Detainee Y, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke at the NUJ Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) in Southport via telephone. He has been electronically tagged under a control order from July 2008 for being an alleged security threat – a charge which has never been heard in public.

The control order means that for twenty-hours a day he is restricted to his home. The other four-hours can be spent in a designated three-mile area, allowing for Mosque visits every Friday.

The restrictions do not allow him to carry any money, possess any electronic equipment or have contact with others except by telephone.

He is allowed to shop at the local Tesco with food vouchers. Serco, a business services company, must be notified of all of his movements.

Detainee Y fled to Britain from Algeria in 2000 to escape possible terrorist activity. He was arrested in 2003 for alleged threats to national security and spent over two-years in prison.

He was released in September 2005 but spent a further three years being held in solitary confinement in a prison as he awaited deportation.

Detainee Y was not deported but was instead served with a control order which restricted his movements.

His charges have never been made public in the interests of national security.

A further seven people are reported to be held under the same restrictions.

Detainee Y, who addressed the council via telephone link, said: “I do not know what I have done. The evidence against me has never been heard in a public court.

“The only means of communication I have is by phone. I have my mother in Algeria but I’m not allowed to even contact her.”

Arjum Wajid, Member of the NUJ Ethics Council, said: “There are people in this country who have been in prisons for a very long time without ever being charged at all. Despite all demonstrations these people still continue to be subjects of these laws.”

Asked if it was worse than prison, Detainee Y said: “At least in prison you can talk to others and go to the shops. But here you can’t.

“I am in complete and utter isolation. It’s so physically and psychologically punishing.”

The meeting was held by the Ethics Council to highlight the issues faced by suspected terrorists and to promote a new leaflet about terrorism reporting guidelines.

Michael McColgan, NUJ member and a Human Rights Lawyer for Howells solicitors, Sheffield, said: “The principle of justice is the right to be heard. This man has not been heard. He does not even know what charges he faces. This is not open justice at all.”

An audibly frightened Detainee Y said: “I’m being tortured in this country. I feel I’m living like a ghost. I have less rights than animals and am being abused by justice. My life in unbearable. Please help me.”