Newsletter July, 2010 |
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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: Garry Mann Applies for PardonGarry Mann, extradited to Portugal in May 2010, has applied for a pardon from the President of Portugal. Mann’s extradition followed a long legal battle in which British courts recognised that he was the victim of a “serious injustice” and concluded that his trial in Portugal had breached his most basic fair trial rights. Garry’s pardon application was submitted by his pro bono lawyer in Portugal, Rodrigo Barbosa Souto (a member of FTI’s Legal Experts Advisory Panel). FTI will be supporting the application and encouraging others to do the same. Although very few pardons are granted each year, we hope the horrendous ordeal Garry and his family have been through over the past 6 years will be taken into account and that his application will succeed. The President's decision is likely to be announced at Christmas. FTI is also working with Mr Souto and Garry’s pro bono lawyers in the UK (Kaim Todner) to assist in a transfer application. If granted, Garry will be able to serve the remainder of his two year sentence in the UK, close to his partner and six daughters. In addition, Garry will apply for early release after half of his prison sentence in Portugal is completed. An application to the European Court of Human Rights (challenging Garry’s treatment by the Portuguese and British courts) is also continuing but is unlikely to be decided until long after his sentence has been served. To read more about Garry’s case click here. CASE: Charges Against Peter Gray DroppedFive years of hell might finally be over for the Australian/British citizen Peter Gray, after a chance meeting with a woman on a flight from Bangkok to Mauritius in 2005 led to his arrest on suspicion of involvement in drug-trafficking. The woman he met on the plane was discovered to have heroine in her suitcase and initially implicated Peter. She later withdrew this saying she had been told to implicate him by police. After his arrest, Peter spent a traumatic 86 days in solitary confinement and was then held for 16 months in a maximum security prison. He was finally granted bail in December 2006 subject to the condition that he must remain in Mauritius. Since then Peter attended numerous further hearings, but a full trial never commenced. Justice was continuously delayed as the police were unable to produce witnesses in court and were repeatedly granted further time to gather evidence. Charges against Peter were finally dropped following a hearing on 7 May 2010. Nearly five years after his arrest, the authorities in Mauritius had finally concluded that Peter should not be prosecuted. However, Peter is still unable to leave Mauritius. Peter’s situation was complicated by the actions of former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who had Mr Gray’s passport cancelled and replaced with an A4 piece of paper for identification. This was permitted under a controversial law which allows ministers to refuse to reissue a passport when the individual is accused of a serious offence abroad. Peter’s passport has recently been returned, however over two months have passed since the charges were dropped and he is still prevented from leaving Mauritius. Fair Trials International will now be working to ensure Peter Gray is able to return home to Australia as soon as possible. Click here to read more about Peter Gray’s case CAMPAIGN: Concerns Over New EU Evidence Gathering PowersThe UK Government has decided to opt in to a new EU evidence-gathering law. Fair Trials International supports European cooperation to tackle crime but has expressed serious concerns about these proposals. The “European Investigation Order” (EIO) would allow police in one European country to order police in another to gather and share sensitive personal information, recordings of bugged conversations, banking records and DNA. There are virtually no grounds on which orders could be refused, a radical shift from the current discretionary system which many countries (including the UK) have said works well. Sadly, these new laws were pushed forward before key questions about their neccessity and implications were answered. In the UK there was no opportunity to even debate the measure in Parliament before the opt in decision. The human rights implications of the EIO are serious. There is no guarantee about how sensitive personal data will be used or stored. Neither is there any guarantee that a defendant will be able to challenge the reliability of evidence gathered by a foreign police force under an EIO. The EIO is also drafted as a prosecution tool, not as one that could be used to obtain evidence needed by the defence. Until acceptable fair trial and data protection standards are guaranteed across the EU this kind of no-questions-asked evidence-gathering order is inappropriate. The EIO could also result in huge amounts of police time being wasted dealing with unreasonable and disproportionate demands from across the EU. EU countries have complained about the burden of dealing with a deluge of extradition requests from countries including Poland and Latvia for minor offences. There is nothing to stop the EIO resulting in a similar deluge of evidence-gathering orders. To read more about the EIO and Fair Trials International’s concerns click here. CAMPAIGN: EU Takes Another Key Step to Protect Fair Trial RightsThe European Commission has this month announced a draft law which would ensure that anyone arrested in an EU country is provided with key information about their basic legal rights and the charges against them. It would also guarentee suspects and defendants proper access to the case file once the investigation is complete. This is the second in a series of much-anticipated measures designed to protect fair trial rights in Europe. The first law, passed in June 2010, guarantees that anyone facing charges in a European country is given access to an interpreter and to a translation of important documents. Fair Trials International has long campaigned for these legally binding defence safeguards. Our work on cases in different EU Member States illustrates the serious risk of injustice that arises when people are not given early access to basic information about their rights or the charges against them. FTI has drawn on the cases of clients like Garry Mann and Teresa Daniels, both of whom had unfair trials marked by inadequate information about rights and charges to show the need for this new law. Fair Trials International will now be campaigning for other crucial guarantees of a fair trial, such as access to legal advice, legal aid, reviews of pre-trial detention and other basic rights. For more information about our Justice in Europe campaign click here. NEWS: EAPD Raises Over £800 with Sponsored RunWe would like to thank Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge (EAPD) which ran the Great City Race to raise money for Fair Trials International. On 15 July, a team of 21 people from the law firm’s London office took part in the run, raising over £800 for FTI’s work. If you would like to sponsor the team and add to their total, you can do so by clicking here to visit their Justgiving page. Your support will enable Fair Trials International to continue its vital work, providing support to around 500 individuals each year who face criminal charges in a country other than their own. If you are interested in raising funds to support FTI, please contact Robert Jackman on 020 7762 6400 or robert.jackman@fairtrials.net. Support us
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