CEDH · PRESS;ADMISSIBILITYDECISIONS;ENG — 14 octobre 2002

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sADADF4A7 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline } .s3C4DB099 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left; font-size:10pt } .s1D88E995 { width:7.81pt; display:inline-block } .s901C2590 { width:56.7pt; display:inline-block } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS     495   14.10.2002   Press release issued by the Registrar   CASE OF HAKKAR v. FRANCE   On 8 October 2002 the European Court of Human Rights (Second Section) dismissed an application lodged by Abdelhamid Hakkar on 12 March 2002 (no. 16164/02). Mr Hakkar’s main complaint was that, although the Review Board had suspended the enforcement of his life sentence, he was still being held in custody. He relied, in particular, on Article 5 § 1 (a) of the European Convention on Human Rights (lawfulness of detention).   The Court noted that in addition to his sentence for a serious criminal offence, the enforcement of which had been suspended pending his trial by a different assize court, Mr   Hakkar had been convicted of separate offences (in particular, attempting to escape and aiding and abetting connivance at escape) and sentenced to imprisonment for terms of eight years, eighteen months and six months; those sentences had begun to be enforced as soon as the enforcement of his life sentence had been suspended. Noting that, where offences relating to escape were concerned, the French Criminal Code provided for an exception to the principle that consecutive sentences should not be imposed or should be subject to a limit, the Court held that there was no reason to call into question the lawfulness of Mr Hakkar’s detention.             ***   Further information about the Court can be found on its Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F - 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts :   Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)   Stéphanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.