Skip navigation
London Review of Books Christmas Books

Suspicion of Terrorism subscriber-only content

Lucy Scott-Moncrieff on Mahmoud Abu Rideh, detained without trial

First, any restriction on fundamental rights must be imposed in accordance with the rule of law. And second, while we must be flexible and be prepared to countenance some limitation of fundamental rights if properly justified and proportionate, there are certain principles on which there can be no compromise. Fair trial is one of those – which is the reason we in the UK have been unable to accept that the US military tribunals proposed for those detained at Guantanamo Bay offer sufficient guarantees of a fair trial in accordance with international standards.

subscriber-only content Subscribers to the print edition can log in to view the entire article. For information about subscribing to the London Review of Books click here. This article is available for purchase online. Buy this article.

Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, a London solicitor, represents patients detained under the Mental Health Act.

LRB cover artwork

From the archive

Airy-Fairy
Conor Gearty: Blunkett’s Folly

Walking through Walls
Graham Robb on the world’s first anti-hero rogue cop

In Pursuit of Pinochet
Michael Byers discusses the legal implications of the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in London in October 1998

In Judges’ Lodgings
Stephen Sedley settles in

On SIAC
Brian Barder explains why he resigned from the Special Immigration Appeals Commission