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Islamic Human Rights Commission
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21 July 2005

ALERT UPDATE: Nadir Remli on Hunger Strike in Italy

Nadir Remli, the British prisoner in detention in Milan, is on his 10th day of hunger strike, which began on 11 July 2005. Nadir was arrested on 22 February 2005 at Milan airport by Italian authorities on an extradition warrant from Algeria and has been in detention for five months.

What has provoked this hunger strike is the fact that Nadir’s rights have continued to be trampled upon, and no evidence to indicate his guilt. Nadir was initially told that the Algerian Government had 40 days within which to provide evidence to the court and that if this was not provided in the time specified, he would be released. The Algerians did not provide evidence until a whole seventeen days after the deadline had expired. Then, the court told Nadir that he would remain imprisoned until the documents were translated which was to take a maximum of 10 days. It has been three months since the documents were received and five months since Nadir was arrested. He remains in prison. Now, it appears that the documents will not be translated for another six months, following on from which a lengthy trial may take place, during which time Nadir will remain in prison without charge.

If the Italian court finds him guilty, they may order his extradition to Algeria where there is a real and substantial risk that Nadir will be tortured and/or even executed, due to his public support of the opposition Islamic Salvation Front and his activities to raise awareness of human rights abuses in Algeria. To extradite him would be to violate a whole host of international treaties including the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention against Torture.

Nadir has been living in Britain since 1982 and has been a British national for over a decade. He is married to a British woman and has five young children. Nadir is a law-abiding citizen who has never been in trouble with the police. The British anti-terrorism legislation is so broad that if he was even suspected of involvement in any form of illegal activity, he would have been arrested here in the UK. In actual fact, the Algerian Community in Britain (ACB), of which Nadir is a leading member, holds regular meetings with Scotland Yard which have assured the ACB that their work is completely legal.

What you can do to help:

1) IHRC is asking all campaigners to write to the Foreign Office requesting that Nadir be returned to the UK immediately and not be extradited to Algeria where he will almost certainly be tortured. To allow him to fester in prison while a court spends months deciding whether to breach his human rights or not is illogical and morally reprehensible. You can use the model letter below. Copy/amend/write your own version.

Write direct to:

Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

2) Write to your MP, ask them to contact the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw and demand that he intervene to prevent a British national from being extradited to a country infamous for its use of torture.

3) Contact the British Embassy in Rome and request that they take immediate action to ensure that Nadir is in good health and not being mistreated. Demand that they intervene in his case to ensure that he, as a British national, will be returned to the UK and not be extradited to Algeria.

Sir Ivor Roberts KCMG
HM Ambassador
British Embassy
Via XX Settembre 80
I-00187 ROMA RM

Fax (+39) 06 4220 2347

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[Your Name]

[Your Address]

[Date]

Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

Dear Mr Straw:

Re: Nadir Remli

I am writing to you regarding the ongoing case of Nadir Remli, the British national who was arrested in February 2005 in Milan by Italian authorities on an arrest warrant from Algeria. Nadir is now facing extradition to Algeria to stand trial there on charges of terrorism.

Nadir is a leading member of the Algerian Community in Britain (ACB) and a veteran campaigner against human rights abuses in Algeria. If extradited, there is a real and substantial risk that he will face torture and/or execution due to these political activities. To extradite Nadir would be to violate a whole host of international treaties including the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention against Torture.

The British government must not become a silent accomplice in all of this, particularly where a British national is involved. Nadir is currently on a hunger strike which began on 11 July 2005 in protest at his continued indefinite detention without charge. His lawyer has stated that it could be next year before the extradition hearing itself begins during which time Nadir will remain in prison without charge. Nadir already suffers from arthritis and a hunger strike could be extremely damaging for his health.

Nadir has been living in Britain since 1982 and has been a British national for over a decade. He is married to a British woman and has 5 young children. I urge you to intervene directly in Nadir’s case and ensure he is returned to Britain immediately. To allow him to fester indefinitely in a foreign jail under any conditions let alone without charge is morally reprehensible.

Yours sincerely,

____________________

[Your Name]

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Holy Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75

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