Newsletter August, 2009 |
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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. Our Work: We campaign for fairer cross-border justice by assisting individuals in their fight for justice, making expert policy interventions, conducting innovative research and providing training and networking opportunities for human rights defenders from all over the world. In this issue
Case Spotlights: Deborah Dark & Andrew SymeouFrance seeks extradition of Deborah Dark 20 years after alleged incident Deborah Dark has spent the last twenty years re-building her life following a horrendous ordeal in France in the late 1980s. In the last two years her life has again been turned upside down following her arrest and detention in Turkey, Spain and the UK. Deborah is being pursued by the French authorities under a European Arrest Warrant to serve a prison sentence following a conviction twenty years ago. Neither Deborah nor her lawyer knew anything about the court hearing that led to the conviction and both were completely unaware that Deborah had been convicted in her absence. Although courts in both the UK and Spain have now agreed that it would be unjust to return Deborah to France, her extradition is still being sought. Unless they agree to remove the Warrant, Deborah would be arrested every time she steps foot in another European country. In effect she is imprisoned in the UK, too scared to visit her father who has retired to Spain. Her case demonstrates serious flaws with the European Arrest Warrant system. In particular, it highlights the absence of an effective system for removing inappropriate Warrants and the need for a time limit so Warrants cannot be issued many years after the alleged offence. Read more about Deborah Dark's case & Andrew Symeou extradited to Greece and denied bail Andrew Symeou has been denied bail by a Greek court following his extradition to Greece last month. As a result could have to spend months in prison awaiting trial. Andrew is being prosecuted in connection with the tragic death of a teenager from the UK in a nightclub in Zante, Greece in 2007. The case against Andrew is built on mistaken identity, conflicting evidence and a flawed police investigation involving violent intimidation of witnesses. Sadly, despite this, the British court said they had no power to prevent Andrew’s extradition. Fair Trials International has been assisting the Symeou family in their fight for justice since November 2008. We will continue to help the Symeous in their fight for justice, and will continue to fight for him to obtain bail and for the prosecution to be dropped. Read the latest press release on Andrew Symeou & Campaign: Raising standards of justice in EuropeIncreasing European co-operation in criminal justice has led to hundreds of individuals being extradited each year to face trial or serve sentences in other countries within Europe. Despite this, our own work at Fair Trials International leaves us in no doubt that more must be done to ensure basic fair-trial rights are protected across the Union. Too often, we encounter cases where people have been denied access to prompt and effective legal advice, to translation and interpretation and to basic information on the charges against them. We have long been calling for the introduction of binding legislation at EU level to protect people’s fundamental defence rights. In July the Swedish presidency of the European Union published a "roadmap", showing the way for basic rights to be protected in criminal proceedings throughout Europe. It was a huge disappointment that previous attempts to raise standards of justice across the Union were vetoed by the UK, among four other member states. We hope that this latest initiative will not suffer the same fate. Read more about FTI's Justice in Europe campaign. Event: 10km run for Fair Trails InternationalAmongst the crowds of people gathered in central London on the 12th of July for the London's annual 10km run, was a group running to raise money for Fair Trials International. Alma Mebar-Garner was prompted to arrange the sponsored run following her father’s detention in Dubai. Alma said, “My father has been unlawfully detained outside his country of citizenship for over a year now and I was looking for a charity to support that reflected our situation. I was extremely happy when I found Fair Trials International.” So far, Alma, Charlie and Nienke have managed to raise £1150 through their webpage on Justgiving. As a small charity, funds generated through events like these make a huge difference to our ability to defend the rights of people facing charges in a country other than their own. Read more at www.fairtrials.net |
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