“House of Lords strikes down indefinite detention of terrorist suspects”
Following 9/11, the UK government detained foreign nationals suspected of terrorism indefinitely at Belmarsh prison without trial under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. The detainees could not be deported due to risk of torture in their home countries. Nine detainees challenged their indefinite detention as incompatible with human rights.
Whether indefinite detention without trial of foreign terrorist suspects was compatible with Articles 5 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and whether the derogation from Article 5 was justified by a public emergency.
The detention was discriminatory and disproportionate, violating Articles 5 and 14 ECHR. The court issued a declaration of incompatibility under s.4 Human Rights Act 1998.
This case demonstrated the judiciary's willingness to scrutinize executive actions during national emergencies and reinforced that human rights protections cannot be easily set aside, even for national security concerns.
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OSCOLA Citation
A v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56, [2005] 2 AC 68
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