Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13255 | 26 June 2013

Serious setbacks in the fields of human rights and the rule of law in France

Signatories: Mr Luca VOLONTÈ, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Pedro AGRAMUNT, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Otari ARSHBA, Russian Federation, EDG ; Ms Rossana BOLDI, Italy, EDG ; Mr Federico BRICOLO, Italy, EDG ; Mr Şaban DİŞLİ, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Renato FARINA, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Paolo GRIMOLDI, Italy, EDG ; Mr Kastriot ISLAMI, Albania, SOC ; Mr László KOSZORÚS, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Ms Yuliya L'OVOCHKINA, Ukraine, EDG ; Mr Anvar MAKHMUTOV, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Gennaro MALGIERI, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Péter MIHALOVICS, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Pasquale NESSA, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Ángel PINTADO, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Gabino PUCHE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Giacomo SANTINI, Italy, EPP/CD ; Ms Lorella STEFANELLI, San Marino, EPP/CD ; Mr Giacomo STUCCHI, Italy, EDG ; Mr Elkhan SULEYMANOV, Azerbaijan, EPP/CD ; Mr Vyacheslav TIMCHENKO, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Latchezar TOSHEV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

We, the undersigned, express our serious concern with respect to the abuse of the police force in the context of the demonstrations against the approval of the “Taubira law” where hundreds of walkers and protesters were brutalised, gassed, arbitrarily arrested and jailed for 24 hours and more in “garde à vue”. Reports from lawyers and NGOs indicate that more than 600 individuals have been arrested and jailed in “garde à vue”.

Most of those individuals were released after 24 hours without being convicted of any offence; therefore, the penal procedure of “garde à vue” is being abused as a political punishment.

This continuous abuse of the police force and of the procedure of “garde à vue” violates various provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment), Article 5 (right to liberty) and Article 7 (no punishment without law).

We express our concern regarding violations of the freedom of assembly and the right to political protest guaranteed by Article 11. In this context, the government also threatened to ban abusively the social and peaceful movement of protest, whereas neither this movement nor any of its members have been convicted of any violent or illegal acts.

We, the undersigned, also express our concern regarding violations, due to compulsory teaching of the gender theory from the age of 6, of the freedom of conscience and of parental rights to educate their children on moral matters guaranteed by Articles 8 and 9 of the Convention, and Article 2 of the Protocol thereto.

For all the above reasons, we request that a monitoring procedure be initiated with respect to France in accordance with article 2.iii of the terms of reference of the Monitoring Committee.