Whatever happened to Habeas Corpus?

The BBC is running an article today entitled Terror detention to be reviewed:
'Home Secretary John Reid has outlined a raft of proposals to toughen counter terror laws - including reviewing the 28-day limit on pre-charge detention.'

The government has previously tried to get a three month period in which to hold suspects without charge when suspected of terrorist activity. Proponents said that it was to give the police and intelligence agencies time to gather evidence and prepare a case. Three months?! I'm sure that it's not as straight forward as knocking on a few doors and looking at a bit of CCTV footage but c'mon! I've got an idea - how about cutting down the amount of bureaucratic forms the police have to fill in, then they might have the time to gather the evidence quicker?

Last time, the period was eventually reduced to the current 28 days after people expressed concern that it was going against one of the tenets of our justice system, namely Habeas Corpus.

For those whose latin is rusty, a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum is a court order for a prisoner to be brought before the court to determine whether or not that person has been illegally imprisoned. If the charge is valid then the person faces trail, if not the person is freed.

I'm sure most people would agree that holding someone for a few days or even a couple of weeks, is a reasonable time in which to prepare a charge; three months is in line with some prison sentences. And that's not mentioning house arrests and other dubious things.

I know it's a difficult area. No-one would want to let a suicide bomber go free but I think the likelihood of that happening is less than the chance of imprisoning an innocent person (and the detrimental affect that could have on their mental wellbeing, family life, employment, social standing, etc).

The movie, Taking Liberties, appears to address this and other issues in an albeit sensational way but I feel that it is something that we need to be aware of.

On the one hand, there is the school of thought that if you've done nothing wrong, you've nothing to hide. Now that holds true for CCTV cameras which (rightly or wrongly) happen to make me feel a tad more secure; and maybe ID cards if the government could assure me that their IT infrastructure is sound and the collection, use and range of date is tightly regulated.

On the other hand, there are the worrying restrictions on Rights to Protest and Free Speech, and increase of detention without trial. I do think everyone goes on too much about Rights and not enough about Responsibilities these days. Having said that, peacefully protesting against perceived inequities, injustices and grievances is both the right and the responsibility of citizens of a democracy.

Anyway, there's a few thoughts for you to be going on with :o)