Hoon Against Usama Execution

Fox News/ AP | 12/10/2001

[eisch]

Hoon Against Usama Execution AP Britain's Defense Minister Geoff Hoon.Monday, December 10, 2001 Britain will hand Usama bin Laden over for trial in the U.S. — but only if he does not face the death penalty, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon has indicated. Mr. Hoon said he believed the U.S. was the correct place to try the prime suspect in the September 11 bombings, if he was captured by British troops. But he said that extradition to America would require "certain undertakings" from the American authorities. As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Britain does not extradite suspects to countries which use the death penalty. It can only do so if assurances are given they will not face execution. Asked what would happen to bin Laden if he fell into the hands of U.K. troops, Mr. Hoon said: "I believe that it would be very important to respect the international legislation relevant to those circumstances. "We do extradite people to countries with the death penalty, obviously subject to certain undertakings. "I see no reason in principle why that shouldn't happen."

[eisch]

Does this Hoon guy really represent the British Government? I have to believe the British SAS and commandoes will make a "mistake" and accidentally kill bin Laden if they indeed do find him first.

[financeprof]

Either Hoon was sending a not-so-subtle message that the SAS would not take Bin Laden alive, or he is an utter fool. Consider the following scenario: the SAS seizes BL, takes him to Britain, the US demands extradition, but the UK refuses b/c the US will not rule out a death sentence. So then the Brits either have to imprison BL in the UK (on what charge would be a difficult question inasmuch as he launched attacks against the US not the UK) or let him go. Not bloody likely. No government in its right mind wants Bin Laden whiling away the days on its soil, a living temptation to every terrorist to attempt to set free by seizing hostages and generally wreaking havoc unless BL is released. Perhaps Hoon was kissing up to the lefties in the UK and the Continent by implying that the UK would stand up to the US on the death penalty, knowing full well that this was merely a theoretical exercise b/c Bin Laden is a dead man walking.

[MiamiRedskin]

Whoon?

[F-117A]

Hoon Against Usama Execution

Fine, let's execute Hoon instead!

[jae471]

How does a human rights convention apply to bin Laden?

[Malesherbes]

Hoon is grandstanding for the benefit of his left-wing Labour Party members. If bin Laden is captured in London, or somewhere else on British soil, Hoon can protect him from capital punishment. If bin Laden is captured in Afghanistan, British laws and sensitivies have no place there. Hoon forgets that (1) 19th century British attempts to control Afghanistan failed, and (2) it's the USA that is really fighting this war.

[Kboylan]

Extradition would only come into play if OBL was actually captured in the UK itself, so if he's captured by UK forces in Afghanistan he would be turned over to the US forces.

If he was captured in the UK then, by law, he couldn't be extradited to face the Death penalty.

However, if he wasn't going to be extradited he would certainly be declared an "undesirable alien" and would be expelled on the first available flight back to his country of origin. Course if that flight happened to be going to Saudi Arabia via (say) New York then that's not the problem of the UK goverment, who could then claim that UK law hadn't been broken and everyone (save for the whining lefties) would be happy