France terror laws ‘flout rights’

BBC
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

France violates human rights in the way it handles terrorism-related cases, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report says.

The pressure group says France uses a catch-all offence to charge suspects even when they have only a vague link to an alleged terrorist organisation.

The report also says suspects can face long periods of detention before trial, and some have suffered physical violence during interrogation.

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HRW says ministers need to take action or risk alienating some communities.

France prides itself on having perhaps the most effective anti-terrorist system in Europe, says the BBC’s Hugh Schofield in Paris.

The country has a team of specialist magistrates operating in close contact with the intelligence services, and an armoury of finely honed laws to tackle the threat of terrorism, our correspondent says.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Justice breaches

Since the mid 1990s, there has been no serious terrorist attack.

But according to HRW, that level of security comes at the cost of some important breaches of natural justice.

Full article here. 

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