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April

EU: Report from Justice: Human rights and the future of the European Union (pdf)

UK: MI5 accused of colluding in torture of terrorist suspects - British agents alleged to have questioned men at Pakistani interrogation centre after they had been brutally mistreated and 'Endemic, widespread and systematic' use of torture and Fourth Briton accuses MI5 of collusion in torture of detainees (Guardian, links)

Belgian arms transfers to the Middle East - GRIP report (French, pdf) Traditionally, the Middle East is a privileged destination of world arms exports. This region is indeed very keen on new military equipment it can buy easily thanks to oil revenues. For decades, Belgium, almost exclusively through Walloon exports, managed to obtain a share of this market, particularly by building continuing trade relations with one of the states in the region, Saudi Arabia. Yet these Belgian transfers, like those of other states, raised many questions, especially concerning the unintended use that could be made of exported arms, such as internal repression or the risk of diversion by terrorist groups.

Exclusive: Commission proposals to amend Regulation on access to EU documents: Statewatch analysis:

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

“The scope of the Commission’s amendments and its consultation do not consider many of the fundamental questions posed by civil society and the European Parliament.

Perhaps the most crucial is the public’s right to know what is being discussed before it is adopted in Brussels – a practice that would never be tolerated at national level.

Moreover, two of the Commission amendments are highly retrogressive. The new definition of a document would mean that if an official does not register it then it is not a “document” – a recipe for abuse. And the obligation of institutions to give public access to the full text of documents would be limited to legislative measures – and not cover the hundreds of thousands of other documents produced and received.

The Amsterdam Treaty was agreed 11 years ago (1997) and was meant to herald a new era of openness and transparency – we are still waiting for this to happen.”

Documentation

- Adopted version: Explanatory Memorandum and Annotated text

- Penultimate version: Commission proposals - Consolidated text
- Penultimate version: Commission Explanatory Memorandum
- Penultimate version: Memorandum to the Commission
- Penultimate version: Table comparing current text to proposed changes
- Full background and documentation since 1993 is on the Statewatch Observatory: FOI in the EU

EU: European Data Protection Supervisor: EDPS issues policy paper on his role in EU research and technological development (Opinion - full text, pdf) Press release (pdf)

UK: Face scans for air passengers to begin in UK this summer - Officials say automatic screening more accurate than checks by humans (Guardian, link) Report that the UK Border Agency is to introduce facial scans at airports to compare with "the image.. on the computer chip in their biometric passports" by using facial recognition technology at automated unmanned gates. A machine would accept or reject the match.

Finger-printing, iris and face scans, and DNA taken from people are biometrics giving the state a unique identifier for an individual. With varying degrees of accuracy - none is perfect - these biometrics can be used for verification ("one-to-one", the person from whom the biometric is taken matches that on the passport chip) or identification ("one-to-many", where the person's biometric is checked against the whole database and watch-lists).

The "facial image" held on the chip of recently issued EU passports simply contains a digitised copy of the normal passport picture, this is not a biometric. To try and match this "facial image" with a "facial scan" (plotting 1,840 unique features on a person's face) is quite reliable - but will make errors - for "one-one" checks but not at all reliable for "one-to-many".

As a report from the UK's National Audit Office (NAO) concluded: "current facial recognition technology is not reliable enough to enable the automated checking of applications against the full database of existing passport holders". It also found that the "chips" in ten-year passports only have a guaranteed lifetime of two years and "there are technical concerns that facial features can change a great deal over a decade... the software may fail to find matches where it should." Moreover, consultants for the NAO report concluded that facial recognition technology: "is not sufficiently reliable to enable fully automated searches even in relatively small databases, and performance is known to decline as database size increases."

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"The UK and other EU governments refer to the digitised passport photo as a biometric when it is not for ideological reasons - to get us used to the idea that they already have one of our "biometrics" so why should we not give them another - our fingerprints.

The process however is very different. In most cases the passport picture is simply submitted by post or at an office whereas the compulsory taking of fingerprints requires the physical presence of the person at an "enrolment centre" where they have to prove "they are who they are"."

UK-USA: Secret pact allows the US to spy on UK motorists (Inquirer, link)

EU: BIOMETRIC VISAS & FINGERPRINTING CHILDREN: Latest version of: Draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Common Consular Instructions on visas for diplomatic and consular posts in relation to the introduction of biometrics including provisions on the organisation of the reception and processing of visa applications (dated 22 April 2008, pdf). There are still substantive differences between the Council's position and that of the European Parliament - especially on the age for finger-printing children: Council, 6 years old and above, EP, 12 years old and above.

Ireland: Call for new data protection legislation after Bank of Ireland laptops lost (Sinn Fein press release, pdf)

UK: Breaking news 24 April 2008 - High Court quashes Treasury asset-freezing regime For full details, background and reactions: click here

EU: BORDER MANAGEMENT & DATA PROTECTION: Spring Conference of European Data Protection Authorities, Rome 17-18 April 2008: Declaration on EU border management (pdf): Current Commission proposals indicate:

"a trend to full control and surveillance of persons entering or leaving the Schengen area, irrespective of their nationality."

"the underlying concept of distrusting travellers by isolating selected "good faith" travellers from all other travellers, even considering the latter as potential law breakers. This will involve screening before and at the gate, controlling the passing of borders and the automatic processing of specific data of travellers. This concept does little to translate into reality "the symbolic effect of showing the EU as open to the world"2, as mentioned in the communication of the Commission and it is even doubtful whether it fits in with the values of the European Union."

"Until now no evaluation took place on the effectiveness of the implementation of existing legal measures and no reliable evidence is presented to support the need for new systems nor has any evidence been brought as to the need to supplement the ongoing initiatives in the field."

See also: Spring Conference of the European Data Protection Authorities, Cyprus 10-11 May 2007: Declaration on the principle of availability (pdf)

UK: COUNTER-TERRORISM: The Government Response to the Report by Lord Carlile of Berriew Q.C.: Third Report of the Independent Reviewer Pursuant to Section 14(3) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (pdf) Third Report of the Independent Reviewer pursuant to Section 14(3) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, Lord Carlile (pdf)

UK: CONTROL ORDERS: The Government Reply to the 10th report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights: Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights (Ninth Report): Annual Renewal of Control Orders Legislation 2008 (pdf)

EU: Protests: Proposal to create EU-wide "troublemakers" database, full story

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"We can now see a pattern emerging across the EU where people who exercise their democratic right to attend cross border protests are confronted by aggressive para-military policing, surveillance, preventive detention and expulsion.

This is a reflection of the EU's definition of "security" at international events which is now defined as covering both "counter-terrorism" and "public order".

Back in 2003 the bilateral exchange of information on "suspected troublemakers" between EU states for international events was agreed. What is proposed now is not the one-off exchange of information related to a specific event but a permanent EU-wide database of suspected "troublemakers", this is utterly unacceptable in a democratic Europe."

See also: Policing protests in Switzerland, Italy and Germany

1. Switzerland: Policing of the anti-WEF demonstration in Davos; 2. Italy: Demonstrators convicted for G8 clashes; 3. Switzerland: 200 arrests at peaceful street party; 4. Germany: 60 per cent of G8 investigations dropped

Brussels abandons plans to protect gays and lesbians (euobserver, link)

Britain's financial Guantanamo: This Thursday [24 April 2008], Mr Justice Collins of the High Court will deliver his judgment the case of 'G', 'K', 'A', 'M', and 'Q' v. H.M. Treasury. In the words of Rabinder Singh QC, "the facts of the case are reminiscent of an Austro-Hungarian novel". At issue are two 'Orders in Council' adopted under the 1946 United Nations Act. This Act allows the government to introduce domestic law to implement UN agreements - in this case a series of Security Council Resolutions dealing with the financial sponsors of terrorism - without consulting parliament. See full story.

EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) 18 April 2008, Luxembourg: Press release (18 April, pdf), A Point agenda (adopted without discussion, pdf), B Point agenda (pdf), Background Note (pdf) For full background and documentation on current Justice and Home Affairs issues see: Statewatch European Monitoring and Documentation Centre (SEMDOC)

USA-EU: THE US IS PLACING UNDER SURVEILLANCE E-MAILS, PHONE-CALLS and INTERNET USAGE and TRANSACTIONS OF EUROPEANS:: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Letter to the President of the EU Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (pdf) The letter, from Barry Steinhardt, Director of ACLU's Technology and Liberty Program, says that US agencies, through agreements with EU service providers which allow data and content to "pass through" the USA, is conducting extrajudicial surveillance of Europeans.

- "Internet transactions and email between Europeans is increasingly sent through servers in the U.S."

- "In many ways this situation is similar to the SWIFT case: transactions between two individuals in Europe may well transit through U.S. telecommunications companies and as a result will be made accessible to the U.S. government."

- "This activity involves no oversight or legal protections for non-U.S. persons. As a result, the communications of European citizens are completely vulnerable to abuse."

- "We believe that this situation clearly violates European legal requirements for the fair and lawful processing of personal information."

EU: Latest draft: Council Framework Decision amending Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA on combating terrorism (EU doc no: 7785/3/08, REV 3, 14 April 2008, pdf):

"The objective of the proposal is to update the Framework Decision and align it with the Council of Europe Convention on Prevention of Terrorism, by including public provocation to commit terrorist offences, recruitment for terrorism and training for terrorism....

it lies at the interface between fundamental rights and freedoms such as freedom of expression. It is therefore essential that the right balance is struck in the instrument."

See Statewatch Observatory on "Terrorist" lists: monitoring proscription, designation and asset-freezing

UK: "You don't have the right to silence" (indymedia, link) "Yes, that's what officer 0801 from West Midlands Police told me today at Birmingham Airport when I said "No comment" to his surprising question: "Have you been involved in organising any protests in this country?" And since I was held for one and a half hours to be asked such silly questions, I thought I would waste another hour and a half writing about it."

and: Recruiting Spies at British Airports (indymedia, link)

For background see: Special report from Statewatch, September 2003: Special Branch more than doubles in size: Analysis of the Special Branch’s role in conducting surveillance for MI5 and on public order by Tony Bunyan

EU: Council of the European Union: Annual report on access to documents, 2007 (pdf). Worthy of note is the growth in the number of classified documents:

"350 (original language) sensitive documents were produced in the period concerned, 26 classified as "SECRET UE" and 324 as "CONFIDENTIEL UE". Of these, 3 "SECRET UE" document and 61 "CONFIDENTIEL UE" documents are mentioned in the register, in accordance with Article 9(2) and Article 11(2) of Regulation No 1049/2001."

Of the 350 classified documents produced during the year only 64 were listed on the Council's register of documents.

In addition, applications were examined for access to 802 documents classified as "RESTREINT UE" - 35,3 % concerned European Security and Defence Policy, 28% Common Foreign and Security Policy CFSP and 25.5% Justice and Home Affairs.

The top issue for which documents where applied to the Council for access to was Justice and Home Affairs: 20,1 % in 2004 to 22,5 % in 2005 and 24,5 % in 2006, reaching 26,8 % in 2007.

UK: Free Our Information: Promoting alternative information, news and ideas: Journal Launch: Information, Society and Justice (pdf) Thursday 1st May 2008, Time: 6.00pm to 9.00pm. Henry Thomas Room (TG-30), Tower Building, London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB. Speakers: Firoze Manji (The Pambazuka Experience), Duncan Bowie (Debating Radical Politics), Tony Bunyan (Watching the state, informing the people), Shiraz Durrani (Why Information, Society and Justice?), Prof. John Gabriel (Chair)

IT and telcommunications surveillance equipment (quintessenz, link)

"A collection of network monitoring and datamining suites made by Nokia Siemens, Ericsson, Verint and others. All systems are compliant to ETSI and CALEA "lawful interception" standards, the vendors themselves are involved in the standardization. While the official name of the game is still "lawful interception" these suites perform "high speed government surveillance". From Iran to China "intelligence platforms" and "monitoring centers" are used to track down the democratic opposition, dissidents, ethnic and religious minorities. The vendors are mostly European and US companies."

IT and telcommunications surveillance equipment (quintessenz, link)

"A collection of network monitoring and datamining suites made by Nokia Siemens, Ericsson, Verint and others. All systems are compliant to ETSI and CALEA "lawful interception" standards, the vendors themselves are involved in the standardization. While the official name of the game is still "lawful interception" these suites perform "high speed government surveillance". From Iran to China "intelligence platforms" and "monitoring centers" are used to track down the democratic opposition, dissidents, ethnic and religious minorities. The vendors are mostly European and US companies."

EU-JHA-ECRE: Memorandum to the JHA Council: Ending the asylum lottery – Guaranteeing refugee protection in Europe (pdf)

EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN: Annual report: "Ombudsman: EU institutions must become more transparent": Press release (pdf) Executive Summary (pdf) Annual report - full text (link)

EU: European Institute of Public Adminstration (EIPA) Seminar: Transparency and Data Protection: Cooperating or Conflicting Elements of Good Governance? (Programme, pdf) 15-16 May 2008, Maastricht (NL)

UK: Spy caught by anti-aviation group was ‘more Austin Powers than 007’ (Times, link) "A spy who infiltrated a direct action anti-aviation group has been exposed after making a series of elementary errors that aroused the suspicions of genuine activists." Plane Stupid foils infiltration attempt (link)

Was it like this for the Irish? Gareth Peirce on the position of Muslims in Britain (London Review of Books, link)

EU: Draft Framework Decision on the enforcement of decisions rendered in absentia and amending Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States (EU doc no: 8074/08, pdf)

USA-FUSION CENTRES: EPIC obtains documents revealing Federal role in state fusion centre secrecy: "WASHINGTON, DC - The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has obtained a Memorandum of Understanding between the FBI and the Virginia State Police that details federally imposed limitations on the Virginia open government law. The memorandum, a January 2008 agreement signed by the FBI and the Department regarding Virginia's fusion intelligence center, references federal exemptions that would limit the ability of Virginia citizens to obtain public records from a state agency." Full-text of fusion centre MOU (3.37 MB, pdf) EPIC, “Information Fusion Centers and Privacy”

ECJ-TRANSPARENCY: Interesting new opinion on transparency issues re aviation security rules which were kept secret: Opinion of Advocate General Sharpston delivered on 10 April 2008, Case C-345/06 Gottfried Heinrich (Full-text, pdf) Aviation security Liberal's & Democrat's opposition to secret annexes vindicated by EU advocate general (ALDE, press release, pdf)

EU: Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on proposed changes to privacy in electronic communications directive (pdf)

GREECE: Report by Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers (NOAS), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) and Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM): Report on the violation of asylum seekers’ Human Rights by Greece (Report, pdf) and Press release (pdf)

"The situation for asylum seekers in Greece is alarming. Thousands of asylum seekers live under unworthy conditions, and without any forms of legal protection. The chance of receiving protection in Greece is close to zero. Transferring asylum seekers to the country is therefore irresponsible."

Germany: Collection of flight passenger data violates human rights - Complaints published (link, 31.3.08) Thanks to EDRI.

UK: Appeal court blocks deportation of terror suspects (Guardian, link) See: Court of Appeal Othman judgment (Full-text, pdf)

EU: Dick Marty, Chairman of the PACE Sub-Committee on Crime Problems and Fight against Terrorism cautions European Union against endangering cohesion and effectiveness of anti-terrorist action (pdf) Mr Marty questions the Commission's proposal on incorporating the Council of Europe's Covention on terrorism which would:

"establish the criminal offences of public provocation to commit a terrorist offence, recruitment for terrorism and training for terrorism. However, it omits to include the convention's Article 12 safeguard clause in the operative text of the framework decision. Mentioning fundamental human rights only in the preamble or in a recital is not enough. The message, outside as well as inside Europe, must be clear: anti-terrorist measures must be conditional on respect for fundamental human rights." (emphasis in original)

and see: “White man’s burden”: criminalising free speech by Ben Hayes (pdf)

"While the recurring publication of the ‘Danish cartoons’ of the Prophet Mohammed continues to provoke anger in the Muslim world and a defence of ‘free speech’ in the West, a proposed EU law on “public provocation” to terrorism could criminalise widely held political views – but it has barely raised a murmur."

GERMANY-USA: United States and Germany Agree to Share Fingerprint Databases and Information on Known and Suspected Terrorists (pdf)

EU: Article 29 Working Party Opinion on: Opinion on data protection issues related to search engines (pdf) Search engine activities threat to privacy, says EU report (euobserver, link)

EU-EUROPOL-TERRORISM : EU terrorism situation and trend report 2008 (pdf)

EU: VISAS, PASSPORTS & FINGERPRINTING CHILDREN: The latest Council (EU governments) text on visas and biometrics comparing their current position with that of the original Commission proposal and that of the European Parliament: EU doc no: 6962/08, pdf) It should be noted that there are many differences between this draft and the views of the European Parliament.

On the controversial issue of finger-printing children for EU passports and travel documents the Council position is that: "the majority view is 6 years with the possibility of going lower on the basis of national law" (EU doc no 75679/08, pdf) Thus any government would be able to adopt a lower age, even at birth.

European NGOs ask Court to annual data retention Directive: Submission concerning the action brought Ireland v Council of the European Union Case C 301/06 (pdf) 43 civil liberties NGOs and professional associations based in 11 European countries today submitted a brief to the European Court of Justice, asking it to annul an EU directive ordering the blanket registration of telecommunications and location data of 494 million Europeans.

USA: American Civil Liberties Union: What's wrong with fusion centres? (pdf)

A new institution is emerging in American life: Fusion Centers. These state, local and regional institutions were originally created to improve the sharing of anti-terrorism intelligence among different state, local and federal law enforcement agencies. Though they developed independently and remain quite different from one another, for many the scope of their mission has quickly expanded - with the support and encouragement of the federal government - to cover “all crimes and all hazards.” The types of information they seek for analysis has also broadened over time to include not just criminal intelligence, but public and private sector data, and participation in these centers has grown to include not just law enforcement, but other government entities, the military and even select members of the private sector.

EU-LISBON TREATY: Report from the House of Lords European Union Committee: The Treaty of Lisbon: an impact assessment - Vol 1 (5.4 MB, pdf) and Evidence Vol 2 (4.3 MB, pdf)

Portugal: Head of observatory on prisons charged with "offending" prison guard service

Antonio Pedro Dores, sociologist and professor at Lisbon university and director of the association ACED (Associação Contra a Exclusão pelo Desenvolvimento), which was established in 1999 and runs an observatory on prisons, faces charges of "offending a collective person, body or service" levelled at him by the SNCGP (Sindicato Nacional do Corpo da Guarda Prisional, national trade union of the body of prison guards).

Spain/UK: Extradited suspect complains of treatment in Spain

Moroccan national Farid Hilali extradited from the UK to Spain on 8 February 2008 to face charges of terrorist activity, has complained about his treatment, detention in solitary confinement and the confiscation of legal papers he needs to prepare a defence of his case.

EU: Standing Committee of experts on international immigration, refugees and criminal law: Views on the Commission report on the evaluation and future development of the FRONTEX agency (pdf)

UK: Positive Action For Refugees & Asylum Seekers: Dawn raids PAFRAS Briefing Paper No 4 (pdf) and Mental health, destitution and asylum PAFRAS Briefing Paper No 5 (pdf)

EU-ECJ: Court of First Instance strikes another blow to EU "terrorist list" - legality of "reformed" procedures remains in doubt. The EU Court of First Instance has overturned decisions by the Council of the EU to include the Kurdish organisations PKK and Kongra Gel on the EU "terrorist list" (04.04.2008). In Case T-253/04 bought on behalf of Kongra Gel and 10 other individuals, the EU court ruled that the organisation was not in a position "to understand, clearly and unequivocally, the reasoning" that led the member states' governments to include them. It reached the same conclusion in Case T-229/02, bought by Osman Ocalan on behalf of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

These judgments were widely excepted following the rulings in favour of Jose Maria Sison and Stichting al-Asqa (both based in Netherlands) in July 2007, and the precedent set in the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) ruling in December 2006. In this case the Court found that the EU's proscription regime had denied the PMOI the right to a fair hearing in which it could challenge its designation as "terrorist list" in accordance with its fundamental right to a fair trial (see: Analysis of PMOI judgment). This paved the way for other proscribed groups and individuals to challenge their inclusion in the list.

In response to the PMOI ruling, the EU "reformed" its procedures for listing and de-listing. Whereas prior to the PMOI judgment no mechanism existed for those proscribed to either receive an explanation for their inclusion or to challenge that explanation, the EU now provides affected parties with a "statement of reasons". In turn, they those parties may then write back to the secret EU group responsible for the decision to contest the statement and request de-listing. The EU has maintained in the "terrorist list" those groups and individuals who have already successfully challenged their proscription at the EU Courts on the grounds that its "reforms" remedy the fair trial breaches that the Court has identified. This issue will not be resolved until the PMOI's new challenge to the EU's decision to maintain them in the list (Case T-157/07) returns to the Court, which may take several years. In the meantime, the challenges by other proscribed organisations are mounting up - as are the compensation claims.

Ben Hayes of Statewatch comments:

"There isn't a lawyer in Europe who believes that the EU 'reform' of its proscription regime amounts to the fair hearing that EU law demands. On the contrary, the regime remains a recipe for arbitrary, unaccountable and politically-motivated decision making. By ignoring the increasingly clear message from the EU Courts, the member states are doing themselves a great disservice.

Instead of digging its heels in, the EU should introduce a meaningful appeals procedure for affected parties. To wait years for the EU court system or the Strasbourg Court to deliver a judgment that everyone can see coming would be an affront to the EU's stated commitment to human rights."

For full background see Statewatch's Observatory: "Terrorist" lists: monitoring proscription, designation and asset freezing

ECJ: An interesting opinion by the Advocate General critical of the German foreigners' database as regards EU citizens: Case C 524/06 Heinz Huber v Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Full-text, pdf)

EU-DUBLIN AGREEMENT: European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) Letter to EU Presidency (pdf) The letter says that "the unacceptable conditions for asylum claimants in Greece, the obstacles to accessing a fair determination procedure and the risk of other serious human rights violations" as its reasons. "Greece is not a safe place for those in need of protection," Bjarte Vandvik, the head of the ECRE, said.

EU: European Parliament Briefing Paper: Human rights concerns relevant to legislating on provocation or incitement to terrorism and related offences (pdf)

ROMANIA-NATO: Police actions against anti-NATO protests in Bucharest On 2 April, hundreds of police raided the convergence centre of the anti-NATO gathering in Bucharest and arrested an estimated 46 people. All the arrests were made inside the convergence centre, no demonstration was taking place at the time. Many police reportedly wore ski masks and were hostile to journalists trying to access the scene. Romanian media did not report any violence during arrests, Indymedia however reports severe beatings by police. The repression against political activists was already stepped up a few days ago, with police arresting and detaining people arbitrarily. Once detained, the police appear to construct "offences", such as interpreting the carrying of a pocket-knife as arms possessions. People coming to or leaving the convergence centre, set up for demonstrators from Romania and other parts of the world, were also arbitrarily detained. The detained are interrogated, photographed and fingerprinted in police stations, and held for up to 24 hours. At the Romanian border several groups of activists have been denied entry into the country.

Protests are directed in particular against NATO's ongoing expansion to Eastern Europe, as well as the extension of its activities to areas formerly not within NATO's mandate. On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first military action, shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft, thereby violating a UN-mandated no-fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 24 March 1999, NATO saw its first broad-scale military engagement in the Kosovo War, where it led an 11-week bombing campaign against what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. A formal declaration of war never took place. After 11 September 2001, NATO confirmed that the terrorist attacks were an attack against the entire group of members. On 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, which was the first time in NATO's history to take charge of a mission outside of the north Atlantic area.

Sources:

Indymedia report in English: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/02/18490151.php
Indymedia report in German: http://de.indymedia.org/2008/04/212209.shtml
English summary: http://gipfelsoli.org/Home/Bukarest_2008/4906.html
Indymedia Romania
Background information on the protests against the NATO summit in Bucharest and protests against it: http://www.wombles.org.uk/article2007111364.php

UK: Immigration, faith and cohesion: Evidence from local areas with significant Muslim populations by Hiranthi Jayaweera and Tufyal Choudhury (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, pdf)

UK: COUNTER-TERRORISM BILL: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: Press Release (pdf) Briefing (pdf) and Justice: Counter Terrorism Bill Briefing for House of Commons Second Reading (pdf)