Written Evidence on Extradition Select Committee referencing Talha Ahsan case #HLExtradition

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Talha Ahsan case also features  in a number of submissions of written evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee as a matter of  public concern by David Bermingham, Dr. Nisha Kapoor, Julia O’Dwyer, Arun Kundnani with Centre of Constitutional Rights (USA), Islamic Human Rights Commission and Frances Webber of Institute of Race Relations. Amnesty International have written objection to US supermax prisons & pre-trial long term isolation that Talha was subject to. Solicitor Kaim Todner had written criticisms and recommendations that apply to Talha in particular the abusive use of plea-bargaining by US prosecutors.

1. Arun Kundnani with Center for Constitutional Rights, Baher Azmy, Pardiss Kebriaei,  Sally Eberhardt, William P. Quigley, Laura Rovner, Saskia Sassen, Jeanne Theoharis

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Joint authored by

Baher Azmy
Legal Director
Center for Constitutional Rights

Sally Eberhardt

Researcher
Educators for Civil Liberties

 

Pardiss Kebriaei
Senior Staff Attorney
Center for Constitutional Rights

Arun Kundnani
Adjunct Professor of Political Science
John Jay College, City University of New York

William P. Quigley
Professor of Law
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

Laura Rovner
Ronald V. Yegge Clinical Director and Associate Professor of Law
University of Denver College of Law

Saskia Sassen
Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and Co-Chair, Committee on Global Thought
Columbia University

Jeanne Theoharis
Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Brooklyn College, City University of New York

 

2. Amnesty International on Supermax prisons & pre-trial solitary confinement

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3. David Bermingham – Natwest Three, Expert Witness on Extradition,  Author of A Price to Pay

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Page 4 onwards: “There have been a significant number of cases where the UK authorities not only had
jurisdiction to bring a case, but on any sensible analysis of the case most definitely should
have done if there were any evidence to support it. The case of the NatWest Three was
probably the first of such cases, but there have been many since, some truly shocking.
Perhaps the most egregious example was the case of Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan…”

 

4. Frances Webber – Chair of Institute of Race Relations

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Refers to the case of Talha Ahsan and Babar Ahmad as “a matter causing grave public concern.”

 

5. LIBERTY 

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  • “The cases of Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan further demonstrate the

perverse results that arise where discretion to block extraditions on forum grounds is
absent…” (p. 10)

  • “The zealous approach of US prosecutors was again highlighted recently

following the comments of US federal judge, Janet Hall, during the sentencing of
extradited Britons Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan…” (p. 16)

  • Reference to Talha Ahsan negative ECtHR case Babar Ahmad & Others – (p. 19) concluding:”The highly restrictive application of the ECHR in the extradition context
    means that it is an insufficient safeguard against oppressive extradition. Further,
    whilst it is essential that the judiciary grapple with human rights considerations before
    extraditions are granted, weighing up whether the projected treatment of a particular
    person in a foreign justice system meets ECHR requirements is an inherently
    complex and uncertain process and should not be regarded as a watertight safety
    net”

 

  • “In the absence of procedural safeguards over the past decade, increased

pressure has been placed on the human rights bar as the catch-all for extradition

injustice. For example, while solitary confinement and disproportionate sentencing
were clearly of valid concern in the Ahmad and Ahsan cases, the greater source of
perceived injustice was the issue of forum and the lack of evidence required for their
extradition. In some cases, judges have had to consider questions of procedural
injustice through the lens of the human rights bar leading to contorted results. By
restoring proper procedural discretion to the judiciary in extradition cases, these
outcomes can be avoided.” (p. 20)

 

6. Islamic Human Rights Commission 

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Particular focus on Talha Ahsan and Babar Ahmad with case for double-standards with Gary Mckinnon case.

 

7. Julia O’Dwyer – mother of Richard O’Dwyer

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Talha Ahsan case used as prime example of an unjust outcome.

 

8. Dr. Nisha Kapoor – researcher at University of Manchester, York and Duke. Co-editor of State of Race

 

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Key Reference to Talha Ahsan & Babar Ahmad case on issues of Extraterritorial jurisdiction and misuse of extradition

9. Kaim Todner solicitor

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No direct reference to Talha Ahsan case but key point on plea-bargain and recommendations directly relevent
“Another feature of US extradition that should be revised is the threat of draconian sentences and refusal of repatriation in order to force a guilty plea to a lesser crime with a reduced sentence and guaranteed repatriation. This is an example of the fact of extradition being used as coercive tool for a prosecutor to gain an advantage over a suspect that would not exist if the suspect was in their own Country facing their own justice system.”


10. Janis Sharp – mother of Gary Mckinnon

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“In the case of my son Gary McKinnon and in the case of Richard O’Dwyer, Talha Ahsan and others; the British Police handed over the alleged evidence to their US equivalents, otherwise it would have remained here in the U.K, thus giving the CPS the wherewithal to launch prosecutions against them here in the U.K, providing the evidence was strong enough to warrant it.” (page 4.)

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