European Court of Human Rights

THE EU REFERENDUM AND THE FAILURE TO ENGAGE STUDENTS

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by Cherry Somersby

Increasingly I am being forced into situations that leave me feeling incredibly conflicted politically, and the EU referendum is no exception. By the 23rd of June I will either have to vote in line with a bland collection of right-wing moderates under the banner of the ‘Britain Stronger In’ campaign, or cast a vote that is seen by many as a vote for isolation and a complete rejection of European solidarity. This is not an article about which way you should vote or why, and it’s not even an article about why you should care. This is an article about why, in spite of months of propaganda, all sides of the debate have so far failed to inspire myself and the other 47% of students that are expected to stay home on 23rd June.Continue Reading

WHAT TO DO WITH MASS MURDERERS – THE TRIAL OF ANDERS BEHRING BREIVIK

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by Zoe Harding

Trigger Warnings: Islamaphobia, casual Ableism

Last week, an infamous mass-murdering terrorist was granted repayment of his legal costs and a court-enforced relaxing of the conditions under which he is imprisoned for the killing of 77 people. In her ruling, Judge Helen Andenaes Sekulic agreed with his claims of inhuman treatment and reminded us that the European Convention on Human Rights states that the right to not be treated inhumanely applies to all people, therefore including ‘terrorists and killers’ under its protection.

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SURVEILLANCE & TOLERANCE: HOW YOUR GOVERNMENT IS CONTROLLING YOUR MIND

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by Gunnar Eigener

“For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens,
as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone.” – David Cameron

Ever since Edward Snowden, WikiLeaks and The Guardian’s revelations about state surveillance and data gathering were largely greeted with indifference by the public, governments across the globe have continued to find ways to watch and obtain information about their citizens. Yet increasingly it is the actions taken by these governments in response to healthy criticism and protest and the sinister erosion of human rights that should strike a worrying chord in each and every person.Continue Reading

THE IMPRISONED: UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE AND REHABILITATION

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by Adam Edwards

If this is how the Queen treats her prisoners, she doesn’t deserve to have any.
— Oscar Wilde

Every few months the ongoing tit-for-tat between the UK government and the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg develops. Strasbourg will insist that the UK must extend suffrage to the country’s imprisoned populace, and UK politicians will line up to express how nauseating they find the idea. It’s a piece of political theatre that unfolds with the predictable reliability of a soap opera.

It should serve to remind us as to the purpose prisons serve. Episodes like this ought to help us scratch the Ministry of Justice’s PR varnish enough to remember that prisons exist primarily as an expression of the power of the state over the individual; cross the line and we will lock you up. Not only will we take your liberty, but inasmuch as we seek to ‘rehabilitate’ and ‘reform’ you, we will take your identity too. We will arrest your body and your conscience alike; we will isolate you and remove you. While we’ve got the keys, you don’t exist. Just cross the line.

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