Ex-Gitmo Detainees Sue UK to Make Evidence Public

Seven former Guantanamo Bay detainees asked the High Court in London on Tuesday to reject a government request to use secret sessions to hear allegations that Britain was complicit in their torture overseas.

Britain's government and intelligence agencies want parts of a claim for damages filed by the detainees to be heard in private, and to restrict their lawyers' access to documents that the attorneys say may prove whether Britain was aware of the detainees' mistreatment.

The seven men allege they were tortured or abused at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at detention centers in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Morocco.

Their lawyers say the men are suing Britain for its alleged collusion in their torture, and that some of the ex-detainees have attempted to file lawsuits in the United States.

Britain denies that it colluded in torture overseas, and insists it fought to win the release of the men from Guantanamo and checked on their welfare there.

"These are very serious allegations which we deny. We will vigorously defend our case in court," Britain's government said in a statement.

Government lawyers argue they cannot publicly disclose some of around 20,000 secret documents in the case because of the risk of jeopardizing national security or damaging relations with international allies.

Lawyers for the detainees told the court that secret evidence and closed hearings had never been used before to defend a civil claim for damages.

"It is chilling that the idea of secret hearings in a civil damages claim has arisen," the detainees' lawyers said in a written submission to the High Court.

Government attorneys suggest that specially appointed advocates could examine secret material on behalf of the detainees, a practice used in some immigration and terrorism cases heard at tribunals outside the regular court system.

Lawyers for the detainees have demanded that the British government holds public hearings and hand over documents — including files kept on the men and reports drafted during visits to assess their health at Guantanamo and other detention facilities.