Council of Europe releases Marty report - Tony Blair wants more summary justice .. more summary powers

Dick Marty (pic) has released his report on Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states. The report is scheduled for debate during the plenary session of the 630-member PACE in Strasbourg on Tuesday 27 June 2006.
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"At Guantanamo Bay, on the island of Cuba, several hundred people are being detained without enjoying any of the guarantees provided for in the criminal procedure of a state governed by the rule of law or in the Geneva Conventions on the law of war. These people have been arrested in unknown circumstances, handed over by foreign authorities without any extradition procedure being followed, or illegally abducted in various countries by United States special services. They are considered enemy combatants, according to a new definition introduced by the American administration.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has strongly criticised this state of affairs: on 26 April 2005, with no votes against and just five abstentions, it adopted a resolution (1433/2005) and recommendation (1699/2005) in which it urges the United States Government to put a stop to this situation and to ensure respect for the principles of the rule of law and human rights."

It would be nice to think that something will happen ... but it won't. These arrogant bastards in Downing Street will simply ignore any criticism.

This is (lawyer) Tony Blair in his much trumpeted On line interview on Monday with 2 journalists from the Guradian and the Daily Mail..

Michael White:

..... a lot of our e-mails say, yes but you are endangering civil liberties carelessly, you a lawyer of all people are doing this, and you know we can tackle crime but we don't tackle crime by behaving in ways in which are wrong and without due process.

Tony Blair :

... I am quite sure, based on the experience I have had in government, you cannot solve some of these law and order problems unless you are prepared, quite profoundly, to change and rebalance the system of criminal justice so that you have more summary justice, more summary powers, more ability for quick and effective action to be taken, even if it will cross the line that most people normally think of as there in terms of civil liberties. And my view is that you can decide that you are not going to do it for civil liberty reasons, decide it.

I other words ditch due process, the cumbersome rules of evidence, open courts, juries, ... summary justice ... summary powers.

Sounds suspiciously on the route to Guantanamo Bay.... and if plod shoots a terrist in his jim jams, well as my old nany used to say ... " They must be bad men or the policeman wouldn't have arrested them, would they ?"