Brussels, 01/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - Amnesty International has published a detailed analysis of the EU's counter-terrorism initiatives in the area of criminal law since 11 September 2001. The 40-page report questions the EU's attitudes to human rights and was submitted to Gijs de Vries, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, on 31 May, when he attended a debate organised by Amnesty International with Jonathan Faull, Director General of the European Commission for Justice, Freedom and Security, Lord Carlisle of Berriew, UK Independent Reviewer of terrorism legislation, and Susie Alegre, co-author of the analysis, currently OSCE/ODIHR Counter-Terrorism Advisor.
'After surveying a wide range of counter-terrorism initiatives at EU level, it is clear that the lack of concrete, legally-binding human rights safeguards is not only leading to serious breaches of human rights but has created legal confusion and uncertainty,' explained Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty International's EU Office. He notes in a press release that 'cross-border cooperation to prosecute and remove people suspected of terrorist involvement is increasing, but fundamental human rights safeguards are being left behind at the borders.' Amnesty's report shows that 'the notion of a 'war on terror' is helping to create a legal limbo and that it is in no-one's interests, and certainly not in the interest in security, to obtain a wrongful conviction in a terrorist trial or to cooperate blindly with countries that do not respect human rights or the rule of law, thus giving their methods legitimacy.'
Amnesty International urges the EU to review its legislation on the drawing up of lists of terrorists to ensure clear legal review procedures exist for including individuals or groups on the lists; to carefully monitor how the European Arrest Warrant is used; to ensure Member States totally respect the principle of 'non-refoulement' in all circumstances. The Commission is urged to withdraw the draft framework decision on procedural guarantees if terrorist crimes are excluded from its scope of application; and to look at the admissibility of evidence obtained by torture and other forms of ill treatment in a future White Paper on evidence. (Report can be downloaded from http://www.amnesty-eu.org )