106 Human Rights in Counter-Terrorism Investigations 129 police also threatened to shoot them in the legs and one of them alleges that the barrel of a pistol was put in his mouth and the trigger pulled repeatedly. During the trial, the reliability of the forensic tests used is also disputed, and various experts state that the evidence obtained from them is unreliable. The judge, nevertheless, rules that the confessions are admissible and stresses that he prefers the evidence supporting the reliability of the forensic tests. The men are all convicted by the jury and sentenced to life imprisonment. Almost immediately after the trial, a media campaign is launched to have their convictions overturned. A court of appeal hears the case several times and dismisses it each time. Almost 17 years after their arrest, the six men are freed. By this time there is clear evidence that the forensic tests were unreliable and overwhelming evidence that the police are guilty of perjury, violence and threats. The men’s convictions are overturned. Each of them is awarded monetary compensation. Three of the police officers involved in the interrogations are later charged with perjury, but their cases are never tried. Question: What has been the effect of ill-treatment on the suspects’ right to a fair trial? How has it impacted the prosecution of these terrorist bombings? The officers probably acted as they did because they felt under pressure to get a result quickly. They believed that the men were terrorist bombers and public feeling was running high. But if the six men were in fact guilty, the reprehensible actions of the police, which were only very belatedly uncovered, resulted in the violation of their right to a fair trial. This violation, in turn, led to their release and the payment of a great deal of public money as compensation. On the other hand, if – as is generally accepted and as all the evidence supports – the men were entirely innocent of any wrongdoing, then six innocent people were sentenced to spend a large part of their lives in prison with devastating effects on them and on the lives of their families, while the guilty terrorists were left free to continue bombing and killing. This case is a textbook illustration of a miscarriage of justice. * This case study is taken from the facts in R v. McIlkenny and Others before the UK Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), among other sources.129 129 UK Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), R v. McIlkenny and Others, 93 Crim. App. R. 287, 27 March 1991, <http://netk.net.au/UK/McIlkenny.asp>.