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| Jean Charles de Menezes family loses European court fight | Jean Charles de Menezes family loses European court fight |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The family of Jean Charles de Menezes have lost a human rights challenge over the decision not to charge any UK police officer over his fatal shooting. | |
| The Brazilian was killed at London's Stockwell Tube in 2005 by police who mistook him for a terror suspect. | |
| His family had argued that the bar for prosecution should be lower, and that officers should not have been allowed to claim they acted in self-defence. | His family had argued that the bar for prosecution should be lower, and that officers should not have been allowed to claim they acted in self-defence. |
| Judges said UK prosecutors' decision did not breach human rights laws. | |
| British authorities had thoroughly investigated and concluded there was not enough evidence to prosecute any one officer over the shooting, the court ruled. | |
| 'End of the road' | |
| Mr de Menezes' family had claimed the assessment used by British prosecutors in deciding no-one should be charged was incompatible with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights - which covers the right to life. | |
| They argued the test applied by the Crown Prosecution Service - that there should be sufficient evidence for a "realistic prospect" of conviction - was too high a threshold. | |
| However, judges ruled against them by 13 votes to four. | However, judges ruled against them by 13 votes to four. |
| Profile: Jean Charles de Menezes | Profile: Jean Charles de Menezes |
| BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the ruling was "the last opportunity for the family to hold the state accountable". | |
| "The government and the Met were both very quick to acknowledge that what happened was a catastrophic mistake, but this ruling means the end of the road for the family in terms of changing the law," he said. | |
| What is Article 2? | |
| In short, the article says the state must never arbitrarily take someone's life, and must also safeguard the lives of those in its care. | |
| It lists three scenarios where force at the hands of the state could be justified: | |
| It also requires the government to carry out a independent investigation into all deaths caused by the state. This investigation must be brought about by the state of its own accord, and include an element of public scrutiny. | |
| The CPS ruled out prosecuting officers in 2006, but they did charge the Met Police with breaching health and safety laws, leading to a £175,000 fine. | |
| The UK government said the Strasbourg court had handed down "the right judgment". | The UK government said the Strasbourg court had handed down "the right judgment". |
| "The facts of this case are tragic, but the government considers that the court has upheld the important principle that individuals are only prosecuted where there is a realistic prospect of conviction," a spokesperson said. | "The facts of this case are tragic, but the government considers that the court has upheld the important principle that individuals are only prosecuted where there is a realistic prospect of conviction," a spokesperson said. |
| Legal timeline | Legal timeline |