According to an independent analysis of criminal justice in the European Union, carried out by the London based organisation Fair Trials International, the abuses of Human rights in EU based criminal trials has doubled in the past five years.
The analysis found that states on the eastern fringes of the EU habitually violated individual’s right to liberty and a fair trial. The figures, which were taken from a 5 year between 2007 and this summer, showed the number of right to a fair criminal trial violations increase by over a 100%.
The most frequent violation was delay in bringing cases to trial, which allowed for unacceptable, or even indefinite, periods of pre-trial detention.
The Chief Executive of the charity Fair Trials International, Jago Russell, commented,
“The EU has a crucial role to play in raising standards of justice in Europe, but if it fails to act now, citizen’s faith in EU laws like the European arrest warrant will be undermined”
In light of their report, Fair Trials International called for a common EU standard on how long anyone can be remanded in custody before being brought before court.
