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INTELLIGENCE                                     ISSN 1245-2122
N. 50 New Series, 16 December 1996
Publishing since 1980

Editor
Olivier Schmidt
(email intelligence-adi@wanadoo.fr;
web http://www.blythe.org/Intelligence;
tel/fax 33 1 40 51 85 19;
post ADI, 16 rue des Ecoles,
75005 Paris, France)

Copyright ADI 1996, reproduction in any form forbidden
without explicit authorization from the ADI.  A one year
subscription (23 issues with full index) is US $315.

                                 *
INTELLIGENCE AROUND THE WORLD:

WESTERN EUROPE:
STRASBOURG STRIKES BACK AT LONDON

In our previous issue, we mentioned British intelligence services'
problems with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and London's
attempts to have the Court "fixed" (INT, N. 49/36).  Now, the British
government has run into yet more trouble with the ECHR, which remains the
principal bane of the British security state.  A defeat for the government
at the end of November has forced the Home Office to release a number of
individuals detained without trial for several years on the grounds that
they were a threat to "national security".  These include the Sikh
independence activist, Karamjit Singh Chahal, and the Kurdish activist,
Sezai Ucar. 

After the Gibraltar decision, in which the British government was found to
have violated the human rights of three IRA members shot by the Special
Air Service (SAS) in 1987, the government considered withdrawing the right
of individuals to petition the Court individually.  Having rejected this
course of action -- which would itself have been a gross violation of
human rights -- the government simply has to put up with the ECHR's
rulings while ignoring them as much as possible.  The British are,
however, continuing to apply strong diplomatic pressure to change the
court's membership and procedures to ensure that future rulings are more
to their liking. 

Among a number of contentious British issues which may yet come before the
ECHR is a law to amend the 1989 Security Service Act -- the governing
instrument for MI5 -- to allow the agency to operate alongside the police
in the fight against "serious crime".  The number of MI5 personnel
assigned to this area has recently been doubled to about 20.  Roughly half
are working with the National Criminal Intelligence Service, and the other
half are taking up MI5's recently granted authorization to conduct
offensive operations against organised crime.  MI6 foreign intelligence is
also involved in a number of "criminal" investigations.  Of particular
concern to civil rights specialists, and possible candidates for ECHR
cases, are the inadequate safeguards governing the use by both MI5 and the
police of electronic surveillance equipment.  MI5 has a more or less a
free hand when conducting "national security" investigations, but its
desire to protect its budget and personnel by moving into criminal
investigation means that it will have to get used to operating within
tighter legal parameters than those to which it has become accustomed,
even though "major crime" has more or less received a "national security"
label.  Withdrawing all legal protection from criminals labeled "national
security risks" will surely end up in Strasbourg. 

Meanwhile, the British government is introducing another law to allow,
among other things, prosecution use of police evidence gathered through
bugging devices.  The British Law Society, the professional body for
solicitors, wondered whether confidential discussions between clients and
their lawyers would be excluded. Home Office minister, Baroness Blatch,
has pointedly refused to guarantee any such exemption.  If such
legislation is passed into law, it will definitely end up before the ECHR. 

                                    *
Also in this issue...

TABLE OF CONTENTS, N. 50, 16 December 1996

FRONTPAGE:

GERMANY/COLOMBIA - "FREE" AGENT WERNER MAUSS GETS CAUGHT p.1

TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNIQUES:

BUCK ROGERS AIRBORNE "RAY GUN" FIRING "OPTICAL BULLETS" p.2
DEALING WITH INTERNET VIRUS HOAXES & SECURITY BLUEPRINT p.3
TUSA PARAFOIL SURVEILLANCE DRONE p.4
WEB - Site-Blocking Technology Makes Its Debut. p.5
SATELLITES - New Technology Wins SBIRS Bid. p.6
TERRORISM - New Encyclopedia. p.7
BOMBS - DOE Reveals BEEF Tech as Russia Protests. p.8
INFORMATION - Web Resources & Offshore Financing. p.9
INFOWAR - Very Serious British ... Humor. p.10
IMAGERY - Photo Recon Against ... Refugees. p.11
MISSILES - One China Didn't Publicize. p.12

PEOPLE:

U.S.A. - HARRY B. "SKIP" BRANDON p.13
GREAT BRITAIN - JOHN VASSALL p.14
BULGARIA - ZHIVKO ZHELEV p.15
RUSSIA/BULGARIA - YURII NIKOLAYEVITCH YERMOLAYEV p.16
U.S.A. - Richard Nuccio. p.17
GIBRALTAR - Richard Luce. p.18
NORTHERN IRELAND - Martha Pope. p.19
RUSSIA - Gennadi Osipovich. p.20
RUSSIA/CUBA - Fedor Ladygin. p.21
BRAZIL/GERMANY - Karl Heinz Schaab. p.22
SUDAN/U.S.A. - John Early. p.23
ISRAEL/U.S.A. - Chaim Herzog. p.24

AGENDA:
COMING EVENTS THROUGH 15 FEBRUARY 1997 p.25

INTELLIGENCE AROUND THE WORLD:

U.S.A. - NEW YORK COPS EXPORT & L.A. COPS IN COURT p.26
     CLIPPER RESURFACES AS GOVERNMENT BACK PADDLES p.27
     BOMBS AND BURSTS AT NUCLEAR PLANTS p.28
     CIA and FBI Files? Not in this Life. p.29
     Privatizing Military Laboratories. p.30
     NIMA First Contracts "Leak" Information. p.31

CANADA - "Showing Up the Yanks" on Secrecy. p.32

GREAT BRITAIN - OPPOSITION TO MASONIC ROLL-CALL p.33
     THE PRICE OF POWER p.34
     CHEMICAL CAPABILITY COVER-UP p.35

IRELAND - DANGEROUS DISINFORMATION AS MEDIA PARADE
          O'CALLEGHAN p.36

FRANCE - GIA STARTS ANOTHER BLOODY CAMPAIGN FOR XMAS p.37
     "LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT" AT THE SGDN p.38
     Agreeing to Disagree on Helios-2. p.39
     Foccart Defends the "Backyard" against the U.S. p.40
     Transparency for Intelligence Services. p.41
     Channel Tunnel "Safe" But Burning. p.42

BELGIUM - New Informants for Old Problems. p.43
GERMANY - Irish Prepare to Extradite J. Corry. p.44
WESTERN EUROPE - STRASBOURG STRIKES BACK AT LONDON p.45
ISRAEL/GREAT BRITAIN - SHOWCASE LONDON TRIAL HAVING PROBLEMS p.46
BANGLADESH - ELECTORAL VICTORY LEADS TO ... TORTURE p.47
HONG KONG - BRITAIN "WARNS" CHINA p.48

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