Three Britons and a Canadian have been denied the right to sue officials from Saudi Arabia, who they claim tortured them in prison.
A Law Lords ruling allowed an appeal by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against a 2004 Court of Appeal decision for the men to be able to sue for damages.
The four had been accused of taking part in a bombing campaign in Saudi Arabia six years ago.
Saudi Arabia says its officials are protected by state immunity.
Previous victory
It says state immunity extends to individuals and has to be protected. The British government agrees.
The Court of Appeal's 2004 ruling to let Sandy Mitchell, Les Walker, Ron Jones and Canadian Bill Sampson sue was described by civil rights lawyers as an historic victory, ending immunity for torturers abroad.
But Saudi Arabia appealed to the Law Lords, arguing that its officials were protected by the 1978 State Immunity Act.
Lawyers for the men involved had said that argument is incompatible with international and European human rights law.
Torture claims
Mr Mitchell, from Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, Mr Walker and Mr Sampson say they were tortured and forced to confess to bombings in Saudi Arabia. They spent two-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of a series of bombings in the country before being released in August 2003.
Mr Jones was injured in a bomb blast in Riyadh in 2002.
He says he was taken from his hospital bed, imprisoned and then tortured until he confessed to the bombing.
He was held for 67 days before being released.
(BBC)
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