2020

Launched in 1999 and updated regularly, Statewatch News includes our own reporting and writing as well as articles, announcements, documents and analyses from elsewhere on civil liberties, EU policies and state practices. You can receive updates in your inbox by signing up to our mailing list, or use an RSS feed to get instant alerts.

16 November 2020

Greece: Sentenced to 50 years in prison – Freedom for Amir & Razuli

Two men who were subject to an attempted illegal pushback by the Greek coastguard have been sentenced to 50 years in prison. An appeal hearing is pending.

16 November 2020

History repeats itself again as hundreds of people die in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic

Over 110 people died after being shipwrecked in the Central Mediterranean over the course of a week in early November. Meanwhile, almost 500 people lost their lives attempting to reach the Canary Islands from Senegal in one week in late October. Seven years ago, following a similar tragedy, EU officials promised that beefing up Frontex and increasing border surveillance would help prevent such incidents.

16 November 2020

UK: Children in the criminal justice system: parliamentary committee calls for changes

"The House of Commons Justice Committee has recommended that children who enter the criminal justice system should receive a much wider range of treatments because of the complexity of their needs and the seriousness of the crimes they commit."

16 November 2020

EU statement on recent terrorist attacks: Counter-Terrorism Coordinator's input

The EU's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator (CTC) provided detailed submissions to the Council for last Friday's "statement on the recent terrorist attacks in Europe". The CTC's recommendations are wide-ranging and not all of them made it into the final statement. However, many of them seem likely to be included in the forthcoming Council Conclusions on 'Internal Security and European Police Partnership'.

16 November 2020

EU: Regulation on terrorist content online - Council position paper for discussions with European Parliament

Statewatch is publishing a Council document setting out the German Presidency's thoughts and proposals on the proposed Regulation on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online. The Council and Parliament are currently holding secret "trilogue" discussions and it is expected that the text of the Regulation - which contains some highly-controversial measures, for example on automated filtering of uploads - will be agreed soon. Member states have been applying renewed pressure on the EP to finalise the rules, following terrorist attacks in Paris and Austria.

16 November 2020

French security bill proposes to outlaw dissemination of ‘malicious’ images of police

"A new French security bill proposes to forbid the dissemination for “malicious purposes” of images of police officers doing their jobs. Supporters of the legislation say it would protect officers from malevolent personal attacks using social media. Detractors say it threatens to make it harder for journalists and NGOs to report on police wrongdoing."

16 November 2020

EU action against terrorism: Council targets migrants and Muslims

EU justice and home affairs ministers recently adopted a statement in response to the recent terrorist attacks in France and Austria. It asserts a need "to combat all forms of violence which target people on the basis of their actual or supposed ethnic origin, or their religious belief or on the basis of other types of prejudice," and then goes on to single out migrants (explicitly) and Muslims (implicitly) as a problem, whilst demanding more of the same security measures that have been developed over the last 30 years. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and French President Emmanuel Macron have both recently made very clear statements about the need to suppress "political Islam".

16 November 2020

New campaign demands EU-wide ban on live facial recognition in public spaces

A new campaign is calling for a ban on live facial recognition in public places. The #ReclaimYourFace campaign is building on existing national successes in Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Serbia. The call comes as the EU is moving towards publishing proposals for new rules on the use of artificial intelligence.

16 November 2020

Greece: Greek authorities arrest father of 6-year-old who drowned off the coast of Samos

A six-year old boy recently drowned after a boat on which he was travelling ran into trouble off the coast of Samos. The Greek authorities are charging his father with "suspicion of endangering a life" and he could face ten years in prison. The pilot of the boat was also arrested, on smuggling charges, "a ridiculous charge as nearly all those who steer the boats are those who cannot afford to pay the full fare".

16 November 2020

Study confirms racism and police brutality in Germany

DW report on a new study conducted by a team of criminologists at the University of Bochum. The main conclusion is that "people from ethnic minorities are structurally disadvantaged by the police." Police violence is experienced by many people in Germany, including at demonstrations and other mass events. However, members of ethnic minorities often experience brutality elsewhere, and a lack of evidence makes it difficult to bring complaints or prosecutions.

16 November 2020

UK: Thousands of children in care being ‘failed by the state’ because of a broken residential care home market

Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, has published a set of reports showing how the children’s residential social care system is broken and is failing many of the most vulnerable children, in particular those who are most at risk of falling through gaps in the system and becoming victims of criminal or sexual exploitation. Today’s reports are the start of a series of interventions by the Children’s Commissioner this month on the issue of children’s social care.

12 November 2020

UK: Britain is Not Innocent: A Netpol report on the policing of Black Lives Matter protests in Britain’s towns and cities in 2020

A new report by the Network for Police Monitoring looks at the policing of the Black Lives Matter protests in the UK that arose following the killing of George Floyd in the USA. "Netpol concludes that the policing of these protests was institutionally racist."

12 November 2020

EU: Council pushes for reinforced security and policing powers in the wake of terrorist attacks

A set of draft Council Conclusions on internal security and a Joint Statement responding to recent terrorist attacks in France and Austria (the latter now approved by member states' representatives) call for boosting the powers of policing, security and border agencies. Increased access to information for frontline police officers, the use of artifical intelligence for law enforcement, and further calls to undermine encryption are featured in both documents.

12 November 2020

EU: Aid and development funding for surveillance programmes must end

Official documents obtained by Privacy International (PI) show the extent to which EU aid and development funds are being used to enhance states' surveillance capabilities and coercive powers. This includes internet monitoring, wiretapping tools, and national biometric systems designed to bolster the EU's ability to deport people. PI along with 13 other civil society organisations from Africa and Europe, including Statewatch, are calling for change.

12 November 2020

UK: Joint Committee on Human Rights report: Black people, racism and human rights

The report calls on the government to "urgently take action to protect the human rights of Black people, including within healthcare, criminal justice, nationality and immigration and democracy."

12 November 2020

EU: Tracking the Pact: European Commission presentation on "solidarity mechanisms"

On 22 October, the European Commission gave a presentation to an "informal videoconference" of the Council's Strategic Committee on Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA). The presentation explains the different types of "solidarity" that will be available for member states under the proposed Asylum and Migration Management Regulation, such as relocation of asylum applicants and "return sponsorship".

10 November 2020

UK: Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill: report from Joint Committee on Human Rights

The UK parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights has published a scrutiny report of the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill. The Committee recommends a number of changes, including clear limits on the crimes that may be committed during undercover/covert activity and specification of who may commit criminal acts, amongst other things.

10 November 2020

UK: Police presence in schools harms students and ‘exacerbates inequalities’

Plans to increase police presence in schools have caused disquiet amongst pupils, parents and campaigners. Police officers were introduced to schools in 2002 as part of the "tough on crime" agenda introduced by New Labour and have stayed ever since. They are known as "school based police officers" (SBPOs).

10 November 2020

EU: Study on telecoms metadata retention for law enforcement purposes

Ever since 2014, when the Court of Justice of the EU struck down the Data Retention Directive - which required the mandatory retention of telecommunications metadata by service providers, in case it was of interest to law enforcement authorities - member states have been keen to reintroduce an EU-wide retention obligation. The Commission's position has varied over time. A recent study carried out for the Commission, following a request from the Council, looks at the situation in 10 member states and aims to contribute to the arguments for a new EU regime.

 

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