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| Jean Charles de Menezes family in European court challenge | Jean Charles de Menezes family in European court challenge |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The family of a Brazilian man shot dead in London by police who thought he was a suicide bomber have taken their legal battle to the European Court of Human Rights. | |
| Jean Charles de Menezes was shot at Stockwell Tube station after being mistaken for a terror suspect. | Jean Charles de Menezes was shot at Stockwell Tube station after being mistaken for a terror suspect. |
| His family is challenging a decision not to prosecute anyone for murder over the electrician's July 2005 death. | His family is challenging a decision not to prosecute anyone for murder over the electrician's July 2005 death. |
| Lawyers are putting the family's case against the UK before the judges. | |
| They argue the assessment used by prosecutors in deciding no individual should be charged is incompatible with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which covers the right to life. | |
| They claim the test applied by the Crown Prosecution Service - that there should be sufficient evidence for a "realistic prospect" of conviction - is too high a threshold. | |
| The CPS ruled out prosecuting officers in 2006, but they did charge the Met Police with breaching health and safety laws, leading to a £175,000 fine. | |
| An inquest jury later returned an open verdict after being told by the coroner they could not conclude Mr de Menezes had been unlawfully killed. | |
| 'Protect life' | |
| The Strasbourg case was lodged by Patricia da Silva, a cousin of Mr de Menezes, who was 27 when he died. | |
| Hugh Southey QC, representing the family, told the court he would argue that previous investigations into the death did not satisfy the requirements of Article 2. | |
| "We submit that the legal test does not correspond to Article 2 and fails to hold the officers to account. The investigation did not satisfy Article 2, it does not justify that the shooting was lawful," said Mr Southey. | |
| "If the public don't believe that officers may be held to account, the order of the law is called into question." | |
| Legal timeline | Legal timeline |
| Mr de Menezes, 27, was shot amid an operation to hunt down the men responsible for the failed suicide bombings of 21 July 2005 - attacks that came after the deaths of 52 people in four similar explosions two weeks earlier. | |
| Undercover police officers began following Mr de Menezes because they thought he looked like one of the bombers who was on the run, and he lived in a flat that shared a communal entrance with another linked to the suspect. | Undercover police officers began following Mr de Menezes because they thought he looked like one of the bombers who was on the run, and he lived in a flat that shared a communal entrance with another linked to the suspect. |
| They followed him into the station where he was surrounded, pinned down and shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder by two officers trained in stopping suicide bombers. | They followed him into the station where he was surrounded, pinned down and shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder by two officers trained in stopping suicide bombers. |
| Analysis | Analysis |
| Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent | Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent |
| The right to life - Article 2 of the European Convention - requires a proper investigation into a death when the state is involved. In the UK, that usually means an inquest or, in Scotland, a fatal accident inquiry. | The right to life - Article 2 of the European Convention - requires a proper investigation into a death when the state is involved. In the UK, that usually means an inquest or, in Scotland, a fatal accident inquiry. |
| But the de Menezes family say that the CPS denied them that full investigation by refusing to prosecute anyone for murder. | But the de Menezes family say that the CPS denied them that full investigation by refusing to prosecute anyone for murder. |
| The CPS said there was no realistic prospect of a conviction - and it is that well-established legal test for criminal prosecutions in the UK that is under attack in this European Court case. | The CPS said there was no realistic prospect of a conviction - and it is that well-established legal test for criminal prosecutions in the UK that is under attack in this European Court case. |
| The Grand Chamber's judgement will be many months away - but a decision against the UK could have profound implications for how the CPS decides who goes on trial. | The Grand Chamber's judgement will be many months away - but a decision against the UK could have profound implications for how the CPS decides who goes on trial. |
| So what's at stake in this case is not just the outcome of a long-fought family campaign - but, potentially, a key part of the prosecution system itself. | So what's at stake in this case is not just the outcome of a long-fought family campaign - but, potentially, a key part of the prosecution system itself. |
| Speaking ahead of Wednesday's hearing, Ms da Silva said: "For 10 years our family has been campaigning for justice for Jean because we believe that police officers should have been held to account for his killing. | Speaking ahead of Wednesday's hearing, Ms da Silva said: "For 10 years our family has been campaigning for justice for Jean because we believe that police officers should have been held to account for his killing. |
| "Jean's death is a pain that never goes away for us. | "Jean's death is a pain that never goes away for us. |
| "Nothing can bring him back, but we hope that this legal challenge will change the law so that no other family has to face what we did." | "Nothing can bring him back, but we hope that this legal challenge will change the law so that no other family has to face what we did." |
| Harriet Wistrich, solicitor for the family, said the CPS's threshold for deciding what cases go to court was too high. | Harriet Wistrich, solicitor for the family, said the CPS's threshold for deciding what cases go to court was too high. |
| "It means that cases in which the chance of conviction is up to 49% will not go to trial," she said. | "It means that cases in which the chance of conviction is up to 49% will not go to trial," she said. |
| "Applied at this early stage, when the prosecutor has not seen the witnesses give oral evidence, that test will prevent homicide offences from being punished. | "Applied at this early stage, when the prosecutor has not seen the witnesses give oral evidence, that test will prevent homicide offences from being punished. |
| "The killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, a totally innocent man who was given no chance to surrender, caused great public concern, as has the fact that no officer was prosecuted or even disciplined for any offence arising from the tragic circumstances surrounding his death." | "The killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, a totally innocent man who was given no chance to surrender, caused great public concern, as has the fact that no officer was prosecuted or even disciplined for any offence arising from the tragic circumstances surrounding his death." |
| She said this and the unlawful killings of other members of the public had led to a "crisis in confidence that state agents in the UK who abuse their power will not be held to account". | She said this and the unlawful killings of other members of the public had led to a "crisis in confidence that state agents in the UK who abuse their power will not be held to account". |