132 Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January – June 2007 and prevent him from re-engaging in terrorism-related activity.” Mahmoud Abu Rideh is a stateless Palestinian and torture survivor who suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. In 1998 he was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. He was initially arrested in December 2001 under Part 4 of the ATCSA, and was held without charge or trial until March 2005. He was “released” on bail prior to the lapsing of Part 4 of the ATCSA in March 2005, and immediately subjected to a control order. Deportations on grounds (update 01/001/2007) “national security” to AI Index: EUR The UK authorities continued, as they have since August 2005, to seek to deport people whom they asserted posed a threat to the UK’s “national security”, instead of brining them to justice. Those attempts continued despite the fact that there were substantial grounds for believing that the men concerned would face a real risk of egregious human rights violations, including torture, if returned to their country of origin. Some of these men were asylum-seekers in the UK, while others had previously been granted refugee status in the UK. The UK authorities maintained that these deportation attempts were a last resort, since they did not have sufficient admissible evidence to bring charges against the men. The UK authorities’ assertions in relation to these men were, in the main, based on secret information, including intelligence material, never disclosed to the individuals concerned or their lawyers of choice. AI delegates continued to observe some of the open sessions of some of the judicial proceedings arising from appeals against deportation on “national security” grounds. In February, AI issued a report (AI Index: EUR 45/001/2007), expressing profound concern at these attempted deportations. Amnesty International “H” and Reda Dendani In January, Reda Dendani and another Algerian man, known for legal reasons only as “H”, were deported from the UK to Algeria. Before deportation, both men had signed documents on the understanding that they would benefit from amnesty measures once back in Algeria. They were given verbal assurances from the Algerian authorities that they were not wanted in Algeria and that they would be likely to spend at worst a few days in detention, as is customary in deportation cases. However, both men were, in fact, arrested and detained following their return to Algeria, and, at the end of the reporting period, faced charges of “participation in a terrorist network operating abroad” (see AI Index: EUR 45/001/2007). Abu Qatada (update to AI Index: EUR 01/001/2007) In February, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) dismissed the appeal of Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman (also known as Abu Qatada) against his deportation, on “national security” grounds, to Jordan. SIAC discounted ample evidence showing that, if returned to Jordan, Abu Qatada would face a real risk of torture and of other human rights violations, and concluded that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which the UK had concluded with Jordan in 2005 was an effective mechanism to ensure Abu Qatada’s safety and humane treatment in Jordan (see AI Index: EUR 45/002/2007). Appeals against deportation to Libya In April, SIAC blocked the attempt to deport two Libyan nationals -- known for legal reasons only as “DD” and “AS” -- to their country of origin on “national security” grounds. SIAC found that the men could not safely be forcibly returned to Libya, despite the signing in 2005 of an MoU between the UK and Libya to facilitate deportations. AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007