LONDON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Britain should drop plans for a new law allowing the government to detain terrorism suspects up to 42 days without charges, Human Rights Watch says.
Britain's House of Lords was set to take up a proposal Thursday extending such detentions from 28 days to 42 days. In a release Wednesday, Human Rights Watch cited international criticism of the current detention policy and said extending it would only make a bad situation worse.
"There's no longer any doubt -- 28 days without charge violates rights," said Benjamin Ward, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The House of Lords should reject extension to 42 days and push the government to roll back the 28-day limit."
In July the U.N. Human Rights Committee concluded that Britain's counter-terrorism policies don't comply with its international human rights obligations. The committee said it was "disturbed" by the 28-day period and "even more disturbed" by the 42-day period proposed under the counter-terrorism bill.
