|
|
| TERRORISM Vivienne Westwood's 'I'm Not A Terrorist' T-shirt Design Governments have a duty to take steps to protect citizens from terrorism, but this does not justify side-stepping democratic values. Since the Prevention of Terrorism Acts of the 1970s terrorism laws have done little to ensure that we are safe from terrorist attack, but much to infringe the human rights and civil liberties of those living in the UK. - After 9/11 the Government introduced indefinite detention without charge of foreign nationals. This was replaced by the control order regime which allows government ministers to impose sweeping restrictions on individual freedoms on the basis of secret intelligence and suspicion. - Pre-charge detention has been increased from 14 days to 28 days, with further extensions threatened. - Broad new speech offences impact on free speech rights and non-violent groups have been outlawed. - Our right to protest has been seriously curtailed, including by the misuse of police powers. Liberty opposes and challenges such measures because we believe that terrorism can and must be fought without sacrificing our human rights.
Repression and injustice, and the criminalisation of non-violent speech and protest make us less safe, not more. They act as a recruiting sergeant to extremism and marginalise those whose engagement is vital to the effective fight against terrorism.
They undermine the values that separate us from the terrorist, the very values we should be fighting to protect.
Press ReleasesLiberty today welcomed a ruling from the High Court that bail cannot be denied solely on the basis of secret evidence. The ruling, which said that bail applicants must be given an irreducible minimum of information about the case against them, also rejected Government claims that the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) was immune from judicial review. 01.12.2009
Executive Director of the ACLU, Anthony Romero, and Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti have met with Government officials and leading Parliamentarians with the purpose of establishing a new Anglo-American alliance based on respect for civil liberties and human rights. 27.01.2009
| Response to Lord Carlile's Review. June 2006 (PDF) Liberty’s evidence to the Constitution Committee Inquiry - ‘Emergency Legislation’, March 2009 (PDF) Liberty’s Second Reading Briefing on the Crime and Security Bill in the House of Commons, January 2010 (PDF) Liberty’s briefing on the Terrorist Asset- Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill in the House of Commons, February 2010 (PDF) Inquest-Liberty-Justice Joint Briefing on Clauses 11-13 of the Coroners & Justice Bill for Second Reading in the House of Lords, April 2009 (PDF)
Liberty’s response to guidance on the use of stop and search carried out under Section 44 Terrorism Act 2000, May 2008 (PDF) Liberty's paper on the dangers of 'off the record' briefings to the media during police counter-terrorist operations, May 07, PDF. Home Office response to Liberty's Freedom of Information Request, May 07, PDF. N.B. this is a large file (896kb). For a hard copy, please contact Liberty's Press Office.
 |
|