Foreign Fighters and the Death Penalty Debate

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Department: Home Office

Foreign Fighters and the Death Penalty

Maggie Throup Excerpts
Monday 23rd July 2018

(5 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Ben Wallace Portrait Mr Wallace
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It is of course a general policy and principle that we will do what we can to help acquire or share evidence with our allies to bring to justice people who have perpetrated violence through terrorism or any other offence against citizens, whether our citizens or those of other countries. I will not talk about this individual case and the United States, but the reality is that we should, of course, work to make sure that people face justice, but that justice must be in line with international law and our values, and with the due process that should be awarded to people who are innocent until proven guilty.

Maggie Throup Portrait Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)
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Does my right hon. Friend agree that any trial under any circumstance should always be fair and transparent because the relatives and friends of the victims deserve the best?

Ben Wallace Portrait Mr Wallace
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My hon. Friend makes an important point. Often in all of this—and, indeed, often in the media reporting—people forget that there are victims. The right place for the victims to see what is going on and understand the full picture is at a trial. That is why sometimes leaks in the media do not help anyone. Victims can certainly be upset when all these details come out in trials, and that is what we are trying to help by the sharing of evidence with the United States.