As the European Commission, Council and Parliament have recognised, ‘excessively long periods of pre-trial detention are detrimental to the individual, can prejudice cooperation between the Member States, and do not represent the values for which the European Union stands’.

This letter is to follow-up on the European Union’s work to tackle this problem and to urge the Commission to continue its work in this area beyond the current legislative programme, including developing a timeframe for tabling a legislative proposal setting common minimum standards for the use of pre-trial detention in the EU. Please click here for the letter.

This letter has been signed by Amnesty International; Association Européenne pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme; APADOR Association for the Prevention of Torture; Czech Helsinki Committee; Defence for Children International; European Criminal Bar Association; Federation Internationale de L’ACAT; Fair Trials International; Harm Reduction International; Human Rights Monitoring Institute; Lithuania Hungarian Helsinki Committee; International Centre for Prison Studies; Irish Penal Reform Trust; JUSTICE; Law Society of England and Wales; League of Human Rights; Czech Republic; Liga voor Mensenrechten; Observatoire International de Justice Juvenile; Open Society Justice Initiative; Quaker Council on European Affairs; Prisoners Abroad.

9 September 2013.