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London - CAGE congratulates Lauri Love on his victory after a five-year court battle to challenge his extradition to the United States. The decision reinforces the growing acknowledgement that incarceration in the United States borders on inhumane and degrading treatment, and that trials in high profile cases may not always conform to the rule of law. The ruling by Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Justice Duncan Ouseley is in stark contrast to a former ruling by Justice Ouseley in 2012, where he rejected an appeal against extradition to the US by Talha Ahsan, who also suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, and other British Muslim nationals. It appears difficult to establish the rationale for these decisions when compared to Mr Love’s case.
Moazzam Begg, Outreach Director for CAGE, said:
“We congratulate Lauri on his win.” “This case should prompt closer examination of the UK-US Extradition treaty, which enables British courts to effectively outsource trials to the United States under a non-reciprocal agreement. In the context of the War on Terror, with the US legal definition of terrorism being extremely broad, systemic human rights abuses in prisons and Islamophobia permeating the courts, the majority of terrorism trials in the US result in a plea deal. The treaty erodes the rule of law and violates the rights of British citizens." “In a previous extradition case involving an individual with mental health issues, the home secretary intervened to block it, and in this case the judge found it may well cause suicide. However, a Muslim with the same condition as Lauri was extradited and held without charge for the longest period in the UK, and then in solitary confinement in the US, itself a form of torture. The principle that justice does not discriminate is undermined when the judiciary fails to apply the law in an even handed manner and panders to prevailing prejudices.” Image from @Niels Ladefoged on twitter
<em>London</em> - CAGE congratulates Lauri Love <strong><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-42946540">on his victory</a> </strong>after a five-year court battle to challenge his extradition to the United States.
The decision reinforces the growing acknowledgement that incarceration in the United States borders on<strong><a href="https://cage.ngo/article/exposing-supermax-prisons-what-talha-ahsan-and-babar-ahmad-endured-5789/"> inhumane and degrading</a> </strong>treatment, and that trials in high profile cases <strong><a href="https://cage.ngo/article/babar-ahmad-outsourced-judiciary-and-betrayal-human-dignity/">may not always conform to the rule of law</a></strong>.
The ruling by Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Justice Duncan Ouseley is in stark contrast to <strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/05/abu-hamza-loses-extradition-appeal">a former ruling</a> </strong>by Justice Ouseley in 2012, where he rejected an appeal against extradition to the US by Talha Ahsan, who also suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, and other British Muslim nationals. It appears difficult to establish the rationale for these decisions when compared to Mr Love’s case.
<h3>Moazzam Begg, Outreach Director for CAGE, said:</h3>
“We congratulate Lauri on his win.”
“This case should prompt closer examination of the UK-US Extradition treaty, which enables British courts to effectively outsource trials to the United States under a non-reciprocal agreement. In the context of the War on Terror, with the US legal definition of terrorism being extremely broad, systemic human rights abuses in prisons and Islamophobia permeating the courts, the majority of terrorism trials in the US result in a <strong><a href="https://cage.ngo/publication/too-blunt-just-outcomes-why-us-terrorism-enhancement-sentencing-guidelines-are-unfair-un/">plea deal</a></strong>. The treaty erodes the rule of law and violates the rights of British citizens."
“In a previous extradition case involving an individual with mental health issues, the home secretary intervened to block it, and in this case the judge found it may well cause suicide. However, a Muslim with the same condition as Lauri was extradited and held without charge for the longest period in the UK, and then in solitary confinement in the US, itself a form of torture. The principle that justice does not discriminate is undermined when the judiciary fails to apply the law in an even handed manner and panders to prevailing prejudices.”
<em>Image from <span class="username u-dir u-textTruncate" dir="ltr" data-aria-label-part=""><a href="https://twitter.com/NielsLadefoged/status/960467685372022784">@Niels Ladefoged</a> </span>on twitter</em>
