Many of these individuals have been prevuiously convicted of violent offences in connection with football matches, but some have not; some, it would seem, have previously been unsuccessfully prosecuted, while others are merely under suspicion of being football thugs.
Now of course, I’m not in favour of soccer hooliganism (I’m not a fan of football either, for that matter), but it seems to me that a rather serious injustice is being done here - should the police have the right to treat suspects this way? Should they even have the right to treat convicted individuals who have ‘served their time’?
Well, if you read the article carefully, it also states that Portugal will deny entry to anyone it doesn’t like, which is entirely within their rights as a sovereign nation. As for those convicted of violence at games…sure. I think the British Government can pull their passports completely if they so desire. Suspects, on the other hand, is kinda pushing it.
Well, when I checked my passport, it said something to the effect that it’s the property of the US Government. Assuming UK passports are effectively property of the UK government, are they not revoking the passport?
Of course, the government really has no use for my passport. It’s got my particulars on it so they cannot give to someone else to use.
In any case, what are the rules for revocation? Defined, explicit or wide open?
There was more detail on the radio this evening and relevant officials from government and the police were interviewed; in essence, what they were saying was that about 75% of the people banned from travelling had at some point in the past been arrested in connection with incidents of football violence (although they didn’t say how many of these were actually found guilty) and that that there were some who were under suspicion for a variety of reasons, including ‘suspicious patterns of behaviour’, but this was OK, because anyone could make an appeal and have their case reconsidered.
It was this that worries me the most; in this specific instance, it seems very much like ‘assumed guilty until you can prove you’re innocent’ for some people.
Yes, they’re perfectly within their rights to revoke your passport. But as you observe, that technically has no effect on you leaving the country (althoguh it makes it impossible to board a plane) - but Portugal will no doubt be checking passports on entry.
FWIW, The UN Declaration on Human Rights identifies the right to leave any country, including one’s own; however there is a get-out for if there is an overriding need to protect public order.
