News online - current lead stories For full contents see: Statewatch News online with analysis, documentation, news in brief and News Archives 2000-ongoing or What's New: Lists all News Online and News in Brief items. The latest 25 news items are listed below EU: SPECIAL STATEWATCH REPORT: The Shape of Things to Come - the EU Future Group (Version.1.3) by Tony Bunyan: 23,524 copies downloaded. The report calls for a “meaningful and wide-ranging debate” before it is “too late” for privacy and civil liberties. UK: Ministers drop resistance to making meeting details public (Guardian, link): "Gordon Brown and other ministers face the threat of having their official meetings made public knowledge after the government finally dropped its resistance to a three-and-a half-year campaign by an MP under freedom of information legislation." EU: Council questionnaire: Summary of the answers given in reply to the questionnaire on the situation where several Member States have jurisdiction to conduct criminal proceedings for the same facts of an alleged criminal offence (pdf) Portugal: Lawsuits by prison officers' union against human rights defenders - Complaint against Dores for his human rights work withdrawn EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council: Agendas under the Czech Council Presidency, January-June 2009: Agendas (See pages 23-34, pdf) Spain: The Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalucía asks for the text of the preliminary draft immigration law reform to be withdrawn EU: The End of the Road for Personal Data Protection in the EU (Jurist, link): article by Virginia Keyder who teaches European Union law at Bogazici University and Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey. EU: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS REGULATION: UK Government does not support the Commission's proposal to change the definition of a "document" in Article 3a of the Regulation: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee (See Point 6.10, link). It is also interesting to note that the Government Minister interprets the Commission's proposed change to mean that it will exclude all "draft documents". For background see: Observatory: the Regulation on access to EU documents: 2008-2009 EU-USA-PNR: US Department of Homeland Security: Privacy Office: A report concerning Passenger Name Record information derived from flights between the US and the European Union (pdf). Using a ludicrously small number of samples, ie, six to seven, the DHS Privacy Office found that: - "requests for PNR took more than one year to process" - far exceeding the legal time limits in the US Privacy Act and Freedom on Information Act and there were "inconsistencies" as to which "information was redacted" (censored); - individuals requesting "all data" are not given their PNR data; - as a result of the majority of individuals who should have been sent their PNR data were not - there was a large backlog of unanswered requests because of lack of staff. For background see: Can you really see what records are kept about your travel? (Edward Hasbrouck's blog) and Statewatch's Observatory on the exchange of data on passengers (PNR) with the USA Germany: Unlawful “anti-terrorist” investigation into G8 activists (Statewatch story) Italy: A proliferation of forbidden behaviour (Statewatch story) European Ombudsman report: Public access to information in EU databases (pdf). For background see: Wobbing (link) UK: Private firm may track all email and calls: 'Hellhouse' of personal data will be created, warns former DPP (Guardian, link): "It would be a complete readout of every citizen's life in the most intimate and demeaning detail. No government of any colour is to be trusted with such a roadmap to our souls." Sir Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions Italy-Tunisia: Allowing someone to live or letting them die: Italy contravenes European Court of Human Rights instructions by deporting Tunisian by Gabriella Petti EU: FRONTEX: Frontex General Report 2007 (63 pages, pdf) Spain: CEAR expresses concern over asylum law reform (Statewatch) UK: Jacqui calls Vodafone man to run massive snoop database (Register, link) EU: Czech Data Protection President: Democracy is flourishing, but not individual freedom (pdf): "On the threshold of the 21st century we are witnesses to a reinforcing of democracy, but it seems that the freedom of the individual has become less important. As though collective problems such as global climate change or the defence against terrorism have been prioritised to the detriment of personal freedom. Measures are now being implemented regardless of the risks, difficulties and costs they can present for the individual, restricting his or her freedom, such as the right to privacy." Igor Nemec. President of the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection. UK: What terror jury was not told: "They tore my nails out. Then I was interrogated by MI5" (Guardian, link) • Britons found guilty of al-Qaida membership • Convicted man alleged torture by Pakistani agents EU: Justice and Home Affairs "Agenda": Statewatch analysis: The EU’s JHA agenda for 2009 (pdf) by Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex ECJ: Huber v Germany: The processing and storage of those data relating to Union citizens for statistical purposes or with a view to fighting crime is contrary to Community law (Press release, pdf) and Judgment - full-text (Judgment, pdf): "as regards the question of the use of the data contained in the register for the purposes of fighting crime, the Court holds, in particular, that that objective involves the prosecution of crimes and offences committed, irrespective of the nationality of their perpetrators. The register at issue does not contain personal data relating to nationals of the Member State concerned. Consequently, use for the purposes of fighting crime is contrary to the principle of non-discrimination and hence contrary to Community law." (emphasis in original) EU-FRONTEX: Pro Asyl: Appeal to the European Parliament ”Stop the death trap at the European Borders!“ More than 1500 documented cases of deaths at the doors of Europe over the last 12 months illustrate a serious human rights record (Press release, pdf) and Petition to the European Parliament: Year by year thousands die at Europe´s borders. Stop the deathtrap at the EU borders! (Petition, pdf) EU: Ombudsman criticises age discrimination by the Commission Special report (pdf). Also from the European Ombudsman: Follow-up to Critical and further remarks: How the EU institutions responded to the Ombudsman's Recommendations in 2007 (pdf) How a child dies in Venice: 11-year-old Afghan boy dies to avoid controls by the border police "He was fifteen years old. No, he was twelve. Maybe, in reality, he was only eleven. As the day progressed, his age changed several times, turning increasingly younger. In any case, he was a boy. He was found dead in Via Orlanda in Mestre, Venice, run over by the lorry under which he had hidden to escape the checks by the border police. Why, one would wonder, does an Afghan minor, a figure that is well protected by international conventions, by the ECHR, and even by the Bossi-Fini law [on immigration], risk his life in such a way in order to avoid being intercepted by the border police?" USA-TORTURE: Senate Armed Services Committee Inquiry into the treatment of detainees in US Custody (pdf) EU-EP: Conservatives and Socialists block search for rendition truth - Ludford (Press release, pdf): "The Socialist (PSE) and Conservative (EPP) groups, which together have a majority in the European Parliament, have allied to deny a request made by the Liberal, Green and the Communist groups for a debate on Guantanamo and the CIA extraordinary rendition programme in next week's European Parliamentary plenary session in Strasbourg." The Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) repeals a provision of the Data Retention in the Internet Regulation EU-EP: Report on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union 2004-2008: Committee on Civil Liberties: Rapporteur: Giusto Catania (As adopted by the LIBE Committee, pdf) Renditions/Italy: Interpretation of "state secret" leads to suspension of Abu Omar trial Statewatch: Observatory on the Regulation on access to EU documents: 2008-2009 (Updated) CoE: Excellent report from the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammerberg: Protecting the right to privacy in the fight against terrorism (pdf). See: Full contents of Statewatch News online with commentary and news in brief plus archives or What's New Top reports 2007-2008 EU: SPECIAL STATEWATCH REPORT: The Shape of Things to Come by Tony Bunyan (Version 1.3 with corrections and amendments). The EU is currently developing a new five year strategy for justice and home affairs and security policy for 2009-2014. The proposals set out by the shadowy "Future Group" set up by the Council of the European Union include a range of highly controversial measures including new technologies of surveillance, enhanced cooperation with the United States and harnessing the "digital tsunami". In the words of the EU Council presidency: "Every object the individual uses, every transaction they make and almost everywhere they go will create a detailed digital record. This will generate a wealth of information for public security organisations, and create huge opportunities for more effective and productive public security efforts." This major new report The Shape of Things to come (60 pages) examines the proposals of the Future Group and their effect on civil liberties. It shows how European governments and EU policy-makers are pursuing unfettered powers to access and gather masses of personal data on the everyday life of everyone – on the grounds that we can all be safe and secure from perceived “threats”. The Statewatch report calls for a “meaningful and wide-ranging debate” before it is “too late” for privacy and civil liberties. See also ongoing: Statewatch Observatory: "The Shape of Things to Come" - the EU Future group EU: The dream of total data collection by Heiner Busch. Status quo and future plans for EU information systems Terrorist lists" still above the law by Ben Hayes EU: Secret trilogues and the democratic deficit by Tony Bunyan EU: Returns Directive: "Against the Outrageous Directive" speech given by Yasha Maccanico in EP Cementing the European state by Tony Bunyan, New emphasis on internal security and operational cooperation at EU level EU-SIS Schengen Infornation System Article 99 report by Ben Hayes Policing protests in Switzerland, Italy and Germany The surveillance of travel in the EU where everyone is a suspect by Tony Bunyan Top reports 2004-06 EU: Statewatch Report: Arming Big Brother: new research reveals the true costs of Europe's security-industrial complex by Ben Hayes (pdf, April 2006). The European Union is preparing to spend hundreds of million on new research into surveillance and control technologies, according to Arming Big Brother, a new report by the Transnational Institute (TNI) and Statewatch. Press release (English) Press release (Spanish, link) Copy of full report (English, pdf) Copy of full report (Spanish, pdf) Hard copies of Arming Big Brother can be obtained from: The Transnational Institute, please send an e-mail to: wilbert@tni.org with your request. EU: "Unaccountable Europe" by Tony Bunyan (Statewatch editor) in Special issue of Index on Censorship: "Big Brother Goes Global" (December 2005) Europe: Launch of the European Civil Liberties Network (link) - The ECLN was launched on 19 October 2005 as a long-term project to develop a platform for groups working on civil liberties issues across Europe. A collection of "Essays in defence of civil liberties and democracy" was published to mark the launch the ECLN Global surveillance: Global coalition launch report and international surveillance campaign: Statewatch, with partner organisations the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Focus on the Global South, Friends Committee (US) and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (Canada) today publishes an in-depth report: "The emergence of a global infrastructure for registration and surveillance" (20 April, 2005). Statewatch report: Journalism, civil liberties and the war on terrorism (full-report/request printed copy) - Special report by the International Federation of Journalists and Statewatch including an analysis of current policy developments as well as a survey of 20 selected countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin Amercia, the Middle East and the USA (published World press freedom day, 1 May 2005) Statewatch analysis: The exceptional and draconian become the norm - G8 and EU counter-terrorism plans (updated 26 March 2005 pdf) Statewatch "Scoreboard" on EU counter-terrorism plans (pdf) agreed in the wake of the Madrid bombings. Our analysis shows that 27 out of the 57 EU proposals have little or nothing to do with tackling terrorism - they deal with crime in general and surveillance: Analysis in Spanish (March 2004) The road to "1984" Part II: Everyone in the EU will have to have their fingerprints taken to get a passport (February 2004) The Statewatch website Since its launch this website has had 7,900,096 user sessions and 35,116,258 "hits" (December 2008) In the year 2004 there were 625,653 user sessions with 2,791,124 "hits" In the year 2005 there were 979,772 user sessions with 4,076,016 "hits" In the year 2006 there were 1,341,158 user sessions with 5,446,221 "hits" In the year 2007 there were 1,693,941 user sessions with 6,464,960 "hits" Join Statewatch regular e-mail list for new stories: Join Statewatch news e-mail list Statewatch is registered under the Data Protection Act. 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