Statement in the New Statesman

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E Mail to let the Government Know How You Feel About Babar Ahmad
Babar Ahmad is a British citizen who has been detained without trial in the UK for almost 8 years facing extradition to the US for offences allegedly committed in the UK. All the evidence against him was collected in the UK with most of it being sent to the US before the Crown Prosecution Service could decide whether to prosecute him in the UK or not, a fact only admitted by the CPS in November 2011. It is only right that Babar be tried in the UK and not extradited to the US.

Please write to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, to demand that Babar Ahmad be immediately put on trial in the UK. Copies will also be sent to the Attorney General and the Home Secretary.

We encourage supporters to prepare their own letters using the above points. A sample letter is below for your convenience but a personalised letter always carries more weight.
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Dear Mr Starmer
                Re: Prosecution of Babar Ahmad
                I am writing to request that you order the Crown Prosecution Service to bring charges against Babar Ahmad and put him on trial immediately.
 
I have read the CPS update on the case dated 6 August 2012. I do not doubt the integrity of the CPS in its initial decision not to prosecute Mr Ahmad based on the limited documents the Metropolitan Police provided them with. The CPS is not to blame for the Metropolitan Police’s mishandling of the material seized from Mr Ahmad’s home and office.
 
However, I understand that you have for several months now been in possession of copies of all the material that our police sent to the US authorities and which forms the basis of the extradition request. I have also seen news reports that a British businessman Karl Watkin is commencing his own prosecution of Mr Ahmad and has sent you new evidence including admissions from Mr Ahmad of his involvement with the websites he is accused of operating.
 
While your predecessor based his decision not to prosecute Mr Ahmad in ignorance of the material sent to the US authorities, you have no such excuse. You are in a position to end this ongoing injustice by ordering the CPS to charge Mr Ahmad without any further delay. Given the enormous public interest reflected by the petition signed by almost 150,000 members of the British public and the new evidence provided to you by Mr Watkin, I request that you take on Mr Watkin’s prosecution.
 
I remind you of the words of Judge Timothy Workman, who ruled on Mr Ahmad’s case in 2005:
 
“This is a difficult and troubling case. The defendant is a British Citizen who is alleged to have committed offences which if the evidence were available, could have been prosecuted in this country."
 
You now have this evidence. Please act upon it and protect the integrity of our criminal justice system.
 
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
 
Yours sincerely,

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Send Email to European Court Now!

E Mail to Request European Court of Human Rights to re-examine Babar Ahmad’s case. Babar Ahmad is a British citizen who has been detained without trial in the UK for almost 8 years facing extradition to the US for offences allegedly committed in the UK. All the evidence against him was collected in the UK with most of it being sent to the US before the Crown Prosecution Service could decide whether to prosecute him in the UK or not, a fact only admitted by the CPS in November 2011. It is only right that Babar be tried in the UK and not extradited to the US. Please write to the European Court of Human Rights. ALL CORRESPONDENCE MUST BE SENT BEFORE 10th JULY. We encourage supporters to prepare their own letters using the above points. A sample letter is below for your convenience but a personalised letter always carries more weight. PLEASE USE A VALID NAME & E MAIL ADDRESS Thank you for your support!

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Please customise text if you wish * Judge Sir Nicholas Bratza President of the European Court of Human Rights Council of Europe 67075 Strasbourg Cedex France Dear Judge Bratza Re: Babar Ahmad and Others v. United Kingdom (24027/07) I urge you to accept the referral of the Babar Ahmad case to the Grand Chamber for the following reasons: 1. The ECtHR considered the Babar Ahmad case since June 2007 before it delivered its judgement on 10 April 2012, i.e. almost a full five years. In late 2011, the ECtHR knowingly accepted false evidence from the UK Government that ADX Florence prisoners spend an average of 3 years in solitary confinement before entering the ‘Step-Down’ program to end their isolation. However, when Babar Ahmad’s lawyers submitted accurate rebuttal evidence to the ECtHR that dozens of ADX Florence prisoners have been in solitary confinement for over 10 years (with several there for over 15 years), the ECtHR refused to accept this evidence on the basis that there was not enough time to consider it. (This despite the ECtHR considering the Babar Ahmad case since June 2007, i.e. almost five years). I find it inexcusable that the ECtHR chose to conduct the proceedings in this case in such a biased manner by hearing only one side of the argument. 2. I am puzzled why the ECtHR refused to even consider submissions on solitary confinement by the eminent Professor Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. I am particularly disturbed that the ECtHR ruled in its Chamber judgement of 10 April 2012 that the ADX Florence prison regime does not amount to isolation because its inmates can shout to each other through the “ventilation system.” I am concerned that this sets a dangerous precedent for EU citizens who may end up in prisons in the developing world. 3. On 20 April 2012, 10 days after the judgement in the case was delivered, the UK Attorney-General Dominic Grieve QC MP unashamedly admitted to the Law Society Gazette that the European Court was already showing “greater responsiveness” to the concerns of the UK’s national courts, parliament and public opinion – for example in its Abu Hamza extradition judgement. I am shocked that a supposedly independent judicial court such as the ECtHR has allowed itself to be manipulated and influenced by UK politicians and the tabloid press. 4. I find it incredible that the ECtHR concluded in this case that imposing an irreducible whole life sentence e on Babar Ahmad would “not be grossly disproportionate” (Paragraph 243 of Chamber judgement) even though he has not been accused of a capital offence, in which someone was killed. It is irresponsible of the ECtHR to lump together distinct cases as one without considering the individual facts of each case. Babar Ahmad is the longest detained-without-trial British citizen in the modern history of the UK, having been held in prison since August 2004 (8 years). In late 2011, over 149,000 members of the British public signed an official UK Government e-petition supporting Babar Ahmad’s right to be tried in Britain. The ECtHR has one last opportunity to put an end to this historic injustice. I therefore urge you in the strongest possible terms, in the interests of justice and human rights, to have the Grand Chamber re-examine this case. Thank you. Yours sincerely

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