22/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (Germany, ALDE), former PACE rapporteur on the Gongadze case and co-rapporteur on Ukraine, today welcomed the arrest of former general and top Ukrainian Interior Ministry official Oleksiy Pukach, who had been in hiding since 2003. He was charged in absentia with having participated in the murder of journalist Giorgiy Gongadze, for which three policemen were sentenced to prison terms last year. "The arrest of Oleksiy Pukach provides the Ukrainian law enforcement authorities with a unique opportunity of shedding light on who ordered the gruesome murder of journalist Giorgiy Gongadze”, Mrs. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said.
16/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Following the brutal murder of Natalia Estemirova, a highly respected human rights defender and head of the Human Rights Center “Memorial” in Grozny (Chechnya), PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig, and parliamentary rapporteurs today expressed their shock and dismay, urging the authorities to hold to account not only the direct perpetrators, but also the instigators and organisers of this heinous crime. “This is one murder of a human rights defender too many - the Russian authorities in Moscow, at the highest level, must at last take decisive action to rein in the lawlessness in Chechnya and the whole North Caucasus region and protect those who stand up for the rights of their fellow citizens, as a matter of national responsibility”, they said.
09/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, has ended a two-day visit to Kiev (8-9 July 2009) with a call for greater domestic parliamentary supervision to ensure Ukraine implements judgments of the Court. The Rapporteur obtained assurances that Parliament will now take a more pro-active approach in supervising the Strasbourg Court's judgments, and that long overdue structural changes in the legal and justice system are now being finalised.
07/07/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), who is currently preparing a report on the implementation of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, is to visit Ukraine from 8 to 9 July 2009, where he is due to meet inter alia the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Justice, the acting Minister of Finance, the President of the Supreme Court and Prosecutor General.
29/05/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, has ended a two-day visit to Sofia (28-29 May 2009) with a call for greater domestic parliamentary supervision to ensure Bulgaria implements the Court’s judgments.
27/05/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), who is preparing a report on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, begins a two-day visit to Bulgaria (28-29 May) tomorrow. He is due to meet the Minister of Justice and the Deputy Minister of the Interior, as well as other officials and the members of the Bulgarian delegation to the Assembly. This is the first in a series of visits aimed at applying parliamentary pressure on states where delays or difficulties in implementing Court judgments have arisen. He will later travel to Greece, Italy, Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine.
18/05/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Jószef Berényi (Slovak Republic, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on the situation of Roma and Chair of the Assembly’s Sub-Committee on Rights of Minorities, made the following statement, speaking after a hearing on the subject in Târgu Mures, Romania: “It is with a feeling of revolt and shame that I note that in recent times the Roma minority has been the victim of attacks of a rare violence in several Council of Europe member states. In Italy, Roma camp sites have been burnt down, in Hungary two members of a Roma family – including one child – were killed in an attack on their home..."
06/05/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The PACE rapporteur on abolition of the death penalty, Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), has welcomed the promise by the Laos authorities not to apply the death penalty against British national Samantha Orobator, who was allegedly caught smuggling drugs. The 20-year-old woman fell pregnant in prison and is due to give birth in September. "The death penalty is a terrible violation of the right to life at all times, but Samantha's case is a demonstration for all to see that death is not justice," said Mrs Wohlwend. PACE would continue to follow the case closely, she said.
14/04/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
A recent hearing in Berlin on “discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity”, organised by PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee, brought together legal experts, NGOs and academics to brief parliamentarians on why – in the words of rapporteur Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC) – “some countries are more progressive on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, and some have greater problems”.
09/04/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
“Witnesses have played, and continue to play, a key role in ending impunity for war crimes, in particular in the Balkans,” said Jean-Charles Gardetto (Monaco, EPP/CD) today, speaking at the end of a visit to The Hague. “They are absolutely indispensable if the Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is to fulfill its mandate. In turn, the Tribunal has a long-term, moral and even legal commitment towards them. If the United Nations, and international justice as a whole, are to remain credible, there must be a residual mechanism for effectively protecting witnesses, one which will continue even after the Tribunal ceases to operate.” Mr Gardetto is currently preparing a PACE report on this topic.
01/04/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (Germany, ALDE), rapporteur on behalf of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on "allegations of politically-motivated abuses of the criminal justice system", has carried out a fact-finding visit to Moscow. “Judges who take their independent role seriously deserve our greatest respect. They need support both from Russian and from European institutions, such as the Council of Europe”, she declared today.
01/04/2009 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (Germany, ALDE), rapporteur on behalf of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on "allegations of politically-motivated abuses of the criminal justice system" has expressed her shock at the attack on Lev Ponomarev, head of the “All Russia movement for human rights”.