Madeleine McCann, Andrew Symeou and E.U. Law

Andrew SymeouWhile Kate McCann might feel "Stung by the Portuguese Law", as the Sunday Times puts it, the release of the Portuguese police's dossier on the case should act as a further reminder of the large gulf that exists between the "Inquisitorial System " of justice, in use throughout much of the E.U. and our own Common Law system which includes hard fought for safeguards such as Habeas Corpus. Expedient and in favour of the authorities, is the way Continental Law seems to be practiced. Individual rights is little more than a joke, in some E.U. states.

 [Andrew Symeou - photo used by permission of Justice for Symeou]


We seem to be on a slow, steady slide into a change over from "Common Law" to the "Inquisitorial System " almost by deception and through some sort of strange complicity between the Westminster government and the Brussels government. Nothing highlights this slow transfer, and the underhand way that it is being done, than through the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant - just a few cases here and there, at first, until we get used to the idea, then we can expect to see its widespread introduction, as that is the way that our slow transfer to the E.U. government is being undertaken.

 

As The Sunday Express puts it (Aug 3rd).

 

Under EU law, if a prosecutor from an EU country demands the extradition of anyone on British soil, a British judge has no choice but to grant it.

Scandalously, not a scrap of evidence about the alleged crime need be produced before you can be arrested, taken into custody and expelled from the UK in handcuffs to face criminal charges in a foreign court.

 

Next time you go on holiday, just remember that you could be suffering the fate of Andrew Symeou. Just imagine your name emblazoned, instead, on the top of the E.U. Arrest Warrant.

 

Andrew returns to court on Tuesday 12th August, to fight his extradition to Greece, where he could be held for 18 months, or so, without charge. This is so different from the UK system where we have to be charged within 28 or maybe 42 days, so the evidence has to be tested before imprisonment.

 Andrew makes some interesting points in his defence that should make anyone start to ask questions, not least the Hiles family who must also be wanting to see justice over the death of their son, Jonathan.

 
The background. Andrew has been accused of the manslaughter of Jonathan Hiles on the Greek island of Zante, over a year ago.

 He believes that he will not receive a fair trial in Greece because: 

  • two of his friends were forced to give evidence by being beaten, punched, slapped, threatened and forced to sign statements written in Greek.
  • Andrew has never been questioned by the Greek, Welsh or London police (He lives in London, Jonathan lived in Wales). This is not required under the terms of the E.U. Arrest Warrant
  • There is concern over the way the case has been handled in Greece with little use of the type of formal procedures that we would expect and insist upon in the UK
  • We have become used to:
    •  

      • The right of Habeas Corpus (that the accused must be taken to a public court within a very short period of time, usually 24 hours, and the accusers must produce their evidence then and there)

      • The right to Trial by Jury at which jurors can in fact even disregard the law if they think it would give an unjust conviction. The jurors are thus ‘sovereign' in court.

 

 

There are a large number of other issues in this case that are worrying and seem to suggest that the greek authorities have gone for a 'quick fix' approach rather than go to the trouble of carrying out a real search for the truth.

 

I hope that some of this might be brought out into the open, on Tuesday 12th August at Westminster Magistrates Court, 70 Horseferry Road, London SW1 at 13.30 (subject to change). Then we might see

 

  1. Justice for Andrew

  2. Justice for Jonathan Hiles' family

  3. Increased awareness of the implications of the E.U. Arrest Warrant

  4. Increased awareness of the slow, subtle but massive changes that are taking place in the UK system of justice that has served individuals well for many centuries, that we are giving away without even realising that we are so doing.

Photograph used by permission of Justice for Symeou

Cross posted from alfred the ordinary at vox

Posted on 10 Aug, 2008 by ethelred

Filed under Law


« Prev item • Next item »

Comments

No comments yet. You can be the first!

Leave comment