Judge quashes control order on suspect

The out of control Fat Controller, John Reid, has been defeated yet again in the courts over the government's ridiculous Control Orders on innocent people accused of being suspects. The Independent has the story here.

Judge quashes control order on terror suspects
By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
Published: 05 April 2007

The Government's anti-terror legislation was dealt a blow yesterday when a judge ruled that restrictions controlling the movements of a man suspected of terrorism had unlawfully deprived him of his liberty.

Mr Justice Beatson, sitting at the High Court in London, quashed a control order imposed by the Home Secretary, John Reid, on Mahmoud Abu Rideh, a Palestinian refugee. The Government said it would appeal against the ruling.

Abu Rideh is the second terror suspect this year to win a court case against the Government's anti-terrorism restrictions.

In February, the High Court ruled in favour of "E", another terror suspect whose daily life was subject to severe restrictions. A further three suspects are on the run; one is believed to have left the country.

Abu Rideh's lawyers told the court that restrictions amounted to degrading and inhuman treatment that had seriously affected his mental health.

During a recent High Court hearing of his case, Abu Rideh interrupted the proceedings and threatened to kill himself. He shouted: "I have no human rights in this country. Kill me like they killed Saddam... Do you want me to kill myself?" Abu Rideh, who has self-harmed on a number of occasions, pulled a packet from his pocket, saying "I have a razor", before members of his legal team intervened.

The judge said of the order on Abu Rideh: "Its cumulative effects in my judgment deprive [Abu Rideh] of liberty, and the Secretary of State has no power to make such an order."

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, the human rights group, said: "The control order regime is descending into tragic farce as we are subjected to an almost weekly diet of escapes or findings of illegality by the courts." She added: "The Government should end its obsession with new-fangled legal restrictions... and stick to charges, evidence and proof."