Read the 107th issue of ICJ’s monthly newsletter on proposed and actual changes in counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices and their impact on human rights at the national, regional and international levels.
The E-Bulletin on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights provides hyperlinks to full texts of reports, statements, laws, court judgments and legal analysis. It aims at fostering an informed debate on the implications of counter-terrorism measures for the promotion and protection of human rights.
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST
Israel: Teenager sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment
Kenya: High Court judgment holds Kenya Defence Forces accountable for reprisal action
Tunisia: Journalists before military tribunal
AMERICAS
USA: Federal judge rejects settlement of lawsuit regarding NYPD surveillance of Muslim communities
USA: CIA officially identifies architect of its torture programme
USA: Sentencing in Minnesota material support for terrorism prosecution expected to set pattern
USA: Guantánamo military commissions judges order medical staff to testify
USA: Periodic Review Board decision on detention of Said Salih Said Nashir
USA: Released E-mails confirm Federal Bureau of Prisons personnel visit to CIA black site prison in Afghanistan
USA: Administration expands Authorization on the Use of Military Force to include al Shabab
ASIA – PACIFIC
China: Cyber-security law approved
Malaysia: Bar Council forum on Security Offences (Special Measures) Act
Pakistan: UN Human Rights Committee adopts List of Issues for its review of Pakistan’s first initial report
Thailand: ICJ workshop on the use of telecommunications evidence in criminal cases
EUROPE & COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES
UK: HRW and six individuals lodge case regarding Investigatory Powers Tribunal before European Court of Human Rights
UK: Government considers legislation narrowing appeal against rejection of FOI requests
UK: Investigatory Powers Bill approved
Belgium: Human Rights Watch report details problematic counter-terrorism laws and heavy-handed law enforcement operations
France: Conviction for praising terrorism for WiFi network name
France: Government confirms it will request extension of state of emergency
France: Government launches anti-jihad advertising campaign
Germany: Constitutional Court rejects disclosure NSA spying targets
Germany: Government announces plan for revocation of nationality
Germany: True Religion group banned
Kazakhstan: Lower House adopts amendments to law on combatting extremism and terrorism
Netherlands: Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights raises concerns regarding Dutch proposed counter-terrorism bills
Turkey: State of emergency and crackdown continue
UNITED NATIONS & REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ICC: Prosecutor says American soldiers and CIA appear to have committed war crimes in Afghanistan
EU: Counter-Terrorism Coordinator publishes report
EU: EU-US deal on law enforcement data transfers backed by EU institutions
EU: Three new security Directives moving forward
E-BULLETIN no. 107
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST
Israel: Teenager sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment
On 7 November, Ahmad Manasra was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in an October 2015 stabbing attack that critically wounded an Israeli boy and an Israeli man. Manasra was 13 years old at the time. He was convicted of two counts of attempted murder in May. His lawyers argued that he had not actually stabbed anyone but that Hassan, his 15-year-old cousin who was fatally shot by police as he ran at them near the scene of the stabbings, had. The state prosecutor, asking for 12 years’ imprisonment, called for “zero tolerance” toward young perpetrators, saying the court needed to send a message to deter others. In another case, the court also sentenced two Palestinian teenagers to 11 years in prison for a stabbing attack in Jerusalem in January in which one civilian was wounded. The attackers were aged 14 and 16 at the time.
Kenya: High Court judgment holds Kenya Defence Forces accountable for reprisal action
On 15 November, the High Court of Kenya at Garissa rendered its judgment on Constitutional Petition No. 13 of 2013. The petitioners alleged that on 11 December 2011, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) staged a reprisal expedition against their community, in retaliation against an attack on a convoy of KDF trucks by unknown persons using suspected explosive devices along the road leading from Wajir town to Mandera. The petitioners alleged that they were arbitrarily arrested and subsequently subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by officers of the KDF. In the court’s view, on the balance of probabilities, the petitioners proved their claims and the “respondents did not bring any witness in court to support their allegations of denial”. Accordingly, the court granted the requested declarations of Constitutional violation and awarded general damages to each of the petitioners and additional special damages to some of them.
Court Decision Tunisia: Journalists before military tribunal
On 30 November, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Tunisia’s military prosecutor to drop charges against newspaper and website editor Rached Khiari, charged with impugning the reputation of the army and undermining its morale under both the code of military justice and the penal code, and independent journalist Jamel Arfaoui, charged with impugning the reputation of the army under the code of military justice. Khiari was charged following his participation in a talk show, in which he referred to a Washington Post article that said Tunisian authorities had signed an agreement allowing the US to establish a military base in Tunisia, which was at first denied by the Defence Minister. The charge against Arfouari stems from an article in which he criticized the army’s lack of investigation into a military plane crash. Pursuant to the Principles and Guidelines on the right to fair trial and legal assistance in Africa, developed and adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, military courts should not in any circumstances whatsoever have jurisdiction over civilians.
HRW Statement
AMERICAS
USA: Federal judge rejects settlement of lawsuit regarding NYPD surveillance of Muslim communities
On 28 October, the District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) proposed settlement of a lawsuit in which it is accused of improperly surveying the Muslim community over the past decade. The proposed deal called for a stricter modification of the police surveillance guidelines and for a civilian representative to be put in place for five years to ensure the NYPD’s compliance with the guidelines. The NYPD acquiesced with the latter but declined to accept all proposed modifications. Now, the court rejected the proposed settlement stating that it does not sufficiently protect the constitutional rights of Muslim citizens residing in New York.
Court Decision
Blog Post
Media Report
USA: CIA officially identifies architect of its torture programme
On 7 November, VICE News reported that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officially identified the two Air Force psychologists credited as the architects of its torture programme, Dr Bruce Jessen and Dr James Mitchell. They were identified by name in a report that probed the circumstances surrounding the death of Gul Rahman during his detention at a black site prison in Afghanistan, which was released pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. Although Mitchell and Jessen have been known for years as architects of the torture programme, this is the first time that the CIA formally disclosed the names of anyone who played roles in the interrogation and torture of detainees.
USA: Sentencing in Minnesota material support for terrorism prosecution expected to set pattern
Over the course of three days following 14 November, the District Court in Minneapolis sentenced nine defendants for conspiring to provide support to the so-called Islamic State of the Levant (ISIL) to sentences ranging between time served plus probation, and 35 years’ imprisonment. The Court’s spectrum of sentences is expected to set a pattern for other ISIL-related terrorism cases. In part, the judgments follow a standard legal pattern in which defendants who cooperated received less time. However, the US Attorney’s Office indicated that the lighter sentences are also part of a move to stress the rehabilitation of ISIL sympathizers. In court, the judge expressed dismay several times that no de-radicalization programmes exist within the federal prison system.
USA: Guantánamo military commissions judges order medical staff to testify
On 20 November, the trial judges in both of the death-penalty cases before the military commissions at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility have ordered staff responsible for medical care in Camp 7 to testify during December hearings. In the proceedings against the alleged 9/11 terrorist attack plotters, lawyers of al Hawsawi had sought a delay, saying he is suffering excruciating pain following surgery that repaired his rectum at the Guantánamo base hospital in October. An unclassified portion of the Senate Torture Report shows allegations that he was subjected to rectal exams with “excessive force”, which according to his lawyer led to “his rectum [being] shredded and his very insides dislodged”. In the trial of al Nashiri, the death penalty defender called the trips between Camp 7 and Camp Justice, where the proceedings are held, traumatic for Nashiri because of the captive’s “untreated Complex PTSD”, invoking expert testimony that he was sexually, physically and mentally tortured in his years under Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) custody, as well as military medical diagnosis of PTSD. Declassified reports show he was interrogated through the use of waterboarding, a revving power drill and threats to his mother. He was also subjected to rectal re-feeding when on hunger strike. No trial date has been set in either case. Current pre-trial issues involve what information the former CIA captives are entitled to see.
USA: Periodic Review Board decision on detention of Said Salih Said Nashir
On 21 November, the Periodic Review Board by consensus determined that the continued detention of Said Salih Said Nashir is necessary “to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States”. He was captured by Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence officers, rangers and police officers on 11 September 2002 in Karachi and transferred into Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) custody a few days later. After being detained by the CIA at a black site prison, he was handed over to the Department of Defense, who first held him at the military detention site at Bagram Airbase in Iraq. He was transferred to Guantánamo Bay on 28 October 2002.
USA: Released E-mails confirm Federal Bureau of Prisons personnel visit to CIA black site prison in Afghanistan
On 21 November, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) agreed to end a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) claim, pursuant to obtaining E-mails from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) that confirm that the agency responsible for managing the federal prison system sent personnel to a secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) detention facility in Afghanistan where detainees were tortured, and that it subsequently attempted to cover up its involvement. The fact had initially come to light with the release of the executive summary of the Senate Torture Report in 2014, which cites CIA documents saying BOP personnel were “WOW’ed” by the detention camp, having “never been in a facility where individuals are so sensory deprived”. According to the Senate report, the BOP officers nevertheless told the CIA officers that in their judgment conditions were “sanitary” and that “the detainees were not being treated in humanely [sic]”.
USA: Administration expands Authorization on the Use of Military Force to include al Shabab
On 27 November, the New York Times reported that the US Administration has decided to deem al Shabab to be part of the armed conflict that Congress authorized against the perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, namely al Qaeda and associated forces. The decision is expected to be publicly disclosed in December in a letter to Congress listing global deployments. Although under the 2001 Congressional authorization the US is engaged in an armed conflict with a specific organization, the interpretation of that authority has proved elastic. On 21 November, the Federal District Court of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit that accused President Obama of waging an illegal war against the so-called Islamic State under the Congressional authorization, ruling that the Army captain who brought the case lacked standing as the case “raises questions that are committed to the political branches of government”. In late October, Legal Adviser of the State Department, Brian Egan, at a Fordham University Conference said that the Administration had “relied on the AUMF in using force against elements of Al-Shabaab that are associated with Al-Qaeda, but not the group writ large”. In March, on the other hand, following a drone strike that killed more than 150 people, the White House Press Secretary said that “al Shabaab is an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization”.
Media Report
Media Report
Blog Post
Court Decision
White House Press Briefing
ASIA – PACIFIC
China: Cyber-security law approved
On 7 November, the Chinese Government approved a new cybersecurity law, which it says aims to tackle threats such as hacking and terrorism. Among other things, the law prohibits individuals from using the Internet to “endanger national security, advocate terrorism or extremism, [or] propagate ethnic hatred and discrimination”, as well as “overthrowing the socialist system” and “fabricating or spreading false news to disturb economic order” or “to incite separatism or damage national unity”. International human rights organizations have criticized the law, with Human Rights Watch noting that these crimes are regularly used to punish and jail peaceful activists and can result in lengthy sentences and pointing out that the law fails to impose adequate protections for the right to privacy where security agencies monitor networks, investigate cybercrime, or access data held by companies. Amnesty International described the law as a “draconian” measure that violates the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.
Blog Post
Blog Post
HRW Statement
Media Report
Media Report
Media Report
Malaysia: Bar Council forum on Security Offences (Special Measures) Act
On 29 November, at a forum organized by the Malaysian Bar Council, the Council’s Human Rights Committee co-chair, Andrew Khoo, warned of the dangers of the misuse of national security and counter-terrorism legislation, as it “raises deep and serious questions about our sincerity as a genuine partner in the global war against terrorism”. Referring to the detention of activist Maria Chin Abdullah, he noted that her activities would not constitute terrorism or a national security threat in other nations. Malaysian Bar President, Steven Thiru, criticized the denial of access to counsel to staff of women’s rights group Empower, which was raided under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 over its alleged receipt of foreign funds.
Malaysia Bar Council WebsitePakistan: UN Human Rights Committee adopts List of Issues for its review of Pakistan’s first initial report
During its 118th session, from 17 October to 4 November, the Human Rights Committee adopted a list of issues in relation to the initial report of Pakistan, in the framework of the Committee’s oversight of the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In the document, the Committee raises several questions with regard to Pakistan’s counter-terrorism laws and policies and their implementation. Among other things, the Committee asks Pakistan to clarify whether it intends to reinstate the moratorium on the death penalty and to comment on the allegation that sentences were imposed after trials that did not comply with international fair trial standards, while also noting that only a fraction of the executions that took place between December 2014 and January 2016 appear to stem from convictions for terrorism, which was Pakistan’s justification for the lifting of the moratorium. Furthermore, the Committee raises a host of concerns about the Protection of Pakistan Act and allegations of misuse by law enforcement officials, and asks for more information on the use of military courts.
List of IssuesThailand: ICJ workshop on the use of telecommunications evidence in criminal cases
On 15-16 October, the ICJ held a workshop for justice sector actors in Thailand’s deep South on the use of telecommunications evidence in criminal cases. The attendees included 30 public prosecutors, police and Department of Special Investigation officials, 15 defence lawyers and observers from the Thailand Institute of Justice and the Asia Foundation. In his opening remarks, ICJ senior international legal adviser, Kingsley Abbott, said that the use of telecommunication evidence is one tool that can be used in an effective investigation of serious criminal and security related cases, but stressed the importance of the acquisition and use of this information as evidence fully respecting the right to privacy.
ICJ Website
EUROPE & COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES
UK: HRW and six individuals lodge case regarding Investigatory Powers Tribunal before European Court of Human Rights
On 4 November, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and six individuals lodged a challenge with the European Court of Human Rights, demanding that the UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) confirm whether or not they were subject to surveillance by the British national security agency, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). The challenge also seeks to know whether or not any such surveillance was lawful. HRW and the other applicants were among 650 people and organizations who filed claims with the IPT in February 2015 with the help of Privacy International as part of its “Did GCHQ Illegally Spy on You?” campaign. The tribunal dismissed the claims of those applicants that were not UK residents, and issued a “no determination finding” for HRW and other claimants who were present in the UK, without revealing whether they were subjected to surveillance that was lawful or they were simply not spied on.
HRW StatementUK: Government considers legislation narrowing appeal against rejection of FOI requests
On 9 November, the Government published its response to the Justice Committee’s Second Report of session 2016/17, in which it announced that “a number of recommendations” of a review of Freedom of Information undertaken by a panel, including former Home Secretaries Jack Straw and Michael Howard. The recommendation referred to is that “legislation should be introduced to remove the right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal”. In its response to the Government announcement, human rights organization Reprieve notes this would significantly weaken the ability of those making requests under the Freedom of Information Act to overturn decisions made by the Government not to disclose information, where those decisions have been supported by the Information Commissioner.
Reprieve StatementUK: Investigatory Powers Bill approved
On 15 November, the UK House of Lords passed the Investigatory Powers Bill and, following Royal Assent, it became law as of 29 November. The Act sets out policies on acquiring communications data, equipment interference and warrants for accessing bulk information. Among other things, the legislation makes it lawful for authorities to access communications data, defined by the legislation as “the context, but not the content of a communication”, without judicial approval, except to uncover journalistic sources. Another section allows security agencies to seek communications data or equipment interference in bulk by applying for a warrant. The legislation also gives the British Government the authority to serve internet service providers with a “data retention notice”, forcing them to record and store for up to 12 months logs showing websites visited by all of their customers. Law enforcement agencies will then be able to obtain access to this data without any court order or warrant. The Act also makes it legal for British security agencies to carry out “foreign-focused” large-scale hacks of computers or phones in order to identify potential “targets of interest”.
Parliamentary Website
Blog Post
Blog Post
Media Report
Belgium: Human Rights Watch report details problematic counter-terrorism laws and heavy-handed law enforcement operations
On 3 November, Human Rights Watch released the report Grounds for Concern: Belgium’s Counterterror Responses to the Paris and Brussels Attacks, detailing a raft of problematic counter-terrorism laws and heavy-handed law enforcement operations. The report, among other things, documents measures that place prisoners detained for terrorism in prolonged isolation and allow the Government to suspend passports and review terrorism suspects’ phone and E-mail logs without judicial approval. It also details abusive police responses during counter-terrorism raids and detentions, including the use of excessive force in ten cases that, in all-but-one of the cases, involved Muslim suspects, only one of whom was charged with terrorism offences, in a case of mistaken identity.
France: Conviction for praising terrorism for WiFi network name
On 4 November, media reported that an 18-year old man in Dijon was convicted for praising terrorism and given a suspended prison sentence of three months because the Service Set Identifier (SSID) of his WiFi network was “Daesh 21”. He was prosecuted under the anti-terrorism law of November 2014 that criminalizes directly provoking acts of terrorism or publicly praising such acts.
Blog PostFrance: Government confirms it will request extension of state of emergency
On 15 November, the French Government confirmed it will request parliament to extend the state of emergency, which is set to lapse in January, for the fifth time, justifying its necessity in light of the upcoming presidential election campaign.
Media Report (French)
Media Report (French)
Media Report
Media Report
France: Government launches anti-jihad advertising campaign
On 18 November, the French Government launched a new online campaign aimed at preventing young people from radicalizing. It includes an interactive exercise where users can pretend to be a young person considering jihad. Similar efforts are said to have had limited success in the past, in part because many people attracted to extremism are inherently distrustful of authorities.
Media Report (French)Germany: Constitutional Court rejects disclosure NSA spying targets
On 13 October, the Federal Constitutional Court decided that the Government does not have to submit the National Security Agency (NSA) Selector Lists to the parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into NSA Activities. The Court found that the Selector Lists concern secrecy interests of the USA also, and are thus not subject to the German Government’s exclusive power of disposal. Constitutionally, the Court deemed there are no objections to the Government’s assessment according to which handing over the lists in disregard of assured confidentiality and without the approval of the USA would significantly undermine the functioning of the German intelligence services and their ability to cooperate. In the case, the court found the executive’s interest in non-disclosure to outweigh the parliament’s interest in information. The selectors are the criteria determined by the NSA that were used by the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) to search data diverted from an Internet hub, in the framework of cooperation between the intelligence agencies.
Court Decision (German)
Court Press Release
Blog Post
Germany: Government announces plan for revocation of nationality
In early November, the Federal Interior Minister, de Maizière, announced plans for a legislative proposal that would enable the revocation of citizenship of Islamic fighters that have travelled to Syria and Iraq on German passports, if they also possess another nationality. The German Constitution states that “no German may be deprived of his citizenship” yet “citizenship may be lost only pursuant to a law, and against the will of the person affected only if he does not become stateless as a result”.
Media ReportGermany: True Religion group banned
On 15 November, German authorities banned the True Religion organization, also known as Read, with the Interior Minister, de Maizière, telling reporters that it “brings Islamic jihadists together under the pretext of the harmless distribution of the Quran” and stressing that action was taken against the group because of its work to foster violence, not because of its faith. It is the sixth Islamist organization to be banned in Germany since 2012, under an effort to ensure domestic security and prevent radicalized young people from leaving the country to fight for extremists abroad. Raids on 190 premises in ten states, including mosques, that followed the ban were the biggest crackdown on any group since the Government shut down a movement known as Kalifatstaat in 2001.
Kazakhstan: Lower House adopts amendments to law on combatting extremism and terrorism
On 9 November, the lower house of the Parliament adopted amendments to the law on combatting extremism and terrorism. Among other things, the amendments increase the penalties for extremist and terrorist acts, as well as for recruitment for and funding of terrorist activities. The amendments largely ignore the advice issued in October by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which among other things recommended that Kazakhstan not criminalize the expression or promotion of “extremist views” if this is not accompanied by incitement to violence. The amendments will now be considered by the Senate.
Media Report (Russian)Netherlands: Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights raises concerns regarding Dutch proposed counter-terrorism bills
In a letter published on 29 November, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Muiznieks, raised concerns about the possible detrimental impact of three counter-terrorism bills under discussion in Holland on the protection of human rights. Among other things, he expressed concern that the Temporary Administrative Measures Bill is open to a wide interpretation and raises issues about the possibility for affected persons to challenge the measures taken against them. With regard to revocation of nationality under the proposed amendment of the Nationality Act, the Commissioner warned that it must be implemented in a way that does not unduly affect religious or ethnic groups. Lastly, he also urged caution in implementing the Intelligence Services Bill, in order to ensure surveillance is carried out in a targeted way and subject to strong independent oversight at all stages.
Council of Europe WebsiteTurkey: State of emergency and crackdown continue
On 28 November, Deputy Prime Minister, Numan Kurtulumus, told reporters that the state of emergency, instituted in the days immediately following the 15 July attempt to overthrow the Government, will continue as long as necessary. On the same day, the BBC reported emerging allegations of mistreatment of persons in custody in the context of the large-scale purge that followed the attempted coup. Amnesty International also said it had “credible reports” of detainees being subjected to “beating and torture, including rape”, while Human Rights Watch documented several cases of alleged abuse, facilitated by the state of emergency provisions that extend police detention from four to 30 days and that allow police to deny access to a lawyer for up to five days. The crackdown continued in November, with further detentions and arrests of journalists, opposition politicians and academics, removal of civil servants from their posts and the closure of an additional 370 non-governmental organizations over alleged terror links.
Media Report
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Blog Post
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UNITED NATIONS & REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ICC: Prosecutor says American soldiers and CIA appear to have committed war crimes in Afghanistan
On 14 November, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released its comprehensive report on preliminary examination activities in 2016, covering a host of countries. Among other things, the report says that American soldiers appear to have subjected at least 61 people to “torture, cruel treatment [and] outrages upon personal dignity”, largely in 2003 and 2004, and that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) “appears to have subjected at least 27 detained persons to torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity and/or rape”. It notes that these “alleged crimes were not the abuses of a few isolated individuals. Rather, they appear to have been committed as part of approved interrogation techniques”. The prosecutor did not yet announce a final decision on launching a full-fledged investigation, however she signalled there is a “reasonable basis” for her to open investigations, which would focus mostly on any crimes that occurred in 2003 and 2004. The report also signalled an interest to broaden the inquiry into the abuse of detainees in secret facilities in other countries that are States parties to the Rome Statute, including Poland and Romania.
Prosecutor’s Report
Blog Post
Media Report
EU: Counter-Terrorism Coordinator publishes report
On 11 November, the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator published his report on the implementation of the counter-terrorism agenda set by the European Council, agreed by the Member States in February 2015. Among other things, the report provides recommendations on the Passenger Name Record Directive’s implementation, Europol and Eurojust, encryption and foreign terrorist fighter returnees.
CTC ReportEU: EU-US deal on law enforcement data transfers backed by EU institutions
On 24 November, the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee approved the EU-US data protection framework known as the “Umbrella Agreement”, which covers the transfers of all personal data, such as names, addresses or criminal records, exchanged between the EU and US for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of of criminal offences, including terrorism. The agreement provides that citizens have the right to be informed in the event of data security breaches, have inaccurate information corrected and seek judicial redress, and it sets limits on onward transfers of data and retention periods. The European Parliament gave its consent for the conclusion of the agreement with a plenary vote on 1 December, and on 2 December, the Council adopted the decision authorizing the European Union to conclude the agreement, which will enter into force once the US authorities have completed their internal procedures.
Council Press Release
European Parliament Press Release
EU: Three new security Directives moving forward
On 29 November, Commissioner for Security Union Julian King told Members of the European Parliament that the EU must respond to terrorism, cyber-crime and serious and organized crime, and said a directive on combating terrorism, a directive on firearms, and an amendment to systematic ID checks for every EU national are on track to be finalized in the next few weeks. On 17 November, agreement on the final text of the Directive on combating terrorism was reached at a “trilogue” meeting between the Council, the Parliament and the Commission. The ICJ and a host of other human rights organizations have raised concerns that the overly broad language of the new Directive on combating terrorism could lead to criminalizing public protests and other peaceful acts, to the suppression of the freedom of expression protected under international law, and other unjustified limitations on human rights. The groups called on EU Member States to ensure that the implementation of the Directive in national law includes additional safeguards to guarantee compliance with regional and international human rights obligations. The Directive requires States to criminalize a series of preparatory acts that may have a minimal or no direct link to violent acts of terrorism, and it imposes a low threshold for the criminalization of the public distribution of messages, including messages that “glorify” terrorist acts.
ICJ Statement
Media Report
Blog Post
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