Human rights activists protested on Sunday outside a top-security jail in London where some foreign nationals have been detained without trial for almost three years under controversial anti-terrorism laws.
Dubbing Belmarsh Prison in the south-east of the capital "Guantanamo UK", after the US detention centre for al Qaeda and Taleban suspects in Cuba, the several hundred demonstrators demanded the government either charge the suspects or free them.
According to rights groups, a total of 14 foreign nationals are being held in British jails or secure hospitals under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, passed soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
It allows foreigners to be jailed indefinitely without charge or trial if the home secretary rules they are suspected of involvement in international terrorism, and they opt not to leave the country.
"The use of detention without trial damages the legal system, damages the fight against terrorism and damages Britain's reputation internationally," said Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil liberties group Liberty.
"We need an alternative now that ends this injustice."
The 2001 law, which saw the first arrests soon after it was passed, has been defended by Home Secretary David Blunkett as a necessary measure in the battle against terrorism.
However in August, an influential committee of British parliamentarians said it should be scrapped "as a matter of urgency", while Blunkett has also suffered legal reverses over individual detainees.
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