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List: A-PAL[A-PAL] A-PAL Newsletter, No. 014kosova at jps.net kosova at jps.netMon Mar 13 23:16:51 EST 2000
Welcome to Albanian Prisoner Advocacy List -- Prisoner Pals Newsletter, No. 014, March 13, 2000 This report highlights the developments on the prisoner issue for the week of March 05, 2000. ========================================== A-PAL STATEMENT: ========================================== The past two weeks have seen a further slide into dictatorship in the former Yugoslavia. Serb dissidents are suffering more and more from the repressive justice system, as it becomes even more of a tool for carrying out the repressive policies of the Milosevic regime. It is important for outsiders to remember that the FRY is, at this point, a country run by an indicted war criminal who has for years carried out crimes against humanity and used the military, the police, prisons, and now the court systems as tools of brutal repression. Milosevic has moved his troops to the border of Mitrovica and has placed 40,000 men in Montenegro. Hundreds of Serb dissidents have been beaten, interrogated, and imprisoned. Efforts by outsiders to hold talks concerning the release of prisoners have been nearly futile. Efforts to buy back relatives for thousands of deutsch marks have been the only "success," if paying ransoms for hostages is a success. Another 50 or so prisoners were released this week. If approximately 500 prisoners have been released at about 10,000 Dm a piece that means that Albanian families have paid nearly 1 million deutsch marks in ransom money. In this context of corruption and egregious legal violations, Albin Kurti, former student leader and KLA political spokesman, charged as most Albanians arrested during the war are charged with conspiring to commit terrorism, had his hearing in Nis on March 9th. In a courtroom with only a handful of human rights lawyers and UNHCHR present, he read a statement in Albanian in which he stated that he refused to cooperate at any level with a "court that has nothing to do with truth or justice. It serves the policies of the Milosevic regime which kept Kosova under occupation." Albin's case, like all those thousand other prisoners, should be dismissed immediately. Not only were all normal legal procedures during his arrest, detention, and interrogation, gravely flawed, but under the Geneva Conventions of 1949, all those Albanians arrested during the conflict should have been immediately released in June,1999. For this reason, Alice Mead of the Association of Political Prisoners, has filed a request for a war crimes investigation into the situation of the transfer and detention of the prisoners as an ongoing violation of the Geneva Conventions. The petition for investigation was submitted to John Ralston in The Hague. Ultimately, however, the prisoner issue remains unresolved because of the confusion of the international community and its failure to plan properly for the future legal status of Kosova. How, in good conscience, can the West insist that Kosova remain legally tied to a brutal, corrupt regime that has clearly stated and continues to state that Kosova should be free of Albanians. Serb actions in continuing to disrupt Mitrovica, in blocking any legal justice for Albanians illegally trapped and sold off as hostages in its prisons, and in its repression now of its own citizens should prove to the outside world that Serbia is a nation with a very long road to back to normalcy. Internationals must make clear, and this includes groups like the ICRC, that Serbia has no jurisdiction over Kosovars. This is the heart of the issue. ========================================== THIS WEEK’S TOPICS: ========================================== * CONGRESSMAN ELIOT ENGEL: Resolution H.Con.Res. 265 * KOSOVAPRESS: Opened APP letter to Kouchner, related to his presentation about Kosova in UN Security Council meeting * KOSOVAPRESS: The International Women's Day was celebrated with massive protests throughout Kosova * WASHINGTON POST: Albanian Women Circle Kosovo City * HUMANITARIAN LAW CENTER COMMUNIQUE: Albin Kurti trial opens * AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE: Kosovo student leader defies Serb court * 5TH PERIODIC REPORTS FROM THE OSCE REGION: Political Trial In Serbia * KOSOVAPRESS: Some prisoners are released * AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE: Kosovo Albanian condemned to year in jail by Serb court * FREEB92 DAILY NEWS: Political prisoner disappears * RADIO FREE EUROPE: Kosovo: Women Mark Date Of Their Men's Massacre * KOSOVAPRESS: Another two Albanians sentenced * KOSOVAPRESS: UPSP demands immediately release of Albin Kurti and the other Albanian prisoners * FREEB92 DAILY NEWS: Hague prosecutor wants to make life tough for accused * KOSOVAPRESS: Three prisoners are released from Nishi prison * FREEB92 DAILY NEWS: Opposition activists detained * FREEB92 DAILY NEWS: Albanian villagers sentenced to prison in Leskovac * FREEB92 DAILY NEWS: Thugs sabotage student protest * WASHINGTON POST: Yugoslavia Activist Said Vanishes * GRUPA 484: Pozarevac * FREE SERBIA: Trial to Cedomir Jovanovic * ANEM/IFEX: Media shutdown train picks up speed ========================================== QUOTES OF THE WEEK: ========================================== Rep. Eliot Engel regarding his resolution for the release of prisoners HCR 265, "Belgrade has no jurisdiction over Kosova and no authority to imprison its residents. With this resolution, HCR 265, Congress will go on record demanding their release." Lawyers Committee for Human Rights/NY in an opinion on Flora Brovina's appeal, director Robert Varenik: "We believe that FRY's legal obligations (International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights signed by Yugoslavia in 1971 and the Convention Against Torture signed by Yugoslavia in 1991) were in effect during the NATO air campaign." Other international treaties such as the 1949 Geneva Conventions are incorportated into FRY supreme law. The 1949 Geneva Conventions apply in Brovina's case. The Conventions govern the treatment of persons and non-combatants detained during such conflict. They state that all prisoners detained during the conflict should be released immediately following the cessation of hostilities. Albin Kurti, March 9, 2000, Nis District Court, Serbia. "This court has nothing to do with truth or justice. It serves the policies of the Milosevic regime, which kept Kosova under occupation. Our Student Union was against the Serb regime, which, with military and police forces, committed terror and systematic repression of the Albanian people. . .I have no reason to defend myself nor to respond to any charges. Everything I did, I did voluntarily and with dignity, and I am proud of it." ========================================== WEEK’S REQUESTED ACTION: ========================================== We continue to need pressure exerted on the UN Security Council, and in particular Ambassador Holbrooke. We would like them to appoint a special envoy to negotiate the release of prisoners in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. We protest the prisoners' ongoing isolation, maltreatment, and torture. All trials should cease at once. We urge the Security Council to order an investigation by the ICTY to bring all those--judges, wardens, guards, and police- in the Serb Ministry of Justice involved with this probable war crime to court. Email the members of the UN Security Council countries and inform them of the unjust situation regarding the 1,600 prisoners. Ask them to appoint a Special Envoy from both the UN and the International War Crimes Tribunal, requesting the broadest possible amnesty from the Serb Ministry of Justice. This amnesty is what they would have been granted under the Geneva Conventions. The prisoners should have been released on June 10, 1999, but these terms were dropped from the Kumanovo Agreement. Members of the UN Security Council through December, 2000. The presidency rotates each month and is listed as well. The fifteen countries are: 1. United States of America: usaun at undp.org (Pres/January,2000) 2. United Kingdom: uk at un.it 3. Ukraine: ukrun at undp.org 4. Tunisia: tunun at undp.org 5. Russian Federation: rusun at un.int (Pres/December) 6. Malaysia: mysun at undp.org (Pres/August) 7. Netherlands: netherlands at un.int (Pres/November) 8. Jamaica: jamaica at un.int (Pres/July) 9. France: france at un.int (Pres/June) 10. China: chinun at undp.org (Pres/May) 11. Canada: canada at un.int (Pres/April) 12. Bangladesh: bangladesh at un.int (Pres/March) 13. Argentina: argentina at un.int (Pres/February) 14. Mali (do not have e-mail address) (Pres/September) 15. Namibia (do not have e-mail address) (Pres/Oct.) The primary function of the Security Council is maintain peace and security in accordance with the principles of the UN. These include the Geneva Conventions. The prisoner issue is a violation of Geneva Conventions 3 and 4. All parties here are co-signers, and are therefore responsible for the welfare of the prisoners. Remind these countries that the Geneva Conventions of 1949 were enacted for situations just like this one. It is their sworn duty to carry out these policies. The Conventions are a minimum standard. They are not optional. The NATO war in Kosovo was ended with an international agreement, not a local agreement, therefore the Conventions apply. Also, RECOMMEND methods of adjusting settlements to disputes that are a threat to peace. Ask for a Special Envoy to reach a settlement on behalf of the prisoners in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and international standards regarding detention and arrests, use of torture, and lack of fair trials. Another function is to formulate plans and to supervise the international court of justice. Ask for a Special Envoy from ICTY to systematically investigate the "disappearances" thousands of missing Albanians. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE DEAD TO HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS. ========================================== SUGGESTED SLOGANS FOR RALLIES * Belgrade has no jurisdiction over Kosova. * Kosova-Freedom for All! * ICTY- Investigate! You shouldn't have to be dead to have human rights! * UN- enforce the Geneva Conventions or abolish them! * Holbrooke - Enforce the Geneva Conventions or abolish them! * THE UN IS IN VIOLATION OF ITS OWN LAWS - We'll Sue! * Even Prisoners Have Rights. Release the Prisoners (Hostages) NOW! * 500 released at 10,000 DM a piece. One Million DM so far paid by poor Albanian families! ========================================== FULL REPORTS AND ARTICLES BEGIN HERE: ========================================== CONGRESSMAN ELIOT ENGEL Seventeenth District, New York 3655 Johnson Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463 -- 718 796-9700 2303 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 -- 202 225-2464 For release: March 7, 2000 Contact: Jason Steinbaum at 202-225-2464 ENGEL RESOLUTION CALLS FOR RELEASE OF KOSOVAR ALBANIANS IMPRISONED IN SERBIA Washington, DC (March 7) - Rep. Eliot Engel introduced a resolution (H.Con.Res. 265) in the House of Representatives on Monday (3/6) calling for the release of Kosovar Albanians held in Serbian jails since the end of the Kosova conflict. "The time has long passed for Milosevic to release all Kosovar Albanians he locked away in his prisons at the end of the Kosova conflict," Rep. Engel said. Toward the end of the NATO campaign to halt the Serbian and Yugoslav ethnic cleansing in Kosova, a large, but undetermined number of Kosovar Albanians were taken from their homes before and during the withdrawal of Belgrade's police and military forces from Kosova. Today, anywhere from 1,500 to several thousand are still detained by Belgrade. The State Department and human rights groups have called for their release. "Belgrade has no jurisdiction over Kosova and no authority to imprison its residents. With this resolution, Congress will go on record demanding the return of the prisoners," Rep. Engel said. Also on Monday (3/6), Rep. Engel joined U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke at the U.N. Security Council for its session on Kosova. On Wednesday (3/8), he will meet with UNMIK leader Bernard Kouchner to discuss the prisoners and other relevant issues. H.Con.Res. 265 is cosponsored by 17 bipartisan members of Congress and has been referred to the Committee on International Relations, where it awaits scheduling by Committee Chairman Ben Gilman. Last year, the House passed a similar amendment by Rep. Engel calling for release of the Kosovars by a vote of 424-0. Rep. Engel is Co-Chair of the Congressional Albanian Issues Caucus and represents areas of the Bronx and Westchester. ### ========================================== KOSOVAPRESS Opened APP letter to Kouchner, related to his presentation about Kosova in UN Security Council meeting Prishtinë, March 6 (Kosovapress) The war is not ended, not for thousands of Albanian prisoners who are still kept in the Serb jails. We are aware that you will discuss the matter of the Albanian prisoners at the UN Security Council on March 6, 2000. We hope very much in your presentation of this issue during The UN Security Council meeting. At the end of the NATO/ Serb conflict, a military technical agreement was signed by Serbia and NATO Commanders on June 10, 1999. A second agreement on the status of Kosova, Resolution 1244, was signed by the UN Security Council. These agreements ended on International conflict over the fate of the province of Kosova. But, in the agreements, there was no explicit reference to how exactly several thousands Albanian prisoners arrested during the war were to be released as KFOR entered Kosova. Instead, On June 18, 1999, The Serb Minister of Justice announced that he had moved several thousand Albanians from the prisons in Kosova to prisons in Serbia. "for their own protection". From orders at the highest levels of the Serb justice system, then approximately 2.000 Kosovar Albanians were ordered into "Forcible disappearance" in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions, articles 3 and 4, which state that at the cessation of international armed conflict all prisoners shall be immediately released. The Serb Ministry stated that this was not an international conflict, but that is incorrect. Now, in March, 2000 nine months after the Kumanova Agreement, the vast majority, about 2000 Albanian prisoners, are still languishing in Serb prisons with now hope for either local or international justice or amnesty, as the Geneva Convention state. Another 3.500 are considered as missing so their families are very concerned about their destiny. Over 90% of those missing persons have been arrested by Serb Militaries and Police. Some of the family members of those missing claim that before the day when NATO bombardment over Yugoslav Military targets started, they has the possibility to visit their relatives in Serb prisons. After that, they did not hear anything about them. The appalling conditions of their detention are a further violation of the Geneva Convention as well. These prisoners have suffered wide-scale torture, murder at the Dubrava prison massacre, cruel treatment, degradation, lack of medical care and their families have been routinely denied access or even information about their charges and site of detention. Although the Serb Ministry explains this removal as being for the prisoners "own safety", interviews with released prisoners stated that the twelve hour bus rides from Kosova on June 10, 1999 were absolutely terrifying, psychological and physical nightmare. The detainees were not given any food or water and were tortured constantly on the long rides. When they arrived at the various prison's sites they were subjected to a long corridor of guards and as the prisoners passed through the corridor they were beaten with clubs. This was hardly conductive to their "safety". For weeks, their families were not notified of their whereabouts. The vast majority arrived without court documents, evidence or charges. Amnesty International published its investigative report on the disappearances in October, 1999. They give a detailed account of the methods of this program of forced disappearances and recommend that the International War Crime Tribunal for Yugoslavia assist in the investigation into this mass " disappearance", publish a complete list of all those in prison, investigate the circumstances of these abductions ( Many were taken of the refugee columns ) and bring responsible parties to justice. So far, for months after this report, no international organization has taken action on these very basic recommendations. Amnesty International states that a detention of the prisoners is a violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, of which and Yugoslavia is signatures as are the European countries. Amnesty recommends that the UN, ICTY and ICRC work together to investigate these disappearances and to bring those involved in perpetrating them to justice. We, as the Association of Political Prisoners, support this recommendation. Another NGO, the International Crisis Group of Brussels and Washington DC, also published an investigative report on January 26, 2000 on the prisoner problem. That report pointed out that the "prisoner situation was a clear violation of Geneva Conventions 3 and 4, which guarantee the release of all detainees following the cessation of armed conflict". According to ICG, "thousands of Albanian lives are at stake… reports from recently released prisoners make clear that the prisoner condition are appalling… they are routinely subjected to torture, and their trials are travesties." They also state that, " because the war in Kosova between NATO and the FRY clearly an International armed conflict the Geneva Conventions of 1949 apply. These state that prisoners must be released without delay following the cessation of hostilities. "The situation for the Kosovar prisoners still to be detained in Serbia continues to be grave. Interviews with prisoners recently released, including fourteen and fifteen year olds, indicate that in many cases, there is not enough food, there is a never ending threat of torture, and lack of medical care and family visits. Despite widespread concern for their well-being, little action to release the prisoners has actually occurred, even though the detention period is long since over. Now families are trying to rise the 12.000-50.000 DM or more to have their family members case "expedited." They are angry that no international organization has taken the lead in investigating this abuse for discharged prisoners and debriefing those who have been abused and tortured. There are still minors in Leskovc, Pozharevac and Mitrovica e Sremit. Released minors report that torture for children and adults is conducted at the same level of violence. Sixteen year old Pleurat Isufi, just sent a letter to his family, begging for food, saying that he is always very hungry. Families are afraid their relatives may die of starvation and torture is on-going. Prisoners taken from their homes last spring are poorly clothed, many had no shoes on and were wearing shirts. They are kept in unheated cells, most sleep on the bare floors with no blanket. Request to see a doctor are meet with beatings. Discharged prisoners suffering from contusions, broken bones, head injures and psychological problems are not being comprehensively treated. All released prisoners report being unable to sleep because they fear the people they left behind will die. Shemsi Musliu, born in a small village near Gllogoc, who recently spent six months in the prisons of Lipjan-Kosova and Pozharevac-Serbia claims: " I can't forget the bus trip from Lipjan prison to Pozharevac happened on June 10, 1999.We went from 7 a m to 11 p m in handcuffs the whole time without food or water. All the way the guards tortured us on the bus. They beat us. They made us sing nationalists songs. When we crossed into Serbia they said: >From this day on, you are not Albanian. You are Serb. I was so tired and so afraid. I have scars here from the handcuffs. I had no shoes and when the police took me from my yard, and my feet and legs were very cold. I lost health, my weight in the prison. We were always hungry. I am worried about my friends to whom I left behind. Every minute, it seems to me that I hear their voices, their scream….They killed one of my neighbor. His name is Muhamet Miftari, 54 years old. "Of the thirteen prisons that ICRC has been allowed to visit, Mitrovica e Sremit is reported to be the worst and the ICRC has only visited once, since July, 1999. ICRC has not been back to visit Mitrovica e Sremit prison because they are not allowed to talk to prisoners alone, only under supervision of guards. So, they do not go there at all. In Mitrovica e Sremit, prisoners are fed a small amount of bread per day. Those few who have been released are emaciated and very weak. Some of the prisoners there were also in the Dubrava massacre in May, 1999. They were wounded in the shooting and have not received any medical care. Families can not afford lowers and many feel that their relatives has done nothing wrong therefore should not have a lower. It is time for international officials to recognize that this is a matter of the utmost urgency. These prisoners, whatever their reason for being detained ( and 90% of them were detained on police warrants without any charges at all) should be released immediately. Serbia has no jurisdiction over their cases. The Serb Justice system is a major component of regional destabilization and the prevention of peaceful democratic reform and change. We, the Association of Political Prisoners, request as following: - We ask you to appoint a Special Envoy from both the UN and the International War Crimes Tribunal to ask for the broadest possible amnesty from the Serb Ministry of Justice. This amnesty is what they would have been granted under the Geneva Conventions. The prisoners should have been released on June 10, 1999, but these terms were dropped from the Kumanova Agreement. - We request from the UN Security Council to do an investigation into the disappearances of thousands of Albanians as well as the experiences and trials of the prisoners to be conducted by the ICTY. -THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL IC MAINTAIN PEACE AND SECURITY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE UN…THESE INCLUDE THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS. THE PRISONER ISSUE IS A VIOLATION OF GENEVA CONVENTIONS 3 AND 4. ALL PARTIES HERE ARE CO-SIGNERS, AND ARE THEREFORE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WEL-FARE OF THE PRISONERS. International leaders of UN Security Council, the ICTY , ICRC, the European Parliament, UNHCHR, and OSCE cooperate and make a request for this amnesty together. The US Ambassador Richard Holbrook, can play a key role in facilitating this important first step.We hope very much that the UN Security Council will take urgent steps of action. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE DEAD TO HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS! Association of Political Prisoners http://www.kosovapress.com/english/mars/6_3_2000.htm ========================================== KOSOVAPRESS The International Women's Day was celebrated with massive protests throughout Kosova March 08, 2000 Prishtinë, 8 mars (Kosovapress) - By the motto "Duke kërkuar të dashurit tanë ",that was written in a transparent in English, too, such as "Seeking our dearest ones ", today in Prishtina The International Women's Day was celebrated by massive protest, in which were gathered about 50 thousands women and thousands other citizens who demanded the immediate release of the Albanian prisoners that are still kept as war hostages in the Serb Jails. The protest started at 12.00 hrs , in front of the National Theatre. In this front of the protestors was present the symbol of Albanian resistance, Mr. Adem Demaçi and Mr. Halil Matoshi, who was released lately from the Serb jail. The protestors held in their hands also other written transparent such: " UN Security Council, act immediately to release Albanian prisoners t", "Freedom for all ", "The Albanian prisoners are waiting for our help ", "Release our sons and daughters ", "Where is professor .Ukshin Hoti", "Where is the doctor. Adem Ademi", UN -make the people survive ", "They are kept in prison only because they are Albanians ", "Act today, today will be to late ", "Release my father " etc. The Protestors also held in their hands photos of their family members such as the photo of Ukshin Hoti, Flora Brovina, Dr. Adem Ademi, Avni Klinaku and many of other prisoners. At about 12,30 the protestors started to defile through the main road of the city. After the protest, the Organizing Council of the protest, Mrs. Sevdie Ahmeti, Mrs. Shukrie Rexha and Mrs. Safete Rugova held a press conference. They addressed a statement to Dr Kouchner's office in which they asked the International Community to act immediately otherwise the people there will not be alive for a long time. http://www.kosovapress.com/english/mars/8_3_2000.htm ========================================== WASHINGTON POST Albanian Women Circle Kosovo City March 8, 2000 By Danica Kirka Associated Press Writer KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Yugoslavia -- Tens of thousands of ethnic Albanian women circled downtown Kosovska Mitrovica today, appealing to the international community to unite Kosovo's ethnically divided city, which erupted in violence a day earlier. An early morning explosion in the northern section sent a shock through the city that had barely settled down after 20 Serbs, 16 French peacekeepers and four ethnic Albanians were injured in a violent firefight Tuesday. The blast turned out to be a harmless explosion in a ruined house that caused no injuries. "It was nothing," said Lt. Matthieu Mabin, spokesman for the French peacekeepers. In their march through the southern side of Kosovska Mitrovica, women clutched photographs of missing sons, nephews and husbands, who they say are held in prisons in Serbia. Kosovo Albanians say there will never be peace in this southern Serb province unless there is a full accounting of the men. The women walked to the edge of the barbed wire stretched across the main bridge over the Ibar river that splits the city in half, only to turn sharply in front of Swedish peacekeepers blocking any further progress. Betullahe Beqiri clutched a photo of her missing son but couldn't bring herself to say his name. "He's married, he has a 3-month-old son," she said, as the picture shook in her hand. "He's never even seen him." Another 5,000 people, led by Kosovo's most famous former prisoner, Adem Demaci, held a similar march through downtown Pristina, the provincial capital 20 miles southeast. Also today, U.N. officials continued registering Serbs to return to their homes on the southern, predominantly ethnic Albanian side of the city. The process was halted Tuesday, after attackers shot into a crowd during a fight, which escalated into a firefight involving the peacekeepers. Up to five Serbs came to the registration office today, but it was not clear whether all of them wanted to return to the two secured buildings. "I don't think that we'll return," said Rade Spasojevic. "Especially because we don't want to live in a ghetto surrounded by tanks and barbed wire." French peacekeepers also began distributing food to ethnic Albanian families who recently returned to three high-rise apartment buildings on the Serb-controlled side of the river. The inhabitants are unable to go out shopping for food. The violence in Kosovska Mitrovica underlines the difficulties NATO faces in attempting to return the town to its prewar, multiethnic status. Tuesday's fight broke out on the Serb-controlled northern side when an ethnic Albanian identified as Luan Miftari attacked an unidentified Serb man with a crowbar, witnesses said. Several Serbs rushed to help the injured man, while others went after Miftari. In the crush, an ethnic Albanian opened fire from the backyard of a nearby house, seriously wounding one Serb. "That created panic," Mabin said Tuesday. He arrived on the scene on foot, backed by armored vehicles. The French headed down a narrow side street, as grenade blasts rang out, injuring several peacekeepers. Four ethnic Albanians have been arrested. Kosovo is a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic. NATO-led peacekeepers moved into Kosovo last June, after a 78-day bombing campaign that ended a yearlong Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians there. In Sofia, Bulgaria, a leader of the Kosovo Serb minority said today that "Albanian extremists" are an obstacle to lasting peace. Momcilo Trajkovic, who leads the moderate Serb National Council, called for democratic reforms in Yugoslavia and urged the international community to protect Kosovo Serbs from what he called "ethnic cleansing." © Copyright 2000 The Associated Press http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000308/aponline103942_000.ht m ========================================== HUMANITARIAN LAW CENTER COMMUNIQUE Albin Kurti trial opens March 10, 2000 The trial of Albin Kurti, a Kosovo Albanian student who was arrested on 27 April last year, opened before the District Court in Nis on 9 March. The Nis District Court has assumed the jurisdiction of the District Court in Pristina, and the judge presiding the panel in this case is Sladjana Petrovic, who was on the bench of the Pristina Court. Albin Kurti stated that he was a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo, that he did not recognize the court and could be tried only by a court of his people, that he refused to answer any questions and did not want a lawyer. The court appointed Branislav Ciric as defense counsel for the accused. Kurti is charged with seditious conspiracy in conjunction with terrorism, specifically for “involvement during 1998 in organizing a group which was part of the Kosovo Liberation Army”, “participating in negotiations on the exchange of police officers in Dragobilje and Likovac”, being “a member of the presidency of the illegal Independent Student Union of Pristina University”, and secretary to Adem Demaci, political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). In his statement to the court, Kurti also said that as a presidency member of the Independent Student Union and its Committee for International Cooperation, he organized demonstrations by ethnic Albanian students for an “independent Kosovo”, the “liberation of the University and return of Albanian students and professors who were thrown out by the Serbian regime”, and “to struggle against the Serbian regime whose police forces occupied Kosovo and repressed the Albanians.” He said it was true that he was Demaci’s secretary and that he took the job because he admired and respected him and wished to support and publicize the KLA policy “for the attainment of the sacred cause – an independent Kosovo and the liberation of the Albanians from the fascist regime of Slobodan Milosevic.” As Kurti said he would answer no questions because the court was in the service of day-to-day politics, the prosecutor did not question him. There was therefore no evidence presentation at this session. In order to give the prosecutor time to prepare his closing argument, the court adjourned until 13 March when it is also expected to pronounce judgment. ========================================== AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Kosovo student leader defies Serb court March 09, 2000 NIS, Yugoslavia, March 9 (AFP) - A Kosovar student leader refused to defend himself before a Serb court Thursday and accused Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's regime of "fascism" as his trial on terrorism charges began. As leader of the Kosovo Albanians Independent Student Union, Albin Kurti led street protests against Serbian rule in his home province in 1997 and 1998. He was arrested by Serbian police during NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia last year and if convicted faces up to 20 years in jail for joining a "terrorist group," the term used in Belgrade for the separatist guerrilla movement, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Kurti, who worked as an assistant to KLA spokesman Adem Demaci, made a defiant statement as the trial opened in a courthouse in Nis, but refused to mount a defence or respond to prosecution questions, saying he did not recognise the legitimacy of the court. "This court has nothing to do with truth and justice, it serves the policies of Milosevic's regime which has kept Kosovo under occupation," he said. "Our Union was against the Serbian regime, which, with its military and police forces, has committed terror and systematic repression against the Albanian people," Kurti said in Albanian, his words translated into Serbian by an interpreter. As Demaci's assistant, Kurti said he had tried "to present, as best as possible, the KLA and its liberation war." "The KLA liberation war is a justified struggle which has a holy goal -- the independence of the republic of Kosovo and liberation of the Albanian people from Milosevic's fascist regime," he said. "I have no reason to defend myself or to respond to anyone and any charges," Kurti said, adding that he would not answer any questions by the prosecutor or judge. At the end of his speech to the court, he said: "It is not important for me whether you sentence me or for how long." "Everything I did, I did voluntarily, with dignity and I am proud of it and would do it again," Kurti said. The trial, attended by the representatives of the UN Human Rights office in Belgrade, Human Rights Watch and Belgrade non-government groups Humanitarian Law Center and Committee of Jurists, is to resume on March 13. Kurti is among some 1,300 Kosovo Albanians who are still being held in Serbia on terrorism charges, according to the Humanitarian Law Center. In December, ethnic Albanian human rights activist Flora Brovina was sentenced to 12 years in prison for "terrorist activities" in a trial condemned by the United States and international human rights groups. More than 230 Albanians have been released since mid-June, when Belgrade transferred roughly 2,050 prisoners from Kosovo when it was forced by NATO air attacks to withdraw its forces from the southern Serbian province, the centre said. Story from AFP Copyright 2000 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) http://www.clari.net/hot/wed/bx/Qyugo-kosovo-trial.RCR8_AM9.html ========================================== 5TH PERIODIC REPORTS FROM THE OSCE REGION Political Trial In Serbia October - December 1999 On 9 November 1999, following an unfair trial, a County Court in Nis sentenced Dr. Flora Brovina, founder of the League of Albanian Women, to twelve years in prison for "terrorism" during NATO's March-June air strikes. The court described her activities as an "association for hostile activities related to terrorism, carried out during the state of war." Dr. Brovina was arrested by Serbian police in civilian clothes in front of her Pristina apartment on 20 April 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. A pediatrician and poet, Dr. Brovina was the founder and head of the League of Albanian Women. She was charged with providing food, clothing, and medical supplies to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), as well as planning terrorist acts. During the war, her clinic provided medical services to women and children still in Pristina. Dr. Brovina was originally held in Kosovo's Lipljan prison, where other prisoners have reported regular beatings and ill-treatment by prison guards, including a cordon of baton-wielding police that met all new detainees. On 10 June, two days before the entry of NATO into Kosovo, she and hundreds of other prisoners were transferred to prisons inside Serbia. The courts in Serbia are often controlled by the government. Defendants, especially Kosovo Albanians in political cases, are often denied due process. Moreover, according to the Helsinki Committee in Serbia, public reactions to Dr. Brovina's fate failed to underline another point that contributed to the verdict: Flora Brovina is a symbol of the emancipation of the Albanian society, which contradicts the usual stereotype of the Albanian woman. The Yugoslav government has acknowledged that approximately 1,900 Kosovo Albanians were being held in thirteen different detention facilities in Serbia in late 1999. All of them have been visited at least once by the ICRC. Some known detainees do not appear on the government's list, such as Albin Kurti, the well-known student activist and former KLA political representative, who was held in Pozarevac prison. Kosovo-based human rights groups claimed that more than 5,000 Kosovo Albanians were missing as of November, in addition to those in detention. It was not known whether these additional 5,000 people are in detention or deceased. +++ Source: Human Rights Watch(HRW)/Europe and Central Asia Division, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Reuters. For further information please contact the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, phone +381-11-637 542 or 637 116, fax +381-11-636 429, E-mail BiserkoS at eunet.yu or HRW/Europe and Central Asia Division, phone +1-212-290 47 00, fax +1+212+736 13 00, E-mail hrwnyc at hrw.org http://www.ihf-hr.org/reports/periodic/1999-5.htm#YUGOSLAVIA ========================================== KOSOVAPRESS Some prisoners are released March 07, 2000 Gjakovë, March 7 (Kosovapress) - As we got announced today by the office of lawyer Teki Bokshi, that some prisoners are released from Nishi prison. The prisons are: Zenel, Jeton, Isa and Riza Alija from Kodralija of Deçani. Bekim and Naser Kalimashi, Selim and Gani Çekaj and Smalj Smalj also from municipal of Deçani http://www.kosovapress.com/english/mars/7_3_2000_1.htm ========================================== AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Kosovo Albanian condemned to year in jail by Serb court March 06, 2000 BELGRADE, March 6 (AFP) - A Serbian court jailed an ethnic Albanian Kosovar for one year Monday for "illegal possession of weapons", the independent Beta news agency reported. Sahe Isufi from the western Kosovo village of Bec, was found guilty of stashing two automatic weapons, four grenades and 600 rounds of ammunition in his house in 1999. According to the Belgrade-based non-government organization Humanitarian Law Centre, some 1,300 Kosovo Albanians are still being held in Serbia on terrorism charges. More than 230 have been released since mid-June, when Belgrade transferred roughly 2,050 prisoners from Kosovo when it was forced by NATO air attacks to withdraw its forces from the southern Serbian province, the centre said. Story from AFP Copyright 2000 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) http://www.clari.net/hot/wed/ck/Qyugo-kosovo-justice.RRa7_AM6.html ========================================== FREEB92 DAILY NEWS Political prisoner disappears March 08, 2000 BELGRADE, Wednesday - Political prisoner Bogoljub "Maki" Arsenijevic disappeared last night from Belgrade's Facial Surgery Clinic, where he was being examined. Arsenijevic, the founder of the Civil Parliament of Valjevo, has been serving a three-year sentence in Valjevo prison since being arrested last year in Belgrade. He was beaten at the time of his arrest, suffering a broken jaw among other injuries. Arsenijevic's wife, Snezana, today expressed fear's for her husband's fate in view of the abuse he was exposed to last year during the arrest, saying that the condition of his health would make it difficult for him to escape custody. http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/ ========================================== RADIO FREE EUROPE Kosovo: Women Mark Date Of Their Men's Massacre March 08, 2000 By Jolyon Naegele The international community estimates that some 10,000 civilians, mainly ethnic Albanians, were killed by Serbian forces last year during the 78 days of NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia. Many Kosovar Albanian women are still trying to put their lives back together without their murdered fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons. RFE/RL correspondent Jolyon Naegele spoke with the women of one family who lost six men in a massacre last March. Krushe e Vogel, Kosovo; 8 March 2000 (RFE/RL) -- Krushe e Vogel is a village where women traditionally married young, raised large families, and rarely worked outside the home. It was also an ethnically mixed village, until a massacre last March. Ethnic Serb residents lived largely in the lower part of the village near the main road. Their homes today are demolished, and their former residents are in exile to the north, in nearby Orahovac (Albanian: Rahovec), or else in Serbia proper. Ethnic Albanians lived in the town's upper part, spread out on its hillsides in an assortment of old peasant houses of mud-brick. These dwellings did not survive torching by the Serbs. But newer homes of brick -- though damaged by fire -- have been repaired and are habitable. It is in this village that Serbian forces staged one of several massacres in the first days of the NATO air strikes in late March (March 25 and 26) last year, forcing the women and children to flee to Albania and slaughtering their men. Serbian soldiers and police killed from 50 to 100 men in Mala Krusha, as it was known to the Serbs, or Krushe e Vogel, as it is known to the Albanians. Nexhmije Hajdari lost her husband and five sons in the massacre. She says the Serbian troops pulled her youngest son, who was 14 years old, right out of her arms. A sixth son survived because he was away fighting with the Kosovo Liberation Army, or UCK. Nexhmije, who is 56, can barely talk. She is sick with grief and uncertainty. Very few of the slaughtered bodies were ever found -- just bits of clothing and charred bones. One of Nexhmije's three daughters-in-law, Selvete Hajdari, speaks for the family as the two other daughters-in-law, Avnije and Shkurte, and their seven fatherless children look on in silence pierced by the occasional crying of a baby. "Before we did not have to work. We had husbands. They earned the money and made things for the family. Now the situation is difficult. Someone has to think, to look out for the children. So, we're starting from scratch." Silvete, who is 36, says the family still has its tractor, but none of the women know how to run it. But she says humanitarian aid has helped ease the burden of supporting a family of 16: "We have been receiving sufficient good help. Now they have started to bring building materials to repair the rooms in the house. The Sisters of Qiriazi [a Kosovar NGO] is running training courses for women to be seamstresses. We have just finished the theory [part] and we are starting the practical part." Selvete says a German non-governmental organization, Kinderberg, has organized women in the village to sew sheets and curtains for a hospital in Prizren, 16 kilometers to the south. Kinderberg has also given the Hajdari women a sewing machine. Working together with Avnije and Shkurte, the women have earned over 500 German marks in recent months from their work. A relative in Switzerland also donated money to enable them to hire a man to repair a fire-damaged room in the main house of the family compound. The adjacent old mud-brick home, where part of the extended Hajdari family lived until a year ago, remains roofless and so damaged as to be irreparable. The physical destruction the Serbs wrought across Kosovo is rapidly disappearing. But the psychological damage caused by the estimated 10,000 civilian deaths, including the executions of most of the inhabitants of Mala Krusa, may never heal. The women of this village once lived a sheltered, though hard way of life. Today, they have been catapulted into what for them was traditionally a man's world. http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2000/03/F.RU.000308135610.html ========================================== KOSOVAPRESS Another two Albanians sentenced Prishtinë, March 10 (Kosovapress) - At the Serb court in Leskoc, another two Albanians are sentenced. Avni Shala 38 years old from village Broqin of Skenderaj is sentenced to 12 years prison, with an penalty accuse for terrorism. And Ismet Beqiraj 41 years old from village Reç of Gjakova, was sentenced to 18 month prison also for enemy activities. http://www.kosovapress.com/english/mars/10_3_2000_2.htm ========================================== KOSOVAPRESS UPSP demands immediately release of Albin Kurti and the other Albanian prisoners Prishtinë, March 10 (Kosovapress) - At the combined Conference by the Independent Student Union of University in Prishtina, and with representatives of ISHL union, it was demanded the release of war hostages and prisoners, who are held at the Serb jails. By this it was confirmed that the students will protest till the end of their totally release. The trial of our friend is unaccepted, we appeal one more to the International communities to be more decedent, our friend Albin Kurti to be released and the other hostage detained during the war, we don't want to happen the same scene as it happen at the prison in Dubrava, it is said on the statement by the conference of UPSB signed by head Driton Lajçi. http://www.kosovapress.com/english/mars/10_3_2000.htm ========================================== FREEB92 DAILY NEWS Hague prosecutor wants to make life tough for accused March 10, 2000 THE HAGUE, Friday - The Hague Tribunal's chief prosecutor said today that she intended to make life difficult for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and others accused of war crimes. Carla del Ponte said that her absolute priority was the arrest of remaining suspects, adding that she particularly sought the arrest of Milosevic, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and former head of the Bosnian Serb Army Ratko Mladic, whom she considered responsible for the worst crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/ ========================================== KOSOVAPRESS Three prisoners are released from Nishi prison Gjakovë, March 11 (Kosovapress) - Two days ago, after the trial held in town of Nishi, three Albanian prisoners are released from the prison, which were sentenced to 18 months prison. They are Sadik Myftar Zeqiri and brothers Gëzim and Arben Abazi. http://www.kosovapress.com/english/mars/11_3_2000.htm ========================================== FREEB92 DAILY NEWS Opposition activists detained March 10, 2000 KRALJEVO, Friday - Two Serbian Renewal Movement activists were today detained by local police in Kraljevo for questioning over party propaganda material. The Kraljevo committee of the Renewal Movement said today that the party workers, one of whom was an elderly invalid pensioner, were harassed for five hours by Kraljevo police after having been detained at a bus station. http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/ ========================================== FREEB92 DAILY NEWS Albanian villagers sentenced to prison in Leskovac March 10, 2000 LESKOVAC, Friday - The District Court of the Kosovo district of Pec, sitting in Leskovac in Southern Serbia, yesterday sentenced two Kosovo Albanians to prison. Avni Shala, from the village of Brocna was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on charges of terrorism. The court found that Shala had participated in an armed attack on Serbian police in April 1998. Ismet Beciraj from the village Racaj was sentenced to a year and a half imprisonment after being convicted of conspiring against the state. The Pristina office of the International Red Cross announced today that seven Kosovo Albanians had been released from custody in Kraljevo. Five of those released were from Vucitrn and two from Kosovska Mitrovica. So far about five hundred Kosovo Albanians have been released from prisons in Serbia. http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/ ========================================== FREEB92 DAILY NEWS Thugs sabotage student protest March 08, 2000 BELGRADE, Wednesday - A student demonstration in front of the Municipal Assembly of the inner Belgrade suburb of Vracar was broken up today by thugs who later escaped into the local office of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia. The demonstration was to have involved a number of women presenting a cake to the president of the Vracar Socialist Committee, Branislav Ivkovic. Three young men destroyed a table being used by the student activists, before retreating into the Socialist committee offices shouting obscenities. Two of the attackers later emerged again from the offices, shouting pro-Milosevic slogans and challenging student activists to fight. The student and citizen protesters retreated from the situation. http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/ ========================================== WASHINGTON POST Yugoslavia Activist Said Vanishes March 8, 2000 The Associated Press BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- An opposition activist serving a 3-year prison term for leading violent protests against President Slobodan Milosevic went missing Wednesday while in the hospital under police custody, his wife said. Police brought Bogoljub Arsenijevic, 44, also known as Maki, to the Belgrade hospital Tuesday for follow-up surgery on his jaw bone, which was broken last year when police severely beat him. Later, reports from independent media outlets said he had escaped from police custody. But Arsenijevic's wife, Snezana, told The Associated Press by telephone she had strong doubts her husband had escaped. "He was recovering from surgery, he was all in bandages and in pain when we briefly visited him Tuesday afternoon" in his heavily guarded hospital room, she said. "We were told that he escaped but it all looks very strange... in his condition, he could hardly run away." Snezana said court officials in the couple's home town of Valjevo called her to say her husband had escaped, and that police had confirmed that report to her. But she said her husband had not tried to contact the family in the time that he had been missing. There has been no official comment from police on the reports. Arsenijevic shot to fame last July when he led a charge of 2,000 people against a government office in his native town of Valjevo during anti-Milosevic protests. Several people were injured in the clash, and Arsenijevic went into hiding until the police arrested him several weeks later. During the arrest in August, police also dislocated Arsenijevic's shoulder. Several international and domestic human rights groups protested the police brutality and demanded his release. A court in Valjevo, 50 miles southwest of Belgrade, where he led the charge, sentenced him in November to three years in jail for instigating the violent anti-Milosevic protests. © Copyright 2000 The Associated Press http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000308/aponline154135_000.ht m ========================================== GRUPA 484 Pozarevac March 07, 2000 On 7th march 2000, at around 2300h, Marko Milosevic has attacked, with a group of criminals, 19 years old I.P., the activist of the Student Movement RESISTANCE (we won't mention his name because of the safety reasons). He was drawn into the car, where he was torturously beaten all over and taken to the discotheque "Madona", the ownership of Marko Milosevic, the son of the Yugoslav president. He is also beaten there and the barrel of a gun was put into his mouth. Like the culmination they turned on a motor - saw and threatened him by cutting him in pieces. After two hours of torturing, he was swooned with a hit in the head and in that condition thrown out on the street. We believe that any comment is unnecessary. ========================================== FREE SERBIA Trial to Cedomir Jovanovic March 11, 2000 Defender Sinisa Nikolic had charged yesterday Court's authorities for illegal action in trial to his client Cedomir Jovanovic, member of Main Board of Democratic Party, reports Fonet. He had qualified sending information from Jovanovic's informative talk in police from Ministry of internal affairs to Ministry of Information on press conference of Democratic Party as drastic braking of Law because those informations could only be transferred to district prosecutors. Nikolic remanded that Jovanovic was charged by First district prosecutor for insult of honor and respectability of assistant to Republic's minister of information Radmila Visic in articles published in bulletin "Changes" even if "no evidence were brought till today to support charge that Jovanovic was responsible for this". He had expressed doubt that reasons for charges against Jovanovic are law based. Democratic Party announced today that in two days 11.000 citizens had signed petition against political process against Cedomir Jovanovic. Jovanovic's trial is scheduled for Monday, March 13th. © Copyrights Free Serbia, 1999. http://anon.free.anonymizer.com/http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeserb/news/e-subota 11mart.html ========================================== PRESS RELEASE - FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA (SERBIA) ANEM protests increased repression of media March 10, 2000 SOURCE: Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) (ANEM/IFEX) - The following is an ANEM press release: Media shutdown train picks up speed BELGRADE, March 10, 2000 -- The Association of Independent Electronic Media in Yugoslavia protests the increase in radio and television closures in Serbia this week. The association also protests the Yugoslav government's refusal of a visa to the chairman of the International Federation of Journalists, Aidan White. Television Nemanja and Radio Tir in Cuprija and Radio Golf in Belgrade were closed down on March 9, with the justification that they had not met requirements in frequency licence applications submitted in February 1998. The previous day, Radio Boom 93 in Pozarevac was banned with the same justification. The two Cuprija broadcasters and Boom 93 were not under state control and produced independent news programmes. In view of repeated grave threats from representatives of the ruling coalition in Serbia and the ongoing persecution of the independent media, ANEM considers this the beginning of an operation similar to that in which more than a hundred broadcasters were shut down and their equipment seized during the summer of 1997. Aidan White, chairman of the International Federation of Journalists, was refused a Yugoslav visa for a visit he had planned in support of media targeted in the latest wave of repression. Mr White was granted a visa during last year's NATO intervention, when his visit included condemnation of the bombing of Radio Television Serbia. ANEM demands that the Yugoslav Telecommunications Ministry and all relevant agencies immediately cease this operation of closing broadcasters in Serbia and that visas be issued to any representatives of international media organisations who wish to investigate freedom of expression in this country. For further information, contact Veran Matic, Chairperson, or Marija Milosavljevic at ANEM, Masarikova 5/XVII, 11000 Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, tel: +381 361 9228, fax: +381 361 9428, e-mail: veran.matic at opennet.org, marija at opennet.org , alternate e-mail: juliab92 at xs4all.nl , Internet: http://www.freeb92.net , http://www.anem.opennet.org ========================================== Additional updates of the Kosovar political prisoners, including those sentenced, missing and released, may be found at: http://www.khao.org/appkosova/appkosova-database.htm http://www.khao.org/appkosova/appkosova-report0037.htm http://www.khao.org/appkosova/appkosova-report0038.htm http://www.khao.org/appkosova/appkosova-report0041.htm Very useful statistics and update from ICRC on missing persons from Kosova can be found at: http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c 8ad5/60c532dbdf49f6878525688f006f80d4?OpenDocument Archives of the A-PAL Newsletters may be found at: http://www.khao.org/appkosova.htm Albanian Prisoner Advocacy List -- Prisoner Pals Newsletter, No. 014
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