Coalition Against Secret Evidence

Secret evidence is evidence that is not provided to a defendant or their lawyers during a hearing making it impossible for such persons to know the case against them or prepare a defence. Secret evidence is used in different ways in the UK courts, usually by the government in cases in which it considers “national security” to be an issue. Used as a basis for withholding evidence, for some detainees, this has resulted in  years of detention without proper trial or any charge.  Of those who have been released but remain in the UK  are held under “house arrest’” conditions. The government wishes to allow secret evidence to be extended into other areas of the law.

Everyone has the right to a fair trial under national and international law. Secret evidence restricts that right and the proper functioning of our legal system. The European Court of Human Rights recognised that this goes against the right to a fair trial and ruled against the British government.

The Coalition Against Secret Evidence (CASE) was set up in February 2009 and is made up of individuals and organisations working on the issue of the use of secret evidence in the UK courts. Secret evidence is an affront to the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our legal system for more than 800 years. CASE campaigns for an end to the use of secret evidence in British courts, the restoration of everyone’s right to know the reason why they are detained and an end to a system based on secrecy and unfairness. Add your organisation to the list of CASE sponsors:

Cage Prisioners
Campaign Against Criminalising Communities
Newham Monitoring Project
Peace and Justice in East London
Scotland Aganist Criminalising Communities

You can contact CASE sponsors directly or if you have a more general question or you can email:  reveal at coalitionagainstsecretevidence dot com