Striking the Balance Between Conforming to Human Rights Standards and Enacting Anti-Terrorism Legislation: a Challenge of the 21St Century (An Ethiopian Perspective)
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Striking the Balance between Conforming to Human Rights Standards and Enacting Anti-terrorism Legislation: A Challenge of the 21st Century (An Ethiopian Perspective) Asmelash Yohannes Teklu A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Lincoln for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January, 2014 Declaration I hereby submit my research degree thesis for examination. I take full personal responsibility for the decision to make this submission. I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award at this or any other institution. I declare that the thesis is all my own original work, except where otherwise indicated. ______________________________________ ________________ Signature of Candidate Date Certification I confirm that, to the best of my knowledge, the research was carried out and the thesis was prepared under my direct supervision and research was conducted in accordance with the degree regulations. The contribution made to the research by me, and by other members of the supervisory team was consistent with normal supervisory practice. ______________________________________ ________________ Signature of Supervisor Date i Name of Supervisors Professor Richard Stone Dr. Samantha Velluti Name of Examiners 1. Professor Clive Walker (External examiner, University of Leeds) 2. Dr Sascha Bachmann (Internal examiner, University of Lincoln) 3. Dr Amira Elnokaly (Viva chair, University of Lincoln) ii Acknowledgment This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of Professor Richard Stone who has been on my side from day one. His encouragement and willingness to meet me at short notice to address any problems I faced has greatly assisted me in the completion of this thesis. I am indebted to him for the patience, moral support, and interest he has shown throughout this paper. Special recognition and thanks is reserved for the University of Lincoln, which provided me with the financial support necessary to complete my research. I must also thank my fellow PhD colleagues David Anderson and Luke for their practical help and support. Special acknowledgement goes to Ross J Grieve for proof-reading this thesis. Many thanks to Sharon Ritchie for the help she gave me in sorting out the administrative matters relating to registration, GS form completion, and the submission process. I would also like to thank Dr. Linda Hitchin for organising the weekly seminars for Postgraduate students, which were relevant in creating networks with other PhD colleagues. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family, particularly my wife Doctor Helen Negasi, for the moral and financial support they gave me. iii Abstract The attacks against the United States of America (US) on 11 September 2001 paved the way for the coming into effect of much counter-terrorism legislation across the world. Ethiopia is one of the countries that have introduced new legislation on terrorism, which is mainly drawn from the UK and, to a lesser extent, from the US. The aim of this thesis is to comprehensively assess Ethiopia's counter-terrorism legislation in light of the experiences of the UK and the US in dealing with terrorism. Furthermore, this thesis discusses the consequences of ‘copying' Western counter-terrorism legislation into Ethiopian culture, drawing particular attention to the need for a proper balance between legitimate security interests and the protection of fundamental rights. This thesis is organized as follows. The first chapter introduces the significance, methodology, limitation, and scope of the thesis. The second chapter discusses the development of Ethiopian legal system, human rights and counterterrorism measures. Moving forwards, chapter three seeks to analyse two important factors encapsulated within the right to freedom of expression; that is, the content and medium of the expression and the identity of the speaker/publisher. The relevance of these factors in giving effect to the right to freedom of expression is evaluated in light of the need to protect against the incitement and/or encouragement of terrorism. The chapter then deepens its critical assessment by reviewing the difficulty of implementing these factors in Ethiopia. Chapter four seeks to widen the debate by exploring the legal regimes governing intercept evidence - an issue of great importance in terrorism discourse. The chapter critically examines why intercept evidence obtained through a warrant is inadmissible in UK courts. Additionally, this chapter compares the position of the UK with that of the US, isolating areas of similarities and differences with a view to comparing the Ethiopian position on intercept communications. iv Chapter five focuses on the arrest of individuals on suspicion of terrorism and the length of pre-charge detention under the three countries selected for this research. This chapter will then explore whether there is a need for a watered down version of ‘reasonable suspicion' in terrorism cases. This chapter further considers Ethiopia's position with regard to the level of knowledge required to execute arrests, considering whether Ethiopia could and should reflect on the UK's position in attempting to facilitate a greater accordance with fundamental rights by shortening the 120 days pre-charge detention currently available to police when arresting individuals on suspicion of terrorism. The final chapter draws on the preceding debate and provides the concluding remarks on the thesis. v Glossary ACLU American Civil Liberties Union Anti- ATCSA terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 BIRW British Irish Rights Watch CALEA Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act CBA &LRC Criminal Bar Association and Law Reform Committee CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists CPS Crown Service Proclamation DPP Director of Public Prosecution EATP Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation ECHRs European Human Rights Convention ECPT European Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism ECtHRs European Court of Human Rights EHRC The Equality and Human Rights Commission FDRE Constitution Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Constitution FISA Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 HRA Human Rights Act HRW Human Rights Watch Immigration and Nationality Act INA House of Lords, House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights Joint Committee on Human Rights Kinjitt Opposition Political Party in Ethiopia MCB Muslim Council of Britain Mckee v CCNI Mckee v Chief Constable for Northern Ireland ICCPR International Convention on Civil and Political Rights NDAA National Defense Authorization Act NIA 1978 Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978 NSA National Security Agency OSSCA Omnibus Safe Streets and Crime Control Act O’Hara v CCRUC O’Hara v Chief Constable for Royal Ulster Constabulary Parliamentary Minutes Parliamentary Minutes on the Counter- Terrorism Bill, 17 June, 2001 vi PACE Police and Criminal Evidence Act Patriot Act 2001 Providing Appropriate Tools for Intercepting and Obstructing Terrorism PTA Prevention of Terrorism Act RIPA Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 SCPO Serious Crime Prevention Orders Smith Act The Alien Registration Act of 1940 SOCPA Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 TA Terrorism Act TFOP Telecom Fraud Offences Proclamation Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 U.S.A.M. United States Attorneys' Manual U.S.C Code of Laws of the United States of America VPPA Video Privacy Protection Act vii Table of figures Table 2. 1: Editorial opinions in newspapers ............................................................. 102 Table 2. 2: Articles published based on interviews and polling predictions compiled by the opposition parties in the aftermath of the 2005 controversial election. .......... 103 Table 2. 3: Terrorism cases and the most commonly alleged terrorism offences in Ethiopia ...................................................................................................................... 112 Table 2. 4: Conviction Rates ...................................................................................... 126 Table 4.1: Reasonable Cause v. Probable Cause in the US………………………...282 Table 4.2 Arrest of Material witness by nationality ………………………………..316 Table 4.3: Terrorist Arrests and Probability of being Released Conditionally …….324 Table 4.4: Length of Pre-charge Detention in Selected Countries …………………330 viii ix Table of contents Declaration ...................................................................................................................... i Certification ................................................................................................................... ii Name of Supervisors .................................................................................................... iii Name of Examiners ...................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgment .......................................................................................................... iv Abstract .......................................................................................................................... v Glossary ....................................................................................................................... vii Table of figures .............................................................................................................. x Chapter one: Introduction