Who watches the watchmen? Absolutely nobody it would seem! And so it begins - secret courts requested under the Justice and Security Act. Whatever happened to having nothing to fear and nothing to hide? What happened to the judicial oath of acting without fear or favour? We already have special powers to rename parties or stop reporting - then again its not as if the police or the intelligence community have recently given us any cause to question their integrity...wait a hot damn sec! #prism #plebgate #gshq Press and public to be barred from major terrorism trial David Brown and Sean O’NeillLast updated November 16 2013 12:01AMProsecutors will apply for draconian orders at the Old Bailey next weekTimes photographer, Richard MillsA major terrorism trial is set to take place in unprecedented secrecy with the names of two suspects and the details of the plot they were allegedly involved in concealed from the public.Prosecutors will apply for draconian orders at the Old Bailey next week excluding members of the press and the public from court, granting the defendants anonymity and banning reporting of some of the charges.The application, which Scotland Yard’s Counter-terrorism Command says is being pursued for “strong operational reasons”, will heighten concerns about a trend towards closed courts.The Justice and Security Act has recently provided for secret sessions in High Court actions involving national security, and anonymity orders are common in the Special Immigration Appeals Commission which hears terror-related cases. However, such levels of secrecy are extremely rare in the criminal courts.Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, condemned the move as part of a “dramatic drift towards secret trials”.She added: “The courts should at least provide clear explanations rather than bland assertions before closing their doors on press and public.”The two men facing trial, both aged 25, were arrested last month when police shot out the tyres of their car close to the Tower of London on the outskirts of the City. They have been identified only as AB and CD; both are British citizens, one of Turkish origin and the other from an Algerian background.The arrests came at a time of growing concern about the threat of terrorist plots in Britain linked to jihadi groups fighting in the Syrian civil war.Two other men arrested in London at the same time were subsequently released without charge.AB has been charged with preparation of terrorist acts, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Both have been charged with collecting or recording information likely to be useful for a terrorism act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ jail. CD has also been charged with having a false identity document with improper intention, which also carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.A preliminary hearing will take place on Monday when Crown lawyers will apply for the secrecy orders.When AB and CD appeared before City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court last month Michael Atkinson, prosecuting, applied for their names not to be released to protect the security of an ongoing investigation. District Judge Michael Snow allowed the application, saying it was necessary “to prevent the administration of justice from being damaged”.The hearing at the Old Bailey will be before Mr Justice Sweeney, who has previously prosecuted dozens of terror cases, including the case against a group of men found guilty of trying to blow up Tube trains and a bus on July 21, 2005, a fortnight after the 7/7 bombings.The application for the secrecy order will be made by the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division.A CPS spokesman said: “We apply for these orders in counter-terrorism cases rarely and only when we feel it is necessary to do so. Our application will be outlined in full to a judge who will be responsible for deciding whether or not there are grounds to grant the order.”Parts of evidence in criminal cases involving terrorism or national security are sometimes heard in secret and the identities of witness kept secret, but the identity of the accused and the details of the allegations against them are routinely made public.Earlier this year Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, President of the Supreme Court, said it was “an important function of an open society that the press and media remind us sometimes of the need to examine our practices and see if we do comply as much as we should with the need for open justice”.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 04:29:26 +0000
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