Catch up with the latest news.
Stronger controls needed for undercover deployments
Undercover officers deployed into protest communities gathered intelligence which enabled the police to prevent acts of serious violence; but there was serious intrusion into the lives of others, and this risk needs to be better managed in future, a report published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has found.HMIC… Read more ...Factsheets on defendants’ rights
The European Commission has made available to the public, on the European e-Justice portal, national factsheets on the rights of defendants in all 27 Member States of the EU. The European Commission’s e-Justice portal aims at facilitating access to justice by citizens and businesses across Europe. It is also aimed… Read more ...Murder case to be reinvestigated under Double Jeopardy legislation
The Crown Office has announced that it is to review the murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar, who was killed in 1998. Strathclyde Police have now been instructed to carry out further investigation into his murder under the Double Jeopardy legislation introduced in November last year.The Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011… Read more ...Concerns at moves to block accession to Human Rights Convention
Representatives of the the Parliamentary Assembly of the 47-nation Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament have urged national governments – notably the UK and France – not to stand in the way of the EU signing up to the European Convention on Human Rights.Kerstin Lundgren (Sweden, ALDE), PACE… Read more ...Court rules against deportation of Abu Qatada to Jordan
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in the case Othman (Abu Qatada) v. the United Kingdom, which is not final, that Omar Othman (also known as Abu Qatada) would be at real risk of a grossly unfair trial if deported to Jordan, where he is wanted on terrorism… Read more ...ECHR rules life imprisonment is not inhuman or degrading
In a Chamber judgment in the case Vinter and Others v. the United Kingdom, which is not final, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has unanimously held that there had been no violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights… Read more ...Calls for independent judicial inquiry into torture allegations
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that for the time being no one from the security or intelligence services will be charged over British complicity in torture. However, according to the human rights organisation Liberty, the CPS clearly vindicated concerns that British security agencies provided questions for Binyam Mohammed’s… Read more ...Human trafficking study
Glasgow Caledonian University lecturer Dr Kiril Sharapov, an expert in the field of human trafficking, is to undertake the biggest study ever into the public’s attitude towards the problem – and how consumers’ spending habits contribute towards it.Dr Sharapov says that there is a widespread misconception that human trafficking is… Read more ...First prosecution and conviction under the Bribery Act 2010
The first prosecution and conviction under the new Bribery Act 2010, which came into effect on 1 July 2011, took place on 14 October 2011 following the guilty plea of 22 year old Munir Yukub Patel. Patel was subsequently imprisoned for 3 years on 18 November 2011 in respect of… Read more ...