Eur. Court hears case of man shot by British police in 2005

PARIS

The European court of human rights (ECHR) will hear on Wednesday the family of a Brazilian man who was mistakenly shot dead in 2005 by London police.

 On July 22, 2005, following the suicide bombings in London earlier that same month, Jean Charles de Menezes, aged 27 at the time, was mistakenly identified as a terror suspect and shot several times in the head by two special firearms officers (SFOs) in the Stockwell London Underground Station.

De Menezes's cousin, Patricia da Silva, took the case to the ECHR on Jan. 21, 2008, after her appeal to the House of Lords in England was rejected by the High Court in July 2007.

Da Silva argues that the state, in this case the U.K.. did not fulfill its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights,  which covers the right to life.  

"The case was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which concluded in a report dated 19 January 2006 that Mr de Menezes had been killed because of mistakes that could and should have been avoided,” said an EHCR press release explaining the details of the case.

However, "it was decided by prosecutiors not to press criminal or disciplinary charges against any individual "since there was no realistic prospect of a conviction against any individual police officer being upheld," says the statement issued on Wednesday.

Similarly, in May 2007, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) decided that no disciplinary action should be pursued against any of the 11 officers involved in the operation "since there was no realistic prospect of any disciplinary charges being upheld".

The European Court will begin its deliberations - in private - after the hearing Wednesday. The ruling in the case will, however, be made at a later stage, according to an ECHR statement.

 A total of 52 people were killed and more than 770 injured when four suicide bombers struck in London’s transportation system on July 7, 2005.