After a long, bitter debate in Parliament, Britain has finally passed the Anti-Terrorism Law which has been strongly resisted by churches and conservative politicians. Critics from the Churches said that while the law claimed to protect the safety of citizens, the cost of the threat to civil liberties has been grossly overlooked.
The Anti-Terrorism law provides general guidelines in dealing with terrorist suspects. The law will allow the Home Secretary to impose control orders on terrorist suspects ranging from surveillance measures through to house arrest without charge or trial.
Amendments proposed in the House of Commons would require the application to a judge for the lesser control orders, such as electronic tagging.
Once the new law is effective, the ten suspects who had been detained since 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 without any trials will be freed. According to the Guardian newspaper, one of them is Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric closely linked with Osama bin Laden.
Some people worry that the new law symbolises a victory for the terrorists. However, churches expressed concern that the system depends on the subjective judgment of government ministers without a "reasonable suspicion" that would allow a control order to be imposed.
In the recent years after the 9/11 attacks in the US, a wave of fear has arisen among European countries, especially in the UK. The British Police have tightened security measures in the cities, and street inspections have becomes more common.
Last year, ethnic minorities in London complained about discrimination from the police as they were seen to be more likely to be stopped publicly for inspections than other white citizens.
Steve Hucklesby, Secretary for International Affairs of the Methodist Church said in a statement, "The Prime Minister stated on BBC radio that there are several hundred people in this country believed to be plotting terrorist acts - a statement not apparently supported by intelligence services."
"Such statements touch a raw nerve in our post 9/11 world and there is a very real danger that undue fear could persuade us to adopt measures that will damage the good record of this country on justice and human rights."
