U.S. Says it has Right to Kidnap British Citizens
December 3rd, 2007Via: Times:
AMERICA has told Britain that it can “kidnap†British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the United States.
A senior lawyer for the American government has told the Court of Appeal in London that kidnapping foreign citizens is permissible under American law because the US Supreme Court has sanctioned it.
The admission will alarm the British business community after the case of the so-called NatWest Three, bankers who were extradited to America on fraud charges. More than a dozen other British executives, including senior managers at British Airways and BAE Systems, are under investigation by the US authorities and could face criminal charges in America.
Until now it was commonly assumed that US law permitted kidnapping only in the “extraordinary rendition†of terrorist suspects.
The American government has for the first time made it clear in a British court that the law applies to anyone, British or otherwise, suspected of a crime by Washington.
Legal experts confirmed this weekend that America viewed extradition as just one way of getting foreign suspects back to face trial. Rendition, or kidnapping, dates back to 19th-century bounty hunting and Washington believes it is still legitimate.
Next thing you know, they’ll be kidnapping our sailors to help fight Napoleon.
This is a signal of intent, I suspect, and may be part of paving the way for a second mass atrocity. Perhaps we have been too busy expecting it to be blamed on Iran; instead, we may very well be told that the perps are malcontented westerners. Then the ensuing war on liberty will make what has been done to our freedoms hitherto look trifling.