31st May 2005

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL EU OFFICE PRESS RELEASE:
LACK OF HUMAN RIGHTS SAFEGUARDS UNDERMINES EU COUNTER-TERRORISM EFFORT

(Brussels, 31 May, 2005)

In a detailed analysis of the EU's
counter-terrorism initiatives in the area of criminal law since 11
September 2001, Amnesty International has shown that the absence of
concrete human rights safeguards in many of these initiatives is likely to
undermine efforts to fight terrorism in Europe.

"Respect for human rights is often portrayed as hampering efforts to defeat
terrorism but this new analysis shows how genuine security is undermined if
basic human rights and the rule of law are not respected. It is in the
breach, not in the protection of human rights that security is put at risk.
That goes for the EU as well as anywhere else in the world," Dick Oosting,
Director of Amnesty International's EU Office told a press conference in
Brussels today.

Amnesty International's 40-page analysis "Human Rights Dissolving at the
Borders? Counter-terrorism and EU Criminal Law" - the first analysis of its
type of the overall implications of the EU's recent counter-terrorism
initiatives in the area of criminal law - is available on
http://www.amnesty-eu.org from 11.00 Brussels time, 31 May. A shorter
Executive Summary is also available online.

It was presented today to the EU's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gijs de
Vries who participated in an Amnesty International panel debate with
Jonathan Faull, European Commission Director-General for Justice, Freedom
and Security, Lord Carlile of Berriew, UK Independent Reviewer of terrorism
legislation and Susie Alegre, co-author of the analysis, currently
OSCE/ODIHR Counter-Terrorism Adviser.

Amnesty International analysed a range of counter-terrorism initiatives
where the EU has direct responsibility for ensuring adequate protection of
human rights including:
· terrorist blacklists
· European Arrest Warrant
· the drawing up of minimum standards across the EU on the rights of
suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings
· admissibility of evidence obtained by torture
· extradition and expulsion of terrorist suspects to third countries.

"After surveying a wide range of counter-terrorism initiatives at EU level,
it is clear that the lack of concrete, legally-binding human rights
safeguards is not only leading to serious breaches of human rights but has
created legal confusion and uncertainty," Dick Oosting said. "Cross-border
cooperation to prosecute and remove people suspected of terrorist
involvement is increasing, but fundamental human rights safeguards are
being left behind at the borders."

Amnesty International's analysis states that the notion of a "war on
terror" is helping to create a legal limbo, and that it is in no-one's
interests and certainly not in the interest of security, to obtain a
wrongful conviction in a terrorist trial or to cooperate blindly with
countries that do not respect human rights or the rule of law, thus giving
their methods legitimacy.

"Because of the political and emotional impact of terrorist offences,
terrorist cases are often the most susceptible to abuses of fundamental
rights. That is why it is in these most sensitive and difficult cases that
clear and binding standards for criminal justice must prevail if the EU and
its Member States are to live up to their collective commitments to protect
the principles of human rights and the rule of law," Dick Oosting said.

For further comment/background and interviews:
Amnesty International EU Office (Brussels)
Tel: 32-2-5021499
Fax: 32-2-5025686
Email: AmnestyIntl@aieu.be
Web-site: http://www.amnesty-eu.org