EP opposes death sentence to be imposed by US military court on Guantanamo detainee Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The MEPs are also concerned at the selective prosecution of key opposition leaders in Ukraine and condemned abuses of power by government and security forces in Madagascar.

In a resolution approved at the latest plenary session, MEPs requested that Mr al-Nashiri should be given a fair trial in accordance with international standards of the rule of law. They also urges EU foreign policy High Representative Catherine Ashton to raise the issue as a matter of urgency with the US authorities.

Mr al-Nashiri has been charged with murder and terrorism for his alleged leading role in the 12 October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, in which 17 US sailors were killed and 40 more injured and in the 6 October 2002 attack on the French oil tanker MV Limburg in the Gulf of Aden, in which a crew member was killed. This case is especially sensitive in Europe, since he alleges that for several months in 2002 and 2003 he was tortured and held in secret CIA detention in Poland and that during his four years in CIA custody before being transferred to Guantanamo he was tortured by various means including water boarding. According to MEPs, EU Member States must prosecute those involved in CIA renditions and secret prisons programme and more EU countries should help the US government to resettle Guantanamo detainees.

The human rights in Ukraine has also been object to the debates. MEPs are concerned because of the growth in selective prosecution of key political figures from the opposition -including former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko- and the disproportionality of the measures applied. The European Parliament urged to the Ukrainian authorities to lift the travel ban imposed on these leaders and to let them participate in Ukraine's political life. Furthermore, MEPs call on the Commission to consider the creation of a High-Level EU Advisory Group to Ukraine to assist its efforts to conform to EU legislation.

With regard to Madagascar, MEPs condemn violence and abuses by the Malagasy security forces against their own population and reiterate their strong condemnation of the process. They urged the EU and UN Security Council to impose and extend sanctions on the regime until the political crisis is resolved.