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UK cooperation with US over two alleged Isis killers ruled unlawful
Source: The Guardian
UK cooperation with US over two alleged Isis killers ruled unlawful
Supreme court says UK broke law because it did not get assurance that men would not face death penalty
Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent
@owenbowcott
Wed 25 Mar 2020 13.23 GMT
Last modified on Wed 25 Mar 2020 14.55 GMT
The government’s decision to cooperate with US authorities over the prosecution of two alleged Islamic State executioners without assurances that they would not face the death penalty was unlawful, the supreme court has ruled.
In a unanimous judgment that will have repercussions for US-UK relations, the court’s seven justices said the home secretary’s agreement to provide evidence about El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey breached data protection rules.
Delivering the judgment, Lord Kerr said that under the Data Protection Act transferring information in this context was contrary to law. He said: “Much of the information provided, or to be provided, to the US authorities consisted of personal data. It was common ground between the parties that provision of mutual legal assistance involved the ‘processing’ of such personal data falling within part 3 (of the) Data Protection Act.
“Such processing is only lawful where it complies with the data protection principles in section 34 DPA. I concluded that since the transfer of material to the US authorities without obtaining death penalty assurances was contrary to law, it followed that the first and second principles – requiring processing that is lawful and fair – were not met.”
Elsheikh and Kotey, who were raised in Britain, are alleged to have been part of an Isis terrorist cell, some of whom were known as “the Beatles”, that is thought to have carried out 27 beheadings of US and UK citizens in Isis-held territory. Those killed included the British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines and the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
-snip-
Supreme court says UK broke law because it did not get assurance that men would not face death penalty
Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent
@owenbowcott
Wed 25 Mar 2020 13.23 GMT
Last modified on Wed 25 Mar 2020 14.55 GMT
The government’s decision to cooperate with US authorities over the prosecution of two alleged Islamic State executioners without assurances that they would not face the death penalty was unlawful, the supreme court has ruled.
In a unanimous judgment that will have repercussions for US-UK relations, the court’s seven justices said the home secretary’s agreement to provide evidence about El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey breached data protection rules.
Delivering the judgment, Lord Kerr said that under the Data Protection Act transferring information in this context was contrary to law. He said: “Much of the information provided, or to be provided, to the US authorities consisted of personal data. It was common ground between the parties that provision of mutual legal assistance involved the ‘processing’ of such personal data falling within part 3 (of the) Data Protection Act.
“Such processing is only lawful where it complies with the data protection principles in section 34 DPA. I concluded that since the transfer of material to the US authorities without obtaining death penalty assurances was contrary to law, it followed that the first and second principles – requiring processing that is lawful and fair – were not met.”
Elsheikh and Kotey, who were raised in Britain, are alleged to have been part of an Isis terrorist cell, some of whom were known as “the Beatles”, that is thought to have carried out 27 beheadings of US and UK citizens in Isis-held territory. Those killed included the British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines and the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/mar/25/uk-cooperation-with-us-over-two-alleged-isis-killers-ruled-unlawful
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