[A-PAL] Newsletter 4/6/01

[Shukrie Rexha]

Albanian Prisoner Advocacy League (A-PAL)
Platform
April 6, 2001

A-PAL is dedicated to the human rights and freedoms of all persons, 
advocating for the release of Albanian prisoners through peaceful democratic 
means. We welcome the recent release of Albanian prisoners under the amnesty 
law and wait for an open, international review of the remaining 250 cases.
Our actions are in accordance with the UN Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999 
and the judicial process set out in the interim peace agreement drawn up in 
the Rambouillet Accord in 1999.

We find the ongoing detention of Albanian prisoners, arrested by the 
Milosevic regime during the 1998-1999 hostilities, to be subjected to 
multiple violation of these laws and  principles nearly two years after 
these agreements and resolutions were enacted.

>From the Interim Peace Agreement/Rambouillet
        I. Basic Principles

1.	All citizens of Kosova shall enjoy without discrimination equal rights 
and freedoms
2.	All authorities in Kosova shall respect human rights
3.	Kosova citizens shall have the right to judicial institutions established 
in this   accord
5.	Every person in  Kosova shall have access to international institutions 
for the   protection of their rights in accordance with these procedures.

Comment: These 250 remaining prisoners were arrested under military law and 
held with 30 day warrants which expired on June 30, 1999. Most were detained 
unlawfully for over one year, tortured extensively, and forced to give false 
confessions. They faced highly irregular trials, many times in groups, 
before Serb judges, some of whom were the very ones who had supervised their 
torture and the attempted massacre in Kosova. In most cases there was no 
evidence at all except a forced confession. These numerous violations have 
been documented the Humanitarian Law Center in Belgrade, Human Rights Watch, 
and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in New York.

II. Confidence Building
8. Martial law shall not be declared in Kosova.
10. All abducted persons or those held without charges especially in 
connection with the conflict shall be released
12. Each side shall not prosecute anyone for crimes related to the conflict 
in Kosova unless it is a serious violation of humanitarian law.
     A general amnesty shall be granted for all persons convicted of a 
politically motivated crime related to the conflict in Kosova

III. Judicial Process
4.	The defendant is entitled to have his trial transferred to a Kosova court 
that he designates. At least one judicial member will be of the defendant’s 
nationality.

VI. Human Rights and Freedoms
1.	All authorities shall ensure the internationally recognized human rights 
and freedoms, as set forth in this accord and in European conventions.
2.	National members have additional rights to preserve their national, 
cultural, and linguistic identity.

Comment: One woman prisoner has been held for eight years before sentencing. 
She has now been in prison for 14 years and comes from a poor family. She 
does not receive packages and has been mistreated repeatedly by other 
prisoners and guards. She is still held in Pozharevac Prison on criminal 
charges.

XII. Prisoner Release
1.	All parties shall release and transfer in accordance with international 
standards all those held in connection with the conflict.


      UN RESOLUTION 1244, JUNE 10, 1999
Bearing in mind the Charter of the UN, guided by the Universal Declaration 
of Human Rights and the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Protocols of 1977

Promoting the human rights and meaningful self-government in Kosova, a 
return home of all those displaced by the conflict, ensuring a peaceful life 
for all citizens of Kosova in full accordance with the Rambouillet Accords 
and the political structures that it sets forth.

(For detailed information on a partial list of human rights violations that 
the prisoners have suffered, please see the web site of Lawyers Committee 
for Human Rights at www.lchr.org) The prisoners’ advocacy guide is in Serb, 
Albanian, and English.



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