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.

Reprieve -- together with other NGOs -- made a number of suggestions on how the inquiry
could work, before these protocols were made public, but these were largely
ignored. Instead, the government has consistently maintained that this inquiry need not comply with UK and international legal requirements for the effective investigation of serious human rights abuse. According to today's announcement, the Inquiry will suffer from several key shortcomings:

First, the definition of evidence that will remain classified forever is
hopelessly overbroad. Set out in Annex A, this effectively includes anything
that would in any way breach an "understanding" between the UK and its
allies – in other words, anything the Americans would find embarrassing will
not be made public. If – when -- a British agent watched Americans abusing
a prisoner in a secret site (such as Bagram), the Inquiry will determine
that the agreement was that they were only present on the "understanding"
that nothing should be made public. Given that the essence of British
complicity involves working with the US on torture and rendition, the
exception to publicity swallows the rule.

Second, there is no meaningful, independent (preferably judicial) review of
what should be kept secret. The Inquiry may only refer its own complaints
(based on a definition that would justify classifying anything) to the very
body that has previously insisted on secrecy. Unlike other inquiries where
victims have made serious allegations of torture, the victims will not have
meaningful legal representation. Their advisers will be denied access to any
documents or hearings deemed secret by the inquiry.

Third, the Inquiry is left toothless due to a lack of powers to compel the
attendance of witnesses or the provision of evidence or information from any
party or organisation. Notably, the inquiry has refused to consider evidence
against UK based corporations with alleged links to the US rendition
program.

There are a number of other issues that are not resolved, and have not been
addressed by the protocol. In summary, the vast majority of what is secret
will remain secret and the public will receive no assurance that Britain has
learned from its mistake.

Reprieve's director Clive Stafford Smith said:  "Sadly this is a whitewash
where a lot of legal language hides the fact that virtually nothing will be
made public that is not already in the public domain. The government has a
pattern of revisiting contentious issues – of 'listening' – and we can only
hope that it does not give up on the habit now."

"National security continues to be conflated with political embarrassment
in this process. This is meant to be an inquiry into British complicity into
torture and rendition, almost all of which was complicity with the
Americans. Yet these terms give America a veto on much of what should be
public."

Notes to editors

1. For further information please contact Donald Campbell in Reprieve's
press office on +44 (0) 7791 755 415 / donaldreprieve@gmail.com

2. The Detainee Inquiry's Terms of Reference and Protocol can be found on
their [2]website: http://www.detaineeinquiry.org.uk/2011/07/news-release-terms-of-reference-and-protocol-published

Reprieve, a legal action charity, uses the law to enforce the human rights
of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay. Reprieve investigates,
litigates and educates, working on the frontline, to provide legal support
to prisoners unable to pay for it themselves. Reprieve promotes the rule of
law around the world, securing each person's right to a fair trial and
saving lives.

Clive Stafford Smith is the founder of Reprieve and has spent 25 years
working on behalf of people facing the death penalty in the USA.

Reprieve's current casework involves representing 33 prisoners in the US
prison at Guantánamo Bay, working on behalf of prisoners facing the death
penalty, and conducting ongoing investigations into the rendition and the
secret detention of 'ghost prisoners' in the so-called 'war on terror.'