[imc-presse] EUROPEAN NGO STATEMENT: Grounding of Bolivian presidential jet in attempt to render whistleblower shames European Union

Fri Jul 5 15:46:28 CEST 2013

Grounding of Bolivian presidential jet in attempt to render whistleblower
shames European Union

The refusal of entry into their airspace by European states for the Bolivian
presidential jet on the basis of suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board
was an astonishing manoeuvre that flies in the face of the EU's commitment
to democracy, human rights and international law.

The potential damage that this action does to both the reputation of the
European Union and respect for international law within and beyond its
borders cannot be understated. The forcing down and searching the Bolivian
President's jet was a clear breach of fundamental principles of diplomatic
immunity and inviolability. Such principles are the bedrock of good
international relations and customary international law.

This failed attempt to apprehend Mr. Snowden coupled with the refusal of his
asylum request suggests that EU states are prepared to disregard the
European Conventions on Human Rights and expeditiously transfer him to the
USA to face the same fate as Bradley Manning and other whistleblowers - that
is solitary confinement, the prospect of an unfair trial and a charge that
carries the death penalty.

States such as Spain and Portugal were among the many EU governments that
permitted hundreds of CIA "extraordinary rendition" flights through their
airspace between 2001 and 2006, facilitating repeated acts of torture,
enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention by the USA. Their failure to
prosecute those responsible and compensate the victims of rendition is now
compounded by the EU's apparent readiness to engage in the practice once
more.

The states involved in forcing down and searching the Bolivian President's
jet should be held to account while the EU should concentrate on protecting
the fundamental rights of Europeans by putting an end to the unwarranted
mass surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden. 

The ruthless persecution of whistleblowers is a grave threat to
investigative journalism. It will undermine open and transparent government
and further erode public trust in government.  The issues now at stake - the
protection of whistleblowers, the regulation of surveillance powers and the
ability of journalists' to protect the confidentiality of their sources -
are at the very heart of what it means to live in a democracy. 

Many European countries have a proud history of providing refuge to people
facing prosecutions of a political nature. If they are to avoid the same
international reputation for injustice that increasingly plagues their
Transatlantic partner they should cease and desist in their efforts to
apprehend Mr. Snowden, recognise his service to European democracy and
guarantee him safe haven or passage.

To sign this statement 

This statement is released by the European Center for Constitutional and
Human Rights, the Transnational Institute and the European Association of
Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights. If you would like to add the
signature of your organization please send an email to
<mailto:heedben at gmail.com> heedben at gmail.com by 11 July 2013 - we will then
re-release it.

For more information

European Parliament Resolution on the US National Security Agency
surveillance pro

gramme, surveillance bodies in various Member States and their impact on EU
citizens' privacy, 4 July 2013: 

<http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+MOTION+
P7-RC-2013-0336+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN>
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+MOTION+P
7-RC-2013-0336+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN 

Amnesty International, USA must not hunt down whistleblower Edward Snowden: 

<http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/usa-must-not-hunt-down-whistleblower-edward-
snowden-2013-06-24>
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/usa-must-not-hunt-down-whistleblower-edward-s
nowden-2013-06-24   

Human Rights Watch,
<http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/18/us-statement-protection-whistleblowers-s
ecurity-sector> US: Statement on Protection of Whistleblowers in Security
Sector: 

<http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/18/us-statement-protection-whistleblowers-s
ecurity-sector>
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/18/us-statement-protection-whistleblowers-se
curity-sector

European Parliament Resolution on alleged transportation and illegal
detention of prisoners in European countries by the CIA, 2 Aug. 2012:

<http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fTEXT%2b
REPORT%2bA7-2012-0266%2b0%2bDOC%2bXML%2bV0%2f%2fEN&language=EN>
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fTEXT%2bR
EPORT%2bA7-2012-0266%2b0%2bDOC%2bXML%2bV0%2f%2fEN&language=EN

Open Society Justice Initiative, Report on "
<http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/globalizing-torture-cia-secre
t-detention-and-extraordinary-rendition> Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret
Detention and Extraordinary Rendition":

<http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/globalizing-tortu
re-20120205.pdf>
http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/globalizing-tortur
e-20120205.pdf

European Court of Human Rights, judgment in El-Masri v. The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia:

 <http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-115621>
http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-115621

The Global Rendition System database:

<http://reprieve.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d176b31fc0ccbde9f3f3a6349
&id=9c5cdb0499&e=64f3c5dd34>
http://www.therenditionproject.org.uk/global-rendition/index.html

____________________________________________________

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights e.V. (ECCHR)

Zossener Str. 55-58, Aufgang D

D-10961 BERLIN

Phone: + 49 (0)30 - 40 04 85 90

Fax: + 49 (0)30 - 40 04 85 92

E-Mail:  <mailto:info at ECCHR.eu> info at ECCHR.eu

Website -
<http://de-de.facebook.com/pages/Ecchr-European-Center-for-Constitutional-an
d-Human-Rights/219348771491535> Facebook - Newsletter (
<http://www.ecchr.de/index.php/newsletter.html> Deutsch /
<http://www.ecchr.de/index.php/newsletter_en.html> English)

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