Five terror suspects released on bail
Five foreign terror suspects held in Belmarsh and Woodhill prisons without trial or charge have been released on conditional bail.
The Special Immigration Appeal Commission (SIAC) freed Syrian preacher Abu Qatada and four other detainees known only as E, H, Q and K.
Today’s decision comes a day after the SIAC released an Algerian known as A on condition that he wear an electronic tag, stay at his home address, abide by a curfew and refrain from using the internet.
The five released today are subject to similar bail conditions. Another three, named as Abu Rideh, P and B, are likely to released in the next few days.
Qatada and suspects E, H, K, P and Q were detained at Woodhill and Belmarsh prisons and Rideh, a Palestinian, is held at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital with detainee B.
The men were all detained under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, which expires on Monday. The Government is currently struggling to get new anti-terror laws through parliament before this time.
The Law Lords ruled last year that the detention of terror suspects without trial as allowed under the 2001 act was in contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Many of the conditions of bail imposed on the suspects released this week are similar to the control orders included in the new anti-terror laws.
The control orders would also enable a suspect to be put under house arrest in the most serious cases.
Earlier this week, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair argued against the release of the ten foreign terror suspects detained under the 2001 act, saying they represented a “grave threat” to national security.
