From mentor at alb-net.com Thu Mar 9 23:32:20 2000 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Thu Mar 9 23:32:20 2000 Subject: [Kcc-News] Kosovo student leader defies Serb court Message-ID: http://www.clari.net/hot/wed/bx/Qyugo-kosovo-trial.RCR8_AM9.html Kosovo student leader defies Serb court Thursday, 09-Mar-2000 10:20AM NIS, Yugoslavia, March 9 (AFP) - A Kosovar student leader refused to defend himself before a Serb court Thursday and accused Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's regime of "fascism" as his trial on terrorism charges began. As leader of the Kosovo Albanians Independent Student Union, Albin Kurti led street protests against Serbian rule in his home province in 1997 and 1998. He was arrested by Serbian police during NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia last year and if convicted faces up to 20 years in jail for joining a "terrorist group," the term used in Belgrade for the separatist guerrilla movement, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Kurti, who worked as an assistant to KLA spokesman Adem Demaci, made a defiant statement as the trial opened in a courthouse in Nis, but refused to mount a defence or respond to prosecution questions, saying he did not recognise the legitimacy of the court. "This court has nothing to do with truth and justice, it serves the policies of Milosevic's regime which has kept Kosovo under occupation," he said. "Our Union was against the Serbian regime, which, with its military and police forces, has committed terror and systematic repression against the Albanian people," Kurti said in Albanian, his words translated into Serbian by an interpreter. As Demaci's assistant, Kurti said he had tried "to present, as best as possible, the KLA and its liberation war." "The KLA liberation war is a justified struggle which has a holy goal -- the independence of the republic of Kosovo and liberation of the Albanian people from Milosevic's fascist regime," he said. "I have no reason to defend myself or to respond to anyone and any charges," Kurti said, adding that he would not answer any questions by the prosecutor or judge. At the end of his speech to the court, he said: "It is not important for me whether you sentence me or for how long." "Everything I did, I did voluntarily, with dignity and I am proud of it and would do it again," Kurti said. The trial, attended by the representatives of the UN Human Rights office in Belgrade, Human Rights Watch and Belgrade non-government groups Humanitarian Law Center and Committee of Jurists, is to resume on March 13. Kurti is among some 1,300 Kosovo Albanians who are still being held in Serbia on terrorism charges, according to the Humanitarian Law Center. In December, ethnic Albanian human rights activist Flora Brovina was sentenced to 12 years in prison for "terrorist activities" in a trial condemned by the United States and international human rights groups. More than 230 Albanians have been released since mid-June, when Belgrade transferred roughly 2,050 prisoners from Kosovo when it was forced by NATO air attacks to withdraw its forces from the southern Serbian province, the centre said. Story from AFP Copyright 2000 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Mar 15 00:50:13 2000 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed Mar 15 00:50:13 2000 Subject: [Kcc-News] Albin Kurti sentenced to 15 years imprisonment (http://www.FreeAlbinKurti.com) Message-ID: More more info on Albin Kurti please visit: ************* http://www.FreeAlbinKurti.com ************ ************* http://www.FreeAlbinKurti.com ************ Taken from Koha Ditore, March 15, 2000 Albin Kurti sentenced to 15 years imprisonment NISH, March 13 - The District Court of Nish today sentenced Albanian student leader Albin Kurti to 15 years imprisonment, on charges of criminal acts against the territorial integrity of the former Yugoslavia and involvement in subversive terrorist activity. The acting defense lawyer, Branislav Circic, declared that he would appeal the decision, while Kurti did not react to the ruling. Circic, responding to Kurti's statement that he does not recognize the court nor his lawyer, said that everyone is entitled to defend themselves the way that they deem appropriate. Present in the courtroom today were representatives of the United States office in Belgrade, Human Rights Watch, and representatives of the nongovernmental organizations Women in Black and Group 484, but they declined to comment on the court's ruling. Hisni Biti?i, a lawyer from the Humanitarian Rights Fund, said that Kurti's sentencing is the only case where an offense -- namely, the organization of a rally without permission -- has been punished by a 15 year sentence. The prosecutor in the case against the Albanian student leader Albin Kurti requested from the lower court that Kurti be sentenced for acts against the Serbian state, while Kurti's lawyer demanded that Kurti be released. The deputy prosecutor in the case changed the charge against Kurti, whereby the part that stated that Kurti has allegedly committed these acts during wartime, was omitted. "Even though the accused has a negative opinion of Serbia, does not recognize its organs and its court, I think that he has committed milder criminal acts -- he has illegally made efforts to secede a part of Serbia," said the deputy prosecutor of the district court. He added that the accused has displayed "a constant hate against the Serbian nation." "It is not a surprise that he does not like -- even hates -- the regime, in this case the Serbian one, but it is incomprehensible that he hates the entire nation," said the deputy prosecutor. He stated that Kurti made a series of attempts in late 1997 to organize demonstrations with the purpose of "separating Kosova from the former Yugoslavia, while in August 1998 he became a member of the U?K [Kosova Liberation Army] and as a secretary and political representative of this military organization he carried out specific duties." The deputy prosecutor said that Kurti has organized courses for first aid and voluntary blood donation, and has conducted press conferences where he spoke about the goals and principles of the U?K. Kurti's acting defense lawyer, Branislav Circic, proposed to the court that the accused be released and that all charges be dropped, and end his detainment since it has not been proven that Kurti committed any crime, nor is there any indication that he has. "The person beside me is not my representative. The judge, the prosecutor, the lawyer are all the same to me, I do not recognize them," said Kurti, adding that he has nothing else to add to his initial statement, made on March 9. At the first day of the trial, on March 9, Kurti stated in the court that he does not feel guilty and that there is no one there for him to present any defense. In the courtroom Kurti spoke in Albanian and several times corrected the court interpreter by explaining to him what he meant in fluent Serbian. "I do not recognize this court, I can be tried only by a court of my people. I do not recognize this court just as I do not recognize Serbia nor Yugoslavia. This court is in the service of the fascist regime of Slobodan Milosevic," said Kurti, and explained that he does not want a lawyer because, "I represent myself." ************* http://www.FreeAlbinKurti.com ************ ************* http://www.FreeAlbinKurti.com ************ From mentor at alb-net.com Tue Mar 21 07:17:24 2000 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Tue Mar 21 07:17:24 2000 Subject: [Kcc-News] Human Rights Watch: Serb gang-rapes in Kosovo exposed (fwd) Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2000 13:11:44 -0500 From: Skye Donald To: donalds at hrw.org Subject: Serb gang-rapes in Kosovo exposed EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 AM GMT TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2000 SERB GANG-RAPES IN KOSOVO EXPOSED (New York, March 21, 2000) -- Commanding officers bear criminal responsibility for a pattern of gang-rapes by Serbian and Yugoslav forces in Kosovo during the NATO bombing campaign, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch documented 96 cases of rape by Serbian and Yugoslav forces against Kosovar Albanian women immediately before and during the 1999 bombing campaign, and believes that many more incidents of rape have gone unreported. The report said that rapes were not rare and isolated acts committed by individuals, but rather were used deliberately as an instrument to terrorize the civilian population, extort money from families, and push people to flee their homes. Virtually all of the sexual assaults Human Rights Watch has documented were gang rapes involving at least two perpetrators. The 37-page report is the first to combine all credible reporting on rape during the Kosovo conflict, and includes a map of all documented incidents of rape in Kosovo. "These are not occasional incidents committed by a few crazy men," said Regan Ralph, executive director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. "Rape was used as an instrument of war in Kosovo, and it should be punished as such. The men who committed these terrible crimes must be brought to justice." Human Rights Watch said its research did not confirm the allegations that Serbian and Yugoslav forces had set up "rape camps" in Pec or Djakovica. The organization criticized NATO, the U.S. government, and the British government for spreading unconfirmed information about rape while the NATO bombing campaign was underway. Since the end of the war, rapes of Serbian, Albanian, and Roma women by ethnic Albanians -- sometimes by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) -- have also been documented. Human Rights Watch condemns these human rights violations and continues to document post-conflict abuses for future reports. However, rapes and other crimes of sexual violence committed since the NATO-led troops entered Kosovo are beyond the scope of this report. The report says that rapes in Kosovo took three basic forms: rapes in women's homes, rapes during flight, and rapes in detention. In the first category, security forces entered private homes and raped women either in the yard, in front of family members, or in an adjoining room. In the second category, internally displaced people wandering on foot and riding on tractors were repeatedly stopped, robbed, and threatened by the Yugoslav Army, Serbian police, or paramilitaries. If families could not produce cash, security forces told them that their daughters would be taken away and raped; in some cases, even when families did provide money, their daughters were taken away. The third category of rapes took place in temporary detention centers, such as abandoned homes or barns. The majority of rape cases were evidently committed by Serbian paramilitaries, who wore various uniforms and often had bandanas, long knives, long hair, and beards. These paramilitary formations worked closely with official government forces, either the Serbian Ministry of Interior or the Yugoslav Army, throughout Kosovo. In several cases, victims and witnesses identified the perpetrators as Serbian special police, in blue or blue camouflage uniforms, or Yugoslav Army soldiers, in green military uniforms. Several rape victims actually reported the crimes to Yugoslav military officers. Human Rights Watch called on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to indict not only the perpetrators of rape, but also their commanding officers. "Women in Kosovo are waiting for justice, and so far none of the Kosovo indictments have included sex crimes," said Regan Ralph, executive director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. "The sooner there are investigations and prosecutions, the sooner these women can begin to rebuild their lives." Human Rights Watch was able to interview six rape victims in depth, and their testimonies are contained in this report. Human Rights Watch met two other women who acknowledged that they had been raped but refused to give testimony. Human Rights Watch documented six cases of women who were raped and subsequently killed. The ninety-six cases also include rape reports deemed reliable by Human Rights Watch that were compiled by other nongovernmental organizations. Human Rights Watch believes that the actual number of women raped in Kosovo between March and June 1999 is much higher than ninety-six. Due to strong social taboos, Kosovar Albanian victims of rape are generally reluctant to speak about their experiences, and those who remained in Kosovo throughout the conflict may not have had an opportunity to report abuses. For the full text of the report, please visit the Human Rights Watch website at http://xmail.hrw.org/embargo/ user name hrwrape, password crisis99 Testimonies from rape victims in Kosovo are attached. TESTIMONIES OF RAPE VICTIMS FROM KOSOVO Women and girls were pulled from lines of refugees and sexually assaulted, sometimes in front of other refugees. B.B., a twenty-two year old woman from Mitrovica told Human Rights Watch: It happened while I was in line with the people. It was April 14th when we left our house and on the 15th we were walking near Djakovica... We met Serb paramilitaries. ..They approached my uncle and separated him. They took his gold and his money from him. Then they came up to me...He took my hand and told me to get in his car. ... He told me not to refuse or there would be lots of victims. He swore at me and said, "Whore, get in the car..." He told me not to scream and to take off my clothes. He took off his clothes and told me to suck his thing. I did not know what to do. He took my head and put it near him. He started to beat me. I lost consciousness. When I came to I saw him over me. I had great pain. I was screaming and scratching the ground from the pain. Another man came with a car and he got over me. The other man with the car asked the first one why he was treating this whore so good. I was crying from the pain and he was laughing the whole time. The second one got off me and told me to put on my clothes. I couldn't find them. Just as I got dressed another one came and took me to another place a couple of meters away and he started with the same words and did the same things the first one did. He kept me there for several minutes and then told me to wear my clothes so I [looked like I did when I left the line]. He told me not to tell anyone or they would take me for good and shoot my family. The men wore masks. They wore camouflage clothes and they were carrying weapons and knives on their belts. They said that they were paid to do this. I begged him [the first rapist] to kill me but he didn't want to. Z.T., a twenty-three-year-old woman, was being held in a house in Drenica by special Serbian forces. I was held in a room full of women. The police came, and gestured for me to come. A policeman made me take off my clothes and he found a note that I was hiding in my underwear on which I had my husband's telephone number in Switzerland. He tore up the note and started swearing at me. I went back to the group of women and the same policeman came back and said, "come here." He took me far away from the other women and did whatever he wanted with me. A group of twenty-seven women in the Drenica region were held by Serb paramilitaries in a small barn. -V.B., a twenty-one year old, was seven months pregnant when she was gang raped by Serb paramilitaries: They put us in a small barn with hay in it. Then the four men came into the barn and slammed the door and pointed machine guns at us. They asked for gold, money, and whatever we had. We gave whatever we had. But they were still torturing us. They would take a girl, they kept her outside for half an hour, and after that they would bring one back and then they would take another. Then they took me. I was pregnant. I was holding my son. They took him away from me and gave him to my mother. They told me to get up and follow them. I was crying and screaming, "Take me back to my child!" They took me to another room. It was so bad I almost fainted. I can't say the words they said. They tortured me. Because I was pregnant, they asked me where my husband was... One of them said to another soldier, "Kick her and make the baby abort." They did this to me four times-they took me outside to the other place. Three men took me one by one. Then they asked me, "Are you desperate for your husband?" and said, "Here we are instead of him." In Pec, six armed and uniformed Serb men entered a house two days before NATO entered the city. Before murdering six members of her family, the men raped one of the women, a twenty-eight year old mother. Her sister-in-law witnessed the rape and the murders: They were wearing military clothes and had black scarves on their heads. They took my sister-in-law into the front room, and they were hitting her and telling her to shut up. The children were screaming, and they also screamed at the children. She was with the paramilitary for one half- hour. She was resisting, and they beat her, and the children could hear her screaming. I could only hear what was going on. I heard them slapping her. The children did not understand that they were raping her. After they raped my sister-in-law, they put her in line with us and shot her. For further information, contact: In Washington, D.C.: Martina Vandenberg (w) 202-612-4344; (h) 202-387-2032 In New York: Joanne Mariner 212-216-1218 Fred Abrahams 212-216-1270 (on current abuses) In Brussels: Jean-Paul Marthoz 322-732-2009 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 Telephone: (212)290-4700 Facsimile: (212) 736-1300 E-mail: hrwnyc at hrw.org