After Brexit, Desperate Tories Needed a New Crusade. They Think Dumping ‘Human Rights’ Could Be It

THE GUARDIAN: Rightwingers want a nasty debate about the European convention on human rights to revive nativist passions

The drumbeats get louder as the call of the wild pulses through the blood of the Conservative party again. The front page of the Telegraph on Thursday splashes, “Cabinet call on PM to ditch ECHR”. On their headcount, a third of the British cabinet want to join Russia and Belarus as pariah states outside the European convention on human rights.

Downing Street says no, but others report the prime minister wavering. This is exactly how Brexit happened – and that’s the spirit the Braverman tendency hopes to reprise, with all the nativism, the xenophobia, the British “sovereignty” phantasm and even talk of another referendum, which could slice the country into two broken halves. They imagine this could save their party, or at least their own seats, at the next election. » | Polly Toynbee | Thursday, August 10, 2023

‪Erdoğan Calls Merkel a ‘Terrorist Supporter,’ Says Turkey Will Go to ECHR over Netherlands Rally Row‬

Turkey will challenge the Netherlands in the European Court of Human Rights over its refusal to allow Turkish officials to enter the country and deliver campaign speeches, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned.

Switzerland: Europe's Rights Court Rules Muslim Girls Must Take Mixed Swimming Classes

May Got Date Wrong But Qatada Appeal Bid Rejected Anyway

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Theresa May did get Abu Qatada’s appeal deadline date wrong, judges have ruled, but had a narrow escape after they rejected his case anyway.

The European Court of Human Rights (Echr) concluded that the hate cleric’s eleventh hour appeal bid against deportation was submitted within time but ruled there were no grounds to hear it.

However, the decision could clear the way for the hate cleric to now sue the Home Office over the blunder.

Mrs May was accused of taking an “unacceptable risk” and faced calls to apologise for “a potentially catastrophic error of judgment”.

Despite the ruling, Qatada will remain in the country for at least another year because of a separate, ongoing legal challenge against deportation to Jordan, where he faces trial for alleged terror offences.

His lawyers also launched a fresh bid to have him re-released on bail while the court battles continue.

It means yet another legal merry-go-round in a ten year saga that has already cost the taxpayer up to £3 million. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Britain Cannot Deport Abu Qatada to Jordan, European Judges Rule
THE GUARDIAN: Cleric cannot be sent back to Jordan as 'there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him'

The radical cleric Abu Qatada cannot be sent back to Jordan while "there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him", judges have ruled.

The European court of human rights [sic] (ECHR) ruled there would be a breach of his right to a fair trial "given the real risk of the admission of evidence obtained by torture at his retrial".

It is the first time that the Strasbourg-based court has found that an expulsion would be in violation of European convention on human rights article six, the right to a fair trial.

The cleric, also known as Omar Othman, featured in sermons found on videos in the flat of one of the 9/11 bombers.

Law lords ruled almost three years ago that Qatada, described as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe", could be sent back to Jordan, but he appealed to the court in Strasbourg, claiming he would be tortured if sent home.

But in a landmark judgment in February 2009, five law lords unanimously backed the government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments.

The ECHR has now said in this case such a move would breach Qatada's right to a fair trial. » | Press Association | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Abu Qatada cannot be deported to Jordan, European judges rule: Abu Qatada, once described as “Osama bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe”, cannot be extradited to Jordan, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. » | Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Peter Tatchell Bids to Overturn Gay Marriage Ban at European Court of Human Rights
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Campaigners for equal rights for homosexuals will launch an attempt to overturn England’s “discriminatory” marriage laws at the European Court of Human Rights today.

Eight British couples will argue that the twin bans on same-sex marriages and heterosexual civil partnerships are unlawful and should be reversed.

Over the last two months four homosexual couples have all been refused marriage licenses at register offices across England, while four heterosexual couples were turned away when they applied for civil partnership status.

The couples will file a joint application to the court today, which is the fifth anniversary of the first civil partnership ceremonies in England.

They will argue that the current ban on gay marriages is a breach of the Human Rights Act, specifically the right to respect for private and family life, the right to marry, and the prohibition of discrimination.

Peter Tatchell, the equality activist coordinating the “Equal Love” campaign, of which the couples are part, said bans on same-sex civil marriages and opposite-sex civil partnerships were “a form of sexual apartheid”.

“Outlawing black marriages would provoke uproar,” he said. “The prohibition on gay marriages should provoke similar outrage.” >>> Tim Ross, Social Affairs Editor | Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Sikh Man Loses Right to Wear Turban in Driving Licence Photo after EU Court Ruling
Photo of Sikhs in turbans courtesy of the Mail Online
MAIL Online: A Sikh man who wanted the right to wear a turban while being photographed for his French drivers' licence has lost his case in the European Court of Human Rights.

Shingara Mann Singh, a French national, lost a series of appeals in France against the authorities who refused to issue a new licence with a photograph of him wearing a turban.

Under French regulations, motorists must appear 'bareheaded and facing forward' in their licence photographs but the Sikh religion requires men to wear a turban at all times.

Mr Singh, 52, took his case to the ECHR but the Strasbourg-based court dismissed the case. >>> | November 28, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
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