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| Jean Charles de Menezes arguments heard in Strasbourg | Jean Charles de Menezes arguments heard in Strasbourg |
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| A panel of more than 20 judges at the European court of human rights (ECHR) has heard arguments that Metropolitan police officers should be prosecuted for the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes. | A panel of more than 20 judges at the European court of human rights (ECHR) has heard arguments that Metropolitan police officers should be prosecuted for the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes. |
| Nearly a decade after the Brazilian electrician died at the hands of officers hunting for suspected suicide bombers, lawyers for his family have taken their campaign for justice and accountability to Strasbourg. | Nearly a decade after the Brazilian electrician died at the hands of officers hunting for suspected suicide bombers, lawyers for his family have taken their campaign for justice and accountability to Strasbourg. |
| De Menezes died on 22 July 2005; his death came a fortnight after four men detonated devices on London’s transport system, killing 52 other people, and a day after the further failed attacks of 21 July, when five bombs failed to explode at Tube stations and on a bus. Two members of the Met’s armed unit, CO19, opened fire centimetres away from De Menezes’s head as another officer pinned him into a seat on an underground train at Stockwell station. | |
| The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided the following year that no individual should be prosecuted. In December 2008 an inquest jury returned an open verdict after rejecting the official account of the shooting. The Met was subsequently convicted of health and safety failures at the Old Bailey, fined £175,000 and ordered to pay £385,000 costs. | |
| The appeal has been brought by his cousin, Patricia da Silva Armani, a Brazilian national who lives in London. She 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. | The appeal has been brought by his cousin, Patricia da Silva Armani, a Brazilian national who lives in London. She 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. |
| “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.” |
| The court’s decision will be reserved. In the political context of the Conservative government’s pledge to renegotiate the judicial link with the Strasbourg court, the outcome of such a high-profile case could be politically significant. | The court’s decision will be reserved. In the political context of the Conservative government’s pledge to renegotiate the judicial link with the Strasbourg court, the outcome of such a high-profile case could be politically significant. |
| Harriet Wistrich, a solicitor at the London law firm Birnberg Peirce, who represents the family, said that the CPS decision not to bring any prosecution was based on an assessment that there was effectively less than a 50% chance of conviction. | Harriet Wistrich, a solicitor at the London law firm Birnberg Peirce, who represents the family, said that the CPS decision not to bring any prosecution was based on an assessment that there was effectively less than a 50% chance of conviction. |
| Hugh Southey QC, who argued the case at the ECHR, challenged the adequacy of the UK’s definition of self-defence since the officers who shot De Menezes only had to show that they had an honest belief – as opposed to an honest and reasonable belief – that the use of force was absolutely necessary. | Hugh Southey QC, who argued the case at the ECHR, challenged the adequacy of the UK’s definition of self-defence since the officers who shot De Menezes only had to show that they had an honest belief – as opposed to an honest and reasonable belief – that the use of force was absolutely necessary. |
| Deborah Coles, who attended the Strasbourg hearing alongside the family, said: “This case shines a spotlight on the issue of police accountability and the inequality and injustice that prevails. | Deborah Coles, who attended the Strasbourg hearing alongside the family, said: “This case shines a spotlight on the issue of police accountability and the inequality and injustice that prevails. |
| “A democratic society needs a criminal justice system that ensures scrutiny and accountability of the police and ensures that prosecutions for human rights violations are brought in appropriate cases. | “A democratic society needs a criminal justice system that ensures scrutiny and accountability of the police and ensures that prosecutions for human rights violations are brought in appropriate cases. |
| “Public confidence in the police is fundamental to democratic policing and must not be undermined by any suggestion that the rule of law does not apply equally to all citizens including those in uniform.” | “Public confidence in the police is fundamental to democratic policing and must not be undermined by any suggestion that the rule of law does not apply equally to all citizens including those in uniform.” |
| A spokesman for Inquest, a charity that provides advice on contentious deaths in England and Wales, said that the failure to bring criminal prosecutions against police officers responsible for the shooting raises questions about how the state and its agents are held to account for killing its citizens. | A spokesman for Inquest, a charity that provides advice on contentious deaths in England and Wales, said that the failure to bring criminal prosecutions against police officers responsible for the shooting raises questions about how the state and its agents are held to account for killing its citizens. |
| Since 1990, the organisation points out, there have been nine unlawful killing verdicts at inquests into deaths involving the police and one unlawful killing finding recorded by a public inquiry. None have yet resulted in a successful prosecution. | Since 1990, the organisation points out, there have been nine unlawful killing verdicts at inquests into deaths involving the police and one unlawful killing finding recorded by a public inquiry. None have yet resulted in a successful prosecution. |
| Over the same period, Inquest said, there have been 995 deaths in police custody or following police contact in England and Wales and 55 fatal shootings by police officers. The CPS has declined to comment before the judgment. | Over the same period, Inquest said, there have been 995 deaths in police custody or following police contact in England and Wales and 55 fatal shootings by police officers. The CPS has declined to comment before the judgment. |