Amnesty: A dangerous decision

Wednesday, 11, Jun 2008 12:00

Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, comments on the vote over 42-day detention:

"This is a dangerous and disappointing decision. No government minister should have the power to allow police to lock people up for six weeks without charge.

"Amnesty will now take the fight to the Lords. These are important human rights that are being taken away and we will do all we can to protect them. People have a right to be charged promptly or to be released: it's shocking that the law in the UK is moving further and further away from this basic principle.

"The idea that countering terrorism somehow requires removing or eroding basic guarantees of individual liberty and physical safety is a discredited one. The government should reject it once and for all.

"Instead of allowing people to be held for longer and longer without being charged, the government should bring counter-terrorism legislation into line with basic international standards which protect the rights of people in the UK."