UK-Jordan: SIAC's Abu Qatada ruling threatens ban on torture
01 January 2007
In February the Jordanian cleric, Abu Qatada, lost his Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) appeal against the Home Office's plans to deport him to Jordan. In Jordan Qatada was tried twice in
absentia for alleged activities with the
Jama'at al Islah wa'l Tahaddi and was sentenced to life imprisonment on the basis of evidence from co-defendants who had been subjected to prolonged torture by Jordan's General Intelligence Directorate (GID). The Human Rights Watch (HRW) organisation warned that the SIAC ruling "threatens to undermine the global ban on torture".
The SIAC is an immigration commission that hears appeals against deportations on the grounds of "national security". It ruled that Abu Qatada faced no real risk of persecution on his return, a claim that flies in the face of evidence from leading civil liberties groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The ruling is particularly significant because the government has been working to secure removals or deportations to countries that practice torture by obtaining special agreements (Memoranda of Understanding, MoU). "Dodgy little 'assurances' from regimes that practice torture convince few outside government" observed the Liberty director, Shami Chakribarti. The SIAC ruling is the first test of a government policy that echoes the US practice of "rendition" or facilitating deportation for the purpose of torture and abuse.
In June 2006 the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, visited Jordan and upon his return noted that torture is both widespread and common - especially to extract confessions from terrorist suspects. He remarked that the security forces enjoy total impunity and called for the Jordanian government to investigate and prosecute all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and to amend domestic laws accordingly. He also observed that not a single Jordanian official had ever been prosecuted. Amnesty International also believes that Abu Qatada would face a real risk of torture if returned and it notes that prolonged beatings,
falaga (repeated beatings on the soles of the feet), burning with cigarettes, sleep deprivation and extreme violence, including rape, are common practices. Human Rights Watch believes that the SIAC ruling will undermine "the absolute ban against returning people to the risk of torture". Last September they published a report,
Suspicious Swoops: the General Intelligence Department and Jordan's rule of law problem which detailed 16 cases involving arbitrary arrest and abuse (including torture) carried out by the GID - in 13 out of 16 cases the victims were eventually released without charge. "Assurances of humane treatment cannot be considered credible when they come from a government that routinely flouts its international obligations not to engage in torture" said Julia Hall, a researcher at HRW.
For the SIA ruling see: http//www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/legalprof/judgements/siac/outcomes/sc152002qatada.htm
"UN expert visiting Jordan finds "general impunity for torture and ill-treatment", UN News 3.7.06:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19081&Cr=jordan&Cr1#
Amnesty International "National security suspect facing prospect of torture in Jordan", Public statement 28.2.07;
Human Rights Watch "Suspicious Sweeps: the General Intelligence Department and Jordan's rule of law problem":
http://hrw.org/reports/2006/jordan0906/jordan0906web.pdf