| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.11, No.13, 7.4.05 |
| Publication Date | 07/04/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 07/04/05 MEPs are sharply divided over a blueprint on the rights of suspected criminals because of efforts to keep anti-terror measures outside its scope. On Monday (11 April), the European Parliament will debate the proposal to have common rules for criminal proceedings across the Union. When the European Commission put forward this measure last year, it recommended that it would not cover national laws to deal with terrorism or other serious crimes. Dutch Green MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg, who drafted the response to the proposal for Parliament's civil liberties committee, says that such an exemption would contradict the European Convention on Human Rights. But her call for the exemption to be deleted is being contested by the assembly's largest political group, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP-ED). The question of what rights should apply to alleged terrorists has been especially controversial in the UK over the past few months. Britain's new Prevention of Terrorism Act has been denounced by civil liberties activists for its provisions on "control orders", including house arrests, on suspected extremists. Timothy Kirkhope, a British Conservative deputy, said that if Buitenweg maintained her stance, she would meet the "total opposition of the EPP-ED". He pointed out that the question related not just to Britain, but also to measures undertaken in Spain in reaction to attacks by Basque separatists ETA and legislation introduced in the Netherlands following the murder of film-maker Theo van Gogh in November. British Socialist MEPs are to decide on Monday how they should vote on Buitenweg's report. One of their deputies Claude Moraes has reservations about the Prevention of Terrorism Act but said he does not feel the time is ripe to have a common approach to criminal proceedings across the Union. Buitenweg is recommending that MEPs should endorse the Commission's proposal, provided several amendments to it are introduced. Having procedural rights in criminal proceedings across the Union is vital, she feels, now that the European arrest warrant, speeding up extradition between member states, has come into effect. Among the changes she is urging is that a suspected person should have the right to legal advice within six hours of being arrested; the Commission had simply stated that such advice should be granted "as soon as possible". She also wishes to see that electronic recording of police interrogations should become mandatory across the Union. "If we have the means to do this, why not do so?" she asked, explaining that it would help reduce the risk of people being convicted for crimes they did not commit, as well as shield police officers from claims that they used excessive pressure while interviewing a suspect. Roger Smith, director of civil liberties watchdog Justice, argued that common procedural rights were necessary in principle. But he said that the Commission's proposal was weaker than the European Convention. For example, the Commission merely refers to the right for legal advice to suspects, whereas the Convention refers to the right to legal assistance.
The court's deliberations follow an attempt to extradite German citizen Mamoun Darkazanli, allegedly a central figure in Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, to Spain. In November last year, the court decided that the arrest warrant system needed to be closely examined as there were fundamental questions of its compatibility with the German constitution, which forbids handing over a German national to a foreign power. Madrid judge Baltazar Garzón, had requested that Darkazanli face proceedings in Spain. Preview of the European Parliament's annual debate on the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice on 11 April 2005. MEPs were to vote on a Commission proposal for a Council Framework Decision on certain procedural rights in criminal proceedings throughout the European Union. Article reports that MEPs were sharply divided over the proposal on the rights of suspected criminals because of efforts to keep anti-terror measures outside its scope. Dutch Green MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg drafted the response to the proposal for the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Justice and Home Affairs, Security and Defence |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
