*Ø* Judges in row over torture ruling

Courts can hear evidence if abusers are not British

"Appeal court judges yesterday defied human rights campaigners by ruling that British courts could use evidence extracted under torture, as long as British agents were not complicit in the abuse.

"In a highly controversial judgment, the second highest court in the land rejected the appeals of 10 men suspected of having links to international terrorism and currently held without charge in what activists call 'Britain's Guantánamo Bay' ...

"The judgment was immediately condemned as leaving the door open for torture evidence to be used in British courts - and the detainees plan to take their appeal to the House of Lords.

"Last night Amnesty International criticised the judges for giving a 'green light for torture'. It said: 'The rule of law and human rights have become casualties of the measures taken in the aftermath of September 11. This judgment is an aberration, morally and legally.'"
Full text at The Guardian