Eleven men took the British government to the European Court of Human Rights, complaining they had been illegally held without charge as terrorism suspects.
The 11 plaintiffs, none of whom are British, were suspected of having ties with al Qaeda and were placed in high-security prisons under the terms of an anti-terrorism act rushed into law after the Septtember 11 attacks on the US in 2001.
Their lawyers told the rights court, based in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, that the 11 had suffered arbitrary imprisonment and degrading, inhuman treatment.
“The real danger for the life of a nation does not come from terrorism, but rather from capitulating to that threat by destroying constitutional liberties,” said lawyer Ben Emerson.
Six of the men come from Algeria and one each from France, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, with the 11th registered as stateless of Palestinian descent.
All were detained between December 2001 and October 2003 and were initially held at Belmarsh Prison in London. Three were later transferred to Broadmoor Secure Mental Hospital after their mental health deteriorated, with one attempting suicide.
At the time, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture criticised the conditions they were being held in, saying the indefinite nature of their detention had exacerbated their poor mental health.
The British government denied the accusations and said all 11 were tied to Islamist militant groups.
The 2001 anti-terrorism act allowed British authorities to detain foreign nationals without trial if they were suspected of terrorist links but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them.
Britain’s highest court, the Law Lords, ruled in December 2004 that the detentions were discriminatory and disproportionate.
The eight suspects still in prison or in Broadmoor at the time were released when the law was repealed in March 2005 but later detained again in immigration custody, where they are now awaiting deportation to Algeria and Jordan.
Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights allows a government to derogate from its obligations “in time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation”, but the men’s lawyers said no other European country had suspended its duties under the convention.
Philip Sales, representing the British government, said Britain had been a particular target, along with the US and Israel.
The court is expected to rule on the case later this year.