📢 UK Government’s Response to AL GBR 15-2024 Lacks Transparency and Justification for Counter-Terrorism Measures

Intern JPTi
Feb 5
2 min read

Justice pour Tous Internationale (JPTi) acknowledges the recent publication of the UK Government’s response to AL GBR 15-2024 on the UN OHCHR Special Procedures database. Although dated 7 January 2025, this response was only published now, with screenshots from 2 February 2025 confirming its previous absence. The unusual delay raises concerns regarding transparency and compliance with OHCHR procedures, which require immediate publication upon receipt.

The UK Government invokes national security to justify counter-terrorism laws against journalists, whistleblowers, and activists, yet fails to provide a case-specific explanation of how Craig Murray, Richard Medhurst, Johanna Ross (Ganyukova), John Laughland, and Kit Klarenberg posed any genuine security threat. Instead, it relies on broad legal justifications while omitting key details about their detention, interrogation, and data confiscation under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The response references Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which criminalizes expressions of support for proscribed organizations. Amendments in 2019 expanded this to include "reckless expressions of support," even when no incitement to violence exists, carrying up to 14 years of imprisonment. This vague and overbroad provision risks criminalizing legitimate journalism, political speech, and human rights advocacy in violation of ICCPR Article 19 and ECtHR rulings in Şener v. Turkey and Özgür Gündem v. Turkey.

Finally, the assertion that law enforcement and judicial processes must not be influenced by international mechanisms appears less as a commitment to judicial independence and more as an extension of the chilling effect on journalists, whistleblowers, and political dissenters. JPTi urges the UK Government to ensure full transparency, uphold due process, and end the misuse of counter-terrorism laws to suppress independent journalism and human rights advocacy.

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UK Government’s response to AL GBR 15-2024: