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Updated 10.15am
THE EUROPEAN COURT of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled the detention of three Irish citizens who had been suspected of terrorist offences was not in breach European Convention on Human Rights.
Gabriel Magee, Colin Francis Duffy and Teresa Magee, who live in Belfast, Lurgan and Craigavon respectively, were arrested on the same day in 2009.
Gabriel and Teresa Magee were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of a police officer. Duffy was arrested for his suspected involvement in the murder of two soldiers.
After their initial arrests, no charges were brought against Gabriel or Teresa Magee. Duffy was charged for the murder of the two soldiers and five other attempted murders but was later cleared of all charges in 2012.
Detention period extended
These arrests were made under the UK’s Terrorism Act. The normal length a prisoner is allowed to be held for without charge is 48 hours. The Director of Public Prosecutions in the UK sought extensions to this to allow for forensic tests to be carried out.
After being arrested, the three individuals involved in this incident sought a judicial review of the decision by a County Court judge to extend their detention beyond 48 hours.
The High Court ruled that the initial decision should have considered the lawfulness of the arrests, and as this was not taken into account, the decision to extend their detention was quashed.
All three were then released, having spent 12 days in detention.
They had a complaint that Schedule 8 of the UK’s Terrorism Act – which defines the terms for detention – was incompatible with articles in the European Convention of Human Rights that outline entitlement to a trial within a certain time frame and release pending trial.
This complaint was rejected in 2011 by the High Court, allowing for the case to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Relying in particular on Article 5 and 3 – the right to liberty and security / entitlement to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial – the three complained
their detention under the UK’s Terrorism Act had been incompatible with the rules governing lawful arrest and detention under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ECHR ruled that there was no violation of either Articles in respect of Mr and Ms Magee.
The court further declared inadmissible Duffy’s application as well Mr and Ms Magee’s complaint under Article 5 and 2 of the Convention – the right to be informed of the reasons for arrest.
Controversial law
The UK Terrorism Act 2000 has previously drawn controversy surrounding the additional powers it has given to police enforcement.
In 2005, Sally Cameron was arrested for four hours under the act after walking on a cycle path.
In 2008, a 12-year-old autistic boy with cerebral palsy was was detained along with his parents after the family were suspected of child trafficking. Kent Police later apologised for the incident.
Originally published at 6am. Additional reporting Christina Finn
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The new Tory Govt plan to remove the human rights act which ties the UK to the principles of the UN declaration on human rights, no doubt this will be perfect for situations like the above,
Milošević, Hitler and Pinochet will rejoice in their graves!
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/433245/We-ll-end-this-human-rights-madness-pledges-David-Cameron
Your comment is a bit over the top. They’re opening a debate on what needs to change so that in the future they can deal with people like Abu Hamza. So a convicted terrorist who pushes the likes of ISIS agenda cannot use yours or mine human rights to hide behind.
All they’re talking about is trying to find a balance between due process and protecting society. They’re not talking about getting rid of everyone’s human rights, summary govt justice or govt random vigilantism.
If you look at the reasons given in your link it has to be said that Cameron has a strong case.
This is the same specious logic the US used to bring in the Patriot acts. And many Americans were surprised to find they also applied to them and not just “Terrorists” Because thats how it works, When we strip away the rights of some, we are in fact striping away the rights of all
If new justice minister Michael Gove gets his way then England will bring back hanging…
Some think it’s ok to detain people for days or weeks without charge till it happens to themselves – then it is to late to complain-
British intelligence have files on most known terrorists and their activities. Perhaps this time these people were wrongfully arrested but how did they get on the “known” list in the first place.
British intelligence is amongst the dumbest in the world- and that’s saying something- maybe you don’t remember weapons of mass destruction in Iraq-etc- or the Provos setting off one tonne bombe in the industrial centres of London and Manchester- to be in MI5 / 6 is to be a idiot-
You have taken my quote completely assways. Do you not agree that if a terrorist bomb goes off and a person is arrested within hours that said person would have previous.
Surely nobody has an automatic entitlement to release pending trial or else nobody could ever be held on remand. Pathetic bringing a case to such high courts over what are essentially just technicalities anyway. Bobby Sands would be horrified – 12 days detention and off crying to courts that regard as illegitimate to begin, they should don’t make cold blooded terrorists like they used to.
Egg head were they convicted for being terrorist’s??
Dumb-ass statement. Can I suggest some light reading? 1st – Bunreacht na hÉireann articles 38.1 and 40.4.
2nd European convention on human rights Articles 3 and 5. – they’re not long – will take you 5 min.
It safeguards wholly innocent people (like these 3) from being unlawfully detained on the basis that the ends justify the means.
Colin Duffy, the former PIRA volunteer, is wholly innocent? People can be detained pending trial with the permission of the courts, it’s called being held on remand and is really quite common. Should Graham Dwyer have been staying in Foxrock or Mountjoy while awaiting his trial?
Innocent in the eyes of the law doesn’t mean they haven’t committed crimes.
They obviously felt they had a case and our Western freedoms provide them a legal framework to test issues like this in the European Court. I can’t imagine they’d have much luck trying to bring a case like this in Iran or Saudi Arabia.
That said, I’ve no sympathy for Collin Duffy, he’s a trouble maker wherever he goes, stirring up hatred, and his violent preaching is putting youngsters in jail and putting Protestants & Catholics lives in danger across the North.
Plus his actions give loyalists a handy target to point at as evidence that “they haven’t gone away ya know”.
It’s time he fo0ked off back to The Shire with his beard and pipe!
When bombings and gun attacks for political reasons in NI stop completely then so will house raids, stop and search, arrests and imprisonment. Try asking a republican dissident about what they refer to as ‘normalisation’.
So it is political after all
The ongoing violence is politically motivated, they seek political leverage, violence is their method. Same as during the troubles.
House raids have been conducted in Ireland for centuries by the British occupying forces. I support the GFA today, but once again i find myself responding to a person who ignores the cause of the conflict in Ireland. There are those who will continue armed actions. The root cause is British control of the North.
Partition needs to end.
Some people think that shooting and blowing up people is normal. They also think that governments interfering in such murderous activities is an infringement on their human rights.
I’m still trying to phantom how a woman walking on a cycle path could be arrested and held for four hours under the terrorism act ?
My recollection was that the cycle path was inside or beside a nuclear power station and was subject to access restrictions which she was alleged to have breached.
Maybe she was peddling secrets.
Patrick , thanks for the that .
Patrick , thanks for that
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