The European Court of Human Rights has rejected an appeal from the Home Office on a January ruling that had found to be illegal the stop-and-search powers granted by the Terrorism Act 2000. BJP has received confirmation that the European Court of Human Rights has rejected the Home Office appeal against a 12 January decision that had found Section 44 to be illegal.
In a statement, the human rights group Liberty, which represented the plaintiffs, says that “today the European Court of Human Rights confirmed it has rejected the British government’s final appeal over section 44 stop and search powers.”
On 12 January, the European Court stated that the use of Section 44 to stop-and-search people is illegal and that the powers lack proper ‘safeguards against abuse’.
The court was hearing the case of Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton, who were both stopped during a London-based arms trade show on 09 September 2003. The police were ‘acting under sections 44-47 of the 2000 Act, while (the two were) on their way to a demonstration close to an arms fair held in the Docklands area of East London’.
Flashmob on Sunday at noon outside New Scotland Yard called by ‘I’m a Photographer Not A Terrorist’ – see you there?
Yes!!