Our Mission: To work for fair trials based on international standards of justice and defend the rights of those facing charges in a country other than their own.
In this issue
Case: Extradition nightmare over for Arapi family
Earlier this month Italian authorities decided to drop their request to extradite Edmond Arapi after conceding that they had been pursuing the wrong man.
Edmond Arapi, a father of three, was tried and convicted of murder in Italy and given a 16 year sentence. Edmond had no idea that the trial was taking place and was given no chance to present his compelling alibi evidence. The murder took place in 2004 in Genoa, a city which Edmond had never even visited. In fact he hadn’t left the UK at all between the years of 2000-2006.
Despite his possession of clear alibi evidence placing him in England at work in a café on the day the murder took place in Italy, Edmond was arrested in June 2009 at Gatwick Airport on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW), which was the first time he became aware of the charges against him. Since then, he has been in and out of jails in the UK and separated from his wife and children. His extradition was ordered by a British court on April 19 and the appeal was due to be heard on June 15.
Fair trials International highlighted the case in the national media and worked with Edmond's MP and MEPs to raise the profile of this potential injustice. We also called on the Italian authorities directly to withdraw the warrant while they considered Edmond’s alibi evidence.
Fair Trials International is delighted that just before the appeal was due to start, Italian authorities withdrew the extradition request, accepting that they had made a mistake and that Edmond Arapi was not the man they sought. They finally checked his fingerprints against those found at the crime scene and realised that they did not match. Edmond was able to return home a free man. A year-long nightmare was over.
Edmond’s case is only one of many demonstrating problems with the way that Europe's fast track extradition system is operating. If Italy had not realised its mistake, the UK courts could not have refused the request for Edmond's extradition on the basis of his compelling alibi evidence.
Read more about Edmond’s case here
Read about other cases of injustice involving the European Arrest Warrant
Case: Symeou Granted Bail after 10 Months in Greek Jail
Andrew Symeou, a 21 year old student, who has been held in a Greek jail for over 10 months, was finally granted bail this month. This welcome move follows acceptance by the Greek authorities that the latest delays in his trial are their fault.
Andrew’s nightmare began when he went on holiday with some friends to Zante, Greece. While in Zante another British man tragically died after falling from an unguarded stage in a night club. Andrew is charged with manslaughter but maintains that he was not at the night club at the time of the incident, a claim corroborated by many witnesses. Andrew was extradited to Greece in July 2009 to face trial.
Andrew’s trial was due to commence earlier this month in Patras, Greece. However, Greece had failed to summons key prosecution witnesses resulting in the Public Prosecutor requesting an adjournment. We hope that a new date for the trial will be set by the Court of Appeal in Patras as soon as possible to give Andrew the chance to clear his name in open court.
Fair Trials International has challenged previous refusals by the Greek courts to grant Andrew bail in the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that it is discriminatory, a violation of Andrew’s right to liberty and contrary to the principle that he should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Although finally granted bail this month, Andrew is unable to leave Greece.
Read more about Andrew’s case here
Campaign: European Parliament adopts Law on Interpretation Rights in Criminal Cases
The European Parliament has adopted a new law to ensure anyone facing charges in an EU country is given access to an interpreter and to the translation of documents.
The Directive requires all member states to implement legislation by July 2013 to ensure that a suspected or accused person who does not speak the language of the criminal proceedings is provided with interpretation. This must be of sufficient quality to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings, ensuring that suspects have knowledge of the case against them.
Fair Trials International has long campaigned for these legally binding defence safeguards. A key part of our lobbying for this law involved publicising the real-life experiences of our clients, people like Garry Mann and Teresa Daniels, both of whom had unfair trials marked by inadequate interpreting and translation facilities.
Fair Trials International will now be campaigning for other crucial guarantees of a fair trial, such as access to a lawyer, and information on your rights and the charges against you.
Read more about our Justice in Europe campaign here
News: Law Firm Runs the Great City Race for FTI
FTI is delighted to announce that a team from the law firm Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge (EAPD) will be running the Standard Chartered Great City Race 2010, in order to raise money for Fair Trials International.
On the 15th of July 2010, a team of twenty-one people from the firm will be running the 5k race, which will take them right across London’s square mile.
Laurence Harris, Partner in Charge said “EAPD has worked with Fair Trials for a number of years, we think their work is more important than ever in working abroad to protect the sort of basic human rights like access to a lawyer which we take for granted here in the UK. It gives our lawyers a chance to work on some critical cases and really help make a difference”.
As a small charity, funds generated through events like these make a huge difference to FTI's ability to continue defending the rights of people facing charges in a country other than their own. We are extremely grateful for all of EAPD’s support.
If you would like to sponsor the team, and send your message of support you can do so at: www.justgiving.com/EAPDGreatCityRun.
If you would like to fundraise for Fair Trials International, contact Robert Jackman at robert.jackman@fairtrials.net or on 020 7762 6400.
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Tel: 0044 (0) 207 762 6400
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From 1st April 2010
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