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UK terrorist pre-charge detention powers—which the government is proposing to extend still further—already far exceed those in other comparable democracies, a new Liberty study shows.
The research, Terrorism Pre-charge Detention—Comparative Law Study, based on advice and assistance from lawyers and academics around the world, looked at 15 countries, including past and current potential terror targets such as the US, Spain, Russia, and Turkey.
None of these countries is allowed to hold terror suspects without charge for anything close to the 28 days British police are allowed, and yet the government is currently pushing to raise the limit to 56 days.
The US constitution limits pre-charge detention to 48 hours, Russian police are allowed to detain without charge for five days, while Turkish criminal law only permits 7.5 days’ detention before charge.
The report’s editor, Jago Russell, says the study provides further evidence that an increase beyond 28 days can not be justified.
“How can our government argue that the UK needs to hold people for over a month when the US can only hold people for two days and Canada just one?,” he says.
Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti says: “Ministers have rightly lectured generals in Burma and Pakistan about their rights record, but human rights, like charity, begins at home.”
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