From amead at maine.rr.com Wed Oct 11 00:08:44 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 00:08:44 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [A-PAL] RELEASE THEM NOW! A-Pal Info from the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights/NYC Message-ID: <200010110408.e9B48i527993@alb-net.com> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text Size: 5440 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/a-pal/attachments/20001011/549d2516/attachment.ksh From amead at maine.rr.com Wed Oct 11 00:08:44 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 00:08:44 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [A-PAL] RELEASE THEM NOW! A-Pal Info from the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights/NYC Message-ID: <200010110408.e9B48i527993@alb-net.com> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text Size: 5440 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/a-pal/attachments/20001011/549d2516/attachment-0001.ksh From amead at maine.rr.com Wed Oct 11 17:12:09 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 17:12:09 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] FW: A-PAL 10/11/00 Message-ID: <20001011211524.AAK19179@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> > > > > > > A-PAL : ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS/PRISHTINA/USA/GERMANY > ARCHIVES: www.khao.org/appkosova.htm > > WE NEED YOUR HELP! DEMAND THE RELEASE OF THE 878 ALBANIAN > PRISONERS NOW! > OCTOBER 12, 2000 > > > Xhevdet Podvorica is 17 years old.A tall boy, with dark hair and now very, > very thin, he was arrested at his uncle's apartment in the Bregu Diellit > neighborhood of Prishtina on May 19, 1999, when he was 16 years old. The 30 > day police warrant of arrest expired on June 12, 1999. He has been tortured, > first at Lipjan Prison in Kosova, where conditions were so appalling and > barbarous that they bring to mind the Bosnian camps. On June 10, he was > taken to Sremska Mitrovica Prison in northern Serbia. Another minor, Bekim > Istogu, is imprisoned there with him. They receive one small piece of bread > per day and have five minutes to eat it. They are not allowed to look at the > guards. Albanian prisoners there are beaten regularly and threatened with > being killed. When the 35 other minor prisoners were released last November, > these two boys were not. They have never been charged with a crime. > > Xhevdet's mother has seen him twice in the past year and a half. She has > brought him food packages, without which he probably would have starved by > now. He is in a cell with many adults, and received the same level of > torture as the adults. He has written to his classmates, hoping that he will > be able to see them again and to finish his classes. > > THIS IS ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION! > > > IMPRISONMENT OF ALBANIANS CALLED "AWKWARD" BY EU FOREIGN OFFICIALS! > RELEASE OF CANADIANS, BRITISH, DUTCH CELEBRATED. > ___________________________________________________________ > > Quote: Rachel Denber/Human Rights Watch, October 11, 2000 > > "Releasing Filipovic is a good step, but Kostunica can and should do > much more," said Rachel Denber, Acting Executive Director of Human > Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia Division. "Hundreds of Kosovo > Albanians are serving unjust sentences in Serbia. Releasing them would show > conclusively that the new government isfundamentally different from that of > Slobodan Milosevic. It would show a dedication to justice and ethnic > tolerance." > > Serbian human rights groups estimate that 850 Kosovo Albanians who > werearrested during last year's NATO war are currently serving prison > sentences in Serbia. Most sentences resulted from unfair trials lacking > evidence against the accused. > ______________________________________________________ > > A-PAL: There is no legal validity to releasing eight foreigners and Serb > journalists while denying justice to the imprisoned Albanians, who fear > for their lives in prison. This is an international disgrace---Not one > foreign country has offered to serve as their advocate, as they should be > guaranteed by the Geneva Conventions, to prevent their torture, harassment, > mock trials. IF COUNTRIES WITH DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS WANT TO ESTABLISH > TRADE WITH SERBIA, BUT DO NOT INSIST ON THE RULE OF LAW NO MATTER HOW > "INCONVENIENT" THAT MAY SEEM, THEN THEY ARE NEARLY AS CORRUPT AS THE REGIME > THEY SEEK TO REPLACE AND CERTAINLY AS HYPOCRITICAL. > > ______________________________________________________________ > > > Yugoslavs Release Canadian Citizen > > By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > Filed at 3:51 p.m. ET > > BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Yugoslavia's new government filed charges > against a Canadian citizen and then freed him on bail Monday, weeks > after the old regime arrested him for alleged illegal possession of > explosives. > The now-ousted government of Slobodan Milosevic detained Shaun > Going, his nephew, Liam Hall, and two British police officers in August > as they traveled between the NATO-controlled province of Kosovo and > Montenegro, the smaller of Yugoslavia's two republics. Authorities had > refused to level charges against Going, stalling the case in the courts. > Going's lawyer, Ivan Jankovic, said that with the case now moving > forward, Going could leave the country. He said the defense would demand > that the ``unfounded'' explosives possession charges be dropped. > > _______________________________________________________________________ > http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/index.phtml?Y=2000&M=10&D=10 > > FreeB92 Last update: Oct 10, 2000 19:35 CET > > Filipovic released > > 19:35 NIS, Tuesday - Kraljevo journalist Miroslav Filipovic was released > from Nis Military Prison this afternoon. He left escorted by his wife > Slavica and his lawyer. > The Supreme Court earlier today overturned Filipovic's seven year > sentence for espionage and disseminating false information and ordered > that he be released immediately. The ruling cited violations of legal > procedures in the original trial as the reason for overturning the > sentence. > Filipovic told about thirty foreign and domestic journalists > waiting outside the prison that he felt wonderful and that he had never > lost hope that the sentence would be overturned. "I was simply not > guilty of the things I was charged with," said Filipovic. > Another imprisoned journalist, Zoran Lukovic, will be released on > parole tomorrow Radio B92 learnt today from his lawyer, Gradimir Nalic. > Lukovic was a staff journalist with the now defunct Dnevni > telegraf. He was sentenced to five months imprisonment after publishing > an article accusing former Serbian Health Minister Milovan Bojic of > involvement in a murder. > > Remaining Canadian released > > 13:56 BELGRADE, Tuesday - Canadian citizen Shaun Going, arrested last > summer by the Yugoslav Army under suspicion of having planned terrorist > actions in Yugoslavia, was released from the military prison after > nearly two months of imprisonment, Canadian television network CBC > reported. > According to this television network, Going has paid bail in the > amount of $3,000, left the military court and was already on his way to > Canada. He had been arrested with other three foreign citizens, among > them two Britons and another Canadian, all released few days ago. > British citizens were members of the international police forces in > Kosovo, while Going was the owner of a construction company hired in > Kosovo. > Military court allowed him to leave Belgrade under condition that > he return for the possible retrial. > > _______________________________________________________________________ > http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/index.phtml?Y=2000&M=10&D=09 > > FreeB92 Last update: Oct 9, 2000 23:40 CET > > Four Dutchmen to be released > > 23:31 BELGRADE, Monday - Belgrade authorities agreed today to release > four Dutchmen who were arrested in July on suspicion of having conspired > to murder former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, a defence lawyer > for one of the accused, Zoran Jovanovic, told Reuters today. > A representative of the Dutch Embassy in Belgrade discussed the > release of the men Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on Friday. > ___________________________ > > > NO ALBANIANS RELEASED! > > ________________________________________________ > > > Human Rights Watch/New York: > > RIGHTS GROUP CALLS FOR RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN SERBIA > > (New York, October 10, 2000)?Human Rights Watch today welcomed the > release of a Serbian journalist, but also called for the release of > hundreds of Kosovo Albanians currently in Serbian jails. > > Miroslav Filipovic, a freelance journalist from the Serbian town of > Kraljevo, was sentenced in July 2000 to seven years in prison for > articles written for the Internet site of the Institute for War and > Peace Reporting (IWPR), an organization based in London. The articles > alleged that Yugoslav Army servicemen committed war crimes against > Kosovo Albanians during the 1999 NATO war and that the army's presence > provoked tensions in Sandzak, a region in Serbia inhabited mostly by > Muslims. > > The Supreme Military Court in Belgrade annulled the guilty verdict > against Filipovic today on procedural grounds, and sent the case back > to the court for a new trial. Meanwhile, Filipovic was released on his > own recognizance. It is widely believed that the Yugoslav Army > leadership, which met with the new Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica > on October 5, accepted Mr. Kostunica and that the release of Filipovic > reflects the political agenda of the new president. > > "Releasing Filipovic is a good step, but Kostunica can and should do > much more," said Rachel Denber, Acting Executive Director of Human > Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia Division. "Hundreds of Kosovo > Albanians are serving unjust sentences in Serbia. Releasing them would > show conclusively that the new government is fundamentally different > from that of Slobodan Milosevic. It would show a dedication to justice > and ethnic tolerance." > Serbian human rights groups estimate that 850 Kosovo Albanians who were > arrested during last year's NATO war are currently serving prison > sentences in Serbia. Most sentences resulted from unfair trials lacking > evidence against the accused. > > President Kostunica's first opportunity to set a pattern for the release > of Kosovo Albanian political prisoners will come on Thursday, when a > Serbian court will re-hear the case of Flora Brovina, chair of the > League of Albanian Women in Kosovo. Brovina, a poet and physician, was > sentenced in November 1999 by a district court in Nis to twelve years in > prison on > charges of conspiracy to commit "hostile activity" and terrorism. The > prosecution alleged that Brovina was ferrying supplies to the KLA, and > based the case against her solely on a receipt for knitting wool, > medicines, and medical supplies, and a photograph showing Dr. Brovina > with an Albanian fighter. > > On May 17, 2000, the Supreme Court of Serbia struck down Brovina's > sentence on procedural grounds and returned the case for a new trial. > But it also ruled to keep Brovina in custody pending the re-trial. > > Of 850 Kosovo Albanian political prisoners, about 650 had their > sentences confirmed by the Serbian Supreme Court or the Yugoslav > military courts. Only a presidential pardon now can expedite their > release. Article 96 (8) of the Yugoslav constitution vests the president > with this power. The remaining 200 Albanian prisoners are awaiting > appeals decisions by the supreme courts, as was the case with journalist > Miroslav Filipovic. > > "We are aware that the new government in Serbia is only being shaped at > this stage, and that it will need some time to address all the cases > from the past two years in which individuals were sentenced on political > grounds," Denber said. "But Kostunica should not wait too long." > > Denber said that Mr. Kostunica's position so far rejecting the transfer > of indictees to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former > Yugoslavia in the Hague threw into question the adherence of the > post-Milosevic leadership to international principles that underpin > justice and the rule of law. "Any reluctance to release political > prisoners regardless of their ethnicity would be another warning > signal," she said. > > For further information, please contact: > Rachel Denber (New York): +212-216-1266 > Bogdan Ivanisevic (Belgrade): +381-63-832-9032 > > ____________________________________________________ > > October 11, 2000 > B-92 > > Kouchner calls for new sanctions against Yugoslavia > 21:29 PRISTINA, Wednesday - > > The United Nations administrator in Kosovo, > Bernard Kouchner, today called for sanctions to be imposed on Yugoslavia's > new leaders if they did not release Kosovo Albanians held in Serbian > prisons. Members of the Serbian National Council reported that Kouchner had > expressed reserved optimism about the DOS victory in the country's federal > elections. > > Albanian members of the Kosovo Transitional Council supported Kouchner's > position, most of them emphasising that the opposition victory would no have > any crucial impact on the reality of Kosovo. They called for Belgrade to > immediately release all Kosovo Albanian prisoners and for Yugoslav President > Vojislav Kostunica to publicly apologise for war crimes. A number of > Albanian politicians have stepped up their demands for an urgent resolution > of Kosovo's status and recognition of its independence. > > Kosovo Serb leader Father Sava Janjic described Kouchner's call for > sanctions as unacceptable, describing such a step as an inhumane form of > pressure which would cause the innocent population further suffering. He > also noted that Kouchner had made no mention of discrimination against > Serbs, Romanies and other minorities in Kosovo, saying that the UN Mission > head was presenting only the view of the province's Albanian population. > > > > From amead at maine.rr.com Fri Oct 13 14:57:05 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 14:57:05 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] oct. 13, 2000 a-pal newsletter Message-ID: <20001013190024.AAA11818@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> A-PAL: KOSOVA PRISONER ADVOCACY ---OCTOBER 13, 2000 WE URGE OUR READERS TO KEEP UP THE STRONG PUBLIC PRESSURE ON PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA TO PROVE THAT HIS CLAIM TO CREATE A LAWFUL AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY IN SERBIA IS MEANINGFUL--HE HAS NO EMAIL ADDRESS, NOR IS THERE CURRENTLY A SERB MINISTER OF JUSTICE TO WRITE TO. BUT YOU CAN WRITE TO: Javier Solana Tony Blair: gbrun at undp.org Council Secretariat OSCE Secretariat: info at osce.org Rue de la Loi 1715 Jaques Chirac-fraun at undp.org Brussels B1048 Madeleine Albright-secretary at state.gov Belgium US Senate For. Affairs--Sen. Wellstone, Lugar, Helms, Biden, Lieberman ____________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SERBIA/E.U.: HUMAN RIGHTS AGENDA FOR THE NEW YUGOSLAVIA (New York, October 12, 2000)?European leaders who will meet Serbia's new president Vojislav Kostunica this weekend should send the message that human rights must be at the top of his agenda, said Human Rights Watch today. The European Union Council, which meets on Friday in Biarritz, has invited Mr. Kostunica to attend their session. "This is an important time for European leaders to discuss with President Kostunica a fresh vision for human rights and democracy in the new Yugoslavia," said Rachel Denber, Acting Director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia. "Key issues range from transferring indicted war criminals to the Hague to re-establishing the independence of the judiciary. They are critical to restoring the rule of law to a country that for so many years languished under authoritarianism." Monday the E.U. dropped most sanctions against the former Yugoslavia. These sanctions were imposed in 1998 and 1999 to punish the Milosevic government for war crimes in Kosovo. "The E.U. is of course keen to see Yugoslavia reintegrated into European institutions," said Denber, "But part of re-integration is that the new government in Belgrade?when it's formed?will eventually have to cooperate with the war crimes tribunal in the Hague. It's an indispensable part of the rule of law package for Europe." Ms. Denber listed some of the most important human rights issues on the horizon as including: the release of political prisoners; reinstating judges, university professors, and others who were fired for political reasons; restoring the independence of the judiciary, and bringing to justice police and security officials responsible for serious abuses during the Milosevic era. Serbian human rights groups estimate that some 850 Kosovo Albanians who were arrested during last year's NATO war are currently serving prison sentences in Serbia. Most sentences resulted from unfair trials lacking evidence against the accused. [See Human Rights Watch's October 10 press release, at www.hrw.org/press/2000/10/yugo1010.htm] Today a Serbian court will re-hear the cases of several of these prisoners, including Flora Brovina, chair of the League of Albanian Women in Kosovo. Brovina, a poet and physician, was sentenced in November 1999 by a district court in Nis to twelve years in prison on absurd charges of conspiracy to commit "hostile activity" and terrorism. President Kostunica is opposed to the war crimes tribunal in the Hague and has said he does not intend to hand over former president Slobodan Milosevic. Denber said that the E.U. should make clear that non-cooperation with the tribunal is unacceptable, and that cooperation would be a condition for certain loans and credits. "The E.U. and other institutions should treat Yugoslavia's cooperation with the tribunal on the same terms that it treated Croatia and Bosnia," she said. Last year the E.U. governments postponed a decision about a consultative task force on contractual relations with Croatia due to limited cooperation with the tribunal. For further information, please contact: Rachel Denber (New York): +212-216-1266 Bogdan Ivanisevic (Belgrade): +381-63-832-9032 _______________________________________________________________________ http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,381871,00.html New hope for Kosovans in Serb jails Rory Carroll in Pozarevac and Ewen MacAskill Friday October 13, 2000 Sixteen months after being spirited out of Kosovo, Serbia's forgotten prisoners are counting on revolution to end their daily round of torture and corruption. Jails are softening their regimes as pressure piles on the new Yugoslav president, Vojislav Kostunica, to release the hundreds of jailed ethnic Albanians. However, Mr Kostunica wants to link their fate to the question of missing Serbs. He has indicated a pardon would be possible only after more than 1,000 Serbs who disappeared in Kosovo are accounted for. About 2,000 ethnic Albanians, arrested in Kosovo in the runup to last year's war, were transferred to jails in Serbia as the Nato bombing began. Lists are incomplete but the estimates of those still being held range from 600 to 900. Little has been heard of the prisoners since they vanished into jails in the cities of Nis, Sremska Mitrovice and Pozarevac. In Pozarevac, the Milosevic family's home town, claims of beatings and killings have been made. Guards allegedly formed two lines to greet the arrivals with a game of "hot rabbit". One by one the Albanians were ordered to run through the lines while fists, boots and sticks rained down. Some of the prisoners, aged 14 to over 70, were wounded during their journey from Kosovo. "And do you know what?" said one prison source. "Not one of them made a sound. They didn't scream or beg for mercy. "The beatings were savage but the longer it went on, the more the guards came to respect them. They had dignity and were tougher than Serb prisoners," the source said. A former prisoner told the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre that between seven and nine inmates were bludgeoned to death with chains. There has been no independent confirmation. "Serbian prison guards tend to be badly educated and don't know much about human rights," said Gradimir Nalic, a lawyer who has defended some of the ethnic Albanians. Mr Nalic said a mafia-type extortion racket offered freedom to those who could afford to bribe judges, prosecutors and guards. "Those left behind were the poorest." Another lawyer, Husnija Bitic, a Kosovo Albanian who has represented many of those in prison, cuts an incongruous figure. For the most part, he looks like any other lawyer, dressed in a grey pinstripe suit. The oddity is his baseball cap. He has good reason to wear the cap: a 7cm hole in his skull, the result of a beating by masked men who burst into his home in Belgrade on March 16. He had faced a series of death threats for working with the prisoners. Mr Bitic listed lots of cases of people being held without any evidence and of people being sentenced without the prosecution even putting up cases. He has not worked since the beating. At one stage he represented Flora Brovina, one of the best-known Kosovan prisoners whose retrial was postponed yesterday until November 16. She is accused of assisting the Kosovo Liberation Army by supplying medicine, treating wounded fighters and helping to supply them with uniforms. Although her 12-year sentence was quashed on appeal, a retrial was then ordered. There is increasing speculation that she may be released. Mr Bitic was particularly upset about the fate of another client, Ukshin Hoti, the leader of one of the Kosovan parties. He was allegedly released in May last year without Mr Bitic's knowledge and has not been seen since. Paul Miller, based in Skopje as a field researcher for the human rights group Amnesty International, said: "Our first challenge to Kostunica to prove his commitment to the rule of law is to release prisoners of conscience such as Flora Brovina." Apart from a group of 144 mostly students and middle- class professionals from the Kosovo town of Djakovica, the prisoners tend to be farmers or labourers. Guardian Unlimited ? Guardian Newspapers Limited 2000 >---------------------------------------------------------- KOMITETI SHQIPTAR I HELSINKIT ALBANIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE RR. Sami Frash?ri, Pall. 20/1, Hyrja B, Ap. 21, Tirana - ALBANIA Tel-Fax: ++ 355 42 336 71/40891 e-mail: helsinki at ngo.org.al RELEASE ALBANIANS WHO ARE KEPT IN SERBIAN PRISONS The broad international opinion has welcomed the last changes in Serbia which led to Milosevic's removal from the position of the President of Yugoslavia. Milosevic is the root of many upsetting events within the Former Federation of Yugoslavia. He is the representative of the typical Serbian chauvinism which has been the source of severe crisis especially in the Balkans. However the changes in Belgrade will be appreciated if the brutal repressive system which Milosevic and his group has left behind will be denounced and strongly combated. Righteously enough, concrete steps are required in this direction. One of the factors which show the readiness of the new leadership to open a new page and put Yugoslavia on the pathway to democracy is the respect of human rights. One of the first requirements in this field is the release of the political prisoners. Among them there are thousands of Albanians sentenced in the framework of the repressive campaign which has been enforced for years now in Kosova. The AHC supports their request for their immediate release. We greet the initiatives which have been undertaken by several official and social circles within Yugoslavia and abroad. The AHC greets especially the open and common letter of International Helsinki Federation and the Serbian Helsinki Committee which has been sent to the new Yugoslavian president Mr. Kostunica where among other requests was the release of the Albanian prisoners who are victims of the Serbian regime. The American organization of the human rights "Human Rights Watch" has strongly supported this initiative as well. The AHC addresses the appeal to the international community so that they make this request among the first ones to the Yugoslavian leadership. A quick reaction to the release of the Albanian prisoners is expected from the community of all human rights organizations in Europe. __________________________________________ Postponement of Brovina trial ? obstruction of process 12 October 2000 The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) strongly protests against the unjustified postponement of the new trial of Dr Flora Brovina and her continuing detention. The trial was scheduled to open today. However, Judge Marina Milanovic who presides the panel, and Dragoljub Zdravkovic, a member of the panel, both from Kosovo, failed to appear in court. Counsel for the defense requested their recusal because of bias and obstruction of process. Judge Saveljic, who is not assigned to the case, informed the defense and prosecution that the trial had been put off until 16 November because of the alleged illness of Judge Marina Milanovic. On 10 October, however, he told the HLC that Judge Milanovic had taken ?a few days leave to redecorate her apartment, but the trial will be held as scheduled.? No explanation was given for the absence of Judge Zdravkovic. Defense counsel Rajko Danilovic accused Prosecutor Miodrag Surla of bias and said he had brought the same indictment in spite of the Serbian Supreme Court?s finding that no evidence was presented at the first trial to prove that Dr Brovina had committed the charged criminal offenses. Surla replied that he could not amend the indictment without the approval of Federal Public Prosecutor Vukasin Jokanovic, who is currently on a visit to China. Co-counsel for the defense, Branko Stanic, noted that Flora Brovina had been held in custody without extension of her detention order since 16 May when the Supreme Court quashed the Nis District Court?s decision and ordered a retrial. Because of this violation, he moved that Dr Brovina be released on recognizance. After leaving the court, defense lawyers, reporters and Dr Brovina?s husband visited her at the Pozarevac prison where she told them she had been notified of the postponement at 9.30 that morning. Last December, the panel of the District Court in Nis presided by Judge Marina Milanovic found Flora Brovina guilty of seditious conspiracy in conjunction with terrorism and sentenced her to 12 years in prison. Considering the appeal, the Serbian Supreme Court in May this year set aside the decision and ordered a new trial. _____________________________________ The director of the Centre for Human Law, Natasa Kandic said today that there are still about a thousand political prisoners in Serbia. Kandic and lawyer Rajko Danilovic appealed to the Serbian Supreme Court to grant clemency to these as they had in the case of Kraljevo journalists Miroslav Filipovic, who was released yesterday. Kosovo Albanians in Serbian jails were political prisoners, said Danilovic, and had not been accused and convicted of classical criminal acts. Such a show of mercy would greatly facilitate the return of Serbs to Kosovo, he said, and was imperative if Yugoslavia wanted to be part of Europe. Kandic quoted Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica as saying that the question of Albanian prisoners was connected with the fate of prisoners in secret jails in Kosovo. "It is not correct for prisoners now in custody to be retained as hostages for future negotiations," she added. ------------------------------------------ Families of Kosovo abductees appeal to Kostunica PRISTINA, Wednesday -- The Alliance of Families of Abducted and Missing Persons in Kosovo today appealed to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica not to allow the release of Albanian prisoners now held in Serbia until information was obtained about missing Kosovo Serbs. The Alliance informed the president that they had information that armed and uniformed Albanian organisations in Kosovo had kidnapped about 1,200 persons between 1998 and this year. "We ask you in the name of the pain and uncertainty we have lived in for the past three years to accept our suggestion not to allow the release of convicted Albanians until the fate of our innocent family members is known," said the Alliance. ----------------------------------------------------- FreeB92 Last update: Oct 13, 2000 17:11 CET Protesters call for Albanians to be released 17:03 PRISTINA, Friday - Thousands of Albanians from all over Kosovo today gathered in the centre of Pristina to call for Kosovo Albanian prisoners in Serbian jails to be released. Protest leader Surije Redza demanded that the prisoners be released indiscriminately. Former Kosovo Liberation Army leader Hashim Thaqi said that, together with the United Nations, Albanians would apply pressure on the Belgrade regime in order to resolve the situation of Albanians who had disappeared or been imprisoned. Thaqi, saying that the demands would relayed to senior officials of the international community, said that there was no was for Serbia to build a democratic state while it continued to run prisons and concentration camps. _______________________________________________________________________ h -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From amead at maine.rr.com Sat Oct 14 14:22:10 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 14:22:10 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] A-pal newsletter 10/15 Message-ID: <20001014182529.AAA28072@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> A-PAL : KOSOVA PRISONER ADVOCACY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 15, 2000 A-PAL COMMENT How can the former Yugoslavia re-enter the UN when it clearly continues to violate international law, international codes of conduct for law enforcement, and the Geneva Conventions 3 and 4, in addition to vowing not to cooperate with the ICTY? Are the remaining 850 Albanian prisoners to become living human sacrifices to the West's guilt over the bombing of Serbia during the NATO air war? Please read the HLC and HRW steps towards normalizing the Serbian justice system listed here. __________________________________________________________ DR. FLORA BROVINA MAKES AN INTERNATIONAL APPEAL BELGRADE, Saturday - Husband of Albanian journalist Fljora Brovina Visited his wife in prison after the court's decision to postpone her trial scheduled to take place yesterday. Mrs. Brovina made an appeal to the international public yesterday in which she stated that she had been aware from the beginning that she was the hostage of one man and one time just like many of her compatriots. She said that she was willing to share the fate of her compatriots who were languishing in Serbian prisons and that even had the court decided to release her, she had decided to remain in prison until such time as the last Albanian was released from Serbian prisons. Brovina said that as a citizen of Kosovo and in accordance with UN resolution 1244, all Albanian prisoners should be handed over to UNMIK and that if the new government in Belgrade respected this resolution, they should do so immediately. Brovina also expressed her disappointment regarding the lack of reaction to student leader Albin Kurti's case. __________________________________________________________ YUGOSLAV AND U.S. RIGHTS GROUPS HIGHLIGHT KOSOVO ALBANIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS IN SERBIA (Belgrade, New York, October 14, 2000)?Two leading human rights groups today called attention to the fate of some 650 Kosovo Albanian political prisoners still jailed in Serbia. The Yugoslav-based Humanitarian Law Center and Human Rights Watch called on the new Yugoslav authorities to review urgently these cases and to release immediately individuals for whom evidence is lacking. In a memorandum to Serbian government officials and the international community, the two organizations presented facts about the Kosovo Albanian political prisoners currently in Serbian prisons. The rights groups also urged the international community to hold Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica to his stated commitment to respect human rights and establish the rule of law. The memorandum can be found at: www.hrw.org/press/2000/10/serbia1014-bck.htm Human Rights Watch The Humanitarian Law Center MEMORANDUM ON KOSOVO ALBANIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS IN SERBIA October 13, 2000 This memorandum addresses the issue of Kosovo Albanian political prisoners in Serbia. Newly-elected Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica has pledged to respect human rights and re-establish the rule of law in Yugoslavia. Correcting miscarriages of justice such as those perpetrated against Kosovo Albanian political prisoners is an essential part of upholding this pledge. The Humanitarian Law Center and Human Rights Watch also recognize the urgent need to address the problem of missing persons, Serbs and Albanians alike, in the wake of the Kosovo conflict. The new authorities in Belgrade and the U.N. administration in Kosovo should initiate a joint effort to resolve this legacy of the war. Political Prisoners: The Facts Upon the signing of the June 10, 1999, Military-Technical Agreement between Yugoslavia and NATO that ended the Kosovo war, an estimated 2,100 Kosovo Albanians were transferred from prisons in Kosovo to Serbia proper. The majority were civilians unlawfully arrested by Serbian security forces during the war. As of October 13, 2000, 1,250 Kosovo Albanian prisoners have been released. Of the 850 Kosovo Albanian prisoners who remain in Serbian prisons, an estimated 650 are political prisoners, charged with either hostile activity against the state or terrorism. The remaining 200 are serving prison sentences for non-political crimes. Fourteen of the political prisoners, including two minors, have been in detention for seventeen months without any formal charges. The rest are either on trial, awaiting appeal, or have already had their appeals reviewed by the Serbian Supreme Court or the Military Supreme Court. The political prisoners were routinely denied the right to a fair trial. Courts sentenced Kosovo Albanians on the basis of forced confessions, and judges frequently refused the introduction of evidence that could have disproved the charges. The prosecution's primary evidence against those convicted was the highly unreliable and discredited "paraffin test," which checks for gunpowder on defendants' hands. According to the Yugoslav constitution and federal law, the Yugoslav president is empowered to pardon those indicted or convicted of federal crimes, such as hostile activity against the state and terrorism. Recommendations To the Serbian and Yugoslav authorities: The Serbian Supreme Court should urgently review those political cases of Kosovo Albanians pending appeal and acquit all those defendants for whom evidence is lacking. President Kostunica should immediately review all political cases of Kosovo Albanians in Serbia that have been ruled on by the Serbian Supreme Court or the Military Supreme Court. Those prisoners for whom there is no evidence should be released without delay. The Humanitarian Law Center and Human Rights Watch, who either represented the defendants or monitored their trials, stand ready to provide information that would assist in this review. President Kostunica should facilitate the immediate release of the fourteen detainees held for seventeen months without charges. The release of Kosovo Albanian political prisoners should not be linked to the fate of missing persons or those who have been forced to flee Kosovo. To the International Community: The European Union and United Nations, as well as individual governments, should urge President Kostunica and the future Serbian and Yugoslav governments to demonstrate their commitment to the rule of law by reviewing these cases and releasing all those arrested or convicted on unsubstantiated political charges. For more information contact: Bogdan Ivanisevic Natasa Rasic Human Rights Watch Humanitarian Law Center 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor Avalska 9 New York, New York 10118 11000 Belgrade Tel. +1.212.290.4700 Yugoslavia Fax +1.212.736.1300 tel/fax:+381 11 4441487; +381 11 4443944 email: ivanisb at hrw.org email: rasicn at hlc.org.yu http://www.hrw.org office at hlc.org.yu -------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosovar Prisoners http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/14/opinion/L14SER.html October 14, 2000 To the Editor: President Vojislav Kostunica of Yugoslavia could further restore the credibility of his country's courts by having them immediately take up the fate of Kosovo Albanians rounded up during the 1999 NATO bombing and now languishing in Serbian jails (news article, Oct. 11). Most of the Kosovar prisoners whether they are still awaiting trial or have been convicted have clearly been subject to procedural abuses that violate international treaties to which Yugoslavia is party. Among other things, the prisoners have been held long beyond the time allowable under international and Yugoslav law without any contact with judicial officers, lawyers or their families. In addition, no evidence was ever presented linking most of the individuals who were convicted to the crimes with which they were charged, and most of the convictions rested primarily or entirely on confessions extracted under pressure, including torture. MARKO C. MAGLICH Brooklyn, Oct. 12, 2000 __________________________________________________________ Dear A-PAL-- The atrocities that you tell us about are atrocious and one cannot begin to understand why a human being would treat another person so inhuman. I am 81 years young and am first generation in the U.S. A. My parents were from Czeckoslovakia and came to United States in early 1900,s--during the Nazi Regime. People in Yugo. have no place to "run" away from atrocities. Too bad. Good Luck and may God Bless all who are being persecuted. May you be "Blessed" for your part. I am , Gizella Marrone of Medina. Ohio in United States   -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From amead at maine.rr.com Wed Oct 18 16:45:19 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 16:45:19 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] urgent--new A-PAL!!! Message-ID: <20001018204843.AAA10021@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> OCTOBER 18, 2000 A-PAL NEWSLETTER A-PAL STATEMENT 878 REMAIN IN PRISONS-- PLEASE CONTINUE TO SPEAK OUT FOR THEIR RELEASE----NOTE THE POSSIBLE RELEASE OF DR. FLORA BROVINA WITHIN 48 HOURS. NOTE FROM B92 DRAFTING OF AMNESTY LEGISLATION! _________________________________ # FreeB92 Last update: Oct 18, 2000 21:48 CET Amnesty legislation to be introduced 21:32 BELGRADE, Wednesday - Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and the Yugoslav Committee of Human Rights Lawyers yesterday agreed to form an expert team to draft amnesty legislation as soon as possible. The team will be headed by Dr Stevan Lilic of the Belgrade University Faculty of Law. Lilic said that the legislation would relate to military crimes such as draft avoidance and desertion as well as to political prisoners. Circumstances have been changing very quickly in FYR since the September elections. But so far, not for the status of the Albanian prisoners in Serb prisons, despite repeated demands for their release from numerous human rights organizations, OSCE, Kosovar leaders on all sides, the new UN envoy to the Balkans, and James O'Brien of the US State Department. President Kostunica now cites governmental uncertainty and restructuring as the problem with their release?.It is our hope that this amnesty legislation will create the language and process that will result in the release of all Albanian political prisoners as soon as possible. Please voice your support of this newest development. Email Campaign: Europe______________ Beginning next week, we hope to work with several friends in Germany who have set up a site to begin another urgent email campaign to European leaders, who are failing to provide leadership and insisting on lawfulness in Serbia beginning with the release of the Albanians. We are not, at this time, focussing on the missing of both sides. _____________________________________________________ ***Please note: The new LCHR/NY and HLC: Advocacy Guide --a fifty page guide for lawyers to address the grievous violations suffered by the Albanians during their detentions and trials. A description is given in the media advisory below.************** ___________________________________________________________ LAWYERS COMMITTEE URGES PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA TO ADDRESS FATE OF KOSOVAR ALBANIAN PRISONERS DETAINED IN SERBIA The Delay of Dr. Brovina?s New Trial Demonstrates Urgency of the Matter New York, October 17, 2000 ? The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights responded today to news that the Serbian district court of Nis recently postponed the new trial of human rights activist Dr. Flora Brovina until November 16th. Dr. Brovina, a pediatrician and poet, is one of several thousand Kosovar Albanians arrested on charges of terrorism during the NATO air campaign and then transferred to Serb jails after the bombing ceased in June 1999. The court?s delay means that Dr. Brovina, whose health has suffered, continues to remain in jail despite serious questions as to the basis for her detention. "The excitement over democratic change in Yugoslavia should not obscure the plight of these men and women _ wrongly imprisoned, abused in detention, and now subject to trials that fail the most basic tests of fairness," stated Robert O. Varenik, Director of Protection at the Lawyers Committee. A new Advocates? Guide: Rights Violations in the Criminal Prosecution of Kosovar Albanians in Serbia, released today in Serbo-Croatian by the Lawyers Committee, details allegations that the prosecutions are rife with violations of the prisoners? rights. The Advocates? Guide will be used by lawyers in Serbia who take up the defense of Kosovar Albanians by offering legal analysis of international law to support national legal claims. The Belgrade based Humanitarian Law Center will distribute the Advocates? Guide to local defense lawyers working on these cases. Six hundred and seventy Kosovar Albanians have already been convicted and the majority are imprisoned for crimes ranging from hostile activity against the state to terrorism. Nearly 200 more still await trial or the appeal of their convictions. Fourteen, including two minors, remain jailed without formal charges. Noting President Kostunica?s pledge in his first week of office to "take politics out of the courtroom," the Lawyers Committee calls upon President Kostunica to ensure speedy and independent review of these cases, and prompt release of prisoners wrongly tried and convicted. "This is one of the first steps President Kostunica can take to regain public confidence in his promise to re-establish the rule of law," explained Mr. Varenik. After Dr. Brovina was convicted in December 1999 on charges of terrorism, her case drew international attention because of obvious irregularities and the widespread impression that the government intended to silence one of Kosovo?s best-known advocates. Independent observers at her criminal trial reported that the prosecution lacked reliable evidence to support the charges, and relied instead on a confession coerced after more than 200 hours of interrogation. In June, the Lawyers Committee joined seven other human rights groups, including PEN and Physicians for Human Rights, to urge that the charges against Dr. Brovina be dropped. For copy of the Advocates? Guide or for more information about Dr. Brovina?s case, visit: http://www.lchr.org/feature/kosovo/kosovofeature.htm. -------------------------------------------------- FreeB92 Last update: Oct 18, 2000 19:28 CET Brovina free within 48 hours: Writers' association 19:13 BELGRADE, Wednesday - Jailed Albanian poet Flora Brovina is to be released from custody within the next 48 hours, the president of the Serbian PEN Centre, Predrag Palavestra, said today quoting "reliable sources". The Serbian and International PEN centres have lobbied Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica for the release of the Brovina who was jailed last year on charges of having conspired for terrorists activities. ______________________________ Dear, A-Pal I am 19, student from Ottawa, with Kosovo background. Your letters that you send to us are very important and I give my time reading them and sametime thinking about those that are spending time in Serbia prisons without any reason. When this political movements took place in "Yugoslavia", I was hoping that new era was coming together with that and the hopes for albanians prisoners would become true..... but nothing for them. As you people said, the freedom for two canadians, british and dutch prisoner has already came. But what about albanians??!! This is called DISCRIMINATION and TERROR against one ethnic group. Thank you for wonderful work of informing people about what is happening outthere in Balkans. One more time Thank You. Sincerely, Blerim ___________________________________________ Betreff: FreeB92 News for Sunday, October 15, 2000 Datum: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 20:05:10 +0200 Von: FreeB92 News Demand for release of all political prisoners BELGRADE, Sunday - The Social Democratic Union today called on all elected and transitional government organs in Serbia and Yugoslavia to immediately release all political prisoners in the country, Beta reports. A party statement issued today demanded the release of all those, particularly Kosovo Albanians, for whom criminal charges could not be proved. The statement said that such a gesture would provide grounds for dialogue with legitimate Albanian representatives from Kosovo at the same time imposing the moral obligation for them to start similar procedures regarding missing Serbs and other nationalities from Kosov ________________________________________________________ October 18, 2000 Dear A-PAL: I do not understand why all Albanian prisoners being held in the Serbian prisons have not already been released by the newly elected President Kostunica. It is unethical, inhumane, and barbaric for them to still be held captive. If this president wants to have the world view Yugoslavia differently, then he needs to first make the effort to correct all wrongs that have been dealt, starting with all people being held captive. Thank you. Trish Porter __________________ OCTOBER 18, 2000 Von: "Fr. Sava" R?ckantwort: kosovo-owner at egroups.com Firma: Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren APPEAL OF BISHOP ARTEMIJE FOR RESOLUTION OF THE ISSUE OF IMPRISONED, MISSING AND KIDNAPPED PERSONS FROM KOSOVO AND METOHIJA Gracanica, October 16, 2000 One of the most sensitive issues which is equally difficult for all the national communities in Kosovo and Metohija and which is seriously slowing down political dialog and the establishment of mutual multiethnic confidence is the unresolved issue of imprisoned, missing and kidnapped persons from all communities. Our Church and the Serb National Council (SNC) for several months have been making active efforts to resolve this issue on both sides but there has been no understanding from either the former state organs in Belgrade or from Albanian political leaders. Therefore, with the goal of reducing interethnic tensions and creating realistic preconditions for serious and effective political dialog, as the responsible representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the area of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren which was entrusted to me and as the president of the Serb National Council, I believe that the victory of democratic forces in Serbia and the arrival of Mr. Vojislav Kostunica as head of FRY has created the right conditions for the resolution of this issue in a just and generally acceptable manner. I would like to take this opportunity to issue a PUBLIC APPEAL to responsible democratic representatives of FRY, Albanian political organizations and associations, as well as representatives of the UN mission in Kosovo, asking the following: 1. That the state authorities objectively examine all cases of Albanian prisoners as soon as possible and turn over to UNMIK all Albanian prisoners who are currently being held in prisons on the territory of the Republic of Serbia and against whom there is no objective evidence that they have carried out concrete criminal acts. State authorities should also make available all existing information to shed light on the fate of Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija who are still listed as missing and whose fate is unknown. 2. That representatives of Albanian political parties and associations submit to the international UN mission all available information regarding all missing and kidnapped Serbs, Roma, Bosniacs as well as all other persons missing in Kosovo and Metohija either during the war or during the post-war period as soon as possible, in order to explain their fate and to make their families aware of the truth regarding their beloved ones. If these kidnapped and missing persons are still alive, we ask for their immediate release. 3. That UNMIK, which bears the legal and moral reponsibility for the territory under its jurisdiction in accordance to Resolution 1244 for the length of its mandate in Kosovo and Metohija, shed light on the fate of all missing persons as soon as possible and prevent further violations of human rights. This process assumes the willingness of both sides to cooperate on the basis of fundamental principles of respect for human rights and universal rights of man according to which no person can be deprived of his freedom and kept under humiliating life conditions without a court sentence of guilt by legal and independent judicial organs. In the name of God who created every man as a free and dignified being and gave him the right to life, I appeal for as rapid as possible a resolution of this important issue. The Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren and the SNC of Kosovo and Metohija on their part are prepared as always to offer their active contribution in this process. THE BISHOP OF RASKA AND PRIZREN +ARTEMIJE _______________________________________________________________________ Betreff: [balkanhr] IHF/GHM INTERVENTION AT THE OSCE MEETING ON RULE OF LAW Datum: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 23:05:35 +0200 Von: Greek Helsinki Monitor R?ckantwort: balkanhr-owner at egroups.com IHF INTERVENTION ON RULE OF LAW (SESSION 2, 18 OCTOBER 2000) [ENDORSED ALSO AND PRESENTED AT THE OSCE MEETING BY GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR] ------------------------------------------ The importance of an independent judiciary is well recognized in the OSCE. Nevertheless the threat to democratic reform posed by those in power in a number of states has seen the judiciary face significant pressure to bow to political control. In Serbia the provisions of article 95 and 96 of the Serbian constitution guaranteeing that "courts of law are independent in their work and they rule in accordance with the constitution" are empty words. Senior judges who founded the independent Association of Judges of Serbia were dismissed from their posts in December 1999 by a decision of the Serbian Assembly, a move that heralded a large-scale purge of judges seen as critical of the Belgrade regime. As the Association of Judges had ceased to exist, judges could not even issue a joint communique condemning such developments. Yet on 17 June, 13 judges from different courts wrote an open letter expressing their outrage and concern that the regime was purging experienced and professional colleagues and replacing them with young and politically compliant jurists. One month later, on 12 July, all 13 judges who had written to protest were themselves dismissed by the Serbian Assembly. Article 125 of the FRY penal code, on the criminal offence of terrorism, states: "Anybody who causes an explosion or fire, or commits any other generally dangerous action or act of violence creating insecurity among citizens, with the intention to threaten the constitutional order or safety of Yugoslavia shall be punished by term of imprisonment of minimum three years in prison. This article is used against representatives of the independent media, opposition parties, Otpor, NGO members and others proclaimed by the regime to be "terrorists", having never committed any act which could correspond to the legal or general definition of terrorism. In April 2000, 144 ethnic Albanians faced a summary trial - the largest of its kind in the history of Serbia - in the District Court of Nis in southern Serbia. At the end of April they were sentenced to long prison terms totaling 1,632 years of imprisonment for alleged organized hostile activity against the state. ? Among the ethnic Albanians held in Serbian prisons are several prominent individuals, including Flora Brovina (48), head of the Women's Association of the LDK, doctor, poet, and human rights activist, who was arrested on 21 April 1999 by Serbian special police in Prishtina. Brovina was at some point thereafter taken to a prison in Pozarevac, Serbia and following a trial, Brovina was sentenced on 6 December 1999 to 12 years' imprisonment. According to reports in August 2000, her son claimed she had become partially paralyzed as a result of her treatment in detention. The Supreme Court of Serbia is expected to review her case soon. ? Albin Kurti, head of the student union of Prishtina University, former spokesman of Adem Demaci, and pre-war leading political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UKC), was arrested in May 1999 by Serbian security forces and taken to prison in Serbia. He was subjected to a show trial in March 2000 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. With the newly elected Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica, known as a person with deep respect for the rule of law, hopes for an improvement have risen. But it has to be noted, that at the moment the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is virtually non-existent with the real power centre remaining on the level of Serbia. As to Albanian prisoners in Serbia, the Federal President can grant abolition on a case-by-case basis. In Kosovo, more than one year after the war, one of the major hurdles to establishing the rule of law and providing of security and stability for all its inhabitants irrespective of their ethnic or other origins, remains the delay in (re)establishing a functioning judicial and legal system along with efficient and robust law enforcement agencies. The deficiencies in the post-war developments have most gravely affected the Serb and Roma minorities, but Albanians as well. The re-establishment of a functioning system has been hindered by the lack of an efficient international police force especially in the immediate post-war period but also today. Gradual, visible improvements take place but suffer from insufficient dynamics. The absence of a functioning law enforcement agency has left even judges and legal officials vulnerable to intimidation in a climate of general insecurity. Other difficulties include the partial destruction of court premises and absence of basic equipment. However, since spring 2000, there has been positive developments towards a functioning judicial and more efficient law enforcement system in Kosovo. By mid-August 2000, UNMIK had appointed 405 local judges as well as over 700 judicial personnel and other support staff. Setting up a multi-ethnic judicial system has however proved difficult, with few Serbs among those accepting these appointments and being employed. A major difficulty in getting the judicial system functioning in Kosovo has also been the slow appointment and dispatching of international judges, as approved earlier by international authorities, in order to guarantee unbiased handing of ethnically related cases. The Kosovo Helsinki Committee notes that a well-functioning, robust and vigorous law enforcement and judicial system in Kosovo should be accorded the highest priority by Kosovo's administrators along with law enforcement, to provide for the application of the rule of law and provide security for all its citizens. _______________________________________________________ KEEP UP THE PRESSURE. THE ONE THING THAT KEEPS THE PRISONERS' MORALE UP IS TO KNOW THEY ARE NOT FORGOTTEN. DON'T LET THEM SPEND ANOTHER WINTER IN THE APPALLING CONDITIONS THEY HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO. THEY ARE COLD AND HUNGRY. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From amead at maine.rr.com Thu Oct 19 09:20:35 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 09:20:35 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] A-PAL newsletter Message-ID: <20001019132400.AAA3674@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> A-PAL ADVOCACY FOR THE RELEASE OF THE ALBANIAN PRISONERS OCTOBER 19, 2000 LET KOSTUNICA KNOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING INSIDE SERB PRISONS AND JUDICIAL SYSTEM. Now, more than ever, is the time for all of us to speak o ut about the plight of these 878 people. Many a-pal readers have written emails the past two weeks. Don't stop now! This is the time to set the standard for lawfulness and human rights in Serbia. The first step MUST be the release of the Kosovar prisoners. Please write a brief email, from your heart--or if you want and example, there is a sample email at the end of this newsletter. We must remind all our leaders that denial of human rights in one place affects people from everywhere in the world. ****:PRISONER and HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES FROM SERBIA, CANADA, LOUISIANA, OHIO, GJAKOVA AND GERMANY SPEAK OUT!******** "There is not a single reason why the remaining 850 should not be released too. They cannot be held as hostages." NATASA, KANDIC, Humanitarian Law Center, Belgrade. October 19, 2000 President Kostunica now lists his email address on the Yugoslav home page. It is Vojislav.Kostunica at gov.yu. Write to him and let him know that you know! (By the way, this Yugoslav homepage still contains many listings about "Albanian Terrorism," including a photo of Albanian Terrorist Media Celebrity, Richard Holbrooke. It is only weeks ago that Yugoslavia put President Clinton on trial for terrorism!) _________________________________________________ HUMANITARIAN LAW CENTER BELGRADE, SERBIA October 16, 2000 Our priority is reintegration in the international community. The road leads through the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, organizations from which we were thrown out as a country which failed to meet any of its obligations. Our reintegration depends on the new government, on its readiness to comply with international obligations and standards. ___________________________________________ > > COPY OF AN E MAIL SENT TO PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA His email address is: Vojislav.Kostunica at gov.yu. Let him know that you know! To: Vojislav.Kostunica at gov.yu > Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2000 4:51 PM Subject: Congratulations Dear President Kostunica: Congratulations on becoming the new President of FRY. I hope this will be a healing and growing time for your country and it's people. There are many issues you must face and deal with that are left over from Mr. Milosovic, and you have difficult days ahead for you. One of the important issues are the Albanian prisoners being held in Serbian prisons still today. I can only hope and pray that you, President Kostunica, can find it in your heart and in the best interest of not only the Albanians, but the Serbian people as well, to release these prisoners so that there can be a healing process between both Serbians and Albanians. Please, do not carry on with Milosovic's reign of brutality. My father was from Yugoslavia. It is a beautiful country with great potential. I wish for you only the best. Warm Regards, Trish (Yonkovich) Porter -------------------------------------------------- I do not know what to do to help. I don't know who to pressure and I wonder who will listen, of course that will not stop me. But what groups in the US are pressuring our leaders to pressure European leaders to aide in the release of these ploitical prisoners? Tell me all that I can do to voice my opinion and what actions are the best to take. Most Americains take their freedom for granted and forget those that are tortured, isolated prisoners simply because of their ethnicity or beliefs. I would like to join the crusade to release these wronly imprisoned Albanians. Please respond to this message. Thank you, Tassi Mckee 5810 Dogwood Hills Ext.; Bastrop, LA 71220 _____________________________________ FROM: ARBEN HOXHA, Communications director of GJAKOVA PARENTS OF PRISONERS GJAKOVA, KOSOVA October 17, 2000 Dear,A-PAL! I,ve received your messages. All of them I,ve reade attentively. Immeasurable I was encourage with your advice, for activation of people in searching of releasing the prisoners, in recent days that in Serbia is happening big political changes. For impossibility to take part in,organized way,in Prishtina,s protest , in Gjakova at the same day was organized a protest with purpose for releasing the prisoners and missings. In next days,and albanian diaspora in Geneva will organize a protest for releasing the prisoners and finding the missing persons. In the protest, symbolicaly, are invited to take place two mothers from Gjakova municipality. With respect, Arben! _____________________________________________ Dear A-PAL, I feel with many, many Albanian families, whose members are suffering in serbian prisons. I also agree with Blerim, student from Otawa, that it wasn t correct from international community to make pressure on serbian government to release only forign prisoners. All around Serbia prisons there are to many elders, children, women and young Albanian, who are held without any reason . There is a sentence in justice which says: IT'S BETTER TO RELEASE 1000 CRIMINALS INSTEAD OF KEEPING THERE JUST ONE INNOCENT PERSON" . And all we know that around 900 Albanians on Serbian prisons are INNOCENT. THIS IS A VERY STRONG REASON TO ASK MR. KOSHTUNICA TO FREE ALL ALBANIANS FROM PRISONS. THEY ARE NOT GUILTY, THEY ARE POW. emina _________________________________________ WRITING ABOUT CREATING A LAWFUL SOCIETY: NATASA KANDIC HUMANITARIAN LAW CENTER, BELGRADE October 16, 2000 Our priorities: It is easier to breathe in Serbia now. I recently saw a policeman beating a hasty retreat down the street, running as if his life was at stake. The young man he was running from explained to bypassers that he had done nothing to the policeman, merely asked how come he felt free to walk around in public. People laughed and said, ?Right, we?ll show them we are the boss now.? Our priority is civilian oversight of the police. We must know first of all what kind of police forces exist. Who are the ?Red Berets? or Frankie?s Men?, the Legion, the Special Anti-terrorist Units, the Secret Police, the Federal Police Brigade, the Special Police Units, the convicts working for the police, the VII Battalion of the Yugoslav Army, Captain Dragan, the thugs, the special units under the control of the ex-president of Yugoslavia, and the special units under the control of some in the new goverment. The names of several of these formations can be found in the indictments of the International Tribunal at The Hague. ?Our thanks to the generals? and ?the Army stayed neutral,? words uttered by FR Yugoslavia President Vojislav Kostunica, are not echoed in Serbia or Montenegro. Yugoslav Army officers remain silent, afraid of being accused of revealing official secrets if they speak out. But it is only a matter of days before documentation is brought to light to show how the general heeded the Constitution and the right of every individual, including officers and civilians in Army employ, to vote as they choose. Our priority is a professional Army, not generals who formed paramilitary units such as the VII Battalion in Montenegro. We must know about and see the document designated POV No. 1037-1 of 31 August 2000 and signed by General Milen Simic, over 1000 copies of which were sent by the Information and Morale Division to military units around the country. The document includes an analysis of the political situation entitled ?Theses for Information Regarding the Federal Parliamentary and Presidential Elections? under which stands the signature of General Ojdanic, the Federal Minister of National Defense. After explaining in detail who ?persons in NATO pay? and ?terrorists? are, General Ojdanic orders Yugoslav Army officers to vote for Slobodan Milosevic. On 3 October, just before the announced second round of the presidential election, the Federal Ministry of Defense issued an order for all military personnel to cast their ballots by 9 a.m. at the latest. The entire world is now looking to us, coddling us, taking care not to irritate us, cunningly holding us back from considering difficult issues such as the extradition of war crimes suspects. Our president Vojislav Kostunica says, ?I won?t hand over Milosevic; our priority is democracy,? and the world replies, ?Never mind, there?s no hurry.? Nationalist hardliners in the new government tell foreign diplomats that war crimes trials are a ?sensitive issue, one that would divide the nation.? And the supposedly free, ?liberated? media, fearing no censure or rebukes, continue writing about the glorious Yugoslav Army and Serbian police who ?prevented the occupation of the country.? Our priority is reintegration in the international community. The road leads through the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, organizations from which we were thrown out as a country which failed to meet any of its obligations. Our reintegration depends on the new government, on its readiness to comply with international obligations and standards. There can be no integration in Europe and the world without cooperation with the bodies of the United Nations, of which The Hague Tribunal is one. In a month or two, those who applaud and praise us now as victors will have no understanding for our ?sensitivity? about the crimes committed by the Serbian police, Yugoslav Army, paramilitary groups and common criminals. Montenegro has been cooperating with the Tribunal since 1997, and has delivered to the Tribunal?s Prosecutor documentation on the deportation of Muslim refugees in August 1992. Montenegro is not a safe haven for our ?war heroes.? The ?veterans? and ?dogs of war? there will very soon start fleeing to the safe haven of Serbia. Serbia will be a safe place not only for Slobodan Milosevic, Nikola Sainovic, Milan Milutinovic, Dragoljub Ojdanic and Vlajko Stojiljkovic ? all of whom have been indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide ? but also for thousands of others who carried out orders and committed atrocities against ethnic communities in neighboring countries. We have been at war with all our neighbors. We left their countries devasted and increased the population of our own with thousands upon thousands of refugees, displaced and returning combatants. The last in this long series, the Kosovo Serbs, believe it is only a matter of time before they, the Army and police return to Kosovo and finish with the ethnic Albanians. Because of the evil in us, we cannot take even one small step to bring us closer to our neighbors. Hence the outcry against non-governmental organizations calling for the release of ethnic Albanian political prisoners. The new government and the Kosovo Serbs say that their release must be made conditional on the release of ?abducted Serbs? from Albanian and UNMIK prisons in Kosovo. It would be in the best interests of the Kosovo Serbs for President Kostunica and the new government to agree as soon as possible to meet with and to cooperate with the international administration in Kosovo. This too is a priority. For this is the only way to deal effectively with the issue of missing persons. There are missing on both sides: about 2,500 Albanians who disappeared during the state of war, and about 1,000 Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosniacs and Roma who disappeared after the deployment of KFOR in Kosovo. Their fate cannot be clarified unless a special process for missing persons is established. The question of prisoners is easier. Some 850 Albanians are still in prisons in Serbia. About 1,250 Albanians were released by the Serbian authorities from late June last year to 1 October this year. There is not a single reason why the remaining 850 should not be released too. They cannot be held as hostages. Among them are only two who are accused of murdering Serb civilians. Some 200 are serving terms for ordinary crimes, and 650 are political prisoners. The some 60 Serbs in prisons in Kosovo are accused of war crimes or ethnically motivated murders and the majority have been awaiting trial for a year or longer. International judges but no Serb judges sit on the benches of courts in Kosovo. Clarification of the fate of missing persons is a difficult process. It cannot be carried out unless the Serbian authorities and UNMIK cooperate with the International Tribunal. It seems therefore that the road from both Kosovo and Serbia leads to the Tribunal. Where the Tribunal is based ? in Rwanda, The Hague, Belgrade, Zagreb, Sarajevo or Pristina ? is irrelevant. Natasa Kandic 16 October 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- OCTOBER 19, 2000 Those news that I received from you were so important and I hope that they are taking serious stepst towards that objective to release and I hope that as soon as possible to release all albanian prisoners because this is discrimination anganist them . Please release all albanian prisoners __________________________________ a-pal sample letter to your foreign affairs ministry October ---, 20000 Dear Honorable-- ---, Thank you for the commitment you have made to establishing human rights in the Balkan region. But, there is one urgent problem still left unresolved. That is the problem of thousands of people deprived of liberty as a result of the NATO air war. Approximately 850 of these people are ethnic Albanians, currently in their second year of imprisonment in Serb prisons, where they were taken following the end of hostilities in Kosovo. They have been subjected to torture, degradation, and unfair trials. Thousands of family members wait in anguish for the return of their loved ones. Human rights groups in Serbia and around the world have called repeatedly for their release, in accordance with both international law and the constitution of the former Yugoslavia. President Kostunica must demonstrate his commitment to creating a lawful democracy with respect for human rights by immediately releasing these prisoners. In return, we pledge to make every effort to promote ethnic tolerance throughout the region. Please act on this today. For a recent list of the prisoners, check the website at www.freehomepages.com/appkosova/101-200.htm. For the Kosova prisoner advocacy site check: www.khao.org/appkosova.htm. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. Sincerely-----............ --- -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From amead at maine.rr.com Sat Oct 21 14:41:56 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 14:41:56 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] A-PAL Newsletter Message-ID: <20001021184524.AAA7464@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> A-PAL--KOSOVA PRISONER ADOVACY NEWSLETTER 0CT0BER 21, 2000 DR. FLORA BROVINA PARDONED! BLAKAJ BROTHERS ACQUITTED. We want to thank everyone who has worked so hard on this campaign since August, 1999 to obtain justice and basic human rights for the Albanians imprisoned in Serbia. We applaud President Kostunica's request of his Minister of Justice to pardon Dr. Brovina and we congratulate her on her human rights award and wish her a safe return home. But we also in no way want Dr. Brovina's release to prevent or delay the speedy release of the other 870 prisoners, who deserve to be pardoned right along with her and also allowed to return home. We hope that Dr. Brovina will leave prison now, return to her home in Kosova, and join us, raising her voice to demand the release of those left behind. PLEASE KEEP WRITING YOUR EMAILS TO PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA. EACH ONE HELPS. WE CANNOT LET UP THE PRESSURE UNTIL THEY ARE ALL HOME. A list of remaining prisoners should be available at: www.freehomepages.com/appkosova/ ______________________________________ FreeB92 Last update: Oct 21, 2000 17:56 CET Brovina to be granted a pardon 17:10 BELGRADE, Saturday - Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica today initiated procedures to release imprisoned Kosovo Albanian doctor and poet Flora Brovina who has been sentenced to twelve years imprisonment for aiding Albanian separatist movements during the Kosovo conflict last year. Beta reports that Kostunica requested that the Yugoslavian Minister of Justice begin procedures to grant Brovina a pardon stating that there were justifiable reasons for such action. __________________________________________ Dear President Kostunica: Congratulations on becoming the new President of FRY. I hope this will be a healing and growing time for your country and it's people. There are many issues you must face and deal with that are left over from Mr. Milosovic, and you have difficult days ahead for you. One of the important issues are the Albanian prisoners being held in Serbian prisons still today. I can only hope and pray that you, President Kostunica, can find it in your heart and in the best interest of not only the Albanians, but the Serbian people as well, to release these prisoners so that there can be a healing process between both Serbians and Albanians. Please, do not carry on with Milosovic's reign of brutality. I wish for you only the best. Regards, Mr. Burim Myftiu &Mrs. Ganimete Myftiu ----- ________________________ Dear A -Pal Today I read that OSCE is offering Yugoslavia to rejoin the community of OSCE. During receive procedure, if one of the members makes a veto against Yugoslavia's membership, it cannot be received into OSCE. The Albanian ambassador of OSCE can veto against Yugoslav membership, if Yugoslav government doesn't realese the albanian prisoners from serb jails. So now the Albania can play a big role in this case. Many greetings from Switzerland -------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. President, As a journalist of the German daily newspaper "Die Abendzeitung" in M?nchen, I write You my congratulations for the elections. I visitetd Belgrade the 12th and 13th of October, accompagning a delegation of German MPs and Mr. Dr. Martin Schaefer from the German foreign ministry. We talked also to Mr. Filipovic, who was imprisoned for political reasons and now iust released. I want to express my sorrow, that many prisoners from Kosovo, including Flora Brovina is still imprisoned. As You know, the release of this prisoners is one of the highest priorities of European countries in the process of normalisation to Jugoslawia. I would be happy to inform the German public that this problem soon is solved. Sincerely Yours, Philipp Mausshardt (Chefreporter) __________________________________________________ Dear people, I have been reading with much interest your web-site. Here in = Switzerland, I had some contacts with kosovars, which brought me in = co^ntact with the story and the tragedy of your land and people. Much of = these friends have been forced to return to kosova, one of them being = imprisoned having still a valid permission to stay in switzerland, and = expulsed. These vents touched me deep in my heart and opened my concern = for political prisioners. I would like to help what I can. Thanks a lot for your help, for your engagement, waiting for a response = I send you my best greetings. Noemi ______________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ BROVINA AWARDED FOR CIVIL COURAGE BELGRADE - Kosovo Albanian poet Flora Brovina, sentenced by the Nis Military Court to twelve years of imprisonment, on the occasion of the Human Rights Day, December 10, received a special award for civil courage in the Balkans, presented by the Heinrich Bell Foundation, the German interest department in Belgrade stated. The statement specified that Brovina was awarded for her "courageous and fearless fight for human rights since 1990". "At the same time, we want to call the attention of the world public to her process. Release of Flora Brovina and other Kosovo Albanian prisoners from the Serbian prisons should be a test of the democratic changes in the country," said in the German foundation's statement. -------------------------------- Blakaj brothers acquitted 20 October 2000 The Belgrade District Court has again acquitted two Kosovo Albanian brothers charged with conspiring to commit acts of terrorism. Bekim and Safet Blakaj were first acquitted on 26 October 1999. On 4 May this year, the Serbian Supreme Court set aside the decision and ordered a retrial. Presiding Judge Zoran Savic said the court had rendered the same decision as in the first trial since the prosecution had presented no new evidence to substantiate the charge. Safet Blakaj was tried in absentia. Bekim Blakaj is expected to be released from the Belgrade Central Prison today. ---------------------------------------------- IHF INTERVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW (SESSION 5, 19 OCTOBER 2000) ------------------------------------------ Chairman, I am speaking on behalf of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, based in Belgrade. For years our organizations have supported the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), working with human rights non-governmental organizations in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo to promote the work of the Tribunal and help convince state officials and the public that the normalization of the region will only be possible if the issue of war crimes is addressed. Closer relations and cooperation between Yugoslavia and European structures, the United States, and the OSCE are developing rapidly. We want to use this occasion to urge the governments of the OSCE to insist on cooperation with the Tribunal as a condition for reintegration. To do otherwise would be to legitimate the process of denial that has destroyed the spirit of the Serbian people and will continue to do so if OSCE states do not adhere to the fundamental principle that justice is not subject to political expediency. Like most cliches, the saying "There can be no peace without justice" is true. During the campaign for the presidency of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia we urged that this issue be debated. And after the election of Vojislav Kostunica we wrote to him, urging full cooperation with the ICTY. Those indicted for war crimes must be extradited to The Hague now, in this moment of fresh possibilities. There is now a chance for Serbia and Yugoslavia to enter on a new course with regard to justice and human rights, and dealing with responsibility. But there is an even stronger chance that Serbia and the OSCE political community will lose the chance by equivocating on this issue. We in the human rights community need you, in positions of political influence and responsibility, to be strong; to resist the voices of equivocation and expediency. Otherwise Serbia may lose its chance truly to join this community of values. Thank you for your attention to our appeal. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From amead at maine.rr.com Fri Oct 27 11:35:00 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2000 11:35:00 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] a-pal newsletter Message-ID: <20001027153841.AAC5989@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> A-PAL -RELEASE OF FLORA BROVINA REJECTED !!!!!!!! October 25, 2000 Human Rights Awareness Week in Europe ***** PLUS POSSIBLE RELEASE OF PRISONERS--????? WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PUSH FOR THE RELEASE OF THESE PEOPLE. THEY ARE POLITICAL PAWNS CAUGHT IN A POWER STRUGGLE BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL AND SERB FACTIONS. THEIR IMPRISONMENT AND BEING HELD FOR RANSOM IS AN INTERNATIONAL DISGRACE. ********************************** PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS WHOLE NEWSLETTER! AND JOIN THE EMAIL ACTION CAMPAIGN ORGANIZED BY DIVI BEINECKE/GERMANY -------- Original Message -------- Betreff: PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT Datum: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 14:51:28 +0200 Von: "IDEMO KUCI-GOING HOME" Firma: IDEMO KUCI-GOING HOME An: "Wolfgang Plarre" , "Wolfgang Plarre" PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT Federal Ministry of Justice has today rejected Yugoslav President's, Mr.Vojislav Kostunica, appeal for release of Ms Flora Brovina. IDEMO KUCI-GOING HOME holds strong opinion that this unacceptable act, committed by Yugoslav FMJ, already known for it's outrageous decisions, sentences and way of communication, will only foster and speed up everyone's efforts and demands for an instant release of all political prisoners in Yugoslavs prisons. IDEMO KUCI-GOING HOME, Group of RESISTANT MOTHERS and RESISTANCE FROM NEIGHBORHOOD-DORCOL, also give their full support to an initiative, launched by Civil Alliance of Serbia, for destroying of police records of OTPOR activists, and other brave citizens who helped beginning of Milosevic's regime downfall. It is those young academic people, who will be needed in a process of reconstruction and development of our country. Their police records may be spots in their biographies, but are decorations for promoted civilian conscience and courage. IK-GH __________________________________ Kostunica Moves To Release Jailed Ethnic Albanians By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, October 25, 2000 ; Page A20 ROME, Oct. 24 -- Some or all of the more than 900 Kosovo Albanians imprisoned in Yugoslavia may be freed in coming weeks, according to officials in Yugoslavia and Kosovo. The exact timing and mechanism of the release has not been worked out, but Yugoslav officials said that President Vojislav Kostunica plans to propose a general amnesty for ethnic Albanians accused of illegal involvement in last year's Kosovo war. He would then seek parliamentary approval of the measure, possibly as early as late next week. If that happens, it could resolve one of the most nettlesome disputes arising from the conflict in Kosovo--a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic, which is now occupied by NATO-led peacekeeping troops and under U.N. administration. Kostunica has been making other gestures of conciliation. In an interview with the CBS News program "60 Minutes II," he acknowledged that Serbian and Yugoslav forces had committed "crimes" in Kosovo, according to a partial transcript. He also said they had been victims of crimes. Most of the prisoners are young men who were arrested as the Belgrade government of President Slobodan Milosevic tried to purge Kosovo of its ethnic Albanian majority--a campaign that triggered an 11-week NATO air offensive against Yugoslavia. The captives were then taken under armed guard to Serbia proper as government forces retreated from Kosovo. Such a release also would help allay international frustration over Belgrade's prosecution of ethnic Albanians based on what foreign experts say has often been flimsy evidence of involvement in the province's separatist guerrilla movement. In Kosovo, the jailing of the ethnic Albanians--often under harsh conditions--has provoked fury among relatives and community leaders. U.N. officials had accused Milosevic of holding the prisoners primarily to provoke tensions and instability in Kosovo. But Kostunica--who succeeded Milosevic on Oct. 7 following a popular uprising to back his election victory--already has attempted to arrange a pardon for one of the most prominent ethnic Albanians in a Yugoslav prison, Flora Brovina. But Brovina, a physician who is beloved in Kosovo because of her stoic resistance to Serbian authority, has refused to leave jail unless all other ethnic Albanians are released, officials and a family member said. Her decision has provoked enormous frustration among Kostunica's advisers, who are attempting to persuade prison officials in the Serbian city of Nis to release her with or without her approval. "I don't care if she wants to stand in front of the gates," said one official, who asked not to be named. "We are absolutely determined to see her released." Oliver Ivanovic, a leader of the Serb National Council in the Kosovo city of Mitrovica, met with Kostunica Monday in Belgrade and formed the impression, he said in an interview, that some ethnic Albanians "will be released" in the next week or so. He also said that he asked Kostunica to request that Serbs now held in Kosovo at U.N.-run jails be released as well, on the grounds that many had been convicted through improper court procedures. The 55-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe recently released a report sharply criticizing the U.N. judicial system in Kosovo, saying it had failed to meet European human rights standards. Also today, Kostunica scored a carefully negotiated victory in his efforts to dismantle Milosevic's power. The Serbian parliament appointed a power-sharing government in which Milosevic's Socialists and politicians allied with Kostunica will jointly run the republic until elections in December. Special correspondents Zoran Radjen in Belgrade and Linda Gusia in Pristina, Yugoslavia, contributed to this report. ? 2000 The Washington Post http:/ Is ransom money the reason President Kostunica and his new Parliament won't release the Albanian prisoners?????? Are the corrupt and incompetent judges discussed in the article by IWPR part of the ransom racket?? FOLLOW THE MONEY! *************************************** Ransoms for Albanian prisoners----so far an estimated 8 to 10 million DM-- have been collected by Serb police, lawyers, and judges--for family members to obtain the release of loved ones. A-PAL has learned that in some cases, ransom money of 11,000 Dm has been paid to SwedBank in Sweden to an account that is used for this purpose by Serb police. This is not an allegation, but confirmed fact. At the usual 10,000 DM rate per prisoner (some ransoms are as high as 45,000 DM) that would be another 8 million DM of income for the Serb justice ministry. Many mothers visiting their sons in Serb prisons have to pay 40 or 50 DM at every police road block and sometimes at the prison. One 15 minute visit per month (all that is allowed) can cost a mother over 200 DM. None of this is any secret to Western leaders who are well aware that only the 37 minors (there are 2 more at Srm. Mitrovica) have been released without a ransom. REMIND THEM THAT JUDGES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND FOR PROSECUTING VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAW---see article below on Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice is the work-engine of repression. **************************************************** Advocates of the Albanian Prisoners can do two things this week: 1. write to President Kostunica and your foreign minister about the ransoms of these hostages AND THE OBLIGATION OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TO BEHAVE LAWFULLY AND RELEASE THE PRISONERS. 2. Join the Email Action campaign of Wolfgang Plarre and Divi Beinecke at www.kosova.de/APP. The action is explained on the site. We currently have 31 advocates--we need 878. _________________________________________ MILOSEVIC JUDGES FACE RETRIBUTION Serbia's new authorities are about to overhaul the country's corrupt judiciary By Sinisa Stanimirovic in Belgrade The downfall of Slobodan Milosevic has left Serbia's judicial system in tatters with few judges in office apart from stooges of the old regime who are now afraid of looming retribution. For the time being though, these judges cannot be removed without Milosevic's approval and they retain power to throw up formidable obstacles in the path of newly-elected President Vojislav Kostunica. Shorn of all popular respect, the judges are faced with vilification and hostile street demonstrations. The difficulty is that the judiciary is still controlled by a parliament dominated by Milosevic supporters. Courts and prosecutors' offices are headed by people who received flats and cheap state loans in reward for their loyalty to the regime. And they cannot be thrown out until a new Serbian assembly emerges with an anti-Milosevic complexion. Signs are that this will come about with elections scheduled for 23 December . Meanwhile, the discredited judges do their best to thwart reform. One example was a move by the District Prosecutor's office in Belgrade to investigate mine workers from Kolubara whose strike against rigged election results contributed to the fall of the old regime. A judge who refused to send the mineworkers to jail was taken off the case and replaced by another, more compliant judge. Another example was the quashing of an appeal for the pardon of Belgrade journalist Zoran Lukovic, sentenced to five months in prison because he published a story unfavourable to Milosevic crony Milovan Bojic. The First Municipal Prosecutor's office in Belgrade, which brought charges against the journalist, has ignored criminal charges against the Federal Electoral Committee that falsified election results. For all their rearguard resistance, a state of unmistakable apprehension prevails among the old guard judges. Recently, Judge Pavle Vukasinovic failed to show up for the trial of members of the "Spider" gang, a group of bounty hunters that has been accused of abducting suspected war criminals from Serbian soil and (for reputedly rich rewards) turning them over to NATO troops for trial at The Hague war crimes court. The gang's success in smuggling its captives out of Serbia has struck terror into those on the tribunal's wanted list. The judge showed up three days later, saying he could not come to court earlier because his son had been beaten up. A colleague commented, "somebody attacked the boy in revenge against Vukasinovic who was a member of the Federal Electoral Committee which stands accused of rigging election results." Revenge attacks have been reported from all over Serbia. Citizens of Vladicin Han threw eggs and stones at the building where the president of the local municipal court lives. In Prokuplje, judges organised symbolic public trial for their president and sentenced him to six years in prison! An officer of the District Prosecutor's office said, "Since 5 October when the regime fell, we have all been living in nervous anticipation. The public prosecutor is aware that he will have to leave office after the change of power and now he is taking his frustration out on us, making life impossible. " Upheavals in the judiciary have left it too weak to carry out any internal restructuring. Only the Commercial Court in Belgrade has managed a reorganisation since the downfall of Milosevic. The court was a mechanism through which the United Yugoslav Left party, JUL, of Mirjana Markovic, managed to control numerous companies. The recently sacked president of this court, Milena Arezina, would order certain companies to be proclaimed bankrupt, after which the JUL would seize control of them. Even firms with considerable assets were "declared" bankrupt due to temporary insolvency, the lawyer said. Other Belgrade courts in recent years have presided over many trumped up cases. They included those against the journalists of the paper Dnevni telegraf whose owner Slavko Curuvija was assassinated last year; Zoran Djindjic, leader of the opposition Democratic Party; and former State Security Service officers Vladimir Nikolic and Bozidar Spasic. Until some 10 years ago, the Serbian judiciary enjoyed a high reputation and widespread respect. When communism was replaced by a multi-party system at the beginning of the nineties, Serbian judges were allowed to be independent for the first time in 45 years. While most judges had been members of the Communist Party, many didn't bother transferring to the post-communist Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) which under Milosevic became the ruling party. Then came the hyperinflation of 1993, when a judge's entire salary bought a box of matches. More than a third of judges went back to being lawyers. Inexperienced and non-qualified members from the ruling party were recruited to take their place, sending judicial standards plummeting. Court members who had spent years waiting for promotion were ignored, while politicians handed jobs to men who had never set foot in a courtroom. The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia revealed that most new 'judges' used to work on farms, in community centres, or in the special forces units of the Yugoslav army. The extent to which the bench had been politicised stood out glaringly in 1996, when judges close to JUL and the SPS annulled an opposition victory in local elections. After 88 days of opposition protests and international pressure, the results were restored. At that point, the remaining independent-minded judges formed a professional body - the Association of Serbian Judges (ASJ) - which has since been a thorn in the side of the regime. The ASJ has appealed for replacements in the Federal Court, the Federal Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Serbia and the Constitutional Court of Serbia. Lawyer Vida Petrovic-Skero said the first step towards the eventual return of sacked judges should come from a new Serbian parliament. "One should annul the illegal decisions and create conditions for the return of judges who were sacked," she said. Similar sentiments are being expressed by sacked judge Miroslav Todorovic, now a lawyer and a member of the presidency of the student protest movement of Otpor, "It is too early to talk about changes in the judiciary as most of the honourable and respectable people who the regime had chucked out have become lawyers," he said. People who kept silent amid all the abuses are still sitting in courts, so reorganising the system will prove to be a big challenge. The current court presidents and their deputies will probably remain in position until the forming of the new parliament of Serbia is constituted after the elections. Provided that its deputies act in accordance with the present mood within the anti-Milosevic opposition, new independent-minded judges will be appointed. Then the recovery of the judiciary will begin. But the restoration of its reputation and respect, as well as faith in court institutions, will be a slow and painful process. Sinisa Stanimirovic is an IWPR contributor ------------------------------------------------------ New evidence in Pauk case 24 October 2000 The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has delivered to the Belgrade District Court evidence which could help to establish the truth about allegations that members of the Pauk (Spider) Group were implicated in the murder of two civilians and extorting money for the release of two prisoners in Kosovo in May 1999. In light of the new evidence, the HLC requested the court to open the trial to the public and ensure its fairness and impartiality. According to press reports, the members of the Pauk Group are charged with espionage and the murder of two unidentified persons in Kosovo during the state of war. The defendants? lawyers have asked for their release, alleging that they were put on trial for political reasons. ______________________________________ RE: SERB PRISONERS IN KOSOVA Vuckovic, Bisevac trial to resume in Kosovska Mitrovica 24 October 2000 The trial of Miroslav Vuckovic and Bozur Bisevac on the charge of genocide resumes in Kosovska Mitrovica on 25 October. Bisevac is being tried in absentia. The two men are accused of creating together with other unidentified persons ?an atmosphere of fear by shooting off firearms in Gusgavac and Gornji Suvi Do villages and making death threats? in the period between 22 March and early May 1999, ?with the intent of forcibly displacing the Albanian population and completely or partly destroying the Albanian community.? According to the indictment, after forcing the villagers to leave their homes, the defendants divided between themselves valuables from the abandoned houses and then set the buildings on fire. The prosecutor alleges that they torched a house although they knew an elderly woman, Hazire Sahiti, was in it. During the investigatory proceedings, Vuckovic denied setting fire to any houses or murdering anybody, saying he worked for the ambulance service during the war and helped Albanians. He confirmed that some houses in Suvi Do were torched but said he did not know by whom. Witness Semsa Sahiti identified Vuckovic during the first session of the trial as one of the men who torched the house in which his mother died. Sahiti told the court that he watched the incident from behind a wall some fifty meters from the house, a nd said Vuckovic was in police uniform at the time. According to this witness, Bisevac stood guard while Vuckovic, armed with an automatic rifle, went into the house. Gunshots were heard a few moments later. Nenad Vukasovic, Miodrag Brkljac, Miro Delevic and Igor Pantelic, counsel for the defense, called into doubt the impartiality of the panel presided by Judge Mahmut Halimi and including Judge Christer Karphammer of Sweden, and disputed the legality and legitimacy of the court. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From amead at maine.rr.com Fri Oct 27 21:05:44 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2000 21:05:44 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] a-pal action newsletter Message-ID: <20001028010925.AAA28388@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> OCTOBER 27, 2000 A-PAL AND FRIENDS NEED YOU!! JOIN THE EMAIL ACTION CAMPAIGN CORRECT ADDRESS : http://www.kosova-info-line.de/APP/ or http://www.kosovo.de/APP/ RELEASE PRISONERS NOW! T? LIROHEN MENJ?HER? T? BURGOSURIT! As there are 878 Kosova-albanian prisoners wrongly detained in serbian prisons, we start this EMAIL-ACTION. Right now there are still 877 Kosova-albanian prisoners in serbian jails. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!! We would like to gather as many email-senders as there are prisoners left in serbian jails. At this moment there are 38 members taking part in this action, sending one email a day to foreign-ministers, prime-ministers and other politicians all over the world. SEE THE MEMBER-LIST OF THIS EMAIL-ACTION IF YOU WANT TO JOIN THIS ACTION, PLEASE CHOOSE THE LANGUAGE YOU PREFER: SHQIP (akoma jo, s? shpejti!) ENGLISH GERMAN (wird bald folgen!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MEMBER-LIST OF EMAIL-ACTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Background information you?ll find at: http://www.khao.org/appkosova.htm http://www.bndlg.de/~wplarre/ http://www.FreeAlbinKurti.com You can subscribe to different mailinglists to get information by email: * APP-mailinglist - to subscribe please visit: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/a-pal . * " concerning prisoners " - Mailinglist of Wolfgang Plarre news found about (mainly albanian) prisoners in Serbian jails If you are interested in becoming member of this mail-list please mail to Wolfgang Plarre wplarre at bndlg.de! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MEMBER-LIST OF EMAIL-ACTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20th October 2000, ? dbein at osnabrueck.netsurf.de 1. Divi Beineke, Europe 2. Wolfgang Plarre, Europe 3. sabina marsh, North-Amercia 4. Mira, Europe 5. J Stapleton, North-Amercia 6. Tahir Veliqi, North-Amercia 7. Alice Mead, North-Amercia 8. Flamur, North-Amercia 9. Reshma M Ballie, Europe 10. Bekim, Australia 11. Agron, Europe 12. Manuela Nitsche, Europe 13. Argita Malltezi, Europe 14. Bashkim, Europe 15. Blerina Kashari, Europe 16. Trish Porter, North-America 17. Avni Ramadani, Europe 18. nikolin risilia, Europe 19. Jetemir Balaj, Europe 20. Arbnora, Europe 21. Bart Staes MEP, Europe 22. Iliriana Mushkolaj, North-America 23. ylli, Europe 24. Mimoza, Europe 25. arenc Leka, North-America 26. Afrim Mjeku, Europe 27. Friederike Rother, Europe 28. Nadejda Boyadjieva, Europe 29. Alket, Europe 30. Elke Morat, Europe 31. Raif Emini, North-America 32. Drita, Europe 33. Enis Ajvazi, Europe 34. Holtey, Europe 35. Konrad Clewing, Europe 36. Caroline Fetscher, Europe 37. Alketa , Europe 38. Mariola Xhunga, Europe -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From amead at maine.rr.com Tue Oct 31 09:13:10 2000 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 09:13:10 -0500 Subject: [A-PAL] A-PAL Newsletter, Oct. 30, 2000 Message-ID: <20001031141656.AAA7630@mail.maine.rr.com@[24.31.158.175]> A-PAL NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 31, 2000 A-PAL message: IT AIN'T OVER TIL IT'S OVER! Conflicting news articles reveal the present confusion in Serbia regarding the release of the Albanian prisoners. Don't lose heart --please help us keep pushing international and Serb officials to maintain human rights standards, even in Serbia, as it is now "welcomed" into OCSE, the EU, and the UN!!! AS REV. JACKSON SAYS--"KEEP HOPE ALIVE!" SUGGESTED ACTIONS-- 1. EMAIL-ACTION: RELEASE THE ALBANIAN PRISONERS NOW! WE HAVE 48 ADVOCATES NOW, WE NEED 400 MORE! PLEASE KEEP THE PRESSURE ON THE INTERNATIONAL OFFICIALS! http://www.kosova-info-line.de/APP/ Please forward the idea and address of the website to people, you think they might be interested in joining! 2. For further information contact the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180 or e-mail: info at osce.org _______________________________________________________________________ http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/index.phtml?Y=2000&M=10&D=30 FreeB92 Last update: Oct 30, 2000 22:44 CET Brovina for release tomorrow 22:44 POZAREVAC, Monday - Albanian poet Flora Brovina is expected to be released from Pozarevac prison tomorrow, her lawyer, Branko Stanic, said today. Stanic had earlier told media that Brovina would be released today, on the instruction of the Serbian Justice Ministry. A source in Pozarevac prison quoted by Beta today said that the necessary documentation from the ministry had not been received by 3.00 p.m. and prisoners could not be released after that time. Brovina was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment last December on charges of conspiring for terrorism. The trial attracted international attention for its slipshod legal procedures and lack of evidence. _______________________________________________________________________ Yugoslavia to pardon political prisoners -agency BELGRADE, Oct 29 (Reuters) - New Yugoslav authorities will soon pardon all political prisoners and draft dodgers in a symbolic break with the previous regime of Slobodan Milosevic, state news agency Tanjug reported on Sunday. Tanjug quoted Belgrade University law professor Stevan Lilic as saying that political prisoners would be released after the federal parliament adopted an amnesty law prepared by an expert team under his leadership. "Amnesty should mark a discontinuity with the previous repressive regime and the beginning of a period of confidence our society is entering," said Lilic. The team was formed on October 16 after a meeting between new President Vojislav Kostunica, himself a legal expert in constitutional and civil rights issues, and the Yugoslav Committee of Lawyers. Along with political prisoners, victims of political repression, those jailed for harming Yugoslavia's reputation, its constitutional order and social system, the amnesty would apply to those who had committed military criminal acts such as avoiding the draft and army service. Lilic said that the Dayton agreement which ended a bloody war in Bosnia in 1995 stipulated such a law, also obliging the former Yugoslav republics of Bosnia and Croatia to adopt it. Since he came to power on October 7 after popular protests when Milosevic refused to recognise his election defeat, Kostunica has pardoned Miroslav Filipovic, a reporter jailed for espionage by a military court. Outgoing Justice Minister Petar Jojic said last week he had refused Kostunica's demand to release Flora Brovina, an ethnic Albanian poet and human rights activists, sentenced to 12 years in jail for terrorism. Jojic, whose post will be occupied by one of Kostunica's backers later this week, said Kostunica had given no evidence that Brovina was not guilty. 09:36 10-29-00 ________________________________________________ http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44596-2000Oct30.html Jailed Albanians Pose Problem For Belgrade Albin Kurti, center, and other ethnic Albanian prisoners in the prison yard in Pozarevac, Yugoslavia. (AP) By Michael Dobbs Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, October 31, 2000; Page A16 POZAREVAC, Yugoslavia, Oct. 30 ?V?V "I consider myself a hostage of war," Kosovo student leader Albin Kurti announced as he was escorted into a chilly prison interview room by his Serbian jailers today. Arrested by Serbian police during the Kosovo conflict last year and sentenced to 15 years in prison on terrorism charges, Kurti is one of approximately 800 ethnic Albanians still being held in Serbian jails nearly four weeks after the street revolution that overthrew Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. The question of what to do with them has emerged as one of the most thorny issues facing Yugoslavia's new president, Vojislav Kostunica, as he attempts to consolidate power. The United States and other Western countries have called for their immediate release. Kostunica has suggested he wants to do that, but there is little political support for such a step within Serbia, Yugoslavia's main republic, at a time when hundreds of Serbs are missing in Kosovo. Kurti and the other ethnic Albanian detainees, members of Kosovo's majority population, were rounded up during the 11-week NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia last year. They were transferred to prisons outside Kosovo just before the Serbian-dominated Yugoslav army withdrew from Kosovo and NATO forces took over. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Serbian authorities at one time held around 2,000 ethnic Albanian prisoners, but the number has decreased sharply as a result of partial releases over the past 18 months. Many of those who remain in Serbian jails have been sentenced to long prison terms. In a rare interview with a foreign visitor, Kurti, 25, projected an image of total defiance, insisting that his prison experience had strengthened his determination to fight for a fully independent Kosovo, which remains officially a part of Serbia. While welcoming Milosevic's overthrow as a "very positive event," he depicted Kostunica as no better than his predecessor on the question of rights for ethnic Albanians. "On issues concerning Kosovo, Kostunica has the same opinions as Milosevic. In fact, he often uses exactly the same expressions," said Kurti, who is one of the most prominent prisoners. He organized a series of anti-Serb demonstrations in the Kosovo capital of Pristina before the war, and was a top adviser to the Kosovo Liberation Army, the guerrilla force that fought the Yugoslav army in Kosovo. The remaining ethnic Albanian prisoners are scattered in jails throughout Serbia, including in Nis, Sremska Mitrovica, and here in Pozarevac, Milosevic's home town. Kurti said he shared a 21-by-30-foot prison cell with 40 other ethnic Albanian prisoners, most of whom were detained during the war. Like other prisoners, Kurti complained of harsh beatings by his Serbian jailers during the early days of his detention, particularly when he was still being held in Kosovo. But he said that conditions had generally improved since his transfer to Pozarevac. He spends much of his time in jail reading books sent to him by relatives in Kosovo, including works by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jean-Paul Sartre, James Joyce and Bertolt Brecht. The prison food, said Kurti, is so poor that he and other Albanians rely almost entirely on food packages from Kosovo. "Usually, we eat only the bread," he said, adding that the prisoners joked about the "Auschwitz soup." In the interview, he spoke in English, but his words were translated into Serbian at the insistence of two Serbian prison guards who monitored the interview. While most of the ethnic Albanians being held in Pozarevac have been sentenced for political crimes, such as subversion and conspiracy, a minority are ordinary criminals, convicted of crimes such as robbery and murder. Kurti called on the Serbian authorities to release all the Albanian prisoners at once. "The ordinary criminals should be sent to serve their sentences in Kosovo," he said. Initially, Kostunica linked the release of Kosovo Albanian prisoners to progress on tracking down an estimated 1,000 Serbs who have disappeared in Kosovo since the end of the war. More recently, however, his aides have said the president is considering a general amnesty for Albanian political detainees, to be submitted to the Yugoslav parliament in a few weeks. Attempts to arrange the early release of a prominent Albanian physician and poet, Flora Brovina, who is being held in the Pozarevac women's prison, have run into a series of snags, according to Kostunica aides. The outgoing Yugoslav minister of justice, Petar Jojic, who belongs to the extreme nationalist Radical Party, refused to authorize Brovina's release, arguing that she had committed "very serious crimes." The justice ministry of Serbia readily agreed to a reporter's request to visit the Pozarevac jail, but said it was unable to authorize a meeting with Brovina on the grounds that her case is still under review by the courts. A former engineering student who helped organize an underground university in Kosovo, Kurti went on trial in Nis last March on charges of terrorism and conspiracy against the state. "I told the judges that I was proud of what I had done, and would do it all over again, if I had the chance," he said. ? 2000 The Washington Post Company --------------------------------------------------------- JUST TO REMIND OUR A-PAL READERS--HERE IS A STATEMENT FROM OSCE IN SEPTEMBER, 2000 CALLING FOR THE RELEASE OF PRISONERS. YUGOSLAVIA NOW ATTENDS OSCE MEETINGS AND CLAIMS IT "HAS PROBLEMS" RELEASING THE ALBANIAN PRISONERS! For further information contact the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180 or e-mail: info at osce.org _________________________________________________ Press Release Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Chairman-in-Office 07 September 2000 OSCE Permanent Council calls on FRY to release detainees VIENNA, 7 September 2000 - The 54-member OSCE Permanent Council called on the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) today to speed up legal procedures and to rapidly release from detention in Belgrade the two British OMIK members, Adrian Prangnell and John Yore and their two Canadian friends, Shawn Going and Liam Hall. There is no legitimate basis for their continued detention. At the meeting, Permanent Council delegates expressed a strong negative reaction to the decision by the military authorities of the FRY to extend the detention of the four persons for one further month. The prolongation of the detention period was regarded as motivated by political purposes. The Permanent Council expressed its deep regret that diplomatic efforts have until now met with only little response from the authorities of the FRY. Though the fact is welcomed that the detainees are no longer being held in solitary confinement, there remains concern that they are being denied regular contact with their families. The authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are called upon to respect all their international obligations. The Austrian Chairperson of the Permanent Council, Ambassador Jutta Stefan-Bastl, recalled that the two British citizens detained are members of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. The detention is therefore not only regarded as a bilateral matter, but as a concern of the whole OSCE. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, remains concerned by the detention and will continue her diplomatic efforts in order to achieve a rapid release of all the detained. For further information contact the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180 or e-mail: info at osce.org Press and Public Information Section OSCE Secretariat Kaertner Ring 5-7, 1010 Vienna, Austria Tel.:(+43-1) 514 36 180, Fax: (+43-1) 514 36 105 E-mail: info at osce.org Website: http://www.osce.org _________________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed