Guantanamo Two to escape death penalty
British terror suspects Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abbasi will not face the death penalty, Attorney General Lord Goldsmith has said.
Mr Begg and Mr Abbas are currently held by US authorities at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, awaiting trial by military tribunal over their alleged involvement with terror network al Qaeda.
They have been imprisoned without charge for over 18 months.
Lord Goldsmith successfully won over US officials, though some have said he has failed to do more to secure a “fair trial” for the nine British nationals held in Guantanamo Bay.
Human rights lawyer, Louise Christian, voiced her frustration over Lord Goldsmith’s discussions with the US administration.
“It does not address the problem of the conditions in Guantanamo Bay which are absolutely appalling and breach all the human rights conditions. It does not address the problem that some parts of the prosecution will not be revealed to the defendants so they might have a chance to defend themselves.
“I do not accept that this was the best that was on offer to Lord Goldsmith because we are told that Britain is the closest ally in the war against terrorism to America.’
“The Pakistani Government has got huge numbers of its nationals released because they have made diplomatic protests and because apparently the US Government is worried about their support. This is pathetic if this is all the British Government can do when we are the closest ally.”
It remains to be seen whether repatriation is a realistic option for the nine Brits. Lord Goldsmith said the issue was still under review.
Lord Goldsmith said “significant progress” had been made in several areas, including the suspects’ lawyers, confidentiality between lawyer and client, family visits and access to the counsel of UK officials.
As a sign of good faith between the US and UK, given their close co-operation in the war against Iraq, the US suspended military court proceedings against the two Britons last week after a personal intervention by Tony Blair. Lord Goldsmith will carry on the PM’s work when he returns to Washington next week.
