Europe Archives | Page 136 of 164 | International Commission of Jurists

Italy: Immunity of CIA agent for kidnapping terrorist suspect rejected

Dec 8, 2005

A judge in Italy has rejected an appeal by a former CIA agent against a warrant for his arrest for allegedly abducting an Egyptian terrorist suspect. The judge held that the agent was not protected by diplomatic immunity. This abduction is allegedly part of the CIA’s...

Netherlands: Non-refoulement principle challenged before European Court

Dec 8, 2005

In a joint intervention before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Governments of UK, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia have urged the Court to reconsider an earlier ruling (Chahal case), which affirmed the obligation of states not to transfer persons...

France: Parliament adopts new anti-terrorism bill

Dec 8, 2005

On 15 December, the French Senate adopted a new anti-terrorism law, passed by the National Assembly a few weeks earlier. The law allows for broad surveillance, longer prison terms for terrorist offenses and increases the period of detention in police custody from four...

UK: Parliamentary Committee says Terrorism Bill in breach of European Convention

Dec 8, 2005

In a report released on 4 December, the Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights has said the new Terrorism Bill, introduced in the wake of the July 7 terrorist attacks, violates rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. The Bill has not...

UK: House of Lords reaffirms absolute ban on use of “torture evidence”

Dec 8, 2005

In a case concerning eight terrorist suspects, the House of Lords unanimously ruled on 8 December that evidence obtained through torture in third countries cannot be relied on in any judicial proceedings. The decision overturned a Court of Appeal ruling in August 2004...