From kosova at jps.net  Wed Dec  5 19:54:56 2001
From: kosova at jps.net (kosova at jps.net)
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 16:54:56 -0800
Subject: [AKI] Holiday's in Prison
Message-ID: <LNBBKKIEKFOPADHBEFPFKELLEKAA.kosova@jps.net>

ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS (A-PAL)
www.khao.org/appkosova.htm

A-PAL STATEMENT
December 03, 2001

Prisoners released since the transfer document was signed: 2
Prisoners who may spend their third holiday season in Serb prisons: 204

As this holiday season approaches, please remember those deprived of
liberty. 204 Albanians still remain in Serb prisons despite the November 5,
document stating that they would be transferred to UNMIK's jurisdiction as
soon as possible.

The A-PAL email action campaign has sent over 8,000 emails on their behalf.
Please join us. Click on the web address below. Three minutes of effort on
your part is the only voice these prisoners have to communicate with world
leaders.

Don't let the year 2002 for these people begin as 1999, 2000, and 2001 did.

JOIN OUR A-PAL EMAIL ACTION NOW!

--
EMAIL-ACTION: RELEASE THE PRISONERS NOW!
T? LIROHEN MENJ?HER? T? BURGOSURIT!
LASST JETZT DIE GEFANGENEN FREI!
ODMAH OSLOBODITE ZATVORENIKE!
http://www.dbein.bndlg.de/APP/

*****************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

December 4, 2001

Dear -----------------

Four weeks ago, Serb officials signed a transfer document with the UNMIK
government, stating that the remaining 206 prisoners would be transferred to
UNMIK jurisdiction as soon as possible. During the past four weeks, two
Albanian prisoners were released and allowed to go home.

There has been no explanation on either side--UNMIK or Serb--of the reason
for further delays. Will two hundred people spend their third holiday season
in this unjust situation?

We urge you to increase the pressure on Serb officials to honor the document
and transfer the last 204 prisoners now.

Sincerely,

<your name>





From kosova at jps.net  Mon Dec 10 19:48:42 2001
From: kosova at jps.net (kosova at jps.net)
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 16:48:42 -0800
Subject: [A-PAL] Albin Kurti Freed.  203 left to go.
Message-ID: <LNBBKKIEKFOPADHBEFPFAEAKELAA.kosova@jps.net>

ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS (A-PAL)
www.khao.org/appkosova.htm


A-PAL STATEMENT
December 08, 2001

December 7, one Albanian detainee, Albin Kurti, was released from Nis prison
and is now home in Prishtina. On arriving in Kosova, he stated that it was
wrong for him to be released and 203 others to remain behind.

Since the UNMIK/Covic transfer document was signed in November, 2001, only
three Albanians have been released. There has been no news on the process
for the transfer to UNMIK's jurisdiction of the remaining 203 prisoners, nor
any date given for this process to take place as the group faces its third
holiday season in Serb prison.

In October, 2000, President Kostunica stated that the prisoners would be
released as soon as possible. 203 are still waiting. As we witnessed in the
past, once pressure on the Serb leaders got too intense, towards taking
action on the prisoner issue, one "high profile case" was released.  For
example: Flora Brovina, the 143-Member Gjakova group, and now Albin Kurti.

International observers should not be lulled into thinking that now that Mr.
Kurti is free, that action towards the others will soon follow. We must keep
the pressure constant.  Therefore, we URGE all our readers to continue their
efforts at making leaders aware that appropriate enactment of the November
agreement has not yet occurred.  And it is imperative that it does.  For the
sake of lives and for the sake of stability.

Sincerely,
A-PAL Team.


JOIN OUR EMAIL ACTION. IT'S EASY.
ONLY TAKES SEVERAL MINUTES PER WEEK.

   EMAIL-ACTION: RELEASE THE PRISONERS NOW!
   T? LIROHEN MENJ?HER? T? BURGOSURIT!
   LASST JETZT DIE GEFANGENEN FREI!
   ODMAH OSLOBODITE ZATVORENIKE!
   http://www.dbein.bndlg.de/APP/


Following Articles:
* ICRC : ICRC Accompanies a detainee from a Serbian jail
* REUTERS LIMITED : Serbia frees Kosovo Albanian student leader

--

ICRC PRESS RELEASE
Pristina, 07.12.2001

ICRC ACCOMPANIES A DETAINEE FROM A SERBIAN JAIL

Tonight, the ICRC accompanied to Kosovo one person released by the
authorities in Serbia. Albin Kurti from Prishtin?/Pristina was released from
Nis prison.

To date 1834 detainees have been released of whom 1675 were accompanied back
home by the ICRC. During the detention visits the ICRC delegates have
exchanged more than 34,318 Red Cross Messages between the detainees and
their family members.

203 detainees will continue to be visited by the ICRC until their final
release by the authorities.

Further info contact Nada Doumani,  ICRC Mission,  + 377 44 115 036

(Translated in Albanian)
KUMTES? NGA KNKK
Prishtin?, 07.12.2001

KNKK SHOQ?RON NJ? T? BURGOSUR NGA BURGU SERB

Sonte, KNKK shoq?roi p?r n? Kosov? nj? person t? liruar nga autoritetet n?
Serbi. Albin Kurti nga Prishtina ?sht? liruar nga burgu i Nishit.

Deri sot 1834 t? burgosur jan? liruar prej t? cil?ve 1675 jan? shoq?ruar nga
KNKK. Gjat? vizitave n? burgje delegat?t e KNKK kan? shk?mbyer m? shum? se
34,318 Porosi t? Kryqit t? Kuq n? mes t? burgosurve dhe an?tar?ve t?
familjes.

203 t? burgosur do t? vizitohen edhe m? tutje nga KNKK deri sa t? lirohen
nga autoritetet.

P?r informata t? m?tejme kontaktoni Vjosa Osmani, Arbena Kuriu Misioni i
KNKK, 038 28 400/501 518/501 519

--

Serbia frees Kosovo Albanian student leader

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, Dec. 7 - Serbia released a prominent Kosovo Albanian
student activist on Friday who had been in jail since NATO's 1999 war on
Yugoslavia.

Taken to the Serbian heartlands as Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslav forces
retreated from the mainly Albanian province, Albin Kurti was sentenced to 15
years in prison for terrorism.

While most Kosovo Albanian prisoners had already been freed from Serbian
jails after the ousting of Milosevic as Yugoslav president 14 months ago,
Western nations and human rights bodies have been pressing for Kurti and
others to be released too.

The reformist authorities in Belgrade are still determined not to give in to
the demands of some ethnic Albanians for complete independence for Kosovo.

Kurti, in his mid-20s, was greeted by around 100 friends and family members
when he arrived late in the evening in Pristina, capital of Kosovo, which is
now under U.N.-led administration.

Sporting a short prison haircut, Kurti said he did not know why he had been
freed nor why it had taken so long: "I don't know why I stayed in prison for
such a long time," he said.

The crowd, including many others who had seen the inside of Serbian jails,
cheered and applauded him.

"This is a miracle," said his uncle, Skender Kurti.

A spokeswoman for the International Red Cross (ICRC), Vjosa Osmani, said in
Pristina that Kurti had been released from prison in the central Serbian
town of Pozarevac.

Serbian officials were not available for comment.

Kurti was arrested in Kosovo during the air strikes NATO launched in an
effort to force Milosevic to stop what it said was Serbian oppression of
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.

Like hundreds of other Albanian detainees, he was taken to Serbia proper
when Yugoslav forces withdrew from the province. A district court in
southern Serbia sentenced him in March last year to 15 years in jail for
terrorism.

Kurti was leader of the Independent Union of Albanian Students, which was
set up in Pristina after Belgrade stripped Kosovo of the autonomy it had
enjoyed during the Communist era in federal Yugoslavia and imposed direct
rule in 1989.

He also organised student demonstrations in Kosovo.

Some Kosovo Albanians are still held in Serbian jails. Kurti said the
international community was not doing enough for them.

Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited

###




From kosova at jps.net  Thu Dec 13 20:04:45 2001
From: kosova at jps.net (kosova at jps.net)
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 17:04:45 -0800
Subject: [A-PAL] Kostunica plays games with prisoners' lives
Message-ID: <LNBBKKIEKFOPADHBEFPFKEFDELAA.kosova@jps.net>

ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS (A-PAL)
www.khao.org/appkosova.htm

A-PAL STATEMENT
December 12, 2001


KOSTUNICA PLAYS GAMES WITH PRISONERS' LIVES

Kostunica Moves To Release Jailed Ethnic Albanians
(This was the headline of an article by Washington Post Foreign Service on
October 25, 2000)

	It is worth taking time to note the role President Kostunica is taking
regarding the problem of Albanian prisoners in Serbia. For him and other
Serb leaders, these imprisoned individuals are viewed as political pawns in
an international game.

	First, Flora Brovina was released in December, 2000, in order to quell
international pressure. Now, to show some degree of political cooperation
with UNMIK, Albin Kurti was pardoned by Kostunica. Was he released because
he was innocent? No. His release was meant as a political statement by
Kostunica to show internationals how cooperative he can be. It was intended
as a public gesture on Human Rights Day. If his release was a public
gesture, that must mean that his imprisonment, and Brovina's, and the
Gjakova group, along with all the rest, were political gestures as well.
These innocent people, as soon as they crossed the border into Serbia,
became potent political symbols. They became human "leverage". And exactly
how does denying liberty to the 203 others promote dialog and
reconciliation?

	One would think, reading the Washington Post article of October 2000, that
the release of the prisoners was just around the corner. But 14 months
later, following an amnesty law last spring that freed 30,000 Serbs and 200
Albanians, the fate of the remaining 203 prisoners is still uncertain. The
Serb leaders still have not agreed on a date for their transfer to UNMIK's
jurisdiction, despite having signed the transfer document. Instead,
Kostunica Djindic, Covic, and others continue to show support for these
verdicts and sentences by the false courts created by Milosevic.  These are
the false courts in which he artificially reconstructed the "Kosova justice
system" inside Serbia proper.

	We urge our readers to keep up the international pressure. It only takes a
few minutes to help these people and their families.

	YOU are THEIR voice.  Let it be heard.

Sincerely,
A-PAL Team.

JOIN OUR EMAIL ACTION. IT'S EASY.
ONLY TAKES SEVERAL MINUTES PER WEEK.
EMAIL-ACTION: RELEASE THE PRISONERS NOW!
T? LIROHEN MENJ?HER? T? BURGOSURIT!
LASST JETZT DIE GEFANGENEN FREI!
ODMAH OSLOBODITE ZATVORENIKE!
http://www.dbein.bndlg.de/APP/

--

Following Articles:
* Free Serbia News : FRY president's decision: Albin Kurti
  Released
* Washington Post : Kostunica Moves To Release Jailed Ethnic
  Albanians

--

Free Serbia News
FRY president's decision: Albin Kurti released

December 11, 2001

FRY president Vojislav Kostunica's cabinet confirmed on Monday evening
Yugoslav president reached a decision to release from prison former Albanian
student leader in Kosovo Albin Kurti.

Kostunica reached the decision on the occasion of the International Day of
Human Rights, at the proposition of the Yugoslav Committee of lawyers for
human rights, addressed to the Federal justice ministry. President hopes by
reaching this decision the release of Albin Kurti, together with
participation of Serbian MPs of the 'Return' coalition in the work of the
Kosovo Parliament, would be another signal FRY strives to peaceful relations
in the province, reads the statement.

At the same time, the decision should strengthen dialogue and make it
possible for Serbs, Romanies, Bosnians and other refugees to return to
Kosovo and Metohija and speed up determining the faith of missing and
kidnapped FRY citizens and their return to families. (Tanjug)

--

Washington Post Foreign Service
Kostunica Moves To Release Jailed Ethnic Albanians

By R. Jeffrey Smith
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.

###




From amead at mail.maine.rr.com  Fri Dec 21 08:40:52 2001
From: amead at mail.maine.rr.com (Alice Mead)
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 08:40:52 -0500
Subject: [A-PAL] A-PAL  NEWSLETTER  12/21/01
Message-ID: <v04220800b848e77b288d@[24.198.25.136]>


Albanian Prisoner Advocacy (A-PAL)
December 21, 2001




         A-PAL STATEMENT-203 Albanians Remain in Serb Prisons

Now, this is very interesting!
While 203 Albanian prisoners remain in Serbia for their third hoiday 
season-- indicted by artificially created courts(created by Milosevic 
at the end of the NATO war), the person who was originally in charge 
of the abduction, massacre, torture, deprivation of liberty and civil 
rights of these Kosovar citizens is filing a claim at the European 
Court of Human Rights, claiming violations of his right to liberty 
and a fair trial.
When A-PAL advocates inquired at this same court of human rights as 
to whether the Albanian prisoners could bring a formal complaint 
there for the gross, ongoing violations of human rights, they were 
told that--the FRY, which continues to brutally persecute them, is 
not a member state, so they can't file a suit against them.
  This is justice? This is equality? The people who the FRY persecutes 
have no recourse, no protection under European law? But the citizens 
of FRY do?

Isn't this circular irony strange? Milosevic, as a citizen of FRY, 
can file a claim against member states, who have not abused his 
rights in the least, while ordinary citizens who have been tortured, 
some even to death,by individuals acting on behalf of Serbia's 
government cannot. Strange, also, is the fact that FRY has applied 
for membership to the Council of Europe, and their application is 
being seriously considered, even though the transfer of the 203 
Albanians is being endlessly delayed without cause or explanation. Or 
consequences.

Kostunica will not enact this transfer without real consequences. 
They can be financial and/or political, such as witholding the next 
installment of funds to the FRY or withholding integration into 
organizations like the EU and Council of Europe. That is the only 
hope for justice these 203 ordinary people have.

******************************************************************

from the European Court of Human Rights

Before the Strasbourg Court, Mr Milosevic relies on the following Articles
of the European Convention on Human Rights: 5 (right to liberty and
security), 6 (right to a fair trial), 10 (freedom of expression), 13 (right
to an effective remedy) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination). His
complaints are directed against his arrest and detention and the proceedings
currently conducted against him in the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia.
----~->

Council of Europe Press Release
Council of Europe Press Service
Tel. +33 3 88 41 25 60
Fax. +33 3 88 41 27 89
E-mail: PressUnit at coe.int


EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
	981
21.12.2001
Press release issued by the Registrar

Application by Slobodan Milosevic

On 20 December 2001 Mr Slobodan Milosevic, former President of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, filed an application with the European Court of
Human Rights. Mr Milosevic, who was born in 1940, is at present detained in
the UN detention centre, The Hague, the Netherlands.

Mr Milosevic's application is brought against the Netherlands, where on 31
August 2001 the President of the Hague Regional Court, in summary
proceedings taken by Mr Milosevic seeking his immediate release and return
to Yugoslavia, found that the Netherlands courts had no jurisdiction.

Before the Strasbourg Court, Mr Milosevic relies on the following Articles
of the European Convention on Human Rights: 5 (right to liberty and
security), 6 (right to a fair trial), 10 (freedom of expression), 13 (right
to an effective remedy) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination). His
complaints are directed against his arrest and detention and the proceedings
currently conducted against him in the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia.

Mr Milosevic is represented by, among others, Mr N.M.P. Steijnen, counsel,
of Zeist, the Netherlands.





Registry of the European Court of Human Rights
F - 67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Contacts:	Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)
	Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15)
Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91

The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal
with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On
1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original
two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.
       Press Release
Council of Europe Press Service
Ref: 981a01
Contact: Press Service
Tel: +33 3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 3 88 41 27 89
pressunit at coe.int
internet: www.coe.int/press


To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
Council.of.Europe.Press at coe.int

A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops common
responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 43 member states.


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