Judges agree to what any sane person could see: information about his treatment cannot be called 'intelligence'

At long last, two high court judges have told the government what any sane person already knew: issuing yet another judgment in Binyam Mohamed's case, the judges said that no rational person can argue that evidence of torture qualifies as intelligence. by Clive Stafford Smith

"It cannot be suggested," the judges wrote, "that information as to how officials of the US government admitted treating [Mohamed] during his interrogation is information that can in any democratic society governed by the rule of law be characterised as 'secret' or as 'intelligence'."

No indeed. The material at stake relates to Mohamed's "allegation that he had been subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment…"

I have seen the material, though I cannot reveal it to you. But the judges tell us that these are "reports by officials of the United States Government … [that] amount to admissions by those officials of the way in which … [Mohamed was treated]. Given their source and detail, they would … amount to powerful evidence" against the United States and, perhaps, Britain.

So it would be an irrational person, the judges ruled, who would pretend that this material was classified. Rather, it is evidence of the crime of torture. As usual, the government is conflating national security with national embarrassment, in order to spare their own blushes.

So why does David Miliband argue so earnestly that it should be suppressed, and why is he now intent on appealing the judgment to keep this evidence secret?

On the news tonight, I watched Miliband argue that a British court cannot reveal the evidence because the American government "owns this material" and has refused permission to release it. Of course, Mohamed owns his body, and did not give the Americans permission to torture him.

The Americans own the details of their torture of Mohamed in the same way that a criminal "owns" the money that he stole from the bank.

Earlier, Miliband issued an official statement. The issue was as clear as it was profound, he said, and nothing to do with covering up torture: it was about never passing intelligence on without permission. "We only share British intelligence with other countries on the basis that they will not disclose that intelligence without our express permission," he said.

Of course, it is undisputed that while Mohamed was being held in Morocco, tortured with a razor blade, MI5 sent secret questions and photographs to the Americans that they wanted put to him. Thus, if Mr Miliband's profound principle was at work then, the British "expressly" wanted the Americans to pass the material to the Moroccan torturers.

Miliband says that he is not trying to cover up torture, and it can all be sorted out in Mohamed's "separate legal claim … against the government." If he really means this, I assume his lawyers will contact us next week, admit that Mohamed was tortured, and concede the case. Much as this would be welcome, you might be advised not to hold your breath.

Sad to say, the obsession with keeping torture secret has infected civil servants as well as politicians. Jonathan Evans, the director general of MI5, claimed today in a speech in Bristol that "we are an accountable public organisation".

Perhaps.

 www.guardian.co.uk, to read full click view

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