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Death penalty: concern at the latest events in Belarus and Russia

20/03/2015 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Marietta Karamanli, PACE general rapporteur on abolition of the death penalty, condemned the death sentence issued by the Rechytsa district court against Siarhei Ivanou at the end of a trial which had been held in camera.

Call for protection of whistleblowers in national security-related fields

18/03/2015 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Council of Europe member states and the EU should enact whistleblower protection laws also covering employees of national security and of private firms, PACE committee concluded today at a meeting in Paris.

PACE rapporteur in Georgia: ‘don’t use detention to settle political scores’

20/02/2015 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

"Georgia has made a good deal of progress in reducing pre-trial detention, but I was surprised to learn that such a large number of senior members of the previous government have been kept in detention," said Pedro Agramunt.

‘A law meant for spies is being used against whistleblowers’

30/01/2015 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Whistleblowers from the US and the EU recounted the problems they faced in trying to expose what they believed to be wrongdoing in the organisations they worked for, testifying at a hearing of PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee.

General rapporteur appalled by execution of two men with intellectual disabilities

30/01/2015 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

“I am gravely disturbed at the execution this week, in Georgia and Texas respectively, of Warren Hill and Robert Ladd – both of whom seem to have a well-documented intellectual disability,” said Marietta Karamanli.

Committee seriously concerned by decision to designate Russian human rights NGO as a ‘foreign agent’

27/01/2015 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

The committee has expressed “serious concern” about intimidation measures taken by the Russian authorities against the Committee against Torture, a leading NGO providing legal aid and rehabilitation to torture victims in Russia.

Drone strikes: states must ‘scrupulously respect’ limits laid down in international law

27/01/2015 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Council of Europe member states should “scrupulously respect” the limits placed on targeted killings under international law when carrying out drone strikes, the Committee has said.

Mass surveillance is counter-productive and ‘endangers human rights’

26/01/2015 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

A committee has said that the mass surveillance practices disclosed by US whistleblower Edward Snowden “endanger fundamental human rights” and divert resources that might prevent terrorist attacks.

Harassment of PACE Human Rights Prize winner needs urgent investigation

16/12/2014 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

I strongly denounce the latest harassment of human rights defenders in Chechnya, particularly the Committee against Torture headed by Igor Kalyapin, 2011 PACE Human Rights Prize winner, James Clappison said.

Threats to the rule of law in Council of Europe member States

10/12/2014 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

In a draft Resolution adopted today, the committee urges member, observer and applicant states to ensure that the judiciary is fully independent to resist politically-motivated prosecutions.

Upholding human rights: a national task as well as one for the Strasbourg Court

10/12/2014 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

The committee has congratulated the European Court of Human Rights on reducing its backlog of cases and becoming more efficient, but urged states to match this progress by “reinforcing the principle of subsidiarity”.

General rapporteur welcomes the decision to stay the execution of Scott Panetti

05/12/2014 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Marietta Karamanli, general rapporteur on abolition of the death penalty, welcomed the decision of a United States federal court of appeal to stay the execution of Scott Panetti, due to take place in Texas.