France uses special anti-terrorist laws too broadly, HRW says

Paris: French authorities abuse special anti-terrorist powers to detain and sometimes mistreat people who are simply acquaintances of suspected militants, Human Rights Watch said.

“France uses a vaguely defined ‘terrorism association offense' to arrest large numbers of people based on minimal evidence,'' New York-based HRW said in a report released on Wednesday. “France is too eager to set aside rights for the sake of efficiency. To be a real leader, France should uphold rights while confronting terrorism.''

Islamic militants haven't carried out a terrorist attack in France since the mid-1990s, whereas there have been deadly attacks in neighboring countries such as the UK and Spain.

French officials say they have broken up numerous plots, and attribute their success to cooperation between intelligence services, police and prosecutors.

Terrorist suspects can be held up to six days in France without being placed under formal investigation and sent before a judge. In all other cases, suspects must be charged or released after 48 hours. Terrorist suspects may see a lawyer for 30 minutes only after the third day of their detention, and police don't have to inform them of their rights.

“Human Rights Watch interviewed suspects who said that sleep deprivation, disorientation, constant, repetitive questioning, and psychological pressure are common in police custody,'' HRW said. “Human Rights Watch also documented credible allegations of physical abuse.''

HRW said French police often arrest suspects on evidence provided by countries that use torture. Its report is based on interviews with 24 people caught up in anti-terrorist investigations, as well as with French anti-terrorist officials.

The rights group called on France to better define the offense of “criminal association'' and limit it to people actually preparing attacks, to reinforce the independence of judges who rule on preventative detention, and ensure that evidence obtained under torture, including that from foreign countries, is inadmissible in court cases.