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The currently applicable statutory regulations governing the rules of access of secret services to telecommunication data violate the constitutional right to privacy, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled last week.

Last week, Rasul Jafarov, a leading human rights defender in Azerbaijan, has been arrested by the Azerbaijani authorities. His arrest is related to the mounting repression from the Azerbaijani authorities against civic society activists and opposition parties.

Since 2003, immigration laws have been applicable that at the UE level govern the right of third country citizens to family reunification. Nevertheless, the procedure is riddled with a whole range of practical problems. Individual EU Member States differ in their interpretation and application of laws based on directives. Currently, the European Commission is carrying out a consultation of guidelines aimed to standardise the practice in this regard. The HFHR has taken part in this consultation.

The European Court of Human Rights has entered judgments in the cases brought by applications of Al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah, allegedly detained and tortured in a CIA secret prison in Poland. The judges unanimously ruled that a number of human rights violations had occurred in the cases of both applicants, pointing to abuses of the prohibition of torture, the right to a fair trial or right to personal freedom and safety. The Court also criticised the Polish government for the lack of cooperation during the case which resulted in a breach of the Convention’s Article 38.

“Over the last two years, there has been a visible improvement in the organisation of the cabinet stage of the legislative process”, reveals the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights report on the legislative process in Poland.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to the call by the HFHR and other non-governmental organisations in which the NGOs requested the development of a voluntary resettlement programme for refugees from Syria. “We are aware of the tremendous humanitarian needs resulting from the conflict in Syria, and financially speaking the Polish involvement is rather insignificant”, reads the Ministry’s response.

Last week, the District Court for Warszawa-Śródmieście made a judgment in which it held that termination of an employment contract of an employee on the ground that he attended the Equality March was illegal and discriminatory. The claimant, Ariel T., has been awarded compensation of PLN 2,500.

Bogusław Pyrak has been illegitimately detained on remand for more than 12 months. Last week, the Regional Court in Płock awarded him nearly PLN 145,000 in compensation for the financial and moral losses the man suffered due to his illegal detention.

The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw has found that the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has the right to obtain information about the existence of a formal agreement between Poland’s Internal Security Agency and the US National Security Agency.