Reprieve—UK torture complicity's case history

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Scotland Yard accused of being complicit in torture for failing to investigate UK’s role in alleged war crimes

By Terri Judd, The Independent, March 18 2013

18 March 2013
Jihadists in Syria 'threat to West'

Wales Online, February 14 2013

14 February 2013
British Jihadists In Syria Are 'A Threat To The West' Says Hague

PA, Huffington Post UK, February 14 2013

14 February 2013
William Hague calls for pragmatism in dealing with repressive regimes

By Nick Hopkins, The Guardian, February 14 2013.

14 February 2013
Britain must work with regimes that have abused human rights, says William Hague

By Oliver Wright, The Independent, February 14 2013

14 February 2013
Hague accused of making dodgy deal with torturers

By Paddy McGuffin, Morning Star, February 14 2013.

14 February 2013
Threat of UK attack by British jihadists in Syria growing, Hague warns

By Tom Whitehead, The Telegraph, February 14 2013

14 February 2013
UK to build human rights alliances, says William Hague

BBC News, February 14 2013

14 February 2013
UK Government trying to join hands with torturers while keeping its own clean

Commenting on Foreign Secretary William Hague’s speech today on ‘justice and human rights partnerships,’ Reprieve Legal Director, Cori Crider said:

14 February 2013
Storm as the UK 'justifies torture' of the fighter who helped topple Gaddafi

By Robert Verkaik, Mail Online, February 2 2013.

02 February 2013
Hopes rise for Guantanamo's last UK inmate

By Paul Calahan, The Independent, December 2 2012

03 December 2012
High Court blocks UK detainee transfers in Afghanistan

BBC News, November 2 2012

20 November 2012
UK Govt seeks to hand over detainees to Afghan torture prisons

The British Government is seeking to lift a moratorium on handing over Afghan detainees to prisons where there is clear evidence of torture, the High Court heard today.

02 November 2012
UK cops to probe 'allegations of complicity to torture' prisoner at Guantanamo Bay

By Keir Simmons, NBC News, 02/08/2012

02 August 2012
UK court orders ‘fair trial’ hearing for tortured Afghan

A Court of Appeal judge this morning ordered a hearing into the unfair trial an Afghan prisoner faced after UK forces transferred him to Afghanistan’s notorious National Directorate of Security (NDS).

23 July 2012
Police interview Libyans over claims of UK-authorised rendition

By Rajeev Syal and Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 20/07/12

20 July 2012
UK police interview Libyan victims of MI6 renditions

Two Gaddafi opponents who were rendered along with their families by the US and UK to pre-revolutionary Libya have for the first time given evidence to London’s Metropolitan Police.

18 July 2012
Fears for Shaker Aamer as Pentagon reveals 'mind-altering drugs' forcibly used on Guantánamo prisoners

Londoner Shaker Aamer may have been among those forcibly administered "mind-altering drugs" by the US military, either as part of an interrogation or as a de facto disciplinary measure - tactics revealed in a recently-declassified Pentagon report.

12 July 2012
Britain must secure release of Bagram detainee, supreme court told

Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, 03/07/2012

04 July 2012
Britain has not done enough to secure release of Pakistani man in US military custody, say lawyers

Jerome Taylor, The Independent, 02/07/2012

04 July 2012
Bagram Detainee Case Comes Before UK's Top Court

Associated Press/ABC News 02/07/2012

04 July 2012
Hoon may face war crime quiz over rendition

By Deborah Haynes, The Times, 29/06/2012

29 June 2012
Libyans take Jack Straw to court over 'rendition'

By Terri Judd, The Independent, 29/06/2012

29 June 2012
Legal proceedings issued against Government and Jack Straw by Libyan renditions victims

Lawyers for two Gaddafi opponents who were rendered along with their families to Libya by British intelligence in 2004 today issued formal legal proceedings at the High Court against those responsible for their ordeal.

28 June 2012
Jack Straw and former top spy sued over Libya rendition

By Deborah Haynes, The Times, 28/06/2012

28 June 2012
Libyan dissidents launch action against UK government over rendition

By Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 28/06/2012

28 June 2012
'Tortured' Libyan exiles start case

By Paddy McGuffin, The Morning Star, 28/06/2012

28 June 2012
Climbdown over secret courts? Nonsense. Now it's even worse: How Ken Clarke's masterclass in spin hid REAL story about new justice laws

By David Rose, The Daily Mail, 03/06/2012

03 June 2012
UK statements on rendition and torture complicity

Statements by various officials that outline the UK's position on rendition and torture, and how it has evolved during the past decade.

22 May 2012
MI6 agents pushed 49-point list of questions to Tripoli torture victim interrogators 'under torture chamber door'

By Abul Taher and David Rose, The Daily Mail, 28/04/2012

28 April 2012
Former Libyan Rebel Sues Britain Over Torture Claim

By Henry Ridgwell, Voice of America, 26/04/2012

26 April 2012
Leading article: Gaddafi, the UK, and the truth we must be told

Leading article, The Independent, 23/04/2012

23 April 2012
Inquiry launched into 'betrayal' of Libyan asylum-seekers by MI5

By Rob Hastings, The Independent, 23/04/2012

23 April 2012
Government investigating MI5 Libyan betrayal spy claim

By BBC News, 22/04/2012

22 April 2012
MI5 'gave Libyan spies details of dissidents in Britain'

By Ian Cobain and Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, 22/04/2012

22 April 2012
Secret documents reveal MI5 agents betrayed Libyan dissidents to Gaddafi spies in London rendezvous just 700 yards from Harrods

By Robert Verkaik, Barbara Jones, and David Rose, The Daily Mail, 21/04/2012

21 April 2012
Rendition: Straw in the wind

Editorial, The Guardian, 19/04/2012

19 April 2012
Leading article: UK officials must come clean about rendition

By The Independent, 19/04/2012

19 April 2012
Libyan army chief takes Jack Straw to court over rendition

By The Sun, 19/04/2012

19 April 2012
Watch a report on the rendition complicity case against Jack Straw on Channel 4

This report, including a comment by Reprieve's Legal Director Cori Crider, looks at the circumstances around the rendition of Abdel Hakim Belhadj and Sami al Saadi to Libya in 2004, and how Jack Straw might be complicit in their ordeal.

18 April 2012
Watch Cori Crider talking about the lawsuit against Jack Straw on BBC News

Reprieve's Legal Director Cori Crider talks about the lawsuit made against former foreign secretary Jack Straw by Abdel Hakim Belhadj and Sami al Saadi, and why politicians should be held accountable for their role in rendition.

18 April 2012
Watch Cori Crider discussing Belhadj's lawsuit against Jack Straw on BBC's Newsnight

Reprieve's Legal Director Cori Crider and former Minister of State at the Home Office Hazel Blears discuss the lawsuit brought by Libyan rendition victims against Jack Straw.

18 April 2012
Libyans sue UK ex-minister over rendition claims

By AFP, 18/04/2012

18 April 2012
Straw Sued Over Libyan's Rendition Claims

By Sky News, 18/04/2012

18 April 2012
Jack Straw sued by Libyan military commander for 'personally signing off his illegal rendition'

By Graham Smith, The Daily Mail, 18/04/2012

18 April 2012
Jack Straw faces legal action over 'rendition'

By BBC News, 18/04/2012

18 April 2012
Jack Straw faces legal action over allegations he personally approved rendition of Abdel Hakim Belhadj

By Nigel Morris, The Independent, 18/04/2012

18 April 2012
Straw sued over rendition case

By ITV News, 18/04/2012

18 April 2012
Jack Straw faces legal action over Libya rendition claims

By Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 18/04/2012

18 April 2012
British Ex-Foreign Secretary Accused in Qaddafi Foe’s Rendition

By Ravi Somaiya, The New York Times, 18/04/2012

18 April 2012
Straw 'admitted agreeing to send suspect to Libya after he sees evidence showing he signed off' the operation'

By Jack Doyle, The Daily Mail, 16/04/2012

16 April 2012
Straw under pressure over Belhadj rendition

By Tom Whitehead, The Telegraph, 16/04/2012

16 April 2012
Libyan wants UK 'link with torture' exposed

By Marco Giannangeli, The Sunday Express, 15/04/2012

15 April 2012
Watch Libyan rendition victim Abdel Hakim Belhadj talk to the European Parliament

Libyan leader Abdel Hakim Belhadj thanks the European Parliament for taking the time to discuss his ordeal.

12 April 2012
Blair 'cannot recall' MI6 rendition of rebel Libyan to Gaddafi

By Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, 11/04/2012

11 April 2012
Tony Blair: no recollection of Libyan rendition case

The Telegraph, 11/04/2012

11 April 2012
Abdel Hakim Belhaj to sue Diego Garcia commission

By the BBC, 10/04/2012

10 April 2012
Gaddafi torture victim tells Tony Blair and Jack Straw to admit kidnap truth

By Tim Shipman, The Daily Mail, 10/04/2012

10 April 2012
MI6 and a £1m 'bribe' to silence torture victim: Spies gave up dissident to Gaddafi thugs

By Tim Shipman, The Daily Mail, 10/04/2012

10 April 2012
Abdel Hakim Belhadj exends legal action against UK over rendition to Gaddafi's Libya

Lawyers for the Head of the Tripoli Military Council, Abdel Hakim Belhadj, have announced that they are extending their legal action against the British Government and its security forces, for the alleged illegal rendition of Mr Belhadj and his wife to Libya in 2004, to include the Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory.

10 April 2012
Legal Action Over Libyan Abdel Hakim Belhadj's 'Rendition'

The Huffington Post, 09/04/2012

09 April 2012
Muammar Gaddafi regime 'helped by MI6 over dissidents'

By Fred Attewill, Metro, 09/04/2012

09 April 2012
MAIL COMMENT: Secret courts, Libya and Britain’s shame

The Daily Mail, 09/04/2012

09 April 2012
Special report: Rendition ordeal that raises new questions about secret trials

By Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 08/04/2012

08 April 2012
Rendition: did UK play secret role?

By Jason Lewis, the Sunday Telegraph, 26/02/2012

27 February 2012
US prisoner handover 'questionable'

By Brian Farmer, PA/The Independent, 23/02/2012

27 February 2012
Yunus Rahmatullah Appeal: British Handed Prisoner To US 'In Questionable Circumstances'

By Press Association/Huffington Post, 23/02/2012

27 February 2012
The great British betrayal of Prisoner B

For nearly eight years, the UK government has refused to even name him. Until we discovered his identity, he was a ghost detainee, known simply as ‘Prisoner B’.

24 February 2012
Top judge condemns UK government for failure to protect rendered prisoner Yunus Rahmatullah

A senior British judge today condemned the UK Government for handing over a prisoner to the US “in questionable circumstances” and thereby “[selling] the pass with regard to their ability to protect him in the future.”

23 February 2012
The US has broken its promise over Yunus Rahmatullah

The US has refused a UK demand to return one of its prisoners, so why should we send our citizens to face trial there?

23 February 2012
Yunus Rahmatullah case complaint lodged with Scotland Yard

By Ian Cobain, the Guardian, 20/02/2012

21 February 2012
Scotland Yard probes claim that Britain sent businessman to Iraq torture jail

By David Rose, the Mail on Sunday, 19/02/2012

21 February 2012
Bagram prisoner's bid for freedom rebuffed in UK

By Robert Barr, the Associated Press, 20/02/2012

21 February 2012
Reprieve reports UK Government to police for war crimes over failure to secure release of Yunus Rahmatullah

The British Government has been reported to the police over war crimes in Iraq, following its failure to secure the release of a prisoner rendered to Afghanistan and held without charge or trial for eight years.

20 February 2012
British Government in contempt of court of appeal?

Britian had the decency to withdraw from Iraq, and much of the chaos we caused has faded from the headlines. Until now.

20 February 2012
Court hearing today 0930 on Iraq rendition; UK Govt faces threat of war crimes investigation over Yunus Rahmatullah

The British Government could face investigation over war crimes committed in the rendition of prisoners during the Iraq war unless it can secure the release of a detainee from Bagram prison, Afghanistan, by this (Monday) morning.

20 February 2012
Six Days for Britain to Avoid War Crimes Investigation

By Cori Crider, the Huffington Post, 15/02/2012

16 February 2012
Six Days for Britain to Avoid War Crimes Investigation

MoD officials may imagine themselves immune from police investigation. They would do well to talk to Sir Mark Allen and the rest of the UK security establishment now under the microscope of Scotland Yard over the Libya renditions.

16 February 2012
UK Government has six days to avoid war crimes investigation

The British Government could face investigation over war crimes committed in the rendition of prisoners during the Iraq war, unless it can persuade the US to honour agreements governing detainee transfers within the week.

14 February 2012
Britain Shouldn’t Aid a Lawless America

By Eric L Lewis, the New York Times, 13/02/2012

14 February 2012
Listen to BBC Radio 4 on Shaker Amer

The Today programme reports on the 10th anniversary of British resident Shaker Amer arriving in Guantánamo Bay.

14 February 2012
Former spy chief to be personally sued by Libyan rebel leaders who accuse him of complicity in torture

By Jack Doyle, The Daily Mail, 31/01/2012

01 February 2012
The UK needs a rendition inquiry with real clout

Instead of threatening a new system of secret courts, the British government must respond to the unprecedented wrongdoing of the 'War on Terror' years by keeping the legal system open and transparent.

31 January 2012
Listen to BBC R4 Today programme on Libyan legal action against Sir Mark Allen

BBC's Gordon Corera reports on the legal action pursued by Libyan rendition victims Abdelhakim Belhadj and Sami al-Saadi (pictured right) against former MI6 counter-terrorism chief Sir Mark Allen.

31 January 2012
Libyan dissidents sue MI6 officer over abduction and torture claims

By Richard Norton-Taylor and Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 31/01/2012

31 January 2012
Former Libyan detainees to sue ex MI6 chief

Channel 4 News, 31/01/2012

31 January 2012
Gaddafi opponents sue ex-MI6 counter terror chief Sir Mark Allen over Libya torture complicity

Two Libyans who were rendered by Britain into the hands of the Gaddafi regime in 2004 are to sue Sir Mark Allen, the former MI6 director who apparently played a central role in organising the operation.

31 January 2012
British Government abandons torture inquiry

by Janet Stobart, LA Times, 18/01/2011

20 January 2012
Gibson inquiry into MI5 and MI6 torture collusion claims abandoned

by Owen Bowcott, Ian Cobain, Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, 19/01/2012

19 January 2012
Torture probe over complicity by British in Libya to be scrapped while criminal investigation is launched

by Jack Doyle and Rick Dewsbury, The Daily Mail, 19/01/2012

19 January 2012
Gibson Inquiry torture investigation to be scrapped

by Wesley Johnson, Press Association/The Independent, 18/01/2012

19 January 2012
UK scraps torture inquiry while police probe Libya cases

by Adrian Croft, Reuters, 18/01/2012

19 January 2012
UK scraps inquiry into abuse of terrorism suspects

by Associated Press, CBS News, 18/01/2012

19 January 2012
UK Government re-think on flawed torture Inquiry welcome

Reprieve today welcomes the Government's announcement that it will not go ahead with the flawed Gibson Inquiry, and will set up a new inquiry once police investigations into UK collusion in Libya renditions have concluded.

18 January 2012
Listen to Clare Algar talk about the Libyan rendition investigation on BBC 5 Live

Reprieve's Executive Director Clare Algar speaks to 5 Live about the Gibson Inquiry and the recent Crown Prosecution decision to investigate UK complicity in the rendition to torture of Libyans Sami al-Saadi and Abdel Hakim Belhadj.

13 January 2012
Watch Cori Crider talk about British rendition complicity on Al Jazeera English

Reprieve's legal director Cori Crider speaks to Al Jazeera about whether the recently launched investigation into British complicity in rendition is a final push to hold the security services to account.

13 January 2012
British Police to Investigate Libyans' Rendition Claims

The Tripoli Post, 13/01/12

13 January 2012
UK police to investigate Libya rendition claims

by Laura Smith-Spark, CNN, 13/01/12

13 January 2012
Watch Clive Stafford Smith on the BBC News

The BBC report on the case of Abdel Hakim Belhadj as an investigation into his rendition is announced.

13 January 2012
Scotland Yard Report Finds British Citizen Was Tortured in Secret CIA Site

by Raymond Bonner, The Atlantic, 12/01/12

12 January 2012
Listen to Clive Stafford Smith on BBC Radio Humberside

Clive Stafford Smith speaks to BBC Radio Humberside about the announcement that there will be an investigation into UK complicity in two Libyan renditions.

12 January 2012
Listen to Clive Stafford Smith on World At One

Clive Stafford Smith speaks to World at One about the announcement of an investigation into Libyan renditions and the failings of the Gibson Inquiry.

12 January 2012
British police to probe Libya rendition claims

by Alice Ritchie, AFP, 12/01/12

12 January 2012
Police launch probe over torture allegations in Libya

by Wesley Johnson, The Independent, 12/01/12

12 January 2012
Libya rendition claims to be investigated by UK police

BBC News, 12/01/12

12 January 2012
Police statement shows serious questions remain for Government over Libya torture complicity

Response to today's joint statement by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police on investigations into UK complicity in the torture of detainees.

12 January 2012
Watch Clive Stafford Smith on ITV News

Kier Simmons reports on how documents discovered in the fall of Gaddafi's regime are set to serve as evidence into the UK's complicity in torture and rendition.

12 January 2012
Watch Clive Stafford Smith and Rosa Curling on Channel 4 News

Jon Snow reports on the announcement today that there will be an investigation into the cases of two Reprieve assisted clients, Sami al Saadi and Abdel Hakim Belhadj.

12 January 2012
Detainee abuse inquiry criticised

BBC News, 06/01/12

06 January 2012
Torture Inquiry criticised as 'deficient' as key anti-Gaddafi figure withdraws

Human rights groups, including Reprieve, have today criticised the Government's Detainee Inquiry as 'deficient' and lacking in the necessary powers to get to the truth about Britain's involvement in torture and rendition.

06 January 2012
UK Government demands return of Bagram prisoner Yunus Rahmatullah from US custody

The British Government has demanded the return of a prisoner originally detained by UK forces from the US-run Bagram prison in Afghanistan, where he has been held without charge or trial for nearly eight years.

21 December 2011
Libyan rebel leader Abdel Hakim Belhadj sues British Government for illegal rendition to Libya

Head of the Tripoli Military Council and the former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group Abdel Hakim Belhadj is taking legal action against The UK Government and its security forces for what he claims is their part in the illegal rendition and barbaric treatment of both himself and his pregnant wife in March 2004.

19 December 2011
Watch Cori Crider speak about UK involvement in Sami al-Saadi's rendition

Reprieve's Legal Director, Cori Crider, speaks to the BBC on 16/11/11 about the UK's complicity in Sami al-Saadi's rendition and the next steps.

23 November 2011
The Government's Un-British Plans to Keep Torture Secret

Last month I spent time with Khadidja al Saadi, a 19-year-old girl who MI6 and CIA rendered back to Gaddadfi's regime when she was 14. Khadidja's story, and the UK's shameful role in it, only emerged in the last few months, and only because Libyan rebels found the smoking gun in Moussa Koussa's office.

21 November 2011
Scotland Yard asked to investigate MI6 role in abduction of Gadaffi opponent

by Ian Cobain and Richard Norton Taylor, The Guardian, 16/11/11

18 November 2011
Libyan victims of MI6, CIA rendition to Gaddafi file criminal complaint with British police

A family of six which was rendered back to Gaddafi’s Libya by UK and US intelligence services has filed a criminal complaint with the Metropolitan Police over their ordeal.

17 November 2011
Watch Cori Crider respond to William Hague's security speech on ITV

Reprieve's Legal Director Cori Crider tells ITV that Sami al Saadi will be trusting the Metropolitan Police with his case, as William Hague announces that "The time has come for Britain to draw a line under past allegations that our spies colluded in torture."

16 November 2011
Listen to Libyan rendition victim Khadija al-Saadi on BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4, 14/11/11

14 November 2011
A meeting with the victims of Britain's Libyan renditions

I am just back from Tripoli, where – amidst raucous celebrations about the end of war and dictatorship – I was part of a team investigating the cases of two families kidnapped by CIA and MI6 and sent to Gaddafi’s torture chambers.

09 November 2011
Britain helped bring her family to Gaddafi - now she is asking why

The daughter of a Libyan dissident who was imprisoned by Muammar Gaddafi following a rendition operation mounted with the help of MI6 has told how her family was flown across the world and held for months while her father was being tortured nearby.

24 October 2011
Centuries of open justice threatened by secret courts

by Andy McSmith and Kim Sengupta, The Independent, 19/10/11

19 October 2011
Justice and Security: an open or shut case

Comment is free, The Guardian, 19/10/11

19 October 2011
Kenneth Clarke plans secret court hearings to avoid revealing intelligence

by Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, 19/10/11

19 October 2011
Ken Clarke wants more secret hearings in courts

by Dominic Casciani, BBC News, 19/10/11

19 October 2011
Coalition's plans to keep torture evidence hidden

by Paddy McGuffin, The Morning Star, 19/10/11

19 October 2011
Gaddafi opponent sues British Government over his rendition to torture

An opponent of Colonel Gaddafi’s regime who was ‘rendered’ along with his wife and four young children to Libya by British security services in 2004 has begun legal action against the UK Government over its role in his ordeal.

07 October 2011
Listen to Clare Algar on Radio 4 on withdrawing from the Gibson enquiry

Listen to Reprieve's Executive Director Clare Algar, on Radio 4's World Tonight programme, talk about why Reprieve will not take part in the Gibson inquiry, and the problems surrounding it.

09 September 2011
We can't shrug off these claims of torture in Libya

The revelations from Libya show just how far we are from touching the bottom of British complicity in rendition and torture. For anyone who had hoped that, 10 years on from the catastrophic attacks on the United States which kicked off the "war on terror" we might be starting to come to terms with the abuses carried out in our name and put them behind us, the depressing news is that we seem to be further than ever from doing so.

06 September 2011
Sigrid Rausing Trust: Human rights coalition boycotts the Gibson Inquiry

Sigrid Rausing Trust, 09/08/11

09 August 2011
Why Reprieve is quitting the torture inquiry

Reprieve announced yesterday that we would not be taking part in the government's inquiry into collusion in torture and rendition by British security services.

05 August 2011
UK's secret policy on torture revealed

by Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 04/08/11

05 August 2011
We covered up our involvement in torture. Now we must expose it

by Peter Osborne, The Daily Telegraph, 04/08/11

05 August 2011
Campaigners to shun UK inquiry into detainee 'torture'

BBC News, 04/08/11

05 August 2011
Inquiry into claims Britain was complicit in torture will be toothless

by Jack Doyle, The Daily Mail, 04/08/11

05 August 2011
Why Reprieve is quitting the torture enquiry

by Clare Algar, The Guardian, 04/08/11

05 August 2011
Listen to Clare Algar and Malcom Rifkind debate the Torture Inquiry on Radio 5

Clare Algar and Malcolm Rifkind debate the need for transparency and its impact on national security.

04 August 2011
Watch Clare Algar speak to the BBC about withdrawing from the Torture Inquiry

Reprieve's Executive Director Clare Algar explains why human rights organisations, lawyers and victims are pulling out of the British Government's Detainee Inquiry.

04 August 2011
Listen to Clare Algar talking about withdrawing from the Torture Inquiry on BBC Today programme

Reprieve's Executive Director Clare Algar explains to BBC Radio 4's Evan Davis why human rights organisations, lawyers and victims are pulling out of the British Government's Detainee Inquiry.

04 August 2011
Human rights groups and victims abandon ‘toothless’ British torture inquiry

Ten leading human rights organisations, along with victims of torture and their lawyers, have today withdrawn from the British Government's Detainee Inquiry on the grounds that it cannot get to the truth about torture.

04 August 2011
High Court Judges Refuse to Free Yunus Rahmatullah

BBC News, 29/07/11

29 July 2011
Supreme court bans use of secret evidence to hide torture claims

by Owen Bowcott, The Guardian, 13/07/2011

14 July 2011
Will the NOTW Inquiry, Like Torture, be Quietly Buried?

Last week saw one of those little-noticed coincidences in British politics: as one inquiry into a very public scandal came struggling into the world, the slow death of another began.

14 July 2011
Reprieve comment on Supreme Court torture evidence judgement

The Guardian reports today on a Supreme Court judgement which has gone against MI5's attempts to cover up evidence that Guantánamo detainees had been tortured.

13 July 2011
Lawyers to boycott UK torture inquiry as rights groups label it a sham

by Ian Cobain and Richard Norton Taylor, The Guardian, 06/07/2011

08 July 2011
Spy chiefs to give evidence in public at torture inquiry

by Lewis Smith, The Independent, 07/07/2011

08 July 2011
Detainee Inquiry will be a whitewash unless Government reconsiders today's setup

The (Gibson) Detainee Inquiry published its terms of reference and protocol today. These fail notably to provide for a full and open evaluation of the way in which Britain was complicit in torture and rendition.

06 July 2011
UK 'must help release detainee' in Afghanistan, High Court told

by Dominic Casciani, BBC News, 23/06/2011

29 June 2011
Foreign Secretary William Hague and Defence Secretary Liam Fox in High Court today over role in unlawful detention

Legal action charity Reprieve is today [1030 Thursday 23 June] taking British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Defence Secretary Liam Fox to court over their role in the unlawful detention of a man rendered to an Afghan prison and held without charge for seven years.

22 June 2011
Hague’s sincerity in question over rendition comments

In an interview with Archbishop Rowan Williams published today, William Hague agreed that extraordinary rendition is ‘absolutely’ a ‘line in the sand’ in terms of an ethical foreign policy. However, the Foreign Secretary’s own department is currently fighting in the courts against providing basic legal rights to Yunus Rahmatullah, who was captured by the UK in Iraq and rendered to Afghanistan, where he has been held without charge in Bagram prison for seven years.

10 June 2011
Government risks hypocrisy by using courts to oppose rights for Yunus Rahmatullah

Clive Stafford Smith, Director of legal action charity Reprieve, is today writing to the Government to ask them to drop their legal opposition to providing basic rights to a man captured by UK forces and held without trial for seven years.

25 May 2011
Reprieve launches legal action to force the British government to release Yunus Rahmatullah from unlawful detention in Bagram, Afghanistan

The British government’s Ministry of Defence will be forced to appear in court today to justify the ongoing detention without trial of Yunus Rahmatullah in Bagram Internment Facility, Afghanistan.

17 May 2011
Former Guantanamo inmate Saad Iqbal Madni's 'agony'

by Orla Guerin, BBC News, 25/02/2011

25 February 2011
Inquiry will not get to truth about torture unless Prime Minister acts now

Reprieve is alarmed that the panel setting up the UK inquiry into torture complicity has refused to abide by international and domestic legal standards, claiming that it is bound only by what Prime Minister David Cameron has told it to do.

24 February 2011
Torture inquiry is legally flawed, say rights groups as NGOs ponder boycott

by Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 23/02/2011

23 February 2011
MPs urge inquiry chief to investigate ministerial complicity in torture

In a letter to Sir Peter Gibson, members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Renditions have strongly recommended the torture inquiry look into the actions of ministers and civil servants, as well as those of intelligence officers and members of the armed forces.

04 October 2010
Nine Human Rights Organizations And Lawyers’ Groups Propose Crucial Guidelines For British Torture Inquiry

by Andy Worthington, Eurasia Review, 15/09/2010

16 September 2010
Victims must be allowed to speak at torture inquiry, say civil rights groups

by Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 14/09/2010

15 September 2010
Letter to Sir Peter Gibson on the UK torture inquiry

An alliance of human rights NGOs has today written to the Chair of the inquiry into British government complicity in torture.

14 September 2010
The torture inquiry: justice must be seen to be done

Reprieve has challenged the appointment of Sir Peter Gibson as the Chair of the forthcoming inquiry into complicity in torture on the part of the intelligence services. I want to make the reasons for this very clear.

21 July 2010
Rights group: Remove UK torture inquiry judge

Tehran Times, 21/07/2010

21 July 2010
Reprieve: Torture inquiry chairman is 'compromised'

BBC News, 20/07/2010

21 July 2010
Torture inquiry judge urged to quit over bias claims

by Tim Shipman, The Daily Mail, 20/07/2010

21 July 2010
Judge leading torture inquiry has conflict of interest, legal charity says

by Sam Jones, The Guardian, 20/07/2010

21 July 2010
Letter calling on Sir Peter Gibson to stand down as torture inquiry judge

This is the text of Reprieve's letter to Sir Peter Gibson, asking him to reconsider his position. The fully referenced letter is attached below.

20 July 2010
Reprieve is seeking the disqualification of Sir Peter Gibson as the judge leading the UK’s inquiry into allegations of torture

In a letter copied to the Prime Minister, Reprieve has requested that Sir Peter Gibson step aside as the judge leading the Torture Inquiry, as his impartiality is fatally compromised.

20 July 2010
Watch Clive Stafford Smith talk about the torture inquiry on BBC News

Clive Stafford Smith talks about the Coalition Government's announcement of an inquiry into allegations of torture complicity.

14 July 2010
A Cautious Welcome for British Torture Inquiry

by Andy Worthington, Eurasia Review, 09/07/2010

12 July 2010
Reprieve is delighted by the announcement of an inquiry into allegations of torture complicity by the British secret services

Reprieve is delighted by the announcement of an inquiry on torture allegations, but insists 1) it cannot restore the reputation of the British security services unless its findings are made public and 2) the inquiry must address the official policy under which the intelligence agents were working at the time.

06 July 2010
A great week for Reprieve's fight against UK complicity in torture

Two of Reprieve’s anti-torture projects have turned a corner this week.

02 July 2010
Listen to Clare Algar talk about the planned torture inquiry on BBC Radio 4

Reports surfaced today that the government was planning an inquiry into allegations that British Security and Intelligence Services were complicit in torture.

30 June 2010
Reprieve is delighted by reports of a planned inquiry on torture allegations, and has written to the Coalition Government proposing an open and transparent structure under the Inquiries Act 2005

Reprieve has today written to the Coalition Government, proposing a structure for a full independent inquiry into allegations of complicity in torture by the British Intelligence and Security Services.

29 June 2010
Inquiry to be held into security service torture claims

BBC News, 29/06/2010

29 June 2010
Watch: Government to launch inquiry into British involvement in torture

Clare Algar talks to BBC News about the proposed inquiry

29 June 2010
Path cleared for inquiry into UK's role in torture

by Brian Brady, The Independent, 27/06/2010

28 June 2010
William Hague's torture inquiry: a prospectus

Truth and reconciliation, not criminal prosecution, are the best way of tackling the UK's woeful record on rendition and abuse.

24 May 2010
William Hague's torture inquiry: a prospectus

When it comes to British complicity in torture and rendition, for some years the Labour Government has put up stolid, rearguard action against the truth. Those who thought of Labour as the party of human rights will, perhaps, be sad that it has taken a coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to announce an inquiry.

21 May 2010
Reprieve welcomes Foreign Secretary William Hague’s announcement of a torture inquiry

William Hague has announced that an inquiry should be held into the allegations of British complicity in rendition and torture. This is timely and welcome, reflecting what should be a high priority for the coalition government.

21 May 2010
UK torture inquiry demanded by victims' care groups

by Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 22/04/2010

22 April 2010
Reprieve joins united call for an inquiry into the UK's involvement in extraordinary rendition and the mistreatment of detainees abroad

This letter to the British government from Reprieve, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, Amnesty International UK, Human Rights Watch and Liberty was sent today.

22 March 2010
MPs step up demands for inquiry into MI5 torture claims

by Richard Norton- Taylor, The Guardian, 15/03/10

16 March 2010
The spooks are being sold down the river

MI5 is at fault over torture, but its bosses refuse to be blamed for the decisions of politicians

15 March 2010
MI5 may face new torture inquiry

by David Leppard, The Times, 21/02/10

22 February 2010
Scottish involvement in Extraordinary Rendition

Reprieve welcomes the Scottish parliament’s decision to fully investigate the alleged use of Scottish airports to support the CIA’s illegal programme of enforced disappearance, illegal transfer and torture of prisoners in the ‘war on terror

09 November 2009
Britain's 'wall of secrecy'

by Andrew Wander, Al Jazeera English, 04/08/09

05 October 2009
MI5 'misled MPs during torture inquiry'

by Robert Verlaik, The Independent, 08/08/09

08 August 2009
Inquiry into torture of terror suspects looms over UK

Russia Today, 05/08/09

05 August 2009
Tories could hold independent inquiry into torture, says Hague

by Richard Norton-Taylor and Andrew Sparrow, The Observer, 04/08/09

04 August 2009
Let the sun shine on torture

Government officials should be the first group covered by freedom of information laws, not the last - especially when it comes to criminal acts.

20 June 2009
Ghost Detention on Diego Garcia: report for parliament

Reprieve's submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee detailing illegal rendition and detention on the British Overseas Territory of Diego Garcia.

20 May 2009
UN Report highly critical of rendition, torture and other abuses sanctioned by intelligence services; singles Britain out for specific criticism

In a report that has far-reaching implications for the mistreatment of Binyam Mohamed, Martin Scheinin (the UN Special Rapporteur on the Protection of Human Rights While Countering Terrorism) will present his report on intelligence agencies, and their lack of accountability on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 (it is previewed at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/10session/A.HRC.10.3.pdf).

09 March 2009
Watch: Reprieve demands inquiry into allegations that MI5 witnessed torture

Clare Algar talks about Binyam Mohamed on Channel 5.

08 March 2009
Reprieve insists government confession is ‘the tip of the renditions iceberg’; inquiry urgently needed

The British government today confirmed what Reprieve investigators uncovered many months ago: that the UK has colluded with the USA in the illegal practice of extraordinary rendition.

26 February 2009

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