Hafsah
25-04-07, 03:13 PM
BRITISH JUSTICE FOR BRITISH CRIMES?
Date: Friday 27th April 2007
Time: 6.45 pm – 8.30 pm
Venue: Main Hall, Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, London, W1H 4LP
In a few weeks the cases of Babar Ahmad and Abu Hamza will come
to final judgement about whether they should be extradited to the
US to face charges. City Circle invites you to a panel discussion
with Gareth Peirce, Mudassar Arani, Moazzam Begg and Mark Spragg.
Come and air your opinions.
For opponents of the treaty, the key issue here is British justice
for British crimes, it is not about the avoidance of due legal
process where there is a crime to be prosecuted. While the context
of the treaty has been the "War on Terror", the treaty has also
been used against "The Natwest Three" working in the City. If there
has been insufficient evidence to bring a conviction for offences
committed by British citizens on British soil, then why should they
stand trial in a foreign country on these same charges?
The US-UK Extradition Treaty signed in 2003 has been widely
criticised for being a one-sided agreement. For American citizens
to be extradited to the UK, there is a requirement to provide
"probable cause", whereas the old requirement to provide "prima
facie" evidence for British citizens to be extradited to the USA
has been removed. This restricted key legal protections open to
suspects and defendants, and it was far more stringent than the
EU-US Treaty on extradition signed in the same year. On the other
side of the argument, however, supporters would point out that,
in essence, the treaty is fair because both legal systems must
agree that the evidence is sufficient to warrant an extradition,
and both retain the use of a veto if unsatisfied. It is argued
that while standards of evidence may differ in the two countries,
this is an insufficient reason to prevent extradition.
* Gareth Peirce is a leading human rights lawyer in the UK. She
has represented numerous detainees held in Belmarsh Prison under
the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, worked to secure
the release the British citizens at Guantanamo Bay, and in the
1980s challenged the miscarriages of justice in the cases of the
Guilford Four and the Birmingham Six. She asked the government
to withdraw the CBE award offered to her in 1999.
* Mudassar Arani was born in Uganda and moved to Great Britain
in 1972. She is a leading UK Human Rights attorney representing
terrorist suspects in Britain, among them the case of Abu Hamza,
currently facing extradition to the United States.
* Moazzam Begg is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, who has
co-authored a book about his experiences, Enemy Combatant, and
is a human-rights campaigner. He acts as a spokesperson for
Cageprisoners, a Muslim-run human rights organisation that
campaigns for the rights of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay
and in "ghost sites".
* Mark Spragg is a partner in the litigation team at Jeffery
Green Russell, and heads one of London's foremost fraud and
white collar crime practices. He is well known for his
involvement with the extradition case to the US involving the
"Natwest Three".
Entrance is free but registration is required. You must print
out the confirmation and bring it with you, otherwise you will
not be admitted on the night. Confirmations will not be sent
out after 12.00 noon on Friday.
For more details or media enquiries please contact:
E-mail: yahya@thecitycircle .com (http://us.f272.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=yahya%40thecitycircle.com)
Tel: 07886 487 232
Website: www.thecitycircle. com
Date: Friday 27th April 2007
Time: 6.45 pm – 8.30 pm
Venue: Main Hall, Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, London, W1H 4LP
In a few weeks the cases of Babar Ahmad and Abu Hamza will come
to final judgement about whether they should be extradited to the
US to face charges. City Circle invites you to a panel discussion
with Gareth Peirce, Mudassar Arani, Moazzam Begg and Mark Spragg.
Come and air your opinions.
For opponents of the treaty, the key issue here is British justice
for British crimes, it is not about the avoidance of due legal
process where there is a crime to be prosecuted. While the context
of the treaty has been the "War on Terror", the treaty has also
been used against "The Natwest Three" working in the City. If there
has been insufficient evidence to bring a conviction for offences
committed by British citizens on British soil, then why should they
stand trial in a foreign country on these same charges?
The US-UK Extradition Treaty signed in 2003 has been widely
criticised for being a one-sided agreement. For American citizens
to be extradited to the UK, there is a requirement to provide
"probable cause", whereas the old requirement to provide "prima
facie" evidence for British citizens to be extradited to the USA
has been removed. This restricted key legal protections open to
suspects and defendants, and it was far more stringent than the
EU-US Treaty on extradition signed in the same year. On the other
side of the argument, however, supporters would point out that,
in essence, the treaty is fair because both legal systems must
agree that the evidence is sufficient to warrant an extradition,
and both retain the use of a veto if unsatisfied. It is argued
that while standards of evidence may differ in the two countries,
this is an insufficient reason to prevent extradition.
* Gareth Peirce is a leading human rights lawyer in the UK. She
has represented numerous detainees held in Belmarsh Prison under
the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, worked to secure
the release the British citizens at Guantanamo Bay, and in the
1980s challenged the miscarriages of justice in the cases of the
Guilford Four and the Birmingham Six. She asked the government
to withdraw the CBE award offered to her in 1999.
* Mudassar Arani was born in Uganda and moved to Great Britain
in 1972. She is a leading UK Human Rights attorney representing
terrorist suspects in Britain, among them the case of Abu Hamza,
currently facing extradition to the United States.
* Moazzam Begg is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, who has
co-authored a book about his experiences, Enemy Combatant, and
is a human-rights campaigner. He acts as a spokesperson for
Cageprisoners, a Muslim-run human rights organisation that
campaigns for the rights of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay
and in "ghost sites".
* Mark Spragg is a partner in the litigation team at Jeffery
Green Russell, and heads one of London's foremost fraud and
white collar crime practices. He is well known for his
involvement with the extradition case to the US involving the
"Natwest Three".
Entrance is free but registration is required. You must print
out the confirmation and bring it with you, otherwise you will
not be admitted on the night. Confirmations will not be sent
out after 12.00 noon on Friday.
For more details or media enquiries please contact:
E-mail: yahya@thecitycircle .com (http://us.f272.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=yahya%40thecitycircle.com)
Tel: 07886 487 232
Website: www.thecitycircle. com