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Following six suicide attempts by rescued persons, the crew of the Ocean Viking ship have declared a state of emergency on board. Repeated requests to Italy and Malta to provide a port for disembarkation have either been refused or gone unanswered.
According to press reports, the Danish government is claiming that Damascus is 'safe' and is now undertaking a review of the residence permits of some 900 Syrian refugees from the city.
The German Council Presidency has asked member states whether they are using passenger data collected by airline companies to track people infected with COVID-19, with an eye to expanding the scope of EU legislation on the issue. Currently EU rules are limited to using passenger data for "preventing, detecting, investigating and prosecuting terrorist offences and serious crime."
Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty, calls for the repeal of the UK's draconian Coronavirus Act, 100 days after it passed into law.
Press release from Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees.
A study on the implementation of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) commissioned by the European Parliament's civil liberties commitee (LIBE) concludes that it "has simplified and sped up handover procedures, including for some high-profile cases of serious crime and terrorism," but that there are ongoing challenges "concerning judicial independence, the nature of mutual recognition and its relationship with international and EU law and values, constitutional principles and additional harmonisation measures."
KISA, a human rights organisation based in Cyprus, was recently convicted by the Supreme Court of “defamation” and “harmful forgery” over a 2010 document calling on the government to rescind the appointment of Christos Clerides and Xenis Xenofontos to the Management Board of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).
Wired reports on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the justice system, where the vast majority of hearings in magistrates' courts are now being conducted by videolink.
The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that restrictions imposed by Hungary on civil society organisations - which require registration, declaration and publication for certain categories of groups receiving funds from abroad - are "discriminatory and unjustified", on the grounds that they restrict the free movement of capital and unjustifably impunge upon the fundamental rights to privacy, data protection and freedom of association.
The Swiss Committee for the Defence of the Rights of Migrants has called on the UN Committee Against Torture to launch an inquiry into Italy's role in 'pull-backs' to Libya. A formal inquiry by the Committee would be able to establish the legal facts surrounding Italy's practices.
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