Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Fast Tracked Laws (subtitled)

Fast Tracked Laws.
Fast Tacked To Where. (Guantanamo Bay, Secret Prisons, or just Good Ol' US Ones?)
Fast Tracked To What. (American Justice?)
Fast Tracked To Whom. (A trusted partner?)

Or is that the new euphemism for riding rough shod over due process?

White collar criminals have been the main targets of draconian of new British "fast tracked" laws designed to speed up the extradition of terrorists to the US.
No alleged terrorists have yet to face US courts using the new rules which allow suspects to be sped through British courts without American prosecutors having to show a reasonable case against them.

The legislation brought in as a response to the September 11 attacks has seen the time taken from the arrest of a suspect to their removal for trial in America drop from nearly three years to just over eleven months.
But the home office admits that none of the twenty nine suspects so far sent to the US are alleged terrorists.

The new statistics are set to reignite the row over over the extradition of the so called Nat West Three were sent to the Us last July and charged with fraud relating to the collapsed energy giant Enron.
The row flared after British authorities investigating the alleged offences found their was no case to answer. snip.

Also included was Jeremy Crook, an IT executive who was flown shackled to to US agents to America in September last year. He is due to stand trial in August next year.

Last October the government defended the treaty because it was "dealing with a trusted partner." But Tory MPs said the law was weighted against UK citizens. They said British authorities had to produce prima facia evidence showing "probable cause" to extradite an American, but the US had only to show that allegations had been made. snip

Five terror suspects are currently fighting extradition to the US, but of the fifty five "fast track" cases cases in the past three years, nine out of ten suspects are facing non-terror charges in the US. During the same period Britain has asked for just fourteen people from America.

To borrow a phrase, "Mister Blair, why do you hate Britain?" Just go, you shabby little man.

From a print article, Mail on Sunday, Feb 18 2007. "White Collar criminals sent to US by terror extradition law." by Jason Lewis.
Emphasis mine.

Update.
the sole reason for his detention was a US extradition request.

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