London, January 13: In a unanimous ruling, the European Court of Human Rights condemns Britain’s anti-terrorism legislation arguing that it disrespects the private life of an individual.
All the seven judges censuring the UK legislation said that police searches, without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, breach the complainants’ right to their private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, its statement said on Tuesday.
That the police are empowered to search the person’s clothing and personal belongings, and having personal information exposed to public view, amounts to a clear interference and could also cause “humiliation and embarrassment” to the individual, noted the statement.
Between 2004 and 2008, over 117,000 searches were recorded by the British Ministry of Justice, said the Human Rights Court.
Reacting to the ruling, London’s Metropolitan Police said that while the British government is seeking to appeal the ruling, Section 44 “remains in force in specified locations across London.”
Section 44 states that an individual can be “stopped anywhere and at any time, without notice and without any choice as to whether or not to submit to a search.”
The judges rejected the government’s argument that the searches were the same as those of travelers at airports.
Observers have reported that US and Britain have been violating their own constitutional laws on basic human rights under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Muslim citizens have been the prime targets of such legalized human rights violations.
——-Agencies