Our fundamental safeguards have been abolished through the EU Sunday August 3,2008 Gerard Batten, Ukip’s excellent MEP for London, tells me about the plight of a 19-year-old constituent, Andrew Symeou. Last year, while he was holidaying in Zakynthos a young man, Jonathon Hiles, was killed in a nightclub fracas. 
EU EXTRADITION LAW CAN RUIN OUR LIVES
By Neil Hamilton
The Greek police named Mr Symeou as a suspect after he arrived home and now seek his extradition. Mr Symeou says he had never heard of Mr Hiles or his death. Two of his friends initially made statements incriminating him but later claimed the local police extorted them by beatings.
Almost a year later, the Greek authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant for Mr Symeou, charging him with manslaughter.
Under EU law, if a prosecutor from an EU country demands the extra dition 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.
I have no idea where the truth lies in this case but it is appalling that countries without fundamental legal safeguards like habeas corpus, trial by jury or the presumption of innocence can grab and imprison British people with nothing more than the signature of a foreign official.
Mr Symeou and his family are ordinary people of limited means. They now face a lengthy and expensive process in a foreign country to secure his acquittal. Of course, I want to see the guilty punished but, if foreign prosecutors with very different legal traditions can compel the arrest and imprisonment of British citizens without giving reasons, the scope for injustice is obvious.
Of course, if you have been impressed by the Portuguese police’s treatment of the McCanns, you won’t be worried by this.
It is now as easy as posting a parcel to extradite a British citizen to any EU country. Unlike a parcel, the prisoner is almost bound to be delivered. It could happen to you, your friends, relatives or children. Would you be confident of a fair trial in, say, Greece, Bulgaria or Romania?
How did this parlous situation arise? It stems from the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant. Among British political parties, only the UK Independence Party voted against it in the European Parliament. What were the others doing? Filling out their expenses claims, I suppose.
As yet, the ramifications of this are little understood. But you may become all too familiar with it one day. Returning from a holiday in Euroland, a speeding ticket for as little as E70 may thud on to your doormat. You weren’t speeding, it may be a case of mistaken identity, but it is unrealistic to attend court in Thessaloniki, Sofia or Bucharest.
Your choice is pay up or be tried in absentia and fined. The British authorities must then enforce the fine and you have no defence.
It could be worse. As with Mr Symeou, you could be charged with murder or manslaughter just on the say so of a foreign official. A court in Bulgaria, where EU funding has been frozen because of endemic corruption, could fine you hundreds of thousands of pounds or even sentence you in absentia to years in prison.
Even if it believes you are 100 per cent innocent or your alleged conduct is not criminal in the UK, a British court must secure payment of the money or arrest you and extradite you to Bulgaria.
Formerly, a foreign prosecutor had to prove there was a proper case to answer. You could not be extradited unless your alleged conduct would be criminal in our law and the Home Secretary had to be satisfied you would get a fair trial abroad. Now we are all citizens of EUtopia, these fundamental safeguards have been abolished.
Happy holidays!
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Posts
