Latest INTERIGHTS News
Historic slavery case launched against Niger
7th April 2008
In a historic first, a former slave is bringing a case against the State of Niger before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice in Niamey on 7 April 2008, on the grounds that Niger has failed to implement laws against slavery. (...)
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7th April 2008
In a historic first, a former slave is bringing a case against the State of Niger before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice in Niamey on 7 April 2008, on the grounds that Niger has failed to implement laws against slavery. (...)
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Plainte contre l’Etat du Niger pour faits d’esclavage un procès
sans précédent
7th April 2008
Par une procédure qui fera jurisprudence, une ancienne esclave poursuit l’État du Niger devant la Cour de Justice de la Communauté économique des États d’Afrique Occidentale (ECOWAS). L’affaire sera plaidée le 7 avril 2008, au motif que le Niger n’a pas fait le nécessaire pour appliquer les lois contre l’esclavage. (...)
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7th April 2008
Par une procédure qui fera jurisprudence, une ancienne esclave poursuit l’État du Niger devant la Cour de Justice de la Communauté économique des États d’Afrique Occidentale (ECOWAS). L’affaire sera plaidée le 7 avril 2008, au motif que le Niger n’a pas fait le nécessaire pour appliquer les lois contre l’esclavage. (...)
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Greece's ongoing violations of Roma rights: European Social Charter complaint documents mass forced evictions and failure to provide adequate
alternative accommodation
31st March 2008
Today, INTERIGHTS, in partnership with Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), filed a complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights against Greece detailing serious and widespread violations of the Roma community’s right to housing and related guarantees as protected by Article 16 of the Charter together with the safeguard against non-discrimination in the Preamble. (...)
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31st March 2008
Today, INTERIGHTS, in partnership with Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), filed a complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights against Greece detailing serious and widespread violations of the Roma community’s right to housing and related guarantees as protected by Article 16 of the Charter together with the safeguard against non-discrimination in the Preamble. (...)
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European Court of Human Rights Reaffirms Absolute Prohibition on Return to Torture
28th February 2008
The European Court of Human Rights today reaffirmed that the ban on deporting people to countries where they are at risk of torture or ill-treatment is absolute and unconditional. The judgment in Saadi v Italy is being hailed as a major reassertion of the importance of the rule of law by 11 international human rights groups, including Amnesty International, the Association for the Prevention of Torture, the AIRE Centre, Human Rights Watch, INTERIGHTS, the International Commission of Jurists, justice, the Medical Foundation for the Care of the Victims of Torture, Open Society Justice Initiative, REDRESS, and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) (...)
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28th February 2008
The European Court of Human Rights today reaffirmed that the ban on deporting people to countries where they are at risk of torture or ill-treatment is absolute and unconditional. The judgment in Saadi v Italy is being hailed as a major reassertion of the importance of the rule of law by 11 international human rights groups, including Amnesty International, the Association for the Prevention of Torture, the AIRE Centre, Human Rights Watch, INTERIGHTS, the International Commission of Jurists, justice, the Medical Foundation for the Care of the Victims of Torture, Open Society Justice Initiative, REDRESS, and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) (...)
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European Court: Roma Children Denied Right to Education
14th November 2007
The European Court of Human Rights ruling that the Czech government engaged in indirect discrimination against Roma children is a major step forward in implementing the European Convention on Human Rights, Human Rights Watch and INTERIGHTS said today.
The case of DH and Others v the Czech Republic concerns 18 Czech nationals of Roma origin who had all been assigned to special schools for children with learning difficulties following psychological tests designed to assess their intellectual capacity. The court ruled yesterday that their placement amounted to a discriminatory denial of the children’s right to education and as such violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
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14th November 2007
The European Court of Human Rights ruling that the Czech government engaged in indirect discrimination against Roma children is a major step forward in implementing the European Convention on Human Rights, Human Rights Watch and INTERIGHTS said today.
The case of DH and Others v the Czech Republic concerns 18 Czech nationals of Roma origin who had all been assigned to special schools for children with learning difficulties following psychological tests designed to assess their intellectual capacity. The court ruled yesterday that their placement amounted to a discriminatory denial of the children’s right to education and as such violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
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European Court Reaffirms Right of Individual Petition
26th October 2007
On 23 October in the case of Colibaba v Moldova the European Court of Human Rights handed down a judgment reaffirming the right of individual petition to the Court. INTERIGHTS advised the applicant’s Moldovan counsel, Roman Zadoinov, on this aspect of the case.
In April 2006 Vitalie Colibaba was subjected to torture and ill-treatment by the Moldovan police, an incident which the Moldovan State failed to adequately investigate. Mr Colibaba subsequently brought his case to the attention of several international human rights organisations, and lodged an application with the European Court. Shortly thereafter, Moldova’s Prosecutor General wrote to the Moldovan Bar Association warning it of lawyers who were involving “international organisations specialising in the protection of human rights” in criminal cases for “personal interests” or to “avoid criminal responsibility of suspected persons”. The General Prosecutor named Mr Colibaba’s lawyer, Mr Zadoinov, and one other lawyer in the letter and went on to warn them of possible criminal sanctions.(...)
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26th October 2007
On 23 October in the case of Colibaba v Moldova the European Court of Human Rights handed down a judgment reaffirming the right of individual petition to the Court. INTERIGHTS advised the applicant’s Moldovan counsel, Roman Zadoinov, on this aspect of the case.
In April 2006 Vitalie Colibaba was subjected to torture and ill-treatment by the Moldovan police, an incident which the Moldovan State failed to adequately investigate. Mr Colibaba subsequently brought his case to the attention of several international human rights organisations, and lodged an application with the European Court. Shortly thereafter, Moldova’s Prosecutor General wrote to the Moldovan Bar Association warning it of lawyers who were involving “international organisations specialising in the protection of human rights” in criminal cases for “personal interests” or to “avoid criminal responsibility of suspected persons”. The General Prosecutor named Mr Colibaba’s lawyer, Mr Zadoinov, and one other lawyer in the letter and went on to warn them of possible criminal sanctions.(...)
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Croatia’s Flawed Sex Education Programme Comes under Fire in International Human Rights Case
10th October 2007
Today, a group of human rights organisations filed the first international legal challenge to a sex education programme. INTERIGHTS, in partnership with the Center for Reproductive Rights and Centre for Education, Counselling and Research (CESI), submitted the complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) against Croatia for its sponsorship of and efforts to expand a discriminatory and non-science based programme which promotes abstinence at the expense of other viable alternatives such as contraception. The groups argue that, in so doing, Croatia is endangering the health and lives of its young people through misleading and inadequate sex education and therefore, is in breach of its obligations under a major international human rights treaty, the European Social Charter(...)
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10th October 2007
Today, a group of human rights organisations filed the first international legal challenge to a sex education programme. INTERIGHTS, in partnership with the Center for Reproductive Rights and Centre for Education, Counselling and Research (CESI), submitted the complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) against Croatia for its sponsorship of and efforts to expand a discriminatory and non-science based programme which promotes abstinence at the expense of other viable alternatives such as contraception. The groups argue that, in so doing, Croatia is endangering the health and lives of its young people through misleading and inadequate sex education and therefore, is in breach of its obligations under a major international human rights treaty, the European Social Charter(...)
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European Court to consider complaint concerning death of former Chechen leader, Aslan Maskhadov
1st October 2007
Today INTERIGHTS, the legal representatives for the family of the former Chechen leader, Aslan Maskhadov, provided written details to the European Court of Human Rights of their complaint against Russia regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.
Elected in 1997 as president of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Maskhadov was killed on 8 March 2005 in the village of Tolstoi-Yurt in Chechnya during the course of special operations carried out by Russia’s internal security services, the FSB. The precise circumstances regarding Maskhadov’s death are disputed, although the family contends that Maskhadov was killed by FSB agents (...)
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1st October 2007
Today INTERIGHTS, the legal representatives for the family of the former Chechen leader, Aslan Maskhadov, provided written details to the European Court of Human Rights of their complaint against Russia regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.
Elected in 1997 as president of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Maskhadov was killed on 8 March 2005 in the village of Tolstoi-Yurt in Chechnya during the course of special operations carried out by Russia’s internal security services, the FSB. The precise circumstances regarding Maskhadov’s death are disputed, although the family contends that Maskhadov was killed by FSB agents (...)
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European Court Confirms Judgment in Polish Access to Termination of Pregnancy Case
25th September 2007
The European Court of Human Rights today declined to review its judgment in the important case of Tysiąc v Poland, despite a request to do so by the Polish Government. In a significant judgment handed down in March, 2007 a Chamber of the Court held that the Polish State had not safeguarded Ms Tysiąc’s right to respect for her private life by failing to allow her to have access to a therapeutic termination of her pregnancy, although such a procedure was permitted by Polish law (...)
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25th September 2007
The European Court of Human Rights today declined to review its judgment in the important case of Tysiąc v Poland, despite a request to do so by the Polish Government. In a significant judgment handed down in March, 2007 a Chamber of the Court held that the Polish State had not safeguarded Ms Tysiąc’s right to respect for her private life by failing to allow her to have access to a therapeutic termination of her pregnancy, although such a procedure was permitted by Polish law (...)
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European Court of Human Rights:Ban on torture is absolute and universal
11th July 2007
Amnesty International, the AIRE Centre, the International Commission of Jurists, INTERIGHTS and REDRESS are warning that, in a hearing today, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights is being asked to reconsider the absolute ban on torture and other illtreatment. Weakening the universally accepted absolute ban on torture and other ill-treatment, would not only be wrong, it would endanger us all, by undermining one of the basic values on which the European system is built.
In the case being considered Saadi v Italy, Nassim Saadi claims, among other things, that the order to deport him from Italy to Tunisia, under the Pisanu law, violates the Italian Government's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights to prohibit and protect against torture and other ill-treatment, because returning him to Tunisia would expose him to a real risk of torture or other ill-treatment (...)
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11th July 2007
Amnesty International, the AIRE Centre, the International Commission of Jurists, INTERIGHTS and REDRESS are warning that, in a hearing today, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights is being asked to reconsider the absolute ban on torture and other illtreatment. Weakening the universally accepted absolute ban on torture and other ill-treatment, would not only be wrong, it would endanger us all, by undermining one of the basic values on which the European system is built.
In the case being considered Saadi v Italy, Nassim Saadi claims, among other things, that the order to deport him from Italy to Tunisia, under the Pisanu law, violates the Italian Government's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights to prohibit and protect against torture and other ill-treatment, because returning him to Tunisia would expose him to a real risk of torture or other ill-treatment (...)
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Interights
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7278 3230
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Email: ir@interights.org
Registered Charity No. 292357
Lancaster House
33 Islington Street
London N1 9LH, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7278 3230
Fax: +44 (0)20 7278 4334
Email: ir@interights.org
Registered Charity No. 292357
