Friday

29th Mar 2024

EU terror list criticised by human rights watchdog

The European Union's anti-terror list violates basic human rights, a Swiss investigator working for the human rights body the Council of Europe has said.

"The present system of blacklists flouts the fundamental principles which are the basis of human rights," notes the report by Dick Marty, according to Reuters.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Dick Marty has critcised the EU in the past over CIA rendition flights (Photo: EUobserver)

To be formally presented today (12 November), the report condemns the terror black lists of both the EU and the United Nations claiming that suspects on the list are not allowed the right of reply and also have difficulty clearing their names once on the list.

This is not the first bad publicity for the EU list, which contains around 60 entries of groups and individuals and is reviewed around twice a year by member state secret service representatives.

In December, an EU court questioned the 2002 decision to place the People's Mujahadeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), a Paris-based Iranian opposition group, on the terror register and freeze its assets.

Although there have been some procedural changes to how the list is run since the ruling - all groups on the list now sent statements of reasoning - PMOI has remained on the list.

In July, meanwhile, an EU court overturned a decision by member states to freeze the assets of Philippine rebel leader Jose Maria Sison and the Al-Aqsa foundation, based in the Netherlands.

The Luxembourg-based court of first instance found that EU governments had breached the rights of both parties - who are both on the EU terror list - by not telling them why their assets had been frozen.

It also found that they had not been given sufficient rights of defence or to effective judicial protection.

The EU's anti-terror list was set up in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and features Islamic group Hamas as well as the Kurdish PKK group, the Tamil Tigers, ETA and Colombian rebels FARC.

Referring to both the EU and the UN - which has over 360 indiviuals on its list - Mr Marty said that both organizations must respect "minimal norms of procedure and juridical safeguards."

"Despite recent procedural improvements it remains almost impossible, in practice, to be removed from the blacklist - a situation that is illegal and unacceptable," Mr Marty wrote in specific reference to the PMOI case.

Mr Marty last caused a stir when he accused EU member states of knowing about US rendition acts - the clandestine transportation of foreign prisoners - often using European airspace.

EU keeps Iran opposition group on terror list

The EU has kept Iran opposition group PMOI on its new list of terrorist entities in a controversial move likely to spark complaints from MEPs as well as Danish and Italian parliamenterians.

EU Parliament set to sue EU Commission over Hungary funds

The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

EU Commission clears Poland's access to up to €137bn EU funds

The European Commission has legally paved the way for Poland to access up to €137bn EU funds, following Donald Tusk's government's efforts to strengthen the independence of their judiciary and restore the rule of law in the country.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us