The luck of the Irish?
Jolly Roger | 14.07.2008 14:16
Surveillance by British State of communications with Eire have been condemned by the Court of Human Rights. The ruling by the European Court states that the interception of telephone calls, faxes and E-Mails constituted a violation of privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention of Fundamental Freedoms and Human Rights.
Britain has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for violating privacy laws when communications were intercepted at a Ministry of Defence site in Capenhurst, Cheshire.
In the period 1990-1997 all public communications carried by microwave radio between 2 British Telecom radio stations were intercepted by the British authorities at the Defence Ministry site at Capenhurst, near Chester. Amongst telephone calls intercepted were those between British and Irish rights groups and their clients. Rights group, Liberty and its Irish counterparts, British Irish Rights Watch and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties told the court that Britain had eavesdropped on the telephone, fax and E-Mail traffic between Britain and Ireland in the 1990s.
The site at Capenhurst contains an Electronic Test Facility which was able to intercept 10,000 simultaneous telephone channels.
During the hearing, Britain neither confirmed, nor denied the allegations made about its surveillance activities. This was said to be for security reasons. It did admit that the court could presume some of the civil liberties groups communications would have been intercepted.
In a statement, the court said, "The court recalled that it had previously found the mere existence of legislation which allowed communications to be monitored secretly had entailed a surveillance threat for all those to whom the legislation might be applied. In the applicants' case, the court therefore found that there had been an interference with their rights as guaranteed by Article 8".
In the period 1990-1997 all public communications carried by microwave radio between 2 British Telecom radio stations were intercepted by the British authorities at the Defence Ministry site at Capenhurst, near Chester. Amongst telephone calls intercepted were those between British and Irish rights groups and their clients. Rights group, Liberty and its Irish counterparts, British Irish Rights Watch and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties told the court that Britain had eavesdropped on the telephone, fax and E-Mail traffic between Britain and Ireland in the 1990s.
The site at Capenhurst contains an Electronic Test Facility which was able to intercept 10,000 simultaneous telephone channels.
During the hearing, Britain neither confirmed, nor denied the allegations made about its surveillance activities. This was said to be for security reasons. It did admit that the court could presume some of the civil liberties groups communications would have been intercepted.
In a statement, the court said, "The court recalled that it had previously found the mere existence of legislation which allowed communications to be monitored secretly had entailed a surveillance threat for all those to whom the legislation might be applied. In the applicants' case, the court therefore found that there had been an interference with their rights as guaranteed by Article 8".
Jolly Roger