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Islamic Human Rights Commission
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23 February 2005

URGENT ALERT: Stop Extradition of Nadir Remli to Algeria

Nadir Remli is a British national facing extradition to Algeria from Italy. On the 22nd February 2005, Nadir went on a holiday to Italy with his 11 year old son. He was arrested on arrival at Milan airport at approximately 1700. At 1930, he called his wife in Britain to inform her of his arrest.

According to the British Embassy Nadir Remli has been arrested on an international arrest warrant.

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. If there was an international arrest warrant for him, why was he never arrested in Britain? 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.

Algeria is notorious for its use of torture of detainees. The Algerian government has been routinely condemned for its use of torture by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN among others. The legal prohibition against torture is absolute. Along with 135 other countries that have ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Italy has committed itself to upholding this fundamental principle of human dignity. Just as governments cannot engage in torture directly, they cannot send people to places where they risk being tortured. The Convention against Torture states that “no State Party shall expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.” To do so would also be to violate the European Convention on Human Rights.

However, Italy has violated this agreement in the past and has extradited and deported people back to Algeria on “diplomatic assurances” that they would not be ill-treated. Promises of fair treatment by states with well-known records of torture are inherently unreliable as has been seen in previous cases.

Nadir is a member of the opposition Islamic Salvation Front which makes him especially at risk of persecution, torture and possibly death if he is extradited to Algeria. The Algerian government has a brutal reputation of persecuting members of the opposition.

If Nadir is suspected of committing any crime, then as a British national, he must be returned to the UK to face trial. To extradite him to Algeria would be to sign his death warrant.

What you can do to help:

1) IHRC is asking everyone to write to the Foreign Office requesting that Nadir be returned to the UK and not extradited to Algeria where he will almost certainly be tortured. You can use the model letter below. Copy/amend/write your own version, feel free to add your own comments.

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.

Send your letter to:

Name of Your MP
House of Commons
London
SAW1A 0AA

Or visit www.faxyourmp.com to send them a fax via the internet.

3) Contact the British Embassy in Rome and request that they take immediate action to ensure that Nadir Remli 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

Tel. (+39) 06 4220 0001
Out of office hours: (+39) 06 4220 2603
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 case of Nadir Remli. Nadir is a British national who was arrested yesterday in Milan airport by Italian authorities on an international arrest warrant. Nadir had just arrived in Milan where he was taking a vacation with his 11 year old son. Nadir is now facing extradition to Algeria to stand trial there.

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.

Algeria is notorious for its use of torture of detainees. The Algerian government has been routinely condemned for its use of torture by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN among others. The legal prohibition against torture is absolute. Under both the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the European Convention on Human Rights, Italy cannot send people to places where they risk being tortured. The Convention against Torture states that “no State Party shall expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

However, Italy has violated these agreements in the past and has extradited and deported people back to Algeria on “diplomatic assurances” that they would not be ill-treated. Promises of fair treatment by states with well-known records of torture are inherently unreliable as has been seen in previous cases.

Nadir is a member of the opposition Islamic Salvation Front which makes him especially at risk of persecution, torture and possibly death if he is extradited to Algeria. The Algerian government has a brutal reputation of persecuting members of the opposition.

If Nadir is suspected of committing any crime, then as a British national, he must be returned to the UK to face any possible charges. To extradite him to Algeria would be to sign his death warrant. I urge you to intervene directly in Nadir’s case and ensure he is returned to Britain to face any possible charges.

Yours sincerely,

____________________

[Your Name]

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Holy Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75

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