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Cousins Alessandro Pereira and Vivian Figueiredo stand by his memorial on the 10-year-anniversary of the death last year. AP/Press Association Images

Here's why there's no prosecution after a man was shot in the head seven times by UK police

A European court has backed an earlier decision by UK prosecutors.

Updated 3.22 pm

THE EUROPEAN COURT of Human Rights has backed a decision by British authorities not to prosecute anyone after the shooting dead of a man wrongfully thought to be a terror suspect.

Jean Charles de Menezes was shot in the head seven times when he got on the London underground to make his way to work in 2005.

In 2006 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – the English equivalent of the Director of Public Prosecutions – ruled against charging any of the officers involved in the killing.

The family of the 27-year-old Brazillian appealed that decision to the ECHR but the court has not found in their favour.

Instead, the court found by 13 votes to four that a thorough investigation was carried out into the case and that insufficient evidence was uncovered to prosecute any individual officer.

De Menezes was shot dead on 22 July 2005, two weeks after the 7 July suicide attacks that killed 56 people.

On 21 July, police found four unexploded bombs on three tube trains and a London bus.

Two suspects in those failed attacks lived in the same house as de Menezes and as he left for work on the morning of 22 July, he was followed by surveillance officers, who thought he might be one of the suspects.

Special Firearms Officers (SFOs) were dispatched to the scene with orders to stop him boarding any underground trains.

However, by the time they arrived, he had already entered Stockwell tube station. There he was followed onto a train and shot repeatedly in the head.

It was later confirmed that de Menezes had not been involved in the failed 21 July attacks and Met Police publicly accepted that he had been killed in error.

Jean Charles de Menezes inquest Patricia Armani da Silva who took the case to Europe after he cousin was shot dead. PA Archive / Press Association Images PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

A 2006 report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission found that de Menezes had been killed because of mistakes that could and should have been avoided.

It also recommended a number of possible offences that might have been committed by the police officers involved, including murder and gross negligence.

Despite this, the CPS decided not to press criminal charges against any individual as it concluded that there was no realistic prospect of a conviction being upheld.

In particular, the CPS found that it would be difficult to prove that the SFOs who shot de Menezes had not genuinely believed that they were facing a lethal threat.

The complaint taken by de Menezes’ cousin, Patricia Armani Da Silva, to the European Court of Human Rights argued, among other things, that the evidential test used by the prosecutors was too high.

Specifically, that it is was too high a threshold to decide that a conviction was “more likely than not”.

Fourth anniversary of Jean Charles De Menezes death Stockwell Tube station in south London where the Brazillian electrician was shot. PA Archive / Press Association Images PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Da Silva also took issue with the UK’s definition of self-defence. The officers who shot de Menezes only had to show that they had an honest belief, as opposed to an honest and reasonable belief, that the use of force had been absolutely necessary.

The ECHR, however, found that the standard used for self-defence was “no significantly different”. The court accepted that independent authorities had concluded that the officers could reasonably have believed that de Menezes was a suicide bomber who could have detonated a bomb at any second.

On the issue of the evidential test, the ECHR found that the UK courts were within their rights to decide on what burden of proof was required before prosecution.

De Menezes’ family brought a civil action which resulted in a confidential damages settlement in 2009.  

Read: Family of Jean Charles de Menzes fight the decision not to charge police for his death >

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37 Comments
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    Mute Mick Tobin
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:41 PM

    It won’t help one bit for two reasons. Firstly because Russia has been having enough financial resources to help it through sanctions for years and will continue to do so, and secondly because this isn’t even about the military Nato threat the Russians claim is bothering them.

    There simply isn’t enough Nato military power in the area to outgun the Russians for that claim to hold, so it has to be about something else, which I think is the Kremlin being terrified that a democratic revolution could at some point reach Moscow.

    The whole thing started with an EU association treaty in 2014 – this triggered the Maidan crisis and the subsequent annexation of Crimea. Moreover Boris Johnson is still sitting on a collusion report into UK elections and the Brexit referendum, presumably because it would embarrassingly expose how Russia scored a major geopolitical victory with that referedum outcome.

    So I think Nato isn’t the real enemy so much from Russia’s perspective. It’s democracy in general, and the EU in particular. They don’t like the idea of this system sitting next to them because of what it advocates, and they don’t like people witnessing its success because it threatens them, and this is what makes the situation so dangerous, because if democracy is the enemy, then what sort of contained solution will pacify the Kremlin? There is no such solution I’m afraid.

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    Mute Sean McCarthy
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:47 PM

    @Mick Tobin: very well put, great point.

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    Mute Gerard
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    Feb 24th 2022, 1:09 AM

    @Mick Tobin: the sanctions imposed over Crimea did have a very negative effect on the Russian economy. Look at the exchange rate of the ruble over the last ten years and you’ll see it lose over 50% of it’s value nearly overnight.

    I’m not saying the sanctions will deter Russia. But the last round did have a strong measurable negative effect. But they’re not going to cause the economy to disappear overnight, and at a certain point it will adapt. No more than North Korea functions without much of any access to the world economy. Just because it’s priced in, and doesn’t cause the regime to collapse doesn’t mean the negative effect isn’t there.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:12 PM

    Putin couldn’t care less about sanctions nor can the rest of the Russian government.

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    Mute Mick McGuinness
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:35 PM

    Any Family members of any high ranking government, military, oligarchs should have their visa cancelled in the West and given 24 hour’s too leave. Freeze all Bank accounts no matter which bank they’re in. If the West don’t do anything it’s like Hitler and his actions all over again.

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    Mute Kerrill Thornhill
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:34 PM

    It’s hard to see these sanctions having any meaningful impact. The over use of economic sanctions on places like Cuba/ Venezuela/ Iran/ Syria/ N.Korea have pushed them into the arms of China and Russia, effectively nullifying their inpact. Chinas is now the world’s biggest economy and its balance of trade boomed despite US sanctions – their Belt and Road Initiative has attracted over 130 countries, making them the dominant global economic power. This is causing panic stations for countries who have used economic power to bully colonies/ small countries in the past.

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    Mute JohnDoe
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:09 PM

    WH says sanctions are already impacting …the reality is their not. Putin and Co have being planning this for years. He shorting the dollar over gold… Ukraine is a major supplier of Neon … higher..and ..HIGHER prices to come.. fertiliser prices to increase..impacting food prices in 12 months or so….

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    Mute Michael McGrath
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:50 PM

    Have a funny feeling those sanctions will have more of an impact on us ala higher again fuel prices and the knock on effect of higher prices of everything than any real impact on Russia

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    Mute Kieran Woods
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:49 PM

    There will be loads of posturing and huffing and puffing then it will all blow over. Gas transit through Ukraine will be throttled. Europe needs the gas. NS2 will be in operation inside 12 months.

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    Mute Philip Dwyer
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:22 PM

    We need to ban our coddle exports to Russia.

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    Mute Mick McGuinness
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 7:31 PM

    @Philip Dwyer: down with that sort of thing.

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    Mute Colm Molloy
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 8:00 PM

    @Philip Dwyer: And all boxty from the border counties

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    Mute John O Mahony
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    Feb 24th 2022, 1:45 AM

    We are a neutral country so why are we taking sides. I don’t see any sanctions against isreal when the are taking palestinian land on a continuous basis. Double standards from the west.

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    Mute Colm Molloy
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    Feb 23rd 2022, 8:12 PM

    Did the Americans put all sorts of bases and the like around Russia years ago which caused them to build up military resources in all sorts of far out places in Russia, which essentially became an arms race, eventually collapsing their economy, this time, they are more armed and funded, but still hurt from before, egotistically.
    How to resolve this one is anyones guess but being slightly left of centre and soft might not work, or at least get the west a lot less at the negotiation table.
    The west wanting, in this case, Russia not deploying it’s army outside its borders .
    It’s a tough one alright.

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Feb 24th 2022, 11:57 AM

    Hearts and minds over guns and tanks.

    The Internet now enables identification and direct communication with individual soldiers.
    Their personal details are on Social Media platforms.

    Russian soldiers have form in responding maturely to “daft” orders from their officers.

    https://eng.mil.ru/en/mission/peacekeeping_operations.htm

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