WRITTEN QUESTION P-0908/03 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Arrest of a Greek student in the United Kingdom.
Date: 2003-03-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, United Kingdom, arrest, foreign student, jurisdiction, terrorism

C 11 E/154

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

(2004/C 11 E/175)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0908/03

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Arrest of a Greek student in the United Kingdom

(18 March 2003)

Greek student Haralambos Dousemertzis has been arrested by the United Kingdom authorities and
detained under the anti-terrorism Act. According to newspaper reports he is accused of possessing and
distributing propaganda material. The failure to provide information on the matter by the UK authorities
has been described as ‘unacceptable’ by the Greek Government.

The offences allegedly committed by the Greek student do not appear in Article 1 of Council Decision
2002/475/JHA (1) of 13 June 2002 on combating terrorism, which sets out in detail those acts deemed to
‘Jurisdiction and prosecution’, the
be terrorist offences. Furthermore, under Article 9 of the decision,
offence of which the Greek student is charged falls within the jurisdiction of more than one Member State,
since his alleged support for the ‘17 November’ group relates to an organisation operating solely within
Greece and the accused is a Greek national.

What will the Commission do to ensure that the abovementioned Council decision is applied and that the
rights of the Greek student concerned are protected?

(1) OJ L 164, 22.6.2002, p. 3.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(10 April 2003)

Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA of 13 June 2002 on combating terrorism lists types of
conduct which must be regarded as terrorist offences. It does not prohibit other types of conduct from
being outlawed by a Member State in accordance with its national
legislation, on condition that the
legislation in question is not incompatible with the Framework Decision.

Where offences fall within the jurisdiction of more than one Member State, Article 9(2) of the Framework
Decision provides for Member States to cooperate in order to decide which of them will prosecute the
alleged offenders with the aim, if possible, of centralising proceedings in a single Member State. It also
states that the Member States concerned may have recourse to any body or mechanism established within
the European Union. In the case in point, the Greek authorities could contact the European Judicial
Network or Eurojust.

The deadline for transposing the Framework Decision into national law was 31 December 2002. It goes
without saying that the obligation to respect the rights of the accused in accordance with all relevant
legislation is the corollary to implementation of the Framework Decision, as indicated in Article 1(2).

However, even though respect the Commission is very mindful of the need to the rule of law and
fundamental freedoms, it has no mandate to intervene in individual cases.

Lastly, it should be noted that, if an individual believes that his fundamental rights have been infringed, he
may take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights once all domestic legal remedies have been
exhausted.

(2004/C 11 E/176)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0910/03

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Subject: Compensation for natural disasters

The most recent natural disaster in Greece caused incalculable damage in many regions to crops, property,
infrastructure and, primarily roads, giving rise to severe transport problems. Some 11 regions in Greece
have been particularly affected by the bad weather and the devastation.