News Shorts & Other Busyness

Liberty Go To European Courts

Squall 6, Spring 1994, pg. 32.

Liberty are to go to the European Court to protest against the computer surveillance of New Travellers.

Operation snapshot, co-ordinated from Wiltshire and Cumbria, tracks travellers, recording their movements and details onto a national police computer network.

“Targeting the whole of the travelling community goes well beyond the limits of Article 8 (European Convention of Human Rights),” said John Wadham, Legal Officer for Liberty.

“Just because someone is a New Age Traveller doesn’t mean that they are involved in crime.”

Liberty have also recently published leaflets explaining and condemning proposed restrictions on travelling, squatting, peaceful protest, raves and outdoor festivals. The information packs extensively quote relevant sections of the European Convention on Human Rights and are highly recommended reading material.

If these proposals become law, Liberty will seek to challenge them in the European Court of Human Rights and highlight them before the United Nations Human Rights Committee when it reviews the UK Government's record in 1995.

Information packs are available from Liberty (see contacts, page 42) at £1.50 each or £5.00 for the set.