JURIST Supported by the University of Pittsburgh
PAPER CHASE NEWSBURSTDigest RSS feedFull RSS feed
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Friday, December 30, 2005

Former UK ambassador leaks confidential torture documents
James M Yoch Jr at 1:24 PM ET

[JURIST] Defying a gag order by the UK Foreign Office [official website], former British ambassador [BBC report] to Uzbekistan [JURIST news archive] Craig S. Murray has posted two documents to his weblog suggesting that despite government denials, the British government knowingly received intelligence information obtained by torture. The first document is a collection of telegrams sent from Murray between 2002 and 2004 in which he raised concerns that the information from Uzbek security forces was being extracted through torture. The second document is a letter from a Foreign Office legal advisor that cites to the UN Convention Against Torture [text] but opines that receiving and possessing information obtained by torture is not illegal, although admitting it as evidence would likely not be permitted. Murray, who was forced out of his position last year after becoming an outspoken critic of Uzebekistan's human rights record, was denied clearance to refer to the documents in a book. He has urged other bloggers to post the materials on their own sites. Earlier this month the UK House of Lords ruled that the UK courts were indeed prohibited from using evidence possibly obtained through torture [JURIST report; Murray op-ed on the case], and that the government had to indicate where evidence against suspected terrorists had been obtained. The Independent has more.






Link |  | print | subscribe | RSS feeds | latest newscast | Facebook page

For more legal news check the Paper Chase Archive...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 Hungary prosecutors charge accused Nazi with war crimes
1:19 PM ET, June 18

 ICC grants Kenya VP's request to skip parts of upcoming trial
12:23 PM ET, June 18

 Libya senior judge assassinated outside courthouse
9:29 AM ET, June 18

 click for more...

Get JURIST legal news delivered daily to your e-mail!

LATEST FORUM

Is Egypt's Stance on the Blue Nile Dam Legally Justified?
DOMESTIC
Zeray Yihdego
University of Aberdeen School of Law

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@jurist.org