Haroon Rashid Aswat, a Gujurati Indian, and identified as one of the most prominent Al-Qaeda organisers in Britain, has had his extradition to the United States approved, under the criticised extradition treaty. The procedural weaknesses were agreed by the executive, but one must ask why a suspected terrorist with an alleged role in 7/7 will be tried in a foreign country. Is this a price that the British must pay for co-operating with the US in his seizure in Lusaka?
Without sympathising with terrorists, the intelligence services must be able to accummulate sufficient evidence to bring these perpetrators to trial. After the wiretaps scandal in the US, it appears that shortcuts in extradition are used to remove suspects from British soil, who may be incrimanted but cannot be charged.
The
judge's reliance on the American assurance came just eight weeks after a US
legal expert admitted in court that there was an "overwhelming risk" of the
Briton being subjected to special measures such as solitary confinement.
In a damning rejection of Aswat's claims of innocence, the judge
said there was no evidence to show the allegations against Aswat were purely
based on information provided by another al-Qaida activist and had been obtained
by the threat of inhuman treatment against that suspect. The London judge said
that he was leaving the issue of whether that evidence was admissible or not was
for a trial court in the United States to decide.
Within minutes of
the ruling, Aswat's lawyer described the case as "outrageous" and said "the
judge here and the court here is bound by the process, which has been set up by
the home secretary here which is not protecting British citizens - not
protecting them in any way."
Aswat will be extradited without proper consideration of the evidence. The two tests that the judge stated are not sufficient to justify incarceration and extradition, especially when the final say rests with the executive. This is another example of the government undermining due process in oredr to achieve its political goals, with damning consequences for all accused of a crime.