What is 42 day detention?
42 day detention is part of the new counter terrorism bill that the British government is trying to pass. The bill successfully made it’s way through the House of Commons thanks to the last minute help of the Democratic Unionists. We do not know what the Democratic Unionists were offered in return for their votes but it has been suggested that honours and titles may have been on the shopping list. The bill aims to extend the amount of time that a terrorist suspect can be held without charge from 28 days to 42 days. The bill needs to pass through the House of Lords before it becomes law. To date it has received its first and second reading and is to go through it’s review stage this week.
Why does Britain want to increase the amount of time they can detain terrorist suspects?
Since the Twin Tower attacks and even more so since the London Bombings the British government has been trying to push through legislation that they claim is there to protect us but infact erodes civil liberties. Currently terrorist suspects can be held for up to 28 days without charge, this was extended from 14 days in an amendment to the 2000 counterterrorism bill in 2006
42 days was a dream of Tony Blair’s, he attempted to have the term extended several times during his leadership and failed. His first suggestion after the bombings was to allow 90 days without detention, this seems to be of the table for the time being but if 42 days is allowed it is possible that eventually the government will start to push for 90 days again.
The argument it seems is that today’s terrorists are a lot harder to track down, a lot harder to identify and evidence takes a lot longer to view and process. But this argument is flawed, the detention limit has already been extended since the times of the IRA, the last IRA terrorism case was investigated in 2001. So why 42 days? I’ve heard rumours that it’s the time it takes to search a hard drive but haven’t been able to substantiate this anywhere.
Strangely supporters of the new bill claim that their support of it is in support of civil liberties, quoting Gordon Brown:
“…our first principle is that there should always be a maximum limit on pre-charge detention. It is fundamental to our civil liberties that no one should be held arbitrarily for an unspecified period. After detailed consultation with the police, and examination of recent trends in terrorist cases, we propose the upper limit of 42 days.”
Source
This statement does show Mr. Brown’s current commitment to ‘Habeas Corpus’ protection from indefinite detention without legal hearing which has been enshrined in the Magna Carter since 1626. The Magna Carter is the closest thing that the UK has to a constitution and there are still some parts of it that even the elected politicians still feel a need to protect. Having said that 42 day detention does seem to be pushing the boundaries of this agreement further and is a part of a gradual erosion of this long standing right.
Who can they detain?
What is unclear in the new bill is what exactly constitutes a terrorist. It wasn’t so long ago that having an Irish accent would have been enough to arouse suspicion. These days it could be because of the colour of your skin. If they don’t require enough evidence to charge you how much evidence do they require? We can only refer to some recent cases where ‘suspects’ have been detained to see what kind of situation can lead to someone being a suspect.
Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza were arrested back in May 2008 under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 - on suspicion of the "instigation, preparation and commission of acts of terrorism". Their crime? A document called ‘The Al Qaida Training Manual’ was found on their office computer. A document that is freely
available on the US Department of Justice website and also in printed form on Amazon. A document which was part of Rizwaan’s PHD research.
The two suspects were held for 6 days without charge. If you read Rizwaan’s account of these six days you will find that even this relatively short period can be very distressing. You can read more about what happened to them here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/16/uksecurity.terrorism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/18/terrorism.civilliberties
What process do the British Police have to go through to detain a suspect for 42 days?
The decision to extend detention to 42 days rests with the home secretary, backed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the police. A senior judge then must approve it. It does seem like a lot of red tape but no matter how many safeguards you put in place I’m not sure how any of them it alright to detain someone without charge.
If Britain has already allowed armed police to shoot to kill, which led almost immediately to the killing of Jean Charles de Menzes in the name of anti terrorism,
If the police already have the power to stop and search anyone they choose, again in the name of anti – terrorism, we can only assume that they will soon be using their new detention powers as a matter of course.
How does it affect Irish people?
The new laws will affect anyone travelling in the UK. As I mentioned earlier in the article it used to be the case that having an Irish accent could be enough to label you as a terrorist suspect. Unless there is a sudden resurge in terrorist activity here or in the North it is unlikely that any white Irish citizen will feel the full brunt of this legislation. Ireland has become a very different place since the Good Friday agreement. It has opened it’s arms to welcome new people of all races, there are more and more Irish citizens who are not white, who are not Catholic and we as a nation need to protect their rights here and abroad.
Ireland has a habit of following British legislation both bad and good, when Britain started talking about ID cards it wasn’t long before the idea was floated here. Civil partnerships thankfully look like they could soon become a reality here after their success in the UK. But do we want to add the infringement on civil liberties that 42 day detention represents to this list?
This is not the first time that the UK has attempted to stifle a terrorist threat by using detention without charge. Internment, the power to detain suspected criminals indefinitely without charge, is still so fresh in the Irish collective memory it can hardly be called history. The power was used against Irish citizens from the Easter rising onwards and was most recently enacted in 1971, it was then as is now supported by politicians from all parties. The arguments put fourth in favour of internment in 1971 sound strikingly similar. Quoting Northern Irish Prime Minister Brian Falkener:
“‘The terrorists’ campaign continues to an unacceptable level and I have had to conclude that the ordinary law cannot deal comprehensively or quickly enough with such ruthless violence.
“I have therefore decided… to exercise where necessary the powers of detention and internment vested in me as Minister of Home Affairs”
He went on to say that the decision had been made to protect life and property and the main target would be members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Source.
Over 300 Irish people were immediately arrested and jailed. Documents released by the British government it 2002 as part of the 30 year-rule show that this move has been considered one of the biggest mistakes of the troubles. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1737078.stm
It was a mistake that led to the alienation of the Catholic community, which only fuelled their hostility towards the British more. Re enacting this mistake can only serve to alienate large swathes of the British population again.
It is a bitter and raw piece of Irelands recent history and to see the same measures being hailed as a solution to the current wave of terrorism should strike fear into all of our hearts.
Join the protest ‘Ireland against 42 day Detention’ this Friday 10th October 2008 at the British Embassy between 5 and 6pm.
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