The El Haski case

Use of torture evidence

USA – Guantánamo – El Haski

On 18 June 2009, ECCHR, in cooperation with the British human rights organization REDRESS, intervened in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) case of El Haski vs. Belgium. The case is concerned with the use of evidence procured by the torture of Mr. El Haski in his criminal trial on terrorism related charges in Belgium. The European Court of Human Rights decided on 25 September 2012 that fair trial rules have been breached and ordered Belgium to pay compensation.

Case

Moroccan citizen El Haski was convicted to seven years of imprisonment in 2004 in Belgium for several offences committed with regard to an alleged terrorist group based in Afghanistan and Morocco. At his conviction, witness testimony from Morocco was used which, according to El Haski, was procured by torture.

Context

The use of evidence procured by torture is prohibited pursuant to several international agreements to which Belgium is a party. The agreements seek to remove incentive for national investigating authorities to engage in torture, and to uphold the rights of the accused and the integrity of the legal procedure. The European Court of Human Rights decided that an accused only has to prove a "real risk" that evidence has been obtained under torture or inhuman treatment. A higher standard, such as Belgian courts and the UK, intervening in the case, require with the prove of torture "beyond reasonable doubt," violates the right to a fair trial enshrined in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The intervention made by the ECCHR and REDRESS addresses the definition, aim and scope of the prohibition, the burden of proof, and the influence of the prohibition on the proceedings. It is contended that a real risk of torture has to be sufficient to trigger the prohibition, and that the accused cannot duly be expected to procure evidence, given the common involvement of secrecy issues and a lack of access to information regarding the acts of states and repressive regimes. The human rights court followed this argumentation.

Quotes

Documents (4)

Partners

Glossary (2)

Definition

Amicus curiae brief

An amicus curiae brief is a submission to a court setting out a legal position.

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Topics (1)

Insight

Torture

The law is clear: torture is prohibited under any circumstances. Whoever commits, orders or approves acts of torture should be prosecuted. This is set out in the UN Convention against Torture which has been ratified by 146 states.

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