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Andrew Symeou case taken to the European Court of Human Rights

December 22 2009

For Immediate Release

Fair Trials International has lodged an urgent application with the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that Greece has breached Andrew Symeou’s fundamental rights. The application claims that the Greek courts have discriminated against Andrew on the basis that he is a foreign national and violated his rights to liberty and to a fair trial under the European Convention of Human Rights.

Jago Russell, Chief Executive of Fair Trials International, said:
“Since his extradition this summer, Andrew Symeou has spent months in a Greek jail, with no opportunity to clear his name. The fact that he is a British national is not a justification for Greece to keep this young man behind bars.”

Despite serious flaws in the case against him, in July of this year British courts ordered Andrew’s extradition to Greece under a European Arrest Warrant. Andrew has been twice refused bail on the grounds that he is not a Greek national, despite his full cooperation with the Greek authorities and his spotless criminal record. He is now being held in an infamous maximum security prison in Greece waiting for a judge to be assigned to his case.

Contact Ryan Flynn, on 020 7762 6400 or 07885 466 206

Notes to editors

European Court of Human Rights - Application

A letter has been sent to the European Court of Human Rights asking for it to deal with Andrew Symeou’s case as a matter of urgency. The AIRE Centre, which provides advice on individual rights in Europe, assisted Fair Trials International to prepare the ECHR application on Andrew’s behalf.
The application argues that Greece has violated the following rights in its handling of Andrew’s case:
a) The right to liberty (Article 5): Andrew has already spent months in a Greek jail awaiting trial. The Greek courts failed to consider alternatives to detention to ensure his appearance at the trial, ignored the fact that he had an address in Greece to which he could be bailed and also ignored Andrew’s past, clean record.
b) Discrimination (Article 5 and 14): One of the main grounds put forward by the Greek authorities for denying Andrew bail was that he was ‘not a Greek Citizen’. This constitutes discrimination on the ground of nationality and there was no justification for differential treatment.
c) The right to a fair trial (Article 6): Neither the Applicant, nor his lawyer, was allowed to make oral representations or to appear at the hearing. The court considering the bail application also took as fact allegations made by the prosecuting authorities.

Prison Transfer

On 2 December 2009, Andrew was transferred from a Young Offenders Institution in Avlona to Korydallos prison, a maximum security facility, having recently turned 21 years of age.
Previously described by Amnesty as the worst prison in Europe, last year a British man, David Daubney, was found dead in Korydallos prison. The European Court of Human Rights, in a 2001 judgement, condemned the prison conditions at Korydallos as being degrading and inhumane.

Denial of Bail and Discrimination on Grounds of Nationality

The investigating magistrate on the Greek Island of Zante denied Andrew Symeou’s first application for bail on 27 July 2009 on the grounds that he has no permanent address in Greece. Andrew filed an appeal against this decision which was not decided until 14 September 2009, leaving Andrew behind bars for a further two months without a review of his pre-trial detention.
On appeal, the Judicial Council in Zante decided to deny Andrew bail as he is not a Greek resident. The Council also decided to refer the case to trial, however the reasoning provided in the judgement makes it clear that none of the defence arguments were considered by the panel and they made the decision to refer the case to trial on the basis of the prosecution’s submissions alone.
It took one month for Greek authorities to deliver the latest bail decision, which was given to Andrew in prison directly and in Greek (which Andrew does not understand), despite requests for a copy to be given to Andrew’s lawyer.

Further reading