Press releases
Secret terrorism trial: relief that 'shutters not brought down' on open justice principle
‘A centuries-old legal principle of justice being done in the open shouldn't be easily sacrificed’ - Allan Hogarth
Responding to today’s decision by the Court of Appeal to refuse the Crown Prosecution Service’s bid to hold a terrorism trial wholly in secret, Amnesty International UK’s Head of Policy and Government Affairs Allan Hogarth said:
“We're relieved that the Court of Appeal has rejected the Crown Prosecution Service’s worrying attempt to bring the shutters down on this case.“A centuries-old legal principle of justice being done in the open shouldn't be easily sacrificed.“Repressive governments around the world would have been only too glad to have latched on to this case as a precedent for demanding fully secret trials on national security grounds, raising the risk of unfair trials and other human rights violations. The Court of Appeal has said there was no justification for that here, and decided on less draconian restrictions.“An often-quoted observation is that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Today the Court of Appeal has allowed the light back into the courtroom.”