[Prishtina-E] Request for the immediate release of Albanian Prisoners

[kosova at jps.net]

		ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS (APP)
		   http://www.khao.org/appkosova.htm


At this time, 120 Albanian political prisoners remain detained in Serb
prisons. Some were arrested randomly, some based on their political beliefs.

They were brutally arrested and tried under the Milosevic regime, the goal
of which was to persecute ethnic Albanians, to force them from Kosova. These
prisoners have the right to be immediately pardoned or transferred to Kosova
under the judicial jurisdiction of UNMIK as stated in UN 1244. Their
continued detention reflects numerous broken promises by FRY leaders given
to internationals such as Madeliene Albright, Kofi Annan, Chris Patten, the
UN Security Council and many others who have petitioned for their release in
accordance with international law.

In order to keep them imprisoned, President Kostunica and Serb Prime
Minister Djindic and the Serb Supreme Court have upheld the strange courts,
transferred from Kosova to Serbia on June 9, 1999, by Slobodan Milosevic.
These courts have denied amnesty or appeal to the remaining 120 prisoners.
They have denied transfer to the UNMIK judicial system. Protection of these
courts, outdated vestigial holdovers from the Milosevic regime, has been
deemed more important than protecting or promoting human rights -- This is
TRAGIC.

WE DEMAND FROM HAEKKERUP, DJINDIC, AND KOSTUNICA THAT THE PROBLEMS OF
MISSING AND DETAINED BE RESOLVED AND THAT THIS BE THE TOP PRIORITY OF THE
UNMIK AND SERB GOVERNMENTS BEFORE EITHER SIDE IS GIVEN MORE INTERNATIONAL
AID MONEY. NEITHER SIDE IS MEETING EVEN THE MOST BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS
REQUIREMENTS TWO YEARS AFTER THE WAR IN KOSOVA HAS ENDED.


A NEW Section on the Association of Political Prisoner's Website:

Now available are actual stories of the prisoners and their ordeal.  Please
point your browser to: http://www.khao.org/prisonerstory.htm to read the
stories of Skender Ferizi, Besim Zymber, and Agim Recica.


Thank you for your continuous support.  Please keep the word out and the
effort going.  We cannot forget and allow innocent lives be destroyed by a
shameless, evil regime.

Sincerely,
Association of Political Prisoners Committee



Archives from A-PAL on the prisoners may be found at:
http://www.khao.org/appkosova/newsletter.htm