UK’s Blair to be sued over rendition

According to the Daily Mail, lawyers for Abdel Hakim Belhadj and Sami al-Saadi are preparing a case against Blair, following reports from the Sunday Times, that the UK’s former Foreign Secretary admitted to signing off on Britain’s role in the kidnap and transfer of Belhadj to Tripoli in 2004.

The two Libyans accused Straw of being complicit in “degrading and inhuman treatment, batteries and assaults,” demanded an apology, and served legal papers against him over claims that he authorized the MI6 to hand them over to Gaddafi’s government, leading them to suffer imprisonment and torture.

Furthermore, The Libyans are planning to sue former senior MI6 officer Sir Mark Allen for boasting to Gadaffi’s security chief Moussa Koussa about Britain’s role in delivering Belhadj.

Reprieve charity’s legal director Cori Crider said, “At last it seems we know who signed off Britain’s involvement in rendition to torture. Jack Straw must come clean with Mr Belhadj, Mr Saadi and their families.”

Moreover, Sapna Malik, a partner at Leigh Day, the firm representing Belhadj, said, “If the former Foreign Secretary does not now own up to his role in this extraordinary affair, he will need to face the prospect of trying to defend his position in court.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the British Prime Minister David Cameron said they were “taking the allegations very seriously,” as the coalition has come under fresh pressure to publish details of what happened in the previous Labour government.

SSM/JR/HE

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