The leader of the parliamentary assembly in Europe’s oldest human rights body has been stripped of his powers after being accused of tarnishing his office by meeting the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. In a move unprecedented in the 68-year history of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace), senior MPs passed a vote of no confidence in the president, Pedro Agramunt. A statement in his name circulated among journalists at the Strasbourg assembly described recent criticism of him as “an entirely bizarre case and a regrettable spectacle”. Agramunt said on Monday that he had made a mistake by meeting Assad and claimed his visit was “manipulated by Russian media”. He insisted he had travelled not representing the Council of Europe but as a Spanish senator “looking for peace”.

Source: The Guardian April 28, 2017 13:07 UTC