Ripper claims human rights breach

Updated 10.54 Wed May 14 2008

Keywords: Saimo Chahal, yorkshire ripper, peter sutcliffe

Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe is making a legal bid for freedom by claiming his human rights have been breached.

The 61-year-old will be represented by lawyer Saimo Chahal, who will argue that the Home Office disregarded his human rights because they failed to fix a tariff for his sentence.

Sutcliffe was jailed in 1981 for murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven more across Yorkshire and in Manchester

Sutcliffe was jailed in 1981 for murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven more across Yorkshire and in Manchester.

He was sentenced to 20 life sentences and was told by the judge that he would serve a minimum of 30 years.

But Ms Chahal, who specialises in civil liberties and social welfare as a partner at London-based Bindmans & Partners, believes this tariff was never formalised.

Sutcliffe began his sentence in prison but three years later was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was transferred to Broadmoor Hospital.

Ms Chahal aims to get Sutcliffe back into the prison system and has requested a reassessment of his psychiatric condition.

A profile of Ms Chahal on the firm's website confirmed that she acts for Sutcliffe and added: "The Secretary of State is in breach of Article Five of the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) in failing to set a tariff."

Ms Chahal was named Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year in a 2006 poll for "repeatedly pushing the boundaries of the law on behalf of those with mental illness".