06/09/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
“The difficulty of striking a European consensus on the issue of ‘sects’ does not mean that we should drop the idea of establishing rules and policies at European level to protect minors against sectarian excesses,” said Rudy Salles (France, EPP/CD), rapporteur on the protection of minors against sectarian influence, speaking today at the opening of a hearing on this subject organised in Paris by PACE’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.
28/08/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), the Parliamentary Assembly's General Rapporteur on the death penalty, is dismayed by recent reports of a wave of executions in The Gambia. "The Gambia had already successfully abolished the death penalty. Even after current President Jammeh brought back capital punishment in 1995, he respected a de facto moratorium..."
09/08/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), PACE General Rapporteur on the death penalty, strongly condemned the execution, in Texas, of Marvin Wilson, considered as mentally impaired because of his low IQ. "The death penalty is a violation of human rights. The execution of Marvin Wilson is particularly shocking, as even the US Supreme Court, in 2002, had outlawed the execution of mentally handicapped persons," she said.
06/08/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
"I strongly condemn the executions of two death row inmates, Junya Hattori and Kyozo Matsumura in Japan last week”, PACE General Rapporteur on the death penalty Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD) said today. “I am bitterly disappointed by the attitude of the Japanese authorities", she added.
21/05/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
“Today the situation of human rights defenders in Europe is far from satisfactory. In some Council of Europe member states they risk their own personal security, especially when they champion sensitive issues such as fighting the impunity of state officials for serious crimes including murder, torture and corruption, or promoting the rights of oppressed minority groups,” said Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) in her report on the situation of human rights defenders in Council of Europe member states.
21/05/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
What are the limits for decisions made by politicians involving risks that are not the normal risks of normal citizens? In a hearing on this issue, organised by PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee in Paris today, the rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD) stressed that political and criminal responsibility had to be kept separate...
04/05/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD), who is preparing a PACE report on “Keeping political and criminal responsibility separate”, will make a fact-finding visit to Iceland from 7 to 9 May 2012 to examine the case of former Prime Minister Geir Haarde, who was put on trial for failing to take appropriate ministerial action to avert the 2008 banking crisis.
12/04/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), PACE former rapporteur on abolition of the death penalty in the organisation’s member and observer states, today congratulated the people of Connecticut on the abolition of the death penalty in their State: “I admire the humility of Connecticut Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr. who said that ‘in a system of justice that is not perfect, we must not employ a penalty that requires perfection’..."
12/03/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Restrictions on an individual’s movement – such as a visa ban or refusing entry to a country – should never be used as a sanction for holding “peacefully-held political opinions”, PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee has said in a draft resolution adopted today in Paris.
27/02/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, who was sentenced today by a Kyiv court to four years in prison for abuse of office and abuse of power, is “the victim of a political vendetta”, according to Marieluise Beck (Germany, ALDE), PACE Rapporteur on “Threats to the rule of law in Council of Europe member states: asserting the Parliamentary Assembly’s authority”.
22/02/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Marieluise Beck (Germany, ALDE) will conduct a fact-finding visit to Kyiv in connection with the preparation of her report on “Threats to the Rule of Law in Council of Europe member states - Upholding the authority of the Parliamentary Assembly”.
03/01/2012 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Christoph Strässer (Germany, SOC), PACE rapporteur on “revisiting the issue of political prisoners”, has welcomed the recent liberation of Mehman Mammadov, Jabbar Savalan and Nizami Shamuradov as part of the traditional end-of-year amnesty. “I warmly welcome the liberation of these three persons, who were included in the provisional list of alleged political prisoners which I am currently studying. This is obviously a step in the right direction,” said Mr Strässer.