Extradition - The NatWest Three
WORKERS, SEPT 2006 ISSUE
The extradition of the three bankers – The NatWest Three – to the United States under the 2003 fast track Extradition Act, legislation not ratified by the US and where the US does not even have to present a prima facie case in a UK court, has raised major questions about civil liberties in Britain.
None of the individuals was facing or was going to face criminal charges in any British court, but the government grovelling to the Bush administration allowed the US government to swoop and arrest anyone they deemed a target.
While this flawed legislation was rushed through supposedly to aid the "war on terrorism", it dovetails with other EU legislation likewise undermining UK civil liberties. The European Arrest Warrant allows any EU state to arrest any British citizen, extradite them to face charges abroad, charges which may not exist in British law, again without presenting a prima facie case in a British court.
The draft EU Constitution made it a criminal offence to oppose the European Union. How long before such warrants are served on the writers and readers of Workers?