The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area
effective investigation of the related claims. The case was communicated to Poland in
July 2012.16 The applicant brought a similar case to the European Court of Human
Rights against Romania (see the entry on Romania).
Poland initiated domestic pre-trial proceedings related to the case in March 2008.17
The proceedings have been extended several times, most recently until mid-October
2013.18 In September 2012, the Polish authorities requested that the court consider
the application of al-Nashiri inadmissible on grounds that domestic remedies have
not been exhausted.19
ROMANIA
A case against Romania is pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
The case was filed by Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who brought a similar case against
Poland (see the entry on Poland). The applicant claims that he was kept in a secret
CIA detention facility in Romania before he was transferred to the United States
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, despite substantial risk of him being subjected to the
death penalty. Romania is accused of violating Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR and
Protocol 6 to the Convention concerning the abolition of the death penalty. The
applicant also alleges a violation of Article 13 of the Convention, due to Romania’s
refusal to acknowledge or investigate any related claims. In September 2012, the case
was communicated to Romania.20
16 European Court of Human Rights, Application No. 28761/11, Abd Al Rahim Hussayn Muhammad Al nashiri v. Poland, lodged on 6 May 2011, <http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra/pages/search.aspx?i=001-112302#{“itemid”:[“001-112302”]}>.
17 “Śledztwo w sprawie tajnych więzień CIA znów przedłużone” [“The investigation on secret CIA prisons prolonged
again”], Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, 17 June 2013, <http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/cia/sledztwo-w-sprawietajnych-wiezien-cia-znow-przedluzone>.
18 Ibid.
19 Observations of the Polish Government on the admissibility and merits of Al Nashiri v Poland to the European
Court of Human Rights, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, original source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland,
5 September 2012, <http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/cia/images/stories/file/odpowiedz_MSZ.pdf>.
20 European Court of Human Rights, Application No. 33234/12, Abd Al Rahim Hussayn Muhammad Al Nashiri v. Romania, lodged on 1 June 2012, <http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-113814#{“itemid”:[“001-113814”]}>.
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