US bows on UK detainees

2003-07-23 10:01

London - The United States on Wednesday appeared to have bowed to British government pressure over the fate of two Britons detained at the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba after Britain's attorney-general said US prosecutors would not seek to have the pair executed.

Attorney-general Peter Goldsmith, speaking late on Tuesday, said British nationals Feroz Abbasi and Moazzam Begg, accused by the United States of being members of al-Qaeda, would not face the death penalty should a US-style military commission find them guilty.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair took up the matter of the death penalty with US President George W Bush during a visit to Washington last week.

Blair signalled on Sunday his willingness to let a US military commission try British citizens detained at Guantanamo, so long as its rules met British standards and the death penalty was not sought.

Earlier this month the US administration announced that an initial list of six foreign suspects held at the base could face secret trials before a US military commission.

Washington said all six were members of al-Qaeda, the group blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, or otherwise involved in "terrorism".

Two of the six were later identified by their families as British citizens Abbasi, 23 and Begg, 35.

"On the military commissions, the US has assured us that the prosecution will not seek the death penalty in the cases of Feroz Abbasi and Moazzam Begg," Goldsmith said in a written statement following talks in Washington with US officials on Tuesday.

Goldsmith described the talks as "constructive", adding that "significant progress" had been made.

He said legal proceedings against the pair remained suspended pending further discussions and announced that he would return shortly to Washington to resume talks.

Goldsmith's statement, issued in London, added that British officials were continuing to discuss with US officials the possible repatriation of Abbasi and Begg should they be found guilty.

"The US and UK will actively consider a mutually satisfactory arrangement to transfer any British national sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a military commission to serve his sentence in the UK, to the extent feasible in accordance with US and UK law," the statement said.

Goldsmith said Abbasi and Begg would be represented by a US civilian lawyer of their own choosing, subject to security clearance, in any trial.

"A UK lawyer will be able to serve as a consultant on the defence team," he said, adding that the trials of the British would be made public.

Stephen Jakobi, director of the British campaigning group Fair Trials Abroad, welcomed the death penalty decision but described the remainder of the deal as no more than "a fig leaf".

"Everything depends on the mode of trial. Running around getting odd concessions like legal representation is totally meaningless if the trial is fundamentally unfair," he said.

Goldsmith "has come back with the odd fig leaf on a very ugly situation having made no progress on what really matters", Jakobi added.

At the US state department, spokesperson Richard Boucher said US officials have been "talking very closely" with British and Australian government officials about their nationals detained in Guantanamo.

Goldsmith "has been talking to a lot of people around town about the situation there and how the legal issues can be handled", Boucher said.

"We are actively considering all these legal issues and trying to work with the other governments involved to make sure that their concerns are satisfied," he added.

A total of nine Britons, captured during the US "war on terror", are among 600 detainees being held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay.

An ICM poll published in London on Wednesday found that 56 percent of Britons want the British detainees to stand trial at home.

- AFX