IN THE OSCE REGION: THE BALKANS, THE CAUCASUS, EUROPE, AND NORTH AMERICA

REPORT 2001 (EVENTS OF 2000) The activities of the IHF in 2000 and the printing of this report were made possible by national Committees and thanks to contributions from:

Austrian Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Austrian National Bank, Carnegie Corporation of New York, City of Vienna, , European Commission, Barbara Finberg, Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ford Foundation, German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Robert James and Ardis James Foundation, Open Society Institute, Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (The ), Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (), Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mission to the OSCE.

The IHF wishes to thank Dr. Josef Unterweger for his legal assistance.

The historical archives of the IHF are in the possession of the Open Society Archives, Budapest, Hungary.

We thank all contributors and welcome donations to support the publication of this report.

In addition to IHF member and cooperating co-operating committees (as referenced in the endnotes), the following IHF staff members, interns and volunteers participated in the preparation of this report: Ivan Draganov, Brigitte Dufour, Chris Edge, Rachel Hammonds, Gertraud Hödl, Fanni Kadocsa, Maria Kolb, Natalia Lazareva, Aaron Rhodes, Paula Tscherne-Lempiäinen, Nicole Watson, Nina Wessel, Vladimir Weissman, Petra Winter.

Chief Editor: Paula Tscherne-Lempiäinen Editorial Assistant: Nicole Watson Language Editors: Sinead Corr, Chris Edge, Nicole Watson

Layout by Milos Uveric-Kostic Cover design by Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann and Milos Uveric-Kostic

Copies are available from:

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) Wickenburggasse 14/7, A-1080 Vienna, Tel: (+43-1) 408 88 22, Fax: (+43-1) 408 88 22-50 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://www.ihf-hr.org

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© 2001 by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights and IHF Research Foundation. All rights reserved.

Printed by Charis, Bratislava, Slovakia HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OSCE REGION: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America

Report 2001 (Events of 2000)

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) 2 INTERNATIONAL HELSINKI FEDERATION

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) is a non-governmental or- ganization that seeks to promote compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act and its Follow-up Documents. In addition to supporting and providing li- aison among 39 Helsinki Committees and cooperating organizations, the IHF has direct links with human rights activists in countries where no Helsinki Committees exist. It criticis- es human rights abuses regardless of the political system of the State in which these abus- es occur. It has consultative status with the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

The IHF represents member and co-operating committees in , Austria, Belarus, Bos- nia and Herzegovina, , Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, , , Georgia, Germany, , Hungary, , , Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, , , Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, , , , Ser- bia, Slovakia, Slovenia, , , , United Kingdom, and the United Sta- tes. Other cooperating organizations include the European Roma Rights Center (Budapest), and Human Rights Without Frontiers ().

Since 2000, the officers and staff of the IHF are:

Honorary Chairman: President: Ludmilla Alexeyeva Vice President: Ulrich Fischer Advisory Board: Karl Schwarzenberg (Chair) Lord Dahrendorf Timothy Garton Ash Anton Pelinka Jaques Rupnik George Soros Executive Committee: Sonja Biserko Holly Cartner Bjørn Engesland Krassimir Kanev Andrzej Rzeplinski Treasurer: Stein-Ivar Aarsæther Executive Director: Aaron Rhodes Deputy Executive Director/Legal Counsel: Brigitte Dufour Associate Legal Counsel/Project Coordinator: Petra Winter Chief Editor: Paula Tscherne-Lempiäinen Editor/Project Coordinator: Nicole Watson Editor/Project Coordinator: Nina Wessel Project Coordinator: Joachim Frank Press Officer: Ursula Lindenberg Financial Officer: David Theil Accountant: Rainer Tannenberger Office Manager: Maria Kolb Administrative/Financial Assistant: Natalia Lazareva Project Consultants: Renate Weber (Women’s Project) Vladimir Weissman (Former ) Special Consultant: John Robbins Research Associate: Isabelle Kortian Interns: Øyvind Lervik Judith Vitt Stanislaw Witkowski Volunteer: Ivan Draganov

IHF Research Foundation Staff: Gertraud Hödl PREFACE 3

The aim of this Report, entitled Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2001 (formerly the IHF Annual Report) is to shed light on the OSCE Governments’ compliance with their OSCE and oth- er international human rights commitments, and to document human dimension issues in those countries. This Report is based primarily on the results of investigations carried out by the national Helsinki Committees, other cooperating human rights NGOs and the IHF Secretariat. The Report does not cover all OSCE States. The absence of a country from the Report in no way implies that no human rights abuses were committed in that country. Similarly, the length of a section does not necessarily indicate the gravity of the IHF’s concerns. Under many country headings, only certain specific human rights issues are dealt with. This does not imply that no other forms of abuse took place in those countries; in most cases, the selection of issues simply reflects the local monitors’ field of expertise. Further, the IHF does not claim that the issues included are more serious than any violations which have not been cited. Moreover, our emphasis is principally on civil and political rights. All readers who wish to have more detailed information on the issues covered by this Report – or other possible human rights issues not covered by this Report - are en- couraged to contact national Helsinki Committees and the IHF Secretariat. As a rule, all sources of information are referenced in the endnotes. For certain coun- tries and issues, the sources are referenced at the beginning of the section. In some cas- es, the informants have wished to remain unidentified, fearing reprisals. All references to IHF activities under all headlines are based on the activity reports of the Helsinki Committees or the IHF Secretariat, and should therefore be regarded as distinct from oth- er sources. Those readers who wish to familiarize themselves with the OSCE process and, partic- ularly, with its human dimension component, should refer to the Helsinki Monitor – Quarterly on Security and Cooperation in Europe, published jointly by the IHF and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee. Helsinki Monitor includes a complete overview of the most important developments within the OSCE region, and reviews of recent publications on the Helsinki process and current human rights issues. In addition, important OSCE doc- uments are published in the Helsinki Monitor in their entirety. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ...... 3

Introduction ...... 6

Country Issues: ...... 9 Albania ...... 11 ...... 19 Austria...... 29 Azerbaijan ...... 41 Belarus ...... 50 Belgium ...... 58 Bosnia and Herzegovina...... 65 Bulgaria...... 77 Canada ...... 88 Croatia ...... 97 Czech Republic ...... 107 Denmark...... 114 ...... 120 Finland ...... 125 France...... 129 Georgia ...... 135 Germany...... 142 Greece ...... 148 Hungary ...... 160 Italy...... 168 Kazakhstan ...... 174 Kyrgyzstan...... 184 Latvia ...... 195 Lithuania ...... 207 Macedonia ...... 212 Moldova ...... 222 The Netherlands ...... 231 Norway ...... 236 Poland ...... 240 Portugal ...... 248 Romania ...... 250 Russia ...... 258 Slovakia...... 266 Slovenia ...... 271 Spain...... 275 Sweden ...... 282 Switzerland ...... 290 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5

Tajikistan ...... 292 Turkey...... 296 Turkmenistan ...... 309 Ukraine ...... 318 United Kingdom ...... 328 United States ...... 338 ...... 352 Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of (Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo) ...... 363

Appendices: ...... 401 Appendix A: IHF Human Rights Award to Yuri Schmidt ...... 402 Appendix B: IHF Activities in 2000...... 404 Appendix C: Excerpts from International Human Rights Provisions. . . . . 410 Appendix D: Address List ...... 421

Abbreviations ...... 427

Index ...... 428 6 INTRODUCTION

In the year 2000, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) engaged in the broadest and most comprehensive program of human rights monitoring and advoca- cy in the history of the organization. Large-scale project grants from the European Union and the Ford Foundation, with other funds donated by national Governments, the Council of Europe and other sources, made it possible for us to undertake regional programs in which many Helsinki Committees and other NGOs participated. Included in the Report is a list of the main activities of the IHF that illustrates, in a cursory way, our efforts over the past year. Thanks especially to the vision and positive energy of our President, Ludmilla Alexeyeva, the IHF took many actions vis à vis human rights problems in Russia and in oth- er former Soviet Republics, and developed long-term plans for future cooperation. Over 225 human rights activists gathered in to observe the 25th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. We continued to raise concerns about violations of humanitarian law in and about authoritarian political tendencies in Russia; about severe abuses of political and civil rights in Belarus where we cooperated with the OSCE and the Belarus Helsinki Committee in monitoring political events; and about corruption and growing threats to the rule of law and the separation of powers in Ukraine and Moldova. The human rights situation in Central Asia deteriorated. The leader of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, Ramazan Dyrldaev, was forced into exile and the IHF assist- ed the Committee to establish a base in Vienna. The IHF issued many statements and or- ganized several briefings to help strengthen the voice of independent civil society groups in the region that seek compliance by their Governments with international human rights standards. The IHF became more active in cooperating with human rights groups in the Caucasus. A number of political prisoners were released as a result of our efforts and we had oppor- tunities for substantial face-to-face discussions with the Presidents of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, in which we advocated for allowing civil society organizations more space to contribute to human rights and conflict resolution in the region. The IHF began a large program of monitoring and advocacy focusing on Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia - Herzegovina, as well as on other Balkan countries. In co- operation with the Helsinki Committee in Serbia, the IHF established dialogue with the new political authorities in FRY, and pressed for cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). We continued a regional program of research and analysis begun in the framework of the Royaumont process. At the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting of the OSCE in Warsaw, the IHF and Greek Helsinki Monitor pre- sented a special comprehensive report on Greece to supplement our thematic report cov- ing the whole region. The IHF took up issues in the established democracies of the OSCE, for example hold- ing a press conference in New York about the death penalty in the United States and ex- pressing concern about the freedom of expression in Austria, where the founder of the Austrian Helsinki Committee, Professor Anton Pelinka, was convicted of libelling the leader of -wing Freedom Party. We made plans to strengthen our cooperation with the Helsinki Committees in EU candidate countries, focusing on the human rights dimension of the accession process. The IHF made a major contribution to promoting women’s rights with the publication of Women 2000, a systematic, 552-page analysis of women’s rights issues in 29 countries. The project was led by human rights lawyer Renate Weber, Chair of the Open Society Foundation in Romania and a member of the Romanian Helsinki Committee. The results will be the basis for future programs to monitor and advocate for the enforcement of women’s human rights. INTRODUCTION 7

With the assistance of experts from the Committees, the IHF’s Rule of Law Council and the staff, we began drafting a guide for human rights advocacy in the OSCE region that will help clarify our political objectives. We began a process of analysing and improving our communications practices. The Open Society Archives’ exhibit documenting the history of the Helsinki human rights movement was displayed at the Austrian National Library as part of the OSCE’s 25th anniversary celebration. We initiated an annual recognition award, which was presented to Russian human rights lawyer Yuri Schmidt at the General Assembly meeting in Prague. And, with the assistance of the City of Vienna, the IHF moved into a larger office after 18 years in the small apartment of Czech human rights advocate Jana Starek, who finally reclaimed the space. This is the IHF’s report on human rights issues in the OSCE region in the year 2000. Of course, neither human rights developments nor the work of the human rights commu- nity frame themselves in terms of calendar years. The problems described here are con- tinuing, and so is our work in 2001. Personally and on behalf of the IHF, I thank all the Helsinki Committee members, Executive Committee members, our collaborators in other organizations and our loyal staff for their efforts and their sacrifices. And all of us are grateful to the financial supporters whose commitment is necessary to sustain our work.

Aaron Rhodes Executive Director

9

COUNTRY ISSUES

ALBANIA1 11

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and media; freedom of assembly; con- ditions in prisons and detention facilities; protection of ethnic minorities; women’s rights.2

Albania was still undergoing a difficult and some organisational and technical transition period. Substantial and significant problems which, however, did not affect changes had taken place in many areas of the final results. The Albanian Helsinki human rights, profoundly transforming the Committee deemed the elections free, country’s human rights record in compari- honest and open, reflecting the fact that son with the past. A new society was emer- the Albanian electorate was prepared for a ging which was working towards democra- democratic political life based on interna- tisation particularly in the field of human tionally approved, advanced standards. rights and the rule of law. In , however, the end of the Nevertheless, some acute problems campaign was marred by nationalist rheto- remained and were closely linked to the ric in relation to the Greek-speaking com- difficulties of the transition period. The pic- munity, reported at length in the local and ture as a whole was encouraging, but con- national media even on election day, in an tinuous efforts needed to be made to im- environment of increased tension with a prove the status of human rights, focusing neighbouring country. On second round particularly on some very sensitive issues election day, the situation was marked in such as the operation of the media and the this constituency by some serious irregular- behavior of the police ities – including intimidation of Election Commission members, the destruction of Local Elections one ballot box in a violent incident, and fraud in three other voting centres reported The 1 October local elections constitut- by Human Rights Watch3 - which had not ed an important step towards democratisa- been sufficiently addressed by the Central tion of the institution of elections and were Election Commission (CEC) by December.4 organised within a new constitutional and According to the Albanian side, the legislative framework. high tension in Himara could largely be at- In general, the new Electoral Code was tributed to the campaign by ethnic Greek implemented satisfactorily. The elections deputies who strongly promoted their own were conducted in a tense but peaceful at- candidates. mosphere, although with some isolated vi- Although, by law, the election cam- olent incidents. Also the police behaved in paign should have started one month be- an appropriate way, and, for the first time, fore the voting day, in reality it started much the media covered the election campaign earlier. Public meetings were organised in a and the elections extensively and objec- peaceful manner, but some representatives tively. of political parties - especially the two According to the Albanian Helsinki biggest parties, the Democratic Party (DP) Committee, that monitored the elections and the Socialist Party (SP) - and part of closely as part of the project “Public the media used a language amounting to Education and Monitoring of Elections for hate speech. The CEC criticised the use of Local Government,” the voting process was foreign representatives of some political carried out according to the law in the ma- parties (particularly the DP) in the election jority of municipalities, and the election propaganda. commissions operated as they were sup- In some cities co-operation between posed to. The problems observed included political factions was good. For example in irregularities in the preliminary voter lists Korce and in Shkoder, the political parties 12 ALBANIA reached an agreement for a peaceful and sial despite the fact that the Electoral Code democratic conduct of the electoral cam- stated clear regulations. paign. There were irregularities and inaccura- These elections were the first in which cies in the voter lists which were contested the CEC was established in accordance of by the opposition. The difficult process of Article 154 of the Constitution, and it im- completing and correcting these lists made plemented Law 8609 of the Electoral it more difficult for individuals to exercise Code. However, the CEC was set up and their right of complaint. For this reason, the started working with delays and without be- deadline for complaints was lengthened ing sufficiently acquainted with the Elec- beyond the legal deadline. The corrections toral Code, which led to some weaknesses brought about some improvements, but at in its operation which negatively impacted many polling stations voter lists remained on the electoral process. Such problems in- inaccurate: for example, the Albanian Hel- cluded the lack of regular and planned CEC sinki Committee observed cases where the meetings, delays in giving instructions - names of voters were not found in the vot- which were often vague and controversial - er lists even though some of them could to the Local Government Elections Com- produce a voter card. According to the mission (LGEC) and the Voting Centre Co- Committee, with a co-operative approach, mmission (VCC), and the lack of training for some of these gaps could have been pre- the local electoral commissions. After the vented as the political parties received the first round, the handling of complaints by voter lists prior to the elections. Also, the the election commissions and the courts existence of two lists - the preliminary and was inadequate and did not provide effec- the renewed - created confusion in the vot- tive means of redress. ing process and raised distrust among the The CEC’s announcement of the re- voters. However, at the polling stations sults after the first round was slow and in- monitored by the Committee, the number complete, and, between rounds, it did not of those who could not vote was relatively take action to remedy some of the short- low. comings observed on 1 October. In addi- The Albanian Helsinki Committee also tion, the withdrawal of a number of Demo- noted that, considering that the Electoral cratic Party candidates between rounds fol- Code was new, there was insufficient pub- lowing a call to boycott from the DP na- lic information about it on radio and TV tional leadership caused confusion. This (with the exception of Telenorba that gave was made worse by the absence of a information about the Code on four occa- deadline for candidate withdrawal.5 sions). The public was informed about the The establishment of the LGEC and the voting procedure only one or two days pri- VCC were delayed because some political or to the election day, but it was done in a parties submitted their nominations too thorough manner. Some private radio and late. The LGEC and VCC members were TV stations gave only partial information on poorly trained, a fact that led to inadequate the electoral process, thus violating the law. knowledge of the Electoral Code and the manual prepared by the CEC as well as de- Freedom of Expression and Media lays and other shortcomings in the dealing Albanian legislation and in particular with complaints. For example, the CEC gave the Constitution provide for freedom of ex- instructions to the commissions on cases pression and freedom of the media. The where voters were not allowed to vote if media were active and unrestrained in re- their names were not found in the voter porting in 2000 and, generally, had unhin- lists too late. Moreover, its instructions on dered access to information. However, the non-validity of ballots were controver- some journalists complained that they ALBANIA 13 were not allowed to attend court sessions,6 tance of this issue, which dealt with one of and there were some reports of the police the fundamental principles of the freedom ill-treating journalists when they were carry- and independence of the press, there was ing out their duties, e.g. covering demon- a need for a press law which could provide strations. a legal solution to problems such as the The Albanian Helsinki Committee not- above-mentioned case and other issues ed, however, that the problem with the dealing with the operation of the press. journalistic responsibility and the profes- sional integrity of journalists remained. Access to Information Although some media had improved their On 20 March 2000 the Albanian Hel- professional standards and covered prob- sinki Committee criticised the fact that the lems of Albanian society through accurate media had been denied access to courts. reporting in a balanced way, other media Journalists of both the printed and outlets resorted to sensationalism, publish- electronic media complained that a ing gossip, and spreading unsubstantiated court authorities had given orders not to al- accusations or outright fabrications. low them to attend court sessions. The Committee noted that despite the poor Disclosure of Confidential Information Although free expression and media physical conditions of the above court - work were generally respected, the Alba- which had even forced it hold trials in its of- nian Helsinki Committee recommended fices - the order to bar the media from the improvements to the existing law on the court amounted to a breach of the right of media, particularly as regards the publicati- the press to report on court proceedings, on of confidential information. Motivated and the right of the public to receive infor- by a concrete case concerning the decision mation. Decisions to try cases partially or of a Tirana court which requested the chief fully behind closed doors should be well editor of the newspaper Albania to reveal grounded and always based on the law, the source of information of an article, the said the Committee. Committee expressed its conviction that On 18 October, the newspaper Koha the protection of the source of information Jone published a letter according to which was of prime significance for freedom of local journalists in Vlora had been hindered thought and the independence of the from attending trials in the local court since press. On the other hand, the Committee 1 October when special police forces took pointed out that the Tirana court had acted under their protection the court and the in compliance with Article 151(3) of the Prosecutor’s Office. The chairman of the Penal Procedure Code. This article stipulat- court said to journalists that he could not ed that a journalist was obliged to reveal give orders to the special forces and that his/her source of information when the in- the journalists’ access to court sessions did formation was necessary to prove that a not depend on him. The letter emphasised criminal act had been committed, and that the chairman of the court, apart from when the authenticity of the information generally not being available to journalists, could be proved only by identifying its had also threatened journalists. source. The only provision in the Constitution regarding the press simply read: “The Press Harassment of Journalists is free,” – a declaration that was insuffi- There were few but nonetheless signif- cient. More detailed treatment of the mat- icant cases of harassment of and violence ter is expected. The Albanian Helsinki against journalists. Some faced criminal Committee noted that due to the impor- prosecution for what they had written. 14 ALBANIA

Rilindja Demokratike - a newspaper of The Albanian Helsinki Committee em- the main opposition party - reported on 12 phasised that politicians or other well- September that the police stopped its known individuals in Albanian society were Durres correspondent Margarita Ferra in automatically more exposed to reporting Shijak when she was on her way to Tirana and criticism in the media. It urged such together with a group of opposition support- persons and the Prosecutor’s Offices to be ers. After the police checked their vehicle, more tolerant towards all criticism. the travellers were allowed to continue their journey. Ferra claimed that she had been ill- Freedom of Assembly treated and threatened by the police of The right to freedom of assembly was Durres more than once prior to this incident. generally respected in Albania in 2000. However, on one of the occasions on 28 Around the same time another Rilind- November, a demonstration protesting ja Demokratike journalist, Feruz Shabani, against the results of the local government who worked as a correspondent in Saran- elections of 1 October in Bajram Curri da, complained about similar harassment. turned into a violent clash between de- He said the police had forcefully taken him monstrators and the police, resulting in the to an isolation room of the local police sta- death of one and several injured. As this re- tion where he was kept for several hours. port is being written, there was contradicto- He had been interrogated during the night ry information about the incident: accord- about some articles he had written in ing to local authorities, armed demonstra- which he had denounced police violence. tors had attacked state institutions such as According to the 25 May issue of Koha the court and the police station and so for- Jone, the Prosecutor’s Office in Tirana initi- ced the police to defend themselves with ated a criminal case against journalist Pandi force. According to the demonstrators, the Gjata after he had published an interview demonstration was peaceful until the po- with Dhori Kule, former secretary general of lice forces interfered using excessive force. the Social Democratic Party, who had Amnesty International expressed con- brought unspecified accusation against cern over reports that supporters of the Skender Gjinushi, the speaker of the Parlia- Democratic Party were ill-treated during ar- ment. rest or in detention following sometimes vi- olent demonstrations after the elections. The Prosecutor’s Office reportedly Besnik Papa was arrested on 29 started another criminal case against the November and held at a police station in newspaper Koha Jone in regard with a de- Tirana where he was allegedly so severely nunciation of the conduct of Natalia Cea, beaten that he required hospital treatment former head of CAM, who was accused of for broken teeth, injuries to his jaw and se- trafficking in gold in Albania. vere bruising on his back and legs. Amnesty Since 16 November there were violent International noted that the torture and ill- incidents against journalists during demon- treatment of detainees, including criminal strations organised by the opposition suspects, by police officers in Albania was a Democratic Party to protest against the re- persistent problem which had also existed sults of the 1 October local elections. For under the previous Government of the example, some individuals among the pro- Democratic Party. testors ill-treated an American photogra- The Democratic Party, the main oppo- pher who was covering the demonstration. sition, was holding daily demonstrations in Several local journalists and TV reporters Tirana and elsewhere since the beginning were also subjected to such violence. of November, claiming that the previous ALBANIA 15 month’s municipal elections were rigged.7 to some of the internationally guaranteed The Democratic Party reported of rights of prisoners and pre-trial detainees. killings and ill-treatment of its members. According to the Helsinki Committee, Syl Lushaj (35) from Tropoja was re- in some institutions, prisoners were not in- portedly killed by a police bullet on 28 formed about their right to file a complaint November 2000.8 or a request as well as on their other rights. Generally, the prisoners were allowed to re- The Albanian Helsinki Committee criti- ceive four visits in a month, as stipulated by cised both the aggressive individuals re- law. However, occasionally Article 41 of the sponsible for violence during demonstra- law “On the Rights and Treatment of Pri- tions and the police for frequently resorting soners” was violated: a prison officer could to excessive use of force. It appealed to all follow the conversation between a prisoner political parties to look for common ground and a visitor although, by law, visits should on the respect of the rule of law and to op- have been carried out under supervision of pose any violence that infringes the image 9 a prison officer but in such a way that of Albania’s democracy. he/she could not hear the conversation. Moreover, the right to correspondence was Conditions in Prisons and Detention not always respected (there were no mail- Facilities boxes and the letters were delivered by the Since 1999 the Albanian Helsinki prison staff), there were delays in the de- Committee, together with the Netherlands livery of correspondence, and telephones Helsinki Committee, have been carrying could not always be used for technical rea- out a three-year programme of “Long-term sons. According to the Committee, discipli- Monitoring of Prisons and Pre-Detention nary measures were executed in accor- Centres in Albania.” Within this project, the dance with the law. Albanian Helsinki Committee has on two In pre-trial facilities, regulations of the occasions monitored all prisons and deten- legal procedures provided by the Criminal tion centres in Albania, the first time in Procedure Code were violated. Most de- 1999 and the second time in March until tainees were not informed immediately June 2000. The prison monitoring included about their rights, including the right to a assessment of the right of complaint and legal defence. This omission constituted a request, the right to correspondence with- significant problem especially for young of- out censorship, the right to maintain con- fenders: they were frequently interrogated tacts with family, and the execution of the in the absence of a lawyer who was only in- disciplinary measures. In remand centres formed about the forthcoming trial. The the Albanian Helsinki Committee looked lawyer had often no access to the docu- into the right of legal defence, possible use ments of the investigation file. The remand of violence, the right to maintain contacts prisoners were frequently subjected to with family members, and the respecting of both physical and psychological violence, procedural regulations. The monitoring was not only at arrest but also during their trans- carried out by a group of 17 Helsinki Com- port to a remand centre. Visits by family mittee activists who were trained by the members were either not allowed at all or Helsinki Foundation in Poland on method- were limited. As a rule, families were infor- ology, techniques and reporting skills. med too late or not at all about the where- The Committee concluded that in gen- abouts of a detainee. eral the penitentiary institutions and re- The Albanian Helsinki Committee sub- mand centres had undergone some im- mitted a list of recommendations to the com- provements in the past years. Still, prison petent legal bodies as well as a strategy for and pre-trial facility staff had acted contrary future work in the framework of this project. 16 ALBANIA

Protection of Ethnic Minorities started small businesses e.g. hotels and In 1999-2000, the Albanian Helsinki restaurants along the coast. Committee carried out a project to look In Sarande, there was an eight-level into the situation of the ethnic minorities in school with some of the curriculum in the Albania. In general, the Committee con- . Another eight-level school cluded, the rights of minorities were rela- was in Delvine, with about 250 pupils in tively well protected. 1990, decreased to 100 in 2000, out of The IHF urged for the respect of mi- whom only 20 came from Greek minority nority rights in its letter to the OSCE saying: families. In , each village had their own Greek-language kindergartens and el- “We would urge the authorities of Albania, ementary schools. There were also four Bulgaria, France, Greece, Macedonia, Slove- eight-level schools and a Greek-language nia, and Turkey to respect the right of every secondary school. individual claiming today minority identity, Many Orthodox churches were recent- irrespective of historical traditions and geo- ly either constructed or renovated. graphical distribution, and grant all individu- The Greek-language printed media has als belonging to these minorities at least all developed considerably in the recent years, the rights provided by the related interna- including the establishment of the newspa- tional norms.“10 per 2000 and the magazine Progress in Sarande. The following newspapers and Greek Minority magazines were published for the Greek The Greek minority constitutes the minority population in the district of Gjiro- biggest minority living in Albania. Recently, kaster: Lajko Vima (a newspaper that start- following the opening of the borders, the ed publishing in 1945); the weekly Foni tis inherited backwardness and numerous Omonoias; Romosini; 2000 (a trilingual economic difficulties of the transition peri- paper: Greek, English and Albanian); and od in Albania have forced a considerable Oaz, an illustrated magazine. The distribu- part of Albanian population – including the tion of the Greek-language press in all the Greek population of the southern regions - villages was free of charge. In addition, 15 to move and work temporarily in Greece. other newspapers and magazines from Ethnic have been favoured in grant- Greece were available. ing visas (up to five years), residence and Radio Gjirokaster broadcast daily 45- work permits, receiving education for their minute programs in Greek. children, and enjoying medical assistance, According to the Albanian Helsinki etc. in Greece: in this aspect, Albanian citi- Committee, the Greek minority was very zens with ethnic Greek background have well represented in local political structures. been privileged. Thus, for example, eight out of the 24 According to the results of the Albanian members of the district council of Sarande Helsinki Committee fact-finding mission to were representatives of the Greek minority, the districts of Sarande, Delvine, Himare including the chairman and his deputy. The and Gjirokaster (in both Upper Dropull and situation was almost the same in the ad- Lower Dropull), from many predominantly ministration of the Sarande municipality. ethnic Greek villages up to 40-70 percent About 120 successful and well-known of the population had temporarily left for private firms operated in the region of Greece. However, they kept regular con- Dropull, all of them owned by Greek mi- tacts with their relatives in Albania and paid nority members (Alfa Company, Fresh frequent short visits to their homes, partic- Company, Anonime Kakavije, Elka, Harri ularly during religious holidays or to vote in Lena, Tavo Jergucat, Glina, etc.) general and local elections. Some had built The ethnic status of the town of new houses with the earnings in Greece, or Himara was under dispute. In view of the ALBANIA 17

Albanian side, Himara was not part of the Shkoder, close to the Lake of Shkoder and ethnic Greek region and had only a few the border with Montenegro. This minority ethnic Greek inhabitants. Therefore, no was divided into two smaller sub-groups: Greek-language schools operated there ei- the “pure” Montenegrin minority of the ther in the communist era (1945-1990) or Orthodox belief, and the Montenegrin mi- later. In 2000, the eight-level school in the nority of the Muslim belief (Podgorians), town had only 20 pupils. The Albanian who, because of their Muslim religion, ap- Helsinki Committee stated that the issue of parently were expelled from Montenegro in Himara will remain on its agenda, aiming at the second part of the 19th century. an accurate clarification of the situation. The “pure” Montenegrins consisted of Special attention will be devoted to the about 2,000 people, and lived primarily in opening of a Greek-language classes. the area of Vrake (the villages of Gril, Omaraj, and Boric i Vogel). They had suc- Macedonian Minority ceeded in preserving their togetherness as The Macedonian minority was concen- a minority, including their own language, trated in the region of Prespe (about 214 culture and traditions. The Podgorians, square kilometers) in the southeastern cor- numbering about 6,000 individuals, were ner of Albania, at the border with Mace- already assimilated. donia and Greece. The whole population of Following the beginning of the democ- the region numbered 4,280. In contrast to ratisation processes in Albania in 1990, the Greek minority, there has not been any most “pure” Montenegrins moved to Mon- big movement of the population in this re- tenegro. The Podgorians refused to move gion in the 1990s. to Montenegro, though Montenegrin au- In 2000, there were Macedonian-lan- thorities offered them such a possibility. guage elementary schools in the nine villa- The economic difficulties as well as ges of the region, including eight-level other tensions in the former Yugoslavia schools in two villages (Gorice e Madhe forced a part of the minorities, who had left and Liqenas). In the centre of the region Albania in 1990, to return. As of the end of there was a Macedonian-language second- 2000, out of 2,000 who had left Albania, ary school where the history of the Mace- 600 had returned. They enjoyed financial donian people was taught as a separate support from Montenegro and the subject. All the Macedonian minority Orthodox Church for the building of three schools had established twinning relation- Orthodox churches, one of them in the ships with the similar schools in the centre of the city of Shkoder. Republic of Macedonia. According to the Albanian Helsinki Roma Minority Committee, in most Macedonian villages The Albanian State considered the Orthodox churches had been built or reno- Roma community legally equal to other vated. The local radio of Korce broadcast ethnic groups, recognising their rights un- news bulletins in the der the Constitution and other legislation. three times a week. The local television sta- Recently, the Parliament ratified the frame- tion also aired programmes devoted to the work European Convention on Minorities. above region, but Albanian-language pro- However, in practice, the situation of the grammes could not be received in the re- Roma is was far from being satisfactory. gion of Prespe. It was estimated that about 30,000 Roma lived in the territory of Albania in Montenegrin Minority 2000: there was no exact figure as no cen- Ethnic Montenegrins lived mainly in sus have been carried out among the some small villages north of the town Roma minority. 18 ALBANIA

Albanian Roma consist of four principal reached a high standard of living, all in the groups: Kallbuxhile (in Tirana, , Po- construction business. gradec, Korce, , Gjirokaster and Sa- Prior to 1990s, the standard of Roma rande), Mokcaret (in Lushnje, and Vlo- housing was very poor because the re), Kartofet (dispersed), and Cerqaret (no- Government had accommodated them in madic). However, in recent years when separate buildings in Tirana, Fieri, Levan, democratic changes have taken place, Lakatund, Vlore, etc. As the “pyramid many Roma families have moved to other schemes” appeared, many Roma sold their towns and cities of Albania. In 2000, they houses, invested their money in fake com- were mainly concentrated in the outskirts panies, and lost both their houses and of Tirana because of better trade opportu- money. nities, which was one of the main sources Many Roma children did not go to of income of the Roma. school while education in the mother The Roma have preserved their own tongue was difficult to access. In 2000, ac- language but very few Roma can write in cording to polls, 80 percent of Roma were their own language because in Albania illiterate, 6.5 had only elementary educa- there have never been Roma-language tion, 12 percent eight-level education, 1.5 schools. Roma are distinguished for their percent secondary education and only rich folklore as well as their art and music. 0.02 university education. However, two Most of their families are large, with the av- courses were opened with the assistance erage of 5-6 children, but even ones with of international organisations, one in Allias, 12-17 children in the regions of Fier and in the outskirts of Tirana, and another one Elbasan. at Baltez of Fieri. The main concerns of the Roma com- Despite some improvements in the sit- munity in 2000 were unemployment, bad uation of the Roma, discrimination towards housing and a low level of education. Most Roma still remained in 2000 and Roma Roma were engaged in craftsmanship and were targets of racial prejudice. One serious peddling in order to provide for their fami- case, in which a Roma was ill-treated by po- lies. Some few individual Roma have lice, was reported extensive in the press.

Endnotes 1 Unless otherwise noted, based on the Annual Report 2000 of the Albanian Helsinki Committee. 2 See IHF, Women 2000, an Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. 3 World Report 2001: Albania. 4 OSCE/ODIHR, Republic of Albania: Local Government Elections, 1 and 15 October 2000, Final Report. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. 5 OSCE/ODIHR, op.cit. 6 For more information see concrete cases below. 7 Amnesty International, “Albania: A disturbing pattern of disregard for basic human rights,” 21 December 2000. 8 Democratic Party, 9 March 2001. 9 Albanian Helsinki Committee, “A Severe Incident with Tragic Consequences,” press re- lease, 13 December 2000. 10 IHF Open Letter to the OSCE Ministerial Council, November 2000. ARMENIA1 19

IHF FOCUS: Legislation; freedom of the media; peaceful assembly; the judicial sys- tem and the independence of the judiciary; detainees rights; torture and ill-treat- ment; religious intolerance; conscientious objection; right to education; rights of the child.

Since the 27 October 1999 incident, of the case would prevent a court from when terrorists seized the Armenian conducting a comprehensive investigation. Parliament building, killing six deputies, as In addition, the military prosecutor several well as Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian and times mentioned that during the investiga- Parliamentary Speaker Karen Demirchian, tion there was pressure on him from dif- there have been serious threats to the le- ferent political forces which he did not gitimate authorities elected by the people. name. Immediately after the attack, the Parliament After October 1999, there were fre- was surrounded by the armed forces, act- quent reshuffles in the Government. At the ing under orders from the Defence Ministry end of 2000, several political parties, such (instead of the President, who was the as the Republican Party and National Commander in Chief of the Army). The Democratic Party, split on the basis that armed forces soon virtually forced some of their prominent leaders and sup- President Robert Kocharian to appoint their porters expressed their lack of confidence own candidates to the highest political po- in the policies of the Government. sitions, including Prime Minister, and During 2000, Armenia successfully Ministers of National Security and Internal passed through procedures to access the Affairs. However, the Defence Ministry soon Council of Europe on 25 January 2001. published an announcement requiring the The Council of Europe acknowledged the resignation of the Ministers of National democratic trends in Armenia but also stat- Security and Internal Affairs and the ed requirements that Armenia should com- Prosecutor General. ply with in the area of legislative and prac- Investigation into the incident in the tical reforms in order to better insure the Parliament was undertaken by the military protection of human rights.2 prosecutor, who became, according to the Constitutional changes were consid- law, the acting Prosecutor General. The tri- ered a priority. For this purpose, govern- al opened in February 2001. During the in- mental working groups were set up to draft vestigation, several persons were arrested amendments to the Constitution. However, and later released. Member of Parliament the drafting process was not transparent Mushegh Movsessian, Adviser to the Presi- and there was no public discussion on the dent Aleksan Haroutyunian, Deputy Direc- proposed changes. The same practice was tor of the National TV Haroutiun Haroutyu- characterized in the general lack of access nian, and Journalist Nairi Badalian, later to information in almost every field in gov- stated that they had been tortured while ernmental operations in Armenia. under arrest. Many publicized human rights con- In addition, lawyers involved in the cerns revolved around the detention and case stated their concern about the deci- court proceedings of Ashot Bleyan, the for- sion of the military prosecutor to divide the mer Ministry of Education and Director of case into two: one that treats the actual the Mchitar Sebastiatsi educational com- killers as organizers and perpetrators of the plex, and that of Arkady Vartanian, a mil- crime, and the other, on which the lionaire businessman, critic of the President Prosecutor’s Office would work further to and the leader of the 21st Century Associa- find out possible master-minders of the at- tion who was arrested for having organised tack. The lawyers believed that the division an unsanctioned demonstration and had to 20 ARMENIA submit to long legal proceedings. Both the Press, on Elections, an Ombudsman were considered by human rights organiza- and others should be developed and tions and some political parties as political adopted according to the schedule recom- detainees. mended by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Legislation However, according to the Civil Society The drafting and adoption of legislation Development Union, the Government continued to be characterized by a lack of should make efforts to broaden the discus- transparency. No procedures were estab- sion on these important issues. lished for the National Assembly to provide individuals and organizations with draft Freedom of the Media laws that were under discussion. In only As of early January 2001, 1,083 media rare cases public discussion and hearings enterprises were registered in Armenia, ac- on draft laws took place. According to a cording to the Ministry of Justice. Of these, valid procedure, draft legislation was pre- 193 were TV companies, 55 radio stations, sented for discussion and adoption in 27 news agencies, 166 magazines and Parliament by the Government, ministries 642 newspapers.4 or deputies of the National Assembly. The Financial problems, denial of access to participation of interested groups in the information, questionable criminal defama- process was minimal. Draft amendments tion laws, and the inadequate laws on the to the Constitution prepared by the press and the broadcast media were the Presidential Commission on Constitutional main problems faced by the Armenian me- Amendments were kept secret awaiting dia. approval from the Venice Commission. As a result of such non-transparency, Law on the Press laws were inadequately prepared and often The Law on the Press and the Mass had to be amended immediately following Media was adopted in 1991 and remained adoption. in force throughout 2000. Mass media rep- resentatives repeatedly voiced the necessi- In October the National Assembly ty of a new law, regarding the current one adopted the Law on Broadcast Media. In as vague and outdated. They stressed that, November the President appealed to the for example, the law did not explicitly de- Constitutional Court to revise some of its fine the principle of editorial independence, provisions because they were inconsistent and it declared various media freedoms with the Constitution. The Court recom- but failed to provide guarantees for them. mended changing several provisions. On Moreover, the law did not specify the the positive side, following heavy protests, roles, rights and obligations of the founders the Commission in the National Assembly and the management of a media outlet. It responsible for this law invited media asso- only mentioned that the relations between ciations and private broadcast media sta- the founders and the media outlets are reg- tions to come up with proposals for amen- ulated by by-laws or agreements signed 3 dments. between them. Also, the law did not say Legal analysts and parliamentarians anything about cases with more than one mentioned numerous inconsistencies be- founder. This has been the reason for sev- tween different laws, as well as between eral conflicts between the editorial staffs the Constitution and other legislation. and the National Assembly, both founders Also, a positive development, the Go- of the newspapers Hayastani Hanrapetu- vernment developed a plan according to tiun and Respublica Armenia, when a which several laws, including the Law on question about changing the editors-in- ARMENIA 21 chief has been raised, and were not re-reg- state secrets divided information into four istered by the end of the year, as was pro- categories: military, international, economic vided for by the law. and intelligence information. Such broad definitions could cover a wide range of in- Access to Information formation and impose a drastic limitation One of the major problems facing the on access to information, also encouraging Armenian media in 2000 continued to be self-censorship. the unjustified restrictions on free access to On 27 January a court ruled on the information. Article 4 of the Law on the case of Nikol Pashinian, the Editor-in-Chief Press and the Mass Media entitled the press of the Oragir daily. Pashinian faced numer- to receive information from the Govern- ous charges, including libelling the spouse ment, public and socio-political organiza- of MP Artashes Geghamian; mentioning tions, and from authorities. In practice, how- the nickname of Norik Ayvazian, a National ever, media loyal to the Government had Assembly candidate and professor of access to various kinds of information not Yerevan State University; insulting bailiffs; available to opposition or independent me- negligence at work; publication of unveri- dia. Although the denial of access to infor- fied information; insulting a representative mation could be litigated about, no media of the authorities; and non-execution of the enterprise did it because the trial costs sentence of the court. Following long court would have been too high, and, more im- proceedings, the Court of Appeal found portantly, they believed it would not be pos- Pashinian eventually guilty of violating sible to have their case tried fairly. Article 184 (negligence at work), Article 208 (insulting a representative of the au- Defamation and Self-Censorship thorities on duty) and on Article 191(4) Article 208 of the Criminal Code pro- (non-execution of the sentence/decision of vided for criminal defamation and insult. It the court). He received a one-year sus- also prohibited any call for a change of the pended prison sentence and was ordered Government in force (Article 65), dissemi- to pay compensation of 40 times the min- nation of war propaganda (Article 66), in- imum salary. The Court of Appeal ordered citing racial enmity (Article 66) and publi- further investigations on some of the cation of state secrets (Article 70). above-mentioned charges. The Court of Article 208 of the Criminal Code pro- Cassation upheld the decision. Pashinian vided that publicly insulting the authorities and his lawyers declared their intention to with regard to their official duties was a appeal to international bodies.5 crime and subjected to a fine or up to one year of corrective labour. This contradicted many rulings of the European Court of Law on the Broadcast Media Human Rights, according to which public In October the National Assembly officials are expected to endure broader adopted a Law on Television and Radio. public criticism than private individuals. The law named the state television and ra- Most media outlets were financially de- dio “public television and radio stations” pendent on the Government, political par- which are funded from the state budget. ties, influential authorities or business peo- The board of directors should approve the ple. Therefore they feared criminal charges strategy and oversee the management of with the result that self-censorship was the public stations. However, the board is widespread. to be appointed by the President of If a media outlet published information Armenia. considered a state secret, it could be sus- The law also envisaged a council that pended for three months. The 1996 law on regulates the work of independent television 22 ARMENIA and radio stations. Members of this council eramen of ORT, AR, A1+, Noyan Tapan and are also to be appointed by the President. Armenia TV companies who were covering The law contained several provisions the arrest of Arkady Vartanian,7 the that restrict media rights. For example, it President of 21st Century International prohibited broadcast media to show pro- Association. On the same day the corre- grammes in which state or other official se- spondent of A1+, Mher Arshakian, and the crets are published, or programmes that vi- correspondent of RTR in Armenia, Elina olate other persons’ rights or presumption Arzumanian, were illegally brought to a the of innocence, or libel them (Article 24). office of the Ministry of Interior Affairs for On 12 January 2001, about twenty lea- the same reason. Arshakian was pushed ding Armenian television channels sus- and insulted and forced under threat of pended their prime time broadcasting for beating to sign a permission for a personal 20-45 minutes to protest against the short- search. A few days later the President apol- comings in the law. While the law is already ogized to journalists for the disrespect in force, amendments to it were scheduled shown by police officers. to be discussed in March 2001in the On the same day, the broadcasting of National Assembly. the Noyan Tapan TV company was inter- rupted and suspended for the two follow- Harassment of Journalists and Media ing days allegedly due to a failure in the 6 Outlets station’s transmitter. Tigran Haroutiunian, In the early morning of 21 February, the Director of Noyan Tapan, doubted this two computers and a printer were stolen explanation but his technical staff were not from the editorial office of the Haikakan permitted to go up to check the transmitter. Zhamanak daily without any of the doors Before this incident, the station had had no or windows having been broken. The rob- technical problems. Haroutiunian believed bers did not take the recorder that was on that the authorities wanted to hinder the the table of the Chief Editor Nikol Pashinian station from informing the public about the and made no attempt to open the safe. scandalous arrest of Arkady Vartanian. A The law enforcement bodies were in- few weeks later the Republican Centre of formed of the incident. A criminal case was Telecommunications informed Noyan initiated and was pending at this writing. Tapan that the TV tower would be checked due to “disturbances on air”. The frequen- On 3 March the representatives of the cies used by Noyan Tapan allegedly dis- parliamentary Unity Faction and the leaders turbed the broadcasting of other stations of parties that comprise it made a state- and particularly the communication of the ment demanding the resignation of Tigran Ministry of National Security. As a result, the Naghdalian, the executive director of Centre of Telecommunications prohibited National Television of Armenia. The state- the use of the antenna, and the station was ment was prompted by the coverage in the forced to use another one that did not cor- Haylour (the news bulletin of National respond to the necessary technical specifi- Television) of the press conference by cations, narrowing down significantly the Ruben Sahakian and Ruben Rshtuni, geographical coverage of the station and lawyers of Alexan and Haroutiun Haroutiu- reducing the quality of the broadcasts. All nian, both arrested as suspects in the ter- this led to significant economic damage to rorist attack on 27 October 1999 in the the TV company as it no longer attracted National Assembly. advertisers. On 30 October, police officers confis- On the New Year’s Eve, 31 December, cated by force the videotapes from cam- a fire started at the editorial office of the ARMENIA 23 newspaper Novoye Vremya in the House olent overthrow or change of the State and of the Press. Unidentified individuals threw the public system (Article 65 of the bottles filled with gasoline towards the en- Criminal Code). The decision provides for trance of the office, causing significant ma- seven years’ imprisonment or a fine rang- terial damage. Criminal proceedings were ing from 40 to 60 times the minimum instituted. However, the offenders were not wage. Vartanian was detained for two found as of this writing. Ruben Satian, months. On 7 December, the Court of Editor-in-Chief of Novoye Vremya, linked Appeal for Criminal and Military Matters the incident with one of the stories about overruled Vartanian’s complaint. Arkady Armenian army that appeared in the news- Vartanian, who was hospitalised in January paper those days. 2001 for heart problems, was released on 22 February 2001 but could not leave the Peaceful Assembly hospital because of his health situation. In late February the case of Arkady Vartanian Article 26 of the Constitution provides was closed due “to his poor health condi- for freedom of assembly and Article 24 for tion”. He left Armenia for a while and then freedom of speech. However, in 2000, returned. Arkady Vartanian, a millionaire, business- man, Russian citizen and leader of the 21st Haykakan Zhamanak reported on 26 Century Association was arrested for having November that the opposition Democratic organised an unsanctioned march at the Fatherland party had been denied official presidential palace. permission to hold an anti-governmental demonstration in Yerevan. The party ac- On 30 October some 10,000 people cused the municipal authorities of violating attended a three-hour demonstration in the principle of freedom of assembly guar- central Yerevan blaming President Robert anteed by the Constitution. The paper not- Kocharian for the country’s economic prob- ed that no organization had been allowed lems and the ensuing mass emigration, to get its supporters on to the streets since and submitted a call for his resignation. The the 30 October march led by Arkady demonstration was the culmination of a Vartanian. one-month campaign led by Vartanian. Earlier on the day of the demonstration, Vartanian had been summoned to the Judicial System and Independence of Yerevan police headquarters and warned the Judiciary not to make calls for violence. He claimed In 1998, several laws on judicial re- that the city’s police chief had threatened forms were adopted, including the Law on to initiate criminal proceedings against him the Judicial System. It provided for a new unless he stop his campaign. court system, which has been in operation On the evening of that day, police officers since 1999. Also, a Law on the Status of forced their way into his house by breaking Judges; a Law on the Activity of Advocates; the door and arrested Vartanian without and a new Civil and Civil Procedure Code showing an arrest warrant. Eyewitnesses re- as well as a Criminal Procedure Code were ported that the police hindered the media adopted. from taking pictures of what was happen- According to the new legislation, the ing. About 17 demonstrators were also ar- courts have the right to oversee the rested and sentenced to administrative de- process of investigation by the prosecutor, tention of between seven and 15 days.8 i.e. to approve or to reject the prosecutor’s On 13 November a first instance court of opinions on the arrest or release of individ- the Center-Nork-Marash communities uals, on searches, and the monitoring of charged Vartanian guilty of calling for the vi- private correspondence or tapping phones. 24 ARMENIA

In practice, however, in 2000 judges still PACE recommendations to the tended to fulfil the wishes of the Government stressed the necessity of re- Prosecutor’s Office and were under the in- forms in the judicial system, particularly, to fluence of the executive branch. guarantee “the full independence of the ju- The 1995 Constitution provided that diciary.“10 judges are to serve their terms until the age The abundance of irregularities in the of 65. However, in contradiction of this pro- judicial system resulted in a deeply nega- vision, the Law on Judges stipulated that tive public attitude towards courts and the the Armenian President can remove a jud- judiciary. According to a public survey of ge from office on the recommendation of December 1999, the public perceived the the Judicial Council if, for example, the jud- judiciary as the most corrupted state struc- ge had seriously violated the law or did not ture. Eighty-four percent of the population act in accordance with regulated “judicial of Yerevan, the capital, believed that cor- behaviour.” However, the reasons and all ruption in the court system was very high. basis for the Council’s decisions were kept Only 2.7 percent trusted the courts. A pub- secret, it was impossible to judge how in- lic opinion survey conducted by Versus stu- dependent the judge’s decisions were. dio in 2000 showed that in case of a dis- Between 1999 and the end of 2000, the pute that cannot be solved between the Council had discussed more than 10 cases. parties, 31 percent of the respondents A judge of the First Instance Court of would apply to court, and 68.5 percent Armavir marz, Marine Marinosyan, was dis- would in no circumstances do so. Over 82 missed for “violations of the law” as she did percent did not believe that the judiciary not sanction the arrest of persons accused was independent. of homicide. Detainees’ Rights, Torture and Another judge of the First Instance Ill-Treatment Court in Gegharkunik marz, Anahit Saghate- Individuals continued to be sentenced lian, received an administrative punishment to long prison terms on the basis of virtual- for “violations of the Criminal Procedure ly non-existent evidence, without witnesses Code while dealing with criminal cases.” and often only on the basis of the informa- In 2000 a judge from Lori marz was tion gathered during the interrogation of sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for the defendant. Statements made by the taking a bribe of U.S.$ 800. Consequently, defence to deny guilt were frequently ig- he was dismissed from his post. nored. Lawyers complained that courts did The Judicial Council consisted of nine not consider defendants’ statements in the judges, two lawyers and three prosecutors, court room about physical and psychologi- all appointed by the President to decide on cal abuse during pre-trial detention. the judges’ professional qualifications and The most typical case of this nature promotion. The Council was chaired by the was the trial against Ashot Bleyan, the for- President, and his deputies were the Minis- mer Minister of Education and a failed ter of Justice and the Prosecutor General. presidential candidate, and the Director of The Council kept the number of cases un- Mkhitar Sebastatsi educational complex at der discussion secret as well as the reasons the time of his arrest in May 1999. Bleyan for its decisions. The PACE recommended was held 19 months in detention before that the Armenian Government “reform the the court handed down its ruling. The trial Judicial Council in order to increase its in- was delayed in the Court of First Instance in dependence within three years of acces- Malatia Sebastia for eleven months and sion.”9 was characterized by lack of evidence ARMENIA 25 against Bleyan, negligence of the defend- Ill-treatment and torture of detainees er’s petitions and biased and generally un- by the police was a serious problem. While professional conduct by judge Iskuhi earlier the legal detention period before Vartanian. Moreover, Bleyan was held in a bringing charges was 72 hours, this time cage in the courtroom. The Rapporteur for was prolonged to 96 hours. In practice, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human even this time limit was often exceeded. Rights of PACE, Michael Spindelegger, stat- The Deputy Director of the Armenian ed that he found it “inadmissible that a de- National TV, Harutiun Harutunian, and poll- fendant who is not accused of a violent ster Nairi Badalian, both former suspects in crime, and who can hardly be classified as the 27 October incident but later cleared of ‘dangerous’ (and is not classified as such charges because of lack of evidence, stated by the Armenian authorities) is treated in that they were subjected to physical and this manner, violating his human dignity psychological pressure by the investigators and the presumption of innocence. The while kept in custody. Assembly should closely follow this trial and its outcome (e.g. in the framework of Norayr Yeghiazarian, a defendant ac- the monitoring procedure to be institut- cused of illegal selling of arms to members ed).”11 As Bleyan was sentenced to seven of the terrorist gang that stormed the years in prison for embezzlement and Parliament on 27 October 1999 killing abuse of power (Article 90.4 of the eight key officials, died in the prison on 29 Criminal Code), and two other rulings were August, according to the Ministry of Interior. read, nobody stood up in the court room The cause of the death remained unclear. upon the order of the judge to protest the The Ministry reported that the defendant biased court hearings and the verdict. died from being electrocuted by a water- Human rights organizations and political heating device. parties protested against the long pre-trial The PACE recommended “to institute, detention as well the unfairness of the without delay, a follow-up procedure which court decision and judged the case to be conforms to Council of Europe standards to politically motivated. Bleyan appealed to complaints received on alleged ill-treat- the Court of Appeals on 19 December ment in police custody, pre-trial detention 19and on 2 February 2001 the Court start- centres, prisons and the army, and to en- ed hearings. sure that those found guilty of such acts are According to the Criminal Procedure punished in accordance with the law.”12 Code, only suspects had a right to legal During 2000 human rights organiza- counsel, but not witnesses. In practice, the tions and activists continued to experience police could arrest a person as a witness, problems getting to places of pre-trial de- interrogate him/her without the presence tention and prisons. The Presidential of a lawyer and later decide that he/she Commission on Human Rights was given was a suspect. the right to visit prisons and reported about The decisions of the Court of Appeals humiliating, unsafe and poor conditions. in criminal cases came into force ten days As of 1 January 2000, a total of 7,428 following the ruling, in civil cases within 15 prisoners were being held in Armenian days. Within this period, individuals could prisons. Of them, 1,952 prisoners were to apply to the Court of Cassation (Supreme serve their sentence in prison colonies, but Court) without legal assistance. However, owing to the lack of funds they stayed at after that period, one could appeal to the home.13 The transfer of the prison system Court of Cassation only with intervention by from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of six lawyers who had been issued a licence Interior to the Ministry of Justice did not to do this. take place. 26 ARMENIA

Religious Intolerance14 Memorandum of Understanding, aiming at Article 1 of the 1991 Law on Freedom the preparation and adoption of an Agree- of Conscience, Worship and Religious ment between the State and the Church to Organizations guarantees freedom of wor- grant even more authorities and privileges ship and religious belief, the free choice to the Armenian Apostolic Church in differ- and exercise of religion, and the right to ent spheres of life. practice different religions (or none at all) individually or collectively. Conscientious Objection There were 45 registered religious or- The authorities continued to reject the ganizations in Armenia, representing the registration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses main world religions. The Armenian Apos- (with about 17,000 members) mainly be- tolic Church had the status of the national cause they refused to carry out military church and enjoyed special privileges. service which was obligatory: there was no Despite the provisions guaranteeing law on either on unarmed military service freedom of religion, the Law on the or an alternative civilian service. Armenia Freedom of Conscience, Worship and Reli- committed to itself to the adoption of such gious Organizations also contained contra- laws upon joining the Council of Europe. dictions and restrictions on the right to ex- In 2000, nineteen Jehovah’s Witnesses ercise religion. For example, it was required who refused to serve the military were im- that a religious group must have 200 prisoned. The PACE recommended that members to be registered. Some religious until the law on alternative service was organizations, for example the Jehovah’s adopted, the Government pardon all the Witnesses, operated without registration. sentenced conscientious objectors and al- According to international standards, a low them to carry out the alternative serv- state should equally support all religious de- ice as soon as a law on it was adopted.15 nominations. Nevertheless, Article 7 of the However, in early 2001, a week after Law on the Freedom of Conscience, Wor- Armenia’s accession to the Council of Euro- ship and Religious Organizations provided pe, Karen Yegoyan, a Jehovah’s Witness, that all the registered religious organizations was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment could do charity work whereas another pro- for refusing to carry out military service. vision (Article 17) granted this right exclu- Another four young Jehovah’s Witnesses sive to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The have been arrested since then and are same applied to the return of church buil- awaiting trial as of this writing.16 dings: by law, all registered religious groups had the right to have places of worship, but Right to Education eventually the law gave only the Armenian Apostolic Church the right to build new In 1993 Armenia ratified the UN Con- churches. Moreover, by law, it was forbid- vention against Discrimination in Education. for a religious group, whose spiritual In addition, in 1996 the Law on the Rights centre was outside Armenia, to receive fi- of the Child was adopted, according to nancial support from abroad (Article 13). which each child has a right to education According to Article 17, religious de- and choice of school in agreement with nominations other than the Armenian his/her parents or other legal guardians Apostolic Church were allowed to worship (Article 11). within their own buildings only, and were However, since 1999, Waldorf classes prohibited to do so in schools, kinder- in the Yerevan school No. 30 have been gartens or penitentiaries. subjected to persecution and authorities On 17 March the Armenian Apostolic have hindered their normal functioning. In Church and the Government signed the 1994, the Minister of Education Ashot ARMENIA 27

Bleyan allowed the opening of the school children under seven years of age are enti- No. 30 with the aim of developing alter- tled to free medical service. native pedagogical systems in state In recent years, as a result of social and schools that were based mainly on the economic hardship, street children, child traditional Soviet educational principles. In beggars and prostitutes have emerged. 1999 the existence of the Waldorf school One of the main problems concerning in Armenia was put under doubt despite children was the sharp decrease in the ed- the fact that numerous inspections carried ucational level of the teenagers. According out by authorities in the Waldorf classes to the Defence Ministry, about 40 percent confirmed many progressive develop- of conscripts in 2000 did not have second- ments and that their achievements were ary education. Thousands of pupils did not consistent with the established state stan- attend school on a regular basis, with many dards. Still, Minister of Education and children under 16 being involved in the Sciences, Eduard Ghazarian, issued a de- street trade but not enjoying normal work- cree that the school was allowed to oper- ers’ rights. According to the Ministry of ate only three more years with the goal of Education, about 20 percent of the pupils integrating its curriculum into the state of the secondary schools dropped out. education structure. By that time, there Due to low salaries (U.S.$ 7-20 a were eight Waldorf classes with 200 month) and frequent backlogs in the pay- pupils and 26 teachers. The minister was ment, secondary school teachers frequent- reportedly put under pressure, among ly forced parents to pay for additional “pri- others, by the Armenian Apostolic Church vate” classes or give bribes. As a result, the and some influential Orthodox people moral atmosphere suffered and the educa- who falsely considered Waldorf pedagogy tion system no longer enjoyed the neces- religiously oriented. sary respect. According to research carried out by Editor-in-chief of the Armenian Aposto- the UNICEF’s office in Armenia in schools lic Church publishing house, Serzh Mayi- and institutions specialized in the educa- lian, urged in his appeal to the Parliament, tion of disabled children, orphanages and Prime Minister and Minister of Education boarding schools,17 75 percent of them did and Science the closure of the Waldorf not have safe housing conditions, and 50 classes because their pedagogy was anti- percent did not take sufficient measures to national and sectarian. The appeal was promote the general development of chil- published in many newspapers with humil- dren and organize appropriate leisure time iating comments and the Waldorf teachers activities. Thirty-nine percent of the institu- were not allowed to publish their response tions lacked professional staff. Many chil- (in violation of the Law on the Press). dren staying in orphanages had one or two parents whose social and living conditions Rights of the Child were too desperate to care for a child.18 On 1 June 1992 Armenia ratified the The State failed to provide the neces- Convention on the Rights of the Child, and sary funding for schools with special needs. on 21 May 1996 a law on the Rights of the The Government owed 2 million Dram Child was adopted, providing, among other (U.S.$ 3,700) for food supplies to the spe- things, for free health services for children. cial school in Nubarashen for children with However, in 1997 the Government decid- behaviour problems and the staff of the ed that only children under 15 years of age school had not received their salaries for were guaranteed free health services, par- three months in 2000. The director of the ticularly in hospitals. Moreover, many clinics school sought private funding for the had posters on the walls stating that only school, at least to feed the children. 28 ARMENIA

In addition, the Government had no According to Article 207of the Criminal programmes for the future integration into Procedure Code, witnesses under 14, or in society of children who had been raised in special cases under 16, must be investigat- special schools. In the situation of mass un- ed only in the presence of a trustee. employment, the majority of the children, Trustees can be parents or teachers. The deprived of minimal living conditions, had psychologists from correctional facilities to resort to any available means to support maintained that this provision of the article themselves. was often violated during 2000. In 2000, over 600 crimes committed Physical abuse of children was com- by children or juveniles were registered, in- monplace, including cases of sexual abuse. cluding thefts, homicides, illegal possession However, these cases were kept secret and of weapons and the illegal use of narcotics. not discussed in public. Children were not Most of the youths stemmed from socially aware about their rights and whom they vulnerable families usually with only one could ask for help. parent. Two-hundred-and-eight homeless No State Committee on Children’s children were also registered. To obtain sta- Affairs had been established as of the end tistics on juvenile vagrancy and begging of 2000 to oversee the protection of the and to forward the affected children to ap- fundamental rights of the child. Sometimes propriate correctional or reformatory the Commission on Human Rights of the schools, the Juvenile Delinquency Presidential Office refused to look into indi- Department of the Ministry of Interior or- vidual cases of the violations of the rights of ganized regular raids and often used force the child. The UNICEF called on the against children. The Ministry of Interior Armenian Government to establish a recorded 11 minor girl prostitutes, but the Committee on Children’s Rights, but there real number was estimated to be higher. has been no response.

Endnotes 1 Based on reports from the Civil Society Development Union in Armenia. 2 Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Opinion No.221 (2000). 3 For details of the law, see Freedom of Media: Law on the Broadcast Media. 4 Yerevan Press Club Weekly Newsletter, 8-12 January 2001. 5 The annual report of the Yerevan Press Club Commission on protection of freedom of speech. 6 Ibid. 7 See Peaceful Assembly. 8 Haykakan Zhamanak, 2 November 2000. 9 PACE Opinion No.221, par. 14, iii. 10 PACE Opinion No.221, par 13, iv-a. 11 PACE, Doc 8756, Opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. 12 PACE Opinion 221, Article 13 iv. 13 Snark news agency, 11 February 2001. 14 Based on the documentary “ Religious Minorities in Armenia,” prepared by the Civil Society Development Union and Versus Studio, 2000. 15 PACE Opinion 221 (2000), iv-d. 16 RFE/RL (Un)Civil Societies, Vol. 2, No. 4, 25 January 2001. 17 Twenty-five of 47 of such schools were surveyed. 18 UNDP, Human Development National Report, Armenia 2000. AUSTRIA 29

Some FPÖ campaign posters from the Vienna local elections clearly linked immigration and criminal- ity. “Foreigners: I understand the concerns of the Viennese”, “Criminality: I want to live safely too.” © Gertraud Hödl

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression; peaceful assembly; independence of the judici- ary; ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; intolerance, xeno- phobia and racial discrimination; protection of ethnic minorities; protection of asy- lum seekers and immigrants; rights of homosexuals; past human rights abuses.

The October 1999 parliamentary elec- refugees and immigrants, and to evaluate tions brought to power a new Government the political nature of the FPÖ. The report coalition with the extreme right Freedom concluded that the Austrian Government Party (FPÖ) that is known for discriminato- was committed to common European val- ry and racist statements by its leadership, ues and its respect of the rights of the including its former Chair and Governor of above-mentioned groups was “not inferior” the Federal State of Carinthia, Jörg Haider. to that of the other EU member States. The new Government was sworn in on 4 However, the report noted that the FPÖ February. As a protest against the FPÖ par- was a right-wing populist party with radical ticipation in the Government, the other 14 elements, and that it had exploited and en- EU member States imposed bilateral forced xenophobic sentiments in its cam- “measures”- widely perceived as “sanc- paigns. According to the report, FPÖ activi- tions”- on Austria, in practice cutting official ties had “created an atmosphere in which relations to the minimum. In the shadow of openly expressed remarks against foreign- the debate on the “EU measures” remai- ers became acceptable, causing feelings of ned many important political, economic anxiety.” The report also criticised the FPÖ’s and social issues affecting all individuals liv- attempts to suppress criticism by the con- ing in Austria. tinuous use of libel procedures.1 The “measures” were lifted in Septem- ber following the publication of the report Freedom of Expression and the Media by the “Three Wise Men” - Martti Ahtisaari, Jochen Frowein and Marcelino Oreja - Since the autumn of 1999, there has whom the EU had charged with the task to been a clear general tendency toward look into Austria’s Government’s commit- more restricted judicial interpretation of ment to common European values, in par- freedom of expression versus increased ticular concerning the rights of minorities, protection of individuals against alleged li- 30 AUSTRIA bel or defamation. Many courts have been ing was inconsistent with the case law of occupied by cases filed by Jörg Haider and the European Court of Human Rights, other FPÖ leaders against journalists, politi- which has repeatedly ruled that politicians cal scientists and journals. Many of them and public figures do not enjoy the same were submitted by the legal office of Dieter protection against criticism as private indi- Böhmdorfer (& Ghneff), the new FPÖ viduals.4 Following the October acquittal the Minister of Justice and former lawyer of IHF noted that the many libel cases that oc- Jörg Haider and the FPÖ. cupied Austrian courts showed that some- On 11 May Professor Anton Pelinka, a thing was seriously wrong about the judicial leading political scientist and former chair interpretation of libel. It made the point that of the Austrian Helsinki Committee, was the question could be posed as to the de- found guilty by the Viennese Criminal Court gree of awareness of judicial officials con- (Straflandesgericht) for having “defamed” cerning the jurisprudence of the ECHR, the character of Jörg Haider. Pelinka was which is a part of Austrian constitutional fined the amount of 60,000 ATS (approxi- law. The IHF also said that differences in mately U.S.$ 4,500) in a case that was orig- the judicial interpretation of freedom of inally brought by Haider’s then lawyer speech raised concern about guarantees of Dieter Böhmdorfer. The basis for the con- this fundamental human right under 5 viction was Pelinka’s statement to Italian Austrian law. television station RAI on 1 May 1999: “In In addition, a statement by Justice his career, Haider has repeatedly made Minister Böhmdorfer that the idea (stem- statements which amount to trivialising ming from Jörg Haider) of applying criminal National Socialism. Once he described law in cases where parliamentarians express death camps as penal camps. On the criticism of the current Government was whole, Haider is responsible for making “worth considering” was deeply worrying. certain National Socialist positions and cer- tain National Socialist remarks more politi- Freedom of the Media cally acceptable.” Pelinka appealed against The existence of parties in the the sentence.2 Government with authoritarian tendencies, the perpetuation of a state monopoly over In another pending case, Pelinka stated television and an atypical press market con- in an CNN interview, which was broadcast centration were three factors hindering full on 27 September 1999: “Comparing im- freedom of the media in Austria in 2000. In migrants to parasites, is what the Nazis did its February 2001 report, Reporters sans regarding to the . I don’t claim, that frontières (RSF) denounced numerous per- Haider is thinking that he will build an sonal attacks against journalists, multiple le- Auschwitz-death-camp somewhere for im- gal actions against the press and an exces- migrants, but he is using the same preju- sive increase in interventions into the work dices, the same sentiments as the Nazis of editorial staff responsible for political did to win popular acceptance by exploiting news at the public sector broadcasting me- xenophobic racism.” On 24 October a dia in Austria. There has been a dramatic Vienna court acquitted Pelinka of the increase in the number of libel cases and charges. Haider’s lawyer appealed against several dailies or weeklies have had dozens 3 the decision. of court cases with FPÖ leaders.6 After the May court decision, the IHF Jörg Haider already earlier sued jour- stated that “the court is in effect helping nalists and prominent persons for similar Haider’s political programme, intimidating statements as those of Pelinka’s, including any citizen who tries to expose his views for Peter Michael Lingens of the journal Profil; what they are.” It emphasised that the rul- Hans Rauscher of the newspaper der AUSTRIA 31

Standard; and Wolfgang Neugebauer, di- the programme feared for the future of his rector of the Documentation Centre on programme. Wodak claimed that this was Austrian Resistance (Dokumentationsar- the first time she had experienced this kind chiv des österreichischen Widerstandes). of censorship in the ORF.11 The journal Profil and the Socialist Youth An important trial on past abuses Association were sentenced in 1999. opened in September, with the accused Still in 2001 broadcasting was kept un- bringing charges against the media. der state control In Austria. The State still In September, Dr. Heinrich Gross12 the had a quasi-monopoly over both radio and doctor accused of murdering children at television, and Government parties were Spiegelgrund, the Nazi euthanasia centre reportedly increasingly intervening in the in Vienna, brought a private case against work of editorial staff responsible for politi- Austrian daily Die Presse for referring to a cal news at the public sector broadcasting documentary about Spiegelgrund and media.7 state Television ORF for reporting on alle- Two press groups owned the majority gations relating to Spiegelgrund which he of titles in a market that had approximately claimed prejudiced his chances of a fair tri- six million readers. A tabloid called Die al. The charges were rejected by the Kronenzeitung had an overwhelming pre- Vienna first instance court but a second in- dominance in the country, with about 43 stance hearing against Die Presse was still percent of the market share.8 pending as of this writing, after Gross’s Especially the state Radio and Tele- lawyer appealed against the decision. vision ORF has been under constant pres- Austrian journalists and commentators ex- sure from the new Government. Links to pressed concern at Gross’s lawyer’s use of websites critical of the Government pub- the Austrian Media Law (Paragraph 6) to lished on the Internet-site of the ORF have claim that the reports in question “insulted suddenly disappeared allegedly after inter- the dignity” of Gross. vention from the Government.9 University Professor Ruth Wodak from Peaceful Assembly the Institute for Languages of the University Spontaneous demonstrations – not or- in Vienna was asked to give an interview in ganised by specific organization in order to ORF on her research of racist and anti- escape possible fines and retaliation - Semitic language in public life in Austria against the new Government have taken and other EU States for the programme place every Thursday since the new coali- “Kunststücke“ on 17 February 2001. During tion Government was sworn in. In general, a preparatory discussion held on 14 the demonstrations have been peaceful February, with the editor in charge, Wodak with only minor isolated incidents. asked to use materials from the ORF On 2 March the existence of a special archives, showing examples from parlia- police unit (Sondereinheit Kriminaldienst- mentary debates and televised discussions SEK) became public, when masked police involving politicians from FPÖ,10 but was in- officers arrested demonstrators, threaten- formed by the editor that this had been re- ing them with weapons and putting them fused “from above.” At this point Ruth into a civilian car, without identifying them- Wodak was told by the head of the pro- selves as police officers. This unit, who at gramme, that she would not be allowed to the time consisted of 55 officers working mention names of politicians, but had to on a volunteer and unpaid basis and some stick to the neutral term “Austrian politi- of whom had also allegedly been involved cians.” The reason given was that these in ill-treatment, was dissolved at the end were “explosive times” and that head of July following numerous complaints about 32 AUSTRIA their activities. These incidents were filmed, that the judges’ and prosecutors’ action was and made public, and the head of the po- an unprecedented warning signal in Austria lice admitted that masked police officers that politicians ought to take seriously. had been infiltrating the demonstrations.13 Some demonstrators were charged with re- Fair Trial and Detainees’ Rights sistance to state power. The quality of interpretation for non- German speakers in court was of concern. Independence of the Judiciary Even for the most common languages such The professional association of the as English there was a lack of qualified in- new Minister of Justice Dieter Böhmdorfer terpreters. The problem was evident also in as the former lawyer of the FPÖ and its some IHF-observed trials in August against leader Jörg Haider raised doubts about his alleged drug dealers. neutrality and the genuineness of his con- In several court sessions involving drug viction to work for human rights and the dealing, masked witnesses wearing reflect- rule of law. It also raised fears about his ing glasses who were not mentioned by possible interference in the course of jus- name – all allegedly for security reasons - tice, particularly in the cases involving FPÖ gave evidence against alleged African drug politicians. He was also under suspicion for dealers. It was claimed that the witnesses having used confidential documents in were petty criminals organised by the po- 1996 in a defamation trial for Jörg Haider lice against profit to give evidence the po- and Ewald Stadler,14 FPÖ regional council lice wanted to hear to solve the cases.16 member in Lower Austria. In addition, in an This was done although the European interview regarding Jörg Haider’s possible Court of Human Rights has made it clear involvement in criminal activities, Justice that basing a process mainly on evidence Minister Böhmdorfer said publicly that he given by an unidentified witness violates was convinced about the innocence of his due process standards. 15 “friend” Jörg Haider. Michel Kabongo, of African origin, was In December 1,300 judges and state sentenced to five years in prison only on prosecutors (two thirds of all) made an ap- the basis of a statement of an unidentified, peal protesting against pressure exercised masked witness.17 by authorities in the operation of courts. Particularly investigations about some FPÖ members’ alleged illegal accessing of secret Ill-Treatment and Misconduct by Law criminal police data was at the centre of the Enforcement Officials debate. A dozen law enforcement officials The UN Committee Against Torture in Vienna, Salzburg and Carinthia were tem- considered the second periodic report of porarily suspended from duty for allegedly Austria in November 1999. It welcomed, illegally calling up data for FPÖ functionaries among other things, the fact that the from the police data base. The case was still Federal Government was required to sub- pending as of this writing. The judges’ out- mit an annual security report to the cry was triggered by the demand of the FPÖ Parliament; the establishment of an inspec- Vice-Chair and Parliamentary Group Leader tion system in accordance with the provi- Peter Westenthaler to have those prosecu- sions of Article 11 of the Convention; and tors suspended from office who had initiat- modifications to the Criminal Procedure ed investigations into the alleged miscon- Code and the Basic Rights Complaint Act.18 duct by the party officials. The Committee expressed concern The IHF expressed concern over the in- about the fact that a definition of torture as dependence and impartiality of judges in its provided in Article 1 of the UN Convention statement of 18 December and considered against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman AUSTRIA 33 or Degrading Treatment was not included and often inconclusive. As the UN Commi- in the Austrian penal legislation. Therefore ttee, Amnesty International expressed con- the offence of torture did not appear as cern that people who lodged complaints of punishable by appropriate penalties as re- ill-treatment against the police ran the risk quired by Article 4(2) of the Convention. of counter-charges, such as defamation, re- The year 2000 saw no improvements in sisting arrest or physical assault.22 this issue.19 There was by the time of writing still no The Committee also noted that, official sanctions with regards to the death notwithstanding the entry into force of the of Marcus Omofuma, who died during de- 1993 Security Police Act, allegations of ill- portation in May 1999. The dismissal of treatment by the police were still report- three police officers involved was suspend- ed.20 The UN Committee noted that poten- ed in February 2001, before the case had tial complaints of abuse committed by po- been tried in court.23 lice authorities may be discouraged by the The European Committee for the provisions enabling the police to accuse of Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and defamation a person who lodges a com- Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) plaint against them. visited Austria in 2000, but its findings were The UN Committee also pointed to in- not published by this writing. sufficient measures of protection of individ- uals under a order, which were Conditions in Prisons and Detention not in conformity with the provisions of Ar- Facilities and Prisoners’ Rights24 ticles 3 (prohibition of refoulement to a According to media reports, conditions country where a person could be in danger in the Linz prison amounted to inhuman of being subjected to torture) and 11 of the treatment and punishment. Its “special UN Convention (requirement of systematic cells” had no windows and they were ice review of interrogations rules, instructions cold in the winter. Officially, the windows and methods and practices for the treat- were taken away in order to avoid the in- ment of arrestees, detainees and prisoners). mates hurting themselves. According to at Amnesty International also reported of least one inmate, the prisoners were put alleged ill-treatment of detainees by police into the cells in their underwear and were officers, in many instances upon arrest. A even hosed with cold water, sprayed with large majority of allegations came from pepper and beaten with truncheons. non-Caucasian Austrian and foreign nation- Windowless cells were also reported in als. Most reported that they had been sub- jected to repeated kicks, punches, kneeing, Vienna/Favoriten where one prisoner in- beatings with truncheons and spraying with fected with HIV claimed he had been re- pepper after being restrained. In many cas- fused medical treatment “for economic es the allegations of ill-treatment were sup- reasons.” Another was allegedly not hospi- ported by medical reports and in some cas- talised for the same reason. The director of es the detainees were taken by the arrest- the facility said the prisoner could have un- ing police officers to receive medical atten- dergone the same treatment in another tion during their initial period in custody. prison. Allegedly one prisoner was tied up Police officers were also alleged to have by his arms and legs to his bed for one used racist language in some instances. 21 night. The conditions were partially con- 25 Amnesty International expressed con- firmed by authorities. cern that, when formal complaints had On 3 May Arise Ibekwe died after five been lodged and investigations opened in days in jail, following a drug raid. He had cases of alleged police ill-treatment, they swallowed drugs, leading to poisoning, have been slow, lacking in thoroughness which was not discovered in time.26 34 AUSTRIA

Protection of Ethnic Minorities27 August - reinforced the protection of the Since 1976, the Austrian legislation has minorities. It prescribed that the fact of recognised six national minorities: the German being the official language did not Croatians (about 30,000), Slovenes (about not affect the specific rights granted to lin- 20,000), Hungarians (about 20,000), guistic minorities, and that the State recog- Czechs (about 10,000), Slovaks (about nised its traditional linguistic and cultural 1,000), and Roma and Sinti (122).28 plurality which was represented in its au- On the basis of the Austrian State tochthonous national minorities. It added: Treaty of 1955 the Slovene and Croatian “Language and culture, existence and minorities in the Federal States of Carinthia, preservation of these national minorities Bugenland and Styria are expressly recog- must be respected, secured and promot- nised and they are granted specific cultural ed” (Article 8.1 and 2 of the Constitution). rights, particularly regarding schooling. This provision was, however, criticised Austria ratified the Framework Con- by minorities for not expanding the number vention for the Protection of Minorities on of the recognised minority groups and for 31 31 March 1998 and it came into force in its mere declaratory nature. July 1998. At its ratification Austria made a In a 14 June ordinance, which came declaration in which it stated that the term into force in October, rules were introduced “national minorities“ within the meaning of about the use of the Hungarian language the Framework Convention was under- by members of the Hungarian minority in stood to designate the above-mentioned contacts with authorities. groups mentioned in the 1976 Law on The most important step in recent National Minorities (Volksgruppengesetz) years towards safeguarding the rights of the and which live and traditionally have had Slovenes and Croatians in Austria was the their home in Austria and which are com- October 2000 decision of the Constitutio- posed of Austrian citizens with non-Ger- nal Court according to which the Carinthian man mother tongues and with their own regulation on the official language was un- ethnic cultures.29 constitutional. According to the Carinthian On 19 March 2000 the Constitutional regulation, a municipality with a 10.4-per- Court decided that a limitation of education cent Slovene minority was not allowed to in the Slovene language in Carinthia was use the Slovenian language as another of- not in line with the specific provisions of ficial language in administrative affairs. The the State Treaty. The Court ruled that there decision affected several municipalities must be equality between the two lan- with Slovene minorities. However, Article guages - German and Slovene - in ele- 7(3) of the State Treaty provides that mem- mentary school education in the minority bers of the Slovene and Croatian minorities schools. This judgement was, however, not can use their mother tongues as an official fully implemented in 2000. language when dealing with administrative On 23 May the Government issued a bodies and courts in the Federal States of decree that the official names of Burgenland, Carinthia, and Styria. The au- Burgenland municipalities with Hungarian thorities had based their 25-percent thresh- and Croat minorities were to be bilingual. old on the 1976 Law on National Minorities As a result, 260 bilingual sign-posts show- which, according to the Constitutional ing the names of villages were set up in 51 Court, was too high. As a result, the Parlia- Burgenland villages.30 ment is to amend the law on national mi- On 31 May the Government proposed norities accordingly. In addition, the com- a specific provision to the Constitution re- munities have to set up bilingual geograph- garding minorities. The provision - as adop- ical signs in the above-mentioned munici- ted by the Parliament and in force since 1 palities.32 AUSTRIA 35

Minorities criticised the lack of legal alleged police misconduct against black regulations on the status of minority lan- people took place in 2000. In many cases guage programmes in the public media, the victims were insulted with discriminato- the representation of their members on the ry vocabulary, and some of them ill-treated board of the national television and radio so badly that they had to be hospitalised. (ORF), the absence of bilinguals forms and In the field of employment, foreigners other legal documents, lack of translations faced numerous disadvantages based on of legislation, insufficient public support for complex legal provisions. The Council of minority media, cultural and educational Europe’s Commission against Racism and activities and minority-language care of the Xenophobia (ECRI) criticised in its report elderly and sick.33 on Austria, that “as compared to Austrian In August Radio MORA, a private radio citizens, non-citizens are more likely to be station broadcasting in several minority lan- employed on short-term contracts, earn on guages, went off the air due to lack of fi- average lower wages, and may have cur- nancial resources. 34 tailed access to unemployment benefits. In addition, their rather uncertain position in the labour market due to the system of Intolerance, Xenophobia and Racial work permits leads many non-citizens to 35 Discrimination accept working conditions that Austrian cit- In 2000, Austria still had no legal pro- izens would refuse, since loss of a job may visions for redress for discriminatory acts or imply losing a work permit and insufficient behaviour that was based on racial, gender, income may affect the right of residence in ethnic or religious motives. Austria.” It concluded, “such unequal condi- Also, public officials who abused their tions on the labour market are discrimina- authority were rarely disciplined. The tory and may also lead to an increase in European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC, IHF xenophobic attitudes amongst the general co-operating organization), in its letter of public.” 28 August concerning the situation of Foreigners still had no right to the pub- Roma in Austria stated that Austrian courts licly owned apartments, which were re- were reluctant to rule police officers guilty served for Austrian nationals only.36 of racially motivated crimes. Even judges made racist statement, e.g. that most drug Protection of Asylum Seekers and dealers were Africans. Immigrants On 9 August an Austrian court again In 2000, Austria had an immigration ruled that police officers had acted correct- quota of 8,518. The number of asylum ly when in April 1996 a riot squad stormed seekers decreased by 9.1 percent com- the flat of a Romani woman Violeta pared to 1999 and totalled 18,280 per- Jevremovic, physically abused her, insulted sons. Only 1,002 applicants were granted her ethnic origins and arbitrarily detained asylum.37 her for one night, leaving her children - all Austria was the only country in the EU minors - to fend for themselves. that applied a quota system for family re- In addition to being loath to find police unification. officers guilty of breaches, including racist A family father from Kosovo, who had abuse, Austrian courts often placed undue been living in Austria for eight years, had a weight on officer testimony against Roma. job and an apartment big enough for the The ERRC further feared that the whole family (wife and three children aged 5, Austrian police itself was infected by racism 8 and 13) wanted to bring his family to on a systematic basis. Numerous cases of Austria because of the difficult situation in his 36 AUSTRIA home country. Due to the quotas, he would side the centre before they were even let have to wait 2-3 years to be granted family inside. The following day they were sent reunification, at which time the oldest child back to Carinthia in a car with a broken win- would have turned 15 and consequently be dow, so the baby spent the trip in a draft. too old to be granted reunification.38 The baby died on 28 November. Shortly af- In December the Parliament decided ter the funeral, the father was placed in 40 that the immigration quota for 2001 will re- custody awaiting deportation. main the same as in 2001, i.e., 8,518 per- sons.39 Conditions for Individuals Awaiting Deportation41 Insufficient State Support Many people awaiting deportation One of the main problems of the complained to the IHF about the arbitrary Austrian asylum polices and practices was rules they felt to be exposed to, including the fact that state support (Bundesbetreu- impolite and aggressive treatment by ung) was not granted to all asylum seekers. prison guards. Only a few people benefited from it. The The Advisory Board on Human Rights report of the EU “Three Wise Men” also crit- (Menschenrechtsbeirat) recommended in 42 icised this fact and recommended that the its report to the Minister of the Interior Government guarantee a minimum finan- that measures be taken to fulfil internation- cial support to all asylum seekers. al standards in order to improve the condi- As access to the labour market in tions of minors awaiting deportation in de- Austria was still prohibited for asylum seek- tention centres (Schubhaft). Some hun- ers, especially those who did not receive dred minors have been among the annual state support continued to depend on fi- total of some 15,000 people in detention nancial aid delivered by NGOs. Although awaiting deportation. According to the sta- the new Minister of the Interior Ernst tistics of the Ministry of Interior, as of Strasser promised to change legislation in August 2000, 366 minors were in deten- order to open the labour market for asylum tion, 136 of them were between 14 and 16 years of age.43 Many were kept in single seekers, no steps were taken to this end by cells, a violation of the standards set forth the end of 2000. by the European Committee for the The insufficient state support led in Prevention of Torture (CPT). There was a certain cases to a situation where no one lack of adequate places which could serve took responsibility for asylum seekers, in- as options to detention measures. cluding their medical care Prompted by long-term allegations of The seven-month old Kosovar refugee questionable treatment of immigrants and baby, Samuel Bardhi, died of pneumonia asylums seekers awaiting deportation in after having been sent back and forth be- Austrian jails, an IHF delegation, composed tween Carinthia and Lower Austria in of representatives of the Hungarian Helsinki October. Following the expiration in June of Committee and the IHF Secretariat in Vien- an agreement between the Federal na, visited on 2 February 2001 two Austrian Government and the Federal States to police jails, Rossauer Lände and Hernalser share the costs of refugees not longer eligi- Gürtel, to look into conditions there. The to- ble for financial support, Jörg Haider threat- tal number of their inmates was 361, two ened in September to send the refugees thirds of whom were people awaiting de- out of Carinthia to the state refugee camp portation (187 men and 43 women). Fif- Traiskirchen. The family of four travelled up teen juveniles were among them. to Lower Austria on a ticket paid by The IHF generally criticised the deten- Carinthia, but had to wait for five hours out- tion of people awaiting deportation in po- AUSTRIA 37 lice jails because it gave the impression thing for three days, was shivering all over that the inmates were criminals, and rec- his body and seemed completely exhaust- ommended alternative means of detention ed and weak. The total number of hunger and control that are less intrusive on free- strikers was 27, according to the police dom of movement. commander. The medical doctor’s role in While the IHF was received positively deciding on inmates’ fitness to be kept in and in a co-operative way by representatives prison was crucial. Several inmates criti- of the Ministry of the Interior and the re- cised the quality of the medical assistance, sponsible commander of the Viennese po- particularly at the police jail at Hernalser lice jails, the IHF’s request to visit prisons in Gürtel. For economic reasons necessary Vienna and Linz was denied by the Ministry medicine would not be prescribed and of Justice for “lacking legal grounds to do so“ painkillers were prescribed instead of more because “the condition in prisons is suffi- thorough medical examinations. ciently controlled by various institutions…“ On 20 February 2001, the Indepen- The IHF cited shortcomings regarding dent Administrative Senate of Higher Aus- the detention of people awaiting deporta- tria decided that two Russians had been tion, including insufficient possibilities for held in custody illegally and ordered their telecommunication, inadequate medical release. The two men had been detained care, difficulties in understanding the legal since 4 February 2000 immediately after procedure, lack of information about the arriving in Austria from Chechnya. Both had house rules (particularly for illiterate per- filed an asylum claim on the day of arrival. sons), insufficient legal advice, and short- Responsible authorities had failed to fulfil age of articles concerned with personal hy- the necessary procedural measures to or- giene. Some prisoners reported that access der a deportation but still continued to hold to the telephone was only permitted once the men in custody - in violation of article or twice a week. In general, possibilities for 69 of the Alien’s Law.44 activities left a great deal to be desired, in- In a positive ruling of 12 January 2001, cluding outdoor activities which were not the Administrative Court (Verwaltungs- always observed. gerichtshof) decided that it is forbidden to The Ministry of the Interior had con- return asylum seekers from Austria as long tracts with NGOs (Schubhaft-Sozialdienst) as their asylum procedure is pending.45 to care for legal and social assistance for people awaiting deportation. Despite con- Rights of Homosexuals sultations on three afternoons per week, these organizations were apparently not Article 209 of the Criminal Code re- able to fulfil the needs for individual assis- mained in force and was executed despite tance and legal advice. the fact that both the European Parliament The communication problem also ob- and the UN Human Rights Committee had structed proper medical assistance. In a on several occasion urged Austria to repeal makeshift way, inmates served as inter- the article. The article prescribes 18 years preters for each other. Medical assistance as the age of consent for sex between gay was offered every morning. men, compared to 14 years for heterosex- The IHF delegation talked with three uals and lesbians. In 2000, around one prisoners who had been on hunger strike dozen homosexuals were imprisoned on for eight, ten and eleven days, respectively, the basis of Article 209 and who had been released at the recom- On 16 March, a raid took place in a mendation of the responsible physician be- night sauna in Vienna. The police officers cause of their poor physical condition. One ordered its immediate closure due to “im- of them said that he had not drunk any- moral same sex” activities. The guests were 38 AUSTRIA ordered to leave the place, and some mag- After months of negotiations during azines were also confiscated.46 2000, on 18 January 2001 Austrian and U.S. Government officials and representa- In July, Michael Wodicka (20) from tives of the organizations of victims clinched Vienna was convicted for breach of Article an accord on compensation for victims of 209 because he had had, when he was 19, Nazi “aryanisation.” The Austrian Parliament gay sex with a 16 year-old boy. It did not adopted the accord on 31 January 2001. matter that it was a consenting sexual rela- Ariel Muzicant, President of the Vienna tionship and that the court established that Jewish Community, pointed to still open it was the 16 year-old boy who took the ini- questions in connection with the return of 47 tiative for this relationship. “aryanised” property: the agreement con- August Sulzer was sentenced to one cerned only “aryanised” immobile property year in prison under Article 209 for and not all property that is now held by “stroking” the genitals of a young man. He public authorities. Moreover, he and Moshe had been confined into an institute for ab- Jahoda, Chair of the Claim Conference in normal criminals.48 In 2000, the detention Austria, were excluded from the parliamen- was prolonged by the court for another tary committee discussing this matter. For year without either the psychiatrist or the the above reasons, Muzikant initialled but 51 judge meeting the accused face-to-face. did not sign the document. This decision was appealed, and due to massive protests Sulzer was finally released Experiments on Humans During Nazi Era in January 2001.49 On 21 March, the trial opened in Vienna against Dr. Heinrich Gross, doctor at the Nazi Euthanasia centre “Am Spiegel- Past Human Rights Abuses grund“ (now a psychiatric hospital, Baum- Restitution gartner Höhe) in Vienna between 1941 Legislation to establish a fund to pay and 1945, on nine counts of murder relat- compensation to about 150,000 survivors ing to children killed at the centre during his of Nazi forced labour was adopted by the employment there. The hearing lasted 20 Parliament on 7 July 2000. The Govern- minutes, before being postponed “indefi- ment and the business community will nitely“ by judge Karlheinz Seewald. The raise a total of ATS 6 billion (approximately court heard that a medical examiner con- U.S.$ 408,5 million) for this purpose. There sidered Gross showed “advancing brain de- will be three categories of recipients: slave cay“ (before the trial began, defense workers in concentration camps who will lawyers had argued Gross was mentally un- receive ATS 105,000 (U.S.$ 7,148) each, fit to stand trial). This judgment was much forced labourers in business and industry criticised after Gross gave an interview the (ATS 35,000 or U.S.$ 2,382), and forced same day to Austrian television in which he labourers in agriculture (ATS 20,000 or appeared far more lucid than in court. A U.S.$ 1,361). Children were classed in the second examination by a Swiss psychiatrist same category as their parents. Women in June, however, concurred with the opin- who gave birth to a child or were forced to ion of the first examiner. On 1 February undergo an abortion will get ATS 5,000 2001, Seewald was replaced by another (U.S.$ 340) extra compensation. The law judge, Thomas Kreuter, who ordered yet can, however, only enter into effect when another medical examination of Gross. By the Government and business have raised March 2001, no date had been set for the the necessary money and when the U.S. trial to continue, and Gross remained free. guarantee that no further class actions will In all, some 700 children are believed be brought against Austrian companies.50 to have died at Spiegelgrund after a “treat- AUSTRIA 39 ment“ which included starvation, induced decided to close the case. In 1953 Gross hypothermia, injections which induced se- joined the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) vere vomiting and muscle pain, and the ad- and in 1955 he returned to Spiegelgrund ministering of a strong medication which to work as a psychiatrist. From 1960 until the charges against Gross claim accelerated the time the investigation of murder the deaths of the children. “Lung infection“ charges began in 1998, Gross was also was often given as the cause of death on one of the most successful court psychia- certificates signed by Spiegelgrund medical trists in post-war Austrian history. staff, including those of the nine children Gross had retained the brains of some Gross stands accused of murdering. of the Spiegelgrund children, which he Heinrich Gross, whose superior at used for research purposes during his post- Spiegelgrund, Dr. Ernst Illing, was sen- tenced to death after WWII for crimes com- war career. He was given his own research mitted at Spiegelgrund, was first sentenced institute and in 1975 was awarded one of to two years’ hard labour for manslaughter Austria’s highest honours, the “Cross of st in 1950. His appeal against this verdict led Honour for Science and Art, 1 Class,“ the second instance court to recommend which he retains as of this writing, despite that the case be reopened to consider appeals to President Klestil from survivors more serious charges against Gross. and relatives of victims of Spiegelgrund for Despite this, the State Prosecutor’s Office this to be rescinded.

Endnotes 1 Report by Martti Ahtisaari, Jochen Frowein and Marcelino Oreja, Adopted in Paris on 8 September 2000. 2 IHF, “Austrian Scholar Convicted for Telling the Truth About Haider: A Threat to the Freedom of Expression,“ press release, 23 May 2000. 3 IHF, “Academic’s Acquittal in Haider Defamation Case a Positive Sign: Concerns Over Freedom of Speech in Austria Remain,” press release, 25 October 2000. 4 IHF, 23 May 2000. 5 IHF, 25 October 2000. 6 Reporters sans frontières (RSF), “Journalists Under Attack from Populist Right Eing,” press release, 23 February 2001. Report available at www.rsf.fr 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 TV Media, 16 February 2000. 10 Examples of such statements: “Every Bushnegger will in the future have the possibility to treat his colleagues in Austria”( Haider about the new Law on Doctors), Der Standard, 13 October 1998. Helene Partik-Pablé, FPÖ candidate for the local elections in Vienna 2001, stated in a debate in Parliament in 1999, that “Blacks (Schwarzafrikaner) do not only look different, they also are different, in the way that they are particularly aggres- sive,” Tiroler Tageszeitung, 20 May 1999. 11 Botschaft Besorgte Bürger, 12 May 2000. 12 See Past Abuses: Experiments on Humans. 13 Ibid. 14 Profil, 30 October 2000. 15 Falter, No. 44/2000. 16 Falter, No 26/2000. 17 Ibid. 18 Concluding Observations of the Committee against Torture: Austria. 12/11/99. A/55/ 44, paras.46-50. 40 AUSTRIA

19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 21 Amnesty International, Austria: The Alleged Ill-treatment of Detainees, 23 February 2000. 22 Ibid. 23 Wiener Zeitung, 6 February 2001 in UNHCR Pressespiegel of 6 February 2001. 24 See also Protection of Asylum Seekers and Immigrants: Individuals Awaiting Deportation. 25 Falter, ”Spritz ihm was!”, No, 47/2000. 26 Der Standard, 10 May 2000. 27 Unless otherwise stated, based on Report by Martti Ahtisaari, Jochen Frowein and Marcelino Oreja, Adopted in Paris on 8 September 2000. 28 According to the 1991 census, based on the use of languages. Other estimates cite much higher figures for different groups, e.g. Croats 42,000, Slovenes 50,000, Hun- garians 20,000-30-000, Czechs 15,000-20,000, Slovaks 5,000-10,000 and Roma 25,000. 29 Framework Convention on Protection of National Minorities; http://conventions.coe.int/ treaty/EN/ DeclareList.asp?NT=157&CM=8&DF=12/09/00. 30 Austrian Government, “Minority Rights Widened,” 23 May 2000. It must be noted, how- ever, that it took Austrian Governments 45 years to pass the appropriate law as the right to have topographic names also in minority languages was already anchored in the Treaty of Vienna of 1955. 31 “Kurzdarstellung einiger prägnanter Punkte zur Situation der Minderheiten in Österreich aus der Sicht der Burgenlandkroaten,“ August 2000. 32 Franjo Schruiff, “Sperrklausel Aufgehoben: Der Verfassungsgerichtshof hebt Einschränkungen im Minderheitenrecht die 25%-Sperrklausel auf – die Folgen für Gesetzgebung und Verwaltung, Stimme von und für Minderheiten, No. 37/IV 2000. The original decision at http://www. vfgh. gv.at/vfgh/presse/V91-99.pdf 33 “Kurzdarstellung einiger prägnanter Punkte zur Situation der Minderheiten in Österreich aus der Sicht der Burgenlandkroaten,“ August 2000. 34 Ibid. 35 Based on the letter for the European Roma Rights Center to the “Three Wise Persons,” 28 August 2000. 36 Der Standard, 12 January 2001. 37 UNHCR Mediaservice, 30 January 2001. 38 Salzburger Nachrichten, 29 December 2000. 39 Austria Today, 19 December 2000. 40 Format, 18 December 2000. 41 Based on IHF, “IHF Visit to Prison Jails Hernalser Gürtel and Rossauer Lände: Visit to Austrian prisons subordinated to the Ministry of Justice not allowed for ‘lack of legal grounds’,” 8 February 2000. 42 Bericht des Menschenrechtsbeirates zum Problem “Minderjährige in Schubhaft,” 11 July 2000. 43 Tiroler Tageszeitung, 14.8.2000 44 SOS Menschenrechte, “Unabhängige Verwaltungssenat bestätigt: Russen rechtswidrig in Schubhalft, 21 February 2001. 45 UNHCR, “Asylwerber dürfen künftig weder zurück- noch abgeschoben werden,“ 12 January 2001. 46 Botschaft Besorgte Bürger, 12 May 2000. 47 Homosexuelle initiative Wien (HOSI), February 2001. 48 HOSI, press release, 22 January 2001. 49 Ibid. 50 Austrian Government, “Law on Reconciliation Fund Passed Unanimously,” 19 July 2000. 51 Neue Zeit, 1 February 2001. AZERBAIJAN1 41

Prisoners in the Qobustan closed prison, which is notorious for its harsh conditions. © HRCA

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and the media; independence of the judiciary; freedom of association; peaceful assembly; judicial system, independence of the judiciary and fair trial; torture, ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforce- ment officials; conditions in prisons and detention facilities; right to privacy; interna- tional humanitarian law; homosexuals’ rights; human rights defenders.

Improvements were observed in some with previous ones, they fell seriously short fields of human rights in Azerbaijan in of international standards. 2000, but it was difficult to assess whether they took place only as a result of discus- Elections2 sions at the Council of Europe to invite On 5 November, the 125 members of Azerbaijan to become a member state. The the Milli Majlis (National Assembly) were new Criminal Code and the Code on the elected for a term of five years by the citi- Execution of Sentences improved prison- zens of Azerbaijan through a direct and se- ers’ situation somewhat. NGOs were al- cret vote, on the basis of a mixed system. lowed to visit prisons, but this right was The election legislation was supple- abruptly restricted after the country’s acces- mented in 2000 by the 9 June Law on the sion to the Council of Europe. Judicial re- Central Election Commission (CEC Law), form did take place, improving, for exam- the 5 July Law on Elections to the Milli ple, the system of appointing judges. Majlis and the Law on the Mass Media. Nevertheless, many problems persist- The CEC Law in particular provided for the ed. Dozens of political prisoners remained multi-party composition of the election ad- in prison, despite amnesties, and torture, ill- ministration. The two legislative texts on treatment and other misconduct contin- elections incorporated recommendations ued, with the perpetrators largely escaping by the OSCE/ODIHR and the “Venice punishment. The due process standards Commission.” were violated through the fabrication of ev- The three-tiered election administra- idence and procedural violations, and while tion was composed of the Central Election the elections marked progress compared Commission (CEC), 100 Territorial Election 42 AZERBAIJAN

Commissions (TEC) and some 5,001 from the Popular Front, 28 were from the Polling Station Election Commissions National Independence Party, 22 were (PEC). The CEC included six members ap- from Musavat, four were from the Demo- pointed by the parliamentary majority; six cratic Party and the remaining candidates appointed by so-called independent parlia- represented other parties. mentarians; and six appointed by the par- The ruling YAP won 17 seats (62.45 liamentary minority. Decisions were made percent) in proportional elections and 56 with a two-thirds majority. However, the op- seats (56 percent) in majority elections, position doubted the political neutrality of thus creating a majority. The opposition the independent parliamentarians. won 12 seats (less than 10 percent). By 22 September, the CEC had regis- The Council of Europe Observers’ tered five parties to run in the elections. Mission, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly The applications of eight parties and blocs and the OSCE/ODHR all observed the par- were rejected on suspicion that some sig- liamentary elections. natures in the nomination petitions papers The ad hoc Committee of the Council had been falsified. As a result of the inva- of Europe “…recognised that the election lidity of the alleged falsified signatures, the marked progress over previous elections - number of signatures fell below the in particular with regard to enhancing polit- 50,000 limit required for registration. Four ical pluralism. The newly amended election of the rejected parties appealed to the legislation provided multiparty election court, which upheld the CEC’s decisions. commissions at all levels. The media cov- However, in a 6 October letter, President erage provided for a wide diversity of views, Aliyev stated that “as the refusal of register- although the state media clearly favoured ing political parties for the proportional bal- the incumbents… However, strong disap- lot restricts to a certain degree opportuni- pointment was expressed regarding the ties for people from all strata of society to polling process and the serious deficiencies express freely their political views…[I] ask observed in regard to the implementation the CEC to reconsider its decision.” On 8 of the election legislation…There seemed October, the CEC reversed its decision and to have been a clear manipulation of the registered all parties and blocs originally electoral procedures. An appeal was made denied registration. to the authorities to urgently investigate in 408 out of 817 candidates who ap- an open and transparent manner all irregu- plied for the majority election were regis- larities… The elections fell seriously short tered by the TECs, who had initially reject- of international standards.” ed many opposition parties and initiative The new Law “On the Non-Govern- groups, predominantly for alleged irregular- mental Organizations” was adopted in ities concerning the required 2,000 valid October. Among other provisions, it rejects signatures required for a candidate’s regis- the observation of elections by NGOs that tration. Many of the decisions were ap- receive foreign funding, i.e., the entire NGO pealed to the CEC or local courts. The ad community trained and funded by grants hoc Committee of the Council of Europe from foreign sponsors. As a result, the ex- regretted that the CEC failed to establish a perienced NGOs that observed the previ- credible and consistent procedure to verify ous elections in 1995, 1998 and 1999 voter signature petitions. could not observe the 5 November parlia- The ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) mentary elections. registered 140 candidates; there were 147 Re-runs took place on 4 January 2001 “independent candidates,” and the 16 oth- in 11 districts where the President had can- er parties had a total of 113 candidates. celled the election through a decree dated From the latter total, 40 candidates were 25 November. AZERBAIJAN 43

Freedom of Expression and the Media but by the end of 2000 no measures had Legal provisions governing the use of been taken against the hooligans, whose free airtime by the state media were re- names and photographs were published. spected during the election campaign. The Yeni Musavat’s editor-in-chief, Rauf Arifog- state-owned television, AZTV 1- the only lu, was arrested on 23 August and charged television channel that covers the whole with participating in an attempted terrorist country - implemented the law in the way act. This happened after a hijacker had that and all political parties were allowed to called at the editorial office and made this present their platforms to the electorate allegation. Arifoglyu was released on 5 and express their opinions freely. October, but his trial was still pending as of Nevertheless, outside “free airtime”, this writing. the public media favoured the ruling party In March, Minister of Culture Polad considerably and the opposition was only Bulbuloglu charged the newspapers Paritet, covered extremely marginally, i.e. about 1 Hurriyyet and Bakiskie Vedomosti with in- percent of all political programmes. All can- sulting his dignity after they wrote critical ar- didates were able to buy extra airtime on ticles about him. the private channels, in an attempt to pro- vide more balanced coverage of the elec- On 10 March, Azer Aykhan, the editor tion campaign. of the erotic newspaper Alem, was fined for “distributing pornography” (Article 228 of Freedom of the Media the Criminal Code), but was immediately According to the Ministry of Press and amnestied. The lawsuit was brought by a Information, 348 newspapers, 106 maga- group of Islamic religious activists who con- zines, 25 news agencies and 10 television sidered the photos of topless women to be and radio stations were registered in pornographic. Azerbaijan as of 1 January 2000. In 1999, On 3 June, a correspondent with the the numbers were 344, 86, 25, and 30 re- Yeni Musavat newspaper in the Qazakh re- spectively. However, in 2000, only 170 gion, Elkhan Hasanli, was sentenced to five newspapers were published, at least 43 days in administrative detention reportedly newspapers stopped publishing, and 13 for resisting the police. The local branch of newspapers began publishing. Three new the Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan radio stations and one independent televi- considered the sentence to be revenge for sion channel began operating. his articles criticising the Government. The problems faced by the printed me- dia related mainly to the fact that newsprint In July, First Deputy Prosecutor General prices doubled during the year. However, R. Rzayev officially warned the television there were also dozens of cases of harass- and radio company ANS that a broadcast ment, beatings and arrests of journalists, tri- interview with Chechen field commander als against media outlets, fines, and other Shamil Basayev amounted to support of forms of pressure. terrorism and demanded that the station stop airing similar programmes. ANS On 8 February, dozens of residents of President Vahid Mustafayev held this action the village of Nehram in the Autonomous to be a violation of freedom of the media Republic of Nakhchivan (NAR) arrived in guaranteed under the Constitution. Baku by airplane paid by one of NAR offi- cials. They attacked the editorial office of On 17 July, the Yasamal District Court in the opposition newspaper Yeni Musavat Baku deprived the magazine “Monitor- while the police present did nothing to in- Weekly” of its license. The suit was brought tervene. The police initiated investigations, by the Ministry of Press and Information. 44 AZERBAIJAN

The editor-in-chief of the magazine, Elmar On 1 February, Aynur Aliqizi, a journal- Huseynov, was not invited to the trial, where ist with the newspaper Telescope, was not the court recommended that he should not permitted to enter Parliament. The parlia- be granted a license in the future. ment guards cited the trial of one of mem- The new law “On the Mass Media” was bers of Parliament, Minaya Aliyeva, against adopted on 8 February. Journalists and hu- the newspaper as the reason for the re- man rights activists considered some of the fusal. articles to be controversial. The Council of On the 5 November elections, journal- Europe required Azerbaijani authorities “to ists were widely refused access to informa- re-examine and amend the law on the me- tion. dia within two years of its accession at the latest.”3 Freedom of Association On 22 July, the Government celebrat- The situation regarding the registration ed the 125th anniversary of the first Azer- of legal entities improved significantly since baijani newspaper Ekinchi. On this occa- December 1999. The Azerbaijan Committ- sion, President Aliyev met dozens of editors ee on Human Rights and Democracy was of governmental, opposition and independ- registered in January, after five unsuccess- ent media who informed him on the prob- ful attempts since 1995. The Trade Union lems faced by the media. The situation, of Journalists of Azerbaijan was registered however, did not improve as a result. on 28 March, also after several unsuccess- ful attempts. However, another trade union Harassment of Journalists was refused official registration. The harassment of journalists re- The Workers’ Union of Azerbaijan was mained a frequent phenomenon in 2000. refused registration on 5 May 1999. The On 25 February, Shahriyar Rauf, editor- renewed application in 2000 was report- in-chief of the television and radio compa- edly rejected without any mention of the ny Sara, was beaten by plain clothed indi- name of the union. Many observers be- viduals. Rauf had been lobbying for the re- lieved that registration was not possible be- opening of Sara since its closure in October cause of the union’s close affiliation with 1999. the Communists. One of the oldest and most influential On 27 April, some ten refugees from political parties, the Azerbaijan Democratic Armenia attacked the editorial office of the Party, was registered in 2000. The party newspaper P.S. and threatened editor-in- had previously been refused numerous chief, Eldaniz Elgun, because of an article times, including one occasion on which the he had published. Supreme Court overturned the decision. Typically, such attacks were not investigated. However, the Supreme Court ruling was not respected. Access to Information At the same time, the party Namus From January to March, journalists fre- claimed that its registration application had quently faced problems covering the trial of been rejected unlawfully. The Islamic Party the case involving a 1999 riot in the continued to face rejection, and has done Qobustan Prison. The trial was organised in so since 1995. the prison itself, and journalists had problems Some leading opposition parties faced with transportation and access to the prison. hate speech and harassment in the pre- In the second half of 2000, journalists election period of 2000. and human rights defenders were no On 18 August, hijacker Mehdi Husey- longer allowed to visit the prisons.4 nov, who was identified as the chief of the AZERBAIJAN 45

Djulfa regional branch of the opposition public opposition activities. For example, Party Musavat, was arrested. Soviet-style the first permitted opposition meeting in “protest meetings by the public” were im- 2000 took place on 20 May and attracted mediately organised at state enterprises, some hundreds of participants. blaming the opposition of terrorism. Hundreds of opposition members left their Judicial System, Independence of the parties in the countryside, in some cases Judiciary and Fair Trial under threat and strong administrative The judicial system was changed signif- pressure from the local authorities. icantly on 1 September. The new system in- The party newspaper Yeni Musavat cludes the courts of first instance (City and and its employees were harassed, and the Districts Courts, Military Courts, the Court for editor-in-chief Rauf Arifoglu was arrested. Heavy Crimes, the Military Court for Heavy Crimes as well as the Regional Economic Courts), the Appellate and Economic Peaceful Assembly Appellate Courts, the Supreme Court of the Permits for peaceful assemblies re- Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the mained subject to a controversial policy in Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court 2000. Many unsanctioned meetings, street was established in 1998. rallies, and pickets were dispersed by the In the courts of first instance (excluding police. the Court for Heavy Crimes), decisions are The unsanctioned meeting of the op- to be made by one judge, while the other position in Baku on 29 April, demanding courts have 3-5 judges. Only the Court for free elections, was dispersed forcefully by Heavy Crimes has a jury. the police. Hundreds of people were in- In January, the President ordered that jured and about 50 demonstrators were ar- judges be appointed following an examina- rested. As of the end of 2000, all of them tion and an interview. Of the 900 chosen had been released, but the charges had candidates, 602 were able to take the test not been dropped. and only 318 reached the second stage. The new procedure was introduced to pre- The peaceful picket by nine prominent vent judges’ dependence of the Executive: human rights defenders under the slogan prior to 2000, judges had been chosen by “Police, know and respect the Constitu- the Ministry of Justice and appointed by the tion!” was also dispersed by police officers President. on 5 May in Baku. The continuing discussion about politi- Following the elections, mass protests cal prisoners became more lively in the against the hard economic situation were context of Azerbaijan’s expected member- held in the rural regions. ship in the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) On 18 November, clashes between stated on 28 June that it was necessary for demonstrators and police forces in the Azerbaijan to release its political prisoners towns of Sheki and Djalilabad resulted in or review their cases. In particular, the PACE injuries on both sides. Hundreds of people noted the cases of Alakram Hummatov, were arrested and interrogated for a short Rahim Qaziyev and Isgander Hamidov. period of time. As of early February 2001, The radical opposition claimed that at least 18 Sheki demonstrators were still there were 47 political prisoners in Azerbai- being held in detention in the Ganja inves- jan who were members of the Popular tigation prison and charged with crimes. Front party, the Democratic Party of On the other hand, in the pre-election Azerbaijan and the Musavat Party, in addi- period, the authorities did permit some tion to prisoners representing other political 46 AZERBAIJAN groups. The list compiled by human rights mation, a confession or to punish the per- groups, however, differed from that infor- son, is punishable by 5-10 years imprison- mation. According to the Human Rights ment (Article 133.3). The torture of a mili- Centre of Azerbaijan, as of late 2000, there tary serviceman by his superior is punish- were 716 political prisoners belonging to able by 3-7 years imprisonment (Article 11 political parties or groups serving prison 331.3). terms, 28 of whom were imprisoned in In March, President Aliyev issued sev- 2000. Some names were still being eral decrees and instructions concerning checked as of this writing. the investigation of allegations of torture While the opposition political groups published by Amnesty International and simply claimed that their political prisoners Human Rights Watch. He also instructed were innocent, human rights defenders fo- the Presidential Commission on Pardons cused on the violations of fair trial stan- not to consider the cases involving tortur- dards, unfair legal procedures, and the tor- ers. In April, the President criticised the ture and ill-treatment of prisoners. The Prosecutor General and his office for cover- Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan stated ing up the torture of a non-political de- that it was obvious that the authorities gen- tainee in 1994: the detainee died. This led erally falsified the political background of to the dismissal of the Prosecutor General, the events against which the persons were his deputy and many prosecutors, and the arrested, fabricated evidence, violated the Investigation Department of the Prosecu- presumption of innocence, resorted to ill- tor’s Office was abolished. One prosecutor treatment and torture, restricted adequate was arrested in Russia, extradited to Azer- legal consultation, used unfair court proce- baijan and imprisoned. dures, and restored the Stalin era’s princi- However, allegations of the torture of ple of collective guilt. political prisoners were typically ignored, According to reliable information, on and perpetrators were only punished ad- the eve of Azerbaijan’s accession to the ministratively, if at all. Council of Europe, political prisoners were subjected harsher treatment. For example, The allegations of torture voiced from in September and October, dozens of polit- January to March during the trial related to ical prisoners were transferred from ordi- the 1999 riot in the Qobustan Prison were nary prisons to the Qobustan closed prison not investigated. Many prisoners stated that with harsher conditions. Three of them ex- they had been tortured to extract confes- perienced the transfer two times. sions of guilt, and some of them had shown visible marks of torture. Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct Opposition sources and the media re- by Law Enforcement Officials ported that a number of detainees were ill- Torture was criminalised in Azerbaijan treated and tortured in Sheki and Jalilabad following the recommendations of the UN after the mass disorder and clashes in Committee Against Torture. On 1 these regions on 18 November. September, it was included as a crime in the new Criminal Code (Article 113) and Conditions in Prisons and Detention defined as “causing physical pain or mental suffering to persons who are detained or Facilities whose freedom is limited in other ways.” The New Code on the Execution of The crime carries a punishment of 7 to 10 Punishments came into force on 1 years imprisonment. September. Like the previous code, it pro- Torture inflicted by an official upon a vides that public associations have the right detainee with the goal of obtaining infor- to participate in the education of prisoners AZERBAIJAN 47

(Article 20). However, by the end of 2000, barring of letters, literature and other materi- no legislation had been adopted on NGO al on political life and human rights issues. access to prisons, a fact that affected the Nevertheless, some important steps co-operation of NGOs and the prison ad- were taken to inform prisoners of their ministration. rights. In the summer of 2000, a pocketsize There was a controversial situation in- Reference Book for Prisoners was prepared volving public control of penitentiary institu- by the Ministry of Justice together the tions: On 1 June, following the recommen- Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan and dations of PACE, an agreement was signed distributed in some prisons. As of early with the International Committee of the 2001, following changes in penal legisla- Red Cross (ICRC) guaranteeing it unre- tion, a new edition was under preparation. stricted and unreserved access without out- The Central Administration for the side witnesses to prisoners. In early sum- Execution of Court Decisions (MQIBI) of mer, the ICRC began visiting the prisons the Ministry of Justice began publishing a most closed to public control. However, specialised magazine Cemiyyet ve Ceza since the summer, domestic human rights (Society and Punishment) on 1 March; it defenders could only access prisons for focuses on the problems of the peniten- women and juvenile offenders. The tiary system. Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan could The Government preferred to liberate visit the Investigative Prison of the Ministry political prisoners, rather than review their of National Security, the Bayil Prison cases. In 2000, more than 160 political pris- (Investigative Isolator No.1), the Central oners were released by presidential pardon. Prison Hospital, and the prisons for women and juvenile offenders. After the Centre crit- Right to Privacy icised the holding of political prisoners, it As of 1 September, Article 156 of the was no longer granted access to prisons. new Criminal Code criminalises the viola- According to reliable information, the tion of the right to privacy in the form of the general conditions in prisons improved. “illegal collection of information about the The Code of the Execution of Punishments private life of a person, comprised of con- provided for some additional rights. For ex- tent related his/her personal or family se- ample, those sentenced to life in prison crets.” Such an act committed by an official, were granted the right to have four instead by abuse of his/her position, can be pun- of two family meetings per year, including ished by imprisonment of up to two years. one long-term visit (up to three days), and The violation of confidential correspon- six phone calls instead of four. In addition, dence, telecommunications, other mail and there were improvements in the prison telegraph communication remained a regimes, etc. crime. The new Criminal Code also pro- However, widespread corruption inter- vides for a punishment for violations of fered with the maintenance of normal rela- “other forms of communication,” i.e. e-mail, tions between prisoners and their families: Internet telecommunication, etc. According it was estimated that hundreds of thou- to the Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan, sands of dollars were paid monthly by rela- this was important because of the inappro- tives to secure the rights that the prisoners priate means of controlling electronic com- were supposed to enjoy by law. munications. Prisoners’ correspondence underwent The “Internet war” between the prison censorship on the basis of Article 83.2 Azerbaijani and Armenian hackers, with of the Code on the Execution of dozens of attacks of “propagandist” web Punishments. The absence of legislation pro- sites, ended in February at a mutual “peace hibiting this kind of censorship resulted in the agreement” between the computer crimi- 48 AZERBAIJAN nals. This event prompted the Parliament dealt with cases of persons missing in ac- to include Section 30 on “Crimes in the tion, visited the conflict region on several Sphere of Computer Information” in the occasions. new Criminal Code. In particular, Article On 9 June, the ICRC was granted ac- 271 prohibits unsanctioned access to com- cess to all places of detention, including the puter information. military prisons, mental asylums, etc.; a fact However, one negative outcome of the that will improve the ICRC’s work in the “Internet war” was that the Council of Internet search and protection of persons impris- Providers proposed co-operation with the oned in connection with war operations. Ministry of National Security (MNS) in March. In connection with this, the Human Rights Homosexuals’ Rights Centre of Azerbaijan expressed its concern Until 1 September, a homosexual rela- that the MNS could access confidential infor- tionship between consenting adults was mation about Internet users. punishable under Article 113 of the Criminal Code. Such relationships were de- International Humanitarian Law criminalised through paragraph 13.III.f of The new Criminal Code contains new the new Criminal Code, following the rec- provisions on “military crimes,” including ommendation of PACE. Currently, Article mercenary (Article 114), violations of the 150 only prescribes punishment for violent law of war and traditions (Article 115), vio- homosexual intercourse, which is punish- lations of international humanitarian law able by 3-15 years imprisonment. during armed conflict (Article 116), inaction Homosexual prisoner have frequently or criminal order during armed conflict been harassed and discriminated against in (Article 117), marauding (Article 118), and prison. In early 2000, a group of homosex- abuse of the protected signs of the ICRC, uals was allegedly forced to commit perjury UN, etc. (Article 119). as witnesses against political prisoners and In 2000, human rights groups in other defendants accused of participating Azerbaijan and Armenia co-operated to in a riot in the Qobustan prison. protect the rights of prisoners of war. For example, in March, the Human Rights Human Rights Defenders Centre of Azerbaijan, together with the Foundation Against Violation of Law (FAVL, In general, human rights defenders Armenia) and the NGO “Former Political worked in better conditions in 2000 than Prisoners for Human Rights” (Georgia) vis- they did in 1999. The Council of Europe ited ten Azerbaijani prisoners of war in showed support for human rights defend- Armenia who had been held for 2-21 ers, especially with regard to political pris- months. The human rights defenders dis- oners.5 The ICRC and, to an extent, human cussed the problem with the Armenian rights organizations were given access to State Commission on “Prisoners of War, even the most closed penal institutions. Hostages and Persons Missing in Action”. In The ICRC had struggled for access to pris- June, the Vice-President of FAVL visited ons since November 1994. Azerbaijan and met with the respective Officials and members of Parliament Azerbaijani Commission and local NGOs. routinely criticised some human rights de- As a result of these efforts, two Armenian fenders for their “non-patriotic” position on and 13 Azerbaijani prisoners of war were the country’s membership in the Council of released in the following months. Europe, and particularly about keeping up An international group representing in- the issue of political prisoners. The last 2000 dependent non-governmental mediators session of the newly elected Parliament on from Germany, Georgia and Russia, who 29 December was highly offensive. The AZERBAIJAN 49 leaders of some main human rights groups Chairman of the National Assembly, Murtuz were criticised for providing “false informa- Aleskerov, stated that the Ministry of Justice tion” on human rights developments and would not re-register the organizations in even for meeting with Armenian counter- question according to the new Law “On parts. Summarising the discussion, Non-Governmental Organizations.”

Endnotes 1 Unless otherwise noted, based on Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan, The Status of Civil and Political Rights Azerbaijan (2000) 2 Based on the report of the ad hoc Committee to observe the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, 5 November 2000, established by the Council of Europe, Doc. 8918, 22 December 2000. 3 Opinion No. 222 (2000). 4 See Conditions in Prisons and Detention Facilities. 5 Opinion No. 222 (2000), Doc.8757. 50 BELARUS1

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and the media; freedom of association; peaceful assembly; independence of the judiciary; fair trial; “disappearances”; condi- tions in prisons and detention facilities; religious intolerance; conscientious objec- tion; ethnicity; economic rights.

According to the Belarus Helsinki Perhaps the worst obstacle for free Committee, the Government continued to elections was the lack of press freedom. violate basic human rights throughout Even if the regime allowed a few minutes 2000. The economic crisis deepened, of airtime to all candidates – including in- crime was on the increase, and apathy and dependent candidates not supported by fear for the country’s future and the status the regime – those candidates were un- of the Belarusan language, culture and tra- able to counteract the massive disinforma- ditions in the continuing process of russifi- tion and ideological indoctrination cam- cation grew. paign carried out over the years, and espe- Freedom of expression and the media cially since 1994, through the state-owned was seriously repressed. Opposition politi- and state-run mass media. cians and critical activists faced harassment; The Central Electoral Commission was a few disappeared without a trace. set up in violation of the procedure estab- Objective information was hardly available, lished by law. Persons perceived by the a fact that constituted a serious obstacle to State as opponents, representing various carrying out fair and free parliamentary political parties and public organizations of elections. Freedom of peaceful assembly a democratic orientation, were excluded was restricted, and associations – including from the District Electoral Commissions trade unions – were harassed. Courts fell with no explanation. under the control of the Executive and fair During the registration of candidates, trial standards were consistently violated. Ill- District Electoral Commissions employed the treatment and inhumane conditions in de- Electoral Code procedure of verification of tention facilities were commonplace. the authenticity of signatures collected in President Lukashenka continued to is- support of the candidates, which led many sue decrees and edicts that had the force candidates to be abusively rejected. The of law and which often restricted basic hu- Central Electoral Commission, through its man rights. own interpretation of the Electoral Code, lim- ited the participation of election observers. Elections It was virtually useless to file a com- Elections to the Belarusan National As- plaint against decisions of the Central sembly were held on 15 and 29 October. Electoral Commission because the Deputy 1,487 activists of the Belarus Helsinki Com- Chairman of the Supreme Court was a mittee observed the polling and exposed member of that Commission. numerous violations of international stan- Local authorities under presidential dards related to fair and free elections, as control coerced citizens to vote. Under the well as infringements of national legislation. threat of dismissal, the heads of adminis- In spite of amendments and additions tration, industry managers, heads of offices to the Electoral Code, it did not comply and organizations were under pressure to with international regulations, and con- make sure that all their staff went to the tained provisions allowing for a wide scale polls. Local authorities demanded that of interpretation. As a result, a considerable heads of different public bodies submit lists number of candidates representing the of staff members who would vote in ad- democratic forces we not allowed to partic- vance. During the second round of the ipate in the elections. elections, the polling day (29 October) was BELARUS 51 illegally ruled to be a working day in many Belarusan authorities embarked on a companies and educational establish- campaign to deprive the nation of the pos- ments. On election days, members of Local sibility to receive any alternative informa- Electoral Commissions visited citizens at tion and ideas. This “non-information cam- home and, in fact, forced them to vote at paign”, which continues at the time of writ- home if they had not already done so. ing, is unprecedented in the country’s re- Democratically oriented citizens who called cent history. Through the mass media, peo- for a boycott of the elections were system- ple are only given the Government’s inter- atically harassed. pretation of domestic and foreign events. In many cases, lists of voters who vot- This dramatic restriction on the free flow of ed at home were compiled not by the information made it impossible to hold Electoral Commissions but by local author- democratic, free and transparent elections. ities. The falsification of lists was observed The Government had a monopoly on throughout the country. In order to reach printing presses, distribution services, elec- the necessary turnout (50 percent plus tronic media, as well as a number of large one), up to 10 percent of voters were ex- nationwide - and also smaller - local news- cluded from the initial voter lists. In a num- papers. Belpost, the monopoly distribution ber of districts the necessary figures were service, introduced discriminatory tariffs for arbitrarily provided by the authorities with- the independent press. Printing presses also out proof. In at least seven districts different charged independent newspapers twice the authorities gave different figures on the amount they charged the state-owned number of voters. press. The State routinely blocked the cre- The practice of not allowing observers ation of independent local newspapers. to monitor the acts of sealing ballot boxes A series of legislative acts and regula- and counting ballots was widespread. tions were enacted aimed at destroying the The number of voters was suspiciously remaining independent mass media. much higher in districts with no observers Newspapers must be registered as com- than in districts where observers were pres- mercial entities, which required a prohibi- ent, thus suggesting that turnout figures tively high minimum capital and level of were falsified. commercial activities. The legislation pro- The IHF and the Belarus Helsinki Com- vided for 14 different instances for the mittee issued a press release on 23 Octo- Government’s extra-judicial closure of a ber stating that the election process in Be- newspaper. larus was being completely manipulated Local authorities established the un- and subverted by state authorities. Further- lawful practice of mandatory approval of lo- more, the electoral process appeared to be cations for newspaper offices. This allowed one of the most compromised in the post- the authorities to ban, if they wished, the soviet period in the OSCE region.2 opening of a newspaper on their territory. The Council of Ministers ordered that com- Freedom of Expression and the Media mercial entities of all kinds not advertise in On 11 July, the Belarus Helsinki the independent press. According to the Committee issued a statement “On Belarus Journalist Association, a “black list“ Freedom of the Press in Belarus”, in which was made of companies that advertised in it called upon the Government to ease the the independent media. numerous repressive measures applied On 16 October, the Minsk Tax Adminis- against the mass media. The result of the tration threatened to either sell or seize the current measures would amount to a virtu- equipment of a private printing shop, al ban on information in the country, ac- “Magic”, which printed about 20 independ- cording to the Committee. ent newspapers. The threat was issued be- 52 BELARUS cause they found, among other financial tions in the interests of national security, documentation belonging to “Magic”, an public order and the guarantee of rights agreement between the print shop and the and freedoms of others.” Open Society Institute (i.e. the Soros In July, the Secretary General of the Foundation) for the lease of equipment. International Confederation of Free Trade The tax officers alleged that the print shop Unions visited Minsk. His visit was triggered did not belong to its director Yuri Budzko by complaints by some trade unions re- but to the Soros Foundation, which ceased garding violations of their rights by the au- its activities in Belarus several years ago un- thorities. Also in July, the Presidential Ad- der pressure from the authorities and ministration accused some trade union lea- leased its equipment to Budzko. Also, the ders and activists of having “combined their authorities claimed that “Magic” had not yet high-waged elected posts with political ac- settled an alleged tax debt on certain grants. tivities in various political parties and move- After long legal proceedings, the court ruled ments,” and of having “spread” propaganda that “Magic” owed U.S$ 78,000 in taxes. of “false slogans, and deceitful and de- The seizure of the equipment would mean structive ideas.” the termination of printing of practically all The authorities initiated a campaign on independent national periodicals. establishing “parallel” trade unions loyal to the Government in November. Freedom of Association Trade Union Rights Burglaries in NGO Offices Belarus authorities recently took meas- At 10.30 p.m. on 21 September, two ures to significantly restrict individuals’ armed and masked men broke into the of- rights to freely join trade unions. This atti- fice of the Belarus Social Democratic Party tude was even more worrisome in light of (Narodnaya Hramada). The safes were the dissatisfaction with the worsening social forcefully opened, party documents, along and economic situation and the increasing with hard disks and diskettes, were stolen, violations of individuals’ basic rights. and three computers were broken. The par- According to the Belarus Helsinki ty leaders viewed the act as one of political Committee, more than 200 strikes or other terror. activities against the worsening working conditions and low wages took place in the On 20 September, the Bobruisk office year 2000. With increasing protests, the of the Association of Afghan War Veterans Belarus Government took several meas- was burglarised. A computer, fax machine, ures to interfere with trade union activities. TV-set and other office equipment were On 11 February, the Presidential stolen. The Police of the Lenin District con- Administration ordered that Ministers sug- ducted a routine investigation, claiming that gest the names of persons who should the incident was of a solely criminal nature. head the trade unions. However, Piotr Kastsjukovich, a member of the Association and candidate for the In July, authorities directly interfered in National Assembly, was convinced that the the process of electing new officials for the incident was politically motivated. trade unions by attempting to have their The Belarus Helsinki Committee re- candidate illegally elected head of the trade ceived information in 1999 and 2000 of union of agricultural employees. nine cases of burglaries in the offices of hu- On 14 July, the Law “On Trade Unions” man rights and opposition organizations. was amended, providing that “the activities The perpetrators were not found in any of of trade unions can be subjected to limita- the cases. The inaction of the authorities BELARUS 53 gave rise to suspicion that the State used cameraman by the police. Mironaw and criminals to carry out its politics of repres- Pronin interfered in the incident and were sion against democratic organizations in arrested and beaten. The plaintiffs were Belarus. taken to a military unit in the Mayakovski Street where they were searched and Warnings videotaped. Four hours later, the police According to the law, any NGO or po- drove them 13 kilometres from the city litical party can be closed down after having centre and released them. According to the received two warnings from the authorities. plaintiffs, the persons who arrested them During the latter half of 2000, such warn- wore uniforms and helmets and could be ings were given to the United Civil Party identified on videotapes. Nevertheless, the (five), the Association of Belarusan Ministry of Interior representative stated in Students (two), the Youth Association “Civil Court that the persons on the videotapes Forum” (three), the Human Rights Centre were not police officers, but rather “ex- (two), and the Human Rights Centre tremists or criminals trying to blacken the “Viasna” (one).3 reputation of the police.” The Court estab- lished that minor bodily injuries had been Peaceful Assembly inflicted on the plaintiffs in detention. The While the State retained a monopoly Court ruled that the plaintiffs had indeed on the mass media, group acts such as been detained by police officers and found meetings, demonstrations, rallies and pick- that their complaint was partially justified. ets were some of the few remaining Accordingly, the Court ordered a payment means of enjoying freedom of expression. of approximately U.S.$ 50 in damages to During the first half of the year, about 100 both plaintiffs. protests were held in Minsk. The number was much smaller in regional centres, and Independence of the Judiciary such were rare actions in smaller towns The 1996 constitutional referendum and rural areas. It was reported that local widened presidential powers, granting the authorities – particularly in the town of President the right to appoint judges of all Slutsk - demanded an exorbitant pre-pay- levels, at the recommendation of the ment for holding pickets or rallies, and or- Ministry of Justice. The President often re- ganizers were forced to pay the police and jected candidates submitted by the Judicial the fire brigade for their “services.” The au- Commission, since they had not been ap- thorities allotted “special places”, i.e. stadi- proved by the Security Council. ums, parks outside the centre and similar Preliminary approval of candidates by places, for demonstrations to make them the Executive branch violates Belarusan less attractive. legislation and does not comply with inter- On 24 August, the Central District national standards. In practice, the old Court in Minsk heard a suit filed by Genadz Soviet system with party control over the Mironaw and Aleh Pronin against the courts remained in force. Ministry of Interior and Military Unit No. The Belarus Helsinki Committee ex- 5448. The plaintiffs claimed that officers at pressed deep concern that politicians fre- the two institutions had violated their hon- quently declared a person’s guilt in public, our and dignity and demanded a payment before a court verdict was issued. of 5 million roubles (U.S.$ 5,000) each in Since 1996, judges have only rarely punitive damages. According to the plain- applied the provisions of the Constitution tiffs, on 25 March they witnessed the se- or approached the Constitutional Court vere beating of a Russian Television (ORT) with a request to determine the constitu- 54 BELARUS tionality of certain laws. Judges have not re- opposition activities during the up-coming ferred to international documents ratified parliamentary elections. by the Republic of Belarus even in cases of The persecution of former Prime the violation of civil rights and freedoms. Minister Mikhail Chygir began after he de- clared his intention to run in the May 1999 Fair Trial alternative presidential elections organized The Deputy Minister of Justice, Viktar by the 13th Supreme Soviet. On 9 March Halavanaw, stated that citizens of Belarus 1999, President Lukashenka accused were not eager to go to court to settle their Chygir of failing to return large amounts of disputes. Foreign companies operating on money he had borrowed five years earlier the territory of Belarus appeared unwilling from the State - Lukashenka claimed that to cooperate with local lawyers because Chygir had used that money for his elec- the law does not hold a lawyer responsible toral campaign. On 30 March 1999, Mikhail for errors committed during proceedings. Chygir was arrested and accused of larceny There were proposals to amend such pro- and embezzlement. Chygir was released in visions, but, as of this writing, nothing had early 2000 due to pressure from the inter- happened. national community. The court began hear- Courts reportedly accepted as evi- ing his case in February and on 4 March it dence and convicted people of the basis of came to light that evidence had been falsi- information obtained illegally, particularly fied. Witnesses refused to confirm charges through torture and other forms of ill-treat- according to which Chygir had violated ment. credit regulations while working as chair of On 19 June, the case of two well- the Belarus Agro-Industrial Bank. However, known opposition politicians, Valery on 19 May, the Minsk City Court sentenced Shchukin and Nikolai Statkevich, ended in a Chygir to three years imprisonment with Minsk court. Both men had been accused two years’ suspension. On review, the of organising mass disorders on 27 July and Supreme Court revoked the sentence, and 17 October 1999. Fifty-four officers of the the case was sent back to the prosecutor Ministry of Interior units were summoned as for “further investigation.” The Court there- witnesses, but not all of them appeared. by avoided acquitting Mikhail Chygir. In Some of the officers who were involved in October 2000, Mikhail Chygir informed the the incident but had subsequently left the Belarus Helsinki Committee that another army unit did not confirm their previous criminal case had been brought against him, accusing him of tax evasion while statements. It was believed that, while in the working for a German company based in army, they had been coerced to testify Moscow. against the accused. Almost all of the pros- ecution’s witnesses stated that the demon- strators had been drunk. The judge took “Disappearances” those allegations into consideration al- In the last few years some 4,000 peo- though no formal proof was produced. ple “disappeared “ in Belarus. About 20 Statements to the contrary made by wit- percent of the “disappearance” cases have nesses of the defence were ignored by the never been solved and many of the victims court. There was no evidence that Shchukin are well-known government critics. had organised a spontaneous demonstra- The phenomenon of violent “disappear- tion on 17 October, but the court found him ances” of people in Belarus has become in- guilty regardless. The Belarus Helsinki creasingly political. The opposition suspects Committee stated that the verdict was polit- that state security and law-enforcement ically motivated in an attempt to hinder the agencies were behind the “disappearances” BELARUS 55 of well-known political figures. High state of- Office, Russian officials seized videotapes of ficials, without being able to produce any ev- “Wild Hunting” and fragments of a television idence, claimed such incidents were “provo- program “Wait for Me,” in which Sheremet cations by the opposition”. and Zavadski’s mother were seen. The Belarus Helsinki Committee noted that the State, with security services and Conditions in Prisons and Detention 200,000 law enforcement forces at its dis- Facilities posal, has enough resources to clarify the Prisoners Infected with HIV “disappearances.” Nonetheless, at the time V. Hancharenka, who was being held in of writing, the “disappearances” of Yury the Minsk Pre-Trial Detention Centre, re- Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol ported to the Belarus Helsinki Committee Krasouski and Dzmitri Zavadski had yet to on the conditions of detention for prisoners be solved. The circumstances of the escape infected with HIV. According to him, such of Tamara Vinnikava, who was under house prisoners were held in cells under totally in- arrest guarded by armed officials of the human conditions, e.g. with wet floors, al- presidential security services also went un- most no fresh air, and the ventilation closed investigated. most of the time because the guards were On 7 July, Dzmitri Zavadski, a camera- afraid of being infected with HIV. Moreover, man for the Russian TV ORT, disappeared the prisoners did not receive even elemen- near Minsk International Airport. Despite tary medical care. When Hancharenka had the President’s personal promises to find gingivitis, the doctor refused to take him to him, nothing is known about his fate. That a dentist saying that they did not have one morning, Zavadski had driven to the airport in the prison, nor did they have the neces- to meet his colleague, the head of the ORT sary medicine. Hancharenka had to use a Department of Special Projects, Pavel She- razor blade to let the puss out. remet. When Sheremet arrived in Minsk, he All the letters the prisoners tried to send found only Zavadski’s empty car in front of to an AIDS-centre were intercepted by the the airport building. prison administration. According to Hancha- On 8 November, the ORT broadcast a renka, after their attempt to send a com- film by Pavel Sheremet entitled “Wild plaint to the UN, their cell was visited by an Hunting,” dedicated to Zavadski and other unknown person who introduced himself as kidnapped Belarusans. According to Shere- belonging to a certain organization spe- met, ORT journalists were under surveillan- cialised in helping prisoners. He promised ce during the shooting of the film (which to take all the complaints to this organiza- took four months). He also claims that tion, which nobody has ever heard of. there is every reason to believe that Bela- rusan security services were involved in the Juvenile Detainees “disappearance” of Dzmitri Zavadski. On 22 September at 11 a.m., two men At the time of writing, five men had in plain clothes arrested Denis Selivonik, a been arrested in connection with the kid- minor, at his school and took him to the napping of Zavadski: two police officers, Pervomayski Police Station in Babruisk. He and former officers of special Ministry of was interrogated until 11 p.m. in the ab- Interior squadron “Almaz”. sence of a lawyer or any other legal repre- On 16 November, the Prosecutor’s sentative. Police officers ignored the boy’s Office reported that criminal charges had requests to call his parents and let them been brought against Pavel Sheremet for li- know about his whereabouts. The school bel against President Lukashenka. At the re- teachers did not inform Denis’ parents quest of the Belarusan Prosecutor General’s about his detention either. 56 BELARUS

Denis, who suffers from asthma, felt ill Russian liberation wars of the 18th and 20th during the interrogations and was given an centuries were deleted. injection after which point he could not un- Russian is the language of advertise- derstand the documents he was signing. He ments, street signs, and record production. was detained for three days following the The judiciary and the army only speak and interrogation. The police officers then called carry out their work in Russian. his parents and explained that Denis had been called in as a witness and that wit- Religious Intolerance nesses are not required to have a lawyer. The Belarusan Constitution provides In the pre-trial detention cell where for a multi-confessional State and a neutral Denis was held, one of the officers hit him attitude towards all registered denomina- in the head and he was held together with tions acting within the framework of the adult detainees, in violation of international legislation. This, however, has not stopped standards. One of the detainees was ill with the State from strongly supporting the tuberculosis and infected Denis, who, at Belarus Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox the time of writing, is being hospitalised. Church and restricting the activities of Protestants, Catholics, and others minori- Ethnicity ties. The sup- The process of integration for Russia ports the State, although, according to the and Belarus continued with increasing dis- law, it is supposed to be independent of crimination against ethnic Belarusans and a the State. growing . According to the State Committee on The integration treaty provides for the Religions and Nationalities, over 2,500 reli- introduction of a single currency (the Rus- gious communities and parishes belonging sian rouble) and the establishment of a sin- to different confessions were registered in gle economic (including monetary) area, a Belarus as of 1 January 2000. Among them single tax and price policy, unified transport were 1,139 Russian Orthodox, 862 and energy systems, communications and a Protestant, 405 Roman Catholic, several joint military policy. It became clear that the Uniate and Belarusan Autocephalous project of creating a unified State required Orthodox communities, as well as Jewish the liquidation of Belarusan sovereignty. and Muslim communities. The Belarusan Constitution declares Belarus a neutral, non-nuclear State. Joint Narodnaya Gazeta stated in an article military programs for Belarus and Russia that “Belarus is turning into a Protestant are therefore a gross violation of interna- country” and that “Protestants push us to tional obligations assumed by Belarus. betray our ancestors’ faith.” Following the Many classes taught in the Belarusan publication of the article, the Protestants of language in various schools and gymnasi- Belarus demanded that the editor-in-chief ums have been changed into Russian-lan- place a retraction in the press. There was guage classes. In 2000, 70 percent of all no reaction, however, and another article school students were educated in Russian. written by Nina Yanovich was published, Only 10.2 percent of all periodicals were in describing Protestant Christians in a very Belarusan. Less than half of all Belarusan negative light. A second request to publish TV airtime was in Belarusan. a retraction in the newspaper was also ig- Works by Vasil Bykaw, an outstanding nored. The Protestants initiated judicial pro- Belarusan writer, were no longer available. ceedings against the newspaper and its Courses on Belarusan history in high columnist Nina Yanovich. The court refused schools and universities were censored by to hear the case claiming it had no jurisdic- the State: information regarding the anti- tion in “scientific polemics”. BELARUS 57

When the film “Expansion” was aired Reportedly, Chair of the House of on National TV, Protestant groups felt that Representatives A. Malafeyaw replied that the film promoted a negative attitude Hulai’s demand to perform alternative serv- among the public towards Protestants and ice is not allowed under the present legis- stirred up religious hostility. lation.

4 Economic Rights Conscientious Objection The operation of small businesses be- According to both the Constitution and came increasingly difficult in 2000. On 1 the law “On Military Service”, draft-age men January 2000, a new law “On Value-Added were obliged to perform either military or Taxes” came into force, increasing the VAT alternative civilian service. However, in 3-4 times. According to the Minsk Trade 2000, Belarus still lacked a law regulating Union of Employers, “Sadruzhnast”, this in- alternative civilian service. In the absence of crease effectively made the work of indi- appropriate legislation, the right to alterna- vidual employers useless. tive service was, in practice, denied. On 14 January, the owners of small Valjantsin Hulai, who was charged un- businesses in Vitsebsk went on strike to der Article 77 (evasion of military service) protest the new taxes, penalties, repeated of the Criminal Code, filed a complaint with payments for licenses, certificates, and oth- the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group er mandatory expenses under the new leg- in Belarus against a court’s conviction in islation. A nationwide strike involving the Rechytsa, which he claimed violated his owners of small businesses began on 1 constitutional right to freedom of religion. February, as a result of which the new VAT Hulai is a Jehovah’s Witness who, once system was changed. About 100,000 indi- drafted, asked the authorities to allow him viduals, i.e. 90 percent of all owners of to perform alternative civilian service be- small businesses, took part in the strike. cause of his religious convictions. Another The chair of the strike committee, draftee, M. Mikhaltsow, was charged under Valery Levanewski, reported that after the the same article. protests the authorities stopped the mass Valjantisin Hulai’s case led OSCE confiscation of goods lacking the Belarus Ambassador Hans-Georg Wieck to ask the certification mark. However, the law on the House of Representatives of the National mandatory certification of all kinds of goods Assembly to comment on the situation. remained valid.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Belarus Helsinki Committee Annual Report 2000. 2 IHF and the Belarus Helsinki Committee, “The Process in Belarus is Not an Honest Attempt to Hold Elections,” press release, 3 October 2000. See also “IHF Executive Committee on So-called Elections in Belarus,” 17 September 2000 at http://www.ihf- hr.org/appeals/000917.htm 3 In December 1999, the Belarus Helsinki Committee won its case in court after being charged with the alleged failure to re-register. See IHF and the Belarus Helsinki Committee, “Belarusan Helsinki Committee Wins in Court,” 17 December 1999, at http://www.ihf-hr.org/appeals/991217.htm 4 Based on information from the Belarus Helsinki Committee to the IHF, August 2000. 58 BELGIUM1

IHF FOCUS: Judicial system; religious intolerance; intolerance, xenophobia and racial discrimination; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; women’s rights; rights of the child.

The undemocratic structures of Belgian Undemocratic Elections bar associations restricted barristers’ free- In this field, criticism was targeted pri- dom of expression and their independ- marily at the Presidents and Councils of the ence. In some cases they also influenced bar associations who were not democrati- the course of justice. cally elected. In the French Bar Association Belgium had adopted many laws of Brussels (L’Ordre français des Avocats against racially motivated acts, but in prac- du Barreau de Bruxelles), barristers had to tice extremist right-wing parties became in- vote for as many candidates as there were creasingly popular and the spread of racist positions available to ensure that their and xenophobic propaganda was a serious votes were valid. In practice, this meant that cause for concern. they often had to vote for candidates they On the basis of a December 1999 de- did not wish to elect, as the number of can- cision by the Parliament, the status of cer- didates normally only slightly outnumbered tain categories of illegal immigrants was the number of seats available. regularised. An independent commission Moreover, the same individuals always was set up to examine applications on a counted the votes and were always select- case-by-case basis, but its work was ex- ed by the bar President. Observers were tremely slow. New provisions on asylum forbidden from monitoring the count. seekers guaranteed them access to the asylum procedure, but it was feared that Right to Choose a Lawyer of One’s Choice most of the claims would undergo the ac- The President and Council of the bar had celerated asylum procedure and be dis- enormous and unfettered power: in practice, missed. they were able to, and sometimes did, influ- Religious freedom was affected by ence the course of justice. Under a pretext of the system of recognition, which gave a tactlessness, bar presidents could and some- few traditional religions privileged status. times did force barristers to drop cases, de- Members of non-recognised minority reli- priving litigants of their chosen counsel, some- gions faced discrimination, defamation times just before a hearing or deadline. These campaigns, and harassment, including decisions were made with no compulsory criminal proceedings. formal procedure or motive and with effec- tively no opportunity for appeal. Judicial System In 2000, the independence and free- Censorship of Barristers dom of expression of barristers remained Barristers who were critical of bar asso- jeopardised by their bar associations. The ciations or magistrates were increasingly Presidents and Councils of the bar associa- prosecuted. They faced unilateral sanctions tions had wide discretionary powers that and disciplinary action, often without details enabled them to influence the course of of the infraction to be prosecuted. The justice. Presidents of the bar associations could The intervention of some organs of the therefore act as true censors: they could bar associations was increasingly contested prevent barristers from defending certain both by barristers and persons on trial. theories, exposing certain arguments or These bar associations were accused of criticising certain decisions. carrying out a corporatist policy and limiting Therefore, in Belgium, a President of the rights of the litigants. the Bar, by a unilateral decision that he/she BELGIUM 59 could not justify and against which there the advantages of recognition. The policy of was no effective recourse, was able to de- the Ministry of Justice in this regard was a prive a person on trial of his/her rights un- clear form of state interference in the reli- der the law, and of the possibility to obtain gious sphere. the protection of the legal powers. The bar Not all movements inside the Muslim authorities could therefore operate outside community had joined the administrative all control. For example, the Brussels Bar representative body that was recognised by amassed a capital of 104,000,000 Belgian the State as the spokesorgan of Islam. In francs (about U.S.$2,500,000) over a few the secular humanist family, only the years due to a significant increase in the Centre d’Action Laïque (Center of Laicist compulsory fees that lawyers paid to the Action) was recognised by the State. bar. This patrimony was allegedly not sub- Eight federal ministries, the ministries ject to tax, and there was no control over its of the three linguistic communities, the management. Belgian lawyers did not dare ministries of the three regions (Flanders, to raise such issues. Wallonia and Brussels), the administrations of the ten provinces and the 589 munici- Religious Intolerance palities were involved in financing the The relationship between the State recognised religions and secular human- and religions in Belgium is historically root- ism, but Islam remained dramatically un- ed in the principle of recognition and non- der-financed. On the one hand, the Federal recognition of religions. However, recogni- State paid the salaries, retirement and lodg- tion criteria were never enshrined in the ing costs of ministers and also subsidised Constitution, decrees or in law. the construction and renovation of places As of the end of 2000, six religions and of worship, but decided how many clerics secular humanism (laïcité) were recogni- were paid in each religion – thus reflecting sed by the State. When the Belgian State clear interference by the State in the reli- was created in 1830, a number of religions gious sphere. On the other hand, the mu- had already been recognised under French nicipalities had to pay any debts incurred rule: Catholicism and Protestantism (since by the ecclesiastical administrations of 1802) and Judaism (since 1808). Anglica- recognised religions without having the nism was recognised in 1835, Islam in right to check their accounts. 1974 and Orthodoxy in 1985. Secular hu- In 2000, a number of political parties manism has indirectly enjoyed state recog- considered changing the financing system nition since the last revision of the of religions and secular humanism so as to Constitution (17 February 1994). allow taxpayers to choose the belief system In the past, the Belgian State also used they wanted to finance through their in- its discretionary power to recognise one or come tax. However, no draft law had been two movements inside spiritual families presented to the Parliament by the end of where diversity prevailed: the Greek and 2000. As a result, the financing system re- Russian Orthodox Churches in the Ortho- mained discriminatory towards non-recog- dox family; the EPUB (Eglise Protestante nised religions and their followers. Unie de Belgique/ United Protestant Jehovah’s Witnesses and other minori- Church of Belgium grouping together a ty religions were denied the right to bring number of historical churches) and Angli- spiritual assistance to their members in canism (separately) in the Protestant fami- hospitals, detention centres for asylum ly. Pentecostal and Evangelical Churches, seekers and similar institutions, a right which were denied separate recognition by granted only to chaplains of recognised re- the Ministry of Justice, tried to create a ligions and moral advisers of secular hu- common platform with the EPUB to enjoy manism. In public schools of Belgium’s 60 BELGIUM

French-speaking community, Jehovah’s curity services or the Belgian Brigade of Witnesses’ children were obliged to attend Surveillance and Research (BSR). The either ethics classes (contradictory with bailiff also presented an affidavit. The or- their beliefs) or classes of another religion. ganisers were informed that all their meet- In the Flemish-speaking community, the ings were forbidden and that any discus- children were exempt from this require- sion of Sahaja Yoga would result in arrest. ment. The group has never been prosecuted for any illegal activities. The Cult Issue In 1999, the Anthroposophic Society The list of 189 movements annexed to won its case in the first instance against the the report of the Parliamentary Commissi- French Community (one of the federal en- on on cults and the information bro- tities of the Federal Kingdom of Belgium) chure Guru, You’d Better Watch Out! wide- with regard to defamatory statements ly distributed in schools and public places spread in the cult prevention brochure continued to be a reference source for pri- Guru, You’d Better Watch Out!. The ruling vate and public authorities. More cases of was appealed and a hearing was held on intolerance and discrimination towards in- 25 November 1999, leading eventually to dividuals were recorded by Human Rights a decision on 20 January 2000 to overturn Without Frontiers in 2000: intolerance and the trial decision because of a “lack of ur- victimisation in schools, at work and in the gency,” as all the brochures had already neighbourhood; hate speech in the media; been distributed. The Society planned to defamation; slander; loss of jobs or promo- continue with proceedings. The brochure tions; loss of visitation rights or child cus- was not reprinted and its content was re- tody in divorce settlements; denial of room moved from the website of the French rental; police crackdown, etc. Community, probably because a new On 26 October, a public meeting of Minister, known to be more respectful of the new religious movement Sahaja Yoga, the rights of minority religions, took office a group with only 150 members in after the June 1999 elections. Belgium, was banned by order of the Mayor of one of the municipalities of The Buddhist group OKC accused of Brussels. A dozen police officers accompa- being a harmful sectarian movement in the nied by a bailiff appeared to ensure the brochure Guru, You’d Better Watch Out! ban was respected. The organisers of the lost its case in the first instance, due to the meeting, scheduled for later that evening, lack of emergency, but continues the pro- were informed that it had been banned fol- ceedings. lowing orders from state security. The audi- Another complaint lodged by the torium of the cultural centre in Woluwe St Anthroposophic Society against the cre- Pierre (Brussels) had been hired several ation of an Observatory of Cults called the months in advance for a presentation of Information and Advice Center on Harmful the Sahaja Yoga movement, and the meet- Cults was dismissed by the Arbitration ing had been advertised on the radio, Court. A complaint was lodged with the posters, and leaflets. At 6.30 p.m. barri- European Court of Human Rights in cades were erected in front of the entrance September 2000. to the cultural centre and a dozen uni- formed and plainclothed police officers The case Vibration Cœur (Vibrating were present. Some of the officers stated Heart) v. The Belgian State was pending as that they belonged to the public relations of this writing. Vibration Cœur, a non-profit department of the gendarmerie, others making association of five psychotherapists stated that they were a part of the state se- who hold training sessions for medical BELGIUM 61 practioners, was noted on the list of 189 to have a general anti-discrimination law movements suspected of being harmful that would provide for a civil procedure un- cults. der which claimants would be in a position to have their damages redressed and com- In January 1999, Ms. Vo, the Belgian pensated. secretary of the non-profit making associa- An important evolution of the 1981 tion Spiritual Human Yoga (SHY), was ar- law was the 7 May 1999 amendment of rested by an anti-terrorist unit and impris- Article 150 of the Constitution, under which oned for 22 days. The spiritual leader of the press-committed acts motivated by racism movement, Master Dang, an American citi- and xenophobia were taken to an ordinary zen, was also imprisoned for 65 days. He criminal court, thus avoiding the more was released only after paying U.S.$1.3 mil- complicated procedure of convening a lion in bail. Dozens of SHY practioners were people’s jury, which had previously been interrogated by the police to substantiate viewed as one of the main drawbacks in accusations of the illegal practice of medi- applying the law. cine and financial embezzlement. Two Another relevant legislative act was the years later, no progress had been regis- law of 12 February 1999, which added tered in this case. Article 15 to the 1989 law regulating the fi- nancing of political parties. The article pro- Over one year after the raid of the anti- vided for the limitation or cessation of do- terrorist unit against the headquarters of nations to political parties hostile to human the Church of Scientology, the case was still rights and freedoms. However, in 2000, pending as of this writing. the law still lacked an implementation In 2000, charges against the Japanese mechanism. Moreover, it could only be ap- movement Sukhyo Mahikari, under exami- plied after a certain was con- nation on suspicion of alleged financial em- victed of inciting racism and xenophobia bezzelment, were dropped. under the anti-racist law of 1981. The scope of racially motivated acts In the fall of 2000, the Information and was wide-ranging, including problems en- Advice Center on Harmful Cults was nearly countered by foreigners with public servic- operational. Its mission is to collect and es, discrimination in housing, employment, grant public access to documents about so- education, and access to public places. The called cults. major concern, however, was the rise of ex- tremist right-wing parties and the spread of Intolerance, Xenophobia and Racial racist and xenophobic propaganda. This Discrimination growing tendency culminated in the 30 Belgium has ratified the International percent support of the Vlaams Blok, an ex- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms treme-right Flemish party, at the municipal of Racial Discrimination, and the ICCPR, elections in the summer of 2000. Article 20(2) of which forbids any incite- The case against Vlaams Blok, which ment to national, racial or religious hatred. opened in 1999 for inciting racial hatred Further, Belgium adopted a separate during airtime given to political parties on law on 31 July 1981 aimed at cracking national television, was still pending at the down on acts inspired by racism or xeno- end of 2000. This case in particular led to phobia. In practice, however, its application the additional law regulating the financing was limited by several deficiencies, in par- of political parties. In October 2000, the ticular the difficulty of providing evidence of Center for Equal Opportunities took three racially motivated acts in a criminal court. associations to court on charges of collabo- To rectify this shortcoming, it was proposed rating and providing help to Vlaams Blok. 62 BELGIUM

Whatever the outcome, the case was con- asylum issues. Throughout the last months sidered to be important in triggering further of the year, the reform of the asylum proce- political discussions on the behaviour of dure and the introduction of new migration political parties and their associate organi- policies were high on the political agenda. zations. The outcome of the political debate In 2000, the Center for Equal Opportu- was the agreement reached by the Council nities acted as a civil party in 80 cases of of Ministers in November on an asylum serious complaints involving racism and policy, which provides for two types of pro- xenophobia. While most of these were still cedures (normal and accelerated) in pro- pending at the time of this writing, three cessing asylum claims. important cases related to negationism and Theoretically, the new provisions the spread of racism over the Internet end- should guarantee each asylum seeker ac- ed in convictions. However, many com- cess to the asylum procedure. However, it plaints against acts of incitement to racial was estimated that 80 percent of the discrimination and hatred by the extreme- claims would be defined as “manifestly unfounded” on the basis of fourteen crite- right media were thwarted by the incom- ria and as such be processed under the ac- petence of the judicial system dealing with celerated procedure within three weeks.3 cases of freedom of the press. The Federal Administration on Asylum took charge of collecting asylum claims and de- Protection of Asylum Seekers and ciding on their eligibility. Immigrants Most NGOs dealing with asylum issues On 22 December 1999, the Parlia- concluded that the new asylum procedure ment voted on a regularisation law concer- was more restrictive and less open than the ning certain categories of illegal immigrants previous one. It was feared that the accel- and set up an independent commission to erated processing of applications would re- examine applications on a case-by-case ba- duce the chances of refugees to have their sis. As defined by the Minister of Interior, claims examined thoroughly. the regularisation process was unique and Criticism was also expressed with re- provided for time limits for claims by per- gard to the degree of independence of the sons who had entered Belgium by 1 Octo- Federal Administration on Asylum; the inel- ber 1999. It was explicitly stated that this igibility to the regularization procedure if policy was based on the principle of huma- right to asylum were not granted; the exis- nity as much as on the principle of closed tence of a list of “safe countries;” and the borders.2 establishment of registration centres at bor- A total of 32,662 dossiers concerning ders to serve as “filters,” which was be- over 50,000 persons were submitted lieved to lead to the decentralisation of the through the application process. With only Foreigners’ Office. 483 applications processed in nine While 1999 saw a 60 percent increase months, it was stated that the work of the in asylum claims compared with the previ- commission was paralysed due to the ous year, the year 2000 confirmed the cumbersome bureaucratic procedure and growing tendency with 24,343 claims sub- the divergent opinions on its functioning. mitted in the first nine months. Since 1998, The need to accelerate the process was however, only 8.4 percent of a total of emphasised and 1 July 2001 was set as a 174,550 applicants have been granted the deadline. status of political refugee.4 The regularisation process itself turned In the meantime, the Government de- out to be just a segment of the political dis- cided to limit social aid to asylum seekers cussions in Belgium on immigration and by excluding financial support to provide BELGIUM 63 them with housing, legal aid and medical centers, finding them more severe than care. This decision was outspokenly criti- prison regulations. Since then, however, a cised by human rights organizations as con- lack of activity and idleness has prevailed tradicting the right of every person to have over the need to ameliorate their condi- his human dignity respected, as enshrined tions. in Article 23 of the Constitution. In October 2000, the death of an Though extensively discussed, the Albanian asylum seeker trying to escape Council of Ministers could not reach an from “127bis” one day before he was due agreement on the introduction of new mi- to leave led to the revision of the “closed gration policies. It was decided in principle centres” concept. It was concluded that to set up an Observatory of Immigration they were part of a mechanism that in the under the Center for Equal Opportunities to long run will have to be abolished.5 The de- analyse the migratory tendencies. cision to abolish the practice of placing un- Despite the diversity of opinions on fu- accompanied minors in “closed centres” ture policies, the common feeling among was an important change to this effect. politicians was that migratory flows in The idea of extending the capacity of Europe are on the rise and the Belgian the open centres and building new ones Government announced its intention to was the subject of much political and pub- launch a debate on European policies on lic debate, as the increasing migratory flows migration when the country takes over the strained the capacity of existing facilities. It European Union presidency in July 2001. was estimated that 555 new places should be opened in Wallonia, 440 in Flanders, “Closed Centres” and 300 in Brussels, while also emphasis- The issue of “closed centres” was also ing the possibility of having more private at the core of much political debate centres. At the end of 2000, there was only throughout the year and the asylum policy one private centres in Erezée, with a ca- package adopted in November contained a pacity of 45 places. draft royal decree on the functioning of the The reaction to the Government’s in- “closed centres” run by the Foreigners’ tention to construct new centres for politi- Office in order to facilitate the deportation cal refugees near Anvers in Flanders, how- of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers ever, met political and public resistance to whose claims were dismissed. The most the reception of more asylum seekers in an important new aspect was the establish- area where the spread of racist and xeno- ment of a control commission charged with phobic propaganda was on the rise and the collecting and examining individual com- extreme right-wing party, the Vlaams Blok, plaints made by detainees. enjoyed increasing support. The total capacity of the “closed cen- tres” was 480 places in the so-called “127” Women’s Rights and “127bis” centres in Melsbroeck and In 2000, as in previous years, hun- Steenokkerzel respectively, which are for dreds of women were brought to Belgium asylum seekers who have lodged an asy- via Mafia networks as victims of trafficking lum request at Brussels airport, as well as in human beings. They came primarily from three centres for illegal immigrants in Central and Eastern European countries, as Merksplas, Bruges and Vottem. There were well as from Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. cases in which detainees at these centres Lured to the country by promises of high- were subjected to treatment that violated paid work, they were treated as sexual international human rights standards. slaves on arrival. In July 1998, the Council of the State In a circular dated 11 February 2000, annulled the internal regulations of these the Prosecutor’s Office defined the priori- 64 BELGIUM ties in combatting trafficking in human be- Belgium, but the real number was believed ings and outlined ways of coordination be- to be much higher. The minors had no spe- tween the police and the Prosecutor’s cific status or protection and those over 16 Office. Trafficking in women was set as the were sometimes placed in “closed cen- area of utmost priority as the number of tres.” The Government promised to open a women victims accounts for 79 percent of federal housing centre for a short and tem- victims in Belgium. Although trafficking in porary stay while the administrative status human beings is a wide phenomenon, it of the minor was clarified, after which point has a disproportionately high impact on they would be accommodated in houses women. At the same time, sentences and and families. During the asylum procedure, fines given to traffickers – from two to six a significant number of minors disappeared years’ imprisonment and an average fine of and were picked up by traffickers in human 100,000–400,000 Belgian franks (approx- beings. imately U.S.$ 2,500–10,000) – seemed With regard to child custody decided in too little to have any dissuasive effect. court, a mixed Belgian-Moroccan Commis- Moroccan wives who were repudiated sion was set up to meet twice a year to set- by their husbands, according to Moroccan tle judicial differences between the two law, had to have the phrase “repudiated” countries. In 2000, the Commission had on their Belgian identity papers, event 25 files of fathers who had “kidnapped” though this provision did not exist in their children and taken them out of Belgian law. This administrative practice Belgium. In June, however, the Commis- was both degrading and discriminatory, as sion adjourned its work due to tensions be- Moroccan wives had no option to repudiate tween the negotiators on both Moroccan their husbands, a right only granted to their and Belgian sides. In the wake of several husbands and without any recourse to the diplomatic demarches, the Commission re- courts. convened in October. As a result of its work, six children were returned to Belgium Rights of the Child and their fathers were sentenced to two The number of unaccompanied for- years imprisonment for kidnapping. In light eign minors arriving in Europe rose steadily of similar problems with other nationals, in 2000. Approximately one thousand of Belgium should have to extend this prac- such minors were officially registered in tice with other country’s governments.

Endnotes 1 As reported by Human Rights Without Frontiers (IHF Cooperating Committee), January 2001. 2 Le Soir, 7 January 2000 3 Belgium’s Prime Minister, quoted in Le Soir, 14 November 2000. 4 Le Vie Express, No. 18, 10-16 November 2000. 5 Belgium’s Minister of Interior, quoted in La Libre Belgique¸14-15 October 2000. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA1 65

Branko Todorovic and Sadik Pazarac of the Helsinki Committee in RS speaking with a returned refugee whose house was completely destroyed in the July riots in Janja. © Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in RS

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and the media; rule of law; independ- ence of the judiciary and the judicial system; misconduct by law enforcement offi- cials; international humanitarian law; return of refugees and displaced persons; reli- gious intolerance; women’s rights2; rights of the child.

Five years after the signing of the At the institutional level, the establish- Peace Agreement in Dayton and Paris, ment of the Ministry for Human Rights and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) remained Refugees in the BH Council of Ministers, as unstable both in respect of its domestic po- well as the setting up of an institution of litical reality and its international position. Ombudsmen in RS (three Ombudsmen– The 2000 Constitutional Court rulings were one Serb, one Croat and one Bosniak) of extraordinary importance for the com- were of utmost importance. However, a se- plex human rights situation. Through the ries of measures must still be undertaken rulings, the Parliaments of the Bosnia and in order to establish the legal and institu- Herzegovina Federation (BH Federation) tional framework for the implementation and Republika Srpska (RS) were to harmo- and protection of human rights in accor- nize the entity Constitutions with the dance with the ECHR and other interna- Constitution of BH in order to ensure the tional human rights standards. full equality of all the three main ethnic The situation in BH continued to be groups: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. In this burdened by the fact that numerous indict- way, at the level of the Constitution, the ed or suspected war criminals remained at regulations that had formed the basis for large. The situation was best illustrated by segregation and “apartheid” were to be the fact that, through the mediation of the abolished. However, the harmonization of International Organization for Migration the Constitutions was not completed until (IOM), about 100,000 people had left BH the general elections in November. between the signing of the Dayton Accord 66 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA and the end of 2000. In total, more than In 2000, the international peace mis- 625,000 refugees and 857,000 displaced sion was more active, particularly the High persons continued to live outside their pre- Representative of the International war homes. Community in BH, Wolfgang Petritsch. The In the internal political scene, the most activeness of the OSCE Head of the dominant phenomena included the contin- Mission, Robert Barry, could be attributed ued obstruction of the Peace Agreement to the municipal and general elections. and the blocked development of a system Both intervened to stop local authorities’ of authority based on the rule of law by the from obstructing the passing of essential nationalist forces. The nationalist parties - laws and poor or unlawful work of the func- the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), the Croa- tionaries at all levels of state organization. tian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Bos- Many politicians were punished for disre- niak Party of Democratic Action (SDA) - still specting electoral rules and regulations. in a form of coalition, did all to preserve the Generally, the political context contin- concept of a three-party BH and decision- ued to negatively reflect the general human making outside the adequate political insti- rights situation: serious violations of basic tutions. Alija Izetbegovic resigned from the rights occurred daily throughout BH. A se- BH presidency, citing his old age and health ries of terrorist acts were directed against reasons. Zivko Radisic and Ante Jelavic, in the return of refugees and displaced per- their capacity as members of the presiden- sons, as well as attacks against political, na- cy, made statements that destabilized the tional and religious minority groups. peace process and were directed against Moreover, there was clear inactivity among the interests of the State they headed. the local police to clarify and prevent such There were still no corresponding ef- incidents. Minority group members also fects in BH following the positive political faced discrimination throughout BH, but changes in the neighbouring Croatia and particularly in RS, the area under the con- Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The trol of HDZ, and in the Una-Sana Canton relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH Federation) under SDA control. and Croatia were not on the level of politi- A positive sign was the fact that human cal statement, by which BH would be rec- rights issues came more into the focus of ognized as an independent State with public and political life: for example, in- equal rights and needs, although the es- creasing awareness of the importance of tablishment of diplomatic relations be- the realization of human rights and free- tween FRY and Bosnia and Herzegovina doms for the peace process, normalisation was initiated. At the same time, the idea of and democratiozation, and even for the an eventual referendum in RS was reacti- survival of the state of BH. vated as long as a right to referendum were to be given to Albanians in Kosovo, inade- Elections quately putting the situation in these two Several elections were held in BH in regions on equal footing: Bosnia and 2000: municipal elections in both entities Herzegovina has a historical statehood con- (April), general elections for Parliaments at tinuity that Kosovo does not. the state, entity and cantonal levels In addition, the expectations created by (November); presidential and vice-presi- the Stability Pact for South-East Europe dential elections in RS (November); and were not even partially fulfilled. In fact, the those for the municipal assembly of entire region, including BH, awaited effec- Srebrenica (November). All the elections tive international consensus on the stabi- took place without major violations of the lization of the region and its international electoral process and were deemed fair borders in the region. and free. However, many political leaders BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 67 and candidates violated the agreed cam- to change the decision-making process in paign rules, particularly with regard to the the Constitution of the Houses of Peoples dissemination of nationalist propaganda (BH Federal Parliament); Richard Hol- and hate speech. brooke requested that the work of the SDS The results of the municipal elections be banned; and the Party for BH of Haris indicated the further success of alternative Silajdzic suggested that the system of enti- political groups to overcome the virtual ties be abolished. The reaction in RS to monopoly of the three leading nationalist Silajdzic’s request was the announcement parties. Of them, the Social Democratic of a possible referendum for its secession Party (SDP) was most successful in the ter- from BH. The HDZ and its leader, Ante ritory of the BH Federation, and the new Jelavic, used the change in the form of the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) as well elections of the Houses of Peoples to or- as the Party of Independent Social ganize an unlawful referendum on the dec- Democrats (SNSD) in RS. In that entity, the laration of the Croatian Peoples’ Assembly. Provisional Election Commission (PEC) The idea behind the referendum was the banned the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) abolishment of the BH Federation and the from participating in both municipal and re-formulation of the State Constitution ac- general elections. This party did not re- cording to the principles of equality and move certain candidates from the election constitutionality of all the three peoples. list as required by the PEC rules. At the ini- This proposal would mean the full imple- tiative of the Helsinki Committee for mentation the principles of a national pari- Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina ty, providing for consensus and veto and and the Helsinki Committee on Human would work against the civic State. The Rights in RS, those candidates who illegally Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Cardinal Vinko occupied someone else’s house or apart- Puljic, supported the revision of the Dayton ment were removed from the election lists. Accord on the basis of the HDZ requests. This regulation resulted in dozens of dis- missals of potential candidates. Freedom of Expression and the Media The November general elections were The international authorities made ef- deemed the best organized since the sign- forts to create legal regulations for the pub- ing of the Dayton Agreement. In those lic information system and the protection of elections, the old nationalist power holders freedom of expression and investigative - the SDA, HDZ and the SDS - won again. journalism. The BH Parliamentary Assembly The SDP and the SDA were the most pow- passed the Law on Free Access to Infor- erful political parties in BH Federation. In mation in October, strongly lobbied by the RS, the PDP and the SNSD could not en- Helsinki Committee. Much of the media, danger the supremacy of the SDS even particularly local, fell under the control of though they formed a coalition after the the respective strong political parties and elections. There was not yet any real com- promoted their policies. Criticism of local petition for the HDZ. As of the end of authorities was not welcomed, particularly 2000, doubt remained as to whether the in RS. Critical journalists faced threats, judi- SDP, SBH, PDP and the SNDN could suc- cial proceedings and violence. Most inde- ceed in initiating an alliance to avoid the pendent media outlets struggled with seri- participation of SDS, HDZ and SDA in the ous financial problems. The Independent central and entity administration. Media Commission (IMC) oversaw the op- On the eve of the elections, interna- eration of the electronic media. tional and local officials took some meas- The IMC interrupted the broadcasting ures to encourage the homogenisation of of the EROTEL Mostar studio because it the nationalist parties: the OSCE proposed was unlawfully using 38 out of 48 trans- 68 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA mitters to re-transmit programs of the Marko Asanin, the President of the neighbouring Croatian RTV and virtually Regional Council of SNSD, physically as- promoted Croatian nationalism and hege- saulted Lubisa Lazic, a journalist working for mony. The operation of the transmitter of the pro-Serbian Oslobodenje on the prem- Radio-Yugoslavia (FRY) was also forbidden ises of Radio Srpsko Sarajevo on 12 Au- in RS: it had promoted Serb nationalism gust. A few days later, the RS Government during the rule of Slobodan Milosevic. appointed Asanin the General Manager of The IMC began issuing long-term oper- the RS Elektroprivreda, a public electricity ation licenses to the electronic media, but supplier. did not grant them to the Bosniak Radio- The President of the Directorate of Television International (RTV), which was Intelligence-Security Service of RS threat- under SDA control. ened to institute legal proceedings against The manipulation and nationalism Perica Vucinic, editor-in-chief of Reporter of spread through the media were particularly Banja Luka. The weekly was a target of sev- notable in the pre-election campaigns. The eral attacks. Vucinic and another Reporter most frequently fined media outlets were journalist, Zeljko Civijanovic, were sum- those under the control of the nationalistic moned to the police station and questioned parties in RS and the HDZ. about their articles on the alleged secret The delay in the transformation of the bugging of RS citizens by the secret service. public radio and television network in BH had a significant negative impact on the Former RS Minister of Information, free flow of information. High Representa- Rajko Vasic, publicly threatened journalists tive Petritsch decided on the establishment because of alleged false reporting. of a public broadcasting system for the en- An anonymous letter with symbols of tire territory of BH, and separate entity Serb and Croat fascists arrived at radio broadcasters for the Federation BH and RS. Hayat in Tuzla, threatening that the station The whole procedure, however, remained be blown up and two journalists butchered under political trading at the expense of the because of programs of a “Bosniak-Muslim needs of individuals and the peace pro- character.” cess. It appeared that the international au- thorities were unable to decide what they The inspectors of the Ministry of Inter- wanted, their employees were not commit- nal Affairs of Tuzla Canton interrogated Elvir ted and creative in their work and, in the Huremovic, a journalist with Dnevni avaz, meantime, there was a degradation of the without telling him in what capacity he was potentials of RTV BH. called to the hearing (as a suspect, witness, The pre-election campaign showed etc.). He was interrogated about a dispute that RTV in RS fell completely under the between a politician and a judge from Tuzla. control of Prime Minister Milorad Dodik. Mensur Osmovic, editor-in-chief of the Sarajevan daily Dnevni avaz, refused to re- Harassment of Journalists ceive the award of the Association of The newly established SOS line for Journalists of BH for the paper of the year journalists registered 130 assaults and at- because BH Federation Prime Minister tacks against journalists. The most frequent Edhem Bicakcic was present at the cere- violators were the authorities and the rep- mony as its patron. Bicakcic’s driver, Enes resentatives of the ruling parties. Journalists Colpa, had assaulted a journalist with and editorial boards were exposed to phys- Dnevni avaz because of his critical articles ical and verbal threats and other forms of about the Prime Minister. Bicakcic replied pressure. by insulting the editor-in-chief. Later, the fi- BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 69 nancial police, accompanied by federal po- Poplasen from office because he obstruct- lice officers, raided the premises of the ed the implementation of the Dayton newspaper, disrupting the operation of the Agreement. Another 60 functionaries were paper and creating a threatening atmos- dismissed for the same reason, or for cor- phere. Only the intervention of High ruption and other unlawful acts. The inabil- Representative Petritsch prevented the ity to pass a series of important laws de- newspaper and press house Dnevni avaz spite pressure from the international com- from being reprimanded and probably munity, the arrogant behaviour of the closed down. They had just recently been Government of Edhem Bicakcic (SDA) to- released from SDA control. ward the Federation Parliament, and ob- struction by HDZ representatives character- The three Ombudsmen of the BH ized the operation of the Federation’s polit- Federation were forced to intervene with ical organs. Incompetence was also typical the President of the Municipal Court II in of all levels of authority. A person’s suitabil- Sarajevo, who had handed down a three- ity for office was determined by a political month prison sentence and a one-year sus- party on the basis of belonging to specific pended sentence to Edin Krehic and “political clan,” and not because on the ba- Arijana Kuci of Oslobodenje for defamation sis of competence. In general, irresponsibil- and libel despite the fact that such acts ity and decision-making outside the demo- were legally no longer regarded as crimes cratic system reigned. for which prison sentences could be hand- High Representative Petritsch abol- ed down. Judge Kenan Tahirovic was sus- ished the entity property laws (including pended only following the intervention of three in RS) that were tailored to maintain the Ombudsmen. the results of ethnic cleansing and corrup- The material situation of the independ- tion. There was no feedback on the effects ent media was extraordinarily difficult and of the orders, suggesting that the abusive expected to worsen with the introduction of patterns of local authorities had not new tax rates. In addition, the insufficient changed. organization of journalists was a serious problem: there were five associations Independence of Judiciary and the which, apart from the Independent Union Judicial System of Professional Journalists in BH, acted Special efforts were made to reform mainly on national principles, thus making the judiciary, and attempts to release the the establishment of the Press Council judiciary from the control of the political more difficult. The tasks of this Council parties yielded tangible results. Through would be to self-regulate the written media measures taken by international mediators, and to protect the unhindered work of jour- parties’ opinions about a person’s suitabili- nalists. ty to be a judge no longer mattered, and the candidates’ competence and moral Rule of Law qualities were considered. In addition, the The slow progress in the return of public was encouraged to comment on the property reflected the general attitudes competence and moral qualities of the among the BH authorities in both entities. prosecutor, deputy prosecutor and judges. The work of the Parliament and the The results of this action were not known Government was virtually paralysed due to as of this writing. obstruction by the nationalists. In RS, the Judges were overburdened by cases Government functioned even without sup- that dragged on for years, and, at the same port from the Parliament. High Representa- time, poorly paid - making them vulnerable tive Petritsch removed RS President Nikola to bribes. It was only in September that 70 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA their salaries were increased in order to turnees and discrimination against national make them more independent. Many minorities. Some police officers reportedly judges and their families were under police even warned persons under an arrest war- protection because of threats. rant in order to help them escape impris- Prosecutors were often afraid to press onment and court proceedings. charges against perpetrators who were po- The RS police carried out their duties litically influential or had powerful support- more adequately than in previous years, al- ers. though they still tended to only protect the The BH Constitutional Court, which Serbs. In most cases they failed to initiate had been completely inactive for a long investigations and identify attackers of time, regained trust in the potential estab- Bosniak returnees. Moreover, members of lishment of the rule of law and the protec- local police units watched passively as sev- tion of human rights after handing down eral attacks were carried out and houses several significant decisions. However, the were set on fire. key rulings would not have been passed The developments culminated on 24- without the votes of the three foreign 26 July when displaced Serbs staying in judges (there were six domestic judges). Janja burned down three Bosniak-owned The Court’s Serb and Croat members, who houses and cars and stoned another fifty were under the control of the leading na- houses. The police did not react. tionalist parties, openly obstructed the work of the Court. Moreover, the decision hand- Police officers were present but did not ed down by the Constitutional Court on the react when Serb demonstrators prevented equality of all the three main ethnic groups fire fighting vehicles from extinguishing fire throughout BH had yet to be implemented. on the house of M. Korajkic. The demon- It was also speculated that the Court’s in- strators only allowed the vehicle to proceed creased engagement was linked to the pre- when the house was completely burned electoral needs of SDA. down. The Cantonal Court and the Municipal Court I in Sarajevo showed the highest Following the incidents, the local police quality work. commander was removed from office. In the area controlled by SDA, the most Misconduct by Law Enforcement serious situation was in the Una-Sana Officials Canton where the police were not only in- The interventions of the international efficient in investigating assaults and other community in the police force did not yield forms of harassment but were involved in the expected results although there was criminal acts themselves. In that canton, regular training according to reformed persons not in favour of SDA and preferring methods for police officers representing all a civic political option were discriminated three nationalities and women. There were against (e.g. dismissed from jobs) and of- varied experiences with the multiethnic ten ill-treated. Executive authorities, the po- composition of the police. The situation lice, the judiciary, and some other institu- was best in Sarajevo, although there were tions were a part of the conspiracy. not enough Serb police officers. Nationality did affect the work of the The UN Mission in BH accused the police force. International mediators in po- Ministry of Interior of the Zapadnohercego- lice issues announced that the Croatian po- vacki Canton (under HDZ control) of sys- lice, both within the BH Federation police tematic human rights violations, and a fail- and cantonal police forces, did not react ure to investigate violations and punish adequately against the ill-treatment of re- abusive police officers. The police of this BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 71 canton were accused of ill-treatment and ism were to be reaffirmed. Brcko should other inappropriate conduct. have been a model and example for en- couragement for the entire BH. However, it After giving several warnings, the High remained a stronghold of Serb nationalism. Representative removed Minister of Interior Branko Matic (of the Livno Canton, under International Humanitarian Law HDZ control) from office because he re- peatedly used nationalist (not official) sym- Accountability for War Crimes bols that created an atmosphere of intimi- Throughout the year, the process of dation, encouraged discrimination against discovering evidence of war crimes and vic- minority members and obstructed the re- tims continued slowly, both because of the turn of Bosniaks and Serbs. It was believed inadequate cooperation of local authorities that Matic had also unlawfully stored arms. and the lack of financial resources for the In addition, he took no measures to estab- exhumations and other auxiliary measures. lish a multi-ethnic cantonal police force: There was also a lack of adequate space to none of the 17 nominated Bosniak and keep and identify the corpses. Serb police officers were hired. On the positive side, all three national commissions for missing persons (Bosniak, A member of the special police unit of Croatian and Serb) were able to work Tuzla Canton (BH Federation) was suspect- undisturbed in the territories of both enti- ed of having killed Dani Percic and serious- ties with the cooperation of local authori- ly wounding his brother Dino in Tuzla. ties. Hundreds of young people in Tuzla partici- Many mass graves, especially those of pated in the civil protest against the inci- Bosniaks who had fallen victim to Serb ex- dent and the inefficiency of the police tremists, were discovered in eastern and forces in the region. northwestern Bosnia, while Croatian victims of Serb ultra-nationalists and Bosniaks were The Tuzla police also reacted rigidly generally found in northwestern and cen- against evictions in Tuzla and the neigh- tral Bosnia. The RS commission was partic- bouring municipality Banovici, using batons ularly engaged in finding the truth about even against women and children in front the murders of Serb civilians in Sarajevo of TV cameras. Ten police officers were and their burial in the Sarajevan cemetery also reportedly injured. The International Lav. Police Task Force (IPTF) claimed that the Still, the fate of more than 20,000 in- police acted within its authorization. The dividuals, officially registered as missing public disagreed, not trusting IPTF because persons, remained unknown. The key prob- it had been involved in organized prostitu- lem was that the authorities ignored the is- tion and trafficking in women in Prijedor. Six sue, particularly in the FRY and RS. The FRY of its members were suspended and sent authorities had, as of this writing, not yet re- home. sponded to a request for information about The multi-ethnic police in the District of 12,000 BH citizens. Brcko acted professionally despite strong The International Criminal Tribunal for chauvinistic Serb provocation and physical the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) intensified its and verbal attacks. However, illegal demon- activities in encouraging the international strations in Brcko showed that the organi- public and local authorities to fulfil their ob- zation and efficiency of the local authorities ligations to discover and arrest indicted war under international supervision remained criminals. For example, pressure against far from the proclamations in the Statute of NATO was increased. The ICTY Chief Brcko, which provided that multi-ethnic so- Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte asked NATO to, ciety, multi-confession and cultural plural- inter alia, establish special units to arrest in- 72 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA dicted war criminals, which had not been Landco to 12 and 9 years imprisonment re- realized by the end of 2000. Under ICTY spectively for murdering a Serb family. pressure, RS authorities promised to adopt Eight out of 23 Bosniaks indicted for a law on cooperation with the Hague war crimes against Croats surrendered to Tribunal. However, the RS authorities did the bodies of the Hrvatsko-Neretvanski not want to undertake any independent ac- Canton. tion to discover and arrest indicted war criminals. As of the end of 2000, two trials were The International Stabilization Force pending in Sarajevo: one against Bosniaks (SFOR) was more actively engaged in ar- for war crimes committed against Serb civil- resting war criminals and handed them ians, and another against a Serb suspected over to the ICTY3, which pronounced sever- of murdering Bosniaks. al sentences to indicted war criminals: Despite some improvements, the The former commander of the number of war criminals that were indicted, Croatian Council of Defence, Tihomir arrested and sentenced remained out of Blaskic, was sentenced in the first instance proportion to the acts of and oth- to 45 years imprisonment. His compatriot er forms of war crimes that were commit- Ante Furundcija was sentenced to 10 years ted. Some 50 publicly indicted war crimi- imprisonment. The sentence given to Croat nals were at large in the territory of FRY and Zlatko Aleksovski was increased from two RS, including Radovan Karadcic and Ratko and a half to seven years, while the sen- Mladic; Slobodan Milosevic remained polit- tence given to Serb Dusko Tadic was re- ically active. duced from 25 to 20 years imprisonment. Return of Refugees and Displaced Serb Mirko Graorac was sentenced in a Persons second trial in Croatia to 15 years impris- The Ministry for Human Rights and onment for crimes committed against the Refugees of the Council of Ministers pub- imprisoned Croats and Bosniaks in the lished in its first report the realization of camp of Manjaca in BH. He had previously Annex 7 of the Dayton Accord relating to been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. the return of refugees and displaced per- Domestic courts in the BH Federation sons. According to the report, approximate- (contrary to RS) were also more active in ly 625,850 refugees from BH were living in discovering, arresting and sentencing indict- more than 40 countries, with the largest ed war criminals. groups in the FRY (about 225,000) and Croatia (about 85,000). Approximately At the order of the Court of the 300,000 refugees did not enjoy refugee Sarajevo Canton, Serb Dragan Stankovic status. BH hosted 40,000 refugees, mainly was arrested in the area of the Posansko- from the FRY and Croatia. podrinje Canton. Croats Dominik Ilijasevic In addition, there were about 870,000 and Vlatko Buzuk were arrested on suspi- internally displaced persons in BH, includ- cion of committing war crimes against ing 55.3 percent in the BH Federation and Bosniaks. 44.7 percent in RS. Out of the total num- Croats Erhad Poznic, Zoran Soldo and ber of displaced persons in the BH Zeljko Dzidic, indicted for crimes against Federation, 65 percent originated from the Bosniaks, surrendered to judicial bodies in territory of RS. Mostar. At the same time, about 100,000 BH citizens had left the country following the The Cantonal Court in Mostar sen- signing of the Dayton Agreement as a re- tenced Bosniaks Miralem Macic and Adem sult of mediation by IOM. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 73

By 1 September, the return of 682,478 under the control of the HDZ, the return refugees and 321,730 displaced persons was slow. Returning Serbs were unwel- had been registered. Of the total number, come in the Una-Sana Canton (under SDA 81.55 percent were realized in the BH control). Federation and only 18.45 in RS. In the BH Returnees, particularly in RS, were con- Federation, 78.64 percent of returned per- tinuously exposed to terrorist acts, provoca- sons were minority members, compared tion and discrimination.4 with 21.45 percent in RS. The Roma faced serious discrimination The number of returning refugees and in RS and local authorities did their utmost displaced persons increased compared to hinder the return of Roma to their pre- with figures in 1999 - according to some war homes. Municipal and entity military sources, it doubled - primarily due to the and civil institutions were situated in former self-initiated and self-organized return of Roma houses in Bijeljina, including the people who had lost confidence in the Ministry for Displaced Persons and readiness and ability of domestic and inter- Refugees, the Military Court, and the RS national organizations in charge of the is- Directorate for Privatization. Bosniaks, sue. Numerous returnees initially stayed in Roma, and partially Croats were not hired tents and ruined houses. Some of them for jobs in the municipal and entity admin- succeeded in repairing houses with foreign istration or in the education, health or judi- assistance, others entered the winter peri- cial sectors. od in provisional accommodation. Attacks were also registered in eastern An important positive development Bosnia. Croatian nationalists tried to pre- was the return of people to the territory of vent people from returning to localities Central Bosnia and partly to Mostar. It ap- where they had been in the majority. peared at the end of 2000 that the new Tension remained particularly in Drvar, a mayors of Sarajevan municipalities had town where there had been virtually no adopted an active return policy in order to Croats prior to the war. realize a two-way return and to evict illegal After much effort, the eviction of muja- residents from apartments of returning hedeens – naturalized BH citizens originat- refugees and displaced persons. According ing mainly from the Islamic countries - to some information, the best results were started from the Serb settlement Bocinja achieved in the territory of the municipality near Maglaj. of Prijedor under Serb control, to which The key hindrance in the effective re- several thousands Bosniaks, Croats and turn was the negative attitude of local au- others returned. Successful return to that thorities towards returning refugees and area was of extreme importance in view of displaced persons: returnees were offered the fact that Serb ultra-nationalists commit- little or no protection and the return of ted massive atrocities in eastern and north- property, houses, apartments and busi- western Bosnia during the war. The arrest nesses was slow. of war criminals from that region con- Contrary to the decisions of High tributed to the creation of a new atmos- Representative Petritsch, according to phere. which private and former social ownership The return of Bosniaks to eastern BH, (converted mainly to state-owned) was to i.e. to the territories in which the worst be protected in the entire BH, usurpation crimes were committed against them, was and misuse of the land was common, par- encouraging. However, the return of non- ticularly in RS and the HDZ controlled area. Serbs to RS did not even reach ten percent, Numerous private properties and social although prior to the war they constituted property in RS were unlawfully allocated to the majority of the region. As for the area Serb refugees and displaced persons. The 74 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA same applied to the land surrounding Serbs and Orthodox. In addition, the an- Mostar, where Croats profited illegally. them and oaths (in assemblies, courts, Such usurpation and misconduct, includ- etc.) in RS were imbued with exclusively ing corruption, directly contributed to the Orthodox content and were imposed even non-implementation of crucial stipulations on the non-Orthodox. In addition, the state of the Peace Accord, which provides for institutions had mainly Orthodox saints as the right to return and for the return of their patrons. property as well as the establishment of le- The Roman Catholic Church in BH, gal security, democratiozation and normal- headed by Archbishop Cardinal Vinko isation in BH. Puljic, again openly supported the HDZ in Tens of thousands of claims for repos- the general elections. The Islamic Com- session of property had been filed by the munity continued to cooperate with the end of 2000, but only a few percent of the SDA. claims were decided. The return of apart- In RS, all mosques were destroyed dur- ments was more successful, particularly in ing the war and in its aftermath and Muslim the BH Federation, in which 43 percent of clergy were expelled. The authorities, de- the claims were positively resolved and 14 spite the decisions passed by the Human percent were realized. In RS, the respective Rights Chamber, which are final and bind- figures were 15 and 9 percent. According ing, and the order of the High Representa- to data from 31 July, in the territory of the tive, slowed down the reconstruction of the BH Federation, the gravest situation was in main mosque in Banja Luka, as well as the Hercegovina-Neretva Canton and those in Bijeljina and Zvornik. The recon- Zapadnohercegovacki Canton, where the struction of the Muslim and Catholic places HDZ was in power. Good results were of worship in RS occurred together with the achieved in the Central Bosnia Canton. return of Bosniaks and Croats. The first re- Positive examples of the return of newed mosque was opened in the village property were rare and typical of just a few of Kozarusa (Prijedor community) in Sep- localities: visible progress was made in tember; it remained the only mosque in Sarajevo, where the atmosphere improved RS. following the taking of office of the new The cemeteries of all confessions re- municipal authorities and due to pressure mained targets of clerical and nationalistic from the international community. aggression. A group of teenagers destroyed 28 Religious Intolerance tombstones in the Jewish cemetery in Sara- Inter-religious dialogue took place at jevo. the level of the leadership of all the four re- The Roman Catholic Church put large ligious communities in BH, i.e. the Islamic, provocative crosses in places that irritated Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish Muslims, e.g. the hill above Mostar from communities. This dialogue, however, did which the Croatian extremists were firing at not have much impact in everyday life be- Bosniak settlements during the war or sites cause of the politicisation of the religious of Islamic religious or cultural value. communities. In RS, new buildings were erected for On the basis of the RS Constitution – housing, businesses and even for the use but in violation of the BH Constitution - the of the Orthodox Church (e.g. in Divic, Serb Orthodox Church (based in the neigh- Zvornic community) on the sites of former bouring FRY), had the status of “state mosques. church” with a monopoly position. This led Some Muslim extremists celebrated to discrimination against other religious Bairam in a provocative and aggressive communities and individuals who were not way, particularly in Tuzla and Sarajevo. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 75

Rights of the Child in stoning Bosniak returnees. It was also The agreement for the establishment discovered that children were responsible of unified curricula for all pupils in BH that for the destruction of tombstones in the respected national, religious and cultural cemeteries of all four confessions. None of needs remained a rhetorical commitment the instigators were discovered. in many places, without a foothold with lo- In RS, the Orthodox religion was a cal authorities and religious-national organ- compulsory subject in all schools, regard- izations. less of the pupils’ confession. Similarly, in The most threatening form of national- the area of Una-Sana Canton - contrary to ist manipulation took place in Brcko. the entity law - Islam was a compulsory subject. According to the law, children The SDS and the Chetnick movement should have been able to decide them- incited Serb high school pupils to demon- selves which foreign language to learn. strate against attending school together However, in the Una-Sana canton – again with ethnic Bosniaks and for the annexation in violation of the law – all children had to of Brcko to the neighbouring FRY. Some learn Arabic as a compulsory subject. parents and teachers supported such chau- Children whose parents did not support the vinistic outbursts. Furthermore, Serb pupils ruling SDA were discriminated against, and provoked Bosniak pupils and even attacked in some schools they were even excluded them physically. It was only after this kind from receiving humanitarian aid. of escalation that the authorities in Brcko organised education for teachers with the Teachers Nurka Behric and Sakib Seli- aim of informing them about the crucial movic of the elementary school “25 No- stipulations of the Statute of the District of vember” in Velika Kladusa dismissed four Brcko, which provides for multi-ethnic edu- pupils from their lessons because they did cation. not wear traditional Muslim clothing. The HDZ also insisted on separate There were cases of the harassment of schools and faculties for Croatian pupils pupils in the Catholic school in the and students in Mostar despite the agree- Sarajevan settlement Stup. ment between the Ministers of Education Social misery seriously affected the of the BH Federation cantons, according to youngest pupils, with cases of suicide which Bosniak and Croatian children among elementary school pupils. should at least attend the same school even if their curricula remained different. A pupil in Sarajevo committed suicide According to the Helsinki Committee in after being expelled from school. Due to Bosnia and Herzegovina, there cannot be poverty, he had not had the basic condi- reconciliation in BH in the long run if the tions at home to study (i.e. a desk and a school children have different curricula on chair). the basis of nationality and religion. In Children were forced to beg and even 2000, Serb and Croatian classes still used engage in prostitution. In 2000, increasing textbooks from the neighbouring States, information was also received about the the FRY and Croatia. The Helsinki Com- physical and mental abuse of children, in- mittee stated that it is necessary to exclude cluding sexual violence. As a rule, the abu- content that incites hatred or national and sed children knew the perpetrators (they religious intolerance from pupils’ text- were parents, relatives, or family books. “friends”). In an alarming number of cas- Prior to the Brcko incident, children in es, charges were withdrawn under pres- RS were manipulated for chauvinistic pur- sure from the parents, especially if the poses in Modrica, where children took part suspected perpetrator was a “friend”. 76 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

There was no established system to pre- were registered, particularly in Sarajevo and vent such abuse or to assist the rehabilita- other bigger cities. tion of victims. In addition, there were no There was no evident support for proj- specialised educational/corrective institu- ects aimed at establishing communication tions for minors. among young people regardless of their The danger of drug addiction as a post- origin or ethnic or religious orientation. war symptom and as a result of the difficult However, there were some projects aiming social situation among young people was a to bring schools from both entities togeth- serious problem. Many drug-related deaths er through sport and other activities.

Endnotes 1 Based on Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Report on the State of Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, January-December 2000, and Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska, Review of the Human Rights Situation in the Republika Srpska, November 2000. 2 See IHF, Women 2000: An Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. 3 Between December 1999 and the end of November 2000 the following Serbs were ar- rested: Momcilo Krajisnik, the closest collaborator of Radovan Karadcic; Stanislav Galic, retired general; Zoran Vukovic, police officer; as well as Mitar Vasiljevic, Dragoljub Prcac, Dragan Nikolic and Dusko Sikirica. Janko Janjic committed suicide in custody by activat- ing two explosives. 4 See Police Misconduct. BULGARIA1 77

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression and the media; freedom of association; peaceful as- sembly; independence of the judiciary and fair trial; torture, ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in prisons and detention facilities; liberty and se- curity of person; respect of privacy and family life; religious intolerance; protection of mi- norities; aggressive nationalism and xenophobia; protection of asylum seekers.

Throughout 2000, Bulgaria was ruled sponsible authorities to make the informa- by the Government of the United Demo- tion accessible, in conformity with the law. cratic Forces (UtDF). The old leadership of However, the Act contained some am- the Ministry of the Interior was dismissed biguities and contradictions and gave au- and a new one appointed in the beginning thorities a wide scope in judging what in- of the year. Outwardly, at least, the new formation to make accessible. In addition, leadership showed greater openness for the act also obliged the mass media to pro- cooperation with NGOs and willingness to vide information, something that could be discuss human rights violations committed abused for political purposes. However, the by the Ministry of Interior officials. attempts of a number of organizations and The concrete human rights situation private citizens to seek information during during the year did not change, however. In the year met with the resistance or disre- November Bulgaria ratified Protocols 4 and gard by many state bodies, including the 7 to the ECHR, and in June it signed the Directorate of Religious Affairs, the Ministry Optional Protocol to the Convention on the of Education, the Ministry of Justice and the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Chief Prosecutor’s Office. against Women. Several other changes In addition, political control over the were made in legislation as well, which had national electronic media remained, severe a positive effect on the protection of hu- punishments for insult and libel in criminal man rights in practice. However, there were prosecution continued, as well as other also many negative developments. forms of official repression, assaults against journalists and the confiscation of unpopu- Freedom of Expression and Freedom lar printed publications. of the Media Both positive and negative develop- Radio and Television Act ments were observed in the sphere of free- Amendments to the Radio and Tele- dom of expression in Bulgaria during the vision Act were promulgated on 29 Sep- year. Positive developments included the tember: Article 10, paragraph 1, item 6 pro- adoption of the Access to Public hibited pornographic broadcasts and those Information Act; the launching of a short praising or excusing violence or inciting to Turkish-language newscast on Bulgarian racial, sexual, religious or national hatred. National Television; and the licensing of a The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee qualified number of nation-wide private television this as a violation of the freedom of expres- and radio operators. sion, since the Act did not define what ex- actly “pornography” means. Public Information Act The June Access to Public Information Controlling Bodies Act regulated the right of citizens and legal During the year, the composition of the entities to gain access to information from National Radio and Television Council state and local government bodies on infor- (NRTC), the state body which enforced the mation of public interest. In case of refusal, Radio and Television Act, was changed sev- citizens and legal entities were entitled to eral times. Not one of the changes helped turn to the courts, which could order the re- to make it more independent, however. 78 BULGARIA

Also the elections of its members involved some defendants rather than ease it. Pre- irregularities sident Stoyanov vetoed the provisions and In addition, the NRTC had limited pow- the National Assembly reduced the fines to ers. The body that had final right to grant 1,000 - 20,000 leva (U.S.$468-9,350), telecommunication licenses was the State which still remained too high. In addition, Telecommunications Commission. Several the size of the fine for insult and slander of dozen television and radio operators were a public official remained higher than in the licensed during the year. In practice, the li- case of insult and slander between private cences were made effective with the signa- citizens. The revocation of imprisonment ture of the Prime Minister, a fact that cau- also revoked the possibility for cassation sed some of the applicant radio stations to claims, leaving local courts as the final in- be chosen over others (e.g. Radio Mila). stance. Journalists and private citizens contin- Political Control ued to be sentenced for insult and slander Political control over the national elec- by politicians, albeit under private proce- tronic media during the year was seen in dure, and intimidated. Several journalists the attempts at interference in the content were assailed by private citizens because of of broadcasts and in several politically mo- their publications. tivated appointments and dismissals. The In February the Supreme Cassation rules of the operation of the Director of the Prosecution Office started questioning jour- News and Current Affairs (whose appoint- nalists in under the inquiry ordered by ment was politically biased) in Bulgarian the Chief Prosecutor, aiming to establish National Television (BNT) provided for the whether investigative information in the chance to control the contents of pro- case of the assassination of Andrei Louka- grammes. nov had been released without permission BNR general director Alexander Velev by the prosecution. Journalists from 24 continued to take interviewees off the air Chassa daily, 168 Chassa weekly and Mo- and to thematically restricted the presen- nitor daily were questioned, with the clear ters of the most popular programmes aim of attempting to intimidate journalists. “Horizont Ahead of All” and “Sunday 150”. In several cases during the year the au- Several cases of lay-offs and dismissals thorities confiscated printed publications of from BNR and BNT caused publicly voiced unpopular groups and private citizens. doubts of political motives. Freedom of Association Insult and Slander On 21 September, Parliament adopted The Penal Code provisions on insult the final version of the new Non-Profit Cor- and slander were reformed in 2000. The porations Act. The act was a sign of prog- punishment of imprisonment was revoked, ress in that it established clear rules for the leaving only to penal fines.2 Also the registration of associations of citizens and chance to criminally prosecute “public offi- foundations, and enabled them be granted cials” under “standard procedure” through privileged status, which would entitle them the Prosecutor’s Office was done away to tax concessions or direct funding by the with: insult and slander may only be prose- State. The act also enabled non-profit cor- cuted on the einitiative of the aggrieved porations to carry on business linked with party. However, the National Assembly their goals and to facilitate the decision- adopted heavy fines – between 5,000 and making procedures of their bodies. 30,000 leva (U.S.$2,340-14,000), which At the same time, the freedom of as- would actually encumber the situation of sociation and the right to peaceful assem- BULGARIA 79 bly in Bulgaria continued to be violated Human Rights in Strasbourg. The decision with regard to a number of ethnic and reli- of the Court is still pending at this writing. gious minorities and unpopular political Problems of the restriction of the right and trade union groups. The most drastic to peaceful assembly were also faced by violation in this respect was the decision of unpopular political, trade union and reli- the Constitutional Court of 29 February to gious groups.3 rule the United Macedonian Organization In March, the Committee on Freedom (UMO) “Ilinden”–PIRIN unconstitutional. of Association with the International Labour The Court held that the party presented Organization (ILO) sent its second report threat to Bulgaria’s national security with its on the case of the Trade Union of Railway separatist activities. The bulk of this evi- Engine Drivers in Bulgaria in connection dence against (UMO) “Ilinden”–PIRIN con- with their strike, as a result of which many sisted of statements of leaders and activists drivers were dismissed and later threat- of the party and of publications in the press ened and forced to leave the trade union. prior to its establishment. However, then ju- In its report the Committee recommended dicial proceedings were not in conformity that the dismissed workers be reinstated with the standards of fair trial. Nor did the without delay and be paid compensations Constitutional Court take into account the and that an independent commission be statutes and programme documents of the established to investigate the threats party which expressly stated that the party against the engine drivers. It also expressed shall pursue its goals in a peaceful way and concern over the rather vague provisions of with legal means. the Settlement of Collective Labour Disputes Act which permitted arbitrary ac- Peaceful Assembly tions by the authorities in dealing with The right to peaceful assembly of strikes. By the end of the year, however, Bulgarian citizens who identified them- only eight engine drivers had been rein- selves as Macedonians was put to the test stated, no independent investigation into on several occasions during celebrations the cases of intimidation had been initiated which they considered important. and the law was not changed. The mayor of Sandanski prohibited the celebrations by Macedonian activists of the Independence of the Judiciary and anniversary of the death of Yane Sandanski Fair Trial near the Rozhen Monastery. Despite this, In contrast to previous years, in 2000 on 22 April activists of the UMO “Ilinden” there were no gross interventions in the association were allowed to lay flowers and work of the judiciary by the executive and to stage a rally at his grave. Before that, legislative. However, the old problems of however, police officers near the town of the judicial system, including protraction of Melnik had searched their cars and fined cases, poor coordination between the insti- them because of alleged technical irregu- tutions and corruption, remained. The larities with their vehicles and confiscated transfer of cases from the investigation to various materials. Several persons were the police after the reform of the Criminal warned not to make political speeches and Procedure Code in July 19994 increased not to wave banners at the grave. the speed of criminal proceedings, but no The generally more lenient attitude of information was available as to whether the authorities to ethnic Macedonians in this was accompanied by a satisfactory 2000 was probably due to the pending quality of evidence. case of Boris Stankov and UMO “Ilinden” v. During the December 2000–January Bulgaria before the European Court of 2001 survey by the Bulgarian Helsinki 80 BULGARIA

Committee among detainees and prison- prosecuted. Some police officers were sen- ers, the Committee also examined the is- tenced for illegal use of force and firearms, sue of the access to a lawyer after the en- but the sentences were lenient and inade- try into force of the amendments to the quate. Moreover, six officials, sentenced for Criminal Procedure Code. The Code pro- causing death through negligence, contin- vided for the possibility to appoint an offi- ued working in the bodies of the Ministry of cial lawyer for indigent criminal defendants Interior. On several occasions the Ministry “when the interests of justice so require.“ leadership stated that it was aware of the The results showed that the provision had problem of misconduct and wanted to helped little, if anything. Again, the ethnic combat it. It even organised five training minorities were discriminated against in seminars with high-ranking police officers, their access to justice.5 to which Bulgarian Helsinki Committee rep- The legal framework for the accom- resentatives were invited as lecturers. How- modation of children in correctional ever, there were no noticeable changes in boarding schools and social educational the police practice. boarding schools was not improved in 2000 either. Besides discrepancies with Cases of Death international legal standards on fair trial6, The excessive use of physical force and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee visits lethal weapons by law enforcement offi- also established gross violations of inter- cials and the reluctance to investigate fatal nal procedure. In many cases the munici- cases remained a serious concern. pal local commissions for combating juve- On 18 May the European Court of Hu- nile delinquency had either not held any man Rights in Strasbourg delivered a judge- meetings or had functioned without ob- ment on the case of Velikova v. Bulgaria. serving the legally established procedure. Slavcho Tsonchev, a Rom, died in a police Some children had been committed to station in in 1994 and the Bulgarian boarding schools only on the basis of re- courts refused to investigate the case for ferrals from children’s pedagogical rooms years. The European Court ruled a violation without their cases being considered by of Article 2 of the ECHR (right to life) and local commissions or even without any established a number of faults in the in- document at all. vestigation of the case (inadequate med- ical certification and the conscious omis- Torture, Ill-Tretment and Misconduct sion of the Prosecutor’s Office to collect ev- by Law Enforcement Officials idence). It also established a violation of Torture, ill-treatment and the excessive Article 13 (failure to provide an effective ju- use of force and firearms by law enforce- dicial remedy) in the absence of an ade- ment officials continued to be a serious quate investigation into the case. The problem in Bulgaria in 2000. No changes judgement of the Court in Strasbourg did were introduced to legislation and policy to not serve as a reason to reopen the crimi- make punishment and prevention more ef- nal case in Bulgaria. The persons who killed fective. The legal framework was not im- Tsonchev, as well as the officials who cov- proved to guarantee legal defence from the ered up for them, were still working in the moment of detention, access to independ- criminal justice system. ent medical opinion and the possibility to No legislative changes were made to inform one’s family about the place and amend Article 80 of the Ministry of the conditions of detention. Interior Act which permitted the use of Investigations into police abuse were firearms in the apprehension of an individ- rare, and only a negligible share of the to- ual, committing or having committed a tal number of cases of police violence were crime, or for preventing the escape of an BULGARIA 81 individual, detained for a committed crime. Torture and Ill-Treatment These provisions contravened Principle 9 of Police violance was carried out in dif- the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force ferent contexts: injuries resulting from the and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, use of firearms in the pursuit of people, insofar as they permitted use of lethal suspected of having committed a crime, or weapons to apprehend suspects even of in attempted escapes of detainees; physi- minor crimes or to prevent their escape af- cal violence by police officers during the ter arrest. 24-hour police detention of crime suspects On 10 July the Supreme Cassation for the purpose of impromptu punishment Prosecution Office sent a letter to the or for extorting evidence or for purely dis- Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, with copies criminatory reasons (especially against to the Military District Prosecutor’s Offices, Roma); and physical violence under condi- stating that Prosecutors were not entitled tions of detention or imprisonment for the to give an opinion on cases7 and refused purpose of extorting evidence or for pun- to provide information to inquiries from ishment. As in previous years, Roma con- the Helsinki Committee in specific cases of tinued to constitute a disproportionate excessive use of force and firearms. The number of the victims.. applications submitted by the Committee In December 2000–January 2001 the in November under the Access to Public Bulgarian Helsinki Committee conducted a Information Act, containing questions survey in the places of detention among about specific cases, were ignored. detainees and prisoners who became ac- Not a single case of use of force and cused and defendants after 1 January firearms by law enforcement officials in 2000, the date of the entry into force of the 1999,8 as a result of which people lost their amendments to the Criminal Procedure lives, was adequately dealt with by the jus- Code which increased the powers of the tice system. police to investigate crimes. The survey In 2000, the Bulgarian Helsinki showed that the situation of the use of physical force during arrest in Bulgaria had Committee received information about at not changed during the last two years, re- least seven cases in which people lost their gardless of the new legal framework. Forty- lives as a result of torture, excessive use of nine percent of the prisoners reported that force and firearms by the police, border physical force had been used against them guards and military servicemen. In a num- during arrest, compared to 51 per cent in ber of cases, the Prosecutor’s Office made 1999. A slight improvement was recorded use of the new possibility for the termina- with regard to the use of physical force in- tion of criminal proceedings with a plea side police stations; 44 percent the re- bargain agreement, some of which threw a spondents said they had suffered physical shadow on the wish the authorities to seri- violence, compared to 53 percent in 1999. ously tackle the problem. The likely reason for the decreasing cases On 4 March 23-year-old Boyan Yov- of illegal violence under conditions of de- chev died after having been shot in the tention was the changed attitude of the heart by an Interior Ministry sergeant in Interior Ministry leadership, as well as the Varna. In October the Prosecutor’s Office possible restraining effect of the case of indicted the sergeant for causing death Velikova v. Bulgaria. Together with this through negligence. The case was termina- however, the data showd that the problem ted with a plea bargain agreement by virtue of illegal use of force by the police during of which the Interior Ministry officer re- and in the first hours following arrest was ceived only a two years’ suspended sen- extremely serious in Bulgaria. Physical force tence. during arrest was used virtually against 82 BULGARIA every other detainee, who subsequently Conditions in Places of Detention landed in prison. Among Roma respon- In 2000, the Bulgarian Helsinki dents the share of those reporting illegal vi- Committee continued and broadened its olence was larger than among Bulgarian re- monitoring in places of detention and pris- spondents. The Roma were the only group ons in Bulgaria, including places of deten- in which the use of physical force during ar- tion according to criminal procedure,10 and rest increased compared to 1999. places of detention according to adminis- trative and judicial procedure.11 Ill-Treatment of Children As of 1 January 2001 there were a to- The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee con- tal of 8,971 prisoners, including 347 ac- tinued to monitor children’s institutions in cused persons and 1,100 indicted persons Bulgaria during the year. In many of them it in the country’s 13 prisons and 23 labour established malnutrition, poor hygiene, lack correction hostels, plus another 1,000 per- of medical care and physical violence both sons in pre-trial detention centres. This by the staff and among the children them- number was smaller than in previous years. selves, undeterred by the staff. The situa- Despite this, overcrowding (up to 260 per- tion was particularly serious in some of the cent in Bourgas) remained a problem. In homes for mentally and physically handi- some prisons up to 30-35 persons were capped children under the Ministry of still housed in the same room (Pleven, Va- Labour and Social Policy: some children rna, Lovech, Troyan, Kremikovtsi) with beds died in 2000 in the children’s homes in arranged on two or three levels. Mogilino and Medven.9 Overcrowding made it impossible to Illegal physical violence also presented separate prisoners according to the condi- a problem in some of the correctional boar- tions under which their sentence was ding schools and social educational board- served, impeded individual and group re- ing schools where juvenile delinquents socialisation and created a number of prob- were forcibly placed. lems of personal hygiene. Only a few pris- The Ministry of Education did not pro- ons had lavatory facilities in their cells and vide regular funding for either schools. The inadequate heating in common rooms was monthly subsidy in many boarding schools another problem: even on the coldest days only covered staff wages. The children re- the heating was only turned on for a few ceived mainly canned food and donated hours a day in some prisons. Many were in products. Pupils were not allowed to leave dire need of repairs. the premises without permission. Other vi- The large number of incarcerated per- olations included illegal punishments such sons in prisons and pre-trial detention cen- as shaving the children’s heads, forced tres for prolonged periods of time present- labour, forcing them to do repeated crouch- ed a serious problem. Lately, there has es and front supports, and different forms been a trend towards shortening the pre- of ill-treatment. liminary proceedings to reasonable terms: only in isolated cases have defendants Domestic Violence been detained for more than six months. The legal framework for criminal prose- Only few prisoners had access to work cution in domestic violence was not which lead to a reduced sentence – one changed – it continued to be initiated by a fourth on the average. The issue of the se- private complaint of the woman, without the lection of prisoners for work remained con- participation of a prosecutor, which placed a troversial. Some promised to work without heavy financial and moral burden on the vic- payment in poor conditions and even sev- tim. Child abuse continued to be a widely en days a week only to have their sen- accepted and widespread phenomenon. tences reduced if they met the set quota. BULGARIA 83

However, for example in Stara Zagora, an officials on the basis of conditions of sen- average of 30 percent of working prisoners tence and economic considerations. met their quotas. Other than Orthodox prisoners still The re-socialisation did not have the faced difficulties in getting allowance to wor- desired effect. There were 70-100 prison- ship in prisons together with their clergy. ers for every social activity inspector, due to Violations of rights were also registered which individual programmes were not car- in connection with detention in places ried out. In most prisons amateur cultural which were not mentioned in Bulgarian events were organised only on holidays, ex- legislation. Any detention outside the units cept none for habitual offenders. In some of the Interior Ministry, pre-trial detention places there were no educational facilities, centres, prisons or psychiatric clinics should and in places where they existed they were be considered illegal. in bad condition and poorly equipped. The correspondence of prisoners was Liberty and Security of Person subject to checks (including to lawyers), ex- On 5 October the European Court of cept for those addressed to certain state in- Human Rights in Strasbourg delivered a stitutions and international organizations. In judgement in the case of Varbanov v. December 2000 the Supreme Administra- Bulgaria. The Court established a violation tive Court repealed the right to checks cor- of the right to liberty and security of the respondence as unlawful. Bulgarian national, Mr. Varbanov, who was The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee confined in a psychiatric clinic for psychi- recorded several cases of unjustified deten- atric examination with an order of the tion in excess of the imposed punishment Prosecutor’s Office. The Court ruled the de- in every prison, varying from a few days to tention arbitrary and established a number over one year. The reasons were primarily of deficiencies in Bulgarian legislation, in- excessive red tape in the administration of cluding the possibility for prosecutors to de- justice. tain a person for psychiatric examination The Ministry of Justice received 72 com- without obtaining the opinion of a medical plaints of violence from prisoners by Novem- expert for up to 30 days (and by exception, ber 2000. Of these, the Ministry judged only even for up to three months) without seek- four to be justified. Disciplinary measures ing of a medical opinion as a precondition against 36 officials were taken in the to ordering detention or the possibility for Penitentiary Administration system as a whole. appealing the prosecutor’s order before The standard of medical services re- court. Most of the legislative problems es- mained generally inadequate. There was tablished by Varbanov v. Bulgaria contin- lack of medicines and possibilities for spe- cialised treatment, and the system was un- ued to exist in 2000. able to cope with many problems, includ- Arrests in the army continued to be an- ing the increasing dependence on drugs, other problem related to the right to liberty the treatment of chronic diseases and den- and security of person. They were imposed tal care. Prison doctors occasionally refused by military commanders for breach of disci- to issue medical certificates to victims of pline and were not subject to judicial control. excessive use of physical force and auxiliary means of restraint by wardens. Medical Respect for Private and Family Life care in pre-trial detention centres was par- Several scandals related to the viola- ticularly poor. Some progress was sus- tion of the right to respect for private and tained in the battle against tuberculosis. family life ensued in 2000. They were all Of great concern was the practice to is- linked with widespread police wiretapping sue medical statements by administration of private citizens, organizations, journalists, 84 BULGARIA national television, politicians and even religious activity”; adoption by the local au- prosecutors. In January 2001, following an thorities of illegal ordinances which greatly inquiry, the Prosecutor’s Office announced restricted the rights of the local branches of that the courts had issued more than religious communities; break-ups of peace- 10,000 authorisations for wiretaps at the ful meetings of religious communities by request of the Ministry of Interior in 2000. the authorities or by private citizens, unde- A negligible part (2-3 percent) of these terred by the authorities; and discriminato- wiretaps were later used in criminal pro- ry treatment of religious communities by ceedings. administrative bodies. In November a prosecutor with the On 2 February the National Assembly Chief Prosecutor’s Office stated that sever- adopted the three draft bills on religious al politicians, as well as the director of the denominations tabled by the UtDF, BSP National Investigation Service had been and IMRO, and rejected the draft tabled by wiretapped by the police. In several subse- a group of MPs of the Alliance for National quent interviews, he said that Interior Salvation. The three drafts were sharply crit- Ministry officials were engaging in illegal icised for their repressive nature, unclear private wiretapping. Later, according to him, and ambiguous character and the attempt his office was broken into and materials of the State to subject religious organiza- stolen from it which he was to have pre- tions to administrative control.13 Moreover, sented in the course of the initiated inquiry. they were prepared without any dialogue Reports were also received during the with religious organizations. year that the Security Services were placing On 12 October the parliamentary Com- people under surveillance due to their reli- mittee on Human Rights and Religious gious convictions. Denominations submitted a consolidated Draft Denominations Act for the second and Religious Intolerance final reading to the National Assembly. On 26 October, the European Court of Representatives of religious and human Human Rights delivered a judgement in rights organizations stated that the final ver- the case of Hasan and Chaush v. Bulgaria. sion was a little better than the three drafts The case concerns the refusal of the on which it was based, but that it still repro- Socialist Government in February 1995 to duced its main shortcoming including exces- register the leadership of the Muslim be- sive administrative supervision of the inter- lievers with Fikri Hasan as chief mufti.12 The nal affairs of religious organizations.14 The Court held that the State had violated draft also created a large number of precon- Article 9 of the ECHR through the failure to ditions for arbitrariness on the local level, al- remain neutral in the exercise of its powers lowing, for example, mayors to refuse the in respect of the registration of the Muslim registration of the local branches if their serv- religion; and Article 13 of the ECHR (right ices and rites ”do not comply with the to an effective remedy) in that the statutes of the registered denomination.“ In Supreme Court had refused to examine the addition, according to the draft, religious or- substance of Hasan’s appeal against the ganizations may use a private flat as a house decision of the State. of worship only if all other owners agree; can The most serious event in the sphere use a rented public building only through a of freedom of thought, conscience and re- separate entrance; and restricts the right of ligion was the – eventually unsuccessful - believers to unite for the attainment of their attempts for the adoption of a seriously re- religious goals. Religious organizations strictive Denominations Act. Other serious would be banned as separate legal entities if violations of the religious rights included ex- the state authority judges their names to be pulsions of foreign citizens due to “illegal the same or if their “religious basis and rites” BULGARIA 85 are the same (Article 19.2) Finally, all de- Mufti’s Office. Instruction in the Orthodox nominations, regardless of whether state- religion in Bulgaria is financed by the State. subsidised or not, would be subject to state financial control (Article 39). Protection of Minorities, Aggressive As a result of criticism, the draft law it Nationalism and Xenophobia was sent for expert assessment to the No discernible progress was made in Council of Europe and its adoption was the protection of the rights of persons be- postponed. longing to different ethnic, religious and lin- Throughout the year, ordinances on guistic minorities in Bulgaria in 2000. One public order or on the activities of religious of the few positive developments included communities, containing many discrimina- the September enrolment of 252 children tory and restrictive provisions, were adopt- from the Roma school in Vidin were in ed in several Bulgarian cities (Bourgas, Bulgarian schools in the town. However, , Pleven, and Sta- the initiative was neither organised nor ra Zagora) under pressure by IMRO munic- funded by the authorities, but by local and ipal councillors and in violation of a number international NGOs for the protection of of laws. Roma rights and was facilitated by the de- The Pleven ordinance, adopted in creasing number of pupils in the town’s November, required religious communities Bulgarian schools. in the city to send all their documents to Another positive event was the launch the municipal authorities. It prohibited pros- of Turkish-language newscasts on Bulgarian elytising of any kind outdoors, as well as National Television in October - albeit for the distribution of religious literature out- only 10 minutes outside prime broadcast- side churches and specialised bookshops. ing time, rather as a symbolic act that nev- Denominations were also prohibited to at- ertheless raised fierce resistance of nation- tract persons under the age of 18 to their alistically inclined circles. activities in any form whatsoever, except By ruling the party UMO “Ilinden” - PI- with the written consent of their parents, or RIN unconstitutional, the authorities con- to conduct their activities in all kinds of firmed their reluctance to recognise the ex- schools and/or children’s’ establishments. istence and rights of ethnic Macedonian cit- On the other hand, they were obliged to izens.15 The ethno-cultural rights of mem- declare their incomes and expenses before bers of the Turkish minority were violated in the municipal authorities. In November, 11 several cases, for example, in the organiza- local branches of denominations instituted tion of celebrations. proceedings against the Pleven ordinance In the Lovech region, employers re- in court. fused to hire members of the minorities As in previous years, the authorities even for unskilled jobs which forced them and private citizens and groups, undeterred to change their Muslim names with by the authorities, dispersed peaceful Bulgarian ones: by 30 March, a total of 173 meetings of religious communities, often applications for name changes had been violently, in a number of settlements lodged with the Lovech court alone. throughout the country. The Bulgarian Jews were also the tar- On 18 February, the Ministry of Edu- get of xenophobic actions. cation issued an instruction on the experi- At the end of May the walls of the for- mental study on Islam in optional religious mer synagogue in Bourgas were painted classes, ordering that instruction in this reli- with and anti-Semitic slogans, in- gion should be conducted in Bulgarian and cluding “The world is a nicer place without that it should be financed by the Chief Jews.” 86 BULGARIA

Nevertheless, as in previous years, the August 1999, as well as its shortcomings, most drastic violations were committed were revealed during the year. Some of the against the rights of the Bulgarian Roma. shortcomings observed in previous years in The Framework Convention for the Equal proceedings before the relevant adminis- Integration of Roma in Bulgarian Society16 trative body – the Agency for Refugees - remained merely a piece of paper through- were corrected during the year. However, out 2000, aside from the appointment of a new violations of the law were committed number of individual Roma as experts in in the attempts to limit access to asylum the regional administrations. However, procedure and the number of refugees these appointments were mostly made for with recognised status. political purposes only. The problems concerning access to No progress was made during the year registration of asylum seekers without iden- in allocating land to landless Roma, in the tity documents continued. Despite the ini- urban planning of Roma neighbourhoods tiative of the UNHCR for the drafting of a and in assisting enterprises hiring indigent harmonised legal framework to favour the people as required by the Framework integration of recognised refugees, no such Programme. No headway was made in the legislation was adopted and in the dire eco- encouragement of Roma culture or in the nomic situation many recognised refugees study of the Romany language at school ei- were seeking ways to leave Bulgaria. ther. Roma children continued to constitute The new accelerated procedure for a disproportionate number in children’s in- considering asylum applications was only stitutions and especially in correctional and introduced on the country’s borders at the social educational boarding schools and end of the year. The absence of transit cen- auxiliary schools. tres at the borders impeded accelerated Roma were also the target of discrimi- procedure resulting in unlawful detention nation and societal violence by private citi- for prolonged periods without being served zens and groups in many instances. a determination of their appeal. A related problem was the lack of independent judi- On 2 December, several Roma families cial review of decisions in the accelerated in the village of Orehovitsa near Pleven procedure. The two different authorities in were attacked by local inhabitants. Windows the procedure - the Agency for Refugees and furnishings in at least three Roma and the National Border Police Service – homes were smashed after the attackers were unable to reach agreement and a broke into them and several persons were common approach, which led to the virtual beaten with wooden posts and metal rods. absence of accelerated procedure, and The Roma families were resettled in the vil- hence also to the mass practice of turning lage in 1991 from the nearby village of away asylum seekers at the borders. Podem after their houses there had been One of the shortcomings of the set on fire by specially organised mobs. Refugees Act was the absence of provi- The practice not to allow Roma to pub- sions providing for additional measures for lic catering places and other communal serv- the protection of de facto refugees who did ices continued. At the end of the year thou- not satisfy the clauses of the 1951 sands of Roma staged protests because Convention. their due social benefits had not been paid At the end of the year, a particularly in several of the country’s municipalities. great stir was caused in the media by the case of several dozen Iraqi Kurds who ille- Protection of Asylum Seekers gally crossed the border into Bulgaria. Most The problems in the application of the of them were refused refugee status but Refugees Act, which went into effect in were granted the so-called “humanitarian BULGARIA 87 status” which consists in the simple admis- spend several days in a room without beds, sion on Bulgarian territory without any food or lavatory facilities. Some of them re- Government commitment for assistance. ported ill-treatment by the police during They were all detained for more than two their detention17, and one youth was shot months in inhuman conditions due to the dead while trying to cross the border. Aid absence of transit centres and were ulti- for recognised refuges was not paid regu- mately left at the mercy of fate in the cen- larly and the conditions in some of the tre of Sofia without any means of support. places in which they were accommodated More than 80 of them were forced to were inhuman.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights in Bulgaria in 2000. For the full report, see www.bghelsinki.org. Materials from Human Rights Project and the Tolerance Foundation have also been used. 2 For more details, see Human Rights in Bulgaria in 1999. Annual Report of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Obektiv, February 2000, available at www.bghelsinki.org 3 See Religious Intolerance. 4 See Endnote 2. 5 See Krassimir Kanev, “Access to Justice for Indigent Criminal Defendants Did Not Improve”, Obektiv, January 2001. 6 See Human Rights in Bulgaria in 1997. Annual Report of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Obektiv, February 1998, available at www.bghelsinki.org 7 For more than seven years to date, prosecutors at all levels of the Prosecutor’s Office have routinely replied to BHC inquiries on specific cases. 8 See Endnote 2. 9 See also Antoaneta Nenkova, “The Invisible World of the Mentally Retarded,” Epoha, 26 May–1 June 2000; Antoaneta Nenkova, “The Horror of Fakia,” Obektiv, July 2000; Antoaneta Nenkova, “The Horror of Fakia,” 24 Chassa, 2 August 2000. 10 Including prisons of different types and their labour correction hostels, pre-trial detention centres and police custody. 11 Consisting of several types of places of detention under the Degree of Minor Hooliganism: detoxification centres, homes for the temporary placement of either adults or minors, places of dentition with the transport police, educational boarding schools and social educational boarding schools, psychiatric hospitals and other clinics for forced treatment. 12 See Human Rights in Bulgaria in 1995. Report of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, January 1996, available at www.bghelsinki.org. 13 See Endnore 2. 14 According to the draft, for example, the state Directorate of Religious Affairs would exer- cises supervision over the activities of denominations, issue the opinion of the Sofia City Court on the registration of denominations, approve the rules of higher theological schools, and “study of the religious basis and services and rites of the … denomination” (Article 16.1). 15 See Freedom of Association. 16 See endnote 2 17 See Sega, 3 February 2001. 88 CANADA1

IHF FOCUS: Religious intolerance; hate speech; protection of asylum seekers and im- migrants; protection of ethnic minorities (indigenous peoples).

Religious Intolerance Catholic schools for secondary education. The case of Waldman v. Canada, de- Even that proposed funding was, ac- cided by the Human Rights Committee es- cording to the Supreme Court, protected by tablished under the ICCPR, has presented the Constitution. Madam Justice Wilson an unusual dilemma for Canada. The Cana- found that, at the time of Confederation, dian Charter of Rights and Freedoms pro- Roman Catholic separate schools were en- hibits religious discrimination. The Charter titled to public funding for secondary edu- is part of the Constitution of Canada. How- cation, even if they were not getting that ever, Article 93 of the Canadian Consti- funding. Thus, the Constitution requires the tution discriminates in favour of Roman Ontario Government to fund fully Roman Catholics and against other religious de- Catholic separate schools. Seen in this light, nominations. according to the Court, Bill 30 simply right- ed an old wrong, said the Canadian Constitutional Guarantee Group. Article 93 gives provincial legislatures After this case was decided, parents exclusive power over education. The article who wanted state funding for denomina- states that any law enacted under this pow- tional schools that were not Roman er shall not “prejudicially affect any right or Catholic went to court to argue that the privilege with respect to denominational guarantee of equality in the Charter re- schools which any class of persons have by quired funding in Ontario for their schools. law in the province at the union.“ In Onta- Individuals from the Calvinistic or Reformed rio, at the time that the province joined Christian tradition, and members of the Confederation, Roman Catholic schools Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish faiths ar- had rights and privileges which other de- gued that the Ontario Education Act, by re- nominational schools did not have. In par- quiring attendance at school, discriminated ticular, Roman Catholic denominational against those whose conscience or beliefs schools received state funding. The effect prevented them from sending their chil- of Article 93 was to prevent the legislature dren to either the publicly funded secular of Ontario from prejudicially affecting those or publicly funded Roman Catholic schools, rights and privileges, including funding. because of the high costs associated with State funding of Roman Catholic schools in their children’s religious education. A decla- Ontario is, by virtue of Article 93, constitu- ration was sought stating that the appli- tionally entrenched. cants were entitled to funding equivalent to Once the Canadian Charter of Rights that of public and Roman Catholic schools. and Freedoms was entrenched in the The Supreme Court of Canada rejected Constitution in 1982, and, especially once this challenge as an attempt to revisit its the equality guarantee in the charter be- earlier decision on Bill 30. The Court ruled came effective in 1985, the question arose that the funding of Roman Catholic sepa- whether the discrimination flowing from rate schools could not give rise to an in- Article 93 of the Constitution could survive fringement of the Charter because the the entrenchment of the guarantee of equal- province of Ontario was constitutionally ob- ity in section 15 of the Charter. The Supreme ligated to provide such funding.2 Court of Canada decided that it could. The Supreme Court of Canada also International Obligations ruled constitutional the 1987 Bill 30, ex- However, Canada has signed and rati- tending funding for Ontario Roman fied the ICCPR as well as its Optional CANADA 89

Protocol that allows for an individual right of Hate Speech 3 petition against signatory States. Library Meeting Room Policy A petition was filed with the Com- In the past few years, some British mittee by Arieh Waldman to find Canada in Columbia libraries have rented their meet- violation of the ICCPR because of Roman ing rooms to the Canadian Free Speech Catholic separate school funding in Ontario. League whose leader, Doug Christie, ac- The Canadian Government made a feeble cording to the Law Society of Upper attempt to argue that Ontario funding to Canada “has made common cause with a Roman Catholic schools was non-discrimi- small lunatic anti-Semitic fringe element of natory because the obligation to provide our society,” and the British Columbia that funding was in the Canadian Constitu- Human Rights Commission has promoted tion. The Human Rights Committee expres- hatred in his column for the North Shore sed the obvious view that the preferential News. treatment of Roman Catholic schools does Both the ICCPR (Article 20.2) and the not cease to offend the equality guarantee UN Convention on the Elimination of All in the ICCPR simply because it is in the Forms of Discrimination (Article 4c), of 4 Canadian Constitution. which Canada is party, prohibit advocacy of The present Ontario Government does national, racial or religious hatred that con- not want to do anything at all to redress the stitutes incitement to discrimination, hostil- situation. However, according to the Cana- ity or violence and public authorities to pro- dian Helsinki Watch Group, the implications mote or incite racial discrimination. of international lawlessness are more se- According to the Canadian Helsinki vere for Canada as a whole than they are Watch Group, the public libraries have a for any one province. Given the isolation- duty to protect against incitement to dis- ism of Ontario politics, the violation of Ca- crimination and therefore should not rent nadian treaty obligations imposed by meeting room space to any person or or- Ontario legislation will have to be handled ganization likely to use the space for the by the Federal Government and Parliament purpose of inciting discrimination. alone and directly, said the Group. The Library Board had stated that its The Federal Parliament cannot amend staff lacked the experience to assess the le- the provisions of the Constitution dealing with gal behavior of groups and would have had separate school funding in Ontario unilaterally, to rely on outsiders. without the agreement of the Ontario legisla- The Canadian Helsinki Watch Group ture. As long as the Government of Ontario was not aware of any library in Canada out- insists on maintaining the present regime, that side of British Columbia renting a meeting regime is constitutionally protected. room to an extreme right wing group, a The Canadian Helsinki Watch Group white supremacist group, or a Holocaust took the position that the Government denial group. The only time when a refusal should put the State in compliance with to rent a meeting room to such a group Canada’s treaty obligation under the ICCPR was challenged at a library board, in by fully funding all separate schools in Ottawa, that refusal was upheld and con- Ontario and deducting the money it spends tinued. on Ontario separate schools from transfer The Canadian Library Association policy payments and tax points to Ontario. The regarding renting premises for meetings is Government of Ontario should then be left absolutist: free speech is the only human to decide how they want to respect the ob- right that matters. However, according to ligation not to discriminate, whether by the Canadian Helsinki Watch Group, it is by maintaining funding of all separate schools no means obvious that there should be a or by funding no separate schools. linkage between a meeting room policy 90 CANADA and a book acquisition policy, although the of its unfairness, was a very complex sys- Canadian Library Association statement as- tem including several deficiencies. One of sumes that link. The Group said a library them was the fact that a person virtually could have a broad policy for acquisition had to violate the Immigration Act to make and another narrower policy for use of a refugee claim and the application was on meeting rooms as granting access to meet- paper only.5 ing rooms has, in principle, nothing to do Most people went through this system with the work of libraries. without ever appearing in front of anyone The Helsinki Watch Group noted that who decided their claim, a feature that at- hate mongers seek out libraries for the tracted the attention of the Supreme Court same reason that they seek out universi- of Canada. In addition, even if one was re- ties, because of the respectability it gives jected at every step (there were 12 in all), their cause, because of the aura of credibil- there was no remedy from the Federal ity it bestows their propaganda: a library lo- Court. cation gives hate promoters legitimacy. The old system suffered from an ab- The Vancouver Library Board, at a sence of integration of the overseas and in- meeting in April 2000, decided to ask land refugee determination systems, which renters not to contravene the Criminal used different procedures, standards and Code and British Columbia human rights criteria. The inland system was so long, legislation. If a group refused to sign on to drawn out and unfair, that virtually every- the request, the room could not be rented. one was being rejected, but virtually no If a violation occurred, the group would not one was being removed. The system was be allowed to rent again. Signs would be completely dysfunctional. posted outside meeting rooms stating that the views expressed are not endorsed by The Present Procedure and do not necessarily represent views of The system in the present Act and the library. Regulations is an improvement, but still According to the Canadian Helsinki both needlessly complex and unnecessary Watch Group, this policy, while a step for- unfair. The present Act creates a bifurcated ward, is unsatisfactory because it remains road. The number of steps depends on which of the two roads the claimant is re- the policy of the library to rent a room to a quired to take. group even where it can be demonstrated Under the present Act, first there is a in advance that, in spite of their signing the port of entry interview, where claimants are rental agreement, the group is likely to con- interviewed on arrival about the substance travene the Criminal Code and British of their claims without access to counsel, a Columbia human rights legislation. The procedure the Supreme Court of Canada British Columbia Library should refuse to has decided is constitutionally valid. rent meeting rooms to extreme right wing Second, there is eligibility determination, groups exercising the discretion library conducted by a senior immigration officer. managers have to refuse to rent rooms to The present system is fairer than the anyone. old one - for at least some people – but complex. For those found to be “public Protection of Asylum Seekers and dangers”, the present system is as unfair as Immigrants the old system. For those who are found to The Old Refugee Determination Procedure be eligible, there is a fair hearing before an The old Canadian refugee determina- independent expert tribunal. The system is tion procedure, declared unconstitutional not completely fair because of the denial by the Supreme Court of Canada because of access to counsel at the initial port of CANADA 91 entry interview; the absence of an appeal; danger, but only if the danger they face on and the impossibility of reopening to con- return is less than the danger they pose to sider change of circumstances, new evi- the community where they seek protection. dence, or old evidence not previously For Canadian policy makers, this protection available. As well, the present system is of criminals goes too far. Canadian law in- still needlessly complex, with “public dan- trudes into refugee protection to prevent it ger” determination procedures that make from happening. applications to the Federal Court neces- sary, and the unfair treatment of refugee Bill C-31 claim in the overseas system. There is no The Canadian Helsinki Watch Group right to counsel at refugee interviews, and expressed it opinion that the refugee deter- most visa posts, as a matter of policy, pre- mination system should be approached vent counsel from attending. For example, with the following objectives in mind: the the visa posts impose criteria that are not system should be fair, simple, comply with part of the inland determination. It is much international law standards and it should be harder to be recognized as a refugee over- consistent and integrated, not working at seas than inland. cross purposes. Canada has visa requirements on The system proposed in the Govern- every country producing significant num- ment’s Bill C-31, introduced in the last bers of refugee claimants; denies visas sys- Parliament, though in some respects an tematically to everyone who wants to come improvement over the present law, is still to Canada to make a refugee claim; and needlessly complex, unnecessarily unfair, penalizes commercial carriers who bring to suffers from a lack of integration and does Canada persons who need visas but do not not fully comply with international law stan- have them. dards. The Canadian policy concerns about The proposed system, like the old one, immigration numbers from refugee recog- creates a bifurcated road. Some claimants nition inland are inappropriate. To a large will be found eligible and go through one extent, the present design of the inland form of risk determination at the level of refugee determination system manages to the Protection Division of the Immigration avoid an unwarranted intrusion of immigra- and Refugee Board. Other claimants will be tion considerations into refugee determina- found ineligible and go through another tions because, at least for those eligible to form of risk determination, an administra- make a claim, risk determination is done by tive pre-removal risk assessment. A third an independent tribunal, the Immigration group of claimants go down a dead end and Refugee Board, and not the Immi- road with removal without any form of risk gration Department. assessment whatsoever. Immigration concerns intrude more The criterion of “public danger” disap- readily into refugee determination overseas pears. Bill C-31, though removing the “pub- because those refugee determinations are lic danger” label, makes matters worse. done by visa officers who otherwise decide Rather than a double hurdle for ineligibility, on immigration matters. as there is in the present system, of a crime The other policy concern that intrudes with a high maximum sentence plus a into Canadian refugee protection unduly is “public danger” determination, there will be a concern about criminality. International only a single hurdle of a conviction of a law says that no one, no matter what their crime with a high maximum sentence. crime, should be returned to torture, disap- Under the Bill once a person is de- pearance or arbitrary execution. Refugees clared ineligible, the person goes into a dif- who are also criminals can be returned to ferent risk determination stream. Risk de- 92 CANADA termination is made by pre-removal risk as- The Canadian Helsinki Watch Group sessment by the Minister of Citizenship and gave the following recommendation about Immigration, but also allows the Minister to Bill C-31: delegate that power to decide. Under the 1. Everyone in Canada should be eligible Bill, the definition of risk that both the to make a refugee claim. There should Protection Division of the Immigration and be no ineligibility step before refugee Refugee Board and pre-removal risk as- determination. sessment officials would consider is the 2. There should be no administrative pre- same. removal risk assessment procedure So, the Bill contemplates two streams but instead a re-opening jurisdiction in of claimants, going into two different deter- the Protection Division of the mination systems where the risk definition Immigration and Refugee Board paral- applied would be the same, and where the leling the existing re-opening jurisdic- procedure for application of the definition tion of the Appeal Division of the could potentially be the same. Further- Immigration and Refugee Board. more, eligible but rejected refugee claim- 3. It should not be necessary to apply for ants would be able to go into pre-removal a discretionary stay to the Federal risk assessment, in effect, getting two Court. There should be, as now, a refugee determinations. statutory stay pending applications for Moreover, those rejected as refugees leave. or found ineligible to make a claim, as well 4. There should be a right to counsel at as those who have abandoned or with- port of entry refugee interviews. drawn their claims cannot apply for refugee 5. If there is an administrative pre-re- determination, if they have left Canada and moval risk assessment procedure, then returned. They cannot apply for pre- there should be an oral hearing under removal risk assessment either, where the this procedure, at the very least, for return is within a year of the departure. those who had no oral hearing from Another gap in protection, both under the Protection Division of the the present law and the Bill, is protection Immigration and Refugee Board. from danger for a person recognized as a 6. Even if there is an administrative pre- Convention refugee by another country removal risk assessment procedure who can be returned to that country. The that considers change of country con- gap should be addressed. To do that, there ditions, there should be a reopening is a need for an amendment to the defini- jurisdiction in the Board to consider tion of “a person in need of protection“ in new evidence or old evidence not pre- the Bill. viously available. In addition to the unnecessary steps of 7. In order to ensure a refugee determi- ineligibility and pre-removal risk assess- nation procedure that brings to its task ment, the Bill adds the need to apply for a no bias, or reasonable apprehension of judicial stay of execution of a removal order bias, Parliament should legislate a to keep the person in Canada pending an transparent, professional and account- application for leave and judicial review of able selection procedure for members a negative refugee determination by the of the Immigration and Refugee Board. Refugee Appeal Division of the Immigration 8. It should be possible to appeal from and Refugee Board. abandonment decisions. The Bill, like all its predecessors, does 9. A person should be allowed to make a little to address the connection between refugee claim whether he/she is under the refugee determination overseas and a removal order or not. refugee determination in Canada. 10. If there is both an eligibility stage and CANADA 93

an administrative pre-removal risk as- 1999, the UN Human Rights Committee sessment stage, everyone who is ineli- raised questions regarding the right to self- gible for consideration by the determination (Article 1 of ICCPR) and sev- Protection Division of the Immigration eral members asked how this right relates and Refugee Board should be eligible to aboriginal peoples’ claims for self-gov- for consideration under the pre-re- ernment.7 moval risk assessment procedure. The 1996 Royal Commission on 11. The Bill should grant both the power to Aboriginal Peoples Report urged more fed- prevent removal to generalized risk eral spending for aboriginal peoples and and to risk that may not be so general cautioned that failure to improve the con- as to put everyone at risk, but enough ditions for aboriginal peoples could lead to to be faced “generally by other individ- more violence like that which erupted in uals in or from that country.“ As well, Oka, Quebec, in 1990. The Canadian Go- there should be provision to allow for vernment initiative entitled Gathering suspension of removals based on the Strength – Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan application of individuals. is intended to respond to the need to build 12. There needs to be mechanism for a new relationship. However, progress has dealing with danger in a country which been slow and in 2000 confrontations be- has granted the person refugee status tween aboriginal peoples seeking to en- and to which the person could be re- force their aboriginal and treaty rights and turned, but for that danger. the federal and provincial authorities flared. 13. For generalized risk, in addition to gaps The social and economic consequences of in protection coverage, there are fail- failed policy continued to be felt. On a pos- ings in due process in the proposed itive note, the Nisga’a Treaty received Royal Bill. Assent in early 2000. Phil Fontaine, then 14. The Bill should prohibit the removal of Chief of the Assembly of First Nations not- anyone to torture, arbitrary execution, ed this was “a powerful and historic mo- or torture. ment for the Nisg’a people. The passage of 15. Refugee determinations overseas the Nisga’a Bill is the final chapter in a 100- should be done by the Protection Divi- year-old story of a Nation and its people sion of the Immigration and Refugee who have fought to have their self-govern- Board, using the same procedures as ment rights recognized by the Canadian in Canada. Government. For the first time in Canadian 16. At the very least, the Bill should recog- history the jurisdiction of First Nations nize there is a right to counsel at refu- Government has been affirmed and recog- gee interviews at visa posts abroad. nized by the Federal and provincial 17. As long as the refugee determination Governments of this land.”8 procedure overseas remains the same as it is now, the Bill should provide for Voting Rights - Implementing the Corbiere9 eligibility to make an inland claim Decision where the person is rejected overseas. In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada found that Section 77 (1) of the Indian Act Protection of Ethnic Minorities violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Indigenous Peoples6 Freedoms by denying off-reserve members Self-government remained a con- the right to vote in band elections. The tentious issue in 2000 with continuing con- Supreme Court subsequently stated that flict over aboriginal and treaty rights Canada had 18 months to amend Section throughout the country. In its review of 77 (1) of the Indian Act, and if it failed to Canada’s Fourth Periodic Report in April do so, then off-reserve residents would 94 CANADA have the same voting rights as on-reserve right is subject to regulation, however regu- residents. lations that infringe that right must be justi- Consultations between the Canadian fiable. Federal Government and First Nations re- garding amending the Indian Act proved to In Quebec, seven Algonquin protesters be inadequate. The Federal Government’s were arrested for blockading two logging amendments to the Indian Band Election Re- roads in a game preserve. The protesters gulations and the Indian Referendum claimed that logging by the forestry com- Regulations10 failed to address the concerns pany, Domtar, would destroy their liveli- of First Nations. The Assembly of First Nations hood. They claimed that logging permits noted, “In the end it is First Nations commu- held by the company were granted illegally nities that suffer the consequences.” 11 because they had never ceded any rights to the land. Nisga’a Treaty The Nisga’a Final Agreement Act, ne- Dudley George – Ipperwash gotiated between the Nisga’a people, the In April 1999, the UN Human Rights Government of Canada and the Gover- Committee urged Canada to hold a public nment of British Columbia, received royal inquiry into the shooting death of Dudley assent on 13 April 2000. This gave full le- George in 1995.13 George, an aboriginal gal effect to the treaty, which grants the activist, was shot dead by Ontario Provincial Nisga’a title to 2,000 square kilometres of Police at Ipperwash Provincial Park. The the lower Nass Valley, limited self-govern- Ontario provincial Government continued ment, extensive fishing and logging rights, to block an inquiry. There were calls in the other treaty rights and a cash settlement. Ontario legislature for the Ontario Human Rights Commission to be given the power Treaty Rights to investigate whether the lack of a public Conflict between aboriginal peoples inquiry into Dudley Georges’s death vio- and resource companies continued in lates the Human Rights Code.14 2000. The exercise of treaty rights was also a source of conflict between aboriginal Innu peoples and non-aboriginals. The 1999 report by Survival Inter- The 1999 unrest over fishing in national, entitled Canada’s Tibet: the Killing Miramichi, New Brunswick resulted in con- of the Innu, claimed, “The Mushua Innu of flict between members of the Burnt Church Uthshimassits are the most suicide-ridden First Nation and non-aboriginal fishermen. people in the world.” Traditionally a hunting The conflict over fishing resources contin- people, many were forcibly relocated by ued in 2000. the Canadian Government thirty years ago In Nova Scotia in 10 September mem- with a devastating impact on their way of bers of the Indian Brook band were life. The Innu have suffered from high rates charged with illegal fishing and assaulting of severe alcoholism, domestic violence police officers. They claimed they were ex- and teen suicide. The Innu have been en- ercising their treaty right to fish upheld in gaged in lengthy land claims negotiations the Supreme Court’s decision in Marshall.12 with the Federal Government, but in the In the Marshall case, the Court reaffirmed meantime they have suffered immense so- that local treaties signed by the Mi’kmaq cial and economic problems. and Maliseet communities include a com- The Innu’s sacred hunting grounds munal right to fish and hunt in pursuit of a have continued to be plagued by ultra high- “moderate livelihood.” In addressing fishing speed low-level training flights by Canada’s rights, the Court was clear that the Treaty military and its allies. In 2000 the Italian Air CANADA 95

Force started low-level training. A 10- year prevalence of HIV infection in aboriginal agreement between the Canadian and communities. This situation is worsened Italian Governments signed in 1999 allows because those at risk remain socio-eco- the Italian Air Force to train in low-level fly- nomically marginalized and are reluctant to ing at 5 Wing Goose Bay.15 The Italian Air undergo HIV tests. The annual proportion Force joined crews from the Royal Air of AIDS cases attributed to aboriginal per- Force, the German Air Force and the Royal sons has increased over time, from 1 per Netherlands Air Force. The Innu argued that cent before 1990 to 15 per cent in 1999.19 these training flights had an adverse affect In comparison to non-aboriginal peoples, on the land, animals and environment and aboriginal peoples have a 6.6 times greater prevented them from living normally. incidence of tuberculosis, are 3 times as Controversy over the development of a likely to be diabetic and 2 times as likely to huge nickel mining project at Voisey’s Bay report a long-term disability.20 and massive hydroelectric projects (the Lower Churchill Project) on land claimed by Misconduct by Law Enforcement Authorities the Innu continued. In 1999, an “agree- Following an RCMP investigation, ment in principle” was reached between charges of unlawful confinement and assault the Innu Nation, Canada and Newfound- were filed against two Saskatoon city police land that aimed to provide the Innu with officers on 12 April. Darrell Night alleged the tools necessary to address the issues that the two officers arrested him in the ear- confronting their community. However, this ly hours of 28 January, drove him to an iso- was an interim step that did not fully ad- lated area on the outskirts of Saskatoon, took dress Innu land claims or self-government. his jacket and threw him out of the police Lack of progress on the implementation of car while shouting racist remarks at him. The this agreement led to the June 2000 offer temperature was –26 Celsius that night. by the Innu. Among other things the Innu Two other aboriginal men, Rodney Naistus demand that they be treated like other First and Lawrence Wegner were found frozen to Nations while waiting for land claims to be death within the next week in the same area settled and offered to accept less land in Night alleges he was thrown from the police hopes of speeding up the negotiation 16 car. The RCMP was investigating these two process. deaths and three other deaths in similar cir- cumstances.21 Economic and Social Indicators In 2000, the UN Development On 17 February, the Winnipeg police Programme ranked Canada first in terms of chief put five members of his force on in- human development.17 However the so- definite leave with pay pending an investi- cial, economic and health indicators for gation into the deaths of two Metis women, aboriginal peoples ranked far lower than for Doreen LeClair and Corinne McKeowen.22 It the Canadian population as a whole. The has been alleged they failed to respond to same report noted that in 1991 the life ex- the calls because the women were aborig- pectancy at birth of Inuit males was 58 inal. The women made five 911 emer- years and that of registered Indian Males gency calls before the police responded to 62 years, 17 and 13 years less, respective- a domestic incident. It took eight hours for ly, than for all Canadian males. Suicide the police to arrive on the scene by which rates of Registered Indian youth (ages 15 time both women were dead in what ap- to 24) were are eight times higher than the peared to have been a brutal stabbing. A national rate for females and five times former boyfriend was arrested and charged higher for males.18 with second-degree murder for allegedly There has been a rapid increase and stabbing the two women. 96 CANADA

Endnotes 1 Based on the Annual Report of the Canadian Helsinki Watch Group (by David Matas). 2 Adler v. Ontario [1996] 3 S.C.R. 609. 3 Article 25 of the Constitution. Article 2(2) of the ICCPR provides: “Where not already pro- vided for by existing legislative or other measures, each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take the necessary steps, in accordance with its constitutional processes and with the provisions of the present Covenant, to adopt such laws or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the present Covenant.“ 4 Arieh Hollis Waldman v. Canada, Human Rights Committee, 05/11/99, CCPR/C/67/D/ 694/1996, paragraph 10.4. 5 Oral hearings were possible only if the Immigration Appeal Board after a negative deci- sion by the Minister of Immigration believed that there were reasonable grounds to be- lieve that the claimant, at the oral hearing, could succeed in the claim. 6 This term does not refer to one homogenous group but to four distinct cultural groups: North American (First Nations) Indians registered and not registered under the Indian Act, Metis people and Inuit. The author of this section is Rachel Hammonds. 7 www.unhchr.ch 8 www.afn.ca - Nisga’a Bill Receives Royal Assent – Press Release. 9 Corbiere v. Canada (Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs) [1999] 2 S.C.R. 203. 10 Published in the Canada Gazette on 2 September, 2000. 11 www.afn.ca 12 R. v. Marshall [1999] 3 S.C.R. 13 www.unhchr.ch At its 1747th meeting on 6 April 1999, the Committee adopted a rec- ommendation strongly urging “the State party to establish a public inquiry into all aspect of this matter, including the role and responsibility of public officials.” 14 NDP News Release, “Tories Block Human Rights Probe of Ipperwash,” 31 October 2000. 15 www.capitalnet.com/~pmogb/website/announcements/italy_e.html 16 www.innu.ca 17 United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2000. 18 www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/gs/soci_e.html 19 www.hc-sc.gc.ca 20 See endnote 17. 21 Windspeaker News, May 2000. www.ammsa.com/windspeaker 22 www.angelfire.com (18 February, 2001), www.ammsa.com/windspeaker (March 2000). CROATIA1 97

In an ultra-nationalist act, Biserka Legradic´, a Croat, urinated on the Serb anti-Fascist monument at Veljun in May. © Globus

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and the media; freedom of association and public assembly; judicial system; misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in prisons; secret services; religious intolerance; return of refugees and displaced persons; international humanitarian law; protection of minorities; social rights; women’s rights.

According to the Croatian Helsinki fair. Fearing that the 3 January 2000 parlia- Committee, the overall human rights situa- mentary elections would be organised in a tion following the early 2000 elections similar atmosphere, 140 NGOs initiated a could be defined as “less bad” than it was major campaign under the name “Glas 99,” before the elections. Still Croatia’s record with the Croatian Helsinki Committee as was not good: it did not comply with its in- one of the founders. The motto of “Glas 99” ternational commitments and the stan- was to “Get out and vote!” dards of democratic countries. However, The turnout rate of the elections was some of the most severe human rights vi- more than 78 percent. Some sociologists olations ceased with the end of the previ- estimated that the “Glas 99” campaign in- ous Croatian Democratic Community duced up to 4 percent of the total voting (HDZ) Government. Reforms started to population and 15-20 percent of the youth take place and Croatia took important steps to exercise their right to vote. A coalition of towards becoming a European democracy. six democratic parties won the elections. Their margin of victory came close to two- Elections thirds of the parliamentary seats, thus al- Due to the bias of numerous influential lowing the new Government to pass con- media that were controlled by the former stitutional changes, which moved Croatia ruling party, HDZ, as well as due to irregu- from a semi-presidential system into a par- larities in the electoral process itself, the liamentary system. previous Croatian elections held in 1995 Following the parliamentary elections, and 1997 could not be considered free and a similar NGO coalition “Glas 2000” with 98 CROATIA the same aim was formed for the presi- between Croats and Serbs at the local lev- dential elections. It urged the candidates to el started appearing. define more clearly their positions on what Yet state television continued to send powers and authorities they would use if numerous programmes on the activities of they were elected President. By forcing the state authorities and the ruling party politi- candidates to take clear positions on this is- cians. The transformation of the Croatian sue, “Glas 2000” contributed to the estab- television from a one-party institution to a lishment of a more parliament-oriented po- public institution has taken much too long. litical system in Croatia. This change en- It took the new authorities six months to tered into force with the constitutional initiate public discussion and to draft a new changes, which were passed by the proposal for the new law on Croatian tele- Parliament on 10 November. vision. The Croatian Helsinki Committee ex- pressed several basic complaints regarding Freedom of Expression and Media the draft proposal of the law. Among other Independent observers agreed that things, it demanded a more precise defini- one of the most important plus points of tion of the role and influence of civil socie- the January elections was the new demo- ty on the editorial policy of the most influ- 2 cratic atmosphere and its impact on the ential media in Croatia. media. They marked the end of a 10-year In April the Croatian Helsinki Commi- autocratic government by the HDZ and its ttee urged that new authorities urgently re- President Franjo Tudjman. During that peri- vise and change all laws used by the for- od, freedom of expression was systemati- mer regime to restrict freedom of expres- cally restricted, and critical journalists were sion and the media, especially provisions of subject to various forms of pressure. The the Penal Code stipulating “verbal offence.” new daily Republika revealed that the close However, the Government failed to abolish circle of President Tudjman held a monop- many such provisions, including those en- oly on almost 80 percent of the media abling hate speech. In addition, the law on market in Croatia, causing a media war be- telecommunications, which had served as tween the two most influential media out- an efficient instrument to give media con- lets. Although the police investigation was cessions to the followers of the HDZ au- still underway as this is being written, this thority was not even discussed. scandal showed clearly three main prob- The Ministry of Internal Affairs rejected lems existing in the Croatian media: secret the requests by Feral Tribune and Nacional and non-transparent media ownership, journalists to open the files compiled by the connections between media, politicians Service for the Protection of the Constitutional and different fractions of the secret servic- Order (SZUP) in recent years for inspection. es, and the manipulation of information. These files were used for political manipula- After some initial hesitation, the first tions by HDZ officials. Sˇime Lucˇin, the new move of the new Government was to dis- Minister of Internal Affairs, rejected the re- miss the rigid HDZ leadership of Croatian quest despite the fact that he had promised state TV (HRT) and to select new execu- to open the SZUP files to all citizens. tives according to their professional merit, Toward the end of 2000, the leaders of not party membership. Following the ap- the six-party ruling coalition became in- pointment of the new leadership, hate creasingly dissatisfied with the media’s in- speech and usual attacks on critics of the tervention in the political scene. Zlatko party in power, the Serb minority and Tomcˇicˇ, President of the Parliament of the NGOs ceased on television. Moreover, tele- Republic of Croatia, said that some media vision programmes with positive messages “want to be beyond the Government and on reconciliation and mutual co-operation to rule the entire political scene” and criti- CROATIA 99 cised them for not being a “very good com- initiated investigation into the sale of news- panion to the new authorities,” for offering papers during the previous Government. irrelevant information and for carrying out The first case was the purchase of 3 investigative journalism. Vecernji list, one of the most influential dai- In late 2000, the Croatian Helsinki ly newspapers in Croatia, by an unknown Committee reported other negative phe- holding company from the Virgin Islands in nomena regarding the media. Although the 1998. However, all the witnesses sum- illegal phone-tapping of journalists was fi- moned to a hearing denied any responsibil- nally stopped, the relationship between ity and connection with the obviously illegal journalists and Secret Services continued. It purchase. According to some newspaper ar- appeared that the Secret Services leaked ticles, leaked tape recordings between for- not necessarily truthful material to certain mer President Tudjman and his closest ad- media outlets in order to defame some visor, Ivic Pasalic, revealed that Pasalic had politicians - which were then spread as facts organised the Vecernji list take-over. - and brought financial profit to the outlets. In order to protect the citizens’ right to The six-year-old case regarding the pri- receive accurate, truthful, objective and vatisation of the most successful daily complete information, the Croatian Helsinki Slobodna Dalmacija also came into focus. Committee initiated a project whose goal is The company was given to HDZ tycoon establishing the office of a Media Ombuds- Miroslav Kutle through illegal activities of man. His /her responsibility would be to the former Government. The Agency for protect citizens from media manipulation Reconstruction and Development, headed as well as journalists against the media by former Prime Minister, Zlatko Matesa owners’ arbitrary decisions. then diverted Slobodna Dalmacija funds for his own use and ultimately brought the Annulment of Restrictive Legal Provisions journal to bankruptcy. Kutle was eventually In April, the Government annulled no- arrested for carrying out illegal business torious Article 18 of the Law on Internal transactions and other criminal activities. Affairs under which the Ministry of the Besides being charged with destroying Interior had the power to decide which in- Slobodna Dalmacija, Kutle will have to an- dividuals would be phone-tapped by the swer charges pressed against him regard- SZUP. Under this provision numerous op- ing illicit business activities pertaining to the position politicians, journalists and other distribution and publishing house Tisak, public figures and private persons had which he also destroyed. Tisak served as a been monitored because they allegedly powerful instrument in the hands of the posed a “danger to the national security.” HDZ. The Government manipulated Tisak On 10 May the Constitutional Court to destroy independent and critically orient- annulled the legal provision that protected ed media trough not giving the profits from the honour and reputation of five highest sales to them. In March 2000 the new state officials: the Presidents of the Government initiated the so-called bank- Republic, Parliament, the Government and ruptcy procedure in Tisak in order to reha- the Supreme and Constitutional Courts. bilitate it financially. Under that provision many independent journalists and publishers had been charged for critical reporting. Dropping Charges against Journalists Charges against journalists were dropped Revision of the Privatisation of Media and their complaints declared admissible. A parliamentary investigative commis- Charges against Davor Butkovic, editor- sion, established by the new Government, in-chief of the independent weekly Globus, 100 CROATIA for allegedly slandering the HDZ were Journalists continued to fall victim to dropped. In his article of May 1996, harassment and maltreatment by unknown Butkovic wrote that the HDZ leadership had perpetrators.4 composed a black list of state enemies and mentioned a few names on the list. Before Freedom of Association and Public the charges were dropped, Butkovic’s Assembly statement was confirmed by Prime Minister According to the Croatian Helsinki Ivica Racan. In the second trial against Committee, the freedom of public expres- Butkovic and his colleague Vlado Vurusic, sion improved significantly after the January criminal proceedings were discontinued elections. In the more open climate the po- because the Ministry of Defence dropped lice were more tolerant towards partici- the charges. pants in demonstrations. However, a few violent incidents were reported during a The Zagreb County Court (as appeals public demonstration of workers of court) rejected the complaint filed by the Zagrepcˇanka in front of the building of the State Prosecutor’s Office against the satiri- Government and some organisers of the cal independent weekly Feral Tribune for demonstrations were still being summoned allegedly slandering former President for interrogation at a police station, but in a Franjo Tudjman. The article was entitled more civilized manner than during the pre- “Bones in the Mixer.” In it, Feral Tribune se- vious years. verely criticised former President Tudjman’s The main problems were the formula- idea of creating a common grave for all the tion of the law on public gathering which persons killed during the Second World prescribed that organisers of a demonstra- War – both victims and perpetrators. The tion had to inform the police about an complaint was considered untenable be- event five days prior to it, and the decision cause Tudjman had died. of the city council of Zagreb that gatherings The Supreme Court of the Republic of were forbidden at the three main public Croatia declared admissible the complaint squares. These provisions allowed the po- by journalists and editors-in-chief of the in- lice to forbid such assemblies of some dependent weekly Nacional about illegal groups “because of formal reasons.” surveillance and phone-tapping of its edito- A new law on associations was being rial staff in 1998. Earlier, two courts had re- drafted in order to enable free gathering of individuals and to decrease the influence of fused to consider the complaint. The the state bodies on the establishing and the Supreme Court ordered the county court to activities of associations. The Ministry of continue proceedings against representa- Justice consulted various NGO experts on le- tives of the Ministry of Interior for illegal gal issues and together with them participat- phone-tapping. ed in several public debates. The Croatian The number of so-called media court Helsinki Committee, in co-operation with trials also decreased: while in 1999 there other NGOs drafted a number of proposals were about one thousand such cases, by for the improvement of the draft law. The the end of November 2000 there had NGOs primarily demand that the State (in been a 5-percent reduction of law cases accordance with European standards) facili- against publishers for compensation for tate the freedom of gathering and activities causing “emotional distress”. Still, the without any restrictions. They also stated that Municipal Court of Zagreb had dealt with registration of the associations should be 143 cases of “verbal offences” against jour- necessary only for the organizations that nalists and editors-in-chief, a “crime” that wish to gain the status of a legal entity but it still existed in the Penal Code. should not be made obligatory. CROATIA 101

Judicial System Misconduct by Law Enforcement The Croatian courts were generally in- Officials efficient, with cases proceeding at a very The Croatian Helsinki Committee slow pace. The right to a fair trial in reason- recorded several serious violations of the able time was frequently violated. The police procedure despite the fact that the longest court proceedings involved labour police apparently made serious efforts to issues. transform themselves into a correct and Since the autumn of 2000, the post of civilised service. It also seemed that the state public prosecutor was vacant, creating number of cases of misconduct decreased additional problems. Also the question of towards the end of the year. the existence of the State Judicial Council The reported misconduct involved mi- remained unresolved. On the positive side, norities, individuals living in war stricken re- some constitutional changes were adopted gions, and, to a significant extent, the Roma which strengthened the independence of population. Also, in Vukovar, the police loo- the courts and increased the power of ked inactively as the returnees took the law courts. into their own hands and forcibly evicted Due to the increase of organised crime, people form their apartments in plain view drug dealing and corruption, the Government of the police. set up the Office for Combating Organised Crime, which should be defined by a law. Conditions in Prisons The Croatian Helsinki Committee was Numerous prisoners contacted the working on two projects regarding the in- Croatian Helsinki Committee and com- dependence of the Croatian judiciary and plained about illegal and abusive behaviour monitoring court procedures with the goal by fellow prisoners or, in some cases, the of assessing the legality of the court proce- prison employees. The Committee estab- dures and the independence of the judici- lished that prisoners’ rights had indeed ary. It also monitored the first criminal pro- been violated: most cases involved physical cedure against a “criminal organization” in and sexual abuse. The fact that aggressive Croatia with 14 defendants accused of prisoners were not isolated from the rest of making profit from selling drugs, money the inmates increased the problem: the laundering and even killing people. The “survival of the fittest” prevailed. Most of families of some defendants had asked the the victims were inmates who in one way Committee to professionally and impartial- or another were different from the rest of ly look into the process taking into account the prison population (e.g. ethnicity) or ex- that there were some complaints regarding pressed differing opinions. the legality of the earlier measures and Prisons often also lacked adequate prison treatment of the defendants. The medical care, good nourishment and satis- County Court of Zagreb decided that be- factory hygiene conditions. cause of security and economic reasons the court proceedings be held in the sport In September, Croatian Helsinki Com- hall of the district prison, a fact which be- mittee activists visited the district prison in ˇ came a major issue. For the first time in the Sibenik after five inmates had brutally tor- Croatian legal history, the institution of the tured a new prisoner. unknown “protected witnesses” and a “re- According to prison guards, in bigger pentant” were involved in the case. How- penal institutions there were cases of or- ever, their role had not been defined in de- ganised corruption inspired by the high au- tail by the Criminal Procedure Code. thorities. Sporadic suicides evidenced the Particularly problematic was the question of potentially traumatic atmosphere in these the protection of witnesses. institutions. 102 CROATIA

Secret Services punishment of xenophobic incidents and Immediately following the two elec- the promotion of inter-religious tolerance. tions, the new Minister of Internal Affairs, A new law on religious communities Sˇime Lucˇin, revealed that to his knowledge was under preparation. The Croatian Helsinki secret services had opened files on 95,000 Committee criticised that the draft law dis- cases during the past decade against indi- tinguished religious communities as “tradi- viduals and groups in Croatia. The fact that tional Christian” and “other religious com- there were nine secret service organiza- munities” and thus violated the constitution- tions in Croatia showed the strength of the ally guaranteed equality of all religious com- repressive apparatus of the Tudjman munities before the law (Article 41 of the regime. Constitution). Moreover, the draft law did not In March the weekly Nacional5 pub- explain why it used the criteria of one hun- lished a series of articles on the activities of dred years of existence of a certain religious the Military Secret Service SIS and other se- community in order to recognise its status as cret services aimed against the Croatian “traditional,” and not the 50-year criteria of- Helsinki Committee, “Glas 99” and other ten used in the legal regulations on many NGO’s and international organizations work- other rights. According to the Committee, ing in Croatia. These activities carried the such a formulation would cause divisions code name “Cameleon” and were officially and pave the way to a policy of discrimina- carried out in 1998. However, the SIS con- tion in the field of, for example, law, policy, fi- tinued the operation and increased its nance and education, and would not help at depth just before the January elections and, all in re-shaping Croatia into a contemporary among other things, infiltrated into “Glas and democratic State. The Committee stated 99” central offices to find information on its that the law should recognise, register and funding by American organizations or finan- guarantee the already existing rights and the cial irregularities of any sort. Finally, after acquired legal personality, which various reli- public concerns raised about the SIS’s oper- gions possessed. Moreover, due to the so- ation, the state prosecutor initiated in May called division into “adopted” and “recog- an inquiry into the death of Darko Jurisˇic´, nised” religious denominations dating back the program co-ordinator of “Glas 99,” who to the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slo- died in a traffic accident on 14 December venians, many religious communities had 1999. The findings of the inquiry were still not been able to register at all although they pending at this writing. However, the early could do that in the Federal People’s Repub- results have clearly shown an incredible de- lic of Yugoslavia after 1945. The Committee gree of infiltration of the secret services in asked that the criteria of historic origin be en- the work of NGO’s and civic initiatives as tirely dismissed as archaic, undemocratic, well as unacceptable encroachments on the unjust and discriminatory. In its opinion, such basic rights of many citizens of Croatia. a criteria was unconstitutional. Furthermore, the secret services had still not undergone a full reform, which would limit Return of Refugees and Displaced their activities to those allowed by law and Persons improve the quality of internal controls of Returnees the secret services. Problems regarding the return of refugees and displaced persons remained Religious Intolerance one of the main human rights concerns. In According to the Croatian Helsinki spite of the fact that the central authorities Committee, the main reason for religious often emphasised their readiness to sup- intolerance could be attributed to inappro- port the programme of return of refugees priate legal regulations. They hindered the to pre-war homes, post-war ethnic animos- CROATIA 103 ity was still wide-spread at the local level, ceeded at a very slow pace. The Croatian and the economic problems and unem- Helsinki Committee regional centre in ployment added to the difficult situation for Vukovar reported that only those Croats the refugees. and Serbs returned who did not have any Since the change of the party in pow- other place to go. At the same time, the er, the entire atmosphere regarding the re- process of Serbs leaving the Danube region turn of the refugees changed to a more continued. positive one. However, returnees still faced The greatest obstacle to the return of serious problems in getting back their right- both Croats and Serbs was lack of employ- ful property. The main obstacle was the ob- ment because the economy of the region struction by the housing commissions to was devastated. The housing commission the whole process and the failure of the lo- did not implement the governmental cal authorities to implement positive deci- “Return Programme” but was even in- sions. volved in cases of forcible evictions. It ad- The situation was very serious in Plasˇki, vised those who could not find accommo- where the housing commission had not re- dation to move into “someone’s empty solved positively one single case of the re- flat” – which led to the prosecutor filing a turn of property although, as of March, 173 complaint and issuing large fines. cases of persons had submitted a request. Additional inter-ethnic tensions in the Danube Region were further inflamed by the published lists of neighbours who had Knin allegedly been accused of war crimes. In According to official data, 15,000 eld- this way thousands of persons were ac- erly Croatian citizens of Serb ethnicity re- cused in an illegal manner, instead of let- turned to the wider area of Knin to their ting the state prosecutors exercise their devastated houses or were accommodated duty. in their relatives’ houses. The Croatian Helsinki Committee believed that the figure Protection of Refugees and Immigrants was exaggerated. According to the In the treatment of refugees – particu- Committee, the most current problem in larly on the local level - ethnicity still played this area was the numerous unresolved re- an important role: no refugees were cared quests for the return of property to their for properly, but non-Croat refugees were rightful owners: only ten percent of proper- particularly discriminated against. Proce- ty had been returned. The Knin housing dures before the administrative bodies, so- commission stated that it had resolved al- cial assistance, medical protection and tem- most 60 percent of the requests, but that porary accommodation were less available figure referred only to cases where the for non-Croats. They did not obtain materi- owner had to pay the temporary user in or- al help in reconstruction and renovation of der to move back into his/her house. their homes and it was almost impossible Returnees with pre-war tenancy rights for Muslim and Serb refugees to find a job. were in the worst possible situation be- Therefore, they often left the country and cause their cases had not been resolved at all in Knin. The issue concerned mostly ur- sought employment abroad. ban Serbs who were forced to wait for their One hundred Croatian citizens of Serb cases to be solved in the Federal Republic ethnicity in the town of Gvozd (Karlovac- of Yugoslavia. Sisak County) sent a petition to the Croatian Helsinki Committee and sought Vukovar help regarding the return to their houses The return of Serbs to the Croatian and apartments. They were embittered and Danube region and the city of Vukovar pro- disillusioned because they had not re- 104 CROATIA ceived their property back after awaiting for ble for most of the crimes, particularly men several years. The Serb houses that were under the command of Serb war criminal, given to Croat settlers for temporary use af- Zˇeljko Razˇnjatovic´ (Arkan), committed cru- ter the military operation “Storm” in many el murders of Croat civilians who lived in cases were not used at all or were given to Dvor. Members of the V Corps slaughtered Croat returnees from Bosnia and Herzego- ten civilians. In Donji Skrad, in the Duga vina. Not a single request by Serbs from Resa municipality, members of the Croatian Gvozd regarding return or renovation of army slaughtered several civilians of Serb their houses was resolved. The greatest ob- ethnicity, who remained in their houses. stacle to the return of Serb property was Some villages were burnt down, for exam- the head of the municipality, Mirko Putric´, ple Paukovac in the territory of Dvor. who demanded that the Serbs first have to The former Government ignored the apologize to Croats before they would deal Helsinki Committee’s reports about the with Serbs. above incidents. The new Government re- opened discussions on this issue and some procedures referring to the former International Humanitarian Law Sector North were reinitiated. In July the Croatian Helsinki Commit- tee published the report Military Operation Protection of Minorities Storm and its Aftermath, Part 2, the Former The January elections brought relief to Sector North. The report was based on the members of minority groups: the atmos- data collected for several years during field phere among the public and in the media investigations in the territory of the former 6 grew more tolerant towards them. The au- UN Sector North. The territory included thorities in all their public appearances em- the former municipalities of Duga Resa, phasised the equal rights of all Croatian cit- Dvor, Glina, Hrvatska Kostajnica, Karlovac, izens regardless of their ethnicity and the Ogulin, Petrinja, Sisak, Slunj, Vrginmost respect of their rights. The Parliament (Gvozd) and Topusko. The Helsinki amended the Law on the Use of Language Committee activists visited 160 villages in and the Letters of Ethnic Minorities and the the area and interviewed about 300 wit- Law on Education and Upbringing. Chan- nesses of the events during and after the ges of the Constitutional Law on Human military operation “Storm” on 4-7 August Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of 1995. The Committee established the Ethnic and National Communities were deaths of 267 but it believed that in total adopted on condition that the authorities in more than three hundred had died. Among the period of six months create a special the 267 civilians who were killed or disap- model of autonomy acceptable for the peared in the above-mentioned region, 76 most numerous ethnic minorities in had died in refugee camps while 191 were Croatia. The November amendments to killed in or disappeared from their houses. the Constitution introduced positive dis- In the region of Glina and Dvor, a great crimination against the minorities regarding number of refugees got killed in cross fire their voting rights: the minority members between the two enemies. Individuals from shall be given one more ballot to vote for the Croatian army units, which were situat- both a candidate in general voting lists and ed in that region, killed numerous people another on the lists of the ethnic minorities. in villages in the Karlovac, Duga Resa, However, at the local level, the ani- Gvozd, Vojnic´, Petrinja and Slunj municipal- mosity towards the Serb and Muslim mi- ities. However, the V Corps of the army of nority members was still common. Roma – Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serb paramil- numbering about 60,000 - faced most in- itary formations were most likely responsi- tolerance and the state authorities tended CROATIA 105 to turn a blind to such cases. Almost 90 journalists said on 9 November in a “satiri- percent of the Roma youth were unem- cal” talk show during his commentary on ployed and forced to support themselves the raising of the level of the river Sava: by performing humiliating work such as “The water wave will flood the Roma set- gathering rubbish, begging, prostitution and tlements down the river.” When asked working on the black market. Only 10 per- where these Roma settlements were, he cent of Roma children attended obligatory replied: “near Jasenovac,” referring to the elementary schools and a minimal number largest Ustasha concentration camp during of Roma attend high schools and universi- WW II where, among other people, thou- ties. In some schools they were subjected sands of Roma were killed. to segregation. On 5 November, the daily Slobodna The school principle of the settlement Dalmacija depicted on its front page a pic- of Strmec near Varazˇdin decided that Roma ture of a parliamentary assembly with a ti- pupils were put into a special department tle: “Among 45 SDP members only four are and had to attend special courses. Catholics.” In the article itself all the SDP In a suburb of Zagreb a restaurant had members of the Parliament and the a sign on its walls saying: ”We do not serve Government were listed according to their drinks to Roma people!” religious conviction. The article ended with the words suggesting that Croatian society A number of physical attacks and as- was threatened by de-Christianisation. saults – particularly by skinheads - against Roma were reported. Social Rights Hate Speech In 2000, the majority of cases the The victory of the democratic opposi- Croatian Helsinki Committee dealt with tion in the January elections did not bring were related to social rights, particularly the the expected more responsible behaviour right to employment, severance pay and regarding minorities on the part of the me- pension, failure to register workers as well dia and various individuals and institutions. as harassment at work and prohibitions on The already notorious promoters of hate joining trade unions. The situation was ag- speech, such as well-known MP Ante gravated by the great number of bankrupt- Djapic´, continued with their threats in pub- cies. The unemployment rate increased by lic speeches directed against Serb minority the end of December to 22.4 percent. members. On Independence Day, Djapic´ Sixty employees of the Zagreb Service publicly told the Serbs of Vukovar: Centre (ZUC) had been illegally employed “…The former authorities may have and worked without working contracts, reg- given you before, or these authorities may istration at social security and pension au- give you hundreds of laws on pardon, hun- thorities. The ZUC employers also commit- dreds of laws on reconstruction, but when ted a whole series of other violations and we come to power, we will show you!”7 criminal acts which were investigated by In May, during a commemoration of a the State Inspectorate, the financial police massacre committed by Ustashas on Serb and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The sit- civilians during WW II in the village of uation of the employees only worsened af- Veljun, near Slunj, Biserka Legradic´ urinated ter the whole process: the executive board on the tombstones of the victims of put serious pressure on those who dared Ustashas. cite irregularities. In the morning programme of an inde- Another large group who sought help pendent radio station in Zagreb, one of the at the Croatian Helsinki Committee were 106 CROATIA refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina According to a research, 49 percent of men who had become Croatian citizens while and 35 percent of women agreed that “a they obtained their rights to pension in woman’s place was primarily at home.”9 Bosnia. Their pensions were paid by the According to the same research mothers Croatian Pension Fund until an inter-state spent 90 percent of their free time doing agreement was signed between Croatia something for the family, and only 2 per- and Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding so- cent for themselves. Economic depend- cial and pension insurance. After that, they ence influenced decision-making within the had not received any payments.8 family. Some 86 percent of Croatian women Women’s Rights were very or quite interested in politics, a figure which surpassed the interest of the The Croatian legislation did not contain average man in Europe. However, wo- any provisions to define or punish discrim- men’s interest in politics extended well be- ination against women although Croatia rat- yond their real political participation: in the ified the Convention on the Elimination of House of Representatives, only 21 of the All Forms of Discrimination Against Women representatives were women. From the (CEDAW) in 1992. In principle, it was legal- members of Government, there were 13 ly possible to file a complaint of gender- percent women.10 based discrimination against anyone, but it The Criminal Code did not specify vio- was very difficult to enforce it in practice. lence within the family and the law stipulat- Women’s unemployment was one of ed it as a criminal act of violence in general. the most serious concerns, especially of A criminal procedure could be initiated women aged between 40 and 50. Single through a private complaint, or as a distur- mothers were in a particularly bad situation. bance of public order and peace. In prac- Nearly 32 percent of women had looked tice, the majority of women did not seek for a job for over two years, the vast major- police protection out of fear or because ity of them being over 45. In addition, em- they could not afford the costs of legal pro- ployers were reluctant to hire women be- ceedings. Violent behaviour was punishable cause of their right to maternity leave. by a maximum of 30 days imprisonment.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Annual report 2000 of the Croatian Helsinki Committee. 2 For details, see the Croatian Helsinki Committee demands regarding a Draft Law on HTV, June 14,2000 3 Novi list, 20 May 2000. 4 The Croatian Helsinki Committee Statement No. 124 on physical attack on journalist Goran Flauder, 28 September 2000. 5 16, 23 and 30 March 2000. 6 It represented a follow-up of the previous report (former Sector South), which was pub- lished in April 1999. 7 The Croatian Helsinki Committee Statement No. 119, 1 June, 2000. 8 The Croatian Helsinki Committee Statement No. 113, 19 January, 2000. 9 Inga Tomic´-Koludrovic´ and Suzana Kunac, Risks of modernization; Women in Croatia in ‘90’s, March 2000. 10 Women’s Informing Office, (Zˇenska infoteka) “Risks of Modernization: Women and Elections 1999,” 1999. CZECH REPUBLIC1 107

Police conduct towards demonstrators during the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meeting was not always appropriate. © Jana Chrzova

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of the media; torture, ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in prisons and detention facilities; protection of eth- nic minorities; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; restitution; women’s rights; rights of the child.

Towards the end of 2001, the protest law on the restitution of property confiscated uproar by the Czech public television staff - during the Communist era. triggered by a politically motivated appoint- ment of new directors - also highlighted the Freedom of the Media need for new legislation on the public me- The end of the year 2000 was marked dia. Police conduct during the International by protests and sit-ins organized by the re- Monetary Fond (IMF) and World Bank porters and other staff of Czech state-run meetings in Prague revealed persisting in- television against the newly appointed gen- adequacies in Czech policing. Czech pris- eral director and his team. Their main ob- ons were overcrowded due, for example, to jection was that the nomination had been outdated sentencing policies and the virtu- rushed, illegitimate and - most importantly ally non-existent rehabilitation of prisoners – decided under political influence and into society. pressure. This case led to a discussion Other human rights concerns were relat- about the role of the public media and their ed to the new Residence of Aliens Act, which independence from political parties and had an adverse effect on long-term aliens liv- other influential bodies or persons. ing in the Czech Republic and children of for- The developments at the television sta- eigners born in that country; the protection of tion carried over into 2001, when the the Roma minority and the problems they Parliament began discussing a new law on faced upon returning home following unsuc- public Czech television and amendments cessful asylum claims; and the inadequate to the law regulating the Czech Broadcas- 108 CZECH REPUBLIC ting Council. The Czech Helsinki Commit- embassies about the arrest of foreign citi- tee has issued a detailed expert opinion on zens in due course. both pieces of legislation. The Czech Helsinki Committee visited eight foreign demonstrators held in the Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct prison of Pankrac, accused either of vio- by Law Enforcement Officials lence against public officials or damaging In autumn 2000, the police forces property. All of them claimed that they had faced a significant test when charged with been denied access to legal counsel, the the task of securing public order during the telephone, and interpreters until the judge meetings of the International Monetary decided they were to be taken into cus- Fund and the World Bank in Prague. Accor- tody. Many said they were forcibly strip- ding to the Czech Helsinki Committee, they searched, photographed and had their fin- generally stood the test and handled the gerprints taken. The demonstrators all men- situation in a professional manner by using tioned that the police had treated them suitable tactics and adequate means. roughly; and four claimed that they had However, the arrest and other police been beaten or otherwise ill-treated and procedures following the apprehension of humiliated. Two persons said that it ap- some protesters during the IMF/World peared that demonstrators from the East Bank meetings in Prague violated concrete were more brutally treated than Wester- human rights. The police and prison per- ners. Five persons claimed they had been sonnel ill-treated detainees, insulted them hosed with freezing cold water upon their verbally and physically, humiliated them, arrival in the prison. and (in Prague-Pancrác) sprayed groups of people with chilled water from a water can- According to results available at the non. All of this allegedly happened in police time of writing, the Police Presidium and stations and prisons. the Ministry of Interior concluded that an Individuals filed hundreds of com- overwhelming majority of complaints were plaints and initiated several charges against unjustified: only four complaints were police officers who had allegedly resorted found to be justified and not a single police to misconduct. Upon being taken to a de- officer has been charged with committing a tention facility, the arrestees were strip- criminal act. The Czech Helsinki Committee searched and their fingerprints were taken. stated that there were well-grounded rea- Some were beaten or otherwise ill-treated sons for questioning this assessment. and insulted, and were not informed of About 55-60 percent of Czech citizens their rights. The cells were often cold and said they trusted the police force, a figure overcrowded and arrested persons only that represented the strongest public sup- had restricted access to the toilet. Many port for the police following the “velvet rev- persons received food only after 24 hours. olution” in 1989. There were incidents of delayed access to Regrettably, there was no progress in medical care for which the arrestees were the legislative work on the new Police Act sometimes asked to pay. Some detainees and it was not expected to be adopted in were severely wounded, and many of their 2001. The purpose of the Act is to harmo- cameras and films were damaged. nize Czech police legislation with EU stan- Arrestees’ hands were often tied for sever- dards. al hours and they were asked to sign The quality of management and hu- Czech-language documents that they did man resources policy in the Ministry of not understand. Some claimed that they Interior, which were criticized in previous were held outdoors overnight freezing. In years (particularly in relation to the police many cases the police failed to inform the structure), did not improve markedly in CZECH REPUBLIC 109

2000: there were only insignificant third of all prisoners broke out in January. changes concerning the system. In particu- Similar situations occurred on a smaller lar, the foreign and border police force as scale later in spring 2000. The revolts were well as the traffic police had considerable halted without violence. problems with corruption and the improper Respect for human rights in prisons conduct of their members. was closely linked to the policies of prison Gradual initial improvements were personnel. In 2000, capable persons with made towards a more open policing sys- both excellent theoretical and practical ex- tem, in the police management and the perience and known for their humane atti- education of police officers, the promotion tudes were appointed to important posts, of the police work as a service for citizens including the General Director of the as well as the training of police newcomers. General Directorate of the Prison Service. These improvements could be partly attrib- For several years the main problem re- uted to intensive educational activities pur- lated to prisons has been overcrowding sued by the Czech Helsinki Committee in and the high proportional prisoner rate in the police academy and in police training the Czech Republic. These problems could colleges. be attributed to the fact that imprisonment was overused as a punishment; most sen- Conditions in Prisons and Detention tences were excessive; available alternative Facilities punishments and proceedings were basi- The year 2000 was characterized by a cally not used; there was no efficient pre- number of major events and changes in vention of criminality; and released inmates the prison system, including new prison could not reintegrate into society because regulations, the January and April prison of poor rehabilitation – a fact that led to a commotions and instructions by the new high recidivist rate. These problems lie to a General Director of the prison service not great extent outside the prison system, i.e. to take new inmates who were sentenced in the operation of the courts and in the to less than two years in prison. poor quality work done at the local level In addition, the events connected to such as the district offices and municipal the meeting of the IMF and the World Bank authorities. highlighted some problems related to the As of 23 March, the General Director of prison system and the treatment of in- the prison service instructed prisons to stop mates and detainees. taking individuals sentenced to imprison- The basic problems in prisons included ment for two months unless at least two overcrowding, unemployment, poor hygien- years of the sentence was suspended. This ic and physical conditions, inadequate med- was done due to an acute shortage of ac- ical care, as well as a lack of leisure and ed- commodation capacities in prisons. This ucational activities. There was also a short- decision, following years of warnings by ex- age of educators and the financial manage- perts, was a clear signal to public bodies ment by the State left much to be desired. that they could not close their eyes to the Prison rules were tightened in some possible collapse of the prison system. In respects, and the right to use one’s own 2000, the number of prisoners started to money was restricted for prisoners with decrease slowly and as a result of the step debts related to the criminal act they had taken by the General Director of the prison committed and the sentence they were service, it appeared that some public bod- serving. Also, prisoners were only allowed ies began putting parts of long needed to receive two parcels a year. As a result of criminal policy reforms into practice. these limitations tension in the prisons The Czech Helsinki Committee pro- grew to the extent of revolt: nearly one posed to the Czech authorities, for example, 110 CZECH REPUBLIC building an infrastructure for a system of al- The eviction of Roma from their apart- ternative punishments and surveillance for ments because of their failure to pay rent released individuals. The aim of this pro- was becoming a serious problem. Although posal was to reduce the period of detention the procedure was in accordance with to better match the seriousness of the crim- Czech law, such measures were short sight- inal act and to decrease the maximum term ed because these people ranked among of detention. The Czech Helsinki Com- the poorest in society and were not able to mittee also urged the courts to grant bail on ensure housing for themselves on their a more regular basis. The Helsinki own. The Czech Helsinki Committee noted Committee further proposed that the au- that timely social support was necessary to thorities should consider the interests of the prevent Roma from ending up on the injured party more closely by adopting ap- streets. propriate legislation, allowing for accelerat- Czech legislation prohibited discrimina- ed proceedings in cases of petty crimes, en- tion in employment - in accordance with in- suring that the property of the prison serv- ternational standards - and punished it ac- ice is managed properly and that the build- cordingly. The state employment agency ings and premises of the prisons are fully was authorized to impose sanctions on utilized. The Committee also supported in- employers who resorted to discrimination. creased employment for prisoners and the In the experience of the Czech Helsinki promotion of economic and entrepreneurial Committee, the agencies were unable to activities by prisons, and noted that the effectively combat situations where em- General Directorate of the prison should be ployers refused to hire Roma and employ- consulted about all legal measures con- ment problems persisted. cerning prisons and that the prisons should A company refused to hire a Roma be provided with an adequate number of woman clearly because of her ethnic origin. educators, psychologists and social workers. She complained to the employment agency but was informed that the employ- Protection of Ethnic Minorities er was free to choose whom he/she want- Roma Minority ed to hire. It was estimated that approximately Nevertheless, a sign of hope for im- 6,000 Czech Roma were a part of asylum proving the racist atmosphere in the Czech procedures in various European countries Republic was the signing of Protocol No. 12 as of the end of 2000. However, their to the ECHR, the application of which could chances of obtaining asylum were minimal force the public administrative bodies to and they were expected to return to the combat racism more consistently. Czech Republic. Their arrival was expected to pose an unsolvable problem for some small municipalities in trying to ensure the Protection of Asylum Seekers and re-integration of returning Roma into the lo- Immigrants cal community. The Act on the Residence of Aliens As housing management was entirely (No. 326/1999 Coll.), which came into the responsibility of a local community, force on 1 January, adversely affected the there was some segregation of the Roma situation of aliens. According to the initia- in certain parts of towns, with the result tors of the bill and the legislators, the Act that modern ghettos were emerging. Some was intended to be adapted to similar pro- municipal board members openly ex- visions valid in the EU; to minimize illegal pressed their racist opinions about Roma, migration; and to protect the labour market saying, for example, that they will “kick bearing in mind the high unemployment them out of town.” rate in the Czech Republic. CZECH REPUBLIC 111

However, it seemed that the drafters of charity, whose network was still almost the Act drew inspiration mainly from the non-existent in the Czech Republic, or were restrictive part of European legislation and compelled to make a living illegally. disregarded the more humanistic elements The costs for all forms of visas and res- of European law and individual national idence permits were considerable. In addi- legislation, which counter-balanced the re- tion, an individual wanting to invite a for- strictive elements. Moreover, some of the eigner to stay in the Czech Republic had to provisions of the Act conflicted with the pay a high sum to guarantee the coverage Principles of the Plan of Integrating Aliens of the visitor’s possible expenses. Such re- on the Territory of the Czech Republic. quirements were discriminatory as they The Act put many aliens who had set- favoured wealthy visitors. The requirement tled in the Czech Republic during the pre- to pay medical insurance for the entire pe- vious years in legal limbo. Pursuant to riod of a visit, for which a visa was required Section 183(5), the period of residence for if exceeding 90 days, were especially dis- individuals who had lived in Czech territory criminatory, since the cost for foreigners for a long time under the earlier regulations was comparably higher than for Czech citi- was not counted in the 10-year (or, in zens. For foreigners applying for a perma- some cases 8-year) period required for ob- nent residence permit or for a prolongation taining a permanent residence permit. thereof, it was not possible to document fi- Therefore, the Act actually gave these indi- nancial status with an income certificate. viduals the status of newcomers and de- Positive developments could be seen nied their own role in integration and the though in the Government’s policy on inte- benefits they had brought to Czech society. gration of foreigners into Czech society and The important issue of legalizing the in the activities of the Commission of the residence of aliens’ children born in the Interior Ministry. The Commission was set Czech Republic remained unsolved. A new- up to implement the principles adopted by born child was entitled to a visa for 90 the Government and the activities of the days, but he/she would have to apply for a Council for Human Rights, and its section permanent residence permit through a specialized in aliens’ rights. There were also Czech embassy abroad. The effects of hav- some positive long-term plans, but the ing different requirements for members of Czech policy on foreigners simultaneously one family gave rise to considerable nega- failed to apply the principle of equal human tive social consequences. Even children rights of citizens and aliens. The Czech who had reached the age of 15 during their Helsinki Committee stated that it expected residence in the Czech Republic faced more positive developments in the field of problems legalizing their visa-based resi- aliens’ rights as soon as the Aliens’ dence exceeding 90 days because they Residence Act comes into force on 1 were required to have their own separate February 2001. However, it appeared that passports. However, many embassies re- discussion of this amendment in the fused to issue passports to them. Parliament would be delayed. Section 35 of the Act provided resi- dence visas in specifically defined cases. In Restitution some cases, this visa ensured payment of Since 1990, a number of laws have a part of medical care expenses. Neither been adopted on the restitution of proper- the Aliens Act nor the Employment Act pro- ty that was confiscated by the vided for a possibility of work for those Czechoslovak State until 1989. The basic possessing a residence visa. According to idea of the newly adopted legislation was the law, these people were not entitled to to provide for compensation for at least any social benefits and either had to rely on some of the violations of property rights 112 CZECH REPUBLIC committed by the Communist regime be- often been pending in court for eight to ten tween 25 February 1948 and November years without a decision. Moreover, even af- 1989 against both natural and some legal ter decisions were passed, some people still entities (e.g. associations, churches, the had to wait a few more years until their Jewish community). However, the com- property was actually physically returned to pensation was intended to concern only them. The restitution of land or agricultural some violations of property rights. property that was owned by so-called agri- The very idea of providing compensa- cultural co-operative during the Communist tion for only certain forms of property rights era was particularly problematic. This proper- violations was controversial in itself and ty was now in danger of being literally stolen was the main reason why the European through a transfer to other legal bodies. Court of Human Rights declared the cases Church property remained a complex inadmissible. In particular, persons who and specific issue, and the Roman Catholic had been deprived of property such as Church was particularly affected. houses, apartments, movable property or farms, agricultural land and agricultural Women’s Rights stock or equipment felt at a disadvantage Discrimination against women re- by the wording of the law. If they wanted to mained a problem in the Czech Republic, file a claim, many of them had to bring the particularly in the labour market. When be- case to court and satisfy the burden of ing interviewed for a job, women were of- proof: for example, they had to prove that ten asked about their age, marital status, the current owner (or a series of owners if number of children and their ages and the property had been re-sold since the even about who would care for the chil- confiscation) had obtained the property at dren if they fell ill. These practices all variance with the then valid laws, or that breached Article 11 of the Convention on he/she had been illegally given preferential Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination conditions – all facts that were difficult or against Women, according to which a impossible to prove simply because much woman is entitled to equal opportunities in of the documentation had been destroyed. employment, including being subject to the Persons who had been living abroad for same selection criteria for employment as years were in a particularly difficult position men. since it was often impossible for them to In the second half of 2000, the Czech provide the court with all the relevant doc- Helsinki Committee, together with other umentation. partner organisations, started to implement In some cases, persons who were sen- a project entitled ”Equal Opportunities in tenced for illegal emigration during the the Labour Market,” which was funded by Communist regime and had their property the European Commission. Within the proj- confiscated as part of the sentence, have ect, the Committee will undertake to inves- been rehabilitated but their property has tigate the valid legal regulations and moni- not been returned because they are unable tor every-day practice. The main activity to provide the court with the relevant doc- shall be to provide women with legal con- uments. sultation in individual cases in which the In addition, the restitution laws only principle of equal opportunities is violated. concern Czech citizens, a fact that excludes In May, an extensive amendment to anyone who left the country and acquired the Labour Code was adopted, which, inter the citizenship of their new host country alia, explicitly prohibits discrimination from receiving restitution. against employees on the basis of gender, The length of legal proceedings was an marital and family status or obligations to- additional problem. Restitution cases have wards the family, and also prohibits sexual CZECH REPUBLIC 113 harassment in the workplace. This amend- sary information. Section 8 of the Act on ment came into effect on 1 January 2001. Socio-Legal Protection of the Child provid- ed that a child who was able to formulate Rights of the Child his/her own opinions was entitled to re- spect for his/her opinions. A child had the In 2000, the Czech Helsinki Commit- right to express these opinions freely when tee recorded several specific cases in which matters concerning him/her were dis- the rights of children were violated. There cussed, including in the absence of parents was a marked reluctance on behalf of or other individuals responsible for the ed- some judges to apply the minimal applica- ucation of the child. tion of the provision of Section 178 of the The Czech Helsinki Committee stated Civil Procedure Code, which provided that that due attention must be paid to a child’s a court of law - if it deemed necessary - statements in correspondence with the age could hear a child’s opinion on the suitabil- and intellectual maturity of the child. The ity and usefulness of the proposed or in- Committee noted that it seemed that the tended measures concerning him/her. This application of this provision was inhibited practice violated Article 12 of the by the insufficient professional skills of Convention on the Rights of the Child, judges, who chose to have the children in- which provides for a child’s right to express terviewed by psychologists or social work- his/her opinion freely on all matters con- ers. However, these experts were not as in- cerning him/her. It is also a breach of the dependent as judges, and individuals in- Family Act, Section 31(3) of which provid- volved in a dispute often exerted pressure ed that a child has the right to be heard on them. The Helsinki Committee suggest- and to freely express his/her opinions on ed that the Ministry of Justice eliminate all parents’ decisions on material matters shortcomings, such as those mentioned concerning the child in any proceedings, as above, by organizing specialized profes- well as a child’s right to receive any neces- sional seminars for judges.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Annual Report 2000 of the Czech Helsinki Committee. 114 DENMARK1

IHF FOCUS: Human rights safeguards; the judicial system; fair and public trial; prisoners’ rights; the right to privacy; xenophobia and racial discrimination; protec- tion of indigenous peoples; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants.

The UN Committee on Human Rights dards. According to the Danish Centre for commended Denmark in 2000 for main- Human Rights, Denmark violated Article taining a high level of respect for human 14(5) of the ECHR through its lack of ac- rights generally, and for upholding its obliga- cess to a higher court to review a verdict by tions under the ICCPR. The conclusions not- a jury court on the question of guilt. ed Denmark’s efforts to educate its popula- Denmark had decided that this provision tion - and in particular to train the police - in was not binding. In addition, the Danish human rights observation; and the fact that system did not provide for the possibility to Denmark had changed the rules and prac- allow the review of criminal cases in which tices on the use of police dogs in crowd con- minor fines had been imposed by the trol. The Committee also noted with appre- courts. The judges, however, held a discre- ciation Denmark’s new rules on the exami- tionary power to dismiss a verdict if they nation of complaints concerning the police.2 found that the question of guilt had not In addition, the UN Committee noted the been sufficiently proved. The Supreme high level of respect for gender equality in Court could only set aside a guilty verdict Denmark, and the measures taken to achieve citing procedural defects, on the condition full equality where it had remained deficient. that the outcome of the case would have At the same time, the Committee expressed been different had the procedural defects concern that there remained areas of discrim- not been established. ination against women, notably in respect of employment in the public and private sectors, Fair and Public Trial and in applications for asylum. Furthermore, Section 747(1) of the Administration the Committee expressed grave concern of Justice Act envisaged that witnesses about the extended use of solitary confine- could be questioned in a court hearing pri- ment, particularly in cases of persons awaiting or to the actual trial if there was a risk that trial, and problems related to the legal status the witnesses could be exposed to vio- of asylum seekers and immigrants. lence, threats or other forms of pressure, or if the witnesses were being cross-examined Human Rights Safeguards during the trial (so-called anticipatory evi- The UN Committee on Human Rights dence). The authorities did not see any rea- noted that Denmark had set up a body to son to amend this provision, citing the consider the incorporation of several hu- need to protect witnesses. In addition, the man rights treaties into domestic law, in- Ministry of Justice could ask the Public cluding the ICCPR, and encouraged this Prosecutor to urge the police and the pros- body to take any steps necessary to ensure ecution service to apply anticipatory evi- that all the rights under the Covenant dence to “the greatest possible extent inso- would be fully protected under Danish law. far as the circumstances of the individual The Committee, however, remained disap- cases allow such a procedure.” pointed that Denmark had not withdrawn According to the Danish Centre for any of its reservations to the ICCPR. Human Rights, if the practice were to be used “to the greatest possible extent,” it Judicial System could violate Article 6 of the ECHR, unless The Danish judicial system was not the right of the witness to be protected was completely in line with European stan- carefully weighed against the defendant’s DENMARK 115 right to fair trial, including the right to cross- Furthermore, the May 2000 Law on the examine the witness. Execution of Sentences vested the prison According to section 32 of the Act, the administration with the right to transfer presiding judge had the right to deny par- “strong” prisoners to another institution sole- ticular groups of people access to a public ly on the basis of their belonging to a group hearing. This provision could contravene that potentially might infringe the rights of the prohibition against discrimination set other inmates. This right was questionable forth in Article 14 of the ECHR, which stip- because the normal conditions in which pris- ulates that the right to attend a public trial oners served their sentences could be should be secured without discrimination changed in such a way that they could lose on any grounds, such as sex, race, colour, contact to their families if they were trans- language, etc. ferred to a location far from their homes; thus violating their right to family life. Prisoners’ Rights Section 37(3) of the same law allowed Several international institutions criti- a prison director to go through various cised the Danish practice of solitary con- magazines produced by inmates prior to finement that was used to isolate prisoners publication and to ban articles “provided if there was a certain risk of obstruction of reasons of security necessitate such meas- investigation of the crime (e.g. through ures or the contents constitute a gross of- threatening witnesses or destroying eviden- fence against other individuals.” Moreover, ce). The maximum period was eight weeks, Section 59(2) restricted inmates’ rights to or even longer if the offence was punish- contact the media “due to the prevention able by at least six years’ imprisonment. of disorder or for reasons of security in or- Moreover, solitary confinement was used der to protect the injured party or to hinder almost automatically in some cases, with- an apparent violation of the general sense out public authorities being able to justify of justice.” Both provisions contradicted this on the grounds of the specific circum- Article 10 of the ECHR, which stipulates stances. In May 2000 Parliament passed a that no public interference with the right of law that intended to diminish the use of freedom of expression may be made, un- solitary confinement by extending the con- less prescribed by law and “necessary in a ditions for it, and limiting the maximum pe- democratic society,” in accordance with riod of isolation to three months. The limi- several explicit conditions. It was doubtful tations did not apply to the most serious whether the Danish provisions and their crimes. According to the Danish Centre for implementation fulfilled these conditions. Human Rights, it was doubtful whether this Sections 55 and 57 of the law limited proposal would reduce the use of solitary the inmates’ right to privacy by restricting confinement to a reasonable level. In its October 2000 comments, the their right to engage in correspondence UN Committee on Human Rights voiced and telephone conversations due to “the particular concern about the extended use prevention of disorder or for reasons of se- of solitary confinement for prisoners and curity or to protect the injured party.” especially for those detained prior to trial. According to the ECHR, such limitations are The Committee emphasised that solitary allowed if it is “necessary in a democratic confinement was a harsh penalty with seri- society.” The “prevention of disorder” hard- ous psychological consequences and was ly fulfilled this prerequisite. justifiable only in cases of urgent need, and On the basis of Articles 68 and 69 of that the use of solitary confinement other the Danish Penal Code, probation granted than in exceptional circumstances and for on condition of mental or psychiatric treat- limited periods was inconsistent with Article ment could, for a minor offence, in princi- 10(1) of the ICCPR.3 ple lead to “indefinite” or several years of 116 DENMARK imprisonment. A court could sentence a tered. Article 8(c) provides for the opportu- person to treatment in a psychiatric facility nity to have his/her data corrected or delet- or similar institution if the crime could be ed if processed in contravention with the ascribed to mental illness. On these relevant provisions in national legislation. A grounds, the person had to remain de- law on data protection passed in May 2000 tained for an indefinite period of time until gave everyone the right to be familiarised the court found that he/she could be re- with his/her own registration, but not to leased. Probation on condition of men- have it amended or deleted. tal/psychiatric treatment under those provi- sions was not interpreted as a sanction, but Administration of Justice Act as “other measures”. The court does not The possibilities for the police to inves- have to assess whether the length of treat- tigate serious crimes, including organised ment was proportionate to the gravity of crime, were to be strengthened through the crime. A law passed in May 2000 re- amendments to the Administration of quired the prosecution to ascertain Justice Act in 1997. However, whether the whether such measures were not endured new Section 799 complied with Article for an excessive period. 8(2) of the ECHR remained questionable. Section 799 provided the police with Right to Privacy the right to undertake a search against a Access to the Central Criminal Register private individual without informing the The lack of access to personal informa- concerned persons about the search in ad- tion contained in the Central Criminal Law vance. In the explanatory notes of the law, Register (Det Centrale Kriminalregister) the Ministry of Justice stated that such was not consistent with Article 8 of the Con- searches would be one of the pillars of po- vention on the Protection of Individuals with lice investigation. Furthermore, the Ministry Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal described searches of this nature as less in- Data (EPDC). The register, administered by vasive for the individual than tapping rooms the police and the prosecution, was com- or telephones, which were mentioned as prised of a central database for criminal alternative means. convictions, rulings, etc., as well as inves- However, according to Article 8(2) of tigative data in relation to criminal cases. the ECHR, the interference must be Until February 1999, the appendices deemed necessary in the sense that the concerning the scope and deletion of data objective of the operation could not be met in the register were kept secret. At the re- by less intrusive measures. Doubt re- quest of a task force set up by the Ministry mained as to whether these conditions of Justice, they were published by the were always fulfilled in practice. Ministry. At the same time, however, the task force recommended that individuals Xenophobia and Racial still be denied access to information on the Discrimination specific scope of their personal data in the investigations register. It was nevertheless In its October 2000 recommendations, recommended that each individual have the UN Committee on Human Rights wel- access to the basic information regardless comed the amendment of the Danish or whether he/she was registered. Criminal Code to prohibit advocacy of na- However, Article 8(b) of the EPDC stip- tional or racial hatred. However, it regretted ulates that everyone must be given the that it had received reports of discrimina- possibility on a regular basis to obtain tion against ethnic minorities and possible some sort of confirmation as to whether or inequality between national Evangelic not his/her personal data has been regis- Lutheran Church members and members DENMARK 117 of other religions, and between members Greenlandic. At the same time, it regretted of religions and non-believers, in respect of the delay in resolving the claim for com- financial subventions, educational costs, pensation by the members of the Thule and special taxes.4 community in Greenland in respect of their displacement from their lands and the loss CERD Concerns5 of traditional hunting rights on account of On 23 March, the UN Committee on the construction of the military base at the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Thule.6 The Committee expressed concern (CERD) adopted its concluding observa- about reports that the alleged victims in the tions and recommendations on the Thule case were pressured to reduce the Denmark report. amount of their claim in order to meet the The CERD expressed concern about the limitations set in legal aid requirements.7 activities of organizations promoting racial hatred and discrimination, particularly in re- Protection of Asylum Seekers and lation to a radio station owned by a neo-Nazi Immigrants association whose license was renewed by the Ministry of Culture. The radio station also Denmark did not live up to its human benefited from government financing. rights commitments in the field of political The CERD suggested that the sanctions asylum and immigration. Recent legislative provided for under the Criminal Code be measures impaired the legal status of asy- applied proportionally to the nature of the lum seekers and immigrants, making it un- related crime, amid concerns that grave likely for them to seek asylum during their acts of racism were only lightly punished. stay in Denmark. The CERD was particularly concerned According to the Danish Centre for about the high unemployment among for- Human Rights, there were two recent and eigners and their access to employment, worrisome legislative measures regarding and recommended that Danish authorities asylum and immigration: drafting the rules take all effective measures to reduce unem- in such a way that authorities’ decisions ployment among foreigners and facilitate the could violate one or more of the rights of integration of people belonging to ethnic mi- asylum seekers or immigrants, and by rush- norities in the public administration. ing through legislative amendments, mak- The CERD reiterated that the Conven- ing them incoherent. Moreover, the rush in tion on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial the legislative process meant, inter alia, Discrimination ought to be widely dis- that there was not enough time to consid- seminated throughout sectors of society in er alternative models, a tendency that Denmark, and that the public be informed could result in problems with human rights about the remedies available under Article standards. The legislation in general be- 14 of the Convention. Further, the Com- came less predictable and gave wide dis- mittee recommended that the Convention cretionary powers to the administration. be translated into the Greenlandic language. The Kosovo Emergency Act Protection of Indigenous Peoples The 1999 Kosovo Emergency Act most In October 2000 the UN Committee likely constituted a violation of the Geneva on Human Rights commended Denmark Convention. According to the Convention, for developments in providing legal training Kosovo Albanians should have enjoyed al- in Greenland, in promoting Greenland’s fi- most the same rights as ordinary asylum nancial independence, in supporting seekers during their stay in Denmark. Greenland Houses in Denmark, and the ini- However, both displaced persons from tiative in translating the ICCPR into Kosovo and spontaneous asylum seekers 118 DENMARK were granted temporary asylum in ment should be reviewed during the parlia- Denmark in a procedure not provided for mentary session 1998-1999. This was by the Immigration Act. Therefore, applica- done and the arrangement was institution- tions for asylum from persons who were alised by removing the reviewed provision granted residence permits under the from the Act. Kosovo Emergency Act were not consid- ered at all for a period of two years. In this Right to Choose Place of Residence way, Kosovo Albanians were deprived of When granting refugee status the the rights (e.g. employment, social security Danish Immigration Service decided benefits, housing, the right to freedom of (based on Section 10(1) of the Integration movement, etc.) prescribed by the Geneva Act) which municipality the refugee was to Convention for an interim period of up to reside in. The referral was effected on the two years, until they could formally be basis of municipal quotas, personal rela- recognised as refugees. tionships of the refugees, and specific con- ditions in the municipality. Arrest or Detention This practice constituted a violation of Section 36(1) of the Immigration Act Article 26 of the Geneva Convention, which provided for the arrest or detention of an stipulates that the State must give refugees asylum seeker if his/her application for res- the right to choose a place of residence on idence had been considered under the their own. In addition, Article 2 of Protocol “clearly unfounded” procedure, in pur- No. 4 of the ECHR and Article 12(1) of the suance of Section 53a(3). According to this ICCPR stipulate that everyone lawfully re- provision, “it is necessary to ensure the siding within the territory of a State enjoys presence of the immigrant while the asylum the right to liberty of movement and free- case is pending.” This section was adopted dom to choose one’s place of residence. in 1995, allegedly in order to legalise a po- In its August meeting, the CERD also lice practice of arresting or detaining young expressed concern that decisions regarding men, originating from countries in the Baltic housing quotas for newly arrived refugees States, Eastern and Central Europe (i.e. the violated the International Convention on so-called catalogue countries), upon their the Elimination of All Forms of Racial submission of an asylum application. In the Discrimination.8 travaux preparatories of the Act, it was stip- ulated that “both the Ministry of the Interior Family Reunification and the police shared the opinion that de- Some provisions of the Integration Act tention or arrest was a necessary precondi- constituted a violation of the right to family tion for securing the presence of the con- life. Section 9(1)(ii) para d. made family re- cerned person during the hearing and adju- unification for the person residing in dication of the cases.” Further, it was stipu- Denmark conditional upon having had a lated that the provision referred to immi- permanent residence permit for at least the grants “against whom measures for depor- past last three years. Together with the con- tation are taken.” The purpose of the Act ditions that were to be fulfilled before a was to process cases in less than a week, to person could be granted an indefinite resi- prevent criminal offences and unrest in dence permit, this could amount to a viola- refugee centres, and to “discourage” poten- tion of Article 8 of the ECHR. One such tial asylum seekers from the “catalogue condition was whether the refugee had an countries” with clearly unfounded cases outstanding debt to public authorities of from applying for asylum in Denmark. more than DKK 50,000 (U.S.$ 5,740) – a At the same time, a provision was in- condition that seemed questionable when corporated that stipulated that this arrange- weighed against the right to family life. DENMARK 119

Another problematic area included liberty of movement enshrined in Article 2 “sham relations” and arranged marriages. A of Protocol No. 4 to the ECHR, which stip- foreign partner could not be granted a res- ulates that a condition for such measures idence permit if there was reason to be- must be necessary in the interest of na- lieve that the overall purpose of the rela- tional security or public safety, for the main- tionship was to apply for a residence per- tenance of public order and similar mit (Section 9(9) of the Immigration Act). grounds. With the adoption of section 40b However, there was a risk that family reuni- it became admissible to take a photo of an fication was refused due to assumptions immigrant insofar as the police believed despite the fact that the provision stipulat- that such measures were desirable in rela- ed that such a decision must be based on tion to identification and the issuing of the “specific facts” of the case. The Act identity or travel documents. Moreover, failed to recognise that arranged marriages section 40c gave public authorities the right are a part of many cultures and do not nec- to apply DNA analyses in cases concerning essarily mean that consent was given un- family reunification in order to facilitate the der duress. determination of family relations if these were not sufficiently documented. Control Mechanisms Both of the above measures could Since 1996, there has been an in- creasing number of asylum applications constitute a violation of basic rights, from persons whose identity and/or route amounting to an invasion of the right to pri- to Denmark cannot be established. In order vacy: Article 8(2) of the ECHR stipulates to prevent the misuse of the rules and con- that interference in privacy can only be ex- ditions for granting asylum in Denmark, the ercised if necessary in the interests of na- Parliament adopted new provisions to the tional security, public safety, etc. Such immigration legislation in 1997. The new measures cannot therefore simply be Section 34(2) gave the police the right to based on expediency. order an immigrant to report to local police The UN Committee on Human Rights at fixed times if the police deemed that it questioned the practice of requiring DNA was “desirable to secure the presence of tests from the applicant and from persons the immigrant.” The “desirable” criterion with whom the applicant claimed family was seen as defying the principle of the ties with the aim of family reunification.9

Endnotes 1 Unless otherwise noted, based on the Danish Centre for Human Rights, Human Rights in Denmark, Status 1999 and 2000, December 1999 and 2000. The chapter was re- viewed by the Danish Helsinki Committee. 2 The introduction is based on the UN Committee on Human Rights, Concluding Obser- vations of the Human Rights Committee: Denmark. 31/10/2000. CCPR/CO/70/DNK. 3 UN Committee on Human Rights, op.cit. 4 Ibid. 5 UN press release, CERD, 23 August 2000. 6 See IHF Annual Report 1997. 7 UN Committee on Human Rights, op. cit. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 120 ESTONIA

IHF FOCUS: Judicial system; conditions in prisons and pre-trail detention; protection of ethnic minorities; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; women’s rights1.

On 8 November, the European Com- Conditions in Prisons and Pre-trial mission published its 2000 regular report Detention4 on Estonia’s progress towards EU acces- Prison conditions remained poor de- sion, noting that Estonia by and large con- spite considerable progress in this area, ac- tinued to fulfill the Copenhagen political cri- cording to the EU Commission. The prison teria set for EU candidates. Estonia had ad- population rate was 320 prisoners per dressed most of the short-term priorities of 100,000 inhabitants. the 1999 Accession Partnership concerning As a first step in reforming the prison human rights, including amending the system, the administration and control of Language Law, adopting the state integra- prisons were brought under the direct re- tion program for non-Estonians, and rein- sponsibility of the Ministry of Justice. In forcing the training of judges.2 At the same March, the Ministry of Justice adopted a de- time though, much remained to be done in velopment plan of the prison system, to be terms of judicial reform, prison conditions implemented by the year 2003. In June remained poor, and Estonia’s asylum legis- 2000, the Imprisonment Act was adopted lation and practice were not yet in line with in order to introduce further Council of EU standards. Europe recommendations in this area, such as the abolition of in-prison regimes. In ad- Judicial System3 dition, prison reform began to be imple- mented. However, delays occurred in the According to the EU Commission, construction of a new prison in Tartu, Estonia made some progress in terms of its which, together with the introduction of the judicial system, in particular with regard to probation system, should considerably alle- judges’ training. However, there was no no- viate the overpopulation of prisons. Efforts ticeable improvement in judges’ workload were undertaken to improve training and the backlog in the system did not im- among prison employees, including the prove noticeably. The quality of court deci- teaching of the Estonian language. sions varied considerably, and remained un- There were some isolated reports of ill- satisfactory in the lowest level courts. Among treatment suffered by prisoners in custody, other things, judges appeared to be uncer- including the use of punishment cells. tain when applying the law – particularly in However, some progress was made as re- administrative and penal matters - which led gards pre-trial detention periods, which were to numerous appeals to higher instances. shortened. In addition, in July 2000 the No concrete developments took place Government adopted its main goals in the in 2000 with regard to the reform of the fight against crime until 2003, which includ- penal and civil law systems in order to ed considerably shorter custody periods. complete the transition from the former system. Cooperation between the different Protection of Ethnic Minorities authorities (police, prosecutors and judges) Non-Estonians constituted about 35 still required reinforcement. percent of Estonia’s total population The probation system, established in (1,445,5805). Approximately 28 percent of June 1998, worked well. On 1 May 2000, the total population (406,000) was of there were approximately 5,800 probation- Russian origin. ers in Estonia, 5,400 of whom were condi- The rights of the Russian-speaking mi- tionally sentenced and 400 of whom were nority (with or without Estonian nationality) conditionally released. continued to be largely observed and safe- ESTONIA 121 guarded. Russian continued to be widely who – for various reasons – could not ap- used in courts and in the administration in ply for a residence permit within the set those areas where Russian-speakers com- deadline. The second group included per- prised the majority of the local population. sons who did not have permanent resi- Furthermore, non-citizens who had been dence in the former Estonian SSR and were legally resident in Estonia for the last five therefore not eligible for permanent resi- years were allowed to vote in the local dence in the independent Estonia. If they elections. However, non-citizens were sub- wished to apply for permanent residence, ject to some restrictions affecting the right they were obliged to do it outside Estonia. to be on the board of state-owned compa- Many, however, could not or would not do nies, to belong to a political party or to be this because they lacked the official docu- employed in certain areas of the public ad- ments or feared being expelled from the ministration.6 country. Also, the application procedure was long (a minimum of 1.5 years) and Citizenship and Residence the expenses relatively high. The third Generally, Estonia fulfilled the OSCE group was comprised of persons convicted recommendations in the area of citizenship on criminal charges and unable to submit and naturalization. Between 1992 (when an application while in prison. The fourth the Citizenship Law came into force) and group began forming in 1997 and included late 2000, 112,822 non-Estonians had foreigners who had unsuccessfully sought been granted Estonian citizenship. Accor- political asylum in Estonia.10 ding to the Legal Information Centre for Human Rights (LICHR), some 60 percent Integration of Non-Estonians of the non-Estonian minority were non-citi- In March 2000, the Estonian Govern- 7 zens in 2000. ment adopted the state integration pro- As of late 2000, 192,072 non-citizens gram, “Integration in Estonian Society had been granted permanent residence 2000-2007“ to address one of the short- permits and 84,180 held temporary per- term priorities of the 1999 Accession mits. A large-scale process of converting Partnership. The program focuses on four temporary residence permits into perma- main areas: integration through the educa- nent ones was underway. The new provi- tion system targeting adults and children; sions of the Aliens Act allowed persons ap- language training for adults and socially dis- plying for an extension of a residence per- advantaged groups such as unemployed mit or for a permanent residence permit to persons; activities intended to protect the stay legally in Estonia until a decision was made concerning their application. cultural rights of minorities and promoting a However, minimum income requirements positive attitude towards integration among for persons applying for a residence permit Estonians and non-Estonians through a 11 remained in force.8 public awareness campaign. There were no exact figures on the real The UN Committee on the Elimination number of the persons residing in Estonia of Racial Discrimination (CERD) saw this either without citizenship or without a resi- program as a positive development in the dence permit (so-called “illegals”), but the field of minorities. However, in its March LICHR estimated the number to be be- recommendations, the Committee regret- tween 30,000 and 80,000.9 ted that the definition of national minorities According to the LICHR, the “illegals” contained in the National Minorities could be divided into four categories. The Cultural Autonomy Act only applied to first group was comprised of persons who Estonian citizens. It noted that in light of the had a permanent residence permit significant number of non-nationals and (propiska) in the former Estonian SSR but stateless persons residing in Estonia, such a 122 ESTONIA restrictive and narrow definition might limit in the labour market etc., non-Estonians the scope of the integration program.11 continued to criticize the emphasis placed on the interconnection of Estonian lan- Language Policy13 guage skills in naturalization and the inte- There were clear improvements in the gration program. Many perceived them as a field of language policy. As recommended tool for assimilation instead of integration. by the EU in 1999, the Estonian Parliament Since its adoption, the Language Law re- amended the Language Law in April 2000. quirements had created the main hurdle The law regulated the use of the Estonian for those minority members eligible for nat- language in the public and private sectors. uralization.15 The new provision stipulated that the com- According to the LICHR, the “forced lin- pulsory use of Estonian in the private guistic integration” imposed on the sphere had to be clearly justified on the Russian-speaking minority in the 1990s grounds of a specific public interest, such brought about less improvements than ex- as public security, public order, public pected: still only about 29 percent of non- health, health-protection, consumer protec- citizens in Tallinn spoke some Estonian, tion or safety at work. The law had been and only 35 percent spoke it relatively criticised for restricting the right to use a mi- well.16 nority language in the private sphere. Under the Parliamentary and Local Education Elections Law, language requirements for In the field of education, the Law on candidates to parliamentary and local elec- Basic and Upper Secondary Schools was tions remained in force. These restrictions amended in April 2000 to guarantee that, affected the right of non-Estonian speakers as of 2007, 60 percent of teaching in upper to choose their candidates, particularly at secondary schools is to be in Estonian, the local level. while the remaining 40 percent may be in A new integrated language certification another language. Initially, the law foresaw system was also adopted that homoge- that all upper secondary instruction would nized the previous system, which involved be provided exclusively in Estonian by that three different tests (for naturalization, for date.17 According to the LICHR, only 11 per- education/graduation exams and for pro- cent of non-Estonians supported the abol- fessional certification). It was decided that ishment of Russian-language secondary the new system would involve a single schools.18 comprehensive language testing methodol- ogy that would fall under the responsibility Family Reunification of the National Examination and Quali- The Aliens Act was amended six times fication Center. between September 1999 and November In addition, the naturalization process 2000. Most of the amendments related to for disabled applicants, as well as children the immigration quota regime. Following a under 15 years of age whose parents were decision of the Estonian Supreme Court, stateless, was eased by removing the re- spouses and children of Estonian citizens quirement to test their knowledge of the or holders of a valid residence permit were Estonian language and Constitution.14 These excluded from the immigration quota. changes should help to speed to the natu- Although more efforts were needed in this ralization process, particularly for graduates area, according to the EU Commission, the of the basic and upper secondary schools. amendments constituted a first step in re- While recognizing that having the ap- solving the issue of family reunification in propriate language skills enables minority Estonia – a problem that had been criti- group members to receive better positions cised often in previous years.19 ESTONIA 123

Protection of Asylum Seekers and and persons who had recently arrived from Immigrants abroad. According to the law, if an expul- Asylum sion order was delivered but impossible to As of 5 June, 47 asylum applications carry out, the foreigner should be placed in had been made since Estonia gained inde- an expulsion camp. According to Article pendence, but only three applicants were 196 of the Code of Executive Proceedings, granted refugee status. Eight applications until special expulsion camps are in opera- were refused and 20 cases were pending. tion, the persons to be expelled were to be Sixteen cases were not decided, either due held in a closed prison, or in custody (for to the death of the applicant or the with- up to ten days). The maximum period of drawal of the application.20 stay in an expulsion camp was two months, Estonia’s legal framework with regard and could be extended by an administra- to political asylum was not yet in line with tive court judge at the request of the CMB EU standards. Legal and administrative ad- until expulsion could be executed – i.e. vir- justments were necessary to enable tually indefinitely. At the same time, the law Estonia to accede to the Dublin Conven- did not provide such persons any other le- 23 tion, including eliminating exclusion clauses gal basis for residing in Estonia. or the lack of safeguards in the accelerated Due to the lack of funds to build special procedure applied at the border. In addi- expulsion camps, people deemed to be ex- tion, state-financed legal aid for asylum pelled were held in the Tallinn City Prison seekers was unregulated. Asylum proce- together with criminals. The conditions were dures remained too slow, border guards poor, with poor quality nutrition, hygiene needed more training to correctly distin- and medical care. Persons awaiting expul- guish between illegal immigrants and asy- sion were neither allowed to leave the lum seekers, and the administrative and ju- “camp” territory or to work and earn money dicial capacity to deal with asylum cases to buy personal hygiene products or for oth- needed to be enhanced. In April 2000, the ers purposes. Without money, such persons new Illuka Reception Centre for Asylum could not send personal letters, since prison Seekers was opened. 21 staff were only obliged to pay the postage for official letters. On occasion, personal let- Expulsion ters did not reach the recipient.24 From 1999 to May 2000, Estonian Persons awaiting expulsion did not courts ruled on twelve expulsions of illegal have access to competent legal counsel, as residents at the request of the Police Board, the lawyers in prisons were often not the Board of the Border Guard or the Citi- trained in expulsion issues. No assistance zenship and Migration Board (CMB). During in this field was given by the CMB. While the same period, 1,309 requests for persons the LICHR assisted some persons to sub- to leave Estonia voluntarily were issued.22 mit an application for a temporary resi- The Russian-speaking community criti- dence permit, the Ministry of the Interior re- cised the fact that the 1999 Law on the fused to deal with the cases, citing lacking Obligation to Leave the Country and the documentation. However, according to the Prohibition of Entry provided for the expul- LICHR, it was impossible for these people sion of a person illegally residing in the ter- to provide for all necessary documentation ritory of Estonia without distinguishing be- in practice. Moreover, the CMB had already tween “domestic illegals” (e.g. members of received all the necessary documentation minority groups with no legal residence) for the expulsion procedure.25 124 ESTONIA

Endnotes 1 See IHF, Women 2000, an Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. 2 EU Commission, 2000 Regular Report from the Commission on Estonia’s Progress Towards Accession, 8 November 2000. 3 Unless otherwise noted, based on EU Commission, op. cit. 4 Based on EU Commission, op. cit. 5 As of 1 January 1999. 6 EU Commission, op. cit. 7 Vadim Polestsuk, Legal Information Centre for Human Rights, “Current Problems of Integration and Naturalization in Estonia,” a paper presented at the seminar “Refugee Policy, Integration and Naturalization of Ethnic Minorities in the Baltic Region,” Tallinn, 26- 27 September 2000. 8 EU Commission, op. cit. 9 Andrei Arjupin, Legal Information Centre for Human Rights, “The Status of Illegal Aliens Subjected to Expulsion,” a paper presented at the seminar “Refugee Policy, Integration and Naturalization of Ethnic Minorities in the Baltic Region,” Tallinn, 26-27 September 2000. The EU Commission cites the figure of 30,000. 10 Vadim Polestsuk, op.cit. 11 EU Commission, op. cit. 12 Concluding Observations by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Estonia. 19/04/2000. CERD/C/304/Add.98. 13 Based on EU Commission, op. cit. 14 RFE/RL Newsline, 15 June 2000. 15 Vadim Polestsuk, op.cit. 16 Ibid. 17 EU Commission, op. cit. 18 Vadim Polestsuk, op. cit. 19 EU Commission, op. cit. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 Ibid. 23 Andrei Arjupin, op.cit. 24 Ibid. 25 Ibid. FINLAND 125

IHF FOCUS: Intolerance; xenophobia and racial discrimination; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants.

Intolerance and ethnic discrimination racist attitudes. In general, however, it were at the centre of human rights con- seemed that approximately ten percent of cerns in Finland in 2000. According to one Finns held a highly racist view, which was study, approximately ten percent of Finns somewhat less than the European average. entertained a highly racist worldview. In In the countryside and small cities the atti- terms of discrimination, some 40 percent tudes were less tolerant than in big cities, of foreigners had experienced discrimina- particularly among men. However, no racist tion in obtaining work, i.e. 2.5 times more populist parties has emerged in Finland. often than the population at large. In terms of discrimination though, the The June amendments to the Aliens’ situation seemed more gloomy. For exam- Act seriously restricted the protection of ple, in the Helsinki area, where a great asylum seekers and, inter alia, brought number of immigrants lived, some 40 per- about a new accelerated asylum procedure cent of them had experienced discrimina- to prevent asylum seekers from so-called tion in obtaining work. In 1999, unemploy- “safe“ countries of origin or asylum from ment among immigrants remained 2.5 staying in Finland. times greater than among the population at In November, the UN Committee on large. The number of racially motivated vio- Economic, Social and Cultural Rights criti- lent acts seemed to have stabilized, al- cised the lack of data relating to the appli- though no completely reliable statistics cation of the Covenant on Economic, Social were available on this issue. and Cultural Rights in case law, prevailing The most serious racist incidents took racial attitudes, perpetual discrimination place in the city of Vantaa, where Somali against minorities, and regretted the weak- and Finnish groups clashed violently sever- ening of the public health care system. al times. Media coverage of these clashes was extensive and by no means objective. Intolerance, Xenophobia and Racial For example, the expression “racial war” was widely used, although only the activi- Discrimination ties of small groups of people were in In January, the Finnish League for question. In general, the media failed to ad- Human Rights initiated the monitoring of equately consider how they could avoid racism, ethnic discrimination and related producing and re-enforcing racist attitudes. phenomena in Finland, as well as the de- The most worrying legislative develop- velopment and maintenance of a database ment was the amendment of the Aliens Act of relevant research, statistics and other in- in April. The law was adopted primarily due formation sources. One of the results of the to the flow of Romani asylum seekers to project was the report Racism in Finland Finland and the adoption of the amend- 2000, published in November.1 ments was interpreted as a sign of “hidden According to the report, it was by no racism” in Finland.2 means easy to assess how people’s atti- On the other hand, a number of posi- tudes towards immigrants or “foreigners” tive steps against racism were taken during developed in the latter half of the 1990s. A the year 2000. In November, for example, number of studies showed that during the the Government adopted an “Action recession of the early 1990s the level of Programme Against Racism”. In the same tolerance was lower than today; other stud- month, the Academy of Finland launched a ies argued that especially young people new comprehensive research framework had increasingly assumed intolerant and (SYREENI), which was to produce informa- 126 FINLAND tion for dealing with issues of ethnicity and Protection of Refugees and Immigrants discrimination in an increasingly multicul- Aliens’ Act tural country. On 20 June the Parliament adopted amendments to the Aliens’ Act with a great CERD Concerns3 majority. The amendments were effect as In August 2000, the UN Committee on of 10 July 2000, aimed at accelerating the the Elimination of Racial Discrimination asylum seeking procedure. Human rights considered the 15th periodic report of organizations criticised the changes, which Finland on the implementation of the they claimed will weaken the legal protec- International Covenant on the Elimination tion of asylum seekers in Finland. The main reason for changing the law of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. was to prevent asylum seekers with “mani- The CERD commended the legislative festly unfounded” applications from staying measures adopted by the Government in Finland. Preparations for the amendment with the view to combating racial discrimi- were prompted by the sudden arrival of nation, including the new Constitution, the more than 1,500 Slovak Roma in Finland in new Act on the Integration of Immigrants 1999.4 and Reception of Asylum Seekers, and the Under the amended Act, the Directo- Personal Act, among others. It welcomed rate of Immigration has seven days to Finland’s efforts to establish an institution- make a decision on a “manifestly unfound- alised system for protection against racial ed” asylum application if the applicant discrimination and the promotion of rights comes from a so-called “safe” country of of minorities, mainly Sami and Roma. origin or asylum. Although the asylum The CERD reiterated its concern over seeker has a right to file an appeal to the the absence of law prohibiting organiza- Helsinki Administrative Court within 30 days, the decision of the Directorate of tions that promoted and incited racial dis- Immigration could be enforced within eight crimination and a provision in the Penal days (out of which at least five were work- Code declaring any dissemination of ideas ing days), whether or not the actual appeal based on racial superiority or hatred to be or the appeal on the suspension of en- punishable by law. The CERD was also con- forcement was decided. The eight-day time cerned that Roma continued to be subject- limit with regard to enforcement also ap- ed to discrimination, and reiterated its re- plied to other “manifestly unfounded” ap- gret that the question of the land owner- plications. ship of the Sami had not been resolved. In addition to the new accelerated pro- The CERD also voiced its concern over the cedure, amendments were made with re- increased number of racist acts. gard to renewed asylum applications. If an The CERD recommended, inter alia, applicant who was previously denied asy- that the anti-discriminatory legislation be lum could not produce new substantial ev- idence to support his/her application, adopted to better combat acts of racism; he/she could be deported immediately af- that Finland consider adopting provisions ter notification of the negative decision. for increasing sentences for racially moti- Immediate deportation can now also take vated crimes, particularly racial violence; place if the applicant has arrived from a that additional measures be taken at na- state party to the Dublin Convention. tional and municipal levels to improve the Human rights and refugee organiza- situation of the Roma minority; and that all tions criticised the amendments as unnec- available measures be taken to guarantee essary in the first place. It was pointed out the legal safeguards of asylum seekers. that in Finland the number of asylum seek- FINLAND 127 ers had remained very low compared to the other asylum seekers. Apart from the ac- other European Union countries.5 Moreover, celerated procedure, the main problems in- the most recent amendment to the Act had cluded superficial asylum interviews, inade- only come into effect in May 1999. Critics quate communication of information by maintained that the main problem was not the authorities and insufficient provision of the law per se, but rather the insufficient re- legal aid.6 sources of the Directorate of Immigration and poor management of the asylum pro- Social Rights cedure. Critics also pointed out that the CESCR Concerns7 amendments had been prepared too hasti- On 15 and 16 November the UN ly by the Ministry of the Interior. Parliament Committee on Economic, Social and required, inter alia, that the Aliens’ Act Cultural Rights (CESCR) considered Fin- should be reviewed and made more clear, land’s fourth periodic on the implementa- coherent and unambiguous. tion of the Covenant on Economic, Social The amendments were criticised for and Cultural Rights. four particular reasons: Firstly, the acceler- The CESCR commended the ratifica- ated procedure did not meet the minimum tion of the Additional Protocol to the conditions of a fair trial. The five-working- European Social Charter providing for a sys- day time limit would not allow for efficient tem of collective complaints. The Com- legal aid, and it was feared that due to the mittee noted as positive aspects the adop- time limit, the right to appeal and the pos- tion of a program on the integration of im- sibility to suspend the sentence would re- migrants and the proposal of action to pre- main a dead letter. Secondly, the law was vent ethnic discrimination and racism. It criticised for reintroducing the legally vague also welcomed the inclusion of age as pro- concept of “a safe country of origin.” NGOs hibited grounds for discrimination. feared that in practice this would mean that The Committee expressed concern an unofficial list of safe countries would be that there was no case law data suggesting drawn up in the Directorate of Immigration, that the Covenant had been directly in- outside democratic control. Another point voked before the courts, noting that of concern was that the individual exami- lawyers and judges may not be sufficiently nation of applications would be endan- aware of the rights in question. It recom- gered. Thirdly, NGOs also claimed that hav- mended ensuring that all judges and ing five different procedures, four of which lawyers receive further training provided were accelerated, was too complicated and free of charge to familiarise them with the therefore weakened the legal protection of provisions of the Covenant. asylum seekers. Finally, the more compli- The UN Committee regretted that de- cated procedures and the strict time limits spite many initiatives to combat racial dis- would mean an increased demand for legal crimination, racist attitudes prevailed aid and interpreters. among the population, perpetuating dis- In September, the Refugee Advice crimination against minorities and foreign- Centre (RAC) noted that the main concerns ers, especially regarding employment. raised before the amendments were It also reiterated concern that although passed were proven to be well-grounded. collective sectors of professional activity Having the rapid asylum procedure as an contained provisions for the determination overriding aim has meant that less atten- of minimum wages, no minimum wage tion has been paid to other viewpoints. was guaranteed nationally. According to the RAC, asylum seekers from The Committee was concerned about the so-called “safe” countries were in a the alarming proportions of violence manifestly unfair position compared with against women. 128 FINLAND

It reiterated its regret at the absence fordable to all sectors of society. of comparative statistical information on The Committee also recommended the extent of the problem, in addition to that a National Plan of Action be formulat- the lack of information on the remedies, ed and implemented for the protection and rehabilitation and services provided for promotion of human rights, according to victims. The Committee further regretted Paragraph 71 of the Vienna Declaration the weakening of the public health care and Programme of Action. The Committee system. Particular concern was voiced urged the finalising of the review of the leg- over inequality with regard to levels of islation concerning the Sami population health care provision depending on the with a view to ratifying ILO Convention No. place of residence, which affected vulner- able groups especially. The Committee re- 169, and to settle the question of Sami quested information on the services avail- land title as a matter of high priority. In ad- able in municipalities particularly for per- dition, the Committee requested informa- sons with mental disabilities and recom- tion on whether the Roma enjoy their eco- mended that adequate resources be af- nomic, social and cultural rights. Efforts to forded to public health services and that combat racism and xenophobia should be the cost of private health care remain af- continued and strengthened.

Endnotes 1 Timo Makkonen (Finnish League for Human Rights), Rasismi Suomessa vuonna 2000, 2000. 2 See Protection of Refugees and Immigrants. 3 UN/CERD, “Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination Concludes Fifty-Seventh Session”, press release, 25 August 2000. 4 The Government imposed a new six-month visa requirement on Slovak citizens as of 15 January. Visa-free travel had been resumed on 6 November 1999 after an earlier four- month visa requirement. A total of 365 Slovak asylum seekers had arrived in Finland af- ter the resumption. (Helsingin Sanomat, 15 January 2000.) 5 In 1999, altogether 3,106 persons sought asylum in Finland, which was less than one percent of the total number of asylum seekers within the European Union (Järjestöjen kannanotto ulkomaalaislain muutosesityksestä, 29 March 2000). 6 Refugee Advice Center, Memorandum, 11 September 2000. 7 Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant, Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Finland, E/C.12/1/Add.52, 1 December 2000. FRANCE 129

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 . 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. GEORGIA1 135

IHF FOCUS: Elections; peaceful assembly; political prisoners; judicial system; torture and ill-treatment; religious intolerance; international humanitarian law.

Despite a formal commitment to re- Social insecurity led to widespread spect European human rights standards as restlessness in Georgia. The Government a Council of Europe member State (since frequently lagged months behind in the April 1999), Georgia continued to violate payment of wages and pensions, and, ac- basic civil and political rights. In 1999 the cording to multilateral lending institutions, Council of Europe recommended that failed to collect taxes. In April, the Georgia review the cases of persons con- International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that victed or detained for their role in the polit- problems of governance and corruption ical upheavals in 1991-92, i.e. members undermined fiscal stability in Georgia, and, and supporters of the administration of in May, found that poverty in Georgia had Former President Gamsakhurdia. However, increased significantly throughout 1998 following the amnesties in 2000, some 30 and the first half 1999. political prisoners remained in prison, and Of the 5.5 million Georgian population, the Parliamentary Human Rights Commit- around 1.5 million left the country in recent tee said in August that their cases were not years for political and, in particular, eco- eligible for amnesty. Vasil Maglaperidze, nomic reasons. The remaining population chair of the Parliamentary Commission for was largely apathetic. There was a great National Reconciliation and known for his gap and mistrust between the population dedication to human rights, replied that and the ruling elite and widespread corrup- should the remaining cases be refused re- tion infiltrated all governmental structures. view, there would be no point in continuing The year 2000 was marked by massive the “reconciliation process.” demonstrations for social rights. The events The OSCE/ODIHR concluded that fun- were mainly spontaneous and not organ- damental freedoms were generally respect- ised by any political party. The electricity ed during the election campaign of the supply collapsed in the fall, leading to a April presidential elections, but noted that constant electricity shortage. In November, further progress is necessary in order for angry people began to demand the light Georgia to fully meet OSCE standards of and heating for which they had paid the fair and free elections. State, and spontaneously blocked the main Problems regarding the Criminal Proce- streets in the capital Tbilisi and highways in dure Code remained unsolved, as numer- different districts of Georgia. Barricades ous provisions that were in line with Euro- were built up and tyres burned in the pean standards were repealed after Geor- streets, with people demanding their un- gia was admitted to the Council of Europe. paid pensions and the resignation of the Torture and ill-treatment remained a President. The situation was almost out of central human rights problem and despite control. Through the intimidation of activists Georgian authorities’ admission that such on the one hand, and groundless promises methods were used, no significant steps on the other, the Government managed to were taken to end the practices. Religious intolerance grew and some postpone the problem for a while. observers claimed that by drawing the pop- 3 ulation’s attention away from social prob- Presidential Elections lems, the Government tolerated, and pos- The presidential elections were held in sibly encouraged, attacks on the so-called Georgia on 9 April. Eleven candidates ap- non-traditional religious groups and individ- plied for registration to the Central Election uals seeking to promote tolerance.2 Commission (CEC). Seven party-nominat- 136 GEORGIA ed and independent candidates were regis- Election Committee applied the legal provi- tered through a procedure that was not ful- sions selectively. ly transparent. Only two candidates, incum- Despite new legal provisions stipulat- bent President Eduard Shevardnadze and ing the inclusion of additional representa- Jumber Patiashvili, campaigned actively. tives of the parliamentary minority in elec- Eduard Shevardnadze won a second tion commissions at all levels, the parlia- five-year term as President with more than mentary majority retained to a large extent 80 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was its dominant position in the election ad- about 70 percent.4 ministration. The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observati- According to the OSCE/ODIHR, the au- on Mission for the presidential elections thorities provided strong support for the in- concluded that fundamental freedoms cumbent President’s election campaign to were generally respected during the elec- the extent that there was no clear dividing tion campaign and candidates were able to line between state affairs and the incum- express their views. However, the bent’s campaign. Apart from allocating free OSCE/ODHIR noted that further progress is airtime to registered candidates, the state necessary for Georgia to fully meet OSCE media gave the incumbent a clear advan- standards of fair and free elections. In par- tage. ticular, they referred to problems in the fol- The ISHR-Georgia reported violent inci- lowing areas: interference by state authori- dents during the pre-election campaign ties in the election process; deficient elec- and other irregularities. For example, tion legislation; a not fully representative Patiashvili’s election meetings were pelted election administration; and unreliable vot- with stones and local authorities hindered er registers. Other important concerns rela- him from meeting with individuals.5 ted to a number of ambiguous and some- On election day, voting was conducted times contradictory procedural provisions in a generally calm atmosphere. However, of the election legislation. OSCE/ODIHR observers reported a series A substantial number of amendments of identical signatures on the voter lists, had been made to the legislation in order group voting and the presence of unautho- to address some concerns raised previous- rised persons, including police and local of- ly by international observers. However, the ficials, in polling stations. OSCE/ODIHR stated that other concerns The election process deteriorated dur- were only remedied partially or not ad- ing the counting procedures, which lacked dressed at all. Furthermore, some amend- uniformity and, at times, transparency. ments enhanced the powers of the chair- Tabulation procedures lacked transparency persons of election commissions at all lev- and instances of protocol tampering were els, thus raising new concerns. The fact that reported. In general, procedural safeguards several amendments were adopted less to support the integrity of the process were than three weeks prior to the elections cre- not implemented, in part due to a lack of ated confusion among the election admin- adequate administrative instructions and istration and some political parties, in par- training. ticular those entitled to appoint new mem- bers to the election commissions. In fact, Political Prisoners the implementation of the amended provi- Since 1992, real or presumed support- sions was delayed beyond legal deadlines, ers of the Government of former President thus frequently preventing the new mem- Zviad Gamsakhurdia have been harassed bers from fully participating in the adminis- and sentenced to long prison terms. Others tration of the election process. In addition, were detained routinely for periods ranging on a number of occasions, the Central from a couple of days to two weeks, con- GEORGIA 137 victed on charges of terrorism and high prisoners who were members or support- treason, mostly in unfair trials, following the ers of the Gamsakhurdia Government, in- ousting of the former President in 1991. As cluding Gudgabidze, Bichashvili, Dgala- of the end of 2000, some 30 such persons gonia and Djichonaia. Dozens of other po- remained in prison. litical prisoners, who were sentenced un- The Council of Europe Parliamentary der Articles 104 and 105 of the Criminal Assembly recommended in 1999 that the Code (murder), were not covered by the Georgian Government “review the cases decree.10 of persons convicted or detained for their In a June letter to Zurab Jvania, Chair- part in the upheavals of 1991-92 within man of the Parliament, the IHF criticised 6 two years after its accession.” the fact that not all political prisoners’ cas- In early 2000, within the framework of es had been reviewed,11 including the ap- “national reconciliation,” the Parliament re- proximately 30 remaining cases of the 44 viewed a number of cases of political pris- prisoners pardoned by President Shevar- oners who had been involved in the 1991- dnadze on 2 August (out of the 147 92 upheavals.7 names submitted to him for considera- In March, a hunger strike was declared tion). Elene Tevdoradze, Chairwoman of by political prisoners Bidzina Gudgabidze, the Parliamentary Human Rights Commit- David Bichashvili, Murtaz Dgalagonia and tee, said that all Gamsakhurdia supporters Karlo Djichonaia, demanding a general and eligible for amnesty had already been re- unconditional amnesty for political prison- 12 ers. As the Government paid no attention leased. In reaction to that statement, at first, numerous political prisoners in oth- Chairman of the Parliamentary Commis- er penitentiaries, labour camps and deten- sion for National Reconciliation Vasil Mag- tion facilities joined the hunger strike. As of laperidze noted that if the Parliament were the end of March, the number totalled to refuse to consider any further cases, more than 50 persons.8 there would be no reason to continue the 13 On 30 March, the IHF sent an open “reconciliation process.” letter to President Shevardnadze express- ing its appreciation for the release of two Peaceful Assembly political prisoners, Nemo Chanturia and Although the right to peaceful assem- Tamaz Gorelishvili, for medical reasons, as bly was generally respected in Georgia in the IHF had requested in 1999. Unfortuna- 2000, on at least one occasion the Ministry tely, a third prisoner, Karlo Djichonaia, who- of Interior troops dispersed a peaceful se case the IHF had raised at the same demonstration using force. time, was not released, although he was blind as a result of ill-treatment in pre-trial On 28 October, the wife of former detention. The IHF emphasised that a re- President Gamsakhurdia organised an as- view of all cases is vital to a process of “na- sembly at the Freedom Square in Tbilisi to th tional reconciliation.” The IHF stated that, af- commemorate the 10 anniversary of the ter eight years, the wounds inflicted by the first multi-party elections in Georgia. past conflict could only heal when all the Representatives of many political parties cases involving the supporters of former participated in the event. Authorities had President Gamsakhurdia’s Government are sanctioned the assembly and the head of resolved in a way consistent with their po- the police was present. The assembly was litical rights.9 held for about two hours before OMON On 19 April, President Shevardnadze troops suddenly appeared and began beat- issued an amnesty decree for the release ing the participants, arresting some of of 279 prisoners, including 65 political them.14 138 GEORGIA

Judicial System tor in carrying out judicial reform. However, Judicial Reform and Detainees’ Rights15 the repeal of the right to access to court to The Government, with assistance from review complaints compounded corruption the international community, was carrying in the criminal justice system. In practice, out a high profile reform of the court sys- by restricting access to courts law enforce- tem. However, restrictions on access to the ment officials were left with a wide scope courts, together with other provisions in the to coerce bribes from those individuals Criminal Procedure Code, severely ham- they deemed to be under criminal investi- pered individuals’ access to courts to sub- gation, while providing little or no recourse stantiate, for example, a report of torture. for an effective legal remedy to protest On 15 May 1999, a new Criminal Pro- such misconduct. cedure Code came into force in Georgia, Other violations of detainees’ rights in- and had been drafted after significant con- cluded the coercion of detainees to accept sultation with Georgian defence lawyers ac- lawyers they had not freely chosen, and tively working in the area of criminal law. who did not vigorously complain about Prior to its adoption, the new Code had mistreatment or otherwise adequately rep- been reviewed by Council of Europe ex- resent their clients’ interests. perts to ensure that it conformed to the According to the Caucasian Centre for ECHR and to standards developed in the Human Rights (IHF cooperating organiza- case law of the European Court of Human tion), there was very little expectation that a Rights. criminal justice system that severely im- Georgia was accepted as a full mem- peded individuals’ ability to substantiate a ber of the Council of Europe on 27 April claim of torture before a court could ever 1999. However, shortly after this on 13 and be confident of ensuring fair trials. Given 28 May 1999, the Parliament adopted a to- this failure, it was understandable that the tal of 289 amendments to the new Code, judiciary did not enjoy broad public trust. and 63 further amendments on 22–23 17 July. In total, these amendments altered or Torture and Ill-Treatment replaced nearly half of all the articles in the Torture and ill-treatment remained a new Code. central human rights problem, and despite Some of the extensive amendments Georgian authorities’ admission to the use adopted in May and July severely eroded of such methods, no significant steps were the rights of persons under investigation, taken to implement the recommendations narrowing access to courts of general juris- made by the UN Committee against Torture diction during criminal investigations as had and by the UN Human Rights Committee. been previously envisaged in the new Reports of torture to coerce confes- Code. These amendments affected individ- sions in pre-trial detention were wide- uals wanting to submit a complaint to a spread in Georgia and frequently accompa- court prior to trial when the procurator, po- nied by other procedural violations that ap- lice, other law enforcement or security peared to be specifically intended to cover agencies committed abuse during a crimi- up physical abuse and to ensure that per- nal investigation. The repeal of the reforms petrators would not be brought to justice. was alarming given the persistent reports of Detainees in police custody were often rampant physical abuse of detainees to se- subjected to physical and psychological cure confessions and other blatant proce- duress, and the denial of access to a de- dural irregularities during criminal investiga- fence lawyer facilitated such abuse. tions in Georgia.16 Beatings were commonplace and relatives Georgian officials stated that concerns were frequently faced with financial or oth- regarding corruption were a motivating fac- er demands in exchange for a detainee’s GEORGIA 139 release. Threats that family members On 16-17 August, Father Basili’s group would be tortured or murdered were also attacked dozens of individuals. On 16 used against detainees. August, they attacked journalists and Jehovah’s Witnesses during a trial, assault- Religious Intolerance ing and beating RFE/RL correspondent In 2000, mobs attacked religious mi- Sozar Subeliani. Canadian human rights nority group members in various locations. lawyer John Burns, who was monitoring the Jehovah’s Witnesses were particularly sin- trial, was dragged to the ground and struck gled out as targets. Police officers not only with a large wooden cross. Some 80 failed to bring to justice the perpetrators, members of the group present shouted in- but also in several instances actually sults, and threatened and assaulted specta- charged the victims with crimes such as tors and Jehovah’s Witnesses seated in the hooliganism, a criminal offence in Georgia. courtroom. On the following day, about 40 Moreover, in some cases, police officers followers of Father Basili assaulted human were involved in the attacks. rights defenders and a journalist as they left In August, Deputy Speaker of the trial they had been monitoring. Parliament, Giga Tsereteli, reportedly an- On 17 October, 120-150 members of nounced that the Parliament would create a special group charged with drafting a law Father Basili’s congregation assaulted wor- on religion. According to Tsereteli, the bill shipers at a Jehovah’s Witnesses service in will be based on the constitutionally guar- Guldani District beating, kicking and punch- anteed principle of freedom of belief but ing them. At least 16 individuals required would “regulate” the activities of religious hospital treatment, one suffered perma- organizations that engage in “anti-national nent injuries. Footage of the incident, taped activity and infringe human rights.”18 by the attackers themselves, was later broadcast on the Rustavi 2 and Channel 2 Jehovah’s Witnesses19 news programs. At the initiative of MP Guram Sharadze, In early September, violent attacks on the Tbilisi Regional Court revoked the legal Jehovah’s Witnesses spread to Western status of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Georgia Georgia. on 26 June. On appeal, the Supreme Court On 3 September, Jehovah’s Witnesses was to decide whether to cancel or uphold were attacked by an armed group in two the registration, but the decision was ad- cities in the western part of the Republic of journed until January 2001. Georgia, Senaki and Kutaisi. In Kutaisi, two Most attacks against Jehovah’s Witnes- police officers were involved in the attack. ses were reported from the Gldani district, in Yura Papava, a resident of Senaki, said that a suburb of Tbilisi, where a Georgian the congregation was meeting peacefully in Orthodox priest known as Father Basili for- his home “when suddenly a man entered med a group named the Gldani Orthodox the house and demanded to know what Diocese. The group was apparently not for- we were doing and what we were teaching. mally recognised by the Georgian Orthodox Without waiting for an answer, he and five Church, and its members espoused ultra-na- or six other men started smashing the fur- tionalist views, and were especially virulent in 20 their intolerance of non-Orthodox faiths. By niture.“ the end of August, the group was responsi- The Georgian Parliament condemned ble for at least eight attacks against Jehovah’s the violence on 26 September. A total of Witnesses and members of other faiths. The 133,162 people, most of them Georgian group stalked Jehovah’s Witnesses and as- Orthodox, signed a petition protesting the saulted them verbally and physically. mob violence. As the petition was being 140 GEORGIA presented at a press conference at the between Russia and Abkhazia, and be- Georgian Ombudsman’s Office on 22 tween Russia and South Osetia, many peo- January 2001, Father Basili and his follow- ple interpreted the imposition of a visa re- ers burst into the room and seized the vol- quirement as a virtual annexation of Abkha- umes of the petition and verbally and phys- zia and South Osetia, apparently in order to ically abused the persons present.21 punish Georgia for its support of Western pressure on the withdrawal of Russian mil- International Humanitarian Law itary bases from Georgia. who have been living in Ru- Abkhazia ssia for years (numbering over 900,000), The ethnic Georgian population was including refugees from Abkhazia, were subjected to “ethnic cleansing” during the obliged to apply for Russian visas or could continuing conflict in Abkhazia. Abkhaz mili- be considered illegal residents in Russia. tia killed and raped Georgians still remaining They were under the threat of arbitrary de- in the Gali district (still with a small Georgian tention, police brutality, deportation, and population) on a daily basis. The atrocities other human rights violations. were obviously carried out in order to chan- On 31 January 2001, the IHF together ge the existing ethnic balance. For the same with several Helsinki committees sent an reason, the Abkhaz Government refused open letter to President Putin noting that the organised return of Georgian internally the Russian Federation has actively con- displaced persons (IDP) unless Abkhazia is tributed to the deterioration of the human internationally recognised. rights situation in Georgia through Russia’s The few IDPs who returned sponta- support of the forces responsible for desta- neously at their own risk came under the bilization and inter-ethnic conflict in the constant threat of death and had no effec- country. This has led to severe violations of tive protection. Russian peacekeeping human rights, criminal activity and a repres- troops deployed in the region were not sive state policy, which the existing regime able or willing to provide any protection for excuses by quoting security considerations. the Georgian population of Abkhazia, and The IHF and the Helsinki Committees also in fact showed support for the Abkhaz side. noted that withdrawal of two Russian mili- There were many well-documented cases tary bases from Georgian territory, agreed in which Russian peacekeepers took part in at the OSCE summit in , has not killing and raiding the peaceful Georgian been carried out. In addition, they criticised population. According to the Caucasian Hu- the new discriminatory Russian visa re- man Rights Centre, the only solution ap- quirements for Georgian citizens. 22 peared to be the withdrawal of Russian The IHF and the Helsinki Committees troops from the conflict region and the de- also expressed their concern that the ployment of Ukrainian or any other troops Russian Federation continued to extend under the UN mandate (Ukraine has offi- moral, political, financial and military sup- cially agreed to this possibility). port to the self-proclaimed regimes in Ab- Following the November statement of khazia and South Ossetia. They noted that President Putin, Russia imposed a one- the contingent of Russian peacekeeping sided visa requirement on 5 December for forces in Georgia often violated the rights all Georgian citizens, but not for the resi- of non-combatant citizens, rather than pro- dents of Abkhazia and South Osetia. As moting human rights observance in conflict Georgia was unable to control its borders zones.23 GEORGIA 141

Endnotes 1 Unless otherwise noted, based on information obtained by the IHF and its affiliate Caucasian Centre for Human Rights. 2 Human Rights Watch/Europe and Central Asia Division, “Georgia Lets Attacks on Religious Believers Go Unpunished,” press release and open letter to President Shevardnadze, 6 September 2000. 3 Unless otherwise noted, based on OSCE/ODIHR, Republic of Georgia: Presidential Elections, 9 April 2000, Final Report. 4 RFE/RL Newsline, 10 April 2000. 5 National Section of Georgia of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), “Presidential Elections in the Republic of Georgia, 2000,” 19 April 2000. 6 Opinion no. 209, Para 10, 1999. 7 The National Section of Georgia of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), April 2000. 8 Ibid. 9 IHF, “Political Prisoners in Georgia on Hunger Strike: Open Letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze,“ 30 March 2000. 10 Ibid. 11 IHF open letter to Zurab Jvania, Chairman of the Parliament, 7 June 2000. 12 RFE/RL Newsline, 4 August 2000. 13 The Caucasian Centre for Human Rights, November 2000. 14 Ibid. 15 Based on information from the Caucasian Centre for Human Rights to the IHF, 18 August 2000. 16 See Torture and Ill-Treatment. 17 Based on information from the Caucasian Centre for Human Rights to the IHF, 18 August 2000. 18 RFE/RL Newsline, 17 August 2000. 19 Unless otherwise noted, based on Human Rights Watch/Europe and Central Asia Division, “Georgia Lets Attacks on Religious Believers Go Unpunished,” press release and open letter to President Shevardnadze, 6 September 2000. 20 According to Guram Kvaratskhelia, spokesman for the Witnesses, Watch Tower Public Affairs Office, 9 September 2000, distributed by Human Rights Without Frontiers on 11 September 2000. 21 Human Rights Without Frontiers, 22 January 2001. 22 An open letter from the IHF and the Helsinki Committees in Belarus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine to the President of the Russian Federation and to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, 31 January 2001. 23 Ibid. 142 GERMANY

IHF FOCUS: Xenophobia, anti-Semitism and racism; religious intolerance; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants.

In a 28 December 2000 press state- Dessau (Sachsen-Anhalt). Adriano had ment, the German Section of Amnesty Inter- been living in Germany for 12 years, was national criticized the German Government married to a German woman and had for its continued lack of a consistent human three children. The perpetrators hit and rights policy, with the main focus on pre- kicked him so brutally that he died in hos- venting human rights violations. According to pital three days later. Two of the skinheads the organization, the Government made hu- were only 16 years old.3 man rights subsidiary to economic and geo- In the last three months of 2000, 496 strategic interests and largely ignored do- anti-Semitic crimes were committed, in- mestic problems in its yearly report. cluding 11 cases of physical ill-treatment, At the same time, Amnesty Interna- one case of arson, one case involving a tional welcomed the establishment of an breach of the peace, 42 cases of damage independent Human Rights Institute to to property, 22 cases of disturbing the conduct research and give political advice, death and 400 other crimes. Only 31 per- and commended the Government’s efforts petrators had been apprehended as of ear- to establish the International Criminal Court ly February 2001.4 and promote human rights in development In proportion to the population, by far policy. Amnesty International did welcome the largest number of violent incidents the adoption of regulations on the export of were recorded in the so-called new Federal war and armament equipment, but noted States, i.e. the former East Germany. It ap- that the regulations did not guarantee the peared that the authorities there were very end of such exports and expressed disap- often not in a position to deal appropriate- pointment at Germany’s failure to meet ly with such incidents. transparent and consistent arms export In August 2000, following the meeting principles based on human rights.1 of the Interior Ministers of the Federal States, German authorities initiated meas- Xenophobia, Anti-Semitism and Racism ures to reduce the activities of extreme rightist groups. After a lively public discus- Anti-Semitism and racism remained a sion about the nature of the German Natio- serious problem in Germany in 2000. The nal Democratic Party (NPD, Nationalde- number of racially motivated criminal acts mokratische Partei Deutschlands), the committed by extreme rightist groups in- Government asked the Federal Constitu- creased by about 50 percent from 1999, tional Court on 30 January 2001 to ban the i.e. from 10,000 to 15,000. In December NPD on the grounds that it denounced the 2000, the German Federal Criminal Bureau Constitution; was hostile towards or ig- (Bundeskriminalamt) registered 638 acts nored democracy and human rights; was committed by such groups; a further 216 intolerant of persons with different opin- acts were registered as xenophobic. Thirty- ions and also towards aliens; had adopted seven persons were injured. The criminal a totalitarian party program; had perceived acts included destruction of property, close relations to National Socialism; and threats, attacks on individuals, breaches of was anti-Semitic, anti-pacifist, revisionist, the peace and attacks with explosives. The militant and ready to resort to violence. figures were published by the conference Moreover, it systematically tried to gain 2 of the German Interior Ministers. power through its network, agitation, and On 10 June, three skinheads attacked indoctrination (particularly of the youth) Alberto Adriano (from Mozambique) in and by threatening its political opponents.5 GERMANY 143

The NPD served as a political umbrella In its decision, the Federal Constitutio- organization for skinhead and Nazi demon- nal Court also emphasized the equality of strations and other assemblies, which often religions. In particular, the Court empha- escalated into violent incidents. sized the equality of opportunity for all reli- In September, Federal Minister of gious associations by establishing in its jud- Interior Otto Schily banned the German di- gment that no excessive requirements are vision of the international skinhead organi- to be set for religious associations endeav- zation “Blood and Honour” and its youth ouring to obtain public corporation status.8 organization “White Youth”. The organiza- Jehovah’s Witnesses had been applying for tion had violated Article 5 of the Law on corporation status under public law for Associations by holding activities against years. Opponents had cited the communi- the constitutional order and inter-ethnic ty’s “enmity” towards the State due, for ex- understanding.6 ample, to its refusal to participate in public Despite the recommendations of the elections or to perform military service. UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial The Rheinland-Pfalz Superior Court Discrimination that Germany adopt a com- (OVG) held in November that the German prehensive Anti-Discrimination Law and in- Unification Church (Moon community) was troduce a mechanism for the implementa- permitted to contest an immigration order tion of the Convention in Germany, this prohibiting its leader’s entrance into the had not happened by the end of 2000. country. According to the judge, if a reli- Nor did Germany make a declaration to gious community’s foreign spiritual leader guarantee refugees and minorities access is refused entry into Germany, the right to to individual appeal procedures regarding practice religion freely is not automatically discrimination and to claim compensation. excluded in advance. The OVG declared that the Unification Church’s lawsuit was Religious Intolerance permissible, but at the same time it left ap- On 19 December, the Federal Consti- peal open to the Federal Administrative tutional Court handed down a fundamental Court in Berlin because of the unprece- 9 decision about the question of granting re- dented significance of the matter. ligions the status of a corporation under The Unification Church was registered public law; Jehovah’s Witnesses being the as an association in 2000, thereby uniting religion in question. The Jehovah’s Witness its German members with the worldwide 10 community had appealed to the Constitu- religious community. tional Court to contest the decision of Berlin’s Federal Administrative Court, which Protection of Asylum Seekers and had refused to grant them the status of a Immigrants corporation under public law. In contrast to In 2000, 87,564 individuals sought po- the decision of the Federal Administrative litical asylum in Germany, a number that Court, the Federal Constitutional Court held decreased by 17.4 percent from 1999. that the granting of public corporation rights Asylum was granted to 3 percent of all ap- to religious associations must not be made plicants, 7.9 percent received a deportation dependent upon their special loyalty to- order and 29 percent of the claims were wards the State. Such a requirement would not considered due, for example, to the infringe upon the law on religions and the withdrawal of asylum claims by the appli- ideological neutrality of the State.7 cants.11 The Federal Constitutional Court re- The main problems regarding asylum ferred the case back to the Federal seekers in Germany included: the Govern- Administrative Court in order for a renewed ment’s failure to guarantee protection to in- decision to be made. dividuals who were not persecuted by a 144 GERMANY state or quasi-state actor; airport procedures According to the Federal Constitutional that raised doubts about the thoroughness Court, the Federal Administrative Court had of the investigation; long periods of custody “denied petitioners the right to asylum be- for asylum seekers; forced that cause of extremely narrowly interpreted sometimes involved misconduct by law en- wording on the appearance of quasi-state forcement officials; and insufficient protec- persecution, completely equating political tion for unaccompanied children. with state or quasi-state persecution.” The Germany still failed to fully implement Court added that “it had exaggerated the the recommendations of the UN and other requirements on the presence of political international organizations (particularly the persecution” prescribed by Article 16(1) of Geneva Convention and the rulings of the the Constitution.16 The Federal Administrati- European Court of Human Rights), mean- ve Court had been of the view that an orga- ing that Germany could no longer be re- nization in power is only capable of political garded as a “safe third country.” persecution if it is based on completely sta- The Government’s decision in spring to bilized territorial power.17 open the German labour market to com- Until that decision, the new German puter experts from non-EU states raised Government had followed a policy of re- criticism by human rights NGOs in light of fusing to grant political asylum either on the remaining employment ban for asylum the basis of the Geneva Convention or seekers.12 Fortunately, the Federal Gover- Article 3 of the ECHR regarding non-re- nment decided in December that asylum foulement of victims of non-governmental seekers and persons allowed to stay on persecution. The criteria for defining state specific grounds (geduldet) should be or quasi-state actors were so restrictive that granted a work permit following a waiting they excluded even the Taliban in Afgha- period of one year of legal stay in Germany. nistan, although the Taliban have been in The new regulation came into force on 1 power for years and occupy most of the January 2001. On this basis, some 85,000 country. As a result, individuals fleeing aliens are allowed to work legally.13 countries such as Afghanistan and Somalia Under Article 56v of the Act on Asylum were not offered access to the refugee de- Procedures, asylum seekers were obliged termination procedure in Germany. to apply for special permission to leave the often-small residence assigned to them. Forced Deportations The permission was often not granted.14 The deportation of numerous individu- The social benefits that asylum seekers als to their countries of origin in many cas- received instead of social allowances had es resulted in their arrest, torture, ill-treat- not been adapted to the increased living ment and other persecution. In its 22 June costs since 1993, when the Act on Benefits report, the Foreign Ministry corrected, on for Asylum Seekers came into force. The some points, its previous assessments of so-called amounts for basic benefits fell sig- the dangerous return situation of Kurdish nificantly below the standard social al- asylum seekers. For example, the Ministry lowances.15 re-assessed the dangers to families and friends resulting from the political activities Persecution by Non-Governmental Actors of Kurdish refugees in exile and no longer In 2000, asylum seekers coming from the family’s penal liability if returned to civil war countries such as Afghanistan Turkey. However, according to Pro Asyl, the could hope for protection in Germany after report still failed to understand the dramat- 18 the Federal Constitutional Court cancelled ic experience of Kurdish returnees. the jurisdiction of the Federal Administra- Abdülhalim Nayir, a Kurd, was deported tive Court on Afghanistan on 10 August. from Germany in February 1999. Upon his GERMANY 145 arrival in Izmir, he was immediately arrested treme psychological and physical pressure. at the airport, tortured, detained and Several people attempted suicide; others charged - but later acquitted. He had been were taken for psychiatric treatment. pressured to denounce his family members On 8 May, an Algerian woman who and friends as Kurdish activists and - under had been living in Frankfurt airport accom- threat of death - forced to cooperate with modation for seven months awaiting air- the notorious Anti-Terror Forces. He ma- port procedure, committed suicide. After naged to return to Germany, but was arrest- collapsing physically and receiving acute ed and denied access to the asylum proce- psychiatric treatment, she saw no way out dure - although there was evidence of his of the vicious circle.22 torture and detention in Turkey. The author- ities stated that during the first asylum pro- 23 cedure Nayir had not been able to give suf- Pre-Deportation Custody ficient proof of persecution against him.19 On 4 January 2001,the Federal Constitutional Court published a decision A discussion on the use of inhuman regarding pre-deportation custody. The methods to forcibly deport people contin- Court informed the lower courts that the ued in 2001. Throughout the 90’s, law en- authorities had to balance more carefully forcement officials had used adhesive tape the interest in deportation and the affected to close the deportees’ mouth or put persons’ legal right to liberty, holding that if something in their mouths to stop them foreigners cannot be deported (and they from screaming; bound their legs and arms and placed helmets on their heads al- do not have to justify the reasons for this), legedly to protect them from physical injury they ought - as a rule - to be released from and to prevent the deportees from biting detention pending deportation. For years, the law enforcement officials. many German magistrates had been sign- Amnesty International also reported ing detention orders almost automatically the technique of restraining a deportee in without appropriately examining each case. the sitting position by forcing the upper Pro Asyl criticized as unconstitutional body forward onto, and below, the knees, the length of the maximum duration of pre- noting that this technique may impede the deportation detention (18 months) and breathing of a deportee, especially when the execution practice because there were great amounts of pressure are exerted and still no legal regulations on the execution of while other restraints are employed at the pre-deportation detention. In practice, indi- same time.20 Over the years, there have viduals awaiting deportation in detention been several cases of deportees’ deaths. often lived in even worse circumstances The Ministry of Interior decided on a tem- than criminal prisoners. porary ban on forced deportations follow- ing the death of Aamir Ageeb on 28 May Women Refugees and Immigrants 1999. When the deportations resumed, Rape by enemies, genital mutilation, the helmets were no longer used.21 and harsh or inhuman treatment inflicted for breaking strict social and religious rules Airport Asylum Procedure (e.g. dress regulations) were not accepted In 1999, accommodation premises as grounds for asylum. Moreover, women were built at Frankfurt airport for asylum saw less changes in the asylum procedure seekers awaiting airport asylum procedure. since women-specific persecution was not The physical conditions, however, re- deemed to be politically motivated. Wo- mained poor and individuals were held men’s testimony was often not believed, there for intolerably long periods of time - and sexual violence against women was many for several months, leading to ex- frequently not recognized as a method of 146 GERMANY systematic persecution, but seen rather as turned from the border without any asylum an individual encroachment. process, assistance or help, and the acceler- On 1 June, an amendment to Article ated procedure was used on children at air- 19 of the Law on Aliens came into force, ports. Many children between 16 and 18 improving the status of foreign female were taken into custody pending deportation. spouses in Germany. In particular, the law ameliorated the situation of foreign women Refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina who could now be granted an individual and Kosovo26 residence permit following a divorce on the The conference of German Interior condition that they had legally lived in Ministers in November decided that ap- Germany for at least two years. Previously, proximately 15,000 particularly traumatised the minimum length of residence had persons from Bosnia and Herzegovina may been four years. Through the amendment, be given right to residence in Germany, women no longer had to endure an abu- which could be prolonged with the possi- sive marriage for fear of having to return to bility of permanent residence. Persons af- their country of origin in case of divorce.24 fected by the decision must have been un- der specialist or psychotherapeutic treat- Minor Asylum Seekers ment since at least 1 January 2000. Germany’s reservation to the UN Further, traumatised refugees from Kosovo Convention on the Rights of the Child upon can receive residence authorization on the ratification in 1992 remained in force basis of individual examinations. The deci- throughout 2000. According to the reserva- tion, German asylum law should not be af- sion required that the Kosovars originate fected by the provisions of the Convention. from areas that cannot guarantee specific Germany also failed in 2000 to take the protection for minorities. According to necessary legal measures to bring domes- Kosovo observers, no region in Kosovo can tic legislation into line with the Convention offer such protection. The status of multi- regarding the treatment of child refugees.25 ethnic couples remained unclear. Under Article 22 of the Convention on The conference further decided to give the Rights of the Child, children under 18 residence authorization to persons from years of age enjoy special protection; in par- Bosnia and Herzegovina if they have no ticular, they cannot be held in custody. family members in that country anymore. However, German law continued to treat However, their welfare is to be guaranteed asylum seekers over the age of 16 as adults. by family members, i.e. the State is not pre- On the basis of the “third country” rule, pared to pay supplementary welfare aid, unaccompanied children continued to be re- sickness benefits or nursing allowances.

Endnotes 1 Amnesty International German Section, “Menschenrechtspolitik der Bundesregierung fehlt durchgängiges Konzept,“ press release, 28 December 2000. 2 APA, 5 February 2001. 3 Neue Zeit, 23 August 2000. 4 Ibid. 5 Ministry of Interior, “Bundesregiurung beatragt beim Bundesfervassungsgericht das Verbot der Nationaldemokratischen Partei Deutschlands (NPD)”, press release, 31 January 2001. 6 Ministry of Interior, “Schily verbietet neonazistische Organistion ‘Blood and Honor’ und ‘White Youth’”, press release, 14 September 2000. GERMANY 147

7 Based on Watch Tower, “Jehovah’s Witnesses Successful in Appeal on Constitutional Grounds,” 21 December 2000, distributed by Human Rights Without Frontiers. 8 Ibid. 9 Frankfurter Rundschau, 10 November 2000, distributed by Human Rights Without Frontiers. 10 Ibid. 11 Ministry of Interior, press release, 4 January 2001, distributed by Human Rights Without Frontiers. 12 Pro Asyl, “The Green Card fro Computer Specialists is Coming While Asylum Seekers are Seeing the Red One on the Labour Market. Refugees Go on Suffering from Illegal Employment Ban,” press release, 4 May 2000. 13 Süddeutsche Zeitung, “Asylwerber dürfen nach einem Jahr Wartezeit arbeiten,” 7 December 2000. 14 Pro Asyl, “With a Restricted Freedom of Movement Asylum Seekers Are Harassed. A New Process against Activists of the VOICE. Pro Asyl Demands Right to Freedom of Movement Also for Refugees,”press release, 5 February 2001. 15 Pro Asyl, “Also in 2001: Necessary Adaptation of Social Assistance for Subsistence of Asylum Seekers Again Needed. Misery Ordained Instead of Legal Regulation Furthermore,” press release, 8 January 2001. 16 Pro Asyl, “Hope for Refugees from Afghanistan and Other Civil War Countries. Federal Constitutional Court Cancels the Jurisdiction of the Federal Administrative Court on Afghanistan,”press release, 18 August 2000. 17 Ibid. 18 The German authorities had examined 23 rejected Kurdish asylum seekers who had been deported to Turkey and arrested them, tortured, and ill-treated. According to the re- sults, 12 were recognized afterwards as refugees in accordance with General Conven- tion. Some were allowed re-entry to Germany but could not do it as they served long custodial punishments. Only in one case the allegations of torture were regarded as du- bious. (Pro Asyl, “Maltreatment Cases to a Large Extent Confirmed by Authorities and Courts. Foreign Office Corrects Country Report on Turkey,”27 July 2000. ) 19 Pro Asyl, “Federal Office Tries to Deport a Tortured Kurd a Second Time,” press release, 30 May 2000. 20 Amnesty International, “Germany: The Death During Forcible Deportation of Aamir Ageeb,” EUR 23/004/00, 4 October 2000. 21 Ibid. 22 Pro Asyl, “Algerian Woman Refused Airport Asylum Procedure Hung Herself in the Transit Zone of Frankfurt Airport: Deadly Inactivity of the Home Minister,” press release, 8 May 2000; and “Is Inactivity a Special Method in the Federal Ministry of the Interior? Asks Pro Asyl after a renewed suicide attempt at Frankfurt airport. Reproaches against Federal Home Minister ’intolerable and slanderous’,” press release, 16 May. 23 Based on Pro Asyl, “Federal Constitutional Court Ruling on Detention Pending Deporta- tion. Pro Asyl Welcomes Ruling Karlsruhe Reminds Courts of Self-Evident Truths Relating to the Rule of Law,” press release, 5 January 2001. 24 Ministry of Interior, press release, 2 June 2000. 25 Pro Asyl, press release, 4 September 2000. 26 Based on Pro Asyl, “Home Ministers Decision on Bosnian Refugees. Despite Serious De- fects 15,000 Refugees May Remain. Pro Asyl Calls Upon the Federal States to Interprete the Decision Generously,” 27 November 2000. 148 GREECE1

A "sweep” of illegal migrants on the streets of Athens. © Eurokinissi

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression; ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in prisons and detention facilities; racism and anti-Semitism; reli- gious intolerance; protection of national and ethnic minorities; citizenship and state- lessness; protection of immigrants; human rights defenders.

There were few advances in the field of punity prevails in the administration, which human rights in Greece in 2000, with the ex- in some cases favours occasional illegal ac- ception of the persistent and meritorious tions, or in other cases perpetuates a status work of the Ombudsman’s Office, set up in of generalised anomy and corruption”. 1998, which has brought to the surface many latent human rights problems in Freedom of Expression Greece. The human rights situation in Greece In its 2000 report, ex- is best illustrated in the Ombudsman’s pressed concern related to state officials’ Annual Report 1999 (p. 18, 69-70): “Human rights violations by the ad- frequent recourse to libel charges against ministration […] can be codified with the critical journalists. As a result, Greece re- words arbitrariness-indifference-bias-im- ceived the lowest score among countries punity; they take their most acute form with a long democratic tradition for the re- when applied against vulnerable social spect of freedom of expression. Freedom groups. […] The administration, reproduc- House also considered that although the ing the most backward reflexes of our soci- Greek press is generally free from govern- ety, often shows its worst face when deal- ment control, self-censorship (especially ing with members of minority groups. […] over the NATO air strikes in Yugoslavia) was It is common wisdom that a feeling of im- common. GREECE 149

The International Press Institute (IPI) fundamentalist Christians, who burnt expressed similar concerns in its 1999 copies of the book and attacked the book- World Press Freedom Report, in which it store in which it was launched. No arrests stressed that criminal charges brought were made and although Archbishop against journalists and newspapers in cases Christodoulos condemned the incidents, of alleged libel and defamation have a he also stated that the book was blasphe- “chilling effect” on the right to freedom of mous and implied that the indictments expression. It also reiterated its view that li- were justified. The presumption that the in- bel and defamation charges should be rele- stigators were at least protected, if not mo- gated to the Civil Code. Regrettably, the tivated, by the Orthodox Church was made Greek State sees no need to adopt a new all the more stronger when at the 8 March policy on this issue, as its spokesman stated hearing, Christian zealots and black-clad to the IPI. Thus, criminal convictions or the monks stormed the court, chanting “blas- threat thereof have continued unabated. phemers” and “antichrists” at Androulakis’ defence lawyer, who was also beaten by The case of Sotiris Bletsas, member of some of the protesters. Once again, no ar- the Society for Aroumanian (Vlach) Culture, rests were made. Due to these incidents was deferred again after being postponed and fears of further violence, the circulation on 9 November 1999. Bletsas was indicted of the book was banned until September, in 1995 under Article 191 of the Penal when the court dismissed a suit demand- Code, concerning the dissemination of fal- ing an injunction to permanently halt the se information. His “crime” entailed sale of the book. Similar indictments were the distribution of a publication of the Euro- issued in the meantime in Athens, follow- pean Union’s Bureau for Lesser Used Lan- ing charges brought by the fundamentalist guages, in which Aromanian was described Orthodox group Greek-Orthodox Salvation as a minority language spoken in Greece Movement (ELKIS). On 9 November, the alongside Arvanite, Macedonian, Pomak, Council of Misdemeanour Judges of and Turkish. An MP and the leadership of Athens quashed the charges, arguing that the Panhellenic Union of Vlach Associations the book is a literary piece of art, protected deemed this to be insulting to the Vlachs. by Article 16 of the Greek Constitution. On 2 February 2001, Bletsas was convicted to 15 months’ imprisonment and fined On 3 March 2000, world-renowned vi- 500,000 drachmas (U.S.$ 1,400), a sen- olinist Leonidas Kavakos was given a four- tence suspended pending appeal. month suspended prison sentence by the three-member First Instance Court in The most high profile case involved Salonica for allegedly defamatory state- novelist Mimis Androulakis and his publish- ments made in a March 1999 interview in er Thanasis Kastaniotis. On 4 February, a local newspaper, concerning three mem- charges were brought in Thessaloniki bers of the artistic board of the Salonica against the two men under the expedient State Orchestra. Kavakos was fined indictment procedure that does not require 200,000 drachmas (U.S.$ 510) in dam- any prior investigation of the charges and is ages to each of the plaintiffs. He appealed reserved for serious crimes. They were the sentence and was released pending both indicted on 3 March under Article 199 the appeal. of the Penal Code for allegedly committing blasphemy against a known religion and its On 7 March, composer Manolis Rasou- founder. In his latest book, M to the Nth lis was given a 12-month prison sentence power, Androulakis portrays Jesus Christ as (which can be “bought off” for 1,500 having had sexual relationships and out-of- drachmas, or U.S.$ 4 per day) by the three- wedlock children. This raised furore among member First Instance (Misdemeanour) 150 GREECE

Court in Athens for the “aggravated be noted that a Single-Member Misdemea- defamation” of singer Yorgos Dalaras. The nour Court of Salonica gave Christos Pap- Court considered the statement made by pas a four-month sentence (commuted to Rasoulis in an interview to the daily Exousia a fine) on 30 October for the “desecration on 14 April 1998 to be defamatory but ac- of a national symbol” because he burnt a quitted the newspaper, holding that there Greek flag on 28 October. He was released was no intent to defame. on appeal. Additionally, Panousis was given a suspended five-month sentence by a In April, a three-member Misdemea- three-member Misdemeanour Court of nour Court of Lefkada (Ionian Islands) sen- Athens on 3 November for having insulted tenced three journalists of the regional dai- singer George Dalaras. The latter consid- ly Enimerosi each to 10 months in prison ered Panousis’s insinuation that he had re- for the defamation of P. Kavvadas, a mem- ceived money for a benefit concert in ber of the Central Committee of (conserva- Cyprus to be “insulting”. tive opposition) , for a comment published in September 1998 On 9 November, the Fourth Three- during the election campaign for the Member Misdemeanour Court of Athens prefecture elections. The defendants were convicted Marousi (Greater Athens) City tried without a lawyer because the Court Councillor Nikos Kavvalos for the aggravat- rejected their request for postponement ed defamation of his fellow City Councillor because their lawyer was attending a E. Kastanakis. The charges were based on Council of State trial in Athens. They were Kavvalos’ letter to a local newspaper, alleg- released pending appeal. ing the mismanagement of a municipal contract by Kastanakis. On 15 September, the Prefect of Thes- saloniki Costas Papadopoulos reportedly re- On 19 December, the Second Three- fused to grant the required license of use of Member Misdemeanour Court of Athens state owned property to local NGOs that convicted Dimitris Rizos, publisher of wanted to organise a concert in solidarity Adesmeftos Typos, for repeated insults with the Yugoslav student opposition move- against George Papazoglou. He was sen- ment OTPOR (Resistance). According to the tenced to four months in prison but was re- prefect, granting the license would amount to leased on appeal. Rizos had asked for a an “intrusion in the internal affairs of another postponement because his lawyer was not country”. The organisers tried to move to an- present but his request was denied. He other location but perseverance by the Greek then left the Court and was tried in absen- Communist Party (KKE) led to its ban. tia. At his next trial, which took place on 20 December, he was sentenced to 21 On 23 October, a Single-Member months in prison by the Eleventh Three- Misdemeanour Court of Athens convicted Member Misdemeanour Court of Athens singer and satire artist Jimmy Panousis, un- for the insulting and aggravated defamation der the “in flagrante” procedure, to a sus- of Costas Mitsis, publisher of another news- pended four-month sentence for “desecra- paper with the same name, Adesmeftos tion of a national symbol.” He was charged Typos. Rizos was released on appeal. in connection with a poster announcing his nightclub program and depicting an altered The combination of the right to free- Greek flag with vertical instead of horizon- dom of expression and issues pertaining to 2 tal blue and white stripes, and a hammer national minorities appears to be volatile. and sickle. On Greece’s national day (28 Writer Vasko Karadza, a Macedonian October) the Greek President denounced citizen, was denied entrance into Greece the poster, arguing that “this symbol [the on 30 May. He was born in Greece, from flag] protects freedom in Greece.” It should where he left during the civil war and was GREECE 151 subsequently stripped of his citizenship. His A group of three Turkish journalists books have been published both in were temporarily detained on 15 July Macedonia and in Greece, yet his activities 2000 on the road from Xanthi and Echinos in Macedonian human rights and cultural in Greek Thrace. They had been charged organizations have earned him a place on with preparing a documentary on ethnic the list of “inadmissible” persons despite Greeks from Turkey that had settled in the fact that he had a valid visa issued by Thrace following the 1923 populations’ ex- the Greek Consulate in Skopje and had change between Greece and Turkey, as also visited Greece in the past. Karadza ap- well as on the Turkish minority living in the pealed his case to the Greek Ombudsman area. Although they had secured the nec- in September through the Greek Helsinki essary permit from the Greek Ministry of Monitor. The Ombudsman informed him Mass Media to carry out their work and on 15 November that he had been includ- take photographs, they were followed and ed on the “national list of undesirable per- eventually stopped by plain clothed police sons” since his last trip in Greece, as he officers who informed them that they was considered “a threat to public order or could not proceed as they did not have the to state security.” Such matters are outside proper license for entering the restricted the mandate of the Ombudsman, who zone. When presented with the license, nevertheless suggested that Karadza ap- the officials stated that it was not valid. peal to the National Privacy Authority to de- They prevented the group from leaving termine the reasons for being “blacklisted.” and called for more police officials, who, upon their arrival, checked and took the A similar case involved Slavko Mangov- group’s documents abruptly. The journal- ski, editor of in Skopje ists were forced to drive back to Xanthi, and a well-known defender of the rights of where the group’s leader was interrogated the Macedonian minorities throughout the and told harshly that they could not enter Balkans. He discovered that he was on the the restricted zone without a permit issued list of “undesirables” when he attempted to by the Greek Chief of Staff, a process that enter Greece in order to attend a village would take at least three days. Presumably festival in Northern Greece. Mangovski also frustrated, the group decided to abort its filed a complaint with the Greek Ombuds- project and eventually returned to Turkey, man, who informed Mangovski on 12 Janu- continuously followed by plain clothed po- ary 2001 that he was indeed on the list for lice officials. “reasons of national security.” Moreover, at the 2000 OSCE Implementation Meeting Ill-Treatment and Misconduct by Law on Human Dimension Issues, the Greek Enforcement Officials Government said:3 In a letter from the Greek Police Gene- “There are a few cases of activists who ral Staff to the Human Rights Directorate of want to enter Greece to prove a point, to the Greek Foreign Ministry, it was asserted challenge the Greek Government, or to that the Roma, due to their illiteracy, moral turn themselves to heroes to the handful standards, customs and occupations, of their co-activists who pursue the same demonstrate unlawful behaviour that “[…] policies. Most, but not - I stress: not - all of is usually the expression of everyday life”. them pursue a policy of secession of a Such a remark, emanating from the leader- sizeable part of Greek territory. Of course ship of the Greek police force, is both a re- we are not alarmed by a handful of ac- sult of and cause for the perpetuation of tivists. But, all the same, we cannot wel- the Roma criminals among police officers. come them with open arms and accept Furthermore, even when confronted with their provocations with gratitude.” substantial evidence, courts are reluctant to 152 GREECE prosecute police officers, thereby contribut- Conditions in Prisons and Detention ing further to the prevailing climate of im- Facilities punity among the ranks of the Greek Police Following citizens’ complaints, the Force. Once again, the cases that arose Ombudsman visited the Omonoia Square concerned Rom individuals almost exclu- Police Station, located in the centre of sively. Athens, in 1999. According to his findings, In May 1998, police officers in Meso- the overcrowding of the establishment, longhi ill-treated two Rom youths, Lazaros caused by the lengthy detention (up to six Bekos and Eleftherios Kotropoulos, who months) of foreigners and the notorious had been arrested for attempted ice-cream “sweep operations” (whereby everyone theft. Despite incriminating forensic evi- who looks like a foreigner is stopped and dence, charges pressed by the victims, the asked to produce his legal documents, fail- active involvement of international and ing which he is led to the police station, Greek NGOs and the indictment of three usually in order to be deported). Along with police officers by the Public Prosecutor “for the prevailing hygienic and material condi- torture and other deeds offensive to hu- tions, detention in such places could well man dignity”, the policemen were not amount to inhuman and degrading treat- transferred and reportedly pressured the ment in itself. victims to drop the charges. Furthermore, a The situation was scarcely different in trial was not set. An investigation mandated the Attica General Police Directorate deten- by the police and Ministry for Public Order tion centre for foreigners, which was visited is not known to have reached any conclu- by a Human Rights Watch group in Novem- sions. ber 2000. The group found that the “de- tainees lived in conditions of severe over- Angelos Celal was killed by policemen crowding, and lacked access to fresh air or in 1998. Following a reluctant administra- exercise, adequate sleeping accommoda- tive investigation carried out by the Ministry tions, adequate food, and adequate access for Public Order, his father pressed charges to medical care.”4 against the responsible police officers. In May 1998, the District Attorney’s Office an- Racism and Anti-Semitism nounced that the police officers would be prosecuted for a host of criminal offences, A number of municipal authorities ap- including inter alia murder, attempted mur- peared to espouse quite openly racist ideas der and the illegal use and possession of and act upon them without any condem- firearms. Despite the fact that according to nation by the State. In 2000, the municipal the police report, Angelos Celal was un- councils of Nea Kios, Nea Tiryntha and armed and shot in the back, the Council of Midea (in Argolida, ) all unan- Court Judges of First Instance of imously decided that the Roma population Thessaloniki held on 29 March 2000 that in their respective localities was to be all charges should be dropped because the blamed for the rising criminality, despite the police officers had acted in “legitimate self- lack of police data to this effect. In an at- defence.” A request to the Prosecutor’s tempt to single-handedly tackle the prob- Office submitted by the Greek Helsinki lem, they decided to evict the Roma with- Monitor and Minority Rights Group-Greece out suggesting concrete solutions for their challenging the Court’s ruling was disre- relocation. garded, and Angelos’ father’s appeal was Anti-Semitic attacks on unprotected rejected because of a mere technicality. As Jewish monuments in Salonica took place of this writing, the case is before the on 20-21 April 2000. Swastikas and anti- Supreme Court. Semitic slogans were written on the GREECE 153

Holocaust Monument and a Synagogue of freely distributed in the pressroom of the Salonica at a time coinciding with Jewish Ministry for the Press and Mass Media. Passover and the 33rd anniversary of the 21 According to Agence France Presse in April 1967 military coup. The event was ig- Athens, which reported the incident,5 Minis- nored by both the media and the political ter Geroge Reppas failed to condemn the parties. distribution and the book itself, which inter alia equates “the pictures of Hitler’s cruelty On 24 May, swastikas were painted on with those from Africa or elsewhere of the the wall of Jules Dassin’s house in Athens. monstrosities of Judeo-American-Zionist As the widower of venerated Melina capitalism.” Merkouri, the event did stir some reactions, but they were low key. In late November, Yparho (I Exist), a narrative biography of popular singer On 29 May, Greece’s largest Jewish Stelios Kazantzidis, recorded and published cemetery in Nikaia (Greater Athens) was by well-known writer Vasilis Vasilikos, also vastly desecrated with swastikas and neo- Greek Ambassador to UNESCO, was pub- Nazi slogans. This time, although the lished. The book includes, with no critical Government and even the Orthodox remarks by the author, a series of anti- Archbishop condemned the act, the event Semitic comments that Kazantzidis is and the statements went underreported in known to have made. the media. At the root of Greece’s inaction to face Such attacks did not attract much pub- the increasing incidence of racism, hate licity in the media. In contrast, the imag- speech and anti-Semitism, is a dogged de- ined involvement of Jewish lobbies, espe- termination not to recognise its multicultur- cially in relation to the highly contested is- al character. This was made all the more ev- sue of I.D. reform, was repeatedly men- ident in Greece’s reply to the 2nd ECRI tioned in the media. In this case, even lead- Report on Greece, released on 27 June. In ing Church officials and MP’s from both the report, ECRI expressed concerns about major parties made repeated anti-Semitic problems of racism, intolerance and exclu- remarks. Conservative opposition party MP sion, in particular vis-à-vis the Roma popu- Gerassimos Yakoumatos called the Prime lation, Albanians and members of the Tur- Minister a “high priest of modern Judaism” kish minority. The Greek State rejected the- in Parliament. In late October MP Yiorgos se concerns, arguing that it is in the best po- Karatzaferis – elected with opposition New sition to determine what should be done in Democracy and later expelled for his at- order to protect its citizens’ rights and that it tacks against the party spokesperson - need not adhere to “[…] the notion of a tabled a parliamentary question to Prime multicultural character of Greek society”. Minister Costas Simitis. He asked the Prime In 2000, two surveys confirmed the Minister to inform him whether his daugh- gravity of the problem of xenophobia in ter had been secretly married in a Jewish Greece. On 1 November, the publication of Synagogue, ostensibly attempting to link the EU’s spring 2000 Eurobarometer sur- this event to the I.D. issue. This act was not vey showed that 38 percent of Greeks are condemned by any circles (political, media, disturbed by the presence of foreigners or even the Central Jewish Council). (“citizens with other nationalities”) in On 9 November ( com- Greece. The EU average was 15 percent.6 memoration day), an anti-Semitic book Another even more revealing result from written by a journalist attending the press the same survey was published on 25 briefings (Andreas Daldakis, The Philosop- January 2001 by the European Monitoring hy of Soya or Institutionalised Misery) was Centre on Racism and Xenophobia 154 GREECE

(EUMC).7 The results showed that while 64 tions are especially dangerous when es- percent of EU citizens consider it a positive poused by courts and official authorities thing for any society to be made up of peo- that are supposed to be neutral. ple from different races, religions, and cul- On 6 April, the European Court of tures, only 36 percent shared that view in Human Rights held unanimously in the Greece, and 52 percent disagreed (com- case of Thlimmenos v. Greece that there pared with 26 percent of EU citizens gen- had been of violation of, inter alia, Article 9 erally). One month later, the results of a (freedom of religion/belief) of the spring 1999 survey were released. Carried European Convention on Human Rights. out by the state National Centre for Social Mr. Thlimmenos, a Jehovah’s Witness, was Research (EKKE), the survey showed that, refused the right to work as a chartered ac- on a composite index, 47-54 percent of countant although he met the proscribed junior high and senior high school pupils, professional standards. The refusal was 8 parents and teachers were xenophobic. based on his penal record, which contained a conviction for refusal to serve in the army Religious Intolerance due to his religious beliefs. Certain positive developments appear to have been set in motion in 2000. In the latest series of incidents dating Following a long debate in 2000, on 9 back to the interwar period, the (New January 2001, the Minister of Justice stated Calendarist) official Orthodox Church con- that the Government will abolish the old tinued, for the second consecutive year, to laws dating back to the 1930’s on prose- occupy a small church in a suburb of lytism and licenses for houses of worship. Athens, built and owned (until its dispos- Furthermore, the Government stood by its session) by a group of Old Calendarists. decision to remove religious status from Municipal and police authorities did not I.D. cards. It was ultimately decided that a demonstrate any intention to react. mosque should be built in the greater On 13 June, Hara Kalomoiri was given Athens area, although admittedly the deci- a suspended sentence of two months in sion had more to do with the 2004 prison by a Three-Member Misdemeanour Olympic Games and the religious needs of Court of Salonica for having operated a Muslim athletes, and less to do with the house of worship without the required per- greater Athens Muslim population (mostly mit. In the Court’s view, the establishment migrant) of over 100,000. where Kalomoiri worked (the Centre of No progress was made with regard to Practical Philosophy and Psychology) was the punitive length of the newly introduced actually the temple of a Buddhist cult as its conscientious objectors’ civilian service. “residents engaged in Buddhist activities, Furthermore, problems concerning the se- concretely […] meditation.” lection of the mufti, the appointment of the management committees of the wakf On 12 December, in the Single-Mem- properties, as well as the size and owner- ber First Circuit Court of Thessaloniki, for ship of such properties, were not ad- the first time in Greek judicial history, rep- dressed and had a lingering effect on rela- resentatives of all minority Christian church- tions between the Greek State and its es were tried simultaneously. Sixteen Muslim (and predominantly ethnic Turkish) Catholics, Protestants, and Jehovah’s minority. Witnesses were indicted for the “unautho- The most challenging task in 2000 rised operation of a house of worship” in however lay in countering widespread per- violation of Article 1 of Law 1672/1939, ceptions about other religions and dogmas despite the fact that for 11 houses the nec- (i.e. non-Greek Orthodox). Such percep- essary permits were produced, while the GREECE 155 other five were simply offices of the re- violated Article 9 (freedom of religion/be- spective churches. Furthermore, in support lief). The Court’s reasoning went unheeded of the view that the indictments were in the virtually identical case of Mr. Aga, the aimed at “intimidating” the ministers of the elected Mufti of Xanthi, who was convicted denominations, one of the ministers had at trial on 31 May and 7 November 2000: already been acquitted by the Court for the over the years, he has received prison sen- same charge on 5 November 1999. On 12 tences of more than 100 months (that he December, all sixteen defendants were ac- usually “buys off”), having been convicted quitted. in some 15 cases. On 25 January, the European Court of Human Rights held a vi- Protection of National and Ethnic olation of Article 6(1) concerning the Minorities length of criminal proceedings in the case of Mehmet Emin Aga v. Greece. Just satis- The auspicious statements made by faction of 2 million Greek drachmas (U.S,$ the Greek Foreign Minister G. Papandreou 5,130) was awarded for non-pecuniary in 1999, supporting minorities’ right to self- damage. identification and announcing the immi- nent ratification of the Council of Europe’s On 29 June, the European Court of Framework Convention on the Protection Human Rights dismissed the case of Raif of National Minorities, were met with such Oglu v. Greece. Atnan Raif Oglu is a mem- strong opposition that he had to effectively ber of the Turkish minority. On 4 February renounce them. As a result, the existing 1993, he was suspended for a year from policy towards minorities, which considered his job as a primary school teacher in the their express recognition by an internation- minority school of Xanthi in Thrace for us- al treaty as a sine qua non for their recog- ing the term “Turkish teacher” and using old nition, still applied in 2000. Thus, according Turkish names for villages. On 2 February to the Greek State, there was only one (re- 1994, he was told he could not resume ligious) minority, that of the Muslims of teaching as there were no posts available Western Thrace, protected by the 1923 and on 24 September 1996 he was dis- Lausanne Treaty. missed from his job for engaging in activi- ties that “could harm the interests of the Turkish Minority State.” Both decisions were quashed by the Apart from its continued non-recogni- Administrative Court of Appeal, but he was tion as a national minority, the issue of the not reinstated. He lodged a complaint with muftis remained another problem faced by the European Court, invoking Articles 6(1) the minority. Rejecting the appointment of (right to effective judicial protection) and the muftis of Xanthi and Komotini by the 14 (freedom from discrimination) of the State, members of the minority proceeded ECHR. He was rehired on 17 February to elect their own religious leaders, who 1998 and on 25 February 2000 was paid were soon charged under Article 175(2) 7,108,572 Greek drachmas (U.S.$ 18,230), (pretence of authority) of the Penal Code a sum equal to his salary and social securi- for falsely assuming the title of the lawful ty contributions for the period he was not religious leader. employed. However, he maintained his The elected Mufti of Komotini, Mr. claim for non-pecuniary damages and legal Serif, was vindicated when his case costs, which was rejected by the European reached the European Court of Human Court of Human Rights on the ground that Rights. The Court, in its 14 December 1999 the applicant could no longer be consid- judgment in the case of Serif v. Greece, ered a victim within the meaning of Article unanimously held that Mr. Serif’s conviction 34 of the Convention. 156 GREECE

On 6 July, the European Court of 1946. The case will have to be tried again Human Rights convicted Greece in a case in the Appeals Court of Thrace. involving the length of proceedings Finally, a mixed development took (Tsingour v. Greece). Djahit Tsingour, a place in relation to the restricted zone, situ- Greek national of the Turkish minority and ated north of the minority-inhabited district a chemist, complained under Article 6(1) capitals Xanthi and Komotini. Although of the ECHR about the length of proceed- nominally abolished in 1995, freedom of ings to which he was a party before the movement was now allowed only to Greek Council of State (which lasted more than nationals and not to foreigners. In the case four years and six months) arising out of of the latter group, the nationality of the for- the Xanthi Pharmaceutical Association’s re- eigner seemed to be of paramount impor- fusal to accept him as a member. The tance. A German journalist was allowed to Court held unanimously that there had carry out his task unhindered while a group been a violation of Article 6(1) and award- of Turkish journalists were effectively made ed him 3,000,000 drachmas (U.S.$ 7,700) to abandon their project.9 for pecuniary damages, 1 million drachmas On 2 January, the Greek Helsinki (U.S.$ 2,560) for non-pecuniary damages Monitor and the Minority Rights Group- and 1 million drachmas for costs and ex- Greece issued an open letter to the Foreign penses. In the meantime, he finally be- Ministers of Greece and Turkey protesting came a member of the association. the failure to allow the “quota teachers” of On the other hand, a number of posi- the Turkish and Greek minority to assume tive developments did take place, although their duties before December 2000, al- it is not possible to ascertain whether they though they had arrived at the beginning of are tangible proof of a new and slowly the school year. Both sides cited the failure emerging policy towards the Turkish minor- of the other to execute the agreement.10 ity or can be attributed to the easing of ten- sion between Greece and Turkey. Macedonian Minority Leaders of the Macedonian Minority On 6 June, 12 Turkish minority teach- party “Rainbow” stood trial for publicly us- ers convicted in 1997 for signing a docu- ing their mother tongue and were acquitted ment that included the name “Union of in September 1998. In 1995, they had Turkish Teachers of Western Thrace” (an or- pressed charges against persons suspected ganization that was dissolved in 1987 be- of sacking their offices on 14 September cause the use of the term “Turkish” created 1995. The Council of Misdemeanour the impression that the Union in question Judges of Florina and the Council of Appeal was composed of foreign nationals) were Judges of Kozani quashed the charges in acquitted by the Appeals Court. October 1999 and April 2000 respectively. On 12 December, it was reported that According to the former Court’s reasoning, the Supreme Court (Decision the minority leaders were more or less to 1550/2000) reversed a 1999 Appeals be blamed for the harm inflicted upon Court of Thrace decision to dissolve the them since by writing the name of their “Turkish Union of Xanthi,” upon the 1986 party in both Greek and Macedonian on a demand of the prefect of Xanthi. The sign outside their offices, they had “natural- Court’s decision followed the line of the ly” provoked those who took part in the in- Sideropoulos et al. v. Greece decision cident. An appeal to the Greek Supreme against Greece in ruling that suspicions for Court, lodged on 4 May 2000, was pend- future activities of an association cannot ing as of this writing. form the basis for its dissolution. The At the same time, the Home of Turkish Union of Xanthi was founded in Macedonian Culture, which in 1998 won GREECE 157 the right to register following a decision of ment, the Mayor began serving eviction or- the European Court of Human Rights ders to the Roma in August in an effort to (Sideropoulos et al v. Greece) was not evict them from his town. He did this de- able to do so in 2000. Lawyers from spite a 1999 court ruling that such eviction Florina (the seat of the association) had orders were abusive. refused to take on the case in 1999 and In greater Athens, efforts to prevent early 2000, or, in one case, asked for an similar evictions or find alternative sites to exorbitant fee. The association then house the Roma living in Aspropyrgos, Ano turned to the Florina Bar Association on Liosia, Aghia Paraskevi, Halandri, Nea Ionia 19 April 2000, asking for them to assign a failed as local authorities claimed that they lawyer. The Bar Association rejected the want the land on which Roma live to build plea on 24 April, alleging formal deficien- sports or other facilities for the 2004 cies in the application. On 10 June, the Olympic Games in Athens. A letter from the Chairman and Secretary of the Home duly Greek Helsinki Monitor and the Minority filed a second application, which was re- Rights Group-Greece to the International jected again on 26 September, and Olympic Committee (IOC) President Juan claimed that not all its members had re- Antonio Samaranch in August 2000 - ask- fused to take on the case, and that the ing the IOC not to tolerate a cleansed, Home had to turn to the President of the Roma-free, greater Athens as the host of Court of First Instance anyway, who has these Games - reportedly led the IOC the authority to appoint a lawyer. In President to write a letter of concern to the February 2001, a related petition to the Greek authorities, which will hopefully lead President of that court was filed. to a re-evaluation of existing policies. In the meantime, following the demolition of their Roma Minority homes by the municipality of Aspropyrgos, Despite the assertions of the Greek local Roma, with the help of the Greek delegation to the 1999 OSCE Implementa- Helsinki Monitor, filed a complaint with the tion Meeting that Government policies are Ombudsman, who summoned the munic- oriented towards the permanent solution ipality to immediately justify its action and of the housing problem that has plagued provide the necessary legal documentation the Greek Roma population for decades, (25 July). However, the municipality ig- only incremental advancements were nored the request. In January 2001, the made in 2000 in relation to the dismal pic- Greek Ombudsman concluded that the ture painted in last year’s IHF Report. In municipal actions were illegal and that fact, the Government’s decision to ignore a there is a basis for disciplinary and criminal number of NGOs and Roma associations sanctions. working hard to promote the tent-dwellers’ In October, the first successful resettle- rights when forming an inter-ministerial ment of Greece’s largest destitute Roma body was a step backwards. It should be community from Gallikos River to Gonou, noted, however, that the problems stem near Salonica, took place. Four NGOs mainly from the refusal of municipal au- (Doctors of the World-Greece, DROM thorities and the local population to co-ex- Network for Gypsy Social Rights, Greek ist with the Roma. Helsinki Monitor, and Minority Rights In the case of Nea Alikarnassos in Group–Greece) backed by a small parlia- , despite the agreement of both the mentary party (Progressive Left Coalition), Prime Minister’s Office for Quality of Life had pressed authorities for four years to and local NGOs over the relocation of the implement the plan for the creation of the Roma to a former military barrack with the first self-managed Roma dwelling unit in intention of creating a self-managed settle- Greece. The plan was fully backed by the 158 GREECE

Roma concerned - and regrettably opposed Protection of Immigrants by the state-launched Panhellenic Federa- The Greek State’s plan to conditionally tion of Roma Associations. legalise immigrants living in Greece did not yield the expected results, as only 50 per- Citizenship and Statelessness cent of the estimated 600,000-700,000 It is estimated that approximately 300 immigrants applied for the so-called “green individuals in Greece remained stateless in card,” and no more than 120,000 had re- 2000, while at least 1,400 more lived in ceived “green card” by the end of 2000. A Turkey and an unknown number elsewhere. new legalisation and immigration bill was Although Article 19 of the Citizenship to be introduced in early 2001. Code was repealed in 1998, it was only in A negative new development in 2000 mid-1999 that state officials would start was the decision of the Ministry of Health considering the conferment of citizenship and Welfare to deny medical treatment in to those stateless in Greece. However, state hospitals, save in emergency cases, to stateless persons were asked to apply for undocumented immigrants. Furthermore, naturalisation as if they were foreigners medical staff were also obliged to report im- and did not simply have their citizenship migrants seeking non-emergency treatment reinstated, as was the case in the 1980s to the police. Quite apart from the racist with returning political refugees (of Greek character of the decision and the negative effects it will have on migrants’ and their ethnic origin) of the civil war. Despite this families’ health, it also poses a threat to humiliation, many individuals applied for public health by preventing the treatment of naturalisation, as their continuing stateless- persons carrying contagious diseases. ness meant that they could not receive a The decision has also divided the hos- number of benefits reserved to citizens. pital staff, as on the one hand the President Nevertheless, only three dozen of the of their Association declared that they more than 100 applicants had been grant- would not implement the decision, while ed citizenship by the end of 2000, there were other instances in which treat- notwithstanding assurances given by state ment was refused to migrants and/or the officials that the process would be a swift police were summoned. one. Albanians had a “criminal” image and Among those who remain stateless, were therefore often treated with prejudice there are a number of Muslim Roma. by the courts. The situation of Muslim Roma can be In a scandalous court verdict of 19 described by reference to the case of April, 23-year old Vata Safeti received a life Sezgin Durgut, whose 1990 application for sentence for the murder of an elderly per- Greek citizenship is still pending. Moreover, son, plus 20 years for robbery. Both acts the police department of Komotini refused were allegedly committed with two other in 1999 and again in 2000 to provide him Albanians who were never caught. Among with a stateless identity document, an obli- other procedural improprieties, none of the gation under the 1973 UN Convention for six witnesses recognised the defendant, the Reduction of Statelessness that Greece nor was there any evidence that he had ratified in 1977. The Greek authorities re- been in Lefkadia (Naousa) when the crime peatedly and misleadingly claimed that was committed on 24 December 1996. Durgut’s family had Bulgarian citizenship, The conviction was based on the hearsay since his grandfather was born in Bulgaria of witnesses that never testified in court, fu- and migrated to Greece 60 years ago. The elling the suspicion that Vata Safeti was claim was made despite ample evidence merely a convenient scapegoat for a crime that they were stateless. the police were pressed to “solve.” GREECE 159

Human Rights Defenders International, observed the trial of Mehmet Oblivious to the significant role that Emin Aga (the elected mufti of Xanthi, who NGOs might play in the promotion of a hu- was convicted that day on appeal to seven man rights culture, the Greek State in fact months in prison for four cases of “pre- tence of authority”). Well-known state se- continued to demonstrate a worrying curity officers serving in Xanthi closely fol- propensity to hinder their activities. lowed the NGO observers, even repeated- An international seminar on “Greece ly looking over the notes they took, while and the European Charter on Regional and police officials followed the buses trans- Minority Languages,” organised by the porting minority members to Xanthi follow- Council of Europe and the Minority Groups ing the trial. Research Centre (KEMO), scheduled for 28 June in the amphitheatre of the Greek Halit Eren and Taner Mustafaoglu, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, was cancelled lit- Turkish citizens and former presidents of the Solidarity Association of Western erally at the last minute, following criticism Thracian Turks in Istanbul, were refused by members of the major opposition party. visas to Greece in the summer of 2000. Following pressure exerted by the Both had been refused visas on previous Greek State, a minority advocacy training occasions. No formal reason for the re- programme for the Southern Balkans fusals was ever given, but it was widely be- (jointly proposed by Minority Rights Group lieved that their activism (although Eren and Minority Rights Group-Greece) was ex- wanted to visit his old mother) was the cluded from the Stability Pact list of proj- sole reason. The Visa Section of the Consu- ects. Although no justification was given, late General of Greece in Istanbul stipulat- one can assume that it was related to the ed in a letter to Turkish Daily News (15 De- prevailing sensitivity in Greece concerning cember 2000) that this was due to stan- minority issues. dard Schengen system procedures. Nevertheless, Mustafaoglu had frequently On 31 May, in Lamia, the Greek Hel- received visas to visit other EU Schengen sinki Monitor and the Minority Rights countries in the past. Their cases bore a re- Group-Greece, together with Amnesty semblance to the Mangovski case.11

Endnotes 1 Based on Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group-Greece, Human Rights in Greece: Joint Annual Report for 2000, 11 February 2000. www.greekhelsinki.gr/bhr/ english/organizations/ghm/ghm_11_02_00.rtf 2 See also Protection of Ethnic and National Minorities. 3 Statement by the Greek Delegation, Warsaw, 25 October 2000. www.greekhelsinki.gr/ english/pressrelease/GD-25-10-2000-osce2000.html 4 Human Rights Watch, “Appalling Detention Conditions for Foreigners in Greece Says Rights Group”, 20 December 2000, www.hrw.org/press/2000/12/greece1219.htm 5 AFP, “Des ONG déplorent ‘l’exaltation’ de l’antisémitisme,” 9 November 2000. 6 Ta Nea, “Record Xenophobia in Greece with 38 Percent”, 1 November 2000. 7 www.eumc.at/news/media/MR194-3E01-01-en.doc 8 Ta Nea, “Shocking Data for the Values of Greek Society,” 7 December 2000. 9 See Freedom of Expression. 10 Greek Helsinki Monitor and the Minority Rights Group-Greece, “Open letter on ‘Reciprocal’ Violation of Minority Rights,” 2 January 2001. 11 See Freedom of Expression. 160 HUNGARY1

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression and media; ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in prisons; religious intolerance; protection of eth- nic minorities; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants.

At the heart of the important human On 27 January three plain-clothed offi- rights questions in Hungary were the free- cers conducting an investigation visited the dom of the state television and radio, poor Budapest 16th district elementary school prison conditions and the labour rights of where a police suspect’s daughter studied. prisoners, police misconduct and the slow Suspicious of the three men, the mathe- pace of judicial proceedings dealing with matics teacher of the girl refused to provide such cases. The planned amendments to the them with information concerning her Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religion pupil. As the officers decided to wait in appeared to be tailored for the traditional front of the building, they saw a girl coming churches and pave the way for discrimination out of the school and thought she might be against new religious groups. There were no the one they were looking for. They notable positive steps in the treatment of mi- stepped towards her and asked for her ID norities: no general anti-discrimination law card. The mathematics teacher ran to the was adopted, and the status of the Roma re- scene and, trying to protect the girl, she mained the same. Following criticism by the pushed one of the officers (the policemen UNHCR on the Hungarian Asylum Law and claimed that she slapped him), who in turn practice, the new central authority on asylum gas-sprayed and handcuffed her and start- and immigration issues, the Office for ed pulling her towards the car parked on Immigration and Naturalisation (OIN), was the other side of the road. The teacher established and started planning amend- tripped and fell, however, the policeman ments to laws criticized by the UNHCR. did not wait for her to stand up: he grabbed the handcuffs and started dragging the Freedom of Expression and Media woman lying on the ground in the direction of the car. The legal anomalies outlined in the The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s previous IHF report still prevailed in 2000. lawyer filed a report with the Metropolitan An unresolved dispute between the Prosecutor’s Special Investigation Depart- Government and the opposition surround- ment for police ill-treatment and the abuse ing the election of an 8-member council for of official powers by the police, and submit- the board of trustees of Hungarian ted a request for disciplinary action to the Television, gave grounds for concern that Chief Commander of the Metropolitan Po- the Government was aiming at gaining lice. The commander suspended the case control over the national media. The board until the Prosecutor’s Office completes the of trustees significantly has the right to elect investigation. At the same time the police 2 the President of Hungarian Television. initiated criminal proceedings on the count As of the end of 2000, there were still of “violence against an official” against the no members delegated by the parliamen- teacher. Characteristically, they initiated the tary opposition in the councils of the procedure against an “unknown suspect,” boards of trustees supervising the because this way the teacher could not Hungarian television and radio. take her counsel to the first interrogation. If she had been named as the suspect, no in- Ill-Treatment and Misconduct by Law- terrogation could have been held without Enforcement Officials the presence of the lawyer. The case Police misconduct remained a serious caused a public outcry. Even the Ombuds- problem. man for Citizen’s Rights launched an ex of- HUNGARY 161 ficio investigation, which concluded that the especially not after having attacked police- police action violated the teacher’s right to men accompanying them (which was the human dignity and was not proportionate. version of the police with regard to what Despite the complaints put forward by the happened at the station). As the Hungarian Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the investi- Helsinki Committee pointed out: “There is gation against the policemen’s commander usually no witness to police ill-treatment, on count of the abuse of official powers but on the rare occasion there are witness- was terminated, while charges will be es, officials make sure that there are no vic- pressed against the policemen and the tims to be found.” teacher. Finally in May 2000, two of the three It took the Hungarian criminal justice police officers were found guilty of ill-treat- system almost three years to bring three ment and were obliged to pay a fine of policemen who had resorted to ill-treat- 30.000 Forints (approximately U.S.$ 100), ment before the court. The case dates back while the principal defendant, Viktor Egri – to 28 October 1997, when three members seen by the monitors to step on the head of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s of one of the victims, who had previously Police Cell Monitoring Programme visited been brought down to the floor by four the jail of the Budapest 6-7th District Police other policemen – was put on a one year Headquarters, where they witnessed the ill- probation. Thus, although a high ranking treatment of two Ukrainian men arrested police officer (Commander of the for aggressive behaviour. The Committee Budapest Police) considered the action of reported to the Investigative Department of the policemen as lawful and professional, the Prosecutor’s Office both identified and the court did not seem to share his opinion unidentified policemen taking part in the - which says a lot about the way senior po- incident on the count of ill-treatment. As lice officers perceive ill-treatment and other the monitors revisited the police station to abuses of official power. offer representation to the victims, they were told that, although the police had ini- Conditions in Prison tiated a criminal procedure against them on the count of disorderly conduct, they had Physical Conditions been released. The officer refused to dis- The EU Commission’s 2000 Regular close the names of the Ukrainians and their Report on Hungary’s Progress towards addresses but promised to inform the Accession also called attention to one of Helsinki Committee when they would be the biggest problems of the Hungarian summoned. The Committee also informed prison system: the severe overcrowding of the Commander of the Budapest Police penitentiary institutions. The size of the Headquarters about the incident and asked prison population decreased following the him to look into it. In his 25 November political transition, but started to rise again 1997 reply he claimed that the police offi- owing to the stricter criminal policy, i.e. ever cers’ measures had been professional and stricter amendments of the Criminal Code, lawful. He also informed the Helsinki tougher punishments and the rarity of im- Committee that although a criminal proce- posing so-called alternative sanctions. As of dure was initiated against the two early 2000, 15,742 inmates were kept in Ukrainians they had so far failed to turn up Hungarian jails, prisons and penitentiaries, when summoned. According to the experi- although officially there were only 10,249 ence of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, places, which meant that several new it is not characteristic of the police to places should be built. However, it is ab- promptly release suspects of violent solutely impossible for the Hungarian crimes, especially if they are foreigners and Prison Administration (which is struggling 162 HUNGARY with severe financial problems - although it prisons visited by the Committee the use of is the law enforcement agency with the the open-air sports field was suspended for lowest average salaries in Hungary) to find “security reasons,” in another the gym was the necessary resources for such an expan- used as a premises for work. sion. As of March 2001, one prison was be- ing built. Labour in Detention Most of the operating prisons were In theory, the inmates were obliged to built at the turn of the century. Under work while serving their sentence (Article Article 137 of Decree 6/1996 of the 33, § 1, point d) of the Law Decree on Minister of Justice on the Rules of Implementation). However, the correction- Implementing Imprisonment and Pre-trial al system was not able to provide jobs to Detention (“Ministerial Decree”) the num- more than two thirds of the inmates. ber of people to be placed in a prison cell There were two major problems in shall be defined in a way that each inmate connection with this area. The first one was have three square meters of moving space related to the wages inmates received for (women and minors shall have three and a their work. According to Article 36, § 1, half square meters). In 2000, this regula- point (d) of the Law Decree on Implemen- tion was abided by practically none of the tation, the inmates shall be entitled to a Hungarian correctional institutions. In the wage corresponding to the amount and Budapest Penitentiary and Prison, for ex- quality of the work. Article 45, § 4 of the ample, the gross ground space of cells same statute claimed that the wage of the holding 10-13 inmates was 27,5 square inmate shall be determined in accordance meters, which meant that even if there had with the general principles of remuneration. not been beds, lockers and wash basins, As opposed to this, under Article 124 of the the moving space per person in a cell still Ministerial Decree inmates working full would not have reached the size required time (i.e., eight hours per day) shall receive by the law. at least one third of the minimum wage es- Another problematic point was the use tablished for the previous year. The correc- of sports facilities in prisons. Under Article tional institutions usually interpreted this in 36, § 1, point m) of Law Decree 11 of a way that those inmates who fulfilled the 1979 on the Implementation of Sanctions norm received one third of the minimum and Measures (“Law Decree on Implemen- wage, while the others were given even tation”) the inmates shall be entitled to use less. It was easy to see that this provision the cultural and sports facilities of the pen- and practice were not in harmony with the itentiary. According to Article 37/A of the general principles of remuneration and same statute this right – along with others clearly went against the principle of “equal – may only be suspended for a definite pe- payment for equal work” set forth by Article riod of time (5+5 days) under special cir- 70/B of the Constitution. cumstances that severely and directly The other problem was that the work threaten the security of detention. How- inmates performed in prison did not count ever, according to the experiences of the as “service time” from the point of view of Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s Prison the pension system. Service time in the Monitoring Programme, most correctional Hungarian social security system was the institutions used the gym for instance as a time spent in an employment context so as special type of award for good behaviour, to be eligible for an old age pension. If since the lack of capacity (small size of the therefore someone served a 25-year sen- gym, lack of personnel) prevented them tence, it would be very hard for him/her to from providing all the inmates with this gather the required amount of service time legally prescribed opportunity. In one of the (especially because it is not so easy to find HUNGARY 163 a job after being released) and even if planned in Hungary are not motivated “by he/she managed to do so, the service time the desire to fight more effectively against” would be very short which would influence abuses against the religious status but the amount of the pension in a detrimental rather by “discrimination and unnecessarily manner. This will further hinder the reinte- restrictive tendencies against religious be- gration of the given person into society, liefs.” The statement urged a “flexible and and it is again in contradiction with the gen- tolerant approach through dialogue and eral anti-discrimination clause of the education.” Constitution. Human Rights Without Frontiers The two problems together contribu- (HRWF, IHF cooperating organization) not- ted to the fact that the inmates were re- ed that even though the most obviously leased with an amount of money that discriminating requirements of the amend- could not cover their living costs for more ments to the law on religious organizations than two or three days. Although the law – which was in Parliament at this writing - prescribed that the correctional institutions have been dropped (the 10,000-founder shall support the freshly released inmates requirement and retroactive duration re- in finding a job and shelter, the institutions quirement of 100 years), there is a clear lacked the means to abide by this provi- pattern of efforts to marginalize minority sion. The situation was made even more churches in favour of the six historical severe by the fact that owing to the stricter churches. criminal policy, significantly less inmates For example, the amendment to the were placed on so called “outside” jobs be- law on VAT would deprive 98 percent of fore being released, which minimized the the registered churches of their former chances of being re-integrated into society rights to claim VAT refunds under certain and to acquire enough money to start a circumstances. Neither the parties, nor the new life. denominations were informed properly by the Government. While six historical de- Religious Intolerance3 nominations (Roman Catholic, Reformed, In early 1999, the report prepared by Lutheran, Baptist, Serbian Orthodox and the OSCE/ODIHR criticised the restrictions Jewish) and the secular non-profit organi- planned in Hungary concerning the Law on zations would be exempt from any restric- Freedom of Conscience and Religion. The tion, the minority churches would be ex- OSCE/ODIHR condemned all kind of state cluded allegedly on the basis of their social control concerning the content of the docu- role. The HRWF found the argument unac- ments submitted as part of an application ceptable, because, firstly, no scientific re- and stated that the decision on the status of search has been carried out regarding the a religious community should be impartial, dimension of activity, and secondly, no thus without the participation of dominant such research would have this result. religions or churches in the decision-making According to the HRWF, the definition procedure. It denounced “proposals that of “religion” in the new draft amendment would have the effect of de-registering of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and churches by applying eligibility criteria Religion “was formulated in such a way that retroactively“ saying that “as a general prin- the submissions of the historical churches ciple, religious discrimination in limiting or would automatically conform to the defini- rejecting religious status should be avoided.” tion.” Such a definition could be used “as a Also the EU has drawn attention to the yardstick to measure the ‘correctness’ of deterioration of State neutrality emphasiz- the submissions from the minority church- ing that the role of the State is to “promote es.” The list of activities that “expressly’” tolerance.” It said that the restrictions cannot be classified as religious activities 164 HUNGARY gives room for subjective interpretations in sions, some do not, some have a relatively terms of deciding whether an activity is part elaborate system of sanctions, some con- of the primary activities or not. tain no sanctions at all, etc.) and it does not The requirement to present a “sum- cover all the relevant areas. They also point- mary of main teachings” is also not likely to ed out that the number of actual cases ini- sift out obviously negative activities. tiated by individuals discriminated against According to the HRWF, the draft law is has been low. In their opinion, an anti-dis- aimed at protecting the “symbolic and social crimination law could promote the estab- status” of some churches by distinguishing lishment of a relatively independent legal between churches on the basis of their so- field, form a circle of legal experts specializ- cial role, a fact which is incompatible with ing in this area and create a more coherent state neutrality and European norms. judicial practice and sanctions. In addition, the contradicting state- However, the Government has been ments of the Government regarding the ne- reluctant to assume the obligation to adopt cessity of amendments have not proven to such legislation, so the decree only con- be true, since the law in force is able to pro- tains that “the possibility of such a measure tect against abuse and there is no registered shall be examined” and it called the church in Hungary that could be accused of Government to collect all the possible ar- being engaged “in activities of an illicit or guments necessary for deciding on the criminal nature and in violation of human question. When the question was raised rights.” The reference to the European again during the drafting of the second Parliament Resolution on Cults in Europe medium-term action plan, the Ministry of (1996) was therefore unacceptable. Justice explicitly stated that since the pres- ent system of anti-discrimination legislation Protection of Ethnic Minorities (anti-discrimination provisions scattered in Lack of an Anti-Discrimination Act different acts and decrees) was sufficient, it Still in 2000, there was no general anti- would not devise a draft. discrimination legislation in Hungary, al- In September 2000 the office of the though several experts and NGO’s empha- Minority Ombudsman declared that it sized the necessity of adopting an anti-dis- would undertake the task to develop a draft crimination act, i.e. developing an adequate for the general anti-discrimination act. The system of sanctions which would be suit- statement was not without an effect. able for the prevention of discriminatory According to information available to the acts and the effective punishment of of- Hungarian Helsinki Committee the Ministry fenders, and setting up an effective institu- was in early 2001 planning to draft some tional system to guarantee the implemen- modifications of the valid legal instruments tation of the anti-discrimination act and the to improve the system of anti-discrimina- above sanctions. tion so that its stance on the lack of neces- There has been a debate going on for sity of a unified anti-discrimination act some time about the creation of independ- would be easier to support. ent anti-discrimination legislation. During The Hungarian Helsinki Committee the preparation of the Medium-term Action stated that the passing of such an act Plan for the Improvement of the Living would be important because although Conditions of the Roma Minority4 the ex- there are anti-discrimination provisions in perts participating in the drafting of the the statutes regulating different fields (edu- document argued in favour of such legisla- cation, labour, etc.), most of these are only tion. They noted, for example, that the confined to declaring the prohibition of dis- present system is rather haphazard (some crimination: no adequate system of sanc- legal fields have anti-discrimination provi- tions accompanies them. The most impor- HUNGARY 165 tant such fields would be labour, the me- related, aliens policing and naturalisation is- dia, education and housing. sues, incorporated the former Office for Refugee and Migration Affairs (ORMA) in Segregation in Education the form of the Refugee Affairs Directorate. The Roma minority continued to suffer In 2000, OIN’s Refugee Affairs Directo- widespread discrimination in Hungary, con- rate registered 7,801 new asylum applicati- cerning access to housing, education and ons, resulting in a total of 8,822 asylum ap- employment. plications to be dealt with. In 2000, 197 Discrimination against Roma pupils in asylum seekers were recognised as education (especially in elementary refugees while a further 680 persons were schools) remained a serious problem. It granted “authorised to stay” status under was widespread, with proportionally far the Law on Asylum. more Roma than non-Roma students A reason for the decrease in the num- placed in special schools or classes for chil- ber of new asylum applications was the dren with slight mental disorders. Another end of the war in Yugoslavia. As a conse- form of segregation was the creation of quence, widely criticised overcrowding in purely Roma classes, a practice condem- border guard community shelters and ned as exacerbating the problem of low ac- refugee reception centres also lessened ademic achievement for Roma pupils. The during the year. proportion of Roma pupils in schools with A great part of asylum seekers moved a majority of non-Roma pupils, and the on from Hungary, either legally or illegally, proportion of Roma students attending partly due to low recognition rates and in- high schools, colleges and universities re- sufficient opportunities for integration. mained very low. Approximately half of all asylum seekers disappeared during the asylum procedure Protection of Asylum Seekers and and received decisions terminating the asy- lum procedure in absentia. Immigrants Roma asylum seekers from Kosovo, In December 1999, UNHCR stated who fled to Hungary after the NATO air that there are shortcomings in the Law on strikes ended and claimed to be persecut- 5 Asylum as well as in practice. UNHCR con- ed in Kosovo by returning Albanians, were cluded that readmission to Hungary of an usually rejected any type of protection in asylum seeker based on his transit in Hungary. Furthermore, the Hungarian refu- Hungary should not be carried out uncon- gee authority, invoking the improvement of ditionally. UNHCR cautioned third countries the situation in Kosovo, terminated the “au- against indiscriminate return of asylum thorised to stay” status of an Albanian-Serb seekers pending a satisfactory resolution of couple who for reasons of safety cannot re- several problems in the Hungarian asylum turn to Kosovo or Serbia. system, particularly concerning confine- According to the original concept of the ment of asylum seekers and conditions of Law on Asylum (Act CXXXIX of 1997), the accommodation. Despite this caution from one-year long “authorised to stay” status UNHCR, Austrian authorities continued to did not aim at integrating such foreigners return asylum seekers to Hungary without into society (e.g. lack of financial assistance, an asylum process in Austria, contrary to no access to education, requirement of a Article 4 of the Austrian Act on Asylum. work permit). In practice, this legal situation On 1 January, a new central authority, left substantial numbers of such foreigners the Office for Immigration and Naturalisa- in difficult situations.6 In early 2000, the tion (OIN) of the Ministry of Interior was set procedure for obtaining a work permit for up. The OIN, which deals with all asylum authorised to stay persons was eased as a 166 HUNGARY result of modifying Decree No. 8/1999 of expressed concerns over the client’s pend- the Minister for Social and Family Affairs on ing deportation to China and argued that work permits for foreigners. based on data available from Amnesty In early summer, the OIN began draft- International and various UN bodies, there ing substantial amendments to both the were reasons to fear that once extradited, Law on Asylum and the Law on Aliens. the client would face treatment contrary to UNHCR, the Capital Court (which acted as Articles 3, 6 of the Geneva Convention and the court of first instance in asylum review 1 of Protocol No. 6. procedures) and field offices of the Refugee Due to the urgency of the issue, on 7 Affairs Directorate were all asked to submit June the counsel applied to the European their opinions on the draft. NGOs, however, Court of Human Rights with a request for were not invited to do so. Parliamentary dis- interim measures. The measures were not cussion of the proposed amendments is ex- granted because the Government prom- pected to take place during spring 2001, ised that prior to deportation, they would while amendments will enter into force in obtain further assurances relating to com- 2002. In December 2000, the Hungarian plaints advanced by the applicant, which Helsinki Committee issued a position paper they received. However, the Helsinki detailing its concerns about the proposed Committee noted that China had previous- bills, focusing on the ineffectiveness of legal ly broken such assurances and was fre- remedies in the asylum procedure as well quently unwilling to comply with relevant as detention of illegal migrants. international treaties. The Hungarian Aliens Act lacked provi- In the meantime, the client applied for sions that would take into consideration an asylum but was rejected. Furthermore – expelled foreigner’s family ties in Hungary. contrary to general practice - the refugee Therefore, even those foreigners could be authority found that he could be refouled expelled (mainly Romanian and Yugoslavi- to Sierra Leone. an citizens) who were married to Hungari- The European Court of Human Rights an citizens or whose children were Hunga- declared the case admissible on 11 Janu- rian citizen. ary 2001. On 24 January the Hungarian au- thorities extradited the client to Sierra Leo- Halted Extradition ne, but by a gentlemen’s agreement “lost On 20 December 1999 Yang Chun him” in Lagos, Nigeria. Jian, a national of China and Sierra Leone, The relevance of the above case is having served his prison sentence for a two-fold: Firstly, this was the first of many crime committed in Hungary, was remand- applications represented by prominent ed in extradition detention on charges of Hungarian human rights NGOs that was assault pending against him in China. His declared admissible by the European Court lawyer brought the case to the attention of of Human Rights. Secondly, it underlined the Hungarian Helsinki Committee in the effectiveness of the Strasbourg mecha- February 2000, because of well-founded nism in cases involving an immediate fears that once extradited to China, his threat to human life and dignity. client would be executed or subjected to torture: the client’s accomplices had been Death During Deportation executed shortly after their trial and it was On 18 December, Christian Ecole expected that he would most probably face Ebune (born 1970), a rejected asylum the same treatment. seeker from Cameroon, died during the de- In a 8 March 2000 letter sent to the portation measure at the Budapest Ministry of Justice, the Helsinki Committee Ferihegy international airport. HUNGARY 167

According to police reports, Ebune though not every detail pertaining to the ap- strongly and continuously resisted the de- plication of physical force is known, it can be portation and for this reason, he was held probable that in case of a healthy person, handcuffed and later cuffed on his feet for the collapse of the cardiovascular-respiratory hours. Other forms of physical force were system would not have occurred”. also used in several instances to curb his The Hungarian Helsinki Committee resistance. Due to Ebune’s resistance, the filed a criminal report at the Investigation pilot refused to take him on board of the Office of the Budapest Public Prosecutor’s plane. A few minutes after being escorted Office, against unknown police officers on back to the airport transit halls, he was account of well-founded suspicion of ill- pushed against the wall by the police offi- treatment in official procedure or alterna- cers. A few minutes later, one of the police tively, abuse of official power, or bodily in- officers noticed that Ebune fell uncon- jury causing death. On 19 January 2001, scious. A physician pronounced him dead the Investigation Office of the Budapest 15 minutes later. Prosecutor’s Office refused to carry out an The autopsy ordered by the Minister of investigation on grounds that no causal re- Interior found that Ebune had died of natu- lation could be established between the le- ral causes as a result of a chronic heart con- gitimate and necessary physical force ap- dition. plied and Ebune’s death. The Helsinki On 22 December the Hungarian Committee filed a complaint to the Buda- Helsinki Committee requested an independ- pest Prosecutor’s Office against this deci- ent forensic medical opinion, which stated in sion, to which no response had arrived by the preliminary report that, inter alia, “al- this writing.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights in Hungary 2000, March 2001. 2 For background information on this and other issues concerning the operation of boards of trustees of influential media in Hungary, see IHF, Annual Report 1999; and IHF, Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2000 (Events of 1999). 3 Based information from Human Rights Without Frontiers. 4 Government Resolution 1093/1997 which contains measures concerning education, employment, social and health care, housing programs, regional programs, etc 5 Background information on the situation in the Republic of Hungary in the context of the Return of Asylum Seekers, §§ 28-30, UNHCR, December 1999 6 1,776 were granted such status in 1999 alone, many of them families with children from FRY and Afghanistan. 168 ITALY1

Authorities levelled the Roma camp in Casilino on 29 August. © Stefano Montesi

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression and the media; the judicial system and fair trail; conditions in prisons; intolerance, xenophobia and racial discrimination; protection of ethnic minorities; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; women’s rights; rights of the child; homosexuals’ rights.

Legislation addressing dangerous pris- director of the publication was a member oners was made more restrictive, and the of the official Order of Journalists. In recent release of members of organized crime years, a referendum to abolish this com- raised public debate. Prison revolts focused pulsory order was not successful since less attention on overcrowding and the abuse than 50 percent of the electorate voted. of prisoners. Xenophobic attitudes were common and immigrants became the tar- Judicial System and Fair Trial gets of xenophobic acts. At the same time, On 10 February, Minister of Interior, some politicians stressed that Italy’s econo- Enzo Bianco presented a set of amend- my needs more immigrants. The Roma mi- ments to the legislation aimed at prevent- nority faced segregation and excessive ing a person who committed an exception- abuse by the police and other authorities. ally serious crime from leaving prison while his case is pending, and to limit the bene- Freedom of Expression and the Media fits available for such prisoners. Bianco’s Despite Article 21 of the Italian Consti- proposal provoked a reaction from the tution, according to which the press cannot Minister of Justice, Mr. Diliberto, who - on be subjected to authorisation or censor- 12 February - said that “Bianco had gone ship, Italy retained “post-fascist” legislation beyond his competence.” The Senate ap- on the press: no one was allowed to pub- proved the amendments on 6 March lish a magazine or newspaper unless the 2001. ITALY 169

On 18 November, Minister of Justice pass between two lines of wardens who Fassino opened an inquiry into “easy re- beat them brutally. On 3 May, the accused leases” from prison. The inquiry concerned were all arrested. On 4 May, an additional in particular the case of Giuseppe Castaldo, 100 warders were questioned for having a member of Camorra (a criminal organiza- given contradictory testimony. The inquiry tion similar to the Mafia and which is active was meant to assess whether anyone at in and its surroundings). Neapolitan the Ministry of Justice knew what had been judges had released him against the advice happening in the prison. of the Office of the Prosecutor. The Minister On 25 June, prisoners in all the prisons announced that something would be done of the country staged a protest demanding immediately to avoid that other detainees amnesty. The Parliament was divided in its were released in the same way. On 19 No- opinion, but on 27 June the majority was in vember, it was announced that all Neapo- favour of pardoning prisoners in order to litan Camorra bosses could be released fol- solve the problem of overcrowding without lowing the termination of their preventive cancelling sentences. Many deputies, how- detention. A total of 125 people were in- ever, rejected the pardons, citing the pri- volved, including Francesco Schiavone and macy of public safety. his “lieutenants”. Since the trial began in On 1 July, there was a revolt in the July 1998 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, 80 prison of Regina Coeli in . Three pris- of the accused have already been released. oners, followed by 20 others, attacked the On 21 November, the Government ap- wardens with bars, demanding to be set proved a decree providing for different free. Twenty-five wardens and three prison- means of calculating the period of preven- ers were injured. tive detention. On 7 July, the Government proposed legislative measures to deal with the emer- Conditions in Prisons gency situation in prisons and the malfunc- Overcrowding was the most serious tioning of the judicial system: 4,000 pris- problem in Italian prisons in 2000, triggering oners should be released, aliens who had prisoners’ protests and revolts. According to committed crimes should be expelled im- official figures, there were 53,507 prisoners mediately, new jails should be built, and in July 2000, although the overall prison ca- new judges and prison personnel should pacity was only 42,749 in all the prisons be engaged. An expense of 3,000 billion li- combined. Nearly 24,000 prisoners were ras (U.S.$ 1.5 billion) in three years was ex- awaiting judgment, roughly 14,000 prison- pected. ers were non-EU citizens and some 6,000 However, on 22 September, the were serving a term shorter than two years. Government discovered that 1,060 billion On 3 April, prisoners of the Sassari jail liras allocated to build new prisons were in Sardinia protested because of over- not available. Some persons proposed that crowding and abuse in the prison: thirty of the sum should be drawn from the prison- them were “punished” in the presence of ers’ health fund. the director. On 2 May, a court opened an According to a report issued by the inquiry into alleged abuse by wardens. NGO “Antigone” in May, between 1991 Eighty-two wardens, the Regional Superin- and 1997, 237 wardens were charged with tendent Giuseppe della Vecchia, Director causing injuries, threatening or insulting Maria Cristina Di Marzio and the comman- prisoners; 129 were charged with violating der of the wardens faced charges following the law on narcotics; 66 were charged with a report – affirmed by prisoners and their abuse of authority; 24 were charged with families - that prisoners had been forced to culpable or wilful murder; and 13 were 170 ITALY charged with sexual abuse. In 2000, (also in charge of sports), Giovanna “Antigone” also reported serious abuse in Melandri decided that football matches the prisons of Secondigliano, Nuoro, could be interrupted if spectators used Parma, Orvieto, and Pianosa. racist or violent slogans.

Intolerance, Xenophobia and Racial Protection of Ethnic Minorities Discrimination Roma Minority 2 Numerous xenophobic acts were Anti-Romani hate speech and abuse recorded in 2000. against Roma were widespread in Italy in Roberto Tomelleri set fire to Brahid 2000. The political party Lega Nord fre- Wajiol, a Moroccan boy who was courting quently used racist and anti-Romani lan- his daughter, on 6 March in Verona. The guage in public statements. In the regional youth suffered third degree burns. The girl’s elections held on 16 April, the centre-right father, who was held for questioning, de- and extreme right, including the Lega Nord, clared: “I do not hate aliens.” swept the country with a majority. Their campaign featured explicitly anti-Romani On the evening of 20 March, support- messages. ers of a Rome football team threw Molotov In the town of Voghera, centre-right cocktails in the underground passage near candidate Aurelio Torriani distributed fliers the railway station “San Lorenzo“ in Rome. intended to discredit centre-left candidate Foreign street people often sleep there at Antonella Dagradi with the slogan: “The night; fortunately, there were no casualties. Gypsies will certainly vote for Antonella On 25 August, two 15-year-old boys Dagradi. Do you want to do the same?“ killed a prostitute from Ghana in Lonate Recent surveys indicate that many Ceppino, near Varese, to steal her bag. “We Italians dislike and fear Roma, although wanted to commit a robbery to see what it they have little or no experience with them. feels like,” they explained. For many Italians, Roma are the archetype of unwanted “criminal“ immigrants. This On 13 October, the Lega Nord – an ex- sentiment reached fever pitch when ap- treme rightist political party - demonstrated proximately 10,000 Roma refugees arrived against plans to build a mosque in Lodi, in Italy during the summer of 1999, after near Milan. The Forza Italia party also joined being expelled from Kosovo by ethnic the demonstration and the number of the Albanians following the end of the NATO participants reached one thousand, many bombing and Yugoslav military action in the of whom displayed racist slogans. region. When dealing with cases of foreign There were no accurate figures on the adoptions, the Juvenile Court of Ancona number of Roma in Italy: local NGOs esti- ruled in some 60 cases that “international mated in late 2000 that there were between adoption is possible, but only of white- 60,000-90,000 Italian Romani citizens and skinned children”. According to judge 45,000-70,000 Roma born outside Italy or Luisianna del Conte, dark-skinned children born in Italy to immigrant parents, mainly could not integrate in the conservative- from Eastern Europe, especially the former minded environment of provincial Italy. On Yugoslavia. Many of the latter group had no 21 October, Minister for Social Affairs Livia legal status in Italy. Roma who managed to Turco deemed such rulings to be “misguid- legalise their status often possessed tempo- ed” and prejudicial. rary residence permits valid for various - but On 1 February, Minister of Interior Enzo exclusively short - periods of time, mostly Bianco and Minister for Arts and Culture between one and six months. ITALY 171

Roma lived segregated from non- identification papers; sexually abusive Romani Italians. In some areas, Roma were searches of women; failure to provide excluded and ignored, living in filthy and proper interpretation to immigrant Roma squalid conditions without basic infrastruc- accused of criminal acts; failure to provide tures. Their settlements were often called information concerning detained Roma; “illegal“ or “unauthorised“. They could be threats and violations of the right of as- evicted at any moment, and frequently sembly; and inadequate punishment for of- were. ficers who abuse their authority. While Italian authorities have expended In addition, anti-Romani hostility in Italy energy and resources on Roma, these ef- has found expression in discriminatory forts were not generally aimed at integrat- treatment by judicial authorities; violence ing Roma into Italian society. On the con- against Roma by non-state actors; discrimi- trary, Italy is the only country in Europe to natory treatment of Roma in the provision boast a systematic, publicly organised and of public services; the denial of the rights of sponsored network of ghettos aimed at de- Roma to education; and abuses of the right priving Roma of full participation in, or even to employment. Ultimately, Italian authori- contact or interaction with, Italian life. Such ties appeared intent on capitalising on the Roma, in Italian parlance, live in “authorised anti-Romani sentiment in Italy by abusively camps“ or ghettos. expelling Roma from the country. Underpinning the Italian Government’s In its Concluding Observations con- approach to Roma was the conviction that cerning Italy dated March 1999, the UN Roma are “nomads“. In the late 1980s and Committee on the Elimination of Racial early 1990s, many regions in Italy adopted Discrimination (CERD) strongly condem- laws aimed at the “protection of nomadic ned the treatment of Roma in Italy. Two cultures“ through the construction of segre- years after the CERD’s findings and elabo- gated camps. Italian authorities asserted rate list of recommendations, it is difficult to that Roma desires to live in flats or houses see any real effect of the CERD’s criticism. were inauthentic and relegated them to “camps for nomads“. Protection of Asylum Seekers and The description of Roma as “nomads“ Immigrants has not only been used in the act of seg- On 11 July, the Institute of Statistics an- regating Roma, but also in order to rein- nounced that there were 1,270,000 regu- force the popular idea that Roma are not lar immigrant residents in Italy, 13.8 per- Italians and do not belong in Italy. As such, cent more than in 1999. On 13 July, government offices addressing issues relat- Minister of Interior Enzo Bianco declared ed to Roma are called “Offices of Nomad that there were conditions to increase the Affairs“ and fall under the competence of immigration quota. The Governor of the the Department of Immigration. Bank of Italy, Mr. Fazio, supported this idea In recent years the police and other au- for economic reasons, as long as public thorities have conducted abusive raids in safety and legality were guaranteed. Roma camps and police misconduct was According to the statistical report on commonplace. The European Roma Rights immigration issued by “Caritas”, there were Centre (IHF cooperating committee) has 137,000 new immigrants in Italy in 2000, documented numerous cases of police some 94,000 of whom had a regular job. abuse, including abusive raids, evictions It was generally easier for a foreigner to find and arbitrary destruction of property; abu- a legal job in northern Italy, where 55 per- sive use of firearms; torture and physical cent of immigrants lived. abuse; discriminatory targeting of Roma by According to some estimates, about police; theft by authorities; confiscation of 500,000 illegal immigrants lived in Italy (in 172 ITALY addition to legal immigrants), a fact that for stricter checks of foreigners who en- triggered most social problems connected tered Italy, for security reasons. to immigration. On 13 August, a boat coming from Women’s Rights Turkey arrived in Crotone with 245 Kurd Parliament adopted a law providing for refugees on board, including 99 children. “parental leave” for both mothers and fa- Minister for Social Affairs Livia Turco spoke thers on 25 January. The new leave can be in favour of an asylum law consistent with taken until the child reaches the age of those of other European countries and un- eight, and both parents will be able to derlined the moral duty to help underage make use of it at the same time. refugees. The National Institute of Social Insu- On 20 July, it was officially announced rance (INPS) promoted an alternative ma- that foreigners committed most robberies ternity leave in 2000: pregnant women can now take maternity leave one month be- in central and northern Italy and that the fore the expected date of birth, instead of number of drug and prostitution networks the previous two months. This will allow led by foreigners was increasing. A survey them to be on leave longer after the birth conducted by Censis showed that 74 per- of the child. The total leave remained five cent of Italians associated crime with immi- months. grants, even though they also considered On 19 August, “Italia Lavoro“, a society immigrants “essential” to the national for the development of enterprises in economy. southern Italy, published a report according On 2 November, Rita Errico, a judge of to which there remained significant region- the Fourth Civil Division at the Court of al differences in women’s chances of em- Milan, questioned the constitutionality of ployment. In Crotone (southern Italy), only Paragraph 14 of the Law on the Expulsion one out of every ten women was em- of Aliens. She decided not to confirm with- ployed, whereas eight out of ten women in 48 hours (as provided for by law) the were employed in Vicenza (northern Italy). detention of eight Albanian and Romanian illegal immigrants held in the pre-deporta- Rights of the Child tion centre in Via Corelli. According to Errico, the above-mentioned paragraph On 9 June, the police in Grosseto re- could contradict Article 13 of the Constitu- moved 17-month-old Martina from the tion, which guarantees personal freedom. custodial couple who had applied for her On 4 November, another judge of the adoption. The adoption was denied be- Court of Milan failed to confirm the deten- cause the couple was not married. The tion of eight aliens held in the pre-deporta- Minister for Social Affairs, Livia Turco, stated tion centre in Via Corelli. that such removing a child from custody On 2 November, the Court of Reggio did not safeguard minors’ interests. On 10 Emilia upheld the appeal of Nigerian foot- June, Francesca Ceroni, the judge of the ball player Ekong against the prohibition for Juvenile Court who had decided to remove aliens to play in the third division champi- Martina from the couple’s custody, asked to be transferred saying “I cannot put up with onship. Ekong referred to the “Turco- children and parents’ pain anymore.” Napolitano“ law on immigration, which sti- pulates equal working rights for aliens with The issue of paedophilia raised much legal residence in Italy. attention in Italy in 2000. On 13 November in Brescia, following On 23 August the newspaper Libero the murder of a jeweller by an illegal immi- published a list with the names of people grant, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi called accused of paedophilia. A dispute followed: ITALY 173

Stefano Rodotà, the Italian Guarantor of only to defend them against serious abus- Privacy, condemned the act saying that “the es but also to protect their rights in other use of newspapers as public pillory does fields. not have foundation in our Constitution.” On 27 September the Office of the Homosexuals’ Rights Prosecutor of Torre Annunziata discovered On 24 May, Prime Minister Amato de- an international network of paedophiles on scribed the Gay Pride Parade scheduled in the Internet connecting 1,700 people be- Rome for 8 July, in which about 200,000 tween Italy and Russia. homosexuals from all over the world were expected to take part, as “inconvenient.” After two years of investigation “Telefo- The statement was criticised by other no Azzurro“, an association which denoun- members of Government and by some ces abuse of minors, discovered an ex- partners of the ruling coalition. On 28 May, change network of paedophilic photos and the Mayor of Rome, following protests from videos. The Italian Television networks Rai 1 the Catholic Church, withdrew the prom- and Rai 3 broadcast some of the images in ised support of the City Council to the pa- their evening news programme, triggering a rade. However, on 30 May it was decided heated debate. The Directors of TG1, Gad that the Gay Pride Parade would indeed Lerner, and of TG3, Nino Rizzo Nervo had take place with the guarantee of services to apologise to the audience and resign. and safety measures, as well as financial - On 15 September, following cases of but not “official“ - support from the City paedophilia in August, the Government Council. Ultimately, many left wing politi- suggested that an Ombudsman’s office be cians, including members of the Govern- established for children in every region, not ment, participated in the parade.

Endnotes 1 Unless otherwise noted, based on the Italian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights in Italy in 2000. Contributors: Barbara Baldacci, Ilaria Marini, Antonio Stango. 2 Based on European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Campland: of Roma in Italy, 3 November 2000. 174 KAZAKHSTAN1

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression; freedom of association; peaceful assembly; le- gal reforms; the judicial system; independence of the judiciary; fair trial; torture, ill- treatment and misconduct of law enforcement officials; detainees’ rights; conditions in prisons; the death penalty; religious intolerance; freedom of movement.

The human rights situation in Kazakh- Political developments in 2000 were stan deteriorated throughout 2000 and be- largely characterized by further expansion came alarming. of the power of authorities and strengthen- The political system did not provide for ing the virtually unlimited power of stable political development and reliable President Nursultan Nazarbaev whose deci- guarantees and mechanisms for the pro- sions and decrees in practice took prece- tection of human rights and freedoms. dence over the provisions of the Constituti- Although Kazakhstan had ratified most on and other legislation. The same applied international human rights standards and to governmental bylaws. recognized the Universal Declaration of The judiciary was not separated from Human Rights in its declaration for state the executive branch, and the system of sovereignty in 1990, it still failed to access checks and balances was weak. There were the ICCPR, a fact that stripped individuals no democratic public institutions and no living in that country from using the inter- mechanisms of human rights protection on national complaint mechanism. Neither the local level (Ombudsman, Constitutional had Kazakhstan ratified the UN Covenant Court, the right to file petitions, parliamen- on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. tary inquiries, referenda upon public initia- Kazakh authorities did not fulfil the tive, etc.). The judicial system was unable country’s commitments assumed as a to protect the human rights of individuals. member State of the UN and the OSCE. Moreover, the idea of national dialogue and Any criticism of their human rights policies co-operation between those in power the was perceived as “interference with the in- civil society has not been supported. ternal affairs of the State under the pretext In 2000 the Parliament sought the of human rights protection.“ They called the President’s approval in order to amend the U.S. State Department human rights re- Constitution with the aim of granting the port’s Kazakhstan chapter “biased,“ and Parliament the authority to monitor the ex- stated that the OSCE Council of Ministers’ ecution of the state budget and the en- criticism to the proposed amendments to forcement of laws, the right to approve no- the Law on the Mass Media was “lacking minations of the members of Government, objectivity and impartiality.“ Authorities to participate in the work of governmental were also irritated by meetings of the op- bodies which drafted laws, and to interpret position, journalists and human rights ac- laws, but the proposal was rejected. tivists with high-level foreign visitors such as On the eve of the 60th birthday of the U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine President Nazarbaev, the Parliament adopt- Albright and the OSCE Chair Benita Ferrero- ed a new constitutional Law “On the First Waldner. President“ that granted to the President In July the summit of the Shanghai Five life-long privileges following expiry of his adopted a declaration reaffirming their ad- term of office, including, for example, the herence to the principle of respect for hu- right to appeal to the nation, state agencies man rights laid down in the UN Human and governmental officials with initiatives Rights Declaration but stated that in their concerning key issues of social develop- application “it is necessary to take into con- ment; give speeches before the Parliament sideration the historically rooted peculiari- and at governmental sessions on major na- ties of each State“ (Article 6). tional issues; head the Assembly of KAZAKHSTAN 175

Peoples of Kazakhstan; be a member of ished. The Committee to Protect Journalists the Constitutional Council and of the Secu- mentioned Nazabaev as one of the world’s rity Council; make recommendations to the ten worst enemies of the press. acting President on personnel policy, impo- The 1999 Law “On the Mass Media“ sition of the state of emergency and decla- discriminated against mass media as com- ration of war; and to have an office in the pared to other legal entities and individuals; residence of the acting President with its it gave the State additional powers to mon- administration paid from the state budget. itor them and interfere in their activities. The new constitutional Law “On the The mass media had to register with State Judicial System and Status of the Judges,“ authorities and journalists had to get ac- adopted at the end of December, virtually creditation to work legally. transferred courts under full presidential Foreigners or foreign companies were control. allowed to own only 20 percent of any me- The military and security forces were dia outlet. strengthened under the pretext of struggling The 1999 Law on “On State Secrets“ with corruption, terrorism and religious ex- prohibited the public and journalists from tremism. The Law “On National Security“ receiving and imparting information on the was amended, defining its goal as the pro- quantity of troops and their maintenance tection of life, health and welfare of the cit- expenses, conditions in civil defence, the izens of Kazakhstan. As sources of danger security of nuclear objects, the itemized re- the Law mentioned the establishment of publican budget expenses, the health and associations, NGOs, and political parties that private life of the President and his family, do not share the official ideology. etc. The 1998 Law “On National Security“ In the conditions of a severe econom- prohibited broadcasting information that ic crisis and production decline, the social, “undermines national security.“ economic and cultural rights and freedoms Articles 318, 319 and 320 of the Cri- were massively violated, including the right minal Code prohibited “public insult or oth- to work, the acceptable conditions of work er encroachment upon the honour and dig- and satisfactory labour remuneration, as nity of officials.“ Targeting President, mem- well as the right to education, health care, bers of Parliament or governmental official and social security. could be punished with imprisonment. The May 2000 law on combating Freedom of Expression crime restricted collection and dissemina- The Constitution guarantees freedom tion of information and expanded the of expression, speech, and the press as meaning of “state secrets“ to cover also de- well as the right to receive and impart in- partmental official secrets which were not formation, unless prohibited by law. published and internal departmental docu- The year was characterized by further ments marked “for office use only“: in prac- attacks of the Government on the freedom tice, all official statistical data were classified of speech and mass media. The State “for office use only“ and were thus inac- strengthened its control over electronic and cessible. The new wording of Article 172 of printed media, using legislative, political, the Criminal Code also expanded the list of economic, judicial and other forms of pres- crimes related to publishing information sure. In February President Nazarbaev stat- and toughened the penalties carried by ed that the mass media had violated the such crimes. law, instigated inter-ethnic discord, insulted On 31 May A. Nassiyev, head of the human dignity, violated the constitutional Information Systems Department of the Mi- order, and resorted to defamation; he de- nistry of Transport and Communications, manded that the media should be pun- stated the official government policy on the 176 KAZAKHSTAN

Internet development in Kazakhstan. This In July the Head of the State Legal policy envisages free access to obtaining li- Department of the Presidential Administra- cences under the principle of free competi- tion Kairat Mamy announced that criminal tion; obligatory location of operators, man- proceedings were initiated against the agement and financial centres in the territo- mass media for “violating the law.“ In July ry of Kazakhstan; exclusion of any other General Prosecutor Yuriy Khitrin said that communication channels via foreign satel- officers of the Prosecutor’s Office had lites; obligatory informing of the state com- checked 148 press releases and revealed munication company Kazakhtelecom about that “40 contained distorted information.“ routing of traffic via intercity and internation- He told the press that reference to infor- al telephone lines when using public com- mation published in the Internet does not munication networks; granting the Ministry release them from the responsibility under of Transport and Communications the right the law to publish accurate information. to regulate the Internet address space and On 3 August the Prosecutor General maintenance of the web-sites registry. stated that the Almaty Prosecutor’s Office In September-October access to had initiated a case against the editorial Eurasia website through the communica- boards of the newspapers SolDat and tion lines owned by state-controlled JSCs Kazakhskaya Pravda for publications “insti- Kazakhtelecom and Nursat was blocked . gating inter-ethnic discord.“ In a 22 September interview with the weekly Delovaya Nedelya Prime Minister Local authorities selectively restricted Kasymzhomart Tokayev promised Govern- the sites for television shooting, prevented ment support to the independent mass such shootings by force, broke equipment media. However, in the following month and beat up journalists. Such incidents took the Government proposed more restrictive place in Semipalatinsk (TV crew of TVK-6 amendments to the existing Law on Mass channel), Shymkent (Otyrar TV), Petropav- Media, including considering web-sites as lovsk (municipal TV), Almaty (KTK and Yuz- media outlets and placing them under dis- hnaya Stolitsa) and other towns. tribution restriction; limiting the re-broad- Twenty-four charges for the total casting of the television and radio pro- amount exceeding U.S.$ 2 million were grammes of foreign media to 20 percent of brought against the newspaper Nachnem s the overall air-time ; prohibiting the opera- Ponedelnika. In September 1999 the tion of foreign media outlets that “violated Almalin District Court in Almaty upheld the the Constitution and other laws“; and hold- legality of a case initiated by the managers ing the owners, editors-in-chief or editors of of the Kazakh literary Pen-club against the mass media liable for distribution of false newspaper after the paper had criticized information irrespective of its source. the financial activities of the club. The Court ordered the paper to pay 20 million tenge Harassment of Journalists (approximately U.S.$ 140,000) in moral The 1998 Article 155 of the Criminal damages inflicted on the plaintiffs. Earlier, Code on criminal responsibility for “ob- the same court had ruled that the same structing legal professional activities of a newspaper pay 6 million tenge (U.S.$ journalist“ has never been used in criminal 40,000) to the Union of the Judges of court practice. At the same time, however, Kazakhstan for the publication of an article independent mass media has faced prose- about the activities of the Supreme Court cution on the charges of “insulting the dig- and other courts. A criminal case was initi- nity and honour“ of certain officials, state ated against the founder and owner of the and other institutions and other forms of newspaper, R. Esergepov, “for flagrant non- harassment. compliance with court decisions“ because KAZAKHSTAN 177 the newspaper did not have the funds to Special services continued to openly pay the fines. As a result, on 25 May 2000, spy on NGOs and their leaders. The public authorities carried out an inventory and relations’ subdivision of the Ministry of the confiscated Esergepov’s whole property. Interior was specially designed for surveil- The newspaper was closed by a court de- lance of opposition parties and NGOs. cision. Officers of this subdivision attended public and closed NGO meetings and video- and At the beginning of the year the news- audio-taped them for the purpose of “pre- paper NVS-Pressa published an official venting offences.“ National Security Committee (KNB) press- Military staff, the staff of the national release containing information on a crimi- security bodies, employees of law-enforce- nal case against a group of Russian citizens ment bodies and judges were not allowed arrested in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk on to support any political party. charges of “plotting a coup d’etat.“ The newspaper was charged with “propaganda Peaceful Assembly for the overthrowing the constitutional regime in the Republic of Kazakhstan“, and According to Article 32 of the Constitu- a criminal case was initiated against the ed- tion, individuals have the right to peaceful itor-in-chief for “supporting separatists.“ assembly. However, the 1995 Presidential Decree No. 2116 restricted this right consi- derably in the name of the interests of nati- Freedom of Association onal security, public order, protection of The 1995 Constitution recognizes free- health, and the protection of other people’s dom of association and peaceful assembly rights and freedoms. Any actions that may but it contains restrictions inconsistent with disrupt inter-ethnic accord (Article 39) the relevant international standards. For ex- were prohibited. Authorities had broad po- ample, the State is not allowed to support wers to ban any public assembly under the financially public associations; foreign legal pretext that it “violated constitutional provi- entities and individuals, foreign States and sions, laws and bylaws“ or the administra- international organizations cannot not fi- tion deemed it to be the “incitement of nance the activities of political parties and class exclusivity.“ They could also change trade unions; and heads of religious associ- the time or venue of an event. ations can be appointed by foreign reli- Article 9 not only established the or- gious centres solely with the approval of ganizers’ responsibility for violation of the authorized state agencies. The Constitution rules of conducting the organized event, prohibits organizations that incite “class and but also made them liable for any addi- clan discord“ – a formulation on the basis tional expenses related to its conduct, in- of which many organizations can be arbi- cluding those for public order maintenance. trarily closed down. Article 10 granted the local authorities Freedom of association was frequently the right “to additionally regulate the proce- arbitrarily restricted. The State used all pos- dure for conducting rallies, meetings, demon- sible means to step up the pressure on strations, marches, and pickets, taking local “unruly“ NGOs. NGOs were not allowed to conditions into account“ which left room for carry out activities without undergoing state arbitrary restriction of the right to peaceful as- registration. “Disloyal“ NGOs and their lead- sembly. As a result, massive restrictions of the ers were harassed. Also economic pressure right to the freedom of peaceful assembly was used against most active NGOs and continued in 2000 and participants in un- tax authorities conducted massive financial sanctioned meetings of pensioners who de- inspections at the offices of NGOs receiving mand observance of their social rights faced foreign funds for their activities. administrative sanctions (fines, arrests). 178 KAZAKHSTAN

In July the General Prosecutor and the movement, non-profit organizations, chari- Supreme Court approved the court deci- ty, the judicial system and prosecution, sion handed down in judicial proceedings agencies under the Ministry of Interior, the against political activist A. Gabdullin which local administration, self-government etc. had lasted for more than six months. The case was filed by the officer of the Ministry Judicial System of Interior, Major Lednev. Gabdullin was ac- The reform of the judicial system, sche- cused of “impeding a police officer in the duled to be completed by 31 August 1997, performance of his official duties.“ Gabdu- had not been carried out although a num- llin was fined for denying entry to Lednev ber of laws had been adopted to that end. to a closed meeting of the local opposi- The Committee for Judicial Administra- tional party RPPK – an act allowed by law. tion was set up under the Supreme Court. In response to an inquiry about the legality This body was to provide organizational of such actions, the General Prosecution and logistic support to courts, the function answered that “the law does not restrict the that was earlier performed by the Ministry Ministry of the Interior in the exercise of its of Justice. authority to ensure public order“. The Supreme Court plenum and pre- sidium and the oblast (administrative dis- Legal Reforms trict) court presidiums were abolished and According to the 1995 Constitution, supervisory court boards were set up. the legislative basis for safeguarding hu- Instead of plenums, courts held plenary man rights and freedoms was to have been sessions which had no right to administer fully reformed by 30 August 1997. How- justice. Also the military board of the ever, by the end of 2000, the number of Supreme Court was abolished. laws which had not been brought in con- The economic and civil court boards formity with the Constitution had not redu- were merged. ced. On 15 June the Constitutional Council The judges for district and oblast courts stated that “...the failure to bring the effec- were selected on a competitive basis by tive laws in conformity with the Consti- the Qualifying Board of Justice and the tution does not mean their automatic can- Supreme Judiciary Council. The persons cellation. They preserve their legal force in who passed the qualification exam were to the part not contradicting the Constitution.“ undergo mandatory internship. The re- Much of the legal basis comprised the quirements for judges were toughened and 1995 presidential decrees having the force the right of initiating disciplinary proceed- of constitutional laws. Article 53.4 of the ings against judges was moved from the Constitution vested the President with the Ministry of Justice to the Supreme Court right to issue common laws only if the chairman and to chairs of oblast courts. Parliament by two third’s majority delegat- The judges enjoyed higher status and bet- ed him the power to do so for the period ter social security than in previous years. of up to one year. The Parliament did not By law, provisions of ratified interna- give the President such authorities in 2000, tional human rights standards were to be but just as in the previous years the legisla- applied directly unless they required the tion was to considerable extent reformed adoption of special laws of the application. by the President rather than the Parliament. In 2000, the Parliament was to adopt Independence of Judiciary 92 bills. The majority of them were not On 25 December the Constitutional adopted, including important draft laws on Law “On the Judicial System and the Status human rights dealing, for example, with the of the Judges“ was adopted. Its official goal death penalty, censorship, freedom of was to guarantee the “separation of powers KAZAKHSTAN 179 and interaction between the branches of cates in the judicial system. They were of- state power under the principle of checks ten denied access to the accused and were and balances.“ The result was, however, the not allowed to meet the investigating offi- contrary: the Law vested the President with cers. Their offices were illegally searched by additional powers over the judiciary. He the tax police and other authorities and was given the right to, for example, appoint they were often unlawfully required to pro- and dismiss judges and the chairman of duce their passports. Many of them were il- the Supreme Judiciary Council and its legally arrested and held detained. members as well as the chairman of the President Nazarbaev admitted that the Qualification Board of Justice; approve the judicial system of Kazakhstan was control- regulations and procedures for the boards led by the Government. What is more, he deciding on disciplinary procedures and initiated a new law on the judiciary and the qualifications of judges; determine the courts in order to put it from the Govern- number of district and oblast courts, their ment’s control under his own control. establishment, reorganization and abolish- ment; decide on the total number of Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct judges of all courts; approve the number of by Law Enforcement Officials clerks in the office of the Supreme Court In July 1998 Kazakhstan ratified the and in the registries of local courts; sus- pend the authorities of the Supreme Court UN Convention Against Torture and Other chairman; and give his consent to criminal Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or or administrative prosecution of judges. Punishment. However, no positive changes took place: torture and other cruel treat- Fair Trial ment by law enforcement officials was a widespread practice also in 2000. The judicial system of Kazakhstan was Within just the seven first months of still characterized by the drawbacks inherent 2000, 3,658 law enforcement officials in the former Soviet system whose major were disciplined and 68 criminal cases function was the protection of state interests. were initiated against them, mainly for us- The Constitution was not directly ap- ing physical violence. Over 20 employees plied – the judges mainly saw it as a politi- of the Ministry of Interior were convicted. cal declaration. If the Constitution and oth- er laws were in contradiction – which was In April an Astana court sentenced two often the case – the judges abided by nor- officers of the Sary-Arka Department of the mal laws even if they were outdated or Interior to four years in prison for the abuse only decrees with the force of law. of power and overstepping their authority, The prosecution’s arguments were ac- resulting in a detainee’s death. However, cepted uncritically, and the hearings were the court let them off immediately. in most cases based on the defendant’s In July K. Sabdenov, a tax police officer “confessions“ that had been extracted un- and son of a well-known scientist and an der coercion. Protests of the defence about MP was brought to the road police station illegal methods of investigation were usual- in the town of Kokshetau. He was heavily ly ignored. Cases were frequently returned beaten and thrown into the street. K. for further investigation and there were no Sabdenov died in hospital of his injuries. jury trials. Bribery was widespread even among the higher judges. Some 70 per- Also in July an officer of the KNB, Nur- cent of court decisions were not executed keyev beat up a well-known film director and there was no other avenue of com- Dmitry Piskunov in Almaty. Officially KNB ex- plaint than initiating criminal proceedings. plained that Piskunov “unreasonably prevent- There was no proper place for advo- ed Nurkeyev from driving into a parking lot.“ 180 KAZAKHSTAN

The slightly drunken detainee B. Bekov barristers in Kazakhstan. Ginsburg repre- died in hospital after being brought there sented a person accused of being involved from the Turksib district police department. in an assassination of a prominent govern- A post-mortem showed that he had died of mental official. He was placed in preliminary numerous blows by a blunt object into the detention. The prosecution alleged that stomach. The city prosecutor learned about Ginsburg was involved in the disappearance the incident in the press and started crimi- of a criminal case file in the Ministry of nal proceedings 11 days after the crime Interior in 1994 and that he was suspected was committed. of “offering legal advice to a criminal gang.“ Reports were received about the use Anatoly Ginsburg was subjected to psycho- of suffocation with a respirator or a plastic logical pressure for three days and held in a bag, hand-cuffing to hot radiators, pouring cell he had to share with convicted crimi- cold water onto people outdoors at freez- nals. His lawyer was not allowed to see him. ing temperatures, beating up, sexual vio- As the prosecution did not find sufficient lence, and threats of violence towards rela- reasons to issue an arrest warrant, Ginsburg tives and friends. Representatives of the was released after he had signed a paper opposition and participants in unsanc- promising not to leave the area. No charges tioned demonstrations and pickets were of- were brought against him ten subjected to cruel treatment or torture. In 2000, as in the previous years, the Almaty police conducted campaigns for “re- Detainees Rights inforcing public order“ and checked the Illegal arrests and detention were com- passport and visas of migrants. Thousands monplace. The General Prosecutor estimat- of individuals were detained for hours dur- ed that 25 percent of those arraigned were ing the campaigns. arrested without a valid reason. Bodies of the Ministry of Interior, KNB, and the tax po- Ill-Treatment in the Army lice were responsible for the majority of un- The number of reported criminal acts lawful detentions. People were held with- committed by members of the armed forces out any authority and many ended up in under the Ministry of Defence increased by detention facilities as an administrative about 10 percent. The official statistics on ca- punishment. sualties were classified; the only source of Deputy Prosecutor of Karaganda, S. Alter information were the press and public or- confirmed the illegal detention of suspects by ganizations dealing with the soldiers’ rights. the regional departments of the Ministry of Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers in Al- Interior: individuals were detained for three maty and Astana received up to 300 com- days without a prosecutor’s warrant, and if a plaints annually. The military investigations warrant was denied, the suspect was taken to into cases of death lasted for years and court where he was sentenced to 15 days’ some families never received replies. administrative arrest for insulting police offi- Living and medical conditions in the cers. In some cases prosecutors were denied army did not comply with legal norms. access to the police department for checking Soldiers were given a daily food ration the legality of detention. worth less than one U.S. dollar. Typically, K. Zhumabekov was kept in detention the army barracks had no heating, hot wa- for 11 months in a case framed by officers ter and bed linen. of the Sary Arka department of the Interior Ministry in Astana. Conditions in Prisons In July the Almati police illegally arrest- Kazakhstan was one of the countries ed Anatoly Ginsburg, one of the best-known with the largest per capita prison popula- KAZAKHSTAN 181 tion in 2000 (over 800 per 100,000 in- (Article 368); violence against a senior offi- habitants). The conditions in penitentiaries cer (Article 369); desertion (Article 373); (ITU) and pre-trail detention facilities under evasion of military service by self-mutilation the Ministry of Interior amounted to torture, or other means (Article 374); breaking the cruel or inhuman treatment or punishment. rules of performing the sentry-duty (Article To protest against cruel treatment on 375); abuse of power, exceeding one’s the part of prison personnel, inmates prac- powers, or the authorities’ inactivity (Article ticed mass self-mutilation. 380); surrendering war-waging facilities to At the beginning of the year, 15 in- the enemy (Article 383). mates suffering from tuberculosis com- Women, men of 65 or older and per- plained to the General Prosecutor and sons who were under 18 when committing went on hunger strike to protest against in- the crime could not be sentenced to death. human conditions at ITU No. 33. All 15 The death penalty could be replaced with were punished. In protest, the inmates cut life or a 25-year imprisonment through their veins, and one of them died. In that pardon by the President at the proposal of facility, visits by relatives were prohibited, the pardoning commission. and no telephone calls were allowed under Only the Supreme Court could hand various pretexts. The inmates were held in down a death penalty: therefore, those barracks where they were allowed to take a charged with capital crimes had less oppor- bath only once a month. Marching drills for tunities to appeal their sentence than those 2-3 hours a day were obligatory in all accused of less serious offences. A death weathers for those who were not engaged sentence could be appealed within seven in work. days after a copy of the sentence had been handed to the convict. In the town of Arkalyk, 44 inmates of a Kazakhstan continued to violate the penitentiary institution cut their abdomens ECOSOS Resolution 1989/64 through not in protest at bad treatment. disclosing statistics on the death penalty. It At a reform school in Almaty, 57 mi- was estimated that 40-60 people were nors cut up their abdomens and veins in sentenced to death annually. protest at cruel treatment on the part of the In an unprecedented case in the judi- school personnel. cial practice of Kazakhstan, three people were sentenced to death in different pro- Death Penalty ceedings for murdering one man. No law on the death penalty had been adopted in Kazakhstan. The Criminal Code Religious Intolerance carried a death penalty for 18 crimes in Kazakhstan has traditionally been a peace-time, including 12 forms of murder multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country (Article 96); genocide (Article 160); use of that has demonstrated religious tolerance. hired military force (Article 162); high trea- However, in practice, the right to freedom son (Article 165); attempted murder of a of conscience was not duly protected and public figure or a statesman (Article 176); the principle of the State’s non-interference diversion (Article 171); and attempted mur- in the affairs of religious communities was der of a person administering justice or pre- violated. The State openly protected the liminary criminal investigation (Article 340). “major“ religions – Islam and the Orthodox In time of war or during a military con- Church. flict, the law provided for the death penalty In 2000, the authorities conducted an for resisting a senior officer and so prevent- aggressive campaign aimed at restraining ing him from performing his official duties the activities of the so called “non-tradition- 182 KAZAKHSTAN al“ religions. The media was used to propa- register with the migration police and ob- gate the supremacy of Islam and the Ortho- tain licenses for their activities. Many were dox Church, and to label other religions as charged because of possession of religious “harmful“ and “bad.“ After the events of literature. Others were accused of carrying 1999 in Uzbekistan and subsequent 1999 out religious rites with foreigners. and 2000 intrusions of Uzbek guerillas into In addition, ministries and local author- Kyrgyzstan, the campaign in Kazakh media ities waged a struggle against “religious ex- reached the nature of a planned hysteria in tremism.“ For example, the Ministry of the face of the threat of religious conflict Education issued a circular prescribing that and alleged religious extremism. schoolchildren should not be allowed to at- In 2000 pro-presidential political par- tend religious meetings; schools should not ties and NGOs (e.g. the party Otan and its accept humanitarian or other assistance youth movement, the International Fund from religious associations; and school Congress of Spiritual Accord, Assembly of buildings should not be leased for activities the Peoples of Kazakhstan, Arabic-Turkish of religious associations. Centre) actively supported this campaign. A The Ministries of Justice and Culture, number of seminars were held that called Information and Public Accord ordered reg- people to give up tolerance because it was istered religious associations “to eradicate inconsistent with “the cultural-historic men- from their founding documents the provi- tality of the ethnic and forcefully sions contradicting the law“ (referring to imposed by Western culture.“ President Na- educational or religious activities) and “oth- zarbaev said that the Kazakhs are Sunni er activities not prohibited by law“ and to Moslems by birth and must follow that have their associations re-registered. route. Akimats (local administration) fre- Senior governmental officials gave quently refused to let premises for religious speeches in churches and mosques and events, and courts imposed administrative the chief mufti and the Orthodox archbish- penalties for holding “unsanctioned“ reli- op participated in state ceremonies. The gious meetings outside the places of wor- Ministry of Culture, Information and Public ship. Accord had a liaison department for rela- A growing number of religious organi- tions with religious associations and it per- zations were denied registration and by the formed some of the functions of the for- end of 2000, registration of newly founded mer Soviet Council for the Affairs of the religious entities was suspended without Church. It had subdivisions in all local bod- any explanation. ies of the executive power. In February President Nazarbaev is- Draft Law on Religions sued a Decree “On Prevention and Elimina- In January 2000 the Parliament decid- tion of Terrorism and Extremism“ that led to ed to draft a new law on the freedom of inspection of the activities of all religious faith and religious associations. At the same associations. The mass media published time, at the initiative of the Office of the horrifying “facts“ about illegal activities of General Prosecutor, the Government start- religious associations. ed a revision of some legislative provisions The KNB and the Prosecutors’ Offices on the freedom of conscience. In October targeted religious minority communities Minister Sarsenbaev said at an internation- because they deemed them illegal - de- al seminar that some technical amend- spite the fact that Kazakhstan does not re- ments may be introduced in the Law “On quire mandatory registration of religious as- Religion“, but there were no plans to adopt sociations. Foreign missionaries were at- a new law. By that time, the text of the new tacked because they had not been able to law drafted by the Spiritual Directorate of KAZAKHSTAN 183 the Moslems of Kazakhstan had already cratic procedures for obtaining exit visas for been submitted to the Government. Kazakh citizens and for foreigners to stay in The draft law is in serious violation of the country. All foreigners (with some ex- international standards, it discriminates ceptions) were obliged to register with the against religious minorities, contradicts the police within three days of their arrival, ex- Kazakh Constitution and other legislation cluding weekends and holidays. and is clearly targeted at eliminating minor- In February the Migration Police denied ity religious communities. For example, it an exit visa to Gaziz Aldamzharov, chairman prohibits activities by religious associations of the executive committee of the opposi- without state registration; proselytism; mis- tion party RPPK. sionary activities; private religious instruc- tion; religious education in state schools; In October plainclothes Migration Police officers came to Amirzhan Kosanov, and ownership of places of worship by oth- one of the RPPK leaders, and demanded ers than religious associations. It restricts him to immediately turn in his internation- the rights of a religious community to inde- al passport because authorities had decid- pendently determine its organizational ed to annul the exit visa he had already ob- form, and to train, appoint or elect its lead- tained. In response to A. Kosanov’s inquiry ers. It restricts the right to establish or main- as to the legality of such actions, the Migra- tain links between individuals and commu- tion Police referred to some “absolutely se- nities of fellow believers, to worship freely cret“ letter from the Government prohibit- and to produce, purchase and use neces- ing Kosanov from leaving Kazakhstan. Er- sary religious objects and literature. It also murat Bapi, editor-in-chief of the newspa- allows state interference in the communi- per SolDat and member of the RPPK exec- ties’ financial affairs. utive committee, experienced a similar inci- dent. Freedom of Movement The former Soviet residence registra- Article 21 of Constitution proclaimed tion system was virtually preserved with the the right of everyone to legitimately stay or ID card replacing the former internal pass- reside freely in the country’s territory, to port. The place of permanent residence freely move and choose one’s place of res- and registration was indicated in the ID idence, and also to go abroad and return card that had to be changed if one moved without any obstacles. In practice, however, to another locality. Without a certificate of freedom of movement and the right to registration it was impossible to purchase choose one’s residence within the country or sale immovable property, get a job, reg- were restricted due to the system of resi- ister documents for getting a pension, re- dence registration. There were also bureau- ceive social benefits, etc.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Almaty Helsinki Committee, Human Rights In Kazakhstan in 2000. 184 KYRGYZSTAN1

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and the media; freedom of association; peaceful assembly; the judicial system and the independence of the judiciary; tor- ture, ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in pris- ons and detention facilities; security services; religious intolerance; freedom of movement; protection of ethnic minorities; the death penalty; social and economic rights; women’s rights2; rights of the child; human rights defenders.

best to prevent voters from making and in- dependent, constitutionally protected choice.

Parliamentary Elections The parliamentary elections of 20 February and 12 March did not meet the hopes of the Kyrgyz people for truly demo- cratic elections: the OSCE Election Observance Mission stated on 13 March that Kyrgyzstan’s Government failed to comply with OSCE commitments and that the state authorities did not fulfil their obli- gations to organize fair and competitive elections. International standards for fair and free elections had already been violated during Talay Turumbekov, blind in one eye, suffered the campaign period. In breach of the new ill-treatment because he collected signatures Electoral Code published in May 1999, au- for President Akaev’s competitor. © KCHR thorities prevented most of the democrati- cally-oriented opposition candidates from Inconsistent with its reputation as the registering under the pretext that the char- model Central Asian democracy following ters of their parties did not explicitly state the fall of communism and the break-up of that they would participate in elections. the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan’s human rights Others were turned down because their parties had been registered less than one policies have in recent years grown in- year prior to the calling of elections.3 Their creasingly repressive and the country has candidates could run only in single man- become an authoritarian militia State. Most date constituencies. basic human rights were violated, including State and local officials interfered in the the standards for fair and free elections, election process and the state media was freedom of expression, association and biased. Politically motivated persecution of peaceful assembly. The judicial system was opposition candidates was common, in- marked by the absence of the rule of law cluding bringing fabricated or at least ques- with courts dependent on central and local tionable charges against them. The role authorities. Torture and ill-treatment of de- played by courts confirmed their depend- tainees was commonplace, and human ence on authorities and the Presidential rights activists faced increasing harassment. Administration. Dozens of election observers were ar- Elections rested and held in militia stations “for pass- In 2000 both parliamentary and presi- port control,” and, together with media rep- dential elections were held. Prior to and dur- resentatives, were often denied access to ing both elections, the authorities did their polling stations. KYRGYZSTAN 185

After the elections, the Prosecutor’s tasks under different pretexts. The OSCE Office ordered authorities to take all the and the National Democratic Institute public speeches of opposition leaders and (USA) declared that the elections were not various movements under scrutiny in order fair, transparent and not conducted in ac- to initiate criminal cases against them on cordance with Kyrgyztans’s international any pretext. obligations Election committees frequently falsified Incumbent President Askar Akaev put the election protocols – some of them had forward his candidacy – and won the pres- even been written prior to the elections – in idency – despite the fact that, by Article order to “help” politically suitable can- 43(2) of the Constitution “the same per- didates. The voter lists were often incom- son cannot be elected the President …for plete. In some locations, additional ballot more than two terms…” Akaev had already papers were printed and filled in by author- served two terms. His candidacy was based ities. Bribing of voters was commonplace. on the 13 July 1998 decision of the Con- Akims (heads of local administration) exert- stitutional Court, which allowed him to run ed pressure on villagers to vote “right.” again. On 12 March law enforcement officers The elections were also riddled with were ordered to carry out strict passport con- numerous other irregularities. The so-called trol of the voters sympathizing with the op- linguistic commission (not provided for by position. Governmental officials in local elec- the Constitution) was created to bar seven tion commissions were threatened with the leaders of the opposition from registering loss of their jobs if the opposition were to as presidential candidates on grounds that win in their constituency. The first round of they were not fluent in the Kyrgyz language, elections was declared invalid in all con- although some of them were able to write stituencies in which the opposition had won. poetry in the that language. During the In some regions, following the publica- campaign, only Akaev enjoyed full access tion of the results of the elections, protests to the mass media; the rest of the candi- and hunger strikes were organized de- dates were denied access. manding the annulment of the results. Law To ensure the election of the incum- enforcement officials violently dispersed bent President, governmental institutions meetings with force. put unprecedented pressure on their em- Prior to the election, the IHF sent an ployees. Teachers, physicians, and students open letter to the OSCE Chairman express- were subjected to bribery and intimidation. ing its deeply concern about political free- Assemblies and demonstrations for the op- doms in Kyrgyzstan as the parliamentary position candidates were either closely ob- elections approached and requesting that served or violently dispersed. Those who abuses of the Helsinki standards by the had collected signatures in support of the Kyrgyz Government ought to be raised in opposition candidates were fired from their the OSCE Permanent Council and in bi-lat- jobs. Non-governmental observers were eral discussions between the participating barred from monitoring the elections al- States and Kyrgyzstan.4 most all over the country. Law enforcement officers either intimidated observers who Presidential Elections appeared at the polling stations or made The presidential elections on 29 them leave the stations immediately under October were conducted in an unfair man- various pretexts. ner and in violation of the Constitution and The reports of those observers who other laws as well as international standards. managed to carry out their duties cited bal- During the elections, independent ob- lot stuffing for President Akaev and de- servers were barred from carrying out their stroying ballots in favour of the opposition 186 KYRGYZSTAN candidates. According to the Kyrgyz In November his sentence was cut to six Committee for Human Rights (KCHR, IHF years. The court claimed that Turgunalev member) and the Coalition of NGOs, who was an ideological leader of a criminal visited over 45 polling stations, the total of band that had plotted to kill President 12,249 falsified ballots in favour of Akaev in 1999. Other alleged member of President Akaev were found. At the polling the band, Raiym Sarykov, was sentenced to station 1145 of the Pervomai District of 17 years in prison, five others – K. Akimba- Bishkek, 701 ballots were put in the ballot ev, K. Jalikulov, A. Jalilov, I. Muratov and M. box in advance of the polling, 700 of them Orozov – each received a 16-year sentence in favour of President Akaev. This was wit- and their properties were ordered to be nessed by the observers representing the confiscated. Z. Khabibulaev received a presidential candidates Tekebaev and three-year suspended sentence. In Novem- Atabaev. ber, the sentences of the other defendants were also reduced to 4-5 years. Ti- Freedom of Expression and Media mur Stamkulov was formally sentenced to Particularly due to the February/March four years in prison but was immediately parliamentary elections and the October granted an amnesty and released. All the presidential elections, independent and op- sentences were based solely on testi- position media outlets, opposition politi- monies of an agent of the National Security cians and members of the civil society Ministry (NSM, formerly KGB). However, faced increasing harassment. Some were other NSM officials testified in court on 25 arrested and various trumped-up charges August that the investigation had provided were brought against them. no proof that an armed group had been formed to assassinate President Akaev. Feliks Kulov, former Bishkek Mayor and Minister of National Security and now leader Other targets included, among others, of the Ar-Namys Party, was arrested on 22 Tolekan Ismailova, leader of the Coalition of March at the Cardiology Centre, where he Democracy and Civil Society; Giyaz Tokom- was receiving treatment, and charged with baev, chairman of the Republican Party; abuse of his official position while Minister Jypar Jeksheev, leader of the Democratic of National Security. Kulov’s trial opened on Movement of Kyrgyzstan; and Daniyar 27 June behind closed doors. He was ac- Usenov, head of El Party. Lidia Fomova, the quitted on all counts on 7 August.5 How- leader of the NGO Association for the ever, authorities heavily attacked Judge Protection of the Population, was also ac- Nurlan Ashimbekov for the ruling, stating cused along with Ramazan Dyryldaev, chair that it was not appropriate and accused him of the KCHR, of organizing meetings and of taking bribes. On 11 September the Mili- hunger strikes to protest against arrest of tary Court annulled the sentence and or- Feliks Kulov and other opposition leaders in dered the case to be re-tried in the Bishkek the context of recent parliamentary elec- Military City Court. The Court decided to ar- tions. The city prosecutor officially warned rest him immediately in the court hall and all of them. imprison him for seven years. On 1 September the trial of Topchubek Freedom of the Media Turgunaliev, leader of the Erkindik Party and In an interview with Vecherniy Bishkek chair of the Guild of Prisoners of on 16 August, Minister of National Security Conscience in Kyrgyzstan, ended with a rul- T. Aitbaev declared that the NSM moni- ing of a 16-year prison sentence and the tored the work of every independent jour- confiscation of his property. Turgunaliev nalist and that criminal proceedings against was arrested immediately in the court hall. journalists would be expected. KYRGYZSTAN 187

Formally, censorship was prohibited in the independent newspaper Litsa after the Kyrgyzstan. However, printing houses often director of the Erkin Too printing house, refused to print critical papers citing lack of which had always printed the newspaper, news print while the governmental papers was fired on 20 October and replaced by continued to be printed. All printing houses G. Murzakhmadova of the Presidential were under government supervision and all Press Service. Erkin Too employees said in private firms rendering printing services - in- private talks that they had been instructed cluding the smallest ones - were intimidat- not to print the newspaper on political ed by the law enforcement forces and the grounds. Moreover, all printing houses in NSM. They were asked to sign documents Kazakhstan were also instructed not to print certifying that they would not produce ma- Kyrgyz papers. On 27 October, having ex- terials of political character containing criti- hausted all efforts to print the newspaper, cism of President Akaev. the editorial staff had to produce the issue The newspapers Asaba, Delo N., Litsa, themselves using their own printing and and Res Publika were among the main tar- copying machines. Litsa (founded and run gets. by Bermet Bukasheva) started publishing in 1998. The newspaper has been involved in In March Kyrgyz authorities threatened investigative journalism on corruption and journalist Zamira Sydykova, editor-in-chief other unlawful acts undertaken by the gov- of Res Publika, along with a number of hu- ernment institutions, including the NSM. man rights defenders, with arrest for al- legedly violating Article 233 of the Criminal On 29 November the NSM charged Code, which prohibits “destabilizing the so- Delo N. editor-in-chief Victor Zapolski and cial order.” The paper was also accused of reporter Vadim Nochevkin with “divulging insulting the honour and dignity of state secrets” (Article 300.1 of the Criminal Amanbek Kyrypkulov, President of the Code) because they had reported on the National Television and Radio Corporation. closed trial of Feliks Kulov. The crime car- The paper had accused him of restricting ried a penalty of “deprivation of the right to media freedom. Res Publika was heavily assume some offices or to be involved in fined and forbidden to use the state print- certain activities” for five years, and impris- ing house. All computers and other equip- onment for six months to two years. A ment were confiscated. The paper ceased charge on similar grounds was reportedly publication in late March. On 17 October awaiting deputy editor-in-chief S. Krasilni- the Pervomai District Court ordered that kova. The NSM interrogated the staff for Res Publika, Zamira Sydykova and reporter several hours – officially as witnesses for Y. Omurzakov pay compensation to S. another case. The paper’s editorial offices Botaliev, former employee of the KCHR6 for were searched as well as the homes of the critical articles published two years earlier. staff members. The KCHR appealed on 27 The article related to events that took place November to the Prosecutor General to in 1998, when the KCHR was de-regis- dismiss the NSM from the investigations as tered. The Ministry of Justice registered a it was an interested party, and to charge ei- new organization under the same name ther the Ministry of Interior or the led by S. Botaliev. Omurzakov and Sydy- Prosecutor’s Office with this task.7 kova had written that Botaliev worked in On 20 October the Leninsky District order to terminate the activities of the real Court in Bishkek ruled in the case initiated KCHR under the instructions of the by MP T. Usubaliev against the independent Government and the NSM. newspaper Asaba. The Court ordered the All printing companies in Kyrgyzstan paper to pay the deputy 5 million soms and Kazakhstan refused to print an issue of (more than U.S.$ 100,000) and fined every 188 KYRGYZSTAN journalist who had written articles criticizing The Prosecutor of Bishkek warned the Usubaliev 1,000–1500 soms. Usubaliev ac- leader of the Coalition of NGOs for Demo- cused the newspaper of regularly publishing cracy and Civil Society T. Ismailova for act- for the past eight years articles criticizing ing during the parliamentary electoral cam- him. He had required compensation for paign on behalf of the coalition which had moral damages in the amount of 50 million not been registered by the Ministry of soms. Usubaliev was the head of the Justice. Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan from 1961 to 1985. Peaceful Assembly The militia and the security services ha- Article 16(2) of the Constitution stated rassed many journalists. that “every person…has the right to… On 3 November Leonid Rempel, a peaceful assembly, without carrying journalist with the Eurasia Internews, was weapons, [and to] hold freely meetings and beaten up upon his return at home. demonstrations…“. Nevertheless, the au- Rempel believed that the attempt on his thorities seriously violated this right, em- life was made as a reaction to his profes- ploying brutal force. sional activity to inform about irregularities On 15 March the supporters of Feliks and fraud during the parliamentary and Kulov staged a picket to demand Kulov’s presidential elections. release and the annulment of the results of Lira Baiseitova, editor-in-chief of the the parliamentary elections in constituency newspaper Respublica 2000 in Kazakh- No. 44 where numerous irregularities were stan, experienced a similar attack after she revealed. From the moment the picket had published an article on the violations started, the militia and the NSM constantly of the constitutional rights in Kyrgyzstan. threatened to arrest the picketers. Upon the decision of the city administration, the law On 28 November an unidentified per- enforcement officers forcefully moved the son assaulted journalist Tatiana Tayanova of picketers to another place. Res Publika. Two militia officers and other people witnessed the incident. The perpe- During the official visit of U.S. State trator was arrested but no judicial proceed- Secretary Madeline Albright to Kyrgyzstan on ings were initiated against him. 16 April, the militia and the NSM violently dis- persed several demonstrations and clashed The IHF denounced the threats against with demonstrators near the residence of the the media and civil society describing them President: the militia used dogs, beat the as “Bolshevik-style tactics” that have no demonstrators with truncheons, and tore off place in the community of democracies. It their banners. After Albright’s departure the noted, that “these actions make a mockery picketers were completely dispersed with the of the massive foreign assistance given to use of physical force by militia officers riding the country by Western Governments.” 8 horses. The picketers were mainly elderly women and men. Freedom of Association In a similar violent manner, demonstra- In 2000, the Ministry of Justice refused tions were dispersed from the road near to register the Guild of Prisoners of the Komsomol village; in Birimkulov, the Conscience, chaired by Topchubek Turgu- Sokuluk district; and at the M.Gorki monu- naliev, a long-term critic of the Govern- ment (the site allotted by the Bishkek city ment, on the grounds that there were no administration for demonstrations). prisoners of conscience in Kyrgyzstan. Topchubek Turgunaliev himself was a pris- On 12 June about 120 picketers gath- oner of conscience. ered near the house where the Govern- KYRGYZSTAN 189 ment held its meetings. Over 200 militia liament, was on trial in the Supreme Court, officers forced them into a bus and drove charged by another candidate for Parlia- them to the M. Gorki monument. After ar- ment. As some of judges of the Court saw riving there the militia beat up the partici- how unlawful the whole procedure was, pants, inflicting serious injuries on ten peo- they left the meeting room in protest – and ple. Some participants were arrested and were soon fired. escorted to the Pervomai Regional Depart- ment of Internal Affairs where they were In May the Lenin District Court of Bis- held for a short period of time. hkek sentenced the leader of the opposi- tion party El (People’s Party) Daniyar Use- During the October elections, authori- nov to three years of imprisonment to be ties of Kyzyl-Kiya of the Batken region did served in the penal colony of minor securi- not allow the inhabitants to hold a meeting ty and to two years probation. The Court with Melis Eshimkanov, a presidential can- further barred him from participating in the didate. They dispersed a meeting of nearly presidential elections. Usenov was accused 3,000 people by force. of participating in the beating of entrepre- neur Kenesh Mukaev in 1996, despite the On 30 October people who were un- fact that Mukaev had not recognized Use- satisfied with the results of presidential nov as the perpetrator, and that in August elections gathered at the headquarters of 1999 the Court ruled that the case be cov- the regional administration in the town of ered by an amnesty. Jalal-Abad. They were beaten by the militia, with many wounded. Ten organizers of the In April E. Mambetaipov, a KCHR mem- assembly were arrested. ber and former deputy chairman faced fab- ricated criminal charges at the Pervomai Judicial System and Independence of District Court under Article 335(1) of the Judiciary Criminal Code failing to secure the proper- ty inventoried by a court. Although the in- The judicial system was marked by the vestigator of the case told Mambetaipov absence of the rule of law. The courts were that she knew he was innocent, she had to dependent on the Presidential Administra- proceed under the pressure of the tion that also appointed the judges, con- Prosecutor’s Office. E. Mambetaipov was trolled their activity, and tested the qualifi- sentenced to one year suspended term. cations of the judges on a regular basis. Charges brought on the basis of politi- cally motivated criminal charges against in- Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct dependent voices and opposition figures by Law Enforcement Officials were regularly met with guilty verdicts and Kyrgyzstan ratified the UN Convention high sentences. The Constitution and stan- against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or dards of due process were ignored. Judges Degrading Treatment or Punishment in made their decisions in total disregard of 1997. Nevertheless, torture and ill-treat- human rights standards such as the rights ment by law enforcement officials in- to free expression, free association and creased in 2000. peaceful assembly, a fact that was criticized According to official statistics, only 70 by the IHF in its open letter to President percent of crimes were cleared up. More 9 Akaev. Because of low salaries, judges and than half of those cases were believed to other court personnel were vulnerable to have been “solved” by means of torture: bribes. many detainees gave false evidence In March, just prior to the parliamentary against themselves under torture or ill-treat- elections, Daniyar Usenov, who ran for Par- ment. Moreover, drug addicts who were 190 KYRGYZSTAN kept in militia cells as long as they suffered investigative isolation facilities (SIZO) were from withdrawal symptoms confessed and overcrowded, with little more space than signed for any crimes that they had not one square metre per detainee. The in- committed. Several individuals died in cus- mates received poor nutrition, in the sum- tody but the responsible militia officers en- mer the cells were unbearably hot and in joyed total impunity. the winter freezing cold. The inmates slept In August and September, several peo- in 2-3 shifts due to the lack of beds. ple jumped out of the windows of Leninski Tuberculosis and other diseases were wide- and Sverdlovski District Militia Stations and spread and medical care was close to non- the Bishkek City Militia Department, shout- existent. ing that they were innocent, because they In the penal colonies prisoners did not had been tortured to confess crimes they have enough nutrition. Guards assaulted had not committed. them orally and physically and beat them up. On several occasions guards or officers In September militia officers in Jalal- of isolation facilities or colonies resorted to Abad arrested A. Saydullaev and soon in- extremely brutal treatment. formed his relatives that he died in a tem- In July an officer of the Osh SIZO en- porary isolation facility. When his relatives tered a cell where he agreed to have a washed the corpse for the funeral they drink with the detainees. After this – appar- found traces of torture on his body. The rel- ently as a result of a bribe – the officer al- atives had not been allowed to see him for lowed the detainees to take a walk around two weeks prior to his death. the facility. As another officer saw them and Law enforcement officials frequently ordered them to go back to the cell, the de- intimidated witnesses in cases where mili- tainees beat up both officers. Militia special tia officers were accused of illegal acts. forces soon entered the SIZO and brutally Nadejda Nikolaevna Mashlovets, who beat the detainees and forced them back was the only witness of a 1998 murder to their cell. A criminal case was later case committed, it is believed, by an inves- opened against the detainees. tigator of the Lenin ROVD, was repeatedly On 6 November officer Z. K. Akmatov visited by unidentified individuals from the beat Z. Sataev, imprisoned in the penal moment the criminal case was opened. Her colony No. 1 (ITK) (situated in Moldova- “guests” first threatened her with physical vi- novka) on his hands and feet and then olence and then offered her money in order carved with scissors the letter “C“ on the to stop her assisting in the investigation into prisoner’s head. Moreover, he called anoth- the murder. At this writing, the visits had er prisoner and forced him to rape Sataev, continued for two years, becoming weekly the most humiliating act for a prisoner. after the trial opened in January 2000. The Akmatov was soon promoted the head of visitors have arrived every time with a car strategic regime unit (SRU) in another pe- without registration plate and with shaded nal institution despite of fact that there windows – a car that was seen at the Lenin criminal proceedings had been initiated ROVD. Once Mashlovets refused to talk to against him under Articles 131 (forcing to the “guests,” they hit her in the chest so an act of sexual character) and 305(2) badly that she needed medical treatment. (abuse of authority) of the Criminal Code.

Conditions in Prisons and Detention Security Services Facilities The NSM served as a tool of suppres- Conditions in all forms of prisons and sion of free expression. Its officials, includ- detention facilities were poor. The cells of ing Minister T. Aitbaev, openly declared that KYRGYZSTAN 191 the NSM monitored journalists and other simply a continuation for the persecution individuals. It also fabricated criminal cases against pious Islamic religious figures. against opposition leaders and bugged the offices of MPs and other authorities. Freedom of Movement K. Bayalinov, advisor to the President, The historically good neighbourly rela- and several MPs stated that the NSM tions between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan should be immediately disbanded due to were seriously affected by the intrusion of its activities against Delo No and similar the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan into acts and added that the NSM’s operation Kyrgyzstan in order to use its southern parts resembled the activities of the Stalin as a transit area. New checkpoints were set regime in 1937. Following this statement K. up at the border, and, in an attempt to pre- Bayalinov was forced to resign. vent the guerillas’ return to Uzbekistan, the Uzbek military planted anti-infantry mines Religious Intolerance in the border area, many of them in the Under Article 335(1) of the Criminal Kyrgyz territory (subject to border dis- Code (failing to secure the property inven- putes), without informing their Kyrgyz toried by a court) large-scale arrests of counterparts about where the mines have members of the Islamic organization been planted. The mines caused several Hizbut-Tahrir continued and intensified af- deaths of civilians. Others who wanted to ter the hostilities by Uzbek guerillas in visit their relatives on the other side of the southern Kyrgyzstan in the summers of border had to undergo humiliating body 1999 and 2000. Hizbut-Tahrir pursued the searches. establishment of an Islamic State in a non- The KCHR noted that the planting of military way. According to the information mines was an illegal act that violated the available to the KCHR, more than 40 mem- Ottawa Convention on Mines Prohibition bers of Hizbut-Tahrir were convicted in that Uzbekistan is a party to. 2000. Twenty-four criminal proceedings were pending under Article 299 of Criminal Protection of Ethnic Minorities Code (incitement to national, racial or reli- Generally speaking, the rights of ethnic gious intolerance) at the end of 2000. minorities were observed. However, an Ironically, the attempts by the authorities to anti-constitutional Linguistic Commission suppress Hizbut-Tahrir’s activities have just increased its popularity in the south of was created prior to the presidential elec- Kyrgyzstan. tions to examine the proficiency of candi- The Chairman of the Government’s dates for presidency in the state language, Commission on Religion, Jolbors Jorobe- Kyrgyz. This was a clear violation of Article kov, announced that in 2001 all the around 5(3) of the Constitution that stated that no 1,300 mosques in the country would be one should be deprived of his/her rights re-registered. It is also planned that during and freedoms as a result of not knowing the re-registration process all imams will the state language. have to undergo re-training and a control of In addition, claims filed to the their qualifications. In addition, a special Constitutional Court had to be written in commission will reportedly evaluate the ar- the state language, a fact that placed those chitectural, seismological and sanitary con- citizens who did not know Kyrgyz in a dis- ditions of the mosques. It was feared that advantaged position. some of them would be declared unsafe The Constitutional Court refused sever- and closed although other buildings in a al times to receive a complaint filed in similar state would not be closed. The Russian by B. E. Adrianov, who does not KCHR noted that the re-registration was know the state language. Adrianov had to 192 KYRGYZSTAN submit all his documents in 16 copies both ture pushed many parents into alcoholism, in Russian and Kyrgyz. making them unable to care for their chil- dren properly. Also the State was unable to Death Penalty offer due assistance. As a result, many chil- dren ended up in the streets providing for The moratorium on the death penalty themselves as beggars. expired on 4 December 2000. The KCHR, It was estimated that some 25,000 together with the Kyrgyz American Bureau school age children stayed out of schools: for Human Rights and the NGO Spraved- many had to work instead. In newspapers livost (Justice) appealed to President Akaev parents offered their children for adoption to prolong the moratorium. A presidential to better-off families. Due to financial diffi- decree dated 2 December 2000 extended culties, some parents even killed their new- the moratorium for one year. As of the end born children. There was also evidence that of 2000, it was estimated that about 100 newborns were sold for trafficking. Street people were on death row in Kyrgyzstan. children often became targets for militia of- ficers who used violence against them or Social and Economic Rights planted incriminating evidence on them in The overall economic situation in order to be able to arrest them. Kyrgyzstan deteriorated steadily. Lack of In October an officer of the Oktibarski employment was characterized by the mi- District Militia Station planted drugs in the gration of about a million people to other pocket of teenager Semen Sobolev. countries because of economic reasons. Child prostitution was wide-spread and While in the capital Bishkek living condi- many young girls went into the sex indus- tions were relatively acceptable with suffi- try to earn some money. Many of them got cient necessities of life and utilities, in the beaten up or raped by their customers. rural areas populated by more than 65 per- cent of the total population virtually all Nurlan Badyshbaev, junior militia ser- people lived under the poverty line. Many geant, raped an 8-year-old girl near the died of hunger, although authorities tried to Bishkek water-canal and threatened to kill conceal such information. her if she screamed or told somebody about the crime. On 21 May Maksim Puzanov (29) died of hunger in the in Bishkek City Hospital In November a mother was convicted No. 6. of killing her 7-year-old daughter in the vil- The minimum wage was 100 soms lage of Kok-Jar. She explained that she (U.S.$ 2). Most pensioners had only bread could no longer bear to see her husband and water to eat and drink. beat their daughter. The mentally ill were the most vulnera- ble group, making up the majority of those Human Rights Defenders died of tuberculosis and dystrophy. The Members of the KCHR were increas- Bishkek psycho-neurological institution has ingly targeted, resulting in the going into ex- not been able to offer its patients meat for ile of its Chairman Ramazan Dyryldaev and over three years. It was reported that at times another staff member. there was not even any bread available. On 7 April the Prosecutor of the Pervomai district in Bishkek opened a crim- Rights of the Child inal case against Dyryldaev on the charges With the myriad of economic prob- of violating Article 338 of the Criminal lems, social problems increased, which se- Code because he had allegedly failed to ex- riously affected children. The fear of the fu- ecute the court decisions of 20 and 24 KYRGYZSTAN 193

May 1999, which was not the case. On the Albert Korgoldoev, a KCHR coordinator for same day another KCHR activist, Eleman the Jalal-Abad region. He had to hide to se- Mambetaipov was charged with Article 335 cure his safety. The office of Tynaliev Bolot, of the Criminal Code (failing to secure the coordinator in the Issyk-Kul region was also property inventoried by a court). These sealed in November. charges were processed quickly in violation The escalation of the situation was pre- of the Criminal Procedure Code and ceded by long time harassment. For sever- Mambetaipov was sentenced to one year al years, the Kyrgyz Government had been in prison. taking efforts to manipulate and destroy the At the 11-12 July hearing of the UN work of the KCHR. On 28 September Human Rights Committee on the Kyrgyz 1998, prior to a nationwide referendum, Government’s compliance with the IC- the Ministry of Justice groundlessly revoked CPR,10 the Kyrgyz delegation failed to an- its registration. The reason, apparently, was swer properly the question whether the to prevent the largest human rights organi- KCHR could in the future carry out its activ- zation in Kyrgyzstan from observing the ref- ities unhindered. erendum. After that, the Ministry requested On 20 July, Interior Minister O. Kutuev that the KCHR submit the constituent doc- ordered the militia to seize the office of the uments for re-registration. But as soon at KCHR in Bishkek. More then 30 militia offi- this was done, the Ministry registered an- cials lead by Prosecutor Kojanaliev sur- other organization under the very same rounded the office of the KCHR. The militia name. This synonymous organization con- arrested Almaz Dyryldaev, lawyer and son sisted of government supporters and indi- of Ramazan Dyryldaev who was going to viduals linked to the intelligence services the office. He was ill-treated, taken to the and bore no relation to the real KCHR. ROVD and interrogated about the where- The courts consistently refused to pro- abouts of his father. The militia officers ceed with cases brought by the KCHR threatened that his father would be impris- against the Ministry of Justice concerning oned and tortured when found. Later the above-mentioned unlawful decisions. Almaz Dyryldaev was able to escape from Their reluctance to proceed reflected their the ROVD. judicial dependence on the Government. The militia sealed the door of the Moreover, before its temporary closure, law KCHR office where staff member Gulhan enforcement officers had repeatedly visited Borubaeva stayed. Ramazan Dyryldaev, the KCHR office, threatened to imprison who was abroad at the time of the incident, staff members, and demanded that office decided not to return to Bishkek for securi- equipment be handed over to the bogus ty reasons. KCHR. In addition, Ramazan Dyryldaev On 18 August the authorities froze all faced persecution and legal harassment on the KCHR bank accounts, and it was ordered trumped-up charges. to pay several fines in order to avoid a crim- In the autumn of 1999, under consid- inal case being initiated against it. On 29 erable pressure from the international com- August a court forced the KCHR to reinstate munity, and following a presidential order Alexander Eliseev, who was fired from KCHR in August, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Justice re- in 1997 for his attempts to destroy the registered the KCHR, thus marking the end KCHR and for his links to the security service, of a one-year struggle for the right to asso- as deputy chairman, although the Labour ciation. However, in spite of successful re- Code protects the rights of civil organizations registration, pressure escalated steadily. to make such decisions themselves. The IHF issued press releases and ap- Moreover, in November fabricated pealed to Kyrgyz and international authori- criminal charges were brought against ties on behalf of the KCHR.11 194 KYRGYZSTAN

Endnotes 1 Based on the Annual Report 2000 of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (IHF member). 2 See IHF, Women 2000, An Investigation into the Status of Women Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. 3 These parties included the El Party (or the People’s Party), Ar-Namys Party, Kairan El Party and the Party of Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan (DDK). 4 IHF, “Open Letter on Kyrgyzstan to the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE,” 15 February 2000. 5 IHF, “Kulov Verdict Is the Only Bright Spot in Otherwise Bleak Kyrgyz Human Rights Situation,” press release, 9 August 2000. 6 He was dismissed for stealing KCHR’s money. 7 See also IHF, “Independent Journalists in Kyrgyzstan After Article on Kulov Trial Harassed by Kyrgyz National Security Ministry, Open Letter to President Akaev,” 22 August 2000. 8 IHF, “Kyrgyztan: ‘Bolshevik-style Arrests and Threats Against Journalists, Human Rights Defenders and Opposition Figures,” press release, 31 March 2000. 9 IHF, “Open Letter to President Askar Akaev, Kyrgyz Republic,” 23 June 2000. 10 ICCPR/CI113/Add.1 and CCPR/C1141. 11 See, for example, IHF, “Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights Is Under Siege By Militiamen,” 21 July 2000. LATVIA1 195

IHF FOCUS: Judicial system and domestic safeguards; ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in prisons and detention facilities; consci- entious objection; protection of ethnic minorities; citizenship, intolerance, xenopho- bia, racial discrimination and hate speech; protection of asylum seekers; interna- tional humanitarian law; women’s rights; rights of the child; rights of the mentally ill; patient’s rights.

The primary human rights problems in The delays were caused partly by Latvia in 2000 were closely related to se- chronic under-funding, leading to a short- vere backlogs in the court system and long age of personnel and lack of premises. The pre-trial detention periods, especially for Riga District Court employs 36 percent of minors. In 2000 Latvia also witnessed the all district judges who have to review 56.8 mobilisation of small groups of Latvian and percent of all cases submitted to district Russian racist extremists, but law enforce- courts. Towards the end of the year, the ment agencies responded vigorously. Ministry of Justice increased the number of The core positive developments in judges by eight, including three for the Riga 2000 were in the legislative arena. Parlia- District Court. Another reason for the delays ment liberalised the Law on the Constitu- was the absence of legal norms in criminal tional Court to allow individuals to com- procedures setting time limits for the re- plain to Latvia’s most progressive but un- view of cases. In 2000, the authorities once der-utilised judicial body. After considerable again failed to adopt a new Criminal controversy, the Cabinet also adopted im- Procedure Code, the drafting of which had plementing regulations to the 1999 Law on begun in late 1990. the State Language, which are essentially in In a positive development in 2000, for conformity with Latvia’s international obli- the first time since the restoration of inde- gations. pendence, the Ministry of Justice budgeted significant funds (Lats 40,000 or U.S.$ Judicial System and Domestic 67,000) for the training of judges. Previous- Safeguards ly, international donors had funded almost all judicial training. Severe backlogs in the court system On 30 November, the Saeima (Parlia- threatened the right to fair and speedy trial ment) adopted progressive amendments in Latvia. For example, in February, the to the Law on the Constitutional Court to Prison Administration sent a letter inform- broaden the scope of those eligible to sub- ing the Department of Courts of the mit applications. Until the changes, eligible Ministry of Justice that there were 607 per- applicants included the President, no less sons in prison who have been awaiting a than 20 parliamentary deputies, the Cabi- court sentence since 1997. By early March net of Ministers, the plenum of the High the Department of Courts of the Ministry of Court, the Council of the State Control, the Justice had received 174 complaints con- National Human Rights Office and city cerning the work of judges, half of which councils. From its creation in mid-1997 to involved lengthy delays in reviewing cases mid-2000, the Constitutional Court recei- in the Riga District Court. By the autumn, ved only 44 applications. The new amend- judges in this court had been forced to ments permit private individuals to submit schedule hearings for 2002 and even complaints in cases of violations of their ba- 2003. 1,371 civil cases submitted in 2000 sic rights. However, private individuals will were not reviewed during the year because only be able to complain about a legal of the backlog, of which 1,270 were in the norm, and not about the unconstitutionali- Riga District Court. ty of a court verdict or act of public author- 196 LATVIA ities. The Constitutional Court will have the Police violence and misconduct contin- power to determine the constitutionality of ued to evoke concern in 2000, as did the the norm in question or to recognise it as punishments levied on errant officers, not being in force, but the plaintiff will have which were often mild, if they were levied to turn to a regular court again to seek re- at all. dress when an unconstitutional norm has On 2 February a youth turned to the been applied. Lower courts will also be 21st Riga police office with a request for as- able to submit applications in cases where sistance in retrieving two stolen Lats. His they believe that the legal provision to be claims of police abuse were corroborated applied in the case pending does not com- by physicians, who found physical signs of ply with a legal norm of higher force. ill-treatment. A criminal investigation ended inconclusively, though the victim expressed Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct an intent to appeal. by Law Enforcement Officials At the beginning of the year, the On 8 November, the Kurzeme Interior Ministry released data on discipli- Regional Court found two former Liepaja nary measures taken against Ministry staff Municipal police inspectors, Aigars Prusis in 1999. The total figure of those punished and Janis Fugalis, guilty of beating and hu- was close to 4000 - a 5 percent increase miliating three minors. However, the Court from 1998. In 1999, 60 Interior Ministry handed down very mild punishments: two- personnel were detained or imprisoned for year suspended sentences. committing criminal acts, of which 28 cas- A number of instances of misconduct es involved accepting bribes. Interior were reported in the Ogre Municipal Police, Minister Mareks Seglins urged harsher suggesting a pattern of problems. penalties for errant police officers, noting that “there were 102 cases in which police In January, three police officers were staff were driving an automobile under the arrested by the Office for Combatting influence of alcohol, but only 40 lost their Organised Crime and Corruption (ONKAB) jobs: this situation undermines the prestige after they were found to have attempted to of the police.” illegally fine an inhabitant, to have issued At the beginning of the year, the invalid receipts for fines and to have been General Prosecutor’s Office conducted a “careless” about disposing confiscated con- review of criminal cases completed in the traband liquor. final quarter of 1999. A review of registered In the summer, ONKAB submitted evi- criminal acts in 11 Latvian districts found dence to the Ogre Prosecutor’s Office 32 cases in which the local prosecutor or about three other Ogre Municipal Police of- police official had unjustifiably refused to ficers. ONKAB charged them with arresting initiate criminal proceedings. For the period two persons in February, driving them sev- in question, a total of 9,845 criminal acts en kilometres from Ogre into the woods, were registered, but authorities decided not partially stripping them, and leaving them to initiate criminal proceedings in 44 per- in -5 degrees temperature. However, the cent of all cases. The Riga court district Ogre District Court returned the case to the prosecutor discovered several cases involv- Prosecutor’s Office for additional investiga- ing the sexual exploitation of children that police had unjustifiably failed to pursue. tion and, by year’s end, the case had not While declining to specify the number of yet been reviewed. such cases, Chief Prosecutor for the district, In a number of cases, police officers Janis Drobisevskis, noted that the cases in were found to have driven into and seri- question were being investigated. ously injured civilians. LATVIA 197

On 30 October, a Cesis Traffic police regime for those who had already been officer was found to have driven into and sentenced by the courts but were appeal- seriously injured a 50-year-old man and left ing the decision. These prisoners continued the scene of the accident. While the officer to remain in cells for 23 hours a day and in question lost his job, the Cesis region most were denied contact with the outside Traffic Police Chief acknowledged that four world, despite the fact that many of them of 12 inspectors in his region had commit- remained in remand prisons for up to two ted serious crimes in 2000. years. In early October, ten prisoners in In early autumn the leadership of the Matisa Prison went on a hunger strike de- Latvian Prison Administration fired four manding a more rapid review of their cas- prison guards who had beaten up prisoners es in courts. in the Central Prison. The guards appealed The widespread incidence of tubercu- losis and HIV among prison inmates re- the decision in court and a hearing was mained a cause for concern. Throughout scheduled for early spring 2001. 2000, a total of 474 persons in prison were On 13 December, the Cabinet of found to have active tuberculosis, a 60 per- Ministers adopted a decision to make pub- son increase compared with 1999. lic the report by the European Committee However, a total of 187 first-time patients for the Prevention of Torture on Latvia’s were diagnosed, 51 percent of whom be- closed institutions. On 20 December, the came ill in prison. At the end of the year, Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers 197 inmates had HIV, though the tally for also approved Latvia’s nominee to the the year as a whole was 290. Committee – Angelita Kamenska of the Conditions in Latvia’s 28 short-term Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic police detention centres (izolators) also Studies (IHF member). gave cause for concern. In a meeting with National Human Rights Office Director Conditions in Prisons and Detention Olafs Bruvers on 1 November, State Police Facilities Chief Juris Reksna acknowledged that sev- The large number of prisoners, the eral of the detention centres would have to high-percentage of remand prisoners and be closed because there was no funding their conditions, and the incidence of dis- for repairs. The Prosecutor’s Office has al- ease in prisons remained serious prob- ready warned the Dobele police that their lems, as did the fact that seven of Latvia’s detention centre would have to be shut 15 prisons continued to be guarded by down unless it were to be repaired. The army conscripts at year’s end. At the end of State Police acknowledged that detention 2000, the total number of prisoners was centres in Ventspils, Balvi, Daugavpils, 8,831, an increase of only 16 persons Liepaja and Jelgava were in critical condi- compared to 1999. However, the overall tion as well. As of the end of 2000, the po- incarceration rate rose from 354 to 373 per lice had not received 1.2 million Lats (U.S.$ 100,000. The growing number of persons 1,967,000) requested for repairs over the in pre-trial detention continued to evoke previous two years. concern. Of the total prison population, 43.7 percent were awaiting trial. Of partic- Conscientious Objection ular concern was the large number of mi- Throughout 2000 several cases of con- nors in pre-trial detention.2 Of the total 327 scientious objection, involving Jehovah’s minors in prison at the end of the year, 59 Witnesses, continued against the State percent were in pre-trial detention. Military Conscription Centre. Three cases Latvia’s legislation on remand prison- were resolved, as the plaintiffs became or- ers did not envisage any easing of the dained clergymen (who are exempt from 198 LATVIA military service) and the Conscription taries and sworn advocates. One profes- Centre freed them. Three other cases were sion on the list is difficult to justify as falling pending at the end of the year, including within a legitimate public interest though: the appeal of Robert Nemiro, which was taxi drivers. How the regulations are imple- scheduled for February 2001. After a suc- mented will be critical from a human rights cessful lobbying effort on the part of the perspective. Legal challenges to the justifia- NGO Centre, the Defence Ministry created bility of various provisions are likely and an inter-ministerial working group in should pose an important test for the State September 2000 to draft a law on alterna- Language Centre, which has previously tive service by summer 2001. demonstrated considerable vigour in pun- ishing violators of language legislation in Protection of Ethnic Minorities the private sector. On 22 August, the Cabinet of Ministers In the state sector, numerous problems adopted a packet of eleven implementing were made apparent in the implementa- regulations under the State Language Law tion of the provision that state and munici- passed in December 1999. The regulations pal institutions may receive documents are critical as they elaborate in detail the cir- only in Latvian or with a notarised transla- cumstances under which the Government tion. For example, the courts, the can regulate language use in society, there- Department of Citizenship and Migration by infringing the rights of persons belonging Affairs and other official bodies systemati- to minorities to use their own languages, the cally returned correspondence to prisoners right to private life and freedom of expres- who had written letters in Russian. Around sion. The regulations cover issues such as 2/3 of Latvia’s prison population is the circumstances under which translation Russian-speaking and the State does not into Latvian must be provided at confer- provide free language training or translation ences and demonstrations, when private or- services. Thus, in the Central Prison, prison- ganisations are required to provide informa- ers sent around 12,000 petitions, com- tion in Latvian alongside other languages on plaints and requests in 2000 - only 1/3 of publicly displayed signs, and the Latvian lan- which were in Latvian. The Riga City au- guage requirements for various posts in the thorities warned the Riga Children’s Rights public sector. In a press statement issued on Protection Centre about accepting docu- 31 August, OSCE High Commissioner on ments in Russian. By refusing to accept National Minorities, Max van der Stoel, stat- such communications, the authorities may ed that the regulations were “essentially in violate Article 104 of the Constitution, conformity with both the law and Latvia’s in- which guarantees the right of each individ- ternational obligations” and that “virtually all ual to address state and municipal institu- of my recommendations were accepted by tions and receive a reply. A solution has the Government.” been found in Daugavpils, where the City In amendments to the regulations Council hired a full-time translator to assist passed by the Cabinet of Ministers on 21 members of the public in preparing docu- November, the Government listed those ments in Latvian. professions in the private sector subject to The year 2000 saw little progress to- Latvian language regulation. The list is brief wards the implementation of the social in- and contains 34 categories, almost all of tegration policy framework, which lays out which can be termed as falling within a le- the goals and means for minority policy in gitimate public interest (public health, pub- realms such as civic participation, educa- lic safety, public order). The list includes tion and culture. By the year’s end, the various health care professions, guards and Government had not yet adopted the security-related professions, as well as no- National Programme for the Integration of LATVIA 199

Society. After numerous delays caused by as an NGO in late October and works pri- political infighting at the highest levels, on marily with youth on integration projects. 29 December the inter-sectoral manage- On 11 May, the Saeima rejected a ment group submitted the final draft pro- draft bill to ratify the Council of Europe’s gramme to the Ministry of Justice, which Framework Convention for the Protection will be responsible for presenting it to the of National Minorities, which Latvia signed Cabinet for approval in early 2001. in 1995. Only 15 deputies voted for ratifi- There was some progress towards cre- cation, 21 were against and 52 abstained. ating implementing institutions and allocat- While deputies mentioned a number of ing funding. On 14 November, the Cabinet technical obstacles, the real obstacle was decided to allocate 16,239 lats (U.S.$ the incompatibility of a number of legisla- 26,500) from the 2001 budget to create a tive norms, particularly in the realm of lan- three-person Integration Department with- guage policy.3 in the Ministry of Justice to oversee imple- mentation of the programme. On 14 Citizenship November, the Cabinet also referred a draft On 1 July, there were 568,195 state- law to Parliament on the creation of a less “non-citizens” in Latvia, or 23.9 percent Social Integration Fund through which gov- of the total registered population. Despite ernment and donor money is to be chan- liberal amendments to the Law on Citizen- nelled to support integration-related proj- ship passed after a referendum in October ects. At the year’s end, the draft law was 1998, the naturalisation rate for non-citi- being debated in parliamentary commis- zens remained quite low in 2000. While sions, where it was criticised for being in- the number of persons granted citizenship compatible with the forthcoming law on through naturalisation increased from state agencies. Despite the uncertain fate 12,427 in 1999 to 14,900 in 2000, the of the draft law, on 14 November the higher figure merely reflected the time lag Cabinet also decided to reserve 200,000 from the point of application to being grant- lats (U.S.$ 325,000) from the 2001 discre- ed citizenship. The total number of appli- tionary budget of the Ministry of Finance for cants actually fell from 15,183 in 1999 to the Fund. It is unlikely that this sum will ac- 10,692 in 2000. Experts attributed the leap tually be allocated from this budget line in in 1999 to the backlog of ready applicants 2001, as it represents the lion’s share of who had previously been kept from natu- the discretionary budget. In November, the ralisation by the age brackets or “window Minister of Justice also created an advisory system” abolished in late 1998. council on social integration issues which The abolition of the visa-free regime met several times to discuss the draft pro- for travel to Russia by Latvia’s “non-citizens” gramme, the draft law on the Integration as of 1 January 2001 will remove one of Fund, and the work of the new Integration Department. the few advantages enjoyed by non-citi- In April, the city of Ventspils adopted its zens and will probably facilitate the adop- own integration programme and created a tion of Russian Federation or Latvian citi- non-citizen’s advisory council, whose mem- zenship. bers actively participated in the work of the city council during the remainder of the Intolerance, Xenophobia, Racial year. The Liepaja city government estab- Discrimination and Hate Speech lished an “integration promotion working Throughout 2000 Latvia witnessed in- group” in 1999, which prepared a draft city creased activity by both Latvian and Rus- integration programme. The Aizkraukle sian racist extremists and a more energetic Social Integration Council registered itself response by law enforcement agencies. 200 LATVIA

On 29 May, the Riga District Court lation of an American anti-Semitic satirical handed down a verdict in the trial of nine cartoon book called Tales of the Holohoax. members of a neo-Nazi group called The newsletters are filled with adulation of Perkonkrusts (Thundercross). They were the inter-war Latvian Thundercross organi- found guilty of attempting to blow up the sation and , as well as vio- Victory Monument on three occasions, lently racist and anti-Semitic articles com- blowing up a hot water main, assault, incit- menting on “Jew imperialism,” the “Holo- ing national hatred and other crimes. Two caust myth,” the anti-Semitic staple the members of the group received three-year “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and so prison sentences and three others were re- forth. On 28 September, Liepaja authorities leased in the courtroom, as they had al- filed criminal charges against the publisher ready served the 1 to 2.5 years to which of Patriots Guntars Landmanis for inciting the court sentenced them. Four other national hatred. members, including the group’s elderly ide- In January the Latvian Regional ologue Vilis Linins and two minors, were Organisation of Russian National Unity, a given suspended sentences. The founder neo-Nazi group modelled on a similar and head of the group, Juris Recs, faced a group in Russia, published the first issue of separate trial, as he had successfully evad- an underground newsletter entitled Za ed the authorities until early May, when he Russky Poryadok (For a Russian Order). In was detained. In late December, the Riga an article entitled “To Whom Do the Baltics Zemgale District Court found Recs guilty on Belong” the author asserts that in 1940 six counts (including inciting national ha- “our fathers once again returned here and tred) and convicted him to three years in only took back what has always belonged prison. The Court also imposed a consider- to Russia by right”. Other articles refer to able civil penalty, requiring the defendants the influence of “Zionist capital” on the to pay the Riga City Council large sums for Latvian media. On 12 May, Evgeny Osipov, the cost of repairing the monument and to the leader of the organisation, was fined the company Riga Heat for the damaged 100 lats (U.S.$ 166) by the Liepaja Court hot water main. At the end of the year, the for breaking regulations governing the reg- first nine Perkonkrusts members had sub- istration of social organisations. mitted an appeal to the High Court and a On 14 April, the authorities permitted decision was expected in early 2001. official registration of the social organisation Throughout the investigation and trials, the Victory Society (in Russian: Obshchestvo right-wing weekly Latvietis Latvija published pobedy, in Latvian Sabiedriba uzvara), a appeals to donate money to help Perkon- front for the National Bolshevik Party krusts members, whom the paper called (NBP), a self-styled “revolutionary Russian “patriots of the Latvian people” and “politi- nationalistic party” modelled on a similar cal dissidents.” The fringe paper, which is party in Russia. After registration, the group sold freely in kiosks throughout the capital, began to issue a newspaper Tribunal, regularly features racist and anti-Semitic ar- which has printed a number of articles glo- ticles. The publishers also have a home rifying violence. It has stated, for example, page4, which has a link to that the telecommunications monopoly denial site created by Ernst Zundel in the should be bombed, and derided the so- United States. called “Holocaust business.” In August, the The existence of a Latvian neo-Nazi authorities launched criminal proceedings youth group in Liepaja came to light in against Tribunal editor Vladimir Linderman 2000. In late 1999 and early 2000 the and publisher Olga Morozova for propa- group published three issues of a newslet- gandising violence and inciting national ha- ter called Patriot as well as a Latvian trans- tred. In early September the Riga Centre LATVIA 201

District Court gave NBP activist Aijo Benes bling a Nazi-era caricature: a bearded, a two-year suspended sentence for hooli- hook-nosed figure embracing a globe. ganism after he was caught writing “Kill While the article ostensibly sought to de- [former Prime Minister Andris] Skele! NBP” scribe the contribution of Jews to econom- on a wall in Riga. ic and cultural life, it also contained “histor- On 14 November, four NBP activists ical material,” including a rendering of the from Russia entered Latvia illegally by Holocaust in which much of the blame is jumping off the St. Petersburg-Kaliningrad attributed to Jews themselves. The article train. Though they were apprehended with- evoked strong condemnation by the Latvi- in 24 hours, on 17 November another an authorities and the mainstream media, three NBP activists from Russia barricaded prompting the publishers to fire the maga- themselves in St. Peter’s Church in Old Riga zine’s editor. The Prosecutor’s Office began and threatened to blow themselves up with an investigation into whether the article vi- a hand grenade unless their political de- olated Latvian legislation prohibiting incite- mands were met. After several hours, they ment, but no conclusion had been reached gave themselves up to the Latvian authori- by the year’s end. ties. They faced criminal charges of terror- A sociological survey commissioned by ism. A local NBP activist, Vladimir Moskov- the National Human Rights Office in tsev, was also detained and charged with January sheds interesting light on public abetting illegal border crossing. perceptions of human rights violations and On 4 June, the main television news discrimination. A total of 24 percent of all programme “Panorama” aired a news story respondents (18 percent of all Latvians, 31 about a woman who had swindled jewels percent of all non-Latvians) claimed to and a substantial sum of money from a have experienced discrimination in the last young girl, who then attempted to commit three years. The two most commonly men- suicide. The perpetrator was alleged to have tioned realms were labour relations and so- been of Roma origin. The journalist con- cial services (47 percent and 24 percent of cluded the piece by drawing the “lesson” all who claimed discrimination respective- that “it is best not to look in the eyes of ly). When asked why their rights had been Roma” as they have hypnotic powers. Fur- violated, respondents noted ethnicity and ther, a police officer appealed to all Roma in language most frequently. Such was the Latvia to assist in recovering the jewels. The case for most non-citizens and non- Roma National Cultural Society and Parlia- Latvians. mentary Commission on Human Rights and Social Affairs protested against the program- Protection of Asylum Seekers me as contributing to negative stereotypes For the first time, a resident of Latvia against Roma. The head of the news division who had received refugee status in a State at Latvian TV apologised to Roma for the party to the 1951 UN Convention attempt- broadcast and expressed the intention of de- ed to return to Latvia to resume his resi- voting some special programmes reflecting dence. Andrejs Vesnins, a former resident Roma culture and traditions. of Latvia, had received refugee status in In August, the mainstream financial Russia on 4 January 1995. In July 1999, magazine Kapitals featured an anti-Semitic Vesnins returned to Latvia with a visa and in cover story entitled “Jews Rule the World.” August attempted to obtain a residency The term used throughout the article for permit. The Citizenship and Migration Jew was “Zhids,” which was the Jewish self- Affairs Board refused his request, requiring designation before World War II, but is now that Vesnins appear in its office to annul his considered insulting by the Jewish commu- Population Register stamp in his passport nity. The cover featured a drawing resem- (the basis for annulment: “emigrated”). In 202 LATVIA

September, Vesnins received a departure Partisan leader accused of war crimes dur- order. On 4 October, he submitted a re- ing World War II, and referred the case quest to the Refugee Affairs Centre but was back to prosecutors for supplementary in- rejected as “manifestly unfounded,” declar- vestigation. Kononov had been accused of ing that the decision was final and not sub- participating in an attack on Mazie Bati vil- ject to appeal. Between 13 October 1999 lage in which nine people, including a and mid-2000, Vesnins was detained and pregnant woman, were killed in 1944. In placed in the Gaizina St. Illegal Immigrant January, a lower court found Kononov Temporary Detention Centre. guilty and sentenced him to six years in On 18 April, a first instance court re- prison. Soviet authorities had decorated viewed and rejected Vesnins’ complaint, Kononov for his actions and Russia cham- noting that the plaintiff’s return to Latvia is pioned his cause throughout the legal pro- regulated by Latvian legislation, not the UN ceedings, accusing Latvian authorities of conventions and international law invoked punishing him for being an anti-fascist. The by the plaintiff. It should be recalled, how- testimony of both Kononov and witnesses ever, that Latvia ratified the 1951 UN was full of contradictions, and questions Convention and the 1967 Protocol on arose about whether all the victims could refugee status on 19 June 1997. The plain- be considered non-combatants. In justify- tiff’s appeal to the Riga District Court was ing its decision, the High Court pointed to scheduled to be reviewed in December a number of procedural violations in the 2001, but he was deported back to Russia pre-trial phase and in the first instance tri- in late 2000. al. After his release Kononov adopted On 15 December, the Immigration Russian citizenship. The case is likely to re- Police deported two persons to Russia who turn to court in 2001. had deserted the Russian Army, requested Throughout 2000, the Government asylum in Latvia and were awaiting the out- took a number of steps to bring alleged come of an appeal. The deportation was World War II Nazi war criminals to justice as unlawful, as Article 20 of the Law “On well. In February and September, the Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the Latvian Government hosted meetings of Republic of Latvia” states that a person war crimes investigators from Australia, shall be considered an asylum seeker dur- Canada, Britain, Germany, Israel and the ing the review of an appeal. United States. At the meetings, participants In July, a new NGO called “the Latvian compared evidence against Konrads Kalejs, Association of Foreigners” was created with an 87-year-old Australian citizen who had the goal of assisting and advising foreign- been a commanding officer with the noto- ers, refugees and asylum seekers in Latvia. rious Arajs Kommando in Nazi-occupied One of the founders was Haisam Abu Latvia, and other possible targets of investi- Abda, one of only seven persons to have gation. In March, the General Prosecutor’s received refugee status in Latvia. The or- Office initiated criminal investigations ganisation seeks to assist in family reunifi- against both Kalejs and Karlis Ozols, anoth- cation, promote integration into society and er member of the Arajs Kommando now facilitate the movement of refugees be- residing in Australia. In December, the tween the three Baltic States. Latvian General Prosecutor requested that Australia extradite Kalejs to Latvia to stand International Humanitarian Law trial on war crimes charges. In late Past Abuses December, the Australian media reported In a controversial case, the Latvian that Kalejs intended to fight the extradition High Court decided in late April to release order in court and that the appeals process from custody Vasily Kononov, a former Red could last up to two years. LATVIA 203

Women’s Rights According to data from the Immigra- In the realm of women’s rights, the tion Police, over the year a total of 273 wo- most important developments were the men were deported to Latvia, including drafting of new policy documents and leg- 118 from Germany, 53 from Great Britain, islation and the initiation of anti-discrimina- 22 from Denmark, and 21 from Switzer- tion litigation. At the end of 2000 the land. The real number of women going ab- Ministry of Welfare commissioned the road each month for illicit purposes was es- drafting of a Framework Document for the timated to be in the hundreds. Promotion of Gender Equality, which Latvia lacked legislation on reproduc- should be submitted to the Cabinet in ear- tive and sexual health. For example, the le- ly 2001. The document analyses the cur- gal basis for abortion was governed not by rent situation, the costs of inaction, and law, but merely by a Welfare Ministry Order suggests policy measures and institutional No. 77 of 1993. On 19 October 2000, the innovations. Parliament reviewed the first reading of a On 19 May 2000, the Parliament new draft law on sexual and reproductive adopted several amendments to the health. The draft law delineates two types Criminal Code that criminalise trafficking in of abortions: a “medical abortion,” per- human beings in connection with sexual formed for medical and social indications, exploitation. Article 165(2) defines traffick- and an abortion performed upon a wo- ing/sending to a different country as any man’s request. The draft law also includes activity that facilitates legal or illegal depar- regulations for artificial fertilisation and the ture from the country or entry into the legal status of the child. The current version country, transit or stay in a foreign country. of the draft law defines a heterosexual cou- The amendments came into force on 1 ple or woman as the subject being the po- June. Article 165(1) foresees the depriva- tential subject of artificial fertilisation, al- tion of liberty for up to four years in cases though another article says that “potential of sending a person with his/her consent parents are a heterosexual couple.” Thus, it to a foreign country for the purpose of sex- remained unclear whether the rights of les- ual exploitation. If the same activities are bians and single women will be respected. committed for the purpose of commercial A questionable provision holds that if a pa- sexual exploitation, the punishment may be tient who has not yet reached the age of up to ten years imprisonment, with possi- 18 wishes to terminate a pregnancy and ble confiscation of property. If these activi- there is parental disagreement, the Custo- ties are committed by an organised group dy Court has the final word. or against a minor, the punishment may be In February, for the first time in Latvian eight to fifteen years imprisonment, with legal history, a female employee won a the confiscation of property. Subsequently, court case against an employer for gender the first criminal case of trafficking was ini- discrimination. However, on 19 May, the tiated. employer successfully appealed the deci- In March 2000, the Parliament decided sion of the Rezekne Court in the Latgale to renew the Vice Squad, which is respon- Regional Court. sible for investigating crimes linked to in- Dagmara Abramova, an employee of a volving people in involuntary prostitution, printing company called Latgales Druka, trafficking in human beings, pandering and had her labour contract amended in 1999. child pornography. While the Parliament ini- As a result, she was prohibited from fulfill- tially planned to allocate funding for 21 po- ing seven duties that she had been able to lice officers as of July, a budget shortfall fulfil previously and her wage was five postponed implementation until January times less than that of her male colleagues. 2001. The first instance court in Rezekne recog- 204 LATVIA nised the labour contract as invalid and re- letter noted that “the date of the appeal quired the employer to pay 2,791 lats hearing will be announced to you in a time- (U.S.$ 4,715) compensation for wages not ly manner.” received for 12 months. In its verdict, the According to data from the Prison Ad- court referred to the Convention on the ministration, six minors in Brasas attempted Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination suicide in 2000, two of which resulted in Against Women, which Latvia has ratified. death. Prison officials pointed to long pre- After the Latgale District Court overruled trial detention periods as the main cause of the initial decision, the plaintiff expressed suicide. Two-thirds of all minors on remand the intention of appealing to the High Court were prohibited from writing to or meeting and, if necessary, to the European Court of with their relatives. Moreover, overcrowding Human Rights. was a serious problem. In late autumn, 170 adult prisoners on remand were transferred Rights of the Child to Brasa Prison from Central Prison. As a Long pre-trial detention of minors re- result, juvenile remand prisoners who were mained a serious human rights concern in previously placed in 32 cells were now 2000. At the end of the year, 327 minors placed in 21 cells. In several cells the num- were in Latvia’s prisons, 53 percent of ber of juvenile prisoners has increased to whom were in pre-trial detention. 12, thereby leading to more frequent con- flicts among prisoners. At the end of the year, Brasas Remand A regulation from 1994 “On the Proce- Prison had 182 minors, 67 of whom had dure for Keeping Suspected, Imprisoned been in detention for up to six months, 44 and Convicted Persons in Interior Ministry for six months to a year, 45 from 1-2 years, Remand Prisons” remained in force, and and 26 for more than two years. This was did not envisage any state-funded educa- in stark violation of Article 37, Paragraph (b) tional activities or social rehabilitation pro- of the Convention on the Rights of the grammes for minors on remand. However, Child, which states that “the arrest, deten- Article 3 of the Law on Education guaran- tion or imprisonment of a child […] shall teed every resident of Latvia “equal oppor- be used only as a measure of last resort tunities to acquire education” and Article 4 and for the shortest appropriate period of stated that “the acquisition of primary edu- time”. cation […] until the attainment of 18 years On 9 March, the Parliament amended of age is obligatory.” There were only two the Children’s Rights Protection Law to re- prison officials working gainfully with the quire the Justice Ministry to “ensure that 180 minors on remand. The lack of con- the work of the courts is organised such structive activity and the harsh restrictions that cases linked to the defence of chil- on contacts with the outside world cannot dren’s rights or interests are reviewed on a be justified for minors and those on re- priority basis.” However, the amendments mand for lengthy periods. do not set a time limit by which cases in- An amendment to the Children’s Rights volving minors must come to trial or ap- Protection Law adopted on 9 March pro- peals must be reviewed, which is one of vides that, until new adoption regulations the main reasons for lengthy periods in re- enter into force, “a child may be adopted mand prisons. abroad if that country is bound by an inter- In a letter to a minor “X” on remand national convention envisaging the protec- whose case was first tried in December tion of children’s rights and co-operation in 1998 and who inquired about the date of inter-state adoption, or if Latvia has signed a his appeal, the Riga District Court wrote in bilateral treaty with the country on legal co- May 2000 that no date had been set. The operation in the field of adoption.” On 16 LATVIA 205

March, the Saeima ratified the European ence to lay out guidelines and priorities in Convention on the Adoption of Children, al- mental health care. It is included in the though by the year’s end the Parliament National Programme for Integration into had yet to amend the Civil Law to bring it the European Union, as the European into conformity with the Convention. Commission’s Progress Report on Latvia In April, with the entry into force of had indicated problems in Latvia’s mental amendments to the Children’s Rights Pro- health care system. tection Law, a new procedure governing The strategy calls for supporting the in- children’s travel across national borders was tegration into society of mental patients as introduced. In order to leave the country, close to their place of residence as possi- children were required to possess a no- ble, a reduction in the number of beds in tarised authorisation from their parents or mental hospitals, and the creation of multi- guardians. If one parent was not reachable, disciplinary teams to develop rehabilitation the authorisation had to be obtained from services, such as supported employment an Orphan’s Court. However, at the border, centres and halfway houses. It also lists a authorisations were also demanded from large number of priority target groups: pa- children whose parents had divorced or one tients with severe mental disabilities, crimi- of whose parents was either dead or un- nals with mental disabilities, children and known. These demands restricted children’s juveniles, young patients with schizophre- freedom of movement and created severe nia, patients who are both mentally ill and problems at border crossings until the new drug dependent, and geriatric patients with procedure was suspended in mid-May. mental illnesses. By the end of the year, a wide public The first litigation concerning patients’ debate on conditions in Latvia’s child-care rights in psychiatry was initiated at the be- homes erupted after the NGO “Save the ginning of the year. The complaint involved Children” publicised allegations of abuse in a patient’s access to his medical records several homes. and the right to information about diagno- After a review and investigation, the sis and treatment, which the plaintiff had Prosecutor’s Office filed criminal charges of tried to obtain for 20 years with the aim of violence and cruelty against three employ- submitting it to an independent review ees (including the director) of the body. In 1967, Alberts Sirmulis was diag- Aleksandrova special school in the Kraslava nosed with schizophrenia and attempted to district. Another case involved a home in appeal this decision several times. Liepaja, where “Save the Children” alleged However, all the mental health institutions that the elder children sexually abused involved – the Strencu, Jelgava, and Riga younger ones and violence was common. mental hospitals, as well as the State However, local education authorities clai- Psychiatric Centre, refused to grant the for- med that the démarche by “Save the Chil- mer patient a copy of his medical records. dren” had disturbed the children and har- With the assistance of the Legal Clinic med an ongoing criminal investigation. at the University of Latvia, a complaint was filed in March against the Ministry of Rights of the Mentally Ill Welfare, which oversees mental hospitals. On 21 July 2000, the Welfare Ministry The plaintiff invoked the law “On Medical approved a Psychiatric Assistance Strategy Treatment,” the law “On Access to Infor- for the period 2000-2003, although no mation,” and provisions guaranteeing the funding has been allocated to implement right to private life in the Constitution and the strategy. This is the first policy docu- the European Convention on Human ment since the restoration of independ- Rights. On 28 September, the Vidzeme 206 LATVIA

District Court reviewed the case and found had had a back operation in 1997, was ren- no wrongdoing on the part of the Ministry. dered disabled. In 1999, MADEKKI asked Sirmulis filed an appeal to the Riga Regio- that the surgeon in question, Egils Strauss, nal Court on 31 October. be stripped of his license, but the Physicians Society refused. Filipsons sued Patients’ Rights the surgeon, but on 17 January 2000, the The funding crisis in health care, as Riga Regional Court denied his request for well as the deaths of a number of patients compensation. This was the first case in due to error on the part of medical person- which the compensation demanded was nel, drew attention to serious problems in sizeable (45,983 ls or U.S.$75,000), a fac- the area of patients’ rights in Latvia. Patients tor that evoked considerable debate about may turn to the Welfare Ministry’s Medical the need for reforming health insurance Care and Work Ability Expertise Quality and introducing malpractice insurance. At Control Inspection (MADEKKI), which can the end of the year, Filipsons appealed his levy fines on medical staff of up to 150 lats case to the High Court, which is set to re- (U.S.$245) or request the Latvian Physici- view the case in early 2001. ans Society to annul a license. In 2000, In 2000, the health care system was MADEKKI received 256 complaints, 25 of hit with a serious funding crisis. The which were linked to the death of patients. Oncology Centre appealed to the public for Patients may also defend their rights in assistance in June, as the State had not al- court, but trials tend to be lengthy and ex- located the necessary funding to replace pensive. In a case that continued through- essential equipment. In the autumn, a lack out 2000 and prompted widespread pub- of funding also led several hospitals to re- lic debate, a patient named Filipsons, who fuse admittance to patients.

Endnotes 1 As reported in Human Rights in Latvia in 2000, by Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies (Nils Muiznieks, Angelita Kamenska, Ieva Leimane, Sandra Garsvane). 2 See also the Rights of the Child. 3 Turkey and Latvia are the last remaining EU-candidate countries that have not ratified the Framework Convention.. 4 www.home.parks.lv/latvietis LITHUANIA1 207

IHF FOCUS: Fair trial; security services; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; labour and trade union rights.

Human rights problems in Lithuania in Local Self-Governments of the Council of 2000 included violations of the right to fair Europe that Lithuania ratified in 1999 or trial, best illustrated by the case of Audrius the Constitution and other domestic legis- Butkevicius, which was declared admissible lation. Article 11 of the Charter states: “Lo- by the European Court of Human Rights. cal authorities shall have the right of recou- The illegal activities of the State Security rse to a judicial remedy in order to secure Services and the right to defence counsel free exercise of their powers and respect were also a cause for concern. The new for such principles of local self-government Refugee Law brought about some im- as are enshrined in the Constitution and provements but also included provisions domestic legislation.” The Lithuanian Con- that conflict with international human rights stitution grants the boards of local councils, standards. The new Government, in power as legal entities, the right to take a case to since autumn 2000, soon initiated meas- court if their rights are violated. The same ures to restrict labour and trade union provision is laid down in the law on self- rights. Further, courts appeared to ignore government. In addition, the Code of Civil valid legislation related to labour rights. Procedure provides that Administrative Courts must hear cases related to damage Fair Trial incurred to physical persons or organiza- tions. In mid-August, the Lithuanian Local The Lithuanian Local Councils’ Associ- Councils’ Association filed a complaint with ation appealed to the Lithuanian Appellate the Higher Administrative Court for the in- Court but the appeal was rejected. Having fringement of their rights and damage exhausted all legal avenues in Lithuania, caused to them by the Lithuanian Govern- the Association submitted the case to the ment. The Government had assigned addi- European Court of Human Rights. tional functions to the local councils with- The Vilnius City Council also turned to out allocating the respective funds to fulfil the Vilnius County Court in a separate case them. The Association demanded compen- demanding 129,456 Lts (U.S.$ 32,364), a sation in the amount of 189 million Lts sum that had accumulated over the last (over U.S.$ 47 million). three years. However, the Higher Administrative Court (the first instance court in such cas- Right to Legal Counsel es) refused to consider the case and rec- The December 1998 the Amend- ommended that it be submitted to the ments to Article 64.3.4 of the Criminal Pro- Vilnius County Court. The latter, in turn, re- cedure Code provides for pecuniary pu- jected the case on the ground that the nishment in the amount 3,000-10,000 Lts Local Councils’ Association did not have (U.S.$ 750-2,500) to Lithuanian defence the right to bring charges against the Go- counsel for failing to appear in court with- vernment since, pursuant to the Law on out a serious reason. In addition, defence Legal Administrative Proceedings, the deci- counsel were obliged to cover the expens- sions of the President, Seimas (Parliament) es caused by the adjournment of a court and Government may not be challenged in hearing due to his/her non-appearance. a court of law. The provision provided for a stricter However, it appears that the Law on punishment for defence counsel than for Legal Administrative Proceedings is not in the prosecution for a similar omission, thus line either with the European Charter of suggesting that the prosecution is given 208 LITHUANIA preference over the defence. At the same 1998, Butkevicius was sentenced to 5.5 time, the provision devalued the role of de- years imprisonment, fined 50,000 Lts fence lawyers, which should not be the (U.S.$ 12,500), and half of his property case in a democratic State. was confiscated. Article 64.3.4. also contradicted Article After exhausting all domestic legal av- 265 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which enues, Butkevicius filed a complaint with provided for the principle of equal standing the European Court of Human Rights con- in court hearings, including in terms of cerning the numerous human rights viola- submitting evidence, taking part in the in- tions in his case. The Court declared the vestigation and submitting applications. case admissible in its 28 November 2000 According to the Human Rights Associ- session. Butkevicius was released in 2000. ation of Lithuania, the prescribed econom- ic punishment violated the principle of in- Security Services dependent legal counsel and respect for Law on Operative Activities human rights in criminal proceedings. The The Constitutional Court stressed in its Association noted that any disciplinary ruling of 8 May 2000 that governmental in- measures directed at legal counsel and re- stitutions cannot approve regulations that lated to a failure to fulfil their professional would allow the Special Security Services to duties could only be issued by the Court of instigate or provoke a person to commit a Honour of Lawyers. This requirement was crime in order to collect evidence and to set forth in the regulations adopted by the later initiate legal proceedings against that International Bar Association during its 8th person. According to the Court, such ac- Congress at the United Nations on 7 tions are illegal and cannot be undertaken September 1990. Therefore, the applica- even in the public interest. tion of provisions of the Criminal Code pro- Despite the Court’s decision, the viding for economic punishment to legal Security Services used the provocation counsel by officials in the course of a crim- method. inal case is unacceptable and abusive. During the investigation of the case The case of Audrius Butkevicius against Povilas Mickunas, Head of the The case of Audrius Butkevicius, a Vilnius City Department Central Registry, member of the Lithuanian Parliament, con- the charges were based on evidence col- tinued to raise attention in 2000. Butkevici- lected under the Law on Operative Activi- us was arrested in October 1997 and char- ties (adopted in 1997). Article 4.1 provides ged with attempted fraud for allegedly offe- that operative actions shall be applied to ring the Lithuanian authorities a bribe from primarily collect information on planned or the “Dega” company. The case was riddled already committed crimes. Mickunas’s case with a number of irregularities. The State was initiated by an application submitted Security Services allegedly provided false on 22 October 1999 by a witness with the information that formed the basis of the Special Security Service alleging that charge and was then used as evidence, al- Mickunas had taken a bribe for the quick though it had been obtained illegally. registration of the witness’s marriage. In or- Butkevicius was stripped of parliamentary der to verify this information, a meeting be- immunity in order to be arrested, and his tween Mickunas and the witness was pre-trial detention was prolonged without a recorded on video and tape. However, the court decision. There was also a public recordings did not reveal any evidence of statement by the authorities that violated bribery. By law, the monitoring activities Butkevicius’s right to be presumed inno- should have been stopped in such a case. cent until proven guilty. On 18 November Nevertheless, the Security Services allowed LITHUANIA 209 for a second monitored meeting with temporary residence permits on humani- Mickunas during which the witness clearly tarian grounds inter alia to persons not ful- provoked Mickunas to take money for the filling the refugee definition in the 1951 quick registration of the marriage. Mickunas Geneva Convention but who nevertheless declined, but in the end the witness, in co- were in need of protection. This comple- operation with the Security Services, mentary protection corresponds to the pro- marked three 100 Lts notes which the wit- visions provided by Article 3 of the ECHR. ness placed under newspapers in Micku- The Parliament passed a new Refugee nas’s office. Law on 25 May 2000, but the Lithuanian The Court held that the Security Ser- President vetoed the law and returned to it vice officials had no operative information to Parliament on 14 June. The President whatsoever to prove Mickunas’s alleged noted that some provisions of the law criminal activities: a court may not take into raised concern in terms of their compatibil- account evidence collected in breach of the ity with international human rights and law. Mickunas’s was declared innocent ac- refugee instruments. On 29 June, the cordingly. Parliament adopted the revised Refugee Law taking into account the problems On 19 September 2000, the Chamber raised by the President. The law entered for Criminal Cases in the Department of into force on 1 September 2000. the Vilnius County Court considered an ap- Some 663 persons have applied for peal submitted by the General Prosecutor’s asylum in Lithuania between the entry into Department regarding a judgment of the force of refugee legislation and by Vilnius City District Court No. 1 on 26 June September 2000, and 52 persons had 2000. The Court had found Anna Grinevic, been recognized as refugees. Some 61 in- an attorney, innocent under Article 207.1 of dividuals were granted temporary resi- the Criminal Code (forging official docu- dence permits on humanitarian grounds, ments). Grinevic was found not guilty be- the majority of whom were Chechens, cause she had been detained on the basis Somalis and Afghans. of “evidence” obtained through the use of The new Refugee Law eliminated the “provocateur model,” which was sanc- many of the deficiencies of the previous tioned by the Vice-Prosecutor General 8 law. For example, it no longer provided for March 1999 - a fact that was not disclosed a pre-screening procedure and the auto- to the Court. The Court concluded that there was no legal evidence against matic detention of asylum seekers. The law Grinevic. introduced a two-tiered asylum procedure involving both the Migration Department and the Vilnius District Administrative Court, Protection of Asylum Seekers and instead of involving the Minister of Interior, Immigrants the Council of Refugee Affairs and the On 21 January 1997 Lithuania acced- Vilnius District Court as before. It also intro- ed the 1951 Geneva Convention and the duced the right to family reunification for 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees; recognized refugees, and regulated the de- both entered into force on 27 July 1997, tention of asylum seekers and the right of together with the Law on the Status of minor asylum seekers to education. Refugee (adopted on 4 July 1995). The However, the law also provides for an Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners, admissibility procedure and an accelerated which was passed on 17 December 1998 procedure both at the border and within and entered into force on 1 July 1999, was Lithuanian territory, as well as concepts such seen as complementary to the Refugee as “safe third countries”, “safe countries of Law as it provided for a possibility to grant origin”, and “manifestly unfounded claims”. 210 LITHUANIA

Perhaps the main problem with the law Under the new Refugee Law, asylum is the new admissibility procedure at the seekers can only be detained on the basis border, which allows the Migration Depart- of a court decision and for certain reasons ment to decide within 48 hours whether a (to prevent escape pending deportation, to person has arrived from a “safe third coun- examine if the travel or identity documents try”; if he/she has submitted an asylum ap- are forged, or to prevent the spread of in- plication previously; whether there is new fectious disease). It remained a concern, substantial information that could be impor- however, that the legal safeguards applica- tant to the case; or if the claim is “manifest- ble to detainees were not mentioned in the ly unfounded.” Considering the difficulties in law, including the right to be informed of finding interpreters, the border guards’ lack the reasons for detention and the right to of experience in dealing with asylum seek- challenge the detention order. This may ers and their applications, the limitations in raise concern with regard to Article 5 of the providing legal assistance (all lawyers quali- ECHR (right to liberty and security of per- fied to handle asylum matters are in son). Although the Refugee Law differenti- Vilnius), as well as the Migration Depart- ates between the detention and accom- ment’s limited experience and resources, modation of asylum seekers in the human rights activists feared that the nec- Foreigners’ Registration Centre, in practice, essary safeguards against refoulement of asylum seekers are held in detention-like real refugees in need of protection cannot conditions in the Centre. A new building be guaranteed. specifically designed to accommodate asy- Moreover, the new Refugee Law pro- lum seekers was erected with PHARE sup- vided for a double procedure for “mani- port and opened in early 2000, resulting in festly unfounded” claims. According to the significantly improved living conditions for law, the Migration Department will examine asylum seekers in the Centre. However, it whether the application is “manifestly un- remained surrounded by a fence and in- founded” both during the border proce- habitants’ freedom of movement was limit- dure and again once the applicant is ad- ed to a certain area within the Centre. mitted into the territory of Lithuania, at Asylum seekers who entered Lithuania which point his/her application may have or stayed there illegally were placed in the to undergo an accelerated procedure again. Foreigners’ Registration Centre, but such In addition, submitting an appeal detention had to be sanctioned by the against negative decisions taken by the court. As soon as they were granted access border guards does not necessarily sus- to the regular refugee status determination pend refoulement, a fact that is not fully in process or other reasons for detention no line with the requirements of the EU Reso- longer existed, they were moved to the lution on Minimum Guarantees for Asylum Rukla Reception Centre. Procedures and Article 13 of the ECHR. The As of September 2000, some 25 asy- EU Resolution allows exception from the lum seekers were being detained in the requirement of suspensive effect for “man- Foreigners’ Registration Centre, the majori- ifestly unfounded cases,” but the border ty of them of Afghan and Chechen origin. procedure under the Lithuanian Refugee Some 104 asylum seekers, mainly of Law does not deal solely with “manifestly Chechen, Afghan and Somali origin, were unfounded” cases. Furthermore, it follows living in the open Refugee Reception from the jurisprudence of the European Centre in Rukla. Court of Human Rights, specifically the “ef- fective remedy” in Article 13, that an appeal Labour and Trade Union Rights cannot be considered an “effective reme- Compared to the 1990s, the year dy” if the person is deported before a deci- 2000 was characterised by notable restric- sion on appeal is made. tions of labour and trade union rights by LITHUANIA 211 the Government and employers. The such courts, and other courts that deal with Social-Liberal Coalition, which won the par- labour issues have applied labour laws in- liamentary elections in autumn 2000, de- adequately and interpreted provisions in clared in its programme on the liberaliza- different ways. Moreover, courts appeared tion of labour relations and soon initiated to pay no respect to labour relations being restrictions on essential labour rights and formed on the basis of social partnership guarantees provided for by the Constitu- and disregarded employees’ opinions. tion, conventions of the International La- The July amendments to the Law on bour Organization, and the European Social the Establishment of Fines for Delayed Charter. Payments Related to Labour Relations A law on the reduction of pensions of came into force, significantly reducing the workers was already passed. At the time of amount of fines for the delayed payments writing, preparations had been made to of salaries. simplify the dismissal procedure; to offer A new Labour Safety and Health Law fixed-term labour contracts and civil con- was passed on 17 October, Article 69 of tracts that do not provide for social security which no longer provides for an additional more frequently; to not make any pay- 30 percent raise for working in hazardous ments at times when the company cannot conditions. The law is effective as of 1 offer work to its employees; to abolish the January 2001. Moreover, the methodology provision through which the dismissal of an approved by the Government for evaluat- employee requires the trade union’s con- ing working conditions appears to interpret sent; to deprive trade unions of the right to hazardous working conditions as “normal.” sign collective agreements with employers Employers also used other tricks to at enterprises; and to abolish or decrease avoid paying some necessary expenses. other privileges, e.g. regarding holidays. In order to avoid paying social security The Law on the Consideration of contributions and to leave employees with- Labour Disputes was promulgated and out basic social and labour guarantees, came into force on 12 July. The law de- “Vilniaus Duona AB,” owned by the compa- prived company trade unions of the right to ny “Vilniaus Prekyba,” forced its bakers and consider labour disputes. When drafting other employees to abandon labour con- this law, it was anticipated that labour tracts and to join limited partnerships. As a courts would be established to deal with result, all employees continued their normal disputes between employers and employ- work but the employer stopped paying for ees, as provided by Article 111 of the social and accident insurances, retirement, Constitution. However, after the law came and other contributions. The authorities into force, no plans were made to establish took no measures to end this practice.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Lithuanian Human Rights Association, Report on Lithuania in 2000. 212 MACEDONIA1

Ethnic Albanian students demonstrate for recognition of their studies at Tetovo University. © APA/EPA/Georgi Licovski

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and the media; the judicial system; misconduct by law enforcement officials; religious intolerance; protection of ethnic minorities; women’s rights2; rights of the child; social rights.

Despite some positive signs in 2000, equality on a confessional level. Men con- Macedonia’s human rights record still saw tinued to be imprisoned for conscientious room for improvement. The September objection to military service. Unemploy- municipal elections in Macedonia did not ment and other social problems brought meet international standards for fair and nearly 20 percent of families below the po- free elections. The draft law on public in- verty line and caused increasing tension. formation, pending as of the end of 2000, included provisions that raised concern Elections about media freedom, and journalists and The municipal elections were held in media outlets faced politically motivated Macedonia on 10 September, with the run- harassment. off two weeks later. Minority rights remained unresolved The pre-election campaign was charac- and discrimination and violence against the terized by a high level of inter-ethnic agg- Roma increased; ethnic Roma as well as ressiveness and incitement to intolerance. Albanians were also frequent targets of po- The ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic lice abuse. The courts were under political Prosperity (PDP) did not manage to nomi- influence and operated inefficiently. Reli- nate its own candidates for the city council gious intolerance by the majority Macedo- of the predominantly ethnic Albanian nian Orthodox Church grew and the propo- Tetovo due to obstructions by the Local sal for a new law does not provide for Election Commission. MACEDONIA 213

The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation run-offs were marked by irregularities similar Mission found that the elections showed im- to those in the first round, but this time vio- provement in some areas, but fell short on a lent incidents were reported - particularly in number of international standards for dem- the municipality of Strumica, eastern ocratic elections formulated in the 1990 Macedonia. In many polling stations the elec- OSCE Copenhagen Document. In particular, tions were not over even by mid-November. the elections did not fully meet Macedonia’s The State Election Commission did not OSCE commitment to conduct elections free operate adequately and was unable to from violence and intimidation, and to safe- solve many cases of violations of the elec- guard the secrecy of the vote.3 tion process. It also failed to observe the According to the OSCE/ODIHR, the deadlines for announcing the initial election voting was carried out in a calm and order- results. ly manner in the majority of municipalities, and the process was further improved dur- Freedom of Expression and the Media ing the second round on 24 September. The media in Macedonia could gener- Nonetheless, the election days were ally operate freely. A new daily newspaper, marked by tension, major irregularities, and , began publishing in July. However, in acts of intimidation and violence at a num- the course of the year, journalists and me- 4 ber of polling stations. dia outlets complained of being put under The prohibition to continue campaigning pressure by politicians and several journal- on the day of the elections was ignored, par- ists were physically attacked. ticularly by the media. The independence In the pre-election campaign there was day celebration was used as a political in- a clear division in the reporting and broad- strument mainly by the governing parties, casting of outlets supporting the opposition and voters were intimidated, ballots were parties - being mostly private – and those torn, and ballot boxes were stuffed or ma- supporting the Government, i.e. the state nipulated in other ways. Polling stations were radio and television and the papers pub- raided, the secrecy of the ballot was not re- lished by the publishing spected, independent monitors were exclud- house. International monitors especially ed from polling stations and journalists were criticized the biased programming of the ill-treated by party activists. In the municipal- state television. Half of the media subsidies ity of Kondovo political rivals of the two provided by the state budget were allocat- Albanian parties fired shots at each other. ed to Nova Makedonija, while some news- Due to a fight that took place at the papers received no state funding at all. The polling station in the village of Vranjovce, allocation process was non-transparent and the polling had to be interrupted for three the application procedure was unclear. hours. One voter publicly announced that The Albanian-language media was he had cast his vote for the candidate of generally considered to be under the con- the Democratic Party of Albanians. Some trol of the DPA party. other voters considered this statement a Access to information became more provocation, resulting in a clash between difficult as journalists had to ask for permis- the voters, monitors and members of the sion from the competent authorities when Election Commission. After this, the wishing to get information on almost any Municipal Election Commission from public issue. Gostivar canceled the voting. The police in- tervened in the fight, which resulted in four Harassment of the Media injured persons, one of whom died later. The media faced many forms of harass- The run-off elections were organized in ment ranging from financial pressure to di- 21 polling stations in 12 municipalities. The rect violent attacks on editors and journalists. 214 MACEDONIA

There were well-founded reasons to believe near the village of Krupiste. Three days be- that this was done to punish them for criti- fore the incident, the Kocani local office of cizing the politics of the governing parties. the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia Audio and video cassettes were stolen and (SDSM) had demanded that Radio Rosa confiscated on many occasions from radio repeatedly broadcast its announcement and TV stations or the media were otherwise criticizing local representatives of the ruling harassed. Legal action was taken against five parties. Representatives of the governmen- journalists working for the Start weekly mag- tal Internal Macedonian Revolutionary azine and a Vecer journalist was convicted of Organization-Democratic Party for Macedo- slander, although there was no evidence that nian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) and the journalists had violated the Criminal the Democratic Alternative (DA) soon de- Procedure Code or other laws. manded from the station the right to di- On 27 November, electricity was cut rectly address people of Kocani through off at the two most popular nationwide tel- Radio Rosa. Because Bozinov refused to do evision stations when they were to air their anything more than broadcast a written prime-time news: the news could be seen statement, he was seriously threatened. only in the capital, Skopje, and its sur- The station had been a target of two other roundings. On the same day, unidentified violent attacks in the past two years. persons warned by phone that a bomb had During the pre-election campaign for been planted at the Sitel TV premises, set local elections, the Nova Makedonija daily for 8:15 P.M. The warning turned out to be newspaper reported that security officers of a hoax. It was believed that the cutting off a political party physically assaulted Ljupco of electricity was linked to the fact that the Naskov, their correspondent in Sveti Nikole. previous day the stations had aired the views of the opposition leaders at the same Phone Tapping time as the Macedonian Radio Television According to ARTICLE 19, the phones (MRTV) had aired an extensive interview of some 25 journalists and opposition with Prime Minister Georgievski. politicians were illegally tapped in the In June, the issues of the Tirana-based months leading up to the September 2000 daily newspaper Bota Sot were confiscated local elections. The timing suggested that in the towns of Tetovo and Gostivar, and its the initiative for this surveillance had come production by a local printer was shut from the authorities and was politically mo- down for five days, ostensibly on technical tivated.6 grounds. Bota Sot was generally critical of the Government.5 Draft Law on Public Information7 The draft Law on Public Information, Authorities tried to execute an order to published in May 2000, guarantees media demolish the buildings in which television freedoms and access to public information, stations A1 and Channel 5 TV stations were establishes a system of registration and located, claiming that the buildings were stipulates a number of other obligations for constructed illegally. As a result of strong the media. According to ARTICLE 19, the pressure by media outlets, the authorities draft law represents a significant improve- abandoned the plan. ment over past laws and practices and, if Aleksandar Bozinov, owner of Radio passed, would largely bring Macedonia’s Rosa, an independent radio station in law in this area into line with international Kocani, and fellow traveler Sasko Sokolov standards. were brutally beaten on the evening of 4 However, the organization criticized a November on the road from Stip to Kocani, number of features that either are in clear MACEDONIA 215 breach of international standards or unnec- 30-40 employees that were not members essary. Such features include a require- of the ruling party to other positions. ment for the media to publish accurate, timely and/or complete information in an Judicial System efficient manner and to observe profes- sional and ethical rules (which could be Although the principle of separation of better dealt with as a matter of profession- powers was formally recognized, political al self-regulation); for journalists to register leaders tried to interfere in the operation of with the Government to receive an identifi- courts and use them as political instru- cation card; and for all media – defined ments. The process of appointing, disciplin- also to include posters and photographs – ing and dismissing judges was often politi- to be registered with the responsible min- cally coloured to promote politically loyal istry. Moreover, the draft law defines the ex- officials. ceptions to the right of access to informa- The courts continued to be treated to tion too broadly and vaguely (e.g. “legiti- some extent as part of the state adminis- mate interest,” “protection of morals,” “pro- tration. The executive branch was responsi- tection of the rights of others”). ble, for example, for controlling judges’ According to the Macedonian Helsinki salaries and the courts’ budgets. The Committee, local journalists generally dis- Government appeared to have a mixed at- approved of the draft law - suspecting that titude of abstract respect and concrete dis- the goal of the bill was to legalize a certain trust towards the judiciary, including the level of government control over the media Constitutional Court: on the one hand, it outlets. was unwilling to accept the courts’ power to make decisions that eventually slowed Politically motivated Discrimination down or hindered the implementation of It appeared that some administrative numerous political plans. On the other bodies took discriminatory measures in the hand, it did not trust the judicial officials ap- field of employment against individuals pointed by the former Government. The solely because of their political or other Government’s non-implementation of the opinions. In all the ministries and other or- decisions of the Constitutional Court was ganizations financed from the state budget especially worrying. In addition, courts op- there is an ongoing process of replacement erated inefficiently and slowly, especially in of the administration (including the lowest civil cases. levels) with people belonging to the gov- On 20 November, members of the in- erning parties. dependent trade union at the Makedonija Daniel Zahariev, a lawyer with 18 years Turist company staged a one-hour warning of work experience at Svetlina, the strike before the First Instance Court Skopje branch of the public electric 1 and the office of the public prosecutor, power company of Macedonia, was dis- demanding that the court act more quickly missed from his job on 19 November. At a on embezzlement charges against the later press conference at the Kumanovo of- company’s managers Done Tanevski, Gri- fice of the opposition, SDSM claimed that gor Koprov and Sonja Bibanovska. The em- Zahariev was dismissed solely because he ployees on strike believed that the presi- had been elected to the local council as its dent of the court and the Skopje public candidate, while Svetlina’s director was elect- prosecutor had deliberately delayed the ed to the local council as a representative of opening of the trial due to close relations to VMRO-DPMNE. Svetlina’s director had sug- the accused and personal interests. gested that Zahariev leave the SDSM. During the trials, the legal procedures According to SDSM, the director transferred and the relations between parties were not 216 MACEDONIA followed. Violations of human rights result- should sign a receipt. The Committee also ing from unfair trials were getting huge di- stated that every police station should keep mensions. separate and updated files on all arrested persons and detainees as an important Misconduct by Law Enforcement safeguard against possible abuse of author- Officials ity and extended police custody. Vagueness in the constitutional provi- Both ethnic Albanians and Roma ap- 8 sions and the unfinished legal system, to- peared to be singled out for police abuse. gether with the inadequate training of po- Particularly, the killing of three police officers lice officers and the low quality of training in January triggered serious police abuse. for domestic jurists, resulted in violations of On 14 January, three police officers individuals’ rights. were killed in the village of Aracinovo, near Police officers still arbitrarily stopped in- Skopje. Soon after that, the police raided dividuals and inspected vehicles, luggage, the ethnic Albanian village without a war- etc. without giving any explanation or issu- rant, obviously to revenge the death of the ing the person with a certificate of the act deceased officers. In the course of the raid, in order to allow him/her to file a com- the police exceeded their legal powers and plaint. used excessive force: they ill-treated the vil- The legal provisions regarding condi- lagers, used abusive language and intimi- tions for arrest still went unobserved. Peop- dated them, for example at gunpoint. They le were arrested arbitrarily and not brought forced people to lie down, stepped on before a judge immediately to decide on them and kicked them all over their bodies. detention, as prescribed by law. Investiga- In one house, a hand grenade was thrown tive judges and public prosecutors turned a into a freezer, and an intact gas bomb was blind eye to such practices. In addition, co- left in another house. More than a hundred ercion was used during arrest and in de- persons were taken for questioning, two of tention. whom were hospitalised for over a week There was no adequate redress for ille- because of serious injuries and one person gal arrest. In practice, issuing such a claim died. Many houses suffered significant ma- was so complicated that it was seldom terial damages – in some cases virtually all done. According to a survey carried out by the property was demolished.9 One of the the Macedonian Helsinki Committee, peo- accused in the case is a child, but both the ple brought to or held in a police station or judge, the public prosecutor and the child’s other similar facility were often not in- lawyer failed to fulfill their duties and pro- formed of their rights (including the right to tect his specific rights. This omission a lawyer of their own choosing), nor were amounted to a major violation of the do- their families informed of their where- mestic laws and the UN Convention on the abouts although, by law, this should have Rights of the Child. been done soon after arrest. The same ap- Such incidents did little to raise confi- plied to the transfer of detainees from one dence in policing among the Albanian com- police station to another. Contact with a munity. In the three months following the lawyer was often delayed or hindered, and Aracinovo killings, three police stations in detainees did not receive adequate med- predominantly ethnic Albanian areas were ical treatment; nor could they seek a sec- attacked with explosives, although it was ond opinion or examination by an inde- not clear if the incidents were linked.10 pendent doctor. The Helsinki Committee In July, the European Roma Rights lobbied for a practice whereby all arrestees Center (ERRC, IHF Cooperating Commit- would immediately be given a multilingual tee) reported on the police abuse of Roma brochure on their rights, for which they in Stip, central Macedonia, noting that it MACEDONIA 217 was only the most recent in a string of inci- tegrity was seriously threatened by violence dents of police brutality against Roma to among prisoners, including frequent homo- which the authorities have failed to re- sexual assaults. Prisoners’ work was not spond adequately. properly compensated and those who had In the early morning of 26 May, police no work did not receive the legally pre- - accompanied by three ethnic Macedonian scribed pocket money. Conditions for edu- villagers - arrested Selajdin Mustafov, Sehri cation or professional training were poor. Mustafov, Orhan Aliov, Ferat Skenderovski, Outdoor exercises were not possible on a Mamet Redzepov and a minor called Dze- regular basis nor were there facilities for mo Aliov upon their return from illegally other spare-time activities, sports or recre- gathering firewood in the village of Sasavar- ation. Prisoners were only entitled to one or lija, close to Stip. One of the villagers hit two telephone calls per month. Prisoners Sehri Mustafov in the mouth with an iron also complained about poor medical care rod. He fell down, and then managed to es- and a lack of appropriate medications. cape. One of the policemen hit Selajdin Legal counsel for prisoners had stereotypi- Mustafov several times, handcuffed him, cal attitudes and poor qualifications. On the and pushed him into the police car. The positive side, since the arrival of the new di- non-Roma group then surrounded the oth- rector, coercive measures were rarely used er Roma and beat them severely while the as punishment. police handcuffed and took Orhan Aliov, Selajdin Mustafov, Redzepov and Skende- Religious Intolerance rovski to the police station in Stip, where the The question of freedom of belief ill-treatment continued. The Roma were re- gained importance in 2000. The domina- leased about seven hours after their arrest, tion of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and required urgent medical treatment.11 and discrimination against other religious communities and groups continued. The situation deteriorated with the absence of Prison Conditions appropriate legislation after the Constituti- The Macedonian Helsinki Committee onal Court abolished more than one third expressed its deep concern about the ex- of the provisions of the previous law. No tremely poor conditions in the Idrizovo new provisions were adopted by the end of penitentiary, the oldest and largest prison in 2000. the country, saying that they amounted to On several occasions, high-ranking offi- inhuman and degrading treatment and cials of the Macedonian Orthodox Church punishment. made openly hostile statements regarding The conditions did not meet basic hy- other confessions. In addition, the Ortho- gienic requirements, cells were overcrowd- dox Church reportedly asked to be granted ed, the heating did not operate satisfactori- the status of a “national church.” This privi- ly, and single cells had no heating at all. It leged status would, for example, exempt it was impossible to wash and dry clothes from all taxes; allow it to give religious in- and there were no adequate uniforms, struction in schools; exempt its priests from shoes or bed sheets for the prisoners. The military service and other public duties that possibilities for contact among prisoners are contrary to their calling; provide it with and between prisoners and their instruc- financial assistance from the state budget; tors, doctors and other prison officials were and allow it to conduct religious sermons in insufficient. The poor and repressive condi- the army, hospitals and jails. tions meant there was no progress in the The hostile attitudes of the Macedo- process of correction and re-socialization. nian Orthodox Church leadership encour- The inmates’ psychological and moral in- aged direct attacks by the members of the 218 MACEDONIA church against minority communities. For Protection of Ethnic Minorities example, the fence of the Jehovah’s Wit- The situation of minorities was affected nesses’ place of worship in Prilep was de- by discrepancies between the legislation, molished and the Jewish cemetery in Bitola political decisions and the de facto inter- was vandalized. ethnic situation. Several ethnic Albanian Close links between the Macedonian DPA party members were appointed to Orthodox Church and state authorities high positions in the state administration were evident. In addition, the Macedonian (without having a genuine multicultural re- Orthodox Church was the only religious shuffle of the state apparatus) but some community involved in the preparation of basic problems remained unresolved. the 1997 law on religious communities The long-standing problem regarding and religious groups. The law that remai- Tetovo University was not solved. The Roma ned in force in 2000 clearly favoured “tra- minority faced more negative attitudes than ditional” religions and discriminated against ever since Macedonia’s independence. religious minorities. For example, “tradition- While the international focus was often on al” denominations were registered as the relations with ethnic Albanians, the “communities” and enjoyed various privi- problems of other minorities (Turks, Vlachs, leges. Other denominations, registered as Roma and Serbs) tended to go unnoticed. “religious groups,” had to undergo much stricter scrutiny than traditional religious Albanian Minority communities and other organizations. They On 25 July, the Government adopted did not enjoy tax exemptions like other civic a provision to the Law on Education to re- organizations and special conditions were solve the question of Tetovo University, a set for their establishment and registration. private Albanian-language institution that The Vlachs were still not allowed to Macedonian authorities refused to accred- register their own religious community. it as a state educational institution. The Due to their unresolved status, it was not provision established a new institute in possible to construct buildings or hold reli- the Albanian and English languages offer- gious services in the Vlach language. ing training in business, education, and public management. The internationally Conscientious Objection funded institution, intended as a replace- Criminal charges were brought against ment to Tetovo University, would allow men who refused to perform military service Albanians to study in their own language, for reasons of conscience (Article 341.1 of although a proficiency test in Macedonian the Criminal Code). Article 7 of the Law on would be required before their diplomas Defence provided for unarmed service. The could be officially recognized. Despite re- new draft defence law, which was being de- ceiving the backing of the Albanian party bated in Parliament as of the end of 2000, in the ruling government coalition, the provides for an alternative, civilian service in new institute did not receive unequivocal the army that does not meet international support from the country’s ethnic Alba- standards: it does not provide for service nian population, many of whom wanted outside the armed forces; it does not allow nothing less than the recognition of persons who have already begun their mili- Tetovo University itself.12 tary service to change to the alternative serv- ice; it provides that a commission estab- Roma Minority lished by the Ministry of Defence should de- The situation of the Roma remained a cide on applications; and it prescribes a cause of concern in Macedonia. It ap- punitive length of 14 months for civil service peared that negative stereotypes and prej- (normal military service is nine months). udices increased during 2000, and several MACEDONIA 219

Roma were the victims of police abuse.13 ber decreased to less than 1,000. The to- In several schools, teachers discrimi- tal number of refugees as of the end of nated against Roma children and non- 2000 was 6,300, including 5,700 from Roma fellow pupils showed clear animosi- Kosovo, about 110 from Bosnia and ty towards Roma. Some non-governmental Herzegovina, and 700 newcomers from organizations openly expressed negative at- southern Serbia. Fifty persons received titudes towards Roma, and the authorities refugee status. Ethnic Roma accounted for did not make efforts to improve their edu- well over 90 percent of all refugees. cational and social situation, thus continu- Others included ethnic Albanians from ing to “quietly discriminate” against Roma south Serbia, as well as ethnic Serbs and and ignoring their needs. other non-Albanian minority members Authorities and humanitarian organiza- from Kosovo, such as Gorans and Zubas. tions failed to pay the necessary special at- The poor security situation of non-Alba- tention to the situation of Roma refugees nians in Kosovo ruled out the organized from Kosovo: they had previously been ac- repatriation of non-Albanians. The Govern- tively engaged in helping ethnic Albanian ment granted Kosovar Roma persons refugees, but virtually ignored the Kosovar “temporary humanitarian assistance” for a Roma refugees. duration varying from three to six months. The limited duration and successive exten- The Vlach Minority sions of this status, however, placed con- The State failed to adequately protect straints on their protection and the search the cultural rights of the Vlach minority, for for viable solutions. example by not supporting the publication Three collective centres were closed in of literature in the Vlach language, Vlach July due to the relocation of a total of presence in the media and or cultural 1,248 refugees to the new Suto Orizari events. In addition, there was no Vlach-lan- refugee centre near Skopje. Phase one of guage instruction at any level of the educa- the centre was completed and consists of tion system. 16 barracks (with 236 rooms), five com- munal kitchens, showers and sanitary facil- ities. During the first six months of the year, Citizenship refugees in the collective centres were pro- The Macedonian Government had vided with cooked meals. Vulnerable promised to reform the overly exclusive refugees living with host families were giv- 1992 citizenship law in line with Council of en cooking stoves, firewood and kitchen Europe standards, but the law remained sets. Extremely vulnerable host families unchanged as of the end of 2000. The law also received support. never adequately resolved the status of the The Government had no clearly formu- significant number of Yugoslav citizens who lated asylum or immigration policy. How- were long-term residents in Macedonia but ever, it cooperated with UNHCR to develop who were neither born in Macedonia nor appropriate laws in this area. ethnic Macedonian. Large numbers of eth- There were no reports of the forced re- nic Albanians, Turks, and Roma who knew turn of persons to a country where they no other home than Macedonia remained 14 feared persecution. In the new Association effectively stateless as a result of the law. and Stabilization Agreement between Macedonia and the European Community, Protection of Refugees and both sides accepted to cooperate in the ar- Immigrants eas of visa, border control, asylum and mi- Following the repatriation of most of gration. Besides this, the agreement con- the 344,500 Kosovar refugees, their num- tains “re-admission clauses“ whereby Ma- 220 MACEDONIA cedonia is obliged, with no special formali- ests of the child, the right of the child to ty or time limit, to re-admit illegal migrants freely express his/her opinion, freedom of from the EU. thought, conscience and religion, the right to privacy, etc. Rights of the Child Seven years following the ratification of Social Rights the UN Convention on the Rights of the The process of privatisation and Child, children still only enjoyed rights orig- structural reforms continued alongside an inating from the rights of their parents and increase in the number of redundant or families. The Family Code, which defines unemployed workers of bankrupt compa- parents’ rights, does not even mention the nies. The rate of unemployment varied rights of the child. The idea of the right of from 35 to 50 percent. With over 70,000 the child to actively participate in the com- families depending solely on a social al- munity or the school system was in the ini- lowance, more than 20 percent of all tial stages. families lived below the poverty line. A serious cause for concern were the There were no appropriate social pro- unprofessional attitudes and lack of interest grams to lessen the expected social ten- by social workers, medical institutions, sions. schools and the police about child victims The Law on Early Retirement was of any form of ill-treatment and, in particu- passed in May in order to implement re- lar, family violence. Moreover, there were forms in the public administration, but the no shelters to protect child victims of Constitutional Court declared the law un- abuse. It was impossible to give exact fig- constitutional. The Government attempted ures on the number of abused children, to circumvent the ruling by requiring that all street children, exploited children, trafficked retired persons wishing to return to their children and children involved in juvenile jobs had to file a request to the govern- prostitution, although it is clear that such mental body that made the decision on figures are not insignificant. their dismissal. Those who wished to exer- In May 2000, following the recom- mendations of the World Health Organiza- cise the right to a pension could file a com- tion and UNICEF, a pilot project was started plaint with the same body – this violated for the de-institutionalisation of patients in the law as only the State Fund for Pension the special hospital in Demir Hisar, which and Disability Insurance was authorised to accommodates seriously mentally handi- recognize the right to a pension. As a result, capped children. The Government decided persons who returned to work have not re- to stop admitting new patients and instead ceived a salary, a pension or the right to to offer assistance to families with handi- health care. capped children. To support the care-taking Decision No. 229/95 of 20 July 1996 families, centres for daily care and small of the Constitutional Court, which abolished groups in the communities were estab- Article 4(1) of the law on amending the law lished. on pension and disability insurance, had still However, special efforts were still not been implemented four years after its needed to develop alternative shelter for passage. Military officers who retired after 1 orphaned children either in other families January 1994 received an advance pay- or through adoption. ment, but not the full amount of their pen- The Law on Child Protection that was sion. Retired former Yugoslav army officers adopted in November, does not contain have not received their old-age pensions for adequate articles relating to the right of the years because they did not meet the condi- child to non-discrimination, the best inter- tions set by the Government.15 MACEDONIA 221

Endnotes 1 Unless otherwise noted, based on the Annual Report 2000 of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia. 2 See IHF, Women 2000, an Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000 3 OSCE/ODIHR, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Municipal Elections, 10 Septem- ber 2000, Final Report. 4 Ibid. 5 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Macedonia. 6 Article19, 19 January 2001. 7 Based on Memorandum by ARTICLE 19, Global Campaign for Free Expression on the Draft Macedonian Law on Public Information of 12 May 2000, July 2000. 8 See Protection of Ethnic Minorities. 9 Press release of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia, 22 January 2000. 10 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Macedonia. 11 Letter from the European Roma Rights Center to the Macedonian General Prosecutor, 13 July 2000. 12 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Macedonia. 13 See Misconduct by Law Enforcement Officials. 14 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Macedonia. 15 “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, No. 33/92. 222 MOLDOVA1

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression, the media and access to information; freedom of association; peaceful assembly; religious intolerance; torture, ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; integrity of person.

When Moldova became a member of The Moldovan Government once again the Council of Europe in June 1995, the refused to register the Bessarabian Council required, among other things, that Orthodox Church, despite the recommen- Moldova undertake within a year of acces- dation of the Parliamentary Commission on sion: to adopt a new Criminal and Criminal Human Rights, Religions and National Procedure Code that conform with Council Minorities to do so. A complaint in the mat- of Europe standards; to transform the role ter has been submitted to the European and the functions of the Prosecutor’s Office Court of Human Rights. into a body that respects the rule of law Moldovan authorities failed to submit and Council of Europe standards; aim at any reports on the Government’s imple- the ratification and application of the cen- mentation of its human rights obligations tral principles of other Council of Europe under the UN conventions. So far, Moldova conventions (notably those on extradition); has only reported on the implementation to confirm complete freedom of worship of the Convention on the Elimination of all for all citizens without discrimination; and Forms of Discrimination against Women to ensure a peaceful solution to the dispute (CEDAW). Initial reports on the implemen- between the Moldovan Orthodox Church tation of the ICCPR, the Convention on and the Bessarabian Orthodox Church. Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimi- None of these requirements had been ful- nation, and the Convention on the Rights of filled as of the end of 2000. the Child have not been submitted al- The draft Penal Code and Criminal though they have been due for 5-7 years. Procedure Code were submitted to Parliament and were expected to have Freedom of Expression, the Media been adopted by the end of 2000. and Access to Information However, as of this writing they had only undergone two readings. Draft Penal Code The Prosecutor’s Office remained The draft Penal Code provides for even largely unreformed and was based on the greater restrictions on freedom of expres- Communist structure of prokuratura. In sion than the previous Code. The draft court this meant that the prosecution and Code penalizes incitement to war (Article the defence did not always enjoy equal 135), revelation of state secrets (Article rights. Outside court proceedings, it meant 118), defamation and insult (Article 167), that the Prosecutor’s Office enjoyed pow- dissemination of propaganda for violence ers that most Council of Europe member and cruelty, (Article 235), production or states had transferred to administrative dissemination of pornography (Article courts: for example, the supervision of the 234), calumnious advertising (Article 291), legality of all administrative acts, access to insulting a judge (Article 345), calumny of justice in places of detention, etc. a judge, prosecutor, investigator (Article Moldovan legislation lacked the regula- 346), civil disobedience (Article 381), prof- tions necessary to guarantee international anation of state symbols (Article 382) and standards in the field of extradition.2 insulting a military servant (Article 415). Moreover, protection from refoulement was lacking as Moldova had not signed the Defamation 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 The Constitutional Court upheld the Protocol. constitutionality of Article 7 of the Civil MOLDOVA 223

Code (defamation), which provided that a the Council of Europe (PACE), which obser- person could initiate judicial proceedings ved Moldova’s implementation of Council against someone who disseminated unver- of Europe standards regarding freedom of ifiable information about him/her. In its 8 speech. The Government proposed modifi- June decision, the Court failed to distin- cations to the legal provisions in order to guish between “facts” and “value judge- comply with its European obligations. ments,” and misinterpreted the word “in- formation.” Further, the Court cited Article Access to Court Hearings 32(2.3)3 of the Constitution and Article 4 A representative of the Moldovan Hel- of the Press Law, both of which have been sinki Committee was denied access to the criticised for being vague and broadly de- court to monitor a case of public interest. fined. It is precisely these provisions that On 21 June, the Chisinau District Court were supposed to be brought in line with of Centru (a first instance court) was sche- European standards. duled to deal with the case of Mihaeiscu, The 19 June explanatory decision of who had been accused of illegal participa- the Plenum of the Supreme Court of tion in an unauthorised student strike. The Justice, however, clearly stated that judicial President of the Court refused to accept liability would be invoked only if the piece the Moldovan Helsinki Committee’s com- of “information” in question was false or ex- plaint about the denial of access to the cessively offensive. court, and on 17 August the Court ruled The Moldovan Helsinki Committee that “the courts lack jurisdiction to try” the submitted an amicus curiae brief to the alleged violation of access to court hear- Constitutional Court, bringing to its atten- ings. The Court of Appeal overturned the tion Article 10 of the ECHR and European lower court decision and sent the case Court of Human Rights case law, including back to the Centru District Court to re-con- the case of Lingens vs. Austria, and noted sider the Moldovan Helsinki Committee’s that Moldovan court practices under Article complaint. 7 of the Civil Code violated freedom of ex- pression. On 29 August, the Coordinating Broadcasting in Unofficial Languages Audiovisual Council (CCA) suspended the The CCA also revoked the broadcasting license of the private TVC21 cable televi- licenses of several radio stations that “vio- sion for three months because it had al- lated the provision to broadcast at least 65 legedly defamed the State. The CCA stat- percent of the total airtime in the official ed that TVC21had aired an interview on language, as provided for by Article 13(3) 29 July with a leader of the self-pro- of the Law on Audiovisual Matters.” The sta- claimed “Dniester Moldovan Republic” tions in question were Russkoe radio, Radio (“DMR”) about the “DMR’s” recent local Nostalgie, Radio D’or, and Serebreannii elections. The CCA argued that “…the in- Dojdi. The Club of Students Graduated terview with Maracuta, a person who from Higher Education Institutions from fights for the separation of Moldova as a Abroad and Romania (CAIRO) appealed unitary State and incites territorial sepa- the decision to a court, which eventually or- ratism,” violated Article 32(3) of the Con- dered the CCA to re-issue the licenses. stitution (freedom of opinion and expres- Meanwhile, the Parliament interpreted sion) and Article 34 of the Law on the Article 13(3) of the Law on Audiovisual Audiovisual Matters. Matters in such a way that the obligation to The CCA made the decision while the have at least 65 percent of the total airtime two aforementioned articles were under in the official language did not apply to ra- scrutiny by the Parliamentary Assembly of dio stations that re-transmitted other sta- 224 MOLDOVA tions’ programmes. The Supreme Court of Freedom of Association Justice was to examine the case on appeal Political Association in late January 2001. The Ministry of Justice rejected the pro- gramme and application for registration of Limitations on Election Propaganda the newly established National Romanian The Parliament amended Article 23(1) Party (PNR). However, it did register the or- of the Law on Audiovisual Matters, which ganisation of Victims of the Occupation of forbids local broadcasters to include local the Communist Regime and the Romanian information in programmes produced ab- Veterans of War. road and re-transmitted on Moldovan terri- The Ministry considered the objective tory. The modification primarily targeted po- of the PNR was to “contribute to the reinte- litical advertisements during election cam- gration to the Mother Country5 by liquidat- paigns. The Constitutional Court, however, ing the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact,” which declared the modifications unconstitutional was a serious violation of the sovereignty on 14 December 2000. and integrity of the Republic of Moldova and in contradiction with Article 41(4) of Trans-Dniester Region the Moldovan Constitution. According to the Local Trans-Dniester authorities react- Ministry of Justice, the name PNR “includes ed very aggressively towards any deviation an identification element of another State” from official ideology. As cited in the paper and implies ethnic association. Baltiscaia gazeta, in the opinion of the Gh. Ghimpu, chairman of the PNR, and “Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the I. Buga, a member of its board, declared at DMR,” G. Maracuta, those persons who a press conference that the position of the did not recognise the “DMR” should not Ministry of Justice was discriminatory. They be tolerated. Sevtov-Antiufeev, chief of the pointed out that the Ministry had already “DMR” security forces, added that it was registered parties set up on an ethnic basis, “necessary to pull a certain number of for example, the New National Moldovan people out of circulation.” He hoped for Party, the Association of Gagauz Women, the Popular Gagauz Party and others. the return of the “attitude of 1945-1947, Moreover, some of the party programmes when all activities directed against public already touched upon the issue of sover- order qualified as a crime against state or- eignty and the territorial integrity of the der.” Republic of Moldova. The mass media operated under se- vere censorship. For eight years, the con- Public Interest Organisations trolled mass media have created an image The Ministry of Justice refused to regis- of the legal Chisinau Government as the ter the Bureau of Legal Advice on Individual enemy. All attempts to express more toler- Rights as a public interest human rights or- ant views were considered to be betrayal. ganisation because the organisation planned The “DMR” Press Law forbid the estab- to “monitor and participate as observers in lishment of media outlets by foreign citi- the process of the administration of justice.” zens – including citizens of the Republic of This, according to the Ministry, contradicts Moldova: by law, only the “DMR Govern- Moldovan law. In addition, three persons ment” was allowed to set up radio or tele- were allegedly not enough to “secure the di- vision stations. As of the end of 2000, only vision of executive, controlling and other Russian-language newspapers were pub- functions.“ By law, at least three persons lished. The “DMR” state television broad- were required to establish such an organisa- cast Moldovan- and Ukrainian-language tion and to ensure the separation of roles. programmes (mainly official news) for a to- On 22 May, the Court of Appeal also tal of about two hours a day. rejected the registration, stating that the MOLDOVA 225 founders had chosen the wrong form of The Constitutional Court also ruled un- constituency and that “this form does not constitutional the provision that made it allow them to act for the protection of the compulsory for law professionals to join the rights of others as proposed in the statuto- Lawyers Association. ry documents” and that “it contravenes the essence of a non-governmental organisa- Trans-Dniester Region tion […].”6 On 19 July, the Supreme Court No political associations were officially of Justice annulled the latter decision, registered in the “DMR,” but the Commu- sending the case for re-examination to the nist Party of Moldova successfully ran an Court of Appeal on grounds that the Court electoral campaign. Other political activities “had not verified whether the refusal of the were forbidden. Ministry of Justice violated the right to as- In late spring, the Supreme Soviet of sociation guaranteed by Article 11(2) of the “DMR” passed amendments to the Law the European Convention”. On 29 October on Associations that made NGOs equal to the Court of Appeal ordered the Ministry of political and social movements and re- Justice to register the organisation. quired at least 150 supporters for the es- However, the Court did not grant compen- tablishment of an organisation. sation for incurred costs. There were several cultural minority or- ganisations such as the Association of Professional Associations Russians, the Association of Ukrainians, and The Constitutional Court declared con- even the Association of Moldovans that stitutional provisions that required athletes propagated for maintaining the traditional to be members of a Moldovan sport club Slavic roots of the Moldovans. The opera- or the national sports federation upon the tion of public organisations that opposed consent of authorities in order to participate the separatist aims of the region (for ex- in competitions. At the same time, it up- ample one called Integrity) became impos- held the constitutionality of Article 21(5) sible in the aggressive atmosphere. (international affiliation of sport clubs only with the consent of the authorities), 22(2) Peaceful Assembly (compulsory membership of sport clubs in a national association) as well as Article Meetings of Homosexuals 21(6) (organisation and coordination of ac- A group of homosexuals planned to tivities of the national association in coop- hold a constituting meeting at the Hajdau eration with the authorities). According to public library meeting room, which it had the Moldovan Helsinki Committee, the pro- rented. On the day of the event the direc- visions were all excessive and amounted to tor of the library advised them to hold the substantial limitations and control by the meeting in the Art Library at Izmail street authorities in sports activities. “since the Chisinau police would be very However, on 25 April, the Court ruled angry” if the meeting was held in his library. that the Law on Physical Culture and Sport He also warned that a group of aggressive did not create a definite obligation for com- theology students would try to prevent the pulsory membership in a sports associa- meeting. The homosexuals went to the tion. The Court argued that Article 54 of the other library and began the meeting. The Constitution provided restrictions on specif- Vice Commissioner of Chisinau Police, A. ic freedoms only for reasons such as na- Covali, then broke up the meeting and tional security. It noted, however, that it was asked A. Marcikov, the leader of the organ- useful for the athletes to join sport clubs isation, for the certificate of registration and because they would profit in healthcare other constituting documents. A heated and receive other medical assistance. discussion followed, with the police threat- 226 MOLDOVA ening the participants, and the meeting without discrimination. However, the could not continue. The police justified Government has shown little tolerance to- their intrusion on the basis of the Law on wards “non-traditional” religions. Between Assembly and Holding Public Meetings, 1991 and the beginning of 1999, religious which required the consent of public au- proselytising was illegal. Still in 2000, the thorities in order to hold a public meeting. State Agency on Religious Affairs was com- prised of representatives of “recognised” Students’ Strikes (i.e. governmentally registered) religions, On 17-18 April some 6, 000 students mainly of the Orthodox Church and exclu- gathered at the National Assembly square sively of Christian confession. About ten and in front of the City Hall to protest the “unrecognised” religious communities decision of the City Council to take away were active in Moldova in 2000. their travel and other social benefits. On 18 On 19 February 1999, the governmen- April, around 50 students were arrested un- tal State Service for Creed Problems reject- der Article 174(4) and Article 164(4) of ed the registration of the True Orthodox the Code for Administrative Sanctions for Church of Moldova. The Church claims to “active participation in an unauthorised be a religious association similar to the reli- strike” because they had used “abusive ex- gious community of the Russian Orthodox pressions in a public place”. On both days, Church from Abroad. The State Service stat- the demonstrations were dispersed by the ed that the community had not presented police, who cited Articles 5, 11 and 12(2) its basic dogma, which, under Article 15 of of the same Code: these articles forbid the the Law on the Cults, had to be included in holding of meetings that were not reported the statutes of a religious association. to the authorities 15 days in advance and Another reason for the rejection was the approved. The organisers criticized the leg- fact that, according to Article 24 of the Law islation, which could be used to prohibit vir- on the Cults, only religious associations that tually any public assembly or strike. have been established on Moldovan terri- On 18 April, M. Mihaiescu, who was tory can be registered as legal entities. participating in the demonstrations, was A central point in the Council of Europe beaten until he lost consciousness. The po- recommendations on freedom of religion lice later took him to hospital and then held was that Moldova ensure a peaceful solu- him in custody for eight hours for “active tion to the dispute between the Moldovan participation in an unauthorised strike.” The Orthodox Church (subordinated to the Moldovan Helsinki Committee registered Moscow Patriarchate) and the Bessarabian some 20 other arrests. Orthodox Church (subordinated to the Bucharest Patriarchate). The Bessarabian Religious Intolerance Orthodox Church was active until 1940, i.e. The Molodiovan Orthodox Church is the Soviet annexation. However, the the dominant religion in Moldova. The Moldovan authorities refused to register Church apparently continued to receive di- the Bessarabian Orthodox Church again in rect and indirect support from the State in 2000, and the dispute between the two 2000, and high-ranking Moldovan politi- churches continued. It appeared that the cians and elected public authorities liked to Moldovan Government had no genuine in- publicly show their affiliation with the tention of resolving the dispute. Orthodox Church. In its reply sent to the Appeal Court Upon admission to the Council of Eu- that examined the case, the Government rope, Moldova committed itself to com- reasoned that state recognition and regis- plete freedom of worship for all citizens tration of the Bessarabian Orthodox Church MOLDOVA 227 would be inconvenient to Russia and period for holding detainees in police cus- Ukraine. The Appeal Court obliged the tody before they are transferred to prison. State to register the Bessarabian Orthodox The CPT stated that it would be neces- Church, but the Supreme Court overturned sary to extend the investigation into the po- the decision, arguing that the appeal dead- lice station of Balti to all police establish- line had lapsed. ments in the country; to give very high pri- The State Service has repeatedly re- ority to the vocational training of police of- fused to register the Spiritual Council of ficers of all ranks and categories and to use Muslims. On 18 September the Service re- outside experts in this training. fused its on grounds that “97 percent of The CPT urged that all allegations of the population of Moldova are Christians”, torture presented before a prosecutor or and that “foreign citizens and persons with- judge be carefully documented and exam- out citizenship temporary residing in ined. This should happen even in cases Moldova are guaranteed religious freedom where the victim does not voice allegations without granting them association as a ju- of ill-treatment but bears obvious marks of ridical person.” However, also after the such treatment. Those persons found to Muslims Council leadership was re-organ- have resorted to torture or ill-treatment ized to include only citizens of Moldova, should be punished. the State Service refused registration on The CPT recommended that Moldovan grounds that “majority of persons belong- authorities ensure that people deprived of ing to the Council are foreign citizens”, bas- freedom by the police force are guaranteed ing on Article 22(1)7. the right to inform a close relation or third person of their detention without delay; The Moldovan Orthodox Church en- guarantee them access to a lawyer and a joys special tax exemptions unlike other de- doctor (including the right to be examined, nominations.8 Due to money transfers, oth- if they wish, by a doctor of their choice) er private companies such as “Fidesco”, and to be informed of their rights. All detai- “Rodaj”, “Acorex Trading”, “Elita 5”, “Inter- nees should undergo a medical examina- forum M”, “Texcom”, “Catalan”, etc. profited tion, in principle, not in the presence of po- from the tax exemptions. lice officers. The CPT recommended that the Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct Government take measures to mitigate the 9 by Law Enforcement Officials various deficiencies observed in the police In December 2000, the European station of Ciocana; to verify that all police Committee for the Prevention of Torture cells in Moldova conform with the criteria in (CPT) published a report on its visit to paragraph 50 of the European Convention Moldova from 11-21 October 1998. against Torture; and take immediate meas- The CPT recommended that the author- ures for better hygienic and other condi- ities re-examine the law and practice with re- tions in places of detention; as well as guar- gard to provisional detention to ensure that antee open air exercises for at least one Moldova complies with the principles stated hour a day and gradually improve the pos- in Recommendation No. R (80) 11 of the sibilities for other leisure time exercises Committee of the Ministers to the Member (e.g. sports and studies). The CPT noted States of the Council of Europe. It also noted that enough space should be guaranteed that action should be taken to make the in- for all inmates, and that the conditions of tegral transfer of responsibility for detainees persons imprisoned for life should be im- to the Ministry of Justice, and noted that proved immediately. Moldovan authorities should observe the The CPT further pointed out that the principle of a maximum ten-day detention general principle of separating minors and 228 MOLDOVA adults must be respected; and requested lator for 15 days and ordered to do sup- that the authorities give high priority to the plementary duties such as cleaning. Such development of vocational training in peni- practices amounted to “forced labour” un- tentiaries of all levels and make clear that der Articles 4 and 5 of ECHR and Conven- the ill-treatment of detainees is unaccept- tion No. 105 of ILO, as well as the Euro- able and will be severely punished. pean Court of Human Rights case law.12 The Moldovan Helsinki Committee urged Government Reply the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council According to the Moldovan Helsinki of Europe to add this item as a matter of Committee, the Government showed a urgency to the obligations subject to moni- clear lack of understanding of many of the toring by the Observance Commission on CPT concerns in its 14 December reply10. the Republic of Moldova. The Government did not discuss in detail In rehabilitation institutions the labour the deficiencies and pitfalls in Moldovan contracts were signed (with no right to ne- legislation or the resulting poor practices, gotiate its contents) after spending one but rather gave various excuses such as in- month in the institution and the patients sufficient financial, human and other re- were then sent to his/her work place. With sources – thus generally reflecting the lack the money they received (the amount of of will to take specific steps to address the which was unknown to the patients) the serous concerns cited by the CPT. patients had to pay for their accommoda- In particular, the difficult economic tion, medical treatment and therapy. The conditions could not justify the detrimental remainder was taxed and transferred to their personal accounts. Upon their release attitudes and the direct violation of laws, or from the institution, they would receive 50 the authorities’ obligation to abide by the percent of the money in their account if minimum requirements provided under in- they had obeyed the regulations, and 30 ternational law. Also, the necessary legal percent if they violated any rules. The pa- changes and new forms of training would tients’ monthly salary was a maximum of not require great financial means to im- 10 Lei (less than U.S. $ 1), while the mini- prove the situation, bearing in mind that mal monthly salary in Moldova was gener- the Council of Europe already has much ally 18 Lei. The patients worked seven supportive material available. hours a day, six days a week. No legislation regulated the work of pa- Integrity of Person tients in such institutions, although the “Forced Labour” in Institutions of Social Moldovan Helsinki Committee proposed Rehabilitation11 that their working contracts should be reg- Institutional “forced labour” was com- ulated by common labour legislation. In ad- mon practice in social rehabilitation institu- dition to the above-mentioned working re- tions for alcoholics and drug addicts in Mol- quirements, the patients also had to work dova in 2000. According to the Depart- free of charge to maintain the institution ment for Penitentiaries of the Ministries of premises and improve the social conditions Justice and Health, more than 1,000 per- from between four hours a week and two sons were in “rehabilitation” in special insti- hours a day. tutions per year. The Republican Narcological Health Article 10(10) of the Law of Social Unit has had annual contracts with the Rehabilitation provided for compulsory Cardboard Factory “Gls” in Chisinau since work for patients in rehabilitation institu- 1976. One of its units was “reserved” for tions. Those who refused to abide could be rehabilitation patients. The patients’ salaries punished by detention in a disciplinary iso- were paid by Health Unit upon their release MOLDOVA 229 from the institution, in violation of national police. The reason for such treatment could legislation and international standards. The be that the person was a “chronic alco- patients were unaware of the content of holic” or “systematically violated public or- their work contracts (salary, working hours, der” or the rights of other persons. In prac- time for rest, etc.). Most of the salary they tice, administrative measures for consum- earned went to the account of the Health ing alcoholic beverages in a public place or Unit as compensation for expenses caused appearing drunk in a public place three by the patient’s treatment. Their total salary times could justify forced rehabilitation. was 25 percent of those of ordinary em- A person could submit an application ployees performing the same kind of work. to the police for the medical treatment of The patients also claimed they were ill- another person to find out whether forced treated and abused by the factory staff, and treatment was necessary. This “test treat- assigned to the most dirty work. ment” was in practice done in police cus- tody during ten days. The police also issued According to the Moldovan Helsinki applications for forced treatment in a reha- Committee, the efficiency of the “therapeu- bilitation institution for alcoholics or drug tic treatment,” which consists mainly of addicts, although the decision could be ap- “forced labour,” is minimal and has only re- pealed to a higher health protection organ- sulted in the exploitation and physical ex- isation or to a court of law. However, the haustion of the patients, thus provoking law did not oblige the police to inform the hate and suspicion regarding the unjust ac- person in question of his/her procedural tions of the state institutions. rights. In some cases documented by the Moldovan Helsinki Committee, the persons Administrative Detention of Alcoholics and did not even know that they were subject- Drug Addicts ed to a medical examination “with a view to Moldovan Law provided for the com- declaring him/her a chronic alcoholic.” pulsory treatment of alcoholics in different As a medical/administrative decision, a forms of administrative detention and dep- person could be confined to a rehabilitation 13 rivation of liberty. The Penal Procedure institution for up to six months.14 Code – which was in line with European Both the decision for “test treatment” standards – was not applied in all cases of and of restrictive treatment in a rehabilita- detention, i.e. in cases involving the treat- tion institution (for a period of up to 6 ment of alcoholics and drug addicts in ad- months, to be decided by a medical/ad- ministrative offences they committed. Such ministrative organ) limited people’s funda- cases were dealt with under other laws and mental rights. Over 70 percent of patients regulations that were not in accordance sent for compulsory treatment declared with European standards and which con- that they did not know that the decision to siderably weakened these persons’ rights. send them there could have been ap- A person could be forced to undergo pealed. Others said there was no point in treatment for vague reasons at the request complaining because they would lose the of relatives, social organisations, and the case anyway. No free legal aid was offered.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Moldovan Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Report on the Respect of Human Rights in Moldova in 2000 (Including the Trans-Dniester Region), February 2000. 2 See 1998 IHF Annual Report. 3 Article 32 guarantees all individuals the freedom of opinion as well as the freedom of 230 MOLDOVA

publicly expressing their thoughts and opinions by way of word, image or any other means possible. Freedom of expression may not harm the honor, dignity or the rights of other people or their right to express their own opinions or judgments. The law forbids and makes liable to prosecution all acts aimed at denying and slandering the State or the people. Likewise, incitement to sedition, war, aggression, ethnic, racial or religious ha- tred, discrimination, territorial separatism, public violence, or other actions threatening constitutional order are be forbidden and liable to prosecution. 4 This article prescribes strict observance of the Constitution and does not allow the detri- mental expressions regarding other people’s the honour, dignity, private life and right ex- press their own views. 5 Meaning reunification of Besarabia with Romania. 6 See Decision of the Court of Appeal, 22 June 2000, judge Ion Corolevschi, in the case of Bureau of Legal Advice on Individual Rights v. Ministry of Justice of Republic of Moldova. 7 Article 22 (1) reads: “The heads of the religious creeds of national and subordinated lev- el elected according to the statute as well as the entire personnel of religious services should be the citizens of Moldova….” 8 See report of the Accounting Chamber of the Republic of Moldova on the results of con- trol over public material and financial resources management and utilization in 1997. 9 Based on the recommendations of the CPT visit to Moldova on 11/10/1998 - 21/10/1998, published on 14 December 2000. 10 For details, see Moldovan Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Comments on the Response of the Government of Moldova to the Report of the European Committee on Prevention of Torture, December 2000, editor: Serghei Ostaf. 11 See also detailed reports by the Moldovan Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Report on The Respect of Patients Rights in Institutions for Alcoholics under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic Of Moldova; and the Report on the Respect of Patients Rights in Institutions for Alcohol Addicts under the Ministry Of Health of The Republic Of Moldova. 12 See the case of Van der Mussele v. the Kingdom of Lowlands, November 23, 1983, A70, p.16. 13 See the report of the Moldovan Helsinki Committee for Human Rights: The Procedural Rights of Detention, 1999 14 Ibid. THE NETHERLANDS1 231

IHF FOCUS: Protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; freedom of movement; international humanitarian law; protection of ethnic minorities; homosexuals rights.

One of the main human rights issues can be given to refuse a residence permit in the Netherlands was the new Asylum for a definite period. Law, some provisions of which were criti- On the basis of an amendment to the sized by human rights NGOs. It also left the Act, asylum seekers from “safe“ countries – status of the so-called “Schengen-claim- i.e. States that are party to the Convention ants” unresolved. relating to the Status of Refugees and oth- As in other EU member states, the er human rights treaties - will hardly have a Schengen Agreement on the one hand in- chance to receive a residence permit. The creased freedom of movement for citizens number of “safe” countries has been con- of countries that are party to the Agree- siderably increased. The Netherlands Refu- ment. On the other hand it restricted free- gee Council (Vluchtelingenwerk Neder- dom of movement through visa require- land), Amnesty International and the UN- ments to citizens coming from outside the HCR argued strongly against the amend- Schengen countries. ment. Some members of the First Cham- On 20 November, the Court of Appeal ber shared the concern about an increase of Amsterdam held that a person who had in the number of “safe” countries, arguing committed crimes against humanity in an- that the point is not whether such countries other country could be prosecuted in the are party to particular treaties, but whether Netherlands. The case in question was that or not the countries comply with them. of Bouterse, who is held responsible for the During the debate on the Act the Govern- killing of 15 political opponents in Surinam. ment promised that it would not only take A case that involved paying off Roma into account whether the respective States to leave a municipality raised much public had ratified the human rights treaties, but debate about the status of Roma and the emphasized that investigation into the fac- problems they faced. tual situation in each country would be Homosexuals’ rights were improved in more important. The First Chamber was 2000: the First Chamber of Parliament pas- convinced by this promise. sed legislation in December 2000 allowing Another problem that remained un- solved in 2000 was the status of the same - sex couples to marry and adopt “Dublin-claimants“. In 1990, the EU mem- Dutch children. ber States agreed in Dublin that a refugee could only apply for asylum in the first EU Protection of Asylum Seekers and Member State that he/she entered. If this Immigrants precondition is not met, the asylum seek- New Aliens Act er’s application is termed a “Dublin-claim“ The First Chamber of Parliament adopt- and is rejected. ed the new Aliens Act in November; and it The Court of The Hague dismissed a will come into force on 1 April 2001. claim for the protection of “Dublin- However, members of the Chamber criti- claimants” and for asylum seekers who had cized the Act, in particular the fact that requested asylum repeatedly (in the refugees from war zones have to wait one Netherlands or in other EU countries). Both year until they can be granted refugee sta- applications were supported by the tus, a period that causes uncertainty for ap- Netherlands Refugee Council and the plicants and can hinder the application pro- Institutions for Legal Support in Asylum cedure. The Chamber also questioned the Cases (Stichtingen voor Rechtsbijstand formulation of a number of reasons that Asiel) of Arnhem, Den Bosch and Amster- 232 THE NETHERLANDS dam. The judge recognized that the funda- agreed to extradite the main suspect in the mental right to social security was at stake, Dover case to France. However, it only initi- but ruled that it was not for him to decide ated a search to extradite him to France those basic rights to which asylum seekers one month after the incident. The Minister should be entitled. The problem of the of Justice explained that the delay was due “Dublin-claimants” remained serious be- to the fact that the case was not considered cause it concerned asylum seekers who to be “sensitive”. The Rotterdam police who were staying in the Netherlands legitimate- monitored the suspect were not aware of ly, but who were unable to receive a legal the extradition decision of the Court of income and enjoy public services such as Haarlem, and the Court was unaware of health care. “Dublin-claimants” were not al- the monitoring by Rotterdam police. The lowed to leave the Netherlands either.2 criminal investigation into the case contin- ued as of this writing. Trafficking in Human Beings In June, British custom officials found Freedom of Movement the dead bodies of 58 illegal Chinese im- Visa Requirements migrants in a Dutch lorry travelling from The Schengen Agreement regarding Rotterdam to Dover. Two of the Chinese freedom of movement came into force in immigrants were found alive, the others March 1995, abolishing border checks for died of respiratory failure. The lorry was re- people travelling between seven of the ten frigerated and during its transport from Schengen countries: Belgium, France, Ger- Belgium to the UK completely closed. The many, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Por- Dutch driver was arrested and charged by tugal and Spain. On 1 December 1997, the British police on 58 counts of manslaugh- Schengen Agreement was extended to cov- ter, as well as facilitating illegal entry into er Austria, Greece and Italy, although border the United Kingdom. The judge set 19 checks continued in Greece until its full par- February 2001 as a provisional starting date ticipation in March 2000. With the Conclu- for the proceedings.3 sion of the Treaty of Amsterdam in June The case raised numerous questions in 1997, Schengen was incorporated into the the Netherlands, as there were indications Treaty on the European Union.5 The main that the police had intentionally allowed aim of the Schengen Agreement is to abol- the trafficking of Chinese immigrants in or- ish all internal border checks for both peo- der to gain more information on the smug- ple and goods within the Schengen States. gling route. However, there remains an external border In December information was leaked between Schengen and other States. that the police were aware of contacts be- In 2000, citizens from a number of tween the main suspect in the Dover case countries required a visa to enter the and the person who smuggled the Chinese Netherlands, including people from some people. The Rotterdam police were already OSCE member states (for example: Alba- monitoring the main suspect because they nia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia suspected his involvement in the trafficking and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Federal Re- of Kurds. Members of Parliament ques- public of Yugoslavia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, tioned whether the police had made the Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Romania, the Russian right choice in deciding not to observe him Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, on a constant basis.4 Ukraine, Uzbekistan and the former Another problem was the lack of com- Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).6 munication between the police and the Because of their planned accession to Ministry of Justice. One month before the the EU, Bulgaria and Romania asked the EU fatal incident, the Ministry of Justice had member States to abolish visa requirements THE NETHERLANDS 233 for their citizens as soon as possible. The quest his extradition from Surinam or any States decided on 1 December 2000 to country that he may visit.“ If Bouterse were abolish the visa requirement for Bulgaria. to visit the Netherlands, according to Because the European Parliament still has Dugard, the Netherlands would be obliged to express itself on this matter, the abolition to try or extradite him under the UN is not expected to be final until mid-2001. Convention against Torture. According to the European Parliament, However, the fact that the Convention Bulgaria must show that it has taken meas- against Torture only came into force in the ures against illegal migration. However, the Netherlands on 20 January 1989 created a EU decided to uphold the visa requirements problem: there were doubts about whether for Romania because, inter alia, its guarding it could be applied retroactively to indict of frontiers falls short of EU standards.7 Bouterse for crimes committed in 1982. According to Professor Dugrad, the Con- International Humanitarian Law vention against Torture is a declaration of Prosecution for Crimes against Humanity existing international customary law in as On 20 November 2000 the Court of far as the prohibition, punishment and def- Appeal of Amsterdam decided that a per- inition of torture are concerned. He con- son who committed crimes against hu- cluded that although the UN Convention manity in another country could be prose- against Torture came into force in the cuted in the Netherlands for such acts. The Netherlands in 1989, it could be applied decision was the result of a request made retrospectively to cover conduct that was il- by two victims’ relatives to the Court of legal under Dutch law before 1989 but was Appeal to begin prosecutions in the case not yet criminalized under the name of tor- against former Surinam military leader ture. The Court of Appeal agreed with this Bouterse, who is held responsible for the reasoning and made possible the prosecu- killing of 15 political opponents of the tion of Bouterse. A preliminary investigation Surinam Government in 1982.8 was initiated soon after the ruling. On 8 and 9 December 1982, the Suri- Bouterse will now be prosecuted both nam military authority under the command in Surinam and in the Netherlands. The Am- of Bouterse arrested 15 political oppo- sterdam Court of Appeal noted that the nents, including prominent persons who prosecution should primarily to take the case were accused of posing a threat to the mili- in the Republic of Surinam; the Dutch pros- tary authority under Bouterse. The available ecution should only serve as a backup plan. evidence showed that Bouterse had or- According to the Court, the Dutch prosecu- dered the arrest and torture of the men be- tion can be stopped once it is certain that fore they were summarily and arbitrarily ex- the Surinam trial is proceeding satisfactorily. ecuted by the military. In February 2001 the Board of Procu- rators General requested the Supreme The Court of Appeal, in its decision, fol- Court to give a ruling on the issue of the ju- lowed the conclusions of John Dugard, risdiction of the Netherlands in the case Professor of Public International Law at the against Bouterse. In this way, the Board University of Leiden, who contended that wants to avoid that, in a later phase, the Bouterse could be prosecuted in the 9 Supreme Court would rule that the Nether- Netherlands. About the possible exercise lands have no jurisdiction.10 of jurisdiction by the Netherlands Dugard stated: “Because Bouterse is not present in the Netherlands, the Netherlands is not Protection of Ethnic Minorities obliged to exercise criminal jurisdiction over Roma Minority him under international law; nor is the In July, the municipality Driebergen Netherlands under a legal obligation to re- (near Utrecht) made a secret deal with five 234 THE NETHERLANDS

Roma families that the municipality would received. The deal included an agreement pay about U.S.$ 250,000 to the Roma fam- about the certain accommodation of the ilies if they moved away from Driebergen wandering families.12 and its surroundings. The Roma families agreed and left the municipality. The deal Homosexuals’ Rights was attributed to severe tensions between In December 2000 the First Chamber the Roma families and other residents of a of Parliament passed legislation allowing trailer park where the Roma had lived. same - sex couples to marry and adopt The chairwoman of the Roma Dutch children.13 The legislation had al- Commission of the Council of Europe said ready been approved by the Second that the deal was in violation of the ECHR Chamber of Parliament, which, by a large and, according to her, the European Court majority, gave homosexual marriages the of Human Rights would denounce the act same legal status as heterosexual mar- 11 if a complaint were filed. riages in September. The law will come into After the Roma families left the munic- force on 1 April 2001. ipality they tried to settle down in many Co-habitation, or civil partnerships, be- places in the province but were forced to tween homosexuals has been legal in the leave. They applied to a court to force the Netherlands for more than two years, along municipality of Utrecht to allocate a suitable with the appropriate tax, pension, inheri- place for them to stay, but the court reject- tance and other legal rights. Under the ed the claim. The judge held that it was not Dutch Constitution, all citizens are equal proven that the Roma families could not before the law, including the right to mar- live separately from each other. Moreover, riage. The new legislation is aimed at grant- the judge stated that they had left the mu- ing this right to all persons, including same nicipality Driebergen of their own free will sex couples. Only successors to the throne with restitution. The fact that they did not are not allowed to marry someone of the have a place to stay was a risk they had to same sex – a fact that is discriminatory ac- bear. Most importantly, the judge stated cording to two political parties.14 that Roma families would not have priority The new law also gives gay couples the over other trailer park residents on the right to adopt Dutch children. Critics claim Utrecht municipality waiting list for lots in there is a risk that same sex couples could the local trailer park. run into legal problems abroad, because A few weeks later, the municipality of the Netherlands is one of the first countries Driebergen offered three of the Roma fam- in the world to make it possible for homo- ilies the possibility to return to the munici- sexuals to marry under the law. But the pality; the other two families had found a Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given place to stay elsewhere. The three Roma assurances that legal safeguards for gay families have to pay back a substantial couples both within and outside the coun- amount of the restitution money they had try can be guaranteed.

Endnotes 1 Based on the report by the Netherlands Helsinki Committee to the IHF. The Netherlands Helsinki Committee does not systematically follow up human rights developments in the Netherlands, but mainly organizes projects aimed at strengthening democracy in Central and Eastern European countries. Furthermore, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee mon- itors and promotes the OSCE process through various publications, such as the Helsinki Monitor. This report is primarily based on reports by prominent international and nation- al human rights organizations, such as the UNHCR and the Netherlands Refugee Council. THE NETHERLANDS 235

2 www.vluchtelingenwerk.nl; press release, 6 September 2000. 3 The Times, “Driver Denies 58 Charges of Manslaughter“, 30 November 2000. 4 De Volkskrant, “Partijen houden twijfels over werkwijze politie“, 14 December 2000. 5 Fact sheet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Schengen Agreement“, November 2000. 6 IND-Info, “Visum kort verblijf“, 25 March 1999. 7 De Volkskrant, “Scandinavische landen nu ook in Schengen-zone“, 2 December 2000. 8 De Volkskrant, “Bouterse ook in Nederland vervolgd om decembermoorden“, 21 November 2000. 9 Mr.C.J.R. Dugard, “Opinion on the Bouterse case“, report of 7 July 2000. 10 Statement of the Board of Procurators General on 23 February 2001. This procedure is called “the appeal in cassation in the interests of the law.” 11 Utrechts Nieuwsblad, Voorzitter Roma-commissie Raad voor Europa: “Aanpak van zige- uners blamage voor Nederland“, 25 August 2000. 12 Utrechts Nieuwsblad, “Zigeuners betalen een ton terug“, 5 January 2001. 13 Ministry of Justice, “Eerste Kamer akkoord met openstelling huwelijk voor personen van gelijk geslacht“, press release, 19 December 2000. 14 De Volkskrant, “Homo’s en lesbiennes kunnen trouwen en adopteren“, 19 December 2000. 236 NORWAY1

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression; detainees’ rights; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; religious intolerance; intolerance, xenophobia and racial discrimi- nation.

In 2000, the five-year Plan of Action on The issue received much media cover- Human Rights, introduced by the Govern- age in August 2000 when a neo-nazi group ment in December 1999, was at the cen- asked the police for permission to march tre of the human rights debate in Norway. through the streets of Oslo to honour the The Plan was a response to an appeal memory of . The Norwegian made to Governments at the 1993 United Helsinki Committee argued that allowing Nations World Conference on Human this march would be a violation of Norway’s Rights, and contains more than 300 meas- international obligations under the UN ures aimed at improving human rights pro- Convention for the Elimination of Racial tection in Norway and abroad. The initiative Discrimination. The neo-nazi group was not was well received by Norwegian NGOs, given permission to carry out the march. and the Norwegian Parliament adopted the According to the police, the decision was Plan in November 2000. There is, howev- not based on principle, but was made be- er, no budget included in the Plan, and the cause other assemblies were going to take implementation of many of the measures place on the same day. will depend on the allocation of resources in the coming years. The decision made by Detainees’ Rights the new Government (in office since March Detainees’ rights have been one of the 2000) to allocate the responsibility for hu- human rights issues to receive the most man rights to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, public attention in the past few years. instead of continuing to appoint a Minister International monitoring bodies have re- of Human Rights, also caused some uncer- peatedly criticized the Government for sev- tainty concerning the responsibility to im- eral aspects of the treatment of persons in plement the part of the Plan that deals with pre-trial detention. human rights protection in Norway. The most severe criticism has been di- rected at the use of police cells for remand Freedom of Expression purposes and the use of solitary confine- Protection Against Racism ment for remand prisoners. The United The potential conflict between free- Nations Committee on Human Rights and dom of speech and Norway’s legal obliga- Norwegian NGOs have also expressed tions to fight racism remained a topic of a concern about prolonged periods of deten- discussion in 2000. A government-appoint- tion in some cases.2 ed committee established to clarify the bal- The Government has implemented ance between freedom of expression and several measures in response to this criti- other rights and freedoms concluded its cism. According to new guidelines issued in work in September 1999. The commission 1998, all remand prisoners were to be presented an extensive analysis and pro- transferred to an ordinary prison within 24 posal for legislative reform. With regard to hours following a court order that they be racism, however, the focus of the commis- remanded in custody. In a report on its vis- sion was more on how to ensure the par- it to Norway in September 1999, the Euro- ticipation of all groups in the public debate, pean Committee for the Prevention of Tor- rather than on the need to clarify the bal- ture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment ance between freedom of expression and or Punishment (CPT) noted a significant racism. reduction in the time that remand prisoners NORWAY 237 spent on police premises, but that the tar- number of court decisions ordering pre-trail get of 24 hours was not met in all cases. detention. The Minister also proposed to The CPT repeated critiques concerning the reduce the time a person can be kept in re- isolation of remand prisoners subject to re- mand custody without a renewed court de- strictions on their right to correspondence cision from four to two weeks. These pro- and to receive visitors. The CPT found that posals will be discussed in the Parliament prisoners subject to restrictions were virtu- in 2001. ally never allowed to associate with each other, and gathered evidence of harmful Freedom of Religion psychological effects upon prisoners who In a report from June 2000 the UN had been subject to restrictions for pro- Committee on the Rights of the Child ex- longed periods. The CPT also expressed pressed concern that the approach taken concern about allegations that police offi- by the Government to changes in religious cers routinely used restrictions as a means education in primary and secondary school of obtaining confessions from inmates. may be discriminatory. In response to this critique, the Director Changes in religious education were General of Public Prosecutions issued new introduced in 1997. Instead of having the guidelines aimed at limiting the use of re- option to choose between a curriculum strictions in November 1999. According to with an emphasis on Christianity and a these guidelines, restrictions must not be more religiously neutral curriculum, one used as a means of obtaining confessions; unified plan for all pupils was introduced. the public prosecutor must not apply for re- The fact that this curriculum became com- strictions of more than four weeks at a pulsory for all pupils and that it gave priori- time; and specific reasons must be given ty to Christianity raised criticism from hu- for applying for restrictions. manist and non-Christian religious groups. In December 2000 the Minister of Critics of the new curriculum argued that Justice proposed legislative changes intro- since it was impossible to guarantee the in- ducing maximum time limits for the use of struction of religious matters in a neutral solitary confinement. According to the pro- manner in a school that is dominated by posal, the limits will vary according to the persons of Christian belief, the denial of the maximum possible term of imprisonment right to exemption violated the rights of for the crime the person was charged with parents to control the religious education of committing, with an absolute limit of 12 their children. weeks. Parents and a humanist organization The proposal also included measures that sued the State on this basis lost a case aimed at reducing the time prisoners in the Court of Appeal in 2000. The case spend in remand custody. The Minister of was appealed to the Supreme Court. Justice acknowledged this problem, and the proposal was based on the conclusions of two working groups appointed in order Protection of Asylum Seekers and to suggest measures to make police inves- Immigrants tigations and court procedures more effi- The United Nations High Commissio- cient. The Minister proposed to increase ner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Norwegian the maximum time a person can be held in NGOs continued to criticize the Govern- police detention without a court decision ment for interpreting the 1951 UN Con- from 24 to 72 hours, arguing that giving the vention on Refugees restrictively when as- police more time to investigate a case be- sessing applications for asylum. The num- fore a decision on the need for further pre- ber of persons granted asylum in Norway trial detention is made would reduce the was low in 2000 compared to many other 238 NORWAY

European countries. 83,594 persons ap- recurrent issue of concern was the slow plied for asylum in Norway between 1989 processing of asylum applications. Several and November 2000. Only 2,080 were asylum seekers had to wait more than 15 granted asylum, while 45,020 were grant- months, the maximum period set by the ed residence permits on humanitarian Immigrant Directorate for processing an grounds. NGOs providing assistance to asylum claim. There were expectations asylum seekers claimed that many of that the establishment of a new Appeals them met the requirements for obtaining Board for Asylum and Immigration Cases asylum. An individual granted a residence in January 2001 would ameliorate this sit- permit on humanitarian grounds enjoyed uation. fewer extensive rights concerning family Nine-hundred-and-eighty-two single reunification, travel documents, and social minors applied for asylum in Norway in security benefits than an individual with 1999 and the first 10 months of 2000. asylum status. Norwegian NGOs expressed concern In 1998, the Government introduced about the fact that these children often several guidelines aimed at introducing a spent prolonged periods of time in recep- more liberal interpretation of the 1951 tion centres waiting for their application to Refugee Convention. One such change be processed or waiting to be resettled in was a recognition that persons persecuted a municipality. This situation was criticized not only because of their political activity, by the UNHCR in July 2000. At the end of but also because of their religion, ethnic 2000, considerable media attention was origin, gender, sexual orientation or social given to the fact that criminals claiming to group should be granted asylum. The be relatives abused many of these chil- Government also extended its definition of dren, and humanitarian and human rights refugees to cover individuals persecuted by NGOs called for better legal protection for non-state actors. these children. Although the percentage of asylum Norwegian authorities granted tempo- seekers who were granted asylum in rary protection to about 6,000 refugees Norway increased from 1.7 percent to 3 from Kosovo in June 1999. Of these, percent between 1998 and 1999, 3,630 had returned voluntarily by the end Norwegian NGOs were concerned that the of 1999. This temporary protection was new guidelines were often not implement- brought to an end in August 2000. ed. NGOs assisting asylum seekers claimed Refugees from Kosovo were only allowed that many women who had applied for to stay if they applied for, and were grant- asylum because of gender-based persecu- ed, asylum on an individual basis. The tion had had their applications rejected due Government announced that the majority to unreasonable requirements of proof. of this group were not likely to obtain asy- According to the aforementioned Plan of lum, and that people whose applications Action on Human Rights, the Government had been rejected would be forcibly re- will evaluate the implementation of the turned. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee new guidelines in 2001. and other NGOs protested against this de- As in previous years, Norwegian NGOs cision and appealed to the Government to argued in 2000 that visa requirements in show more flexibility and to at least wait some cases made it virtually impossible to until the spring before beginning the seek asylum in Norway, and that this prob- forcible return to Kosovo. In October 2000, lem needed to be addressed when dis- the Minister for Local Government and cussing human trafficking. During the last Regional Development announced that two years, 150 cases of trafficking in per- only families with children would be al- sons were registered in Norway. Another lowed to stay in Norway until March 2001. NORWAY 239

Intolerance, Xenophobia and Racial nation. The ECRI expressed concern that Discrimination the burden of proof fell heavily on the vic- According to research conducted by tim in Norwegian legislation on this issue, Norwegian and international bodies, immi- and that the police did not follow up most grants and refugees living in Norway were complaints about racism and discrimina- subject to discrimination in different tion. The latter posed particular a problem spheres of society, including the housing in cases where persons were denied ac- market and the labour market. cess to bars and nightclubs because of The UN Committee on the Elimination their ethnic origin. of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the In a positive development, for the first European Commission against Racism and time, a pub was fined NOK 150,000 Intolerance (ECRI) both published reports in (about U.S$16,650) for racism and dis- 2000 that criticized the Government for not crimination offences in November 2000. providing sufficient legal protection for eth- The CERD noted that despite the es- nic minorities. Both reports expressed con- tablishment of the Centre for Combating cern about the lack of a law prohibiting eth- Ethnic Discrimination in 1999, little prog- nic discrimination. The Government ap- ress had been made in monitoring racial pointed a working group responsible for de- discrimination, and recommended that veloping a proposal for a new law on ethnic Norway review its procedures for monitor- discrimination in March 2000. The working- ing racist incidents. In its report, the CERD group will finish its work in June 2001. also reminded the Government that “in its The international monitoring bodies opinion the prohibition of the dissemina- also pointed out that laws were not work- tion of all ideas based on racial superiority ing satisfactorily even in areas already cov- or hatred is compatible with the rights to ered by provisions against ethnic discrimi- freedom of opinion and expression.”

Endnotes 1 Based on the annual report of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. 2 See IHF, Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2000. 240 POLAND1

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of the media; independence of the judiciary; fair tri- al and detainees’ rights; sentencing policy; security services; intolerance, xenophobia and racial discrimination.

In 2000, the European Court of Hu- In August 1997 Zycie had published an man Rights ruled in favour of Polish citizens article entitled “Holidays with a Spy”in who had been awaiting a court decision in which it claimed that in 1994 President their civil cases for years. The European Aleksander Kwasniewski had spent his hol- Court rulings again initiated discussion idays at a seaside holiday resort where a about the inefficient operation of the Polish Russian secret agent Vladimir Alganov had courts and the individual’s right to a fair tri- been staying. The President denied the al- al within a reasonable time. legation and demanded an apology and The draft Penal Code provided for compensation of PLN 2.5 million (U.S.$ more stringent penalties. It was strongly 580,000) to be paid to a relief fund for criticized by experts for raising unrealistic flood victims. The same text was published hopes and ignoring the real causes of the in the Gdansk-based Dziennik Baltycki, but growth of criminality. upon the intervention of its German pub- lisher the newspaper apologized to the Elections President. The court stated that “there are no grounds to conclude” that Kwasniewski Presidential elections were held in in was spending his holidays in the hotel dur- Poland in September. Aleksander Kwasniew- ing the said period. However, the court did ski, who had already served five years as not award any compensation from Zycie or President, won the first round with 53.92 the authors of the article; it only ordered percent of the vote, while Andrzej Olechow- them to publish a relevant apology. The ski received 17.28 percent and Marian President declared that he would not ap- Krzaklewski (representative of the Solidarity peal against the sentence. Election Alliance in power) 15.56 percent. The court did not question the profes- The elections were fair and free. sional diligence of the authors in their However, during the campaign, two issues quest for materials. It resolved, though, that raised negative coverage. Candidate Marian the form of publication in Zycie had violat- Krzaklewski used in his television campaign ed the principle of liability for one’s words. spot a film which showed the head of the According to the court, the title “Holidays presidential National Security Office, at the with a Spy,” the caption “Friends from the behest of incumbent President Aleksander beach” beneath the photographs of Kwasniewski, kissing the soil upon his ar- Alganov and Kwasniewski, as well as the rival at Kalisz in 1997. The allusion to the accompanying text were all intended to similar act of Pope John Paul II during his create an impression that Kwasniewski had pastoral visits was most explicit. Some polit- had some relations with a foreign secret ical circles and Roman Catholic bishops agent. The court further stated that considered the President’s conduct shame- Kwasniewski, as a public official, should be ful, and some right-wingers demanded that prepared to face critical opinions. In addi- Kwasniewski be brought before the Tribunal tion, according to the court, he had con- of State. Both Kwasniewski and Minister tributed to the situation himself since he 2 Siwiec publicly regretted the Kalisz incident. had not replied to Zycie’s request for an in- terview. The basis for the court’s sentence Freedom of the Media was evidence such as stamps in the In May the District Court in Warsaw President’s passport, plane tickets, and bills passed a judgement in the defamation which proved that he had been elsewhere case of the Zycie daily. at the time in question.3 POLAND 241

The court’s judgment provoked various sponse to the Supreme Court’s ruling, the reactions. Many criticized the court for mis- head of the UOP ordered the that the takenly assuming that the President’s “in- screening of judges be stopped.4 nocence” rather than professionalism of the journalists was the subject matter of Fair Trial and Detainees’ Rights the case. Others, again, supported the judg- The judicial system in Poland remained ment for defending the office of the inefficient, a fact that could largely be at- President against defamation. tributed to considerable delays in court pro- ceedings. In January, a case related to the Independence of the Judiciary burning of the files of the former secret po- Controversies triggered by the coming lice in 1989/1990 drew attention to the into force of the Classified Information Act large number of cases pending in courts. of March 1999 were settled by the The documents in question included Supreme Court in September. The act reg- about 13,000 files on secret informants ulated the procedures for access to State and microfilms from the Ministry of secrets. It required security clearance pro- Interior’s departments III and IV that were ceedings before a person could gain access responsible for surveillance of the opposi- to classified information. Before a person tion and churches. The documents were could get security clearance, he/she had to found half burnt at a landfill site in 1992. fill out a special questionnaire, subsequent- Upon press inquiries, in April 2000 the ly checked by the UOP. In practice, the act Ministry of Justice stated that 713 cases gave rise to various concerns, e.g. regarding had been lodged with courts. However, the the independence of the judiciary should ministry assumed that the 713 cases were they undergo security checks. “an incidental problem” since they ac- The Supreme Court ruled that the act counted for a mere 0.005 percent of all the did not apply to judges who therefore could cases pending resolution by the courts.5 gain access to classified information without a certification. As soon as the act came into In 2000, the European Court of force, there was a conflict between the UOP Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled on two and the judges after the Ministry of Justice cases involving the right to a fair trial within had ordered that the presidents of courts reasonable time (Article 6 of the ECHR). should apply for the certificate. Those who In 1991, the Polish state-owned tele- followed the instructions were checked by com company (TPSA) refused to install a the UOP. In some cases, neighbours were telephone line into the home of 89-years- asked about the judges’ conduct at home, old Janina Dewicka. Civil courts of the first possible drug consumption, and psychiatric and second instance took three years and treatment, etc. five months, respectively, to examine the Accordimg to the Supreme Court Press case and to order the company to install Spokesman, Judge Piotr Hofmanski, the the telephone line. It took a further eleven Classified Information Act did not explicite- months to obtain the enforcement clause ly state whether or not it should be applied from the court that should, by law, have re- to judges. Therefore the court had ruled on leased it within three days after an applica- the basis of the the Act on the Structure of tion had been submitted. Thus, Janina Common Courts and the Civil and Criminal Dewicka waited for a total of four and a half Procedure Codes which granted judges ac- years for her case to be decided by the cess to state secrets. In Hofmanski’s opin- courts. The European Court ruled that Po- ion, a different interpretation would divide land had violated Article 6 of the ECHR and judges into inferior and superior ones, the awarded PLN 15,000 (approximately U.S.$ latter being those with the certificate. In re- 3,500) as compensation to the plaintiff. 242 POLAND

In September the European Court of contrary to Article 6 (1). In the Court’s view, Human Rights ruled that Poland had violat- the time had come to review its case-law ed Article 6 of the ECHR in the case of also in the light of the continuing accumu- Wojnowicz v. Poland. Since 1987, Krzysztof lation of applications before it in which the Wojnowicz could not get a valid decision only, or principal, allegation was, or had on the division of his company. The case been, that of a failure to ensure a hearing was decided in the first instance more than within a reasonable time in breach of five years after his filing the case. The main Article 6 (1). The growing frequency with reason for lengthy proceedings was repeat- which violations in this regard were, and ed adjournments, usually due to non-ap- had been, found had already led the Court pearance of a party. The court awarded to draw attention to “the important danger compensation of PLN 25,000 (U.S.$ that exists for the rule of law” within na- 6 5,500) to the plaintiff for moral injury. tional legal orders when “excessive delays In its ruling in the case of Kudla v. Po- in the administration of justice” occur “in land, the European Court of Human Rights respect of which litigants have no domestic set a precedent by deviating from the gen- remedy”. Against this background, in such eral rule that an applicant should exhaust cases the Court now perceived the need to all domestic legal remedies before the examine the complaints about lack of an Court would deal with a complaint. effective remedy against excessive length On 1 June 1995 the Krakow Regional of the proceedings under Article 13 taken Court convicted Andrzej Kudla of fraud and separately, despite its earlier finding of a vi- forgery and sentenced him to six years’ im- olation of Article 6 (1) for failure to ensure prisonment and a fine of PLN 5,000 (U.S.$ an individual trial within a reasonable time. 1,100). On 22 February 1996 the Krakow The Court further stressed that Article Court of Appeal quashed this judgment on 13, giving direct expression to the States’ the ground that the court had been incor- obligation to protect human rights first and rectly composed and that there had been foremost within their own legal system, es- serious breaches of procedure. The case tablished an additional guarantee for an in- was remitted to the Regional Court on 11 dividual in order to ensure that he/she ef- April. On 29 October 1996 the applicant fectively enjoyed those rights. It said, among was released on bail. On 4 December other things, that the object of Article 13 “is 1998 the Krakow Regional Court convicted to provide a means whereby individuals can the applicant as charged and sentenced obtain relief at national level for violations of him as before. On 27 October 1999, on his their Convention rights before having to set appeal, the Krakow Court of Appeal re- in motion the international machinery of duced his sentence to five years’ imprison- complaint before the Court. From this per- ment. The proceedings were pending be- spective, the right of an individual to trial fore the Supreme Court following his cas- within a reasonable time will be less effec- sation appeal at the time when the tive if there exists no opportunity to submit European Court of Human Rights delivered the Convention claim first to a national au- its judgment. thority; and the requirements of Article 13 The European Court of Human Rights are to be seen as reinforcing those of Article made a precedental decision concerning 6(1), rather than being absorbed by the the interpretation of the Article 13 of the general obligation imposed by that Article Convention. It found that there was no not to subject individuals to inordinate de- overlap where the alleged Convention vio- lays in legal proceedings.” The Court em- lation that the individual wished to bring phasised that a remedy for complaining before a “national authority” was a violation about unreasonable length of proceedings of the right to trial within a reasonable time, did not as such involve an appeal against POLAND 243 the “determination” of any criminal charge Litwa was “moderately” drunk. He was re- or of civil rights and obligations and that re- leased six hours later. Litwa claimed conse- quiring a remedy under Article 13 was not quently that he had been sober and com- tantamount to the “right of appeal”, guaran- plained to the Public Prosecutor’s Office teed only in criminal matters under Article 2 about the police’s conduct. However, the of- of Protocol No. 7 to the Convention. fice did not consider the case to be a In the Kudla case the Court noted that breach of the law. In addition, Litwa lost a the Government had not claimed that there case for compensation for illegal deprivation had been any specific legal avenue where- of liberty before a civil court. The European by the applicant could complain of the Court ruled that although the detention of a length of the proceedings but had submit- the drunken man could be considered a de- ted that the aggregate of several remedies tention of an “alcoholic” covered by Article – notably, applications for release, appeals 5 of the ECHR, in Witold Litwa’s case the against decisions prolonging detention and convention was violated because the complaints to the President of the relevant means used by the police were excessive. court and the Minister of Justice – had sat- The police could have simply driven the isfied the Article 13 requirements. They had man home instead of placing him in a not, however, indicated whether and, if so, sobering-up centre as he was a threat nei- how the applicant could have obtained re- ther to himself nor to anyone else. Litwa lief – either preventive or compensatory – was awarded PLN 8,000 (approximately by having recourse to those measures. It U.S.$1,900) in compensation from the 8 had not been suggested that any of the sin- Polish Government for moral injury. gle remedies invoked, or a combination of The Act on the Promotion of Sobriety them, could have expedited the determina- was passed in 1982. Its Article 40 provided tion of the charges against the applicant or that “a person in a state of drunkenness, provided him with adequate redress for de- who by his/her behaviour causes a scandal lays that had already occurred. Nor had the in a public place or a workplace, or is in a Government supplied any example from situation in which his/her life or health is domestic practice showing that, by using threatened, or constitutes a threat to other the means in question, it had been possible people’s lives or health, may be brought to for the applicant to obtain such relief. a sobering-up centre or a public health care Accordingly, the European Court held that institution or a place of permanent or tem- there had been a violation of Article 13 in porary residence.” The decision to act upon that the applicant had had no domestic the article was up to the police and the per- remedy whereby he could have enforced sonnel of the sobering-up centre. Such a his right to a “hearing within a reasonable decision – the only of its kind provided by time” as guaranteed by Article 6 (1)7 the Polish legal system – was not subject to court supervision or review: one could not Detainees’ Rights appeal against confinement in a sobering- In another important ruling regarding up centre even post factum. Poland, the European Court of Human In the last few years, the press has re- Rights in April passed a judgment on the ported several deaths in sobering-up cen- so-called sobering-up centres. tres in Poland as well as cases of degrading In 1994, 54-year-old Witold Litwa treatment by the personnel of such cen- made a scene at a post office upon finding tres.9 his post office box open. Assuming that he was drung, the police took him to a sober- Nazi and Communist Crimes ing-up centre where he underwent medical In June, the Polish Seym and Senate examination. A physician determined that elected Leon Kieres, an MP of the Solidarity 244 POLAND

Election Alliance and an Administrative Law Sentencing Policy Professor, the President of the National Minister of Justice Lech Kaczynski sub- Commemoration Institute - the Commissi- mitted to Parliament the preliminary draft for on for Prosecution of Crimes against the Po- toughening up the criminal law. Under the lish Nation. The Institute was to provide ac- draft, nine offences which are now misde- cess to the Secret Service files for people meanours would be considered crimes for who were under surveillance from 1944 - which the Code would provide for at least 1990 (as well as scientists and journalists) three years in prison. The list of offences for and to collect documents related to Nazi which a 15-year-old would be brought be- and Communist crimes and political repres- fore a court like an adult would be extend- sion. In addition, the institute was to investi- ed. In addition, the possibility of imposing gate such cases. A relevant law was passed extraordinary stringent penalties would be in December 1998. However, several previ- expanded, and the conditional stay of prison ous candidates for presidency of the sentences imposed on recidivists would be Institute did not meet the requirements or abolished. The new criminal policy has re- failed to gather the necessary majority in the sulted, among other things, in a consider- Seym. Not having a President, the institute able growth of the prison and remand could not commence its activities earlier.10 prison population (up to the total of 70,218 The major reason for the failure to ap- persons of of 4 November), the formal max- point a President for the institute was the imum capacity being about 63,000. fierce opposition of the post-communist The minister already issued an ordinan- Left Democratic Alliance. Its MPs strongly ce permitting the reduction in the require- objected to one the provision of the law on ment of the standard of 3 square metres the institute, which provided that access to per inmate, and the wardens were ordered the files be granted to the victims only, to adapt additional housing space where rather than all citizens. In a subsequent new inmates might be placed. In an inter- statement, Leon Kieres suggested that the view, Minister Kaczynski argued that human victims of the Communist regime’s Security rights have been interpreted one-sidedly in Services or courts would only gain access favour of offenders and aggressors only and to their files once the institute took over the to protect “degenerate criminals.”13 whole archives. This is likely to happen in Forty-two law professors and lawyers mid-2001.11 protested against the planned toughening In November, the institute’s investiga- up of the criminal law. In their view Minister tion department accused Henryk M. (77) of Kaczynski’s plans raised unrealistic hopes having assisted genocide in the years 1941- that stiffening up of punishments might im- 1943 in in Chelmno on the Ner, the first prove general safety and, at the same time, Nazi in Poland. M. al- they divert attention from major problems legedly battered and ill-treated the prisoners, of Polish courts and prosecution agencies brought them to gas chamber vans, and and from the real causes of the growth in 14 robbed them of their belongings. The num- crime. Minister Kaczynski replied claiming ber of victims of the Chelmno camp was es- the law professors and lawyers were liber- timated at about 300,000. As few as four als who had spoken out of professional Jews survived the confinement. This was the and material interests and he cited false 15 first charge of participation in Nazi crimes data regarding prisoner figures. since 1973. The charges based mainly on the testimonies of witnesses, inhabitants of Security Services and Lustration Law Chelmno, who recognized Henryk M. The In September the District Court in War- charges carry a life sentence.12 saw quashed a decision of the Prosecutor’s POLAND 245

Office to discontinue proceedings in the vated use of the lustration procedure, a fact case of surveillance of right wing politicians. that might result in the destabilization of In July 1997, during the parliamentary elec- the State and impair the country’s interna- tions campaign, it was revealed that the tional image. Under the draft act the office UOP had carried out surveillance on right of the Minister-Coordinator of the Security wing politicians in 1992-1993 when Services (appointed by the political party Hanna Suchocka had been Prime Minister. currently in power) would become apoliti- The Prosecutor’s Office instituted an inquiry cal: the coordinator would be an official ap- into the UOP’s illegal actions. It appeared pointed for six years by the President from that the UOP had also carried out similar among the candidates nominated by the activities on the left wing parties. In August Prime Minister, and he/she would not be 1999 the Prosecutor’s Office had discon- removed with a change of Government. tinued the proceedings stating that the The only grounds for his/her removal UOP officers had been guilty of misde- would include illness, perpetration of an of- meanours only, not of offences.16 The fence, or a valid court conviction. Appellate Prosecutor’s Office upheld that Another novelty in the draft was the es- decision. Following the September court tablishment of the Committee for the decision, though, the Prosecutor’s inquiry Coordination of Security Services, com- was to be resumed.17 posed of representatives of the Ministries A number of the Lustration Court’s de- of National Defence, Foreign Affairs, cisions to discontinue proceedings if, in the Internal Affairs and Administration, as well light of the evidence submitted, the court as the Heads of the UOP and Military could not find out whether a persons had Intelligence. The committee will initiate and lied in his statement or not, resulted in crit- plan the activities of security services and icism of the Lustration Law. It was fre- supervise their execution.20 quently proposed that the lustration pro- In September the UOP withdrew its ceedings should not be discontinued in any previously announced intention to notify case – a practice that in the experts’ opin- workplaces and schools about employees ion would violate the principle of the pre- or students caught in the act of proclaiming sumption of innocence as the person sub- neo-Fascist views. The idea had first been ject to screening would continue to be un- mentioned by the spokesman of the UOP der suspicion of collaboration. It was also Olsztyn branch in connection with a meet- suggested that the secrecy clause be lifted ing planned by the neo-Fascists. Several with respect to documents submitted by days later the spokesman took back the the UOP to the Lustration Prosecutor18; that statement and announced that, in view of the order in which persons falling under the criticism in the media and lawyers’ objec- lustration act be defined to prevent, for ex- tions, the planned notification would not 21 ample, the screening of the President dur- take place. ing the electoral campaign; and that the Prosecutor should, by law, refer a case to Intolerance, Xenophobia, Racial the court if there is justified suspicion that Discrimination and Hate Speech a person might be a lustration liar.19 Poland refrained from ratifying the In connection with the security servic- 12th Protocol of the ECHR, which bans dis- es’ repeated involvement in political in- crimination on any grounds, because the trigues, the Freedom Union submitted a Government believed that if it were to rati- draft Security Services Act in October be- fy the protocol, Poland would have to pay cause, as the the Union’s Secretary damages for violations of that provision: General, MP Miroslaw Czech stated, it had some governmmental departments proved impossible to avoid politically moti- (among them the Ministry of Finance and 246 POLAND of Labour) argued that Polish law included encouraged the WCAR to include in the discriminatory provisions, for example, programme of the World Conference the against foreigners in the labour market, and issues of aggressive nationalism, ethnocen- that the Government would have to pay trism and discrimination. The participants compensation after losing cases before the also strongly opposed any tendencies to European Court of Human Rights. How- limit the scope of authority and compe- ever, Poland had ratified the ICCPR that tence of the UN Committee on the Elimi- contains a highly similar provision banning nation of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and discrimination.21 they urged the WCAR to recommend that On 15-18 November, prior to the the CERD consider interpreting racial dis- World Conference Against Racism, Racial crimination to cover also “degrading treat- Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (to be held in South Africa in ment“ within the meaning Article 3 of the 2001), the Helsinki Foundation for Human ECHR. The statement also touched upon a Rights at for the request of the UNHCR or- number of other issues of importance, ganized a regional meeting for 115 NGOs such as compensation for deportation of from Eastern and Central Europe. The par- nationals, in particular the Crimean Tartars ticipants adopted a statement addressed to and Meskhetian Turks in the former USSR, the World Conference Against Racism the problem of religious discrimination, and (WCAR) in which, among other things, they that of anti-Semitism.23

Endnotes 1 Based on the report Human Rights in Poland (January-November 2000), Report of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and the Helsinki Committee in Poland for the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, prepared by Andrzej Kremplewski. 2 M. Skoworonska, “Nie bede sie spieszyl z ta decyzja” (I Will Take My Time Deciding), Gazeta Wyborcza (GW), No. 225, 26 September 2000, p. 4; M. Kursa, “Przeprosiny za Kalisz” (Apologies for Kalisz), GW, No. 226, 27 September 2000, p. 4. 3 E. Siedlecka, “Zycie” po wyroku” (Zycie After the Judgment), GW, No. 119, 23 May 2000, pp. 1, 8. 4 ES, “Sady bez certyfikatow. Konflikt sadow i UOP” (Courts Without Certificates: the Conflict Between Courts and UOP), GW, No. 228, 29 September 2000, p. 6. POLAND 247

5 B. Wroblewski, “Sadzenie przez przedawnienie“ (Trial by Prescription), GW, No. 5, 7 January 2000, p. 4; “713 nadzorow” (713 Supervised Cases), GW, No. 87, 12 April 2000, p. 4. 6 ES, “Sad przegral w sadzie. Odszkodowanie za przewleklosc sadowa” (Compensation for Lengthy Proceedings), GW No. 222 (22 September 2000), p. 6. 7 European Court of Human Rights, press release issued by the Registrar, Judgment in the Case of Kudla v. Poland, 26 October 2000. 8 E. Siedlecka, “Trzezwiec po europejsku” (European Sobering), GW, No. 81, 5 April 2000, p. 8. 9 J. Hugo-Bader, “Smierc w zlobku” (Death in the Drunks’ Nursery), GW, No. 146, 24-25 June 2000, p. 24-25. 10 See: IHF, Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2000, p. 290. 11 EM: “Teczki edukacyjne. Plany Instytutu Pamieci Narodowej” (The Educational Files: Plans of the Institute for National Remembrance), GW No. 267, 16 September 2000, p. 5. 12 P. Zablocki, “Na volksliste za zabijanie. Pomagal w ludobojstwie?” (Included in the ‘Volksliste’ for Killing: Did the Man Assist Genocide?), GW No. 258, 4-5 November 2000, p. 3. 13 “Chce byc kreatorem nowej mody. Z Lechem Kaczynskim rozmawia Jaroslaw Kurski” (I Want to Create a New Style: Lech Kaczynski Interviewed by Jaroslaw Kurski), GW, No. 264, 13 November 2000, p. 17; E. Siedlecka, “Sprawiedliwy to surowy. Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwosci chce surowszych wyrokow” (Just Means Severe: The Ministry of Justice Wants Longer Sentences), GW, No. 187, 11 August 2000, p. 4. 14 “Kaczynskiemu nie. Oswiadczenie” (No to Kaczynski: Statement), GW, No. 257, 3 November 2000, p. 2. 15 “Chce wiecej sprawiedliwosci. Z Lechem Kaczynskim, ministrem sprawiedliwosci roz- mawia L. Warzecha” (I want More Justice. Minister of Justice Lech Kaczynski Interviewed by L. Warzecha), Zycie, No. 280, 1 December 2000, p. 15. 16 See IHF, Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia, and North America, Report 2000 (Events of 1999), pp. 291-292. 17 “Inwigilacja prawicy. Decyzja warszawskiego sadu” (Surveillance of the Right Wing. Decision of the Warsaw Court), GW, No. 210, 8 September 2000, p. 8; “Kogo inwig- ilowal UOP (list A. Kapkowskiego, b. szefa UOP do Gazety Wyborczej)” (Who Was Under UOP surveillance?: Letter of Former Head of UOP, A. Kapkowski to Gazeta Wyborcza), GW, No. 226, 27 September 2000, p. 20. 18 When dealing with documents that contain State secret, the court was obliged to make the whole of proceeding secret. 19 “Co z tym zrobic? Prawnicy proponuja zmiany w ustawie lustracyjnej” (What Can Be Done About It? Lawyers Suggest Amendments of the Lustration Act), GW, No. 183, 7 August 2000, p. 21. See also: Security Services. 20 J. Jachowicz, “Nie dla partii UOP” (UOP Is Not for Political Parties), GW, No. 245, 19 October 2000, p. 1, 3. 21 K. Olszewski, “UOP: doniesiemy do pracodawcy“ (UOP Announces: We Will Inform the Employee), GW, No. 257, 3 November 2000, p. 5. 22 E. Siedlecka, “Drogi Protokol. Dlaczego Polska nie chce zobowiazac sie do niedyskrymi- nacji?” (The Rich Protocol: Why Won’t Poland Commit Itself to Non-Discrimination?), GW, No. 258, 4-5 November 2000. p. 4. 23 Appeal by the Warsaw Meeting of NGOs from Eastern and Central Europe of 15-181 November 2000 within the framework of preparation for the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance. 248 PORTUGAL

IHF FOCUS: Torture and ill-treatment; conditions in prisons.1

Torture and Ill-Treatment right and complaining of pains in his stom- In May, the UN Committee Against ach and kidneys. Silva told his mother that Torture (CAT) reviewed the third periodic re- he had been badly beaten by the police. port of Portugal on its implementation of the Suspicion fell upon eight PSP officers of the th UN Convention against Torture and Other 4 Division, but the police denied any re- Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or sponsibility for the death. Punishment. On the positive side, the In the case of Cardoso, the authorities reacted promptly. A judicial inquiry was Committee noted, inter alia, the restructuring opened and the Interior Ministry’s General of the police agencies, which was designed Inspectorate (IGAI) initiated investigations. to emphasize the civil features of policing; IGAI’s preliminary report found sufficient the creation of a database to streamline in- evidence to link the death to physical formation relating to cases of abuse of public abuse by PSP officers. The Ministry ordered power; and the enactment of regulations the opening of a disciplinary inquiry into governing police use of firearms that reflect the conduct of two officers. They were de- UN standards. Also, the CAT welcomed the tained in April, under investigation for adoption of regulations relating to conditions homicide. The general commander of the of detention in police lockups, setting out the 2 Oporto PSP was removed from his post. minimum standards to be upheld. The police reaction to the investiga- However, the CAT noted that it contin- tions into the death of Álvaro Cardoso gave ued to receive reports of a number of rise to serious concern. There was wide- deaths and cases of ill-treatment “arising spread anger and emotion in police ranks from contact between members of the and many officers surrendered their 3 public and the police.” weapons. Moreover, a number of police of- One of the cases reported in 2000 in- ficers gathered at the entrance of the court- volved the death of two men after they house (TIC) in Oporto, awaiting the deci- were allegedly ill-treated by Public Security sion of a judge regarding the extension of Police (PSP) officers in Oporto when they detention for their two colleagues or their 4 were taken into custody in January. release. When the police officers heard that Amnesty International reported that the two colleagues were to remain in cus- Álvaro Rosa Cardoso, an ethnic Rom, was tody, they behaved menacingly towards a severely beaten when police brought a prosecuting magistrate as she left the street disturbance under control. He died in courthouse. She was forced to ask for a hospital, where he was taken only after be- Judicial Police escort to leave the house ing held in custody for several hours. safely, and PSP police officers reportedly According to the police, the cause of death surrounded her car and threatened her life. was one, or possibly two, heart attacks. In the case of Silva, the homicide branch However, the autopsy report referred to a of Oporto’s Judicial Police questioned the number of external and internal injuries, suspected police officers, but no charges had stating that the cause of death had been a been raised by June and the officers contin- ruptured spleen. ued working. Investigations were also initiat- ed into a police report of that night because Paulo Silva died of the same internal it made no reference to the presence of the injuries in hospital on the same night. He suspects’ unit in the Cero area, although it had gone to the Cero area of Oporto to buy did refer to its presence in other areas of the drugs, but did not get any. He returned city. Moreover, the report was signed by an home around 1 a.m., unable to stand up- officer who had not been on duty that night. PORTUGAL 249

In its comments, the CAT urged the lican Guard (GNR), and to insure a speedy Portuguese Government to continue to en- implementation of disciplinary inquiries into gage in vigorous measures, both discipli- alleged police abuse. Nevertheless, it noted nary and educative, to maintain the mo- that questions remained over the thorough- mentum of moving the police culture in ness of some of the investigations.7 Portugal towards one that respects human rights. It should particularly ensure that the Conditions in Prisons criminal investigation and prosecution of The CAT cited in its comments the ac- public officers be carried out where appro- knowledgement by the European Com- priate as a matter of course where the evi- mittee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) dence revealed that police officers had re- (as a result of its 1999 inspection) that im- sorted to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or provements in prisons had taken place, in- degrading treatment or punishment.5 cluding plans to set up an Inspectorate of According to Amnesty International, Prisons, to create a national drug unit for pri- one reason why many cases of ill-treat- sons as well as to set up new prison health ment by police officers may not go to court units. Magistrates had begun visiting prisons was the fact that the Penal Code made a on a monthly basis to receive complaints distinction between “public crimes” and from prisoners on their treatment. Also, others. Cases of police brutality were more measures had been taken to reduce inter- likely to be considered under Article 143, prisoner violence in Portuguese prisons al- covering crimes such as common assault, though reports of such violence continued.8 than under Article 243 (“public crimes”), According to information received by which dealt with torture and other cruel, in- Amnesty International from the Portuguese human or degrading treatment. In the first Justice Ministry, the overcrowding had di- case, the victim had to file a complaint, minished between 1998 and 1999 by whereas a “public crime” did not require a 12.3 percent, while at the same time there complaint from the victim in order to initi- had been an increase in prison capacity. As ate investigation.6 a result, the rate of overcrowding had de- Amnesty International also noted that creased by 13.1 percent from the 1996 IGAI had made a positive contribution as a rate by June 2000. Portuguese authorities relatively new police observation agency admitted to some cases of ill-treatment by whose task was to monitor and supervise custodial staff, but claimed that such inci- the activities of the PSP and National Repub- dents were always investigated.9

Endnotes 1 Due to the absence of a Helsinki Committee in Portugal to provide the IHF with information on human rights issues on a broader scale, this chapter focuses only on two areas of concern. 2 Conclusions and Recommendations of the Committee against Torture: Portugal. 08/05/2000. CAT/C/24/2. 3 Ibid. 4 The source of information on the two cases: Amnesty International, Concerns in Europe, January-June 2000, September 2000. 5 CAT, op.cit. 6 Amnesty International, op.cit. 7 Ibid. 8 CAT, op.cit. 9 Amnesty International op.cit. 250 ROMANIA1

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and the media; detainees’ rights; ill- treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in prisons; reli- gious intolerance; protection of ethnic minorities; homosexuals’ rights.

The year 2000 represented a period of a destructive attitude, vetoing every deci- stagnation from the point of view of bring- sion in the Parliament. The PDSR conclud- ing legislation up to par with the European ed a one-year mutual support agreement standards – particularly that related to civil with the other three parties represented in liberties. The members of both Chambers the Parliament (the Liberal Party, the of the Parliament, the Senate and the Democratic Party and the UDMR – the par- Chamber of Deputies, were occupied ty of the Hungarian minority). mostly with the local and general elections (in June and November 2000, respective- Freedom of Expression and the ly) and lacked the political will to pass the Media necessary legislation. In 2000, the Chamber of Deputies A human rights issue of special concern passed a proposal to harmonize some pro- was the so-called Stoica package (named visions of the Penal Code with the after the former Minister of Justice) which Resolution 1123/1997 of the Parliamen- included many important amendments to tarian Assembly of the Council of Europe. the Penal Code, the Penal Procedure Code, The Resolution clearly stated that Articles the Law on Execution of Prison Terms etc. 205 (insult), 206 (defamation), 238 (off- APADOR-CH (the Romanian Helsinki Com- ence of authorities) and 239(1) (verbal mittee) will closely follow the debates in the “outrage”, i.e. an offence of lower-ranking new Parliament on those bills. officials) should be amended. The draft bill Police conduct remained a serious passed by the Chamber of Deputies that cause of concern while some improve- repealed Articles 238 and 239(1) ruled ments were noticed in prisons, which, nev- that insult is to be punished only by a fine, ertheless, had to struggle with many prob- while defamation still carries a penalty of a lems. fine or imprisonment of 3-12 months. Although APADOR-CH has permanent- Elections ly asked for the removal of insult and The general elections resulted in an defamation from the Penal Code (com- expected victory for the PDSR, the party pensation would have been sought in civil that ruled the country in 1990–1996. The court cases), it supported the modifications emergence and popularity of the extremist because they repealed some notorious ar- Romania Mare party was a cause for alarm. ticles, and took action to convince the for- It is led by Corneliu Vadim Tudor, who re- mer senators to pass this piece of legisla- peatedly threatened to rule the country by tion prior to the general elections. Despite using firearms and public executions, to ex- international support and pressure, the for- pel the “enemies” from Romania and to mer Senate did not vote on the amend- place all Roma offenders into special ments: the struggle shall be continued with camps. Romania Mare received approxi- the new Senate. mately one third of the seats in the Parlia- APADOR-CH also wrote comments on ment and became the second most popu- a draft bill on access to information. Nearly lar party in Romania, after the PDSR. Since every article of that bill had to be either re- the latter declined to cooperate with the pealed or rewritten. A second draft bill on former, choosing to rule the country single- the subject, supported by APADOR-CH handed, the Romania Mare party adopted (with a few objections) was not adopted as ROMANIA 251 a Governmental Ordinance, which means Ill-Treatment and Misconduct by Law that it would follow the normal procedure Enforcement Officials in the Parliament. Use of Firearms Neither the modifications to Law No. Detainees’ Rights 26/1994 on Police nor the Statute of the There were two situations in which the Police Officer were debated in the Parlia- police may deprive someone of freedom ment in 2000. Those two legal documents without an arrest warrant: first, “leading” contained the provisions necessary to start suspects to the police station if they could demilitarisation and decentralisation of the not produce an ID card and keep them police, both constantly urged by national and there until their identity is established, how- international human rights NGOs and IGOs. ever, for the maximum of 24 hours. The APADOR-CH repeatedly took up the “leading” - which APADOR-CH considered fact that the Romanian police frequently re- an unconstitutional measure – was in no sorted to the use of firearms, which violates way regulated and did not provide for the the UN and the Council of Europe’s regula- right to legal counsel. The police officers tions on the use of force. The main docu- frequently argued that “leading” someone ment – Basic Rules for Using Firearms by to the police station was not a form of dep- Law Enforcement Officials – clearly de- rivation of freedom but a mere “adminis- scribes the principles of proportionality and trative measure.” APADOR-CH claimed that allows resorting to firearms only in case as long as someone is not free to walk out someone’s life is put in real danger or from the police station, that means depri- when a prisoner escapes. vation of freedom. The Romanian laws still in 2000 al- In the proposal to amend Law lowed for using firearms in a number of sit- 26/1994 on the Police, the Ministry of uations which included firing at anyone Interior indirectly acknowledged the inter- caught in flagrante delicto who would flee pretation of APADOR-CH: it issued a draft from the site of the crime and would not on the right to a counsel during the up to stop when required by the police. 24-hour of “leading.” The draft bill has been in the Parliament since 1999 but had not The provision was problematic as it de been debated by the end of 2000. facto gave the police officers the right to APADOR-CH believed that during the fire also at suspects of petty offences such above-mentioned 24 hours, the person de- as pickpockets, persons breaking into a car 2 prived of freedom was in the most vulner- boot or a kiosk etc. So new internal rules able situation being entirely at the disposal and regulations – which were not open to of the police officers. public – introduced a number of compul- The second form of depravation of sory cumulative conditions for the police freedom – the 24-hour police custody – officers to allow them to use their lethal did not provide for a much better protec- weapons. However, the expected positive tion of the suspect, but at least there were effects were not visible by this writing. clear rules, which included the right to de- fence. Those rules – amended in 1999 – Ill-Treatment specified the confidentiality of the discus- APADOR-CH had the possibility to visit sions between the suspect and the lawyer. police lockups between November 1998 In practice, however, this was not regularly and February 2000 under certain – accept- observed under various pretexts such as able – conditions. After that, the General “not having an appropriate space” or “the Inspectorate of the Police imposed severe lawyer did not ask for a private talk with limitations, which would have rendered any his/her client”. further visits useless. 252 ROMANIA

In 2000, APADOR-CH investigated in pre-trial detention and awaited trial for nine cases of alleged police abuse.3 Four theft. Another detainee witnessed the se- deserve special attention. vere beating of Nartea to APADO-CH. His On 18 May Mugurel Soare (19) was description - black swollen eyes, blood on beaten and then shot in the head by a the face, terrible pain in the chest and a leg plain clothed police officer in Bucharest. - were consistent with Nartea’s statement. Taken to the hospital in a coma – from Nartea also claimed that he had no coun- which he emerged five days later – he was sel either when he was taken into police operated on twice. Since his release at the custody or when the Prosecutor issued the beginning of August, Mugurel Soare is half- arrest warrant. The General Inspectorate of paralysed and not able to speak. At this the Police denied every allegation and writing, he was due for another operation mentioned a name of an ex-officio lawyer but in the meantime he has undergone no who allegedly was there when Nartea was rehabilitation treatment. The plain clothes taken into custody. To the date of this writ- police officer who shot him cited self-de- ing, the Military Prosecutor has not decided on the case. fence. In fact, he came to the same hospi- tal where Mugurel had been taken, and dis- Silviu Rosioru (33) was severely beat- played a superficial wound on his stomach en by six police officers in the night of which did not require any special medical 25/26 January in a restaurant Buzau. The assistance or hospitalisation. The police of- officers belonged to the “rapid intervention ficer maintained that Mugurel Soare had unit.” Taken to the police station, he was stabbed him with a knife. However, the fact fined and sent out, although it was obvious that he said the knife was never found did that he was unable to walk due to injuries not seem to bother either the police officer resulting from the beating. In the end, he or the Military Prosecutor in charge of the took a taxi and went straight to the hospi- case. Two eye-witnesses claimed that tal. The diagnosis cited multiple traumas on Mugurel Soare had no knife and that the the head, stomach, back, the legs and the police officer seemed in perfectly good hands. Due to extensive coverage of his shape after the shooting, with no drop of case in the media, the General Inspectorate blood to be seen on him. It should be of the Police moved the perpetrators out of mentioned that the plain clothed police of- the public eye. However, later on, the head ficer, together with two other colleagues, of the “rapid intervention unit” was dis- were on a mission which had nothing to do cretely promoted. As of the end of 2000, with Mugurel Soare. As of this writing, the the Military Prosecutor did not issue any Military Prosecutor had not decided on the decision on the Rosioru case. Moreover, Soare case. the victim claimed that the promoted ma- jor kept threatening to throw him into On 12 October, Teodor Cicerone Nar- prison if he did not withdraw the complaint tea was beaten by two plain clothed police against the police officers involved in the officers downtown in Bucharest. He was January 2000 incident. then handcuffed and taken to the Police Station No.10. On the way and at the po- In the evening of 4 December, Dumit- lice station the two police officers contin- ru Matei was shot in the head by a gendar- ued to beat him, attempting to force him to me who was part of a group watching the admit to have stolen from a car 15 audio- neighbourhood of an oil refinery in Pitesti. cassettes and a few small tools. Nartea re- In the last half of 2000, there were repeat- fused and he was put in the police lockup. ed reports about thieves who would punch The next day he was so ill that he had to be the oil pipelines to steal petrol. Dumitru taken to a police clinic and was diagnosed Matei, who was taken to the hospital and with a broken rib. At this writing, Nartea was operated on to extract the bullet, claimed ROMANIA 253 that he was not stealing petrol, that he did – and have made some improvements in not see anyone in the area (either thieves terms of accommodation, food, sports etc. or gendarmes), and that he never heard (Gherla, Botosani, Aiud, Slobozia, Raho- any warning from anyone. He said he lost va–Bucuresti). consciousness, and woke up at the Pitesti hospital from where he was taken to the Food Bucharest emergency hospital. He was re- The vast majority of prisoners in the leased from the hospital in mid-December prisons visited still complained about the but his family again took him to the hospi- quantity and the quality of the food. Meat tal – this time to the psychiatric department was rare although the prison food stan- of the Pitesti hospital – as he was com- dards specified 100 gr. of meat per day for plaining of unbearable headaches following each prisoner. APADOR-CH proposed that the shooting. His mother and the wife-to- in each prison a group of prisoners be al- be said that the local police were trying to lowed to monitor the daily transfer of food intimidate them into saying that Dumitru items – including meat – from the main Matei had been involved in petrol stealing. storehouse to the kitchen, to watch the No decision on the case was issued by the food processing and then distribution of Military Prosecutor by the end of 2000. the prepared food to the prisoners. In a few prisons where the system was in place (e.g. Conditions in Prisons Tulcea), the inmates did not complain In 2000, APADOR-CH visited 16 facili- about the food as they knew exactly how ties, including one prison hospital (Jilava – was it was prepared. Bucuresti) and the two re-education cen- tres for minors (Tichilesti and Gaesti). Medical Care APADOR-CH representatives had a one- The doctors in the prison system – year valid permit which allowed them to usually general practitioners and dentists – pay unannounced visits to any prison in were too few to care for hundreds of pris- Romania. As a result of every visit, a report oners, plus the prison staffs and their fami- was written.4 ly members. APADOR-CH repeatedly insist- ed that the understaffed medical units deal Overcrowding only with the inmates, not with prison staff Although overcrowding had slightly de- and their family members. Although the creased, nearly all prisons in Romania still General Division of Prisons acknowledged had to cope with this problem in 2000. The that the association was right and promised most overcrowded prisons visited in the to take appropriate measures, 99 percent year 2000 were Bucuresti-Jilava: it was of- of the medical units still maintained the ficially designed for 1,530 prisoners but in timetable which reserves 2–4 hours a day reality accommodated 3,373 prisoners with for the prison staff and their family mem- 2,555 beds. Targu-Jiu had 500 official bers. Taking into account that the average places, 875 beds and 1,230 prisoners. In number of consultations of inmates was Galati, where the old prison was levelled about 60 per day (but could go up to 100), but the new one had only been half-erect- a doctor could spend only about 3-6 min- ed, the facility had 1,384 prisoners who utes on one inmate.5 Many inmates with shared 700 beds. Some prisons opened whom APADOR-CH spoke complained that new sections (Gherla, Margineni, Targu- the medical care was very superficial. Jiu), by taking over abandoned military bar- Another problem was the handcuffing racks. Despite lack of financial resources, of sick inmates when transferred to a civil many prisons have taken positive initiatives hospital. The European Committee for the – in particular finding jobs for the inmates Prevention of Torture (CPT) repeatedly stated 254 ROMANIA that sick prisoners should not be handcuffed sional actors and singers performed in the and that other means should be found for prisons, at Gaesti and Rahova- Bucuresti, a assuring the security. APADOR-CH suggested drama-therapy project was going on. Most that, to solve the problem, the civil hospitals prisons organized yearly open days during that accept detainees would provide at least which anyone could visit the premises. one room with bars in the windows. Also, there were experimental centres for probation work in 10 prisons, (although the Sanitary Conditions probation law has been in force only since Sanitary conditions were also the re- November 2000). sponsibility of the prison doctors. In most of All the prisons provided for at least a the prisons visited the bathrooms (usually four-year primary education and some vo- containing 2-3 WC bowls and a washbasin) cational training. Unfortunately, the prison- were insufficient and improper. Hot water ers had little chance to find a job after their was provided usually once a week and only release on the basis of that training. in the shower rooms. At Bucharest – Jilava prison, the inmates had to filter the water Sanctions before drinking it. In prisons like Aiud, As a positive development, prisoners Margineni and Gherla, the bathrooms were under disciplinary measures had the possi- separated from the rest of the cell either by bility of defending themselves, of producing a half-wall or with curtains which caused witnesses and of appealing against a deci- constant humiliation for the prisoners. sion to punish them. Unfortunately, there was no possibility for the inmate to appeal Leisure Activities and Training to an independent, impartial judge.6 The As a rule, the prisoners – apart from punishments ranged from verbal repri- those who worked – were taken out of mand, withdrawal of the right to receive their cell every day for about one hour. food parcels or visits, to isolation and - at Much depended on the space available: at the worst - a restrictive regime of up to 12 Miercurea Ciuc there was only one small months meaning no visits, no food parcels, yard available and the prisoners com- no TV or radio set in the cell, one quarter of plained that they were taken out only once the cigarettes ration per month, no cultural a week or even two weeks. The opposite or recreational activities, tougher security happened at Margineni where every in- measures when taken out of the cell etc. mate stayed out for 2-3 hours every day APADOR-CH found many cases in which and those who – for reasons of age or prisoners were punished with isolation of health – were unable to work were out in 10–15 days for the “offence” of being dis- the open air for four hours per day. respectful toward the prison staff. When There have been gradual improve- weighing up the sanction, mostly the word ments in the field of educational and recre- of the guard won against that of the inmate. ational activities, although the number of qualified prisoners remained too low. Juvenile Delinquents However, in many prisons such activities There was one juvenile prison (in existed only on paper or were minimal (e.g. Craiova) and two educational centres uninteresting lectures, one newspaper per (Tichilesti and Gaesti) in Romania for mi- cell and a few library books). Many prisons nors (aged 14 to 18) and young offenders offered no psychological therapy. (aged 18 to 21). Apart from that, nearly Attempts to establish a closer relation- every prison had a separate section for mi- ship between the inmates and the outside nors and young prisoners. The explanation world have been relatively successful: at was that, by law, a minor aged at least 14 Gherla, Margineni, and Targu Jiu, profes- could either be sentenced to serve a term ROMANIA 255 in one of the two educational centres – ter repeated consultations by the staying there until the age of 18, with a Government with the 10 experimental pro- possibility to extend detention up to the bation centres and NGOs that constantly age of 20 - or he/she could serve a spe- visit prisons (including APADOR-CH). It in- cific term in prison from the age of 16 in troduced for the first time in Romania an al- which case he/she would go either to ternative to incarceration and the assis- Craiova, or to another prison closer to the tance to inmates released on parole. The place where his parents/relatives live. ordinance has been in force since the be- In the two educational centres, al- ginning of November 2000. though the detention conditions were not much different from the adult prisons, the Religious Intolerance minors were going to a “normal” school In August the Government issued within the facility (grades I–VIII) and were Ordinance No.137/2000 to prevent and given vocational training. punish any form of discrimination. The or- Minors at Gaesti centre complained of dinance is in principle an efficient instru- brutal behaviour of guards and teachers, of ment for the elimination of any form of dis- severe punishments – including isolation – crimination. Following a Government De- for violating internal rules (including “in- cision of December, a National Council is to sults” of the personnel). The sanitary con- be set up to be in charge of monitoring the ditions were appalling in both centres: cells application of the ordinance, investigating were not equipped with toilets and the only any cases of discrimination (based on eth- shower room for the whole male section nicity, sex, sexual orientation, religious ori- was totally inappropriate. The conditions entation etc.), and sanctioning possible vio- were particularly poor at Gaesti where lations. The National Council is empowered APADOR-CH’s representatives were as- to investigate any case of discrimination sured that radical improvements were and to impose fines on the culprit, unless scheduled for 2001. the offence is serious enough to fall under On the other hand, the Gaesti proba- the Criminal Code. An important provision tion centre had initiated some new activi- of the ordinance deals with rights of human ties such as organizing summer and winter rights NGOs to lodge complaints on behalf camps or excursions together with a local of discriminated groups of individuals or NGO, with young offenders mixing freely communities. APADOR-CH contributed to with other youths. the preparation of the text. The minors’ sections in ordinary pris- ons were usually better than the adult sec- Jehovah’s Witnesses tions. However, even if the minors stayed Jehovah’s Witnesses, initially registered longer outside and could play football, vol- as a non-governmental religious associa- leyball etc., it should be mentioned that in tion, started having problems with the many cells there was no TV set provided by Romanian authorities under the assump- the prison. Some prisons had their own in- tion that it was not an officially acknowl- ternal radio stations run by prisoners under edged religious denomination. In 1998, the the tight control of the prison staff, but they Jehovah Witnesses changed their statute usually broadcast only a few hours a day from association to religious denomination, and loudspeakers in the cells did not al- a fact ultimately acknowledged by the ways work. Romanian Supreme Court of Justice in March 2000. Probation Ordinance Although any group could freely estab- A positive development was the lish its own status (except for cases when Probation Ordinance7, which was written af- the future association could be a threat to 256 ROMANIA the national security, public order etc.) and Tartar Minority Jehovah’s Witnesses always considered The 1992 census showed that about themselves as a religious cult, some of its 24,600 Tartars (0.07 percent of the total ministers were summoned in 1999 to serve population) are living in Romania, mostly in compulsory military service or the alterna- the Dobrogea region. Still in 2000, the tive services. They refused, however, claim- Tartars were regarded as members of the ing that the latter meant a substitute for mil- Muslim Turks-Tartars Union, although nu- itary services which they, as ministers, could merous Tartars were not Muslims. The not accept. The ministers were tried in a Tartars’ official representation as a minority military court for refusing to perform military service and sentenced to suspended terms was only through this union. Recently, in prison. They complained to the European some Tartars have wanted to stand up for Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, with their ethnicity and the respect of their lan- the full support of APADOR-CH. In 2000, guage and traditions. APADOR-CH has en- some of the ministers were again sum- couraged and supported their efforts to or- moned to discharge their military duties, ganize themselves and to gain recognition and again they refused. The situation at this as a national minority. writing was that the Military Prosecutor’s Office had dropped the charges against the New Ethno-Cultural Minorities Jehovah’s Witnesses who refused military The more than 2,000 Kurds living in service. At the same time, the State Romania – wrongly assimilated with the Secretariat for Cults – an administrative PKK – are an example of a growing minor- body which should have notified every cen- ity whose rights to peaceful assembly, tral or local body that the Jehovah Wit- peaceful demonstration and association nesses had been officially acknowledged as have been denied by the Romanian au- a religious cult – refused to follow this mere formality, thus ignoring a decision of the thorities. APADOR-CH protested heavily in Supreme Court of Justice. November when the Bucharest authorities forbade a peaceful street demonstration of Protection of Ethnic Minorities several Kurd associations. APADOR-CH re- minded the authorities that the rights guar- The Ordinance on Preventing and Punishing Every Form of Discrimination al- anteed by the Romanian Constitution apply ready brought about one improvement: to every person – including foreigners – liv- every post office has hung up a notice stat- ing in Romania. ing that it would not accept any job adver- tisements which contain the requirement Homosexuals’ Rights “Roma excluded.” On 28 June, the Chamber of Deputies On the negative side, one of the first repealed Article 200 (same-sex relations) acts of the new political power resulting in the process of harmonising some provi- from the November-December 2000 par- sions of the Penal Code with the Reso- liamentary and presidential elections has lution 1123/1997 of the Parliamentarian been to downgrade the Minorities Depart- ment, which used to have the status of a Assembly of the Council of Europe. At this ministry, including direct participation in writing, the bill is in the Senate. Government sessions and decisions. Since The bill still in force as of the end of January 2001, the Department has been 2000 punished by 3-5 years’ imprison- placed under a bizarre Ministry of Informa- ment “homosexual activities” if they were tion, whose creation APADOR-CH is prepar- performed “in public” or caused “public ing to challenge. scandal.” ROMANIA 257

Endnotes 1 Based on the Romanian Helsinki Committee-APADOR-CH, Summary of Activities in the Year 2000. 2 For examples in minor cases, see APADOR-CH’s Annual Reports in 1993–1999 and the case-by-case reports in 2000 at www.apador.org 3 For full details on each case, see www.apador.org 4 Posted both in English and Romanian at www.apador.org 5 A prison doctor worked sevemn hours per day. 6 The draft bill on the execution of terms in prison, still pending in the Parliament at this writing, introduces the idea that one judge per prison who would monitor every legal as- pect, including disciplinary measures. 7 The problem with ordinances is that, although they are enforced after publication in the “Official Gazette”, they must be debated in the Parliament which may maintain, amend or reject the texts. 258 RUSSIA1

A drawing by a Chechnyan refugee child living in a refugee camp in Ingushetia. © 1999 Human Rights Watch

IHF FOCUS: Rule of law; freedom of the media; independence of the judiciary; security services; conscientious objection; international humanitarian law; protection of refugees.

The primary human rights concern in pendent rulings. The Security Services seri- the Russian Federation in 2000 was the ously threatened human rights in Russia in continuing mass violation of fundamental 2000 by bringing fabricated charges of di- rights in the Chechen Republic, where hos- vulging state secrets against journalist and tilities continued throughout 2000 and re- scientists. Despite the right to alternative sulted in numerous victims among the civ- civilian service guaranteed by the il population. Constitution, no such law was adopted in Another central problem that led to hu- 2000 although one has been pending man rights violations was the disregard of since 1994. the federal law. President Putin initiated a so-called federal reform to change the situ- Rule of Law ation, a reform that was also designed to strengthen the power of the Federal Go- The fundamental reasons for human vernment. rights violations at local, regional and na- Freedom of expression continued to tional levels included the practical absence deteriorate in Russia both on a regional lev- of legal control and the persistent disregard el and, during 2000, significantly also on a of the federal law. national level. The independence of the ju- Local authorities made statements that diciary was well illustrated by the dismissal were discriminatory towards citizens of oth- of Sergei Pashin, judge of the Moscow City er regions and, for example, restricted Court, because of his law-abiding, inde- their residence rights. Many forms of dis- RUSSIA 259 crimination were even based solely on their presidential central Government raised con- ethnicity. cern. The reform will inevitably disregard The regional authorities attempted to human rights in the interest of the State, i.e. take over powers that were prescribed to the Federal Government. the central federal authorities. In practice, Within the “federal reform”, the follow- the regional legal regulations frequently did ing legislation was adopted: On 15 May, not comply with the federal laws (in partic- President Putin signed a decree introducing ular laws concerning social benefits). The the new positions of the President’s repre- heads of local administrations adopted res- sentatives in seven federal regions. One of olutions that significantly restricted the their responsibilities is to oversee the appli- rights guaranteed to citizens under the cation and observance of federal laws in Constitution and the federal legislation: for those regions. The positive outcome of this example, mayors often limited public as- decree should be the identification of local semblies to a specific district in the city out- laws that contradict federal legislation and skirts. their harmonisation with the federal law. Furthermore, governors who were Hundreds of such laws have already been members of the Federal Council of the identified as of this writing, and many of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation them have been already brought up to par enjoyed immunity. There were virtually no with the federal legislation. mechanisms to suspend regional heads of In fulfilling its objective, the Federal the executive from office or such mecha- Government has used authoritarian - even nisms were undeveloped. militarist - methods. This can perhaps be at- President Putin repeatedly announced tributed to the fact that the borders of the his intention to change the current situation. federal regions are the same as the region- In 2000, the so-called federal reform was al military borders, and that five of the Pre- adopted. According to the President and his sident’s seven representatives have a mili- office, its main goal was to reinforce the sta- tary background: they are former Federal tus of the Government and to form a blan- Security Service (FSB) and the Ministry of ket human rights system within the entire Interior agents. Two of them took part in territory of the Russian Federation. the Chechen wars. The noted that, In August 2000, three laws were adop- on the one hand, the human rights move- ted: the Law “On Forming the Federation ment should support such plans, particular- Council of the Federal Assembly of the ly as regional human rights organizations Russian Federation“; the Law “On Bringing have bitterly experienced the restrictions set About Modifications and Amendments to by regional governments in their daily activ- the Federal Law ‘On the General Principals ities. For example, it takes years to push of Organizing Legislative (Representative) through legal proceedings to repeal region- and Executive Organs of the State Power of al laws and regulations that contradict fed- the Russian Federation Subjects’“; and the eral legislation. On the other hand, it was Law “On Bringing About Modifications and necessary to emphasize that the aim of the Amendments to the Federal Law ‘On the adopted reform had a premeditated side ef- General Principals of Organizing Local Pub- fect: The Federal Government intended to lic Administration in the Russian Federa- liquidate the superfluous force that affects it tion’“. Undoubtedly, the third law was a from the outside. Governors, whose influ- positive development, as it protects heads ence was generally negative, were one of of regional centres and large cities against the strongest forces in the State that the arbitrary acts by governors whom the for- President had to take into consideration. mer often oppose, for example, in eco- The authoritarian attitude of the current nomic issues. 260 RUSSIA

Following the law “On Forming the However, the decision of the General Federal Council of the Federal Assembly of Prosecutor’s Office to bring criminal char- the Russian Federation,“ the Federal As- ges against Gusinsky and then to clear him sembly is no longer automatically com- from the charges, and the Minister of Press prised of governors and chiefs of regional and Information Mikhail Lesin’s participa- legislative organs. As a result, they lost their tion in the commercial negotiations be- status of immunity. tween “Gazprom“ and “Media-Most“ made The amendments to the law “On the the authorities’ aim obvious: the main goal General Principles of Organizing Legislative of these politics appeared to be to move (Representative) and Executive Organs“ al- “Media-Most“ under “Gazprom’s“ control, a low the President to dissolve regional leg- fact which would lead to the transformation islative assemblies in case they violate, in of NTV - the only independent nationwide their decisions, the Russian Federation TV company - into another mass media Constitution twice. In addition, modificati- body controlled by the State. Another rea- ons were made to solve a series of prob- son for the move was clear, i.e. the dissat- lems related to the execution of court deci- isfaction in government circles with the sions that declared the federal laws invalid anti-government information campaign run and which the courts refused to apply. by the “Media-Most“ for the past few years. However, according to the Moscow The Government achieved its goal in Helsinki Group, the crucial question re- April 2001 when NTV was taken over by mained as to how the Federal Government “Gazprom.” “Gazprom” called a meeting of and the President personally intend to use NTV shareholders where the new adminis- their new rights and powers. It seemed ob- tration of the channel was elected. Vladimir vious that the new principle of forming the Gusinsky and the former administrators of Federation Council facilitates possibilities to NTV declared the meeting illegal because, manipulate its’ members. The right to recall in their view, the legal regulations for such governors can be used as a mechanism for meetings had been violated. They refused suppressing the regional leaders’ outrage or to accept the decision of the meeting. On it can become an instrument for pressing 14 April, the new administration took con- politically uncomfortable regional leaders. trol of the building where the company was located. Around 300 NTV employees re- Freedom of the Media2 fused to continue their work. Freedom of expression continued to de- The Moscow Helsinki Group emphasi- teriorate in Russia in 2000. On a regional lev- zed that the struggle between the authori- el, the authorities have put pressure on inde- ties and “Media-Most“ cannot be interpret- pendent mass media outlets for over three ed only as a struggle for freedom of speech. years. On the federal level, such tendencies It is only one consequence of the situation were less evident until the year 2000. that Russia is facing, with journalists’ free- The events surrounding the company dom of speech narrowed down to the point “Media-Most“ and its owner Vladimir where they have to choose between the in- Gusinsky in the summer and fall of 2000 il- terests of the authorities and the financial- lustrated the authorities’ attempts to restrict political groups. At the same time, President freedom of opinion in the Russian mass Putin is attempting to limit the influence of media. On the surface, the “Media Most“ these groups on state politics. issue had a purely commercial or even In an open letter to President Putin, the criminal character: “Media Most“ owed IHF expressed its hope that the President money to the state-controlled “Gazprom“ would use all his powers to help the pro- company, and criminal charges were fessional staff of NTV find a solution to its brought against Gusinsky. economic problems, and to ensure its con- RUSSIA 261 tinuing existence as an independent new on average, only 0.5 percent of all verdicts media. The IHF also said it was deeply dis- by Russian courts were acquittals. In turbed by the possibility that NTV might Pashin’s practice, acquittals amounted to 8 cease to function independently, and be- percent. come subject to political control.3 The Moscow Helsinki Group stated that the decision of the Moscow Qualifi- Independence of the Judiciary cation Board of Federal Judges demon- In 2000, Judge of the Moscow City strated that the judiciary cannot tolerate in- Court Sergei Pashin, a prominent lawyer dependent, honest, high-principled judges and one of the initiators of the introduction striving to modernize the judicial system, of jury courts in Russia, was stripped of his enrich it with liberal values and, conse- authority as a federal judge. The decision quently, reinforce its authority. By stripping was made on 11 October at the meeting of one of the best representatives of the judi- the Moscow Qualification Board of Federal ciary of his authority, the judicial power - Judges, two years after the first unsuccess- which no longer enjoyed public trust - dis- ful attempt to dismiss him. The formal pre- credited itself even further in the eyes of text of this decision was a complaint filed the public. by D. Krasnov, Chair of the Kaluga Regional Court with the Moscow City Court. Security Services Upon a request by human rights ac- The Security Services posed a serious tivists, Pashin had drafted an expert opinion threat to human rights in Russia in 2000, as with regard to the conviction of conscien- they continued to bring fabricated charges tious objector D. Neverovsky, sentenced by against journalists and scientists in order to the Obninsk City Court. The Kaluga Regio- silence critical voices. nal Court overturned the first instance court sentence. However, Krasnov was of the Igor Sutyagin, a 35-year-old scientist view that Pashin’s actions “undermine judi- and unit chair in the Department of cial authority and are incompatible with the Military-Political Research of the USA and status of a judge.“ Furthermore, Pashin was Canada Institute of the Academy of presumed guilty because of the interview Science, was held in custody in the Kaluga he had given to the Echo of Moscow radio- investigation isolation facility throughout station, during which he gave his office 2000. The FSB of the Kaluga Region arres- phone number to one of the listeners who ted him on 27 October 1999 on charges of called the radio-station to talk with him. high treason for allegedly passing “secrets” According to the Moscow Helsinki about the Russian military. The trial against Group, in reality Pashin was stripped of his Sutyagin opened in the Kaluga Regional authority as a federal judge as a result of Court on 26 February 2001. After months his civil position and independent thinking of detention in conditions that caused an and decision-making. Particularly, he was outcry among human rights defenders, Igor punished for his notorious obiter dictum, Sutyagin is currently being tried for alleged where he emphasized that Moscow judges treason under Article 275 of the Russian worked at the City Mayor’s command and Criminal Code, which carries a punishment that the Moscow Qualification Board of of 12 to 20 years of imprisonment. Federal Judges often turned a blind eye to Igor Sutyagin is a civilian researcher ex- gross violations committed by judges but, pert on military issues. According to his de- at the same time, could practically annihi- fence lawyer, he never had access to clas- late a judge under a most trivial formal pre- sified material. Sutyagin’s defence team ex- text. Pashin was also punished for not be- plained that the charges against him simply ing afraid to pass not-guilty verdicts – while, imply that secret information “could have 262 RUSSIA been obtained” in discussions with high Sutyagin’s case is similar to the notori- rank military officials. Other charges are to ous cases of Alexandr Nikitin and Grigory the effect that Sutyagin’s use of open ma- Pasko. In a significant victory for human terials could have been used against rights in Russia, Aleksandr Nikitin - a former Russia. naval captain and ecologist - had his ac- The Russian human rights and aca- quittal confirmed by the presidium of the demic communities perceived this case as Supreme Court of the Russian Federation illustrative of a very dangerous tendency. in September 2000. The verdict brought to Sutyagin had no access to secret material an end five years of human rights violations and used open sources of information in and FSB harassment suffered by Aleksandr his research in the field of disarmament. Nikitin and was the first time that anyone However, the Russian counter-intelligence charged with treason and espionage won agencies apparently sincerely believed that against the FSB in a Russian court.5 the very participation in international re- Grigory Pasko a naval captain and cor- search project amounts to espionage activ- respondent of the Russian Pacific Fleet’s ities and the publication and analysis of newspaper, Boyevaya Vakhta, was convict- non-secret information may include a state ed after he revealed the illegal dumping of secret and/or a military secret. According to toxic waste by Russia’s Pacific Fleet on the Moscow Helsinki Group, such views Japanese TV. He was detained from proved the fact that members of FSB re- November 1997 to 20 July 1999, when a gional departments were poorly qualified. military court acquitted him of treason, but In a letter of 5 July 2000 to the he was convicted of abusing his official po- Director of the FSB Moscow and the Kaluga sition (Article 285 of the Penal Code). He Regional FSB Department, the IHF ex- was sentenced to three years imprison- pressed its concerns about the illegality of ment, but was immediately granted the detention of Igor Sutyagin, noting that amnesty and released as he had already FSB officers had at the time of detention served 20 months in pre-trial detention. denied him the right to inform his relatives In March 2000, the police officially in- and counsel of his arrest. The letter also re- formed prominent scientist and environ- ferred to a FSB statement on television, in mental researcher Vladimir Soifer that he is which Sutyagin was accused of being a trai- forbidden to leave the country and that he tor at a time when the investigation had not would be arrested if he attempted to do so. yet begun, let alone the trial. Most impor- The FSB had accused Soifer of being in tantly, the IHF asked that Igor Sutyagin be possession of documents that could be of immediately released from detention and use to NATO in its program for high-preci- said that there exists no provision in the sion weapons. However, the FSB of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure that Primorye Region closed Soifer’s case, can justify the detention of Sutyagin pend- which involved violations of the law in the 4 ing trial. investigative stage. Furthermore, any research pro- grammes in the fields of the armed forces Despite the acquittals, the FSB contin- and military-industrial bloc, such as disar- ued along the same lines. mament, radiation security, etc., were be- On 3 October, the FSB of the Primorye coming dangerous for scientists in 2000. It Region pressed charges of divulging state seemed that counter-intelligence agencies secrets and submitting contraband against put pressure on scientists and ecologists V. Schurov, head of a laboratory on acoustic working on problems that in no way affect- oceanic noises of the Pacific Ocean ed national security, but which were of Oceanological Institute of the Russian public and international significance. South Academic Far East Branch. It should RUSSIA 263 be noted that V. Soifer heads a laboratory Despite active support on his behalf, he on nuclear oceanology at the same was sentenced to imprisonment. Public Institute. Schurov had no access to secret pressure led his case to be revised and materials. Neverovsky was released after spending 146 days in prison. Several similar trials Conscientious Objection took place in 2000. For example, Andrei Zudov from the Republic of Karelia was The again also sentenced to prison and later brought up the urgent problem of introduc- amnestied. ing legislation on alternative civil service, as The Ministry of Defence developed its provided by Article 59 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The first hearing own proposal for “alternative service” that of the bill on alternative service took place obviously does not fulfil international stan- in 1994, but it still had not been adopted dards. It proposed that a person who has by the end of 2000. been drafted but refuses to serve in the The military opposes the adoption of army has to prove his pacifist conviction, the bill. Firstly, they fear the mass refusal to and be engaged in unarmed service in mil- serve in an army that conducts military ac- itary divisions deployed elsewhere than his tions such as the ones in Chechnya. home region. Secondly, introducing alternative service Several other, more liberal, bills have could cause a reduction of the army ranks also been submitted to the State Duma, that have been disproportionately high in but at this writing it was difficult to say any- number since the Soviet time. The military thing about the contents of the law that will insists that, due to the absence of a law on probably be adopted. According to the alternative service, there is no right to con- Moscow Helsinki Group, it is difficult to scientious objection and therefore young hope that the law will be liberal considering men have to carry out military service re- the military tendencies of current Russian gardless of their religious or pacifist con- political life. victions. Nevertheless, a nationwide move- ment of hundreds of people has recently International Humanitarian Law emerged, supported by human rights or- Chechnya ganizations and basing their activities on The primary human rights concern in the Constitution, insisting on its direct en- the Russian Federation in 2000 was the forcement in order to stop the forceful continuing mass violations of fundamental drafting to the army. However, although human rights in Chechnya. Although the the position of the military violates the major military manoeuvres stopped in Constitution, the courts often take its side. March 2000, the hostilities continued and As a main principle, human rights groups resulted in numerous victims among the have demanded that men who refuse to civil population.6 carry out military service should not be im- Most victims of the war suffered from prisoned. the storming of Grozny in the winter of The case of Dmitry Neverovsky from 1999-2000. Civil objects were bombed the Kaluga region became one of the most and shelled as well as populated civilian lo- significant public cases regarding conscien- calities where no armed separatists were tious objection. Neverovsky declared his re- present. Federal military units shelled sev- fusal to carry out military service, as he did eral villages before the civilians were al- not want to serve in an army that was used lowed to leave their homes, apparently in for 1993 “parliament fusillade“ and for con- order to be able to report as high losses as ducting military actions in Chechnya. possible in the ranks of the “separatists.“ 264 RUSSIA

Hostilities also included so-called hostilities“, federal authorities did not take “cleansings“ – i.e. taking control of a quar- appropriate measures to protect the ter or locality, including searching all hous- refugees against the deteriorating situation es and premises with the purpose of de- in the winter. Moreover, they even hin- tecting “separatists.” In the course of the dered such activities by the Ingush authori- “cleansings,“ numerous arbitrary murders, ties. Medical assistance was inadequate humiliating treatment of civilians and pil- and a drastic increase in cases of tubercu- lage took place. losis was reported. The events in the settlement Novie Under Russian law, refugees from all Aldy (in the suburbs of Grozny) were the former Soviet Republics are called “forced most notorious: sixty-eight peaceful inhabi- migrants.” Under the new wording of the tants of the settlement (according to the list Federal Law “On Forced Migrants“, it was compiled by the residents) died as a result practically impossible for citizens who had of the “cleansing“ operation. left Chechnya to obtain even this status. The adoption of the amendments in Despite the end of large-scale military December 1995 can be considered as the activities and statements by the military Government’s decision to refuse to recog- that they have practically total control over nize as refugees those citizens who left the republic, “cleansing“ operations are still their permanent residence in Chechnya taking place at the time of writing. and thus to take responsibility for them. Another mass human rights violation The only status refugees from Chechnya (including the victimisation of the civilian who had to leave their place of residence population) was the so-called filtration sys- due to the extreme circumstances could tem – i.e. identity checks, and control over achieve was registration and “reference no. the movement of people in the territory of 7.” Only after that could they demand to be Chechnya. Federal authorities developed accommodated in a camp for “forced mi- this system in order to detect “separatists” grants,” receive some products free of in plain clothes and to impede civilians’ charge, as well as a free roundtrip journey freedom of movement. The filtration sys- to anywhere within the Russian Federation. tem developed into indiscriminate mass However, these rights were frequently not detentions: approximately 20,000 persons observed, as there was no room in the were detained and subjected to beatings camps, and not enough food, medicine or and other forms of torture or ill-treatment. other necessities. Hundreds of persons were reported miss- On 17 December 1999, the chief of ing after being arrested – in reality, they the Federal Migration Service (FMS) issued were probably killed or died from torture. Order No. 110 obliging the Ingushetia, Corruption flourished within the filtration Dagestan, Northern Ossetia and Stavropol system, and victims were sometimes re- region migration services to cease register- leased for ransom. ing citizens who had left their places of res- idence that had been declared “secure ar- Protection of Refugees eas“ and not to grant them “reference no. The armed conflict in Chechnya 7.” This order was issued despite the fact caused a huge flow of refugees: as of the that the federal forces did not have com- end of 2000 there were some 200,000 plete control over the “secure areas” and refugees in the territory of the neighbouring had no expedient guarantees for safety Ingush Republic. They lived under extreme- provided by the confronting side. As a re- ly severe conditions, which deteriorated sult, in the beginning of 2000 there were during the winter. Attempting to force the severe battles in these “secure areas,“ in- refugees to return under the slogan “end of cluding Argun and Shali, and hundreds of RUSSIA 265 civilians were killed. Despite this, the with their own assets were unable to with- Ingushetia Migration Service - referring to stand the economic burden. In addition to the Federal Migration Service order - re- the lack of food and medicines, passport fused to grant people fleeing from those checks, nightly searches performed without areas registration in accordance with “refer- any control and often ending with the ar- ence no. 7”. rest of the men who could not produce a The exact number of refugees remains passport – although the majority of unknown, but there were more than refugees do not have identification docu- 200,000 refugees in Ingushetia alone, ments - became regular occurrences. 15,000 of whom lived in camps and even In May 2000, President Putin issued in railway cars. The rest were accommodat- Decree 867 to abolish the FMS and to ed at their relatives or with Ingush families. transfer its functions to the Ministry of The refugees in Chechnya lived under most severe conditions. In the fall of 2000 it be- Federation Affairs, National and Migration came quite clear that new Chechen au- Policy. It took several months to reorganize thorities were unable to provide adequate the new structures. In the meantime, there conditions for the return of the majority of was no funding from the FMS budget for vi- refugees. At the same time, the refugee tal necessities for refugees, including food. camps lacked at least 8,000 places The role of international charitable or- equipped for surviving the winter. Those ganizations providing aid to refugees was of refugees who had to pay for their quarters utmost significance, but still insufficient.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia-2000: Crucial Elements of the Situation with Human Rights. 2 See also Security Services. 3 IHF, “Open Letter to the President of the Russian Federation Mr. V. Putin with Respect to the Independence of NTV,” 9 April 2001. 4 See also IHF, “Sutyagin Trial Shows Basic Rights and Freedoms in the Russian Federation Are in Jeopardy,” press release, 26 February 2001. 5 Norwegian Helsinki Committee, “Nikitin Acquittal Confirmed by Presidium of Russian Supreme Court,“ press release, 13 September 2000. See also the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, “The Nikitin Case before the Presidium of the Supreme Court on September 23rd: One Month after the Hursk Disaster, Naval Secrecy Continues,” press release, 12 September 2000. 6 See also IHF and the Moscow Helsinki Group, “Russia is Violating International Humanitarian Law in Chechnya, Should Allow OSCE to Assist in Finding a Political Solution, Observe Council of Europe Principles,“ press release, 25 January 2000. 266 SLOVAKIA1

The burial of Magda Balázova, a Rom killed by a skinhead in August 2000. © Julie Denesha

IHF FOCUS: Ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; detainees’ rights; protection of ethnic minorities; homosexuals’ rights; rights of physically and mentally handicapped persons.

The main human rights concerns in claimed that this fact had resulted in a vio- Slovakia were related to inappropriate con- lation of his rights because the Supreme duct by the police, particularly inaction in Court had not excluded that person from cases of racially motivated abuse by skin- the decision-making process. The Constitu- heads. Minority rights also raised concern: tional Court held that the decision-making the Roma minority in particular faced dis- power of judges should be given to special crimination and even fell victim to physical organs that are separate from other state violence. Some groups living in the social organs and emphasized the separation of margins faced substantial problems. The powers. State failed to take appropriate measures to integrate physically and mentally handi- Ill-Treatment and Misconduct by Law capped people into society. The homosex- Enforcement Officials uals’ attempts to have same-sex relations legalized faced widespread opposition and The most common human rights viola- prejudice. tion committed by the police was the dis- The Constitutional Court ruled on 1 proportionate use of coercive methods, June that the fact that one of the sentenc- which often resulted in injuries to the ar- ing council members on the Supreme restee and the need for medical care. Such Court was also the Director of the Section abuse, however, was almost impossible to of Criminal Law at the Ministry of Justice prove since there was no independent con- constituted a conflict of interest. The case trol commission for complaints of ill-treat- was filed by a concerned citizen who ment and misconduct by law enforcement SLOVAKIA 267 officials. Corruption in the police force was skinheads. Following criticism from NGOs a problem and a program for combating that police officers did not know how to re- corruption was initiated in May to address act in cases of racially motivated crimes, the issue. Police officers also participated in the Ministry of Interior published rules for illegal acts when assisting illegal immigrants officers in the field of combating extremism to cross international borders. and founded a monitoring centre for racism The section of the Control and and xenophobia. Inspection Service of the Ministry of Interior In 2000, the police recorded 35 racial- recorded 5,755 complaints and seven peti- ly motivated crimes, 25 of which were re- tions about misconduct by various state offi- solved. Fourteen of the incidents occurred cials. Of these complaints, 3,917 were in Bratislava. Five cases were classified as against law enforcement officials. The office battery; 19 cases were considered a gener- found that 522 of the complaints were justi- al violation against an individual or groups fied (18.7 percent). The complaints involved of citizens; and 11 cases were classified as physical coercion (123 cases), the violation other crimes. Most commonly, the victims of civil rights (9), general misconduct, in- were of Roma origin (seven cases). In cluding hate speech (79), abuse of power twelve cases, the victims were of Asian or (211), unwarranted detention (117), and African origin. The majority of perpetrators the unreasonable use of coercive methods were skinheads, and more than half of (52). Most cases (416) were recorded in them were under the age of 18. the Bratislava region. Other regions regis- tered between 200 and 300 cases. Detainees’ Rights The legal advisory section of the Slovak In 1993, an 18-year-old Bratislava citi- Helsinki Committee gave assistance to a zen was suspected of committing a robbery person living in Humenne who fell victim to that resulted in 8,930.40 Sk (U.S.$ 185) of ill-treatment by the Michalovce police after damages. The District Prosecutor’s Office in he was suspected of committing the crime Dunajska Streda filed a suit against him on of property destruction. Police officers beat 11 October 1993. A court summoned the him during the transit to the police station defendant several times but he failed to ap- in Michalovce, and his injuries were serious pear in court. On 19 October 1999, he was enough to require hospitalisation. The taken into custody for not responding to Slovak Helsinki Committee urged the pros- calls to appear before the court. The trial ecutor in Michalovce to investigate this ex- was scheduled to open on 16 February cessive use of violence. 2000. However, the defendant’s lawyer dis- The main problem regarding police covered that in the period between 12 June conduct was their failure to react adequat- 1996 and 19 July 1999, the court had not ely in instances of racially motivated crimes. taken any action in his case. According to The police were reluctant to record such Article 67 of the Criminal Code, the statute of limitations for proceedings was three crimes and usually claimed that there was years and therefore the case should no not enough evidence in such cases – in longer have been actionable. The judge de- particular that they were racially motivated. cided to dismiss the case, but the prosecu- Additionally, there was no explicit men- tor appealed the decision. The defendant tion in the Slovak Criminal Code of a had to remain in custody. “racially motivated crime.” The victims of such crimes complained of ineffective po- lice procedures against skinheads, a fact Protection of Ethnic Minorities that often lead to reluctance on behalf of The relationship between most of the victims to report crimes perpetrated by Slovak population and members of minori- 268 SLOVAKIA ty groups could be characterized by mis- Most Roma had no income other than trust, long-term prejudice and openly nega- social benefits. Poverty often led to rob- tive attitudes towards members of different beries, the looting of fields and woods and cultures, nationalities and persons of a dif- the draining of ponds. These acts con- ferent skin colour. The result of polls taken tributed to increased tension in society and in schools in Bratislava confirmed that there to the negative attitudes of the majority were already elements of hidden racial ha- population towards Roma. Most Roma tred in primary and secondary schools. communities had no social infrastructure at In 2000, violence towards minorities all, including the absence of sewage sys- was on the increase: both verbal and phys- tems, roads and water supplies. Many ical attacks were targeted not only at for- Roma houses did not meet building stan- eigners but also at their families and rela- dards or hygienic norms. tives, including Afro-Slovak families. As a re- A negative factor affecting the general sult, such families often ended up in living situation in the Roma community was also in isolation out of fear for their safety, inter- the absence of unity within the community acting only with members of their own itself: as of December 2000, the Ministry of community. The brutality of some of the re- Interior had registered 15 Roma political ported physical attacks and the lack of in- parties. As a result, none of the parties terest on behalf of state institutions to in- were strong enough to have their repre- tervene against perpetrators of violence sentatives elected into Parliament to repre- forced many minority members to leave sent their rights. the country and led to the separation of Some public servants who understood families. the need for Roma to be represented in lo- Some politicians contributed to the es- cal governments initiated projects to create calation of negative attitudes towards mi- Roma self-government organs (for exam- norities, as they usually represented ex- ple, police guards, a Roma board in the dis- tremist parties that promoted ideas of racial trict of Kezmarok, and forestry guards in the intolerance, nationalism, minority segrega- national park Slovensky´ Raj). Their goal was tion or their total assimilation. to improve relations between different eth- To celebrate the anniversary of the cre- nic groups and to encourage law-abiding ation of the first Slovak State, the local gov- behaviour. ernment in Zilina planned to put on display On the other hand, most of the popu- a portrait of J. Tiso, the controversial Presi- lation was often reluctant to give a chance dent of the wartime Republic who tolerat- to persons who wanted to change the situ- ed the deportation of Jews. Due to pres- ation. sure from the central Government as well In the village of Pore, people started a as the public, the picture was not displayed. petition to prevent Roma from living in their neighbourhood, citing fear for their lives, Roma Minority health and property. The most serious problems faced by Representatives from the Roma minor- the Roma community in Slovakia included ity in the village Cˇ áry, which had been a tar- the high unemployment rate (in some get of racially motivated attacks, ap- parts of eastern Slovakia, unemployment proached the Slovak Helsinki Committee reached almost 100 percent), the low lev- with a request for assistance. The local gov- el of education, appalling living conditions, ernment and the police were aware of the and the discriminatory - sometimes violent situation but they had not reacted appro- – attitudes of some members of the ma- priately. In December 1999, a young Roma jority population. man was attacked by a group of skinheads. SLOVAKIA 269

His relatives defended themselves with The operation of the Office of the arms. The police only reacted to the acts of Governmental Plenipotentiary for Roma the Roma “aggressors.” Following an initia- Questions has not proven to be effective. tive of the Slovak Helsinki Committee, charges were brought against the initial at- Homosexuals’ Rights tackers as well. However, the racial motive On 14 February, the civic association was not taken into account during the in- “Museion” addressed many top state insti- vestigation. tutions seeking support for a legislative On 4 August at a press conference of proposal to register same-sex partnerships. the Slovak National Party, MP Vít’azoslav The initiative resulted in many negative re- Móric proposed the creation of reservations actions. Ján Cˇ arnogursky’ claimed that for “inadaptable” Roma citizens. He ex- there would be no registered homosexual plained the reasons for his proposal: “I look partnerships in Slovakia as long as he is at it from the point of view of those who Minister of Justice. According to him, work diligently, who live from the work of “From the point of view of society, there is their hands. I am against those who para- no reason for the State to increase the sta- site on other people’s work, who rob and bility of their relationships. If the relation- murder.” Additionally, Móric indicated that it ship between people of the same sex ap- was clear that most mentally handicapped proaches the level of family, it degrades children were born into Roma communi- the family. In a situation where we see that ties. His speech triggered negative reac- in the near future there will not be enough tions and many organizations sued him un- working people to cover the financial re- der the provisions for defamation of race, quirements of retirement payments, the nation and belief. weakening of the family by means of the registered partnership of homosexuals will On 20 August, Roma family Baláz in be a step that will rush the bankruptcy of Zilina fell victim to an attack by unidentified our social system. And I am not going to perpetrators who assaulted the family’s talk about the moral consequences for so- sleeping daughter. When the mother came ciety.” MP Dr. A. Rakús, a psychiatrist, voi- to help her, the attackers directed their ag- ced a similar opinion: according to him, gression towards her and began beating homosexuality is not a normal variant of her on the head with a baseball bat. The sexual life, but a disease. woman suffered a brain haemorrhage and In May 2000, at a meeting of gay and died on 22 August. The Zilina police hesi- lesbian civic associations from throughout tated to admit that the attack had been Slovakia, the initiative “Inakos” was found- racially motivated and were reluctant to ad- ed to encourage the coexistence of sexual mit the fact that there were skinheads in minorities without discrimination. The cat- the town (see photo above). alyst for its establishment was the planned Prison guards were charged with the treaty between the Slovak Republic and duty of counting the number of Roma in the Vatican State, paragraph 11 of which Slovak prisons. When asked about the cri- required the Slovak State to only support teria they would use in deciding whether a “heterosexual and monogamous” mar- person is a Rom or not, Minister of Justice riages. Paragraph 23 required that no oth- Ján Cˇ arnogursky’ answered: “I cannot an- er form of human coexistence can be es- swer this question, but I assure you that the tablished in Slovak legislation. Following prison guards are able to estimate who is a criticism, the phrase “heterosexual and Rom and who is not. It is possible that monogamous” in paragraph 11 was re- there will be some mistakes, but of negligi- placed with “marriage, and the family that ble importance.”2 it results in.“ 270 SLOVAKIA

Rights of Physically and Mentally wheelchairs. Such persons were almost Handicapped Persons completely socially dependent due to a lack of labour opportunities. The Government failed to take appro- In November, handicapped persons priate measures to integrate physically and protested against the planned legislative mentally handicapped people into society. amendment on social assistance, which The results of ineffective legislation regard- aimed to restrict their social services and fi- ing building codes continued to cause ar- nancial assistance. The protest was also di- chitectural barriers, including pavements rected against at the statements of Peter with high curbs, inaccessible hotels, Magvasˇi, the Minister of Labour, Social schools, offices, buses and cultural institu- Affairs and Family, who was accused of tions, etc. Such problems often led to the misusing benefits originally allocated for isolation of people who, for example, used handicapped persons.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Slovak Helsinki Committee, Report on the State of Human Rights in Slovakia in 2000. 2 Sme, 4 August 2000. SLOVENIA1 271

IHF FOCUS: Protection of ethnic minorities (including citizenship)

The basic rights of non-Slovenes re- The Ministry launched a project with mained the main human rights concern in the local office of the UNHCR in Ljubljana Slovenia in 2000. Problems included the with its lawyers, who later organized them- reinstatement of citizenship or permanent selves as an NGO for human rights and residence for persons who were stripped of ecology called “Gea 2000”. They prepared citizenship or removed from the perma- the Law on the Regulation of the Status of nent residents’ register in 1992, and the Citizens of Other Successor States of the payment of pensions to former officers of Former SFRY in the Republic of Slovenia the former Yugoslav People’s Army (YPA). (ZUSDDD), which was adopted in August 1999. “Gea 2000”, as an association of Protection of Ethnic Minorities lawyers, has continued the project by offer- ing legal aid in court proceedings for the re- Residence Permits instatement of permanent residence. With At the end of December 1999 a three- a huge backlog in the Slovene courts month deadline was set for requests for though, the legal aid was necessary, but not the reinstatement of permanent resident sufficient. permits to former citizens of Slovenia who Nearly 14,000 people applied for the re- had had permanent residence in Slovenia instatement of permanent residence, despite prior to the declaration of independence the extremely short deadline. That number it- on 25 June 1991. Soon after that, on 26 self puts into question the Ministry’s figures February 1992, the Ministry of Interior re- of 2,000 -3,000 non-Slovenes with unregu- moved those individuals from the perma- lated status in Slovenia. nent residents’ registers.2 This was done at the order of Igor Bavcˇar, then Minister of Short Deadline Interior and current Minister for European The three-month deadline for submit- Affairs. According to the latest data, which ting applications for the reinstatement of the Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia received permanent residence permits was too from the Ministry in December 2000, the short, and appeared to be designed to pro- Ministry acknowledged that 62,816 citizens mote silent “ethnic cleansing” and not to had been removed from the register in reveal the high number of persons re- 1992. However, the Helsinki Monitor of moved from the register. Slovenia claimed that the total number of The consequences of the removals persons was about 130,000. have included various damages, including Further, the Government said that in the confiscation or freezing of pensions, the January 1998 there were only 2,000- denial of the right to already paid health 3,000 persons of non-Slovene origin with services, the prevention of employment unregulated status in Slovenia. and education, and the cancellation of valid On 23 February 1998, an EU delega- personal documents (driver’s licenses), etc. tion discussed the problem with the The ZUSDD was also inadequate be- Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia in order to cause it did not reinstate the right to vote, clarify the circumstances of the removals. which has been denied to a large part of The result was a demand by the EU that the non-Slovene population for the last 10 Slovenia undertake measures to resolve years. the problem within two years and enable the reinstatement of permanent residence The ZUSDD Law to persons who had been removed from The ZUSDD Law consisted of 8 articles the register. and set only two conditions for the rein- 272 SLOVENIA statement of a permanent residence per- Ministry demanded that applicants provide mit: permanent residence in Slovenia be- proof of paid bills for sewage and waste, tween 23 December 1990 (prior to the se- electricity, rent, health services, health, pen- cession of Slovenia) and 25 June 1991, sion and insurances and taxes for the past and factual presence in Slovenia without in- ten years as proof of residence without in- terruption since then. A person who had terruption. In addition, the Ministry de- left Slovenia for a period longer than three manded employment contracts, which months during the 10-year period would were virtually impossible to obtain ten not be eligible for permanent residence. years later. Because these bills could not be According to the Helsinki Monitor of produced, the Ministry stated that the con- Slovenia, the ZUSDD was unconstitutional ditions for approval had not been met. because it indirectly forced individuals to Another obstacle was the fact that the apply for citizenship in other former Ministry could not check a large number of Yugoslav Republics. In this way the law per- bills and evidence in a reasonable time. As formed administrative “ethnic cleansing” in a result, most of the 14,000 applications Slovenia and the illegal removals were con- had not been dealt with by the end of firmed and closed. 2000 and the State was unable to meet Article 1 of the law also violated hu- the 1998 EU request to resolve the matter man rights in that it limited liberty of move- by May 2000 at the latest. ment, guaranteed by the ECHR as well as Article 23 of the Slovene Constitution, Deportations which ensures liberty of movement and The State has not only caused suffering the freedom to choose one’s residence. to those thousands of people who were re- Further, the law did not permit the re- moved from the residents’ register, but has instatement of permanent residence to ap- also deported many persons illegally. plicants who had been illegally removed from the residents’ register of the new state On 22 September 2000, the Ministry and had committed a minor offence or a of Interior attempted to illegally deport Zijo criminal act (Article 3 of the ZUSDD) since Ribicˇ (25), a Rom who had been living in Slovenia’s secession. Such a limitation was Slovenia since the age of two. Ribicˇ was forced to take a civilian bus to the Hun- practiced by States in cases where citizen- garian border without any decision on de- ship was granted to foreigners. Yet, in the portation and without the knowledge of the case of Slovenia, former legal citizens de- Hungarian authorities. The Helsinki Monitor manded their reinstitution as permanent of Slovenia prevented this particular depor- residents after they were erased from the tation at the border, but other such citizens residents’ registers on a discriminatory ba- were reportedly deported at the Hungarian sis of non-Slovene ethnic origin Moreover, and Croatian borders on a daily basis. the Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia argued that criminals should be punished by the courts, and not by the Ministry of Interior. Cancellation of Passports and Prohibition of Article 7(12) of the law was also ques- Entry tionable because it required evidence from Other means of getting rid of “non-citi- the Ministry of Interior files on the factual zens” included the prohibition of entry into residence of persons in Slovenia without Slovenia after travel abroad, and the illegal interruption. This article, although at first cancellation of valid Slovene passports be- sight benign, paved the way for abuse by longing to Slovene citizens of non-Slovene the Ministry. Through Article 7, the Ministry ethnic origin presumed (by the Govern- provided additional conditions that were ment) to have stayed outside of Slovenia not detailed in the law. For example, the for more than three months. The Helsinki SLOVENIA 273

Monitor of Slovenia had information on mentation of this law, yet information on four cases involving the direct illegal revo- the number of the solved applications had cation of Slovene citizenship and valid not been made available by the end of Slovene passports since the early 1990s. 2000. The only accessible data was that Milenko Zoricˇ, a Slovene citizen with a 0.34 percent of processed applications had Slovene passport valid until 2003, travelled been rejected, although the Government to Serbia with his family in 1992 because did not disclose the total number of cases his mother-in-law was ill. When the family under consideration. returned to Nova Gorica, the door of their The Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia pro- flat was sealed, but they were afraid to posed a general reinstatement of citizen- complain. In August 2000, Zoricˇ wanted to ship to all persons who had lost it and an renew his driver’s license and was told by approval of citizenship to the approximate- an employee at the Ministry of Interior that ly 14,000 applicants, many of whom were it was not possible because “he was no born in Slovenia. longer on the computer register” of Slovene citizens. Zoricˇ showed his valid Confiscation of Military Pensions passport but was told it was not important. Since Slovenia gained independence He demanded an explanation and was in- in 1991, some 686 officers of the former formed that a 1997 decree by the Ministry YPA living in Slovenia have retired. All of of Interior revoked his citizenship on the as- them have obtained official retirement doc- sumption that “he had been absent from uments from the relevant authorities of the the State of Slovenia for a period of over Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. three months.” Zoricˇ and his family were However, the Slovenian Government is- not informed about this decree before the sued a decree in 1992, through which it flat was confiscated. Now he cannot travel retroactively restricted the already acquired anywhere and has lost his job. right to pensions. The law on military pen- sions, which was passed in 1998, also intro- Recommendations duced retroactive limitations preventing the According to the Helsinki Monitor of obtainment of earned pensions and the right Slovenia, the ZUSDD was completely un- to health insurance and medical services. suited to address the human rights viola- The pensions of approximately 96 offi- tions caused by the removal of citizens’ cers have been frozen or withdrawn. Ninety names. Numerous cases of corruption percent of those affected are of Serb ethnic have been reported in writing to the origin, thus implying ethnically motivated Helsinki Monitor by clients who tried to ob- discrimination. tain residence permits, visas and citizen- These 96 officers were permanent res- ship. The alleged selling of permanent res- idents and citizens of Slovenia prior to se- idence permits to the removed citizens via cession, and had families in Slovenia. Many mediators was perhaps one of the essential of them were illegally removed from the reasons that the Ministry of Interior did not register of permanent residents and seek permanent solutions to the problem, stripped off citizenship on 26 February claimed the Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia at 1992. Later, 60 of them received Slovene a press conference in October 2000. In citizenship. Some of them received old age September 2000, the Helsinki Monitor sug- pensions in 1999-2000, but not the mili- gested an investigation be carried out in tary pension to which they were entitled, the Ministry of Interior regarding corruption, and could not enjoy their health insurance but no such results have been disclosed. for 10 years. About 50 officers have not re- The Ministry was obliged to inform the ceived any pension at all. Under these cir- Government on the progressing imple- cumstances, seven officers died medically 274 SLOVENIA untreated, even though they had been di- which the executive branch and as a rule to agnosed with a fatal illness. have supported the freezing of pensions The Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia stated for the benefit of the State versus individual that old age pensions cannot be seen as a military pensioners. As a result, many cases solution to the State’s ten-year confiscation have been filed with the European Court of of military pensions, adding that there was Human Rights in Strasbourg. However, no doubt that very clear state-led discrimi- awaiting a European Court’s provided no nation has been practiced against former imminent solution for those affected. officers of the YPA, firstly on the basis of One such case involved Ljuben their profession, and secondly on the basis Tricˇkovicˇ, a sanitary officer and medical of their Serb ethnic origin. technician who has been living without a The courts appear to have collaborated pension for over 10 years.

Endnotes 1 Based on information for Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia. 2 For details, see previous IHF Annual Reports. SPAIN 275

IHF FOCUS: Torture and ill-treatment; conditions in prisons; extrajudicial executions; accountability for past abuses; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; xeno- phobia and racial discrimination.

The celebration of the 25th anniversary considerable number of allegations of ill- of democracy – after 36 years of authori- treatment by the National Police, the Civil tarian rule by General Franco – was shad- Guard and the Basque Autonomous Police owed by the resumption of killings by the (the Ertzaintza) relating to periods of cus- Basque armed group Euskadi Ta Askatasu- tody during 1997 and 1998. Those allega- na (ETA), which unexpectedly called off its tions involved blows to various parts of the decision to withdraw from violence in De- body and, in some cases, more serious cember 1999. The ETA’s new terror cam- forms of physical ill-treatment, including paign commanded 20 deaths by Decem- sexual assault of female detainees by male ber 2000. police officers, and asphyxiation by placing The European Committee for the a plastic bag over the head. Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or By contrast, Amnesty International re- Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) ported that it had received a “disturbing released its report on its 1998 visit to Spain number of allegations of ill-treatment” in 2 criticizing, for example, the violation of the police custody in. rights of detainees and the responsible au- In May, António Augusto Fonseca thorities’ reluctance to properly investigate Mendes, a native of Guinea-Bissau, died at allegations of abuse. In the meantime, the hands of the National Police after al- NGOs continued to receive reports of tor- legedly being ill-treated in Arrecife, Lanza- ture and ill-treatment by the police. An im- rote (Canaries). Fonseca, who had been liv- portant trial on accountability for past abus- ing and working legally in Madrid, was ar- es concluded with heavy sentences – but, rested as he reportedly refused a request by unfortunately, with a 16-year delay. two police officers to produce his papers. Thousands of illegal immigrants were After an argument and a struggle with the officers he was handcuffed and bundled legalized and a new Aliens Law adopted. In- into the boot of the police car. According to tolerance and xenophobia with racially moti- police, Fonseca had resisted arrest and at- vated violence increased during the year. tempted to flee. They claimed that he had swallowed a package of drugs, which led to 1 Torture and Ill-Treatment fatal internal injuries. The photos taken by In April, the CPT published its report to Fonseca’s family at the mortuary, however, the Spanish Government on its visit to showed apparent external injuries on his Spain in November/December 1998. The body, including the face, and other marks of CPT noted that its delegation received no ill-treatment. The first autopsy ordered by allegations of torture from persons inter- the police found no sign of external injury, viewed who were or who had recently but a second autopsy, ordered by the in- been detained by the Spanish law enforce- vestigating judge, noted a number of in- ment agencies. However, it heard some al- juries, including one that was caused by a legations of other forms of physical ill-treat- “blow with a blunt instrument” that had led ment of persons detained principally by to suffocation. A separate toxicological in- vestigation found no traces of drugs.3 members of the National Police. Most of the cases involved the use of excessive In January, Trinidad Artega Orejón (20) force at the time of arrest. Further, both be- was arrested at the Café Teatro in Valladolid fore and during the visit, the CPT received after causing a disturbance under the influ- reports from other sources containing a ence of alcohol. She was handcuffed and 276 SPAIN taken to a police station where she claimed judges and prosecutors were not always she was violently pushed against a wall, in- displaying due diligence when allegations juring her head, and then punched on both of ill-treatment were brought to their atten- arms and on the head until she fell to the tion. In addition, despite the CPT’s previous ground, where she was repeatedly kicked recommendations during the 1998 visit, and then pulled up by the hair. A medical the CPT’s delegation found no evidence report referred to “multiple contusions: cra- that judicial and prosecuting authorities nial and coccyx” and to a sprained wrist. were regularly exercising their task of on- The police charged her with resisting police the-spot supervision of places of detention, 4 authority and “threats and insults.” a practice which would be of importance in According to the CPT, the persistence the prevention of torture and ill-treatment. of allegations of ill-treatment by law en- Conditions of detention were accept- forcement officials highlighted the need for able in a number of the law enforcement the Spanish authorities to remain particu- agency establishments visited by the CPT, larly vigilant in this area. Spanish authorities but various others displayed many of the had yet to implement the CPT’s 1994 and shortcomings already criticized in previous 1997 recommendations that an independ- CPT visit reports. For example, the detention ent investigation be carried out into the facilities were dirty and dilapidated and the methods used by members of the Civil cells too small for overnight stays. Sleeping Guard when holding and questioning per- arrangements were often inadequate, and sons suspected of involvement in armed the lighting and ventilation poor, etc. bands. Many reports of torture and ill-treat- ment the CPT had received related to per- Conditions in Prisons5 sons detained in the Basque Country or the The CPT’s delegation heard no allega- Navarre region as terrorist suspects or in tions and gathered no other evidence of connection with terrorist-linked public order the torture of prisoners by staff in the pris- offences. ons visited or in other prison establish- In its recent report the CPT pointed to ments in Spain. However, it did receive several problems related to detainees’ some allegations to the effect that inmates rights. The CPT expressed its concern that had been physically ill-treated during trans- many detainees spent considerable time in fer to a segregation unit or whilst restrained police custody before having access to a in such a unit. lawyer. It also noted that it was not justifi- able to deny for up to five days a detainee’s At the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria right to notify his/her family or friends Prison (Salto del Negro), a number of pris- about his/her whereabouts. Moreover, the oners in the segregation unit alleged that CPT stated that while detained persons, they had recently been ill-treated by prison who were not being held incommunicado, staff. The allegations were consistent with had the right to be examined by a doctor of regard to the form of ill-treatment reported, their own choice, those being held incom- namely blows with batons whilst hand- municado did not have such a right. cuffed to beds. By law, all reported cases of ill-treat- From discussions with prison staff and ment had to be examined by judicial au- consultation of the relevant registrars, the thorities. The public prosecutor and exam- CPT delegation ascertained that, on a fairly ining judges thus played key roles in the ac- regular basis, inmates at this prison were in- countability process. However, in the deed being handcuffed (in a variety of po- course of the CPT delegation’s discussions sitions) to metal rings attached to beds in with members of the General Council of the segregation unit. In some cases, prison- the Judiciary, it emerged that examining ers had been restrained in this manner for SPAIN 277 prolonged periods of time (for example, for acceptable: for example, four prisoners had some fifteen hours overnight). Prison staff to share a cell of 10 m2 at Modelo Prison, also indicated that inmates thus restrained and up to eight women shared a cell of 16 were not provided with mattresses. m2 at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Prison. Prisoners could address complaints As regards regime activities for prison- about abuse to the supervisory judge, to ers, the CPT delegation found that despite the examining courts and to various other considerable improvement, there was still authorities. However, the CPT delegation’s scope to further develop the programs being attention was again drawn to the apparent offered to prisoners in all of the establish- reluctance on the part of many supervisory ments visited. Although the vast majority of judges to act in a proactive manner in this inmates enjoyed extensive out-of-cell time, context and to visit prisons. Further, many by no means were all prisoners provided complaints were received about the role with meaningful activities during that time. actually played by supervisory judges. The information gathered in the course It also appeared that, on occasion, of the 1998 visit concerning prison health there were long delays between the al- care services confirmed that, on the whole, leged ill-treatment (or the lodging of a the level of general health care provided for complaint) and the time when concrete persons held in prison was of an accept- steps were taken to investigate the allega- able standard. Certain gaps were noted in tions. The CPT recommended that steps be the provision of ambulatory and in-house taken to ensure that prisoners’ correspon- psychiatric care for prisoners. dence with judges and other relevant au- The management of acutely agitated thorities be promptly processed. In light of psychiatric patients at Las Palmas de Gran information received, it also recommended Canaria Prison was a specific point of con- that a review be carried out of the proce- cern. In certain cases, instruments of phys- dures applied by the judicial authorities to ical restraint - including handcuffs - were investigate complaints of ill-treatment of applied to such patients for prolonged peri- prisoners by staff, and that any shortcom- ods (e.g. two days), and they could be sub- ings observed be remedied. The CPT noted ject to a measure of seclusion for up to that the objective should be to ensure that several months. prisoners’ complaints reach the competent court without delay and that the court in Extrajudicial Executions question promptly and thoroughly investi- gates any allegations of ill-treatment made The ETA resumed its killing campaign by persons deprived of their liberty. in 2000, intimidating individuals it per- Regarding inmates who were consid- ceived as its opponents and killing 20 vic- ered to be “dangerous“ or “unadapted to tims by December. The victims included an ordinary prison regime“ (i.e. dangerous politicians (particularly members of the rul- prisoners held in special units), some im- ing center-right Popular Party, PP), journal- provements took place. Most importantly, ists, peace activists, army officials, etc. the number of such prisoners consistently In total, the violent campaign for an in- decreased over the last few years (halving dependent Basque State has claimed at 6 in about four years). Moreover, the CPT least 800 lives since 1968. In fact, the year was informed that, in the Catalan Prison 2000 was ETA’s deadliest since 26 people 7 Service, that regime was not being applied. were killed in 1992. Material conditions of facilities were In June, Jesús María Pedorosa Urquiza, broadly of a good standard in all the estab- a member of both a nationalist trade union lishments visited. However, cell occupancy and the PP, was shot dead in Durango levels were often high and, on occasion, un- (Vizkaya) in the Basque Country.8 278 SPAIN

On 30 October, the ETA set off a car Guards who had been convicted of com- bomb during morning rush hour in Madrid, mitting torture were pardoned. They re- killing a Supreme Court judge, his driver portedly had their sentences cut by two and his bodyguard. The blast also injured thirds. Among those pardoned was a for- more than 60 people on a nearby bus, in- mer National Police officer and multiple tor- cluding the driver, who died nine days lat- turer who was sentenced to 10 months’ in- 9 er. habilitación (ban from public employ- On 22 November, Ernest Lluch, former ment), for willfully suppressing the truth in Minister of Health, was shot twice in the the case of the torture of ETA suspect Ana head in the basement of his house in María Ereño in 1982. Another of the 14 Barcelona. was also involved in a number of murders during the ‘’dirty war’’ against ETA during the 1980s. In addition, a posthumous Accountability for Past Abuse medal was awarded to Melitón Manzanas, In a positive development in April, the the former head of a political intelligence National Court sentenced seven men to police unit in San Sebastian (Guipúzcoa) imprisonment for involvement in the ab- during the Francoist dictatorship. The police duction, torture and murder of ETA sus- chief was responsible for the torture of pects José Antonio Lasa and José Ignacio hundreds of Basques during the Francoist Zabala in 1983. Those sentenced included regime and was a known collabo- General Enrique Rodriguez Galindo and rator, who helped round up Jews trying to former civil governor Julen Elgorriaga, who flee across the border from southern were each sentenced to 71 years’ impris- France during the Nazi Occupation. He was onment for illegal detention and murder. the first targeted victim of an ETA comman- Three former Civil Guard officers were sen- do in August 1968. The award is made to tenced to between 67 and 69 years in victims of terror.13 prison and two officers – including a former Secretary of State – were acquitted. The Protection of Asylum Seekers and five convicted men were also ordered to Immigrants pay 25 million pesetas (approximately U.S.$131,700) to the families of the two In recent years, Spain has transformed victims. However, the Court ruled out char- from a transit country for immigrants from ges of membership in an armed band particularly northern Africa countries head- (Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación, ing for France and Germany to a recipient GAL10), and of torture on the grounds of in- country. At the same time, the number of sufficient evidence.11 foreigners illegally residing in Spain has in- Although a positive development, it creased rapidly. must be noted that it took 16 years before Between 21 March and 31 July, on the the trial hearing was opened: important ev- basis of a governmental regulation, illegal idence was destroyed, “protected” witness- immigrants who could prove that they had es had been abused and intimidated (one resided in the country prior to 1 June 1999 of them was tortured) and many other ob- and fulfilled additional requirements (e.g. stacles had been placed in the way of pros- permanent employment) could apply for ecution. Moreover, Enrique Rodríguez the legalization of their status. The Galindo was promoted to the rank of gen- Government had expected some 80,000 eral despite evidence of his involvement in individuals to make use of this regulation – the killings.12 in the end about 225,000 submitted their In January 2001 it was announced that applications for a residence permit. 11 National Police officers and three Civil However, many applicants were immi- SPAIN 279 grants who had arrived in Spain recently Xenophobia and Racial and were not eligible for the right of resi- Discrimination dence. As of early August, about half of the applications had been processed and resi- CERD Concerns16 dence permits granted to almost 85 per- In March 2000, the UN Committee on cent of the applicants. Those who still re- the Elimination of Racial Discrimination mained in the country were expected to be (CERD) considered the fourteenth and fif- extradited. Vice Prime Minister Mariano teenth periodic reports of Spain. Rajoy estimated their number to be at On the positive side, the CERD noted about 50,000.14 the recent enactment of Organic Law No. On 4 August, the Spanish Government 4/2000 on Rights and Freedoms of Foreig- decided on amendments to the Aliens Law ners, including regularization schemes for to restrict the relatively liberal law adopted illegal immigrants and the establishment of by the previous Parliament half a year ear- integration programs. lier. On 1 July, the UNHCR representative The CERD encouraged the continued organization in Spain (Asocación España implementation and evaluation of the re- con ACNUR) sent its proposals for modifi- sults of the “Gypsy Development Program“ cations of the draft law on aliens to the initiated by the Government in 1989 and Ministry of Interior. Regarding the provision conducted in cooperation with Roma asso- on extradition, it proposed an addition pro- ciations. It noted with particular interest the viding for the principle of non refoulement, favourable effects of measures designed to as stipulated by the 1951 Geneva ensure that the Roma are not discriminated Convention. Similarly, it proposed that the against in the field of housing. law include a prohibition to return individu- The CERD noted with concern that re- als to a country where their life could be in markably few cases before national courts danger or they could fall victim to torture or had been identified as incidents of racial discrimination, despite a recognized gener- other forms of ill-treatment. Moreover, the al increase in juvenile violence, including organization noted that no one should be attacks on foreigners by extremist groups, returned from the border or extradited be- neo-nazi movements and gangs. It also no- fore he/she can submit an asylum applica- ted that violence against certain foreigners tion, irrespective of whether or not he/she often resulted in judicial proceedings alleg- can produce adequate identity documents. ing assault, unlawful detention and proper- Furthermore, it noted that each asylum ty damage, and that the racial aspect of seeker should be guaranteed free legal as- such acts was not taken into consideration. sistance and interpretation. The organiza- Further, the CERD was concerned tion also stated that authorities should not about the recent incidents of violence expect the air carriers to make decisions on against persons of Moroccan nationality in which of their customers would be granted El Ejido (see below) in the region of access to asylum procedure – a task that Almería and was further concerned about the State should assume. Vesting air carri- reports that the underlying socioeconomic ers with such a responsibility would make problems, which provoked these events, the potential asylum seekers’ access to the were also found in other regions of the asylum procedure more difficult. On the country. The CERD recommended that the positive side, the organization welcomed Government take measures to resolve the the inclusion of an article on the status of underlying causes of tension and unrest, the rights of stateless persons.15 A new law not merely on an emergency basis, but as was adopted in December, but as of this part of a long-term strategy to combat racial writing, the IHF did not yet have details on discrimination and violence, so as to pre- its contents. vent the recurrence of such incidents. 280 SPAIN

In addition, the CERD voiced concern A commission of inquiries comprised of, about, among others, reports indicating the inter alia, SOS Racism Spain and represen- prevailing discrimination against persons of tatives of the French Helsinki Committee vis- foreign origin, particularly in the field of em- ited El Ejido following the above-mentioned ployment and about the high dropout rates incidents. The commission concluded that and registered absences of Roma children the aggression was not a spontaneous act, in primary schools, as well as the low num- but had been planned and well organized: ber of Roma completing higher education. the demonstrators were armed with a large number of baseball bats, which one would Racially Motivated Violence in El Ejido17 normally not find in El Ejido; the entry to the village was simultaneously blocked by men Following the murder of a young wo- equipped with mobile phones; the most se- man allegedly by a Moroccan immigrant, a rious acts were committed by people not crowd of demonstrators gathered in front known to the local population; and, in an at- of the city hall in El Ejido on 5 February tempt to avoid legal action, the demonstra- 2000. On this occasion, the mayor of the tors had reportedly been instructed to avoid city, known for his xenophobic and racist any deaths or serious injury. views, reportedly made inflammatory dec- According to SOS Racism Spain, 693 larations. Following the gathering, the complaints were presented to the tribunal demonstrators attacked the local Moroccan in El Ejido. However, only 21 complaints population, totaling more than 600 per- were accepted; others were rejected either sons. There were no serious injuries, but all due to a lack of evidence, or because it was the shops, cars and lodgings belonging to allegedly impossible to find the plaintiffs. Moroccans were systematically destroyed, Local immigrant associations claimed as well as the facilities of an immigrant’s that much hate and violence was emerging support organization. Apparently, there among the young Spaniards towards the im- were several off-duty police officers among migrants, and the local media published hate the demonstrators. speech that incited racially motivated hatred.

Endnotes 1 Unless otherwise noted, based on the Report to the Spanish Government on the visit to Spain carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 22 November to 4 December 1998, CPT/Inf (2000) 5 [EN], 13 April 2000. 2 Amnesty International, Concerns in Europe, January-June 2000, September 2000. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Unless otherwise noted, based on the CPT, op. cit. 6 www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/12/06/spain.bomb.reut/index.html 7 www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/11/19/spain.eta/index.html 8 Amnesty International, op. cit. 9 Ibid. 10 During the 1980s, GAL had committed 27 murders and several abductions of suspect- ed ETA members. The National Court now controversially ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove that the structure put in place by the defendants to carry out the crimes was also used to carry out other GAL-related acts. SPAIN 281

11 The court ruled that although the evidence suggested that the victims had indeed been tortured before being shot, the complete absence of soft tissues meant that this could not be proved. 12 Amnesty International, op. cit. 13 Amnesty International, “Spain: Rewards for Torturers Must Not be Tolerated,“ News Service No. 18, 29 January 2001. 14 Based on “Frühes Ende einer liberalen Regelung,”Der Standard, 5-6 August 2000. 15 www.eacnur.org/prensa.cfm?prensaID=22 16 Based on Concluding Observations by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Spain. 19/04/2000. CERD/C/304/Add.95. (Concluding Observations/ Comment). 17 Based on the report, Nettoyge ethnique a el Ejido (Ethnic cleansing in El Ejido), prepared by a commission of inquiries consisting of jurists, journalists, agronomes, and members of different NGOs from 10 European countries, including SOS Racism and the French Helsinki Committee, 26 June 2000. 282 SWEDEN1

IHF FOCUS: Xenophobia and racial discrimination; right to privacy; protection of eth- nic minorities; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants.

Sweden has a good record regarding and journalists - were targeted with even the promotion and ratification of interna- more serious violence. The victims of as- tional human rights standards. However, sault were more often of foreign origin than there are some areas within the human Swedish nationals, and threats and harass- rights context where Sweden has been ment were often directed against those subject to criticism. with opposed political views. For example, Sweden was repeatedly criticised again in 2000 for its policy con- “White Power” Music cerning asylum seekers. Asylum seekers Sweden was one of the leading coun- were, inter alia, not guaranteed the right to tries in the world regarding the production a fair trial, and the grounds for a decision and distribution of “White Power” music in on each specific asylum application re- 2000. A major problem in cases of “White mained somewhat unclear and put a heavy Power” music was the statute of limitations. burden of proof on the asylum seeker. Legal proceedings must be initiated within There was also an increase in racist and one year from the day on which the mate- xenophobic violence and the Swedish judi- rial was distributed. It was often not possi- cial system failed to combat the production ble to determine exactly when the material and distribution of “White Power” music. was distributed and in these cases it was Ethnic discrimination existed on different impossible to initiate legal proceedings. levels in society. Furthermore, there was a The producers of “White Power” music of- lack of legal rights and transparency in the ten opted to consciously remove informa- State’s interference in the right to privacy. tion relating to the start of distribution with a view to avoiding prosecution. It should be Xenophobia and Racial added that the concept of distribution was not given a narrow interpretation: it was Discrimination usually enough that the music was avail- Crimes with racist or xenophobic ele- able for sale. ments have been on a constant increase in recent years: almost 2,500 such cases were Courts and Racially Motivated Violence registered in 1999. The general picture of In 1994, a law regarding racially moti- crimes related to the “White Power” move- vated violence entered into force in ment showed, above all, a greater number Sweden. According to this legislation, if the of reported incidents involving incitement to motive of a crime was to violate a person, racial hatred, vandalism, threats and harass- an ethnic group or another such group of ment, but also more serious crimes involv- persons on the basis of their race, colour, ing violence. According to a 1999 official re- national or ethnic origin, religion or other port from the Security Police, the “White similar circumstance, the court of justice Power” movement was linked to a total of shall consider this an aggravating circum- 100 cases of assault, 16 cases of aggravat- stance that increases the severity of the ed assault, 4 cases of attempted murder or penalty. The wording “or other similar cir- manslaughter and 4 cases of actual murder cumstance“ included e.g. sexual orientation. or manslaughter. In one or two cases, these The purpose of this new legislation was to crimes had direct racist elements, i.e. they clearly emphasise that courts must pay spe- directly targeted minority groups. cial attention when ruling on racially moti- Representatives of the public - mostly vated crimes and similar acts. Sweden also police officers, politically active individuals considered this legislation (together with SWEDEN 283 some other provisions, e.g. Criminal Code constituted a threat to the free formation of 16:8 on racial agitation) to be a sufficient opinion.2 However, the universal prohibi- substitute for a law that would outlaw or- tion against discrimination stated in the ganisations that promote or incite racial dis- Constitution3 also applied in relation to crimination. However, the UN Committee non-Swedish citizens. Among other things, on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this means that limitations must never be has criticised Sweden for breaching the UN introduced solely on the basis of a political, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms religious, cultural or other view, and also of Racial Discrimination, as it has not explic- that no one should be put at a disadvan- itly outlawed such organisations. tage due to race, skin colour, ethnic origin According to official statistics, the 1994 or belonging to a minority. Moreover, the law has rarely been applied. Between 1 prohibition against discrimination applied July 1994 and 1 April 1997, the law was with respect to all laws and regulations. applied in 24 cases - although one can as- It should be added that freedom of re- sume that the number of cases in which ligion, as understood and interpreted in this law should have been applied was Sweden, was an absolute right for Swedish much higher. However, the official statistics citizens that could only be restricted by are somewhat unreliable in this respect changing the Constitution. The same free- since the courts do not have the obligation dom also applied in principle to non- to state, in a ruling, whether this law had Swedish citizens, but according to the been applied – which is the case regarding Constitution4 it was possible to restrict the certain other regulations. As a result, it was freedom of religion of non-Swedish citizens impossible to collect relevant data and pro- by way of special provisions in the law. duce statistics. The Swedish Helsinki Com- Sine 1995, the ECHR has formed part mittee has repeatedly asked the National of Swedish law. Article 1 of the Convention Court Administration to instruct the courts assures everyone within the jurisdiction of to state in the decision if the law has been a State that is a signatory to the Convention applied. The National Court Administration the rights specified in the Convention. has had the issue under consideration According to the regulations in the since March 1999. Special Control of Aliens Act (1991, 572), the Swedish police could, in certain cases, Protection against Ethnic Discrimination use secret wiretapping5 and secret wire- It was claimed that non-Swedish citi- surveillance6 to eavesdrop on (exclusively) zens living in Sweden in principle enjoyed foreign citizens. The purpose of the law the same rights as Swedish nationals. was to prevent politically motivated (crimi- Exceptions involved protection against the nal) acts of violence, threats and compul- registration of opinions, deportation and cit- sion. It was for the Government or the izenship, as well as the right to travel with- Stockholm City Court to decide if the law in and leave the country. A number of free- was applicable to the foreigner in question. doms and rights may be limited by legisla- The law has been applied 16 times (ac- tion, as was the case with Swedish nation- cording to 1999 statistics) since it came als. But the degree of protection against into force. It was discriminatory since it such limitations in the law was greater for could only be applied to foreign citizens, Swedish citizens than for non-Swedes. and gave the criminal investigation authori- Only if a change in the law affected ties considerably greater powers than those Swedish citizens was it compulsory to take offered by other legislation in this area. into consideration the appropriateness or The law also provided the possibility to the proportionality of the change, or the distinguish between the rights of Swedish prohibition against imposing limitations that and non-Swedish citizens regarding protec- 284 SWEDEN tion against interference in the confidential- Since 1997, the labour market situation ity of correspondence. This right was not has improved in Sweden, which has also watertight for Swedish citizens either, but in benefited foreign citizens in Sweden to their case it was subject to scrutiny for ap- some extent. However, the ratio of em- propriateness and proportionality, a proce- ployment still remained very low among dure that should reasonably be applied to non-Nordic citizens in 2000. In particular, non-Swedish citizens also.7 persons arriving in 1994 or later found it most difficult to find a place in the Swedish The Law on Measures to Combat Ethnic labour market.9 Discrimination One of the reasons for the stricter lan- In 1999, the law on measures to com- guage used in the revised law on measures bat ethnic discrimination in the workplace against ethnic discrimination was declared was tightened after an evaluation of the to be the difficult situation in the labour previous regulations showed that the pur- market for foreign citizens. But the law only pose of the legislation had not been ac- covered those persons who were able to complished. The Discrimination Ombuds- apply for a job or already had one. Many man was assigned the role of investigator, immigrants were, in practice, excluded mediator and prosecutor in cases where a from ever being able to apply for a job. private person had been refused employ- ment or promotion or has been treated Unlawful Discrimination worse than others at the workplace due to According to Article 16(9) of the his/her ethnic background. A new element Criminal Code, unlawful discrimination in the 1999 law was that the subjective re- was a crime that could be punished with quirement was removed – it was no longer up to one year’s imprisonment. In 1999, a necessary to provide proof that an employ- total of 239 cases of unlawful discrimina- er had consciously discriminated against an tion were reported, of which 210 were employee or a job applicant, it was enough considered to have a purely xeno- to be able to prove that discrimination had phobic/racist background. In most cases, in fact taken place. the report had been made after a private The law also required both employers person had been refused entry to a restau- and employees to promote ethnic diversity rant on the basis of his/her ethnicity. In a and to combat discrimination in the work- number of cases it was also a question of place. The employer was obliged to carry out discrimination by shops, housing and targeted activities with a view to promoting property companies, workplaces and bus ethnic diversity in the workplace. At the time companies. A report concerning unlawful of writing, the Discrimination Ombudsman discrimination was made to the police or had not yet carried out any checks on the the Discrimination Ombudsman. The observance of the law. As of January 1999, Discrimination Ombudsman was obliged 26 cases that were reported to the by the Law on the Ombudsman against Discrimination Ombudsman had been set- Ethnic Discrimination (1999:31) “to en- tled out of court between employees and sure by providing advice or in other ways employers, while three cases went to court. that those who are exposed to ethnic dis- Statistics show that unemployment, crimination are able to obtain their rights”. above all among non-European immigrants, The Discrimination Ombudsman was not, continued to be high in Sweden. During the however, able to take the matter to court, second half of 1997, a little over half of the as this was the task of the public prosecu- non-Nordic citizens living in Sweden were tor. The number of police reports on un- unemployed, and the unemployment had lawful discrimination in the restaurants of increased six-fold in comparison to 1990.8 Stockholm was increasing. SWEDEN 285

Proposal for Supplementary Protocol to the Right to Privacy ECHR The Swedish Police have, under certain The Council of Europe discussed the circumstances, the possibility to use secret possibility of adding a general prohibition of surveillance techniques during pre-trial in- discrimination to the ECHR in the spring. vestigations. The techniques used included Should the prohibition be approved by the secret wiretapping, secret wire-surveillance signatory States, it would prevent discrimi- and secret camera surveillance10. A court nation in all areas affected by laws and oth- grants permission to use secret surveillance er ordinances, or administrative regulatory on the basis of an application by a prose- systems. cutor. The suspect is unaware of the pro- Initially, however, Sweden chose to ab- ceedings and has no representation in stain from voting on such an extension of court. the ECHR. Its reasons included a fear that According to a report by the Swedish the work involved would prove too onerous Helsinki Committee,11 some methods that for the European Court and that the prohi- the police used were not prescribed by law; bition would give the State the responsibil- for example, the use of body microphones, ity for what is known as horizontal discrim- which constitutes a breach of the ECHR. ination, i.e. discrimination between individ- During 1997 and 1998 1,240 applications uals. Sweden preferred the use of one or were made for permission to use secret more separate instruments outside the Convention, and outside the jurisdiction of surveillance, and only one application was the court, for the purpose of combating rejected. At least 50 percent of the opera- discrimination. The appearance of such an tions during 1998 were in vain. In 1999, instrument, however, and its mode of use 549 applications were made for permis- were not mentioned in the explanation for sion to use secret surveillance, six applica- the abstention given by the Swedish tions were rejected and at least 50 percent Government. of the operations in 1999 again had no re- According to the Swedish Helsinki sult. Committee, however, a general prohibition A person exposed to secret surveil- of discrimination linked to the ECHR and lance had no possibility to appeal against the jurisdiction of the European Court of an incorrect decision, a fact that also con- Human Rights is important for the exercise stituted a breach of the ECHR. The State’s of all human rights. Any alternative has to right to interfere in the private life of its cit- show itself to be at least as effective and izens was lacking in legal rights and trans- powerful, it said. parency. The Helsinki Committee noted that it Instead of improving the legal rights was the responsibility of the Swedish Go- and increasing the possibilities for public vernment to introduce general protection control, the Government wanted to expand against discrimination that could be, as op- the field of secret surveillance in 2000; for posed to the prohibition in the Constitution, example, by allowing bugging. However, taken to court. The Helsinki Committee due to severe criticism from authorities and said it was serious that the Swedish Go- organisations working for human rights, the vernment neglected the possibility to as- Government failed in its attempts to pres- sume responsibility for horizontal discrimi- ent a proposition on new legislation in this nation, adding that the private sphere is of- field. ten the arena in which discrimination takes According to a 1998 law on public ca- place, not least ethnic discrimination, and it mera-surveillance, a County Administrative is the obligation of a State to protect the Board had the right to grant permission to human rights of a private individual against put up cameras for the surveillance of pub- violation by third parties. lic places. It was only necessary to report to 286 SWEDEN the County Administrative Board that a cer- the importance of recognising dialects as tain area was being filmed by a surveil- minority languages, and that the resources lance-camera under special circumstances. allocated to the various groups to realise All places subject to camera-surveillance the objectives of the convention were too must have signs to inform people that they small and unequally distributed. are being filmed. The County Administra- tive Board was obliged by law to supervise Protection of Asylum Seekers and the use of surveillance cameras. Immigrants As of the end of 2000, there was cam- The Swedish asylum procedure and era surveillance in more than 10,000 pub- practice has been criticised in the IHF’s lic places, and in about 3,600 public Annual Reports for a number of years, not places in Stockholm alone. The County least because of its lack of conformity with Administrative Board in Stockholm had Swedish laws and/or international stan- only inspected 400 of these places be- dards. Remarkably, the procedures and tween September 1998 and September practises in this respect did not improve at 2000. A random sampling was made by all during 2000. On the contrary, Sweden the Swedish Helsinki Committee in 35 was again criticised by the UN Committee places in Stockholm in order to investigate Against Torture under the procedure gov- the observance of the 1998 law. The out- erned by Article 22 of the Convention come of the investigation showed that the against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman 1998 law was violated in almost 50 per- or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In cent (17 places) of the public places. One fact, Sweden is the country that the UN of the places where the camera surveil- Committee Against Torture has criticised lance was unlawful was the Swedish the most (eight times). A majority of the is- Parliament. The random sampling raised sues before the Committee have posed concern that the 1998 law is deficient, es- the question of whether the forced return pecially since not even the legislator, the of an asylum seeker to his/her country of Swedish Parliament, fulfilled the require- origin, or to a (specific) “safe third country”, ments stipulated by law. would violate Sweden’s obligation under Article 3 of the Convention. Protection of Ethnic Minorities In one case, the Committee noted that Sweden has ratified the Council of Eu- the decisions made by the Swedish Board rope Framework Convention for the Protec- of Immigration and the Aliens Appeal tion of National Minorities and the Euro- Board did not show that the test as re- pean Charter for Regional or Minority Lan- quired by Article 3 of the Convention had guages. According to a decision by the in fact been applied. It was also noted (in Swedish Parliament,12 Sweden’s national two cases) that Sweden pointed to contra- minorities and their languages were recog- dictions and inconsistencies in the ac- nised and the minority languages were to counts told by the individuals, but the be given the support needed to keep them Committee stated that complete accuracy alive. The languages recognised as minori- is seldom to be had from victims of torture ty languages in Sweden were Sami, Finnish, – especially when the victim suffers from Meänkieli (the Finnish spoken in the Torne post-traumatic stress syndrome. Further- river valley, Tornedalen), Romani chib and more, the Committee clarified that the risk Yiddish. of torture must, according to Article 3, be In certain minority communities, how- assessed on grounds that go beyond mere ever, problems were seen in the applica- theory or suspicion, but that the risk does tion of the new rights. It was thought, for in- not have to meet the test of being highly stance, that the Parliament had not realised probable. SWEDEN 287

The Concept of “Refugees” this category, however, fell short of those In the early 1990s, tens of thousands under the 1951 Geneva Convention or of people sought shelter from the war in Article 3 of the ECHR. Cases involving sex- the former Yugoslavia. The great flow of related types of persecution could be regu- refugees from the Balkans created difficul- larly brought under the 1951 Convention ties for the Swedish reception system. The or prominent human rights instruments. waiting period for an investigation regarding The provision was rarely applied. Most a residence permit could in many cases be- women and/or homosexuals who applied come inhumanely long, and on a number for asylum in Sweden on account of sexu- of occasions the Government decided to al persecution or as the victims of sexual vi- modify asylum-granting practice for hu- olence were granted protection on human- manitarian reasons. Rules were also intro- itarian grounds. The conditions of the pro- duced to permit the granting of temporary vision were just as difficult to comply with residence permits for asylum seekers com- as those applying for refugee status ac- ing from the former Yugoslavia.13 cording to the Geneva Convention. The The number of asylum-seekers dimin- fear of persecution must, in both cases, be ished considerably during the second half “well founded”. An additional provision of of the 1990s. At the same time, there was this kind served no constructive purpose. also a notable reduction in the number of According to the Swedish Helsinki Com- residence permits granted to asylum seek- mittee, it could even be argued that the ers. In 1999, 11,231 people sought asylum provision impaired the equal enjoyment of in Sweden. 5,597 were granted residence asylum and protection, since the provision permits, 3,559 of whom were allowed to offered inferior protection compared to stay for humanitarian reasons. The figures other, more favourable, categories. on the number of asylum seekers and the number of residence permits are not com- “Temporary Residence Permits” pletely comparable year by year, as investi- Together with the arrival of large gations may be delayed and an application groups of refugees from the former made in one year might not lead to a result Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, rules were before the following year. What has introduced related to what were known as nonetheless been remarkable is that, ac- “temporary residence permits” (TRP) in cording to official Swedish assessments, Sweden. These rules remained in force in very few asylum-seekers have satisfied the 2000. An assessment for a TRP was not requirements for refugee status according made on individual grounds; it was carried to the Geneva Convention. In 1999, only out in relation to groups fleeing from war or 678 people were judged to be refugees in natural catastrophes and who were soon the sense of the Convention.14 expected to be able to return to their coun- In 1997, new grounds for assessment tries. In 2000, the Government presented a were introduced into Swedish refugee leg- proposal for new rules relating to TRPs: it islation: the concept of a person “in need was proposed to grant TRPs for two years, of protection.” At the same time, the con- instead of just six months at a time.15 During cept of “de facto refugees” was removed. this period it would not be possible for an The change did not, however, entail any individual to apply for a permanent resi- widening of the concept of “refugee”. dence permit. The proposal was subjected As of the end of 2000, the revised ver- to such devastating criticism that the sion of the Swedish Aliens Act contained a Government withdrew the Bill, but a new specific sub-category providing protection proposal is to be expected. for persons who feared persecution on ac- A refugee staying in Sweden on a TRP count of their sex. Benefits afforded under was regarded as an asylum seeker and did 288 SWEDEN not enjoy the same rights, above all social- Recent Measures ly and economically, as someone who had In 1999, a State Commission present- been granted permission to stay in the ed a report on how to improve the legal country permanently. In the view of the rights of asylum seekers.16 However, sever- Swedish Helsinki Committee it was clearly al Swedish human rights organizations con- valuable to be able to provide protection to sidered many of the proposed changes to vulnerable groups in situations of mass be inadequate, and severely criticised the flight. However, the Committee empha- report. In 2000, the report was followed-up sized that the possibility of granting tempo- by another one17 that specifically deals with rary residence permits should nonetheless the issue of introducing a special court for be used restrictively. It is self-evident that a asylum seekers, which was one of the pro- situation that has only been resolved tem- posals in the previous report. The Swedish porarily puts the individual under strain. It is Helsinki Committee and other Swedish or- difficult to treat traumatic experiences of vi- olence if residence in the country of recep- ganisations working for human rights have tion is merely temporary and highly inse- criticised this proposal because an intro- cure. duction of a special court would mainly be According to data provided by the Mig- a cosmetic measure leaving the problems ration Agency, 7,336 individuals were grant- in the current system unsolved. The ed TRPs in Sweden during 1999. From Swedish Helsinki Committee and others January to July 2000, 417 people were share the view that the rights of asylum- granted TRPs. seekers should be tried within the regular court system.

Endnotes 1 Based on the report by the Swedish Helsinki Committee to the IHF, as well as on infor- mation from the Swedish NGO Foundation for Human Rights, and the Swedish UN Assembly to the CERD Committee (with respect to Sweden’s commitments according to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination). 2 Constitution 2:22, Section 2, Paragraph 7, as against Constitution 2:12. 3 Constitution 2:15 and 2:12, Section 2, final sentence. 4 Constitution 2:22, Section 2, Paragraph 1. 5 Secret wiretapping is regulated in the Criminal Procedure Code (Rättegångsbalken) 27:18 and is defined as secret interception of the communication (written or oral) be- tween two or more people via a telephone or fax etc. 6 Secret wire-surveillance is regulated in the Criminal Procedure Code 27:19 and is de- fined as the hindrance of the use of a telephone (or fax, etc.) or the secret finding out which messages, how many and when have been transmitted from and to one or more specific telephone numbers. 7 Cf. the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Articles 8 and 14. 8 Governmental Bill 1997/98: 177, p. 8. 9 See the National Labour Market Board report Arbetsmarknaden för utomnordiska med- borgare (The Labour Market for Non-Nordic Citizens), June 2000. 10 Secret camera-surveillance is regulated in a Law on Secret Camera-Surveillance (1995:1506), Paragraph 1, and is defined as the use of hidden remote-controlled cam- eras in order to observe people. SWEDEN 289

11 Swedish Helsinki Committee, “Buggning och hamlig kameraövervakning - statliga tvångs- ingrepp i privatlivet,” 2000. 12 A Decision on proposition 1999/2000:143. 13 Change in the Aliens Act of 1994. Since then the rules relating to “temporary residence permits” were changed several times, and currently further changes are being prepared. A bill was tabled in the spring of 2000, but was immediately met with such devastating criticism that it was withdrawn. 14 According to statistics from the Migration Agency, in 1997, 739 refugees were granted asylum according to the clause on the need for protection. In 1998 the figure was 987 and in 1999 it was 814. 15 Or eleven months according to the Kosovo Ordinance. 16 SOU 1999:16. 17 Ds 2000:45. 290 SWITZERLAND1

IHF FOCUS: Women’s rights (trafficking in women).

The fate of foreign women trafficked Very few arrests for trafficking in into Switzerland attracted much publicity women for the purpose of forced prostitu- and raised much concern in 2000. tion were made in 2000. The lack of pros- ecution was mainly due to the fact that Women’s Rights women victims or witnesses of trafficking According to various estimates, between were primarily considered as illegal immi- 5,000 and 10,000 foreign women worked grants and received neither protection nor clandestinely as prostitutes in Switzerland as any guarantees for their personal safety. of the end of 2000. The FIZ Information Authorities often claimed that victims Centre for Women from Africa, Asia, Latin of trafficking were not very cooperative, ig- America and Eastern Europe, an NGO based noring the fact that women who testified in Zurich, has widely documented the prob- against traffickers ran great risks when they lems these women face due to the lack of were left without protection and had to re- adequate legislation and the inappropriate turn to their home countries immediately. In some cases, where the concerned application of existing laws. young women dared to come out, a police Anna’s story is typical of many similar protocol was established and victims were cases: immediately expelled without the possibili- Anna S. came to Switzerland with the ty to claim protection or the usual com- intention to work as a waitress in a restau- pensation that the law provided for victims rant. Her contact person in her native Ro- of a crime. mania had promised her a work permit, a The problems associated with clandes- fixed salary and the possibility to take lan- tine prostitution have existed for many guage classes. When she arrived in Swit- years and are well known to the authorities. zerland, the situation turned out to be dras- They increased dramatically during the last tically different. Under physical threat, Anna decade with the arrival of numerous young was forced to work as a prostitute. She was women from Eastern European countries. told that measures would be taken against In 1995, legal provisions designed to her family in Romania if she did not comply. cut down on the worst abuse were Many young women were lured into passed. 1,800 women coming mostly Switzerland with false promises of job op- from Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and portunities; some reported forceful abduc- South America are working legally in tions from their home countries. Once in Switzerland as striptease dancers. Foreign Switzerland, they became easy targets for “cabaret dancers“ have been allowed to exploitation. Not familiar with the language, stay for a maximum of eight months per the social system, without financial means, year in Switzerland and are obliged to forced to pay pretended debts covering leave the country after this maximum stay. their travel, and often under physical threat, A maximum period of one-month’s un- the young women had hardly any chance employment has been tolerated within for a better future in that country. this limit. The work permit excluded the Despite alarming reports and urgent possibility of exercising any other profes- appeals from NGOs and some parliamen- sional activity. tarians, little has been done to solve the Although provisions of the law regulate problem of trafficking in women. Police minimum ages, maximum working hours interventions have been mainly directed and various work conditions, abuse has against illegal immigration, thus criminaliz- been very frequent. Many women have ing the victims. complained that they were forced into SWITZERLAND 291 prostitution and the excessive consumption Furthermore, the law excluded the of alcoholic beverages with clients, and possibility that the special work permit for their working hours went far beyond fixed cabaret-dancers could be changed into a levels. Employers find numerous reasons regular permit, even if a person returned to make illegal deductions from their mini- regularly to work in Switzerland for several mal wages. It has been reported that very years. As a result, the possibility that victims often the women, who generally do not un- would eventually come to a point where derstand the language, have had to sign a they could testify without fear of retaliation second contract to be submitted to the au- was excluded. thorities for control. The FIZ Information Centre for Women Also in 2000, due to their status as from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern foreigners with a very restricted period of Europe stressed that trafficking in women stay in Switzerland, such women had virtu- was not limited to the context of prostitu- ally no possibility to claim their rights, es- tion. An equally alarming problem was the pecially since the time necessary for legal forced labour of household workers. Here, proceedings exceeded their possible length again, foreign women exploited by employ- of stay in Switzerland. Prolongations for the ers were primarily treated as illegal immi- purpose of taking a case in court were usu- grants and left without help or protection ally not granted. and without the possibility to claim their Speaking out about their fate almost rights. inevitably led to the loss of their job, and Following interventions from NGOs since they were only allowed to stay in and parliamentarians, federal authorities Switzerland without employment for one are, at this writing, examining possible leg- month, most women understandably re- islative means to fight the exploitation of mained silent. foreign women.

Endnotes 1 As reported by the Swiss Helsinki Committee. 292 TAJIKISTAN1

IHF FOCUS: Parliamentary elections; freedom of the media; rule of law; religious in- tolerance; role of the international community; human rights defenders; women’s rights.2

The Rakhmonov Government sought teen seats and the Islamic Renaissance legitimation through flagrantly fraudulent Party two. A joint U.N.-OSCE observer mis- parliamentary elections in 2000. The elec- sion noted that the elections failed to meet tions marked the last major step of the tran- minimum democratic standards, but calls sitional process outlined in the June 1997 for the vote to be annulled in some districts Government-United Tajik Opposition (UTO) or for a recount of the vote went unheed- peace accord, but important provisions of ed. Largely uncontested elections to the the agreement were not implemented. upper chamber held in March resulted in Demobilization of troops and reform of gov- the election of an overwhelming majority of ernment power structures remained incom- presidential party members. plete, the 30 percent quota of government posts to be awarded to UTO representatives Freedom of the Media was never met, and national reconciliation Electronic media remained under gov- stalled, with next to no representation of ernment control, and independent radio or Pamiris either in Government or stations remained off the air, as their wait in the Parliament. Instead, members of the for a license from the Government entered President’s Kuliabi regional group retained its third year. nearly all important government posts, and In May, Khorog-based state radio em- the presidential People’s Democratic Party ployee Umed Mamadponoev was detained (PDP) dominated the Parliament. Human by police and “disappeared“ after produc- rights protections were also compromised ing a locally aired program on the army by the Government’s increasingly authoritar- mistreatment of soldiers from Gorno-Ba- ian rule, and by disorder within law en- dakhshan. Local and international sources forcement agencies and internal power fear Mamadponoev was drafted by author- struggles among government military and ities for military service in retaliation for his political leaders. broadcast, but as of early September, his whereabouts remained unknown. Parliamentary Elections In the leadup to the February 27 par- Rule of Law liamentary elections Human Rights Watch Wanton violence by members of law as well as a joint U.N.-OSCE observer mis- enforcement and other security agencies sion witnessed state interference in the contributed to overall lawlessness and a electoral process that included the obstruc- precarious personal security situation for tion or exclusion of opposition parties, a most civilians. Human Rights Watch docu- wholly arbitrary candidate registration mented numerous cases of extortion, kid- process and flagrantly biased coverage by napping, and beating of ordinary civilians the state media. On election day there by Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of were numerous and grave irregularities in Defense, and Ministry of Emergency the voting. Of sixty-three seats, the ruling Situations personnel. Members of these PDP gained thirty, and eighteen seats went units were also responsible for unlawful to candidates who are mostly PDP mem- killings of civilians during operations to lo- bers or widely acknowledged to be solidly cate and confiscate illegal arms. The pro-government, although they ran as inde- Government made several limited at- pendents. The Communist Party won thir- tempts to improve security through these TAJIKISTAN 293 arms recovery operations and the arrest of when the Chairman of the district of Garm, members of the armed forces for common Sergei Davlatov, was shot down with his criminal offenses. The failure to meet two bodyguard and driver. objectives of the peace accord-demobiliza- International organizations temporarily tion and reform of government power evacuated the area after the killing, and at structures-continued to aggravate the secu- the time of writing, as in the months previ- rity situation. ous, the Karategin Valley remained off-lim- One positive result was a somewhat its for most staff of international organiza- improved security climate in Dushanbe, tions. The year also saw firefights in public where by June many fewer armed persons venues between the heads of several and cars with blackened windows were vis- Kuliabi-headed security units. ible, and where residents for the first time since 1992 dared to stay outside into the Religious Intolerance late evening hours. Nonetheless, sporadic explosions and shootouts continued to oc- The authorities arrested hundreds of cur in the capital. A May presidential decree alleged members of the banned Islamic resulted in the release of approximately movement Hizb-ut-Tahrir on charges of 1,000 kontraktniki (contract servicemen) possession or distribution of anti-state liter- from service, but many reportedly re- ature and a wide range of criminal activities. mained in service. In August seven members were sentenced Former UTO commanders, based in to terms of imprisonment of from five to the Karategin Valley and neither demobi- twelve years on charges of membership in lized nor awarded government posts, con- illegal criminal groups and anti-state activi- tinued to head independent armed forces, ties, while another thirty-seven were on tri- and clashes between these renegade al in Leninabad on identical charges at the forces and government troops in Darband time of this writing. International organiza- in late August led to the reported burning tion staff and local sources reported that of civilian houses and killing of livestock by these arrests and trials were accompanied government forces. Islamic insurgents who by incommunicado detention and physical invaded Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in mistreatment. August were accused of maintaining bases in northeastern Tajikistan, and former UTO The Role of the International combatants were accused of participating Community in the incursion. In the face of systematic corruption, a Violence continued to characterize the politically influenced judiciary, and rampant political scene. security force abuse, senior representatives In Dushanbe on February 16 a bomb of international and humanitarian organiza- exploded in a car carrying Dushanbe Mayor tions working in the country and regional Mahmadsaid Ubaidullaev and Deputy specialists called frequently for human Security Minister and parliamentary candi- rights conditions to apply for funding from date Shamsullo Jabirov, fatally wounding the Bretton Woods institutions and other fi- the latter. nancial bodies. The World Bank conducted a major On May 20, Saifullo Rahimov, chair- poverty assessment in 2000, with an aim man of the State Committee on Radio and to establish a poverty reduction program Television, was assassinated in Dushanbe and provided credits totaling close to U.S.$ by unidentified gunmen. 200 million. The Asian Development Bank The politico-military climate in the gave U.S.$ 120 million for agricultural, edu- Karategin Valley deteriorated on June 3 cation, and health care reform, while 294 TAJIKISTAN

Islamic Development Bank representatives Tashkent in August but was canceled when and the Coordination Group of Arab later in that same month Uzbek-Tajik rela- Foundations committed funds for health tions soured following clashes between and infrastructure projects. China con- Islamic insurgents and government troops in tributed some U.S. $700,000 for military Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan sub- technical support. sequently sealed its borders with Tajikistan, and a visa regime between the two coun- United Nations tries became effective in September. In spite of grievously flawed elections, the unfulfilled peace agreement, and a pre- Russian Federation carious security situation, the United Russia kept a firm military presence in Nations Mission of Observers to Tajikistan Tajikistan through its 201st Motorized Rifle (UNMOT) terminated its mandate on May Division, the thousands-strong Russian 15. UNMOT’s support for rushed elections Border Forces, and a permanent Russian at the expense of human rights goals and military base in Khujand, and through sup- long-term political stability seemed at least port for antiterrorist and anti-drug trafficking partially designed to justify the peacekeep- activities. Russia threatened to conduct air ing mission’s premature exit from the coun- strikes against alleged Chechen training try. This haste to withdraw was illustrated by bases in Afghanistan. Russia failed to use the closure of its field offices, whose per- its military ties to encourage measures to sonnel had been tasked with overseeing curb the lawless and abusive practices of and monitoring the parliamentary elections, the Tajik security forces. even before the runoff votes had been held. UNMOT was replaced by a U.N. United States Tajikistan Office of Peace Building (UN- Although United States Embassy inter- TOP), manned in Dushanbe by only a national staff were relocated in September handful of international staff members. 1998 to Almaty for security reasons, the “suspended operations“ status of the U.S. Organization for Security and Cooperation embassy was lifted in late 1999, and Uni- in Europe (OSCE) ted States embassy personnel based in Al- In 2000 a Khujand field office was maty traveled regularly to Dushanbe. The added to those already in place in Shaartuz, U.S. Agency for International Develop- Dusti, and Kurgan-Tiube, while an OSCE ment’s budget for Central Asia suffered presence was maintained in Garm by a lo- close to a 30 percent cut, and the agency cal staff member. The mission led a joint elaborated a strategy to collaborate mainly U.N.-OSCE election observation team for with in-country NGOs and local govern- the February parliamentary elections and ment, particularly in the areas of health and produced a comprehensive report which environment. The State Department’s noted that the elections failed to meet min- Country Reports on Human Rights Practi- imum democratic standards. Noteworthy ces for 1999 provided an unbiased and in initiatives included a high-profile interven- general accurate review of the sorry state of tion on behalf of a prisoner facing capital human rights in Tajikistan punishment, a sentence later commuted to imprisonment, and access to prisons by the Human Rights Defenders mission. As in previous years there was little hu- man rights monitoring by local groups, but The Republic of Uzbekistan a victory of sorts was shared by local The first official service flight in nine women’s NGOs when an unfair death sen- years flew once between Dushanbe and tence imposed on twenty-one-year-old TAJIKISTAN 295

Dilfuza Numonova was commuted in July. its findings with international medical hu- The move to commute her sentence had manitarian organizations, one of which sub- been spearheaded by international organi- sequently implemented an assistance pro- zations, but many local women’s organiza- gram. The International Committee of the tions signed petitions to the Government in her support. Red Cross (ICRC) continued to be denied The OSCE mission gained access to access to prisoners in accordance with its several of the country’s prisons and shared standard procedures.

Endnotes 1 As reported in Human Rights Watch World Report 2001. Reporting period: November 1999 through November 2000. 2 See IHF, Women in 2000, an Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. 296 TURKEY1

The charred remains of a dormitory at Byrampasa prison following the storming of the security forces in November. © APA/EPA

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression; freedom of association; torture, ill-treatment and detainees’ rights; conditions in prisons; death penalty; religious intolerance; conscientious objection; protection of ethnic minorities; women’s rights2, protection of asylum seekers; human rights defenders.

At its Helsinki Summit in December Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human 1999, the EU recognized Turkey as a can- Rights, produced by the Secretariat of the didate for membership in the union. It de- High Coordinating Council for Human cided that prior to actual negotiations for Rights of the Office of the Prime Minister in membership Turkey must meet the political mid-2000, after the above-mentioned re- criteria for EU membership established in port was published. Copenhagen in 1993. The necessary steps Both documents contained a large include “stability of institutions guarantee- number of proposals for constitutional, le- ing democracy, the rule of law, human gal and administrative reform in the direc- rights, and respect for and protection of mi- tion of better protection of fundamental norities.“ 3 rights, including, for example, measures for Turkey’s first real indication of its readi- reshaping the National Security Council (a ness for the Accession Partnership ap- powerful semi-military body established peared in the 28 February 2000 Report on under the Constitution to advise the state the Political Criteria of the Special Com- leadership on national security matters); mittee on Turkey - E.U. Relations prepared abolishing the death penalty; redrafting by the Special Committee on Turkey–EU laws in order to ensure freedom of expres- relations attached to the Turkish Prime sion; establishing judicial police; abolishing Minister’s Office. Another indication was incommunicado police detention and com- the document entitled Calendar for bating domestic violence. The documents TURKEY 297 also proposed the signing and ratification of legislation related to freedom of expression the ICCPR and the ICESCR, both of which and issued partial amnesties to those in- were signed by Turkey on 15 August 2000. carcerated for expressing their non-violent However, the omissions and the lack of opinions. In 2000, no legislative changes precision regarding the final shape of such were made to expand freedom of expres- reforms, as well as the time line for reforms sion, and courts continued to hand down indicated in the Calendar (by the end of convictions under Articles 312 (incite- 2001 or 2002), left room for concern be- ment), 155 (criticism of military service), cause numerous changes were already 158-159 (insulting the President and the long overdue, for example those regarding organs of State) of the Penal Code, and freedom of expression and torture, incom- Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law. municado detention, language rights, and Article 312 also provided for a ban on asylum issues. participation in politics or civil society. For On 8 November 2000, the EU pub- politicians, a conviction under this article ef- lished a regular report on Accession fectively meant the end of public life and Partnership with Turkey. According to the was therefore a powerful curb on the dis- Europe and Central Asia Division of Human cussion of ideas unwelcome to the State. Rights Watch (HRW, IHF member), the EU Article 289 of the Penal Code, which dealt failed to take full advantage of this impor- with incitement to racial or religious hatred, tant opportunity to promote human rights virtually restated the terms of the trouble- reform in Turkey. While the document con- some Article 312 while substantially in- tained much of value, it had a disappoint- creasing the penalty. The commentary to ing lack of detail in key areas such as safe- the article provided that statements of this guards against torture and the protection of kind could only be considered an offence if freedom of expression. The organisation they threatened public order, but judicial noted that the Accession Partnership cov- practice failed to apply the article in line ered torture, the constraints on freedom of with international human rights standards. expression and association, and the repres- Article 425 of the draft Penal Code also sion of civil society in overly broad terms provided for up to three years’ imprison- that could be used by the Turkish authori- ment for insulting the President. Article 426 ties to continue their traditional policy of provided for imprisonment for insulting delay and prevarication. ministers or members of the armed forces, In 2000, human rights violations con- as well as state institutions, such as the tinued in abundance: for example, police Parliament, the State, the Council of torture remained commonplace, including Ministers, or the armed forces. Articles 425 child victims; courts continued to hand and 471 similarly criminalized insults to- down prison sentences to individuals for wards the Turkish or foreign flags – all pro- voicing non-violent opinions and to shut visions ruled impermissible by the down political parties for challenging the European Court of Human Rights. dominant ideology; human rights defend- ers faced trial and were imprisoned; and On 5 July, the Supreme Court upheld the rights of minorities and asylum seekers a one-year sentence imposed on former were seriously violated. Turkey’s women’s Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and rights record was among the poorest in the leader of the banned Welfare Party under OSCE region.4 Article 312 for a speech he gave in March 1994 that was deemed to “incite ethnic, Freedom of Expression racial, and religious enmity.” Throughout the 1990s Turkish Govern- In the same week the Court upheld a ments made superficial amendments to twelve-month sentence imposed on Hasan 298 TURKEY

Celal Guzel, former Education Minister and membership and requirements to submit leader of the Rebirth Party, for a speech he all publications and public meetings for ap- gave in Kayseri in 1998 in which he strong- proval by the local governor made the Law ly criticized the headscarf ban.5 He was re- on Associations a repressive piece of legis- leased in May after serving a sentence after lation. Further, associations were required the EU summit in December 1999. to pay the fees and travelling expenses for an unspecified number of government As of this writing, former President of agents to attend their meetings and record the Turkish Human Rights Association proceedings on paper, audio or video tape. (HRA), Akin Birdal, is serving a sentence Local governors frequently exercised their under Article 312 in Ankara’s Ulucanlar considerable discretion to halt meetings, Prison. He was imprisoned in June 1999 suppress publications and posters, and for a speech he gave three years earlier close down associations. calling for “peace and understanding.“ His release on health grounds in September Torture, Ill-Treatment and Detainees’ 1999 was widely viewed as a maneuver to Rights avoid official embarrassment during the up- coming Istanbul OSCE Summit and the EU The Turkish Penal Code provided Helsinki Summit. He returned to prison in heavy penalties for ill-treatment and tor- March 2000. Under Article 4 of the Law on ture.6 Despite strict provisions, however, Associations, Akin Birdal was forced to re- the persistence of torture in Turkey re- linquish both his leadership of the HRA and mained indisputable, with one Turkish his membership. Under Article 81 of the Government after another denying the ex- Law on Political Parties, he may no longer tent of torture and refusing to take any ef- stand for any political office nor join any po- fective measures to combat it.7 The only in- litical party. The same bans applied to dependent body available to monitor the Necmettin Erbakan and Hasan Celal Guzel. problem was the Parliamentary Human Other laws restrict rights to demon- Rights Commission, which reported its find- ings in 2000. Its six reports unfolded an ap- strate, to publish, and to broadcast. Con- palling catalogue of torture, deceit, and of- fiscations of newspapers, books, and pam- ficial negligence. phlets were the daily tasks of press prose- Moreover, in the 1990s, Turkey refused cutors, local governors and the Supreme to authorize the publication of several early re- Board of Radio and Television. ports made by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). In 1999, the Freedom of Association Turkish Government finally granted permis- NGOs faced legal obstacles to their ac- sion for the publication of one such report. tivities. Although there was an active civil The most conservative reports of “dis- society in Turkey, any organisation that in- appearance“ in the 1990s put the number curred official disapproval remained subject at over 140. Over 450 people died in po- to a storm of litigation in 2000. lice custody, apparently as a result of tor- The Law on Associations, with its cum- ture in the two decades since the 1980 bersome and restrictive rules for NGOs, re- military coup. mained in force and affected NGO activi- The record on torture of the Govern- ties. The law was drafted with the memory ment in office in 2000 was unexceptional. of armed groups’ abuse of the right to as- In August 1999, the punishments given to sociation in the 1970s. Certain provisions, officers convicted of torture were increa- for example those relating to the storage of sed. In June 1999, Prime Minister Ecevit firearms on association premises, were ful- had issued a circular urging police and gen- ly justified. However, heavy restrictions on darmes not to commit torture and to abide TURKEY 299 by the October 1997 Regulation on Appre- changes. Detainees were often told that it hension, Custody and Interrogation. This would be to their advantage if they waived regulation outlawed the use of force during their right to legal counsel, an allegation interrogation and emphasized detainees’ that was confirmed in 2000 by the Turkish rights to remain silent, to be informed of Parliamentary Human Rights Commission. their rights, to inform relatives, and to have Prosecutors and provincial governors, who legal counsel. However, the circular was not had a formal responsibility to supervise po- followed by determined legislative or ad- lice stations and gendarmeries, seemed ministrative efforts to eradicate torture and largely to have neglected this duty. soon appeared to be a dead letter. According to the Parliamentary Com- In 2000, incommunicado detention mission, at Erzurum’s Sehit Fatih Bodur continued to be a key problem linked to Police Centre, 269 out of 270 detainees torture: there were no witnesses and evi- were recorded as not having requested a dence of abuse could be obscured or min- lawyer in the preceding 12 months. At imized. The UN Special Rapporteur on tor- Tunceli Police Headquarters, the commis- ture (following his 1998 visit),8 the CPT sion noted that police station records had (following its 1997 visit),9 and the UN been kept in an organized fashion since Committee against Torture (in its 1993 re- 1998, but that all the detainees’ entries port on Turkey)10 had recommended, in stated “did not request a lawyer.“ People vain, that all detainees be given access to who had been detained in these units for an independent lawyer. common criminal offences gave the com- According to the 1997 changes in the mission detailed and credible accounts of Criminal Procedure Code, common crimi- torture. nal detainees could only be held in police The fact that offences under the Law custody for up to seven days and were to on Organized Crime – a law that was fre- be provided with access to legal counsel quently abused - fell within the jurisdiction throughout this period. Those detained for of State Security Courts gave the police yet offences tried in State Security Courts, another means to exclude lawyers. however, were still held incommunicado Blindfolding prisoners in police custody for the first four days, after which time they was routine practice, including when pris- could have access to a lawyer. Moreover, oners signed a statement. Both the UN their detention could be extended to seven Committee against Torture (in 1993) 11 and days upon the order of a judge, and up to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture (in ten days in provinces under a state of 1998)12 noted that this practice should be emergency. forbidden. Still, the 1997 reform resulted in only Nearly all detainees, both male and fe- limited improvement. In 2000, State male, reported some level of sexual abuse Security Court detainees continued to be or sexually insulting behaviour in detention. frequently subjected to torture and denied The poor standard of record keeping at access to legal counsel even after the four- gendarme and police stations, as well as day period had elapsed. If lawyers were giv- the security forces’ systematic failure to no- en access to their clients, they were usual- tify families of detention, facilitated torture ly only permitted a brief meeting with their and ill-treatment. The Parliamentary Hu- client in the presence of a police officer. It man Rights Commission’s inquiries sug- was almost unheard of for lawyers to be gested that there had been some improve- present during the subsequent interroga- ment in this respect, but additional tion of their clients. progress was needed. It appeared that common criminal de- Although all detainees were required tainees also benefited little from the 1997 to undergo a medical examination at the 300 TURKEY end of police custody, this safeguard to which the key had been lost. The com- against torture continued to be persistently mission members broke a panel of the evaded in 2000. Police officers pressured door and peered through to find “all of the detainees to conceal their injuries from walls, including the door, were covered medical personnel, intruded on examina- with yellow sponge, in order to give sound tions, destroyed medical certificates, and insulation… Nearly all of the children who “shopped around“ hospitals and health told the commission that they had been centres until they received a medical cer- tortured at this police station had described tificate with which they were satisfied. In this room covered in yellow foam.“ There contravention to the rules, detainees were were other “lost keys“ and soundproof in- rarely given a copy of their medical report. terrogation rooms in other police stations Also, police officers were often present dur- and provinces. ing the medical examination of detainees, Although prosecutors have been more another violation of existing rules. ready to initiate legal proceedings against Children and juveniles have often been police officers and gendarmes for ill-treat- among torture victims in the past ten years. ment or torture in recent years, regrettably, The Turkish Parliamentary Human Rights convictions and appropriate sentencing have Commission investigations showed that the remained rare. One important obstacle was practice continued, apparently undimin- the 1999 Law on the Prosecution of Civil ished, in 2000. Servants and Other Administrative Officials, In March 2000, the Parliamentary which gave local governors - who oversee Human Rights Commission interviewed a police affairs - the final say in initiating pros- number of juveniles at the Bakirkoy Prison ecutions. This law instructed prosecutors re- for Women and Children. Two of the per- ceiving complaints to desist from any action sons interviewed stated that they had been and transfer the case file to the governor’s held at various police stations in Istanbul, office. The new law appeared to serve no stripped naked and subjected to electric purpose other than to protect torturers. shocks, hosing with cold water under pres- sure, beating with a truncheon, falaka and On 3 January, the Ankara governor were forced to stand for hours in a chest- ruled that no legal proceedings should be high barrel of water. One 14-year-old de- taken in respect of a complaint against 155 scribed being interrogated under torture for gendarmes for offences of torture, sexual eight days at Kadikoy Yeldegirmeni Police assault and the murder of ten prisoners at Station. He told the commission where to Ulucanlar Prison in Ankara in September find the pickaxe handles used for beating 1999. The Ankara District Administrative the soles of detainees’ feet. When the com- Court overturned the governor’s decision mission later went to the police station, the on 17 May. The file was returned to the lo- instruments were found just as the youth cal prosecutor who, at the time of writing, had indicated. had made no decision as to whether or not to proceed with a prosecution. On the basis of leads given by young people interviewed at Bakirkoy Women and Police officers and gendarmes subject Children’s prison, the commission went to to investigation and prosecution for ill-treat- Kucukkoy police station. They found an ap- ment, torture and unlawful killing were not paratus used to suspend detainees by the customarily suspended from duty, and arms, photographed it, and submitted the there were even examples of officers still photographs as evidence in judicial pro- employed after a conviction for ill-treatment. ceedings. At the same police station the Even when faced with very strong evi- commission was told that a room with a dence that torture had taken place, the locked door was “an unused storage room“ courts remained reluctant to convict and TURKEY 301 impose appropriate sentences on security by the supervision of a body independent officers. of state institutions. At the end of 2000, a new law was Conditions in Prisons adopted to provide for the conditional re- Between 1995 and late 2000, at least lease of thousands of prisoners. Ironically, 26 prisoners had been killed in Turkish pris- however, the law did not cover those per- ons by gendarmes13 sent there to “restore sons imprisoned for the peaceful expres- order,“ a duty they customarily carried out sion of their opinions, forming associations with extreme brutality. Prisoners also fre- or assembling in public. Moreover, while quently reported being beaten or otherwise the law excluded from release those per- abused during trips from prison to court or sons convicted for having participated in to hospitals. Again, gendarmes handled “torture,” it allowed the conditional release these transfer duties. of members of the security services who In 2000, the Ministry of Justice tried to had been convicted for “ill-treating” de- move away from its traditional system of tainees. It must be noted that in most of large wards of eighty or more prisoners, the rare cases of convictions for torture, the which had proved difficult to manage, to a perpetrators were officially sentenced not 16 cell or room system. New cell-based “F- for “torture,” but for “ill-treatment.” Type“ prisons were under construction, and Towards the end of 2000 the situation existing prisons were being remodelled.14 in prisons escalated dramatically. Some HRW stated that it did not oppose the 800 inmates in various prisons charged move to cell based prisons per se, but was with or convicted of politically motivated of- concerned that unless accompanied by fences went on hunger strike – and later to productive activities and substantial out-of- death fast - to protest inter alia the con- cell time, the new prisons could impose a struction of the “F-type” prisons and the harsh isolation regime that would violate in- possible imposition of a regime of isola- ternational standards. These concerns tion.17 On 19 December authorities stemmed from the fact that the Ministry of launched the so-called Operation Return to Justice had already begun to apply small Life, aimed at stopping the hunger strikes group isolation in parts of the prison sys- and death fasts. Thousands of soldiers tem, including at Kartal Special Closed forced their way into several prisons using Prison in the Soganlik district of Istanbul. excessive force (firearms, explosives, etc.) The Ministry of Justice remained inex- to end the protests. At least 27 inmates plicably silent on how it intended to run the and two soldiers died, 426 were wounded new facilities and thus failed to determine and 600 were transferred to “F-type.” The whether the planned changes represented Human Rights Foundation of Turkey progress or a serious regression. Speaking (HRFT) characterized the operation as a about the plan to institute an individual cell massacre and reported that there was even system, the CPT stated in a report to the evidence suggesting the use of chemical Turkish Government that “in the absence of weapons during the operation. Following a significant improvement in activities for the operation, insufficient and contradictory prisoners, the introduction of smaller living information was given about the fate and units will almost certainly cause more prob- whereabouts of the inmates to their rela- lems than it solves.”15 tives. Many of the prisoners who had been Turkish prisons are visited regularly by moved to hospitals were forcibly fed and the local prosecutor, and are inspected by chained or handcuffed to their beds. the Ministry of Justice every two years. Others continued their death fasts in “F- According to the CPT report published in Type” prisons and hospitals. Conditions in 1999, these visits should be supplemented the prisons to which the inmates were 302 TURKEY moved were reportedly extremely poor, in- ter of education announced that more than cluding no heating, insufficient clothing for 300 primary and secondary school teach- the inmates, ill-treatment, restrictions on ers had been dismissed by the ministry for the right to meet relatives and a lack of defying the dress code by wearing a head- medical care.18 scarf to work.20 On 31 May the Istanbul Fatih Primary Death Penalty Court sentenced Nuray Canan Bezirgan to Turkey has not carried out any execu- six months’ imprisonment for “obstructing tions since 1984, and could therefore be the education of others“ because she wore included in the list of de facto abolitionist a headscarf during an examination at the States. However, as of the end of 2000, it Health Services Vocational Institute of had not yet signed the Sixth Protocol to the Istanbul University. The sentence was later ECHR, and courts continued to hand down converted to a fine, but she faced several death sentences. As of September, 57 other similar charges that would result in 21 death sentences that had been confirmed imprisonment if convicted. on appeal were pending at the final parlia- Arrangements were made to exclude mentary stage. openly devout persons from state privi- Prime Minister Ecevit expressed his leges. In July, Deputy Prime Minister Devlet personal opposition to the death penalty, Bahceli confirmed that a circular issued by and Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk the State Planning Organisation barred any said that it was time for Turkey to harmo- civil servants or family members wearing a nize its judicial system with the European headscarf from entering the organisation’s system and discuss the abolition of the rest and recreation facilities. According the death penalty within this framework. Regulation on Army Hostels, Clubs and The most prominent case of the death Social Facilities, with the exemption of old penalty in 2000 was that of Abdullah Öca- people, “those wearing beards, cloaks, tur- lan, leader of the Kurdish Workers’ Party bans, skullcaps, headscarves or similar un- (PKK), who was sentenced to death on 29 contemporary garb…” were excluded from June 1999 under Article 125 of the Cri- their facilities.22 minal Code (crimes against the State). In Even elected representatives were February 1999 Öcalan filed a complaint to subject to the ban. the European Court of Human Rights, As of late 2000, the case of Merve claiming to be the victim of a number of vi- Kavakci was still under consideration in the olations of the ECHR. Constitutional Court. On 2 May 1999, Ka- vakci, elected the previous month as a Religious Intolerance19 Fazilet party deputy, entered the Grand National Assembly wearing a headscarf. A campaign to restrict the wearing of Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit denounced headscarves for religious reasons in educa- Kavakci in very strong terms and called for tional settings or on state premises contin- a recess. Media close to the State inter- ued unabated, strongly supported by the preted Kavakci’s act as a political attack on Office of the Chief of General Staff. By late democracy and secularism. The incident 2000, this campaign, waged in the name triggered a move by the Constitutional of secularism, had resulted in thousands of Court to close down Fazilet. devout Muslim women being temporarily or permanently denied access to educa- tion, while others had been suspended or Conscientious Objection discharged from employment in teaching Turkey’s legislation provided for com- or health care. On 10 February, the minis- pulsory military service for all adult males; TURKEY 303 there was no provision for conscientious carried out by the emergency region gover- objection. nor were limited, and there was no judicial Article 377 of the draft Penal Code, review of such actions. which imposed imprisonment for up to two More than 60,000 villagers were still years for “alienating the people from the in- armed and paid by the State as village stitution of military service,“ was a restate- guards. The village guard system, estab- ment of Article 155 of the Penal Code, lished in the mid-1980s ostensibly to help which was the basis for several prosecuti- villagers to defend their own villages, was a ons and the repeated imprisonment of one human rights disaster. In practice, village conscientious objector, Osman Murat Ülke. guards were used in a wide range of secu- rity operations, including incursions into Protection of Ethnic Minorities northern Iraq and they were involved in Stability in the Southeast “disappearances,“ extrajudicial executions The capture of Abdullah Öcalan, and and torture. In theory, membership in the the PKK’s announcement that it was to village guard corps was voluntary, but in abandon armed activities in Turkey reduced practice, it was a test of loyalty: the villagers much of the armed turbulence in the were made to choose to serve and risk be- southeastern provinces. Some units of the ing killed by the PKK, or refuse and put PKK continued sporadic attacks though and themselves under suspicion of supporting there were clashes between security forces the PKK. The village guard corps was never and PKK groups withdrawing to northern given a proper chain of command or re- Iraq. The illegal armed organisation TIKKO sponsibility, and most village guards on (Workers’ and Peasants’ Army of Turkey) duty still had no insignia in 2000 by which also continued its activities. Nevertheless, they could be identified. the number of clashes diminished consid- erably. The Anatolia News Agency reported Internal Displacement on 25 May that armed incidents had de- According to the Turkish Parliament’s creased from 3,300 in 1994, to 1,436 in Commission on Migration, 401,328 vil- 1995, 488 in 1999 and 18 in the first five lagers have been displaced since 1984. months of 2000. Over 300,000 people remained internally However, the situation in the region re- displaced in 2000. mained far for normality. A state of emer- Many other observers have claimed a gency continued in six provinces: much higher figure. In most cases, these Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Sirnak, Siirt, Tunceli, and villagers were not evacuated in an orderly Van. As the violence that had provoked the fashion, resettled, or compensated. Rather, emergency subsided, cross-party pressure they were driven from their homes by se- for ending the emergency increased. Under curity forces who left burned houses and the 1983 State of Emergency Law and sup- destroyed crops and livestock in their wake. plementary decrees, the emergency region From a large number of petitions filed with governor had sweeping powers to move the European Court of Human Rights in re- populations, confiscate publications and spect of village destruction, three important limit the right of assembly. Maximum police judgments had already been decided detention periods could be extended from against Turkey as of late 2000.23 The seven to ten days within the emergency re- Turkish Government had taken at least two gion. The governor’s extraordinary powers initiatives for return, both of which were ex- were still regularly exercised in 2000. For tremely problematic.24 example, in May, the emergency region There remained two principle obsta- governor banned the distribution of twelve cles to return. First, it was not clear that vil- journals. Rights to compensation for acts lagers could safely go home without falling 304 TURKEY victim to security force or PKK violence. The It is clear, however, that the EU’s most recent case of village destruction Copenhagen criterion of “respect for and known to HRW was in 1998. However, as protection of minorities“ should be applied recently as 17 February 2000 the newspa- not only to the Jewish, Greek and per Ozgur Bakis reported that the Savet vil- Armenian minorities defined by the Treaty lage, near Beytussebab in Sirnak province, of Lausanne, but also to the Assyrians, had been raided by security forces threat- Kurds, Laz, Roma and many other minori- ening the community with forcible evacua- ties in Turkey. tion. On 26 February the same newspaper The 1990s saw a considerable liberal- reported that the Kenik village, near Kozluk ization in the area of language policy in in Batman province, had been subjected to Turkey. A law that prohibited speech and similar threats. printing in languages not officially recog- In addition, the Government lacked a nized was abolished in 1991. In 2000, sev- clear will to return all displaced villagers to eral newspapers and magazines were pub- their original homes and was still pressing lished in minority languages - although forward with its projects for “central vil- those produced in Kurdish were frequently lages“ (köykent), into which some villagers subject to confiscation or police raids for would be permanently resettled on govern- suspected “separatism.” ment land in communities under the eye In a test case in March concerning a of the security forces. child that had been given a Kurdish name, In any event, returns to villages were the Supreme Court ruled that children slow: the U.S. State Department’s annual could legally be given names of non-Turkish human rights report for 1999 quoted a origin. government figure amounting to no more Broadcasting and education, however, than 6.59% of the Parliamentary Commis- remained under dispute in 2000. The sion’s conservative figure. 1994 Law on the Television and Radio The Turkish Government also failed to Organisations and their Broadcasts man- investigate “disappearances“ and extra-judi- dated the exclusive use of the Turkish lan- cial executions committed during the guage except in certain circumstances. On 1990s. During the security force operations the basis of this law, licenses were not is- in the rural southeast, torture has been the sued for television or radio channels to standard tool of intelligence gathering, and broadcast in Kurdish. Interestingly, the only anyone who came under suspicion of ille- media outlet to broadcast in the Kurdish gal activities was at risk of extra-judicial ex- language was the Dicle Sesi (Voice of the ecution or “disappearance.“ Tigris) radio channel, run by the armed forces, virtually acknowledging that many Language Policy who lived in the southeast were unable to According to the Turkish Foreign Mi- understand Turkish. nistry website, “The status of minorities in Turkish remained the official - though Turkey has been internationally certified by not exclusive - language of instruction, ac- the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, according to cording to Article 42.9 of the Constitution. which there are only non-Muslim minorities On the basis of the 1983 Foreign in Turkey. It is wrong, according to this def- Language Education and Teaching Law, the inition, to refer to our citizens of Kurdish National Security Council decided which descent as a ‘Kurdish minority’. Besides, foreign languages may be taught in Turkey. Turkey is a unitary State and ‘Turkish citi- While languages spoken outside of Turkey zenship’ is an all embracing juridical con- (e.g. English, Russian, Chinese, etc.) could cept encompassing all our citizens, granting be taught, Laz, Kurdish and Roma could them equal rights and obligations…” not. TURKEY 305

Protection of Asylum Seekers In July 2000, the European Court of Turkey retained a geographic limitation Human Rights condemned Turkey for at- to its ratification of the 1951 UN Con- tempting to deport an Iranian refugee with- vention on the Status of Refugees: accord- out examining the merits of her asylum ing to the limitation, only those fleeing as a claim on the ground that she had failed to register with the police within five days of consequence of “events occurring in Eu- her arrival.29 rope“25 could be granted refugee status. This limitation, however, did not exempt The UNHCR indicated that this prob- Turkey from a responsibility to abide by the lem was temporarily brought under control principle of non-refoulement, which is through the Turkish authorities’ “regulariza- binding in all cases.26 tion“ of asylum seekers who entered the Since 1994, the Turkish authorities country illegally and failed to meet the pre- have determined the status of non- conditions. European asylum seekers, while the UN In 2000, the Turkish Government’s sys- High Commissioner for Refugees (UN- tem for examining asylum applications did HCR) has attempted to resettle those not contain the minimum safeguards re- refugees in third countries. The system quired under international law for fair and as it stood in 2000 was extremely dan- accurate refugee determination. Local police gerous for non-European refugees and officers recorded the substance of claims various stages of the process put them at with the assistance of interpreters who were risk of refoulement. First, many asylum often incompetent, and case decisions were seekers were apprehended at the bor- made by officials of Interior and Foreign ders and promptly deported. Turkish offi- Ministries who lacked expertise and inde- cials at the Iranian border had the discre- pendence. There were no provisions for oral tion to promptly return any foreigner ap- hearings or legal assistance. Applicants were prehended within the two-kilometre not provided with a written notification of the zone separating Iran and Turkey.27 Of the reasons for their rejection and appeal rights tens of thousands of illegal aliens appre- were ineffective or inaccessible. hended inside Turkey in recent years, Moreover, anyone who eventually ma- none were reported to have been in- naged to be recognized by the Turkish au- formed of their right to seek asylum in thorities as fitting the UN Convention’s def- Turkey prior to expulsion. Some asylum inition of a refugee was not classified as a seekers were ill-treated in police custody, “refugee,” but only as an “asylum-seeker.“ or even killed by security forces as they “Asylum seeker“ status did not carry a guar- tried to cross the border. antee against refoulement, but only qualifi- In addition, the 1994 regulations im- cation for a temporary residence permit so posed a number of preconditions for filing that the person could submit his or her case asylum applications, which, in practice, for consideration by UNHCR with a view to were difficult and sometimes impossible resettlement in another country. The asylum for asylum seekers to meet. These includ- regulations, in direct violation of the princi- ed time limits of a few days for registration, ple of non-refoulement, authorized the de- and the requirement of valid identity docu- portation of recognized “asylum seekers“ ments. Applicants who did not meet the who had not been resettled in a third coun- preconditions were liable to deportation. try after a “reasonable time“. Between 1995 and 2000, at least 570 such Iranians and Iraqis with applications Human Rights Defenders pending with the UNHCR were forcibly re- Criticizing the authorities or question- turned.28 ing the State’s view of society was often 306 TURKEY viewed as a form of disloyalty bordering on Many other human rights defenders treason. Organisations viewed as disloyal faced trial in 2000, including several mem- were harassed, raided or closed down; bers and volunteers of the Human Rights their members risked prosecution or worse. Foundation of Turkey (HRFT), which deals Members of the Turkish Human Rights mainly with torture victims.31 Association’s (HRA) 59 branches were de- On 23 May, Dr. Zeki Uzun, a volunteer tained, tortured, imprisoned and subjected gynaecologist with the HRFT Izmir to death threats and 11 HRA members had Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, and been murdered by unknown assailants by 12 other defendants were acquitted due to late 2000, in some cases in circumstances inadequate evidence. Fatma Kaygisiz and that suggested security force involvement. Sabri Suncak were sentenced to three Sixteen alleged members and support- years and nine months imprisonment re- ers of the ultra-nationalist Turkish Revenge spectively under Article 169 of the Penal Brigade faced trial in late 2000 for attempting Code (setting up an armed gang). Dr. Uzun to kill Akin Birdal, then President of the HRA, was detained in his office on 19 October in May 1999. The defendants included a re- 1999 and held in detention for seven days, tired army major and a serving gendarmerie during which time he was tortured. He was officer. They were also accused of “forming charged with “aiding an illegal organisation” an armed gang to commit crime for social simply for providing medical treatment to and political objectives.“ Birdal was shot six two patients. times at HRA headquarters. Immediately af- On 13 June, the Izmir Penal Court of ter the shooting, then Prime Minister Mesut First Instance No. 2 sentenced Prof. Dr. Veli Yilmaz claimed that the attack was “an inter- Lok and Bahri Akkan to one month impris- nal settling of accounts” and that the HRA onment and fined each of them TL 60 mil- was connected to the PKK.30 lion (U.S.$100) under Article 30.2 of the The Diyarbakir and Van branches of the press law (No. 5680). The prison sen- HRA and the Malatya branch of the tences were commuted to a fine of TL 60 Association of Human Rights and Solidarity million under Law No. 647: thus, the two for Oppressed Peoples (Mazlum-Der) re- defendants each had to pay a fine of TL mained closed in late 2000. Diyarbakir 120 million. Professor Lok was charged HRA challenged the closure in the courts with violating the press law for making a and won. On 19 April, the court overturned statement in connection with the unjust ar- the closure order, and after some delay the rests carried out during the funeral of branch was permitted to reopen. Their first Nevzat Ciftci, one of the prisoners killed activity was to be a signature campaign during the police operation at Ankara against the new generation of “F-Type” pris- Ulucanlar Prison on 26 September 1999. ons. As the local governor refused permis- According to the prosecutor, “the defen- sion for publications and meetings associ- dants made a show, in the aftermath of ated with the campaign, the branch issued previous trials, with the press statements a critical press statement. It was then they made together with their national and closed for three months on the orders of international supporters, and they consid- the emergency region governor. Thirty min- ered themselves to be above the law. The utes after the branch re-opened on 12 media also supported them by broadcast- August, the emergency region governor ing the news about them, thus, violating closed it once again. The recently opened the principle of impartiality. In addition, the Van branch of the HRA was also closed by 19 January 2000 press statement by Yavuz the emergency region governor, because it, Önen, President of the HRFT executive too, was planning a campaign relating to board, is […] evidence that a crime was the “F-Type” prisons. committed.” TURKEY 307

On 11 July, the fifth court hearing in The Helsinki Citizens Assembly sum- the case against Dr. Alp Ayan and Günseli mer school, to be held between 31 Kaya - both staff members of HRFT Izmir August and 8 September in Canakkale, office - took place in the Izmir Penal Court was abruptly closed down by the police of First Instance. Ayan and Kaya were on 2 September by order of the Ministry among the people arrested when attempt- of Interior: the activity was deemed “not ing to participate in the funeral of a prison- appropriate.” The meeting was attended er killed in the massacre of the Ulucanlar by 19 participants from abroad as well as Prison in Ankara in 1999. On 27 March 2001, the Aliagˇa Penal Court of First by local members. Its main theme was Instance decided to adjourn the hearing “The Importance of NGOs in the Balkans, until 24 May 2001. Between January 2000 the Caucasus and Europe: Civil Approa- and end of March 2001, seven hearings ches in Conflict Prevention for a Peaceful had been held in the case. World”.32

Endnotes 1 Unless otherwise noted, based on Human Rights Watch/Europe and Central Asia Division, Turkey: Human Rights and the European Union Accession Partnership, September 2000, Vol. 12, No. 10 (D). 2 See IHF, Women 2000, an Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. 3 The introduction is based also on Human Rights Watch/Europe and Central Asia Division, “Turkey: Insufficiently Clear Human Rights Agenda for E.U. Accession,” press release, 8 November 2000. 4 See endnote 2. 5 See Religious Tolerance, below. 6 Article 243 provided for 1-8 years’ imprisonment and dismissal from service for securi- ty officers who “subject others to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.“ Article 245 imposed up to five years’ imprisonment for security officers who “ill-treat or physically give harm to the others.“ Article 450(3) provided for the death penalty for any person who intentionally tortured their victim to death and article 452 provided for 15 years’ imprisonment for unintentional killing by wounding or beating. 7 The first and only real practical step to combat torture made by any Turkish Government since the 1980 military coup was the shortening of police detention periods in 1997. 8 E/CN.4/1999/61, 113 (a). 9 CPT/Inf (99) 2 [EN], 23 February 1999, paragraph 19. 10 United Nations Committee against Torture, “Report on Turkey under Article 20,“ November 9, 1993 (A/48/44/Add.1). 11 CPT/Inf (99) 2 [EN], 23 February 1999, paragraph 17. 12 E/CN.4/1999/61, 113 (j). 13 These gendarmes, trained for counter-insurgency in southeastern Turkey, were often called in to quell unrest, and they used this as an opportunity to settle accounts with pris- oners accused of links with illegal armed groups that might be fighting security forces elsewhere in the country. 14 For details, see Human Rights Watch, “Small Group Isolation in Turkish Prisons: An Avoidable Disaster,” 24 May 2000. 15 CPT/Inf (99) 2 [EN]; February 23, 1999. 308 TURKEY

16 Amnesty International, “New Turkish Law Providing for Conditional Prisoner Releases Simply Does Not Address Concerns Over Turkey’s Human Rights Record,” 15 December 2000. 17 Amnesty International, “Turkey: Concerns about Risk of Isolation in Turkish Prisons,” press release, 28 November 2000. 18 Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, 24 and 26 December 2000. 19 See also IHF, Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2000. 20 Turkish Daily News, 11 February 2000. 21 Milliyet, 15 July 2000. 22 The Official Gazette, 20 August 2000. 23 European Court of Human Rights, Mentes and others, 28 November 1996; Akdivar and others, 18 December 1996; Selçuk and Asker, 24 April 1998. 24 As described in Human Rights Watch’s 1996 report Turkey’s Failed Policy to Aid the Forcibly Displaced in the Southeast, Vol. 8, No. 9 (D), June 1996. 25 The UN Convention on the Status of Refugees, Article 1 B(1). For details of Turkey’s reservation, see www.unhcr.ch/refworld/refworld/legal/instrume/asylum/51engsp.htm. 26 Article 33. 27 US Committee for Refugees, World Refugee Survey 1999. 28 Figures collected from the US Committee for Refugees’ World Refugee Survey for the years 1996 to 2000. 29 Hoda Jabari v. Turkey, European Court of Human Rights, No. 40035/98, July 11, 2000. 30 Milliyet, 14 May 1998 31 Information from the Human Rights Foundation (HRFT) of Turkey, 2000. 32 Helsinki Citizens Assembly-Turkey, press statement, 6 September 2000. TURKMENISTAN 309

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression and the media; religious intolerance; conscien- tious objection; protection of ethnic minorities; right to privacy; right to education.

President Niyazov has ruled Turkmenis- the expense of the rights of the Mejlis to tan for 15 years, and was on 28 December create specific laws. By this means, the 1999 proclaimed President for life. He ap- rights of the Mejlis were diminished and pears to rule largely out of touch with the those of the President increased, making terrorized and impoverished population, as the Parliament simply an office of the well as the outside world. The money in President.6 the State budget has largely been spent on President Niyazov repeatedly claimed monuments sustaining his personality cult, that as an Asian State, Turkmenistan could as “father” of all Turkmens and God’s gift to not easily adopt western democracy, and the Turkmen nation, instead of improving that his country was not yet mature enough the general economic situation. to make the transition to a multiparty de- Also in 2000, all distribution policies in mocracy. He also denied that there were the country were presented as “a gift from any political prisoners in Turkmenistan, clai- 1 the President,” school children had to line ming that “we do not impose any moral up and kiss the national flag before the view or ideology on our people by force.”7 start of the lessons, and children were made to dance around a Christmas tree Freedom of Expression and the chanting a prayer to the President during Media the New Year’s celebration.2 In a country with an impoverished population deprived Members of the OSCE Centre in of all civil and political liberties, the Presi- Ashgabat reported that Turkmen officials dent spent his time making grandiose had demanded a role in writing the plans, e.g. building an artificial lake in the Centre’s reports to Vienna and insisted middle of the Karakum desert,3 or issuing that the Centre’s contacts with the local Presidential Decrees on issues such as the population go through the Ministry of renaming of a women’s magazine4. How- Interior. They further accused the Centre’s ever, as the first Central Asian State, Turk- human rights officer of being a spy, trying menistan abolished capital punishment on to organize anti-government rallies and fi- 27 December 1999. nance the opposition. The Norwegian Niyazov has never demonstrated any OSCE chairmanship in 1999 ordered its will to loosen his absolute control over staff not to seek confrontation and to Turkmen society, or to regard seriously any rewrite its reports, out of fear that Niyazov 8 international commitments. More than any would close the Centre. A former em- other CIS leader, Niyazov seemed indiffer- ployee of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat ent to international public opinion, appar- confirmed that the Turkmen authorities ently convinced that the West’s desire for tried to control the outreach and reporting Turkmenistan’s natural gas and oil would activity of the OSCE Centre by warning the protect him from any serious conse- local population not to contact the quences.5 Centre.9 This resulted in a letter from a Article 45 of the Constitution stated group of RFE/RL listeners in Turkmenistan, that the highest organ in the country was where complaints were raised about the the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council). OSCE mission’s role, particularly that the According to Article 51, the Mejlis (Parlia- OSCE officials refused to meet with peo- ment) should fulfill the decisions of the ple who came to visit them.10 These alle- Halk Maslahaty. But Article 65 of the Con- gations were later dismissed by the Head stitution gave the President extra powers at of the Centre.11 310 TURKMENISTAN

Political Prisoners Niyazov, which he did in a televised speech Apparently around 4,000 people were on 15 December.17 in jail in Turkmenistan for alleged disloyalty Mukhametkuli Aimuradov was sen- to the regime.12 tenced to 15 years in prison in 1995 on al- On 5 January, police arrested Nurberdi legedly fabricated anti-state crimes (“activi- Nurmamedov, human rights activist and ties aimed at overthrowing the constitu- leader of the opposition party Agzybirlik. tional order”). In 1998, he received an ad- The reason for his arrest was believed to be ditional sentence of 18 years. He was very two interviews with RFE/RL, where ill and had already gone blind.18 Nurmamedov openly criticized as undemo- cratic the 12 December 1999 parliamen- Pirimkuli Tanrykuliev, a medical scien- tary elections, as well as the decision of tist and public health administrator was in Halk Maslakhaty to make Niyazov 1999 sentenced to eight years in prison for President for life. Ten plain clothes police theft of state property. The real reason was officers without warrants searched his believed to be his criticism of Turkmenis- home, and took him and his two sons to tan’s medical system, and that he ex- the police headquarters. His sons were in- pressed interest in running for a seat in 19 terrogated and released, whereas 57-year Parliament. He was arrested while having 20 old Nurmamedov was charged with threat- lunch with an U.S. Embassy official. ening to commit murder (Article 116 of the According to Memorial, he was on 24 July Criminal Code) and hooliganism (Article moved from Turkmenbashi prison 200 kilo- 279). 13 Nurmamedov had been repeated- metres east to the prison colony in ly detained and fined in the past for his po- Kyzylkaya. The prison was near an abando- 21 litical activity.14 Nurberdi Nurmamebov’s ned uranium mine. Tanrykuliev was re- son Murat was placed under house arrest leased under the 22 December amnesty, on charges of armed hooliganism on 18 in relation to the end of Ramadan, after he January. On 25 February, a Turkmen district had repented in a televised speech on 15 22 court sentenced Nurmamedov to five years December. in prison, and his son Murat to two years. A prominent member of the Russian Foreign diplomats were barred from the community in Turkmenistan, Nina Shme- 15 proceedings. According to the Moscow- leva, was sentenced to six years in prison. based Memorial Rights Defence Centre, Shmeleva was convicted with a group of Nurmamedov had by July been moved 13 suspects accused of having forged from one prison to another, and had spent Russian citizenship documents. Shemeleva time in solitary confinement under de- stated in an interview that she had never plorable conditions. His relatives were seen her alleged “collaborators” before the turned away when trying to bring him food court session. She also told about threats and medicine. In late June after he was and inhumane treatment during interroga- transferred to Bezmeine, a maximum secu- tions at the National Security Council rity prison, Nurmamedov began a hunger (KNB).23 strike. On 12 August, witnesses saw Nur- mamedov taken from his barracks on a There were unconfirmed reports that stretcher, accompanied by a doctor. The the authorities had started to seize flats and family was not notified of his where- houses of opposition members and dissi- abouts.16 Nurmamedov was released from dents, particularly of people who had been imprisonment on 22 December after being forced to leave the country and were living 24 let off by the President. He was released on abroad. condition that he publicly admit wrongdo- In January the authorities seized the ing and take an oath of loyalty towards home of dissident writer Yovshan Annagur- TURKMENISTAN 311 banov, who lived in exile. They also seized kom, kept its licence.29 The last private the flat of Khudayberdy Khallyev, a journal- Internet provider was forced to close on 30 ist working for Radio Liberty’s Turkmen June.30 The effect was that the authorities Service.25 could now screen sites and make certain sites inaccessible for Internet users. They Freedom of the Media also controlled all e-mail circulating in the 31 All media were strictly censored: it ap- country. peared that the only criticism allowed was In August, KNB officials told Radio Li- Niyazov criticizing his ministers and other bery stringer Saparmurad Ovezberdiev, officials for failing to implement his policies whose activities had already been closely or meet their targets. monitored, that he could not longer report The Turkmen newspaper Neytralni for RFE/RL because he lacked accredita- Turkmenistan published a report stating tion, despite the permission granted by the that “Considering it a task of utmost impor- ministry of Foreign Affairs for RFE journalists tance, a true reflection of the achievements to work there.32 of the Turkmen people and an economic, political and cultural progress of our neutral According to Reporters Without Bor- ders, Turkmen journalist Nikolai Gherasi- country, the Turkmen President has adopt- mov was arrested on 7 November, as he ed a resolution to provide wider informa- was collecting materials at a Baku oil and tion on all important events in the press, gas trade fair. He was held in a special pri- distribute through international channels son in Akdash village near Krasnovodsk, af- true information on the changes in Turkme- ter being sentenced to five years in prison nistan, and raise the role of objective, rapid for fraud in a very speedy trial. Gherasimov and true information and of daily periodi- had spoken out against the personality cult cals and other media in the daily life of our in Turkmenistan.33 compatriots. In line with this, the Turkmen press State News Agency has been rena- med the Turkmen State News Service, and Religious Intolerance has been commissioned to collect, process Freedom of religion was severely re- and distribute rapid, reliable and compre- stricted, and only Islam and the Russian hensive information about the changes tak- Orthodox Church were registered.34 Turk- ing place in the country within the frame- men law required religious communities to work of President Turkmenbashi’s pro- have 500 members in order to obtain reg- gramme of making the 21st century the istration. Additionally, authorities regularly golden age for the Turkmen people.”26 harassed the signatories in order to make In late May the Turkmen Ministry of them withdraw their signature. Students Communication revoked the licences of all were also threatened with expulsion from independent Internet service providers in university if they continued their religious the country, after authorities in February ap- activities. proved a new provision requiring all Inter- The KNB appeared to play a leading role net provider to re-register.27 The official rea- in the religious persecution, and security son given was that providers had falsified forces routinely visited unregistered religious information in reports to the Ministry about groups, whose members faced harassment, technical and structural details of their serv- imprisonment, the loss of employment, and ices. This left Turkmentelekom, a company confiscation of their houses if they continued under the Ministry of Communication, as their activities. Other state institutions in- the only Internet provider in Turkmenis- volved were the Gengeshi (Council for tan.28 Apparently, one private company Religious Affairs), the police, the procurator Sibis, which was affiliated to Turkmentele- service, the Justice Ministry, the Education 312 TURKMENISTAN

Ministry, and local authorities.35 The Turkmen A leading Muslim cleric, 72-year old authorities normally made their threats oral- Mullah Khoja Ahmed Orazgylych, who was ly rather than in writing, for instance warning imprisoned in February for having criticized that they would close and seal up a prayer President Niyazov’s decision to include a house if worshippers continue to gather Christmas tree in a public New Year’s cele- there.36 Pastors and other individuals who bration, was in March pardoned after hav- were particularly active were often detained ing publicly confessed to wrongdoing and on fabricated charges.37 sent in internal exile for life together with The President further introduced a his family. The family moved into a mosque “programme of spiritual revival” and a at the cemetery in Govki-Zeren, which was “Code of Moral and Ethical Command- built by the family. In April the mosque was ments” expected to be adopted by demolished upon orders from the KNB, Parliament in late 2000. This programme and Orazgylych constructed a two-room would answer “all of life’s issues,” accord- hut to live in. He was forbidden from leav- ing to the presidential religious adviser.38 ing the village, his family was practically de- On 12 May, the President signed a prived of the means of subsistence, and Constitutional Law banning searches of pri- contact with friends was only possible un- vate homes39 without the prior sanction of der scrutiny by law enforcement agencies. a special commission comprised of senior Several years ago, the Turkmen government officials and representatives of Government paid Orazgylych to translate public organizations and law enforcement the Koran, and Turkmenistan’s qazi (sup- agencies.40 These measures lead to a tem- reme Islamic leader) formally approved the porary decline in harassment of believers.41 translation. However, seemingly as a re- sponse to the criticism coming from the Muslims cleric, President Niyazov ordered all copies Restriction on religious education in of the new translation to be burnt, and mosques was introduced. Speaking on 5 called it an evil translation. He also accused April, President Niyazov declared that “all the cleric in public of long having been madrassahs and religious schools which committed to evil deeds and “having been were open everywhere must be closed,” visited by childless women.”47 and that it was enough for the country to In March Niyazov expressed his dissat- have one madrassah functioning under the isfaction with the activities of the muftis control of the Muftiyat.42 Only those village and announced that the chief imam of children should be admitted whose fathers Mary had been removed after accusations and grandfathers were well known for hon- of economic crimes. Almost all the coun- esty.43 Only one Eastern Orthodox Christian try’s imams ignored the instruction to re- school was to remain open.44 peat the oath of loyalty to the fatherland Since the mid-90s, imported Islamic lit- and the President after each daily prayer. erature has practically ceased to be avail- Dozens of mosques which had been re- able. According to unconfirmed reports, fused registration continued to function.48 over 300 Islamic preachers with foreign cit- The authorities continued to construct izenship (mostly Iranian) were deported state-subsidized mosques. from Turkmenistan during the first six months of 2000.45 Council for Religious Affairs On 10 January, the President demand- An official of Turkmenistan’s Council for ed that Turkmen Muslims renounced the Religious Affairs (CRA) acknowledged that use of hadiths, sayings attributed to the the council directly controlled the selection, Prophet Muhammad which do not appear promotion and dismissal of all Sunni Mus- in the Koran.46 lim mullahs and Russian Orthodox clergy, TURKMENISTAN 313 as the only two officially registered groups. tions had their passports temporarily con- This was considered the Council’s most im- fiscated and were warned not to attend portant task, even if this duty was nowhere services in the future.56 The authorities had listed in the country’s law on religion.49 The orally told one congregation that they Council was also involved in decisions should not include Turkmen names among about whether to accept the applications of the signatures on any application for state bodies such as local church congregations registration. The authorities repeatedly told for state registration, in accordance with ar- believers that Protestant worship services ticle 13 of the law on religion.50 would not be tolerated even in private homes, even though the CRA official de- 57 Minority Religions nied that any such prohibition existed. The officials further confirmed that Many Christian communities still met Baptists, Adventists and Pentecostal in private flats. The one minority faith that Christians used to be officially registered in was able to practice legally in Turkmenistan Turkmenistan, but that under the 1996 was the Catholic Church. Its three priests amendments to the republic’s law on reli- enjoyed diplomatic immunity. According to gion they lost their registration because one unconfirmed report, the Turkmen au- they lacked the necessary 500 signatures.51 thorities refused to allow a Catholic church Six Baptist missionaries had been forced to to open in Ashgabat.58 leave Uzbekistan the first four months of The Armenian Apostolic Church was this year. being prevented from reviving any of its 1999, Turkmenistan became the only parishes in Turkmenistan. The authorities country in the former Soviet Union to de- even refused to allow the architectural res- stroy a place of worship, when bulldozers toration of a century-old Armenian church demolished a newly built Seventh Day building in the town of Turkmenbashi.59 Adventist Church under the pretext of the need to build a new road. At the time of Conscientious Objection writing, there was still no progress made on Several conscientious objectors to mil- 52 this alleged project. itary service continued to be imprisoned An Adventist pastor Pavel Fedotov, was also after the 22 December amnesty: Sha- detained by KNB for three days after police gildy Atakov, a Baptist serving a 4-year sen- broke up a religious meeting on 21 Octo- tence in a labour camp on charges of swin- ber, accusing the pastor of holding an ille- dling was arrested on 18 December 1998; gal meeting, violating passport regulations Yazmammed Annamammedov , a Jeho- and drawing children into religious activity. vah’s Witness serving a 4-year sentence for He was released following intervention by alleged possession of weapons, sentenced foreign diplomats. Fedotov’s home church in Sedar 13 December 1999; Guvanch Asi- was demolished by authorities in 1999.53 rov, a Jehovah’s Witness, serving an 18- month sentence, was arrested in August A representative of Keston News 1999; Igor Nazarov, sentenced on 14 Service had a meeting with a representa- March 2000, was serving an unknown sen- tive of the Baha’i faith obstructed by the tence in a labour camp in Tedjen for refus- KNB, who replaced the real representative ing military service, his second prison term with an imposter.54 on the same charge; Nuryagdy Gaiyrov, a In October, the Turkmen authorities re- Jehovah’s Witness, serving a one-year sen- sumed their harassment of Protestants, tence in a labour camp in Tedjen for refus- and raided three Protestant churches in ing military service, sentenced on 19 Ashgabat.55 Members of all three congrega- January 2000.60 314 TURKMENISTAN

Protection of Ethnic Minorities foreigners as well as its own citizens for President Niyazov issued new restric- years. However, this last move strength- tions on the use of Russian for official busi- ened and institutionalised the State’s inter- ness. Reportedly the number of Russian ference with individual freedom of move- 63 speakers seeking to leave Turkmenistan in- ment. creased significantly. There was also a de- The President stated that it was now crease in the output of Uzbek language the Foreign Minister’s duty to identify visi- print and broadcast media for the sizable tors with evil intentions. All visitors should 61 be monitored even though there was noth- Uzbek minority in the east of the country. ing to be banned – the Turkmen doors The deadline for all state officials in were open for all visitors of goodwill.64 Turkmenistan to pass an examination on Since 21 June Turkmen citizens were their knowledge of the Turkmen language no longer allowed to have accounts in for- expired 1 April. From 1 May, native Rus- eign banks, and they had to transfer their sians would not anymore have the possi- money back to Turkmen banks within three bility to repatriate to Russia because the months.65 Earlier, citizens were allowed to Agreement on Temporary Migrants which own foreign bank accounts if they were allowed repatriates to sell their dwellings working or studying abroad.66 would expire. For many Russian speaking citizens of Turkmenistan the sale of Right to Education67 dwelling was the only opportunity to get money to leave Turkmenistan. The last Rus- In the morning, school children lined sian language schools closed in 2000 with up, recited the oath, and kissed the nation- the withdrawal of the Russian border guard al flag and only then began their classes. troops from the country. There were Many college and university students went 200,000 Russian speaking citizens in through a similar ritual. Afterwards instead Turkmenistan who would lose the opportu- of attending scientific lectures, they had in- nity to get a job and repatriate.62 troduction in “domestic and international politics of “Turkmenbashi”, “Saparmurat Turkmenbashi’s teaching about society”, Right to Privacy “introduction to patriotism”, and “politics of In June President Niyazov ordered independence and neutrality”. stricter monitoring of foreigners in Turkme- There were no computers or interna- nistan, according to a government source. tional press, and most of the few textbooks At a cabinet meeting the Head of State were outdated. In universities, hours of for- supported the idea of creating an inter-or- eign language classes had been cut, as had ganizational council responsible for the general mandatory attendance in second- control and registration of foreign citizens ary schools. The secondary education term arriving in and located in the country. The was cut from 11 to 9 years, university from council was to be formed with the partici- 4 to 3 years. Students interested in aspects pation of the KNB, the Foreign Ministry, the of Turkmenistan’s domestic and foreign Ministry of Interior and the border service. policy other than “patriotism and neutrality” Information on arrival visas and foreigners’ ran the risk of being expelled for “under- whereabouts during their stay would be mining the country’s national values”. collected in a computer centre controlled New textbooks written by Turkmen by the KNB. In a televised speech, Niyazov professors were subjected to such political said the system was being introduced in scrutiny that none ended up being pub- the interests of “national security.” lished.68 The Government also regulated The Turkmen authorities have been the student exchange programmes. engaged in surveillance of the activities of In late July President Niyazov criticized TURKMENISTAN 315 education officials for their poor knowledge courses, following a meeting with German of the Turkmen language, and said that of- embassy officials.71 ficials and students who did not speak The education system also suffered Turkmen would lose their positions. As a from corruption. In a country which claimed remedy, he closed the Department of to provide free education, bribes to enter Turkmen Language and Literature at the into universities was routine, and most stu- Institute of World Languages, and insisted dents “bought” results of school exams in that languages should not be taught in sec- order to graduate from secondary school. ondary schools. Since children and officials Moreover, the family background of the failed to learn languages at schools, lan- students wishing to enter higher education guage education should be abandoned en- would be screened in order to identify the tirely. Instead he proposed to create “self-fi- nancing special language training centres.”69 most worthy applicants, in a screening Two years ago, Niyazov issued a de- process which would go back three gener- cree forbidding the study of foreign lan- ations. According to Niyazov, “the criterion guages in public schools. The President in competition for the title of a student also said there was no need for public should be such key factors as patriotism, schools to teach the English language.70 general educational and cultural level, and According to BBC, Turkmen TV Channel 3 psychological compatibility with the highest was to begin airing daily German language requirements of a chosen profession.”72

Endnotes 1 The President signed a decree making 8 March a national holiday in Turkmenistan. The new law allowed all working women to receive financial awards in the amount of their monthly salary prior to the holiday. College students would receive an extra stipend, while the elderly would benefit from another pension. Pupils and children in preschool were eligible for a gift of U.S.$ 20. All presents and financial awards would come direct- ly from the President.(Turkistan Newsletter, 25 February 2000.) On 25 October, the President announced that salaries would be doubled all over Turkmenistan, for all budg- et funded organizations, to start from 19 February 2001.(Turkmen television first chan- nel, 25 October 2000, quoted in Eurasianet) 2 RFE/RL, 10 March 2000. 3 RFE/RL Turkmen Report, 13 September 2000. 4 In June the President issued a decree renaming the country’s only women’s magazine, changing its name to Gurbansoltan Edhze, which was the name of the President’s moth- er. (BBC Central Asia monitoring, Turkmen TV Channel 1, quoted in RFE/RL Turkmen Service, 7 June 2000) 5 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Human Rights and Democratisa- tion in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, March 2000. 6 Nurberdi Nurmamedov, quoted in NCA/Bruce Pannier, 11 January 2000. 7 RFE/RL, 16 October 2000. 8 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, op.cit. 9 Helsinki Commission Documents, 22 March 2000. 10 RFE/RL, 8 September 2000. 11 RFE/RL, 14 September 2000. 12 Interview with Avdy Kuliev, Turkistan Newsletter, 3 April 2000. 13 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, op.cit. 14 Human Rights Watch, 7 January 2000. 316 TURKMENISTAN

15 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, op.cit. 16 Bruce Pannier, RFE/RL, 25 August 2000. 17 RFE/RL Turkmen Service, 21 and 23 December 2000. 18 Interview with Avdy Kuliev, Turkistan Newsletter, 3 April 2000; RFE/RL Turkmen Service, 29 May 2000. 19 Interview with Avdy Kuliev, Turkistan Newsletter, 3 April 2000. 20 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, op.cit. 21 Bruce Pannier, RFE/RL, 25 August 2000. 22 RFE/RL Turkmen Service, 21 and 23 December 2000. 23 Information Center for Human Rights in Central Asia – Memorial, 29 June 2000. 24 Turkmen RFE/RL, information from Turkmenistan Emigrants, 7 January 2000. 25 NCA/Bruce Pannier, 11 January, quoted in Turkistan Newsletter, 27 January 2000. 26 BBC Central Asia monitoring, - “Neytralny Turkmenistan”, RFE/RL Turkmen Service, 24 May 2000. 27 At the beginning of 2000, Turkmenistan had six Internet service providers, four private and two state run. (Eurasianet, 20 October 2000) 28 Journalist’s Trade Union (JuHI), Azerbaijan, 8 June 2000 via IFEX; RFE/RL Turkmen re- port, 27 May 2000. 29 Reuters via RFE/RL Turkmen Service, 30 May 2000. 30 Turkmenistan: The New Hermit Kingdom, 27 July 2000. 31 Reporters Without Borders, 3 January 2000. 32 Human Rights Watch World Report 200: Turkmenistan. 33 RFE/RL, 7 December 2000. 34 The Russian Orthodox Church granted in 2000 President Niyazov its highest award, for his “peace-loving activity.” (Keston News Service 20 October 2000.) 35 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, op.cit; Keston News Service, 8 December 2000. 36 Keston News Service, 14 July 2000. 37 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, op.cit. 38 RFE/RL Turkmen Service - Agence France Presse, 2 April 2000. 39 In the future, searches of private homes may be undertaken only after the body has giv- en permission and only if there were grounds to suspect arms, ammunition or more then 5 kilos drugs stored. (RFE/RL, 15 May 2000) 40 Keston News Service, 14 July 2000. 41 U.S. State Department, 5 September 2000. 42 Keston News Service, 3 August 2000. 43 Turkmen Television first channel, 5 April 2000, via Eurasianet. 44 RFE/RL Turkmen Service, 6 April 2000. 45 Keston News Service, 3 August 2000. 46 Neitralny Turkmenistan, 1 March 2000, quoted in Keston News Service 3 August 2000. 47 RFE/RL, 10 March 2000; RFE/RL Turkmen service – Keston News Service, 6 March 2000; Vitaly Ponomarev, Keston News Service 3 August 2000 48 Keston News Service, 3 August 2000. 49 Concluding Document of the 1989 Vienna Conference, Article 16. 50 Keston News Service, 13 July 2000; RFE/RL 14 July 2000. 51 Keston News Service, 13 July 2000. 52 Keston News Service, 14 July 2000. 53 Keston News Service, 24 October 2000. 54 Keston News Service, 14 July 2000. TURKMENISTAN 317

55 The raids were conducted by KNB, the police and representatives from the local hoki- mat (admnistration). (Keston News Service, 25 October 2000) 56 Keston News Service, 25 October 2000; RFE/RL, 26 October 2000. 57 Keston News Service, 14 July 2000. 58 Keston News Service, 4 April 2000. 59 Keston News Service, 17 July 2000. 60 Keston Institute, 5 January 2001. 61 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Turkmenistan. 62 Vitaly Ponomarev, “The Times of Central Asia,” 9 March 2000, in Turkistan Newsletter 18 March 2000. 63 Eurasia net, 10 July 2000. 64 BBC Central Asia monitoring – Turkmen TV channel 1, 28 July, quoted in RFE/RL Turkmen report, 30 July 2000. 65 Interfax, quoted in RFE/RL Turkmen Report 16 June 2000. 66 Agence France Press, 21 June 2000. 67 Transition online, 4 September 2000. 68 In September, the President ordered the destruction of 25,000 new history books, because of what he said was the distorted way in which their authors treated the country’s past. Specifically, the authors had ignored the “Turkmen origin and character” of Turkmenistan, and had overstated the role of other nations in its national history, especially the impact of the Persians and the Mongols, understating the role of the Turkmen themselves. “You hard- ly mention the Turkmen people in your book,” the President stated. “You apparently did not listen to what I said in my speeches.”(RFE/RL Analysis, 2 October 2000.) 69 Transition online, 4 September 2000. 70 RFE/RL Turkmen Report, 1 August 2000. 71 BBC Central Asia monitoring – Turkmen State News Service. 6 September 2000. 72 Transition online, 4 September 2000. 318 UKRAINE1

Demonstrators shout anti-Kuchma slogans as they march to the Parliament building in Kyiv on 19 December, alleging Kuchma’s involvement in the 16 September disappearance of journalist Georgy Gongadze. © APA/EPA/Sergei Supinski

IHF FOCUS: Referendum; legislation; freedom of expression and the media; inde- pendence of the judiciary; torture, ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; conditions in prisons and detention facilities; death penalty; religious intol- erance; conscientious objection; xenophobia and racial discrimination; protection of ethnic minorities; property rights.

The 16 April constitutional referendum little improvements to the old Soviet-era increased President Kuchma’s power. It was Code: what was even worse, some of its carried out in a manner that ran against rec- provisions were even more restrictive than ognized norms of democracy. The referen- those of the old Code. dum characterized the increasing authoritar- Further, minority religious groups faced ian rule and was a serious set-back in intolerance, and the situation of the Ukraine’s development towards democracy. Crimean Tatars remained unresolved. They, The judicial system remained “Soviet- as well as other ethnic minority members, minded”, loyal to the executive, and prac- also faced police brutality. ticed a biased and disproportionate sen- tencing policy. Torture and ill-treatment Referendum were commonplace and produced most of According to the Ukrainian Committee the “evidence” upon which the courts Helsinki –90, the 16 April 2000 constitu- based their rulings. The conditions in pris- tional referendum set back Ukraine ten ons and detention facilities were inhuman, years in the development of democracy with serious overcrowding and extremely and the rule of law. poor physical conditions. According to official information, the The new Criminal Code was pending voters overwhelmingly approved the modi- in Parliament, but it was expected to bring fication of Article 90 of the Constitution to UKRAINE 319 allow the President to dissolve the Parlia- sure, also commercial mass media ended ment, if it was unable to form a stable, wor- up presenting only the opinions in favour of king parliamentary majority within one the referendum. Virtually only the opposi- month, or if it failed to pass the national tion papers, which had small circulations, budget submitted by the Government with- gave some space to opposition views, in three months. They also voted in favour whereas the majority of the commercial of restricting the parliamentary immunity of press was forced to support the official po- deputies so that they could be arrested, de- sition under fear of reprisals (closure, legal tained and tried without the consent of the action and forced bankruptcy, etc.), which Parliament if accused of criminal acts; and have been common in recent years. As a in favour of reducing the number of mem- result, the electorate received almost exclu- bers of Parliament from 450 to 300. In ad- sively one-sided information about the ref- dition, they created a second chamber of erendum and could not make an informed Parliament, the members of which the Pre- decision. sident would de facto be able to appoint. During the polling, pressure on the vot- According to the Central Electoral ers reached a level not seen in independ- Committee, the proposed modifications ent Ukraine. The Ukrainian Committee were approved with an approximately 86- Helsinki –90 recorded a widespread prac- percent majority of the vote, and the voter tice of heads of government institutions turnout was more than 81 percent. (schools of all levels, hospitals, state- However, the Ukrainian Committee owned industries, etc.) forcing their staff to Helsinki-90, which monitored both the vote for the amendments under the threat preparations and voting, noted that the way of dismissal. For example, staff members of the referendum was organised and carried university faculties were threatened with out had nothing in common with the rec- dismissal not only if they failed to vote but ognized norms of democracy and threat- also if they failed to persuade their students ened to reverse all democratic achieve- to vote. As a result, teachers threatened ments of the last decade. The Committee their students that they would be expelled reported widespread involvement of local if they did not vote. In schools, teachers - authorities in collecting signatures for hold- under threat of losing their jobs - held ing the referendum in the first place, a meetings for parents and threatened to strong governmental propaganda cam- punish the children if the parents did not paign for the referendum, pressure on the vote. In villages similar pressure on peas- voters to vote “correctly” and irregularities ants was exerted by kolhoz chairmen, who in the polling procedure. told their employees that they would with- The process of collecting signatures for hold cattle fodder, gas for heating, etc. if the referendum was carried out by local au- they refused to vote. thorities during working hours - under the The polling was organised in a way that threat of losing their jobs. In numerous cas- made public control extremely difficult. The es government employees did not receive polling actually lasted 10 days (from 6 to their salaries until they had collected the 16 April), whereas independent observers necessary number of signatures. At many were allowed only to voting stations on the schools, hospitals and other government official day of voting, i.e., 16 April. The en- institutions, propaganda for the referendum tire staff of various government institutions was part of the official staff meetings. were forced to vote in advance, a possibili- State-owned mass media (which in ty provided for by law to those who would Ukraine was the main source of informa- not be present in their constituency on the tion) did not even mention the views op- day of elections. In total, one third of the posing the referendum. Under strong pres- vote was cast in advance, a procedure that 320 UKRAINE could not be observed. Such an unprece- toward more authoritarian rule. A large part dented high percentage raised doubts of the population remained disappointed about its veracity, particularly as in some re- with democratic institutions and practices. gions (e.g., in Donetsk and Dnepropetrovsk According to the Ukrainian Committee Hel- oblasts), over 50 percent of the ballots sinki –90, the relationship between State were allegedly cast in the days prior to 16 and the citizens was returning to that simi- April. In some cases, school directors had lar to the communist era, when people to report on a special form the number of were afraid of any person of authority, and their staff members who had used this al- when state activities were attributed to the ternative. “will of the people” and approved in On 16 April, when independent ob- phoney elections by 99 percent of the servers were allowed formally to monitor vote. the voting, the majority of more than The IHF issued a press release to de- 30,000 electoral districts could not be visit- nounce the attempts to reduce drastically ed by observers because of a lack of re- the powers of the Parliament and noted sources. The observers of Helsinki –90 that making such basic changes to the recorded various irregularities, including Ukrainian Constitution through referendum one person voting for whole families and would in itself run against the principle of the use of forged ballots. The election offi- the rule of law and the OSCE standards, cials ignored all protests. since it would be a breach of the existing President Kuchma publicly labelled Constitution and other legislation. The IHF those opposing the referendum “not real said the referendum reflected the 1996 Ukrainians.” In the name of all people of Belarusan referendum that resulted in dic- Ukraine, the President put pressure on the tatorship and warned about the possible Parliament to amend the Constitution to manipulation of the vote. It also noted that, increase his own power. Initially, the refer- under the present circumstances, the pro- endum was assumed to be advisory and its posed second chamber could be under the results not legally binding. However, on 27 control of the President.3 April, President Kuchma submitted to the Prior to the referendum, the Parliamen- Parliament a draft bill to amend the Consti- tary Assembly of the Council of Europe as- tution along with the results of the “popu- ked President Kuchma to postpone the ref- lar vote.” On 17 May the President told the erendum until the Parliament had adopted journalists that he would personally amend a new law on referenda. It also warned that the Constitution if the Parliament failed to it would consider suspending Ukraine’s do so.2 There was considerable opposition membership if the referendum was con- in the Parliament against the amendments. ducted or its results were implemented un- 4 Should the amendments be passed, constitutionally. the procedure would create a dangerous precedent and seriously jeopardize parlia- Legislation mentary democracy in Ukraine. In practice, The Criminal Code has not undergo the President would then be able to any significant changes during the 10 years change the Constitution at will using the of Ukraine’s independence. The Code of currently established mechanism to manip- the Communist era basically remained in ulate the electorate and making members force still in 2000: only the most odious ar- of Parliament vulnerable to pressure. ticles were removed. Generally, its structure In addition to violations of a democrat- and construction of separate articles were ic process, the referendum changed the based upon the principle of the protection political atmosphere in Ukraine and con- of the state interests at the expense of the tributed significantly to the recent tendency interests of the defendants. UKRAINE 321

Among the most abusive provisions Criminal Code’s compliance with human were Articles 56 (part 2, 3), 63, 66, 125, rights norms had been carried out. The 126, 206, 211, 211, which provided for Ukrainian Committee Helsinki –90 was in long prison terms for non-violent dissemi- the process of carrying out this task. nation of ideas and manufacturing printed products or video materials. Those provi- Freedom of Expression and Media sions clearly violated freedom of expres- The mass media that criticised the sion. In addition, Article 209, which was Government and other authorities were used to repress religious minorities during subjected to permanent pressure. The usu- the Soviet era, remained in force as did al means of pressure was the sending of Article 210, which actually allowed state in- numerous checking commissions - includ- terference in the intimate life of citizens. ing tax and fire inspections - to the editori- What was more, during the years of in- al offices of the newspapers or TV-radio sta- dependence, a number of new articles that tions. After that, their bank accounts were seriously violate human rights, were adopt- frequently frozen under different formal ed. Those included, for example, Articles 63 pretexts. and 187 that provide for imprisonment for The mass media have not become a up to 12 years for participation in any way real “fourth power” in Ukraine. Quite the in any armed conflicts beyond the borders opposite, over the last years the financial of Ukraine or for joining any foreign army. dependence of the mass media on the Article 187 violated freedom of association, state bodies has substantially increased. and Article 187 provided for imprisonment The decrease in 2000 of libel cases against for up to ten years for members of any or- the mass media, as well as sensational ganization who wore a uniform (for exam- conflicts between state bodies and the ple, sports clubs or scouts). Article 187 vio- mass media, was not a result of improving lated freedom of peaceful assembly. freedom of expression, press, and speech: The Ukrainian Committee Helsinki -90 on the contrary, it simply characterized the and other human rights NGOs demanded increasing dependence of the media on that the Criminal Code be revised as a the State, leading to the point that no re- whole and based upon internationally sistance from the quarter of journalists and guaranteed human rights. the media owners was possible. At this writing a new Criminal Code The electronic mass media was virtual- was pending in Parliament and had passed ly totally state-controlled, since the alloca- the first reading. It was expected to be tion of frequencies and airing time of tele- adopted in 2001. However, regrettably, it vision and radio stations - the very tools to appears that the most odious articles of the control and manipulate the electronic mass old Code will be retained. Moreover, a media – were in the hands of the executive number of the proposed articles are actual- power. Printed media enjoyed a little more ly worse than those in the old Code. For in- freedom, but the only genuinely independ- stance, the proposed article on “subversive ent papers had very small circulations. activity” is rewritten word by word from the More than 100 press outlets, including legislation of Stalin times, and it can be in- the most popular ones, received regular terpreted to allow the imprisonment of vir- state financial support and the Government tually any person. Another article prescribes decided which papers were to receive such a punishment for “disclosure of information support. Exclusion from the list in most cas- which damages the State’s reputation.” es meant bankruptcy or at least a cata- Under this law, any human rights activist strophic drop in circulation. At the same could be arrested. As of this writing, no of- time, the fiscal bodies limited the inde- ficial comprehensive analysis of the draft pendence of mass media through restrict- 322 UKRAINE ing their commercial activity (including ad- started their career during the Soviet era vertising, distribution, printing, etc.), thus when the judicial system was totally under contributing to the increase of their de- the control of the Executive. A significant pendence on state allocated funds. number of judges continued to act on the In addition, in 2000, severe adminis- basis of the Soviet practices despite legisla- trative pressure on mass media was exer- tive changes and obediently fulfilled the or- cised in the form of unnecessary inspec- ders of the executive power. What was tions by the fiscal, legal, administrative and more, the highest executive, President other state bodies, plus legal repressions Kuchma, on several occasions commented and libel cases against some particular on court decisions and even directly called newspapers, TV or broadcasting companies for the termination of some of them noting and individual journalists. that “courts understand their independ- On 16 September, Georgy Gongadze, ence perversely and self-sufficient.” the editor–in–chief of an Internet edition Judges frequently simply ignored the Ukrainskay Pravda (The Ukrainian Truth), legal norms to be applied. The most wide- who opposed President Kuchma, disap- ly spread violation was the fact that judges peared. The police failed to take active passed sentences on the basis of informa- measures to investigate the disappearance tion extracted by investigators through co- - similarly in other cases of disappeared po- ercion, including “confession” submitted litical opponents. Therefore, several NGOs under torture. They also typically refused to organised a march with torches and other base their judgments upon the Constitution protest actions. Only the protests moved and international human rights standards the police to hang up posters calling on ratified by Ukraine. If there were contradic- people to report to the police any possible tions between the Constitution or interna- information on the fate of Gongadze. tional standards and other laws (most often outdated Soviet era legislation), the old leg- On 28 October the leader of the islation took precedence. The Constitution Socialist party of Ukraine, Alexander Moroz was cited in a couple of dozen of court rul- announced at the plenary meeting of the ings in 2000, and international law only in Ukrainian Parliament that he had in his pos- a handful of cases. What made the issue session a tape with discussion on how to worse was the fact that there was no pos- “neutralize” Gongadze. The voices on the sibility to initiate proceedings against a tape resembled those of President Kuchma judge for procedural violations or for direct and the manager of the Security Service. ignorance of the laws and passing illegal This information caused a wave of indigna- sentences. tion and launched long-term protests Since its establishment, the Constitutio- against Kuchma. The situation escalated nal Court has taken no effective measures following the uncovering of a decapitated to abolish numerous legal provisions that unidentified corpse which was alleged to violate the Constitution. For example, since be the corpse of Georgy Gongadze. The in- 1998, the presidential decree provided that vestigators failed to identify the body – a the tax police had the right to confiscate the fact that also contributed to increased op- property of the persons who they declared position protests. debtors. However, confiscation without a court decision contradicted the Constitution. Independence of Judiciary The tax police also had the right to carry out The independence of the judiciary – searches and arrest people. Their activities guaranteed by the Constitution - remained have been arbitrary and abusive. more declaratory than genuine. The over- In the majority of Ukraine’s regions, the whelming majority of the judges in Ukraine courts actually remained penitentiary bod- UKRAINE 323 ies that took sides with the prosecution like placing a gas mask over the face of the vic- they did during the Soviet era. This cooper- tim and blocking the air hose until the vic- ation was demonstrated in the establish- tim was close to suffocation. Often, the vic- ment of “Coordination Committees on tims’ arms were bound behind their backs Crime Fighting” jointly by judges and repre- and then pulled toward the feet, bending sentatives of the Ministry of Interior and the the body to form an arch for as long as an Procurator’s Office where they prepared in- hour. Another popular method was to place dictments together. the suspect in a special steel case and beat Sentences were extremely severe. In heavily on the case to mentally break the many cases, employees of state enterpris- suspect with the unbearable noise. In addi- es, who had not received their salaries for tion, men under investigation were threat- many months, were sentenced to 5-8 ened with being placed in cells together years in prison for stealing food or other with “violent homosexuals who have AIDS necessities worth a few dollars. Such sen- or other contagious diseases.” tencing practice resulted in a rapid growth There were no statistics on the use of of the prison population: it more than dou- torture, but NGOs estimated that there bled during the past 10 years. were several thousands of cases each year. The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Nina Kar- Soldiers Rights pachova once said that 30 percent of pris- oners were victims of torture. Under law, all judicial cases concerning The attempt to submit to the Parlia- military serviceman were handled by mili- ment a draft a law on criminalizing the use tary tribunals, not civilian courts. In contrast of torture - a law that would also define tor- to civil courts, hearing at those tribunals ture - met with resistance from the Security were closed, and the investigations were Service and Ministry of Justice of Ukraine: carried out by the Military Procurator’s both of them regarded such amendments Office, a separate body that was not ac- “worthless.” However, following long deba- countable to civil authorities. Convicted mil- te in the beginning of 2000, the Parliament itary servicemen served their punishment adopted the “Law on Responsibility for in so-called “disciplinary battalions”, which Usage of Torture”. The law prescribed that a were jails with a very strict regime and definition of the term “torture” be included treatment that was under even less control in the Criminal Code, and it provided for than normal prisons or labour camps. rather strict penalties for the use of torture - but failed to declare inadmissible “evi- Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct dence” extracted under torture. by Law Enforcement Officials In most court cases, the prosecution Conditions in Prisons and Detention and the conviction were based upon the Facilities accused pleading guilty because obtaining The conditions in most places of im- such a confession was important for the ca- prisonment could be characterised as ex- reer of investigators, according to the tremely inhuman and humiliating. Accor- Ukrainian Committee Helsinki -90. As a re- ding to the official data, there were 126 sult, the use of torture against persons on labour camps for convicted adults and 11 remand was a general routine rather than working farms for juveniles, 32 pre-trial in- an exception. The law forbade torture but vestigation facilities of the Ministry of did not declare inadmissible “evidence” ex- Internal Affairs, and 6 pre-trial investigation tracted under torture in court proceedings. facilities of the Security Service: one of the The most common torture methods in- latter ones was closed in 2000 because of cluded beating, kicking, electroshocks and the regular use of torture. 324 UKRAINE

According to official data, as of 1 cilities and labour camps met with decisive January 2000, more than 220,000 persons resistance from the Ministry of Internal were held imprisoned in all facilities. The Affairs. pre-trial detention facilities were over- The use of torture and ill-treatment crowded: often 3-4 times more people was presumably even more widespread in were kept than they were designed for. As other places of imprisonment than in pre- a result, the elementary sanitation stan- trial facilities and labour camps. These oth- dards were not observed, and sometimes er places of imprisonment included wards the prisoners had to sleep in turns because of temporary custody that numbered as of lack of bunks. In spite of such over- many as 522, and well as cells at all re- crowding, release on bail was nearly never gional and town police departments. The used although it was provided for by law: cells looked like small cages (sometimes as according to official statistics only 500 peo- small as 1.5 by 3 metres) and had no hy- ple were released on bail in 1999, while gienic infrastructure. By law, the maximum the total number of people kept in pre-trial time of detention in such cells was 72 investigation facilities amounted to 40,000: hours. However, in reality it was much most people under investigation spent all longer, frequently up to 15 days. Most de- or nearly all the time of investigation and tainees in such cells were subjected to ex- court hearings in jail. In some cases, a court tremely rough treatment, including beating decided to release a person on bail, but the and torture. prison officials refused to release him As a rule relatives and the lawyers of By law, the maximum pre-trial deten- the apprehended persons were informed tion period was 18 months, but there were about the detention only after the arrestee many ways to get round this regulation. had been transferred from temporary cells The Ukrainian Committee Helsinki –90 was to a pre-trial investigation facility. This fact aware of several cases where people were contributed to arbitrary abuse. The Ukrai- held in pre-trial detention for 2-3 (or even nian Committee Helsinki –90 received reg- more) years. ularly information about cases where de- tainees held in temporary cells had not Fidel Komar, Yury Megera, Valeriy been allowed to see a legal counsel for two Cherniy, Alexander Tkachuk, and Victor weeks. Tkachuk spent three years and 10 months There were a whole number of places each in a Kyiv pre-trail investigation facility. of temporary detention with unclear legal Upon release, no compensation was status which were actually under no civilian available for the exceeded time in detention. control at all. Such places were in the first The situation was somewhat easier in place meant for foreigners who stayed in labour camps, which, however were also Ukraine illegally, but the Ukrainian Com- approaching the limits of overpopulation. In mittee Helsinki –90 had information of 2000, in an attempt to ease the situation in Ukrainian citizens placed in such facilities prisons, 30,000 persons who had not com- just because their appearance seemed sus- mitted serious crimes - primarily women, picious to the police officer and they could juveniles, and invalids – were let off. not produce their passports. The largest fa- There were no adequate ways to pro- cility of this kind was under the jurisdiction tect inmates against inhuman treatment of the Border Guards, the rest were under both in the pre-trial investigation facilities the control of the regional administration of and labour camps. Particularly, they were internal affairs. Usually the term of deten- deprived of legal counsel and medical care. tion there amounted to 30 days. The de- The attempts of human rights NGOs to ob- tainees had one meal a day and there was tain access to visit pre-trail investigation fa- no heating during the winter. UKRAINE 325

Death Penalty Most NGOs were of the view that state On 30 December 1999, the Constitu- control over religious communities should tional Court found the death penalty to be be reduced. In particular, they recommend- in contradiction of the article of the Con- ed that the registration procedure should stitution that guarantees the right to life. It be simplified and an avenue be created to also ruled that all the articles of the Cri- appeal against authorities’ refusal to regis- ter a community. Also, they demanded minal Code that provided for a death sen- more restrictions on the interference of tence were inconsistent with the Con- state officials in church property, particular- stitution. Thus, on 1 January 2000, all such ly places of worship: there were no at- laws expired in Ukraine, and all the death tempts to solve the problems relating to ar- sentences handed down before that date bitrary confiscation of church buildings and were are automatically converted to differ- other property by the communist regime. ent terms of imprisonment. The Parliament Some NGOs promoted the abolition of the abolished the death penalty in March State Committee on Religious Affairs as 2000. well as the regional departments dealing with problems concerning religious issues Religious Intolerance that were set up during the communist The relations between State and reli- regime but still had considerable adminis- gious communities were particular. trative power. There was no consistent state policy The Ukrainian Committee Helsinki –90 aimed at limiting religious freedom, but in expressed its deep concern about the rela- numerous cases local authorities interfered tions between the State and new “non-tra- arbitrarily in the activities of various reli- ditional” religious communities. Prejudicial gious communities. Communities that en- attitudes of authorities, police officers and joyed the support of local authorities profit- journalists led to brutal discrimination and ed from various benefits and privileges. In violation of the basic rights of members of the Eastern and Southern Ukraine, and es- minority religions that were often called “to- pecially in the Crimea, the Ukrainian Ortho- talitarian sects”. The mass media played a dox Church under the Moscow Patriarchy key role in creating negative atmosphere enjoyed that status; in Central Ukraine the through spreading misinformation or Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Kyiv unchecked sensational “facts” about reli- Patriarchy; and in Western Ukraine the gious minority communities. Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church. The needs of minority religions were gen- Conscientious Objection erally ignored and authorities often refused Generally, all male Ukrainian citizens to register them. had to perform military service. The For several years, the Universal White length varied from 1-2 years, the average Brotherhood Church “Yusmalos” has at- term being 18 months. The law “On tempted to register but in vain. It has not Alternative Non-military Service” was dis- even received an official reply to its appli- criminatory: under its provisions, the civil cation for registration. service was at least twice as long as the military service, i.e., as a rule, three years. The former Underground Orthodox The right to an alternative service was Church (“True Orthodox Church”), which only provided on religious grounds and refused to be part of the church collaborat- only to members of officially registered ing with the former communist authorities, religious communities whose doctrine has not been registered on the grounds of forbade military service. Pacifists and oth- its support for “monarchism.” er conscientious objectors were seen as 326 UKRAINE avoiding the military service and faced up The Ukrainian Government took no to three years imprisonment. As of early measures to improve the situation of the 2001, several such cases were pending returning Tatars. The local authorities of the in the courts. Numerous cases were be- Autonomous Republic of Crimea still ing under investigation in the Procurator’s strongly opposed their repatriation as well Offices. as the integration of those who had already returned. Similarly, the central authorities Xenophobia and Racial did not take any measures to improve the Discrimination situation and to restore the rights of the Despite legal guarantees for the Crimean Tatars. equality of all nationalities, persons The most recent version of legislation whose appearance differed from that of on the privatisation of land deprived many the majority population – particularly Crimean Tatars of being allocated land in people of African, Asian and Caucasian Crimea. origin, but also Tatars and Roma – were It was proposed that more modern regular targets of police abuse. Police had legislation be adopted for solving the prob- the right to stop them for identity checks, lem of the integration of the Crimean Tatars and providing them with equal rights and, if their documents were suspicious, with other ethnic groups. First of all, a new to detain them. Police officers demanded special law on the status of Crimean Tatar money from them and often ill-treated people was needed, which would define them until they paid. In addition to ha- them not as “a national minority” as it has rassment by the police, Africans often fell been done so far, but as an “indigenous victim to ultra-rightist racist aggression. people” in accordance with the UN docu- Such cases were, as a rule, not investigat- ments such as the Convention No. 169 of ed by the police. the ILO and the Constitution of Ukraine. In At the end of August 2000, a group of particular, such a law should recognize the about 50 unidentified persons attacked a status of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatars as an hostel for foreign students of the Lugansk official representative body of the whole Medical Institute. They were armed with Crimean Tatar people with the right to rep- iron rods and sticks, shouted racist slo- resent the interests of this people in con- gans, beat Indian and Sri-Lankan students, tacts with all state bodies. De facto, Mejlis and demolished furniture. The militia ar- has been exercising this function for near- rested several attackers. ly 10 years, but this fact has not been ad- Since the beginning of the war in mitted de jure. Chechnya, the police and security services have targeted Chechens staying in Ukraine Property Rights temporarily. They are regularly detained During the three-generation Soviet and their homes are searched – allegedly rule, property rights were not an issue, a because of suspected terrorism. fact that has influenced the people’s atti- tude up to today. In the first seven years of Protection of Ethnic Minorities Ukraine’s independence, no laws were Crimean Tatars adopted on the return of property confis- The return of Crimean Tatars from the cated during the communist era or for places where Stalin sent them into exile compensation. A 1999 presidential decree met with active resistance by the Russian restored the right for private land owner- ethnic majority in Crimea and their majori- ship. The decree, however, did not provide ty in the Supreme Council (Parliament) of for any restitution to former landowners or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. their heirs. UKRAINE 327

Apart from the presidential decree, 1990-92 when the State illegally withdrew no legislation has been adopted on pri- all these savings. It seemed unlikely that vate ownership of land or privatisation of they will get the money back in the near housing In addition, most people lost all their future. The same applied to state loans savings (in the Saving Bank of the USSR, from citizens, whose term of payment ex- which was the bank in the Soviet era) in pired long ago.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Annual Report 2000 of the Ukrainian Committee Helsinki –90. 2 RFE/RL Newsline, 10 and 28 April, 18 May 2000. 3 IHF, “Ukraine Referendum Threatens Rule of Law: Process Resembles that in Belarus,” press release 15 March 2000. 4 RFE/RL Newsline, 5 April 2000 328 UNITED KINGDOM

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression and the media; judicial system and independ- ence of the judiciary; fair trial and detainees’ rights; homosexuals’ rights; xenopho- bia and racial discrimination; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; terror- ism; Northern Ireland; human rights defenders.

The coming into force of the Human incorporation in that the higher courts in Rights Act 1998 in October brought fun- the UK do not have the power to strike damental changes to the legal landscape down legislation that is seen to be incom- in the UK by incorporating the European patible with the ECHR, they are allowed Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into only to issue a “declaration of incompatibil- UK law, creating a number of rights relat- ity”.2 Then it is up to the Government to ed to the right to life, prohibitions of slav- make a change if it thinks fit. The Lord ery, forced labour and torture, and the Chancellor, Lord Irvine, has been at pains to right to freedom of expression and to re- stress that the Government will not always ceive a fair trial. respond to a negative view by the courts Concerns were raised about the fact with legislation. that no one was charged in the March On 22 June, at the concluding session 1999 murder of human rights lawyer of the Europe Media Forum on “Press, Rosemary Nelson and because the Power and Politics” - sponsored by The Independent Commission for Police Freedom Forum and held at the head- Complaints decided not to take disciplinary quarters of the Financial Times - British action against any of the officers charged journalists’ expressed their concerns about with harassing Nelson. Human rights governmental actions, which they say groups and Nelson’s relatives all pushed for threatened freedom of the press formed an independent inquiry into the murder. an important part of the discussion. Similar concerns were raised with regard to Among them were moves by the the death of Robert Hamill, who was bru- Government to monitor e-mail messages tally attacked by a loyalist mob in April and Web browsing (encapsulated in the 1997. Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 3 The issues surrounding asylum seekers 2000) ; seize news photos of demonstra- and immigrants came under considerable tions; influence a TV broadcaster, Indepen- dent Television News, to return one of its scrutiny, fuelled in part by the finding of 58 news bulletins to the 10 p.m. slot it occu- Chinese asylum seekers at Dover in June. pied originally.4 Furthermore, the judiciary have allowed a libel case against a U.S. Freedom of Expression and the Media magazine with a very small circulation in Freedom of Expression Great Britain. ARTICLE 19 and Liberty stated that A report published by ARTICLE 19 and “The European Convention on Human Liberty described “The UK’s disregard for Rights has been incorporated into domes- the public interest and preference for gag- tic law via the Human Rights Act 1998, ging and suppression of information over which came into force in October 2000. It accountability and democratic scrutiny” as will fundamentally change the legal land- an international disgrace. Since taking of- scape. The right to freedom of expression fice, the Labour Government has spent will cease to be defined purely by common thousands of pounds pursuing more than a law rules […]. It will itself be established by dozen individuals and publications in con- statute.”1 There are mixed opinions on the nection with allegations of incompetence effect incorporation will have though. The or wrongdoing by the security and intelli- Human Rights Act adopts a “weak” form of gence services. UNITED KINGDOM 329

Freedom of the Media tion when commenting on matters of pub- The Guardian said in an article in May lic interest. 2000 that Britain’s M15 intelligence service On the day of the forum the London “is reported to be building a new 25 million newspapers ran front page stories about the pound surveillance system ... to monitor e- Independent Television Commission’s ef- mails and other Internet messages sent forts to encourage the ITV network to give and received in Britain”. That report fol- up its 11 p.m. news bulletin and return to lowed a London judge’s order that The the 10 o’clock slot, the time the news bul- Guardian and its sister Observer newspa- letin occupied for three decades until March per hand over any e-mails or notes per- of 1999. It is clear that the Government taining to a whistle blowing former M15 se- were very much involved in trying to influ- curity officer, David Shayler. The newspa- ence the debate in favour of such a move. 8 pers appealed against the ruling. This ap- There was considerable debate in peal was allowed on 21 July.5 The trial of 2000 about the right to privacy being more David Shayler for breaching the Official solidly founded in UK Law following the Secrets Act was due to begin on 23 April bringing into force of the provisions of the 2001.6 Human Rights Act 1998. This centred on The Regulation of Investigatory Powers the interplay between Article 8 of the Act 2000 has been heavily criticised by civ- ECHR, which guarantees the right to a pri- il liberties groups. Liberty stated that “the vate life, and Article 11, which guarantees Bill will require some significant changes if the right to freedom of expression. Neither it is to comply with human rights standards. right is absolute and can be qualified in cer- All warrants for intrusive surveillance should tain circumstances such as in the interests be authorised by a judge, not a politician, of public order. On 22 December, a judg- and certainly not by the police themselves. ment in the case of actress Catherine Zeta The powers relating to the seizure and de- Jones’ wedding photos was hailed by me- coding of encrypted electronic data are par- dia lawyers as a “step in the direction of es- ticularly controversial as they risk reversing tablishing a privacy law in the UK”.9 The the burden of proof.”7 judges in the Court of Appeal stated that Janet Street-Porter, editor of the Inde- celebrities as much as ordinary members pendent on Sunday, said they are “looking of the public had a right to seek damages if at ways of [...] receiving information in dif- their privacy was invaded. ferent forms”. A libel case involving a U.S. publication Harassment of Journalists was brought by Boris Berezovsky, a one Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director time associate of former Russian President of Article 19, and John Wadham, Director , and Nikolai Glouchkov, man- of Liberty, said: “There is a clear pattern of aging director of the Aeroflot airline. The official harassment of those coming for- House of Lords ruled recently that the ward with embarrassing information on the Russian businessman could sue Forbes activities and conduct of the security and magazine in the English courts even intelligence services. David Shayler, Richard though fewer than 2000 copies of the Tomlinson, Martin Ingrams, Nigel Wylde, magazine were sold in England. Liam Clarke, Tony Geraghty, Martin Bright, Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guar- Julie-Ann Davies, Ed Moloney and James dian newspaper said the House of Lords in Steen are currently or have recently been October 1999 sided with The Sunday subject to injunctions and/or threats of im- Times in a libel action brought by former prisonment.”10 Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds. That According to ARTICLE 19 and Liberty, decision might give the press some protec- “a raft of mechanisms has been invoked by 330 UNITED KINGDOM successive U.K. Governments to suppress ernment. It will do so by enabling people to information, obtain documents, compel challenge more easily actions of the State if disclosure of sources and trace and punish they fail to match the standards set by the those responsible for disclosures. Among European Convention on Human Rights”.13 these are injunctions, production orders, confidentiality clauses and contempt of Fair Trial and Detainees’ Rights court laws which can and have resulted in The Sunday tabloid The News of the gagging orders, fines and prison sentences World, Britain’s best-selling newspaper and for public servants and journalists who use part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Internatio- protected information to publicize docu- nal stable, published names, pictures and ments and allegations relating to official in- details of dozens of convicted paedophiles 11 competence, illegality or wrongdoing”. in June in an effort to push the Govern- ment into giving the public access to a re- Judicial System and Independence of gister of offenders. the Judiciary Although the campaign was suspend- ARTICLE 19 and Liberty published a re- ed because of concentrating on the abduc- port about freedom of expression and na- tion and murder in June of eight-year-old tional security in the United Kingdom. They Sarah Payne, hundreds of protesters took also drew attention to the lack of effective to the streets of a housing estate in the judicial scrutiny in the UK. southern town of Portsmouth to harass “It is essential that restrictions on free- suspected paedophiles. The protests dom of expression, including for reasons of turned violent night after night, and four national security, be subject to effective families not connected with paedophiles oversight by the courts. To fulfil this func- asked to be rehoused. British newspapers tion it is necessary for the judiciary to be reported that two men charged with child able to decide whether, in fact, national se- sex offences had killed themselves, one of curity is threatened. In Britain the right to ef- them after being targeted by vigilante vio- fective review is undermined by the limited lence. One of them, James White (54), scope of judicial oversight and the lack of took an overdose of sleeping pills at the any clear statutory guidelines for examining weekend after he and his wife had spent what national security covers.” days on the run. London’s Evening It is expected that the Human Rights Standard said millionaire motorcycle dealer Act 1998 will increase the powers of the John Potter shot himself rather than face courts in judicial review proceedings in cas- police questioning over an indecent assault es which allege breach of the ECHR. It has on two 15-year-olds. been commented that the reach of judicial Labour MP Robin Corbett urged the review is being expanded more and more Government to prosecute the tabloid News to include the ground of proportionality of the World for inciting mob violence (common in the jurisprudence of the EU against suspected paedophiles. Professio- and the European Court of Human Rights nals said “naming and shaming” of pae- itself) which does involve an analysis of the dophiles put potential victims in greater substantive (rather than just procedural) danger.14 Clearly it was also an example of nature of the decision of a public body trial by media where none of the safe- which is under challenge.12 As the Home guards of a trial in the judicial arena ap- Secretary, Jack Straw, said “The Human plied. There have been cases of people ac- Rights Act 1998 is the most significant cused of being paedophiles where this has statement of human rights in domestic law not been the case. since the 1689 Bill of Rights. It will streng- Tory leader William Hague called for a then representative and democratic gov- series of tougher penalties, including the UNITED KINGDOM 331 extension of the use of life terms for repeat In September the European Court of offenders. He also said paedophiles should Human Rights ruled unfair the trial of the be restricted from living near their victims three businessmen convicted 10 years ago and should be under tighter supervision, in- of taking part in an illegal share support op- cluding electric tagging. He suggested eration with the former Guinness chairman Britons convicted of sex crimes abroad be Ernest Saunders. Here, once again, inves- made to sign the offenders’ register on tigative procedures were criticised, this time their return. in relation to the Department of Trade and In June the Government set up a work- Industry inspectors. The main aspect criti- ing party to review the operation of the sex cised was the fact that the men were im- pelled by statute to answer the questions. offenders’ register. They were expected to make recommendations in December 2000, with public consultation early 2001. Homosexuals’ Rights At another public consultation propos- Section 28, brought in by the Thatcher als were made to extend life sentences by administration in 1988, was designed to expanding the definition of rape and rede- prevent local authorities from intentionally fining the most serious sexual assaults. promoting homosexuality, publishing mate- Results of this were due out in March rial with the intention, or promoting the 2001. teaching in their schools of the acceptabili- Shadow Chancellor Michael Portillo ty of homosexuality as a family relationship. urged the Government to introduce amen- The Government was committed to re- dments to the Criminal Justice and Courts pealing the clause because it believed that Bill, currently going through Parliament, to section 28 “causes confusion and creates a enact at least some of Hague’s sugges- climate that may encourage discrimination tions.15 and discourage schools from developing It is expected that the introduction of sensible policies to tackle homophobic bul- the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the lying.” They also argued that the law was right to a fair trial in Article 6, will lead to badly drafted. changes in procedure both as regards the Repealing the law has proved highly police and the judicial system. troublesome. In Scotland, the Scottish Parliament repealed the clause despite a In May the court ruled that an Asian privately funded referendum, which found man was denied a fair trial when the judge a massive majority in favour of its retention. refused to discharge the jury when a racist In England and Wales, a local government 16 remark was made by a juror. bill, which included repeal among its meas- In the Strasbourg case of Condron v. ures, was blocked by a coalition of Tories UK, the European Court of Human Rights and church leaders in the House of Lords. ruled that two drug addicts who refused to To pacify them, David Blunkett amended answer questions in the police station were the learning and skills bill to provide leg- denied a fair trial. Furthermore, as far as ju- islative guidance for schools on the sancti- dicial procedure is concerned, the ruling ty of marriage. Opponents in the upper means “that the appeal court can no longer house once again blocked repeal. follow its longstanding practice of putting it- The Conservatives remained opposed self in the jury’s place and deciding that the to repeal, and Church leaders also fought to judge’s error would have made no differ- keep the law. The Government has made ence to the verdict. If the judge’s directions clear that it remains committed to repeal, 18 to the jury are not adequate, the appeal but when this will happen is uncertain. court cannot correct them but must quash In July, the European Court of Human the conviction.”17 Rights awarded damages to four former 332 UNITED KINGDOM members of the British armed forces who Council’s decision to add £3 to the council were dismissed for being homosexual in tax to pay for the upkeep of the refugees. the cases of Lustig-Prean and Beckett v. the Reason number nine (in the petition United Kingdom, and Smith and Grady v. explaining why refugees should be sent the United Kingdom.19 back) claimed that the local hospital had The ban on gays serving in the military advised that should anyone have “any was lifted in January after the European blood contact with these people, then Court of Human Rights ruled it unlawful. A medical help is of the utmost importance.” Ministry of Defence Report in November Reason number 13 read: “Pregnant refu- confirmed that the lifting of the ban had had gee mothers only want brand new equip- no adverse affects on morale or recruitment. ment for their new offspring. Are these in- fants now entitled to hold a British passport Xenophobia and Racial Discrimination to insist now that they have been born in our local hospitals?” Reason number 21 British officials were appearing before read: “No medical checks on refugees, with the Geneva-based UN Committee on the the knowledge of their promiscuity and Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which selling sex for money, who is to answer for reviews States’ compliance with the the epidemic of venereal disease that will International Convention on the Elimination undoubtedly become rife.”22 of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Throughout the year 2000 police have As the Committee met in Geneva, a been investigating a series of violent attacks group of 29 British human rights and eth- on asylum seekers in Hull. One person has nic minority groups issued a statement say- been stabbed, and another lost an eye ing that Britain’s revised asylum legislation when he was hit with a stone. had “created racial tensions rather than There are more than 600 asylum seek- racial harmony.” ers in the city - many had already been The issue of racism came to the fore in moved on from Ken - after demonstrations Britain in 2000 when an inquiry concluded against them there. The problem seems to that institutional racism had led to the fail- be that Hull had no real ethnic presence be- ure of police officers to convict the killers of fore the arrival of the asylum seekers and black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Sarah the problem of racism seemed to be more Marshall, the head of the race equality unit acute in such areas. Furthermore there was at the Home Office, said Britain’s not the support infrastructure to help the Government had learnt from the murder of asylum seekers integrate themselves into Lawrence by a gang of white youths.20 society. This was one of the problems asso- Marshall told the UN Committee that ciated with the dispersal system introduced Britain was working towards a “more pro- by the new legislation, the Immigration and active policy” to integrate refugees. “There Asylum Act 1999. Many people were placed have been incidents of friction between lo- in a certain area and then found that there is cal communities and groups of locally no support for someone of their ethnic back- housed asylum seekers, and the tone of ground so they returned to places such as some debate around asylum has led, we London where this could be found. An Audit recognise, to incidents of racial harassment Commission report in June reported that the against settled minority communities,” said dispersal system was in danger of breaking Marshall.21 down precisely for this reason.23 Dover is being torn apart by the pres- The Chairman of the National Union of ence of 700 asylum seekers and 1,400 of Refugee Councils, Mike Rahmen, said that the port’s 30,000 residents have signed a asylum seekers “were very worried about petition to protest against Kent County their treatment.”24 UNITED KINGDOM 333

A dossier prepared by Dover against the human rights record of the Govern- Racism listed over 20 attacks in the past ment. The group said that “black people year. Some victims were too scared to were not being sufficiently protected from speak even with anonymity, while others, the police or in the work place”. Turning to under the dispersal system, had left the the Government’s record on asylum and area. PC Norman Liggins, community offi- immigration, the group accused the Go- cer of the United Reform Church, said vernment of “giving comfort to racists.” But much of the violence asylum seekers faced the Home Office insisted that tackling was not reported. racism was a “priority”.27 The campaigners also point out that Roma asylum seeker from the Czech black people were six times more likely to Republic said that the main feeling they ex- be stopped and searched by police, were perienced with her family was a lack of ba- over-represented in the jail population and sic dignity. often received longer jail sentences than Farid Kohistani (26) from Afghanistan, those given to whites or Asians. was attacked and said that every day he The report highlighted an increase in was verbally abused. racial attacks over recent years, with sur- veys suggesting that 40 percent of Britain’s Marcel Malik (25), a Czech Roma who ethnic minority community had suffered fled after repeated attacks by skinhead harassment. gangs, was assaulted twice. His girlfriend’s Other areas of discrimination included, mother, a Rom, was also attacked in an- it said, education, with black pupils more other incident where she was kicked by a likely to face exclusion from schools, and male neighbour while on the ground. discrimination in the work place. The furore over asylum seekers in sec- There were few black MPs and no tions of the press, mirroring the mood members from ethnic minorities in the among some in Dover, produced more Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly. than just anti-refugee rhetoric. Many argued that the Government’s Home Secretary Jack Straw claimed policies on immigration and asylum were “the UN Committee on the Elimination of leading to a racist backlash in the popular Racial Discrimination announced its find- press, which was hindering progress. A Ho- ings without giving a copy of its report to me Office spokeswoman said: “The Go- the British Government.” He also said the vernment has made no secret of the fact UN Committee had ignored some steps that all public services, including govern- Britain had taken to toughen up laws ment departments, can and should do against racist attacks.25 more to promote racial equality and tackle Straw explained “the rise in reported discrimination”.28 racists incidents was due to increased con- fidence in police to follow them up. Laws Protection of Asylum Seekers and against racists attacks had been toughened Immigrants and legislation to strengthen laws on race According to an article in The Guardian, relations had been put before parliament.”26 since 1997 the average wait to get a deci- sion on an asylum application had dropped Racism from two years to 13 months; between The UK Government was accused by December 1999 and February 2000, an av- civil rights groups of giving comfort to erage 825 applications a month were re- racists, as a group of 28 organisations, in- ceived from Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo cluding Liberty and the Refugee Council, (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), and handed a dossier to the United Nations on 575 applications a month from Sri Lanka.29 334 UNITED KINGDOM

In April 2000, Chinese immigrants immigration authorities to remove hun- were the second largest group applying to dreds of failed Chinese asylum seekers remain in the UK. They represented 455 of from Britain. He also made clear that most the 5,890 applications received and were of the 1,900 Kosovo Albanians who came outnumbered only by 535 people applying to Britain in 1999 under the United Nations for asylum from Sri Lanka.30 Experts, reflect- temporary protection programme were un- ing on an incident which happened in likely to be allowed to stay much longer. So June, said there is a clear pattern of a grow- far about two-thirds were asked to stay ing, highly organised international trade in longer on compassionate grounds and the illegal immigrants. rest had applied for asylum, saying their In June 58 Chinese asylum seekers fear persecution if they were sent back to were found dead by customs officers in a Kosovo. lorry. They are believed to have suffocated “It appeared that overwhelmingly these to death, since the refrigeration unit was people had no basis whatsoever for asylum switched off and it was the hottest day of and they needed to go back,” Jack Straw the year. Only two of them survived. said, adding that exceptions would be This case perhaps made people more made only for those who, for example, aware of the lengths people will go to seek faced serious medical problems. People asylum and the fact that they are not, as is would be physically removed from the claimed often by the popular press, just eco- country if that was necessary, he warned in 34 nomic migrants. The trial of the lorry driver is June. taking place as this is being written.31 One out of 30 Afghan asylum seekers According to police reports, 21 illegal who arrived in Britain on a hijacked plane immigrants, believed to be from Kosovo won an appeal against the Home Secre- (including 10 children) were found hidden tary’s decision to send him home. The oth- in the back of a lorry at Heathrow airport. er 29 were refused asylum and had their The group was held at the asylum seekers’ appeals dismissed during 10 weeks of hea- refuge at the airport.32 rings in London. Those whose appeals were dismissed were likely to make further It seemed that the United Kingdom appeals to the Immigration Appeals had taken a tougher approach on immigra- Tribunal. tion issues recently amid fears that the country may be a soft touch for refugees. The aspect of the treatment of asylum Among the new initiatives included harsh seekers which has been most heavily criti- new fines for anyone caught sneaking in cised was the introduction of the new refugees and the creation of detention cen- voucher scheme of support. These could tres to hold some applicants while their only be spent in certain shops and no cases were being considered.”33 change was allowed. This meant, for exam- The Government faced claims that re- ple, that was someone desperately needs cently introduced financial penalties for something for £1 but only had a £20 vouch- smugglers did not deter racketeers in China er, the shop kept the change. Indeed the and Russia who orchestrated the trade. company that ran the system promoted the Jack Straw opened talks with the scheme as a money-making opportunity. Chinese Government on sending back There were calls from trade unions, es- more than 400 Chinese asylum seekers pecially Bill Morris of the Transport and who arrived in Britain each month. But re- General Workers Union, to end the scheme fusal of the Beijing Government to take which stigmatised asylum seekers. Indeed back Chinese nationals who had destroyed some shops set up separate queues for their documents blocked attempts by the those with such vouchers.35 Some shops, UNITED KINGDOM 335 such as Safeways, refused to take part and regrettably decided not to hold an inquest the charity Oxfam was organising a cam- into the death of Robert Hamill, who died paign on this issue, in particular in relation 12 days after being beaten and kicked by a to the issue of change.36 loyalist gang in an unprovoked attack in the centre of Portadown in April 1997, due to Terrorism concern for the safety of certain witnesses. The Terrorism Act 2000, which came “He is satisfied their lives would be placed into force on 19 February 2001, provides in danger in their evidence were to be giv- en at, or placed in documentary form be- for “permanent UK-wide anti-terrorist legis- fore an inquest,” said the statement. “The lation” (to replace the existing, separate coroner believes that if an inquest were to pieces of temporary legislation for Northern be held without the evidence of these wit- Ireland and Great Britain); a new definition nesses a seriously incomplete account of of terrorism, which will apply to all types of the circumstances of Mr. Hamill’s death terrorism; new powers to seize suspected would be given, which would not add ma- terrorist cash at borders; a new offence of terially to the evidence already in the pub- inciting terrorist acts abroad from within the lic domain.” The statement added, howev- UK; new judicial arrangements for exten- er, that “the circumstances surrounding Mr. sions of detention (as opposed to Hamill’s death are profoundly disturbing Ministerial arrangements), enabling the UK and but for the consideration mentioned to lift its derogations under the ECHR and would undoubtedly require that an in in- the ICCPR; and special offences relating to quest should be held.” training for terrorist activities. Murder charges against one man, Paul Since the Act received royal assent on Rodney Marc Hobson, were dropped in 21 July 2000, three new UK-wide Codes of March last year but he was sentenced to practice governing the day-to-day operation four years for his part in causing a public af- of the Act have been produced. Two Codes fray. Charges against five others were with- of Practice have been brought into force in drawn due to lack of evidence.39 Northern Ireland only; these govern the ex- In June, Irish Prime Minister Bertie ercise by police officers of powers con- Ahern called for an independent judicial in- ferred under the Act and the sound and vi- quiry into the murder, backing the call by 37 sion recording of police interviews. human rights groups and Hamill’s relatives.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Defenders The Bloody Sunday Inquiry – a public In January, the Director of Public inquiry into the killing of fourteen civil rights Prosecutors decided not to prosecute demonstrators by the British army in members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Northern Ireland 28 years ago – opened in over allegations that they made death March. A previous inquiry shortly after the threats to Rosemary Nelson, a human rights killings cleared the army of responsibility – lawyer that was killed by a loyalist paramili- a result bitterly contested by the bereaved tary car bomb in County Armagh in March families. In his opening statement, one of 1999. The announcement prompted re- the senior judges Christopher Clark said it newed calls for a full judicial inquiry into the would be difficult to overestimate the im- circumstances surrounding Nelson’s death, portance of the hearing, but admitted it which were supported by two ministers would be a daunting task to discover the from the Northern Ireland executive.40 Irish truth.38 Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has also backed In June, a statement from Greater the calls from Nelson’s relatives, stating that Belfast Coroner John Leckey said he had “it is essential that the truth be established 336 UNITED KINGDOM in a manner which will command the confi- In May, two people arrested in connec- dence of the whole community”.41 tion with Nelson’s murder were released In March, an open letter from Nelson’s without charge after being detained in family and a petition containing approxi- Portadown and questioned at Gough bar- mately 100,000 signatures were handed racks in Armagh city. The pair were also over to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The quizzed about other terrorist offences.43 petition, which was presented at Downing In May, the Independent Commission Street, contained fresh appeals for an inter- for Police Complaints (ICPC) decided that national investigation into the killing. police officers alleged to have threatened Downing Street, however, defended the in- vestigation into the murder, stating that Nelson would not face any internal discipli- “decisive and effective” action was being nary proceedings. The ICPC wrote to the taken. Professor Brice Dickson, head of the Nelson family explaining their decision, Human Rights Commission, said he be- stating “there was insufficient evidence” to lieved an independent inquiry into the mur- support a disciplinary procedure against the der would almost certainly be necessary.42 officers alleged to have been involved.44

Endnotes 1 ARTICLE 19 and Liberty, “Secrets, Spies and Whistleblowers, Freedom of Expression and National Security in the United Kingdom,” November 2000. 2 www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/80042—a.htm#end%20 3 www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ripa/ripact.htm 4 The Freedom Forum Online, “ Britain’s New Press Restrictions Called bewildering,” 26 June 2000. 5 www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/shayler/article/0,2763,346107,00.html 6 www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/shayler/article/0,2763,340015,00.html 7 www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/ 8 The Freedom Forum Online, op. cit. 9 www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4109176,00.html 10 ARTICLE 19 and Liberty Secrets, op.cit. 11 Ibid. 12 De Smith, Woolf and Jowells, Principles of Judicial Review, 1999, p 502. 13 John Wadham and Helen Mountfield, The Human Rights Act 1998, Blackstone 1999, p. xi. 14 www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4043661,00.html 15 “Paedophile blitz: no rush”, http://uk.news.yahoo.com, August 16, 2000. 16 www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4016439,00.html 17 www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4014153,00.html 18 The Guardian, 25 January 2000. 19 See judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, www.echr.coe.int, July 2000. 20 www.blink.org.uk/campaign/stevelaw/slmain.htm 21 “Britain in the Dock before UN Anti-racism Body,” www.uk.news.yahoo.com, 14 August 2000. 22 The Guardian, “Dover, No Port in a Storm for Refugees,” 28 March 2000. 23 www.audit-commission.gov.uk/ac2/NR/LocalA/brasylum.htm 24 “Race Attacks on Asylum Seekers”, www.uk.news.yahoo.com, August 15, 2000. 25 “Britain Criticises U.N. Report on Racism”, www.abcnews.go. Com/wire/World, August 23, 2000. 26 Ibid. 27 “Government ‘Gives Comfort’ to Racists”, www.uk.news.yahoo.com, 16 August 2000. UNITED KINGDOM 337

28 Ibid. 29 The Guardian, “Dover, No Port in a Storm for Refugees”, 28 March 2000. 30 “Police Guard against Attack on Survivors of Death Lorry Bodies of 58 Chinese Asylum Seekers Found Suffocated in Trailer at Dover”, www.uk.news.yahoo.com, 20 June 2000. 31 www.guardian.co.uk/Refugees_in_Britain/. See the chapter of the Netherlands. 32 “Kosovars’ Detained at Heathrow”, www.uk.news.yahoo.com, August 5, 2000. 33 “58 Asylum Seekers Arrive Dead in Dover”, www.a228.g.akamai.net, 19 June 2000. 34 The Guardian, “Straw Plea to China on Migrants, Refugees in Britain,” Special Report, 26 June 2000. 35 www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4063418,00.html 36 www.oxfam.org.uk/campaign/cutconflict/asylum/action.htm 37 “The Terrorism Act 2000”, www.homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism/ 38 BBC News, “Opening statements at ‘Bloody Sunday’ inquiry”, 27 March 2000. 39 Ibid, “Victim’s Sister Calls for Inquiry”, 7 June 2000. 40 Ibid. “NI Ministers Support Lawyer Death Inquiry”, www.news.bbc.co.uk, 8 January 2000. 41 Ibid, “Ahern Backs Nelson Inquiry Call”, 20 February 2001. 42 Ibid, “Fresh Called for Independent Inquiry”, 15 March 2000. 43 Ibid, “Two Held over Nelson Death”, 3 May 2000, and “Nelson Murder Suspects Released”, 5 May 2000. 44 Ibid, “No Charges over Lawyer ‘Threats’”, 18 May 2000. 338 UNITED STATES1

The death chamber at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Huntsville Unit where individuals are executed by lethal injection. Executions in Texas accounted for nearly half of all executions in the United States in 2000. © APA/AFP/Paul Buck

IHF FOCUS: International human rights scrutiny; torture-ill-treatment and miscon- duct by law enforcement officials; overincarceration, drugs and race; conditions in prisons and detention facilities; death penalty2; racial discrimination; protection of asylum seekers and immigrants; homosexuals’ rights; labour rights

As the Clinton Administration’s second ination against gay men and lesbians in the term ended in 2000, evidence of its do- military, and the abuse of migrant child mestic human rights legacy was scant. The farmworkers. country made little progress in embracing The United States in 2000 submitted international human rights standards at reports on its compliance with two interna- home. Most public officials remained ei- tional human rights treaties - the Con- ther unaware of their human rights obliga- vention on the Elimination of All Forms of tions or content to ignore them. Racial Discrimination and the Convention As in previous years, serious human against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or rights violations were most apparent in the Degrading Treatment or Punishment - to criminal justice system - including police the respective treaty monitoring bodies. brutality, discriminatory racial disparities in Both reports acknowledged significant abus- incarceration, abusive conditions of con- es of the rights affirmed in those treaties. finement, and state-sponsored executions, even of juvenile offenders and the mental- International Human Rights Scrutiny ly handicapped. But extensively docu- The initial report of the U.S. to the Uni- mented human rights violations also in- ted Nations Committee against Torture - cluded violations of workers’ rights, discrim- produced four years after it was due - ac- UNITED STATES 339 knowledged areas of “concern, contention urged the U.S. to enact legislation making and criticism” with regard to police abuse, torture a federal crime; to withdraw its excessive use of force in prison, prison reservations and declarations to the con- overcrowding, physical and mental abuse vention; to take the necessary steps to en- of inmates, and the lack of adequate train- sure those who violate the convention are ing and oversight for police and prison investigated, prosecuted, and punished; to guards. Nevertheless, the initial report was prohibit stun belts and restraint chairs; and incomplete and misleading in several im- to ensure that minors are not incarcerated portant aspects. It failed to acknowledge in adult facilities. crucial weaknesses in laws and mecha- The U.S. maintained its failure to be- nisms to protect the right to be free of tor- come party to important human rights ture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treat- treaties, including the International ment or punishment, as well as the serious Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural obstacles abuse victims face in securing le- Rights and the Convention on the gal redress. It failed also to confront forth- Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination rightly the prevalence of abuses against de- against Women (CEDAW). It was one of tained and incarcerated men, women and only two countries in the world - with children throughout the United States. Somalia, which has no internationally rec- The report also glossed over the im- ognized Government - that had not ratified pact of the reservations, understandings, the Convention on the Rights of the Child. and declarations the United States made In addition, little progress was made toward when it ratified the convention. The United signing and ratifying core International States redefined torture, as prohibited by Labour Organization conventions intended the convention, to include only conduct al- to protect basic labor rights, though the ready prohibited under the U.S. Constitu- Clinton Administration did sign ILO tion and to exclude, with few exceptions, Convention No. 182, the Convention con- mental torture that is not accompanied by cerning the Prohibition and Immediate physical torture. It also declared the treaty Action for the Elimination of the Worst to be non-self-executing, and then failed to Forms of Child Labour in December of enact implementing legislation, with the re- 1999. It also submitted an ILO Convention sult that U.S. residents cannot turn to the concerning employment discrimination to courts to seek protection of the rights af- the Senate for ratification, but the Senate firmed under the treaty. The U.S., in effect, did not act. declined to change its laws to bring them up to international standards. Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct In May, the U.N. Committee against by Law Enforcement Officials Torture issued a statement of conclusions Each year, thousands of allegations of and recommendations highlighting a range police abuse are filed across the country. of U.S. practices that contravened the con- While videotaped police actions - such as vention. The Committee’s concerns in- those documenting Philadelphia police offi- cluded: ill-treatment by police and prison cers beating a man after a vehicle chase, officials, much of it racially discriminatory; Miami-Dade officers kicking a man in the sexual assaults upon female detainees and face after a vehicle pursuit, and Los Angeles prisoners and degrading conditions of con- police officers using excessive force to dis- finement of female prisoners; the use of perse political protesters during the Demo- electro-shock devices and restraint chairs; cratic National Convention - displayed the the excessively harsh regime of super-max- problem vividly in 2000, most incidents of imum security prisons; and the holding of alleged police abuse took place away from youths in adult prisons. The Committee public scrutiny. Because of inadequate in- 340 UNITED STATES vestigative and disciplinary systems, relative- Several high-profile incidents involving ly few police officers who violate depart- the New York City police, including the as- mental rules, or the law, are held account- sault on Abner Louima in August 1997, the able. Victims seeking redress faced obsta- February 1999 shooting death of Amadou cles that ranged from overt intimidation to Diallo, who was unarmed, and the March the reluctance of local and federal prosecu- 2000 shooting death of Patrick Dorismond, tors to take on police brutality cases. During also unarmed, raised concerns that the fiscal year 1999, approximately 12,000 civ- city’s police officers were not adequately il rights complaints, most alleging police trained, supervised, or disciplined. Follow- abuse, were submitted to the U.S. ing the assault on Louima, the Justice Department of Justice, but over the same Department initiated an inquiry into the period just thirty-one officers were either NYPD’s management. A separate Justice convicted or pled guilty to crimes under the Department investigation focused on the civil rights statute stemming from com- Street Crime Unit and allegations of racial plaints during 1999 and previous years. profiling by its officers; Diallo was shot and In a positive development, the Depart- killed by officers assigned to the unit. ment of Justice stepped up efforts to check In Los Angeles, the Justice Depart- police abuse through “pattern or practice” ment’s inquiry focused primarily on the ori- inquiries and agreements. These inquiries, gins of the Rampart scandal. The anti-gang authorized in 1994 legislation, allow the unit based in the LAPD’s Rampart Division Justice Department to conduct civil investi- brutalized residents and framed suspects. gations into law enforcement agencies to The officer at the center of the scandal, Ra- determine whether there is a pattern or fael Perez, provided information about his practice of civil rights violations. Two of the and other officers’ misconduct after he was country’s largest police departments, the caught stealing cocaine from a police evi- New York City Police Department (NYPD) dence room and sought a lighter prison and the Los Angeles Police Department sentence. (LAPD), were investigated by the Justice In one LAPD case, Javier Ovando was Department under these powers and, shot, allegedly by Perez’s partner, and par- along with city officials, were negotiating alyzed and then served three years in agreements to avoid being sued by the Jus- prison. The officers allegedly framed him tice Department and possible, direct Justice and placed a gun at the scene to make it Department oversight and court-imposed appear Perez had been armed. reforms. At this writing, progress was slow in talks between Justice Department and Approximately one hundred other con- New York City officials. In Los Angeles, city victions were overturned as a result of the officials had accepted, in theory, a “consent officers’ tainted testimony and evidence decree” that addresses some of the re- that had sent individuals to prison. The ex- forms required. The legally binding agree- pense facing the city and county of Los ment should ensure that an effective, com- Angeles arising from civil lawsuits for ex- puterized tracking system to identify offi- cessive force, false imprisonment and oth- cers in need of enhanced supervision is er violations, as well as investigating and re- created and utilized; the civilian board of viewing all cases related to the expanding commissioners that oversees the police is number of officers implicated in the scan- strengthened; and that a special unit to in- dal, was predicted to cost in the hundreds vestigate shootings and use of force by of- of millions of dollars. ficers is created. Other police departments The wide-ranging Rampart scandal re- have also been investigated under these vealed poor management and practices by powers. LAPD officials and the district attorney’s of- UNITED STATES 341 fice, and lax oversight by the civilian police Prison was not reserved for notably commission. It also demonstrated that dangerous or violent offenders: approxi- many of the key Christopher Commission mately 70 percent of all new admissions to reforms from 1991 had yet to take hold, state prison in 1998 (the most recent year leading to ineffectual monitoring of officers’ for which data was available) were people behavior. In a May 2000 letter to the Los convicted of nonviolent property, drug or Angeles city attorney, the Justice Depart- public order offenses. The unrelenting war ment stated that it had found, as a result of on drugs continued to pull hundreds of its investigation, “serious deficiencies in City thousands of drug offenders into the crimi- and LAPD policies and procedures for train- nal justice system: 1,559,100 people were ing, supervising, and investigating and disci- arrested on drug charges in 1998; approxi- plining police officers foster and perpetuate mately 450,000 drug offenders were con- officer misconduct.” fined in jails and prisons. According to the The issue of racial profiling by police re- Department of Justice, 107,000 people ceived increased attention. Legislation to were sent to state prison on drug charges require the compilation of statistics on vehi- in 1998, representing 30.8 percent of all cle stops and searches, and the race of ve- new state admissions. Drug offenders con- hicle occupants, was under consideration in stituted 57.8 percent of all federal inmates. the U.S. Congress. Several police depart- Racial minorities comprised a strikingly ments, in response to pressure from activist disproportionate percentage of the prison groups and concerned political and com- population. African Americans constituted munity leaders, started to compile these 46.5 percent of state prisoners and 40 per- statistics voluntarily. The purpose of the data cent of federal prisoners, although they compilation was to document and end the constituted only 12 percent of the national discriminatory and illegal practice by police population. Nationwide, black men were of stopping and searching vehicles based eight times more likely to be in prison than on the race of the driver or passengers. white men, with an incarceration rate of 3,408 per 100,000 black male residents Overincarceration, Drugs and Race compared to a white male rate of 417 per The world’s largest prison population 100,000. But in eleven states, black men continued to grow because of punitive were incarcerated at rates that were be- criminal justice policies that mandated tween twelve and twenty-six times greater harsh prison terms even for minor nonvio- than those of white men. The Department lent offenses and increased the length of of Justice estimated that 9.4 percent of all sentences, and because of increases in the black men in their late twenties were in number of inmates returned to prison for prison in 1999 compared to 1 percent of parole violations. In August, the U.S. white men in the same age group. Department of Justice revealed that the Female incarceration rates, though number of men and women behind bars in much lower than male, reflected similar the U.S. at the end of 1999 exceeded two racial disparities, with black women eight million and the rate of incarceration had times more likely to be in prison than reached 690 inmates per 100,000 resi- white. Racial disparities were also pro- dents - a rate Human Rights Watch be- nounced in the incarceration of youths: al- lieved to be the highest in the world (with though juveniles belonging to minority the exception of Rwanda). The Department groups constituted one-third of the adoles- of Justice also revealed that approximately cent population in the United States, they 1.5 million children - 2 percent of the comprised two-thirds of the juveniles con- country’s children - had a parent in state or fined in local detention and state correc- federal prison. tional systems. Minority youths were trans- 342 UNITED STATES ferred to adult courts and sentenced to in- by disenfranchisement laws: 13 percent of carceration more frequently than white black men - 1.4 million - were disenfran- youths charged with similar offenses. chised; in two states, almost one in three Drug law enforcement practices that black men was unable to vote because of disproportionately target black Americans a felony conviction. Legislative efforts and contributed to wide disparities in black and local initiatives across the country to reform white incarceration rates. Nationally, black disenfranchisement laws proliferated, but men were admitted to state prison on drug most were blocked by conservative opposi- charges at a rate relative to population that tion. Lawsuits challenging disenfranchise- was 13.4 times greater than that of white ment laws were proceeding in Florida, men. Black youths with no prior admissions Pennsylvania and Washington. were admitted to public correctional facili- ties for drug offenses at forty-eight times Conditions in Prisons and Detention the rate of white youths. In some states the Facilities racial disparities were even worse: in seven Prisons remained overcrowded: twen- states, blacks constituted between 80 and ty-two states and the federal prison system 90 percent of all drug offenders sent to operated at 100 percent or more of their prison and, in at least fifteen states, black highest capacity. Overcrowding contributed men were sent to prison on drug charges to the growth of private prisons: according at rates that were from twenty to fifty-sev- to the Department of Justice privately-oper- en times greater than those of white men. ated facilities held 5.5 percent of all state The concentration of drug law enforcement prisoners and 2.5 percent of federal pris- in low income minority neighborhoods and oners. higher arrest rates for black drug offenders Most inmates had scant opportunities than white were primarily responsible for for work, training, education, treatment or the remarkable racial disparities in drug of- counseling because of taxpayer resistance fender incarceration. to increasing the already astonishing U.S. Political timidity by legislators meant $41 billion spent annually on corrections scant progress in reducing the inordinately and because of the prevailing punitive ide- high sentences for drug and other nonvio- ology that applauds harsh prison condi- lent offenses required under mandatory tions. Idle inmates with long sentences, lit- minimum sentencing laws. In New York, for tle hope of early release (and hence little example, the legislature once again ad- incentive for good behavior) and jammed journed without reforming twenty-five year into poorly equipped facilities, sometimes old drug law legislation that required the became violent: in 1998 (the most recent same length of prison sentence for first- year for which data was available), fifty-nine time offenders convicted of selling two inmates were killed by other inmates, and ounces of cocaine as for murderers - a assaults, fights, and rapes left 6,750 in- minimum of fifteen years to life. mates and 2,331 correctional staff injured A growing number of citizens were un- seriously enough to require medical atten- able to vote because of laws that disen- tion. Rivalry and tension between race- franchise people convicted of felonies who based prison gangs lay behind many indi- are in prison, on probation or parole - and vidual assaults and sometimes escalated even, in one quarter of the states, who into violent riots. have finished serving their sentences. An Men in prison were subject to prison- estimated 3.9 million U.S. citizens were dis- er-on-prisoner sexual abuse, whose effects enfranchised, including over one million on the victim’s psyche were serious and who had fully completed their sentences. enduring. Inmate victims reported night- Black Americans were particularly hard hit mares, deep depression, shame, loss of UNITED STATES 343 self-esteem, self-hatred, and considering or from Connecticut - died at one of these attempting suicide. Victims of rape, in the prisons, Wallens Ridge State Prison. One of most extreme cases, were literally the the deaths was a suicide; the other oc- slaves of the perpetrators, being “rented curred after the inmate had been stunned out” for sex, “sold,” or even auctioned off to several times with a 50,000 volt electronic other inmates. Despite the devastating psy- stun device and left in five-point restraints. chological impact of such abuse, few if any New Mexican inmates transferred to preventative measures were taken in most Wallens Ridge in 1999 complained of gra- jurisdictions, while perpetrators were rarely tuitous and malicious physical abuse by punished adequately by prison officials. prison guards, including beatings and Over twenty thousand prisoners were shocks from electric stun devices. In confined in special super-maximum securi- January 2000, the Federal Bureau of ty facilities. They typically spent all their Investigation initiated a preliminary investi- waking and sleeping hours locked alone or gation into their claims at the request of the with a cellmate in small sometimes win- New Mexico attorney general. dowless cells from which they were re- leased for only a few hours each week for According to the Virginia Department solitary recreation or showers. Super-max of Corrections, between January 1999 and prisoners had almost no access to educa- June 2000, prison guards at Red Onion tional or recreational activities or other State Prison, Virginia’s first super-max, fired sources of mental stimulation and were 116 blank rounds and twenty-five stinger handcuffed, shackled and escorted by offi- rounds of rubber pellets and discharged cers whenever they left their cells. Although hand-held electronic stun devices 130 super-max confinement was ostensibly de- times. Most other prison systems con- signed to control incorrigibly violent or dan- trolled inmate fights without recourse to gerous inmates, many inmates so confined firearms or electric shocks. In June, three did not meet those criteria. inmate bystanders at Red Onion were in- jured by rubber pellets when guards fired An inmate committed suicide at the shotguns to break up an inmate scuffle. super-max in Ohio in April, the third suicide Inmates at the prison complained in 2000 since it opened in 1998, while draconian of an apparently new staff practice of plac- rules and restrictions prompted a pro- ing inmates in five point restraints for as longed hunger strike at the super-max in long as forty-eight hours because they Illinois. masturbated or displayed their genitals in Inmates at Wisconsin’s new super-max front of female staff. In September, the U.S. prison filed a lawsuit challenging the con- Department of Justice announced that it stitutionality of the conditions to which they was opening a formal investigation to de- were subjected, including round-the-clock termine whether inmates’ constitutional confinement in isolation, constant fluores- rights were being violated at Red Onion. cent lighting in their cells, twenty-four hour A fourteen month long Department of video monitoring that permitted female Justice investigation of conditions at staff to watch prisoners shower and urinate, Nassau County Jail resulted in a scathing and inadequate recreation. report released in September. The report Reports of frequent incidents of physi- said the jail had an “institutional culture that cal abuse, racial harassment and excessive supports and promotes abuses.” The docu- use of force continued at Virginia’s two su- mented abuses included brutal beatings by per-maximum security prisons. officers and officers paying inmates to beat Between January and June 2000, two other inmates, especially targeting sex of- inmates - who had both been transferred fenders. 344 UNITED STATES

Hampered by lack of counsel, inade- tensively documented physical, sexual, and quate access to legal materials and legal re- mental abuse that had been prevalent, and strictions on inmate litigation, prisoners to provide youth with rehabilitative services rarely obtained judicial relief against abu- and medical, dental, and mental health sive officers, though some did. care. In May, the Louisiana Department of In March, a county jail in Oregon paid Public Safety and Corrections moved the U.S.$ 1.75 million to settle an excessive last remaining detainees out of the Jena force lawsuit brought by an inmate who Juvenile Justice Center, a for-profit institu- had been strapped into a restraint chair, tion run by the Wackenhut Corrections doused with large amounts of pepper spray Corporation. The move came four months and subjected to choke holds. He lapsed after the U.S. Department of Justice’s men- into a coma for 71 days and suffered per- tal health expert reported that “Jena’s envi- manent brain damage. ronment is unsafe, violent and inhumane for the juveniles incarcerated there.” Criminal prosecution of brutal correc- The trend toward trying more children tional officers was rare, and convictions in in the adult criminal system continued in such cases even rarer. 2000, depriving those affected of the vari- In February, four guards from Florida ety of rehabilitative dispositions available in State Prison were indicted on murder juvenile proceedings. In California, for ex- charges in connection with the July 1999 ample, voters approved a measure in beating death of Frank Valdez. An autopsy March that made transfer to the adult sys- revealed that all his ribs had been broken tem mandatory in some cases and gave and there were boot marks imprinted on prosecutors the final word in many others; his body. The guards contended that Valdes before the measure’s passage, juveniles injured himself. They were awaiting trial at were transferred to the adult system only this writing. after a judicial hearing. In Maryland, a public outcry over the Juvenile Delinquents treatment of children in adult jails, prompt- Over 100,000 children in the United ed in part by a Human Rights Watch report States were confined in juvenile facilities. released in November 1999, led to some Many of them faced appalling conditions of improvements in the education provided abuse and neglect. In South Dakota, a the incarcerated children. The Baltimore class action suit was brought challenging City Detention Center’s school appointed widespread physical abuses against girls additional teachers and began to offer a full detained at the State Training School. The school day to juveniles in the general and suit charged that guards routinely shackled protective custody sections, but those held youths in spread-eagled fashion after cut- in the segregation and other sections con- ting off their clothes, sprayed them with tinued to be deprived of regular classroom pepper spray while naked, and routinely instruction. In Prince George’s County - placed them in isolation for twenty-three where youths were receiving no education hours each day for extended periods. at the time of Human Rights Watch’s July Although the state government conducted 1998 visit - the Department of Corrections an investigation of juvenile detention facili- and the county board of education began ties in 1999, it did not implement any re- to provide educational services in forms to end abusive policies and practices. September 2000. After twenty-seven years of litigation, In October, the Civil Rights Division of the state of Louisiana agreed in September the U.S. Department of Justice notified to significant changes in its juvenile deten- Maryland that it would investigate condi- tion system to protect youth from the ex- tions of detention at the Baltimore City UNITED STATES 345

Detention Center. The Justice Department for sexual abuse through lawsuits against planned to examine whether youths were the Corrections Department. In California, subjected to excessive periods of isolation. although a law went into effect in January The investigators were also to determine that increased the criminal penalties for whether all detainees, including youths, re- sexual misconduct, the state failed to en- ceived adequate medical and mental sure that women could safely report abuse. health care and whether they were protect- Women prisoners in one California prison, ed from harm. for example, claimed that their cells were Minority youths in the United States ransacked and personal items damaged or were significantly more likely to be sent to taken after they reported abuse. Others re- adult courts than their white counterparts. ported being held in “protective” custody Compared to white youths, children of col- pending investigation of their “allegation.” or in California were 2.8 times more likely to A federal circuit court upheld federal be charged with violent crimes, 6.2 times legislation, the Prison Litigation Reform Act, more likely to be tried in adult court, and that bars lawsuits by inmates seeking dam- seven times more likely to be sentenced to ages for mental or emotional injury suf- prison when they were tried as adults. fered while in custody where there is no proof of significant physical injury. Georgia Sexual Abuse inmates had filed a lawsuit alleging that in Sexual abuse against women by cor- 1996 prison officers had made them re- rectional officers remained widespread de- move their clothes in front a female guard, spite new laws prohibiting it and greater tap dance while naked and shave with an public awareness of the problem. A U.S. unlubricated razor. Under the court’s ruling, government study in December 1999 inmates cannot sue for humiliation, mental found pervasive allegations of sexual abuse torture or non-physical sadistic treatment and misconduct by corrections officers. by guards unless, in effect, they have bro- Criminal prosecutions of abusive staff ap- ken bones or blood to show for it. This re- peared to increase. Cases since December striction on the ability of inmates to vindi- 1999 included, for example, eleven former cate their rights in court was one of many guards and a prison official who were in- ways in which U.S. laws and judicial mech- dicted on charges of sexually assaulting or anisms failed to meet the standards man- harassing sixteen female prisoners at a dated by the Convention against Torture. county jail operated by a private corrections company; the conviction of a New Mexico Death Penalty jail guard on federal civil rights charges An important and positive human stemming from the sexual assault of jail rights development was the heightened prisoners; the sentencing of a New York jail criticism of the death penalty. The increas- guard to three years of probation after ing debate over unfairness in capital cases pleading guilty to sodomizing two female and the high risk of executing the innocent prisoners; and the sentencing of an Ohio caused public support for the death penal- jail officer to a four year prison term for sex- ty to decline to its lowest point in years (60 ually assaulting three female prisoners. percent). In September, a bi-partisan group In Michigan, however, legislators of congressmen released a national opin- passed a law that took effect in March that ion poll indicating that 80 percent of exempted prisoners from the protection of Americans supported reforming the death the state civil rights act, which prohibits dis- penalty, with 64 percent supporting a crimination based on race and gender. moratorium on executions until issues of Through this legislation, Michigan sup- fairness in capital punishment were re- pressed prisoners’ efforts to seek redress solved. 346 UNITED STATES

Debate about the death penalty was Hampshire, the state legislature passed a fueled by the record number of executions bill abolishing the death penalty, but the (145 at the time of this writing) in Texas state’s governor, Jeanne Shaheen, a under Gov. George W. Bush, the Repub- Democrat, vetoed the measure. In the U.S. lican presidential nominee; the publication Congress, legislators introduced the of important national reports; and the first- Innocence Protection Act, which would re- ever imposition of a moratorium on execu- quire that competent, experienced attor- tions by a state governor. Governor Bush’s neys be appointed to represent capital de- complacency with the high number of exe- fendants and that capital defendants have cutions in Texas, his refusal to acknowledge access to DNA testing, among other re- the extensively documented lack of ade- forms. The bill’s chances for passage ap- quate legal representation for capital de- peared slim as the 106th Congress wound fendants in Texas, and his refusal to oppose down, but its reintroduction during the next the execution of even mentally handi- Congress seemed likely. capped defendants or youthful offenders Despite these positive developments, generated widespread media attention and as of October 24, the United States had put criticism. seventy persons to death in 2000, and A comprehensive review of capital ca- eighteen more persons were scheduled for ses over a twenty-three year period by a execution before the end of the year. The team of university professors revealed that vast majority of executions in 2000 oc- more than two of every three death penalty curred in the Southern states, with Texas sentences were overturned on appeal. The accounting for nearly half of all executions. study found that capital trials were persist- Among those executed were individuals ently and systematically fraught with error who were mentally impaired and four juve- and injustice, including poor legal represen- nile offenders - persons below the age of tation of capital defendants by incompetent eighteen when the crimes for which they attorneys and prosecutorial misconduct. were sentenced were committed. Although racial disparities in the appli- Approximately 3,682 persons were on cation of the death penalty among the death row as of July 1. The U.S. continued states have long been documented, a new to be one of only five countries in the world study by the U.S. Department of Justice that executes juvenile offenders. found dramatic racial and geographic im- balances in the administration of the feder- Racial Discrimination al death penalty as well. The study found, In September, the U.S. produced - five for example, that 80 percent of federal de- years late - its initial report to the United fendants who faced capital charges, and 74 Nations Committee on the Elimination of percent of convicted defendants for whom Racial Discrimination. With unprecedented prosecutors recommended the death and welcome candor, the report acknowl- penalty, were members of minorities. The edged the persistence of racism, racial dis- study increased public concern that race crimination and de facto segregation in the plays an impermissible role in death penal- United States. The tenor and content of the ty decisions. report signaled the Clinton Administration’s Driven by the exoneration of thirteen recognition that despite decades of civil death row inmates - compared to the rights legislation and public and private ef- twelve executed in the state since the forts, the inequalities faced by minorities death penalty’s reinstatement in 1977 - remained one of the country’s most crucial Illinois Gov. George Ryan, a Republican, and unresolved human rights challenges. imposed a state-wide moratorium on exe- One of the report’s most significant cutions at the end of January. In New weaknesses was in its consideration of the UNITED STATES 347 role of race discrimination in the criminal ture an assessment of whether the current justice system. It acknowledged the dra- laws violate CERD. Nor did it consider matically disproportionate incarceration whether the striking racial differences in the rates for minorities, noted the many studies incarceration of drug offenders at the state indicating that members of minority level was consistent with CERD, reflecting groups, especially blacks and Hispanics, the Administration’s general reluctance to “may be disproportionately subject to ad- subject the U.S. war on drugs to human verse treatment throughout the criminal rights scrutiny. justice process,” and acknowledged con- As reflected in the report, the Adminis- cerns that “incidents of police brutality tration also mistakenly believed that U.S. seem to target disproportionately individu- constitutional prohibitions on race discrimi- als belonging to racial or ethnic minorities.” nation meet its obligations under CERD. But it did not question whether the osten- Under state and federal constitutional law, sibly race-neutral criminal laws or law en- racial disparities in law enforcement are forcement practices causing the incarcera- constitutional as long as they are not un- tion disparities violated CERD, nor did it ac- dertaken with discriminatory intent or pur- knowledge the Federal Government’s obli- pose. But CERD prohibits policies or prac- gation, under CERD, to ensure that state tices that have the effect of discriminating criminal justice systems (which account for on the basis of race regardless of intent. By 90 percent of the incarcerated population) requiring proof of discriminatory intent, U.S. were free of racial discrimination. constitutional law erects a frequently insur- The report did acknowledge the dra- mountable obstacle to obtaining judicial re- matic, racially disparate impact of federal lief from criminal justice policies that have sentencing laws that prescribe different an unjustifiably discriminatory impact. sentences for powder cocaine versus crack Instead of championing reforms that would cocaine offenses, even though the two reduce striking racial disparities in, for ex- drugs are pharmacologically identical. The ample, the rates at which blacks and whites laws impose a mandatory five year prison are arrested and incarcerated on drug sentence on anyone convicted of selling charges, the Clinton Administration ex- five grams or more of crack cocaine, and a pressed pride in constitutional protections ten year mandatory sentence for selling that do not, in fact, meet international stan- fifty grams or more. One hundred times as dards. much powder cocaine must be sold to re- ceive the same sentences. By setting a Protection of Asylum Seekers and much lower drug-weight threshold for crack Immigrants than powder cocaine, the laws resulted in In September 2000, the number of substantially higher sentences for crack co- detainees held in the custody of the caine offenders. Although the majority of Immigration and Naturalization Service crack users were white, blacks comprised (INS), on average per day, reached a almost 90 percent of federal offenders record high of 20,000. In 1995, there was convicted of crack offenses and hence a daily average of 6,700 detainees. The served longer sentences for similar drug dramatic increase stemmed from the 1996 crimes than whites. While recounting the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Clinton Administration’s unsuccessful effort Responsibility Act, which broadened the cri- to secure a limited reform of the cocaine teria that require detention and eventual sentencing laws (a reform which, in any deportation. event, would still have left black drug de- The increasing numbers of detainees fendants disproportionately vulnerable to strained the ability of the INS to provide higher sentences), the report did not ven- humane and safe conditions in its deten- 348 UNITED STATES tion facilities, and the influx of detainees other reasons to countries such as Cuba, led to a space crisis. More than half of all Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The INS INS detainees were held in prisons or local plan put in place during 1999 required jails intended for criminal inmates, expos- mandatory reviews for detainees who were ing them to treatment and conditions inap- ordered deported but who could not actu- propriate to their administrative detainee ally be sent to their home countries, and status and hampering their access to legal who were thus facing indefinite detention. assistance. Asylum-seekers continued to be Those who were released had to meet cer- detained as the rule, rather than the excep- tain criteria, such as having community tion, as the INS continued to ignore inter- sponsors, evidence of rehabilitation, and national standards relating to the treatment proof that they would not pose a danger to of asylum-seekers. In its own facilities, the society. INS implemented some standards, but INS The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform detainees assigned to jails were under the and Immigration Responsibility Act’s expe- direct control of jail officials and INS moni- dited removal proceedings, intended to toring of such jails was minimal. In late process and deport individuals who enter October, the INS planned to issue addition- the United States without valid documents al detention standards that would apply to with minimum delay, imperiled genuine its own facilities and to jails, but they had asylum seekers and resulted in immigrants’ not been made public at this writing. being detained in increasing numbers. Congress, however, failed to fund the mon- Asylum seekers with questionable docu- itors requested by the INS to ensure that ments were sent to “secondary inspection” the standards prescribed for its own facili- where they had to convey their fears re- ties and the jails with which its contracts garding return to their country of origin. The were upheld. expedited process was characterized by ex- The INS continued to detain unaccom- cessive secrecy, making it virtually impossi- panied children for lengthy periods before ble to monitor the fairness of INS officials’ releasing them to family members or ap- decisions at each stage of the initial review. propriate guardians. Human Rights Watch The size of the U.S. Border Patrol con- was particularly concerned that more than tinued to grow rapidly to number approxi- a third of the children in INS custody - near- mately 8,000 agents, double the 1993 to- ly 2,000 children during the year ending in tal, raising concerns about the quality, train- September 1999 - were held in juvenile ing, and supervision of its agents. In partic- detention centers and county jails. Of the ular, the agency’s capacity to investigate nearly 1,300 children held in secure con- complaints of abuse against its agents, and finement for more than three days, 58 per- to take disciplinary actions in appropriate cent were waiting to be transferred to a cases, was in question. Little information shelter care or similar facility or were held was made public relating to the investiga- in such confinement simply because the tion and discipline stemming from such al- INS lacked any alternative for them. By fail- legations. ing to place children in the least restrictive Yet, Border Patrol agents shot border- setting appropriate to their circumstances, crossers in questionable circumstances and the INS violated international standards, its were accused of sexual assaults, beatings, own regulations, and the terms of a legal and reckless vehicle pursuits that caused in- settlement. juries. Border Patrol agents said they shot at During the year, the INS reportedly re- some border-crossers because they reached leased more than a thousand long-term for, or attempted to throw, rocks at the detainees who had orders of deportation agents. Border Patrol agents are not required but could not be repatriated for political or to wear protective gear even though this UNITED STATES 349 would reduce the risk to agents and the stat- homosexuals serving in the military. Most of ed justification for resorting to deadly force. its NATO and other allies either allowed ho- mosexuals to serve openly or had no policy Homosexuals’ Rights on the issue. In September 1999, the The July 1999 murder of Private First European Court of Human Rights rejected a Class Barry Winchell at Fort Campbell, United Kingdom ban on homosexuals serv- Kentucky, by a fellow soldier who believed ing in the military based on similar grounds Winchell to be gay brought overdue atten- as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. tion to the problem of anti-gay harassment In U.S. schools, lesbian, gay, bisexual, in the military. Six years after the Clinton and transgender students were frequently Administration’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” pol- targeted for harassment by their peers, ac- icy was codified as law and implemented, cording to initial findings of a Human Rights the military’s own surveys and investiga- Watch investigation. They were nearly three tions found that training on how to imple- times as likely as their peers to have been ment the law was deficient and that anti- involved in at least one physical fight in gay harassment remained pervasive in the school, three times as likely to have been military. Many military personnel who faced threatened or injured with a weapon at verbal or physical harassment and feared school, and nearly four times as likely to for their safety made statements acknowl- skip school because they felt unsafe, ac- edging they were gay, knowing that it cording to the 1999 Massachusetts Youth would mean the end of their careers but Risk Behavior Survey. Most alarmingly, the also that if they complained officially about survey found that those who identified as anti-gay harassment they would probably lesbian, gay, or bisexual were more than themselves face an intrusive inquiry and twice as likely to consider suicide and more discharge. They also knew that harassers than four times as likely to attempt suicide were rarely punished. than their peers. Although the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Efforts to provide a safe, supportive en- policy was ostensibly intended to allow gay, vironment for these students were ham- lesbian, and bisexual service members to pered by discriminatory legislation in sever- remain in the military, discharges increased al states. For example, a South Carolina significantly after the policy’s adoption. statute provided that health education in From 1994 to 1999, a total of 5,412 serv- public school “may not include a discussion ice members were removed from the ar- of alternate sexual lifestyles from hetero- med forces under the policy, with yearly sexual relationships including, but not limit- discharge totals nearly doubling, from 617 ed to, homosexual relationships except in in 1994 to 1,149 in 1998. In 1999, the the context of instruction concerning sexu- number of such separations dropped ally transmitted diseases.” Similarly, a meas- slightly, to 1,034; nevertheless, the dischar- ure on the November ballot in Oregon ge rate was still 73 percent higher than it would provide that “the instruction of be- had been prior to the implementation of haviors relating to homosexuality and bi- the policy. Women were discharged at a sexuality shall not be presented in a public disproportionately high rate, while the poli- school in a manner which encourages, pro- cy provided an additional means for men motes, or sanctions such behaviors.” to harass women service members by Several states had legislation or pro- threatening to “out” those who refused grams in place to address harassment and their advances or threatened to report violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and them, thus ending their careers. transgender youth. California, Connecticut, The U.S. was increasingly out of step in- Massachusetts, and Wisconsin explicitly ternationally in maintaining restrictions on prohibited harassment and discrimination 350 UNITED STATES against teachers or students on the basis of a culture of impunity in many areas of U.S. sexual orientation. Massachusetts and labor law and practice. Employers intent on Vermont, the only states to include ques- resisting workers’ self-organization can drag tions relating to sexual orientation on out legal proceedings for years, fearing little statewide, youth risk behavior surveys, had more than an order to post a written notice state programs to provide support to gay, in the workplace promising not to repeat lesbian, and bisexual youths. Challenges re- unlawful conduct. mained in implementing these programs Human Rights Watch found that mil- and statutory protections and in preventing lions of workers, including farm workers, their erosion; in Vermont, for example, a household domestic workers, and low-level backlash against civil union legislation en- supervisors, were expressly excluded from acted in April threatened funding for the protection under the law guaranteeing the state’s youth program. right of workers to organize. In Washington and North Carolina, Human Rights Watch Labour Rights found evidence of campaigns of intimida- In August 2000, Human Rights Watch tion against migrant workers. published a ground-breaking, 200-page re- Other findings included: one-sided port on violations of workers’ rights to free- rules for union organizing that unfairly favor dom of association in the United States. employers over workers, allowing such tac- The report was based on field research un- tics as “captive-audience meetings” where dertaken during 1999-2000 in California, managers predict workplace closures if Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New workers vote for union representation; York, North Carolina, Michigan, Washington, workers being caught up in a web of labor and other states. The report, the first com- contracting and subcontracting that effec- prehensive analysis of workers’ rights in the tively denied them the right to organize and United States under international norms, bargain with the employers holding the real detailed widespread labor rights violations power over their jobs and working condi- across regions, industries and employment tions; employers having the legal power to status. permanently replace workers who exercise Each year thousands of workers in the the right to strike; and harsh rules against United States are spied on, harassed, pres- “secondary boycotts” that frustrate worker sured, threatened, suspended, fired, de- solidarity efforts. ported or otherwise victimized by employ- In another investigation into labor ers in reprisal for their exercise of the right rights in the United States, Human Rights to freedom of association. In the 1950’s, Watch found that the rights of migrant do- victims numbered in the hundreds each mestic workers with special temporary visas year. In 1969, the number was more than were often violated. The special visas al- 6,000. By the 1990’s, more than 20,000 lowed such workers, most of whom are workers each year were dismissed or oth- women, to be employed in the U.S. by for- erwise victims of discrimination serious eign diplomats, officials of international or- enough for the government-appointed ganizations, and others. Because the do- National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to mestic workers’ visas are employment- issue a reinstatement and “back-pay” or based, they lose their legal immigration sta- other remedial order - nearly 24,000 in tus in the U.S. if they flee abusive employ- 1998, the last year for which official figures ers, and may face deportation. These work- were available when the Human Rights ers were especially vulnerable to abuses by Watch report was published. their employers because they live and work Loophole-ridden laws, paralyzing de- in virtual isolation and often without basic lays, and feeble enforcement have created knowledge regarding their rights or the UNITED STATES 351

American legal system. Meanwhile, the U.S. ing. Young farmworkers became dizzy from Government has failed to establish proce- laboring in excessive temperatures without dures to monitor employer compliance adequate access to drinking water, and with employment contracts, humane treat- were forced to work without access to toi- ment of workers, and other mandatory lets or hand washing facilities. Long hours terms of these workers’ special visas. of work also interfered with the education In a report describing the treatment of of children working in the fields, causing child farmworkers in the United States, them to miss school and leaving them too Human Rights Watch found that over exhausted to study or stay awake in class. 300,000 children worked as hired laborers Only 55 percent of farmworker children in on commercial farms, frequently under the United States completed high school. dangerous and grueling conditions. The Even to the limited extent that U.S. child farmworkers worked long hours for lit- laws did protect farmworker children, they tle pay and risked pesticide poisoning, heat were not adequately enforced. The U.S. illnesses, injuries, and life-long disabilities. They accounted for 8 percent of working Department of Labor, charged with en- children in the United States but suffered forcement of the child labor, wage and 40 percent of work-related fatalities. hour provisions of federal labor law, cited Children working on U.S. farms often only 104 cases of child labor violations in worked twelve-hour days, sometimes be- fiscal year 1998, even though an estimated ginning at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. They reported one million child labor violations occur in routine exposure to dangerous pesticides US agriculture every year. Compounding that cause cancer and brain damage, with the problem, penalties were typically too short-term symptoms including rashes, weak to discourage employers from using headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomit- illegal child labor.

Endnotes 1 Regarding human rights developments in the U.S., the IHF relies upon the research re- sults of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW). According to the HRW in- ternal division of country responsibilities, Europe and Central Asia Division of HRW, that is affiliated with the IHF, does not monitor human rights developments in the U.S. Reporting period: November 1999 through November 2000. First published in the Human Rights Watch World Report 2001, December 2000. 2 On 18 September, the IHF issued a press release “The Death Penalty: America’s Moral and Political Failure,” condemning the use of the death penalty in the United States as a violation of basic human rights and an obstacle in the struggle for human rights on the international scene. 352 UZBEKISTAN

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression and the media; fair trial; torture; ill-treatment and misconduct by law enforcement officials; death penalty; religious intolerance; protection of ethnic minorities; human rights defenders.

Uzbekistan failed to implement much- to operate mainly from outside Uzbekistan. needed reforms, resulting in a severe eco- In early August, battles erupted between nomic crisis and an increase in corruption, armed IMU insurgents and Government which left many people impoverished and troops in southeastern Uzbekistan and disillusioned. There were still state-run neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. The insurgents farms in Uzbekistan where the workers had demanded the release of wrongfully jailed not received their salaries for years. Most Muslim prisoners, estimated at 100,000.6 Uzbeks earned just enough money to pay Deputy head of Tashkent Region’s in- for the absolute minimum of necessities.1 ternal affairs directorate, F. Shofaziev said in President Karimov was tough on the April that neighbourhood watch groups had political opposition, most of whose repre- been set up to find people with an extrem- sentatives had been silenced or driven out ist orientation in order to prevent any ter- of the country. However, in 2000 it rorist activities or uprisings. In one district seemed that parts of the exiled opposition residents seized and handed over 16 rep- movement, which have demonstrated will- resentatives of a “religious extremist group” ingness to resort to violence, were finding to the police. Only in Tashkent, 1,000 local their way back into the country.2 This fact residents were detached as guards. A spe- prompted the Government to increase the cial task force detachment was set up un- security measures on the border, resulting der the internal affairs directorate at the in shootings and several civilian deaths.3 end of 1999 and the beginning of 2000.7 Uzbekistan was mining undemarcated bor- According to the Human Rights Society der areas between Kyrgyzstan and of Uzbekistan (HRSU), five districts8 inhab- Uzbekistan, and at least two people were ited mainly by ethnic were evacuated killed and two others injured when they around 8 August and thereafter destroyed stepped on a landmine on the Uzbek-Tajik by air-borne forces. The inhabitants of one border. Tajik officials reported that land- of the districts, 364 families, were sent to mines killed eight civilians and wounded live in the territory of Zardbor in five other in the area in September.4 Sherabadskiy region, 250 kilometres away. There were two main opposition forces The reason for the forced evacuation was in Uzbekistan: the Party of Liberation (Hizb- that the districts in question had allegedly ut-Tahrir) which promoted Islam as a reli- provided armed groups from Tajikistan with gious and social force, and the Islamic food. On 5 August armed men gathered Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). Hizb-ut- the inhabitants in the square and forced Tahrir criticised the Uzbek Government for them into military helicopters which took corruption and repressing Muslims, but had them to a remote district. They were not al- not, according to Western diplomats, pro- lowed to take anything with them. They moted violence.5 Hizb-ut-Tharir claimed were given tents to live in, and the camps that 4,000 of its followers had been arrest- were surrounded by armed guards. The ed since the end of 1998. The Europe and same day, all adult men were arrested and Central Asia Division of Human Rights taken to the regional centres where they Watch (HRW, IHF member) documented were questioned for 7-10 days by the the conviction of several hundred mem- workers of the National Security Service bers of the group in 2000. (NSS). The Uzbek authorities considered the The people in the tent camp were not IMU a terrorist organization, which seemed given any food for the first two weeks, and UZBEKISTAN 353 there were cases of deaths among chil- nor offences would be pardoned if they re- dren. It was announced on TV that every pented of their crimes.13 family had got 750,000 sums (approxi- An Interior Ministry report published on mately U.S.$ 1,000) compensation, but no 24 August put the total number of people one had actually received this money. By in Uzbekistan’s 47 prisons at 63,900. mid-November, the people were sent to Thirty-six percent of those were said to be the Sherabad region, where houses had jailed for theft, and 24 percent for unspec- been built for them, but without heating ified serious crimes. The report also said and water. On 10 January 2001, a repre- that there were no political prisoners in sentative of HRSU visited Zardbor, which Uzbek jails.14 was surrounded by police from all sides. Religion emerged as the primary outlet The inhabitants stated that the Government for the expression of political opposition, of Uzbekistan blamed them for cooperating with the result that the Government la- with the IMU insurgents and therefore col- belled anyone associated with unautho- lectively punished and demolished whole rized religious activity as terrorists and ex- villages. tremists.15 They faced sentences ranging During the evacuation, the director of from 15-20 years. Conditions in prisons the local school, Davron Karimov, told the were harsh with death tolls rising.16 head of the soldiers that he would com- Apparently, the State Committee on plain to President Karimov. He was not Religion compiled a list of 10,700 suspect- seen since. It was alleged that more than ed religious extremists who may be target- 100 men had been taken from their hous- ed for arrest. es in Zardbor and disappeared.9 One of The authorities continued their practice them was Kodirov Hazratkul, who in of planting evidence like drugs, weapons or November gave an interview to BBC Radio. religious leaflets as basis for arrests. He was arrested on 11 December, and two However, many ended up being sentenced weeks later his dead body was returned to for crimes of a political nature. The group 10 the relatives, bearing clear signs of torture. Hizb-ut-Tahrir was especially targeted, and The presidential elections on 9 January those arrested for distributing leaflets call- ran against any democratic image of fair ing for the ousting of President Karimov re- and free elections and were dismissed by ceived jail sentences of up to 20 years. 11 the OSCE. Mere association with the group was being viewed as intent to overthrow the constitu- Freedom of Expression and Media tional order.17 Political Prisoners Imam Yuldashev, deputy to religious Political opponents were arrested arbi- leader Niyazov, was arrested in February trarily, ill-treated and tortured, denied ac- 1999 based on planted evidence, severely cess to lawyers and medical treatment, and ill-treated in prison and sentenced to four their trials were blatantly unfair and based and a half years. The Uzbek authorities de- on trumped-up charges with the judges ig- cided to release him shortly before the noring complaints of torture and coerced publication of the 1999 U.S. State testimony. Department’s religious freedom report, in a The President decreed an amnesty in calculated move. However, Yuldashev was August, which would apply to WW2 veter- still required to report to the police every ans, people over 60, Chernobyl victims, mi- week, and sign a document stating that he nors, disabled and foreign nationals.12 He was neither a member nor did he approve further issued a decree on 6 September of any religious sect. He was rearrested on saying that those extremists and convicted 24 July 2000, charged with “Wahhabism” terrorists currently serving jail terms for mi- and spreading of jihad (holy war) ideas. His 354 UZBEKISTAN lawyer, who managed to see him for seven of my brother were given 10-15 years, they minutes, reported that Yuldashev was cov- have nothing to do with politics. And ered in bruises. The prison guards contin- Mamadali Mahmuud, only because he is ued to beat him in the presence of his my friend and because he went to Ukraine lawyer, demanding that he reject legal to see me, he was sentenced to 15 counsel. He was then confined to incom- years.”23 municado detention in the basement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, refused legal Freedom of the Media 18 aid or medical treatment. According to the Constitution of Former Imam Abdurahim Abdurahma- Uzbekistan and the law on the mass me- nov, who suffered from permanent injuries dia, censorship was prohibited. However, from torture in custody in 1998, was also self-censorship was prevalent, and the au- re-arrested and sentenced to 17 years on thorities exercised control over the media charges of anti-state activities.19 that was tantamount to censorship. Yearly licensing requirements, the discriminatory One of Uzbekistan’s most famous writ- renewal of broadcast licences, heavy taxa- ers, Mamadali Makhmudov, was still in the tion and a lack of funding all discouraged Jaslyk prison camp in the north of the the establishment of independent media.24 country. He was sentenced to 14 years in The Government tightly controlled the February 1999 for his association with the print media in Uzbekistan. Criticism of the Erk party and its leader Mohammed Solih, President was strictly forbidden, however, suspected of being involved in the Tash- criticism of other government officials and kent bombings. Copies of an opposition parties was occasionally tolerated.25 All but newspaper Erk found in his possession two newspapers were government owned served as the basis for his trial. He was se- and required approval from the Committee verely ill-treated while in detention, and his for the Control of State Secrets for all pub- family was not notified about his where- lished news articles. The two private news- abouts when he was first imprisoned. 20 papers did not cover news. Increased pres- Nilufar Hokimova (23) and Nafisa sure on privately owned television and ra- Aboskhodajeva (21) were sentenced to six dio stations by local and national authori- years in prison for “Wahhabism” and al- ties was reported. Government authorities leged anti-state activity when they attempt- closed or blacklisted stations that covered ed to leave the country following the arrest, religion or politics and prevented them torture and convictions of their husbands.21 from obtaining licences. The State also at- tempted to control the Internet.26 On 17 July police detained Bahodir The head of the foundation for the Hasanov, and refused to disclose his democratisation of the mass media said whereabouts, according to HRW. Hasanov, that the Uzbek press was mostly “boring whose brother and father were political and unreadable” and many publications prisoners, had been detained by the police should be closed down. Most of the 440 in February, September and November papers and magazines had small circula- 1999 and subjected to torture.22 tions and were of poor quality. There were Muhamad Solih, leader of the banned also problems with the distribution, as Erk opposition party received a 15-year parts of the population had difficult access prison sentence on 17 November, and to printed mass media. He further went considered this a very lenient sentence: on to criticize the fact that 75 percent of “Fifteen years are given to ordinary people, the population were unaware of their for example to my brother, he did nothing, rights, and that not even half of the laws he is innocent. Not only one, but all three were being applied.27 UZBEKISTAN 355

Fair Trial to the defence of 12 men, provided by Trials were in general conducted with- state-appointed lawyers. out much regard to international standards, Trials were grossly unfair, as judges sys- in particular when involving defendants tematically punished suspected “funda- charged with political or religious activity mentalists” with lengthy terms in prison al- running contrary to the wishes of the au- lowing coerced self-incriminating state- thorities. Presumption of innocence and ments as evidence as the basis for convic- the right to legal counsel were ignored, and tion. Family members were detained and ill-treatment and torture were widespread arrested, in an attempt to force testimonies in order to extract confessions.28 Police held from the suspect. Women were often de- detainees incommunicado for up to six tained and threatened with rape in front of months, until after they had obtained a their husbands or sons in order to coerce 33 confession. Police and court house guards self-incriminating statements. demanded bribes from relatives who want- In 1999 Azim Khodjaev was arrested ed to give detainees food and medicine or and jailed on false charges as punishment sought to attend their relatives’ trials.29 for his son’s beliefs. He was tortured to Judges typically ignored the allegations of death. In 2000, two of his sons were ar- the use of torture, rested; one was sentenced to death and the other awaited trial. On 14 May one man was sentenced to death and 15 others up to 24 years in Police officers visited Darmon Sultano- prison on charges of using terrorism to cre- va in her home and inquired who in the fa- ate an Islamic State. All defendants testified mily studied Koran, and how many times a to having been tortured. Polvonnazar day they prayed. The officer’s arrested Sul- Khodzhayev was sentenced to death, after tanova’s sons, Uiguv and Oibek Ruzmetov having admitted to charges of murder and on charges of “Wahhabism” and detained theft, but denied wishing to create an Sultanova and her husband. Police stripped Islamic State. Ismail Khasanov was sen- the elderly woman naked and handcuffed tenced to 24 years in prison for being in- her to a radiator in a basement cell. They volved in the killings of three high-level brought in her sons, beaten and bloody, Uzbek officials and three forest rangers. Ot- and threatened to rape their mother unless her defendants were accused of planning they confessed to a range of charges, in- to blow up a water reservoir and of seizing cluding membership of a religious organi- a country residence of the President. All de- zation and several unsolved murders nied participating in terrorism.30 throughout the country. The 65-year old fa- There was never any information about ther who had also been severely beaten, arrests or trials in local media. It was not was convicted without legal counsel on possible to find out when cases would be spurious charges of narcotics possession heard, and families where not informed and was still in prison in September. about the whereabouts of the detainees.31 Darmon Sultanova was released after her sons signed the confession, but was held The courts conducted trials and hand- 34 ed out sentences, including death sen- on house arrest for the next 40 days. tences, in absentia, which was in violation Bahodir Hasanov (38), was taken into of international standards. The trials were custody on 18 July for the fourth time this often closed to local activists, relatives of year, and the authorities refused to give any the defendant and the general public. The information about where he was being Government often failed to provide any held. All of Hasanov’s family was being material evidence of the defendant’s guilt. prosecuted for religious practices; his 27- In one case32 only half a day was dedicated year old brother and 70-year old father 356 UZBEKISTAN were both religious prisoners. HRW sentenced to prison in 1999 for involve- claimed that all three had been severely ill- ment with Hizb-ut-Tahrir, but was later re- treated while in prison, and feared that leased under surveillance. He went into Bahodir Hasanov was at risk of being tor- hiding after militia officials had black- tured.35 mailed him for money. In August 2000, he returned to his home upon which he On 21 June a regional court in eastern and his nephew were detained by NSS of- Namangan sentenced a group of ten peo- 36 ficers and violently beaten. Sodikov was ple to prison terms of between 7 and 16 years for “an attempt to overthrow the released after having signed a statement Government and constitutional system.” against his uncle. On 6 August Djuvashev The group, which included four women, was brought to hospital with severe brain and also Nosir Khojiyev, brother of the concussion. The officers came to the hos- leader of the IMU, Juma Namangoni, was pital, brought him back to interrogation accused of being involved in religious and and threatened to kill him if he returned 39 extremist movements. Ziyovuddin Karimov to the hospital. 37 received the longest term, 16 years. In April Vassily Evstigneev, brother of human rights activist Elena Urlaeva, was Torture Ill-treatment and Misconduct sentenced to six years by the Mirza by Law Enforcement Officials Ulugbek District Court in Tashkent on al- Uzbekistan failed to live up to its obli- legedly fabricated charges, probably as a re- gations to protect detainees from torture taliation for his sister’s human rights work. and to uphold international fair trial stan- He was kept in the “red zone” UA 64/69 in dards under the ICPPR as well as under the Karshi town, and was in October trans- UN Convention against Torture, to both of ferred to a medical penitential facility in which Uzbekistan acceded in 1995. Tashkent in a serious condition. He had continuous haemorrhage, most likely On 6 September 15 men charged with caused by a common torture form in the membership in Hizb-ut-Tahrir were sen- “red zones,” inserting a bottle into the vic- tenced to prison terms ranging from 12-16 tim’s rectum. He had also told relatives that years. They were also charged with posses- he had been severely beaten and tortured. sion of banned religious literature, including a leaflet entitled “Uzbek Authorities are On 6 November the manager of the med- against Muslim Beliefs.” In their letters sent ical facility did not allow his relatives to vis- 40 from prison the men described how the it him. police sodomized them with bottles and Numon Saidaminov (28) was arrested nightsticks, raped them and beat them in on 29 September and murdered during in- the kidneys, on the soles of their feet, and terrogation by a police officer in a cell in the on their heads with truncheons and metal basement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs bars to the point where some lost con- in Tashkent. The body, which bore obvious sciousness. This was done in order to force marks of beatings, was transported to his them to testify against each other and to home on 8 October. The police claimed he admit to the supposed crime of member- died of a heart problem - most likely fol- ship of an unregistered religious group. The lowing the ill-treatment as Numon accused recounted their ordeals during the Saidaminov had never previously had heart trial, but were ignored.38 problems. He was married and had two On 5 August NSS officers raided the children. During the burial ceremony, his house of Yodgor Sodikov and arrested his house was surrounded by police. He had uncle Nahmiddin Djuvashev and himself. been charged with being a member of Djuvashev (of Kyrgyz nationality), was Hizb-ut-Tahrir. He denied it.41 UZBEKISTAN 357

At least 15 prisoners were murdered in agents arrested Mukhmadov on the street the prisons of Jaslyk and Kizltepa Karshi and held him incommunicado for three during 2000.42 months. He reappeared in May to face the charges on which he was in prison as of On 20 October militia officer Nizom this writing.44 Astanov shot and killed Bobur Nazarov, the father of two children, near the market of In a radio interview, human rights ac- micro district 3 in Jizak town. Nazarov was tivist Vasila Inoyatova criticized the brutal together with an acquaintance when they treatment of prisoners, in particular of were halted by Astanov and his partner those imprisoned for their religious views. who demanded that the men produce their The conditions and the number of inmates passports which they did not carry with in the notorious Jaslyk45 prison, where prac- them. Astanov pushed Nazarov, and his tically all the prisoners were held for their colleague hit the other man in the face and religious views, was kept secret, and the then shot him through the head. There prisoners were afraid to divulge information were several witnesses to the incident, but about their situation because they were the prosecutor refused to file charges afraid the authorities would subject their against the officers, quoting a presidential relatives to duress, which was regular prac- decree stating that if a militiaman was as- tice. The prisoners were subjected to se- saulted, he had the right to use a gun in vere torture, and TB and other diseases 43 self-defence. were widespread. Apparently there were Imprisoned Uzbek poet Mamadali two prisons in Jaslyk, one holding approxi- Makhmudov (57) was reportedly in a dire mately 250 prisoners, used as an adequate physical condition and at possible risk of façade, where relatives could come and death, according to a statement by HRW re- visit the inmates,46 and another one, with leased in June. Makhmudov was impris- 7,300 convicts. No relatives have ever visit- oned in 1999 for supporting a banned op- ed this part of the prison camp, and it was position party. He was sentenced together surrounded by secrecy. The convicts were with five others to 14 years in prison on not allowed to send letters. Nobody is trumped-up charges of participating in a known to have ever been set free from criminal society and using the mass media Jaslyk prison.47 to publicly insult the President of Uzbekistan. At his trial Makhmudov stated Death Penalty that he had been subjected to torture. In 1998 the Parliamentary Commissio- Reports indicated that Makhmudov was in ner for Human Rights in Uzbekistan, Sayora May transferred to the notorious Jaslyk Rashidova, informed Amnesty International prison camp, where he was said to suffer (AI) that Uzbekistan was following ‘’a policy from pain in his chest, sides and back 48 where he had been beaten, and to have of abolishing the death penalty in stages.’’ lost consciousness in prison several times. On the contrary, death sentences and exe- He was reportedly ill-treated, and received cutions in Uzbekistan have reached an inadequate food and medical treatment. alarmingly high number with at least 56 Makhmudov was first arrested in 1994, death sentences and 20 executions known when his house was raided and police to AI between the beginning of 1999 and planted a firearm as evidence that he was September 2000. The vast majority of guilty of terrorism, a charge that was later these sentences were linked to the dropped. Next he was charged with fraud February 1999 Tashkent bombings. Since and embezzlement and sentenced to four information about the death penalty was years in prison. He was later let off and re- regarded as a state secret, the real num- leased. In February 1999, plain clothes bers may have been much higher.49 358 UZBEKISTAN

In November 1999 the UN Committee Uiguv and Oibek Ruymetov testified to against Torture did not receive the request- having been ill-treated, but the judge did ed statistics on death sentences and exe- not investigate the allegations. The two cutions from the government delegation of men were declared to have taken part in Uzbekistan.50 “forbidden activities of a reactionary under- ground religious organization of Wahhabis” On 31 March the Presidium of the and found guilty on charges of murder, Supreme Court of Uzbekistan reversed the weapons possession and illegal religious November 1999 death sentence passed activities. They were both sentenced to on a young musician named Arsen Arutyu- death. Darmon Sultanova received official nyan, citing mitigating factors and replacing documentation that the execution of her it with a term of imprisonment. Arutyunyan two sons by firing squad had been carried and Danis Sirazhev, musicians in a well- out. Another defendant on trial with the known Uzbek pop group called ‘’Al- Vakil,” Ruzmetov brothers, Shohnazar Yakubov had been convicted of killing a female (25) was reported to have died from police Uzbek singer, Laylo Aliyeva. The two men torture in prison in October 1999.56 alleged that their confessions had been ex- tracted under duress while they were in pre-trial detention, their lawyers reportedly Religious Intolerance received threats aimed at forcing them to Article 29 of the Constitution stated: step down from the case, their families “Each person has the right to freedom of were allegedly harassed, forcing some to thought, speech, and belief. Each person leave the country. Observers reported that has the right to seek, receive, and dissemi- the first appeal hearing at the Supreme nate any information, with the exception of Court was unfair.51 information directed against the existing constitutional order and other limitations On 17 November a Tashkent court established by law.“57 handed out death sentences in absentia to A 1998 law on Freedom of Conscience two IMU leaders, Takhir Yuldashev and Ju- banned all religious activity not registered ma Namangani. Ten other defendants, in- with the State. The law also outlawed pros- cluding the exiled leader of the Erk opposi- elytizing and religious dress in public. tion party, Muhamed Solih, received 12-20- According to various sources, only in May year prison terms.52 Deputy Prosecutor 2000, thirty-five people were arrested in General Erkin Kudratov had asked the Sup- Tashkent, 10 in Samarkand, 40 in Andijan reme Court to hand down death sentences and 50 in Fergana for religious reasons.58 to 10 out of the 12 defendants.53 28- year-old Dimitry Chikunov, who Muslims had been sentenced to death by the Tash- The crackdown on unsanctioned Islamic kent Regional Court in November 1999 activity seemed to have unleashed a vicious for the killing of two men in April 1999, circle, in which repression against Islamic be- was executed in secret on 10 July in Tash- lievers, or anyone related to or sympathizing kent. His mother was given the news with Islamic believers, fuelled the insurgency when she came to visit him in prison two of the IMU, leading to increased government days later. The day before, at which time harassment of religious activity.59 the execution had already taken place, According to official court documents, she had been told by the guards that she people were sentenced to lengthy jail sen- could not see him and should come back tences for practices including participation the next day.54 His death sentence was in unsanctioned prayer groups; conducting based on a confession reportedly extract- private religious teaching; membership of ed under torture. 55 unregistered Islamic organizations; posses- UZBEKISTAN 359 sion or distribution of literature of such an barred its denomination from using a col- organization, or even sympathizing with the lective farm to hold a summer camp, it was views of such an organization. Followers of reported. Despite a Baptist presence in the imams who either criticized government town for over 100 years, a congregation in policies, or failed to praise the Government Gazalkent had its application for registration during religious services, were arrested and rejected as “undesirable“ by the deputy sentenced on fabricated charges.60 head of the district of Bostanlyk near Very few alleged releases of Muslims Tashkent, On the same day, the official, were either never confirmed, or the per- Khudoybergen Mirzamuratov, also barred sons in question was rearrested.61 the Evangelical Christian/Baptist (ECB) The actions undertaken by the Govern- Union from holding a children’s summer ment seemed to have a counter-productive camp on a collective farm, despite the de- impact: opposition to the Government was nomination’s agreement with the farm’s 65 hardening as arbitrary arrests for suspected owner. religious affiliation left tens of thousands rel- Nicholai Rudinsky, a Christian leader in atives and friends of detainees embittered. western Uzbekistan’s autonomous Karakal- Imprisoning suspected government oppo- pakstan region was jailed on 25 July, ac- nents could ironically facilitate the spread of cused by local police of illegal drug posses- the anti-government activities, as jails could sion. Rudinski was arrested just a few hours 62 become schools for the movement. after Nukus police had closed down a In the spring of 2000, illiterate farm church youth camp he helped organize. labourer Jura Sattarov burnt three books of The officials claimed that the local church Islam, which were kept in his house in an had “no right to operate a religious camp.“ attempt to avoid being branded as radical The camp was the second of two youth by the authorities. He was too late: the next camps held during July in a camping facili- day the police arrested his 20-year old son ty near Nukus and sponsored by the local Muradjon, who eventually confessed to legally registered Mir Presbyterian Church. membership of a non-violent anti-govern- Some 50 children had attended the first ment Islamic group. He was sentenced to camp session without incident. Rudinski 15 years in prison.63 was reportedly beaten many times, he was very sick and needed medical help.66 Some university officials banned fe- male students from wearing head scarves. Pentecostal pastor Rashid Turibayev This was not approved by the Committee was reported in September 2000 to have on Religious Affairs, who viewed this as un- gone into hiding from the authorities.67 fortunate for Uzbekistan’s international rep- 64 utation. Protection of Ethnic Minorities There were allegations of discrimina- Christians tion against Kazakh nationals. The number The Uzbek Government changed of non-Uzbeks was difficult to estimate as course in August 1999 and lifted the ban many were forced to register themselves as preventing dozens of religious minority ethnic Uzbeks, particularly state employees, communities from gaining registration. who were otherwise threatened with losing Since then the Committee on Religious their jobs. As a rule, ethnic Uzbeks got the Affairs pressed reluctant local authorities to better paid jobs, and it was extremely diffi- register some religious communities that cult for a minority member to make a ca- had been denied official status. reer in the state structures. On the one However, in June 2000 a local official hand, the President actively denounced na- denied registration to a Baptist Church and tionalists in the press.68 360 UZBEKISTAN

However, the Uzbek Government re- tary confinement, public denunciation, in- portedly wrote to the Education Ministries timidation, intrusive police surveillance, and of the other Central Asian States, request- threats of arrest. ing consignments of textbooks in the re- Two of the country’s most prominent spective languages for use in Uzbek human rights defenders, Mahbuba Kasy- schools where these languages were in- mova and Ismoil Adylov of the Independent structed. Uzbekistan offered to provide Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan, Uzbek language text books for the Uzbek were sentenced to five and six years impris- communities in the neighbouring States.69 onment, respectively, on wholly spurious charges. Adylov, who was convicted in Human Rights Defenders70 August 1999, was missing in detention since The Uzbek Government was waging a prison authorities transferred him to an un- fierce campaign against local human rights known location on 22 February 2000. He was seriously ill with a chronic kidney ail- activists. According to HRW, a dozen of the ment and was denied access to medical country’s most active and outspoken rights treatment. The prison authorities also denied defenders have been attacked. him the medicine provided by his family. Law enforcement officers arrested, beat, threatened and otherwise harassed On 7 March the Uzbek police confis- human rights defenders in an effort to pun- cated materials from a HRW representative ish and silence them for their peaceful hu- who was monitoring the trial at the man rights activities. Following tactics un- Syrdarya District Court of 12 men accused seen since the Stalin era, authorities forced of membership of the banned Muslim several activists to attend public meetings Hizb-ut-Takhrir. in 1999 in which they were insulted and In July Kamoletdin Djuraevich Sattarov, accused of “anti-state activity“ by the speak- a 30-year-old father of three young children, ers. Law enforcement agencies came down was convicted to nine years’ imprisonment hardest on two unregistered human rights after “five leaflets” of a religious nature and groups whose members were actively in- “six filled forms and 11 empty forms from volved in documenting arbitrary arrests, tor- the international community of human ture, and unfair trials that have taken place rights” were found at his residence. The IHF during the extensive police crackdown fol- contacts in Uzbekistan confirmed that these lowing the 1999 bombings. were forms emanating from and addressed HRW reported the physical mistreat- to the UN Human Rights Committee. The ment of defenders by the police and law mere possession of these forms was men- enforcement agencies’ use of psychologi- tioned in several places in the court deci- cal harassment, including prolonged soli- sion as a crime to be severely punished. 71

Endnotes 1 Abdumannob Polat, Chairman of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, quoted by Talib Yakubov, 8 January 2000. 2 Bruce Pannier, RFE/RL, 12 January 2000. 3 RFE/RL, 21 January 2000. 4 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Uzbekistan. 5 New York Times, 29 October 2000. 6 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Uzbekistan. 7 Uzbek Television first channel, 16 April 2000, quoted by Eurasianet. 8 Hushtut, Havot, Tamahut, Zambik, name of last district is unknown. UZBEKISTAN 361

9 Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan has a list of 39 names. 10 Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, 17 January 2001. 11 Bruce Pannier, RFE/RL, 12 January 2000. 12 RFE/RL, 29 August 2000. 13 Itar Tass, 6 September 2000. 14 RFE/RL, 25 August 2000. 15 Human Rights Watch, posted by EurasiaNet, 19 May 2000. 16 Human Rights Watch, 1 September 2000. 17 Human Rights Watch, posted by EurasiaNet, 19 May 2000. 18 Human Rights Watch presentation for the U.S. Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, 7 September 2000. 19 Ibid. 20 International PEN Writers Committee, 29 November 1999; U.S. Rights Commission, 30 June 2000. 21 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Uzbekistan. 22 RFE/RL, 21 July 2000. 23 Interview with Mohamad Solih, in Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, 20 November 2000, quoted by Eurasianet. 24 OSCE/ODIHR, Uzbekistan: Elections of Deputies to the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) 5 and 19 December 1999, 28 March 2000. 25 Human Rights Watch, 11 January 2000; Interview with Abbos Alimboyev, Head of the Foundation for the Democratisation of the Mass Media, in Hurriyat, Tashkent 10 March 2000, quoted by Eurasianet. 26 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Uzbekistan. 27 Interview with Abbos Alimboyev, Head of the Foundation for the Democratisation of the Mass Media, in Hurriyat, Tashkent 10 March 2000, quoted by Eurasianet. 28 Human Rights Watch, 20 November 2000. 29 Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Uzbekistan. 30 RFE/RL 15 May 2000; information from Human Rights Watch. 31 Human Rights Watch, posted by EurasiaNet, 19 May 2000. 32 17 November ruling against, among others, the two leaders of IMU, Yuldashev and Namangani, and Mohamed Solih. 33 Human Rights Watch in the U.S, Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, 7 September 2000. 34 Ibid. 35 Human Rights Watch, quoted in RFE/RL, 21 July 2000. 36 Ziyovutdin Karimov, Qunduzkhon Ghofurova, Yoqub Abduqahhorov, Khalijon Sodiqov, Nosir Nuriddinov, Fotima Tumanova, Sanobar Tursunova, Dilbar Egamberdiyeva, Mamatqul Tumanov, Nosir Khojiyev. 37 Uzbek Television first channel, 26 June 2000, quoted by Eurasianet; Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, 19 June 2000, quoted by Eurasianet. 38 Human Rights Watch, in the U.S. Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, 7 September 2000. 39 Djizak Regional Branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, 29 August 2000. 40 Ramazan Dyryldaev, Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, 13 November 2000. 41 Letter from Hazratqul Khudojberdi, 27 October 2000. 42 Ibid. 43 Ramazan Dyryldaev, Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, 8 November 2000. 44 Human Rights Watch, 22 June 2000. 362 UZBEKISTAN

45 Jaslyk prison camp (often referred to as concentration camp), on the Ust-Yurt plateau in Karakalpakstan in the north of Uzbekistan. 46 This was allegedly organised prior to the presidential elections 9 January (Talib Yakubov, Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan). 47 Interview with Vasila Inoyatova, in Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, 28 January 2000, quoted by Eurasianet. 48 AI Index: EUR 62/07/00,19 April 2000. 49 Amnesty International, “Death Penalty News”, September 2000. 50 AI Index: EUR 62/07/00,19 April 2000. 51 Ibid. 52 Human Rights Watch, 20 November 2000. 53 RFE/RL, quoted by Eurasianet, 14 November 2000. 54 AI Index: EUR 62/017/2000, 12 July 2000. 55 Amnesty International, Death Penalty News, September 2000. 56 Human Rights Watch in the U.S. Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, 7 September 2000; Amnesty International, EUR 62/014/2000, 12 July 2000. 57 Human Rights Watch, “Leaving No Witnesses,” March 2000. 58 Hazratqul Khudojberdi, Birlik, Uzbekistan, 6 July 2000. 59 Human Rights Watch, 20 November 2000. 60 Human Rights Watch in the U.S. Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, 7 September 2000. 61 Ibid. 62 Human Rights Watch, posted by EurasiaNet 19 May 2000. 63 The Associated Press, via 15 September 2000. 64 RFE/RL, 19 September 2000. 65 The Keston News Service, quoted by Human Rights without Frontiers, 2 June 2000. 66 Human Rights Without Frontiers, Compass Direct, “Uzbek police jail another Christian: Arrest Follows Closure of Church Youth Camp in Nukus,” 6 September 2000. 67 Ibid. 68 Novoye Pokoleniye, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 8 September 2000, quoted by Eurasianet. 69 RFE/RL, 26 July 2000. 70 Unless otherwise noted, based on Human Rights Watch/Europe and Central Asia Divi- sion, Leaving No Witnesses: Uzbekistan‘s Campaign against Rights Defenders, 28 March 2000. 71 IHF, “Uzbek Citizens Jailed for Possessing Documentation Forms from the UN,“ press re- lease and open letter to Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 22 August 2000. YUGOSLAVIA (FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF) 363

The Republican Square in Belgrade during an anti-government demonstration on 14 April. © APA/EPA

SERBIA1

IHF FOCUS: Elections; freedom of expression and the media; independence of the judiciary; fair trial; torture, ill-treatment, misconduct by law enforcement officials and detainees’ rights; right to privacy and integrity of person; protection of ethnic mi- norities; social and economic rights.

Human rights problems in the year Slobodan Milosˇevic´ and his collaborators, 2000 resulted from the many negative de- the former regime soon faced the agony of velopments of the past decade, or legacy bare survival. After exhausting all possibili- thereof. The nationalistic project was de- ties for recovery following the NATO inter- feated, but the defeat was not accepted vention, the regime opted for repression in and nationalism persisted. The new author- all spheres of public life, notably in the ju- ities in power since the political turn in diciary, educational system and the media. October only “retouched” nationalism, but That was the last stage of the devastation did not clearly distance themselves from of institutions. In addition, the Government the previous policy. The neglect and implo- opened an aggressive front against Monte- sion of society, the collapse and de-profes- negro in early 2000, and through constant sionalisation of institutions, the lack of an tension in that republic kept the option of a independent judiciary, the politicisation of war permanently open. the police force, and social and economic On 10 January, following several problems were all factors that influenced months of indecision, the opposition man- the general picture of human rights. aged - under pressure from the interna- After the 1999 NATO bombings and fil- tional community - to sign the Agreement ing of war crimes indictments against on Joint Actions. Since then, having banded 364 SERBIA together an 18-party coalition, the opposi- garding the criteria and standards to be met tion gradually began winning the confi- by the FRY were voiced. dence of the citizens, notably with respect The victory of the Democratic Oppo- to the removal of Slobodan Milosˇevic´ from sition of Serbia (DOS) helped to “norma- power – which in fact formed the opposi- lise” Serb nationalism, launching the idea tion’s only common programme. Such de- of the so-called “democratic nationalism“ velopments were followed by a series of as a justifiable state ideology. The new po- unsolved murders and disappearances, for litical elite, backed by significant parts of the example, that of Ivan Stambolic´, former intellectual elite and the media, is now try- President of Serbia.2 Mafia circles also in- ing to trivialise the recent past and to per- creasingly resorted to abductions as a severe with the negative stand of Serbia on means of money extortion. the Hague Tribunal. According to the Hel- In the post-NATO intervention period sinki Committee in Serbia, systematic gloss- the mood of the people changed signifi- ing over the truth and the orchestration of cantly and they no longer only focused on collective amnesia, hyping of illegitimacy of bare survival. A broad-based resistance to NATO intervention and speaking of “Serb the regime mounted, based on various victims” gives little hope that the past motivations: some blamed the regime for events will be faced and examined and that the collapse of the country, some feared a the issue of war-time responsibility would new war, and some deplored the war de- be tackled. As a result, the essential prob- feat. The economic situation in the country, lems and the identity crisis of society are however, played a crucial role in the re- not dealt with and the abstract “Serbhood” moval of Milosˇevic´. regains importance. International actors played a key role in A very critical line has been taken on the 2000 developments by providing fi- the Hague Tribunal. As of this writing, al- nancial and logistical backing to domestic most none of the opposition leaders are political life, the opposition and NGOs. ready to back the hand-over of Milosˇevic´ to Soon after the end of the bombings, series the Hague Tribunal. Almost all of them of initiatives were launched aimed at train- maintain that the Serb people should first ing the opposition activists and organising try him for election rigging and the crimi- resistance to the regime. Under the auspi- nalization of society, an attitude that facili- ces of the Stability Pact, a series of round- tates Milosˇevic´’s political comeback. Positi- tables, conferences, workshops, and train- ons on Milosˇevic´ and the Hague Tribunal ing courses were organised in the course of will be genuine indicators of the readiness the year. of the new authorities to effect fundamen- The most positive change in the wake tal changes. of the September elections was the end of Corruption remains the main obstacle the political isolation of the Federal to transition. Following the ousting of Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), with its im- Slobodan Milosˇevic´, his allies remained in mediate admission to many international the administration and maintained excel- institutions, such as the International Mone- lent contacts with organized criminality and tary Fund, the UN, OSCE, and the Stability the underworld, act as managers of the Pact for South East Europe. Enormous fi- grey economy zone, and wield the levers of nancial support from abroad eased the the repression apparatus. chaos in which the country had been. The Corruption and war crimes are key is- basic goal of the international community sues and main challenges for the new au- has been to prevent the collapse of Serbia thorities. The moral recovery of society and and to consolidate the entire region. Hence the very process of its re-integration in the in the last months of 2000 no demands re- international community shall depend on SERBIA 365 the authorities’ ability to tackle the two obviously an expression of its misjudge- aforementioned issues. ment of the popular mood. In line with that As of the end of 2000, Serbia practi- decision, Slobodan Milosˇevic´ swiftly staged cally had no institutions or a financial basis a “constitutional coup” by amending two for ensuring minimal rights, notably social key provisions of the FRY Constitution, and economic ones. In the forthcoming pe- which severely affected Montenegro and riod, people shall have to focus on their derogated election rights of Serbia. daily survival. Consequently, the emphasis Montenegro stayed away from the federal shall be on social and economic rights: elections, for its participation would have highly pauperised and devastated Serbian been tantamount to acceptance of its society has no preconditions for democrati- abruptly worsened position in the Federal sation and full observance of human rights. State. Consequently, the Government was Hence, according to the Helsinki Commit- cobbled together with representatives of tee in Serbia, the following conditions the Socialist Popular Party (SPP) headed by should be attached to the FRY’s admission Momir Bulatovic´, former ally of Slobodan to the Council of Europe: the establishment Milosˇevic´, instead of with the ruling of an independent judiciary, a professional Montenegrin coalition. It should be stres- police force and professional media. sed that amendments to the FRY Constitu- At this writing, the total collapse of the tion were just one more confirmation of social and economic systems still threat- the “institutional and extra-constitutional” ened to throw the country into total anar- disintegration of the FRY, but this method chy. The change of government did not had a boomerang effect on Serbia proper. bring about guarantees for fundamental The September local elections and changes to the system. The legacy of the December federal elections were an ex- previous regime did not leave much room pression of a deep frustration and dissatis- for positive expectations and the potentials faction of citizens of Serbia on the one of the new authorities did not appear very hand, and an upshot of a genuine agree- promising. Transition shall be weighted ment between the DOS and the closest down by corruption and criminality. collaborators of Slobodan Milosˇevic´ (from On 10 October, the Helsinki Commit- the military, and police ranks) in the period tee for Human Rights in Serbia and the In- between 25 September and 5 October ternational Helsinki Federation for Human 2000, on the other hand. The choice of Rights sent an Open Letter to the newly Vojislav Kosˇtunica as the DOS presidential elected Yugoslav President Vojislav Kosˇtuni- candidate resulted from a consensus ca, asking him to take several steps to lead reached between some circles of the Serbia in a new direction with regard to hu- Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the man rights and relations with neighbouring Serbian Orthodox Church and the Yugoslav countries. These steps should include the Army. He was widely promoted as “Mr release of prominent Albanian prisoners Clean,” while most DOS leaders were taint- Flora Brovina and Albin Kurti and of jailed ed with corruption allegations. Kosˇtunica journalists Miroslav Filipovic and Zoran Lu- was also hyped as a personality maintain- kovic, as well as the recognition of Bosnia- ing the Serb national interest “in a demo- Herzegovina as an independent State and cratic way.” measures to end border disputes with Interregnum between the two election 3 Macedonia. rounds, characterised by the division of power, threw the country anew into disar- Elections ray. It soon became evident that DOS had The former Government’s decision to no political concept whatsoever. Moreover, call early local and federal elections was it began emulating the former regime. A 366 SERBIA near coup-like take-over by the DOS lead- the Serbian media paid fines to the tune of ers of some public services and companies DM 2.5 million (U.S.$ 1.1.), saw 17 jour- of vital importance was justified by the nalists die, and several sentenced to heavy need to protect vital state functions, prop- prison terms (one was even convicted of erty and compromising documentation on espionage) and experienced a drastic fall in machinations of the former regime. Nume- the quality of their coverage. rous “crisis headquarters” swiftly cobbled The former Government viewed the together in many institutions and compa- media exclusively as its propaganda tool nies Serbia-wide were a brainchild of the and feared the independent media. After DOS member-parties. Although the under- pacification of the print media through the lying political connotation of such moves Public Information Law, the authorities per- was clear (i.e. destabilisation of the repub- ceived the ANEM network as their biggest lican authorities and “extortion” of early enemy, embracing a large number of local elections at the republican level) and even radio and TV stations renowned for their understandable (although not legal), the impartial information policy. Radio B92 manner of appointment of new manage- continued to develop its media and politi- ment and administrative bodies was debat- cal project and was the key media outlet able. As in most cases DOS leaders were forcing the forcing the ousting of Milosˇevic´. guided by party and personal interests, they Although censorship was never official- tended to disregard professional and moral ly introduced, even during the NATO bomb- criteria. The role of Otpor, the opposition ing campaign, self-censorship took root, no- student movement in pre-election devel- tably after the adoption of the Public opments remained unclear but it can be Information Law. The media policy was supposed that – due to large US financial masterminded and orchestrated by a small support – it must have been important. working group within the republican Go- The December parliamentary elections vernment. It voiced its guidelines at press confirmed the DOS’s victory at all political conferences and briefings held behind levels. Of a total of 250 parliamentary closed doors only for a group of selected seats, DOS won 176.4 Other 17 parties be- journalists. came represented in the Parliament. Such The extent of repression was best illus- a motley structure of the 18-party coalition trated by the following facts: the media’s was immediately reflected in the policy work was monitored by a prosecutor and pursued in the post-election period (since four deputies in the Belgrade District Pros- 5 October). Two blocks soon emerged: the ecutor’s Office. In November 1998 the Ser- nationalistic block rallied around Kosˇtunica, bian Government set up a special team backed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, composed of representatives of the munic- the Serbian Academy of Sciences and part ipal and republican prosecution, the Justice, of the top brass and police, and structures Interior and Information Ministries, financial of the former regime. The block rallied police and inspection, which was tasked around Zoran Djindjic´, bent on articulating with monitoring the media coverage. That a pro-European policy, enjoyed the backing group then decided against which media to of part of the nouveau rich elite. But there file charges and also determined fines to were no big differences between the two be meted out for “improper media work.” blocks regarding key issues. In addition, the privatised media hous- es such as Politika, Vecˇernje novosti were Freedom of Expression and the Media still strictly controlled by the regime, imply- Pre-Election Developments ing that the new owners were members of During the two-year long enforcement the ruling parties. Every attempt of some of the repressive Public Information Law,5 editors to pursue a more independent pol- SERBIA 367 icy ended in the dismissal of the entire edi- tional Parliament and of other state bodies. torial team, or even in a new property Feelings of paranoia and fear ran ram- transformation. pant and forced the authorities to take Radio Television Serbia (RTS) informa- measures against the media, escalating to tion had long lost touch with reality: its in- state terror against the electronic media. fluence was rapidly dwindling and its rat- Since 1998 the State had used the selec- ings on the eve of the elections were at an tive allocation of radio and TV frequencies all-time low. Director of RTS, Dragoljub Mi- as a form of control, and the Federal lanovic´, sustained life-threatening injuries Telecommunications Ministry closed down after being roughed up by demonstrators at will those stations, on grounds of their who had forced their way into the RTS non-possession of regular licences. TV sig- building on 5 October, blaming him for fail- nals were jammed, which resulted in tech- ing to warn in time his 16 colleagues who nically poor reception of TV programs, forc- died in the NATO bombing of the building ing independent stations to close down in 1999. while pro-government stations were fre- On the eve of the September elections quently exempted from paying dues for fre- the media lost their influence. Hence the quency use and were favoured in TV spots pre-election campaign was more radical and radio jingles competition. than the previous ones. A media analyst as- In March 2000 a new crackdown on sessed that the regime continued to send electronic media was launched. Police raid- its patriotic messages loud and clear, but as ed the premises of many radio and TV sta- it failed to garner enough support, TV prop- tions (including Radio BUM 93, TV Ne- aganda was increasingly supplanted by po- manja and RadioTir, Pozˇega RTV and TV lice measures.6 Although it seemed that the Mladenovac) and harassed their staff. regime still had full control over the elec- The print media faced draconian fines tronic media, in reality it faced a loss of under the Public Information Law, which support and influence. After a decade of re- profited the regime 30 million dollars in pression, all the Belgrade TV stations two years. Although the law failed to elimi- broadcast only the regime propaganda. But nate all the non-regime media, it succeed- when that propaganda remained the only ed in narrowing their range of topics. message in the media field, it lost its clout Other harassment measures included and sounded hollow. arrests, detention, roughing-ups, severe jail Use of the state-controlled media and sentences and preparations for the adop- propaganda in discrediting political oppo- tion of the Act on Public Companies and of nents was not a new practice in the political the Anti-Terrorism Act. scene of Serbia. What was new, however, The case of Radio and TV Studio B was was the scale of the brutality, arrogance, and the most emblematic example of a media hatred employed, and unveiled threats and house which for years had successfully re- open calls for the lynch of the regime’s po- sisted different pressures, including the litical opponents. That new propaganda standing threat of the Public Information stemmed from an increasingly paranoid Law, jamming of its signal, damage to its mood of the ruling establishment, and its property, and physical harassment. Its fate stance that its political opponents were mor- culminated in its take-over by the Serbian phed into “criminals, killers and terrorists.” Government in January 2000. The media The regime hampered the efforts of house was severely fined under the Public the independent media to regularly per- Information Law on several occasions and form their professional duties. For example, was eventually closed down in May journalists of independent media were 2000.The authorities publicly defended banned from covering the work of the na- their decision as “a measure taken within 368 SERBIA the framework of the struggle against crim- weeklies, and Radio and TV stations (no- inality, terrorism, Studio B-staged incite- tably the local ones), which openly started ment to revolt and its attempts to provoke backing the opposition parties in the sum- a civil war in Serbia.” mer of 2000. The spectrum of repressive measures During the 5 October developments taken by the State expanded almost every the pro-regime media changed sides and day. For example, lists of “politically incom- openly supported the new authorities. It patible” individuals banned from taking part was their chance to survive and go unpun- in TV programmes of the state-run media ished under new circumstances. On the were drawn up. Repression was not only other hand, the anti-regime media had al- directed against the independent media, ready established (in the pre-election peri- but also to discipline those pro-regime me- od) strong ties with DOS and its presiden- dia that increasingly began pursuing a polit- tial candidate Vojislav Kosˇtunica. ically unbiased coverage, primarily in order All in all, since 5 October the media to boost their circulation sales. Others were began presenting a more realistic picture of forced into bankruptcy under fines. domestic and foreign events, but not much In the face of the escalating regime’s progress was made in terms of the quality repression the local media took on an im- of relevant coverage. Major pro-govern- portant role of providing impartial informa- ment publishing and TV houses such as tion to the general public. They were often RTS, Politika, and the Tanjug News Agency, “braver” than the Belgrade ones, and con- had in the past decade experienced a sequently punished for their plucky atti- process of utter de-professionalization. The tude. Together with foreign services in price paid for the long-standing devastation Serbo-Croatian language they spearheaded of journalistic profession has been only re- a system of fair and impartial information. cently manifested. The same holds true of But local media, like the major electronic independent media, which had suffered ones, were punished for not having appro- under repression and para-economic mea- priate operating licences. They faced similar sures (inequitable conditions of operations, harassment as the Belgrade media: seizure of frequencies, irregular supply of seizures, threats and harassment, loss of paper, etc). advertising revenues. However, the independent media had Pressure on the local media also in- also uncritically accepted the Greater Serbia cluded irregular paper supply, high paper project. Not a single medium has by this prices, impeded distribution and printing. writing shown any interest in tackling the is- Printing of every new issue met with new sues of key importance for the recovery of difficulties. Thus the local print media the Serbian society and its democratisation. could not plan their long-term develop- There have been no insistences of raising ment, but instead had to focus on their dai- the issue of the war-time responsibility and ly survival. war crimes. The media have demanded that Slobodan Milosˇevic´ should be tried at Post-Election Developments home for corruption, signing capitulation in The 5 October political turnaround Dayton and electoral rigging, rather than for positively affected the media scene in war crimes. Serbia, which had been previously divided The Serbian media in the year 2000 in two confronted fronts: the pro-regime experienced the last stage of the past media (the most influential electronic regime’s repression, and after Milosˇevic´’s medium, Radio Television Serbia, daily ouster embarked upon a process of estab- Politika, TANJUG news agency, etc.) and in- lishment of new rules based on profes- dependent media, numerous dailies and sional standards. As regards the influential SERBIA 369

RTS and Politika news and informative pro- cused of attempted murder and assistance grams/coverage, considerable progress in attempted murder of Marko Milosˇevic´, was made in their contents. However, po- son of the then President Milosˇevic´. He dis- litical changes have not entailed expected missed the charges due to a lack of evi- changes in the media scene. New political dence; the dismissal triggered protest rallies. structures have not been too eager to As the banned Association of Judges question the responsibility of top ranking could not issue a communiqué condemn- officials of the former regime (barring a few ing the politically motivated dismissals of exceptions). Journalists have also been re- judges, 13 judges (mostly members of the luctant to remind their colleagues of their aforementioned association) expressed notorious past performances, or “hate their resentment and concern over the speech credits” during the wars waged by regime’s moves in a 17 June open letter. Serbia. One month later the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia dismissed the 13 Independence of the Judiciary judges plus some others from duty. The judiciary in Serbia was never inde- In the course of the year 2000 the pendent. The State had nurtured for process of the politicisation of the judiciary decades an obedient mind-set of the judi- and its abuse was completed. All this con- ciary, which as such peaked in the year tributed to a higher crime rate and the de- 2000. The judiciary bore the brunt of the valuation of internationally adopted sets of regime’s repression, which in its last stages values. Courts became very biased, often led to the elimination of the division of resorting to violations of human rights, in- power and subordination of the judiciary to cluding the right to fair trial. The executive the executive power: the judiciary and the branch could arbitrarily arrest, detain, and police transmitted the political will of politi- convict anybody without any evidence, and cal strongmen. Hence the judiciary lost its the courts obediently handed down sen- reputation of an impartial branch of power tences. Cases were often given to judges and faith in the rule of law and justice was loyal to the ruling coalition: as a rule, all destroyed. newly appointed judges were loyalists with- The former regime formally began its out proper qualifications, while many criti- showdown with “incompatible” judges in cal judges were dismissed. late 1999. The Association of Judges of The financial status of judges was also Serbia, the only organised (although unreg- dependent on the will of the executive istered) professional association of judges branch to reward loyal judges with better in Serbia, suffered under the regime’s re- payment and promotions. The precarious pression campaign, the first step of which financial status of judges opened the way was the unlawful dismissal of judges for rampant corruption and the criminalisa- Slobodan Vucˇetic´ (Constitutional Court of tion of the judiciary. Republic of Serbia), Zoran Ivosˇevic´ (Sup- Also following the elections, the issue reme Court of the Republic of Serbia) and of the financial security of judges remained Bozˇa Prelevic´ (Fifth Municipal Court in Bel- to be resolved. Judges in Serbia were near- grade), the three most prominent and ac- ing the category of poor citizens, with all tive members of the Association of Judges other authorities paid better. The judicial of Serbia. Similar dismissals followed later in budget was part of the state budget. In the year. The most scandalous case con- December 2000, the judiciary personnel cerned judge Bosˇko Papovic´, an investiga- were “rewarded” with a hefty raise (30 per- tive judge of the Pozˇarevac District Court, cent): at this writing, the monthly salary of who was tasked with investigating charges a Belgrade District Court judge was 200 brought against three Otpor members ac- DM (U.S.$ 92). 370 SERBIA

Despite the change of authorities both “Kolubara” miners. He had to establish be- at the federal and republican level following yond reasonable doubt that they were ac- the elections, it would be unrealistic to ex- complices in the committing the criminal pect a swift improvement in the sphere of offence of sabotage and misused right to the judiciary. The new authorities would strike, and that Nebojsˇa Cˇ ovic´ and Boris best demonstrate their genuine interest in Tadic´, the two top DOS leaders, helped the establishment of democracy and the them commit that offence. Judge Simeu- rule of law if they hastened to tackle the novic´ refused to take the case – placing most salient problems in the judicial sys- him under great pressure. He told his tem. The Helsinki Committee in Serbia friends that he was under constant threats, urged that the reform of the judiciary must but did not divulge details, fearing for their immediately embrace both normative and safety. personnel changes: a legal framework pro- viding for full independence of the judiciary Fair Trial7 must be established; independence of the Mechanisms for the implementation of judiciary must be constitutionally guaran- the principles of the rule of law and inde- teed; a new Act on Courts of Law must be pendent judiciary were controlled by the passed; international legal standards must political-police structures. Censorship and be fully implemented; and the appoint- self-censorship of the judiciary and the ment and promotion of judges must re- prosecution in particular led to drastic mis- main beyond the executive branch influ- uses and blatant breaches of human rights ence. It will be necessary to decentralise and freedoms. and de-politicise courts of law, carry out all- The implementation of the basic due embracing personnel changes, and organ- process standards, such as the rights of de- ise education and training of judges, no- tainees to information, to have contact with tably in the area of human rights and the the external world, to a trial within reason- ECHR. able time or release, legal remedy, ade- A prevailing problem is also that some quate time for the preparation of defence, judges who in the past abused laws and a fair interrogation, freedom from torture judicial authority and now handle cases and ill-treatment, presumption of inno- with a political background have a tenden- cence, etc., were purposefully misinterpret- cy to please the new authorities, even at ed, trivialised and in many cases not en- the expense of fair trials. forced at all. An additional problem was the On 7 November it was reported that politically motivated, selective enforcement Nebojsˇa Simeunovic´, an investigative judge of legal provisions in practice. of the Belgrade District Court, went miss- The most blatant violations of the right ing. His body was found on 3 December to fail trial were reported in the criminal and 2000. The exact cause of death has not misdemeanour proceedings against politi- been established by this writing, but the cal opponents, Kosovar Albanians and jour- speculations ranged form suicide to him nalists.8 It also bears stressing that viola- being a target of the State Security agents. tions of the right to a fair trial, notably in the In recent years judge Simeunovic´ had han- pre-trial proceedings, were frequent in po- dled delicate investigations for the regime, litical cases. including the murders of prominent politi- cians. He probably gathered a lot of “deli- Politically Motivated Trials cate” evidence about which he had to keep The former regime continued to de- silent. The last job with which he was tain, pressure, intimidate and harass its op- tasked by the regime was the detention ponents, and sometimes staged marathon and investigation of the strike of 11 and summary criminal proceedings and tri- SERBIA 371 als against them. Journalists, lawyers, writ- spread “lies about atrocities committed by ers, former security services agents, leaders the Yugoslav Army in Kosovo, namely al- and members of the opposition parties, leged, haphazard shelling of Albanian vil- bore the brunt of the regime’s repression lages, and wilful murder of women and by standing trial on trumped-up charges. children by reservists.“ Those “untruths” Zoran Paunovic, the Serbian Renewal were divulged by Filipovic with the inten- Movement municipal MP and spokesman tion of “disturbing the general public, pub- in Kragujevac was taken to the municipal lic order and peace and undercutting faith of citizens in competent state bodies.“ After misdemeanour judge on 29 February on Milosˇevic´‘s ouster on 5 October, the the basis of a police report written on 26 Supreme Court of Serbia suspended the May 1999. The police demanded that Nisˇ Military Court sentence, returned the Paunovic be severely punished for “being case for review and released Filipovic´. The spotted during the war at an unregistered, new FRY President on 14 November 2000 downtown rally, while directing the crowd decided to suspend the prosecution. by special gestures and even yelling: ‘Where are the people, we should move on.’“ The police considered this “a grave of- Anti-Terrorism Campaign fence committed during a state of war“ and In the name of the fight against terror- reasonably believed that “he would repeat ism, people were assassinated and numer- that offence.“ ous trials were carried out, the most notori- ous of which included the assassination of Miroslav Filipovic, Danas and France Bosˇko Perosˇevic´, the political trial against Press correspondent, was the first journalist Flora Brovina, Albin Kurti, the trial of 144 to be criminally prosecuted, convicted and Kosovo Albanians, the Pauk group, and the fined for his articles. Filipovic was arrested 9 OSA group. in his flat in Kraljevo on 8 May and sen- The 13 May assassination of Bosˇko tenced by the District Court to a month in Perosˇevic´, President of the Executive detention and ordered to be tried in the Nisˇ Council of Vojvodina, member of the Military Court. He was charged with espi- Executive Committee of the Socialist Party onage under Article 128 of the FRY Penal of Serbia and President of the City Com- Code and spreading false news under mittee of Novi Sad branch of the SPS, was Article 218 of the same Code. Filipovic’s used as a pretext to announce the draft for detention was extended twice “to prevent Anti-Terrorism Act on 18 May. The draft his influence on witnesses and possible Anti-Terrorism Act was debated by the Fe- disturbance of general public and risk of es- deral Assembly on 20 June – but, surpris- cape.” On 26 July, Filipovic was sentenced to seven years in prison. According to the ingly enough - it was not adopted. Its adop- Court, he had collected important defence tion could have gravely limited civil and hu- secrets with the intention of passing them man rights and freedoms. Even its mere onto foreign organisations such as the announcement sowed fear and panic British Institute for War and Peace and AFP among the population at large, simultane- between June 1999 and May 2000. The ously providing the regime with an extra ex- data contained information on territorial cuse for a massive showdown with its po- competences and the number of soldiers litical opponents. in each YA unit, data that even the Court Still, in practice, individuals faced trial admitted had already been published by on trumped-up charges of terrorism. the media. Nevertheless, the Court con- The trial of Flora Brovina, a Kosovo cluded that “in view of the large quantity of Albanian medical doctor, poet, and human- collected data, Filipovic undoubtedly en- itarian activist, was one of those staged on gaged in espionage.“ He had also allegedly the basis of false charges, within the “anti- 372 SERBIA terrorism campaign.“ The ruling regime la- tal of 46 years in prison. Petrit Berisha re- belled as terrorism her care and accommo- ceived the harshest sentence: 12 years in dation of wounded Albanians, procurement prison. According to the court, the defen- of medicine and assistance to her fellow- dants had “set up a KLA10 branch in doctors during the Serb police operations in Belgrade to collect financial contributions Kosovo in 1998-9. Her co-operation with from Albanian students at Belgrade foreign NGOs was labelled “treason“ and University […] for buying arms […] and “collusion with enemies of our State.“ printing of the KLA propaganda material.” Brovina was arrested on 20 April 1999 and Berica was charged with “abduction, brutal charged with “association for the sake of torture and murder of the police captain commission of hostile activities” (Article Srdjan Petrovic´, in summer 1998, in the 136.1 of the Penal Code) and terrorism vicinity of Pec´ (Peja)”. The crucial evidence (Article 125). The investigation and trial for such charges was the RTS program grossly violated due process standards: Bro- “Aktuelnosti“, in which brothers Berica and vina was remanded in custody for six Meca admitted to having committed the months before the official indictment crime – but under torture. At the main against her was filed and the court failed hearing Petrit Berisha stated that they had even to determine the legal grounds for her been tortured and harassed to extract con- detention and its extension. Brovina was in- fessions. The detention was riddled with ir- terrogated as many as 18 times in Lipljane regularities, which, for example, deprived prison, and the interrogations sometimes the detainees of the right to appeal during lasted between 7 and 17 hours. their detention. All the accused were held Following the main hearing in Nisˇ, the in solitary cells despite the fact that this District Court on 9 December 1999 passed treatment represents a disciplinary meas- a first-instance ruling, convicting Brovina of ure and is limited in time. The trial was associating to commit hostile activities and clearly staged in order to show to the Serbian public that “terrorism” was growing sentencing her to 12 years in prison main- and to hide the state terror launched ly on the basis of the evidence she had against citizens proper. But of even more given herself. In determining the sentence concern was the fact that three months af- the Court failed to take into account the ter the installation of new authorities and much-altered self-defence of Brovina, who political changes, the rights of political pris- maintained at the main hearing that her oners in Serbia were still being violated. work was exclusively of a humanitarian, ethical and educational nature. The sen- Albin Kurti, one of the leaders of Alba- tence was appealed six times. Eventually, nian students from Kosovo, was arrested the case was returned to the first-instance during terrorist activities in the early stages court for review. This decision also implied of the 1999 NATO intervention in Kosovo. the extension of detention until further He was one of the best students of electri- court decision. On 1 November 2000, Voji- cal engineering at the parallel Albanian slav Kosˇtunica amnestied Flora Brovina, ex- University in Prisˇtina and a leader of the empting her from further criminal prosecu- Union of Albanian students. tion. Kurti was indicted by the Nisˇ District Students of the Belgrade University, Court for “taking part in the creation of the brothers Petrit and Driton Berisha, Driton KLA terrorist gang in 1998“ and “for com- Meqi, Derguti Shkodran, Abdulahu Isam, mitting a criminal offence of associating for and Zef Paljuca, were convicted of associ- carrying out hostile activities” (Article 136 ating to effect hostile activities (Article 136 of the Penal Code), related to the criminal of the FRY Penal Code) and terrorism offence of terrorism under Article 125 of (Article 15). They were sentenced to a to- the Penal Code of Yugoslavia, committed SERBIA 373 during a state of war (Article 139.1). The sary to achieve that in view of the character Court sentenced Kurti to 15 years in prison. of the criminal offence of terrorism.“ The trial of the so-called Djakovica As of this writing, the new authorities (Djakova) group, aside from being the had not yet suspended the unlawful sen- most massive single-indictment in recent tences delivered to Albin Kurti and the history of the Yugoslav justice system, was Djakovica group. also one of the most salient examples of blatant violations of all fundamental human Torture, Ill-Treatment, Misconduct by rights, including the right to a fair trial. In Law Enforcement Officials and May 1999, during “ethnic cleansing“ oper- Detainees’ Rights ations in Djakovica, the Serb police arrested 143 Albanians suspected of having en- The fact that all segments of State and gaged in terrorist activities. The majority of society were subordinated to interests of them were held for months in detention the ruling structures was clearly reflected in without any pertinent judicial decision on the conduct of the police. The police were custody or its extension, and deprived of used for protecting the regime from politi- the right to appeal. Only seven months af- cally “incompatible” citizens instead of ter their arrest did the investigative judges fighting crime and protecting laws. The lead of the Leskovac and Pozˇarevac District role in protection of the regime was taken Courts for the first time interrogate the ar- on by the State Security Service, which in restees and pass a decision on investiga- the execution of tasks often resorted to il- tion and extension of detention, which legal means. were handed down first when the their de- The poor situation could be attributed tentions determined by the first decision to the predominance of party interests over had expired. Many of the decisions were interests of the legal State and its citizens not done in line with the Criminal and intentional disharmony between many Proceedings Code (e.g. decisions had no segments of the legal system in place. date, signature of a judge, and the court Although the Federal and Republican Con- seal.) On 10 January, the District Prosecu- stitutions were adopted nine years ago, tor’s Office in Leskovac charged the group some key laws had yet to be brought into with “attacking, as members of so-called harmony with them in order to pave the KLA, the Yugoslav Army soldiers and Serb way for adequate police operation. For ex- and Montenegrin civilians” thus committing ample, the Act on Criminal Proceedings, re- “terrorism.” The indictment exceeded the gulating, inter alia, police rights, obligations deadline for charging within a reasonable and authority, was adopted 27 years ago. time; the right for timely preparation for the In view of the nature of pre-trail pro- defence was violated; the indictments were ceedings, police remained an exclusive vio- not in the Albanian, but in the Serbian lan- guage; interpretation was not professional; lator of the right to a fair trial in that legal and some indictees did not have the right stage. Although an average Serbian citizen to use the lawyers of their own choosing. had no awareness of all the forms of police Although the evidence was mostly extract- misconduct, the police engaged in serious ed under duress in the pre-trial proceed- violations of fundamental rights and free- ings, the Court convicted the Djakovica doms, for example, in the areas of arrest, the group on 21 May 2000 to a total sentence right to information and defence, extortion of of 1,632 years. The drastic violations of the evidence, the right to dignity and secrecy. right to a fair trial were best illustrated by this statement of the presiding judge: “It Torture and Ill-Treatment was not possible to prove the individual Article 7 of the ICCPR prohibits torture guilt of the indictees, but it was not neces- or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment 374 SERBIA or punishment and. It adds in Article 10: juries after an officer’s attempts to strangle “Every arrestee must be treated in a hu- him with a rope, and the third was hanged mane and dignified way.“ The FRY high and beaten until he fainted. Later they Constitution guarantees “respect for hu- were ordered to stand like on skies: if they man personality and dignity in criminal and dropped their hands, the officer started to all other proceedings, in case of arrest or beat them. The officers kept yelling: “You detention or during the length of prison know who we are. We have the authority to sentence. Any violence against an arrestee kill you and to take your bodies to Koncˇulj or detainee, as well as any attempt to ex- near the Kosovo border, so that we can say tract confessions or statements is prohibit- that you have been gunned down while ed and punishable. No-one can be subject- trying to illegally cross the border.“ They ed to torture, degrading treatment or pun- cursed the arrestees and humiliated them. ishment“ (Article 25). Interestingly enough, The Otpor members were released after the Serbian Constitution omits to specify three hours of torture only when their par- that it is prohibited to extract confessions. ents, citizens and DOS officials gathered to Furthermore, the Act on Criminal Proceed- protest in front of the police station. ings and other legal and sub-legal acts, tor- The Penal Code of the Republic of Ser- ture or other inhumane treatment by the bia includes two criminal offences punish- police is not explicitly prohibited. ing treatment with elements of torture: ex- The Act on Internal Affairs and the tracting confessions (Article 65) and misuse Rules of Procedure of the Public Security of duty and official authority (Article 66). Services contained provisions that stated In the course of 2000, many cases of that a police official was “entitled to use co- misconduct by officials were reported, in- ercion means established by law to prevent cluding torture, cruel, degrading and inhu- the escape of detainees or murder sus- mane treatment. The police often resorted pects, of persons caught in flagrante delic- to torture to extract confessions, state- to, to subdue offenders resisting arrest or ments or information, as torture was the detention […]“ (Article 1.1 of the Rules of easiest way to gather evidence. Extracting Procedure). The Rules also instructed and confessions was almost a rule in cases of obliged all policemen to treat all citizens of- persons with a criminal record. After being ficially and decently and to fully respect tortured for three days, without any con- their human and civil rights, allowing only tacts with their families and deprived of the use of minimal coercion against a de- medical care, the detainees tended to con- tainee or arrestee. fess to any criminal offences with which At a 11 December press conference they were charged with. As the detainees seven Otpor activists from Vladicˇin Han were not accorded the right to silence, tes- stated that they were beaten up in a police timony became a necessity and rule. station on orders of a policeman who had One reason for police violence was the checked their IDs in the previous days. low cultural level and ignorance of basic According to them, they underwent “a principles of human rights: police officers standard procedure“ in a police station and believed that they were above the law, and were subsequently released. On leaving that they would not be held accountable for they were stopped by high-rank police offi- their actions, but would be in fact be praised cers who ordered them to go back because for the “efficient solving of the case.“ they saw the word “Changes” on the T-shirt of one of the Otpor activists. The officers Arrest and Detention kicked them and beat them with batons The most frequently violated rights by and their fists. One activist sustained grave the police occurred during arrest and de- testis injuries, another suffered neck in- tention. Both the Federal and Serbian SERBIA 375

Constitutions foresaw that “everyone has basis of Article 196 of the Criminal the right to liberty and security of person” Proceedings Act, remained a widespread and that “no-one can be arrested or de- phenomenon. The same applied to non- tained unless in cases or under procedure notification of detainees of their rights and prescribed by the federal laws. Unlawful reasons of their detention. Most abuses in detention is punishable.”11 However, the the area of arrests and detentions were re- Serbian Constitution does not contain the lated to members of Otpor and opposition provision that the unlawful detention or ar- political parties. From mid-May to mid- rest is punishable. September 2000, 2,000 Otpor members, Also, by law, any detention by the po- 400 opposition parties members and fol- lice that was not based on a conviction by lowers and over 100 NGO activists were a competent court shall constitute a viola- detained, most of them on grounds of their tion of the constitutional provisions. political, anti-regime actions, such as the However, the Federal Act on Criminal poster-affixing, distribution of propaganda Proceedings included an anti-constitutional material, public criticism of authorities, and provision, namely “detention may be deter- wearing of Otpor badges and T-shirts. The mined by a police body before investiga- harassment of Otpor members began after tion if it serves the purpose of alibi check- its application for registration was rejected ing or of collecting evidence against a cer- by the Federal Justice Ministry on 9 June tain person […] or if there is a reasonable 2000. doubt that a person shall destroy traces of Zoran Milovanovic´ and Ivan Jevremovic´, a criminal offence.” Detention determined Otpor activists, were detained on 28 May by a police body can last up to three days 12 and taken to the Pozˇarevac police station. from the day of detention/arrest. They were interrogated for 12 hours, and In addition to cases of detention fore- were told that they were detained because seen under the Criminal Proceedings Act, of their Otpor membership and for having the Interior Ministry may arrest and detain copies of Banja Luka weekly Reporter with persons under the Act on Internal Affairs if them. They were released without being they disturbed public order and peace and previously given any detention certificate. thus threatened security of other citizens or defence and security of the republic, or if re-establishment of public peace and order Right to Information and removal of threat to security of the re- By law, a detainee had the right to be public and citizens and defence of the re- informed promptly, in language he/she un- public cannot be otherwise achieved. derstands, of the reasons for his detention Under the same Act, the police could de- and of any charge brought against him tain a person for an identity check if his or (Article 23 of the FRY Constitution). The her identity cannot be verified through an Federal Act on Criminal Proceedings pro- on-the-spot check of an ID card or other vided that the police or court shall inform relevant documents. Detention could last the relatives of a detainee within 24 hours. up to 24 hours. However, the aforemen- However, the republican Act on Internal tioned provisions were contrary to constitu- Affairs, which was followed in practice, in- tional regulations, since Article 23(2) of the cluded a vague formulation that the police FRY Constitution stipulated that “only the or court were “duty-bound to immediately federal law can prescribe the conditions notify the arrestee’s family, of his or her ar- and procedure of detention.” rest, if possible“ (Article 11). Such a gener- There were numerous cases of unlaw- al norm left room for arbitrary actions. ful detention by the police. Extra-constitu- Miodrag Isakov, President of the Re- tional, so-called police detention, on the form Party of Vojvodina and federal MP, 376 SERBIA and Petar Petrovic, member of Vojvodina ficial, on the basis of a court order, can en- Presidency, were stopped by the police at ter a home or other living premises against the Subotica-Novi sad toll station on 28 the will of the owner of the home or prem- August 2000. After checking their IDs, the ises and search that home or premises.“ A police took them to the provincial police search is conducted in the presence of two headquarters, and interrogated them for witnesses, but can be carried out even three hours without telling them why they without witnesses, if their presence cannot were detained. be ensured, and there is a danger of delay of proceedings. Also, by law, “a police offi- Right to Defence cial can enter a home or living premises According to Article 23 of the FRY Con- without a court order and conduct search stitution, “an arrestee must be notified of thereof in absence of witnesses, if it is ne- his/her right to remain silent and of his/her cessary, in order to save human lives or right to have legal assistance of his/her property, in the manner envisaged by the own choosing.“ Article 29 provides: “Every- federal law.“ Similar provision was included one is entitled to legal assistance before a in Article 21 of the Serbian Constitution. court or any other body competent for con- Search can be launched before handing ducting proceedings.“ The RS Constitution the search order to the person concerned if in principle reiterated this provision in Ar- there is a possibility of armed resistance or ticle 24, but did not envisage the elemen- if it is necessary to effect search imme- tary right of an arrestee to be notified of his diately, and if public premises are to be or her right to remain silent. The Act on Cri- searched (Article 207.1-3 of the Act on Cri- minal Proceedings and the Act on Internal minal Proceedings.) Affairs further deprived detainees and arre- Authorised officials of the Interior Mi- stees of this right. Under the Act on Crimi- nistry can enter a person’s home or other nal Proceedings, pre-trial proceedings de- living premises without a court order and tainees did not have the right to remain carry out search, for example, if it is neces- silent (contrary to the federal constitutional sary to catch an offender in flagrante delic- provisions). to for the sake of the safety of people and The Act on Criminal Proceedings pre- home, if a person against whom an arrest scribed that the accused must, before the warrant has been issued is in that premise, first interrogation/hearing, be notified of and if evidence cannot be ensured other- his/her right to have legal counsel of wise (Article 210.1). his/her own choosing, but this right is guar- In practice, there were enough provi- anteed only during the court proceedings, sions to allow the police to search a home not during pre-trial, so-called police pro- without a court warrant. ceedings. Hence the police could interro- On 15 May, the police in Vrbas sear- gate for three days a person detained un- ched the homes of Otpor activists Dejan der Article 196 of the Act on Criminal Minic´, Branko Erakovic´ and Miroslav Ujfa- Proceedings or Article 11 of the Act on lushi. However, they did not receive search Internal Affairs in the absence of his/her warrants, nor were witnesses allowed on counsel. the spot. The police did not even give them a search certificate. All materials related to Right to Privacy and Integrity of Otpor activities were seized. After the Person search the activists were taken to the police Article 31 of the FRY Constitution stip- station for photographing. Misdemeanour ulates the “inviolability of the home“, and proceedings were instituted against all of that a federal law may prescribe that “an of- them. SERBIA 377

The Constitutions of Serbia and FRY to the NATO military intervention and ex- both guaranteed the secrecy and inviolabil- clusion of the region from Serbia’s jurisdic- ity of correspondence and other communi- tion. The beginning of the war worsened cations. The secrecy of correspondence the status of the Croat minority. Conse- could be circumvented only by a court or- quently, in 1991 and 1992 the Croat pop- der “if it is necessary for instituting criminal ulation massively emigrated from Serbia. proceedings or for the sake of the FRY de- The most drastic example of the aforemen- fence“ (Article 32 of the FRY Constitution tioned is the village of Hrtkovci, from which and Article 19 of the Serbian Constitution). all Croats had fled. By extension the war in However, on the basis of the Act on Bosnia and Herzegovina seriously affected Internal Affairs a Minister could determine the Bosniak minority in Sandzˇak. The town the extent of deviation from the principle of of Priboj and the neighbouring villages inviolability (Articles 13.1 and 3), a provi- were under a special regime for years, and sion that left plenty of room for manipula- the local population was not allowed to re- tion and was used to trail and survey polit- turn there. NATO intervention in Kosovo led ical opponents and other citizens. In prac- to drastic changes in the status of Albanians tice, however, the prosecution were rarely in Serbia, and of Serbs and other minorities “used“ for attaining that goal because the in Kosovo. Federal Act on Basic Guidelines of State It should be stressed that Croats and Security determined that “an official man- Muslims are not mentioned as minorities in aging the state security affairs may rule on the Serbian Constitution, contrary to the measures to be taken against some per- status they enjoyed under the Constitution sons and organisations,” which in fact rep- of former Yugoslavia. The impending popu- resent deviations from the principle of se- lation census should provide the exact de- crecy of correspondence (Article 24) – a mographic picture of Serbia. Bosniaks are simple and quick procedure.13 Thousands demanding that the census form contains of phones were tapped and mail was the column “nationality – Bosniak,” since in opened, notably letters sent abroad. the recent past both the regime and oppo- sition denied Muslims as a nation and Protection of Ethnic Minorities viewed them as a religious minority. The Constitution of Serbia proclaims Despite the loss of Kosovo and massive and guarantees the protection of national emigration of members of minorities, Serbia minorities. But those proclaimed rights was still a markedly multi-ethnic society in should be made operational and concrete 2000. Ethnic homogenisation had not led by legal norms honouring the most recent to the loss of Serbia’s multi-ethnic character. standards and conventions, notably the In fact, it made a very large number of Serb Framework European Convention on refugees settle in Serbia. A large number of Minority Protection, especially since the refugees were intentionally re-settled in eth- phenomenon of national minorities in nically mixed milieus, notably in Vojvodina. Serbia is a very complex one and in fact ex- This logically led to their interaction with the acts a very elaborated legislation. In view of native minorities. In view of the aggressive the above, the Helsinki Committee for attitude of refugees and their animosity to- Human Rights urges the swift adoption of wards local minority members, the minori- the Minority Act fully honouring the specif- ties’ situation worsened. ic traits of each ethnic group. The status of minorities differed, and The 1989 amendments to the FRY according to their status and size there Constitution drastically changed the status were three categories of minorities in of Albanians. They were placed in an Serbia. The largest minorities were Croats, apartheid-like situation that ultimately led Bosniaks, Hungarians and Albanians. They 378 SERBIA were under such heavy pressure that many pearance of 19 Bosniak passengers was members of their elite and younger people obviously an intimidating and ethnic- emigrated. The second minority grouping cleansing measure. During the NATO inter- was made up of Ruthenians, Slovaks, vention about 20,000 Bosniaks from Romanians, Vlachs, and Bulgarians. Only Sandzˇak left for Bosnia, and 2,000 of them Bulgarians were intimidated and harassed were fired for alleged malingering. At the to leave because they lived in border areas. same time 200 Serbs kept their jobs de- Roma belonged to the third, very specific spite their 5-day absence from workplaces. group. They were always an ethnically dis- Also in 2000, the Hungarian minority tanced and socially subjugated group. was one of the best-organised minorities in Albanians in the Southern Serbia mu- view of its 50 yearlong minority experience. nicipalities still bore the brunt of repression The Belgrade regime tried to exclude the in this potential flashpoint. Their status was Hungarian minority from the Vojvodina con- further exacerbated by a xenophobic mood text, although it simultaneously accommo- and a large-scale outflow of Albanians from dated a large number of refugees in locali- Medvedja. Once a majority in Medvedja, in ties exclusively inhabited by Hungarians. 2000 they constituted only 5 percent of Refugees were appointed to top local self- the local population. In addition, about, rule positions, for example in Subotica, 1,000 Albanians were imprisoned in which sidelined the Croats and brought Central Serbia prisons, while over 3,000 pressure to bear on local Hungarians. In Albanians were reported missing. This and fact, Hungarians are running local adminis- the very status of Serbs and other minori- tration in Subotica for the second consecu- ties in Kosovo were main obstacles to eas- tive mandate and Mayor of Subotica is of ing inter-ethnic tensions and normalising Hungarian descent. Three leading parties of ethnic relations. Neither Serbs nor Albani- Vojvodina Hungarians, the Alliance of Vojvo- ans were ready to provide for measures to dina Hungarians, the Democratic Commu- enable the return of displaced persons and nity of Hungarians and the Civil Movement the peaceful life of minorities. Hence both of Hungarian in 2000 set up an Interim sides seemed to be bent on finalising the National Council of Vojvodina Hungarians as concept of ethnically pure States. the highest body of personal self-rule of In Serbia the ethno-nationalistic mood Hungarians pending the election of a per- evolved into pure racism. Massive viola- manent national council. This was in fact the tions of human rights and threatened per- first practical step towards the resolution of sonal safety and property of Albanians in status of this national minority, in line with Vojvodina and in Belgrade during the NATO the new model of self-rule outlined in 2000 intervention led to the exodus of many lo- by the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians in cal Albanians. the document “Agreement on Political and Repression against Bosniaks was less Legal Framework of Self-Management in evident than in the first half of the 90s. Vojvodina and of National Communities liv- During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ing in Vojvodina.” This project of the Sandzˇak was treated as a “green transver- Vojvodina Hungarians self-rule, which pre- sal” linking the Balkans Muslims to Turkey. supposes both cultural and territorial auton- In that period it was accorded “special omy in the Vojvodina Hungarians majority treatment” and was a scene of numerous municipalities, was backed by the murders, abductions and the exodus of Hungarian Government and some Western Bosniak population. The notorious “Sˇtrpci” countries, while being assessed by the for- case has yet to be solved, and there are in- mer Belgrade regime and opposition parties dications that it might be dealt with by the as a new attempt at “carving up” Serbia in Hague Tribunal. The abduction and disap- the post-NATO intervention period. SERBIA 379

Recently there has been no escalation xenophobia, describes the milieu in which of repression against the Croat minority, no- the entire population of Serbia lives (Serbs tably in Vojvodina. But it should be noted and all other nationalities). Added to all the that the younger generations and the elite objective troubles, the minority population have left for Croatia. The same holds true is under constant pressure and is consid- of Hungarians. This objectively means that ered, by definition, “hostile towards Serbia.” the number of members of the two mi- Continued monitoring of the status of mi- norities is steadily declining. It can be said norities is necessary in view of the negative that the border with Croatia was in fact trends in the country and the “narrowing cleansed of Croats. The same applies to ad- down” of the number of enemies. joining municipalities. Besides objectively worsened econom- Social and Economic Rights ic conditions, all national minorities have The economy of the FRY remained in a seen their cultural, political and economical deep crisis as of the end of 2000, originat- rights derogated. Members of minorities ing from the SFRY disintegration and wars were by and large removed from the local waged by Serbia in Croatia and Bosnia and administration; their participation in privati- Herzegovina. Although this catastrophic sation, which unfolded secretly, was min- economic situation was most often attrib- imised; minority language media were uted to international sanctions, it was quite heavily under-funded; classes in minority certain that the reasons for the crisis lied in languages were reduced due to the exodus a collapsing economic system, obsolete of younger generations. Minority language and inadequate economic policy and classes can no longer be set up under the above all a notable delay in implementing pre-war criteria. All the border zone minori- key reforms needed for the kick-start of the ties - Croats, Hungarians, Bulgarians, transition process and the long-standing Albanians and Bosniaks - were subjected to war policy. forcible repression with a view to creating Several statistical indicators best illus- ethnically pure borders zones. Small minor- trate the depth and extent of the econom- ity groups were pressured to assimilate. ic crisis which engulfed the country, and The worsened status of minorities and eth- which continued to generate a widespread nic groups has an impact on their size. For social crisis in early 2001 and consequent- example, Vlachs maintained that over ly to undercut and threaten social rights. 700,000 of them live in Yugoslavia, while According to the data for the 1987-1999 the officials put their figure at barely period disclosed by the Group 17, gross so- 15,000. cial product (GNP) in 1987 amounted to Decade-long wars led to massive re- nearly U.S$ 31 billion, 17.5 billion in 1998, settlement and migrations. Hence only the and, according to their estimates, below 8 impending census shall provide a clear pic- billion in 1999. GDP per capita fell from ture of the current population structure. U.S.$ 3,000 (in 1987) to U.S.$ 800 in The majority nationalism led to the minori- 1999. ty radicalisation. For the first time the issue In 1987, a total of 2,790,000 people of identifying those forcibly assimilated is were employed, compared with only being tackled in Serbia. 2,200,000 in 1999. According to the The current status of minorities in Federal Statistical Bureau report No. 259, in Serbia is essentially determined by the re- October 2000 the figure for the fully em- sults of the recent implementation of the ployed work force stood at 1,701,590. The Serbian national program. Demographic number of unemployed persons rose from and mental homogenisation of the ethnic 607,000 in 1987 to 838,000 in 1998. It majority, followed by social panic and was estimated that in 1999 there were 380 KOSOVO

1,100,000 unemployed, making the un- 2000 worsened when compared to the employment rate in 1999 well over 25 per- previous month. In October, there were dra- cent. However, that percentage may be matic price hikes, resulting from the sus- even higher in view of the fact that be- pension of state control over prices of some tween 800,000 and 1,000,000 employees products. It was assessed that this suspen- were on forced leave. sion was orchestrated by the old Serbian Compared to the 1987 figure, the Government to cause chaos in the market. physical volume of industrial output de- Costs of living rose 23.9 percent, while in- clined by 62.7 percent, though some signs dustrial production declined 11.5 percent. of recovery were noted in 2000. In the first Retail prices were up by 26.4 percent. six months of 2000, the average net pay There were drastic outages Serbia-wide was 1,760 dinars (U.S.$ 32)14, rising up to in late 2000. Dimitrije Boarov wrote in 3,200 dinars in October. As an average Vreme on 28 December that electric pow- family needed about 7,000 dinars (U.S.$ er shortages were a legacy of the old 105), for the so-called monthly consumer regime. Outages lasted on average 8 hours basket, it can be concluded that only a a day, but in some areas households were small number of employees, mostly work- without electricity for 36 hours in a row. ing in power generating, coal, gas, crude oil, Srboljub Antic´, the Republican Energy oil derivatives and non-ferrous metals in- Minister, stated that the power supply crisis dustries, can meet their basic needs. The would last several years. Hospitals with ag- average pays in the aforementioned indus- gregates used their internally generated trial branches were 7,600; 9,900; 9,300; power only in surgical and emergency 10,000, and 10,280 dinars respectively.15 wards. Those undergoing house-dialysis According to the Economic Instituted were deeply traumatised by fear of sudden Analysis, published in the December 2000 outages. In fact, in its first days in power, issue of the “Economic Barometer,” general the new authorities in Serbia faced a total macroeconomic conditions in October collapse.

KOSOVO16

IHF FOCUS: Freedom of expression and the media; judicial system and independence of the judiciary; role of the international community; violence and criminality; law en- forcement and security; protection of ethnic minorities; violence against Albanians; conditions in prisons; international humanitarian law; Albanians imprisoned in Serbian jails and missing persons; women’s rights17; economic and social rights.

The immense war casualties during the units in Kosovo (i.e. about one third of the 1999 war in Kosovo (from 24 March to 10 pre-war housing contingent) were de- June) resulted in an estimated18 number of stroyed and/or damaged. around 9,880 Albanians killed, including The suffering, physical damage and the 539 children, 884 women and 1,136 eld- trauma of ethnic cleansing significantly erly persons. Some 1,752 Albanians were charged the post-war political situation, be- registered as wounded during the war. sides other factors, resulting in heightened There is no reliable data on the total num- inter-ethnic tensions and serious incidents. ber of Serbs or other minorities killed dur- However, the main feature of the sec- ing this period. About 120,000 housing ond post-war year in Kosovo was continu- KOSOVO 381 ous, albeit slow, movement towards nor- zens. Serbs and other minority members malization of life and institutional develop- were, however, most affected and the pri- ment. This positive, although difficult, de- mary victims of these circumstances, al- velopment was vividly proven with the though continuous improvement was to be holding of successful municipal elections in seen. Serbs and other minorities have suf- October. International observers judged fered severely from restrictions on freedom them as being among the best organized in of movement (except in their enclaves) the region. The IHF, the Kosovo Helsinki due to the lack of security, a fact that re- Committee and Norwegian Helsinki Com- sulted in the restriction of many of their mittees monitored the elections and issued other basic rights. The same applied to the a press release calling the elections the Albanians living in Serbian enclaves, espe- most important step so far towards institu- cially in the northern part of Mitrovica. tionalizing democracy in post-war Kosovo.19 The weak law enforcement, insufficient Among the important achievements of security and poorly functioning judicial sys- the international administration in Kosovo tem in Kosovo were the most fragile parts is the multi-ethnic participation of Kosovo- of the public sector. Both ethnically and po- wide political and executive structures, i.e. litically motivated violence and general the Joint Interim Administrative Structure criminality continued. A vivid consequence (JIAS). Its central executive organ is the of such developments was the so-called Interim Administrative Council (IAC), while “enclavisation” of Kosovo, i.e. the concen- the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) rep- tration of Serbs in some parts of Kosovo, resents an interim improvised parliamen- where they lived segregated from the rest tary surrogate of a Kosovo Assembly. Multi- of the population: The de facto partitioning ethnic participation in political life also in- of northern Mitrovica and its hinterland was cluded Kosovo Serbs later during the year, an extreme variation of this, as well as the represented by the Serbian National escalating situation in the Preshevo valley Council, albeit still as an observer in the in southern Serbia. IAC. Two Serbs were co-heads of two of the One of the principal generators of the departments (ministries) of the IAC, while a continuing political tension in Kosovo can Bosniak and a Turk co-headed two other be attributed to the uncertainty of ethnic departments. Serbs also participated with Albanians regarding the future political sta- four representatives in the KTC, while Bos- tus of Kosovo: practically all Albanians re- niaks had two representatives in the body, main strongly committed to independence. as did the Turks and the Roma. That kind of final political status for Kosovo, The re-establishment of the educational however, is not anticipated by the UN and health care systems, as well as the re- Resolution 1244, which stipulates Belgrade construction of many other vital areas of in- sovereignty over Kosovo. frastructure, proceeded successfully as of The image of Albanians in internation- the end of 2000. They included the public al public opinion was negatively affected by utilities, road reconstruction, the establish- the post-war ethnically and politically moti- ment of new institutions such as for exam- vated violence. However, the feelings of re- ple the customs authority, central fiscal au- venge persisted on all sides. thority, and bank and payment authority, etc. Another important aggravating factor However, all along, the developments perpetrating tension in Kosovo was the lack in Kosovo were accompanied by the lack of of law and order and security authorized to a sufficient degree of law and order and be provided by the internationals, facilitated security, with occasional waves of ethnical- also by domestic factors such as local po- ly or politically motivated violence. This fea- lice force, etc. The Kosovar political parties ture has adversely affected all Kosovar citi- were supposed to take more political and 382 KOSOVO moral responsibility for the establishment is also to serve as the basis for central elec- of a climate of peace, security, tolerance, tions in Kosovo (expected during 2001). civil society spirit, human rights and recon- The IHF on several occasions demand- ciliation. ed the presence of an efficient, robust and The UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), assertive law enforcement by KFOR and the Civilian Police (CIVPOL) and the inter- UNMIK as the only factors authorized with national forces (KFOR) were the sole or- the issue, as well as the full political and gans authorized with the security and law moral cooperation of Kosovar political par- and order issues. In practice, however, ties in establishing security, law and order, there was hardly any efficient law enforce- political dialogue, tolerance and full respect ment, while the judicial system that was for human rights. being (re-)established, only belatedly and modestly began to function. Also, the polit- Freedom of Expression and the ical responsibility that rested with the polit- Media ical actors in Kosovo, despite the related Following the war and throughout the difficult circumstances, should have certain- year 2000 the media situation was charac- ly done more to promote the political pro- terized by a mushrooming number of Alba- cesses of inter-ethnic communication, tol- nian-language media outlets – particularly erance, reconciliation and a multi-cultural printed media - and difficulties experienced approach. by media run by Serbs or other minorities. The issue of Albanians in the Preshevo This was the reality despite the attempts of valley in southern Serbia was also a signifi- UNMIK and the OSCE to re-establish a print cant factor in the overall Kosovo equation and broadcast media system representing and needed more attention. However, by all ethnic groups in Kosovo. the end of the year the situation there es- As of the end of 2000, there were sev- calated just as it did in the Serbian-control- en daily newspapers published in the led northern Mitrovica. Albanian language providing for consider- The issue of Albanians being detained able diversity. Their total circulation was es- in Serbian20 prisons, as well as the issue of timated at some 35,000 copies. The lar- missing persons, also aggravated the over- gest was Bota Sot (believed to be very clo- all situation. se to the largest Kosovo Albanian party, the In addition, of major importance was LDK), with its circulation of approximately the failure to bring indicted war criminals to 18,000 copies being about twice as large the Hague Tribunal. An apology by the new as any other. However, international media Belgrade authorities to those who have suf- observers considered it to be biased, often fered because of the Milosˇevic´ regime resorting to hate speech, despite the fact would have certainly alleviated somewhat that the LDK and its activists claimed them- the seriously tensioned situation according selves to be victims of politically motivated to the Kosovo Helsinki Committee. Other violence. Koha Ditore (the second largest useful measures that could contribute to daily) and Zeri were regarded as independ- substantial improvement would be the es- ent and competent. Epoka e Re and Gaze- tablishment of a full and appropriate legal ta e Re, newspapers with smaller circula- framework for Kosovo comprised of an in- tion, were believed to be closer to the PDK, terim Constitution and other related legisla- the party that came out of the former KLA tion on the basis of which Kosovo would (Kosovo Liberation Army), and the main efficiently function as an internationally pro- political rival of the LDK. Two newspapers tected entity, said the Committee. The ceased publication during the year: Dita process of drafting an interim legal frame- and Kosova Sot, with the latter reappearing work is in progress in the meantime and it later. KOSOVO 383

As of the end of 2000, there were no for example, various political or criminal or Serbian-printed media outside the Serbian extremist groups. The self-imposed silence enclaves. Belgrade press, such as Politika damaged the media’s credibility as a reli- and Express, as well as Blic and Danas, able source of information. were distributed for free in those enclaves. From May to December 2000, the A Kosovo Serb newspaper Novo Jedinstvo OSCE journalist protection program regis- recently began publication in the enclave of tered 33 incidents of intimidation of jour- Grachanica. nalists, such as anonymous and personal The Bosniak community published its threats, assaults, bombings etc. Also, Alba- weekly Kosovski Avaz in Prizren and it was nian journalists felt that the UNMIK had distributed in Prishtina and Peja. The failed to combat the general climate of in- Turkish community published its weekly security in Kosovo. Yeni Donem. No Romani language publica- The way the minorities were portrayed tions were yet available. in the media affected the development of Kosovar media were overseen by the a climate of inter-ethnic intolerance. OSCE Temporary Media Commissioner. The former Kosovo Public RTV, re- The Commissioner was allowed to impose named RTK, operated under the control of fines and other punishments on media that the OSCE, which was trying to establish a did not observe the regulations of the in- media control board to uphold profession- terim administration. The Temporary Media al standards and guard against media bias Commission is expected to be replaced in in this influential medium. RTV broadcasted 2001 with an Independent Media Com- three hours per day, one hour longer than mission. in 1999. Prior to the collapse of the former By the end of 2000, two fines had Yugoslavia, it had broadcast all day on two been issued, one to the newspaper Dita, channels. the other to Bota Sot, and the cases were RTK TV broadcast five to eight minutes appealed to the Media Appeals Board. Dita of Serb language daily programmes and oc- closed down due to the process. The paper casionally also in Turkish. It also aired a ten- had accused an UNMIK Serbian employee minute daily news bulletin in the Bosnian Petar Tucholski of being a war criminal, language, produced by the UNMIK TV. publishing also his address and picture in There were no Kosovo Serbian television its article of 28 April. On 15 May, Tuchol- stations: Kosovo Serbs could receive the ski’s body was found dumped near Prish- broadcasts of Belgrade Serbian State Radio tina: he had been stabbed to death. On 4 and TV, a few local radio stations such as July, Dita published another article in which Radio Contact and Radio Mir, as well as for- it named 12 Kosovo Serbs living in Gjilane eign broadcasts in Serbian. Radio Blue Sky, as alleged war criminals and also openly at- UNMIK’s radio channel, also broadcast tacked Serbian Orthodox priests. A week la- some Serbian-language programmes, as ter three priests in the region were shot at. did Radio Kosovo’s second channel. In practice, the media situation reflect- ed the political realities in Kosovo. The se- Judicial System and Independence of curity vacuum and deep social divisions the Judiciary caused by the recent past also affected the Facilitating the development of an in- work of journalists. Thus, despite promises dependent and impartial judicial system is for full freedom of the media, self-censor- an essential component of establishing the ship by journalists and publishers was evi- rule of law and tackling impunity that was dent. This phenomenon curtailed the full needed in Kosovo. freedom of expression, caused harassment In 2000, the judicial system of Kosovo and potentially dangerous intimidation by, recuperated from the consequences of the 384 KOSOVO war and managed to reach its full institu- and partial, which in turn discouraged fur- tional form. Sixty-five judicial organs were ther minority inclusion and integration in it. (re-)established, including municipal courts A parallel Serbian judiciary functioned covering practically the entire administrative in Serbian enclaves, for example in territory Kosovo, seven district courts, mis- Mitrovica, Shterpce, Lipjan, Grachanica, and demeanour courts, the Appeals Instance Gjilan. The international administration, for Misdemeanours Courts, the Commer- however, was of the view that minority jud- cial Court, district attorney offices, and the ges and prosecutors must be fully incorpo- Supreme Court. The institution of the Om- rated into the existing system in such a way budsperson was also introduced. The inter- that permits them to have a full and active national community facilitated to a large ex- role in the administration of justice in a fair tent the repair, renovation and equipping of and impartial manner. these organs. However, a number of lower In order to avoid potential bias and par- courts and other judicial bodies still func- tiality of the judiciary in cases where the tioned in highly inadequate premises. parties were of different ethnicity, as well as The legal system operated despite dif- to provide the necessary experience of a ficulties regarding a number of issues, in- modern judiciary, international judges and cluding the low salary of judges and other prosecutors were dispatched in Kosovo, al- judicial personnel, thus making them vul- though their number remained far too low. nerable to corruption or temptations to They were to deal with war crime, inter-eth- leave for a better-paid job, e.g. in internatio- nic and other complex cases. nal organizations. Another reason for jud- The role of international judges was ges leaving the judicial system was the fact particularly important in light of the fact that that in the first emergency phase of the es- international organizations (e.g. the OSCE) tablishment of the judicial system, the jud- reported bias in proceedings against mi- ges were appointed for a period of three nority defendants, especially in cases in- months, which was subject to extension, volving ethnically motivated crime. Accor- but could still not provide security. The lack ding to some international monitoring re- of general security and undeveloped law ports, public officials were reluctant to pur- enforcement also affected their work, as sue criminal acts committed by Kosovo did threats and intimidation by parties in- Albanians against Kosovo Serbs. Moreover, volved in their trial cases. the courts in some cases brought charges Partially successful efforts were made against Kosovo Serbs on bases that were to provide for a multi-ethnic feature of the assessed to be unfounded. judicial system. As of 22 September, eleven Bosniaks, four Serbs, four Turks, as well as Role of the International Community two Roma judges had been formally ap- Since the escalation of the Kosovo cri- pointed. However, most of the Serb judges sis in 1998, the efforts of the international did not take up the office due to prevailing community have been insufficient in scope ethnic tensions and insufficient security and scale to stabilize the situation, provide while commuting between the enclaves for a negotiated, peaceful political settle- they lived in and their work places. As a re- ment, and prevent an outbreak of a larger sult, the judiciary remained prevailingly conflict. The IHF and its member commit- mono-ethnic, but has been enhanced by tees on several occasions criticized the UN the inclusion of an important international Security Council for its slowness and reluc- component. Only one functioning Serb tance to take proper action to address the judge was employed in the Municipal Court threatening Kosovo conflict. It called upon of Prishtina. Thus the minority population the international community to stage a of Kosovo perceived the judiciary as biased Dayton-type conference for resolving the KOSOVO 385

Kosovo crisis and urged the deployment of two communities developed increasingly a robust and large-scale international pro- violent and no obvious progress was made tection, monitoring and preventive peace- by KFOR regarding the security situation in keeping mission in Kosovo, as well as the town.21 The problems of Serbian en- forces to monitor the implementation of claves in various parts of Kosovo and the cease-fire. de facto partitioning of Mitrovica illustrated The post-war deployment of KFOR continuing security and law enforcement with 40,000 peace keepers in mid-June problems that threatened human rights 1999 came far too late to save the lives of and indeed the lives of members of all eth- thousands of people and to prevent the nic groups, especially of Serbs and other humanitarian disaster, but soon enough to minorities. Equally bad remained the situa- stop the continuation of the worst Serbian tion of Albanians in the Serbian-controlled terror in Kosovo. The KFOR also enabled part of Mitrovica, albeit at a numerically the swift and indeed unprecedented return smaller scale. Many Albanians (who made of the overwhelming part of Kosovo up 70 percent of the northern part of Mitro- Albanians and internally displaced persons. vica’s pre-war population) were prevented However, the international community from returning to their homes. According to has been so far only partially successful in CDHRF, 22 Albanians were killed in the establishing law and order and security in Serbian-controlled Mitrovica during 2000, Kosovo. That can primarily be attributed to 54 were wounded by fire arms and explosi- major delays in the deployment of the in- ves, and 116 forced evictions of Albanians ternational civilian policemen (CIVPOL) in from their homes or apartments took place. the immediate post-war period. While The Kosovo Helsinki Committee em- KFOR is not suitable for police tasks, the phasized the urgent need for just and vig- UNMIK has been moving far too slowly in orous engagement and more efficient establishing its authority to secure law, or- measures to establish order, security, and a der and security - a task provided by UN functioning administration as soon as pos- Resolution 1244 – and to protect all indi- sible for individuals living in Kosovo. It viduals living in Kosovo, regardless of their stressed that the interim international au- ethnic background. Moreover, it was feared thority, i.e. the KFOR and UNMIK, have the that increasing criminality might pave the only legitimate authorization to adminis- way for organized crime that would be dif- trate Kosovo as an international protec- ficult to get rid of later. torate, during which process they should One serious consequence of the inter- have the full and sincere cooperation of all national community’s failure to take suffi- relevant parties in Kosovo. cient steps to establish law and order in Kosovo was the de facto partitioning of Mit- Violence and Criminality rovica with its hinterland, a town with in- The 1999 humanitarian intervention of dustrial and strategic significance as the lo- NATO and the deployment of KFOR did cation of the important Trepca mines close bring an end to the aggression and ethnic to the Serbian border. The northern part of cleansing of Albanians by Serbian forces. the town and its hinterland across the river KFOR’s presence also provided for the swift Ibar, comprising about 18 percent of the return of the overwhelming part of Kosovo Kosovo territory, was nominally under the Albanians and internally displaced persons. control of French KFOR forces, but, in prac- However, ethnically and politically motivat- tice, under the effective control of local ed violence in Kosovo, albeit at an incom- Serbs. This fact raised fears of the partition- parably lower scale, continued in 2000, es- ing of Kosovo similar to the Bosnian ethnic- pecially against Serbs and minorities. This entity model. The standoff between the violence was perpetrated by individuals 386 KOSOVO and/or extremists groups. In addition, in- Law Enforcement and Security creasing numbers of violent cases, espe- Security and law and order issues con- cially among Albanians, were assumed to tinued to cause serious concerns. The total be criminally motivated. number of the CIVPOL international police According to the official data of the officers deployed in Kosovo by the end of the UNMIK civilian police CIVPOL, in the period year stood at over 4,155, close to the num- between January and November 2000, ber of 4,700 initially pledged. Over 3,200 211 individuals were killed in Kosovo: in- of them were deployed, while 820 of them cluding 122 Albanians, 51 Serbs, 12 Roma, were assigned to special units. The IHF and 8 Bosniaks, 7 belonging to other ethnic the Helsinki Committee in Kosovo called groups, and 11 unidentified persons. repeatedly for the international community The overall number of registered to place the highest priority on establishing crimes in this period stood at 20,500 cas- efficient law and order and security. es, with Prishtina accounting for over one The international police, however, third of the cases. The average clarification faced various obstacles to greater efficien- 22 rate stood at a modest 26 percent. cy, including a lack of knowledge of the lo- November was one of the worst cal languages and familiarity with the local months in 2000 with 28 individuals killed, environment. In addition, there was insuffi- including eight people who belonged to cient cooperation from local citizens in pro- minorities, while 24 people were wound- viding necessary information and witnesses ed. October, the municipal election month, in fear of retaliation by local criminals - es- by contrast, was one of the calmest. pecially as the judicial system had just start- There were 32 cases of reported “dis- ed to function modestly - and issues such appearances” or un-clarified cases of miss- as witness protection programs and similar ing persons, including 30 Albanians, one were not even remotely available. Serb and one Rom. Twenty individuals were In addition to the international police, a kidnapped, including 18 Albanians, and one Kosovar domestic civilian police force called Serb, as well as 17 attempted kidnappings the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) was being of Albanians. trained and set. These police officers were to Despite UNMIK, KFOR and Kosovo receive an intensive 12-week training by inter- Albanian appeals, there were numerous ex- national police instructors followed by a 19- tremists’ attacks on Serbs and other non- week period on duty, accompanying CIVPOL Albanians. The reasons were apparently re- officers. By the end of the year the number of venge for the suffering caused by the KPS officers had reached 3,515, of which Serbian war machinery, purely ethnic, crim- some 14 percent represented minorities (7 inal, or political. The perceptions of collec- percent Serbs, and 6 percent others such as tive guilt and responsibility persisted as well Bosniaks, Turks, and Roma). Seventeen per- as the fear for Kosovo’s future status under cent of the officers were women. FRY as stipulated by UN Resolution 1244. However, according to newest esti- According to the data of the ICRC, mates, the number of KPS police officers WHO and the Mine Action Coordination needed to deal efficiently with the law and Centre (MACC), an estimated 400 square order and security issues stands at 8,000- kilometres of minefields had yet to be de- 10,000. The shortage of available officers is mined. This represented about 4 percent of overwhelming. This, coupled with just a Kosovo’s overall territory. It was estimated meagre beginning of functioning of a judi- that between 300,000 and one million cial system in Kosovo, can hardly provide land mines were planted in Kosovo. De- for law and order and security. mining and/or defusing of them is likely to The KPS could not function independ- take years and many additional casualties. ently but only to the extent authorized by KOSOVO 387 the international police. A higher degree of substantially, many minority communities their direct and independent engagement would not survive socially nor economical- as of the end of 2000 was being practiced ly, and would be fully dependent on hu- only in the area of traffic control, which manitarian assistance and international pro- clearly improved. Kosovo Albanian political tection for survival and will have little option parties and public opinion in general called other than to leave Kosovo. Crimes against for a larger degree of authorizations and re- minorities were both ethnically and politi- sponsibility to be granted to the KPS as an cally motivated. efficient way of combating crime and all Due to restrictions on the freedom of forms of violence in Kosovo. movement, Serbs and other minorities had major difficulties in getting access to essen- Protection of Ethnic Minorities tial services, such as health care, education, In the post-war period, Helsinki employment, etc. In addition, it was dan- Committees started to receive numerous gerous and sometimes impossible for the reports of abuse against Serbs remaining in Serbs to use their use own language out- Kosovo as well as other minorities, such as side the Serb-controlled enclaves without Roma. An overwhelming climate of prima- the protection of internationals. Serbs were rily revenge and hate-driven ethnically mo- afraid to make use of public facilities such tivated persecution against Serbs emerged, as hospitals, or to visit shops and markets. presumably primarily to revenge for crimes Moreover, they also could not readily avail committed by both the Serbian Govern- themselves of humanitarian assistance. UN ment and local Serbs during the war. security officers and other international or- Security remained the primary concern ganizations advised incoming international for ethnic minorities in post-war Kosovo staff not to speak Serbian or other Slavic also in the year 2000. As a consequence of languages on the street for their own safe- war, the minorities - first and foremost ty, despite the UNMIK regulations that Serbs - continued to remain sidelined from Albanian, Serbian and English are official almost all sectors of life Kosovo society, ex- languages. The use of minority languages cept in Serbian enclaves. Lack of security as in official bodies remained a distant target. well as freedom of movement (travel to According to international sources, at and from enclaves in Kosovo was relatively least 51 Serbs were killed in Kosovo in safe only by special bus lines arranged by 2000. internationals and escorted by KFOR) re- In February a grenade was thrown at mained the fundamental problems that de- an UNHCR bus transporting Serbs near the rived violations of other rights and free- villages of Banja and Suhogrlo. Two Serbs doms, starting from the right to life all the were killed and three were wounded. way to the right to employment, etc. At the end of April, the Serbian Ortho- dox Church in the village of Grncare, near Violence against Serbs Vitina, was blown up by a time-controlled Violent acts against Serbs included anti-tank mine. The attack only narrowly grenade attacks, kidnappings, murders, ar- missed some 150 local Serbs because son, forced eviction from their property, in- their Easter celebration had been post- timidation, plundering or destruction of poned by an hour. homes and property, and forced evictions. In April and May there was a significant rise Also in April, a Serb was found killed of arsons of Serbian houses and property and dumped in the Grmija park area, later in Kosovo Polje and Obiliq. Serbian Ortho- in the month another Serb was found killed dox Churches were also targeted. It was near the Grachanica lake in the outskirts of clear that unless security can be improved Prishtina. 388 KOSOVO

One of the most drastic cases of vio- society and a decent future for citizens of lence against Serbs took place on 18 August Kosovo.23 According to the Kosovo Helsinki when a hand grenade was thrown from a Committee, ethnically motivated violence driving car at Serb children playing in the lo- against Serbs would likely be much more cal playground in Crkvene Vodice near reduced if war criminal suspects were ap- Obiliq. Ten children were injured. In a similar prehended and brought to justice and if the incident in August, a Kosovo Albanian driver Serbian political leadership representatives apparently deliberately drove at a group of were to apologize publicly and sincerely for playing children in Lipjan. One child was Serbian abuses in Kosovo. killed and another three were injured. Following a relatively peaceful October, Violence against Roma24 violence escalated in November, possibly The massive wave of anti-Roma violen- also in reaction to election results. ce in Kosovo in 1999 was similar to that against Serbs. The situation of Roma in Ko- In November, the residence of the Yugoslav diplomatic representative in sovo abated in 2000 but remained serious. Prishtina was shattered by a powerful ex- According to the joint Assessment of plosive device that killed one person and the Situation of Ethnic Minorities in Kosovo damaged the residence seriously. report of the UNHCR and the OSCE of 11 February 2000, around 30,000 Roma lived As a result of continuing violence and in Kosovo in February, with the reservation in fear of collective reprisals by extremists, that “many more may be present but unre- large numbers of Serbs fled from Kosovo, ported.” Possibly over 100,000 Roma25 had although at a lower scale in 2000. Accor- fled Kosovo to Macedonia, Montenegro, ding to UNMIK figures, over one half of the Serbia and other countries, and many Roma pre-war 226,000 Serbian population had have fled within Kosovo, especially into en- fled for Serbia. According to KFOR assess- claves (protected by KFOR). In places with a ments (without a census), about 97,000 predominantly ethnic Albanian population, Serbs had remained in Kosovo, making up Roma mostly lived concentrated in certain about 6.2 percent of the Kosovo popula- neighbourhoods. The number of Roma liv- tion. Most of them lived in the northern ing among ethnic Albanians was on a part of Kosovo and a few enclaves else- steady decline and expulsions of Roma by where, such as in Grachanica near Prish- ethnic Albanians continued to be reported. tina, Gjilan, Vitina, Fushe Kosove (Kosova Despite an international protectorate in Polje), Lipljan, and Rahovec. The northern Kosovo, Roma in the region were not safe. part of Mitrovica under Serb control ap- Due to severely limited possibilities for Roma peared to function less as an enclave than in Kosovo to travel safely, they did not, for ex- as a part of Kosovo annexed to Serbia ample, have appropriate access to health The Serb population of Prishtina was services. The decline of the number of vio- assessed at 600 as of the end of 2000 - lent attacks was likely due to the diminishing down from the pre-war figure of 26,000. number of non-Albanians in Kosovo, and the Families continued to leave for Serbia or increasing concentration of those remaining Serbian enclaves. in KFOR-protected enclaves. The protection The IHF and the Kosovo Helsinki Com- of minorities by UNMIK was widely consid- mittee made several public statements dur- ered dramatically inadequate. ing 2000 condemning ethnically and polit- Also in 2000, Roma continued to be ically motivated violence against Serbs and targets of arson, harassment, and killings. other minorities and calling for full respect Further, the patterns these attacks followed of their human rights and inter-ethnic toler- suggested that perpetrators were trying to ance as a way of building democracy, civil force the remaining Roma minority com- KOSOVO 389 munities into leaving their homes. Suspects On 10 February, a prominent Bosniak were rarely arrested. was murdered in Dragash. There were also UNHCR adopted a “non-promotion of continued reports of arson and intimidation return” position with regard to Kosovar against Bosniaks in the Gora area as well as Romani minority refugees living outside of in Prizren. the country, but helped those who had de- During 2000, however, there was con- cided to return. siderable improvement in the relationships At the end of June, a grenade attack on between Bosniaks and ethnic Albanians a Romani IDP settlement in Mitrovica and in their joint participation in political wounded four Roma, including a young child. life. An indication of that was the joint at- tendance of Bosniaks and Albanians in the In July, there were series of grenade at- elementary school in Vitomirica near Peja. tacks on Romani homes in the municipali- Joint schools of Albanians and other mi- ty of Shtimje. norities remained an exception. In the beginning of August, three Ashkalia (a Roma group) were killed by a Violence against Albanians booby trap bomb in the village Hallaq of While ethnically and politically motivat- the Lipjan municipality. ed violence primarily affected the Serb In August, three dumped Roma bodies population and other minorities, Albanians were found near Prizren and Rahovec. also suffered seriously. Albanians fell victim to ethnically motivated violence particularly In September, a Roma was killed while in Serbian-controlled northern Mitrovica, three were wounded in a shooting incident where lack of security and freedom of mo- in the municipality of Shterpce. vement and abuse reigned. Albanians also In November, five Ashkali Roma were lived in fear and were forcefully evicted. found killed in Dashec near Skenderaj in In February, a series of attacks by local the Drenica region. They had returned to Serbs in the northern part of Mitrovica left their pre-war homes within an UNHCR-or- eight people dead, including Albanians, ganized return programme after consulta- Bosniaks and Turks. In the following days, tions with local Albanians who had ap- as result of additional intimidation, over proved their return. The case remained un- 1,700 Albanians and non-Serb minorities clarified as of this writing. left the northern Mitrovica and settled else- where in Kosovo. Violence against Bosniaks In June, a former journalist of the Ko- According to Numan Balic, head of the sovo Albanian daily Rilindja was shot and Bosniak Party of Democratic Action in killed. The case remained resolved. Kosovo (SDA), ethnically and politically mo- tivated violence continued against some In July, former commander of the KLA, Serbian-speaking Bosniak Muslims through Drini, who had dropped the uniform and late 2000. According to Balic, since the become a respected member of the com- withdrawal of Serb forces, at least 37 munal board in Prizren, was assassinated Bosniaks had been killed, 16 abducted, and by two unidentified gunmen. Other former over 800 families had suffered intimidation. prominent KLA members have also been Over 30,000 Bosniaks had fled Kosovo out killed in still unresolved cases. of fear of attacks by extremist Albanians. In September in Prishtina, the head of On 11 January, a Bosniak Moslem fam- the Directorate for Urban Affairs, architect ily of four were was killed in their home in Rexhep Luci, was assassinated close to his the town of Prizren. home. It is believed that the killing was re- 390 KOSOVO lated to activities for the prevention of ille- nic cleansing campaign of the Serbian gal construction. The case remained unre- forces. Before withdrawing from Kosovo, solved as of this writing. Serb forces had killed some 10,000 Koso- vo Albanians. Thousands more were inju- One high profile case was the assassi- red and raped, and a large part of ethnic nation of Xhemail Mustafa in November, Albanian property was destroyed. The Serb one of the long-time and closest aides of forces had turned Prishtina and other ma- LDK president Rugova and head of the LDK jor towns into ghost towns, as about 75 sector for information. He was gunned percent of their Albanian populations were down in the middle of the day in Prishtina. forcefully deported or displaced. Western The two gunmen walked away from the Kosovo and central rural regions were the site practically unhindered. Police were re- worst hit, some of them totally destroyed in ported to have arrived only half an hour lat- er. Some related this killing to the LDK vic- an apparent Serbian campaign to partition tory in the municipal elections. Kosovo. The last half a million Albanians re- maining in urban centres were virtually kept Another issue that raised concern among as hostages by Serbian security forces. Kosovo Albanians was the development in After the war, some 500,000 Albanians the intimidation and harassment in the remained without a roof over their heads Albanian-populated areas of southern Serbia due to the destruction of their homes. in the Presheva Valley bordering Kosovo The process of investigating war crimes (Bujanovac, Medvedja and Presheva). The by forensic experts has been complicated by majority (estimated at 20,000) of the Alba- the fact that many suspected perpetrators fled nian population was abandoning their homes Kosovo with the Serb forces and also because and fleeing to Kosovo for safety. As a reaction evidence of war crimes appeared to have to these developments, a local Albanian been destroyed before the withdrawal. armed formation called the Liberation Army Following the war, 539 mass graves or for Preshevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac collective graves were discovered, out of (UCPMB) emerged in the area claiming which, according to OSCE sources, all but armed defence of the local population. 17 had been investigated by the end of the year 2000 and additional bodies exhumed. Conditions in Prisons The investigations resulted in 260 identi- Prisons and other correctional facilities fied victims and 1,260 still unidentified vic- have been reconstructed, the major ones tims. In order to facilitate the very difficult being the Dubrava facility near Istog as well identification process, the OSCE published as the prison and correctional facility near a book depicting the personal belongings Lipjan. The latter has also been constructed of 200 of the still unidentified victims. to accommodate women and juvenile of- Kosovo Albanian and some foreign fenders. In addition, district prisons have media quoted members of Serbian militias been repaired and renovated. who had participated in the war in Kosovo Eighteen Serb prisoners escaped from and said that corpses of Albanians had the Serbian-controlled northern part of been burned in the Trepcha furnaces in or- Mitrovica, among them two convicts sen- der to conceal evidence about the real tenced to 20 years for war crimes, geno- number of the dead. Such reports have not cide and murder on three counts. The been verified, but they have opened up an- Albanian public suspected that the escapes other avenue for investigations. were facilitated by Serbian prison officials. Albanians Imprisoned in Serbian Jails International Humanitarian Law and Missing Persons During the war, ethnic Albanians were At least 2,066 Albanians were arrested, the sole targets of the state-sponsored eth- imprisoned and transferred with the with- KOSOVO 391 drawing of Serbian forces to prisons in when people were totally dependent on Serbia. The figure refers to that confirmed humanitarian relief and emergency accom- by Serbian authorities and the International modation provided by the international Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). community. It entered the second phase In 2000, 233 Albanians were tried in with the reconstruction and strengthening Serbian courts in show trials and received of the infrastructure and public utilities. long sentences totalling 2,163 years, prima- Most of the heavily damaged roads were rily on the charges of “terrorism” and “hostile reconstructed, as were the power-, water-, activity.”26 In 2000, a total of 577 Albanians heating- and telecommunications systems detained in Serbian prisons were released as well as the railway network, housing, and and returned to Kosovo accompanied by the - most importantly - the educational and ICRC. It was estimated that some additional health care systems. Although the systems 600 Albanians remained detained in did not function perfectly, especially due to Serbian prisons, despite international ap- overloading, substantial improvement was peals to the new Government to release obvious. them. Four Albanians died in Serbian prisons The post-war economic and social life in 2000. The issue of imprisoned Albanians was strongly affected by a severely dam- in Serbia continued to generate considerable aged infrastructure combined with disputes inter-ethnic and political tension and, indi- over formerly state-owned property. It was rectly, violence in Kosovo. estimated that 120,000 or (30 percent) of According to the ICRC, the number of all housing stock was destroyed in full or in missing persons due to the war in the year part and rendered inhabitable. 2000 stood at about 3,600, out of which The third phase of revival of the econ- 2,745 were Albanians while the remaining omy began during the second half of last 843 belonged to ethnic minorities. As of the year, a slow and painful process. Only mod- end of 2000, there were still no reliable in- est steps have been undertaken due to dif- dications about their whereabouts. Many ficulties in defining and resolving the prop- were believed to have been arrested and/or kidnapped by Serbian withdrawing forces or erty issues, a fact that depends on the res- various extremists groups and were feared olution of the future political status of dead. Among them were prominent Kosovo. Namely, it was impossible to priva- Albanian personalities, activists, civilians and tise the former state owned enterprises - KLA activists as well as Serbian civilians. the largest ones in Kosovo, also in terms of Families of the missing and imprisoned providing employment opportunities. This Albanians accused international agencies of was based on UN Resolution 1244: the doing too little to help their relatives and to UNMIK administration regards such enter- keep the relatives informed. NGOs, such as prises still as FRY state-owned property, al- the Humanitarian Law Fund, were also beit contested. A temporary solution is be- highly critical, claiming that the problem ing sought in the so-called “commercializa- dated back to the failure to include any tion” of these enterprises, meaning long mention of an amnesty for Albanian politi- time leases to potential investors. However, cal prisoners in the Military Technical the “commercialization” has so far shown Agreement before Serbian forces withdrew, only a limited success. even though this point had previously been Consequently, the economic and social included in the October 1998 Holbrooke- situation in Kosovo remained difficult Milosˇevic´ cease-fire agreement. throughout 2000 with the unemployment rate assessed at 50-60 percent of the avail- Economic and Social Rights able work force, making the economic situ- The economic situation in 2000 suc- ation very difficult. By the end of the year cessfully passed the emergency phase, 2000, it was assessed that 50-57,000 392 MONTENEGRO

Kosovars were employed by internationals. and young women. On the positive side, They received disproportionally high salaries self-help groups helped women get voca- in comparison to other non-internationally tional training needed for employment and employed Albanians, whose income was for support of their families. very modest. This phenomenon has con- A visible experiencing and appreciation tributed to increased social tensions. of the recently acquired freedom after the The poor economic conditions com- withdrawal of Serbian forces, as well as the bined with an emerging modern set of val- positive energy that it has unleashed, has ues and lifestyles, coupled with the war been an important factor also in the eco- and post-war trauma, sufferings, deaths or nomic field, despite many flaws. It resulted injury, accelerated the breakdown of tradi- in a comparatively strong dynamics of pri- tional family and social structures. The situ- vate initiatives in many segments of life, al- ation of Albanian women was undergoing beit still somewhat chaotic. This was clear- change, including both strong emancipa- ly visible particularly in reconstruction ef- tion and social dynamics, but also negative forts and potential, trade and other busi- phenomena such as increasing prostitution. ness initiatives. It is expected to gain even The operation of criminal gangs, partly co- greater momentum with the establishment operating also with similar organized of law and order and security, contributing groups from Albania, was blamed for in- strongly to the normalization of life in creasing incidences of abduction of girls Kosovo.

MONTENEGRO27

IHF FOCUS: The role of the so-called Yugoslav Army; the new “Constitution” and oth- er legislation; elections; post-election period; freedom of the media; independence of the judiciary; misconduct by the military; religious intolerance; conscientious objection.

In 2000, the future status of The issue of the republic’s status ab- Montenegro was the main public issue in sorbed energy that would have been nec- that republic. Familiar with the bad experi- essary for transition and other reforms in ence of Belgrade domination, most citizens Montenegro. This specially applied to the and authorities showed their will to re-es- initiated reform of the judiciary that tablish independence from Serbia, to have stopped, and the reform of administration Montenegro’s sovereignty internationally and local self-government, etc. recognised, and to be free to make their Serbia and Montenegro formed a own decisions about their future. The eu- Federal State in 1992, the Constitution of phoric support of the international commu- which was illegitimate. Still, not even this nity for Kosˇtunica’s victory in the presiden- Constitution has been applied: in practice, tial elections and the new Belgrade regime the Federal State has functioned as an ad- was taken with surprise. It implied the ditional institution of the Republic of Serbia. European Union attitude that supported President Vojislav Kosˇtunica’s project of a The Constitution provided for equal status new model of Federal State, which was un- for both Serbia and Montenegro, but, in derstood in Montenegro as a kind of fact, Serbia has held a dominant position Greater Serbia, the realisation of which and Montenegro has been relegated to a would ensure Serbian domination and position considered worse than a colony. would mean permanent danger to peace In 1997, Montenegro’s position weak- and stability in the entire region. ened, still as a result of a split in the gov- MONTENEGRO 393 erning party of Montenegro. One fraction grounds who were undoubtedly involved in continued to support President Milosˇevic´’s wars led by the Milosˇevic´ regime in Slo- regime and his policy of creating Greater venia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Ko- Serbia. The other abandoned such a policy, sovo. The public saw those forces as an ins- proclaimed democratic reforms with the trument to take over power in Montenegro aim of joining the European and Trans- and to establish full Serbian control. This Atlantic community and promoted the poli- unit has been involved in many violent inci- cy of ending the wars in South Eastern Eu- dents throughout Montenegro; for example, rope, reconciliation and stability in the re- in Bijelo Polje, Berane, Andrijevica, Niksic gion. The “Yugoslav (Serbian) federal insti- and the capital Podgorica. The activities of tutions” reacted to these initiatives by not this unit in Bijelo Polje had ultra-nationalist recognizing the Montenegrin presidential characteristics, and represented a threat to elections in 1997 and the parliamentary all individuals living in Montenegro. elections in 1998. Serbia also rejected the The Cheetahs is a unit about which newly elected Montenegrin representatives there is very little information. However, ac- for the Council of Republics, which was sup- cording to media information, it appeared posed to ensure the equal status of Serbia that the unit was formed on the basis of and Montenegro in the joint State. Instead, Orthodox fundamentalism, and had close Serbia let those pro-Serbia representatives, links to the leadership of the Serbian who had no legal mandate to represent Orthodox Church. According to public opin- Montenegro any longer, hold their seats. ion, this unit could also be used to provoke The situation again worsened during clashes in Montenegro. the Kosovo war in 1999: Montenegro pro- The military forces situated in the terri- moted peace while Serbia rejected a peace tory of Montenegro were not under the plan, resulting in NATO intervention that control of any legally elected civil authority also affected Montenegro. At that point, or individual in Montenegro, but merely Serbia already had absolute control over implemented first President Milosˇevic´’s and the military forces that were supposed to then President Kosˇtunica’s policy. be under the mutual control of both re- publics: it began the massive, open manip- New “Constitution” and Other ulation of the forces stationed in Monte- Legislation negro, resorting to violations of the basic On 6 July 2000, the Federal Parliament rights of Montenegrin citizens. changed several basic provisions of the This bad relationship between Monte- Constitution of the Federal State in an ille- negro and Serbia worsened in 2000. Serbia gal manner. Those persons who had lost strengthened its already imposed sanctions their MP status participated in the adoption on Montenegro and exerted other forms of of the new Constitution; the changes were pressure in the fields of politics, economy, done without a quorum, and in violation of information, and - in particular - the military. legal procedures. All the amendments were adopted in secrecy. The public and the au- The Role of the So-Called Yugoslav thorities of Montenegro found out about it Army only a few hours before the changes were Since the beginning of 2000, Serbia has to be adopted. These changes (proposed strengthened special forces within the ordi- by the Republic of Serbia) virtually placed nary military forces in Montenegro, including Montenegro in the position of the 27th the Seventh Battalion of the Military Police province within the Republic of Serbia. and a special unit called the Cheetahs. The Constitution does not provide for The Seventh Battalion of the military any mechanism to enable any influence by consists of individuals with criminal back- Montenegro in the administration of the 394 MONTENEGRO joint State. Even the theoretical equality be- and the Montenegrin Helsinki Committee tween Serbia and Montenegro established appealed to the international community by the 1992 Constitution was abolished. and the OSCE not to recognize these chan- ges because they violate all international Elections standards, including the OSCE principles. Montenegrin Election Laws In spring 2000, the laws on the parlia- “Federal Elections” The scheduling of the federal elections mentary and local elections as well as on for 24 September 2000 – against the will of the voter lists were amended. These laws the Montenegrin officials and the majority of were adopted by consensus of all the po- citizens of Montenegro – can only be re- litical parties. The laws included several im- garded as an obvious attempt by Serbia to provements and gave less room for elec- legalize the illegal changes to the Con- toral manipulation. However, these laws stitution and, indeed, to make Montenegro contained some provisions that were not in the 27th province of Serbia. The Montenegrin accordance with international human rights Helsinki Committee stated that there was a standards. tangible danger that the Belgrade regime According to the amendments, political could initiate the fifth war in the territory of parties in Parliament had access to all official the former Yugoslavia – now in Montenegro, data on citizens. This right could potentially resulting in massive and systematic human result in serious human rights violations, as rights violations. Should this happen, the political parties in Parliament also had the peace and security in South Eastern Europe right to initiate a procedure of adding a citi- would again be seriously endangered. zen to or removing one from the voter lists. However, the Belgrade regime organ- This can be done without the knowledge ized the elections in Montenegro by force. and consent of the citizen concerned. In ad- Mass manipulation by military forces was dition, by law, political parties represented in used, especially by the so-called Seventh Parliament were allowed to re-allocate a par- Battalion of the Military Police. Using force liamentary seat to a person who had not against individuals in Herceg Novi these won the seat in the elections. It was feared units they took over the municipality build- that this provision would be misused as it ing with the use of weapons. potentially restricted an MP’s freedom of Local or foreign observers could not of- speech and leads to self-censorship. ficially monitor the elections, but the Montenegrin Helsinki Committee observed Federal-Serbian Election Laws the elections and the atmosphere from a As soon as the illegal amendments distance. were adopted as part of the Constitution A very small number of people partici- on 6 July, the federal electoral laws were pated in the elections. Officially, a little adopted in an illegal manner. The provi- more than 25 percent of Montenegrins sions do not meet international standards went to the polls, but the Montenegrin for fair and free elections. Helsinki Committee and other NGOs esti- According to a change in the provisions mated the real number to be no more than for federal presidential elections, there was 20 percent. Representatives of the Demo- no longer a possibility to elect a president cratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) labelled from Montenegro. Further, Montenegro the elections as irregular to the extent that had no possibility to protect its interest be- even the elections in Serbia were more cause of the changes for the Federal Coun- democratic. Only two parties, the Socialist cil. Montenegrin authorities and the major- Peoples Party and the Serbian Peoples Par- ity of the citizens rejected these changes ty, won seats in the so-called Federal Parlia- MONTENEGRO 395 ment. In the federal presidential elections mained unsolved. The abuse by the army in Montenegro, Slobodan Milosˇevic´ won by continued with respect to the military TV an absolute majority and Vojislav Kosˇtunica, YU Info. The army also rejected the use of a candidate of DOS, received only a little the transmitter Obosnik for Sky Sat TV – more than 1 percent of the vote. Herceg Novi and Montena Radio – in Niksˇic´. This was done despite the judgment Post-Election Period of Municipality Court of Herceg Novi that Following 5 October, when the victory ordered the military to allow its use. The of Vojislav Kosˇtunica was recognised in army prevented any access to the Obosnik Serbia, there was no change in the rela- hill, although it is private property. The army tions between Montenegro and Serbia. also refused to compensate the damages Firstly, Kosˇtunica rejected the proposal that caused to the media. The reason of this re- a federal expert Government be formed: it pression was the fact that these media out- was supposed to have the function of find- lets were private and reported freely, in- ing new and acceptable solutions to Mon- cluding on cases involving violations of hu- tenegrin-Serbian relations. In contrast, Kosˇ- man rights by the army. tunica formed a coalition Government with the Milosˇevic´ parties in Montenegro (SNP Freedom of the Media and SNS) and he continued the same pol- In 1998, a new Public Information Law icy towards Montenegro as Milosˇevic´ had. It was passed in Montenegro. This law guar- became obvious that Kosˇtunica wanted to anteed the most important international keep the Greater Serbia project alive. standards of freedom of expression and In order to achieve this goal President the media. Article 1 stipulated that the pro- Kosˇtunica continued the policy of political, visions of the European Convention on economic, military and informative pres- Human Rights and the precedents of the sure on Montenegro and was especially ac- case law of the European Court on Human tive in restoring aggressive Greater Serbian Rights can be directly applied. nationalism in that republic. In this respect, This law was regarded as a consider- he supported SNP, SNS and the Peoples able improvement, and many people ex- Party of Dragan Soc. Kosˇtunica’s regime pected that the authorities would bring oth- took a series of measures to stop any dem- er laws into line with the provisions of ocratic progress in Montenegro, especially Article 1, particularly those on defamation the rebuilding of multi-ethnic and multi-re- and slander. ligious coexistence in Montenegro. In order In 1998, the Montenegrin Helsinki to achieve this, he appeared to manipulate Committee initiated a procedure of harmo- the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox nizing the criminal defamation law with inter- Church.28 national standards before the Montenegrin In this period, the open abuse by the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court army was reduced, but there were no prolonged the procedure and rejected the changes in the army. The seventh battalion proposal at the beginning of June 2000. This and other paramilitary formations still re- ruling, in fact, annulled the progress made by mained in Montenegro, although Kosˇtunica the Montenegrin Parliament in 1998 when it promised that they would be withdrawn. It adopted the Public Information Law. was not possible to initiate any investiga- Furthermore, criticism of the President of tions or bring to justice members of the Parliament, Prime Minister, the President of army for past crimes and other human the Republic and municipal officials was re- rights violations that they had committed. garded as a criminal act, which was a viola- The cases of misuse of military forces tion against the reputation of the republic. in order to violate media freedoms re- Such a “crime” could be prosecuted ex offi- 396 MONTENEGRO cio and it carried a stricter penalty than criti- headquarters of the Second Army (situated cism of ordinary people. This legislation was in Montenegro) that referred to the possi- clearly contrary to European standards. ble use of the army in Montenegro against Montenegrin authorities and citizens. Information According to the Public Information Law of The Republic of Serbia strengthened its Montenegro, publishing documents that information propaganda against Monteneg- contain information on possible danger to ro and its authorities, as well as against an- the security of the citizens, State or their nounced democratic reforms. property was obligatory for a journalist. However, the Military Court in Belgrade ini- Serbian authorities established a spe- tiated judicial proceedings against Ljubisˇa cial TV station called YU INFO. It was es- Mitrovic´ and against Ferid Kumro, an officer tablished with the assistance of the Serbian of the army, on charges of revealing a mili- military forces and operated from the mili- tary secret and spreading false information. tary buildings. The establishment of this tel- Ljubisˇa Mitrovic´ avoided arrest but Ferid evision station clearly violated the law and Kumro was apprehended and detained for was realised with military force. YU INFO several months in Belgrade. Kumro was disseminated propaganda of the Belgrade sentenced to one and half years in prison regime and hate speech against all political in the first instance. The proceedings were opponents in Montenegro (particularly clearly politically motivated and constituted against national minorities), internationally an attack on freedom of media and jour- recognized basic human rights and democ- nalists. President Kosˇtunica’s coming to racy and against Western countries. power did not stop the judicial proceed- In September a new television station ings, although a case against a Serb jour- called TV VNS was established with the as- nalist Filipovic´ was terminated. According to sistance of the military. The station was set the Montenegrin Helsinki Committee, it is up in total ignorance of the law, and it was reasonable to assume that Kosˇtunica acted used to disseminate war propaganda and on an ethnically motivated basis. to incite hatred toward Montenegrin au- thorities and ethnic and religious minorities. Independence of the Judiciary The Serbian press – e.g., Politika, Politi- Military Courts ka Ekspres, Borba and Vecernje Novosti – In the territory of Montenegro and that was freely distributed in Montenegro Serbia, military courts and military prosecu- strengthened its pro-Serbian campaign. tors administrated justice. The Federal Many others critical of the Serbian Constitution prescribed the existence of mi- regime, for example, journalists, politicians litary courts, but stipulated that they can be and members of the Government, were established only according to the Law on Mi- prosecuted for openly expressing their opi- litary Courts. However, in Montenegro they nions. Many defendants in military courts were set up by the executive authorities. were journalists who wrote freely about the These courts had wide competences Kosovo war, war crimes and other issues and could try both military personnel and related to the army. They included, for ex- civilians and their decisions had to be exe- ample, Miodrag Perovic´, founder of Moni- cuted in the same way as those by civilian tor; Nebojsˇa Redzˇic´ of Radio Free Monte- courts. However, they were not independ- negro and Voice of America; and Ljubisˇa ent, and did not guarantee fair trial: their Mitrovic´, editor-in-chief of Vijesti. proceedings were frequently summary and Ljubisˇa Mitrovic´, the editor-in-chief of violated fundamental human rights and Vijesti, faced charges in a military court for freedoms. The judicial personnel were ap- publishing an order (in original form) of the pointed by a decree given by former MONTENEGRO 397

President Milosˇevic´ on the basis of their par- that this was done simply to prevent indi- ty, national and religious loyalty. The judges viduals living there from enjoying their ba- were members of SNP, SNS, SPS and JUL, sic human rights and from making use of they were ethnic Serbs and belonged to their natural and man-made resources and Serbian Orthodox Church. Many Montene- to destroy the Montenegrin economy. grins were tried by those courts, particularly International tourism was one of the most a large number of men who refused to par- important branches of the Montenegrin ticipate in the Kosovo war (about 16,000, economy. but the number of trials is unknown). Many people were sentenced in absentia. Religious Intolerance Montenegrin authorities continued to Misconduct by the Military violate the Montenegrin Constitution and In early 2000, the Serbian regime in- international human rights standards on tensified the misuse of the military police the freedom of religion. forces in many areas. There were a series The Constitution provided for com- of incidents that almost resulted in clashes plete freedom of religion and stipulated between these forces and those loyal to that the authorities were obliged to treat all the Montenegrin authorities. religious organizations equally. However, In the first half of 2000, Serbian au- the Serbian Orthodox Church enjoyed the thorities misused their army to restrict free- most privileged position. First of all, it had dom of movement, a practice that reduced unproblematic access to state funds, state considerably towards the end of the year. media, and politicians. The present Serbian Immediately after the normalization of the Orthodox Church was established in Montenegrin–Albanian relationship and the Montenegro in 1920 by the Serbian King opening of the Bozaj border crossing, the Aleksandar Karadjordjevic in an illegal man- army set up its checkpoint, sometimes pre- ner. At the same time, the Montenegrin venting or making the transit of goods and Orthodox Church was abolished in an people difficult. The army also illegally pre- equally illegal manner. However, in 1993, vented the local border traffic between several individuals re-established the Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegrin Orthodox Church. The author- (the entity of Republic of Srpska). Most ities put pressure on these citizens and re- problems emerged in the towns of Niksic fused to register the church. After some se- and Pljevlja. As a result, families with rela- rious incidents that occurred on 6 January tives or property on both sides of the bor- 2000 on Christmas Eve, the authorities reg- der were in a difficult position. istered this church according to an old law The army has also restricted maritime that was not in accordance with interna- traffic: for example, it controlled boats near tional standards on freedom of religion. the coast where the army had no right to On 6 January, the police illegally pre- control anyone. vented Christmas Eve celebrations for a There was a serious incident with the large number of citizens in Krusevac, Croatian ship “Dea”, which sailed into Mon- Podgorica, in an old castle of King Nikola I. tenegrin waters for reparations. Similarly, a The celebration was organized by the U.S. ship that transported food to the port Montenegrin Orthodox Church and was ap- of Bar ran into difficulties with the military. proved by the police. The case reached ab- In addition, in the summer of 2000, surd dimensions: religious celebrations had the military forces arrested many tourists in not been forbidden even in time of war Montenegro for no apparent reason. The and this one was banned despite the fact Montenegrin Helsinki Committee believed that it had been sanctioned by the police. 398 MONTENEGRO

At the beginning of July, the police pre- Minority Religions vented believers of the Montenegrin Ortho- Also with the new Government in dox Church and its priests from holding re- power in Belgrade, hate speech directed ligious ceremonies in one of the seventeen against minorities and all other churches churches in Njegusi, which the citizens of and religious organisations apart from the Njegusi had returned to Montenegrin Serbian Orthodox Church continued. Au- Orthodox Churches. thorities provided no equal treatment to Even after registration, the authorities other religious communities in Monteneg- continued to put pressure on the ro, including the Catholic Church, the Mus- Montenegrin Orthodox Church and its be- lim Community, the Adventist Church and lievers. In particular, they were refused ac- the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The two latter cess and usage of church buildings in the communities in particular have faced ha- territory of Montenegro: all of them were rassment. still in the possession of the Serbian The Adventist Church faced many Orthodox Church according to the illegal problems in its activities in Niksic. Its church act of 1920. was again a target at the end of 2000 – af- In its decision to start destroying build- ter its first church building was destroyed ings of Montenegrin cultural and religious and burned down in 1997. The new build- heritage, the Serbian Orthodox Church, ing has also been the target of several at- supported by the Belgrade regime, started tacks, and was nearly burned down at the to “renovate” the Vlaska Church in end of the year. The authorities have not November without the permission of the solved either of the arsons. authorities that deal with cultural heritage. The Vlaska Church is situated in Donji Kraj Conscientious Objection in the town of Cetinje; it was built in the 15th century and administrated by Serbian Over 16,000 Montenegrin citizens re- Orthodox Church since 1920. As a cultural jected the draft for the Kosovo war and and historic monument, the church was many of them (the exact number is un- under the protection of the State. In 1993, known) have faced arbitrary judicial pro- when the Montenegrin Orthodox Church ceedings before the military authorities. At was re-established, more than 90 percent the end of 1999, the Republic of of the citizens of Donji Kraj supported that Montenegro adopted an Amnesty Law cov- church and consider themselves Montene- ering deserters, but the Belgrade regime ig- grins. However, the Serbian Orthodox nored it. It was characteristic that the policy Church did not let these people use the did not change after President Kosˇtunica church: only Serbs were allowed entry and came into power. Military forces arrested a use of the church for religious rites. number of citizens – all of them members The leadership of the Serbian Ortho- of national minorities (Albanians and dox Church undertook some work in the Muslim-Bosniaks), a fact that suggested church, wanting to eliminate evidence that that the policy was directed against minori- the church was originally Montenegrin: the ty rights in Montenegro and that it had the interior was decorated following Serbian function of intimidating them. Orthodox traditions. A Serbian Orthodox In January, military police arrested priest named Nikcevic locked himself in the young ethnic Albanian men (Gjelosheviq, church in order to prevent people of Donji Loloviq, Marnikoviq, Markiqi, and Niloviq) Kraj from entering the church. Similar acts who had refused to take part in the Kosovo have taken place in other churches in Mon- war in 1999. In these cases the Serbian for- tenegro where elements of a Montenegrin ces clearly wanted to demonstrate their po- character have been erased. wer against the minorities in Montenegro. MONTENEGRO 399

Markiqi received a three-month prison sen- the time of danger of war. Delagic was tak- tence plus a suspended one-year sentence. en to the camp of the Seventh Battalion Niloviq was sentenced to eighteen months near Bijelo Polje and then transported to in absentia. The cases of the others were prison in Belgrade. Delagic served in the pending as of this writing. All the young barracks in Nis from 28 September 1998 men faced proceedings in a military court. to 8 March 1999, when he left his unit and Hedin Delagic (born in 1975) from returned to Bijelo Polje. He did this after his Bijelo Polje was arrested illegally on 7 unit received an order to be stationed in December by the military in Bijelo Polje in Kosovo, which meant participation in war a brutal and spectacular way in the city cen- crimes and ethnic cleansing with Serbian tre, allegedly for deserting his army unit in military and police forces.

Endnotes 1 Based on the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Human Rights in Serbia 2000; Annual Report on Human Rights Developments in 2000. Due to the complexity of hu- man rights problems in Serbia, this report focuses on a few selected issues. For the full report please access www.helsinki.org.yu. For women’s rights, see also IHF, Women 2000, an Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. 2 The murder of judge Nebojsˇa Simeunovic´, who investigated many unsolved murders cases, notably the one of Pavle Bulatovic´, Defence Secretary, indicated that at play were diverse methods of showdown. Assassinations of Zˇeljko Razˇnjatovic´ or Arkan (President of the Serbian Unity Party), Pavle Bulatovic´ (Federal Defence Secretary), Zˇika Petrovic´ (Director of the Yugoslav Airlines), and Bosˇko Perosˇevic´ (President of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina) are yet to be solved at this writing. 3 IHF and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, “Recommended Steps Toward Human Rights in Serbia: Open Letter to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kosˇtunica,” 10 October 2000. 4 The SPS won 37 seats, the Serbian Radical Party 23 and the Serbian Unity Party 14. The personal popularity of President Vojislav Kosˇtunica ensured 45 seats for his DPT. The DP also won 45 seats, although it was a marginal party in terms of its size. The Civic Alliance of Serbia, Social Democracy and New Democracy each won nine seats, and New Serbia and the Christian Democrats Party of Serbia each eights seats. The Democratic Center, the Social Democratic Union, the Vojvodina Coalition and Vojvodina Reformists won four seats each. The Democratic Party of Sandzˇak of Rasim Ljajic´ won two seats, while the SRM, Coalition Sˇumadija and Association of Independent and Free Trade Union won one seat each. 5 Under the 1998 Public Information Law, any legal charges laid by any physical or legal person against any mass media could be used as a pretext for its closure. Long stand- ing printed or electronic media could be closed down within 24 hours. The Public Information Law not only restricted the freedom of expression, but its drastic penalties in fact abolished it. Arbitrary interpretations of generalized provisions and high fines en- abled the regime to fully control all media activity. Under the law, “attempts to overthrow the constitutional order” could be interpreted as, for example, support for the opposi- 400 MONTENEGRO

tion’s activities aimed at bringing about a change in political power. An owner or editor of a media institution could be sentenced to pay an exorbitant fine ranging from 400,000 to 800,000 dinars (U.S.$ 33,000-66,000). Those journalists or editors who re- leased or wrote the “controversial” information faced fines of between 100,000 to 400,000 dinars (U.S.$8,300-33,300). 6 Analytical Service of the Media Centre, 20 September 2000. 7 See also Torture, Ill-Treatment, Misconduct by Law Enforcement Officials and Detainees’ Rights. 8 See Anti-Terrorism Campaign. 9 For the latter two trials, see the full report of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. 10 The Kosovo Liberation Army. 11 Article 23 of the FRY Constitution and Article 15 of the RS Constitution. 12 Article 196(1-3) of the Criminal Proceeding Code. 13 The Federal Constitutional Court suspended that provision (Decision IU No. 172/94), as made public in the “Official Gazette of the FRY” on 7 April 2000. However widespread tapping continued until Milosˇevic´’s ouster on 5 October 2000. According to some infor- mation, some “untransformed” State Security Services continued their tapping activities even after 5 October. 14 Institute of Economic Sciences, MAP, No. 11, 2000. 15 Federal Statistical Bureau Report No. 258, November 2000. 16 Unless otherwise noted, based on information from the Kosova Helsinki Committee to the IHF. See also IHF statements and press releases at www.ihf-hr.org/appeals.htm 17 See IHF, Women 2000, an Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. 18 According to the Council for Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in Prishtina. 19 IHF and the Kosovo and Norwegian Helsinki Committees, “A Major Step Towards Democratic Transition in Kosova: Elected Officials Must Promote Tolerance,” press re- lease, 29 October 2000. See also Kosova Municipal Elections Report by the Kosova Helsinki Committee, October 2000. 20 See Serbia: Anti-Terrorism Campaign. 21 By January 2000, serious acts of violence occurred with deaths among both divided communities. KFOR forces seemed barely unable to limit the escalating violence. 22 The CDHRF cited slightly different figures with 247 cases of violent deaths or killings in Kosovo out of which 15 due to land mines. Of the victims 161 were Albanians, 45 Serbs 12 Roma, seven Bosniaks, and 21 unidentified persons. 23 See, for example, IHF and Helsinki Committees in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia, “Continuing Ethnic Crimes in Kosovo,” press release, 26 July 2000. 24 Based on Tatjana Peric´, ”Kosovo Update,” Roma Rights, 1/2000 and Emily Shaw, “Un- protected: Attacks Continue against Kosovo’s Romani Minorities,” Roma Rights, 3/2000. Case examples provided by the Kosovo Helsinki Committee. 25 The number varied significantly according to the source. For example, the UNCHR later estimated the figure at approximately 40-50,000 people. Romani organizations in Serbia contested this figure: the Union of Roma Students from Belgrade claimed on 1 March that as of that date there were 80,000 Kosovo Roma in Yugoslavia. 26 See Serbia: Anti-Terrorism Campaign. 27 Based on the Annual Report 2000 and other information from the Montenegrin Helsinki Committee for Human Rights. 28 See Religious Intolerance. 401

APPENDICES 402 APPENDIX A

Aaron Rhodes, Ludmilla Alexeyeva and Yuri Schmidt. © CTK

Yuri Schmidt Received “Recognition Award” from the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Russian lawyer Yuri Schmidt received the first “Recognition Award” of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, presented by IHF president Ludmilla Alexeyeva and Director Aaron Rhodes at the opening ceremony of the IHF General Assembly 2000 in Prague on 2 November 2000.

The “Recognition Award” was established by the International Helsinki Federation to al- low the Federation’s network of national organizations throughout the OSCE region to ho- nour an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the cause of human rights protection within the countries of the OSCE.

Yuri Schmidt The St. Petersburg-based lawyer Yuri Schmidt (born 1937) grew up in Leningrad (St Petersburg) as the son of a political prisoner who spent 19 years in a Soviet Gulag. In his 40 years as a practising lawyer, Yuri Schmidt has been associated with many prominent cases involving the defence of human rights. Most recently, he gained interna- tional attention for the successful legal defence of Alexander Nikitin, a former naval sub- marine officer charged with “treason”, in a whistleblowing case involving the safety of Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet. Schmidt conducted Nikitin’s defence from 1996 until the resolution of the case in his favour in October 2000. The lengthy Nikitin case evolved into a campaign for legal reform which achieved notable successes. APPENDIX A 403

Among those whom Yuri Schmidt has also defended are Arkadij Manucharov, then leader of Nagorno-Karabakh (1988-89), Torez Kulumbekov, leader of South Ossetia (1991) and prominent journalist and human rights defender Abdumanov Pulatov in Uzbekistan (1992-3). He has also successfully defended Afghan refugees in Russia, and was chosen to represent the family of murdered State Duma deputy Galina Starovojtova, during the investigation into her death. Yuri Schmidt has shown consistent commitment to human rights advocacy, setting up the Russian Committee of Advocates on Human Rights (of which he is still chairman) in 1991, and working closely with the Moscow Helsinki Group, as well as publishing articles on human rights and the law, campaigning for human rights to be included in school cur- ricula and gaining international media attention for human rights issues throughout the for- mer Soviet Union.

The Award The text of the award reads:

For courage, integrity and professionalism in the defence of human rights throughout a long career; For leadership in the Soviet and Russian legal community that has moved the society to- ward human rights protections, justice and the rule of law; For the development of legal strategies on behalf of human rights that have given the human rights movement inspiring victories; and For his generous and profound character and penetrating intellect

YURI SCHMIDT

is given the first International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights Recognition Award.

General Assembly Meeting, Prague, November 2-5, 2000

Ludmilla Alexeyeva Aaron Rhodes President Executive Director 404 APPENDIX B

IHF Main Activities January - December 2000

1. Fact-Finding Missions: 17-19 January Kosovo, in cooperation with the Kosovo Helsinki Committee 9-12 March Ukraine, in cooperation with Ukrainian Committee Helsinki 90; NGO Roundtable discussion, press conference 27-30 April Moldova, in cooperation with the Moldovan Helsinki Committee 1-5 May Montenegro, in cooperation with the German and Montenegrin Helsinki Committees 26-31 May Azerbaijan, in cooperation with the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan; press conference 8-11 June Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, in cooperation with Civil Society Development Union 6-8 July St. Petersburg, Russia; press conference 10-12 July Kosovo, in cooperation with the Kosovo and Serbian Helsinki Committees 27-29 August Belarus, in cooperation with the Belarus Helsinki Committee 27-31 August Montenegro, in cooperation with Helsinki Committees from Montenegro, Germany, Serbia, The Netherlands, Norway, Republika Srpska; press conference 1-6 September Kosovo, in cooperation with the Serbian and Kosovo Helsinki Committees 1-4 October Bulgaria, in cooperation with the Bulgarian and Macedonian Helsinki Committees 11-13 October Belarus, in cooperation with the Belarus Helsinki Committee 24-29 October Kosovo, in cooperation with the Kosovo, Serbian and Norwegian Helsinki Committees 16-17 Nov. Serbia, in cooperation with the Serbian Helsinki Committee 20-24 Dec. Kosovo and Serbia

2. International Seminars and Conferences: 15-16 January Confidence Building Seminar in Skopje, Macedonia, co-organized with the Serbian Helsinki Committee 14-15 April “Obstacles to the Advancement of Women’s Rights in the Balkans”, Sarajevo (co-organized with the Bosnian Helsinki Committee) 21-23 April “Identity, Nationalism and Globalization”, organized by the Serbian HC in Ohrid, Macedonia 26-27 May “Minority Rights and Refugee Issues,” Tirana, Albania 3-4 June “Independence and Impartiality of the Judiciary – Judicial Reform in Monte negro,” Herceg-Novi, in cooperation with the Montenegrin Helsinki Committee 12 June “Civil Society’s Role in the Promotion of European Human Rights Standards and Mechanisms: Special Focus on Nagorno-Karabakh” Yerevan, Armenia 16-17 June Implementation Seminar “Current Human Rights Concerns in the Republic of Moldova,” in cooperation with the Moldovan Helsinki Committee, Chisinau APPENDIX B 405

28-29 July Commemoration of 25th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, in cooperation with the Moscow Helsinki Group, Moscow 15-19 Sept. Regional Human Rights Training Camp, Groznjan, Croatia, co-organized with the Croatian Helsinki Committee 22-23 Sept. “Human Rights Issues in Ukraine on the Eve of the 21st Century,” in co operation with Ukrainian Committee Helsinki 90, Kiev 27-29 October Seminar on Prison Monitoring, Budapest 2-5 November IHF General Assembly, Prague 17 November Roundtable Discussion to Mark 25th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, in cooperation with the Serbian Helsinki Committee, Belgrade 22-23 Nov. “Human Rights in Southeastern Europe and the Process of European Integration”, in cooperation with the Croatian Helsinki Committee, Zagreb 8-9 December Implementation Seminar in Minsk, Belarus

3. Advocacy in the OSCE and United Nations: a) Participation in International Fora 20-23 March Advocacy in UN Human Rights Commission, Geneva, along with and 5-7 April Moscow Helsinki Group 27 March OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Human Rights and Inhuman Treatment or Punishment, Vienna 19-20 May Colloquy in Strasbourg: “Consolidation and Development of the Asylum- Related Jurisprudence of the European Court on Human Rights” 19 June OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Trafficking in Human Beings, Vienna 25 September OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Migration and Internal Displacement, Vienna 17-27 October OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw 13 December EU European Human Rights Forum, Paris 18-19 Dec. Meeting of Human Rights NGOs with the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, Paris b) Briefings 25 January “Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Violations in Chechnya,” Moscow, in cooperation with the Moscow Helsinki Group 15 March Public Discussion on Human Rights in Austria at IHF Office, Vienna 10 April Briefing on Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan for OSCE CiO,Vienna 20 June NGO Briefing at the OSCE on Trafficking in Human Beings, Vienna 27-28 June Briefing on EU candidate countries for European Commission, Brussels 19 October Briefing on the Human Rights Situation in Central Asia, OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw 12 December Presentation of the Report on “Women 2000: An Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States” at the OSCE, Vienna 406 APPENDIX B c) Other Briefings, Press Conferences, Roundtable Meetings, Strategy and Coordination Meetings, etc 27-29 January Women’s Project planning meeting, Vienna 19 July OSCE 25th Anniversary Celebration, IHF-Open Society Archive Exhibit Opening 25 July Press Conference with the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, Vienna 5-6 August Women’s Project planning meeting, Vienna 10 September Central European Helsinki Committees-IHF Meeting, Vienna 15 September IHF-Open Society Archive Exhibit Opening in New York 18 September IHF-Amnesty International Press Conference: The Death Penalty in the U.S.: Perspectives from the European Human Rights Community, New York 6 October Roundtable Discussion “Human Rights, Religion, and ‘Terrorism’ in Central Asia”, Vienna 24 October Press Conference on the Pelinka Case Verdict, Vienna

4. Publications: a) Main Reports 22 March OSCE Report “Torture, Inhuman Treatment or Punishment in the OSCE Region” (72 pp.) 1 June Annual Report 2000 “Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America” (488 pp.); presentation in OSCE 19 June “A Form of Slavery: Trafficking in Women in OSCE Member States” (80 pp.) 6 October Report to the OSCE Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension Issues (124 pp.) 12 December Report on “Women 2000: An Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States” (552 pp.) b) Periodic Reports 7 February 5th IHF Periodic Report (covering October-November 1999) 30 April 6th IHF Periodic Report (covering December 1999 – March 2000) 11 June 7th IHF Periodic Report (covering April-June 2000)

5. List of Statements and Appeals: 6 January Russia Must Answer Council of Europe’s Questions About Chechnya 22 January Dictatorship in Turkmenistan: a Challenge to the Integrity of the OSCE 25 January Russia Is Violating International Humanitarian Law in Chechnya; Should Allow OSCE to Assist in Finding a Political Solution, Observe Council of Europe Principles 15 February Open Letter to Foreign Minister B. Ferrero-Waldner, CiO of the OSCE, re. political freedom in Kyrgyzstan 1 March Declaring a Macedonian-based Party Unconstitutional, Bulgarian Constitutional Court Violates Basic Political Rights APPENDIX B 407

15 March Ukraine Referendum Threatens Rule of Law; Process Resembles that in Belarus 29 March Nikitin Supreme Court Hearing Postponed 30 March Open Letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze re. political prisoners in Georgia 31 March Kyrgyzstan: “Bolshevik-style” Arrests and Threats Against Journalists, Human Rights Defenders and Opposition Figures Intervention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment to the 56th Session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva 7 April Open Letter of Ludmilla Alexeyeva to the 56th Session of the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations 16 April Women’s Rights Issues Must be Addressed in South-East Europe Statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights 56th Session, Item 11, Human Rights Defenders 15 May Open Letter to Foreign Minister JJ. Van Aartsen, Netherlands, re. an inter- state complaint against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights 19 May Serbia: Russian and the Western Community Must Become Engaged to End Media and Other Repression 23 May Austrian Scholar Convicted for Telling Truth About Haider 30 May Azerbaijan: Restrictive Human Rights Atmosphere Makes Civil Society Engagement in Nagorno-Karabakh Solution Difficult 1 June After Twenty-Five Years of the Helsinki Process, Grave Human Rights Violations Persist 15 June Open Letter to Alain Vivien, Président de la Mission Interministérielle de lutte contre les sectes, France 5 July Open Letter to FSB Moscow about the case of Igor Sutyagin (with Moscow HG) 11 July Publication of 26 June letter to the President of Nagorno-Karabahk 13 July Belarus Parliamentary Election Will Not Be Fair Without Press Freedoms; Government Is “Suffocating “ Independent Media 21 July Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights Is Under Siege by Militiamen 26 July Letter to Russian Supreme Court on Nikitin (with Norwegian Helsinki Committee) 26 July Joint Statement on “Continuing Ethnic Crimes in Kosovo” 9 August Kulov Verdict Is the Only Bright Spot in Otherwise Bleak Kyrgyz Human Rights Situation 22 August Open Letter to UN on Uzbek Citizens Jailed for Possessing Documentation Forms from the UN Human Rights Committee 22 August Letter to the Kyrgyz President on Delo No. newspaper 31 August Montenegro Three Weeks Before So-Called Federal Elections 12 September Statement on Nikitin Case (with Norwegian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights) 408 APPENDIX B

13 September Nikitin Acquittal Confirmed by Presidium of Russian Supreme Court (with Norwegian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights) 13 September Media Advisory: The Death Penalty in the U.S.: Perspectives from the European Human Rights Community (with Amnesty International USA) 17 September IHF Executive Committee on So-called Elections in Belarus 18 September The Death Penalty: America’s Moral and Political Failure 23 September Report Focuses on Human Rights Shortcomings in Ukraine (together with Ukrainian Committee Helsinki ’90) 25 September Open Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Chiefs of Parlia- mentarian Groups in Romania on Discrimination Against Homosexuals 25 September IHF Calls for Regional Approach to Refugee and IDP Support in the Balkans 27 September IHF and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia Propose Round Table for a Peaceful Transition 5 October UN Special Rapporteur’s Proposal to Exempt Milosevic from War Crimes Prosecution “Highly Inappropriate … Would Seriously Undermine ICTY” (together with Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia) 6 October Human Rights and Democracy are Deteriorating, Racism and Xenophobia Are on the Rise in Many Member States of the OSCE 10 October Macedonians of Bulgaria in Uncertainty 10 October Open Letter to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica: Recommended Steps Toward Human Rights in Serbia 13 October The Process in Belarus Is Not an Honest Attempt to Hold Elections 25 October Academic’s Acquittal in Haider Defamation Case a Positive Sign: Concerns Over Freedom of Speech in Austria Remain 26 October Severe Violations of OSCE Standards in Kyrgyz Presidential Election 29 October A Major Step Towards Democratic Transition in Kosova 5 November Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights Elected Full Member of the International Helsinki Federation 7 November Open Letter to Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, OSCE Chairperson-In-Office and Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs 10 November Open Letter to President of Russian Federation Mr. Vladimir Putin and Prosecutor General Mr. Vladimir Ustinov on the Detention of Athena Teodoridi 22 November Open Letter to Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the OSCE Ministerial Council, Vienna, 27-28 November 2000, on Problems of Non-Implementation of Helsinki Commitments in the OSCE Territory 24 November NGO Conference Calls upon the EU-Balkan Summit to Show Clear Commitment to Human Rights in the Process of European Integration 6 December Open Letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Heydar Aliev on the Case of Rahim Gaziyev 19 December Open Letter to Austrian Judges Signals Deep Concern at Threat to Judicial Independence 19 December Belarus Helsinki Committee Demands Criminal Prosecutions for Electoral Code Violations APPENDIX C 409

Excerpts from International and European Human Rights Provisions

Right to Life Article 6 of the ICCPR: “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”

Article 2 (1) of the ECHR: “Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life in- tentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.”

Article 1 Protocol No. 6 Concerning the Abolition of the Death Penalty of the ECHR: “The death penalty shall be abolished. No one shall be condemned to such penalty or ex- ecuted.”

Freedom of Thought, Conscience, Religion or Belief Article 18(1) of the ICCPR: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his re- ligion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.”

Article 9 (1) of the ECHR: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thoughts, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, prac- tice and observance.”

Par. 27 of Chapter VIII of the “CSCE Budapest Document 1994 Towards a Genuine Partnership in a New Era” (hereinafter “Budapest Document”): “(The participating States) Reaffirming their commitment to ensure freedom of conscience and religion and to foster a climate of mutual tolerance and respect between believers of different communities as well as between believers and non-believers, they expressed their concern about the exploitation of religion for aggressive nationalist ends.”

See also the following CSCE/OSCE Documents: • Principles under “Questions relating to Security in Europe” in the Concluding Document of Madrid (hereinafter “Madrid Document); • Principles 16.1 to 16.11 and 17 of the “Questions related to Security in Europe” in the Concluding Document of Vienna (hereinafter “Vienna Document”); • Par. 9.4, 18.1 to 18.6, 32.3 and 33 of the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (hereinafter “Copenhagen Document”); • Undertakings under “Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law” in the Charter of Paris for a New Europe” (hereinafter “Charter of Paris”). 410 APPENDIX C

Freedom of Expression and Free Media Article 19 of the ICCPR: “1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”

Article 10 (1) of the ECHR: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers…”

Par. 9.1 of the Copenhagen Document: “no limitations will be imposed on access to, and use of, means of reproducing documents of any kind.”

The Charter of Paris: “... free flow of information and ideas are crucial for the maintenance and develop-ment of free societies and flourishing cultures.”

Par. 36 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document: “The participating States reaffirm that freedom of expression is a human right and a basic component of a democratic society. In this respect, independent and pluralistic media are essential to a free and open society and accountable systems of government. They take as their guiding principle that they will safeguard this right.”

Par. 37 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document: “They condemn all attacks on and harassment of journalists and will endeavour to hold those directly responsible for such attacks and harassment accountable.”

See also: • Article 28.9 of the Document of the Moscow Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (hereinafter “Moscow Document”).

Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly Article 22(1) of the ICCPR: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.”

Article 21 of the ICCPR: “The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, pub- lic order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.” APPENDIX C 411

Article 11 (1) of the ECHR: “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his in- terests.”

See also: • Par. 9.2, 9.3 and 10.3 of the Copenhagen Document; • Undertakings under “Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law” in the Charter of Paris.

Right to Vote and to be Elected & Political Activities Article 25 of the ICCPR: “Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity ... without unreasonable restrictions: a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen represen- tatives; b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors; c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country.”

See also: • Par. 6 and 7 of the Copenhagen Document.

Right to Liberty, Privacy and Security of Person and Freedom from Harassment Article 9(1) of the ICCPR: “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to ar- bitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.”

Article 17 of the ICCPR: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.” (1); “Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” (2)

Article 8 (1) of the ECHR: “Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his corres- pondence.”

Freedom from Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment General: Article 7 of the ICCPR: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or pun- ishment...” 412 APPENDIX C

Article 2 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: “Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction”. (1); “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, in- ternal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.” (2); “An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.” (3);

Article 4 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: “Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offenses under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which con- stitutes complicity or participation in torture.” (1); “Each State Party shall make these offenses punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature.” (2)

Article 3 of the ECHR: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Par. 20 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document: “The participating States strongly condemn all forms of torture as one of the most flagrant violations of human rights and human dignity. They commit themselves to strive for its elimination... They also recognize the importance of national legislation aimed at eradicat- ing torture. They commit themselves to inquire into all alleged cases of torture and to pros- ecute offenders...” (VIII.20)

Redress and Compensation: Article 13 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: “Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to tor- ture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by, its competent authorities. Steps shall be taken to en- sure that the complaint and witness are protected against ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any evidence given.”

Article 14(1) of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment guarantees that the victim of torture “obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation.”

Statements Extracted under Torture: Article 15 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: “...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...”. APPENDIX C 413

See also: • Par. 23.1 to 23.6 of the “Questions Relating to Security in Europe” in the Vienna Document; • Par. 16.1 to 16.7 of the Copenhagen Document; • Undertakings under “Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law” in the Charter of Paris.

Conduct of Law Enforcement Officials General: The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials: “Every law enforcement agency...should be held to the duty of disciplining itself ... and ... the actions of law enforcement officials should be responsive to public scrutiny...” (Preamble) “Law enforcement officials shall at all times fulfill the duty imposed upon them by law, by serving the community and by protecting all persons against illegal acts, consistent with the high degree of responsibility required by their profession.” (Article 1) “In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect hu- man dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.” (Article 2)

Use of Force: Special Provision of the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearm by Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the Eight UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (August 1990): “Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in self-defence or defence of others against imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpe- tration of a particularly serious crime involving threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objects. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.”

Rights of Defendants and Due Process Article 9(3) of the ICCPR: “Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release...”

Article 14(1) of the ICCPR: “All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals ... everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law...”

Article 14(2) of the ICCPR: “Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.” 414 APPENDIX C

Article 14(3) of the ICCPR: “... everyone shall be entitled to... (a) be informed promptly and in detail in a language which he understands of the nature and cause of the charge against him; (b) To … have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence and to com- municate with counsel of his own choosing; (c) To be tried without undue delay; (d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and with- out payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;”

Article 15 (1) of he ICCPR: “No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed...”

Article 5 (a) of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: “(State Parties undertake)...to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights: (a) The right to equal treatment before tribunals and all other organs administrating justice”.

Article 6 (1) of the ECHR: “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independ- ent and impartial tribunal established by law. …”

See also: • Par. 13.9 of the “Questions relating to Security in Europe” in the Vienna Document; • Par. 1 to 5.21 of the Copenhagen Document; • Par. 19.1 to 19.2 vii, and 20.1 to 20.4 of the Moscow Document; • Undertakings under “Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law” in the Charter of Paris; • Par. 18 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document.

Minority Rights and Freedom from Discrimination General: The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of Minorities.

Article 26 of the ICCPR: “All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” APPENDIX C 415

Article 5 of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: “State Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone without distinction as to race, colour, or national or eth- nic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights: (a) The right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administrating jus- tice; (b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by Government officials or by any individual, group, or institution; (c) Political rights, in particular the rights to participate in elections – to vote and to stand for election – on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, to take part in the Government as well as in the conduct of public affairs at any level and to have equal access to public service;”

Article 14 of the ECHR: “The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.”

Par. 40.2 of the Copenhagen Document: “The participating States ... commit themselves to take appropriate and proportionate meas- ures to protect persons or groups who may be subjected to threats or acts of discrimina- tion, hostility or violence as a result of their racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious iden- tity, and to protect their property...”

Par. 29 to 30 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document: the participating States “decided that appropriate measures should be taken to better prevent racist attacks and other manifestations of violent intolerance against migrant workers and their families.” “They reconfirm their condemnation of all acts of discrimination on the ground of race, colour and ethnic origin, intolerance and xenophobia against migrant workers...”

Employment: Article 25 of the ICCPR: “Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity ... without unreasonable restrictions: ... c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country.”

Language, Culture, Religion, Science: Article 27 of the ICCPR states that persons belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic mi- norities “shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to en- joy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own lan- guage.”

Par. 32.1 of the Copenhagen Document states that persons belonging to national minori- ties have the right “to use freely their mother tongue in private as well as in public.” 416 APPENDIX C

Par. 34 of the Vienna Document: “The participating States will endeavour to ensure that persons belonging to national mi- norities, notwithstanding the need to learn the official language or languages of the states concerned, have adequate opportunities for instruction of their mother tongue or in their mother tongue, as well as, wherever possible and necessary, for its use before public au- thorities, in conformity with applicable national legislation.”

Article 15 (1) of the ICESCR recognizes the right of everyone: a) To take part in cultural life; b) To enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its appli- cations; c) To benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.”

Remedy: Article 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: “State Parties shall assure to everyone within their jurisdiction effective protection and remedies, through the competent national tribunals and other State institutions, against any acts of racial discrimination which violate his human rights and fundamental freedoms con- trary to this Convention, as well as the right to seek from such tribunals just and adequate reparation or satisfaction for damage suffered as a result of discrimination.”

See also: • Principle VII of the Helsinki Final Act: • Principles under the “Questions relating to Security in Europe” in the Madrid Document; • Principle 19 under “Questions relating to Security in Europe”, and par. 31 under “Co-ope- ration in Humanitarian and Other Fields” in the Vienna Document; • Chapter IV of the Copenhagen Document; • Principles under “Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law” in the Charter of Paris; • Report of the CSCE Meeting of Experts on National Minorities; • Par. 37 of the Moscow Document; • Par. 23 to 27 of Chapter VI of the Helsinki Document; • Chapter III of the Prague Meeting of the CSCE Council; • Par. 21–22 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document.

Incitement to Discrimination or War In par. 25 of Chapter VIII the Budapest Document the participating States “condemn manifestations of intolerance, and especially of aggressive nationalism, racism, chauvinism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, and will continue to promote effective meas- ures aimed at their eradication...”

Article 20 of the ICCPR: “Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.” (1) “Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimi- nation, hostility or violence be prohibited by law.” (2) APPENDIX C 417

Right to Monitor Human Rights The UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

In par. 10.1–10.4 of the Copenhagen Document the participating States reaffirmed “their commitment to ensure effectively the rights of the individuals to know and act upon human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to contribute actively, individually or in as- sociation with others, to their promotion and protection...” (10.1)

See also • Par. 13.5 of the Vienna Document; • Par. 28.9 of the Moscow Document.

Freedom of Movement Article 12 (1) of the ICCPR guarantees everyone the right to “liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence”.

Its Article 12 (2)states: “Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.”

Its Article 12 (4) stipulates: “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.”

Protocol No. 4 Securing Certain Rights and Freedoms Other Than Those Included in the Convention and in the First Protocol Thereto of the ECHR:

Article 2 (1,2): “Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence.” “Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.”

Article 3: “No one shall be expelled, by means either of an individual or of a collective measure, from the territory of the State of which he is a national.” “No one shall be deprived of the right to enter the territory of the State of which he is a national.”

See also: •“Human Contacts” in the Helsinki Final Act; •“Human Contacts” of the Madrid Document; •“Human Contacts” in the Vienna Document, Par. 1–32; • Par. 14 of the Helsinki Document; • Par. 39–41 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document. 418 APPENDIX C

Refugees, Involuntary Displacement Article 33 of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees: “No Contracting State shall expel or return (“refouler”) a refugee in any manner whatsoev- er to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”

Migrant Workers In the Budapest Document the participating States “... underline the right of migrant workers to express freely their ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic characteristics...” (VIII.28) “They decided that appropriate measures should be taken to better prevent racist attacks and other manifestations of violent intolerance against migrant workers and their families.” (VIII.29) “They reconfirm their condemnation of all acts of discrimination on the ground of race, colour and ethnic origin, intolerance and xenophobia against migrant workers...” (VIII.30)

Citizenship No international human rights instrument recognizes the right to a nationality as a basic human right enjoyed by everyone. However, a refusal to grant citizenship may amount to violations of the following internationally guaranteed human rights:

• The right to the protection of the family (Art. 23 of the ICCPR and Art. 8 of the ECHR); • OSCE standards relating to family reunification; • The right of a child to acquire a nationality (Art. 24 of the ICCPR and Art. 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child); • Freedom from discrimination on the ground of nationality or ethnicity (Art. 1 and 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination); • Prohibition of arbitrary or collective expulsion of aliens (Art. 13 of the ICCPR and Art. 4 of the Fourth Protocol of the ECHR); • The right to vote and to be elected (Art. 25 of the ICCPR).

See also: • Par. 55–57 of Chapter VI of Helsinki Decisions 1992.

International Humanitarian Law See also right to life above.

Article 3(1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War: “Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, deten- tion, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any ad- verse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any oth- er similar criteria.” APPENDIX C 419

Article 49 prohibits “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from oc- cupied territory to the territory of the occupying power or to that of any other country, oc- cupied or not, regardless of motives.” There are only two exceptions to this prohibition: for the security of civilians and “impera- tive military reasons” which require “the most meticulous assessment of the circumstance”.

Article 13 of the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions provides for protection of civilians during internal conflicts.

Article 11 (1) of the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions guarantees security to medical units and transports.

Article 4 (2g) of the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions prohibits pillage.

Article 4 (2a and e) of the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions and Article 7 of the ICCPR prohibit cruel treatment such a torture, mutilation or any other form of cor- poral punishment as well as humiliating and degrading treatment.

See also: • Articles 51 and 52 of Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I); • Par. 47 to 52 of Chapter VI of the Helsinki Documents; • Decisions in Chapter 2 of the Stockholm Council Meeting; • Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, and par. 33 to 35 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document; • Principles 20 to 22 under “Questions relating to Security in Europe” in the Vienna Document; • Par. 39 to 45 of Chapter VI of the Helsinki Document; • Decisions in Chapter 2 of the Stockholm Council Meeting; • Par. 32 of Chapter VIII of the Budapest Document. 420 APPENDIX D

Address List

IHF Secretariat tel: +43-1-408 88 22, Aaron Rhodes (Executive Director) fax: +43-1-408 88 22-50 Wickenburggasse 14/7 e-mail: [email protected] A-1080 Vienna, AUSTRIA Internet: http://www.ihf-hr.org

Helsinki Committees and Cooperating Organizations Albania: Albanian Helsinki Committee tel/fax: +355-42-33 671 or 40 891 Vasilika Hysi (Executive Director) e-mail: [email protected] Rr. Sami Frasheri Pall. 20/1 Hyrja B, Ap. 21 Tirana, ALBANIA

Austria: Austrian Helsinki Committee tel: +43-1-408 88 22 Josef Haslinger (Chair) fax: +43-1-408 88 22-50 Wickenburggasse 14/7 e-mail: [email protected] A-1080 Vienna, AUSTRIA

Belarus: Belarus Helsinki Committee tel: +375-17-222 48 00, 222 48 01 (Central Office) tel: (Minsk branch): +375-17-256 23 55 Tatyana Protsko (President) fax: +375-17-22 48 01 K. Libknehta 68-1201 e-mail: [email protected]; 220036 Minsk, BELARUS Minsk branch: [email protected] Internet: http://bhc.unibel.by

Belgium: Human Rights Without Frontiers tel: +32-2-34 56 145 Willy Fautré (Chair) fax: +32-2-343 74 91 11 Avenue Winston Churchill e-mail: [email protected] B-1180 Brussels, BELGIUM Internet: http://www.hrwf.net

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Helsinki Committee f. Human Rights tel: +387-33-230 809, 230 811 in Bosnia and Herzegovina fax: +387-33-230 809 Srdjan Dizdarevic (President) e-mail: [email protected] Ante Fijamenga street, 14b Internet: http://www.bh-hchr.org Sarajevo, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

Helsinki Committee f. Human Rights tel/fax: +381-76-401 821 or 472 851 in Republika Srpska e-mail: [email protected] Branko Todorovic (Chair) P.O. Box 126 76 300 Bijeljina, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA APPENDIX D 421

Bulgaria: Bulgarian Helsinki Committee tel/fax: +359-2-943 48 76 Krassimir Kanev (Chair) or tel. - 46 55 25, - 46 75 01 7 Varbitsa St., e-mail: [email protected] BG-1504 Sofia, BULGARIA Internet: http://www.bghelsinki.org

Canada: Canadian Helsinki Watch Group tel: +514-398 6622, 398 5372 (Lyn) Irwin Cotler fax: +514-398 4659 McGill University, Faculty of Law e-mail: [email protected] 3644 Peel Street e-mail: lyn@ falaw.lan.mcgill.ca Montreal, Quebec H3A 1W9, CANADA

David Matas tel: +1-204-944 1831 602-225 Vaughan Street fax: +1-204-942 1494 Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 1T7, CANADA e-mail: [email protected]

Croatia: Croatian Helsinki Committee tel: +385-1-4812 322 Tin Gazivoda (Executive Dir.) fax: +385-1-4812 324 Ilica 15 e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] 10000 Zagreb, CROATIA (Media department) Internet: http://www.open.hr/com/hho

Czech Republic: Czech Helsinki Committee tel. +420-2-2437-2281, -2437-2334 Jana Chrzova (Executive Director) fax: +420-2-2437 2335 Jeleni 5/199, PO Box 4 e-mail: [email protected] CZ-119 01 Praha 1, CZECH REPUBLIC e-mail: [email protected]

Denmark: Danish Helsinki Committee tel: +45-33-91 81 18, 91 81 10 Ole Espersen (Chair) fax: +45-33-33 80 22 Gothersgade 89 e-mail: [email protected] DK-1123 Copenhagen K., DENMARK

Finland: Finnish Helsinki Committee tel: +358-9-4155 2555 Helena Ranta (Chair) fax: +358-9-4155 2520 P.O. Box 126 e-mail: [email protected] Kaisaniemenkatu 3 A 2 Internet: http://www.ihmisoikeusliitto.fi FIN-00101 Helsinki, FINLAND

France: French Helsinki Committee tel: +33-1-40 64 00 25 Dominique Tricaud (Secretary General) fax: +33-1-42 79 84 14 4, Place Denfert-Rochereau F-75014 Paris, FRANCE 422 APPENDIX D

Georgia: Caucasian Centre for Human Rights tel/fax: +995-32-29 34 88 Ramaz Rekhviashvili (Chairman) e-mail: [email protected] P.O. Box 228, 380008 Tbilisi, GEORGIA

Germany: German Helsinki Committee for tel. +49- 30- 227 73 644 or 75 313 Human Rights, Security and fax +49-30-227 76 319 Cooperation in Europe e-mail: [email protected] Brigitte Schulte, MdB (Chair) c/o Bundestag, Platz der Republik 1 D-11011 Berlin, GERMANY

Greece: Greek Helsinki Monitor tel: +30-1-347 2259 Panayote Dimitras (Spokesperson) fax: +30-1-601 87 60 P.O. Box 60820 e-mail: [email protected] GR-15304 Glyka Nera, GREECE Internet: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr

Hungary: Hungarian Helsinki Committee tel/fax: +36-1-321 4141 Ferenc Köszeg (Chair) e-mail: [email protected] Kertesz utca 42-44 II/9 H-1073 Budapest, HUNGARY

European Roma Rights Center tel: +36-1-413 2200 Dimitrina Petrova (Executive Director) fax: +36-1-413 2201 P.O. Box 906/93 e-mail: [email protected] H-1386 Budapest 62, HUNGARY Internet. http://www.errc.org

Italy: Italian Helsinki Committee tel/fax: +39-06-360 015 49 Antonio Stango (Chair) mobile +39-336-739 337 Via di Ripetta 66 e-mail: [email protected] I-00186 Rome, ITALY

Kazakhstan: Almaty Helsinki Committee tel/fax: +7-3272-473 896 Ninel Fokina (Chair) e-mail: [email protected] Koktem-1, h.29, apt. 17 480090 Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN

Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyz Committee f. Human Rights tel +996-312-66 25 15 Ramazan Dyryldaev (Chair) or +996-502-58 46 07 (mobile), Ivanitsina Str. 123, apt. 87 fax: +996-312-66 25 15, 66 02 11 720011 Bishkek, KYRGYZSTAN e-mail: [email protected] or in Vienna tel/fax: 956 58 94, or +43 1 408 88 22 1080, Vienna, Wickenburggasse 7/14 mobile: 0676 786 60 76, 0699 115 415 74 APPENDIX D 423

Latvia: Latvian Center for Human Rights tel: +371-70 39 290 and Ethnic Studies fax: +371-70 39 291 Nils Muiznieks (Director) e-mail: [email protected] Alberta St. 13/6th Floor LV-1010 Riga, LATVIA

Lithuania: Lithuanian Human Rights Association tel: +370-2-429 049 Stasys Kausinis (Executive Secretary) fax: +370-2-429 033 Laisves pr. 60-306 e-mail: [email protected] 2056 Vilnius, LITHUANIA

Macedonia: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights tel/fax: +389-2-119 073 or 225 085 of the Republic of Macedonia e-mail: [email protected] Mirjana Najcevska (President) Dame Gruev 28 1000 Skopje, MACEDONIA

Moldova: Helsinki Committee f. Human Rights tel: +373-2-227 396, 222 618 of Republic of Moldova fax: +373-2-222 618, 754 824 Stefan Uritu (Chair) e-mail: [email protected] 53 B Banulescu-Bodoni str. Internet: http://chdom.ngo.moldnet.md 2012 Chisinau, REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

The Netherlands: Netherlands Helsinki Committee tel: +31-70-392 6700 Jos Kösters (Director) fax: +31-70-392 6550 P. O. Box 93132 e-mail: [email protected] Bezuidenhoutseweg 331 NL-2509 AC The Hague, NETHERLANDS

Norway: Norwegian Helsinki Committee tel: +47-22 57 00 70 Bjørn Engesland (Secretary General) fax: +47-22 57 00 88 Urtegaten 50 e-mail: [email protected] N-0187 Oslo, NORWAY Internet: http://www.nhc.no

Poland: Helsinki Committee in Poland tel/fax: +48-22-828 1008, 828 6996 Marek Nowicki (President) e-mail: [email protected] ul. Bracka 18/62 Internet: http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl PL-00 028 Warszawa, POLAND

Romania: Romanian Helsinki Committee tel: +40-1-312 45 28, 312 37 11 Manuela Stefanescu (Chair) fax: +40-1-310 21 78 8 Nicolae Tonitza Str., Sector 3 e-mail: [email protected] RO-704012 Bucharest, ROMANIA Internet: http://apador.ong.ro 424 APPENDIX D

Russia: Moscow Helsinki Group tel/fax: +7-095-207 6069 Ludmilla Alexeyeva (Chair) fax: +7-095-207 6065 Bolshoy Golovin per. d. 22, str. 1 e-mail: [email protected] 103045 Moscow, RUSSIA

Slovakia: Slovak Helsinki Committee tel/fax: +421-7-55 96 88 34 or 41 Ingrid Baumannova (Ex. Dir.) e-mail: [email protected] Kosˇic´ka 52 Internet: http://www.changenet.sk/shv SK-82108 Bratislava, SLOVAKIA

Slovenia: Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia tel: +386-61-1258 661 Neva Miklavcic Predan (President) tel/fax: +386-61-1261 889 Rimska cesta 17 e-mail: [email protected] SLO-1000 Ljubljana, SLOVENIA

Sweden: Swedish Helsinki Committee tel: +46-8-791 8445 Gerald Nagler (Chair) fax: +46-8-791 8448 Kammakargatan 9B III e-mail: [email protected] S-111 40 Stockholm, SWEDEN Internet: http://ihf-hr.org/shc

Switzerland: Swiss Helsinki Committee tel: +41-31-311 04 32 Monika Schär fax: +41-31-312 53 63 Postfach 6363, Spitalgasse 34 e-mail: [email protected] CH-3001 Bern, SWITZERLAND

Ukraine: Ukrainan Committee “Helsinki - 90” tel/fax +380-44–573 9020 Jurij Murashov, Vasyl Ovsienko (Chairs) e-mail: [email protected] Evgen Dyky (Executive Director) Klovsky Uzviz 12, apt. 2 01021 Kiev, UKRAINE

United Kingdom: British Helsinki Subcommittee of the tel: +44-207 274 4617 Parliamentarian Human Rights Group fax: +44-207-738 7864 Lord Avebury (Chair) e-mail: [email protected] House of Lords, Westminster GB-London SW1, UNITED KINGDOM

United States of America Human Rights Watch/ tel: +1-212-290 47 00 Europe and Central Asia Division fax: +1-212-736 13 00 Holly Cartner (Executive Director) e-mail: [email protected] 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor Internet: http://www.hrw.org New York, NY 10018-3299, USA APPENDIX D 425

Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of (Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo) Helsinki Committee for tel. +381-11- 637 542 or 637 116 Human Rights in Serbia fax: +381-11-636 429 Sonja Biserko (Chair) e-mail: [email protected] or Zmaj Jovina 7/I [email protected] YU-11000 Belgrade, F.R.YUGOSLAVIA Internet: http://helsinki.org.yu

Kosovo Helsinki Committee tel/fax: +381-38-26 153 or 535 010 Gazmend Pula (Chair) e-mail: [email protected] Taslixhe I 36a 38000 Prishtina, Kosovo, F.R.YUGOSLAVIA

Montenegrin Helsinki Committee tel/fax: +381-86-53 191 for Human Rights mobile: +381-69 053 191 Slobodan Franovic (Chair) e-mail: [email protected] Kristofora Ivanovica 3 85310 Budva, Montenegro, F.R.YUGOSLAVIA 426 ABBREVIATIONS

ECHR . . . . European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

EU ...... European Union

ICCPR . . . . International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

ICESCR . . . International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

IGO ...... Inter-governmental organization

IHF ...... International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

NATO . . . . North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NGO . . . . . Non-governmental organization

ODIHR . . . Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE

OSCE . . . . Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

UN ...... United Nations

UNHCR . . . United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees INDEX 427

This index indicates the human rights issues that were mentioned in each country section of this report. The absence of a country does not imply that concerns related to the following rights and freedoms did not take place in that country in 1999.

1. Elections and referenda: Albania, Azer- 8. Torture, ill-treatment and misconduct baijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croa- by law enforcement officials (including tia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Monte- ill-treatment in the army): Armenia, negro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine. Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyr- 2. Domestic human rights legislation gyzstan, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, and safeguards: Armenia, Denmark, Lat- Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Ro- via, Montenegro, Ukraine. mania, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uz- bekistan, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Kosovo). 3. Freedom of expression and the media (including access to information): 9. Conditions in prisons and detention Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bela- facilities: Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, rus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Greece, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ma- Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Spain, Portugal, Roma- cedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, nia, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Yugo- Poland, Romania, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, slavia (Kosovo). Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Kosovo). 10. Death penalty, extrajudicial execu- tions and “disappearances”: Belarus, Ka- 4. Freedom of association: Azerbaijan, zakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Spain, Turkey, Ukra- Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kazakhstan, ine, United States, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkey. (Kosovo).

5. Peaceful assembly: Albania, Armenia, 11. Security services and right to privacy Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, and integrity of person: Azerbaijan, Bul- Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, garia, Croatia, Denmark, Kyrgyzstan, Mol- Moldova. dova, Poland, Sweden, Russia, Turkme- nistan, Yugoslavia (Serbia). 6. Rule of law, the judicial system and the independence of the judiciary: 12. Freedom of movement: Kazakhstan, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Netherlands. Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Italy, 13. Religious intolerance: Armenia, Bela- Kazakhstan, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, rus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United Canada, Croatia, France, Georgia, Germany, Kingdom, Yugoslavia (Serbia, Kosovo, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro). Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Nor- way, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkme- 7. Fair trial and detainees’ rights: Arme- nistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. nia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Norway, 14. Conscientious objection: Armenia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, United King- Belarus, Latvia, Russia, Turkey, Turkme- dom, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia (Serbia). nistan, Ukraine, Yugoslavia (Montenegro). 428 INDEX

15. Protection of ethnic minorities (in- 19. International humanitarian law, ac- cluding the rights of indigenous peoples countability for war crimes and crimes and the right to ethnic self-determina- against humanity: Austria, Azerbaijan, tion): Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Latvia, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia (Kosovo). Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Swe- 20. Social and economic rights (includ- den, Romania, Netherlands, Turkey, Turk- ing labour and property rights and resti- menistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia tution): Armenia, Belarus, Croatia, Czech (Serbia, Kosovo). Republic, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United States, 16. Citizenship: Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Yugoslavia (Serbia, Kosovo). Slovenia. 21. Women’s rights1: Belgium, Croatia, 17. Intolerance, xenophobia, racial dis- Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Switzerland. crimination and hate speech: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, 22. Rights of the child: Armenia, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Macedonia. United Kingdom, United States. 23. Rights of the handicapped and men- 18. Protection of asylum seekers, immi- tally ill: Latvia, Slovakia. grants returnees and displaced persons: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bul- 24. Homosexuals’ rights: Austria, Azerbai- garia, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, jan, Italy, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Roma- Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, nia, United Kingdom, United States. Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Nether- 25. Human rights defenders: Azerbaijan, lands, Turkey, United Kingdom, United Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, States. United Kingdom, Uzbekistan.

1 See also IHF, Women 2000, an Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, November 2000. A decisive factor in improving human rights in any country is social and political pressure exerted by the citizens, based on objective analysis of how the State complies with international standards and its own laws. The Helsinki Committees in the OSCE region - the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Europe and North America - are leading civil society voices for human rights, working together in the framework of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), founded in 1982.

This annual report by the IHF covers human rights events in the year 2000, based on research by the Helsinki Committees and other independent, nongovernmental groups. It describes, inter alia, attacks on human rights defenders; violations of the rights of minorities and minority religions; persecutions of journalists and scientists; restrictions on free expression and the right to association; violations of humanitarian law; and torture and ill- treatment in detention - all problems that cannot in many cases be remedied because of the absence of independent courts securing fair trials.

This documentation can and should be the basis for positive change toward more open, humane societies governed according to the Rule of Law and respectful of international standards and agreements. It is also evidence of the courage, vitality, and integrity of civil society organizations that insist that their Governments protect basic rights and freedoms.

ISBN 3-85459-008-3