Council of Europe lays down the law for anti-terror fight

The Council of Europe Monday adopted a code of conduct for members in the fight against terrorism, including an interdiction on extraditing suspects to countries with the death penalty.

 The Council of Europe said the code was aimed at protecting fundamental rights in the "war on terrorism" after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

 "These guidlines will enable our member-states and other countries to combat terrorism whilst also observing the Council's fundamental values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law," Council Secretary- General Walter Schwimmer said.

 House searches, telephone tapping and opening of mail must all be conducted strictly within the letter of the law, under the code for the 44 member-states of the pan-European human rights body.

 The text states that a person accused of terrorist activities "must under no circumstances be subject to the death penalty and that, where such a sentence is imposed, it may not be carried out," said a press release.

 The code was drafted by the executive organ of the east-west pan-Europe council whose members must abjure the death penalty as a condition of membership.

 It reaffirms "the obligation on states to protect everyone against terrorism and reiterate the obligation to avoid arbitrariness, the requirement that all measures taken by states to combat terrorism must be lawful, and the absolute prohibition of torture," a statement continued.

 It also set out a framework for collecting and processing personal data, arrest, police custody, pre-trial detention, legal proceedings and extradition.

 Extradition will be refused if the person concerned risks the death penalty, unless the state requested obtains adequate guarantees that the person concerned will not be sentenced to death.

 Extradition will also be refused if there is serious reason to believe that the person will be subjected to torture, or punished for their race, religion, political beliefs or nationality.

 In January Council of Europe parliamentarians criticised measures by the United States and Britain, denouncing a US presidential decree allowing military courts with the power to pass the death sentence.

 In March former French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine warned that the struggle against terrorism would suffer a "moral defeat" if it did not respect human rights.

 In April human rights groups criticised the failure of the UN's top human rights forum to scrutinize nations' anti-terror measures.

 The US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) blamed concerted pressure led by the US for the collapse.

 Last month UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson expressed concern at US anti-terrorism measures, and at the "erosion of civil liberties and the clamping down on legitimate political dissent."