-Caveat Lector- British Army Ban on Gays Unlawful STRASBOURG, France (AP) - The European Court of Human Rights ruled Monday that Britain's ban on homosexuals in the armed forces is a breach of human rights. The court found in favor of four British nationals, three men and a woman, who were discharged from the British armed forces in line with its ban on homosexual personnel after they acknowledged their homosexuality. The court said the British policy violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which defends the right to private and family life. ``The court considered the investigations, and in particular the interviews of the applicants, to have been exceptionally intrusive,'' the European court said in a statement. ``The investigations conducted into the applicants' sexual orientation together with their discharge from the armed forces constituted especially grave interferences with their private lives,'' it said. Duncan Lustig-Prean, John Beckett, Heanette Smith and Graeme Grady were discharged between 1993 and 1995. They applied for judicial review of their discharges, and in November 1995 the court of appeal rejected their applications. They then filed their complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. The verdict cannot force a change of law in Britain, but the applicants considered it a symbolic step toward ending discrimination in the armed forces. ``I was hoping it would be successful. Now the government has to lift the ban. They cannot maintain it after what the court has said today,'' Grady said after the verdict. British Defense Secretary George Robertson said other cases involving homosexuals in the British armed forces will be put on hold while the government studies Monday's ruling. Stonewall, a British organization that defends homosexual rights, applauded the court's decision. ``This judgment is good news for everyone. Lifting the ban will not make our forces one bit less effective,'' Stonewall's executive director Angela Mason said. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
