fate will be decided by the Afghan authorities. It is not clear why they remain detained. The identities of the six men have been confirmed by the US.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/854223/us-releases-43-pakistani-detainees-from-bagram-jail/

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/16/how-obama-handed-afghanistan-a-prisoner-dilemma.html

On 20 March, a federal judge ordered the release of over 2000 photographs showing the US military abusing prisoners, including at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. The US government has 60 days to appeal and had previously argued that the disclosure of the images could put US military personnel at risk.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/21/abu-ghraib-detainees-photos-federal-judge-rules

http://rt.com/usa/242845-us-detainees-treatment-photos/  

LGC Activities:

The LGC March Shut Guantánamo demonstration was attended by 4 people. The April demo will be on Thursday 2 April: https://www.facebook.com/events/680328588755840/

Press Statement: The London Guantánamo Campaign Welcomes William Hague’s Call for Torture Inquiry

Press Statement: The London Guantánamo Campaign Welcomes William Hague’s Call for Torture Inquiry

The London Guantánamo Campaign welcomes the Foreign Secretary’s call for an inquiry into allegations of British involvement in extraordinary rendition and torture. This is an encouraging sign that the newly elected government is ready to make good on pledges of support for an inquiry.

The scope of this inquiry needs to be considered very carefully. Mr. Hague has called for a “judge-led” inquiry. In the interest of impartiality and effectiveness, a full judicial inquiry is needed.

Allegations have been made, and indeed substantiated in the Binyam Mohamed case, of the involvement of British intelligence services in torture, in Uzbekistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and elsewhere. Post-election allegations of collusion in torture made by British nationals in Bangladesh demonstrate the continued relevance and urgency of this issue.

The inquiry must be comprehensive, to cover all these allegations and any further claims that may arise. It must investigate the systemic failures that led to UK involvement in crimes against humanity, and the specific failings within government that led to flagrant violations of international law. Until now the focus has been on supposed rogue elements within the security services. However, the Binyam Mohamed case has dispelled the myth that it is down to 'a few bad apples’. The underlying policies and practices that led to the UK becoming involved in these abuses must be investigated, to discover who knew what, and at what level of government.

British involvement in extraordinary rendition extends to the use of British territories and mainland airspace for the passage and refuelling of CIA “torture” flights, the handing over of prisoners held in British custody to the US, and other forms of collusion in international crimes. All these matters must be investigated, and safeguards introduced, to ensure that the United Kingdom is never involved in torture again.

Victims need closure, our democracy needs transparency and accountability, and the British people have the right to be assured that this will never happen again.

The London Guantánamo Campaign
21 May 2010

For inquiries, please e-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com

Note:
The London Guantánamo Campaign campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantánamo bay, for the closure of this and other secret prisons, and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition.

What will the new government do about Guantánamo Bay and extraordinary rendition?‏

Following the parliamentary elections on 6 May and today’s formation of a new Conservative/Liberal Democrat government, we ask you to write to your new/returning MP to ask them where they stand on the issues of Guantánamo Bay and an inquiry into Britain’s role in extraordinary rendition and torture abroad. We would like to know the views of new MPs and the new government on these issues and what they plan to do. We would also like to remind MPs that these issues have not gone away and still matter. Please find a model letter below which you can cut, paste and e-mail to them. As always, you call write by snail mail, e-mail or fax to your parliamentary representatives and you can find out who they are at: www.theyworkforyou.com simply by putting in your postcode. We would like to know what response you get so please get in touch with the London Guantánamo Campaign at: london.gtmo@gmail.com if you hear from them.

Thank you,
LGC

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Model letter to MPs:

Dear
As my newly re/elected MP*, I am writing to you to ask what measures you will take in this new parliamentary session with respect to two matters: the closure of Guantánamo Bay and the need for an inquiry into the involvement of the UK, and its government, in extraordinary rendition and torture abroad. I am sure that you appreciate that after almost a decade, these matters are urgent.

With respect to Guantánamo Bay, I would like to know what measures the government is likely to take to secure the release of Shaker Aamer, a British resident from Battersea, whose release was sought by the Labour government in 2007, and who has been found by the Americans to be no threat. Several others whose return was sought at the same time have since returned. It appears that Mr. Aamer continues to languish in Guantánamo Bay, without charge or trial, because of lack of political pressure for his return from the previous government. What steps will you take to ensure his return?

What do you believe Britain could be doing now to help President Obama close Guantánamo Bay, where almost 180 prisoners still remain?

Prior to the election, calls were made for an independent judicial investigation into Britain’s role in extraordinary rendition and torture abroad and very shortly thereafter new allegations have emerged of collusion in the torture and abuse of British citizens in Bangladesh. The Liberal Democrats have pledged an inquiry; the Conservatives did not rule one out, and as recently as March this year the cross-party JCHR strongly urged that one take place. Do you believe such an inquiry should be carried out? If so, what should be its parameters?
British airspace has been used for the overflying and refuelling of “torture” flights. What measures do you believe should be taken to investigate this and prevent future incidents?

Several court cases are pending against the intelligence services for involvement in torture abroad and various parliamentary statements reveal ministerial knowledge of involvement in rendition and torture; what measures should be taken against public servants, of all levels, who knowingly colluded in breaches of international and domestic law?

I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,



* Delete as applicable