Guantánamo Bay detainees to be paid compensation by UK government

[Solly Mack]

"Ministers appear to have decided on the advice of the security services that they could not afford to risk the exposure of thousands of documents in open court on how the US ,with the co-operation of the UK, undertook illegal acts such as extraordinary rendition to interrogate terrorist suspects, including some alleged to have links with the Afghan Taliban.



The high court, according to ITN, has been notified that a settlement had been reached between the lawyers, but the exact amounts may never be known. The government will announce today simply that the payments are to be made and that it is in the national interest that the cases are not brought to court so as to protect the security services methods from scrutiny.




Today's payments pave the way for an independent inquiry into British involvement in torture and the degree to which MI6 knowingly took information extracted by torture by the Americans.



Those detainees understood to be in line for settlements include Binyam Mohamed, Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el-Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes, Moazzam Begg and Martin Mubanga. One allegation is that the British government knew they were being illegally transferred to Guantánamo Bay but failed to prevent it."

[Solly Mack]

1. ...

[EFerrari]

2. K&R

[Solly Mack]

4. Thank you!

It's something...done to protect the evidence of torture...but it is something.

They had the right under international law to seek monetary redress for torture...so payment is an admission of crimes against them.

[amborin]

3. K&R

[Solly Mack]

5. Thank you!