‘Pak man can sue UK govt over his claims of illegal detention’
22 Nov 2014 4:58 AM IST
The high court in London on Thursday agreed that a claim for joint liability, with the US, against the ministry of defence can proceed in the UK courts for the alleged role of UK forces, ‘In the unlawful detention and torture of a Pakistani man detained for 10 years without charge or a trial’. The judgment handed by justice Leggatt found that ‘the UK Courts would be failing in their duty if they did not deal with the claims even if that involved the court making findings that US officials acted unlawfully’.
Rahmatullah alleged that, while in detention, he was subjected to torture and other serious mistreatment including severe assaults, incommunicado detention, exposure to extremes of temperature and sound, tear gas and long periods of darkness, being placed in a tiny ‘air lock’ cell, being kept naked with other detainees, being beaten on the soles of his feet with rubber flex and being immersed upside down into tanks of water.
The ministry of defence and the foreign office opposed the claim in the high court on the grounds that Britain had state immunity and were not responsible for a ‘foreign act of state’.
The case is the latest in a series of damages claims brought by civilians who allege they were mistreated by British forces in Iraq.
However, lawyers acting for Rahmatullah argued that the British forces released him into US custody knowing that they were likely to be subject to unlawful detention and torture and that they should share joint liability for the treatment of the men. Speaking about the abuse allegations justice Leggatt said, ‘The claims of Rahmatullah and the three Iraqi civilian claimants involve allegations of human rights’ violations of the utmost gravity’.
Sapna Malik from Leigh Day who represents Rahmatullah said, ‘It is now high time for the British government to abandon its attempts to evade judicial scrutiny of its conduct in operations involving the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that justice may finally be served for what has passed and lessons learned for the future’. Kat Craig, legal director at charity Reprieve which is assisting Rahmatullah said ‘Yunus Rahmatullah suffered some of the most shocking abuses of the ‘war on terror’ — now we know the government’s attempt to avoid accountability for his ordeal is without merit. The fact is that victims of British rendition and torture, like Yunus, deserve their day in the court.’
Rahmatullah alleged that, while in detention, he was subjected to torture and other serious mistreatment including severe assaults, incommunicado detention, exposure to extremes of temperature and sound, tear gas and long periods of darkness, being placed in a tiny ‘air lock’ cell, being kept naked with other detainees, being beaten on the soles of his feet with rubber flex and being immersed upside down into tanks of water.
The ministry of defence and the foreign office opposed the claim in the high court on the grounds that Britain had state immunity and were not responsible for a ‘foreign act of state’.
The case is the latest in a series of damages claims brought by civilians who allege they were mistreated by British forces in Iraq.
However, lawyers acting for Rahmatullah argued that the British forces released him into US custody knowing that they were likely to be subject to unlawful detention and torture and that they should share joint liability for the treatment of the men. Speaking about the abuse allegations justice Leggatt said, ‘The claims of Rahmatullah and the three Iraqi civilian claimants involve allegations of human rights’ violations of the utmost gravity’.
Sapna Malik from Leigh Day who represents Rahmatullah said, ‘It is now high time for the British government to abandon its attempts to evade judicial scrutiny of its conduct in operations involving the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that justice may finally be served for what has passed and lessons learned for the future’. Kat Craig, legal director at charity Reprieve which is assisting Rahmatullah said ‘Yunus Rahmatullah suffered some of the most shocking abuses of the ‘war on terror’ — now we know the government’s attempt to avoid accountability for his ordeal is without merit. The fact is that victims of British rendition and torture, like Yunus, deserve their day in the court.’
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