BY MARGARET ALLUM
Human rights advocates are outraged by new legislation redefining the concept "terrorism", allowing for the banning of organisations considered terrorist and reversing the burden of proof, which was passed by the British parliament on February 19.
Director of the civil rights group Liberty John Wadham said that under the new Terrorism Act 2000, protesters and activists, even those with no interest in overthrowing the state or harming the general public, could find themselves falling under the act's expanded definition of terrorism.
The new law increases the power of the police to arrest without warrant, allows for denial of access to a lawyer upon arrest for up to 48 hours and provides for detention without charge for up to seven days.
Amnesty International says that the act allows for police to be present at a consultation between the accused and their lawyer, a provision Amnesty says breaches international standards.
One of the most worrying aspects of the Terrorism Act, which replaces Britain's Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act, now repealed, is the shifting of the burden of proof from the prosecution to the accused, who must prove their innocence in various provisions of the Act.
Amnesty says such provisions undermine the fundamental right to a presumption of innocence. In effect, it said, if someone is arrested in the possession of material that has the potential to do harm, that person must now prove that the material was not intended for terrorism.
The Terrorism Act also provides the British home secretary with power to proscribe organisations believed to be involved in terrorism, a list which currently comprises groups such as the Irish Republican Army, the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force.
Under the new legislation it is an offence to speak at the same meeting as someone from a proscribed organisation, even if speaking against them, and it will be illegal to wear a T-shirt promoting a banned organisation.
The British home secretary Jack Straw, in making this announcement, assured the public that the act would enhance civil liberties.