A Libyan military commander is taking legal action against Jack Straw following allegations the former foreign secretary personally permitted his illegal rendition.
Lawyers representing Abdel Hakim Belhadj confirmed legal papers had been served on the Labour MP after reports suggested he had signed documents that allowed the rebel to be sent back to his homeland in 2004.
Belhadj, 45, claims he had been living in exile in Beijing, China, before being detained with his wife Fatima while en route to the UK where they were trying to seek asylum.
He alleges they were sent back to Libya - which was under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi - and imprisoned and tortured.
The civil action, which is against Straw personally, seeks to examine his exact role in the rendition and claim damages from him for the trauma involved.
Belhadj's lawyers Leigh Day & Co said they sent the MP a letter yesterday asking him to produce a number of documents.
They include papers mentioned in a Sunday Times article which alleged that Mr Straw signed off the rendition, as well as his diaries, memoirs and notes from March 2004 onwards.
Sami Al Saadi, who claims to have shared the same fate as fellow Libyan and Gaddafi opponent Belhadj, is also taking legal action against Straw.
Belhadj, a key military figure in the uprising that toppled Gaddafi last year, is already suing the Foreign Office and MI6.
He alleges that he was tortured by Gaddafi's regime after being rendered back to Libya via British-controlled Diego Garcia in 2004.
The Metropolitan Police are already investigating the claims. British ministers have always denied any complicity in rendition or torture.
The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that Straw had been confronted about the his alleged role by MI6.
Sapna Malik, a partner at Leigh Day & Co, said: "We have said all along that liability must follow the chain of command.
"These latest revelations bring us closer to that goal. If the former foreign secretary does not now own up to his role in this extraordinary affair, he will need to face the prospect of trying to defend his position in court."
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A Libyan military commander is taking legal action against Jack Straw following allegations the former foreign secretary personally permitted his illegal rendition.
Lawyers representing Abdel Hakim...
A Libyan military commander is taking legal action against Jack Straw following allegations the former foreign secretary personally permitted his illegal rendition.
Lawyers representing Abdel Hakim...
We are a fickle nation.There are millions of people telling the Govt to ignore the ECHR's ruling on Qatada and deport him (illegally(?)) whilst others are shouting for Straw's head for doing just that with someone else in similar circumstances, albeit to a different country.Sometimes hard and difficult decisions have to be taken, sometimes those decisions will prove to be wrong.It is very easy, in the comfort of our armchairs, to play at being a political critic but that's all it is, we are playing at it because we don't know enough to offer an informed opinion.Hypocrisy seems to reign supreme!
majdf18148: We are a fickle nation.There are millions of people telling
Surprise! Surprise! They trust us to comment on this.
The long arm of justice will eventually catch up with these so called socialist politicians from Jack the Ripper to B-Liar the millionaire who conned the electorate and illegally invaded other peoples' countries for OIL, ordered the mass murder and torture of millions of natives and send our young British soldiers to their deaths in unwinable, illegal wars for OIL.
Of 360 MPs, not one has sent his or her son or daughter or other close relative to fight in the illegal wars they took Britain into.
severus193to211: Surprise! Surprise! They trust us to comment on this. The
As far as I am aware when a person is fleeing their homeland because of persecution: ie seeking Asylum in another country for their own protection and wellbing they HAVE to claim it in the FIRST safe country they arrive in. Neither China nor Libya are in the EU so there shouldn't be any exceptions. They cannot live in China perfectly happy and then 1 day say "you know what? I fancy a nice 3 bed semi in kensington paid for by the British taxpayers, lets jump on a plane to London" Were they bring tortured in Beijing??? I very much doubt it, they just wanted to get on ther gravey train along with all the other deadbests who come here for a 'free lunch' Send this deadbeat the bill for our involvement in Libya to overthrow Gadaffi because without it he would most likely now be dead.
So if he committed crime in UK, why not put him on trial in UK?
Much of the allegations I hear or see being banded around (e.g. inciting murder) are serious crimes under UK law.
Are they hiding a can of worms?
severus193to211: So if he committed crime in UK, why not put
Hey no wonder old Jackie boy wants to re-write the FOI laws he brought in, in 2000? Who would have thought that he would need to hide behind his own Laws 12 years later. No doubt a shocker for him and now the government, he is quickly trying to say Government need more secrecy......you mean YOU need more secrecy? YOU need to hide behind a wall of secrecy? Thing is Jackie.......will government support your plans to re-write the FOI laws bearing in mind your Laws has allowed documents they would sooner had not had disclosed being disclosed much to the damage of many ministers so why protect you, hey Jackie? After all it was those same FOI laws that helped expose the Expenses fiddles etc? Your on your own now Jackie.
Lord_Justice_Wolf: Hey no wonder old Jackie boy wants to re-write the
Well if this rebel manages to sue Jack Straw I just hope that the judge make Straw pay the money himself as he did not have a legal right to have him kidnaped back to Libya.
As the minister responcible at the time I'm quite sure he sort legal opinion before signing the paperwork.
Therefore as he knew he was over steppping his remite he should be legally responsible for any claims made against him.
Com4550: Well if this rebel manages to sue Jack Straw I
com...He didn't have him kidnapped, he sent him back to Libya. At the very least a Country should have a choice as to who it admits, and who it refuses entry to ! The only thing that annoys me is the inconsistancy of the implimentation of such Laws. We should be more like the U.S and Australia when it comes to who's allowed in ! Simple answer for this herbert would have been to stay in Beijing, and if he wanted to leave there, then find a Country who would take him willingly, or go back to Libya ! Most of the asylum seekers who come here are fleeing their Countries because they've committed crimes for which they'll be punished if they stayed there, and we usually welcome the dross with open arms !!
gumpo: com...He didn't have him kidnapped, he sent him back to
Please read the story properly.
Britain has no legal right to sent someone who is living in Beijing to another country. Therefore to do so he must have been kidnaped, how else do you send someone living in Beijing to Libya against their will and certainly not interfere with someone who is not a British citizen living in Beijing.
At NO time did his feet touch British soil anywhere around the world, so please explain just how Straw never had him kidnaped please.
Com4550: Please read the story properly. Britain has no legal right
Ah that obvious route for Asylum, China to UK, completey ignoring the other 20 plus democratic countries in between where Asylum could have been asked for and granted!! China to UK and the land of (free) milk and honey!
tetleys: Ah that obvious route for Asylum, China to UK, completey
Why should Bliar worry, he's laughing all the way to the bank..the trouble with working class people who vote people like Bliar in, they think they are ONLY working class so they have too vote labour.
Wake up people, labour/Conservative makes no difference they all only want your vote to get on the gravy train.
Com4550: Why should Bliar worry, he's laughing all the way to
I'll be voting UKIP or Green party haven't made my mind up but none of the top 3. UKIP are frustrated Conservatives but at least they will give us vote on pulling out of EU. Only thing is the EU will definately collapse before next GE
fishyfishy: I'll be voting UKIP or Green party haven't made my
Good. It's about time our politicians were made - and, more importantly, seen to be made - personally liable for any criminal activity they may have advocated or sanctioned while in office, if they did. For too long there seems to have been a cozy complacency amongst the political elite that they can ignore, sidestep or obstruct the law if it is convenient to their political agenda. Such attitudes undermine the foundations of democracy throughout the world and will eventually destroy it.
medlar: Good. It's about time our politicians were made - and,
I always say its the way in which a government deal publicly with rogue ministers and Police officers and basically anyone in authority who has been found to be negligent in there duty. On the first hand if they do nothing and write it down as no further action then it sends a clear message out to the public that it is one law for you and a different one for us? On the other hand ministers use the old chestnut, these are front line jobs and decisions have to be made and sometimes mistakes happen? If we prosecute those mistake makers then will other front line staff do the jobs if they fear being prosecuted? My answer is that every case must be investigated unbiasedly and if someone is found to have acted wrongly or in a negligent manner then they should be held accountable, irrespective of who they are.
Lord_Justice_Wolf: I always say its the way in which a government
How I would love to think that this is the first of many prosecutions against high ranking Ministers in the Blair and Brown governments but somehow I doubt it. It's such a shame they can't all be sued for gross incompetence, especially in relation to the economy, for ruining what was the best pensions system in the world, incorporating the HRA into our law, allowing millions of EU nationals into the country without a thought for the consequences and virtually abandoning immigration controls. And that's just for starters.
Marben: How I would love to think that this is the
Oddly enough, keeping the UK out of the Euro - and avoiding the economic mess of the various countries you name - was the only sensible decision Gordon Brown ever made, as opposed to to Blair who was all for joining it.
Marben: Oddly enough, keeping the UK out of the Euro -
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PA/Huffington Post UK | Posted: 18/04/2012 07:54 Updated: 18/04/2012 13:30