Holding People Without Charges

Andrew Sullivan in The Alleged UK Terror Plot points out that no one has been charged with anything yet. In spite of Sullivan's "days are ticking by" rhetoric it's only been 6 days since the arrests. Under new British law, passed after the transit bombings last year, police can hold you for 28 days without charges. In the US it's 2 days, but Gonzales is saying 28 days would be more useful. Think about that, you would be giving your government permission to hold you for a month without charges. Blair at one point asked for 90 days!

Sullivan points to a post by Craig Murray who's view is that since they hadn't made a bomb, didn't have plane tickets, and some didn't have passports, they plot was not imminent and will be difficult to prove the case in court. Reports are that Bush rushed the British into making arrests. Murray is known for criticisms of western policies allowing torture and make that case here. Supposedly our evidence comes from tortured people in Pakistan. I'm not sure about that but this is what I found interesting in his post. He writes:

Of the over one thousand British Muslims arrested under anti-terrorist legislation, only twelve per cent are ever charged with anything. That is simply harrassment of Muslims on an appalling scale. Of those charged, 80% are acquitted. Most of the very few - just over two per cent of arrests - who are convicted, are not convicted of anything to do terrorism, but of some minor offence the Police happened upon while trawling through the wreck of the lives they had shattered.

He doesn't cite sources for these numbers but if true, that's pretty frightening.