| Terrorism Act 2000 |
Article Index for Terrorism Act |
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Information AboutTerrorism Act 2000 |
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It supersedes and repeals the Prevention Of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996 . Up to early 2004 around 500 people are believed to have been arrested under the Act; seven people had been charged. By October 2005 these figures had risen to 750 arrested with 22 convictions; the Home Secretary Charles Clarke said "the statistics illustrate the difficulty of getting evidence to bring prosecution" {Link without Title} . DEFINITION OF TERRORISM Terrorism is defined, in the first section of the Act, as follows:
Section 1 goes on to give the Act worldwide scope:
TRAINING Under section 54 training can be an offence:
However 54 (5) provides that it is a defence for a person charged with this offence to prove that the provision of instruction or training "was wholly for a purpose other than assisting, preparing for or participating in 'terrorism'" (as defined by section 1 of the Act) LIST OF PROSCRIBED GROUPS Under the act, the Home Secretary may modify the list of proscribed groups by his order if he believes that an organization is "concerned in terrorism". Such an organization is defined as an organization that "commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes or encourages terrorism, or is otherwise concerned in terrorism." International groups The secretary of state's list proscribes a number of international organisations, the majority due to accusations connected with Islamic Fundamentalism . The list as of an update on 14 October 2005 is:
source: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/terrorism-act/proscribed-groups Domestic groups A number of armed groups are also proscribed due to accusations arising from The Troubles in Northern Ireland . The list as of October 2005 is:
source: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/terrorism-act/proscribed-groups CONTROVERSIAL POLICE USAGE OF THE ACT Legislation of this type, which touches on issues of free speech and freedom generally, draws criticism from individuals and organisations keenly interested in personal liberty. Critics of this Act point to several cases in seeking to illustrate the dangers of this type of legislation:
SEE ALSO See also:
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