TerrorismTerror court case in U.K. continues to be held in secret, alarming critics
A major terrorism trial in the United Kingdom has also become a media cause célèbre as media representatives challenge senior judges, leading to a case which is both mysterious and well known. That came after the Crown Prosecution Service (CSP) had persuaded the case judge that the entire trial should take place in secret. No further reasons for the case have been made public, and it still remains uncertain whether the full trial will be reportable.
A major terrorism trial in the United Kingdom has also become a media cause célèbre as media representatives challenge senior judges, leading to a case which is both mysterious and well known.
As theTelegraph reports, the Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of multiple British media organizations, including the Telegraph, regarding the identities of two men — Erol Incedal and Mounir Rarmoul-Bohhadjar — reportedly connected to an alleged terror plot.
That came after the Crown Prosecution Service (CSP) had persuaded the case judge that the entire trial should take place in secret. No further reasons for the case have been made public, and it still remains uncertain whether the full trial will be reportable, despite the sentencing outcome. Before the appeal, the media was not legally allowed to acknowledge that the case was even to occur.
Senior Presiding Judge Lord Justice Peter Gross ruled in favor of further transparency on the Appeal Court when he said that “Open justice is both a fundamental principle of the common law and a means of ensuring public confidence in our legal system.” The court ruled that not revealing the identities of the men was too “draconian.”
He also acknowledged, however, the hurdles facing secretive and classified cases. “This case is exceptional,” he told theTelegraph. “We are persuaded on the evidence before us that there is a significant risk — at the very least a serious possibility — that the administration of justice would be frustrated were the trial to be conducted in open court.”
It has been rumored that the CSP was considering dropping the case altogether if it was forced to be public. While that has yet to play out, the beginning and end of the trial will be held in an open court, and a selected group of “accredited journalists” are allowed to sit in on the case - though with specific rules and instructions.
This clash comes in the wake of continued concerns that a trend of secretive sentencing continues as an “outrageous assault” and a “very dangerous precedent,” according to watchful civil rights groups.
The trial is set to take place this week.
