pic: Saudi torture victims - Ron Jones, Les Walker, Bill Samson and Sandy Mitchell Britain's highest court has ruled that four men who were imprisoned and allegedly tortured in Saudi Arabia do not have the right to sue their foreign captors.
The House of Lords allowed an appeal by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against a Court of Appeal decision in October 2004 allowing the men to sue for damages.
The kingdom had argued that the State Immunity Act protected its officials from proceedings brought in this country, and today five Law Lords agreed.
Sandy Mitchell, Les Walker and Bill Sampson were arrested after a series of terrorist bombings in the Saudi capital Riyadh and Khobar in eastern Saudi Arabia six years ago and claimed they were tortured into admitting responsibility.
Ron Jones, one of the four, said he was disappointed with today's judgment.
"We have come to the highest court in the land and we have not received justice," he said.
"The case has been looked at from the point of view of the law and not of justice. It is now time for the British Government - which intervened to back the law of state immunity - to intervene on our behalf in order to get us some justice."
Jones’ treatment by captors, which included being beaten on his hands and feet, being suspended by his arms, deprived of sleep and forcibly fed mind-altering drugs, has been independently confirmed.
3 comments:
Another great argument for an International Criminal Court.
Another great argument for an International Criminal Court.
There is an Internatuional Court of Justice, based at The Hague.
The US don't recognize it of course, but Britain do.
I don't think individuals can access it, but it would be an interesting case for amajor NGO or even third country to have a swing at.
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