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In the framework of the 3rd part of the 2023 Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), MP Kostis Efstathiou participated in a debate in the Plenary Session on the issue of cross-border repression as a threat to the rule of law and human rights.
Mr Efstathiou pointed out that, in recent years, there has been an increase in illegal actions committed by states on the territory of other Council of Europe member states, targeting dissidents, activists or whistleblowers. The rise of this phenomenon, the Cypriot MEP said, is linked to the ongoing instability and insecurity in Europe and the increasing tension between and within member states, where there is decreasing, if not zero tolerance of dissent in some cases. Mr Efstathiou also highlighted the existence of ambiguities in the legal framework of a number of Member States, which allow state authorities to suppress any criticism or challenge from political opponents by methods incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
It is everyone's duty, Mr Efstathiou stressed, to join forces with defenders of human rights and freedom of speech, democracy, freedom and transparency, whom many authoritarian regimes easily label as terrorists or criminals in order to silence their voices. In this context, such regimes use methods of repression under the pretext of fighting terrorism or money laundering.
It is our collective obligation, Mr Efstathiou said, to make every effort to combat this phenomenon by establishing stricter rules and mechanisms of control and accountability, particularly with regard to extradition and surveillance procedures of suspected persons at the request of another state. International cooperation and good neighbourly relations, Mr Efstathiou stressed, require the observance of mutually acceptable rules and procedures and the activation of safeguards, especially when national security reasons are invoked for the arrest or extradition of a particular suspect.
The human rights of European citizens and those living in the territory of the Council of Europe should be protected to the greatest possible extent and arbitrary and illegal actions that violate basic human rights or undermine the rule of law should not be tolerated.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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