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French police were often criticized for resorting to the excessive use of force. © APA/AFP

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression; torture, ill-treatment and misconduct by law en- forcement officials; conditions in prisons and detention facilities; religious intolerance.

Conditions in France’s prisons came groups and human rights organizations under considerable scrutiny upon the pub- who fear the effects of the crackdown will lication of Veronique Vasseur’s Médecin- extent well beyond those groups viewed as chef à la Prison de la Santé, which detailed dangerous by the Government and consti- the dire situation at the Paris Prison de la tute an attack on religion in general. The Santé, whose prisoners include former Minister of Justice Elisabeth Guigou asked Vichy official Maurice Papon. for the draft law to be reviewed and put in Misconduct by law enforcement offi- conformity with international human rights cials remained a serious concern, in partic- standards. The Council of Europe Parlia- ular the excessive use of weapons. Victims mentary Assembly has begun an investiga- were often non-French nationals. tion on the issue of religious discrimination Freedom of religion in France re- in France under the guidance of Turkish MP, mained an area of heated debate. The Mr. Akcali, a member of the Legal Affairs National Assembly adopted the About- Committee of the Council of Europe. Picard law dated 30 May 2000, but it was still pending by 25 March 2001 – after sev- Freedom of Expression eral postponements. The draft law is, in In October, the European Court of many regards, discriminatory against minor- Human Rights ruled that there had been a ity religions called “sects” and restricts their violation of Article 10 of the ECHR (free- freedom. The new draft anti-sect law dom of expression) in the case of Du Roy caused concern amongst many religious and Malaurie v. France. The applicants were 130 FRANCE editor and journalist respectively of the Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct weekly magazine L’Evenement du Jeudi, by Law Enforcement Officials which published an article in 1993 entitled Amnesty International has expressed “Sonacotra: When the Left Puts its House in longstanding concern about the reckless Order.” The article was particularly critical of use of force and firearms by law enforce- Michel Gagneux, the former head of ment officers in France and has noted with Sonacotra (National Company for the concern that a high proportion of victims of Construction of Workers’ Accommodation) shootings and killings by law enforcement and of his relations with new management officers have been of non-European ethnic of Sonacotra, since on 10 February 1993 origin, people whose ethnic origin lied of- the company had lodged a criminal com- ten in – inter alia – the Maghreb countries. plaint with a request that it be made a civil party to the proceedings against Gagneux On 15-16 April, Riad Hamlaoui, a 25- for misappropriation of company assets. year-old man of Algerian descent and a res- Under a 1931 law, it is an offence to pub- ident of Lille, was shot and killed by a po- lish information concerning the joinder of a lice officer who had been called to investi- civil party, and the Criminal Court in its gate reports of an attempted car robbery 1993 ruling pointed out that the ban was involving the victim and a friend. Amnesty intended to guarantee the presumption of International expressed concern about the innocence and to prevent any external in- way the police officer was reported to have fluence on the course of justice. The Court used his service weapon, which appeared concluded from the ban that it was neces- to be in contravention of international and sary in a democratic society “for the pro- national law. Hamlaoui was shot at close tection of the reputation or rights of others, range and died instantly as a result of a bul- for preventing the disclosure of information let wound to the nape of the neck. The received in confidence, or for maintaining events were reconstructed on 28 June and the authority and impartiality of the judici- it was reported that 19 seconds transpired ary” within the meaning of Article 10 of the between the police officer getting out of his ECHR. In 1994, the Paris Court of Appeal vehicle and firing his weapon. An adminis- upheld the conviction and the amount of trative inquiry was promptly opened by the the fine. The applicants, on appeal, main- General Inspectorate of the National Police tained that the general and absolute nature and on 16 April the police office was pla- of the ban on publication was dispropor- ced under formal investigation on a charge tionate to the objective pursued. of “voluntary homicide”. However, following The European Court of Human Rights the reconstruction of events it was reported held that the difference in treatment of the that the judicial authorities were consider- right to information did not appear to be ing reducing the charge either to “involun- founded on any objective basis and com- tary homicide” or “fatal shot leading to un- pletely hindered the right of the press to in- intentional death”. The officer was immedi- form the public on matters which, though ately suspended from the police force concerning criminal proceedings with the pending the outcome of the inquiries. joinder of a civil party, could nevertheless be On 17 April, the Director General of in the public interest. The Court further held the National Police issued a circular to the that there was a public interest as the case departmental heads responsible for public concerned French political figures and their security in France reminding them of the allegedly fraudulent actions in running a existing regulations relating to the use of public company for the management of res- weapons. He insisted on the necessity for idential centres for emigrants. The applicants every public official to abide by the regula- were awarded legal costs and expenses.1 tions with the utmost rigour as regards use FRANCE 131 of weapons, which was strictly regulated by Conditions in Prisons and Detention the rules on legitimate defence. In a public Facilities meeting on 18 April, during which the The publication in January of the diary Minister of the Interior described the fatal of a prison doctor shocked the French pub- shooting as a “disturbing” and “awful trage- lic and prompted Parliament to vote unan- dy”, the Minister noted that it was the res- imously to create a commission to investi- ponsibility of the police hierarchy to remind gate “in depth” the living conditions of pris- each officer of “the need for proportionali- oners and working conditions of prison ty in reaction”. staff. Elisabeth Guigou, the Minister of Jus- In June, the French press reported an tice, ordered another commission, headed announcement by the Minister that he had by the President of France’s highest Court order the General Inspectorate of the of Appeals, to report on the external control National Police to carry out a study into the of penitentiary administration. regulations of weapons issued to French The book, Médecin-chef à la Prison de police officers. An apparent aim of the la Santé, was written by Dr. Véronique study was to attempt to establish whether Vasseur, who worked in the Santé prison the type of regulation weapons used by of- for seven years, the last six as head physi- ficers facilitated incidents similar to that of cian. She found the cells filthy and infested Riad Hamlaoui.2 with rats and mice and the mattresses so In March, Cornelie Chappuis, a 34- teeming with lice and other insects that in- year-old French woman of Zairean origin, mates collected them in jars to protest. lodged a complaint with the judicial author- Drug dealing was rampant, with some ities claiming that in January 2000 she had guards also being involved. Rape was fre- been physically and verbally, including quent, as were self-mutilations, suicides racially, abused and threatened by police and attempted suicides. Guards beat up officers after they were called to her home prisoners, and seasoned inmates turned in Roubaix to investigate a reported do- weaker ones into slaves, who did not dare mestic dispute. She further claimed that complain for fear of reprisals. Food was of- she was arbitrarily arrested by the police of- ten spoiled and gastroenteritis epidemics ficers and illegally detained overnight in were frequent. Dr. Vasseur even identified a Roubaix police station. Once inside the po- disease known only in wartime – bread lice stations, police officers allegedly hand- scabies, caused by mouldy bread. cuffed her and threw her face down on the The book caused an uproar and trig- floor. She claimed that on the way to the gered investigations by the press. Some of police station a police officer had made France’s notorious former prisoners, includ- threatening remarks with reference to the ing former ministers and top business ex- well-known death by asphyxiation of a ecutives, have been interviewed and sig- Nigerian in a forcible attempt at deportation ned a petition deploring prison conditions. to Belgium in 1998. Chappuis claimed that she was taken to a call and subjected to cruel and degrading treatment and racial Case of Papon remarks and stated that she was made to The continuing imprisonment of Mau- strip while police officers looked on and rice Papon, the former Vichy official con- made lewd comments. Following a request victed for complicity in crimes against hu- by the departmental prefect, an internal manity, raised the question of how appro- administrative inquiry was opened by the priate and purposeful it is to keep persons General Inspectorate of the National Police of a very old age incarcerated. some two weeks after the alleged incidents French President Chirac rejected a plea took place.3 for pardon for Maurice Papon. His lawyers 132 FRANCE had filed a request for a presidential par- Papon’s jailing “does not constitute inhu- don for medical reasons on 23 December man and degrading treatment” and that it 2000, two months after France’s highest “does not exceed the inevitable level of court, the Court of Cassation, rejected suffering that is inherent in detention”. The Papon’s final appeal. Papon’s lawyer, Jean- debate surround Papon’s release flared in Marc Varaut, said his client’s request was January when former Socialist Justice based on a medical report by Veronique Minister Robert Badinter, whose father was Vasseur, the chief medical officer at the killed at Auschwitz death camp, surprised Sante Prison in Paris where Papon has France with a plea for Papon’s freedom. been jailed since October. According to Convicted in 1998 of complicity in crimes Varaut, Vasseur said “because of his ad- against humanity for his role in the arrest vanced age and severe medical conditions, and deportation of 1,560 Jews to death mainly heart problems, his life was endan- camps, Papon repeatedly insists that he gered by further time in jail”. has neither regrets nor remorse, because On 12 January 2001, lawyers acting for he does not believe he is guilty.5 Papon lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights on ac- Religious Intolerance count of his continued imprisonment de- In June, the IHF wrote an open letter to spite his age and health. Papon relied on Alain Vivien, President of the Mission Inter- Article 3 of the European Convention on ministérielle de lutte contre les sects Human Rights (prohibition of inhuman or (MILS), in response to an accusation that degrading treatment or punishment). At the IHF was “infiltrated by trans-national the same time, Papon’s lawyers sought, un- sects,” and in particular by the Church of der Rule 41 of the Rules of Court, to have Scientology (Le Figaro, 13 June 2000). the application dealt with as a matter of ur- The IHF reminded Vivien that religious free- gency. On 23 January, the Court invited the dom is among those rights set forth in the French Government to submit information diverse documents to which France has and comments in writing on a number of committed itself as a member of the OSCE, points concerning Papon’s prison condi- the Council of Europe and the United tions and regime. The Court also consid- Nations. While condemning the legislation ered an earlier application lodged by Papon that the MILS contributed to developing, in January 2000, which mainly concerned the IHF noted that the legislation proposed the fairness of his Assize Court trial and the by Vivien was not compatible with the no- forfeiture in October 1999 of his right to tion of religious pluralism in a democratic appeal to the Court of Cassation on points society.6 of law as a result of his refusal to surrender to custody the day before the hearing at Anti-Semitism and Racism the Court of Cassation.4 The annual National Consultative The French Government rejected Commission on Human Rights (NCCHR) charges laid before the European Court of report on racism and xenophobia, released Human Rights that the Nazi collaborator in March 2000, noted an increase in the was suffering inhumane treatment in the number of attacks against Jews after a Paris prison. Excerpts from a letter pub- steady downward trend since 1992, al- lished by Le Figaro newspaper in early though the number of anti-Semitic threats March showed that Papon’s daily schedule continued to decline. In 1999 there were 9 consists of playing board games, watching reported attacks and 52 reported threats, television, napping and participating in compared with 1 and 73 respectively in Bible readings. The letter, written by the 1998. The attacks recorded in 1999 oc- French Foreign Ministry, claimed that curred throughout the country and included FRANCE 133 three assaults, three acts of vandalism, and would pave the way for potential abuse by three attempts to set fire to synagogues. authorities, amounting to violations of free- In October, the door of a synagogue dom of religion and association, including was doused with gasoline and set on fire in through the disbandment of peaceful reli- southern France in the latest in a series of gious minority groups. anti-Jewish attacks across the country. The In March, a Paris Correctional Court or- flames were quickly contained and damage dered National Assembly Deputy Jacques to the synagogue in La Seyne-sur-Mer in Guyard, the president of the 1999 the Var region was minimal. The incident Parliamentary Commission of Inquiries brought the number of anti-Semitic inci- Against Sects and a drafter of the 1996 dents to 22 since the start of October. The National Assembly report on so-called attacks were believed to have been linked “sects,“ to pay approximately 90,000 francs to the crisis in the Middle East. French (U.S.$ 16,500) in damages to three groups that were named in the June 1999 parlia- President Jacques Chirac condemned the mentary report. These three groups -the anti-Semitic attacks, saying “these manifes- Federation of Steiner Schools, the New tations of intolerance […] undermine in an Brotherly Economy, and “le Mercure inadmissible way the values and traditions” Federal“ (an Anthroposophical medical as- of France.7 sociation) - had charged Guyard with slan- Racism towards the Muslim/Arab com- der for labelling the groups as “sects“ in a munity was also latent in France, and occa- June 1999 television interview when the sional attacks against their members were inquiry commission was making its second reported in 2000. report public, a report dealing with sects and their finances. Guyard was invited to 8 Sect Issue appear on the current affairs programme On 15 June, the Government ap- “Le journal de 13 heures“ on France 2. In proved a draft law entitled “Proposition de the program, he described Anthroposophy, loi tendant à renforcer la prévention et la inter alia, as an organization that misappro- répression à l’encontre des groupements à priated money, exercised total control over caractère sectaire”. The draft law passed the its adherents and even pointed to its “wor- National Assembly unanimously but was rying medical aspect.” still pending as of this writing. The court found that Guyard had made The draft law is said to have been cre- accusations against these groups when ex- ated in order to provide a tool to deal with isting evidence did not warrant a serious in- criminal acts committed by members of quiry into their activities. The court also crit- questionable religious groups and to pro- icized the fact that the leaders of the tect individuals from abuse by such groups. Anthroposophical Movement were not giv- A number of religious denominations en a forum by the commission to defend and civil rights associations have expressed themselves. According to the court, none of concern about the draft anti-sect law. While the documents produced as evidence re- the State is obliged to protect its citizens lated to accusations of mental manipula- against abuse by members of any groups tion, financial pressures, misappropriation or associations, this should not be done of funds and dangerous medical practices through the creation of discrimination, were of “convincing value.” Guyard ap- which is the case with the proposed law. pealed the decision. Such abuses should be dealt with under the Criminal Code and other legislation and Jehovah’s Witnesses not through adopting a separate law target- France’s highest administrative court, ed at religious minority groups. Such a law the Council of State, ruled in June that Je- 134 FRANCE hovah’s Witnesses qualify as a religion un- bring the twenty-one to trial on charges of der French law. The case involved exempt- inciting children to sexual immorality. ing Jehovah’s Witnesses from property tax- Charges were brought against the 21 na- es levied against their houses of worship.9 tionals of France, England, Belgium, In France, recognition of a religion is Denmark, Holland, Spain, Canada and the given through tax exemptions rather than USA following armed police raids in June through a registration process. The Council 1993 on the group’s communities in of State ruled that the two local associa- southern France. Authorities took 80 chil- tions of Jehovah’s Witnesses of the cities of dren into custody for up to two months be- Riom and Clamecy are religious in nature fore returning them to their parents. according to the criteria established under Twenty-one adult members were arrested French law for religious organizations, and released within 48 hours, and over the which is more restrictive than the legisla- coming months all juridical control was lift- tion for other non-profit organizations. In ed. After five years of investigation, the these cases, the Council of State deter- Prosecutor concluded that there was “no proof, photos or medical evidence“ to sub- mined that the activities of the associations stantiate the charges, and recommended of Jehovah’s Witnesses are solely religious the case be closed without being brought and that they do not breach public policy or to trial. Judge Assonion of the Tribunal de public order. Grande Instance of Aix-En-Provence ac- cepted this recommendation, closing the Other Minorities proceedings in January 1999. This decision A French judge closed the case against was upheld on 24 February with the judge 21 members of “The Family”, a controver- rejecting an appeal by UNADFI (Association sial religious group formerly known as the for the Defence of the Family and the Children of God. Judge Philippe Assonion Individual) and a private individual uncon- declared that there was no evidence to nected with “The Family”.10

Endnotes 1 European Court of Human Rights, Judgment in the Case of Du Roy and Malaurie v. France, 3 October 2000 2 Amnesty International, “France: The Fatal Shooting of Riad Hamlaoui by a Lille Police Officer”, AI Index: EUR 21/04/00, July 2000. 3 Amnesty International, “France: The Alleged Ill-Treatment of Cornelie Chappuis by Roubaix Police Officers,” AI Index: EUR/21/02/00, May 2000. 4 Press Release, European Court of Human Rights, 23 January 2001. www.echr.coe.int 5 CNN: Government Says Papon Treated Well, 7 March 2001, www.cnn.com 6 IHF, “Open Letter to Alain Vivien about Religious Freedom in France,” 25 June 2000, at www.ihf-hr.org/appeals/000615.htm 7 Human Rights Without Frontiers, “Arson at Synagogue in France”, 16 October 2000. 8 This section was compiled on the basis of press releases and statements made by Human Rights Without Frontiers, www.hrwf.net/English/france2000.html 9 Human Rights Without Frontiers, “Highest Administrative Court Rules that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Religion”, 23 June, 2000. 10 Human Rights Without Frontiers, “French Judge Upholds Acquittal of 21 Religious Group Members”, 24 February 2000.