17/08/2012 | President
PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon today voiced his concern at the two-year prison sentence handed down in Russia to three activists of the ‘Pussy Riot’ group. “In a democracy, the right to freedom of expression may be subject to conditions intended inter alia to protect morals and the rights of others. However, the penalties imposed must be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence. Bearing in mind the standards of the Council of Europe, a two-year prison sentence for the alleged acts is patently disproportionate,” the President said.
16/08/2012 | Monitoring
The PACE co-rapporteurs for Ukraine, Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE) and Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD), welcomed the release on Tuesday of Valeriy Ivaschenko, who was acting Defence Minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko. At the same time, they expressed their hope that his release would soon be followed by that of Juriy Lutsenko and Yulia Timoshenko whose ongoing detention is of concern to the Assembly.
14/08/2012 | Prizes
A delegation of parliamentarians, led by the Vice-Chairperson of the PACE Sub-Committee on the Europe Prize, Axel Fischer (Germany, EPP/CD), presented on 12 August the 2012 Europe prize to the Mayor of the Italian town of Corciano, Nadia Ginetti. The ceremony was attended by the mayors of Corciano’s twin cities, mayors of last year winning towns – Hünfeld (Germany) and Landerneau (France) – and the President of the Congress' Chamber of Local Authorities, Jean-Claude Frecon.
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.
07/08/2012 | Prizes
The Italian town of Corciano (province of Perugia) will receive the 2012 Europe Prize at a ceremony on Sunday 12 August at 5.30 pm (Piazza Coragino), to be attended by the public, local personalities and the mayors of its three twin-towns, Pentling in Germany, Civrieux d'Azergues in France and Libiaz in Poland. On this occasion, a delegation of parliamentarians, led by the Vice-Chairperson of PACE Sub-Committee on the Europe Prize, Axel Fischer (Germany, EPP/CD), will present the prize to Corciano’s Mayor, Nadia Ginetti.
07/08/2012 | Monitoring
Josette Durrieu (France, SOC), PACE rapporteur on the post-monitoring dialogue with Turkey, welcomed the release of the Franco-Turkish student Sevil Sevimli. “We were gravely concerned over Ms Sevimli’s arrest and imprisonment. We have followed developments in this case, in liaison with the family. Moreover, under my terms of reference as rapporteur to the Parliamentary Assembly, I have set up a contact with the Turkish Minister of Justice,” explained Ms Durrieu...
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.
06/08/2012 | President
The President of the Assembly, Jean-Claude Mignon, today conveyed his message of support to the judges of the country’s Constitutional Court. “The role of the Constitutional Court is to guarantee respect for the Constitution and the laws, which is essential for the institutions to function democratically. It is thus crucial to safeguard its independence, and any political intrusion into its proceedings is unacceptable,” he said.
30/07/2012 | President
"I note the results of the referendum. I now call on all players in Romanian politics to overcome their differences and agree to work together to meet the major challenges which lie ahead of Romania in the coming weeks and months, showing the mutual respect without which democracy would be just a set of formal rules. I also urge them to safeguard the independence of the judiciary, which is vital to the establishment and strengthening of the rule of law," said PACE President after yesterday's referendum on dismissal of the President of Romania.
19/07/2012 | President
At the end of a fact-finding visit to Romania on 18 and 19 July 2012, a delegation consisting of the PACE President, Jean-Claude Mignon, together with Andreas Gross, Chairperson of the Socialist Group (SOC), and Anne Brasseur, Chairperson of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), today issued the following statement: “We are concerned at the haste with which profound political changes affecting the functioning of institutions in Romania have taken place without at the same time any true consideration or political debate..."
17/07/2012 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“I condemn the three illegal executions carried out today by Hamas, and call on the authorities in Gaza to cease all further executions, in line with the de facto moratorium on the death penalty which has been put in place by the Palestinian Authority since 2005. The death penalty – wherever it takes place – is simply wrong, but these executions are also a violation of Palestinian law, since they were carried out without any consultation with President Abbas," today said PACE rapporteur Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL), who is currently in Ramallah.
13/07/2012 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
Reacting to the publication of Swiss court documents yesterday, François Rochebloine (France, EPP/CD), author of a recent report for the PACE on good governance and ethics in sport, has made the following statement: “At last, under pressure from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and others, FIFA has made public the details of a shocking scandal at the heart of world football: millions of Swiss Francs rightfully belonging to the sport went into the pockets of some of its most senior administrators."