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: Michael Turner, extradited and held in Hungarian jail without charge

 Michael Turner is nearing his 100th day of detention in a Budapest prison. Michael was extradited to Hungary under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) in November in relation to allegations of fraud after a business he was involved in failed. Despite assuring a British court that they were ready to prosecute Michael, the Hungarian authorities have so far failed to do so. Michael has not yet been charged with any criminal offence.

The EAW was designed to extradite people to serve a sentence or face a criminal prosecution. FTI is concerned that, in this case, it has been used prematurely while an investigation is ongoing and before any decision to prosecute has been taken. We believe that Hungarian authorities should have completed their investigations before tearing Michael from his family, flying him to Hungary and locking him up in jail far from home. If they needed to question him in connection with the failure of the business they could have used existing powers to work with the British police.

• Read more about Michael Turner’s case

• Read more about Fair Trials International's concerns with the European Arrest Warrant

Case: High Court rejects Garry Mann’s legal challenge against extradition

Despite recognising that Garry Mann has suffered a “serious injustice”, the UK’s High Court decided last week that it could not prevent Garry’s extradition under Europe’s fast-track extradition laws. Lord Justice Moses said he hoped the European Court of Human Rights or the British government, through diplomatic channels, would step in to deliver “some measure of justice”.

Garry is wanted under a European Arrest Warrant to serve a 2 year sentence imposed following a 2004 trial in Portugal previously described by a British court as “so unfair as to be incompatible with Garry’s right to a fair trial.” A British police officer who was present at the trial has described it as a “farce”. If Garry is extradited, he will have no right to appeal his conviction or sentence in Portugal. FTI is continuing to work with Garry’s legal team to fight his extradition.

• Read more about Garry Mann's case

• Read more about Fair Trials International's concerns with the European Arrest Warrant

Policy: FTI responds to EC proposals on sharing criminal evidence within the EU

Fair Trials International has responded to a green paper produced by the European Commission on the sharing of criminal evidence between EU member states. The paper proposes the creation of a single law allowing EU member states to request other EU countries to gather and share evidence. It is proposed that these requests would be “automatically recognised and applicable throughout the EU...and limit as far as possible the grounds for refusal.”

Fair Trials International welcomes efforts for EU member states to cooperate in criminal justice matters. Effective mechanisms for states to work together to gather evidence could, in some cases, deter countries from using more drastic measures such as European Arrest Warrants (see Turner above). We are, however, worried that, as we have seen with the European Arrest Warrant, the instrument could leave courts with little scope to refuse requests – even where there are compelling fundamental rights reasons to do so.

Catherine Heard, Policy Officer at Fair Trials International, said:
“We’re concerned at the prospect of another mutual recognition instrument giving wide evidence-gathering powers, when mutual trust in each other’s legal systems is still lacking. We would prefer to see stronger basic defence protections in place across Europe first. We welcome any measure ensuring all fairly obtained and admissible evidence is available at trial but key protections will be needed to ensure the system works fairly and does not reduce evidence-gathering standards to the lowest common denominator.”

• Read Fair Trials International's response to the green paper

Fundraising Event: running for Fair Trials

We are delighted to announce that Nelly Low has chosen to use her place in this year’s London marathon to raise money for Fair Trials International. According to Nelly, she was motivated to support FTI after we helped in her friend’s case: “I was horrified to hear of the injustices that my friend was suffering. Fortunately FTI were able to find a fantastic lawyer ... to argue his case and explain the law of that country, which is certainly different to that in the UK. He is now back in the UK, getting on with life.”

The marathon will take place on the 25th of April this year, in the meantime Nelly aims to raise £2000 to help fund FTI’s work. Nelly said, “FTI rely on donations, having been fortunate enough to acquire a ballot place in the Virgin London Marathon means that I can demonstrate my appreciation of all the work that they have done.”

As a small charity, funds generated through events like these make a huge difference to our ability to continue defending the rights of people facing charges in a country other than their own. We are extremely grateful for Nelly’s support.

• Sponsor Nelly by visiting her Justgiving page

• Read about how to organise a fundraiser of your own

Opportunity: Policy and Communications Intern

Fair Trials International is looking for an enthusiastic individual with a legal background to help us with our policy and communications work.

The intern will be exposed to a wide range of FTI activities, from researching FTI cases and contributing to high level submissions, to drafting copy for the website and FTI campaigns materials.

Please pass this on to anyone you know that may be interested in the role.

• Read more information about the role and see details of how to apply


Support us

Read more at www.fairtrials.net

Subscriptions

[email address suppressed] received this because you subscribed on our website, or you indicated you would like to receive our newsletter. If you no longer wish to hear from us, you can unsubscribe instantly. You can always re-subscribe..

Pass it on

If you know someone who may be interested in receiving this newsletter, you can easily forward it to a friend (or 5!)

KEEP INFORMED

As well as our newsletter, all our website updates can be read on our RSS News Feed.

SUPPORT US

See how you can help.

Contact Us

Fair Trials International relies on your generosity to continue our ever-increasing case work and campaigns to promote fair trials according to international standards of justice. Read how you can help.

Registered charity no. 1079079