Posted on 02/21/2004 8:29:02 AM PST by knighthawk
Tightened terror laws could be used against the five British men who are to return home from Guantanamo Bay.
Ruhal Ahmed, Tarek Dergoul, Jamal Al Harith, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul have spent two years in the prison camp created originally for those accused of fighting or supporting forces who opposed coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Earlier this month Home Secretary David Blunkett proposed that the standard of proof should be lowered in terrorism cases, making it easier for prosecutors to secure convictions.
He also suggested that terrorism cases should only have to be proved "on the balance of probabilities" rather than "beyond all reasonable doubt".
But Stephen Jakobi, director of Fair Trials Abroad. has expressed concerns after it emerged that the five may not return for weeks.
He said: "Therefore, there is good reason to be concerned that the Government's intention is to pass laws quite quickly so the five may well be charged and tried under the new regime.
"While David Blunkett has said that they (the five) do not represent a danger to the security of the UK, he has been careful not to say that they won't be tried and convicted under any conditions for past offences.
"If the rules of trial are going to be changed, they could well apply to these five."
Mr Jakobi said that Britain's security forces were doing a good job with the current powers.
He added: "I cannot understand why they are not coming home tomorrow. What is this delay of the next few weeks about? Whatever the explanation, it cannot be a good one. It is a very, very odd situation."
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