No ill-treatment of inmates
Conditions in America's supermax prisons are tough, but they are here to stay
The European Court of Human Rights has cleared the way for the United Kingdom to extradite a radical Muslim cleric and four other suspects to the United States to face trial on terrorism charges.
The case centres on the alleged activities of Abu Hamza Al Masri, long considered to be Britain's most recognisable extremist, known for his fiery anti-Western rhetoric.
If convicted of their crimes in the US, the five face the possibility of life behind bars without the possibility of parole, and those sentences if imposed would have to be served in a so-called ‘supermax' facility.
The crux of the extradition case lies in the defendants' argument that imprisonment in a supermax jail would amount to ill treatment in degrading and inhumane conditions.
The ruling essentially finds that the conditions in the US federal facility do not amount to cruel or unusual punishment. Indeed, the sad reality is that many thousands of regular criminals are incarcerated in supermax jails. While the conditions there are tough, they do not constitute ill treatment against the inmates.
The British government has indicated it will move quickly on the extradition process.
Given the tough stand on law and order in the US, supermax prisons are there to stay.
