BRITAIN: Jurors opposes deportations

The May 21 British Guardian reported that four jurors who acquitted four Algerians in the so-called ricin plot trial that ended at the Old Bailey the previous month have expressed outrage at the news that the government is seeking to deport three of the accused to Algeria. They told the Guardian that they are angry that their verdicts of not guilty appear to have been ignored, and fear that the men face torture or death if deported. "If anyone has grounds for asylum in this country, it is these men", aid one of the jurors. The jurors contacted the Guardian after reading a report that there were plans to deport to Algeria three of the acquitted men and others who were formally acquitted in a second trial that the prosecution abandoned. The men, Sidali Feddag, David Khalef, Mouloud Sihali and Mustapha Taleb, had been charged with conspiracy to murder and cause a public nuisance and were acquitted on both charges. Taleb was granted asylum in 2001.

From Green Left Weekly, June 1, 2005.

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From GLW issue 628