Happy 4th of July

[mrph]

So, two of the British prisoners in Guantanamo bay now face military trials (of, shall we say, questionable fairness...?) and a possible death sentence,

This is a little bit dubious in itself. When you think about the low standards of "proof" used in the shambolic case against Lofti Raissi (has anyone in the US heard of him, btw?), who was almost sent to Guantanamo (mostly for being an Algerian with a pilots licence, it seems), it looks even worse.

Now consider that one of the two men about to face trial, Moazzam Begg, wasn't even in Afghanistan when arrested - he was seized in Pakistan (where he was either consorting with terrorists or visiting family, depending on who you speak to), then taken over the border and held in Afghanistan before being shipped to Guantanamo. Very dodgy indeed.

[Anyone know what happened to the six Bosnian muslims sent there, btw? The ones who won their extradition hearing as the US (according to the court) produced no credible evidence, and were then handed over anyway, due to diplomatic pressure?]

But hey, let's not worry. We won't see any more Raissi/Bosnia style courtroom farces in the UK. Blunkett and Blair agreed a new treaty, a month or two back - the US government no longer has to produce any evidence to extradite people from the UK. They just have to name names.. We trust them, you see (and as one newspaper pointed out today, there's nothing to stop them from asking for Lofti Raissi again, if they want him).

Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel a sudden need to go play New Model Army's 51st State very loudly.

Edit: oh, and just to clarify. That new treaty's not mutual. If we want to extradite Americans, we still need to convince a US court that we have a case. Because they rightly believe that anything less would turn over their citizens wellbeing to a dodgy foreign court.

Comments

[the_axel]

It's funny - in some ways Canada seems a lot closer to the US, but the UK gov't is a lot more given to licking the US gov't arse.
By comparison to this, f'r instance, for the Americans to extradite somebody from Canada the US prosecutors pretty much have to guarantee not to seek the death penalty before a Canadian court will even consider the request.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's supposed to be the one caveat here, too - at least for cases that go through the normal/civilian courts on both sides. I don't know quite how it applies to the legal limbo of Guantanamo - I'd assume that if they're handed over through the UK justice system, the guarantee's still there, though.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

I used to tell Brits that they could just line up and be the 52nd state because Canada got there first, but over the last year or so that's changed a lot. The Canadians government now seems to be doing everything it possibly can to piss off the Americans. Which I find terribly amusing.

[the_axel]

That change started as soon as Dubya was given the crown.

Chretien is an ornery git at the best of times.
Dubya's first meeting with another head of state was with the Mexican President and I think that put his nose right out of joint.

Then add in all the reasons the US government gives Canadians to be pissed off (and there's a lot) and it's not really a big surprise.