[A-PAL] A-pal newsletter 10/15

[Alice Mead]

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
 


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