UK: The British government yesterday freed an Algerian man held for almost three years under tough anti-terrorism laws enacted after the September 11th attacks in the US, saying it could no longer justify holding him.
The suspect, known only as "D", was detained in December 2001 under legislation rushed through after 9/11, which gave the police sweeping powers to imprison indefinitely without trial foreigners who were suspected of being involved in terrorism.
"I have concluded, on the basis of all the information available to me, that the weight of evidence in relation to D at the current time does not justify the continuance of the certificate," said Mr David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, in a statement. "In revoking D's certificate I have made clear that any further activities that are assessed to be a threat to national security could lead to him being certified again."
It is the first time Britain has ordered a suspect held under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act to be freed. Mr Blunkett gave no reason for the surprise announcement.
Critics have described the law as discriminatory and Britain had to opt out of parts of the European Convention on Human Rights to imprison suspects without trial.
Last month a senior committee of parliamentarians said it should be scrapped because it was being used disproportionately against Muslims.
The Algerian man's lawyer, Ms Natalia Garcia, said D had been freed from a top security jail hours after the announcement. Her client appeared to have been "held on a whim".
"D is bewildered," she said. "He was saying 'I just don't understand why I am being released now and why I've been held for three years without knowing the reasons'."
D, who arrived in Britain illegally in 1999 seeking asylum, was among the first group of eight foreigners to be detained under the new powers.
Britain claimed he was an active supporter of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group - a banned organisation in the UK - and had suspected links to al- Qaeda.
He lost an appeal against his detention in October 2003 and the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which reviews detainees' cases, upheld that decision again in July, describing him as "a practised and accomplished liar".
Mr Blunkett said the powers were a vital tool in the fight against terrorism and warned that D could be detained again if he was thought to be "a threat to national security".
Of the 17 foreign suspects held by Britain under the terror act, one suspect was freed on appeal, another released on house arrest, another was detained under the mental health act, and two others have chosen to leave Britain.