Charity sues government (UK) over 'rendition' of two men handed by British to US forces

August 17, 2009

Charity sues government over 'rendition' of two men handed by British to US forces

A legal charity is suing the Government in connection with the extraordinary rendition of two men arrested in Iraq, passed to the US authorities and held at a detention centre in Afghanistan for the past five years.

Clive Stafford Smith, director of Reprieve, said in a statement today that at least one of the detainees is suffering from serious mental problems because of alleged mistreatment at Bagram air force base.

“These two men have been held in appalling conditions for five years, and for all that time the British Government chose to do nothing,” he said.

The Government has admitted its involvement in extraordinary rendition but failed to give the two men their legal rights, according to Mr Stafford Smith.