TO: Ms Tonje MeinichChairperson

This briefing is submitted in accordance with Rule 9(2) of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers for the supervision of the execution of judgments and of the terms of friendly settlements adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 10 May 2006.

Reacting to the news that the European Commission has requested that the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issue interim measures to stop the draconian disciplinary regime which threatens the independence of Poland’s judiciary, Eve Geddie, Director of the Amnesty International, European Institutions Office, said:

On Saturday judges and lawyers from at least 14 countries will march in Warsaw in defence of human rights and the rule of law in Poland, as the Polish Senate considers a law which would further erode judicial independence.  Ahead of the protest, Draginja Nadaždin, Director of Amnesty International Poland, said:

Amnesty International calls on the European Commission to reconsider closing the infringement procedure case against Italy for discrimination against Roma in housing

A nationwide protest is planned in Poland this evening against a proposed law expected to be tabled tomorrow which will impose severe restrictions on judges’ rights to freedom of expression and association and further undermine the independence and integrity of Poland’s judiciary. Ahead of the protests, Eve Geddie, Director of the Amnesty International European Institutions Office, said:

Dear Mr Schmidt,

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on December 10, 2019 that Osman Kavala, a civic leader, has been arbitrarily detained in Turkey since November 2017. The court said that his detention has been carried out and prolonged in bad faith for unlawful purposes, in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and that he should be immediately released.

The EU’s new foreign affairs chief must draw a line under the EU’s complicity in human rights abuses in Libya, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 9 December. With the situation in Libya on the agenda, Amnesty International is urging High Representative Joseph Borrell to pursue accountability for human rights violations in Libya and end policies which contribute to the suffering of refugees and migrants.

LIBYA: EU MUST PRIORITIZE ENDING THE CYCLE OF IMPUNITY AND REFOCUS MIGRATION COOPERATION ON PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Following a vote today rejecting a that would have forced women seeking an abortion to view an ultrasound scan of the embryo or foetus, Amnesty’s Senior Campaigner on Women’s Rights, Monica Costa Riba, said:

The European Union’s top court has today cast serious doubts over the independence of the bodies responsible for disciplining and nominating judges, Poland’s Supreme Court Disciplinary Chamber and the National Council of the Judiciary. Responding to the news from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said: