From amead at mail.maine.rr.com Tue Sep 4 08:50:36 2001 From: amead at mail.maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 08:50:36 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] A-PAL NEWSLETTER, 9/3/01 Message-ID: Albanian Prisoner Advocacy September 3, 2001 > A-PAL STATEMENT 229 Albanian prisoners remain in Serb prisons, 119 political cases and 100 criminal cases. The letter below is from a prisoner in Sremska Mitrovica prison in northern Serbia. He is 23 years old and was shot in the head at the Dubrava massacre in May, 1999. He has served three years of a ten year sentence. A-PAL urges a humanitarian release due to ongoing medical problems. We need a coordinated international effort to have these final cases transfered to the UNMIK judicial system. ************************************************** > >>: "I thank you very much for all your friendship .....but I would >>like to tell you that FOR US IT SEEMS LIKE OUR CASE IS NOT A >>PRIORITY FOR ALBANIAN LEADERS NOR FOR THE UN.I WOULD LIKE TO TELL >>YOU HOW WE HEARD BEFORE FROM THE UN THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE >>RELEASED MONTHS AGO. ...I would like to thank you and your friends >>for continuing with our case....I would like to tell you for my >>personal case that I am very sick and I don't have enough medical >>help.I don't know from whom I can request help.Please if you know >>from whom I can ask with one formal request ,("declaration"),please >>just tell me. >> >>I have been asking from the leader of Yugoslavia to release me from >>prison and to go somewhere in Europe to have 2 plastic surgery >>operations .But he never answered me at all...... >> >>Please write to me again and explain to me in detail when our case >>is going to finish......... ********************************************* >> September 3, 2001 Dear Secretary Powell, Over two years after the end of the war in Kosova, 229 Albanians remained detained in Serbian prisons. We, as their advocates, are asking for their immediate transfer to the UNMIK justice system. In June, 1999, 2,300 Albanians were transported into Serbia along with Serb judges from the courts in Kosova. However this action violated their international human rights set out in UN Resolution 1244 which states: -All rights and freedoms set forth in the European Conventions apply to Kosova -Anyone arrested in Kosova shall be subjected to Kosova's courts (it does not state that they shall be transfered to courts in Serbia, set up unilaterally by Slobodan Milosevic which is what happened). -Neither side will prosecute anyone for crimes related to the conflict -Defendant is entitled to have his trial transfered to a Kosova court of his choice. To summarize what has happened to date, of the 2,300 original prisoners: *1,800 were released because of bribes paid privately by families *1 was pardoned (Flora Brovina) * 35 minors were released in November, 1999 *400 were released through amnesty or review 100 criminal cases have not been processed. 119 political cases should be dismissed due to gross violations of human rights It is time for international leaders to openly insist that the cases of the Albanian prisoners be transfered to the UNMIK justice system. UNMIK now has a Belgrade office, but it will take a unified international effort to initiate this process and to follow through. No one must be left behind. Sincerely, Alice Mead >A-PAL (Albanian Prisoner Advocacy) -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 3380 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/a-pal/attachments/20010904/e73c4025/attachment.bin From amead at mail.maine.rr.com Sat Sep 8 11:12:02 2001 From: amead at mail.maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2001 11:12:02 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] a-pal newsletter 9/8/01 Message-ID: Albanian Prisoner Advocacy September 8, 2001 ( 229 Albanian prisoners remain in Serbia) A-PAL STATEMENT Below is a report on the methods of investigation of Albanians by Serb courts dating from 1997 and 1998. It repeatedly spells out the mutliple, gross legal violations these individuals were subjected to. A large number of these people are still being held in Serb prisons, two years after the war ended. They have been accused --for the most part--of terrorism. The treatment described here is entirely consistent with the treatment the Albanian prisoners have suffered during the NATO war and afterwards when they were abducted en masse into Serbia. The case of Nait Hasani, now in Nis Prison serving a 20 year sentence for terrorism, is described below. It omits the fact that Nait was later in the Dubrava Massacre, where he was gravely wounded. And that he was also in the Lipjan Prison Camp before being taken to Serbia. Serb government leader, Nebojsa Covic, and UNMIK leader Haekkerup have not yet resolved the transfer of the remaining Albanian prisoners to the UNMIK judiciary, where all cases of Kosovar citizens belong. There should be no need for their transfer, however. Obviously the violations described here should have resulted in the dismissal of their cases several years ago. All co-signers of the Geneva Conventions and UN protocols for law enforcement are fully responsible for the fair treatment of these prisoners. That would include the US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and other nations. A-PAL URGES THE WITHHOLDING OF FINANCIAL AID TO KOSOVA AND SERBIA UNTIL THIS PROBLEM IS RESOLVED BY HAEKKERUP AND COVIC. ************************************************ AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT, JUNE 30, 1998/ KEYWORDS: TRIALS1 / TORTURE/ILL-TREATMENT / ETHNIC GROUPS / CONFESSIONS / INCOMMUNICADO DETENTION / DEATH IN CUSTODY / NON-GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AS VICTIMS / INDEPENDENCE OF JUDICIARY / LAWYERS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Amnesty International June 30 1998 report on Yugoslavia and Kosovo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA A Human Rights Crisis in Kosovo Province Unfair trials and abuses of due process Introduction The Serbian authorities have consistently failed to ensure fair trials in political cases. Some 34 people were convicted and imprisoned in three major political trials in 1997 and another 16 people were convicted in absentia in the same trials. More criminal proceedings in similar cases are in process in 1998 and there may be many more unfair political trials to come. The cases of torture and ill-treatment described in the companion document to this report illustrate what happens to the majority of victims -- those who are ill-treated outside of police stations or detained or held by police even for relatively brief periods (see Deaths in custody, torture and ill-treatment, document #3 in this series, AI Index: EUR 70/34/98). The consequences for those who are detained for longer periods and subsequently put on trial can be even more serious: victims are coerced into making statements incriminating themselves or others which are subsequently accepted as evidence in court (1. Beyond the use of such testimony, Amnesty International is concerned about numerous reported violations of the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) and international standards in which victims are detained arbitrarily without due process, including by having their right to communicate freely with a defence lawyer violated. The situation in law The charges applied in political cases against ethnic Albanians are usually based on the Federal Criminal Code, which excludes the possibility of the death penalty, having substituted a maximum 20-year prison sentence in its place. The death penalty is possible for "aggravated murder" under the Serbian Criminal Code, although Amnesty International does not know of any recent cases in which ethnic Albanians in Kosovo province have been condemned to death. Two Serbs, Dejan Andjelkovi_ and Zlatan Zaki_, were sentenced to death in March 1998 for the premeditated murder of four members of the Cako family in Prizren in 1993. No executions are reported to have been carried out in Serbia since 1992. In Article 196, the CCP specifies that the police can only detain suspects for a maximum of three days, and then only in exceptional circumstances such as for the purposes of verifying alibis; police detention should not be a normal part of the judicial process. The police are normally required to inform and hand over the suspect to the investigating magistrate who will supervise the investigations while the suspect is detained in an investigatory prison. International standards such as the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment specify that a detainee should be entitled to communicate freely with his or her legal counsel and that this right can only be suspended in exceptional circumstances, and then only for a matter of days. These rights are laid down both as a safeguard against torture or ill-treatment and to ensure fair trials. The CCP, however, does not guarantee this right while detainees are in police custody, despite the fact that both the Federal and Serbian Constitutions (Articles 29 and 24, respectively) specify that "everyone has the right to be interrogated in the presence of defence counsel of his choice". The situation in practice The CCP is routinely abused. Suspects are held for the three days and frequently for much longer without being passed to the custody of an investigating magistrate. Defence lawyers allege that police also continue to interrogate detainees after their transfer to investigatory prisons. It is of particular concern that it is during this period that ill-treatment by police takes place; in the case of those suspected of more serious crimes such as terrorism, this often amounts to torture to extract statements by coercion. Without access to lawyers, detainees are also not given the opportunity of "necessary expert assistance" to appeal against the detention according to Article 196 of the CCP. Even more seriously, Articles 10 and 218, paragraph 8 of the CCP, which explicitly prohibit the extraction of statements from suspects or witnesses by use of force or threats, are routinely ignored during investigatory proceedings. Suspects are thus typically detained - without access to defence lawyers, family or doctors - for days, or sometimes even weeks, while police interrogate them using various methods of torture aimed at forcing them to sign "confessions" incriminating themselves and/or others. The forms of torture and ill-treatment appear to consist of combinations of beatings with fists, truncheons, rubber pipes or other blunt objects. In some cases electric shock batons are used as well as beating. The police have also reportedly used electric shock batons to minimize any visible signs of torture or ill-treatment which would otherwise result from beatings or similar physical stress. Even after transfer to investigatory prisons, defence lawyers are normally denied the opportunity to communicate freely and in confidence with their clients as required by the Body of Principles and the General Comment of the UN Human Rights Committee on Article 14 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)2. The CCP allows investigating magistrates to restrict communication between defendants and their defence lawyers before the indictment has been issued, or the investigations have been completed, without any checks or balances on this restriction (Article 74). In practice, defendants are also often denied free communication after the indictment has been issued. Unfair trials in 1997 The concerns cited above are illustrated by three political trials which were held in 1997. Between October 1996 and February 1997 Serbian police arrested at least 100 people in connection with investigations into armed attacks against Serbian police and civilians during 1996. The bulk of the arrests were made in January 1997. Some of the suspects were held incommunicado for many days: Besim Rama and Avni Nura were detained by police on 17 September 1996, but despite continuous efforts their family and defence lawyers were unable to obtain information about their whereabouts until early October. Then in early October, after at least 13 days' interrogation by police during which they allege they were tortured, the men were questioned by investigating magistrates. In the indictment their custody was recorded as having commenced on 29 September. Their lawyers were not allowed to be present during this interrogation. Only on 8 October were the lawyers able to visit their clients and even then were not able to speak freely with and discuss the charges against their clients. In addition Besim Rama's brother, Osman Rama, stated that he was bundled into a car by plainclothes police officers and taken to an unknown location where he was beaten and questioned about Besim's political activities. He was released and detained again for a further six days' interrogation during which he was tortured before being released. In January and February 1997 a new wave of arrests took place in which at least 100 people were arrested. Thirty five of these were subsequently tried and two, Besnik Restelica and Jonuz Zeneli, died in custody (for further information on the death of Jonuz Zeneli see the accompanying document, Deaths in custody, torture and ill-treatment, #3 in this series, AI Index: EUR 70/34/98). There were reports that most had been tortured or ill-treated during their detention and interrogation. One of the worst cases was represented by Nait Hasani who was arrested on 28 January 1997. On 29 January he was transferred by police to a hospital in Pris?tina, reportedly because he was in a coma as a result of the beatings he had received from the police. His family then found on 31 January that he had been abducted from the hospital. Despite their efforts to obtain information from the police about his whereabouts and denials from the authorities about any involvement with his abduction, he reappeared on 28 February when he was brought before an investigating magistrate and questioned in the presence of his defence lawyer. His lawyer later reported that his client had told him that he had been taken by police to an unknown location where he was tied to a bed and tortured with electric shocks and was ill-treated in other ways with the aim of forcing him to sign incriminating "confessions". Those arrested between October 1996 and February 1997 were subsequently indicted in three groups which came to trial between May and December 1997. The trial of Avni Klinaku and 17 others In May 1997 Avni Klinaku, 15 other ethnic Albanian men and two women were sentenced to imprisonment of between two and 10 years duration. Another two men were convicted in absentia at the same trial. The charges against them were various combinations of Article 136 of the Federal Criminal Code - "Association for the purpose of hostile activity", and Article 116 - "endangering the territorial integrity [of FR Yugoslavia]". Six of them, including Avni Klinaku himself, were also convicted under Article 125 - "terrorism". They were accused of forming or belonging to a clandestine organization called the National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo (NMLK) whose aim was allegedly to attempt, by the use of force, to detach Kosovo province and other areas of FR Yugoslavia inhabited by ethnic Albanians and form a separate state which would unite with Albania. Five were accused of having planned and prepared for an armed attack on a police patrol, and another four were accused of having handled arms. The others were mostly accused of having produced or distributed the organization's newspaper ?lirimi ("Liberation") or having recruited members to the organization. Many of the defendants denied that they had been involved in "terrorism" and 10 claimed that they had done no more than distribute ?lirimi. Five denied that they had even been members of the organization. At the trial eleven of the defendants submitted statements to the effect that they had been tortured or ill-treated during interrogation and that they had given statements under duress. According to the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre (HLC) the defendant Emin Salahu described in detail how he was tortured before he gave his statement: "a gas mask was placed over his face, paper was pushed into his mouth, he was beaten with rubber and electric clubs on the hands, legs and kidney areas and threatened with the administration of drugs."3 In the written judgement the judge recorded that Ermin Salahu "did not want to give his defence because the statements ... were the result of the application of coercion, force and violence against him". Other defendants similarly retracted their statements in court, although the written judgment recorded only three of them as having complained of torture (Enver Dugolli, for example, complained of torture4, but his complaint was not recorded in the written judgment). Statements extracted under torture during the initial period of interrogation were apparently presented and accepted by the court as some of the most substantial evidence for the prosecution. A report by Elisabeth Rehn, then UN Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights responsible for FR Yugoslavia, which was based on the observations of her field officers at the time of the trial, found numerous other violations of international standards of fair trial (5. According to some of the defence lawyers, two lay members sitting on the bench with the judges were retired police officers, thus undermining the appearance of independence and impartiality of the court. More significantly the defendants were denied an adequate opportunity to prepare their defence. Defence lawyers were denied access to almost all relevant trial documents until two weeks before the trial commenced. In addition, according to the UN report, some of the defendants only gained defence lawyers after they entered court at the opening of the trial. Those who had defence lawyers before the trial were not in any case able to communicate with them in private as guards were always in earshot. Defendants were thus not even free to complain to their lawyers of the torture and ill-treatment they said they had suffered. According to the HLC no witness testimony was presented (other than the examination of the defendants themselves) and the only non-documentary evidence was one machine gun. When challenged by the defence lawyers to produce other weapons they allegedly possessed, the prosecution admitted that no others had been found and that the other weapons figured in the defendants "confessions". The judgment nevertheless recorded them as having possessed the weapons. Documentary evidence, in addition to the NMLK statute and copies of ?lirimi, reportedly also consisted of photocopies and police lists of objects found in searches. Although some defendants admitted parts of the charges, such as membership of the NMLK and producing and distributing ?lirimi, others denied the substance of the charges in total. For example, Shukrije Rexha was recorded in the judgement as stating that three articles written by her had appeared in ?lirimi, but that she had had little contact with the editors and had not had time to learn of the nature of the organization. Further concerns stem from the fact that nearly eight months passed between the issuing of the verdicts in court on 30 May 1997 and the receipt of the written judgment by the defence lawyers on 31 January 1998. Although, in accordance with international standards, the initial trial was held and concluded promptly, the defendants have been hugely delayed in their opportunity to submit appeals which had to await the written judgment. No investigations are known to have been initiated into the defendants' allegations of extraction of statements by means of torture. In light of the range of concerns listed above and others for which there is not space here, Amnesty International believes that the defendants in this case did not receive a fair trial and should be given the opportunity of a retrial in accordance with international standards. The trial of Besim Rama and others In June 1997 the trial of a second group of 15 defendants started. Of the defendants only three - Besim Rama, Avni Nura and Idriz Asllani - were in court; 12 other men were tried in absentia. All were convicted the following month and were sentenced to between four and 20 years' imprisonment. One of those tried in absentia was Adem Jashari (for the subsequent fate of whom see the accompanying document Violence in Drenica, #2 in this series, AI Index: EUR 70/33/98). They were convicted variously of having received military training in Albania and, as members of the KLA, having perpetrated a number of violent acts between 1993 and 1996 including attacks on police patrols in which police officers were killed, and attacks on centres where Serbian refugees were housed. Observers at the trial, who included a delegate of the Swedish Section of the International Commission of Jurists (6, made similar observations as to the fairness of the trial as in the case of the Klinaku trial. There were numerous violations of the CCP and international standards in the pre-trial process, notably denial of access to defence counsel and the illegal detention of two of the accused for 16 days in September 1997. At the trial the defendants complained that confessions had been obtained by torture, and their lawyers complained that they had been denied access to documentary evidence. Besim Rama withdrew all the statements he made during the interrogation and admitted only a small part of the charges against him. According to the judgment, which was not received by the defence lawyers until February 1998, the court nevertheless placed great weight on the defendants' pre-trial statements which appeared to be accepted as the main evidence for their guilt. The trial of Nait Hasani and 16 others In December 1997 the third group headed by Nait Hasani was convicted on similar charges to those in the Besim Rama trial. Two more defendants were tried in absentia and another two died before the trial - one of them, Jonuz Zeneli, in custody (see above). Amnesty International had similar concerns about the fairness of their trial, and other human rights violations that occurred in the case, particularly with regards to the unacknowledged detention of Nait Hasani for one month in February 1997 (see above). In addition Amnesty International was concerned about the safety of the defence lawyers in this trial, following an attack on one of the lawyers, Hasan Hoti, by three unidentified armed men, believed to be Serbs, in November 1997. As of June 1998 the written judgment has still not been issued for this trial. Unfair trials in 1998 The trial of Mehmet Mem?aj and three others in Prizren, May 1998 On 27 May 1998 five men, the first named being Mehmet Mem?aj, were convicted in the Prizren District Court, one of them in absentia, and were subsequently sentenced to between three and seven years' imprisonment. The men were arrested in and around Prizren between 27 and 28 February 1998. The police announced the names of four of them and another man, who was later released, as having been taken into custody "on the occasion of the terrorist attacks of 28 February and 1 March 1998", referring to the incidents in Likos?ane and _irez on those days (see the accompanying document Violence in Drenica, #2 in this series, AI Index: EUR 70/33/98). The subsequent indictment made absolutely no connection with the Likos?ane incidents, but accused them of placing a bomb in Prizren (which apparently failed to explode), possessing and smuggling arms, and being members of an organization called the National Movement for the Republic of Kosovo. Their lawyers complained that they were not given access to their clients until 3 March and were still then unable to speak in confidence to them. The detainees also complained that they had been subjected to torture by police with electric shock batons to extract "confessions" from them, although they were unable to reveal all the details because of the presence of guards during the lawyers' visits. They also complained that the police had continued to interrogate and torture them after they had been placed in the custody of the investigating magistrate because of the "incomplete" statements they had given to the investigating magistrates. Amnesty International has yet to obtain full details of the trial, but believes that there are already strong indications to doubt the fairness of the trial. As of late May 1998 there were at least dozens of other ethnic Albanians in detention in similar political cases, some of whom have been indicted. Amnesty International is seeking details of these detainees amid fears that they too have been tortured or ill-treated in custody and will face unfair trials. Amnesty International's recommendations To the Serbian and Yugoslav authorities * The authorities should take action to ensure that adequate standards are maintained in the administration of policing and dispensing of justice. Particular attention should be paid to ending the routine ill-treatment or torture of suspects in police custody. As a vital first step they should enforce in practice the right of a defendant to be interrogated in the presence of a defence lawyer of his/her choice under Article 29 of the Constitution of the FRY and Article 24 of the Serbian Constitution. The Code of Criminal Procedure should be brought in to harmony with the Constitution and international human rights standards as soon as possible. * The authorities should take further steps to ensure that defendants in political trials receive fair trials. These should include ensuring the defendant's right to communicate in private with his or her legal representative at all stages of the legal process. * The authorities should ensure that statements extracted by means of torture are not used as evidence in trials and that in all cases allegations that defendants have been tortured or ill-treated are promptly investigated and that those responsible are held to account. * The authorities should ensure that criminal investigations and procedures are initiated to hold to account any officers suspected of ordering or perpetrating human rights violations. * The authorities should ensure that all members of the security forces carrying out law enforcement functions in Kosovo province are acquainted with and trained in the application of the following international standards: * The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials * The UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment * The authorities should allow the opening of the field office of the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which the High Commissioner has requested in Pris?tina. * The authorities should grant permission for an extended temporary human rights monitoring mission of the OHCHR as recommended in the letter of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia, Ji_? Dienstbier, to the UN Commission on Human Rights dated 14 April 1998. * The authorities should grant permission for the redeployment of the Mission of Long-Duration of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. To all UN contributor governments * The contributing governments should ensure that the OHCHR field offices in Yugoslavia are properly resourced to meet the demands placed upon them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1 This practice is in violation of Article 15 of the UN Convention against Torture, which requires that "... any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made." Furthermore, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has underscored the role of the judiciary in ensuring this rule is respected and thereby preventing torture. (EICN.4/1992/17, page 103, paragraph 280). (2 In its General Comment 13 (Article 14, Twenty-first session, 1984) the Human Rights Committee stated that 14(3) (b) of the ICCPR ".. requires counsel to communicate with the accused in conditions giving full respect for the confidentiality of their communications. Lawyers should be able to counsel and to represent their clients in accordance with their established professional standards and judgement without any restrictions, influences, pressures or undue interference from any quarter." (HRI/GEN/1, page 15, paragraph 9). (3 HLC Communiqu?, Pris?tina court rules without evidence, 2 June 1997. (4 Cited in Two trials of Kosovo Albanians charged with offences against the State in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1997, document of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (E/CN.4/1998/9). (5 Two trials of Kosovo Albanians charged with offences against the State in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1997, document of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (E/CN.4/1998/9). (6 Report to the Swedish Section of the International Commission of Jurists from Judge Bengt Bondeson and Public Prosecutor, Sara K?llberg, Stockholm, concerning observer assignments at the District Court in Pris?tina, Yugoslavia on 3-6 June 1997. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT, 1 EASTON STREET, LONDON WC1X 8DJ, UNITED KINGDOM ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Menu] [dDH] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 27121 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/a-pal/attachments/20010908/aca36efe/attachment.bin From amead at mail.maine.rr.com Sat Sep 8 11:28:05 2001 From: amead at mail.maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2001 11:28:05 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] A-pal on MISSING and instructions for e-mail action on petition "RETURN" Message-ID: Albanian Prisoner Advocacy September 8, 2001 A-PAL/ ON NON-ALBANIAN MISSING BELOW IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE EMAIL ACTION CAMPAIGN NOW GAINING WIDE INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR INVESTIGATION OF NON-ALBANIAN MISSING IN KOSOVA. MASS GRAVES LOCATED IN SERBIA ARE GIVING GRIEVING ALBANIAN FAMILIES ANSWERS TO THE ANGUISHED QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR MISSING LOVED ONES. THE SEARCH FOR MISSING SHOULD IN NO WAY BE ETHNICALLY DETERMINED--ALL GRIEVING FAMILIES SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY AND HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES TO RESOLVE THIS TERRIBLE PROBLEM. RESOLUTION OF THIS ISSUE WILL TAKE CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION, TRUST, AND RESTRAINT ON ALL SIDES. ULTIMATELY: FAMILIES HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW. ******************************************* ANYONE WHO KNOWS OF A GRAVESITE IN KOSOVA SHOULD GIVE THAT INFORMATION TO EITHER ICRC OR UNHCHR. ICRC HAS OFFICES IN EVERY VILLAGE THROUGHOUT KOSOVA. THOSE ORGANIZATIONS TREAT ALL SUCH INFORMATION CONFIDENTIALLY. THE PERSON WHO GIVES DETAILS OF THE LOCATION OF A SITE CANNOT BE PROSECUTED FOR DOING SO AND HIS/HER IDENTITY WILL BE PROTECTED. MANY PEOPLE FEAR REVENGE IF THEY EVEN DISCUSS THIS SUBJECT. BUT THE RIGHTS OF GRIEVING FAMILIES MUST COME FIRST. ******************************************* The following email action campaign has been organized by NGO's in Belgrade. > >Dear friends, if you already received this from Kosovo Peony, just >use delete buton. If youd didn't, please take a few minutes and send >your personal e-mail. Those who have made special groups by previous >instructions, don't need to change anything. THANKS! >TOGETHER, WE ARE THE VOICE OF ALL FAMILIES OF MISSING OR DETAINED IN >KOSOVO, REFUGEES, ORDINARY PEOPLE, WHO HAVE NO OTHER SPOKESPERSON >BUT US! > >Dragi prijatelji, ukoliko ste ovo vec dobili od Kosovskog bozura, >molim vas izvinite i izbrisite. Oni koji su vec napravili grupe i >e-mail po prethodnom uputstvu, ne treba nista da menjaju, naravno. > >Easy instructions for e-mail action on petition "RETURN" / >Jednostavne instrukcije za e-mail akciju peticije "POVRATAK": > >Who are we sending our plea? Kome saljemo nasu molbu? >ICTY (Haski Tribunal), Mr. Hans Hakerup UNMIK, U.S Mission to the >UN, Alex Schmid UNDC, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, Mr. Carl Bilt, EU >monitoring mission, HCIC Pristina, Human Rights IS Council of >Europe, Human Rights Watch, KFOR Boundstil, KFOR Press and >Information Centre, Kim Burton AI, Mr. Smart Eze UNDC, Mr.Richard >Towle, Chief of UNHCR Mission in YU, Ms Doris Pack, EP, Ms. Mary >Robinson, OHCHR - HC for HR, OSCE, Spokesperson Roland Bless, >R.W.Huckaby, Rachel Bien HRW, U.S Mission to the UN, UN Secretary >General Kofi Anan, UN Volonteers, UN Zeneva, UNDC THB i Medijima po >ovonedeljnom izboru. > >SEND YOUR PREPARED PERSONAL LETTER (FIND BELOW TEXT OF THE LETTER) >AT LEAST THREE TIMES A WEEK, PLEASE! >MOLIMO VAS DA PRIPREMLJENO PISMO KOJE JE U PRILOGU SALJETE SA VASE >ADRESE BAR TRI PUTA U TOKU NEDELJE! > >Guidelines / Instrukcije: >* Create a new message / Kreiraj novu poruku >* In field TO: copy - paste the following e-mail addresses / U polje >TO: kopiraj i umetni sledece elektronske adrese: >cicp.tpb at cicp.un.or.at; sscarpel at amnesty.org; carl.bildt at moderat.se; >prro_pristina at ecmm.org; yughcic at unhcr.ch; HumanRights.Info at coe.int; >HRWpress at hrw.org; office at icty.org; pao at bondsteel2.areur.army.mil; >kforcpic at main.kfor.nato.int; kburton at amnesty.org; >haekkerup at unmik.org; smart.eze at odccp.org; rtowle at unhchr.org.yu; >dpack at europarl.eu.int; webadmin.hchr at unog.ch; info at osce.org; >pristina at diplomats.com; bienr at hrw.org; usa at un.int; >perry-carpenter at un.org; information at unv.org; webmaster at unog.ch; >cicp.thb at cicp.un.or.at >* Enter into the Subject line (copy - paste) / U Subject polje unesi >(kopiraj i umetni): >Help us regain the trust and faith in humanity and justice that the >UN Charter guarantees to ALL NATIONS in the world! >* Copy the text of our appeal below horizontal line using famous >copy-paste technique (from Dear Sir/Madam...) and DON'T FORGET TO >SIGN YOUR NAME (AND/OR THE NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION) UNDER THE >"SINCERELY" and TO CHANGE >THE FIRST SENTENCE IN "I AM" INSTEAD OF "WE ARE" IF YOU ARE A >PERSON, NOT ORGANIZATION! / Kopiraj tekst nase molbe ispod >horizontalne crte koristeci cuvenu kopiraj - umetni tehniku (from >Dear Sir/Madam...) i NE ZABORAVITE DA POTPISETE SVOJE IME (I/ILI >NAZIV ORGANIZACIJE) ISPOD "SINCERELY" i DA ISPRAVITE U PRVOM PASUSU >"I AM" UMESTO "WE ARE" UKOLIKO PISETE KAO POJEDINAC! >* Click on Messages menu, select Set Priority and then High (valid >for Outlook Express) (there is Priority button on the toolbar); this >is optional / Klikni na Messages meni, izaberi Set Priority opciju, >a zatim, High (ovo vazi za Outlook Express) (postoji i Priority >dugme na toolbaru); ovo nije obavezno > >LETTER TEXT / TEKST PISMA: >________________ >Dear Sir/Madam, > >We are writing to you in support of the petition "RETURN AND EQUAL >CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL IN KOSOVO AND METOHIA", see the latest update >of the signatories on >http://www.inet.co.yu/i >net/d/20010822/v4.html or >http://www.bndlg.de/~wp >larre/appeal010820.htm >We would appreciate if you could take a few moments and read this letter. > >This appeal is addressed to the relevant authorities involved in the >running and building of the future for Kosovo. It is also an >invitation for the decision makers, people of prominence and >citizens of the world to use their power, influence and compassion >to help us secure the return of the displaced and discover the fate >of ALL missing citizens in Kosovo. This civilization and this >humanity owes the former return to their homes and later, the >decency to either have them properly buried or returned to their >families. > >For your information, this appeal has been signed by more than one >hundred Yugoslav and international Non-governmental organizations >and institutions. >In addition, as is evident from the list of petition signatories, >several hundreds prominent and caring individuals also gave it their >support. Please bear in mind that those signatures are not just dry >ink on paper. They signify a desperate plea for help by more than >250,000 still displaced Serbs and non-Albanian citizens of Kosovo. >Likewise, they symbolize a three-year long anguish and tears of the >families still looking for their abducted and missing kin - 1,300 of >them. Please see the latest database on missing >http://arhiva.inet.co.yu/inet/d/20010901/list.html >It was bad enough that these unfortunate people were ignored by the >previous Milosevic regime which remained silent on this issue in the >past with regards to both, missing Serbs and Albanians. Mr. William >Walker, heading the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission in 1998/99, had >done considerable work on behalf of missing Albanians, but had not >lifted a finger then or since to also deal with missing Serbs and >non-Albanians. > >Since coming to power on 5. October, 2000 the democratic government >of Yugoslavia, has done its duty and resolved many cases of missing >Albanians in Serbia proper, giving Albanian families a peace of >mind. Mandated by the Resolution 1244, the UN is obligated to do the >same in Kosovo and Metohia and should do it without any further >delay! > >Our appeal to find the 1,300 missing Serbs and non-Albanians has >been in circulation world-wide and some small progress was made >since its initiation. The UNMIK and the Serbian government have set >up a joint Contact Group to uncover the fate of 1,300 abducted and >missing non-Albanians. So far, only ten bodies were exhumed but the >work on identifying the bodies is still conducted only on Albanian >victims of war. > >Please give our efforts your full support. Help those desolate >people regain the trust and faith in humanity and justice, something >that the UN Charter guarantees to ALL NATIONS in the world! > >Thank you. > >Sincerely, >_____________ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 8126 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/a-pal/attachments/20010908/0cb5255b/attachment.bin From amead at mail.maine.rr.com Mon Sep 10 09:59:36 2001 From: amead at mail.maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 09:59:36 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] a-pal newsletter 9/10/01 Message-ID: Albanian Prisoner Advocacy September 10, 2001 A-PAL STATEMENT The outrage continues. Despite renewed efforts at obtaining the release or transfer of the remaining Albanian prisoners, the so-called District Courts of Kosova (now operating without UNMIK jurisdiction in Serbia) are still denying justice for Albanians accused of terrorism during the hostilities in Kosova. These particular prisoners have been illegally detained since 1998. There is no valid evidence against them. They were denied the right to defend themselves. All were severely tortured. Two prisoners were killed at Dubrava. Is not the Pristina District Court located in Pristina? If you answered yes, you would be wrong. The Pristina Court claims itself to be located in Nis, Serbia! It also claims to have sole jurisdiction over the citizens of Kosova. This is the court that sentenced Flora Brovina to 12 years for terrorism because of some bags of yarn in her office. It is equally stupefying that Hans Haekkerup, Ibrahim Rugova, Hasim Thaci, Amnesty International, UNHCHR, ICRC, Human Rights Watch have no comment to make about the continued defiant operation of these courts arbitrarily set up by Slobodan Milosevic to prosecute the cases of the Albanians he brought into Serbia on June 10, 1999. ******************************************************************** >Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 10:07:35 -0700 >From: humanitarian law center >Subject: HLC - PRESS - JUDGMENT DELIVERED TO KOSOVO ALBANIANS TWO AND A HALF > YEARS AFTER BEING PRONOUNCED >Another four Kosovo Albanians - Sulejman Bytiqi, Besim Zumberi, >Skender Ferizi and Agim Rechica - who are charged with of acts of >terrorism, are still in the penitentiaries at Nis and Sremska >Mitrovica. > >JUDGMENT DELIVERED TO KOSOVO ALBANIANS TWO AND A HALF YEARS AFTER >BEING PRONOUNCED > > > >Four Kosovo Albanians from the so-called "Urosevac Group" received >the judgment handed down against them by the Pristina District Court >two and a half years after the event. The Court thus denied these >four men, who >have been illegally held since June 1998, the right to defend >themselves. Their defense counsel, including Humanitarian Law Center >attorneys, can only now lodge an appeal with the Serbian Supreme >Court. > >On 5 February 1999, a panel of the Pristina District Court presided >by Judge Dragoljub Zdravkovic found 26 Albanians from the Kosovo >town of Urosevac, 17 of whom were tried in absentia, guilty of >seditious conspiracy and/or terrorism and sentenced them to prison >terms ranging from two to 15 years. > >The Court's decision was based on confessions extracted by torture. >Cen Dugolli and Rexhep Bislimi died in July 1998 after being >tortured by State Security inspectors at the police station in >Gnjilane and the Pristina prison. Xhavit Zariqi was severely beaten >and subjected to electric shocks almost every day from 28 June to 20 >July 1998 by State >Security Inspectors Rajko Doder and Radovan Klaric and some 20 >police officers. As a result of this brutal treatment, Zariqi, who >was sentenced to three years in prison, is now unable to move about >without assistance. > >Zariqi and Haxhi Bytiqi were released until their sentences become >final as they received terms of less than five years. Enver Topalli >and Ahmet Hoxha were killed during the NATO bombing of the Dubrava >Penitentiary in Kosovo. Ilber Topalli was released in March 2001 >under the Amnesty Act. > >Another four Kosovo Albanians - Sulejman Bytiqi, Besim Zumberi, >Skender Ferizi and Agim Rechica - who are charged with of acts of >terrorism, are still in the penitentiaries at Nis and Sremska >Mitrovica. > >For more information please contact Mojca Sivert >Tel./fax: 381 11 444-3944, 381 11 444-1487; e-mail: mojca at hlc.org.yu > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 4000 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/a-pal/attachments/20010910/10012821/attachment.bin From amead at mail.maine.rr.com Mon Sep 24 11:38:06 2001 From: amead at mail.maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 11:38:06 -0400 Subject: [A-PAL] Albanian Prisoner Advocacy Newsletter 9/21/01 Message-ID: Albanian Prisoner Advocacy September 21, 2001 IMPORTANT UPDATE on Albanian Prisoners! Despite the dreadful news of the terrorist attacks in the USA, some progress has been made on the Albanian prisoner issue. On September 11, we have all had a horrific reminder of the urgency of preserving human freedom from brutal and unlawful acts. We must get back to our lives and responsibilities to help free others who are deprived of their basic liberty and freedoms. On September 12,2001, Serb and Kosovar officials reached a transfer agreement that guarantees the transfer of the approximately 200 remaining Albanian prisoners to the jurisdiction of UNMIK in Kosova. A new branch of UNMIK-- The Judicial International Administration--will oversee the transfer. UNMIK justice department administrator, John-Christian Cady, has now a list of all detainees, including their location, and the date and length of their sentences. Meanwhile, Serb Supreme Court president Lepa Karamarkovic is collecting all the prison documents in preparation for the transfer. However, there is still no agreed-upon date for the transfer to take place. In addition, UNMIK leaders have discussed with Mr. Covic the importance of dismantling the parallel judge system by which Milosevic "moved" the courts of Kosova to various locations in Serbia and then tried the Albanians with these artificial courts. Prisoners's cases will be reviewed by UNMIK. Those who need to be in detention will be placed in the renovated Dubrava Prison, where they will have immediate access to family members, lawyers, and friends. The Dubrava Prison will be run in accordance with international humanitarian standards. While this news may sound positive to outsiders, anxious families in Kosova have become increasingly fearful that somehow even this joint effort will fail and their loved ones will not be released, especially because there is not set date for the transfer to take place. Therefore, we urge all A-PAL activists to continue their pressure on leaders everywhere to follow through and make sure these people return home. It is sustained international pressure that has brought about this agreement. Now we must make sure that it takes place soon. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIRELESS EFFORTS IN KEEPING THE ALBANIAN PRISONER ISSUE IN THE FOREFRONT OF INTERNATIONAL POLICY. WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THE LAST ONE RETURNS TO KOSOVA. READ ON FOR DETAILS......... __________________________________________________ Prisoners and their families still need support: regarding torture, housing, rehabilitation and bribes for release, which still continue. ***************************************************** Merita Mazreku recently visited the APP office in Prishtina. Her husband Hasan is being held in Zajecar prison in Serbia, where he is serving a 6 year sentence along with this two brothers all from Drenoc near Decan. Merita lost four brothers in the war and her father is missing. She has been living for over 2 years in one room cleared of rubble in her bombed-out house. She has four children ages 10, 9, 7, and 4. There are no doors or windows in the house. Her neighbors give her money to feed and clothe the children. She has received 110 Dm from the APP office but has no other source of support. A 33 year old man from Prishtina was released from prison in April. He had been violently beaten in his pelvis during interrogation and also in prison. A tumor began to grow on the site. When he was released and got home, the tumor grew very quickly. It is now so large that he can no longer walk. A biopsy has revealed that it is not malignant, but is pressing on nerves and he is great pain. No doctors at Prishtina hospital are able to help him with the surgery he needs. Bedri Kukalaj's father repeatedly visited the APP office recently, worried about his son's health. He said that the bullets from the Dubrava massacre are still embedded in Bedri's jaw. The family has asked for a doctor to visit him but the prison doctor has refused this. He was arrested in a village near Decan in 1998. Three other Albanians were shot during the arrest and died. Three others besides Bedri survived. Released prisoner, Avni M, who was injured in the Dubrava Massacre came to give his statement regarding the massacre and torture. Avni was arrested in Junik in June, 1998. He was arrested in the woods for bringing arms into Kosova. There he was beaten with rifles and clubs. Two other men, one his brother, were executed on the spot. He was taken to Gjakova Prison where he was tortured for six days, beaten with baseball bats and was nearly kicked to death. Later he was wounded in the Dubrava Massacre by a grenade in the courtyard. His arm was amputated in Prishtina Hospital on June 2, 1999. Then he was taken to Lipjan Prison, but was again retured to the hospital. He was left alone there until NATO forces arrived. His house and everything in it was destroyed. He is now a member of the Baba Loc Invalid Association in Decan. Zejadin had come to Prishtina on May 19, 1999 because his village near Podujevo was destroyed. He and his brothers were arrested in the city and taken to the police station, where they were beaten all day with bats, chairs, and fists. Then he was taken to Lipjan with 20 people and put in the gymnasium with 300 others. There was no food and hardly any bread. Conditions there were horrible. His whole body was black from bruises. His brother Hussen was violently tortured in Lipjan, and beaten all over. His spine was damaged from this. Their house was in Letanc but is completely destroyed. ESCAPE! BRIBES AND CORRUPTION CONTINUE! Fehmi H. gave his statement. He was arrested on May 22, 1999 and entered Kosova again in August, 2001. He was arrested in Vushtri where 400 people were put in the sports hall while the security police took information. He was then sent to prison where he was asked if he was in KLA. He said he was not. They took him on the second floor and beat him. They drew up a confessions saying he had shot policemen in five villages, but he denied it. They had him handcuffed and took off his clothes. They beat him on the genitals with wire. They poured water on him and beat him some more. Kicking him and then put him in a cell where he couldn't sleep for two days. They said they would shoot him because he wouldn't sign. He was sentenced to 11 years. His family paid 15,000 DM for a defense lawyer, but the lawyer did nothing. In July 10, 2001, his case was reviewed in Krajleva and some Serb witnesses came from Vushtri to testify against them. He didn't know them but gave APP their names. He was then transfered to Smedereva Prison in Presevo with three other Albanians. There 3 Serbs telephoned them and said for 20,000 DM a piece they could all be released. His family paid and he was released and the four reentered Kosova illegally. From Drenoc. Lah Nitaj's brothers are both in Zajecar Prison. The family had paid 20,000 DM each for the reduction of their sentence from 15 years(sentenced Feb. 2000) to 2.5 years in June 2001. Now he had been called by two lawyers to say that they could be released now if they paid another 10,000 DM. UNHCHR investigated and they were released and are now home. ------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 7453 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/a-pal/attachments/20010924/2408e5b1/attachment.bin