Political Prisoners
...protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 7
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 9
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 10
What is a political prisoner?
It is commonly held to he a feature of advanced democratic societies that a clear separation exists between politics and the law, or the executive and judiciary. Indeed, legal autonomy is often regarded as an essential check on political power. Articles 9 and 19 of the Universal Declaration, cited above, clearly state that the judiciary and its agents such as the police cannot perform their duties in any manner that might be partial or arbitrary A trial, for example, must be fair, and for it to be fair the judicial process must be free from interference from the executive.
This presupposes, of course, that the prisoners even brought to trial. Despite the wording of these Articles, international law still permits governments to exercise administrative detention, or internment, in emergency situations where it is considered the best possible option. Administrative detention can be described as ‘detention by the executive branch of government without a judicial warrant, without the filing of any criminal charge and without the intention of bringing the detainee to trial’.’ Each of these three clauses appears to violate the principles of justice.
Article 9 is admirably to the point. Its intentions are presented in more detail in the...
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