17/05/2016 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Expressing concern that administrative detention has been abused to punish political opponents, obtain confessions in the absence of a lawyer, or for stifling peaceful protest, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights calls for other solutions than those undermining the protection of the right to liberty and security.
Adopting a report on administrative detention by Lord Richard Balfe (United Kingdom, EC), the committee calls on all member states to refrain from using administrative detention as a migration management tool; for placing political opponents, human rights activists or journalists in administrative detention with a view to coercing them into confessing a criminal offence; or to prevent people from taking part in a given protest.
In order to protect national security or public safety, and to prevent crime, including acts of terrorism, member states should apply alternative measures with the utmost restraint, based on clear, predictable legislative authorisation and respect for the principle of non-discrimination. Persons suspected of constituting a risk to national security could be restrained from visiting certain places, possibly with the help of electronic tagging devices. The committee further recommends the adoption, as needed, of laws criminalising certain preparatory actions for especially serious crimes or aimed at supporting terrorist activities.
The report is scheduled for debate during the PACE summer session (Strasbourg, 20-24 June 2016).