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Amnesty International has urged the Italian government to ensure that two recently released former Guantaacute;namo Bay detainees receive fair trials in Italy and are not sent back to Tunisia where they would be at risk of torture. br /
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Tunisian nationals Adel Ben Mabrouk and Riadh Nasseri are suspected of having committed terrorism-related crimes in Italy prior to their detention at the US detention centre at Guantaacute;namo Bay. br /
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They were taken into custody on their arrival in Italy in November after having spent over seven years without charge or trial at Guantnamo Bay. br /
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quot;Adel Ben Mabrouk and Riadh Nasseri endured years of illegal detention in conditions that amounted to ill-treatment. They will be in urgent need of appropriate psychological and medical services,quot; said Julia Hall, Amnesty International’s expert on counter-terrorism in Europe. br /
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quot;The Italian government should take immediate measures to make sure that these men are not subject to further human rights violations.quot; br /
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Amnesty International has called on the Italian authorities to ensure that the men are lawfully detained. br /
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The organization said that the authorities should evaluate the evidence against the men to ensure that any testimony extracted under torture or ill-treatment is not used in any criminal prosecution against them.br /
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It also said that the authorities should refrain from withholding evidence on the basis of national security and provide compensation for the men if Italy was involved in their on-going detentions or other ill-treatment at Guantaacute;namo Bay. br /
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quot;If the Italian authorities were involved in intelligence sharing with the USA or other activities that contributed to the menrsquo;s unlawful detention and other violations of their rights at Guantaacute;namo Bay, then they should be held accountable,quot; said Julia Hall. br /
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Amnesty International has also urged the Italian authorities to guarantee that Adel Ben Mabrouk and Riadh Nasseri will not be expelled or deported to Tunisia or to any other country where they would be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. br /
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In recent years, the Italian government has attempted to deport and has deported a number of Tunisian nationals to Tunisia, in some cases in violation of rulings issued by the European Court of Human Rights. br /
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The Court has also ruled that Italy violated the absolute ban on returns to risk of torture by sending some back to Tunisia. Amnesty International subsequently learned that some of the people returned to Tunisia reported being subjected to torture or other ill-treatment. br /
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quot;The Italian government’s disregard for requests from the European Court of Human Rights to halt deportations to Tunisia while the Court considers the case is very disturbing. It indicates that the government will dispense with the rule of law when it suits them,quot; said Julia Hall. br /
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quot;The authorities must guarantee now that they will observe the absolute ban on torture and not send Adel Ben Mabrouk and Riadh Nasseri back to Tunisia where they will be at risk of such abuse.quot;
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France must not deport a man convicted of terrorist acts to Algeria where he may be at risk of incommunicado detention and torture or other ill-treatment, Amnesty International said on Thursday.br /
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According to a European Court of Human Rightsrsquo; judgement on Thursday, Kamel Daoudirsquo;s expulsion to Algeria would expose him to inhuman or degrading treatment and would be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.br /
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quot;Sending Kamel Daoudi to Algeria would put him at risk of being tortured. As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, France must not carry out the expulsion,quot; said David Diaz-Jogeix, Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Deputy Programme Director.br /
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The European Courtrsquo;s judgement is significant as it spells out unequivocally that the prohibition on torture or other ill-treatment in the European Convention on Human Rights must be followed without exception.br /
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quot;The Court has spoken. This is a clear signal to other European states that may be considering deporting people they regard as threats to national security to countries where they may be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. States enforcing such expulsions would be in violation of their obligations under international law,quot; David Diaz-Jogeix said.br /
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Amnesty International and other organizations have documented the ill-treatment of terror suspects in Algeria, where they have been held in unrecognized places of detention without contact with the outside world, at times for prolonged periods, putting them at risk of torture.br /
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Originally an Algerian national, Kamel Daoudi acquired French citizenship but in 2002 he was stripped of it following allegations about his involvement with terrorist groups, even though the criminal case against him was still pending at the time.br /
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In 2005, he was convicted of quot;criminal association in relation to a terrorist enterprisequot; and falsification of official documents and sentenced to nine yearsrsquo; imprisonment (subsequently reduced to six years), and permanent exclusion from French territory.br /
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On 21 April 2008, Kamel Daoudi was released from La Santeacute; prison after serving his sentence and immediately taken into custody pending expulsion to Algeria. br /
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Following a request by Kamel Daoudirsquo;s lawyer, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the French authorities to suspend the deportation procedure while it considered whether Kamel Daoudi would be at risk ill-treatment if he returned to Algeria.

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AFR/sudan-al-bashir-2-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Amnesty International has learned that the Danish government has invited Sudanese President al Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, to attend a meeting in Copenhagen on climate change in December.nbsp; nbsp;br /
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ldquo;Denmark needs to make it clear that it will arrest President al Bashir if he travels to Copenhagen,rdquo; said Christopher Keith Hall, Senior Legal Adviser at Amnesty International. br /
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ldquo;The International Criminal Court needs the cooperation of its member states. Under the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, Denmark has a duty to arrest and surrender any person within its territory who is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the ICC.rdquo; br /
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ldquo;Denmark can and must demonstrate its leadership on bringing alleged perpetrators of the worst crimes to justice by acknowledging its duty to arrest,rdquo; said Christopher Keith Hall. br /
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Amnesty International received the information during a meeting of member states to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. br /
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The ICC issued an arrest warrant for President al Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur earlier this year.

Amnesty International on Wednesday urged African government representatives meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to reaffirm their support for the International Criminal Court (ICC).br /
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In a memorandum published this week, strongemThe International Criminal Court: The Contribution Africa Can Make to the Review Conference/em/strong, the organization called on African governments to clearly state they would prevent any officials accused of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes from seeking safe haven in their countries. br /
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quot;Only justice can lay a firm foundation for lasting peace,quot; said Kolawole Olaniyan, Africa Legal Adviser at Amnesty International. br /
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quot;More than a decade ago, African states were amongst the strongest supporters of the proposal to establish a permanent international criminal court that would be able to investigate and prosecute those responsible for some of the worst crimes in the world ndash; they must renew this commitment, as the survival of the ICC as an effective international body depends on this,quot; said Kolawole Olaniyan. br /
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quot;African victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are some of the chief beneficiaries of the ICC ndash; the ICC must be fully supported so that it can continue its important work on their behalf.quot; br /
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The call came after Sudanese President Omar al Bashir cancelled scheduled visits to South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and Venezuela, when it became clear that he could face arrest and surrender to the ICC, particularly in light of African civil society protests to the visits. br /
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In its memorandum, Amnesty International urged African states to strongly defend the provisions of the ICC that exclude any claimed immunity for state officials ndash; regardless of rank,nbsp; including heads of state ndash; from prosecution for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. br /
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quot;Every single legal instrument adopted since the Second World War by the international community has rejected immunity from prosecution for any government official charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,quot; said Kolawole Olaniyan. br /
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quot;In fact, every international court to consider the question of immunity since the establishment of the ICC has concluded that heads of state cannot successfully assert any purported immunity from prosecution for genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.quot; br /
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Amnesty International said that to ensure the ICC is an effective complement to national courts, it must be able to exercise its jurisdiction without political interference. br /
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quot;With the exception of Darfur, all situations under investigation by the ICC were referred to the Prosecutor by African states themselves ndash; the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda,quot; said Kolawole Olaniyan. br /
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The organization also urged African governments to evaluate carefully the positive and negative aspects of establishing a regional criminal court, as suggested by the African Union in an Assembly meeting in July 2009, especially its costs.