REU, Alm.del - 2009-10 - Bilag 218: Materiale fra Greenpeace til foretræde den 14. januar 2010

I write to you in the aftermath of the disappointing conclusion of the Copenhagen climate summit toexpress my concern about the handling of members of civil society by the Danish authorities duringand after the summit, and in particular the ongoing detention of four Greenpeace activists.The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) has already criticised the excessive use of force bypolice against demonstrators. Unfortunately, the conference was marred in several other ways by anoverbearing security effort, which left insufficient space for freedom of expression and civil societyparticipation in a meeting where public pressure was essential to ensure a fair and transparentoutcome. The purpose of this letter is to highlight three issues that deserve the Institute’s attention.First, many accredited NGO representatives, including from Greenpeace, were arbitrarily barredfrom the conference venue at short notice and during the final few days of the summit. Second,several individuals, again including a Greenpeace staff member, were taken into preventativedetention on weak grounds. This kind of policing casts protestors collectively as a suspect groupand may well have the effect of discouraging ordinary citizens from joining protests and making theiropinion heard. We hope the authorities, based on advice from the DIHR, will draw lessons from theconference and ensure that future international meetings are organised and policed in a way whichis consistent with Denmark’s strong international reputation in the field of human rights, and with theAarhus Convention’s provisions on public participation in environmental decision-making.The third issue is of immediate concern. Four Greenpeace activists spent Christmas and NewYear’s in jail and remain there today. You will probably be aware that on the evening of 17December 2009, three activists held up banners reading "Politicians Talk, Leaders Act" inside theDanish Parliament at the start of the State Banquet hosted by Queen Margrethe II. Four individuals– Joris Thijssen from the Netherlands, Nora Christensen from Norway, Juan Lopez de Uralde fromSpain, and Christian Schmutz from Switzerland – have been remanded in custody in relation withthis activity for three weeks without a trial. They are being held in Vestre Fængsel in Copenhagen,under so called "visitor-and-letter-control", and so far the police have declined most visit requests,even from closest relatives. The current period of pre-trial detention expires on 7 January 2010, atwhich time a judge must decide whether to renew it.Such prolonged detention appears to us to be disproportionate to what was a safe and simplepeaceful protest with a legitimate objective, namely to impress on world leaders the urgency ofacting to prevent catastrophic climate change. As you know, Greenpeace organises many peacefulprotests to call attention to environmental problems each year, and it is highly exceptional in anydemocracy for our activists to be held in pre-trial detention for this long.As a matter of principle, Greenpeace always accepts the legal consequences of its activities. Theactivists in question have a long record of commitment to Greenpeace; there is no question that theywill return for their trial and stand up in court, if granted a conditional release. Therefore, in our view

– which is shared by international lawyers Greenpeace consulted - the prolonged detention iscontrary to Article 9(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states:"... It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but releasemay be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and,should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement."It is also incompatible with Article 5(3) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which statessimilarly:"Everyone arrested or detained in accordance with ... this article shall be brought promptly before ajudge or other officer authorised by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial withina reasonable time or to release pending trial. Release may be conditioned by guarantees to appearfor trial."It is difficult to avoid the impression that the prolonged pre-trial detention of the four activists hasmore to do with the embarrassment their peaceful protest caused the Danish authorities than withthe objective severity of the offence or the risk of flight. Greenpeace has made all efforts tocooperate with the police to secure the activists’ release from pre-trial detention, including providingdetails of how the protest was organised and reaffirming the commitment of all Greenpeace activiststo submit themselves to judicial process and accept the legal consequences of their actions. Despitethese efforts, the police have extended the pre-trial detention for no apparent reason.I am aware that the DIHR does not have a general mandate to investigate individual cases.However, the ongoing detention of the four is clearly connected to the wider pattern of problemssurrounding the policing of the climate conference and lends urgency to a response from thoseconcerned with respect for human rights in Denmark. There are also other protestors who remain indetention and while we are not aware of the facts and circumstances of those cases, it is possiblethat they raise similar issues.I would greatly appreciate it if I could meet with you to consider the possibilities for the DIHR, withinits mandate, to remind the responsible authorities of the principle that persons awaiting trial are tobe presumed innocent and should therefore normally be granted a conditional release pending thetrial. Where the person is detained in response to the expression of a political opinion, thisguarantee takes on additional importance, given the need to avoid any undue “chilling effect” on thefuture exercise of freedom of expression by the same person or others.I will be in Copenhagen January 6 and 7 in relation to the situation of the Greenpeace activists.Despite the very short notice, I very much hope we could meet during that time.

greenpeace international

www.greenpeace.org

greenpeace international

www.greenpeace.org