Amnesty International – J.C. De Menezes

 

The killing of Jean Charles De Menezes – a missed opportunity (December 14, 2006)

Today, the High Court of England and Wales dismissed the legal challenge brought by the family of Jean Charles de Menezes against the prosecuting authorities’ decision not to bring criminal charges against any individuals in connection with his killing in London in July 2005.

Amnesty International considers that there were ample reasons for ordering the prosecuting authorities to re-consider their decision.

To date, the prosecuting authorities have failed to provide any explanation as to why charges have not been brought against people who provided intelligence information and those who gave orders. In addition, the original decision by the prosecuting authorities not to bring charges against individuals involved in the shooting was based on their assessment of the credibility of individual police officers that they had acted in self-defence.

However, Amnesty International considers that, in light of the misleading and/or false statements made in the immediate aftermath of the shooting and of other allegations that have emerged since, issues of knowledge and credibility should be left to a court and jury to assess.

Therefore, the organization believes that the High Court has missed an opportunity to let justice take its course in this case, and to uphold the principle that nobody is above the law.

In accordance with the UK’s domestic and international human rights obligations, the courts should be allowed to consider chain of command responsibilities, the nature of the intelligence information on which the operation was based and unfolded, and the actions of all the officers involved in the operation which resulted in the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Amnesty International considers that the failure, to date, to charge individuals in connection with the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes undermines public confidence in the rule of law and the conduct of law enforcement officials.

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