26
OTHMAN (ABU QATADA) v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
study on combating torture in Jordan, which candidly criticised the
Government and the GID. After boycotting their workshops for eighteen
months, the GID had been participating in a series of workshops which had
started in July 2009. In 2007, Adaleh had participated in four Human Rights
Watch visits to the GID’s Amman detention facility. Mr Rababa had also
responded in detail to Human Right Watch’s criticism of its ability to
monitor the MOU (see paragraphs 91 and 146 below).
87. Mr Layden also stated that the United Kingdom Government had
provided grants and funding to Adaleh worth GBP 774,898, which had been
directed towards the human rights training for officials and to established a
group of experts. As of September 2009, the centre had ten full-time
members of staff and twenty part-time medical and legal experts. The centre
had expanded to include the National Team to Combat Torture (NTCT),
which would act as Monitoring Body. The team had twenty-six members
and three Adaleh Centre staff.
88. Mr Layden’s second statement, dated 26 May 2010, reiterated that
ties between Jordan and the United Kingdom remained close after the
change of Government in the United Kingdom. The statement also provided
an overview of recent reforms in Jordan, including changes to the criminal
law to introduce more severe penalties for serious crimes such as torture and
measures to increase press freedom. The statement also summarised
Jordan’s submissions to the United Nations Committee Against Torture in
the course of the Committee’ consideration of Jordan’s second periodic
report (see paragraph 107 below).
89. In the second statement, Mr Layden rejected any suggestion that
there would be no incentive to reveal breaches of the MOU; failure to abide
by its terms would be likely to do serious damage to diplomatic relations;
action proportionate to any breach would certainly be taken by the United
Kingdom Government. For the Adaleh Centre, he stated that there was
nothing unusual in the fact that it had not carried out any monitoring in
Jordan thus far; it operated on a project basis by developing proposals,
seeking funding and implementing initiatives. Its NTCT had already visited
Qafqafa prison on 9 May 2010. The Centre was not financially motivated; it
had lost money by agreeing to act as the monitoring body. Nor was it a
for-profit organisation; it was required to return any surplus for projects to
donors. Nothing turned on its change to a limited liability company.
90. Mr Layden also indicated that clarification been sought from the
Jordanian Government as to the apparent discrepancy between the English
and Arabic versions of the MOU (the Arabic version stating that there
would be the right to monitoring for three years after return; the English
version stating that, if a returnee was detained within three years of return,
he would have the right to monitoring). By the recent exchange of two Note
Verbale between the United Kingdom Embassy in Jordan and the Jordanian
Government (appended to the statement), the parties had indicated their
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