| ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ОБЪЕДИНЕННЫХ НАЦИЙ
Е
Экономический
и Социальный Совет
Distr. GENERAL
E/CN.4/2002/106 27 February 2002
RUSSIAN Original: ENGLISH
КОМИССИЯ ПО ПРАВАМ ЧЕЛОВЕКА
Пятьдесят восьмая сессия
Пункт 17 b) предварительной повестки дня
ПООЩРЕНИЕ И ЗАЩИТА ПРАВ ЧЕЛОВЕКА ПРАВОЗАЩИТНИКИ
Доклад, представленный Специальным представителем Генерального секретаря
по вопросу о правозащитниках г-жой Хиной Джилани в соответствии
с резолюцией 2000/61 Комиссии по правам человека
GE.02-11124 (R) 030402 040402
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 2
СОДЕРЖАНИЕ
Пункты
Стр
.
Резюме .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Введение..................................................................................................... 1 8
I. МАНДАТ И МЕТОДЫ РАБОТЫ ................................................. 2 8
. ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТЬ........................................................................ 3 - 38 8
A. Посещения отдельных стран ....................................... 5 - 6 9
B. Сотрудничество с органами системы Организации Объединенных Наций и другими
межправительственными организациями ................. 7 - 16 10
C. Сотрудничество с НПО................................................ 17 - 25 12
D. Участие в семинарах и прочих мероприятиях........... 26 - 32 15
E. Прочие виды деятельности........................................... 33 - 38 17
III. АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ .............................................. 39 - 107 18
A. Тенденции ..................................................................... 40 - 79 18
B. Правозащитницы .......................................................... 80 - 94 28
C. Последствия терактов 11 сентября для
правозащитников.......................................................... 95 - 107 32
IV. ВЫВОДЫ И РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ ........................................ 108 - 138 36
Приложение
* Ситуации в отдельных странах
Алжир................................................................................................................................ 44
Аргентина.................................................. 45
Бангладеш ................................................. 48
Беларусь................................................... 49
*
Доклады воспроизводятся только на тех языках, на которых они были представлены.
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 3
СОДЕРЖАНИЕ (продолжение
)
Стр
.
Бутан......................................................................................................................... 54
Боливия .................................................................................................................... 54
Бразилия .................................................................................................................. 54
Камерун ................................................................................................................... 55
Центральноафриканская Республика.................................................................... 56
Чад ............................................................................................................................ 57
Китай ....................................................................................................................... 58
Колумбия.................................................................................................................. 60
Хорватия.................................................................................................................. 79
Куба .......................................................................................................................... 80
Демократическая Республика Конго.................................................................... 81
Доминиканская Республика .................................................................................. 83
Эквадор.................................................................................................................... 84
Египет....................................................................................................................... 85
Экваториальная Гвинея ......................................................................................... 89
Эфиопия .................................................................................................................. 90
Грузия ...................................................................................................................... 92
Гватемала ................................................................................................................. 92
Гаити......................................................................................................................... 99
Гондурас................................................................................................................... 99
Индия........................................................................................................................ 100
Индонезия ............................................................................................................... 102
Иран ......................................................................................................................... 104
Израиль..................................................................................................................... 105
Ямайка...................................................................................................................... 108
Кения ....................................................................................................................... 108
Кыргызстан ............................................................................................................. 109
Малайзия.................................................................................................................. 111
Мавритания.............................................................................................................. 113
Мексика.................................................................................................................... 114
Марокко.................................................................................................................... 128
Непал ....................................................................................................................... 130
Никарагуа................................................................................................................. 131
Палестина................................................................................................................. 131
Перу ......................................................................................................................... 132
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 4
СОДЕРЖАНИЕ (продолжение
)
Стр
.
Республика Корея............................................................................................................. 133
Россия ............................................................................................................................... 134
Руанда................................................................................................................................ 137
Сингапур .......................................................................................................................... 138
Шри-Ланка........................................................................................................................ 138
Судан ................................................................................................................................ 139
Сирия ................................................................................................................................ 141
Танзания ........................................................................................................................... 142
Того.................................................................................................................................... 143
Тунис ................................................................................................................................ 144
Турция .............................................................................................................................. 153
Уганда................................................................................................................................ 160
Соединенное Королевство ............................................................................................. 161
Узбекистан ....................................................................................................................... 162
Венесуэла ......................................................................................................................... 165
Вьетнам ............................................................................................................................. 166
Зимбабве............................................................................................................................ 169
Добавление................................................................................................................................. 170
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 5
Резюме
Это второй доклад Специального представителя Генерального секретаря по вопросу о правозащитниках г-жи Хины Джилани, который представляется Комиссии по правам человека в соответствии с ее резолюцией 2000/61. В докладе приводится информация о работе, проделанной Специальным представителем в прошлом году, рассматриваются актуальные проблемы, содержатся краткое резюме сообщений, направленных правительствам и поступивших от них, а также выводы и рекомендации Специального представителя. Что касается ситуаций в отдельных странах, то в истекшем году Специальным представителем были направлены 134 призыва к незамедлительным действиям и 27 писем, основанных на поступивших сигналах. Многие сообщения были направлены совместно с другими тематическими механизмами, в частности со Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о внесудебных казнях, казнях без надлежащего судебного разбирательства или произвольных казнях, Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о пытках, Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о свободе мнений и их свободном выражении, Председателем-докладчиком Рабочей группы по произвольным задержаниям, Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о независимости судей и адвокатов, Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о насилии в отношении женщин, Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о положении в области прав человека и основных свобод коренных народов и Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о торговле детьми, детской проституции и детской порнографии. Кроме того, Специальный представитель взаимодействовала со страновыми механизмами, в частности со специальными докладчиками, занимающимися положением в Судане, Демократической Республике Конго, Иране и бывшей Югославии.
В течение рассматриваемого года Специальный представитель сотрудничала со специализированными органами системы Организации Объединенных Наций и региональными межправительственными организациями. Конкретные меры сотрудничества были предприняты совместно с Межамериканской комиссией по правам человека Организации американских государств. Специальный представитель регулярно поддерживала контакты с международными и национальными НПО и приняла участие в трех важных региональных консультациях НПО - в Западной Африке, Латинской Америке и Азии.
Важной составляющей мандата Специального представителя являются поездки в различные страны. Она предприняла первую поездку в Кыргызстан (30 июля - 4 августа 2001 года), а вторую - в Колумбию (23-31 октября 2001 года). В рассматриваемый
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 6
годичный период Специальный представитель прилагала усилия с целью получения приглашений посетить следующие страны: Бутан, Венесуэлу, Гватемалу, Египет, Индию, Индонезию, Малайзию, Сингапур, Тунис и Узбекистан. Она получила официальные приглашения от правительств Венесуэлы, Гватемалы и Мексики.
В докладе, в основу которого были положены сообщения, направленные Специальным представителем, выявлены тенденции, которые могут подтолкнуть правительства к пересмотру нынешней практики и принятию в необходимых случаях мер по исправлению положения. Наряду с этим Специальный представитель заостряет внимание правительств на двух вызывающих озабоченность проблемах - положении правозащитниц и тех последствиях, которые имели для правозащитников теракты, совершенные 11 сентября.
В конце доклада Специальный представитель делает вывод о том, что правозащитники во всем мире по-прежнему подвергаются опасности и сталкиваются с серьезными нарушениями своих прав. При этом опасность для правозащитников еще более возрастает в условиях вооруженных конфликтов и милитаризации государств. Специальный представитель выражает опасения относительно тенденций, вызванных террористическими ударами по Соединенным Штатам 11 сентября. Она также делает вывод о том, что злоупотребления в отношении правозащитников совершаются главным образом сотрудниками полиции, вооруженных сил и прочих сил безопасности, а также государственных спецслужб. Одной из серьезнейших проблем в сфере прав человека, непосредственно затрагивающих безопасность правозащитников, стала безнаказанность, с которой нарушаются права человека.
Специальным представителем сформулированы следующие основные рекомендации:
Правительствам необходимо обратить особое внимание на тенденции, указанные в докладе, и заняться решением существующих в их странах проблем в области законодательства, политики и практики, препятствующих поощрению, защите и осуществлению прав человека или приводящих к возникновению угрозы для правозащитников.
Правительствам необходимо более терпимо относиться к критике и проявлять большую готовность к устранению недостатков в сфере управления, которые названы в числе затрудняющих работу правозащитников.
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 7
Правительства должны осознать необходимость покончить с безнаказанностью за нарушения прав человека.
В безотлагательном порядке необходимо принудительно обеспечить соблюдение негосударственными субъектами, участвующими в вооруженном конфликте, международных норм в сфере прав человека и международных гуманитарных норм в качестве одной из мер ограждения гражданских лиц и правозащитников от нарушений.
Нельзя допустить, чтобы законодательные меры, принимаемые во имя национальной безопасности, общественного порядка или в условиях чрезвычайного положения, использовались для подавления инакомыслия или мирных протестов против нарушения прав человека и действий в ответ на такое нарушение.
Важным средством обеспечения более глубокого осознания законности деятельности по поощрению, защите и осуществлению прав человека является распространение Декларации о правозащитниках.
Необходимо совершенствовать и расширять координацию действий между политической и правозащитной ветвями Организации Объединенных Наций в рамках коллективных мер по предотвращению и устранению угроз миру и безопасности. В международных усилиях или при поддержке любых действий международного сообщества в этой связи необходимо руководствоваться нормами, касающимися прав человека.
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 8
Введение
1. Это второй доклад, представленный Специальным представителем Генерального секретаря по вопросу о правозащитниках г-жой Хиной Джилани (Пакистан). Ее мандат был определен Комиссией по правам человека в резолюции 2000/61 от 27 апреля
2000 года. Настоящий доклад представляется в соответствии с резолюцией 2001/64. В разделе I доклада говорится о мандате и методах работы. В разделе II представлен отчет о работе, проделанной Специальным представителем в соответствии с ее мандатом в прошлом году. В разделе III кратко излагаются некоторые вопросы, которые Специальный представитель считает важными. В разделе IV содержатся подготовленные ею выводы и рекомендации. Резюме призывов к незамедлительным действиям и сообщений, направленных правительствам и поступивших от них, наряду с замечаниями Специального представителя приводится в приложении.
I. МАНДАТ И МЕТОДЫ РАБОТЫ
2. За информацией относительно мандата и использованных методов работы Специальный представитель предлагает обращаться к ее предыдущему докладу Комиссии по правам человека (E/CN.4/2001/94).
П. ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТЬ
3. В рассматриваемый период Специальный представитель направила 161 сообщение правительствам, 134 призыва к незамедлительным действиям и 27 писем с жалобами. Стремясь избежать ненужного дублирования действий, предпринимаемых другими тематическими и страновыми докладчиками, Специальный представитель в прошлом году объединила усилия со следующими специальными тематическими механизмами: Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о внесудебных казнях, казнях без надлежащего судебного разбирательства или произвольных казнях (54 призыва к незамедлительным действиям и 4 письма с жалобами), Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о пытках
(31 призыв к незамедлительным действиям и 14 жалоб), Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о свободе мнений и их свободном выражении (17 призывов к незамедлительным действиям и 4 жалобы), Председателем-докладчиком Рабочей группы по произвольным задержаниям (14 призывов к незамедлительным действиям), Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о независимости судей и адвокатов (13 призывов к незамедлительным действиям и 1 жалоба), Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о насилии в отношении женщин (5 призывов к незамедлительным действиям), Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о положении в области прав человека и основных свобод коренных народов (1 призыв к незамедлительным действиям) и Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 9
торговле детьми, детской проституции и детской порнографии (1 призыв к незамедлительным действиям). Помимо этого, Специальный представитель также предприняла совместные действия со специальными докладчиками по вопросу о положении в области прав человека в Демократической Республике Конго (4 призыва к незамедлительным действиям) и Судане (2 призыва к незамедлительным действиям). И наконец, ею были направлены два призыва к незамедлительным действиям совместно со Специальным представителем по вопросу о положении в области прав человека в Иране и одно - со Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о положении в области прав человека в бывшей Югославии.
4. Специальный представитель обеспокоена поступлением в 2001 году значительного количества сообщений и заявлений, в которых содержатся сигналы о серьезных нарушениях прав правозащитников в различных районах мира. Случаи, описанные в указанных сообщениях, говорят о том, что работу по эффективному поощрению и защите прав правозащитников необходимо продолжить. Поскольку информация, относящаяся к мандату Специального представителя, обширна и сложна, а нарушения имеют место во многих странах мира, для обеспечения объективности и сбалансированности необходимо выделить финансовые и человеческие ресурсы в объеме, достаточном для выполнения ее мандата.
А. Посещения отдельных стран
5. Специальный представитель рассматривает посещения отдельных стран в качестве одной из важнейших составляющих своего мандата. Свою первую поездку она предприняла в Кыргызстан с 30 июля по 4 августа 2001 года, а вторую - в Колумбию с 23 по 31 октября 2001 года. По этим двум поездкам Специальный представитель представила отдельные доклады Комиссии на ее нынешней сессии (E/CN.4/2002/106/Add.1 и E/CN.4./2002/106/Add.2).
6. В рассматриваемый годичный период Специальный представитель стремилась получить приглашения посетить следующие страны: Бутан, Венесуэлу, Гватемалу, Египет, Индию, Индонезию, Малайзию, Сингапур, Тунис и Узбекистан - для изучения на месте условий, в которых действуют правозащитники. Ею были получены официальные приглашения от правительств Венесуэлы, Гватемалы и Мексики. Специальный представитель хотела бы вновь подчеркнуть, что, ходатайствуя о приглашении совершить поездку в ту или иную страну, она не ограничивает круг таких стран только теми, где правозащитники сталкиваются с трудностями при осуществлении своей правозащитной деятельности или где сложились тенденции, практика или действует законодательство, по всей видимости, препятствующие эффективному осуществлению Декларации о праве и
E/CN.4/2002/106 page 10
обязанности отдельных лиц, групп и органов общества поощрять и защищать общепризнанные права человека и основные свободы (далее именуемой "Декларация о правозащитниках").
В. Сотрудничество с органами системы Организации Объединенных Наций
и другими межправительственными организациями
7. Специальным представителем налажено тесное сотрудничество со специализированными органами системы Организации Объединенных Наций, региональными межправительственными организациями и неправительственными организациями, особенно на местном уровне.
8. 11 мая 2001 года Специальный представитель обратилась с письмом к Детскому фонду Организации Объединенных Наций (ЮНИСЕФ), Международной организации труда (МОТ), Управлению Верховного комиссара Организации Объединенных Наций по делам беженцев (УВКБ), Программе развития Организации Объединенных Наций (ПРООН), Всемирной организации здравоохранения (ВОЗ), Мировой продовольственной программе (МПП), Фонду Организации Объединенных Наций для развития в интересах женщин, Международному комитету Красного Креста (МККК), Экономической и социальной комиссии для Азии и Тихого океана (ЭСКАТО), Европейскому союзу, Совету Европы, Организации по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе (ОБСЕ), Организации американских государств (ОАГ), Организации африканского единства (ОАЕ) и Лиге арабских государств. В своем письме Специальный представитель проинформировала адресатов о своем новом мандате и сообщила о намерении сотрудничать с международными учреждениями и региональными механизмами в расчете на использование их опыта и на их помощь в отслеживании событий, относящихся к ее мандату. Специальный представитель получила ответы от ПРООН, МОТ, ЮНИСЕФ, ОАГ, Европейского союза и Совета Европы (Комиссар по правам человека). В своих ответных письмах они поздравили Специального представителя с назначением и заявили о поддержке ее нового мандата. Они представили информацию, касающуюся их области специализации, и со своей стороны заявили о готовности к тесному сотрудничеству со Специальным представителем.
9. Специальный представитель хотела бы поблагодарить эти организации за ответные послания и проявленный ими интерес к ее мандату.
10. В сфере сотрудничества с региональными организациями были предприняты более конкретные шаги по налаживанию систематического сотрудничества с Межамериканской комиссией по правам человека (МКПЧ) ОАГ. 13-14 ноября 2001 года по приглашению
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Межамериканской комиссии по правам человека Специальный представитель находилась в Вашингтоне с целью обмена мнениями и соображениями об условиях деятельности правозащитников в странах американского континента и обсуждения дальнейшего сотрудничества между нею и МКПЧ.
11. Специальный представитель в первую очередь встретилась с генеральным секретарем ОАГ г-ном Сесаром Гавириа. Затем она присутствовала на открытом заседании МКПЧ, где рассматривалось положение правозащитников в Колумбии и Мексике. Далее она имела неофициальную беседу со всеми комиссарами МПКЧ и официальную встречу в Комиссии ОАГ по юридическим и политическим вопросам, на которой присутствовали представители всех государств-членов ОАГ. Эти встречи были весьма плодотворными и позволили Специальному представителю проинформировать участников о своем мандате и поднять вызывающие озабоченность вопросы, касающиеся положения правозащитников в Латинской Америке. На этих встречах был поднят вопрос о необходимости учреждения в ОАГ координационного центра по вопросу о правозащитниках для целей развития сотрудничества со Специальным представителем. Специальный представитель высоко оценила ту поддержку, о которой было публично заявлено рядом государств-членов ОАГ на ее встрече с членами Комиссии по юридическим и политическим вопросам.
12. Специальный представитель воспользовалась посещением Вашингтона для встречи с представителями Всемирного банка, Межамериканского банка развития и НПО из латиноамериканского региона.
13. Все эти встречи были организованы при содействии Управления по вопросам правозащитников Международной службы по правам человека - неправительственной организации, базирующейся в Женеве.
14. Вскоре после посещения Вашингтона Специальный представитель с удовлетворением узнала, что 7 декабря 2001 года исполнительный секретарь МКПЧ учредил в рамках исполнительного секретариата МКПЧ специальное подразделение по правозащитникам для координации деятельности по этому вопросу. Специальный представитель считает эту инициативу чрезвычайно важной для стран американского региона и для решения задач взаимного сотрудничества.
15. Специальный представитель считает, что сотрудничество между всеобщими и региональными механизмами защиты прав человека играет ключевую роль в выработке скоординированной эффективной стратегии защиты правозащитников во всем мире.
В этой связи она обращается к исполнительному секретарю МКПЧ г-ну Сантьяго Кантону
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и к Канцелярии по вопросам правозащитников Международной службы по правам человека со словами особой благодарности за их поддержку в налаживании такого сотрудничества.
16. Специальный представитель намерена встретиться с представителями Африканской комиссии по правам человека ОАЕ и надеется на установление с ней таких же отношений сотрудничества. Она также имеет в виду наладить аналогичные контакты с соответствующими учреждениями европейской системы по правам человека.
С. Сотрудничество с НПО
17. Как и в своем первом докладе Комиссии, Специальный представитель хотела бы подчеркнуть важность сотрудничества с НПО. Она вновь подчеркивает ключевую роль неправительственных организаций в поощрении и защите прав правозащитников. Ведь именно эти организации первыми заостряют внимание на таких проблемах и ведут активную деятельность по отстаиванию, мониторингу и лоббированию прав человека. Соответственно, представляемая НПО информация с сигналами о нарушениях прав правозащитников в различных странах мира имеет важнейшее значение для надлежащего выполнения ее мандата. В этой связи Специальным представителем были разработаны руководящие принципы представления сигналов о нарушениях (см. добавление).
18. Кроме того, Специальный представитель считает, что такие НПО призваны сыграть ключевую роль в дальнейшем распространении Декларации о правозащитниках путем ее перевода на местные языки и проведения учебно-просветительских кампаний. Особо важная роль принадлежит НПО и в пропаганде и распространении знаний о деятельности Специального представителя. В этом заключалась одна из целей тех консультаций с НПО, в которых Специальный представитель принимала участие в истекшем году. Благодаря поддержке ряда НПО Специальный представитель смогла побывать на трех консультациях НПО - в Западной Африке, Латинской Америке и Азии. Участвуя в этих мероприятиях, она смогла глубже ознакомиться с региональными проблемами, касающимися правозащитников, и вступить в прямой контакт с основными местными НПО.
19. 10-13 апреля 2001 года Специальный представитель присутствовала на субрегиональных консультациях с западноафриканскими правозащитниками в Дакаре (Сенегал). Это мероприятие проводилось в рамках более широкого проекта "Международной амнистии" под названием "Защита правозащитников", в задачи которого входит обеспечение более надежной защиты правозащитников путем разработки для этого соответствующих стратегий. Основная цель этого мероприятия заключалась в том,
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чтобы собрать вместе представителей правозащитных групп субрегиона и отдельных правозащитников для обмена опытом, создания субрегиональной сети правозащитников, разработки руководящих принципов и механизмов защиты правозащитников в Африке и налаживания рабочих отношений со Специальным представителем. В заключение этих консультаций участниками была принята резолюция (были представлены 13 стран Западной Африки), призывающая, в частности, правительства стран Западной Африки прекратить все виды преследований правозащитников, расследовать случаи нарушения их прав, а также ратифицировать все международные и региональные договоры по правам человека и привести национальное законодательство в соответствие с ними, равно как и с Декларацией о правозащитниках.
20. Консультации представителей латиноамериканских стран состоялись в Мехико 13-15 июня 2001 года. Они были организованы совместно Канцелярией по вопросам правозащитников Международной службы по правам человека, "Международной амнистией", Специальным комитетом правозащитников Колумбии и Комитетом правозащитников мексиканской организации "La Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos". На эти консультации прибыли более 44 правозащитников из 18 стран Латинской Америки и Карибского бассейна, независимые эксперты и наблюдатели; их целью было обсудить со Специальным представителем методы защиты и поощрения прав человека в странах американского континента, сформулировать предложения о мерах защиты правозащитников и скоординировать действия в этой области. Участниками из Бразилии, Парагвая, Аргентины, Чили, Перу, Панамы, Коста-Рики, Гватемалы, Гондураса, Сальвадора, Ямайки, Кубы и Мексики были сделаны сообщения по основным проблемам, касающимся правозащитников. Консультации завершились принятием итоговой декларации с призывом к Специальному представителю организационно оформить процесс периодических консультаций с институтами гражданского общества в регионе, подготовить специальный доклад о последствиях безнаказанности и еще один - о воздействии нынешних ограничений на свободу ассоциации на деятельность правозащитников и координировать усилия с региональными и международными организациями, в том числе с Межамериканской комиссией по правам человека и МОТ. Далее участники призвали правительства, в частности, осуществлять Декларацию о правозащитниках, оказывать поддержку Специальному представителю в ее работе и выполнять резолюции межамериканской системы защиты прав человека.
21. Находясь в Мексике, Специальный представитель провела однодневную неофициальную встречу с рядом должностных лиц правительства: заместителем министра иностранных дел Мексики по правам человека и проблемам демократии (Мари-Клер Акоста), генеральным директором отдела по правам человека министерства иностранных дел (г-н Гомес Камачо), президентом комиссии по правам человека сената
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(г-н Мигель Садот Санчес Кареньо), президентом комиссии по правам человека и юстиции палаты депутатов (депутат Хосе Элиас Ромеро Апис), президентом Комиссии по правам человека Мехико (д-р Луис де ла Барреда), Генеральным директором по защите прав человека генеральной прокуратуры (д-р Марио Альварес Ледесма) и представителями отдела по правам человека министерства внутренних дел. Специальный представитель хотела бы поблагодарить правительство Мексики за проявленные в этой связи открытость и сотрудничество.
22. С 30 ноября по 1 декабря 2001 года в Бангкоке (Таиланд) совместными усилиями Азиатского форума по правам человека и развитию ("Форум Азии"), Организации по наблюдению за осуществлением прав человека, "Международной амнистии", Фонда Фридриха Науманна и Исследовательского центра по социальным проблемам и проблемам развития при Чулалонгкорнском университете Бангкока были организованы консультации на тему "За более эффективную защиту правозащитников в Азии". Эта встреча ставила целью облегчить обмен информацией между Специальным представителем и правозащитными НПО из азиатского региона, сформулировать рекомендации о более эффективной защите прав правозащитников и подготовить справочник по защите прав правозащитников для местных, национальных и региональных организаций. На консультации прибыли около 60 участников из 18 стран азиатского региона. На встрече обсуждались ситуации в отдельных странах, например в Индонезии, Мьянме, Непале, Малайзии и Китае. Консультации завершились принятием всеми участниками декларации, в которой они особо осудили случаи убийства правозащитников в различных странах Азии и злоупотребление законами о национальной безопасности, которое стало более прямолинейным после терактов 11 сентября в Соединенных Штатах Америки. Участниками были предложены стратегии защиты правозащитников, такие, как укрепление сети незамедлительных действий в Азии, постановка на правовую основу и организационное оформление роли правозащитников и поддержка правозащитников в сложных ситуациях.
23. Специальный представитель воспользовалась пребыванием в Бангкоке для встреч с должностными лицами страны на предмет обсуждения положения правозащитников в Таиланде. Она имела неофициальные встречи с постоянным секретарем министерства юстиции, генеральным директором департамента пробации министерства юстиции, заместителем постоянного секретаря министерства внутренних дел и представителями Комиссии по правам человека Таиланда. Специальный представитель благодарит правительство Таиланда за сотрудничество.
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24. Специальный представитель считает, что эти три региональные мероприятия были исключительно полезными, и желает выразить особую благодарность "Международной амнистии", Канцелярии по вопросам правозащитников Международной службы по правам человека и "Форуму Азии" за организацию этих важных мероприятий. Основываясь на опыте участия в этих встречах, Специальный представитель еще более утвердилась во мнении о необходимости развития жизнеспособных региональных сетей с целью поддержания более тесных контактов со Специальным представителем. Поэтому она надеется принять участие в дальнейших региональных консультациях в 2002 году,
в частности, для знакомства с правозащитниками из других регионов Африки, Ближнего Востока и Европы.
25. Переходя к ближневосточному региону, Специальный представитель хотела бы упомянуть о региональных консультациях, организованных Международной федерацией прав человека (МФПЧ) для ближневосточного региона 19-22 сентября 2001 года в Бейруте (Ливан). По причине трагедии 11 сентября Специальный представитель не смогла прибыть на эти важные консультации. Текст выступления был зачитан на встрече одним из организаторов. Ей были направлены выводы, сформулированные на этом семинаре, среди которых она с интересом отметила ряд конкретных предложений, ставящих целью укрепление связей между МПО и донорами. В частности, к донорам была обращена просьба в духе солидарности вступить в более тесный контакт с правозащитниками, которым ими была оказана финансовая помощь и которые стали объектом репрессий за использование средств из зарубежных источников для ведения своей правозащитной деятельности.
D. Участие в семинарах и прочих мероприятиях
26. Специальный представитель была приятно поражена обилием полученных ею приглашений принять участие в семинарах и конференциях по вопросу о правозащитниках, проводимых в различных странах мира. Это свидетельствует о растущем значении и признании работы правозащитников.
27. По причине плотного графика Специальный представитель, к сожалению, не имела возможности принять все поступившие приглашения. Она, в частности, не смогла прибыть на следующие мероприятия: на конференцию по кризису в Зимбабве, организованную зимбабвийским отеделением "Транспаренси интернэшнл" (Зимбабве,
4 августа 2001 года), на Дополнительное совещание по человеческому измерению, посвященное вопросу о правозащитниках, которое было организовано ОБСЕ (Австрия, 22-23 октября 2001 года), на Международный конгресс по правам человека/правам женщин, организованный организацией "Тер де фем" (Германия, 12-13 октября
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2001 года), на конференцию на тему "Наблюдение за соблюдением прав человека в ходе конфликтов", организованную международной НПО "Бригады мира" (Германия, 26-27 октября 2001 года), на семинар экспертов по вопросу об определении пыток, организованный Ассоциацией за предотвращение пыток (Швейцария, 10-11 ноября 2001 года), на Генеральную ассамблею Международной хельсинкской федерации по правам человека (Хорватия, 15-18 ноября 2001 года), на организованное ЮНИФЕМ совещание за "круглым столом", посвященное выполнению афганскими женщинами руководящих функций (Бельгия, 10-11 декабря 2001 года), и на празднование Дня прав человека, организованное группой по правам человека парламента Канады (Оттава, 10 декабря 2001 года).
28. Специальный представитель была также приглашена на международную конференцию по правам человека и демократизации в Европе, Центральной Азии и на Кавказе. Это мероприятие было организовано Управлением Верховного комиссара по правам человека 8-10 октября 2001 года в Дубровнике (Хорватия). По причине внезапно возникшей загруженности другими обязанностями Специальный представитель вынуждена была отменить свой приезд, но текст ее выступления был зачитан одним из членов секретариата.
29. В рассматриваемый период Специальный представитель по вопросу о правозащитниках смогла принять участие в своем официальном качестве в ряде других совещаний и мероприятий.
30. 13 декабря 2000 года Специальный представитель выступила на Форуме Европейского союза (ЕС) по правам человека, который был организован в Париже совместными усилиями Франции как страны председателя Европейского союза и Европейской комиссии. Тематика Форума включала, среди прочего, вопрос о правозащитниках и о путях оказания им поддержки в их деятельности. По этому вопросу было внесено несколько предложений - о поддержке правозащитной деятельности со стороны ЕС и, в частности, о том, чтобы члены ЕС оперативно реагировали на доводимые до их сведения случаи нарушения прав правозащитников, используя для этого в их двусторонних отношениях имеющиеся у них возможности, такие, как демарши и декларации.
31. Во время пребывания в Париже Специальный представитель приняла участие и в ряде других совещаний. 11 декабря она выступила на заседании Рабочей группы по правам человека Европейского совета при Европейском союзе и имела беседы с должностными лицами французского правительства, в частности, с советником президента Франции (г-н Жан-Марк де ла Саблиер), а также с руководящими
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сотрудниками министерства иностранных дел и послом Франции по правам человека (посол Патрик Эно). Кроме того, она провела консультации с базирующимися в Париже НПО, в частности с МФПЧ, "Международной амнистией", Лигой прав человека, организацией "Корреспонденты без границ", АКАТ и МФАКАТ.
32. 13 августа 2001 года Специальный представитель выступила с докладом на подготовительном совещании Социального форума Подкомиссии по поощрению и защите прав человека в Женеве. Это подготовительное совещание было созвано в порядке подготовки первой официальной сессии Социального форума, которое намечено на август 2002 года.
Е. Прочие виды деятельности
33. 12 ноября 2001 года Специальный представитель впервые представила свой доклад (А/56/341) Генеральной Ассамблее Организации Объединенных Наций в Нью-Йорке. Она выступила в Третьем комитете Генеральной Ассамблеи, после чего ответила на вопросы делегаций. Представитель Бельгии (выступивший от имени Европейского союза) поинтересовался региональными консультациями НПО, а представитель Сингапура попросил поподробнее осветить методы работы. Представители Египта и Кубы - каждый со своей стороны - подняли вопрос об ответственности правозащитников. По этому вопросу Специальный представитель разъяснила ответственность как правительств, так и правозащитников, сославшись на статьи 2 и 3 Декларации о правозащитниках. Она также напомнила об обмене письмами с Кубой, которые были приведены в приложении к ее первому докладу Комиссии.
34. На своей пятьдесят пятой сессии Генеральная Ассамблея без голосования приняла внесенную Норвегией резолюцию 56/163 по Декларации о правозащитниках. Специальный представитель приветствует эту резолюцию и то, что ее соавторами выступило беспрецедентное число государств-членов - 83 страны из всех регионов мира.
35. Специальный представитель воспользовалась пребыванием в Нью-Йорке для проведения двусторонних консультаций с представителями правительств, учреждений Организации Объединенных Наций (ЮНИСЕФ, ЮНИФЕМ) и НПО (Организация по наблюдению за осуществлением прав человека и Комитет юристов).
36. Помимо этого Специальный представитель приняла участие в восьмом совещании специальных докладчиков/представителей, экспертов и председателей рабочих групп в рамках специальных процедур и программы консультативных служб, которое состоялось в Женеве 18-22 июня 2001 года. На этом совещании Специальный представитель
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ознакомила участников со своим мандатом и подчеркнула важность сотрудничества и координации действий между специальными процедурами (см. документ E/CN.4/2002/14, пункты 48-49).
37. Далее, 17-20 апреля 2001 года Специальный представитель находилась в Женеве для проведения консультаций и представления своего первого доклада Комиссии по правам человека на ее пятьдесят седьмой сессии. Тогда же она выступила на пресс-конференции и организовала брифинг для НПО; оба мероприятия привлекли весьма широкую аудиторию. Специальный представитель также встретилась с рядом делегаций для обсуждения вопросов, относящихся к ее мандату.
38. И наконец, Специальный представитель выступала с брифингами для студентов и других лиц, интересующихся ее деятельностью в рамках мандата. Так, например, она выступала с лекциями в Ибероамериканском университете в Мехико, Школе права Колумбийского университета в Нью-Йорке и Гарвардском университете в Бостоне. Находясь в служебной командировке в Кыргызстане, Специальный представитель приняла приглашение выступить в Высшей школе МВД в Бишкеке.
III. АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ
39. В данном разделе обобщаются сообщения, направленные Специальным представителем (с целью четко обозначить тенденции), очерчены проблемы, касающиеся положения правозащитниц, и изложены вызывающие озабоченность вопросы, связанные с последствиями терактов 11 сентября для правозащитников.
А. Тенденции
40. В отличие от предыдущего доклада Специального представителя, представленного в прошлом году, нынешний охватывает отчетный период продолжительностью в один год. Специальный представитель получила большое количество сообщений из различных источников, в том числе от международных, региональных, национальных и местных НПО, профессиональных ассоциаций, профсоюзов, политических партий, в том числе оппозиционных, от юристов, преподавателей, журналистов, творческой интеллигенции, работников судебных органов, организаций по правам коренного населения, а также от частных лиц. Специальный представитель считает, что все это позволяет ей четко обозначить в настоящем докладе ряд общих тенденций, выявленных ею на основе направленных правительствам сообщений, по которым были приняты меры.
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41. Выявление тенденций было проведено Специальным представителем на основе анализа сообщений, по которым ею были предприняты соответствующие меры в контексте выполнения ее мандата. Она также опиралась на сообщения о различных случаях, касающихся правозащитников, включенные в доклады тематических механизмов, представленные Комиссии по правам человека на ее пятьдесят седьмой сессии в 2001 году.
42. Анализ позволил выявить некоторые тенденции и особенности: нарушения прав, которым правозащитники подвергаются или могут быть подвергнуты, по своему характеру неодинаковы; существуют разные категории правозащитников, а также лиц, которыми, предположительно, совершены нарушении их прав, и мотивов, которыми последние руководствуются, если таковые имеются; и наконец, условия, в которых правозащитники действуют и становятся жертвами нарушения права человека, неоднородны.
43. Выявление тенденций в свою очередь позволяет Специальному представителю рекомендовать правительствам конкретные меры по исправлению положения, призванные обеспечить уважение прав правозащитников и приведение политики и практики правительств в соответствие с международными правозащитными нормами, в частности с Декларацией о праве и обязанности отдельных лиц, групп и органов общества поощрять и защищать общепризнанные права человека и основные свободы (Декларация).
44. В рамках своего собственного мандата Специальный представитель за рассматриваемый период направила правительствам 161 сообщение. При этом она хотела бы подчеркнуть, что одно сообщение может быть посвящено более чем одному случаю.
45. Кроме того, следует иметь в виду, что выявленные Специальным представителем тенденции не обязательно отражают положение правозащитников в различных странах мира во всей их полноте. Эту неизбежную субъективность нельзя, впрочем, считать законным или веским основанием для преуменьшения значения тенденций, выявленных Специальным представителем.
46. Специальный представитель считает нужным отметить, что сообщения о нарушении прав правозащитников, доведенные до ее сведения, касаются стран в различных регионах мира и никак не ограничиваются исключительно теми странами, где политическое и административное устройство является открыто или завуалированно недемократическим.
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47. Поступившие сигналы по сути дела касаются случаев нарушения прав правозащитников во всех странах, включая и те, которые только становятся на путь демократического развития, и те, где существуют давние демократические институты, порядки и традиции. Большая часть сигналов касается тех стран, где: а) в большей или меньшей степени урезаны юридические и институциональные механизмы защиты и гарантии прав человека; b) налицо внутренние вооруженные конфликты или острые социальные волнения; или с) юридические и административные механизмы защиты и гарантии существуют, но в надлежащей мере не применяются.
48. Учитывая вышеизложенное, Специальный представитель рекомендует правительствам с особым вниманием отнестись к тем тенденциям, определяющим положение правозащитников в различных странах мира, которые изложены далее в настоящем докладе. Кроме того, она настоятельно призывает правительства принять все надлежащие меры в соответствии с нормами, изложенными в Декларации и Международном билле о правах человека и связанных с ним документах, для искоренения не только самих нарушений, но и порождающих их причин и их негативных последствий.
1. Частные лица, группы и организации, ведущие деятельность
по поощрению и защите прав человека
49. Из 161 направленного сообщения большинство (118) касаются нарушений, совершенных в отношении правозащитников в их качестве активистов НПО. Об этой тенденции говорят и количественные данные о делах правозащитников, упоминаемых в докладах различных тематических механизмов, представленных ими Комиссии по правам человека в прошлом году. Из этих докладов опять же следует, что чаще всего речь идет о действиях против правозащитников, являвшихся активистами НПО (31).
50. Правозащитники становились объектом преследований и в своем профессиональном качестве, например в качестве юристов, занимающихся защитой прав человека (32), профсоюзных работников (22), борцов за права коренного населения (20) и журналистов (11). Заключения, сделанные Специальным представителем, подкрепляются соответствующими цифрами по некоторым из этих категорий, приведенными в различных тематических докладах, представленных Комиссии по правам человека в прошлом году. Так, например, в докладах других тематических механизмов за прошлый год упоминалось о 14 случаях преследования юристов и 10 случаях преследования профсоюзных работников в связи с их правозащитной деятельностью.
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51. Нарушения прав человека практиковались и в отношении членов других групп, таких, как крестьяне, активисты экологического движения, члены религиозных, этнических и сексуальных меньшинств, студенты, учителя и творческая интеллигенция, - во всех случаях в связи с деятельностью по поощрению и защите прав человека. Наряду с этим мишенью становились и депутаты парламентов, адвокаты, омбудсмены и деятели оппозиции, а также правозащитники в целом - в связи с их борьбой за права человека.
52. Помимо частных лиц, подвергавшихся нападкам за свою правозащитную деятельность, власти преследовали и НПО, занимающиеся проблемами прав человека. Организациям направляли предупреждения о так называемом "нарушении установленных правил" и угрожали штрафами, приостановлением деятельности, аннулированием регистрационного разрешения и закрытием. В ряде стран действуют или имеются планы ввести в действие законодательство, допускающее приостановление деятельности НПО только за то, что она идет вразрез с интересами властных органов. Существуют и законодательные нормы, предусматривающие тюремный срок для членов таких организаций просто за одно лишь продолжение деятельности после истечения срока действия или аннулирования лицензии.
2. Нарушения прав человека, совершенные
в отношении правозащитников
Кампании травли и запугивания, направленные против правозащитников
53. В большинстве случаев, о которых говорится в сообщениях, направленных правительствам Специальным представителем (88 из общего числа в 161), речь шла о правозащитниках, ставших объектом постоянной травли и запугивания с целью заставить их прекратить свою деятельность по поощрению и защите прав человека. Эта тенденция подтверждается и сообщениями о случаях, касающихся правозащитников, приведенными в докладах различных тематических механизмов Комиссии по правам человека, представленных на ее пятьдесят седьмой сессии в прошлом году; в них сообщалось о
24 случаях травли и запугивания.
54. Активисты правозащитного движения были объектом непрекращающейся слежки, в частности, в форме постоянного визуального наблюдения, осуществлявшегося сотрудниками полиции в штатском, и в форме отключения или прослушивания их телефонов; осуществлялась конфискация их документов, в том числе таких необходимых для передвижения документов, как паспорта, удостоверения личности и водительские удостоверения, с тем чтобы воспрепятствовать их присутствию на международных правозащитных форумах; юристам угрожали аннулированием права заниматься
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адвокатской деятельностью за приписываемые им нарушения правил профессиональной юридической деятельности либо возбуждали против них следственные действия за якобы совершенные ими финансовые нарушения. За деятельность по поощрению и защите прав человека правозащитникам со ссылкой на мотивы безопасности запрещали выезжать из города или страны и даже необоснованно увольняли с давно занимаемого ими рабочего места.
55. Правозащитники также становились объектом кампаний по очернению, в ходе которых государственная пресса подвергала их клеветническим нападкам, ставя под сомнение их добропорядочность и нравственность. Против них фабриковались ложные обвинения, ставившие целью дискредитировать независимые НПО и журналистов, которые вскрывают нарушения прав человека. Сотрудники полиции, секретных служб и служб безопасности неоднократно вызывали правозащитников для бесед, в ходе которых подвергали их запугиванию и приказывали прекратить любую правозащитную деятельность.
56. Производились обыски, вторжения, ограбления и налеты в офисах и домах правозащитников. Помещения, откуда они действуют, опечатывались, их счета в банке арестовывались, чтобы помешать их дальнейшей работе. Их имущество, в том числе документы, фотографии, дискеты, компьютеры и файлы, конфисковывалось, после чего власти отказывались возвращать его правозащитникам.
57. Правозащитники подвергались травле в административном порядке, когда на них налагали крупные штрафы за приписываемые им нарушения законодательства, определяющего порядок финансирования НПО, и становились жертвами попыток вымогательства, в частности, в виде требования выплаты крупных сумм в обмен на освобождение коллег, друзей и родственников из-под стражи.
58. Для травли, запугивания и угроз в адрес правозащитников использовались все средства, например принятие и применение законов, ограничивающих законное осуществление права на свободу убеждений и их выражения, свободу религиозных убеждений, свободу ассоциации и передвижения, таких, как законы о регистрации и регулировании деятельности НПО или законы, запрещающие или препятствующие получению средств на нужды правозащитной деятельности из зарубежных источников.
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Аресты, задержания, уголовное преследование и заключение в тюрьму правозащитников
59. Как следует из сообщений, направленных правительствам, среди нарушений прав человека, с которыми правозащитникам приходится сталкиваться ежедневно, с поистине поразительным постоянством фигурируют произвольные аресты и задержания. Среди разных видов нарушения прав, которым подвергаются правозащитники, случаи ареста, задержания (81) - как с выдвижением обвинений, так и без, - возбуждения судебного преследования, вынесения судебного приговора и тюремного заключения по абсолютно ложным обвинениям в количественном выражении уступают лишь кампаниям запугивания и травли. В докладах других тематических механизмов за 2001 год также сообщается о большом числе (19) случаев ареста и задержания правозащитников.
60. Участие в митинге активистов, отстаивающих права коренного населения, может стать поводом для предъявления обвинений в нарушении общественного порядка. Участие в мирном пикете против исчезновения людей или всего лишь выполнение профессиональных обязанностей юриста может повлечь за собой уголовное преследование. За публичными критическими высказываниями в адрес властей может последовать обвинение во взяточничестве и длительный тюремный срок. Известны случаи, когда обращение к властям с законным требованием вернуть конфискованное оборудование было сочтено достаточным поводом для задержания правозащитников. Против правозащитников, пытавшихся в официальном порядке обратиться с жалобой на грубое обращение со стороны полиции, выдвигались обвинения в хулиганстве, влекущие за собой длительный срок тюремного заключения в случае вынесения обвинительного приговора. Обычным явлением являются не подкрепленные ордером аресты тех, кто требует более полной свободы убеждений и выражения своего мнения. Развертывание транспаранта в память о жертвах нарушения прав человека оканчивалось тем, что активистов насильно помещали в психиатрические заведения. Уделом тех, кто выступал с разоблачениями по факту гибели людей от пыток, было "трудовое перевоспитание". Попытки использовать средства правовой защиты в интересах пострадавших от нарушения прав человека оканчивались для правозащитников тюрьмой. Активистов правозащитного движения преследовали в судебном порядке, мотивируя это туманно сформулированными соображениями "национальной безопасности", помещали под домашний арест, задерживали на неопределенное время в административном порядке и отправляли на каторгу.
61. Против правозащитников применялись аресты, задержания, обвинения, судебное преследование, им выносились судебные приговоры - порою к длительным срокам тюремного заключения или даже к каторге - за участие в различных видах деятельности
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по поощрению и защите прав человека, включая: участие в кампаниях за пресечение пыток и за гуманные условия содержания в тюрьмах; выступления с требованием провести официальное расследование в случаях похищения и исчезновения людей; участие в международных правозащитных конференциях и форумах; выступления с призывом к освобождению политических заключенных; расследование случаев коррупции со стороны должностных лиц и соучастия в нарушениях прав человека, совершаемых военизированными группами; сбор документальных материалов о зверствах и оказание помощи жертвам нарушения прав человека и их семьям; представление интересов беженцев, просителей убежища и внутренне перемещенных лиц; участие в кампаниях в защиту прав рабочих и за введение минимальных трудовых норм; мирные выступления за независимость; протесты против введения закона о чрезвычайном положении; выступления с требованием более бережного отношения к окружающей среде; выступления с разоблачением коррупции в судебных органах; выступления в поддержку права на отказ от военной службы по соображениям совести; публикацию переводов Всеобщей декларации прав человека; участие в кампании за более эффективное применение законов в случаях насилия в отношении женщин; выступления за права религиозных, этнических и сексуальных меньшинств; выступления за права на земельную собственность и права коренных народов; и выступления с разоблачением разворовывания средств должностными лицами.
62. Обвинения, служащие основанием для вынесения приговоров правозащитникам, также весьма разнообразны; здесь и посягательство на жизнь сотрудников полиции, и поджог, и сговор с целью совершения противоестественных актов, и связи и контакты с зарубежными организациями, и подстрекательство к мятежу, и диффамация, и клевета в печати, и незаконное осуществление профессиональной деятельности, и неуважение к суду, и распространение ложных сведений, могущих создавать угрозу общественному порядку, и контакты с действующими без разрешения или запрещенными организациями, и нарушение законов о публичных демонстрациях, и измена, и оскорбление религиозных догм, властей, вооруженных сил и сил безопасности государства, и помощь террористам или их поощрение, и "распространение пропагандистских материалов, которые по своему характеру способны нанести ущерб жизненно важным интересам государства и нации", и пропаганда ненависти и подрыв демократически избранных государственных институтов, и сотрудничество с врагами, и получение средств из зарубежных источников без разрешения правительства, и подстрекательство к насилию, и обнародование государственных секретов.
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63. Во многих случаях, несмотря на серьезность выдвинутых против правозащитников обвинений и вероятность вынесения суровых приговоров, предусматривающих тюремное заключение в случае признания их виновными, правозащитников лишали доступа к адвокатской помощи в течение всего срока предварительного заключения, а иногда и в ходе самого судебного процесса.
Нарушение права правозащитников на жизнь и психическую и физическую неприкосновенность
64. Поразительно, что среди наиболее часто встречаемых форм нарушения прав правозащитников третье место в совокупном количественном выражении - сразу после кампаний запугивания и травли, а также арестов и задержаний, о которых подробно говорилось выше, - занимают убийства правозащитников (34), покушения на их жизнь (8), исчезновения (10) и пытки или жестокое обращение в иных формах (7). Еще одним фактором, подтверждающим опасения относительно возникновения этой печальной тенденции, являются случаи убийства, покушения, исчезновения, пыток или жестокого обращения с правозащитниками, о которых сообщается в различных докладах тематических механизмов за 2001 год (в общей сложности - 38).
65. Эти цифры представляются Специальному представителю весьма тревожными. Высокая вероятность того, что правозащитники могут стать жертвами угроз физическим насилием или даже получить увечья, иногда со смертельными последствиями, о чем свидетельствуют проведенные ею исследования, - это, вне всякого сомнения, наиболее тревожная из тенденций, выявленных Специальным представителем.
66. Наибольшее беспокойство вызывает такая тенденция в регионе Латинской Америки, т.е. в том регионе мира, на который приходится большинство случаев убийства правозащитников, имевших место в рассматриваемый период, а именно 30 из 34, или около 90% от общего числа погибших от рук убийц правозащитников.
67. Полицейские открыли огонь и застрелили несколько активисток-правозащитниц, участвовавших в марше в рамках борьбы с изнасилованиями. Сотрудники сил безопасности остановили правозащитников под угрозой применения оружия, выстроили их у стены и расстреляли. Известен случай, когда полицейские в штатском силой похитили правозащитников, которые затем бесследно пропали, просто за принадлежность к правозащитным НПО. Некоторые правозащитники серьезно пострадали и нуждались в госпитализации и хирургической операции в результате покушений на их жизнь, в том числе при ночных поджогах их домов. Сотрудники вооруженных сил, полиции и сил безопасности зверски избивали правозащитников, стремясь пытками добиться от них
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ложных признаний или просто в порядке наказания за попытки последних предать гласности ставшую обычной практику пыток при официальном содержании под стражей. Ответом на отважные попытки провести расследование в отношении армейских офицеров, открывших огонь по толпе невооруженных гражданских лиц, в результате чего несколько человек погибло, стали угрозы смертью и пытки во время содержания под стражей.
68. Призывы к властям провести независимое и беспристрастное расследование по случаям исчезновения нескольких человек стали поводом для применения физической силы и побоев с нанесением ударов кулаками и ногами и последующего отказа в медицинской помощи.
69. Правозащитники, пытавшиеся добиться пресечения практики безнаказанного нарушения прав человека путем привлечения к ответственности виновных в совершенных в прошлом зверствах, подверглись физическому насилию, и в частности были избиты полицией во время демонстрации. Побои во время содержания под стражей в полицейских участках и в тюрьме стали причиной серьезных увечий в виде, например, переломов рук; это стало наказанием правозащитникам всего лишь за участие в демонстрации против нарушения прав человека. При задержании правозащитников в течение продолжительного времени лишали каких-либо контактов с внешним миром.
70. Члены религиозных меньшинств, отстаивавших право отправлять свой религиозный культ, в произвольном порядке были арестованы, задержаны и брошены в темные одиночные камеры на продолжительный срок. В попытке унизить и наказать активистов, выступавших за демократию, за их деятельность, их задержали и поместили в условия, равносильные жестокому, бесчеловечному или унижающему достоинство обращению. Известны случаи, когда находящихся под стражей правозащитников лишали пищи, воды и свиданий с родственниками.
71. Против активистов правозащитного движения также применяли угрозы жестокого обращения и даже смерти; подобные угрозы адресовались и членам их семей.
В кампании запугивания против правозащитников использовались все средства - от анонимных телефонных звонков с угрозами ареста, изнасилования и смерти до словесного хамства и оскорблений, в связи с чем они вынуждены были бежать из дома и из страны или перейти на подпольное положение из страха преследований со стороны властей. Активистов правозащитного движения насильно выдворяли из дома и заключали в психиатрические больницы.
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3. Лица, совершившие нарушения прав
72. Из сообщений, направленных Специальным представителем правительствам, складывается весьма тревожная картина относительно того, кем являются виновные в нарушении прав человека, совершаемых против правозащитников.
73. Из общего числа в 161 сообщение в 53 речь шла о прямой ответственности полицейских за нарушение прав правозащитников.
74. Полиция прибегает к произвольным арестам правозащитников, не подкрепленным ордерами на арест, вторжению в их офисы и дома, конфискации их оборудования и документов, налетам на их дома, словесным оскорблениям, угрозам, запугиванию, травле, применяет физическое насилие против правозащитников в виде побоев, ударов руками и ногами, а также задерживает мирных демонстрантов. Полицейские из отрядов подавления массовых беспорядков разгоняют мирные демонстрации, применяя чрезмерную силу.
75. По всему миру полиция отказывается принимать меры по жалобам о нападениях на правозащитников или хотя бы регистрировать их, не говоря уже о проведении эффективного расследования, и не обеспечивает надлежащей защиты тех правозащитников, которые находятся под угрозой. Полицейские вымогают у правозащитников деньги в обмен на освобождение их коллег или родственников.
76. Под надуманным предлогом полиция разместила вооруженный кордон перед офисом одной НПО с целью запугать посетителей и клиентов, тем самым лишая правозащитников возможности работать.
77. Налицо тенденция к укоренению таких явлений, как попустительство, пособничество и сговор в среде полиции различных стран в связи с совершением грубых нарушений прав человека в отношении правозащитников, включая убийство защищающих их адвокатов.
78. Особую озабоченность Специального представителя вызвала при этом вырисовывающаяся тенденция к нарушению прав правозащитников военизированными группами, связанными с властями и действующими с их одобрения. Члены вооруженных военизированных групп убивают правозащитников с ведома или при попустительстве властей.
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79. Это порождает серьезную проблему безнаказанности при нарушениях прав человека, совершаемых в отношении правозащитников - особенно в том, что касается нарушений, совершаемых негосударственными субъектами. Эти негосударственные субъекты, включая вооруженные группы, военизированные формирования, группы из секретных служб и добровольческие отряды, вооружаемые государством, действуют либо непосредственно по указке властей либо при их попустительстве; по этой причине власти не заинтересованы в проведении серьезных, беспристрастных и независимых расследований с целью привлечения виновных к суду.
В. Правозащитницы
80. В период после представления своего первого доклада Специальный представитель получала информацию из различных источников относительно положения правозащитниц в различных странах мира. Если говорить о случаях, по которым Специальным представителем были приняты меры, то 70 из 161 сообщения, направленного ею правительствам, касались правозащитниц или женских организаций. О 15 случаях, касавшихся правозащитниц, говорилось и в докладах других тематических механизмов, представленных ими Комиссии по правам человека на ее пятьдесят седьмой сессии, и они были с должным вниманием учтены Специальным представителем в качестве источника информации о положении правозащитниц в различных странах мира. В следующих пунктах обозначены некоторые из тенденций, которые Специальному представителю удалось вычленить, исходя из этой информации.
81. По всему миру правозащитницы невзирая на трудности ведут неустанную работу по поощрению и защите прав всех людей. В этой связи необходимо подчеркнуть все богатство опыта, разносторонность и сам объем проводимой ими правозащитной работы. Впрочем, учитывая разнообразие и широту охвата решаемых правозащитниками задач, перечислить все их невозможно. Изложенные далее соображения следует рассматривать как пример или иллюстрацию, но ни в коей мере не как исчерпывающее описание.
82. В рассматриваемый период правозащитницы, выступая в профессиональной роли или в качестве матерей, сестер, дочерей, жен, партнеров и коллег, были в первых рядах борцов за прекращение "исчезновений". Они вели неустанную кампанию за обеспечение гуманных условий содержания заключенных, фиксировали и предавали гласности факты нарушения прав человека. Правозащитницы боролись за утверждение прав, в частности, этнических и религиозных меньшинств и протестовали против повсеместной безнаказанности за насильственные действия в отношении женщин; они оказывали помощь бесчисленным жертвам нарушения прав человека и их родственникам в поисках правосудия; они возглавляли работу по осуществлению проектов, ставящих целью
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добиться оказания правовой помощи другим женщинам, ставшим жертвами сексуального насилия. Выступая со свой стороны в качестве жертв нарушения прав человека, они выступали в ходе разбирательства со свидетельскими показаниями против тех, кто подозревался в их совершении. В качестве профсоюзных активисток они отстаивали права рабочих, в качестве юристов они активно добивались оказания правовой помощи жертвам нарушений прав человека и вели активную борьбу против безнаказанности; и наконец, они организовывали и проводили кампании в защиту прав правозащитников. То, что перечень можно бесконечно продолжить, лишь доказывает их отвагу и подтверждает их достижения.
83. Вместе с тем необходимо четко указать, что по всему миру правозащитницам приходится сполна расплачиваться за свою работу по поощрению и защите прав других людей. К сожалению, столь же невероятно длинным был бы перечень тех нарушений прав человека, с которыми приходится сталкиваться или которым фактически подвергаются правозащитницы всего лишь за отстаивание прав человека. Борясь за права человека и вступаясь за жертвы их нарушения - будь то за мигрантов, беженцев, просителей убежища, активистов политических движений или просто за людей, которые не по своей воле оказались на обочине жизни общества, таких, как бывшие правонарушители и члены сексуальных меньшинств, правозащитницы рискуют подвергнуться запугиванию, травле, необоснованному увольнению, угрозам убийства, пыткам, жестокому обращению и даже ликвидации.
84. В лучшем случае травля, которую приходилось выносить правозащитницам, оканчивалась для них тем, что им приходилось доказывать свою невиновность в ходе отнимающего массу времени, сил и денег разбирательства по делам, возбуждаемым в отношении них коррумпированными органами прокуратуры и подконтрольными судами с целью решительно покончить с их правозащитной деятельностью. В худшем же случае правозащитницы становились жертвами нарушения некоторых из самых основных прав, включая право на жизнь, психическую и физическую неприкосновенность, свободу и безопасность личности, на свободу выражения своего мнения и ассоциацию, на неприкосновенность частной и семейной жизни.
85. В отчетный период правозащитницы становились жертвами преднамеренных убийств. Некоторые были похищены или исчезли, другие подверглись изнасилованию или другим формам сексуальных издевательств. Их подвергали произвольным арестам и задержаниям без предъявления или с предъявлением сфабрикованных обвинений; они становились объектом уголовного преследования по различным вымышленным обвинениям, включая шпионаж, подрывную деятельность, антигосударственную деятельность, угрозу национальной безопасности и передачу секретов иностранным
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организациям, каждое из которых чревато длительным тюремным заключением. Кое-кто из правозащитниц, опасаясь за свою жизнь, вынужден был бежать из дома и страны. Некоторые стали жертвами покушений на их жизнь. Одни подверглись словесным нападкам или физическому нападению либо стали объектом угроз насилием или смертью, например, только за то, что протестовали против жутких условий содержания заключенных. Других принудительно помещали на лечение в психолечебницы на основании сфабрикованного диагноза о психическом расстройстве. Жертвами угроз становились и члены их семей, в отношении которых тоже применялись травля, запугивание, избиения, словесные нападки, произвольные аресты и задержания.
86. Офисы и дома правозащитниц становились объектом обысков, вторжений, налетов, их имущество конфисковывалось, уничтожалось или приводилось в негодность. Против них использовали клевету в попытке дискредитировать и унизить их и подорвать их авторитет в обществе.
87. Порою власти в попытке заставить правозащитниц отказаться от дальнейшей деятельности по отстаиванию прав человека прибегали к коварным приемам. Против них выдвигали обвинения в нарушении финансовых правил и даже в махинациях, за ними устанавливали постоянную полицейскую слежку в расчете запугать их.
88. Нередко, вопреки неоднократным просьбам, правозащитницам отказывали в охране или предлагали безнадежно слабые меры охраны, предоставляя им защищаться от угроз самостоятельно. Такие отказы или вялость реакции со стороны властей еще более повышают вероятность того, что правозащитницы сами окажутся жертвами нарушения прав человека, особенно со стороны негосударственных субъектов, которые воспринимают это бездействие как "добро" на нарушения.
89. Основываясь на поступившей информации, Специальный представитель пришла к следующему заключению: хотя правозащитницы ведут такую же неустанную работу по отстаиванию прав человека и прав жертв нарушений прав человека, как и их соратники-мужчины, есть некоторые особенности, которые свойственны их положению как женщин, борющихся за права человека. Нижеследующие пункты включены с целью осветить некоторые особенности, характерные для положения правозащитниц в различных странах мира.
90. Правозащитницы наравне со своими соратниками-мужчинами находятся на передовом крае борьбы за поощрение и защиту прав человека. Но при этом они как женщины подвергаются, в дополнение к тем опасностям, которые грозят мужчинам, еще и опасностям, специфичным для их пола.
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91. Прежде, будучи женщинами, они больше выделяются. Другими словами, правозащитницы могут возбуждать в людях большую враждебность, чем их коллеги- мужчины, поскольку в роли правозащитниц они, возможно, выходят за грань культурных, религиозных и социальных представлений о месте и роли женщин в той или иной стране или в том или ином обществе. Соответственно, они могут стать жертвами нарушения прав человека не только в силу своей правозащитной деятельности, но и еще в большей степени из-за своего пола и того, что их деятельность может не укладываться в бытующие в обществе стереотипы относительно женской покорности или противоречить бытующим в обществе представлениям о месте женщины. Во-вторых, вовсе не исключена вероятность того, что и самим проявлениям враждебности, травле и репрессивным мерам против правозащитниц будет придана специфически гендерная форма - от, скажем, словесных оскорблений, направленных только против женщин по причине их пола, до сексуальных домогательств и изнасилования.
92. При этом, чтобы дискредитировать женщину и подорвать ее авторитет на работе и в обществе, могут использоваться такие применяемые сугубо в отношении женщин приемы, как, например, пресловутое высказывание под тем или иным предлогом сомнений в их добропорядочности - в тех случаях, например, когда женщины добиваются своего права на сексуальное и репродуктивное здоровье или на равноправие с мужчинами, в том числе на жизнь, свободную от дискриминации и насилия. Кроме того, против правозащитниц, например, возбуждалось судебное преследование на основании законов, относящих к числу уголовных преступлений действия, фактически означающие законное осуществление прав, охраняемых нормами международного права, по сфабрикованным обвинениям, которые на деле были мотивированы неприятием взглядов правозащитниц и их деятельности по защите прав женщин.
93. В-третьих, нарушения прав человека, совершаемые в отношении правозащитниц, в свою очередь могут приводить к последствиям, по своему характеру специфическим для женского пола. Например, сексуальное насилие в отношении правозащитницы во время содержания под стражей и ее изнасилование могут стать причиной беременности или вызвать заболевание, передающееся половым путем, включая СПИД.
94. Работа по поощрению и защите некоторых специфически женских прав ведется почти исключительно правозащитниками женского пола. Поощрение и защита прав женщин могут быть сопряжены с дополнительным риском, поскольку борьба за определенные права рассматривается как угроза патриархальному укладу и подрыв культурных, религиозных и других принятых в обществе моральных ценностей.
В некоторых странах отстаивание права женщин на жизнь и свободу кончалось
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нарушением права на жизнь и свободу самих правозащитниц. А в случае одной видной правозащитницы ее протест против дискриминационной практики стал причиной судебного преследования по обвинению в измене.
С. Последствия терактов 11 сентября для правозащитников
95. В качестве вводного замечания к нижеследующим положениям Специальный представитель хотела бы подчеркнуть, что, принимая во внимание террористические удары по Соединенным Штатам, совершенные 11 сентября 2001 года, она в полной мере понимает и признает, что международное сообщество и правительства всех стран мира стоят перед необходимостью и даже обязаны принять меры по восстановлению и поддержанию среди населения уверенности в том, что безопасность людей как на национальном, так и на международном уровне обеспечена. Наряду с этим Специальный представитель хотела бы также обратить внимание на не менее важное, на ее взгляд, требование, а именно о соблюдении государствами принципов, касающихся прав человека, и норм, зафиксированных в правовых актах и нормативных документах в этой области. Виновные в совершении терактов должны быть найдены и переданы в руки правосудия - но только в соответствии с международными нормами, касающимися справедливого судебного разбирательства, так чтобы задачи обеспечения мира и безопасности решались в увязке с выполнением обязательства относительно отправления правосудия и уважения прав человека и основных свобод.
96. Хотя настоящий доклад подготовлен в основном на основе сообщений, поступивших до трагических событий 11 сентября 2001 года, после этой даты Специальному представителю стала поступать информация, давшая ей основания для вывода о наличии реальной опасности того, что под воздействием терактов 11 сентября 2001 года некоторые правительства, возможно, используют глобальную войну против терроризма в качестве предлога для ущемления прав человека и подавления правозащитников. Неправительственные организации в различных регионах мира, в частности, поделились со Специальным представителем своей обеспокоенностью возрастанием опасности для правозащитников в условиях, которые после 11 сентября 2001 года становятся, на их взгляд, все более грозными.
97. Повсюду в мире существует опасность того, что под прикрытием борьбы с терроризмом некоторые правительства могут активизировать свои усилия по подавлению мирного инакомыслия и оппозиции. В нынешней ситуации те, кто ставят под сомнение законность некоторых из так называемых контртеррористических мер, принятых после
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11 сентября, или просто те, кто в социальном отношении выходят за обычные рамки, - будь то мигранты, беженцы, просители убежища, члены религиозных или иных меньшинств или просто люди, отброшенные на обочину общества, - могут быть названы террористами и в конечном счете могут попасть в жернова репрессий и насилия.
98. В свете вышеуказанного Специальный представитель пришла к выводу о серьезном изменении контекста и обстановки, в которых она выполняет свой мандат по поощрению и защите прав правозащитников, под воздействием трагических событий в Соединенных Штатах, имевших место 11 сентября 2001 года.
99. К сожалению, меры, ставящие целью подавить мирное инакомыслие и заставить замолчать законную оппозицию, во многих случаях были той реальностью, с которой правозащитникам приходилось иметь дело задолго до терактов 11 сентября. Однако порожденное терактами всепроникающее чувство незащищенности и страха, возникшее как в международном сообществе, так и в самих странах, по всей видимости, дало толчок формированию климата, в котором законодательные органы, суды и широкая общественность проявляют все меньше бдительности в отношении действий или бездействия исполнительной власти в своих странах.
100. Правительства некоторых стран фактически присвоили себе "карт-бланш" в отношении строгости и охвата мер, принимаемых ими якобы в порядке реакции на события 11 сентября 2001 года. В Соединенных Штатах, например, о чем уже с прискорбием сообщалось Специальным докладчиком по вопросу о независимости судей и адвокатов 16 ноября 2001 года, исполнительные органы могут отныне дать распоряжение о передаче дел о лицах, не являющихся гражданами США, на рассмотрение в военные комиссии, формируемые в порядке, дающем основание говорить о серьезном нарушении прав человека и верховенства закона. В Соединенном Королевстве иностранцы теперь могут быть задержаны на неопределенный срок без суда. В ряде других стран, включая Австралию, Канаду, Индию, Непал, Пакистан, Россию, Таиланд и Южно-Африканскую Республику, в последнее время в законодательном порядке были приняты или рассматриваются на предмет принятия новые контртеррористические меры. Высказывались опасения, что во многих отношениях эти меры будут представлять собой прямое нарушение прав человека или вести к созданию климата, в котором вероятность нарушения прав человека возрастает.
101. Невзирая на тот факт, что международным сообществом все еще не согласовано общее определение терроризма, некоторые правительства видят выгоду в том, чтобы, подыгрывая друг другу, принимать на веру отнесение отнюдь не носящих насильственного характера проявлений инакомыслия к разряду подрывных действий и
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актов терроризма. В этой связи, выступая в Третьем комитете Генеральной Ассамблеи 6 ноября 2001 года, Верховный комиссар предостерегла, что в условиях, сложившихся после терактов 11 сентября, мирные действия приравниваются к терроризму; законное осуществление права на невмешательство в частную и семейную жизнь, на справедливое судебное разбирательство, на убежище, на участие в политической жизни, свободы выражения мнений и мирных собраний подрывается, ограничивается или вообще отрицается. Однако, согласно правовым нормам, регулирующим права человека, некоторые ключевые права являются настолько фундаментальными, что они не допускают отступления от них даже в условиях чрезвычайного положения. В статье 4 Международного пакта о гражданских и политических правах говорится о правах, отступление от которых не допускается ни при каких обстоятельствах; к их числу относятся право на жизнь, запрет на пытки или жестокие, бесчеловечные или унижающие достоинство виды обращения или наказания, свобода мысли, совести и религии, а также тот принцип, что нормы уголовного права не имеют обратной силы, за исключением тех случаев, когда последующим законом устанавливается более легкое наказание.
102. Глобальный политический климат, сложившийся после 11 сентября, чреват особенными опасностями для тех, кто выступает за одно из самых основных прав, а именно право всех народов на самоопределение. Неотъемлемое право народов на самоопределение является фундаментом, краеугольным камнем правовых рамок, регулирующих права человека, а также принадлежит к числу тех основополагающих принципов, которые определяют одну из главных целей Организации Объединенных Наций, а именно "развивать дружественные отношения между нациями" (пункт 2 статьи 1 Устава Организации Объединенных Наций). Термин "самоопределение" фигурирует не только в статье 1 Устава, но и в первой статье обоих международных пактов. В Замечании общего порядка 12, принятом Комитетом по правам человека в 1984 году, реализация неотъемлемого права всех народов на самоопределение названа "важнейшим условием для эффективной гарантии и соблюдения прав человека отдельных лиц, а также для расширения и укрепления этих прав". В условиях, сложившихся после 11 сентября 2001 года, когда правозащитники, участвующие в мирной кампании или выступающие за реализацию права всех народов на самоопределение, непрестанно подвергаются все новым нападкам во всем мире, представляется особенно уместным сослаться еще на одно Замечание общего порядка, принятое Комитетом по правам человека, а именно Замечание 11, касающееся статьи 20 Международного пакта о гражданских и политических правах, которая запрещает пропаганду войны и подстрекательство к национальной, расовой или религиозной ненависти. В этом Замечании общего порядка, принятом в 1983 году, Комитет по правам человека указал, что "положения пункта 1 статьи 20 не запрещают поддержку права народов на самоопределение или независимость в соответствии с Уставом Организации Объединенных Наций".
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103. В сложившихся условиях отстаивание прав человека и основных свобод изображается в ряде стран в качестве угрозы национальной и международной безопасности. Перед лицом этой суровой реальности правозащитники чувствуют себя как бы в осаде. Мирно настроенных активистов, выступающих за независимость, изображают как распространителей пропаганды, могущей нанести вред государству, как людей, представляющих угрозу национальной безопасности, пытающихся свергнуть правительство или являющихся подручными или пособниками террористов. Хотя надуманное приравнивание законных и мирных выступлений в защиту права на самоопределение к терроризму, независимо от его определения, нельзя назвать новым явлением, оно, вне всяких сомнений, получает все большее распространение, и правозащитники, добивающиеся удовлетворения стремления народов к самоопределению, переживают один из сложнейших периодов.
104. Правительствам нетрудно сеять подозрения, провоцировать беспокойство в обществе и направлять острие враждебности на правозащитников. Правозащитники апеллируют к группам, которые и без того находятся в социально уязвимом, маргинальном положении, таким, как этнические меньшинства, люди с судимостью, сексуальные меньшинства, просители убежища, беженцы и рабочие-мигранты.
В условиях, сложившихся после 11 сентября, правительствам и другим субъектам легче изображать любого, кто проявляет несогласие или выступает с любого рода критикой в качестве диссидента или подрывного элемента либо даже подручного или пособника "иностранных террористов".
105. Правозащитники, отстаивающие допустимость мирного инакомыслия и законного осуществления права на свободу ассоциации и собраний, становятся объектом репрессий со стороны правительства; на них навешивают ярлык подрывных, чуждых нации элементов и врагов государства.
106. Правозащитники во многих случаях являются первой инстанцией, куда обращаются жертвы нарушений прав человека. После терактов 11 сентября правозащитники сталкиваются с большими трудностями в работе по поощрению и защите прав всех людей. Поэтому в условиях, когда правительствами принимаются все более драконовские, несоразмерные меры якобы в интересах борьбы с терроризмом, правозащитники сохраняют бдительность и продолжают наблюдать за положением в области прав человека во всем мире.
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107. Однако, как было указано группой в составе приблизительно 17 независимых экспертов Комиссии по правам человека в заявлении от 10 декабря 2001 года по случаю Дня прав человека, правозащитники наряду с активистами других групп явились главной мишенью и стали жертвами нарушений прав человека в связи с принятием или планируемым принятием законодательных мер в области борьбы с терроризмом и национальной безопасности и других мер, могущих ущемлять права человека и основные свободы. Следовательно, государствам, как никогда, необходимо в своих мерах реагирования на теракты 11 сентября 2001 года ограничиться строго тем, что диктуется требованиями момента, и найти оптимальный баланс между задачами обеспечения национальной и международной безопасности и гарантиями прав человека.
IV. ВЫВОДЫ И РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ
108. Повсюду в мире правозащитники по-прежнему сталкиваются с серьезными нарушениями своих прав. На основе сообщений, полученных Специальным представителем, ею был сделан вывод о том, что права правозащитников нарушаются в государствах самими различными политическими системами и административным устройством. Вместе с тем имеется ряд факторов, повышающих незащищенность правозащитников и вероятность нарушения их прав.
109. Политическая напряженность и вооруженные конфликты повышают риск, которому подвергаются правозащитники, особенно в плане физической безопасности. В таких условиях стороны в конфликте - независимо от того, являются ли они государственными или негосударственными субъектами, - могут попытаться дискредитировать правозащитников и посеять сомнения относительно правомерности их деятельности по поощрению и защите прав человека, с тем чтобы оправдать свои упредительные или ответные действия.
110. Уровень уважения правозащитных норм и значение, придаваемое государством деятельности правозащитников, в немалой степени зависят от того, сколь демократичной является практика правительств. Там, где приверженность правительства демократическим методам отсутствует или носит слабовыраженный характер, независимость государственных институтов и их способность обеспечивать защиту от нарушений прав человека и поддержку правозащитной деятельности наблюдается в весьма урезанном виде.
111. Ситуации, ставшие предметом внимания Специального представителя, и поступившая к ней информация, дают основание с большой долей вероятности сделать вывод о прямой связи между тяжестью нарушений прав человека и степенью
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милитаризованности государства, выражающейся в военном правлении или решении проблем безопасности военными методами и средствами. В таких ситуациях особенно строго ограничивается свобода передвижения и собраний и доступ к информации. Помимо ограничения или исключения возможностей для правозащитной деятельности; жестким репрессиям подвергаются и сами правозащитники. Специальный представитель выразила озабоченность на этот счет в своем докладе Генеральной Ассамблее на ее пятьдесят шестой сессии (А/56/341).
112. Специальный представитель чрезвычайно обеспокоена развитием событий после терактов в Соединенных Штатах 11 сентября 2001 года, свидетельствующим о возможности отступления от установленных норм и стандартов в сфере прав человека. Она хотела бы напомнить государствам, что снижение планки правозащитных норм не может быть оправдано никакими обстоятельствами или условиями; при этом она ссылается на пятый параграф преамбулы Декларации, гласящий: "признавая
взаимосвязь между международным миром и безопасностью и осуществлением прав человека и основных свобод и сознавая, что отсутствие международного мира и безопасности не является оправданием их несоблюдения".
113. Там, где правительства рассматривают правозащитников скорее как противников, между государством и гражданским обществом возникла напряженность. Такого рода отношения сужают возможности для объединенных усилий по созданию климата, благоприятного для поощрения и защиты прав человека, в котором правозащитники могли бы вести свою деятельность в условиях безопасности.
114. Принимаемые государством меры по подавлению правозащитной деятельности приводят к снижению транспаретности и открытости в работе правозащитников. Такое положение чревато повышенным риском для правозащитников и подрывом доверия к их деятельности.
115. Правозащитники, отстаивающие политические, гражданские, экономические, социальные или культурные права маргинализированных групп и лиц, встречают более жесткое сопротивление в своей работе, находятся в более уязвимом положении и поэтому более открыты для возможных угроз. К их числу относятся лидеры групп коренного населения и других меньшинств, лидеры движений обездоленных групп и защитники прав женщин, сексуальных меньшинств, перемещенных лиц, мигрантов и беженцев. Активисты экологического и антиглобалистского движения, добивающиеся правовой защиты от нарушений социальных и экономических прав по-прежнему являются объектом диффамации и мишенью для насилия.
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116. Методы, используемые для подавления протеста, или репрессивные меры против тех, кто добивается осуществления или защиты прав человека, представляют собой прямое нарушение гражданских и политических прав, равно как и экономических, социальных и культурных прав.
117. Национальное законодательство во многих странах не обеспечивает надлежащей правовой основы, обеспечивающей безопасные условия для правозащитной деятельности. В ряде стран продолжают действовать и используются для судебного преследования правозащитников законы, ставящие целью или допускающие криминализацию правозащитной деятельности. Законы, ограничивающие свободу ассоциации или налагающие необоснованные ограничения на передачу НПО или использование ими финансовых средств для ведения правозащитной деятельности, используются для запугивания и травли правозащитников. Такие законы не преследуют никакой полезной цели и не имеют никакого отношения к защите законных интересов государства.
118. Лицами, ответственными за нарушения прав правозащитников, в значительном большинстве случаев являются сотрудники полиции, вооруженных сил и прочих сил безопасности, а также государственных спецслужб. Члены военизированных групп, действующие либо независимо от правительств, либо с их ведома, фигурировали в качестве исполнителей актов, нарушающих права правозащитников, в значительном числе случаев, к которым было привлечено внимание Специального представителя. К числу негосударственных субъектов, ответственных за нарушение прав правозащитников, относятся группы боевиков и другие оппозиционные группы. Что касается правозащитниц, то они прежде всего становятся мишенью различных объединений и частных лиц, таких, как религиозные группы и институты, старейшины общин и племен и даже члены их собственных семей, - особенно в тех случаях, когда правозащитницы выступают в защиту прав женщин.
119. Одной из наиболее серьезных проблем в сфере прав человека, которая непосредственно затрагивает безопасность правозащитников, стала безнаказанность, с которой совершаются нарушения прав человека. Как уже было сказано, одних только законодательных норм или административных процедур недостаточно для решения этой проблемы. Необходимым дополнением законодательных и процедурных мер должно быть наличие сильной политической воли бороться с безнаказанностью. Специальный представитель обращает внимание на свой доклад Генеральной Ассамблее на ее пятьдесят шестой сессии (А/56/341), в котором содержится раздел с детальным освещением этого вопроса.
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120. На основании вышеуказанных выводов Специальным представителем сформулированы следующие рекомендации.
121. Правительствам рекомендуется обратить особое внимание на тенденции, обозначенные в настоящем докладе, и заняться решением существующих в их странах проблем в отношении законодательства, политики и практики, препятствующих поощрению, защите и осуществлению прав человека или приводящих к возникновению угрозы для правозащитников. Специальный представитель имеет в виду провести исследование по вопросу о пределах свободы ассоциации в контексте деятельности по поощрению и защите прав человека; о репрессивном законодательстве, ограничивающем правозащитную деятельность или приводящем к возникновению угрозы для правозащитников в связи с такой деятельностью; и о репрессивных мерах против правозащитников, особенно в связи с осуществлением ими своих прав, зафиксированных в статье 6 и пункте 4 статьи 9 Декларации.
122. Правительствам необходимо более терпимо относиться к критике и проявлять большую готовность к устранению недостатков в сфере управления, которые названы в числе затрудняющих работу правозащитников. В этой связи ключевое значение для решительных мер по устранению препятствий в работе по поощрению и защите прав человека приобретает более тесное сотрудничество с правозащитными группами. Правительства должны активно поощрять и создавать условия для консультаций между институтами гражданского общества и ключевыми правительственными ведомствами, особенно отвечающими за вопросы правоприменения и безопасности. Правительствам следует принимать меры, призванные довести до сознания государственных чиновников тезис о законности и важности правоохранительной деятельности. Это может делаться в форме распространения информации о нормах в области прав человека и о деятельности международных, региональных и национальных правозащитных механизмов.
123. Там, где созданы национальные институты по защите прав человека, должна быть обеспечена их политическая и финансовая самостоятельность. Необходимо укрепить потенциал этих институтов, с тем чтобы сделать их способными адекватно и эффективно реагировать на жалобы о нарушении прав человека. Следует организационно оформить роль правозащитников в качестве источника информации для этих институтов и в качестве механизма оказания помощи в правовой защите от нарушений. Такие меры могли бы упростить доступ к национальным правозащитным институтам и поставить деятельность правозащитников на более прочную правовую базу. В мандат этих институтов необходимо включить прямо сформулированное положение о защите правозащитников.
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124. Правительства должны осознать необходимость покончить с безнаказанностью за нарушения прав человека. Вне всяких сомнений, насущно необходимы более совершенные системы ответственности за нарушение прав человека. Возможность разоблачения нарушений прав человека и доступ к правовой помощи в случае их совершения в немалой степени зависят от того, насколько безопасными и свободными являются условия, в которых могут действовать активисты и наблюдатели правозащитного движения. Поэтому ключевым элементом в деятельности по поощрению и защите прав человека является решение проблемы безнаказанности за нарушения прав правозащитников. Необходимо проводить расследование по всем сигналам о нападениях, угрозах, травле или запугивании правозащитников с вынесением соответствующего наказания. Проведение таких расследований может быть отнесено к функциям наделенных специальными полномочиями должностных лиц старшего звена, а сами расследования для должной убедительности необходимо вести в условиях полной транспарентности.
125. Государства обязаны принимать все необходимые меры по созданию социальных, экономических, политических и иных условий, гарантирующих реальное осуществление прав человека и пользование свободами. Группы и частные лица, как вооруженные, так и невооруженные, обязаны уважать права, зафиксированные в Декларации. Чтобы гарантировать это уважение, государствами, в чьей юрисдикции действуют эти группы, могут быть приняты необходимые правовые и административные меры. К задачам, возлагаемым на Специального представителя ее мандатом, относится налаживание сотрудничества и ведение диалога с правительствами и другими заинтересованными сторонами относительно эффективного осуществления Декларации. Специальный представитель считает неотложно небходимым принудительное обеспечение соблюдения негосударственными субъектами, участвующими в вооруженном конфликте, международных норм в сфере прав человека и международных гуманитарных норм в качестве одной из мер ограждения гражданских лиц и правозащитников от нарушений. Одним из важных направлений борьбы с нарушениями со стороны этих субъектов является разработка правовой и нормативной базы, обеспечивающей ответственность негосударственных субъектов. В тех случаях, когда это является необходимым и осуществимым, и после консультаций с правительствами Специальный представитель может вступить в контакт с такими группами, с тем чтобы привлечь их к диалогу по вопросу об уважении прав человека и защите правозащитников в соответствии с Декларацией.
126. В связи с ролью судебных органов в защите прав человека и фундаментальных свобод от них требуется более внимательный подход к законам, подрывающим эти права и свободы. Нельзя допустить, чтобы законодательные меры, принимаемые во имя
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национальной безопасности, общественного порядка или в условиях чрезвычайного положения, использовались для подавления инакомыслия либо мирных протестов против нарушения прав человека и действий в ответ на такое нарушение.
127. Судьи должны, в частности, проявлять повышенную бдительность в отношении действий государственных чиновников и с особой тщательностью проверять достоверность обвинений, выдвигаемых против правозащитников. Судьи также должны проявлять более глубокое понимание пользы правозащитной деятельности. Взаимодействие между судебными органами различных стран в вопросе об их роли в поощрении и защите прав человека и более глубокое их ознакомление с проблемами, имеющими отношение к деятельности правозащитников, могли бы обеспечить более прочную поддержку со стороны этих институтов и углубить их понимание правозащитной деятельности.
128. Приверженность того или иного правительства делу создания более благоприятных условий для поощрения прав человека и защиты правозащитников в соответствии с Декларацией может быть продемонстрирована путем направления Специальному представителю приглашения посетить страну на предмет оценки положения правозащитников. Это даст возможность Специальному представителю доложить о том, сложилась ли и какова практика, благоприятствующая деятельности правозащитников.
129. Эффективность защиты правозащитников в значительной мере зависит от тех структур поддержки, которые они сообща создают на национальном, региональном и международном уровне. Значительным подспорьем в выполнении Специальным представителем своего мандата было бы создание или укрепление коалиций правозащитников, национальных и региональных сетей распространения информации, наблюдательных групп и групп поддержки, которые могли бы служить своего рода убежищем - либо внутри страны, либо за ее пределами - для правозащитников в ситуациях, когда им грозит серьезная непосредственная опасность.
130. Специальный представитель рассчитывала бы на такие сети для пополнения информации, которую она получает от правительств, рассматривая их в качестве дополнительных источников информации для проверки сигналов о нарушениях и для облечения контактов с подвергающимися опасности правозащитниками во время посещения соответствующих стран. Специальный представитель обращается к профсоюзам, организациям трудящихся, ассоциациям адвокатов и другим
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профессиональным ассоциациям с настоятельным призывом принять всемерное участие в работе таких сетей защиты. Создание или укрепление таких сетей является важным инструментом защиты правозащитников и должно поддерживаться и приветствоваться на всех уровнях.
131. Эффективным методом развития этого мандата и распространения информации о нем стали региональные консультации с правозащитниками. Эти консультации позволили Специальному представителю глубже ознакомиться с тенденциями и факторами, оказывающими воздействие на положение правозащитников. Она намерена и далее регулярно поддерживать эти контакты.
132. Специальный представитель считает приоритетной организацию двух тематических консультаций: одной - по вопросу о правозащитницах и другой - посвященной лицам, защищающим права коренных народов. Цель этих совещаний - шире ознакомить общественность с деятельностью этих правозащитников, подчеркнуть ценность их вклада в дело поощрения и осуществления прав человека и стимулировать их участие в работе сетей правозащитников на национальном и региональном уровнях.
133. Одним из ключевых компонентов, используемых Специальным представителем в своей работе, является механизм незамедлительных действий. С тем чтобы придать реальный вес незамедлительным действиям, предпринимаемым в рамках этого механизма, правительства должны оперативно откликаться на сообщения, направляемые Специальным представителем.
134. Специальный представитель намерена добиваться организации более частых встреч с правительствами соответствующих стран на предмет доведения до их сведения своей обеспокоенности положением правозащитников. В этом плане было бы чрезвычайно полезно регулярно консультироваться с региональными группами в Комиссии по правам человека. Специальный представитель рассчитывает на сотрудничество со стороны постоянных представительств в Женеве и координаторов региональных групп.
135. В интересах более эффективного отстаивания прав правозащитников Специальный представитель считает особенно желательным наладить прочные рабочие отношения с механизмами, созданными на национальном и региональном уровнях. С этой целью она встречалась с представителями национальных правозащитных институтов в странах, которые она посещала либо по линии официальных миссий, либо в связи с участием в региональных консультациях правозащитников в своем качестве Специального представителя. Она рада доложить об установлении доброго конструктивного сотрудничества с Межамериканской комиссией по правам человека ОАГ. Она будет и
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далее стремиться к сотрудничеству с другими региональными механизмами, в котором она видит один из способов создания более благоприятных условий для защиты правозащитников во всех регионах.
136. Распространение Декларации о правозащитниках является важным средством обеспечения более глубокого осознания законности деятельности по поощрению, защите и осуществлению прав человека. Специальный представитель настоятельно призывает различные механизмы Организации Объединенных Наций и региональные структуры, занимающиеся правами человека, а также национальные правозащитные организации чаще обращаться к Декларации. С этой целью следует оказывать содействие в переводе Декларации на языки различных стран.
137. Корни конфликтов, имеющих место в различных районах мира, следует искать в нарушении прав человека и основных свобод. Вместе с тем конфликты не только порождают серьезные последствия с точки зрения поощрения защиты и осуществления прав человека, но и несут с собой повышенную опасность для правозащитников.
В Уставе Организации Объединенных Наций подчеркивается необходимость поддержания международного мира и безопасности путем принятия мер в согласии с принципами справедливости и международного права. Из этого однозначно вытекает необходимость совершенствовать и расширять координацию действий между политической и правозащитной ветвями Организации Объединенных Наций в рамках коллективных мер для предотвращения и устранения угроз миру и безопасности. В международных усилиях или при поддержке любых действий международного сообщества в этой связи необходимо руководствоваться нормами, касающимися прав человека. Специальный представитель настоятельно рекомендует принять конкретные меры по наращиванию этого взаимодействия между двумя ветвями Организации Объединенных Наций и повысить роль правозащитных механизмов в осуществлении мирных инициатив и в реагировании на возникающие экстренные ситуации.
138. Специальный представитель сделает все возможное для выполнения своего обязательства, касающегося эффективного осуществления мандата, вне зависимости от обеспеченности финансовыми ресурсами. Вместе с тем она вновь подчеркивает, что, на ее взгляд, необходимым условием разработки эффективных мер защиты и получения скорейшей отдачи от деятельности в рамках мандата в виде улучшения положения правозащитников является достаточная обеспеченность человеческими и материальными ресурсами.
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Annex
COUNTRY SITUATIONS
1. For technical reasons, the chapter on country situations is reproduced as an annex to this report. The annex contains brief summaries of communications to and from Governments, along with the observations of the Special Representative. In order to leave enough time for Governments to respond, only the communications sent before 1 December 2001 are included. All government replies received by the Special Representative until 10 January 2002 are included in this section.
ALGERIA
Communication envoyee
2. Le 16 mars 2001, la Representante special e a adresse au Gouvernement un appel urgent concernant Me
Sofiane Chouiter et M. Mohamed Smain, tous deux membres de la Ligue algerienne de defense des droits de l'homme (LADDH). Me
Chouiter, egalement avocat, serait constamment suivi par deux policiers en civil depuis le 24 fevrier 2001 dans tous ses deplacements quotidiens, у compris dans le cadre de ses activites professionnelles au palais de justice a Constantine. Ses lignes de telephone au travail et a la maison auraient ete coupees. Selon les informations recues, il aurait, quelque temps auparavant, participe a Casablanca au seminaire de la Federation internationale des droits de l'homme (FIDH) sur la justice internationale dans les pays mediterraneens. Des craintes ont ete exprimees quant a cette forme de harcelement qui serait liee au travail de Me
Chouiter en tant qu'avocat en faveur des familles de disparus a Constantine, de meme qu'en tant que defenseur des droits de l'homme.
M. Mohamed Smain aurait ete interpelle le 20 fevrier 2001 a l'aeroport d'Oran par les services de securite et les responsables de la douane alors qu'il se rendait en France. Le passeport et les documents de M. Smain auraient ete confisques et il aurait ete maintenu en garde en vue pendant une heure et demie dans les locaux de la douane. Apres son retour de France le 23 fevrier, ou il aurait participe a des reunions avec la FIDH et le Collectif des familles de disparus en Algerie, M. Smain aurait ete arrete et detenu pendant 48 heures. Selon les informations recues, M. Smain aurait ete inculpe de diffamation le 25 fevrier suite a rinformation qu'il aurait fournie a la presse le 3 fevrier concernant la decouverte et Г exhumation de charniers par les services de gendarmerie et la milice de Fergane. Bien qu'il ait ete provisoirement libere, le Procureur aurait fait appel de cette decision. M. Smain serait maintenant sous controle judiciaire avec interdiction de quitter la province de Relizane et son passeport ainsi que sa carte d'identite nationale et son permis de conduire auraient ete confisques.
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Observations
3. La Representante special e regrette qu'au moment de la finalisation du present rapport, le Gouvernement n'ait transmis aucune reponse a sa communication.
ARGENTINA
Communications sent
4. On 5 December 2000, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, sent an urgent appeal concerning the continuous death threats and harassment to which Ms. Matilde Bruera, a teacher at the National University of Rosario, and lawyer of families of the disappeared, of the Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos and the Foro Memoria y Sociedad in Santa Fe Province, had reportedly been subjected. It was reported that, on 20 July 2000, Ms. Bruera received a parcel in her office, inside of which was a hollowed out book containing explosives, a battery and cables. The parcel did not contain a detonator, but carried the message "rest in peace". Later, a threatening message was reportedly left on the voicemail of her cellular phone.
5. On 21 March 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal regarding members of the Comision de Familiares de Victimas de Gatillo Facil, established by a group of parents whose children have been killed in police shootings. According to the information received, they have been intimidated and threatened by police agents since the group published a report documenting over 800 cases of fatal police shootings. Mr. Alberto Barreto, whose 12-year-old daughter was killed in a police shooting in January 2000, has reportedly been threatened and harassed by the police and has been followed on numerous occasions by a police patrol car. In addition, since Ms. Silvia Ruiz's 16-year-old son was shot dead by police in November 2000, the police have reportedly forced their way into her home on four occasions, although they did not have
a warrant. Twice the police have threatened to kill her and her other teenage son.
On 5 January 2001, the police reportedly prevented Mr. Oscar Rios from posting flyers
denouncing the killing of his son. On 13 January 2001, an anonymous caller reportedly phoned
to Ms. Delia Garcilazo's home to say that her grandson would be shot the next time.
On 2 January 2001, a policeman reportedly threatened Ms. Lidia Zarate and her family. Since
the killing of her 17-year-old son, the police have detained her other younger son three times.
Shortly after he was threatened, unknown men driving a car shot him three times in the leg.
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6. On 24 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation letter to the Government of Argentina regarding the following cases.
7. According to the information received, Ms. Vanessa Piedrabuena, President of the Asociacion Travestis Unidas de Cordoba (ATUC), received threats from the police
on 16 February 2001 after she took part in a demonstration calling for the investigation into the death in custody of her fellow activist, Ms. Vanessa Lorena Ledesma, to be reopened. She complained to the Police Internal Affairs Division, but no action to investigate the case has been taken yet.
8. Ms. Hebe de Bonafini, President of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, reportedly received messages in May 2001 from unidentified persons threatening her. On 25 May 2001, her daughter, Ms. Maria Alejandra Bonafini, 35 years old, was reportedly violently attacked at her home in La Plata, Buenos Aires province, where she lives with her mother. These incidents are apparently retaliatory measures against the activities carried out by Ms. Hebe de Bonafini, whose two children and daughter-in-law were reportedly kidnapped and disappeared in 1977.
9. According to the information received, Mary y Pedro Ortiz, Lidia Zarate, Delia Garcilazo, Oscar Rios and Silva Ruiz, members of the Comision de Familiares de Victimas de Gatillo, have been intimidated and threatened. The threats reportedly intensified after the Comision submitted a report to the Ministerio de Gobemacion on 18 December 2000 containing details of 800 cases of fatal police shootings. Members of the Comision were reportedly threatened after they organized a 25-day demonstration in December 2000 against the local authorities in Buenos Aires province. Those responsible for the incidents were allegedly members of the armed police.
10. Carlos Varela, Diego Lavado and Alejandro Acosta, lawyers in the province of Mendoza, are reportedly continuously the victims of harassment and threats in connection with their work on one case of enforced disappearance and two cases of murder. According to the information received, on their way to the office, on 2 March 2001, they discovered that during the night their nameplate had been stolen and that electric cables had been removed. These facts were reported to the ministry of justice of the province who ordered measures to guarantee their safety. The Special Representative has been informed that the measures were not sufficient to protect the lawyers.
11. On 22 October 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding threats against Ms. Olga Luquez. According to the information received, on 17 September 2001, after she had appeared on television to commemorate the anniversary of her son's death (murdered on 1 October 1999 by the police of Tropero Sosa), a policeman reportedly aimed a gun at her
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while in a bus. Ms. Olga Luquez's friends who appeared on television were reportedly threatened and questioned by the police. In addition, on 11 October 2001, a police car reportedly kept Ms. Olga Luquez under surveillance while she was accompanying her daughter to school.
Comunicaciones recibidas
12. Por carta fechada 2 de noviembre de 2001, el Gobierno de la Argentina informo respecto al caso de la Sra. Olga Luquez, enviado por la Representante Especial el 22 de octubre de 2001.
El Gobierno establecio que las autoridades competentes en la Cancilleria han enviado sendas notas al Ministerio de Justicia у Derechos Humanos у al Subsecretario de Justicia de la provincia de Mendoza solicitando informacion sobre los hechos denunciados.
13. Por carta fechada 5 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de la Argentina informo a la Representante Especial respecto a los casos de Alejandra Bonafini, Varela, Lavado у Acosta enviados el 24 de agosto de 2001. Respecto al caso de Alejandra Bonafini, el Gobierno senalo que la Subsecretaria de Derechos Humanos del Ministerio de Justicia у Derechos Humanos dirigio una nota con fecha 28 de mayo de 2001 al Ministro de Seguridad de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, manifestando su preocupacion por los hechos у reclamando una investigacion exhaustiva. La investigacion penal preparatoria se encuentra actualmente en etapa instructiva. Respecto a los casos de Mary y Pedro Ortiz, Lidia Zarate, Delia Garcilazo, Oscar Rios y Silva Ruiz, la Subsecretaria de Derechos Humanos del Ministerio de Justicia у Derechos Humanos informo que se continuan efectuando gestiones para contactar a miembros de la Comision de Familiares de Victimas de Gatillo Facil con el objeto de esclarecer la situacion у actuar dentro de sus competencias. Respecto al caso de Varela, Lavado у Acosta, el Gobierno senalo que la Subsecretaria de Derechos Humanos del Ministerio de Justicia у Derechos Humanos de la nacion informo que solicito al Ministerio de Justicia у Seguridad de la provincia de Mendoza que se resguarde en todo lo que las victimas reclamen en cuanto a sus vidas у seguridad; asimismo que se implementen las investigaciones que permitan el cese de la situacion que pesa sobre las personas antes mencionadas. Finalmente el Gobierno informo que se compromete a informar cualquier novedad en relation a los casos antes mencionados.
14. Por carta fechada 5 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de la Argentina transmitio informacion respecto al caso de miembros de la Comision de Familiares de Victimas de Gatillo Facil enviado el 21 de marzo de 2001. Segun la Subsecretaria de Derechos Humanos del Ministerio de Justicia у Derechos Humanos, se continuan efectuando gestiones para contactar a miembros de la mencionada Comision. Asimismo, dicha Subsecretaria mantiene un permanente contacto con la Direction de Derechos Humanos y el Ministerio de Seguridad, a fin de aunar esfuerzos en la investigacion y esclarecimiento de los hechos.
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15. Por cartas fechadas 5 y 28 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de la Argentina informo respecto a los casos de Vanesa Lorena Ledesma y Vanesa Piedrabuena. El Gobierno senalo que la Subsecretaria de Derechos Humanos del Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos Humanos se ha puesto en contacto con el Ministro de Gobierno de la provincia de Cordoba reclamandole el cese de las presuntas amenazas contra la vida y la seguridad de Vanessa Piedrabuena. Ademas, el Gobierno de la Argentina establecio que el 25 de abril del 2001 las actuaciones fueron giradas a la Unidad Judicial Delitos Especiales a los fines de continuar con la investigation iniciada
por la Direction de Lucha Contra la Discrimination. Con motivo de la muerte de Vanesa Lorena Ledesma, el Gobierno indico que en el mes de octubre de 2000, a requerimiento de la Fiscalia Interviniente, el juzgado de control dicto el sobreseimiento total de los nueve uniformados quienes habian procedido a la detencion de Vanesa Lorena Ledesma y que habian estado a cargo de la misma en los momentos inmediatamente posteriores a su detencion. Asimismo, el Gobierno senalo que cada una de las cuestiones planteadas en relation al fallecimiento de Vanesa Lorena Ledesma fueron oportunamente investigadas, valoradas y resueltas. No procedio nuevo analisis por cuanto las instancias procesales han sido agotadas, tras motivadas resoluciones, sin que hayan sido cuestionadas por recurso alguno. Hizo saber a Vanesa Piedrabuena que aparece innecesaria la audiencia solicitada sobre las mismas cuestiones.
Observaciones
16. La Representante Especial quisiera agradecer al Gobierno todas las respuestas facilitadas.
BANGLADESH
Communication sent
17. On 23 January 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal concerning nine activists who were reportedly arrested on 12 January 2001. Those activists were Mr. Sanchay Chakma, an indigenous Jumma leader and former president of the Hill Students' Council,
Mr. Dipayon Khisha, member of the Reorganization Committee of the Hill People's Council, Mr. Rupok Chakma, President of the Hill Students' Council, Mr. Biplob Chakma, a student of Chittagong University and member of the Executive Committee Hill Students' Council, Mr. Rupayon Chakma, a polytechnic student at Chittagong, Mr. Newton Chakma, Mr. Sadhan Mitra Chakkma, Mr. Kilai Chakma, supporters of the United Peoples Democratic Front and Mr. Karim Abdullah, Chittagong City leader of the Janotantric Biplobi Jote. The nine were reportedly arrested by the police and plain clothed personnel from the Intelligence Bureau while they were participating in a public meeting to celebrate the second anniversary of the
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formation of the United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF), one of the organizations of the indigenous Jumma peoples. Mr. Chakma and his associates were charged for having allegedly created a disturbance in the minds of the public because of statements they made against the Accord of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Communication received
18. By letter sent on 21 May 2001 the Government responded that the Chittagong Metropolitan Police had received secret information on 12 January 2001 that some accused persons who had absconded from different thanas of Rangamati Hill District were present at the meeting in the Zila Parishad Auditorium arranged by the United Peoples Democratic Front. On receipt of that information, the police had arrested the nine persons and produced them before the Court of the Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate, which sent them to Chittagong jail. As there was no specific allegation against Karim Abdullah, he was released. According to the Government, Mr. Chakma and his seven tribal associates were wanted for a specific murder case, No. G.R-1(10) 2000 dt. 9.10.2000 US 302 B.P.C lodged at Kawkhali police station under Rangamati Hill District. They were sent to Rangamati District Jail on 10 February 2001 as under-trial prisoners.
Observations
19. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply. She will continue to watch and evaluate the situation of the imprisoned Chakma leaders.
BELARUS
Communications sent
20. On 27 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation concerning the following cases.
21. Ales Abramovich, a member of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, reportedly spent 35 days in detention, from 14 February
to 20 March 2000, for staging three peaceful pickets in the town of Borisov. According to the information received, this sentence reportedly related to a peaceful protest action on 16 January 2000, during which Mr. Abramovich and other protestors reportedly held posters bearing slogans such as "Zakharenko, Gonchar... who is next?" It was reported that, while he has been in detention, the guards have repeatedly placed people with the open stage of tuberculosis in his cell.
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22. Vera Stremkovskaya, a leading human rights lawyer, a defence counsel in a number of high-profile cases who received a number of prestigious international human rights awards
in 1999, and the director of the Centre for Human Rights, has been reportedly threatened with
expulsion from the Collegium of Advocates if she did not cease her human rights activities.
According to the information received, the Collegium of Advocates exerted pressure on
Ms. Stremkovskaya, during a two-day human rights conference held in Minsk in March 2000,
for alleged violations of regulations which govern the legal profession in Belarus. According to
the information received, three different criminal cases have also been brought against
Ms. Stremkovskaya since December 1998 on the basis that she had defamed public officials, all
three of which were dropped at the end of December 1999. It was reported that,
on 20 June 2001, a Minsk Court convicted Ms. Stremkovskaya of libel, fining her, and that she
immediately filed an appeal against her conviction.
23. Andrei Petrov, Dmitry Abramovich and Anton Telezhnikov, three members of Zubr, a non-registered pro-democracy and human rights organization, were reportedly detained outside the Presidential Administration Building in Minsk, on 5 March 2001, after participating the same day in a demonstration and holding pictures and placards of four men who reportedly disappeared in 1999-2000: the former Minister of the Interior, Yury Zakharenko, the
Deputy Speaker of the dissolved 13th Supreme Soviet, Viktor Gonchar and his companion, Anatoly Krasovsky, and the Russian Public Television cameraman, Dmitry Zavadsky. According to the information received, Mr. Petrov and Mr. Abramovich were reportedly fined 20 times the minimum monthly salary by Leninsky District Court in Minsk on 6 March 2001, while Mr. Telezhnikov was reportedly sentenced to 15 days in prison in Okrestina Detention Centre for participation in an unsanctioned action under article 167 (2) of the Belarusian Criminal Code.
24. Four other activists from Zubr, Aleksey Shidlovsky, Timofey Dranchuk,
Dmitry Drapochko and Ales Apranich, were reportedly arrested in Minsk on 5 April 2001 for spray-painting on the wall of a factory: "Where is Gonchar? Where is Zavadsky? Where is Zakharenko?" According to the information received, the four activists are facing charges under article 341 of the Belarusian Criminal Code for allegedly defacing a building with graffiti.
25. Yuri Bandazhevsky, an internationally recognized scientist specializing in medical research on nuclear radioactivity and former Rector of the Medical Institute of Gomel, was reportedly charged on 18 June 2001 with bribery and sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Belarusian Supreme Court in Gomel to eight years' imprisonment at the UZ 15/1 prison in Minsk. This sentence was allegedly related to his outspoken criticism of the Belarusian
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authorities' reaction to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 1986 and its harmful consequences on the health on the population. His conclusions were reportedly in contradiction with the official thesis spread by the authorities.
26. The offices of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, a non-governmental organization, have reportedly been burgled several times since 1996, resulting in the loss of a significant amount of valuable information. The persons responsible for the burglary allegedly ignored expensive office equipment but instead stole the organization's database on election monitoring and human rights violations, covering a five-year period. On 10 July 2001, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee reportedly suffered a further break-in, with the loss of two computers holding information about the organization's activities relating to the 2001 presidential election.
27. The Belarusian Association of Women Lawyers, based in the western city of Brest, reportedly came under particular scrutiny in 1998. According to the information received, at that time the human rights organization was reportedly receiving a number of foreign grants for the purpose of human rights promotion. It was reported that, although the organization was subjected to a tax audit lasting around five months, the tax authorities reportedly found an inconsistency equivalent to $4. In the interim, the president of the organization,
Ms. Galina Drebezova, was reportedly forced to expend considerable energy and time in producing and explaining the relevant documents and figures. In addition, the local authorities were reportedly not willing to allow the Belarusian Association of Women Lawyers to use municipally owned property for seminars and other human rights events.
28. The Belarusian Free Trade Union in Minsk was reportedly raided on 19 August 1999 by police officers who burst into the organization's offices on the pretext that an explosive device had been placed there. According to the information received, although no explosive device was ever found, the police officers allegedly confiscated around 30,000 leaflets calling on people to take part in the pro-democracy freedom march planned for October that year.
29. The Minsk offices of the human rights organization Spring-96 were reportedly raided
on 4 October 1999 by around 10 police officers. According to the information received, the raid, which lasted for around four hours, took place two weeks before the pro-democracy freedom march. It was reported that police officers confiscated two computers, two printers and copies of the organization's human rights journal Right to Freedom,
on the grounds that the organization did not possess the necessary authorization to print on the premises. The chairperson of Spring-96, Ales Byalytsky, was reportedly detained on 18 November 1999 and kept in custody for one day after demanding from officials that the organization's confiscated equipment be returned. According to the information received, the equipment was returned to the organization
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after a delay of around two months. It was further reported that on 16 March 2001 police officers conducted a raid on the offices of Spring-96 in the town of Borisov, north-east of Minsk, on the basis that people in a neighbouring building had reportedly complained about noise.
30. Oleg Volchek, local chairperson of Legal Assistance to the Population, was reportedly denied, on 2 April 2001, registration of a national organization which was to be named "Legal Defence of Citizens". According to the information received, Mr. Volchek submitted, on
9 February 2001, in accordance with the law, the documents required to register the organization. It was reported that the Ministry of Justice refused registration of the organization, claiming that it had not meet the necessary requirements to become a public association. The main basis for the refusal was reportedly the organization's statute, which declared its aims to render legal assistance and associated consultations to others in the area of human rights and basic freedoms. According to the decision, the aims were reportedly contrary to the official definition of the term "legal assistance" and contrary to article 22 of the Law on Public Associations, which reportedly states that public associations can only represent and defend the rights and legal interests of their members and not third parties.
31. It has been reported that human rights organizations, like all other associations, are subject to a system of official warnings, which may result in their official closure by the Ministry of Justice. Fears have been expressed that official warnings may permit the Belarusian authorities to interfere in the internal affairs of the organizations. In this connection, three members of the human rights organization Spring-96, the chairperson, Ales Byalytski, as well as
Palina Stepanenka and Valyantsin Stefanovich, reportedly received and official warning on 18 August 2001 from the Ministry of Justice. According to the information received, the first warning received from the Ministry of Justice had complained that the letterhead used on Spring-96's office paper had reportedly violated official regulations. It was further reported that, in October and December 2000, the organization received a second and third official warning for the alleged incorrect use of the organization's name on its monthly human rights publication, Right to Freedom.
Sergei Obodovsky, the chairperson and founder of the Mogilov Human Rights Centre, reportedly received a warning on 29 September 2000 from the local justice authorities stating that that organization had violated the 1994 Law on Public Associations by defending the rights of people who were not members of the organization. Mr. Obodovsky had appealed against the action taken against the organization to a higher judicial instance.
32. Furthermore, it has been brought to the attention of the Special Representative that
on 14 March 2001, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka issued a decree entitled "Several measures on improving distribution and use of foreign humanitarian aid", which reportedly prohibits the use of foreign funding for pro-democracy purposes. NGOs may be at risk of incurring fines and closure if they violate the legislation. On 11 May 2001, another presidential decree, entitled
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"On certain measures to improve procedures for holding meetings, rallies, street processions, demonstrations and other mass actions and pickets", was introduced which imposes new restrictions on the right of freedom of assembly. It has been reported that, under the decree, the body organizing a sanctioned event may be held entirely responsible for the action and may be fined or de-registered if public order is deemed to have been violated.
33. On 27 September 2001 the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, transmitted an allegation regarding the following cases.
34. Oleg Volchek, a lawyer, chairperson of Legal Assistance to the Population, and chairperson of the non-governmental committee which has demanded an independent investigation into the possible disappearances of Yury Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky and Dmitry Zavadsky, was reportedly arrested on 21 July 1999, in Minsk, after a pro-democracy demonstration with other companions. He was then taken to the Moskovsky District Department of Internal Affairs, where it is alleged that he was repeatedly punched and kicked on the body and head by three police officers who refused him access to a doctor. Mr. Volchek and his companions were not reportedly released until 22 July 1999. Apparently, as a result of his complaint, Mr. Volchek was charged with malicious hooliganism under article 201 (2) of the Belarusian Criminal Code and risked a sentence of several years' imprisonment. The charges against him were reportedly dropped in November 1999 owing to lack of evidence. Another allegation was transmitted on this case on 30 September 2001 by the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression.
35. Valery Schukin, a human rights defender, independent journalist and member of the dissolved parliament, was reportedly sentenced by Minsk City Court on 17 April 2001 to three months' imprisonment. According to the information received, Mr. Schukin was convicted for his alleged role in organizing the October 1999 pro-democracy freedom march, and for alleged hooliganism relating to an incident which reportedly occurred on 16 January 2001 when police officers refused him entry to a press conference given by the Minister of the Interior, Vladimir Naumov, in Minsk. It was further reported that a struggle had ensued between
Mr. Schukin and guards policing access to the conference, who had reportedly violently forced him to the ground.
36. Vladimir Yuhko, a member of the Belarusian Conservative Christian Party, was reportedly ill-treated by police officers on 18 May 2001 and suffered a broken arm while protesting outside the Palace of the Republic building in Minsk. According to the information received, police officers detained approximately 30 protestors who were reportedly carrying posters of the men
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who had apparently disappeared and distributing leaflets contesting the proposed union of Belarus with Russia. It was reported that plain clothes police officers are alleged to have used force to disperse the peaceful protestors and ill-treated a number of them.
Observations
37. The Special Representative regrets that at the time of the finalization of this report the Government had not transmitted any reply to her communications.
BHUTAN
38. In a communication dated 25 July 2001, the Special Representative requested the Government to extend an invitation to her to carry out an official visit to Bhutan. No reply has been received so far.
BOLIVIA
Communication sent
39. On 6 March 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal concerning Mr. Waldo Albarracin Sanchez, President of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights in Bolivia (APDHB). According to the information received, Mr. Waldo Albarracin Sanchez received threatening phone calls on his cell phone on two occasions, on 22 and 28 February 2001. In the second phone call, threats were reportedly extended to Mr. Waldo Albarracin Sanchez's family. According to the source, the APDHB reported the facts to the Commission for Human Rights of the Bolivian Parliament, the National Ombudsman Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Minister of Interior.
Observations
40. No reply has been received so far.
BRAZIL
Communications sent
41. On 24 April 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal regarding Romoaldo Vandresen, the son of Mr. Dionisio Vandresen, coordinator of the Pastoral
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Commission on Land in Parana. According to the information received, he was followed on 10 April 2001 in Parana by a vehicle driven by two unknown men, who allegedly forced him to stop, then threatened him with a gun and searched his car. The two gunmen reportedly told Romoaldo Vandresen to tell his father that they were going to kill both of them. It is alleged that the emblem of the civil police was on the guns that were used in the incident. According to the source, these acts were connected with the active role played by the victims in denouncing the repression of rural farmers without land in Parana.
42. On 30 October 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal regarding death threats against Friar Wilson Zanatta, a member of the Pastoral Land Commission in Tupancireta, in the State of Rio Grando do Sul. According to the information received, on 20 October 2001, Friar Wilson Zanatta was stopped on the road while he was on his way to assist landless rural labourers in Estancia Grande Estate. A man driving a Chevrolet pickup truck struck the vehicle driven by Friar Wilson Zanatta. He asked Mr. Zanatta where he was going and it is reported that when Mr. Zanatta answered that he was going to the encampment of the landless labourers, the man ordered him to turn around and threatened to kill him if he did not execute his orders.
Mr. Zanatta reportedly filed an incident report with the local police. Because of the climate of fear and tension in Tupancireta, the community of friars to which Zanatta belongs decided to transfer him out of the region.
Observations
43. The Special Representative has not yet received a response from the Government.
CAMEROON
Communication envoyee
44. Le 4 mai 2001, la Representante speciale, conjointement avec le Rapporteur special sur le droit a la liberte d'opinion et d'expression, le President-Rapporteur du Groupe de travail sur la detention arbitraire et le Rapporteur special sur la torture, a adresse au Gouvernement un appel urgent concernant le professeur Sindjoun Pokam, Djeukam Tchameni, Djimo Leandre,
Peter William Mandio, journaliste, directeur de publication du journal Le Front independant,
et Olivier Sande. Ces cinq personnes auraient ete arretees sans mandat d'arret le 26 avril 2001 et detenues au commissariat central de Douala. Bien que la raison de leur detention ne soit pas connue, des craintes ont ete exprimees quant au fait que les personnes mentionnees ci-dessus aient ete arretees en raison de leurs activites en faveur des droits de l'homme et dans le but de les empecher d'exercer leur droit a la liberte d'opinion et d'expression. En effet, le professeur
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Sindjoun Pokam, Djeukam Tchameni, Djimo Leandre et Peter William Mandio sont membres du Collectif national contre l'impunite, une organisation qui lutte pour que les personnes coupables de violations des droits de l'homme soient presentees devant la justice. Us auraient ete arretes alors qu'ils se rendaient a une reunion du Collectif.
Observations
45. La Representante speciale regrette qu'aucune reponse du Gouvemement ne lui soit parvenue.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Communication envoyee
46. Le 7 mars 2001, la Representante speciale, conjointement avec le Rapporteur special sur la torture et le Rapporteur special sur le droit a la liberte d'opinion et d'expression, a adresse au Gouvemement un appel urgent concernant la situation de M. Aboukary Tembeley, President du Mouvement des droits de l'homme et directeur de publication du Journal des droits de I'homme.
Selon les informations recues, il aurait ete arrete le 14 fevrier 2001 a la suite de la publication des resultats d'un sondage qu'il aurait effectue sur la demission du President Patasse. Selon les informations recues, il aurait ete interroge par la Direction generate de la Gendarmerie nationale pendant quatre heures. Transfere devant le parquet de Bangui le 16 fevrier 2001, M. Tembeley aurait ete inculpe en vertu de Г article 77 du Code penal pour "diffusion de propagande de nature a nuire aux interets vitaux de l'Etat et de la Nation" et pour "incitation a la haine et a la revoke contre les institutions democratiquement elues". Selon les informations recues, le tribunal de Bangui aurait declare M. Tembeley coupable "d'actes de manoeuvre de nature a compromettre la securite publique ou a occasionner des troubles politiques graves". Il aurait ete condamne a deux mois de prison et a une amende de 150 000 francs CFA.
Observations
47. La Representante speciale regrette qu'aucune reponse du Gouvemement ne lui soit parvenue.
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CHAD
Communication envoyee
48. Le 5 juillet 2001, la Representante speciale a adresse au Gouvernement un appel urgent concemant Mme
Jacqueline Moudeina, responsable juridique de Г Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de rhomme (ATPDH) et avocate des victimes tchadiennes dans les poursuites judiciaires engagees a l'encontre de l'ancien chef d'Etat, Hissein Habre. D'apres les informations recues, elle aurait ete attaquee le 11 juin 2001 par des membres de la police antiemeutes alors qu'elle participant devant l'ambassade de France a N'Djamena a un rassemblement d'une centaine de femmes qui souhaitaient soumettre une motion a
Г Ambassadeur de France pour protester contre la politique de la France au Tchad. D'apres les informations recues, pendant la dispersion du rassemblement, des elements des forces de securite auraient demande ou se trouvait Mme
Moudeina et auraient lance une grenade dans sa direction, la blessant a la jambe droite. M. Mahamat Wakaye, ancien haut responsable de la DDS, la police politique de Hissein Habre, aurait dirige la police antiemeutes au moment des faits. Il semblerait que cette action s'inscrive en represailles des activites de Mme
Moudeina. Cette crainte se serait confirmee suite au harcelement dont aurait ete victime Mme
Moudeina dans l'enceinte de la clinique Providence ou elle a ete emmenee pour etre soignee. Cet appel urgent concernait egalement M. Samuel Togoto, commissaire de police et ancien Vice-President de Г Association des victimes de crimes et repressions politiques au Tchad (AVCRP) et ancien detenu de la DDS, qui serait victime de harcelement administratif. Il lui serait reproche d'avoir voyage hors du pays sans autorisation prealable du Ministre de l'interieur et d'avoir fait des declarations contraires a son statut de policier au Tchad et a Dakar, ou il se serait rendu pour temoigner en tant que victime dans Г affaire de l'ancien chef d'Etat, Hissein Habre. D'apres les informations recues, son interrogatoire aurait ete mene par l'inspecteur Brahim Djidda, ex-directeur general de la Surete poursuivi aujourd'hui par les victimes pour torture. M. Togoto encourrait une suspension de salaire pendant plusieurs mois, voire une radiation pure et simple. Enfin, cet appel urgent mentionnait egalement le cas de M. Daniel Bekoutou, journaliste tchadien, qui, des le commencement du proces d'Hissein Habre a Dakar, aurait recu des menaces de mort en raison de ses articles en faveur du jugement de l'ancien chef d'Etat. En consequence, il aurait du fuir le Senegal et s'exiler en Europe.
Observations
49. Aucune reponse du Gouvernement n'a ete recue jusqu'a ce jour.
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CHINA
Communications sent
50. On 31 August 2001 the Special Representative transmitted an allegation jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture on the following cases.
51. Wang Wanxing, a human rights activist, was reportedly forcibly removed from his home by public security officers and taken to Ankang Psychiatric Hospital in Beijing
on 23 November 1999. This followed Mr. Wanxing's request to the authorities to hold a press conference to discuss his confinement. He was allegedly first detained in Ankang Public Security Hospital on 3 June 1992 after trying to unfurl a banner in Tiananmen Square commemorating the events of 4 June 1989. On 19 August 1999, Wang Wanxing was reportedly released for a three-month trial period.
52. Li Lanying, Chen Shihuan, Liu Jinling and Chi Yunling, four Falun Gong practitioners from Zhaoyuan county in Shandong province, were reportedly detained in November 1999 for disclosing details of the death due to torture of Zhao Jinhua in October 1999. In December 1999, Li Lanying and Chen Shihuan were reportedly assigned to three years' "re-education through labour", to be served in a labour camp in Zibo county, Shandong province.
53. On 26 September 2001 the Special Representative transmitted an allegation jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding the following cases.
54. Mr. Lobsang Tenzin and Mr. Tenpa Wangdrak were reportedly caught, on 31 March 1991, while in Drapchi Prison, attempting to hand over a letter to the then United States Ambassador, James Lilley, who was visiting Drapchi Prison. According to the information received, the letter contained in detail treatment meted out to political prisoners and a list of prisoners who had reportedly been tortured. Mr. Lobsang Tenzin and Mr. Tenpa Wangdrak were reportedly beaten by officers of the Public Security Bureau (PSB), and moved to dark isolation cells.
55. Mrs. Li Yang was reportedly arrested on 15 March 2000 and sent for one month to Chaoyang District Detention Centre for appealing for the rights of Falun Gong practitioners at the Government Central Appeal Office in Beijing. She was reportedly held in very bad conditions.
56. Ms. Zhang Xueling was reportedly sentenced on 24 April 2000 to three years' imprisonment in the Wangcun Labour Camp in Shandong province for collaborating with the enemy. According to the information received, her arrest was connected with the appeal
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Ms. Zhang filed to seek justice for her mother, Ms. Chen Zixiu, who had allegedly been beaten to death on 21 February 2000, while in detention, and ask for a forensic report. It has been further reported that, on 20 April 2000, Ms. Zhang gave details of her mother's death and of her quest for justice to the Asian Wall Street Journal.
57. On 27 September 2001 the Special Representative transmitted an allegation to the Government of China regarding the following cases.
58. Jamphel Jangchup, Ngawang Phulchung, Ngawang Woeser and Ngawang Gyaltsen, Drepung monk members of the "Organization of Ten" were reportedly arrested by officers of the Public Security Bureau (PSB), on 16 April 1989, for forming a "counter-revolutionary organization, producing reactionary literature, which attacked the Chinese Government and slandered the People's Democratic dictatorship". In fact, the group reportedly published a Tibetan translation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and had also given information about the human rights abuses reportedly perpetrated by the authorities. According to the information received, Mr. Jangchup and Mr. Phulchung were sentenced to 19 years' imprisonment and Mr. Woeser and Mr. Gyaltsen were sentenced to 17 years.
59. Mr. Chu O-ming, a Falun Gong practitioner based in Hong Kong, was reportedly arrested on 7 September 2000 in connection with the complaint he filed, on 29 August 2000, with the Supreme Procuratorate of China, against Jiang Zemin, the President, Zeng Qinghong, Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Personnel, and Luo Gan, Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the State Council, for alleged persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. To date, Mr. Chu's family has still not obtained any information about his whereabouts.
60. Ms. Teng Chunyan, a medical doctor and Falun Gong practitioner, was reportedly charged with "prying into State intelligence for overseas organizations" and sentenced to three years in jail by Beijing Intermediate People's Court, on 23 November 2000. According to the information received, on 7 February 2000, Ms. Teng led foreign journalists to a village in the Fangshan district of Beijing, where they reportedly interviewed Falun Gong practitioners detained in a mental hospital. In March 2000, Ms. Teng returned to Fangshan and provided a digital camera for a man to take pictures of the detained Falun Gong members to document their detention and hunger strike. She later reportedly forwarded the pictures to foreign news organizations by e-mail.
61. On 8 and 12 March 2001, the local police reportedly arrested He Kechang, Ran Chongxin, Jiang Qingshan and Wen Dingchun, four farmers, who were planning to go to Beijing in early March 2001 to present a petition to the Government complaining that local officials had embezzled funds intended to pay for resettling them. According to the information received, the
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four farmers are among thousands of people whose homes will be flooded by the Three Gorges Dam, a giant reservoir that is reportedly planned to be operational in the centre of Gaoyang in 2003. All four of them were reportedly held in the Yunyang county police Detention Centre, charged with disturbing the social order, leaking State secrets and maintaining illicit relations with a foreign country.
Observations
62. The Special Representative regrets that at the time of the finalization of this report the Government had not transmitted any reply to her communications.
COLOMBIA
Urgent appeals
63. On 4 January 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning the Commander of the Colombian Army who issued a press release on 26 July 2000 attacking
Mr. Gustavo Gallon Giraldo, Director of the NGO Colombian Commission of Jurists, and other members of the organization. According to the information received, the press release has made a reference to their involvement in the judicial proceedings aimed at solving the disappearance of a human rights defender on 4 July 1990. On 31 July 2000, Mr. Gallon asked the President of Colombia and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic to order a rectification of that information. It was reported that the answer given by the Commander of the Army was reportedly incomplete since it did not respond to important questions relating to the video made by the members of the National Army showing human rights defenders who had participated in the judicial proceedings.
64. On 19 January 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Ivan Madero Vergel and Jose Guillermo Larios, members of the organization CREDHOS in Barrancabermeja, who were reportedly threatened on 3 January 2001 by army-backed paramilitaries. According to the information received, several people thought to belong to the paramilitary group AUC came to the homes of the above-named persons, threatening them and their families. Since then,
Mr. Madero Vergel has received a number of threatening phone calls at his home, reminding him that he is considered to be a military target and accusing him of being a guerrilla collaborator or supporter. Both men are members of an organization which has played a vital role in drawing international attention to human rights abuses committed by guerrillas, the security forces and their paramilitary allies.
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65. On 6 February 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers regarding Mr. Oscar Rodas Villegas, a lawyer and human rights defender, member of the Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Association (CAJAR), who has reportedly been threatened with death and ordered to put an end to his investigations about human rights violations. According to the information received, on 24 January 2001, his wife, Ms. Olga Iliana Velez, was abducted by three men and a woman thought to belong to a paramilitary group. She was taken to an unknown house and beaten. She was freed at the end of the day and asked to tell Mr. Rodas Villegas that he had to disappear before 17 February or his family would be set upon.
66. On 13 February 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women regarding two men who identified themselves as members of the paramilitary group AUC and who reportedly came on 27 January 2001 to a women's community centre "Casa de la Mujer" run by the Organization Femina Popular (OFP) in the district of Barrancabermeja. According to the information received, these two men announced that they had come to take over the centre and demanded the keys from the activists. One of the men reportedly returned the same day, threatened Jackeline Rojas and stole her mobile phone. He reportedly said that the paramilitaries would take the centre by force and "blow the door and trample over whoever stands in their way". This man was arrested by the police, but it is feared that the AUC will carry out their threats. Furthermore, on 8 February 2001, two armed men, who identified themselves as members of the AUC, approached an international observer from Peace Brigades International (PBI) and ordered him to hand over his papers and mobile phones. When he refused, the men threatened him with a gun, at which point he and his colleague from the OFP gave the men their papers and mobile phones. As the men were leaving the centre, they threatened the international observer from PBI, declaring the organization a military target.
67. On 22 February 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Mr. Omar Vera Luna, President of the Junta de Accion Comunal in Barrancabermeja and collaborator of the Peace and Development Programme in Magdalena Medios, who has reportedly been threatened with death on various occasions since 16 February 2001 by members of the AUC. According to the information received, Mr. Vera Luna has reportedly refused to take part in a demonstration organized by the paramilitaries protesting against the creation of a place, "El Reten", designed to host meetings between the guerrilla members of ELN and the Government. As a result of renewed threats, and despite the presence of the police, Mr. Vera Luna and his family have been forced to leave their house and find shelter in the "Casa de la Mujer" centre run by the OFP in Barrancabermeja. In addition, Mr. Andres Aldana, President of the Junta de Accion Comunal
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reportedly received a visit on 15 February 2001 from two persons who identified themselves as members of the AUC. He was reportedly forced to sign a document requesting the presence of the national army in the city and the expulsion of the OFP. On 16 February 2001, he received two other visits from members of paramilitary groups who forced him to join a demonstration against the creation of "El Reten". Mr. Angel Miguel Solano, received a visit on 7 February 2001 from three men who identified themselves as members of the AUC and who warned him that he had to leave the city of Barrancabermeja. He was also asked to take part in the demonstration.
68. On 9 March 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding activists of the OFP who were reportedly attacked and threatened by paramilitaries as they organized a celebration of International Women's Day on 8 March 2001. According to the information received, on 7 March two OFP members were handing out leaflets to promote the activities they were organizing. A group of men who said they were members of the paramilitary AUC approached them. The men snatched the leaflets and burned them. They also threatened the women and told them to leave the area. Later, the OFP President, Yolanda Becerra, received a call on her mobile phone in which a threatening voice told her she would have to take the consequences.
69. On 2 April 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding professional killers who have reportedly been ordered to murder Mr. Alirio Uribe, a human rights lawyer, President of the Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Association (CAJAR) and Vice-President of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH). According to the information received, the threats came as Mr. Uribe was participating in the session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
70. On 11 June 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women regarding army-backed paramilitaries who reportedly told OFP worker Ms. Dany Rada Jimenez (22 years of age) on 18 May 2001 that she was a military target. Subsequently, she received further death threats and the paramilitaries reportedly told community members in various districts of Puerto Wilches, in Santander department that they would kill more OFP members. Ms. Rada Jimenez was reportedly kept under constant surveillance by men following her in the street for the past few weeks. She reported all this to the police.
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71. On 11 June 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding three armed gunmen, thought to be army-backed paramilitaries belonging to the AUC, who reportedly abducted Mr. Kimi Domico Pernia in the municipality of Tierralta, department of Cordoba, on the evening of 2 June 2001. According to the information received, he has not been seen since his abduction. Mr. Domico Pernia is a leader of the Embera indigenous people, who live along the rivers Sin and Verde in the department of Cordoba. He has played a leading role in the indigenous communities' campaign against the construction of the Urru dam, which will destroy much of their ancestral lands.
72. On 12 June 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Ms. Bernice Celeyta Alayon, President of the human rights organization NOMADESC, who reportedly found a message on her home answering machine on 18 May 2001 threatening her with death. The next day, a funeral wreath was left on her doorstep. Since 14 May 2001, she has reportedly been kept under constant surveillance by unknown men in cars. In the past few months, NOMADESC has denounced human rights violations by paramilitaries who have threatened and killed trade unionists in Valle del Cauca department, and massacred civilians living along the River Naya in Valle del Cauca.
73. On 15 June 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding the safety of Ms. Islena Rey, the only surviving member of a disbanded human rights organization, Meta Civic Human Rights Committee. On 5 June 2001, Mr. Gonzalo Zarate and his brother were reportedly killed by unidentified gunmen at their home in the Manantial district of Villaviciencio, capital of the department of Meta. Before it was disbanded, the organization played an important role in denouncing human rights violations committed by the security forces and their paramilitary allies in Meta. Since 1991, four leading members have been gunned down and three other members have disappeared. In its second year, the organization faced continuous threats, and three of its members disappeared.
74. On 15 June 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Astrid Manrique Carnaval, a member of the Popayan branch of the ASFADDES, and her family who had reportedly repeatedly been threatened in the previous few weeks. On 3 June 2001, it was reported that two men smashed all the windows at Ms. Manrique Carnaval's house. On
25 May 2001, she and her 14-year-old daughter were followed by six unidentified men in the street. At the end of April 2001, unknown men came to the home of her sister, who saw them keeping it under surveillance.
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75. On 29 June 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Ms. Emma Gomez de Perdono, a member of the trade union ANTHOC in Honda city, department of Tolima, and her daughter Diana de Perdono, who were reportedly victims of an attempted murder by paramilitaries on 13 June 2001. According to the information received, in the previous few weeks, a paramilitary group had threatened with death members of ANTHOC at a hospital in Honda if they refused to take part in the meetings of the paramilitary group. It was reported that paramilitary groups often accuse trade unionists of being members of guerrilla groups and considered them as military targets.
76. On 9 July 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding the disappearance and murder by paramilitaries of Mr. Alirio Pedro Domico Domico, Governor of the Embera indigenous group, which occurred in Cabildo del Rio Esmeralda, department of Cordoba, on 25 June 2001, and of Mr. Alberto Sabugara Velasquez, a leader of the Embera indigenous group, in Quibdo, department of Choco, on 27 June 2001. Concern was also expressed at the enforced disappearance on 2 June 2001 in Cabildo del Rio Verde, department of Cordoba, of Mr. Kimi Domico Pernia, also a leader of the Embera indigenous group.
On 10 July 2001, the Special Representative and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions issued a press release expressing their deep concern over the murder and disappearance of indigenous leaders in Colombia.
77. On 12 July 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers regarding Dr. Alirio Uribe Munoz, a lawyer and human rights defender, and two other members of the Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Association (CAJAR) in Bogota, Luis Guillermo Perez Casas and Maret Cecilia Garcia, who are still facing harassment and intimidation by paramilitary groups in Cundinamarca. Since
Mr. Luis Guillermo Perez Casas started working on the case of massacre committed by members of the army in Mapiripan, he has reportedly been the victim of harassment and regular surveillance.
78. On 24 July 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Mr. Hernando Hernandez Pardo, Vice-President of CUT and President of the Oil Workers' Trade Union (USO), who escaped an assassination attempt on 6 July 2001. According to the information received, he was speaking at a union meeting in Barrancabermeja in Santander department when he was warned that a group of heavily armed paramilitary gunmen had come to the meeting to kill him. The meeting was immediately suspended and Mr. Hernandez Pardo was taken to safety.
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79. On 6 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an urgent appeal regarding members of the Bogota-based human rights organization, Corporation Sembrar, who have reportedly been kept under surveillance and threatened. It was alleged that members of the organization, as well as other people who work with Sembrar, have been watched on entering and leaving its office in Bogota. The threats appear to be related to the organization's activities in and around the city of Barrancabermeja, an area for the control of which army-backed paramilitaries are waging a military campaign.
80. On 23 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding the situation of threats, murders and harassment faced by trade unionists. According to the information received, on 16 August 2001, three board members of SINTRAELECOL were victims of an attempted murder when they were leaving its offices in Fusagasuga, department of Cundinamarca. As a result, Ms. Doris Lozano Nunez died and Mr. Omar Garcia Angulo was seriously injured. On the same day, Mr. Manuel Pajaro Peinado, treasurer of the Trade Union of Public Services of Barranquilla district was murdered in his home. It was reported that
Mr. Edgar Pua and Mr. Jose Merino, treasurer and attorney respectively of ANTHOC received death threats and were asked to leave the city and to put an end to their activities. It was also alleged that Mr. Gustavo Villanueva, Director of ANTHOC in Polonuevo, received death threats.
81. On 28 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an urgent appeal regarding Commandant Enrique Cotes Prado's declarations during a meeting on 27 July 2001 between local civil and military authorities and a national commission in Fusagasuga. This commission comprised the Vice-Presidency, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ombudsman and the Prosecutor's Office, as well as human rights organizations and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as observer, and aimed at establishing dialogue with local authorities about the human rights situation in the region. One of the key issues in this dialogue was the relationship between members of the Military Base Camps of Las Aguilas and the inhabitants. According to the information received, Commandant Cotes Prado publicly declared that the State institutions and their civil servants, which did not take position regarding the occupation of the area by the guerrilla 20 years ago, were "serving guerrilla members". It has been reported that these declarations violated Presidential Directive 07, which aims to protect human rights defenders, including civil servants who perform human rights work. In that sense, Commandant Cotes's public declarations reportedly did not contribute to promoting dialogue between the different actors in the region and, on the contrary, might create a polarization of the situation.
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82. On 13 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an urgent appeal regarding Edgar Pua, Judith Castillo, Argemio Rivaldo, Carlos Bustamente, Ubaldo Galindo, Jose Merino and Arminto Sarmiento, members of ANTHOC in Baranquilla, Atlantico region, who were reportedly threatened with death by paramiliatries who accused them of being guerrilla members. As a result of these threats, they were forced to leave the region. Carmen Pungo and Ricaurte Yanten Pungo, members of ANTHOC, were murdered on 2 September 2001 by paramilitary groups in Tambo, Cauca region.
83. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Mr. Hernando Montoya, a trade union leader of SINTRAMUNICIPIO, Cartago section, department of Valle, who reportedly received anonymous death threats on 7 September 2001. Previously, the Cooperativa de Seguridad (COPROSEG) had reportedly threatened
Mr. Montoya. Although a beneficiary of the Minister of the Interior programme of protection, he is allegedly still facing harassment and threats by paramilitary groups. In addition, it has been reported that the mayor of Cartago has proffered verbal threats against Mr. Montoya on various occasions which have contributed to increasing the risk for his safety.
84. On 25 October 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression regarding Mr. Luis Manuel Anaya Aguas, treasurer of the Sindicato de Conductores y Trabaj adores del Transporte de Santander (SINCONTRAINDER) in Barrancabermeja, and its president, Mr. Luis Lopez, who were reportedly killed on 16 and
19 October 2001. On 17 October 2001, Mr. Julian Rodriguez, a member of the Corporation CREDHOS, was murdered in Barrancabermeja, allegedly in retaliation for his human rights activities. According to the information received, six trade unionist leaders of the Union Sindical Obrera (USO) were reportedly held in detention on 19 October 2001 in various cities around the country and accused of rebellion. Among the detainees were Mr. Jairo Calderon, former president of the USO, held in detention in Bucaramanga, Mr. Alonso Martinez, a USO activist, held in Bogota, Mr. Ramon Rangel, a member of the USO Human Rights Commission, held in Barrancabermeja and Mr. Fernando Acuna, former president of FEDEPETROL, held in Barrancabermeja. Agents of the Technical Body of Investigation of the Public Prosecutor's Office and of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) were reportedly responsible for the arrests. These acts were connected with a one-day demonstration against ECOPETROL, a petrol company under State control, organized by the USO to protest against continuing harassment, death threats, murders and disappearances reportedly suffered by USO leaders and activists. Various board members of the Comite Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (COMPERDH) as well as one of its lawyers, have been reportedly threatened with
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death. This is the case for Mr. Ernesto Amezquita Camacho, Mr. Luis Jairo Ramirez,
Dr. Jahel Quiroga in relation with her activities in the Corporation Reiniciar and
Dr. Carlos Lozano. On 11 October 2001, Mr. Rigoberto Jimenez, president of the Asociacion de
Ayuda Solidaria (ANDAS) in Cartagena, and an AND AS board member were intimidated by
two unidentified men on a motorbike. On 16 October 2001, Mr. Manuel de la Rosa, treasurer of
ANDAS, was reportedly detained by three armed men in plain clothes and taken away by force
in a van. He was released at the request of other members of the organization.
85. On 30 October 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Ms. Gladys Avila, Secretary-General of ASFADDES, Ms. Gloria Herney, ASFADDES General Coordinator, and other human rights defenders with that association, who were reportedly receiving death threats and being followed on a continuous basis. In recent weeks, it was reported, anonymous telephone calls had been made to ASFADDES. In addition, interference was heard on the office telephones.
86. On 13 November 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an urgent appeal regarding the destruction of the Organization Femenina Popular (OFP) community centre in the Barrio La Virgen, Barrancabermeja, department of Santander. According to the information received, on 10 November 2001, a group of armed men forcibly entered the OFP centre and began to demolish it.
87. On 30 November 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding continuous threats against members of the Asociacion Campesina del Valle del Rio Cimitarra (ACVC) despite the recommendation made by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on 1 November 2001 to the Government of Colombia to implement the protective measures granted in 1999 in order to protect members of ACVC allegedly declared military targets by paramilitary groups. According to the information received, on 7 November 2001, members of the Cuerpo Tecnico de Investigaciones (CTI) of the Attorney-General's Office (Fiscalia) and of the Fifth Brigade of the Army broke into the home of Mr. Cesar Jerez, a member of the board of the Association, in Bucaramanga, and intimidated his family. These threats are allegedly linked to the activities carried out by ACVC in the defence of the human rights of the inhabitants of Valle del Rio Cimitarra in Magdalena Medio Colombiano. The Special Representative was also informed of the existence of a military intelligence report as well as a judicial investigation by the Attorney-General's Office against ACVC and its board.
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Allegation letters
88. On 15 February 2001, the Special Representative expressed her concern at the killing of Mr. Ivan Villamizar, regional ombudsman (defensor del pueblo) in Cucuta City in North Santander, on 12 February 2001. Mr. Villamizar, who had been the Dean of the University of Cucuta, had consistently denounced human rights violations in Catatumbo as well as the massacres, reportedly committed in 1999 by paramilitaries, in La Gabarra and Tibu, all in the department of Northern Santander. It is reported that, because of his work, he had been the object of constant death threats. A press release was issued on the same case by the Special Representative on 16 February 2001.
89. On 17 April 2001, the Special Representative submitted a communication to Mr. Gustavo Bell Lemus, Vice-President of the Republic of Colombia, reminding him of a list of cases she has already sent to the Government. The Special Representative expressed concern over the particularly precarious situation of human rights defenders in the country, especially in the city of Barrancabermeja. Reports indicated that serious human rights abuses are perpetrated by the paramilitary "Self Defence Group" (AUC). The Special Representative acknowledged that the Government of Colombia had taken measures to address the problem, such as the Special Protection Programme for Witnesses and Threatened Persons under the Ministry of the Interior. However, she remained concerned about the slow pace of judicial investigations into crimes against human rights defenders and about the limited administrative, security and financial resources to protect those human rights defenders who found themselves at risk.
90. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, sent an allegation letter to the Government regarding the case of
Mr. Eduardo Umana Mendoza, a lawyer and human rights defender. According to the information received, Dr. Mendoza was killed on 18 April 1998 by two men and a woman who identified themselves as journalists. Prior to his death, Dr. Mendoza had been threatened on numerous occasions. Complaints had been filed with the competent authorities, but no progress had been made on the investigations into these threats. A number of arrests have been made in connection with the murder, but so far only one person has been formally charged. There is a grave concern that, despite indications of military involvement in the crime, it appears that this line of investigation has not been followed.
91. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an allegation letter regarding the following cases.
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Human rights organizations
92. According to the information received, army-backed paramilitaries threatened to kill OFP members after they helped to organize three days of events and marches in Barrancabermeja calling on both sides in Colombia's armed conflict to respect the human rights of civilians. The paramilitaries declared 11 families who took part in the 14 to 17 August 2001 event to be military targets. First, paramilitary gunmen went to women's homes and told them not to go on the march, and set up roadblocks to stop the event taking place, despite the fact that the army had a strong presence in the city. At the end of the march, the women gathered in the city football stadium to hear speeches. OFP members Jackeline Rojas and Yolanda Becerra were on the podium preparing to begin the event when a man approached and threatened them. On
24 August 2001, OFP was told that paramilitaries had decided to assassinate their members, beginning with one of their leaders, Patricia Ramirez.
93. According to the information received, on 8 and 9 October 2000, four families belonging to the Asociacion de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos (ASFADDES) branch at Medellin reportedly received several threatening telephone calls, which were repeated on
31 October 2000, following which they had to leave the region. Ms. Martha Elizabeth Soto Gallo received a threatening message on her answerphone on 13 April 2000. On 11 and 23 November 2000, in Medellin, two letters carrying a death threat was sent to Mr. Sancho Castro, a collaborator of the association. On 20 November 2000, the person in charge of the Cundinamarca branch of ASFADDES is reported to have been followed in Bogota by two unknown people. It was also reported that, in May 2000, Ms. Rocio Campos, a member of the Managing Council of ASFADDES and its Barrancabermeja branch received several telephone calls from unknown persons who threatened her, fired gunshots and asked her about her brother, Daniel Campos, who disappeared in May 1998. The Special Representative has also been informed of the murder of Ms. Elisabeth Canas Cano, a member of ASFADDES, on 11 July 2000 in Barrancabermeja. She had been actively involved in combating unpunished criminals, especially in connection with the disappearance of a group of 25 people, including her son, Giovanny Canas Cano, and her brother, Jose Milton Canas Cano, who both disappeared at Barrancabermeja on 16 May 1998. Furthermore, on 29 and 30 September 2000, during a forum entitled "For life and human rights" held in Barrancabermeja, threats were made by paramilitary groups in the form of slogans against members of ASFADDES accused of being members of guerrilla groups and military targets. As a result of the threats targeting it, ASFADDES decided to close temporarily its office in Barrancabermeja on 28 February 2001.
94. According to the information received, since the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) was created 13 years ago, eight of its members have been killed and two others were the victims of murder attempts. The former president of CREDHOS,
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Osiris Bayther, and the coordinator of the organization in Bolivar, Marco Tulios Campos, were forced to leave Colombia in 1998 and to give up their activities in the region after receiving death threats. The offices of CREDHOS in Barrancabermeja were raided on 16 and 18 October 1999. On 19 October 1999, the coordinator of CREDHOS in Barrancabermeja, Pablo Javier Arenales, received numerous threatening phone calls. In August 2000, the secretary of the organization, Monica Madera Vergel, received a threatening call on the phone assigned to her by the Ministry of the Interior programme. These acts are connected with the pamphlet distributed by CREDHOS in Bucaramanga during an event, "For life and human rights", in September 2000 denouncing the threats against its members and holding the AUC responsible for them.
Members of human rights organizations
95. According to the information received, on 19 May 1997, a group of masked gunmen, identifying themselves as members of the Attorney General's Office, killed Carlos Mario Calderon and Elsa Constanza Alvarado, both activists of the Centre for Research and Popular Education, in their Bogota apartment. According to the information received, in July 2001 four persons were reportedly accused of having participated in the murder and sentenced to between 4 and 60 years' imprisonment. It has been reported that detention orders have been issued against paramilitary leaders Carlos and Fidel Castano, who were allegedly charged with having planned the murders. It has been further reported that although the authorities knew about their whereabouts, they did not take the appropriate measures to arrest them. According to the information received, four judicial police officers and one key witness have been murdered in the course of the investigation. The Special Representative requested information regarding the follow-up to the measures taken by the competent authorities to investigate, prosecute and sentence those found responsible for these acts.
96. Dr. Jesus Valle Jaramillo, a renowned human rights lawyer, was shot dead in February 1998 by unidentified gunmen in his office in Medellin after denouncing links between members of the Colombian military and paramilitary organizations. He was the president of the Antioquia Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, and the fourth president of that organization to be killed. He was also a university professor and a Conservative Party local councillor.
97. Jairo Bedoya Hoyos, treasurer of the Indigenous Organization of Antioquia (OIA) and former members of the Patriotic Union (UP) political party and of Parliament in 1992-1993, disappeared on 2 March 2000 in the department of Antioquia. Those responsible are reportedly
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members of paramilitary groups allied with security forces. The victim had participated in a campaign calling for the respect of the cultural rights and for the safety of Embera indigenous people.
98. Marleny Rincon and Ana Julia Arias de Rodriguez, members of the National Association of Peasants and Indigenous Women of Colombia (ANMUCIC), and Marta Cecilia Hernandez, leader of ANMUCIC Zulia, department of North Santander, were killed, allegedly by paramilitary forces, on 21 July 2000, 19 August 2000 and 26 January 2001, respectively. Marleny Rincon, president of the association in the department of Meta, as well as Julia Arias de Rodriguez, treasurer of ANMUCIC and a member of the UP political party, have been accused of being guerrilla members. Marta Cecilia Hernandez's murder is allegedly due to her refusal to withdraw her candidature for the municipal elections.
99. Orlando Moncada, spokesman and member of the board of the Peasants Association of Valle del Rio Cimitarra, department of Santander, was killed on 1 September 2000 while standing near a road block set up by the AUC on the road between Puerto de Barrancabermeja and El Tigre.
100. Fernando Cruz Peda, a human rights lawyer and member of the Association of Democratic Jurists of Colombia, continues disappeared in Cali. On 10 December 2000, three unidentified persons in plain clothes took him away to the Attorney-General's Office on the pretext of checking his professional card. Although numerous complaints have been lodged with various national authorities, the case has reportedly not been investigated so far.
101. Pepe Zabala and Angela Andrade, members of the Multi-Ethnic People's Movement of the Narino Pacific Coast campaigning for the rights of the various ethnic minority groups in the department of Narino, were killed on 6 August 2001 in the Aguaclara district of the municipality of Tumaco. According to the information received, paramilitaries began threatening to kill members of this NGO in September 2000. The Movement had appealed to the Ministry of the Interior for protection because of the death threats. The Ministry had provided mobile telephones for members to inform the authorities if they were attacked.
102. Yolanda Ceron, a nun and director of the human rights team of the Catholic church organization Pastoral Social in Tumaco, Narizo department, was reportedly shot several times on 19 September 2001 by unidentified gunmen as she walked across a park in Tumaco. She was taken to the local hospital, where she died moments later. Ms. Ceron had worked for many years with Pastoral Social to denounce human rights violations in Narizo department and in support of the victims and their families. She had recently reported that unidentified men had followed her
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and that the offices of Pastoral Social were under permanent surveillance. Some time before, she had also been called to the Attorney-General's Office in Tumaco to ratify the denunciations she had made some months before of several cases of human rights violations.
Internally displaced persons
103. On 3 September 2000, Cesar Molina, director of the Corporation para la Education y Autogestion Ciudadana (CEAC), a human rights NGO in Barranquilla, department of Atlantico was reportedly intercepted by two armed men who threatened to kill him if he did not discontinue his work with internally displaced persons and students in the University of Atlantica. The two men also mentioned Luis Felipe Flores, director of another human rights NGO, Fundacion para el Estudio de las Ciencias Sociales (FUNPECIS). The facts of the case suggest that the perpetrators are members of an organized group of contract killers who may have paramilitary links. As a result of the threat, both individuals have been forced to abandon their human rights work in Barranquilla and have been displaced in other cities in Colombia.
104. Armando Achito, an Embera indigenous leader from the municipality of Jurado, department of Choco, was killed on 25 December 2000 by armed men, allegedly members of paramilitary groups, in his own house in Jurado. Mr. Armando Achito had taken part in several procedures claiming land, food and health for those communities. After the massacre of three indigenous persons by alleged paramilitaries, he had been displaced to Jurado on 8 August 1999. Apparently the local authorities had suggested that he move to Bahia Solano, so that he could be provided with the necessary protection. However, this removal did not, reportedly, prevent him being killed.
105. Pedro Varon, teacher and Fiscal of the executive board of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores workers (CUT), department of Tolima, has reportedly been subjected to acts of pursuit and threats against his life, allegedly committed by paramilitaries, which, according to the information received, forced him in April 2001 to flee the region, to give up his union work and to leave his family.
106. Evert Encizo, a teacher and director of the "La Reliquia" school and leader of the displaced people in the settlement of the same name in the town of Villavicencio, was killed
on 19 August 2001 by two strongly armed men who entered his house and shot him. In this incident, two other people, Mrs. Marleny Coronado Gomez, deputy president of the "Junta de Action Comunal" of this settlement, and a child, were reportedly injured.
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107. According to the information received, Marino Cordoba, President of the Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians, (ASFRODES), received threatening phone calls, allegedly from paramilitaries, at the headquarters of the organization in March 2001. ASFRODES deals mainly with the defence of the rights of Afro-Colombians and displaced people. Previously, Mr. Cordoba had reportedly been the victim of attempts on his life in 2000 and had received several death threats since he moved in January 1997 from the department of Choco to Bogota.
Trade unionists
108. In the period January-October 2001, 112 trade unionists were assassinated,
and 65 disappeared/were abducted, a significant increase in repressive action against trade unionists considered as military targets. Moreover, 23 trade unionists were the victims of aggression during the same period. Members of paramilitary groups have been accused of being responsible for most of these violent deaths.
109. Geraldo Gonzalez, Secretary for Agrarian and Indigenous Affairs of the Central Unitaria de Trabaj adores (CUT), also president of the small farmers' trade union in Cundinamarca, was reportedly constantly subjected to threats against his life during 1999 and 2000. For instance, his name was included in a document given to the CUT, which announced a plan of extermination of trade union leaders. His family has also been seriously affected.
110. On 19 September 2000, two unknown armed strangers reportedly fired several shots at Ricardo Herrera, Secretary-General of the trade union SINTRAEMCALI and Omar de Jesus Noguera, a trade union employee, on their arrival at Mr. Herrera's home in the Junin neighbourhood of Cali, Valle de Cauca. Mr. Noguera, who was wounded during the attack, died on 23 September 2000. He had spoken out against corruption and participated as a trade union member in mobilization activities against the privatization of EMCALI. The chairman of SINTRAEMCALI, Mr. Alexander Lopez Amaya, was forced to leave the country in September 2000 after receiving repeated death threats and after being chased by hired assassins.
111. Wilson Borja, president of the National Federation of State Workers (FENALTRASE) and a peace activist, was reportedly the victim of an armed attack on 15 December 2000. It was reported that he had previously lodged a complaint with the Regional Attorney of Bogota concerning the death threats he had been receiving by telephone and in letters. Mr. Borja is also member of the Civil Society Negotiation Commission, whose aim is to help create a free zone in the Bolivar and Antioquia regions in order to begin peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN).
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112. Orlando Ospina Loaiza and Carlos Alberto Florez, vice-president and secretary-general of the Trade Union of Public Service Workers and Employees (SINTRAEMSDES) in Pereira reportedly received a condolence card, on 12 February 2001 sent by the AUC.
113. Jaime Alberto Duque Castro, president of the trade union of workers of Cementos El Cairo (SUTIMAC), was allegedly detained on 24 March 2001 by AUC paramilitaries. He was released without injuries on 5 April 2001.
114. Gustavo Soler Mora, president of the workers of the multinational Drummond company and president of the national Mining and Energy Trade Union (SINTRAMINERGETICA), was found dead on 7 October 2001 in Rincon Hondo, in the municipality of Chiriguana. The day before, he was reportedly forced by armed men to get off the bus in which he was travelling from Valledupar to Chiriguana to get into a minibus.
Communications received
115. In a letter dated 16 March 2001 the Government of Colombia replied to the communication of 13 February 2001 relating to alleged acts committed by a self-defence group against the Women's Popular Organization (OFP) in Barrancabermeja. The Government asserted that a preliminary inquiry was made on the day of the events, but an official order for an investigation had still not been given. The Social Solidarity Network set up by the Office of the President of the Republic had organized a system of care for displaced persons, in which the specific case of that organization was included. The Government added that investigations had also begun into the threats against Mrs. Flor Maria Canas and other members of the organization, but they were still at the stage of gathering evidence.
116. In a letter dated 20 March 2001, the Government provided information on official communication No. 1247/DAS.D of 6 March 2001, by which the Director of the Administrative Department for National Security reported that the necessary steps had been taken to neutralize and prevent any action by outlawed groups against the civilian population.
117. In letters dated 10 April and 28 May 2001, the Government of Colombia replied to the Special Representative's communication of 6 February 2001. The Government stated that a preliminary inquiry into Mrs. Olga Liliana Velez's complaint alleging death threats against herself, her husband, Oscar Rodas Villegas, and her family had begun. As a result, several pieces of evidence had been examined and an investigation had been initiated to determine who had committed the offences in question. However, it had not yet been possible to reach any conclusion. The Government reported on 28 May 2001 that the Public Prosecutor's Office,
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Criminal Courts Division 99 had ordered an investigation into the alleged death threats against Oscar Rodas Villegas and Olga Liliana Velez and that they were still examining the evidence and establishing the identity of the culprits.
118. In letters dated 10 April, 22 May and 5 October 2001 the Government of Colombia replied to the Special Representative's communication of 9 March 2001 regarding the Women's Popular Organization (OFP). Yolanda Becerra's statement about the threats against Flor Maria Canas indicated that she had not received any more such threats. In its letter dated 22 May 2001, the Government stated that Mrs. Yolanda Becerra, chairperson of the OFP, had rejected the protection offered to her as being against the principles of her organization. In its letter of 5 October 2001, the Government reported that the Attorney-General's Office had taken several steps, such as devising a protection and prevention strategy, and appointing two human rights consultants, as soon as it learnt of the violence against OFP members and of the pressures on them, and was beginning a preliminary investigation of members of the Public Prosecutor's Office headquartered in Barrancabermeja for having released the person who had allegedly threatened a legal representative of OFP in the name of the AUC. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, for its part, was investigating the same events and
on 26 May 2000 had ordered precautionary measures for several OFP members at their head office in Barrancabermeja. The Government said that several investigations were being conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office. On 2 August 2001, the Sub-Commission on Protection and Security held a meeting to decide what had to be done to ensure that the meeting on the International Mobilization of Women, from 14 to 17 August 2001, could proceed normally. Yolanda Becerra, the legal representative of OFP, said that, according to an intelligence report apparently received by the Fifth National Army Brigade, paramilitary groups once again intended to assassinate her, because they considered it an affront that, far from leaving the Magdalena Medio area, she had opened a new OFP office in Bogota. The Attorney-General's Office was supporting OFP in connection with the International Mobilization of Women meeting by maintaining constant communication with members of the security forces during the event in order to counter attempts by suspected AUC members to hinder the proceedings.
119. In a letter dated 14 June 2001, the Government of Colombia replied to the Special Representative's communication of 2 April 2001, providing information about alleged death threats against Mr. Alirio Uribe Munoz, president of the Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Association and vice-president of the International Human Rights Federation, and said that investigations were being carried out to clarify the facts and to identify the guilty parties.
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120. In a letter dated 27 June 2001, the Government replied to the communication
of 22 February 2001 and provided information on the alleged death threats against Omar Vera Luna, Andres Aldana and Angel Miguel Solano. It transmitted a report by the Santander National Police in which it was mentioned that Father Francisco de Roux together with other bishops and a lady had appeared at the police station stating that members of the Self-Defence Group had gone to the home of Mr. Omar Vera Luna to force him under threat to sign a commitment. He and his family were then forced to accompany them forthwith to the demonstrations against the pull-back zone at the place known as Y in Barrancabermeja. It was for that reason, that it had been decided to remove Mr. Vera Luna from the crowd of protesters and take him back home. However, the threats from the Self-Defence Group had continued and constant vigilance was required on the part of the Navy. Moreover, Mr. Angel Miguel Solano reported to the authorities that he had been forced by the community to attend the demonstrations, though not under threat. The Government would communicate the results of the relevant investigations.
121. In a letter dated 27 June 2001, the Government replied to the communication
of 11 June 2001, providing information about the alleged disappearance of the leader and spokesman of the Embera Katio community, Mr. Kimi Dominico. The Government asserted that on 5 June the Second Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Monteria had opened an investigation into the alleged aggravated kidnapping for ransom and other crimes against the above-mentioned person, who had reportedly been kidnapped by three individuals on two motorcycles. In addition, an order had been given to raid and search the "el Cairo" estate. It was executed on 5 June 2001, but without result. The Government would report on the results of the investigations.
122. In a letter dated 28 June 2001, the Government replied to the communication
of 15 June 2001 and reported that the Public Prosecutor's Office had initiated preliminary investigations into the alleged death threats against Mrs. Astrid Manrique Carvajal and her family. It also pointed out that the alleged victim had submitted a complaint to the Rapid Reaction Unit (URI) about "acts that she felt were attacks on her personal integrity". The same complaint had been submitted to the Military Court of Criminal Investigation. An investigation was also being carried out concerning damage to the property of others.
123. In a letter dated 2 July 2001, the Government of Colombia replied to the communication of 15 June 2001. In regard to the alleged death threats against Mrs. Islena Ruiz, a member of the Meta Civic Committee for Human Rights, and the murder of the brothers Humberto and Gonzalo Zarate Triana and of Dr. Josue Giraldo Cardona, it asserted that the General Directorate of Human Rights in the Ministry of the Interior and the Administrative Department for National
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Security had adopted a large number of security measures to protect Mrs. Islena Ruiz. With regard to the murder of Dr. Josue Giraldo on 13 October 1993, the circumstances in which it was committed had been established and it had been concluded that the motive was his political opinions and beliefs. As for the murders of Mr. Gonzalo and Mr. Humberto Zarate Triana, the Prosecutor's Office concerned reported that an investigation was under way. The Government would report in due course on the results of the investigations.
124. In a reply dated 5 July 2001, the Government reported on the alleged threats and attacks against the premises of the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) and its members, particularly Mr. Ivan Madero and Mr. Jose Guillermo Larios. It stated that they were not in the city mentioned, as they were in a "soft" protection programme run by the Ministry of the Interior that involved removing them from that place. In addition, the other members of the Corporation were all covered by different protection programmes.
125. In a letter dated 10 July 2001, the Government replied to the communication
of 12 June 2001 and provided information about the alleged death threats against Mr. Carlos Arbey Gonzalez, leader of the University Workers' and Employees' Union of Colombia (SINTRAUNICOL), and the alleged disappearance of Mr. Gilberto Agudelo, stating that Mr. Carlos Arbey was covered by a protection programme and had an escort and a vehicle, and enjoyed increased security measures. It added that no record could be found of Mr. Gilberto Agudelo's disappearance.
126. In a letter dated 24 August 2001, the Government of Colombia replied to the communication of 24 July 2001 and reported on the foiled attempt to kill Mr. Hernando Hernandez Pardo, vice-president of the Trade Union Confederation (CUT) and president of the Workers' Trade Union (USO), which occurred on 6 July 2001. It stated that the Administrative Department of National Security had begun operating a protection and security system, which could be strengthened without prejudice to the relevant precautionary measures.
127. In letters dated 24 August and 28 September 2001, the Government replied to the communication of 29 June 2001 and provided information about the foiled attempt to kill
Mrs. Maria Emma Gomez de Perdomo, a member of the National Trade Union of Health Sector Workers (ANTHOC), and her daughter Diana Perdomo, stating that the Public Prosecutor's Office was conducting a preliminary investigation to identify those responsible. It was also investigating threats against some of the staff of the Juan de Dios hospital in Honda, members of the ANTHOC trade union, it being clear that Mrs. Gomez Perdomo was not among those mentioned as being concerned. The Government would report in due course on the results of the investigations.
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128. In a letter dated 4 September 2001, the Government of Colombia replied to the Special Representative's communication of 12 July 2001 and reported on the alleged death threats against several members of the Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Association, stating that a meeting had been held with all the competent authorities to determine institutional responsibilities. It was decided at the meeting that the Ministry of the Interior would take preventive measures in respect of individuals and that the Vice-President's Office would be responsible for political measures. As a result, several meetings had been held to speed up procedures for dealing with the requests of petitioners in the case, particular importance being attached to the consultation of intelligence archives. Since the matter was before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Government wished to close the case.
129. Por carta fechada 6 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de Colombia informo a la Representante Especial sobre la destruction del dispensario "Casa de la Mujer", caso enviado el 13 de noviembre de 2001. El Gobierno senalo que el caso se encuentra sometido a examen en la Comision Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, motivo por el cual se informo acerca de las medidas cautelares ordenadas por el Gobierno a favor de la OFP. Al respecto, el Gobierno senalo que el 11 de octubre de 2001 se llevo a cabo una reunion con el Grupo de Trabajo ad hoc, con el fin de acordar medidas de protection destinadas a la OFP. Las entidades responsables de estas medidas son el Ministerio del Interior, la Fiscalia General de la nacion, la Policia Nacional, la Procuradoria General de la nacion y la Vicepresidencia de la Republica. En el marco de la politica gubernamental de derechos humanos y derecho humanitario, se tiene previsto la conformacion de comisiones intersectoriales a nivel regional que tienen como proposito acordar medidas y acciones que contribuyan a mejorar la situation de los derechos humanos en las regiones. El Programa Presidencial para los Derechos Humanos y el Derecho Internacional Humanitario ha participado en las reuniones, eventos, foros y otros que tengan relation con el trabajo de la OFP en la region, acompafiandolos y coordinando con el Ejercito Nacional y la Policia Nacional las gestiones necesarias para evitar que se presenten hostigamientos por parte de los grupos armados al margen de la ley, que rechazan las actividades de la organizacion.
Se tomo contacto directo con la Sra. Yolanda Becerra, representante de la OFP, con el objeto de verificar cualquier tipo de information o action de cualquier agente que represente un riesgo o amenazas contra las personas o instalaciones de esta organizacion no gubernamental.
Observations
130. The Special Representative is grateful to the Government of Colombia for its prompt replies to her communications. Following the request to visit Colombia sent by the Special Representative on 20 February 2001, an official invitation was extended to her by the
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Government of Colombia on 31 August 2001. In this regard, the Special Representative would like to refer to the report on her visit to Colombia (from 23 to 31 October 2001) submitted separately to the Commission at the present session (E/CN.4/2002/106/Add.2)
CROATIA
Communication sent
131. On 4 January 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Srdj Jaksic, a prominent human rights lawyer, who was the subject of an assassination attempt by three masked men on 30 December 2000 outside his home in Dubrovnik. Mr. Jaksic was reportedly seriously wounded and sustained injuries to his abdomen and his arm, requiring surgery and continued hospitalization. The next day, 31 December 2000, his wife and eight-year-old daughter were reportedly also attacked by an unknown assailant. It was alleged that these attacks are in connection to Mr. Jaksic's work. Mr. Jaksic is a well-established attorney and during the past decade, has worked on numerous cases of great importance for the protection of human rights in Croatia. Mr. Jaksic has also reportedly been involved in some property cases that have led to the eviction of Croatian policemen from Serb-owned homes occupied during the war. It has also been reported that the Dubrovnik police have done little to investigate these attacks and have not provided effective security to the Jaksic family.
Communications received
132. By letter dated 12 January 2001, the Government ensured the Special Representative that the relevant Croatian authorities had taken all the necessary measures in order to apprehend the perpetrators of this criminal act. The scene of the crime had been examined, as well as all potential evidence, and a special group of criminal investigators had been established by the Dubrovnik Police Department and the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of the Interior in order to solve this case. The Government was ensuring that the Ministry of the Interior continued to take adequate steps in order to protect the life and physical integrity of Mr. Jaksic and his family. The Government also informed the Special Representative that several amendments to the Law on Courts had been recently adopted in order to enhance the security of judicial professionals.
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Observations
133. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its prompt response. The Special Representative appreciates the Government's assurances of additional laws for the better protection of lawyers. She will study these laws with interest and will continue to assess their impact on the situation of human rights defenders. She would like to be kept informed on
Mr. Jaksic's case and looks forward to receiving further information from the Government on the progress of investigation in this case and on the prosecution of the assailants, when identified.
CUBA
Communication sent
134. On 14 September 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Leonardo Bruzon Avila, who was reportedly arrested on 5 September 2001 after he set up an independent video library for children in the capital, Havana. According to the information received, Mr. Leonardo Bruzon Avila is president of the 24 February Human Rights Movement named for the date
in 1996 on which two planes belonging to a Cuban exile group were shot down by the Cuban Air Force. He reportedly named the library, in his home in Havana, "The 24 February Library". It has been reported that the authorities issued a warrant for his arrest and the eviction of him and his family. The source indicates that previously Mr. Leonardo Bruzon Avila was repeatedly detained and harassed. On 3 December 2000, he and other dissidents were reportedly detained to prevent them taking part in a demonstration to celebrate Human Rights Day. It has been further reported that Mr. Leonardo Bruzon Avila is now held at a police detention centre, the Technical Investigations Department, in Havana. As yet, no charge has been brought against him.
Communications received
135. On 18 January 2001, the Government sent a reply to a note verbale sent by the Special Representative on 10 October 2000 (see report of the Special Representative to the Commission on Human Rights E/CN.4/2001/94, paras. 54-55). The Government of Cuba thanked the Special Representative and appreciated the desire that she expressed to carry out the mandate assigned to her on the basis of a fully open and transparent dialogue with States. It noted that the financing of non-governmental organizations should follow a clear pattern of transparency and be conducted responsibly and fully in keeping with the legislation in force in each country. The Government further stated that it could not accept manipulation of the theme of human rights in order to try to justify the financing of activities which were clearly incompatible with the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. Although Cuba shared
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the Special Representative's criterion that States are above all the guarantors of the rights of their citizens, it reasserted its conviction that, in a classic State-citizen relationship, States in a globalized and interdependent world can themselves take on the role of defenders of the human rights of their citizens vis-a-vis the influence of external agents such as other States or agents, particularly transnational corporations. The Government stressed that it guaranteed the fullest realization of and respect for all human rights of its citizens to the extent of the resources and possibilities available to it. Finally, the Government reiterated its desire to cooperate with the Special Representative in carrying out her mandate.
Observations
136. The Special Representative awaits a reply on the case of Mr. Bruzon Avila.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Communications envoyees
137. Le 22 fevrier 2001, la Representante speciale a envoye un appel urgent conjointement avec le Rapporteur special sur la torture concernant Golden Misabiko, President de Г Association africaine des droits de l'homme (ASADHO) - section du Katanga, qui aurait ete arrete
le lundi 5 fevrier 2001. Selon les informations recues, il aurait ete enleve par deux hommes en civil qui appartiendraient а Г Agence nationale de renseignements (ANR) alors qu'il allait chercher sa fille a l'ecole dans la commune de Lubumbashi. Le motif de son arrestation n'a pas ete rapporte mais serait lie a ses activites de defenseur des droits de l'homme. Golden Misabiko serait detenu au centre de detention dit du Groupe Litho Moboti (GLM), qui serait dirige par les services de securite speciale du President.
138. Par un appel urgent date du 16 mai 2001, la Representante speciale, conjointement avec le Rapporteur special sur la Republique democratique du Congo et le President-Rapporteur du Groupe de travail sur la detention arbitraire, a informe le Gouvernement qu'elle avait recu des renseignements concernant la situation de deux membres de Г ASADHO, Mlle
Jeanne Bilonda et M. Hubert Tshiswaka. Le 14 mai 2001, M e
Jeanne Bilonda et M. Hubert Tshiswaka auraient ete arretes a Lubumbashi (province du Katanga) a leur bureau avant d'etre conduits a la Direction provinciale de Г ANR, ou ils auraient ete detenus. Selon les informations recues, aucun mandat d'arrestation n'aurait ete presente et aucun motif d'arrestation invoque. Selon les informations recues, ces deux personnes auraient ete arretees en raison de leurs activites dans le domaine de la promotion et de la protection des droits de l'homme.
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139. Par un appel urgent date du 8 juin 2001, la Representante speciale, conjointement avec le Rapporteur special sur la Republique democratique du Congo et le President-Rapporteur du Groupe de travail sur la detention arbitraire, a informe le Gouvernement qu'elle avait recu des renseignements concernant l'arrestation de M. N'Sii Luanda, President du Comite des observateurs des droits de rhomme (CODHO), une organisation de defense des droits de rhomme dont le role est de porter assistance aux personnes incarcerees. Selon les informations recues, M. N'Sii Luanda aurait ete interpelle le 5 juin 2001 par des elements des services de securite. Il aurait ete achemine a la Direction generate de l'ANR, dans la commune de la Gombe, ou il aurait ete detenu. Selon les informations transmises, le President du CODHO avait du se rendre les 2 et 4 juin 2001 a la Detection militaire des activites antipatrie (DEMIAP-exterieure), ou il aurait ete interroge sur les activites de son organisation. Il serait reproche a
M. N'Sii Luanda d'etre en contact avec des suspects qui porteraient atteinte a la surete de l'Etat. Le President du CODHO n'aurait par ailleurs pas eu acces a un avocat depuis son arrestation.
140. Le 15 juin 2001, la Representante speciale, conjointement avec le Rapporteur special sur la Republique democratique du Congo, a transmis un appel urgent concernant M. Robert Hunga Numbi, President de Г organisation «Les Amis de Nelson Mandela pour la defense des droits de rhomme» (ANMDH). Selon les informations recues, le 15 juin 2001, deux individus se seraient presentes au domicile de M. Ilunga Numbi, a Kinshasa, et Г auraient contraint a les suivre.
Le President de Г ANMDH aurait par la suite ete conduit au Conseil national de securite. Le motif de son arrestation demeure inconnu. Par ailleurs aucun mandat d'arret n'aurait ete presente.
141. Par un appel urgent date du 17 aout 2001, la Representante speciale, conjointement avec le Rapporteur special sur la torture, le Rapporteur special sur la Republique democratique
du Congo et le President-Rapporteur du Groupe de travail sur la detention arbitraire, a informe le Gouvernement qu'elle avait recu des renseignements concernant l'arrestation et la detention au secret de Constant Thsibadi Matambwa Kadinga, president local des Forces novatrices pour l'union et la solidarite (FONUS), parti politique d'opposition, et des menaces d'arrestation contre son epouse, Mme
Edonbo Kalombo Maguy. Selon l'information recue, le 28 juillet 2001, une vingtaine de policiers auraient arrete M. Kadinga a son domicile de Kinshasa sans mandat d'arret. Us lui auraient presente des tracts appelant a une marche pour la paix et la solidarite en soutien au «dialogue intercongolais» organise par cinq partis d'opposition politique, qui devait se tenir le 30 juillet 2001 a Kinshasa/Gombe. Selon les informations recues, sa maison serait sous la surveillance de policiers depuis que Mme
Ebondo Kalombo Maguy aurait donne un entretien a Radio France Internationale le ler
aout, dans lequel elle relatait les circonstances de l'arrestation de son mari. Des craintes ont ete exprimees quant au fait qu'elle pourrait etre arretee a tout
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moment en represailles а Г action qu'elle menerait en faveur de son mari. A la suite de cet entretien radiophonique, M. Kadinga aurait ete transfere le 2 aout au sous-commissariat de Selembao, ou il resterait detenu jusqu'a cejour dans des conditions d'hygiene deplorables et sans etre autorise a recevoir de visites.
Observations
142. La Representante speciale regrette qu'aucune reponse du Gouvernement n'ait ete recue jusqu'a cejour. Elle se felicite neanmoins de la liberation le 20 juin 2001 de M. Robert Ilunga Numbi, de la liberation le 7 septembre 2001 de M. N'Sii Luanda, ainsi que de la liberation
le 13 septembre 2001 de Golden Misabiko.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Communications sent
143. On 20 July 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal regarding Father Pedro Ruquoy, a Belgian citizen and a permanent resident of the Dominican Republic, and a defender of the rights of Haitian refugees and workers in the Dominican Republic. He reportedly received anonymous threats
on 18 February 2001, sent to him on postcards. It was alleged that this followed the publication of an article written by him denouncing the massive arrests and deportations of Haitians, as well as of Dominicans of Haitian origin. In addition, on 14 April 2001, an armed unidentified man, who claimed to be a member of the Dominican army, reportedly entered Father Ruquoy's house and threatened to kill him with a knife. According to the information received, Father Ruquoy reported these facts to the police, but no detention order has been issued.
Communications received
144. By letter dated 2 October 2001, the Government of the Dominican Republic informed the Special Representative that Father Ruquoy was being given police protection and that the competent authorities would conduct a thorough investigation into the threats received by him.
Observations
145. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply.
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ECUADOR
Communications sent
146. On 3 April 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal regarding members of the human rights organization QUITOGAY and of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community, who reportedly received an e-mail on 23 March 2001 in the QUITOGAY office in Quito mentioning that "a total social cleansing in all the QUITOGAY sector" was going to be carried out. Although the threat was directed to QUITOGAY and to LGTB people in Quito, the message allegedly referred to a "social cleansing of the whole country". These threats came at a time when police officers had allegedly tortured and threatened to kill LGTB people.
147. On 25 July 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding
Mr. Alexis Ponce, national spokesperson of the Asamblea Permanente de Derechos Humanos del Ecuador, who was the victim of harassment by police officers in Quito airport on 22 July 2001 and forced to abandon attending a conference due to take place in Spain. Previously, in 1999, Mr. Alexis Ponce was reportedly seriously threatened in retaliation for the active role he plays in the field of human rights and to have received anonymous threatening phone calls.
148. On 6 August 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, regarding a number of Ecuadorian human rights organizations which reportedly received death threats via e-mail
on 30 July 2001. The e-mail was addressed to the Fundacion Regional de Asesoria en Derechos Humanos (INREDH) and copied to Frente Ecuatoriano de Derechos Humanos (FEDHU), Comite Andino de Servicio (CAS/AFSC) and Servicio de Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ). The e-mail specifically mentioned the names of Mr. Pablo de la Vega, coordinator of the Centro de Documentation en Derechos Humanos "Segundo Montes Mozo SJ", Ms. Elsie Monje, Director of the Comision Ecumenica de Derechos Humanos (CEDHU), Ms. Ines Espinoza, Ms. Teresa Orrego, Ms. Yanet Yanez and Mr. Jhonny Jimenez, President of SERPAJ. It was alleged that the message called human rights defenders drug traffickers and accused them of organizing ideological centres financed by Cuba, China and Russia. It has been further reported that the threat was reportedly directed at the entire human rights community in Ecuador. According to the information received, those responsible for these acts are members of a newly created paramilitary organization named Legion Blanca.
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Observations
149. The Special Representative regrets that no reply from the Government has been received so far.
EGYPT
Communications sent
150. On 11 January 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding Law 153 of 1999, "Law on Civil Associations and Institutions". This law was allegedly found to be null and void for procedural reasons by the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court on 3 June 2000. According to the source, the Government intended to reintroduce the law in accordance with the constitutional requirements. It was alleged that Law 153 of 1999 violated the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly as guaranteed by various international instruments. Several of its articles were allegedly hampering or prohibiting the work of NGOs in their function as human rights defenders. Concerns have also been expressed regarding sanctions against individuals who engage in human rights work without the approval of the Government.
151. On 15 January 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning Saadeddin Ibrahim, an independent human rights activist, professor of Political Sociology at the American University in Cairo and director of the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Development Studies. On 30 June 2000, the State security investigation bureau allegedly arrested him and some of his documents were confiscated. At the same time, another force from the state security investigation bureau reportedly raided the Ibn Khaldoun Centre and the Women's Voters' Support Centre and confiscated a number of account files, computer disks, computers, pamphlets and a safe. Mr. Ibrahim and 27 other individuals reportedly faced charges ranging from accepting foreign funds without government authorization to compiling false reports about domestic conditions. Concern has been expressed that if found guilty, Mr. Ibrahim may be sent to jail for 15 years. It has been alleged by the source that the case against Mr. Ibrahim was "fabricated" and "politically motivated" since the charges reportedly resulted from his work as a human rights defender and his intention to set up a watchdog committee to monitor parliamentary elections.
152. On 18 May 2001, the Special Representative sent another urgent appeal concerning Saadeddin Ibrahim. According to the sources, Saadeddin Ibrahim's defence counsel had been denied copies of the documents containing the prosecution's case, and was only allowed to see these documents for three hours in April 2001. It was reported that the prosecution's case had
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almost 300 pages, and therefore Mr. Ibrahim's lawyers could not adequately prepare their defence. According to the information received, Saadeddin Ibrahim has been charged under article 80 (d) (1) of the Penal Code with "disseminating tendentious rumours with the purpose of undermining Egypt's reputation". It was reported that this matter is being brought before a Supreme State Security Court, whose verdicts can only be challenged before the Court of Cassation on procedural grounds, but not before a higher appeal court on the substance of the case. It was further reported that some of the charges against Saadeddin Ibrahim, in particular those alleging the acceptance of foreign funds without government authorization, relate to projects funded by the European Commission aimed at promoting participation in the elections.
153. On 22 May 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, concerning the conviction
on 21 May 2001 of Saadeddin Ibrahim to seven years imprisonment. It is further reported that 27 co-defendants, most of whom are members of the Ibn Khaldoun Centre or the Egyptian Women Voters' Support Centre, received prison terms ranging from one to seven years. According to the information received, the charges against Saadeddin Ibrahim relate entirely to his activities as a human rights defender. On 25 May 2001, the Special Representative, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, issued a press release in which they expressed their deep concern to the Government of Egypt over the trial and conviction of Saadeddin Ibrahim and 27 co-defendants by the Supreme State Security Court on 21 May 2001.
154. On 6 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal regarding Nawal El Saadawi, a writer and eminent defender of women's rights. According to the information received, legal proceedings have been launched in order to annul on the grounds of apostasy the 37-year marriage of Nawal El Saadawi and her husband, Sheriff Hetata, reportedly on the basis of an interview with Nawal El Saadawi published by the Egyptian weekly newspaper "Al Midan" on 6 March 2001, according to which she was critical of certain religious practices. It has been reported that Ms. El Saadawi's statements, which related to historical facts and to her views on the wearing of the veil by women, polygamy and the inequality of women with regard to inheritance law, were misquoted by the newspaper. According to the source, a lawyer named Nabih El Wahch lodged a complaint before the General Prosecutor and the Cairo Court for Personal Status Affairs, accusing her of contempt of Islam and asking for her separation from her husband.
155. On 8 August 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning the alleged harassment of Mrs. Sammah Hamid Ali and of members of her family by the Egyptian police in Helwan. According to the information received, they have been the target of a series of abuses,
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including threats, beatings, arbitrary arrests and detention, committed by members of the Helwan police investigation station. Fears have been expressed that these incidents have been motivated by Mrs. Hamid Ali's involvement in the ongoing trial of the policeman accused of having tortured to death her husband, Mr. Fathi Abd El Monem, in the Helwan police station in 1994. For instance, on 4 May 2001, the police reportedly went to Mrs. Hamid Ali's house in order to arrest her and confiscated pieces of furniture and ordered the men to take off all of their clothes except their underwear. The police reportedly took Mrs. Hamid Ali to her son's house, where they arrested him, ordered him to strip down to his underwear and made Mrs. Hamid Ali and her son walk down the street without their clothes on, in order to humiliate them. According to the information received, Mrs. Hamid Ali visited the Helwan prosecutors' office on 12 May, in order to register a complaint about the aforementioned abuses. She was told to return the following day, at which time the prosecutor ordered her to go to the police station, in order to retrieve some of the items confiscated from her home by the police. However, when she went to the police station, the prosecutor's order was ignored and she was detained at the police station for three days, until 15 May.
156. On 10 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding Carsten Jurgensen, a researcher at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London. He was reportedly assaulted by four plainclothes men, believed to have been security police officers or to have been acting with the complicity of security police officers. This occurred when he was visiting the polling station of the Khalid Ben al-Walid school in the parliamentary election district of
Shubra al-Khaima/Da'irat al-Ula on 14 November 2000 as part of a fact-finding mission to Egypt. His belongings, including a video camera, were said to have been initially seized but were later returned to him, with the exception of his mobile phone, videotape and camera film.
Communications received
157. By letter sent on 19 January 2001, the Government replied to the urgent appeal sent on 15 January 2001. The Government stated that the details of the Professor Ibrahim's court case were public knowledge, that the hearings were being conducted with transparency, and that a number of local and international observers were being allowed to witness the proceedings. The Government informed the Special Representative that Professor Ibrahim was being tried by a court of law which comprised independent civil judges, and its verdict could be appealed.
158. By letter of 19 July 2001 the Government replied to the urgent appeal sent jointly
on 22 May 2001, with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. The Government asserted that the Supreme State Security Court consisted of civilian judges who enjoyed full independence and that all accused persons had the right to appeal against procedural
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or substantive aspects of a judgement. The Government informed the Special Representative that the charges against Dr. Saad ed-Din Ibrahim were: receipt of funds from foreign bodies without obtaining authorization from the competent authority; criminal conspiracy with a view to bribery and appropriation, by deception and fraudulent means, of an amount of money belonging to the European Union through the presentation of falsified documents designed to mislead the Union into believing in the existence of a bogus project. The Government stated that none of the charges brought against Dr. Saad ed-Din Ibrahim were of a political nature or related to his right to freedom of opinion and expression. According to the Government, all the litigation procedures had been observed, the defence had had free and full access to all the documents in the case file and all the witnesses called by the defence had been summoned. The Government added that the court had had almost a full year in which to study the case file. The Government informed the Special Representative that no executive authority had the right to order the release of Dr. Saad ed-Din Ibrahim before a court judgment had been handed down.
159. By letter of 21 August 2001, the Government replied to the allegation transmitted jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture on 10 August 2001. The Government stated that
Mr. Carsten Jurgensen had failed to draw up a report on the incident, which made its follow-up difficult in the absence of a written statement confirming the injuries, describing the assailants and indicating whether the persons present at the time were members of the police, so that they could be called to account, or whether their task was confined to supervision of the delivery of the ballot boxes. The Government affirmed that if Mr. Jurgensen had drawn up a report, it would have been possible to pursue the investigation and apprehend and prosecute the assailants if he had so desired. The Government stated that if Mr. Jurgensen had notified the Egyptian authorities of his intention to visit the electoral commissions, a special guard would have been assigned to protect him.
160. By letter of 23 August 2001, the Government replied to the urgent appeal sent on 8 August 2001 concerning the case of Mrs. Sammah Hamid Ali. The Government affirmed that Mrs. Sammah Hamid Ali was the mother of a citizen called Yassir Fathi El Bab Abd El Monem Sha'ban who had previously been indicted on 18 counts of theft and affray and who had recently assaulted a citizen by the name of Abd El Rahman Awd Timam. According to the Government, the Helwan police, acting on a warrant issued by the Department of Public Prosecutions, arrested Yassir Fathi El Bab Abd El Monem Sha'ban, who confessed to the crime. The Department of Public Prosecutions ordered that he should be detained pending further investigation. The Government stated that the inquiries showed that the allegations which Mrs. Sammah Hamid Ali had made against the Helwan police were totally unfounded and that she had made those complaints in order to discredit police officers in the hope of preventing legal action being taken against her son.
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Observations
161. The Special Representative thanked the Government of Egypt for the detailed replies provided. Despite the fact that no reply from the Government was received concerning the case of Ms. Nawal El Saadaoui, the Special Representative had been informed that on 30 July 2001 the case was dismissed for procedural reasons. The Special Representative would like to be kept informed of the latest developments concerning the case of Mrs. Sammah Hamid Ali. Furthermore, the Special Representative would like to express particular concern over the case of Dr. Saad ed-Din Ibrahim and his 27 co-defendants, particularly at the use of the State Security Court instead of courts of ordinary jurisdiction, the limited access for defence lawyers to prosecutorial documents and the speed with which the verdict was reportedly reached. The Special Representative considers that the conviction of these members of civil society for their human rights activities will have a chilling effect on the activities of other human rights defenders in Egypt. The Special Representative notes, with particular concern, the use of laws that could restrict access to resources for the promotion and protection of human rights and could be used for penalizing human rights defenders for soliciting, receiving and utilizing funds for this human rights activity. Finally, the Special Representative recalls that, in a letter
dated 27 April 2001, she indicated her interest in visiting Egypt and hopes that the Government will give positive consideration to this request.
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Communication sent
162. On 11 May 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation to the effect that the right of association of human rights defenders in Equatorial Guinea was seriously restricted. According to the information received, a law passed in 1999 regulating the activities of NGOs and defining their possible areas of work, makes no reference to the promotion and protection of human rights. As a consequence, some people consider that any organization which aims to promote or protect human rights is engaging in illegal activities. Furthermore, the Special Representative has been informed that human rights organizations that have applied for legal recognition are still waiting for their case to be considered by the authorities. Such applications reportedly date back to 1994. It has also been reported that as a consequence of the authorities' denial of authorization to establish human rights organizations, any defence of human rights can and is only performed exclusively by opposition parties. The Special Representative is concerned that these factors do not allow for an open dialogue within the civil society on human rights issues.
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Observations
163. No reply from the Government has been received so far.
ETHIOPIA
Communications sent
164. On 17 May 2001, the Special Representative sent jointly with the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention an urgent appeal concerning Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, member of the executive committee and former Secretary-General of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), and Dr. Berhanu Nega, the President of the non-governmental Ethiopian Economic Association and supporter of EHRCO, who were reportedly detained by the police on 8 May 2001 in Addis Ababa and held without charge in Makalawi State Prison. According to the information received, both were accused of "inciting students to violence" during a meeting that was hosted by Addis Ababa University
on 8 April 2001. The authorities alleged that this meeting led to student protests in Addis Ababa a month earlier, while the information received indicates that the topic of discussion at the meeting was human rights and academic freedom. Furthermore, it has been reported that, on the morning of 8 May 2001, the offices of EHRCO in Addis Ababa were placed under guard by armed police officers, which made it impossible for the staff to carry out their work and which intimidated visitors. It was reported that when the staff of EHRCO came to the offices on 9 May 2001, the police informed them that the offices were shut.
165. On 18 September 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, sent an urgent appeal regarding the Ethiopian Women Law Association (EWLA) based in Addis Ababa, which was reportedly forced to suspend its activities on 31 August 2001. It has been reported that, on 3 September 2001, EWLA received a decision from the Ministry of Justice which mentioned that EWLA "has been found out acting beyond its mandate and the Code of Conduct Guidelines" and "is hereby suspended as
of 30 August 2001 until further notice". It was alleged that this decision was connected to demonstrations organized by EWLA, in February 2001, in front of the office of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the Parliament, in which some 1,000 women protested violence against women, calling for stricter laws against rape and sexual abuse and more effective law enforcement. According to the information received, another factor leading to the Government's decision was the involvement of EWLA in a recent case concerning a girl, Hermela Wosenyeleh, who was reportedly continually harassed by a young man and could not get adequate police protection. According to the information received, as a result of the suspension, all the activities of EWLA have been suspended and some 50 of its employees have had to be laid off. All the
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casework carried out by EWLA lawyers in the courts has reportedly been interrupted. It has been further reported that four girls under the care of the association and for whom it was paying school fees have interrupted their education because its bank account has been frozen.
Communications received
166. By letter dated 25 May 2001, the Government informed the Special Representative that Professor Mesfin Woldemariam and Dr. Berhanu Nega were under police custody in connection with their suspected incitement of the Addis Ababa University students to violent action. The Government stated that the Federal Police had undertaken a thorough investigation and had discovered that Professor Mesfin Woldemariam and Dr. Berhanu Nega had made inflammatory statements inciting the students to violent action at a meeting held on 8 April 2001. According to the Government, the police had asserted that they had solid evidence that the meeting had led the students to take violent mob action, starting on the day after the meeting and resulting in the destruction of government and private property, the death of 31 individuals and injury
to 253 persons. The Federal Police had detained Professor Mesfin Woldemariam and Dr. Berhanu Nega on a court warrant on 8 May 2001 and brought them before the 5th Criminal Division of the Federal High Court on 9 May 2001. The Government informed the Special Representative that the Federal High Court had refused their release on bail in order to give the Federal Police more time to investigate. The Government added that the offices of EHRCO were searched under a court order in relation to the suspected involvement of Professor Mesfin Woldemariam and Dr. Berhanu Nega in the instigation of the mob action. According to the Government, upon the appeal of EHRCO, the order was clarified by the Federal High Court on 12 May 2001, to the effect that the search and seizure were restricted to material evidence incriminating the two suspects of the act of instigating the students to take violent action. The Government assured the Special Representative that no employee of the office or any visitor had been harassed or intimidated.
Observations
167. The Special Representative thanked the Government for its reply to her communication dated 17 May 2001. The Special Representative had also been informed that on 17 October 2001 the Ministry of Justice lifted the suspension imposed on EWLA. The Special Representative also welcomed the release on bail on 5 June 2001 of Professor Mesfin Woldemariam and Dr. Berhanu Nega. The Special Representative, remained concerned, however, with regard to the situation of the two human rights defenders and about the charges on which they await trial.
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GEORGIA
Communication sent
168. On 9 May 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal concerning
Ms. Nana Kakabadze, the director of Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights, a human rights NGO working on prison conditions in Georgia. It has been reported that, on 4 May 2001, Mr. Demiko Devnozashvili, chief of Isolation Ward No. 5, a pre-trial detention facility in Tbilisi, called Ms. Nana Kakabadze and threatened to "extinguish her physically". It has been reported that this situation is connected to the publication on 3 May 2001 of an interview with Ms. Nana Kakabadze in the newspaper "Alia" in which she criticized the overcrowding in Isolation Ward No. 5 in Tbilisi.
Observations
169. The Special Representative regrets that at the time of the finalization of this report the Government had not transmitted any reply to her communication.
GUATEMALA
Communications sent
170. On 8 December 2000, the Special Representative transmitted allegations regarding the following cases.
171. According to the information received, on 1 August 2000, Mr. Celso Balan Argueta, a representative for Centro de Action Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH) was reportedly detained, robbed, drugged and left unconscious by two unidentified men. He was reportedly interrogated for several hours about the exhumation of the mass grave of the victims of murders at Chipastor, Chimaltenango and, in particular, about the process of identifying those responsible for these murders. It has been alleged that Mr. Balan's attackers are linked to those responsible for the murders at Chipastor and that the orders to attack him or to commit the murders may have come from army personnel at the Chimaltenango military base.
172. It has been reported that, on 4 September 2000, heavily armed men raided the offices of two human rights organizations, Familiares de Detenidos y Desaparecidos de Guatemala (FAMDEGUA) and Hijos por la Identidad y la Justicia contra el Olvido y la Impunidad (HIJOS) in Guatemala City and assaulted the staff of both organizations. It has also been reported that the
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assailants stayed for an hour, threatening staff members with death. The assailants reportedly stole the organizations' computers containing records of human rights cases under investigation, other office equipment and a vehicle. It has been alleged that this act of intimidation was committed by members of the Guatemalan armed forces and that military intelligence agencies were also involved.
173. According to information received, on 24 October 2000 five armed men entered the office of Asociacion Mujer Vamos Adelante (AMVA), an organization working for the promotion of women's rights and against violence against women. It has been reported that 15 women were reportedly forced into a room and locked in it, and that the attackers subsequently raped a young woman before leaving. Computers and documents were also stolen.
174. On 24 January 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Mynor Melga, a high-profile human rights lawyer working for the Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala (ODHAG), who has reportedly received death threats. On 22 December 2000, two unidentified armed men called at Mr. Mynor Melga's home. Mr. Melga was ordered to the bathroom at gunpoint. The two men told his wife and his two sons that this was only a warning. It has been reported that the incident happened only two days after Mynor Melga publicly announced that ODHAG was preparing to charge retired General Efrain Rios Montt with genocide.
175. On 21 March 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning a group of unidentified men who, on 12 March 2001, reportedly raided the offices of the
Centro de Estudios, Information y Bases para la Action Social (СЕШ AS), stealing equipment, including the organization's computers. This act of harassment is the third incident suffered by the organization since February 2000. It has been reported that CEIBAS lodged a complaint before the Tribunales de Justicia, the Public Prosecutor, the Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos and the National Civil Police.
176. On 10 May 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions sent an urgent appeal regarding
Mr. Urias Bautista Orozco, chief of the Human Rights Procurator's Auxiliary Office (PDH) in the department of Solola, as well as other members of the organization, who reportedly received threatening phone calls warning them to stop investigating the killing of Mr. Teodoro Saloj Panjoj, who had been taking part in a demonstration about land reform. The police had apparently refused to pursue the person responsible for the killing. Since then workers at the office have reportedly been intimidated repeatedly by police and others have
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received threatening phone calls. According to the information received, the PDH workers
were being intimidated because they tried to publicize their findings in the case of
Mr. Teodoro Saloj Panjoj and because they are still acting as mediators in the land disputes.
177. On 15 May 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding
Ms. Aura Elean Farfan and Mr. Luis Aldana, members of the Association of the Familiares de Detenidos y Desaparecidos de Guatemala (FAMDEGUA). Both were reportedly abducted on 4 May 2001 by two armed men who took control of their car and drove off. They were reportedly threatened that they would be killed if they screamed or sought to attract help. Their identity documents were reportedly inspected and they were questioned about their work and about FAMDEGUA. Some 45 minutes later, the two unidentified men released Ms. Aura Elean Farfan and Mr. Luis Aldana in a different part of the city and drove away in the FAMDEGUA car. On 8 December 2000, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation to the Government about the raid on the offices shared by FAMDEGUA and HIJOS on 4 September 2000 by unidentified armed men.
178. On 31 July 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding
Mr. Anselmo Roldan, president of the Asociacion Justicia y Reconciliation (AJR), and also president and legal representative of the Asociacion de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos del Area Ixcan (ADDHAI). Mr. Roldan was reportedly attacked on 22 July 2001 with a knife by a male resident of the Cuarto Pueblo community, Playa Grande, Ixcan. The attacker had reportedly repeatedly threatened Mr. Roldan and other witnesses who are filing lawsuits against Guatemalan military officers for genocide during the civil war. According to the information received, the attacker fled to a nearby house belonging to members of the ruling Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG) party, which is led by retired General Rios Montt, the current president of Congress. No order for the attacker's arrest has been issued, despite Mr. Roldan reporting the incident to the authorities, including the police and the local State prosecutor's office, on the day of the attack. Members of the AJR have reported other incidents, including surveillance by soldiers dressed in civilian clothes, threats and attempts to break into the homes of the family members of witnesses.
179. On 15 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation letter jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture on the basis of new information received regarding the case of Mr. Celso Balan, which was already transmitted on 8 December 2000. According to the source, on 1 August 2000, unknown men drove Mr. Celso Balan to the office of Centro de Action Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), where he was allegedly beaten and the office searched. Mr. Celso Balan was forced to swallow a sedative and lost consciousness. He was found two days
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later in the local cemetery. The ill-treatment had allegedly caused him neuralgic, physical, psychological and emotional problems for which he has been under treatment. According to the doctors, the sedative could have caused paralysis and death.
180. On 30 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an urgent appeal concerning Mr. Fernando Rafael Bances Escobar, an activist of the organization "Colectivo Gay-Lesbico" and a member of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca. On 19 August 2001, Mr. Fernando Rafael Bances Escobar and his friends Juan Luis Telon and Franz Alvaro were reportedly intercepted by a national civil police officer who asked him the reasons why they were laughing at him. The policeman backed up by other officers reportedly threw
Mr. Fernando Rafael Bances Escobar on the ground and hit him. Afterwards, they checked his identity card and left. According to the information received, these facts were reported to the Oficina de Responsibilidad Profesional of the National Civil Police and Mr. Bances Escobar was examined by a forensic doctor, who certified his injuries. It was further reported that no action was taken by the police to identify those responsible for the violation. This incident was allegedly connected with the activities of Mr. Fernando Rafael Bances Escobar for the Colectivo Gay-Lesbico and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca party.
181. On 25 September 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, sent an urgent appeal regarding alleged threatening phone calls received by Mr. Waldemar Barrera, Assistant Procurator for Human Rights, in connection with the investigation by the Procurator General's Office regarding the extrajudicial execution of a journalist, Mr. Jorge Alegria. It has been reported that Mr. Waldemar Barrera, in charge of the investigation, reportedly disclosed publicly the names of those responsible for the murder. He was reportedly threatened by phone and ordered to stop his investigation into the murder and to refrain from making another public statement. In a press release, the Procurator for Human Rights, Mr. Julio Arango, reportedly asked the Ministry of the Interior to guarantee
Mr. Waldemar Barrera's safety. The Procurator reportedly stated that Mr. Alegria's murder had been politically motivated and that the authorities of the municipality of Puerto Barrios and San Tomas de Castilla were responsible for Mr. Alegria's murder.
182. On 5 October 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, sent an urgent appeal concerning threats and intimidation affecting Mr. Hector Dionicio Godinez, Coordinator of Casa Alianza's legal aid Programme. It has been reported that on 10 September 2001 a car tried several times to force Mr. Dionicio Godinez off the freeway. On 10 and 25 September 2001, Mr. Dionicio Godinez reportedly received threatening phone calls at his home and on his cell phone. In addition, on 26 September 2001, two unidentified men in civilian clothes allegedly
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broke into and tried to steal the Casa Alianza vehicle. According to the information received, this series of threats is connected with the suit brought by Casa Alianza before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. In this case, Casa Alianza was pressuring the Government of Guatemala to pay a half a million dollar settlement to the families of five street children who were tortured and murdered by two Guatemalan policemen in 1990.
183. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning the alleged intimidation suffered by Ms. Ruth Carrido, coordinator of the Sister Parish Centre, a church organization which offers assistance and shelter to indigenous peasants. According to the information received, during a meeting between the indigenous communities and the Centre for Legal Action in Human Rights held in the Sister Parish Centre from 11 to 13 October 2001, members of the Centre reportedly noted phone interference, while Ms. Ruth Carrido reportedly received threatening phone calls in her office and at home. In addition, on 14 October 2001, Ms. Ruth Carrido found the doors of the office had been opened and confidential documents and computer materials stolen.
184. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning
Ms. Matilde Leonor Gonzalez Izas, a member of the Centro de Estudios para el Avance de las Ciencias Sociales (AVANSCO), who has reportedly been kept under surveillance and has received a number of threatening telephone calls in connection with research and information she had published on the new mechanisms used by the military to maintain local power in San Bartolome Jocotenango in the department of El Quiche and in San Idelfonso Ixhahuacan. On 2 October 2001, a man reportedly entered Ms. Leonor Gonzalez Izas' house and stole her lap-top computer containing information on her research on San Bartolome and San Idelfonso. On 18 October 2001, she lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor.
185. On 8 November 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Javier Mendez Games, assistant human rights procurator in Coatepeque in Quetzal tenango department, as well as other members of his office. According to the information received, on 5 October 2001, unidentified assailants broke into the offices of Mr. Javier Mendez Games in Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango department. Nothing was reportedly stolen but the office's car was destroyed. In addition, Mr. Javier Mendez Games reportedly received threatening phone calls. These threats are reportedly linked to the activities carried out by the office of the human rights procurator, such as investigating and denouncing corruption in State institutions in Quetzaltenango and in the national police.
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Communications received
186. By letter dated 18 December 2000, the Government of Guatemala informed the Special Representative about the cases of Asociacion Mujer Vamos Adelante (AMVA) and of
Mr. Celso Balan Argueta. Regarding the AMVA case, the Government reported that information would be sent as soon as possible. Concerning Mr. Balan Argueta, further information was sent by the Government in a letter dated 12 October 2001 in which the Government reported that the investigation has been in the hands of prosecution service No. 1 of the Chimaltenango Public Prosecutor's Office and the criminal investigation service of the National Civil Police. As for prosecutions, the Government informed the Special Representative that the perpetrators had not yet been identified. On 11 December 2000, the prosecution service had pointed out that the file had been provisionally closed on 21 October 2000, as it had not been possible to identify anyone involved, although photofit pictures had been produced. In addition, the Government indicated that upon learning of what happened to Mr. Balan, the National Civil Police had provided him with appropriate protection and no further moves against him had been reported since then. The file on the case had been provisionally shelved, but if any new information led to the identification of any assailants, it would be brought to the attention of the Special Representative.
187. The Government sent a reply on 14 March 2001 regarding the case of Mr. Mynor Melga, which was transmitted by the Special Representative on 24 January 2001. The Government stated that the Identity Card Office's report on the fingerprint analysis indicated that they were all those of Mr. Hugo Antonio Arias Monzon, who has a record of arrest for various criminal offences. As a result, on 5 February 2001, the Fifth Chamber of the Criminal Court of First Instance issued a warrant for the arrest of the main suspect on the charge of aggravated robbery. According to the Government, the Robbery Squad has kept the residences registered in the main suspect's name under surveillance with a view to serving a warrant. Once it has done so, the suspect will immediately be brought before the court that issued the warrant so that he may be charged with the corresponding criminal offence. Specific instructions have been issued to the Robbery Squad of the Criminal Investigation Service to take all necessary lawful action to arrest the suspect and thus enable a final report to be established on the case.
188. By letter dated 7 April 2001, the Government of Guatemala informed the Special Representative concerning the case of the Centro de Estudios, Information y Bases para la Action Social (CEIBAS), which was transmitted by the Special Representative
on 21 March 2001. On 29 March 2001, Comision Presidencial Coordinadora de la Politica del Ejecutivo en Materia de Derechos Humanos (COPREDEH) officials visited CEIBAS headquarters and talked to Ms. Yolanda Estreda, the secretary of the organization. She said that when she had arrived at work on 12 March 2001 she had found that the offices had been raided
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and that the intruders had stolen office and computer equipment. The Government further reported that, on 13 March 2001, a complaint was submitted to the Administrative Centre for Crime Management. The First Court of Criminal Proceedings and Environmental Offences transferred the complaint to the Public Prosecutor's Office since it involved a punishable act and not a habeas corpus action as the petition stated. According to the Government, security measures were in the hands of Police Station No. 3, which covered the area in which the headquarters of CEIBAS are located. The CEIBAS staff told COPREDEH officials that they did not want bodyguards, patrols of the premises being sufficient. COPREDEH requested both the Attorney-General and the Director of the National Civil Police to expedite such procedures as might be necessary to ensure the efficient investigation of the incidents and to prevent any others that might in any way adversely affect CEIBAS personnel.
189. Por carta de fecha 13 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de Guatemala informo respecto al caso del Sr. Waldemar Barrera. El Gobierno establecio que el Sr. Waldemar Barrera no ha presentado denuncia por las amenazas de que fuera objeto ante ningun organo y que no desea que las autoridades le brinden seguridad. No obstante, el Gobierno aseguro que de manera periodica se realizaban rondas en las cercanias de la sede de la Auxiliatura Departamental.
190. Por carta de fecha 19 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de Guatemala informo respecto al caso de la Sra. Matilde Gonzalez Izas. El Gobierno indico que por el momento se estan investigando las placas de los vehiculos que fueron denunciados en este caso. Asimismo, el Gobierno establecio que en varias oportunidades se ha tenido comunicacion, por via telefonica, para establecer la forma de brindarle la seguridad que es necesaria para proteger la vida e integridad de la Sra. Gonzalez Izas y de su familia, pero no se ha tenido respuesta alguna, ya que las reuniones establecidas por via telefonica no se han podido concretar.
191. Por carta fechada 27 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de Guatemala informo respecto al caso del Sr. Gilberto Gomez Limon. El Gobierno aseguro que la agresion fue consecuencia de un problema entre particulares y sin trasfondo politico, y que el agresor fue consignado por los agentes de la Policia Nacional Civil despues de ser esposado.
Observations
192. The Special Representative thanks the Government of Guatemala for its detailed replies. Following her request to visit Guatemala sent on 27 April 2001, an official invitation was extended to the Special Representative on 17 May 2001. Several proposals as to dates were exchanged between the Special Representative and the Government. In the end, owing to unexpected commitments and a heavy schedule, the Special Representative was not in a position to undertake the visit during 2001. She hopes to visit Guatemala in the course of 2002.
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HAITI
Communication sent
193. On 14 November 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions sent an urgent appeal regarding the death threats allegedly received by the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) and the Haitian Human Rights Organizations Platform (POHDH). According to the information received, three members of the POHDH, Mr. Pierre Esperance, treasurer and executive director,
Mr. Serge Bordenave, secretary-general, and Mr. Jean Simon Saint-Hubert, executive secretary, as well as Mr. Viles Alizar, programme manager of NCHR, were reportedly victims of intimidation and death threats received either by e-mail, by telephone or in tracts distributed in the streets. It has been reported that these threats are connected with the publication by the NCHR of an open letter to the Superior Council of the Haitian Police criticizing and condemning its practices, notably its close links with the ruling party, Fanmi Lavalas, and the increasing violations of human rights in Haiti, such as the harassment of journalists, activists and opposition members.
Communication received
194. By letter dated 23 November 2001, the Government of Haiti informed the Special Representative that the allegations of death threats received by human rights defenders were groundless and that the State could not be held responsible. The Government of Haiti reiterated its willingness to respect human rights and to establish a State of law. It also reaffirmed its willingness to collaborate with the main United Nations human rights mechanisms, especially with the special rapporteurs, who were welcome to visit the country so as to check allegations of human rights violations.
Observations
195. The Special Representative thanks the Government of Haiti for its prompt reply but remains concerned over the allegations that human rights defenders have received death threats.
HONDURAS
Communication sent
196. On 5 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions sent an urgent appeal regarding
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Father Pedro Marchetti, a United States citizen who has lived and worked in the northern region of Aguan for many years, campaigning with the Movimiento Campesino del Aguan (MCA). According to the information received, a powerful local politician has hired gunmen to kill the priest. Previously, in October 1998, threats to kill Father Marchetti were made, allegedly by the same people, after he publicly stated the community's commitment to work to ensure that those responsible for the murder of a local environmental activist, Mr. Carlos Escaleras, killed in 1997, were brought to justice. It has also been reported that a State prosecutor has submitted charges in court against Father Marchetti and the MCA for alleged illegal land appropriation. Although government ministers previously acknowledged the real threat to Father Marchetti, the authorities reportedly failed to investigate the allegations properly in order to bring those responsible to court.
Communications received
197. By letter dated 2 July 2001, the Government of Honduras informed the Special Representative that Father Marchetti had brought no charge before the competent court. Nevertheless, at the request of the Office of the Secretary of State for Security, a group of officers had been instructed to carry out the detailed investigations needed to throw light on the source of the threats to which Father Marchetti had been subjected. The Government also indicated that a security plan for the physical protection of Father Marchetti would be put into effect.
Observations
198. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply.
INDIA
Communications sent
199. The Special Representative sent an urgent appeal on 19 January 2001 regarding Ms. Sharmila, who was reportedly arrested on 6 November 2000 on charges of attempting to commit suicide while she was undertaking a hunger strike to protest the killing
on 2 November 2000 of 10 civilians in Malom Makha Leikai (Imphal West district of Manipur) and the continuing status of the State of Manipur under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
200. On 8 March 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Mohammad Azam Ali, secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), who was
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reportedly killed on 18 February 2001 in Nalgonda town. According to the information received, the killers are ex-members of an armed group linked to two men who are in custody, accused of killing another member of APCLC, T. Purushottam. Mohammad Azam Ali was about to attend a meeting to commemorate the death of Mr. Purushottam when he was killed. It was alleged that despite repeated appeals, the government of Andhra Pradesh has refused to order a judicial inquiry into the killing of T. Purushottam in the light of alleged police connivance with the killers of both individuals.
201. The Special Representative sent an urgent appeal on 25 July 2001 concerning a police raid, on 7 July 2001, on the offices of the Bharosa Trust, a local organization for gay men, and of the liaison office in Lucknow of the Naz Foundation International (NFI), an international development agency providing technical support for the promotion of male sexual and reproductive health in South Asia. The police reportedly seized HIV/AIDS information and prevention material, and arrested Arif Jafar, executive director of the Bharosa Trust in Lucknow, as well as other Trust members, namely Mohhamad Shadid, Sudhish Kumar Singh, Parmeshwar Nayar and Pankaj Kumar. They were allegedly detained in Lucknow district jail and charged with conspiracy to commit unnatural offences. Fears have been expressed that evidence was planted by the police in the raids, which were conducted subsequent to the arrest and detention of the workers. If the charges are retained against them, the members of both organizations would face up to 10 years' imprisonment.
202. The Special Representative sent an urgent appeal on 30 July 2001 regarding the Adivasi Tribal Land Rights Movement. According to the source, some 250 to 300 Adivasis, mostly women and children, organized a protest march to the police station in Maharashtra, in western India, on 25 June 2001. This march took place after a local politician, allegedly accused of attempting to rape an Adivasi girl, was reportedly released on bail and charged by the police station in Puntamba village, Kopargaon district, with the lesser offence of molestation. In an ensuing scuffle involving Ms. Indu Manjare and a local assistant sub-inspector, the police allegedly opened fire and shot dead two Adivasis leaders, Mr. Pradeep Dushing and
Mr. Indu Manjare, as well as a third, unnamed, Adivasis person. Thirty Adivasis people were reportedly injured; 15 marchers were reportedly arrested and charged with the attempted murder of a policeman and attempted arson. One of these marchers was Mr. John Abraham, another Adivasi activist leader, who, according to the source, was arrested on 26 June 2001 while enquiring about his detained wife, Ms. Rina Abraham. According the information received, the 15 protesters were reportedly released on bail on 9 July.
203. On 14 September 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal concerning
Dr. Gunti Ravi, state joint secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC),
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based in Warangal, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, and Narra Purushotham Reddy, executive member of the APCLC. They were reportedly threatened with death by police officers. According to the information received, the Andhra Pradesh Government and police have consistently condemned members of the APCLC and other human rights organizations in the state as acting as a wing of the left-wing armed group, the People's War Group (PWG).
Observations
204. The Special Representative regrets that at the time of the finalization of this report the Government had not transmitted any reply to her communications. The Special Representative recalls that, in her communication dated 25 July 2001, she indicated her interest in visiting India and hopes that the Government will give positive consideration to this request.
INDONESIA
Communications sent
205. On 12 December 2000, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal concerning the murder on 6 December 2000 of Ms. Ernita (22), Mr. Idris (30) and Mr. Bakhtiar (24), three humanitarian aid volunteers working with the organization Rehabilitation Action for Torture Victims in Aceh (RATA), while they were transporting a torture victim from the vicinity of Cot Mat Tahe village, in North Aceh, to a hospital for medical treatment. According to the source, they were stopped by plainclothes Indonesian security forces and, while one RATA worker managed to escape, the three others were allegedly lined up on the road and shot in the head. It was reported that the torture victim accompanying the RATA volunteers was also killed in this incident. It is believed that the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and the military (TNI) were involved in the killing.
206. On 23 July 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, sent an urgent appeal regarding the arrest on 20 July 2001 by the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) of the following persons: Rufriadi, coordinator of the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH); Arie Maulana, an LBH staff member; Tamrin Ananda, secretary-general of the Front for the Democratic Struggle of the Aceh People (FPDRA); Hendra, an FPDRA member; Mudal, a member of Students Solidarity with the People (SMUR); Fazal, a SMUR member; Zamzami, a SMUR member; Amri Sal din, a SMUR member; Banta, a member of the Coalition of Achenese Students for Reform (KARMA); Misdawan, a member of Peoples Network for Human Rights (JRP HAM); and Oppie, a member of Student Solidarity against Violence (SMAK). Brimob allegedly raided
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the offices of the Banda Aceh branch of the Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH), Legal Aid Foundation, where a meeting was taking place to discuss arrangements for a week-long campaign against militarism, which had begun on 16 July. During the raid, documents, photographs, a computer and other equipment were reportedly confiscated.
207. The Special Representative sent an urgent appeal on 23 July 2001 regarding
Mr. Yohanes Bonay, director of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham) in Papua (Irian Jaya), who allegedly received two death threats by telephone on 18 July 2001 which were reportedly connected with his human rights activities. It has also been reported that, in December 2000, Mr. Bonay was summoned for questioning by police because Elsham had publicized the deaths of students at the hands of the police.
208. On 10 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture concerning the following cases.
209. Anwar Yusuf, a volunteer with the human rights group Forum for the Attention of Human Rights (Forum Peduli Hak Asasi Manusia, FPHAM), was reportedly arrested on 7 February 1999 at his home in East Aceh by men who identified themselves as belonging to Idi Rayeuk subdistrict Military Command (Koramil). It was reported that at the time of his arrest, Anwar Yusuf had been investigating an incident that had occurred on 3 February 1999 in which the military had opened fire on a crowd of unarmed civilians, killing a number of people. It was reported that he was threatened with death and tortured during his detention in the East Aceh district Military Command (Kodim). He was released on 10 February 2001.
210. Amrisaldin, a volunteer with an Aceh-based humanitarian organization, Save Emergency for Aceh (SEFA), was reportedly detained by members of Brimob on 5 September 2000 during a stop and search operation in Meukek subdistrict, South Aceh. According to the information received, during his detention he was subjected to interrogation and to nearly five hours of torture. He was reportedly released the following day, after having been forced to sign a letter in which he promised not to raise the case publicly.
211. Indra P. Keumala (alias Iin), a volunteer with the Aceh branch of the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (Kontras), a non-governmental human rights organization, and Happy (alias Lal ok), a member of the People's Crisis Center (PCC), an Aceh-based volunteer organization which distributes aid and monitors human rights violations, were reportedly arrested by the police on 17 July 2001, when they were returning from Central Aceh where they had been investigating allegations of serious human rights abuses. They were reportedly released in the evening of 18 July, after being detained and tortured for around 24 hours.
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Communications received
212. By letter dated 13 March 2001, the Government replied to the joint urgent appeal sent on 12 December 2000. The Government affirmed that the police authority, the Aceh branch office of the National Commission on Human Rights, and the team monitoring the Humanitarian Pause for Aceh had carried out separate investigations into the case and listened to the testimony of the sole surviving eyewitness, Mr. Nazaruddin Abdul Gani. The Government of Indonesia informed the Special Representative that the authorities had detained nine suspects - four civilians and five soldiers. The dossiers of the police investigation had been submitted to the Prosecutors' Office in Aceh at the end of December 2000 to be processed further. According to the Government, when the Prosecutors' Office announced its intention to prosecute the suspects in a joint civil and military court in early January 2001, the plan was strongly opposed by the National Commission on Human Rights on the grounds that the case constitutes a gross violation of human rights and should therefore come under the jurisdiction of the human rights court, which is to be established in the near future. The Government further explained that the National Commission on Human Rights set up an investigative committee on 9 January 2001 to look into the case. On 13 February 2001, the Commission sent a letter to the Provincial Office of the Prosecutor of Aceh requesting the transfer of the dossiers of the police investigation on this case. The Government assured the Special Representative that the matter of the conflicting competence and jurisdiction of the judiciary in handling this case is expected to be settled soon.
Observations
213. In connection with the case of the three humanitarian workers of RATA, the Special Representative fears that the dispute over the conflicting competence and jurisdiction between Komnas HAM and the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor for Aceh in this case may be used to obstruct the case from being brought to trial. The Special Representative is also concerned over any possibility of trial of the accused in a joint civil and military court rather than a civilian court. In view of the alleged involvement of members of the military in this case, the Special Representative is concerned that the impartiality of such a tribunal could be undermined. The Special Representative recalls that in a letter dated 27 April 2001 she indicated her interest in visiting Indonesia and hopes that the Government will give positive consideration to this request.
IRAN
Communications sent
214. On 11 January 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Representative on
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the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning Mr. Nasser Zarafchan, a human rights defender and lawyer. Mr. Zarafchan was reportedly arrested on 9 December 2000, released on bail on 14 December and rearrested on 16 December by order of the Judicial Organisation of Armed Forces. He was reportedly held in Evin prison. According to the information received, his first arrest followed the publication of an article in an Iranian newspaper in which he was considered an "anti-revolutionary element that ought to be deprived of his right to practise his profession as a lawyer". Mr. Zarafchan's second arrest was allegedly due to his comments implying that the killings of intellectuals in 1998 were part of a campaign by death squads aimed at silencing the opposition. Mr. Zarafchan is the second lawyer of the families of the intellectuals murdered in 1998 against whom legal action has been taken.
215. On 17 October 2001, the Special Representative sent another urgent appeal j ointly with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Representative on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding Mr. Nasser Zarafchan.
He was reportedly accused of having revealed irregularities in the sentence issued by a military tribunal in January 2001 concerning the murders of intellectuals in 1998, namely the incompetence of the military tribunal to try the murderers and the fact that the persons behind the assassinations had not been prosecuted. The trial of Mr. Zarafchan started on 16 October 2001 at the Military Tribunal in Tehran.
Observations
216. No reply from the Government has been received so far.
ISRAEL
Communications sent
217. On 1 May 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Chairman of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning Adnan al-Hajjar, a human rights lawyer and coordinator of the Legal Aid Unit of the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights in the Jabalia refugee camp situated in the Gaza Strip. According to the information received, he was arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces
on 23 April 2001 and was detained in Ashkelon prison without charge. It was reported that he was part of a group that left the Gaza Strip on 5 April 2001 to attend a training course on legislative formulation, organized in Cairo by the Arab Research and Training Centre as part of a programme for strengthening the capacity of the Palestinian Legislative Council. According to the information received, on 30 April 2001, Adnan al-Hajjar appeared before the Israeli Military Court, where the judge extended his arrest for 30 more days for investigatory purposes.
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Following a request for his release, it was reported that a representative of the Israeli military authorities objected, claiming that they had a confidential no-access file of claims against him, but refused to tell either Adnan al-Hajjar or his lawyer about the nature or contents of the file. It was alleged that his arrest and detention was connected to his work as a human rights activist and defence lawyer for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
218. On 1 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal regarding Abed al-Rahman al-Ahmar, a well-known Palestinian human rights activist, who works as a field researcher with the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG), a non-governmental organization working on human rights violations against Palestinians, regardless of who is responsible, in the West Bank, the
Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. He was reportedly arrested on 24 May 2001 while he was on his way home from Jerusalem to Deheisheh refugee camp, in the West Bank. In an interview on Israeli television, he is said to have argued for peaceful coexistence between Jews and Palestinians on the basis of full equality. According to the information received, he was held without charge and without access to his family at the Moscobiyya detention centre in Jerusalem. On 31 May 2001, he is said to have appeared in court without the presence of his lawyer, who had allegedly not been informed about the hearing.
219. On 14 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent another urgent appeal concerning Abed al-Rahman al-Ahmar. It was reported that, at a hearing on 11 June 2001, judges at the Israeli High Court of Justice refused to examine marks of shackles on his wrists. During the break in the hearing, prison doctors apparently agreed the marks were made by shackles, but did not testify. In addition, the judges rejected a petition filed by two human rights groups, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) and the PHRMG, calling for a stop to the torture during interrogation, for proper medical care and clothing to be provided to him and for him to be housed in more humane conditions.
220. On 6 July 2001, the Special Representative sent another urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Chairman of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning Mr. Abed al-Rahman al-Ahmar. According to the most recent information, despite the fact that there was allegedly no incriminating evidence against Mr. Al-Ahmar, the administrative detention order was reportedly renewed on 30 May 2001 by 20 days and
on 18 June 2001 by 15 days. Two appeals against these extensions were filed, but were rejected on 5 and 22 June 2001 by the Military Court of Appeals in Beit El, West Bank. According to the source, Mr. Al-Ahmar was the subject of a six-month administrative detention order, which reportedly allows the Israeli authorities to detain him without charge or trial until February 2002. It was reported that he was held in Megiddo prison in Israel.
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221. On 17 September 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Mr. Daoud al-Dir'awi, a lawyer and human rights activist working at the Ramallah office of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen Rights. According to the information received, Mr. al-Dir'awi was arrested on 10 September at the Allendy Bridge crossing point, as he was returning with his wife and baby from a holiday and crossing into the West Bank from Jordan. Mr. al-Dir'awi's arrest was allegedly motivated by his activities as a human rights lawyer. He was reportedly taken to Shikma prison, in Ashkelon and was interrogated by the Israeli General Security Services (GSS).
222. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation regarding the Israeli authorities' reportedly trying to prevent a certain number of Palestinian human rights defenders and activists from participating in international conferences and forums. This was the case for Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, founder and director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP), Commissioner-General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights and winner of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 1998. On 18 June 2001 the Israeli authorities reportedly denied him a permit to leave the country to go to Italy to participate in an international workshop. According to the information received, on the same day, allegedly for security reasons, the Israeli authorities are said to have banned
Dr. El-Sarraj, from leaving Gaza to take part in a television interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The BBC was reportedly told by the Israeli authorities that the Israel General Security Services "Shabak"
had categorized Dr. El-Sarraj as a category 10 high security risk and that his presence in Israel could compromise national security.
Communications received
223. By letter of 10 January 2002, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent
on 1 June 2001 regarding Mr. Abed al-Ahmar. The Government asserted that Mr. al-Ahmar had been arrested on 24 May 2001 for investigation into his activities with the Popular Front terrorist organization and his involvement in various terror attacks, including shooting incidents against Israeli soldiers and the murder of Baruch Cohen. The Government added that Mr. al-Ahmar's petition to the High Court of Justice about his interrogation and the conditions of his detention had been heard and dismissed by a panel of three judges on 12 June 2001.
Observations
224. The Special Representative thanks the Government for the reply regarding
Mr. Abed al-Ahmar but is awaiting information with regard to the other cases she brought to the Government's attention.
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JAMAICA
Communications sent
225. On 9 August 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Hilaire Sobers, a journalist writing a weekly column on human rights in the newspaper Jamaica Observer
who is known to be an outspoken critic of the Government's human rights record. It was reported that, on 7 August 2001, a letter was delivered to the newspaper's offices which contained a picture of a gunman raping and shooting Mr. Hilaire Sobers. The letter allegedly made reference to Mr. Hilaire Sobers' human rights work and to the activities of other human rights journalists, namely Mr. Perkins, a renowned radio journalist, Mr. Wignal, a journalist working for the Jamaica Observer,
and threatened to kill them. It was also reported that the letter also explicitly mentioned the contact established by Mr. Hilaire Sobers with Amnesty International and accused him of working with Mr. Edward Seaga, the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) opposition party. According to the information received, Mr. Hilaire Sobers reported the letter to the police that day. It is believed that the author of the letter is allegedly a supporter of the Government, the ruling People's National Party (PNP).
Observations
226. The Special Representative regrets that at the time of the finalization of this report the Government had not transmitted any reply to her urgent appeal.
KENYA
Communication sent
227. On 25 October 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal regarding the following members and supporters of Release Political Prisoners (RPP), a human rights activist organization which mainly lobbies for the release of political prisoners. Among the arrested members were Kivutha Kibwana, Mungai Kibe, Ng'ang'a Waweru, George Mutua, Kiilu, Stephen Musau, Peter Wambua, Johnstone Nyamu, Mercy Nyambura Kariuki, Peter Mutemi, Benson Mutiso, Aloise Muia, Mbara Kambara Kariuki, Kibuku Kihura, Mukia Kamau, Githii Mweru, Daniel Muoti, Njoroge Wanguthi, Rahab Wairuri, Julius Mwaura, Kimani Waweru, Francis Njenga, Martin Mukeku, Francis Mutuku, Charles Nthanga, Gitau Wanguthi, Waweru Kariuki, Thungu Wakaba, Peter Nguma, Kennedy Kimeu, Julius Kariuki, Gathoni Kamau,
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Samuel Gikundi, Waruiru Mungai, Solomon Waithaka, George Ngige, Haron Keli, Joseph Muoki, Gathoga Njoroge, Munyae Mulinge Kioko, Theophilas Kiilu, Simon Mburu, Elijah Ochieng Solomon, William Mbuvi, Eric Mulevu, Silvanus Kikihu, Karori Njunge, George Mungi, Moses Mbugua, Kimani Ndegwa, Benjamin Muhesuni, Moses Karori, Kamonje Manje, Owino Amina, Nyongessa Omboko, Gitau Kung'u, Tony Ndolo, Orina Nyamwamu, Peter Maina, Joseph Bonzo, Tirop Kitur, Odhiambo Oyoko, Mwendwa Kibwana, Njoki Kamau, Henry Maiyo, Stephen Waweru, Nyamberi Bosire, Munga Gathogo, Mwangi Kimbathi, Wambua Kituku, Daniel Mathias Kingoo, Boaz Waruku. It was reported that they were arrested at the RPP premises in Nairobi during a peaceful celebration to mark Mau Mau Day (officially called Kenyatta Day), which commemorates the 1952 uprising of the Mau Mau against British rule. The police appear to have used excessive force to break up the gathering. All were reportedly brought before the Chief Magistrate at the High Court on 22 October 2001 to answer charges of "unlawful assembly". Since they all refused to enter a plea, they were recorded as pleading "not guilty". Only five of the detainees have reportedly been able to gather the sum required to post bail. The bond has been set at 50,000 Kenyan shillings, which is believed to be more than most of the persons arrested, mainly students or youths, can afford. Members of the RPP are said to face regular harassment and intimidation from the authorities because of their work in defence of human rights.
Observations
228. The Special Representative is awaiting a reply from the Government.
KYRGYZSTAN
Communications sent
229. On 25 January 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning the cases of Albert Korgoldoev, Ravshan Garipov and Ramazan Dyryldaev. It was reported that,
on 6 December 2000, officers of the Department of the Interior in Jalal-Abad attempted to detain Mr. Albert Korgoldoev, a coordinator for the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR) for the Jalal-Abad region, based on a fabricated complaint drawn up by an affiliate of the Coalition of Non-Commercial Organizations. According to the source, Nouoken Kasiev, the State Secretary of the Kyrgyz Republic, created the Coalition of Non-Commercial Organizations on the eve of the presidential elections in order to discredit independent journalists, opposition-related observers and independent non-governmental organizations. It was also reported that criminal charges of hooliganism under article 234, part 2, point 1.4 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code were allegedly pending against Mr. Korgoldoev and that he was in hiding in order to avoid being arrested. It was also alleged that Ravshan Garipov, the director of the
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Kara-Suy Human Rights Centre "Provosudie Istina", was arrested on 21 November 2000 and detained in Kara-Suy ROVD (district police station). According to the source, Mr. Garipov has been active in cross-border relations with Uzbekistan to stop the destruction of a local historical site and has investigated allegations of corruption in the privatization of the Kara-Suy bazaar. It was also reported that Mr. Garipov is an active member of the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations for Democracy and Civil Society, and has served as and trained non-partisan election observers. According to the information received, Mr. Gapirov was charged with hooliganism under article 234 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code and his trial was set to begin on 26 January 2001. The communication also raised the case of Ramazan Dyryldaev, the chairman of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), and other KCHR members who have been in exile since July 2000. According to the source, government actions such as the sealing of the committee's office and the seizure of its bank accounts prevent the members of the KCHR from continuing their work in Kyrgyzstan. Furthermore, it was alleged that the Kyrgyz authorities have not yet properly dismissed outstanding charges against Ramazan Dyryldaev and have made no arrangements to ensure his safe return from exile so that he may carry out his work as a human rights defender in Kyrgyzstan.
230. On 18 June 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding Adymamat Kadyrbekov, a member of the KCHR. He was reportedly stopped in the street and subjected to ill-treatment by members of the Governmental Auto Inspection (GAI) in Jalal-Abad, on 12 June 2001. It was alleged that as he showed his KCHR membership card, one of the militiamen said, "I am sick of all these law defenders". He was subsequently handcuffed and put into a car, where he is believed to have been beaten and to have defended himself. He was reportedly transferred to the City Department of Internal Affairs and the investigator is said to have opened a criminal case against him for "use of violence in resisting public officials", for which he could risk up to five years' imprisonment. Mr. Kadyrbekov was set free, but it was alleged that he remained under the control of the militia.
231. On 30 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding Almaz Dyryldaev and Gulhan Borubaeva, both members of the KCHR. They were reportedly subjected to ill-treatment by police officers
on 20 July 2000. According to the information received, about 20 police officers surrounded the KCHR office on Ivanitsin Street (Bishkek) and detained Almaz Dyryldaev under the orders of an investigator of Pervomai ROVD. It was reported that Almaz Dyryldaev was beaten during interrogation at the ROVD. As a result, upon release, he went into hiding. Gulhan Borubaeva was said to have remained held in the office of the KCHR without food for four days until the office was unsealed and she was allowed to return home.
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Observations
232. The Special Representative would like to refer to the separate report she has submitted to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2002/106/Add. 1) on the visit to Kyrgyzstan she undertook from 30 July to 4 August 2001.
MALAYSIA
Communications sent
233. On 3 May 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Chairman of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, sent an urgent appeal concerning Badaruddin Ismail, a member of the secretariat of the human rights organization Suara Rakyat Malaysi (Suaram), Voice of the Malaysian People. The Malaysian police reportedly arrested him on 26 April 2001 under the Internal Security Act (ISA). According to the information received, Badaruddin Ismail was arrested without charge and was held incommunicado in an unknown location. It was alleged that Badaruddin Ismail was arrested and detained in connection with his work assisting the families of detainees and documenting police brutality.
234. On 17 July 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture, the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression regarding Mr. Mohamad Fuad Mohd Ikhwan, president of the Student Representative Council of University Malaya. According to the information received, he was reportedly arrested in Kuala Lumpur on 6 July 2001 under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Earlier, a student leader from the Institute Kemahiran Mara, Mr. Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin, was allegedly arrested under this Act on 5 July 2001 at the Dang Wangi police station. The Inspector General of Police, Norian Mai, was quoted in a report as saying that Mr. Khairul Anuar had been arrested in connection with activities posing a threat to the national security and on suspicion of having set fire to the Tunku Canselor Hall of University Malaya on 2 July. These arrests of student activists under the ISA allegedly followed a recent police raid on a student movement supporting political reforms and the abolition of the ISA in front of the National Mosque on 8 June 2001. It was also reported that 41 persons, including three teenagers, were arrested and held at the Taiping police station for illegal assembly on 15 July 2001, following a demonstration ("Konvoy Perdana") organized to support family members of six political activists allegedly detained under the ISA without trial for two years, Tina Chua, Mohamad Eyam Mohd.Nor, Saari Sungib, Hishamuddin Rais, Llokman Adam and Badaruddin Ismail. The 41 detainees were all released, but 37 were released on police bail amounting to RM 1,000 each.
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Communications received
235. In a reply dated 28 August 2001, the Government of Malaysia informed the Special Representative that Mr. Badaruddin Ismail had been taken into custody in order to assist the Royal Malaysian Police in their investigations pertaining to credible threats to the public order and internal security of Malaysia. The Government added that Mr. Badaruddin Ismail was among those involved in organizing illegal nationwide street demonstrations that would result in public discord and unrest, detrimental to the domestic harmony, stability and internal security of Malaysia. The Government assured the Special Representative that due process of law has been followed in the arrest and detention and that the Royal Malaysian Police had released
Mr. Badaruddin upon completion of the investigations. The Government added that family members had been allowed to visit the detainee on several occasions and that the chairman and four other panel members of SUHAKAM, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, had been given unhindered access to all detainees on 29 May 2001. The Government stated that so far, there had been no allegations of torture or ill-treatment of the detainee arising from such visits.
236. On 28 August 2001, the Government of Malaysia replied to the urgent appeal sent by the Special Representative on 17 July 2001. The Government informed the Special Representative that the Royal Malaysian Police took into custody Mr. Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin and Mr. Mohamad Fuad Mohd Ikhwan on 5 and 6 July 2001 respectively, to assist in their investigation pertaining to credible threats to the public order and internal security of Malaysia. The arrests were made in accordance with Section 73 (1) of the 1960 Internal Security Act (ISA) of Malaysia. The Government affirmed that the two men were released unconditionally
on 16 and 28 July 2001, respectively and while in custody had access to their respective relatives. There had been no allegation of torture or ill-treatment arising from such arrests.
Observations
237. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its replies and cooperation. The Special Representative welcomes the release on 5 June 2001 of Mr. Badaruddin Ismail, as well as the release of Mr. Mohamad Fuad Mohd Ikhwan on 16 July 2001 and of Mr. Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin on 28 July 2001. She is, however, concerned that the Internal Security Act (ISA) allows the police to detain incommunicado and without a warrant any person deemed a threat to the national security or economic life of Malaysia for up to 60 days of investigation. Under the ISA, the Minister of Home Affairs may extend the period of detention for an initial period of up to two years without reference to the courts and the Prime Minister can issue a further detention order for up to another two years, again without reference to the courts, and this period is renewable indefinitely. The Special Representative remains disturbed at the use of the ISA against human rights defenders and considers such use to be a potential threat to activities
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for the promotion, protection and implementation of human rights. Furthermore, the Special Representative recalls that, in a letter dated 25 July 2001, she indicated her interest in visiting Malaysia and hopes that the Government will give positive consideration to this request.
MAURITANIA
Communication envoyee
238. Le 27 aout 2001, la Representante special e a envoyё au Gouvernement mauritanien une allegation concernant Mme
Ai'ssata Satiguy, membre du bureau executif de Г Association mauritanienne des droits de l'homme (AMDH). Mme
Satiguy aurait ete licenciee le 5 juin 2001 par la Caisse de securite sociale de Mauritanie ou elle travaillait depuis 15 ans, pour le motif "d'abandon de poste". Cette decision ne lui aurait ete notifiee que le 18 juillet 2001 et Mme
Satiguy en aurait aussitot saisi l'Inspection du travail. D'apres les sources, ce licenciement serait lie aux activites de Mme
Satiguy en faveur de la promotion et de la defense des droits de l'homme. D'apres les informations recues, les pressions exercees a l'encontre de Mme
Satiguy se seraient accrues en 2001 en raison de son implication dans la preparation de la Conference mondiale contre le racisme a Durban. Selon les informations recues, en avril 2001, lors de sa participation a la derniere session de la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples a Tripoli, Mme
Satiguy aurait ete publiquement menacee par le Consul general de Mauritanie. Suite a cet evenement, sa famille aurait egalement fait l'objet de pressions.
Communications received
239. By letter of 20 September 2001 the Government informed the Special Representative that the case of Ms. Ai'ssata Satiguy Sy was an ordinary law matter, which has absolutely nothing to do with Ms. Sy's activities relating to politics, associations or the "defence of human rights". Ms. Aissata Satiguy Sy, an employee of the National Social Security Office (CNSS), was on leave of absence for the period from 1 April to 5 May 2001 and was due to take up her duties again on 6 May 2001. The Government further explained that 26 days after the end of the leave of absence and in the absence of any written explanation for this dereliction of duty, the personnel director decided to apply the rules: a message serving formal notice on the person concerned that she must return to work within 72 hours was broadcast on national radio on 31 May. As the person concerned did not return to her job or provide any explanation about her situation, the CNSS took due note, on 5 June 2001, of the breach of Ms. Sy's employment contract. The Government assured the Special Representative that Mauritania was a State governed by the rule of law, where human rights and fundamental freedoms were respected and where there were no "serious human rights violations" to be denounced. The Government specified that no pressure of any kind had ever been put on Ms. Satiguy Sy, who had never
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missed a meeting she wished to attend while she was a public employee, and that the recordings of the meeting at which the Consul General reacted to Ms. Satiguy Sy's statement were available for consultation at the office of the African Commission.
Observations
240. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply.
MEXICO
Communications sent
Urgent appeals
241. On 26 June 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding the case of Sin Fronteras IAP, an organization dedicated to the promotion and defence of the rights of migrants and refugees. According to the information received, on 15 June 2001 an unidentified man stole the main computer of the administrative and social section of the organization, and a printer. The computer reportedly contained important and confidential information that if used could put in danger the lives of those concerned. It was further reported that the man knew about the organization's location, the names of the various employees and the places where the computer material was kept.
242. On 23 July 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Gerardo Cabrera Gonzalez, a member of the Organization de Campesinos Ecologistas de la Sierra de Petetlan y Coyuca de Catalan (OCESP). The organization campaigns to stop the logging operations of local groups, backed-up by military or paramilitary groups, that are threatening forests in the State of Guerrero. According to the information received, Mr. Cabrera Gonzalez was arrested on 14 July 2001 by
the 19th Infantry Battalion in the community of Banco Nuevo, Petetlan municipality. After his arrest, he was reportedly taken to Petetlan and then transferred to Acapulco civil prison and charged with illegal possession of arms. Fears have been expressed that these acts are related to Mr. Cabrera Gonzalez's activities with OCESP and that he is at risk of being tortured or ill-treated while in detention.
243. On 31 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal
with the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding the case of General Jose Francisco Gallardo Rodriguez. According to the information received, General Gallardo has been held in detention since 9 November 1993 after the publication of an article expressing the need to create a military
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ombudsman in Mexico in relation with human rights violations committed by members of the national armed forces. General Gallardo was subsequently accused of defamation, calumny and abuses against the army and sentenced to 28 years' imprisonment. The Secretary for National Defence stripped him of his military rank. It has been further reported that, on 28 August 2001, General Gallardo was transferred to the punitive cell inside Neza-Bordo prison where the conditions of detention are reportedly cruel, inhuman and degrading. It has also been reported that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States acknowledged that the rights of General Gallardo to freedom, judicial guarantees and to the protection of his honour and dignity have been violated. IACHR has recommended that General Gallardo be released immediately and that all necessary measures be taken to end the campaign of persecution, defamation and harassment against him. In addition, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has emitted an opinion (No. 28/1998) recognizing that the deprivation of General Gallardo's liberty was illegal.
244. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning Ms. Marina Patricia Jimenez Ramirez, director of the human rights organization Centro Fray Bartolome de las Casas, in San Cristobal de las Casas, State of Chiapas. According to the information received, Ms. Jimenez Ramirez has been kept under surveillance by two unknown men who reportedly falsified their identity. It was reported that among other incidents, on 17 September 2001, employees of the travel agency "Santa Ana Tours" reportedly declared that two men, both claiming to be members of the Centro, visited the agency asking for detailed information on the visit Ms. Jimenez Ramirez planned to take to Guatemala in November 2001.
245. On 23 October 2001, the Special Representative sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding the murder on 19 October 2001 of Ms. Digna Ochoa y Placido, a human rights defender and member of the Centro de Derechos Humanos "Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez" (PRODH) in Mexico. According to the information received, Ms. Digna Ochoa was found dead in a legal office in the centre of Mexico City. The killers reportedly left a death threat warning other human rights defenders from the PRODH, that they would meet a similar fate if they continued their human rights work. Fears have been expressed that human rights lawyers
Ms. Pilar Noriega and Ms. Barbara Zamora, who worked with Ms. Digna Ochoa on very high-profile cases are at particular risk. It has been reported that Ms. Digna Ochoa had reportedly been threatened with death and attacked many times since 1995. Although the authorities provided police protection for Ms. Digna Ochoa and other PRODH members, it has been reported that they failed in their responsibility to investigate properly the aggression and threats, thus creating a climate of impunity leading to Ms. Digna Ochoa's murder and other threats against her colleagues.
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246. On 24 October 2001, the Special Representative, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers issued a press statement to express their deep sadness and outrage over the murder on 19 October 2001 of renowned human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa y Placido in Mexico City. They stated that it demonstrated the vulnerability of human rights defenders and underlined the need for strengthening measures for their protection.
247. On 7 November 2001, the Special Representative sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding alleged death threats against human rights defenders, members of the Red Nacional Mexicana de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos "Todos los Derechos para Todos". According to the information received, on 27 October 2001, the offices of Periodico Reforma in Mexico City received a phone call claiming the murder of Digna Ochoa and containing death threats and schemes to execute the following persons: Mr. Juan Antonio Vega, a former member of the international office of Action de los Cristianos para la abolition de la Tortura and technical secretary of the Red Nacional "Todos los Derechos para Todos",
Mr. Miguel Sarre, a member of the "Comite para la Humanizacion de las Practicas Incriminatorias", Mr. Fernando Ruiz, a member of the Consejo para la Ley y los Derechos, Mr. Sergio Aguayo, a member of the Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos", Mr. Edgar Cortez, a member of the Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez. In addition, the threats reportedly included demands for the remittance of six million pesos for each person.
248. On 28 November 2001, the Special Representative sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of indigenous people's human rights and fundamental freedoms regarding the death threats allegedly sent by e-mail on 1 November 2001 to Mr. Aldo Gonzalez and
Ms. Melina Hernandez Sosa, members of the Union de Organizaciones de la Sierra de Oaxaca (UNOSJO). These facts are reportedly connected with the work of UNOSJO for the promotion and defence of indigenous rights in the Sierra Juarez region in Oaxaca State.
Allegation letters
249. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a communication regarding the following cases.
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250. On 11 October 1999, Maria Estela Garcia Ramirez and Nestora Ramirez, members of the Union de Pueblos Contra la Represion en la Region Loxicha, were reportedly harassed and intimidated by the police while providing help to families in difficulty in the Loxicha region. On several occasions, they were both followed by the police while exercising their activities. In some cases, they have reportedly been subjected to force.
251. According to the source, Mr. Juan Lopez Villanueva, an attorney in the Legal Department of the Human Rights Centre "Fray Bartolome de las Casas" at San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, received threats by e-mail. According to the information received, on 19 January 2000 a complaint concerning these death threats was filed with the Federal Ministry of Public Affairs, followed by a second complaint filed with the State Commission for Human Rights in January 2000.
252. Mr. Isaias Martinez Gervacio, a member of the Asociacion de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos y Victimas de Violaciones a los Derechos Humanos en Mexico
(AF ADEM-FEDERAM), State of Guerrero, was reportedly trailed by an unknown armed person on 2 March 2000. On the same day, a young person, purporting to be an agent of the Ministry of Public Affairs, presented himself at Mr. Martinez Gervacio's house without showing any official identification and asked to see his son, who had disappeared in March 1978. It was further reported that these events took place after Mr. Martinez Gervacio had taken part in a press conference organized on 1 March 2000 by the AFADEM Executive Committee on the serious and systematic human rights violations and the situation of impunity in the State of Guerrero, in particular in the region of Atoyac. Mr. Martinez Gervacio presented himself to the Commander of the Police Prevention Department, Mr. Neftali Ponce Velez, but reportedly no protection has been made available to him.
253. Information has been requested by the Special Representative concerning the murder on 15 April 2000 of Mr. Jose Luis Rodriguez, as well as the murders on 20 April 2000 of Mr. Jose Martinez Ramon and Mr. Felipe Nava Gomez, both members of the Organization Campesina de la Sierra del Sur (OCSS). She also requested information about Mr. Marco Antonio Abadicio Mayo, the leader of the OCSS, in Atoyaquillo, State of Guerrero, who was reportedly caught in a fusillade on 19 July 2000 on his way home. It was reported that his aggressors might belong to paramilitary groups. Previously, on 12 January 2000, Mr. Abadicio Mayo was reportedly threatened, arrested and tortured for 12 hours by members of the army and afterwards released without charges. Mr. Abadicio Mayo is reportedly the victim of continuous threats and harassment, especially by persons from outside the community who have been seen prowling around his house at night. It was further reported that Mr. Marcos Torres Campos, leader of the OCSS, was murdered on 4 July 2001 in the municipality of Coynca de Benitez, State of
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Guerrero. Mr. Marcos Torres Campos had participated, since 28 June 2001, in the roadblocks and in the Planton (permanent strike) by the OCSS outside the town hall of the municipality to request a meeting with the secretary general of the state government. The Public Prosecutor has reportedly initiated an investigation in order to identify those responsible.
254. According to the information received, Professor Raul Gatica Bautista, leader of the Popular Indigenous Council of Oaxaca (CIPO) "Ricardo Flores Magon" and his 17-year-old son were both insulted, threatened with death and beaten on 16 April 2000 by six armed individuals led by a federal agent. It was further reported that several policemen of San Isidro Monjes, municipality of Xoxocotlan, managed to stop the attackers.
255. Mr. Maurilio Santiago Reyes, an attorney and defender of Indians' rights and Ms. Maria del Pilar Marroquin, his employee, allegedly received a number of threatening phone calls
on 10 May 2000. It was reported that, on 9 May 2000, both had noticed a van without registration plates driving around Mr. Maurilio Santiago Reyes's home at Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca. These threats were reportedly connected with the complaints that both had filed with a criminal court against civil servants for violations of the rights of indigenous people.
256. According to the information received, Mr. Jaime Cuevas Mendoza, member of the Enlace Comunicacion y Capacitacion, based in Ocosingo, State of Chiapas, was knocked down by a car on 12 June 2001 outside the house of Mr. Antonio Paoli Bolio, coordinator of the Comite de Derechos Humanos Fray Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada. The police reportedly chased the person responsible, but failed to arrest him or her.
257. Mr. Freddy Secundino Sanchez, a journalist, was reportedly abducted and later released in June 2000 in connection with articles he had published in the political review Epoca.
According to the information received, those responsible for abducting him could be agents of the judiciary police. It was reported that three weeks later an unidentified man made a telephone call to the journalist and told him that he would die. According to the source, Mr. Freddy Secundino Sanchez reported the facts to the authorities.
258. Mr. Placido Camargo Ruiz, a primary school teacher and militant in the educational sector, and a member of Section X of the National Educational Workers' Union (SNTE), was reportedly the victim of enforced disappearance on 16 June 2000 on his way to work in the Federal District of Mexico. He has not been found yet. It was also reported that Mr. Placido Camargo Ruiz's disappearance was the work of a paramilitary group, or federal police detectives, in reprisal for his activities during the May-June 2000 teachers' strike.
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259. On 19 June 2000, a large number of criminal investigations officers and local police of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas and Reynosa reportedly entered violently the offices of the Duro Bags Manufacturing Company at Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. According to the information received, employees had given notice of a strike intended to improve their working conditions, obtain the respect of their individual and collective rights, including their freedom of association, and gain recognition of the trade union management, which had been refused by the employers. A few workers were detained and afterwards freed against the payment of a global bail of US$ 2,000. The Special Representative was also informed of the presumed enforced disappearance of
Mr. Eliud Amaguer, the leader of the Duro Bags Manufacturing employees, when on his way between Rio Bravo, State of Tamaulipas, and Monterrey, State of Nuevo Leon.
260. Mr. Gerardo Cabrera Gonzalez, a member of the Organization de Campesinos Ecologistas de la Sierra de Petetlan y Coyuca de Catalan (OCESP), which is campaigning to stop forest exploitation, was reportedly detained on 14 July 2001 by members of the XIX infantry battalion. It was further reported that he was transferred to the civil prison of Acapulco and accused of illegal arms possession.
261. According to the information received, on 3 August 2001 Ms. Angelica Ayala Ortiz, coordinator at the Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (LIMEDDH) at Oaxaca, noted that unknown persons had reportedly entered her house illegally and gone through her archives and materials containing information about the work of the organization. It was reported that these events took place a few days before the LIMEDDH was due to present its annual report on the state of health of native Zapotec prisoners from the region of Loxichas in the Ixcotel and Elta penitential centres.
262. Mr. Andres Rubio Salvidar, an historian, and Mr. Rey Miguel Hernandez, a journalist, both coordinators and members of the Coordinating Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Costa Chica, State of Guerrerro, reportedly received a threatening message in early September 2000 from the local commander of the Guerrerro Criminal Investigation Department. These threats are reportedly linked to investigations carried out by the Committee, and the publication of an article by Mr. Rey Miguel Hernandez based on denunciations received in December 1999 from indigenous Mixteca from the community of La Concordia, municipality of Ayutla de los Libres, State of Guerrero.
263. Dr. Adrian Ramirez Lopez, president of LIMEDDH and vice-president of FIDH, and Sara Rico Ramirez, head of the Victim Legal Support System, were reportedly summoned
on 21 September 2000 and on 24 October 2000 by the General Military Justice Tribunal to
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appear on 6 October 2000 for ministerial inquiries. These summonses were reportedly linked to their declarations as witnesses with regard to two urgent actions filed by LIMEDDH in response to appeals by the Centro de Derechos Humanos "Fray Bartolome de las Casas".
264. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint communication with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression requesting information regarding Margil Guerra and Ciro Rodriguez, two journalists with the Mexican Television Televisa, and Mauro Cruz, a member of the Centro de Estudios Fronterizos y Promotion de los Derechos Humanos (CEFPROHAC), who were reportedly harassed on 31 March 2001 by soldiers in anti drug raids on two communities in Tamaulipas State. It was reported that Margil Guerra, Ciro Rodriguez and Mauro Cruz had attempted to observe the raids in Tamaulipas State. Twenty persons, including one minor, were reportedly detained after some 300 soldiers entered the village of Guardado de Abajo, in Camargo municipality, and the district of Fonhapo, in Miguel Aleman municipality without showing search warrants.
265. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint communication with the Special Rapporteur on torture on the following cases. On 2 May 1999, Rodolfo Monti el Flores and Teodoro Cabrera Garcia, environmental activists in Pizotla, Guerrero, members of the Organizacion de Campesinos Ecologistas de la Sierra de Petatlan y Coyuca de Catalan (OCESP), were reportedly held in incommunicado detention, and tortured physically and psychologically by members of the army after participating in a peaceful demonstration protesting against operations threatening forests in the State of Guerrero. The XXI Circuit Court sentenced
Mr. Teodoro Cabrera Garcia to 10 years' imprisonment and Mr. Rodolfo Monti el Flores to 6 years and 8 months for offences relating to drugs and arms. Soldiers reportedly forced the two activists to sign confessions accepted by the courts.
266. In October 2000, Mr. Hector Perez Cordova was reportedly detained in Topo Chico prison in Nuevo Leon State and ill-treated after participating in a peaceful demonstration organized by human rights defenders in front of the prison, in the framework of Amnesty International's world campaign against torture. It was reported that Mr. Hector Perez Cordova was held responsible for this event. While in detention, he was reportedly naked, put in a cell for seven days and deprived of food and medicine.
267. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint communication with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions requesting information regarding the murder on 1 March 2001 by unidentified men of Mr. Francisco de la Cruz Mesino, representative of the Organizacion Campesina de la Sierra del Sur (OCSS) in Agua community in Sierra de Atoyac. According to the information received, although Mr. de la Cruz Mesino's
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home was situated in front of the headquarters of the Policia Motorizada, no police officer was there until half an hour after. It was reported that the reason for the murder was that Mr. de la Cruz Mesino was the representative of his community before the OSCC.
Communications received
268. By letters dated 23 and 26 October 2001 and 9 November 2001, the Government of Mexico provided information to the Special Representative about the case of Ms. Digna Ochoa y Placido, which was transmitted by the Special Representative on 23 October 2001. The Government of Mexico informed the Special Representative about the decision and commitment of its national authorities to investigate this crime fully and to bring those responsible to justice. It further indicated that it would keep the Special Representative informed on the progress of the inquiry. In addition, the Government of Mexico gave further information about the implementation of the provisional measures of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights following the murder of Ms. Digna Ochoa y Placido, of the precautionary measures called for by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights after the threats made against five human rights defenders, and about the progress reported by the Office of the Procurator General of the Federal District concerning the investigation into the murder.
269. By letter dated 9 November 2001, the Government of Mexico provided information about the case of Mr. Gerardo Cabrera Gonzalez, which was transmitted by the Special Representative on 23 July 2001. The Government of Mexico asserted that, on 31 July 2001, the National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) had started investigating the case of the inhabitants of the community El Rincon del Refugio, including the case of Mr. Gerardo Cabrera Gonzalez, a member of the Organization de Campesinos Ecologistas de la Sierra de Petetlan y Coyuca de Catalan (OCESO). The Government further indicated that it would keep the Special Representative informed.
270. Por cartas de fecha 13 de noviembre y 3 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de Mexico informo respecto a los casos de Rodolfo Montiel Flores, Teodoro Cabrera Garcia y Hector Perez Cordova enviados por la Representante Especial el 26 de septiembre de 2001. El Gobierno indico que con fecha 8 de noviembre de 2001 el Presidente de Mexico dicto las medidas necesarias para la excarcelacion de los nombrados, la cual fue ejecutada por las autoridades competentes. El Gobierno senalo que los nombrados fueron custodiados por la Policia Federal Preventiva desde su excarcelacion hasta el 10 de noviembre de 2001, debido a la solicitud de suspension temporal presentada por parte de su abogado, miembro del Centro de Derecho Humanos Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez. Respecto al caso de Hector Perez Cordova, la Secretaria General de Gobierno del estado de Nuevo Leon manifesto que la denuncia del nombrado era falsa, debido a que ningun interno ha sido objeto de maltrato alguno por parte de elementos de
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custodia del Centro Preventivo de Readaptacion Social Topo Chico, donde el nombrado se encuentra internado. Por otro lado, el Gobierno senalo que en todo el tiempo que se le aplico la medida correctiva al interno se le suministraron todos sus alimentos, asi como los medicamentos que tiene prescritos.
271. Por carta de fecha 13 de noviembre de 2001, el gobierno de Mexico informo respecto al caso de la organizacion Sin Fronteras IAP enviado por la Representante Especial el 26 de junio de 2001. El gobierno indico que la Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos y la Comision de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal no tienen registrada queja alguna respecto de los hechos cometidos en agravio de la organizacion. El gobierno establecio que la Procuraduria General de Justicia del Distrito Federal ha manifestado la necesidad de exhortar al representante legal de la organizacion a efecto de que comparezca ante la Representation y pueda dar inicio a la indagatoria que corresponda.
272. By letter dated 16 November 2001, the Government of Mexico provided information to the Special Representative about the cases of Mr Juan Antonio Vega, Miguel Sarre, Fernando Ruiz, Sergio Aguayo and Edgar Cortez, which were transmitted by the Special Representative on 7 November 2001. The Government of Mexico asserted that the Secretaria de Gobernacion had got in touch with each of the above-mentioned persons and that since 1 November 2001 the Procuradoria General de la Republica had granted protection with escorts to all of them. Regarding Mr. Edgar Cortez, despite the proposals made by the Secretaria de Gobernacion to provide him with a guard, he had reportedly publicly denied that he received such protection. The Government further reported that the investigations into the threats had started on 1 November 2001, under the control of the Procuradoria General de la Republica.
273. Por cartas de fecha 16 de noviembre, 20 y 21 de diciembre de 2001, el gobierno de Mexico informo respecto al caso de la Sra. Marina Patricia Jimenez Ramirez enviado por la Representante Especial el 19 de octubre de 2001. El Gobierno indico que la Comision Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Chiapas decreto medidas cautelares en favor de la Sra. Jimenez Ramirez. Segun el gobierno, el 18 de octubre de 2001, el agente del Ministerio Publico solicito implementar dichas medidas y las transmitio al Secretario de Gobierno de Chiapas, al Secretario de Seguridad Publica, al Jefe de Zona de la Policia y al Procurador General de Justicia del Estado. Como parte de las medidas implementadas, se han realizado patrullajes y se cuenta con una presencia policiaca en las inmediaciones del Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolome de las Casas. Asimismo, el gobierno establecio que se coloco un circuito cerrado para vigilar tanto las instalaciones como las afueras de la organizacion. Se entrego tambien a dicho centro un automovil blindado. Por ultimo, se instalara en proximas fechas un sistema de alarmas en el hogar de la Sra. Jimenez Ramirez.
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274. By letter dated 30 November 2001, the Government of Mexico informed the Special Representative about the case of Mr. Francisco Gallardo Rodriguez, which was transmitted by the Special Representative on 31 August 2001. The Government reported that General Gallardo had been prosecuted and sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment and 10 years' disqualification for embezzlement, and to 14 years and 8 months' imprisonment and 10 years' disqualification from taking up any position, post or assignment in the Mexican army for destruction, offence and embezzlement. Both sentences had been upheld without accumulation by the military courts of appeal. On 19 February 2001, an appeal of "amparo indirecto" was lodged before the federal courts, requesting the implementation of the recommendations of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, especially the one relating to the release of General Gallardo. The appeal of amparo has been accepted and is currently under consideration. On 23 July 2001, the
Inter-American Court requested information regarding the suitability and the author of the precautionary measures in favour of General Jose Francisco Gallardo based on his transfer to another cell within the Reclusorio de Neza de Bordo, which was reportedly interpreted as a punishment measure. The prison authorities authorized the return of General Gallardo in order to protect his safety and physical integrity. According to the Government, on 5 November 2001 memoranda were sent to the competent authorities requesting them to implement the precautionary measures requested by the Inter-American Commission and to report on the progress made. Finally, the Government stated that in the present case domestic remedies had not yet been exhausted.
275. By letter dated 3 December 2001, the Government of Mexico informed the Special Representative about the case of Mr. Francisco de la Cruz Mesino, which was transmitted by the Special Representative on 26 September 2001. According to the Government, the facts as reported in the communication are different from those reported in the declarations made by Mr. De la Cruz Mesino's relatives, who stated that he had been injured by firearms near his home and then taken by his relatives to the general hospital in Atoyac, where he died of his injuries. In addition, the Government informed the Special Representative that the place where the murder had taken place was far from being near to Coyuca de Benitez city. The victim's brother has lodged a complaint before the Ministerio Publico based in the Distrito Judicial of Galeana, in Atoyac de Alvarez, Guerrero. An investigation is currently under way. According to the Government, the identity of those responsible is still unknown and no civil servant was reportedly involved in these acts.
276. Por carta de fecha 3 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de Mexico respondio a la comunicacion enviada por la Representante Especial el 26 de agosto de 2001. Respecto a los casos de la Sra. Maria Estela Garcia Ramirez y de la Sra. Nestora Ramirez, el Gobierno indico que segun la Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado de Oaxaca, de las investigaciones realizadas se concluye que en dichos actos de molestia no participaron elementos de ninguna
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corporation policiaca del Estado. Sin embargo, la Comision Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Oaxaca formulo a la Procuraduria estatal una medida cautelar respecto al planteamiento de Maria Estela Garcia Ramirez, motivo por el cual, se instruyo al Director de la Policia Estatal para que evitara cualquier acto de molestia contra la nombrada, a pesar de que las victimas no presentaron denuncia alguna.
277. Respecto al caso de Juan Lopez Villanueva, el Gobierno afirmo que los hechos resumidos en la denuncia son exactos, у que su investigation se inicio, a traves de la denuncia presentada por el nombrado el 19 de enero de 2000, por el delito de amenazas cometido en su agravio en contra de Hector Carrasquedo у quienes resultaran responsables. Dicha investigation se encontraba a cargo del Titular de la Mesa de Tramite Numero Cuatro, adscrita a la Subprocuraduria Regional de Zona Altos, quien, con fecha 31 de mayo 2000, determino enviar la indagatoria a legajo de reserva por falta de datos en la prosecution de la pesquisa, situation que fue confirmada por el actual fiscal por medio del oficio de fecha 12 de octubre de 2001. Asimismo, la Comision Estatal de Derechos Humanos emitio, con fecha 6 de noviembre
de 2001, una recomendacion donde solicitaba a la Procuraduria General de la Justicia del Estado la extraction de reserva en la averiguacion previa, entre otras medidas, con motivo de la queja interpuesta por el Presidente de la Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, por actos cometidos en contra de Juan Lopez Villanueva. Como consecuencia, la Procuraduria de Justicia del Estado giro instrucciones al Subprocurador de Justicia donde se encontraba radicada la causa para el cumplimiento de lo requerido, asi como tambien se dio conocimiento a la Contraloria General del Estado.
278. Respecto al caso de Isaias Martinez Gervacio, el Gobierno informo de que no se encuentra registrada ninguna denuncia ante el Ministerio Publico del Distrito Judicial de Galeana en Atoyac de Alvarez (Guerrero).
279. Respecto al caso de Antonio Abadicio Mayo, el Gobierno respondio que se inicio con fecha 22 de julio de 2000 la averiguacion previa por el delito de homicidio en grado de tentativa cometido en agravio del nombrado у en contra de Filomeno Refugio Zambrano у
Delfino Vicario Flores. El Gobierno indico que tal como surge del libro general de
consignaciones de la Procuraduria General de Justicia de Guerrero, el caso se remitio al Juez de
Primera Instancia del ramo penal en turno con ponencia de ejercicio de la action penal y de la
reparation del dano en contra de las personas mencionadas como probables responsables
de la comision del delito de homicidio en grado de tentativa cometido en agravio de
Antonio Abadicio Mayo. Asimismo, el Gobierno senalo que el proceso se encuentra en etapa de
instruction.
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280. Respecto al caso de Marcos Torres Campos, el Gobierno respondio que el nombrado era integrante de la Organization Campesina de la Sierra del Sur (OCSS) у que el mismo fue privado de su vida el 3 de julio de 2001. La Procuraduria Estatal inicio la indagatoria instruida por el delito de homicidio por arma de fuego en agravio del nombrado, en contra de quien o quienes resultaran probables responsables de su homicidio, quienes han sido identificados por la Policia Judicial con fecha de 20 de octubre de 2001. El Gobierno indico que dicha averiguacion previa se encontraba en integration.
281. Respecto al caso de Raul Gatica Bautista, el Gobierno respondio que a raiz de la denuncia del nombrado у de Inti Ximeni Gatica Mariinez, se dio inicio a la averiguacion previa a cargo del Juez Sexto de lo Penal del Distrito Judicial del Centra (Оахаса), у que se encuentra en etapa de instruction. El Gobierno manifesto que de acuerdo con el informe del Ministerio Publico, no se desprende que alguna autoridad o servidor publico haya participado en los hechos delictuosos en contra de los nombrados.
282. Respecto a los casos de Maurillo Santiago Reyes у Maria del Pilar Marroquin Urrestarazu, el Gobierno respondio que ante el Ministerio Publico de Tlaxiaco (Oaxaca), se inicio la averiguacion previa en contra de quien resultaran probables responsables de la comision del delito de amenazas, en agravio de los nombrados у de Macedonio Moises Cruz Sanchez. Esta averiguacion fue reservada con fecha 19 de diciembre de 2000 por no existir elementos suficientes para establecer quien o quienes fueron los responsables del delito denunciado.
El Gobierno manifesto que no se desprende de la investigation en curso que en los hechos delictuosos haya participado alguna autoridad o servidor publico en contra de los nombrados.
283. Respecto al caso de Jaime Cuevas Mendoza, el Gobierno indico que el nombrado fue atropellado por un coche el 10 de junio de 2001 enfrente de la casa de Antonio Paoli Bolio. La averiguacion previa se inicio el 11 de junio de 2000 en contra de quienes resultaran responsables por la comision del delito de lesiones у la misma se encuentra en curso sin que se haya podido hasta el momento identificar los responsables de los hechos.
284. Respecto al caso de Freddy Secundino Sanchez, el Gobierno informo de que de acuerdo con la Procuraduria de Justicia del Distrito Federal, una averiguacion previa fue iniciada el 22 de enero de 2001 con motivo de la denuncia presentada por la victima ante la Unidad de Investigation № 19 de la Fiscalia de Supervision y Coordination de Averiguaciones Previas de la Zona Oriente. Dicha averiguacion previa continua en tramite para determinar los nombres de los responsables de los hechos denunciados.
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285. Respecto al caso de Placido Camargo Ruiz, el Gobierno respondio que a raiz de los hechos denunciados por la familia del nombrado, se inicio una investigation previa ante la Agencia 15a
del Ministerio Publico. Esta investigation se encuentra en procedimiento de integration a cargo de la Fiscalia de la Seguridad de las Personas e Instituciones. Dicha fiscalia determino que no habia elementos suficientes ni ningun otro medio de prueba para considerar que la desaparicion del nombrado se tratara de una privacion ilegal de la libertad, por lo cual turno el presente asunto al Centro de Apoyo a Personas Extraviadas o Ausentes para continuar con la busqueda de la persona referida. Por otro lado, el Gobierno manifesto que no surge de las declaraciones de la denunciante, ni de los testigos, que Placido Camargo Ruiz haya desaparecido forzosamente el dia 16 de junio de 2000, ni tampoco han senalado como responsables de la desaparicion a ningun grupo paramilitar o agentes de la Policia Judicial Federal, у que no existe indicio alguno de que su desaparicion se deba a las actividades que el nombrado tuvo durante el paro laboral efectuado por los educadores entre mayo у junio de 2000. El Gobierno senalo que tanto la denunciante como otras personas han recibido llamadas via telefonica en las cuales les manifestaron que Placido Camargo Ruiz se encontraba bien у que aparentemente se encontraba viviendo con otra mujer distinta a su esposa, hecho que hasta el momento no se ha podido asegurar.
286. Respecto al caso de Duro Bags Manufacturing, la Procuraduria General de la Republica del Estado de Tamaulipas informo de que el 19 de junio de 2000 se practico una inspection ocular у se procedio a la detention de las personas que se encontraban bloqueando la entrada de dicha empresa por existir flagrancia de delito, quienes fueron consignadas ante el juez penal
del 13° distrito judicial en la ciudad de Tamaulipas, quien les otorgo la libertad mediante fianza el dia 23 de junio de 2000. Con fecha 28 de diciembre de 2000, se dicto sobreseimiento del proceso penal. Asimismo, el Gobierno indico que la actuation de la fuerza publica ha sido apegada a derecho.
287. Respecto al caso de Gerardo Cabrera Gonzalez, la Procuraduria General de la Republica informo de que con fecha 14 de julio de 2001 el nombrado fue puesto a disposition de la Agencia Unica del Ministerio Publico de la Federation, con sede en Zihuatanejo (Guerrero), por el delito de violacion de la Ley federal de armas de fuego de uso exclusivo del ejercito, armada y fuerza aerea, lo que motivo el inicio de la averiguacion previa, misma que fue consignada al Juzgado Tercero de Distrito en el Estado, dictandose auto de formal prision el 16 de julio
de 2001.
288. Respecto al caso de Angelica Ayala Ortiz, el Gobierno respondio que a raiz de la denuncia presentada por la nombrada con fecha 4 de agosto de 2000, se inicio la averiguacion previa en contra de quien o quienes resultaran probables responsables de la comision del delito de robo calificado en su perjuicio, ante la Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado de Oaxaca, la cual
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fue reservada con fecha 22 de enero de 2001. El Gobierno manifesto que de dicha investigation no se desprende que alguna autoridad o servidor publico haya tenido responsabilidad en los hechos referidos, ni tampoco se tiene la certeza de quien o quienes hayan sido los probables responsables.
289. Respecto a los casos de Andres Rubio Sandivary у Rey Miguel Hernandez, la Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado de Guerrero informo de que no existe denuncia interpuesta con motivo de los hechos expuestos en el presente caso.
290. Respecto a los casos de Adrian Ramirez Lopez у Sara Rico Ramirez, el Gobierno respondio que se inicio la averiguacion previa que fue determinada con propuesta de archivo definitivo el 11 de octubre de 2001, en virtud de no haberse acreditado la infraction a la disciplina militar, у actualmente se encuentra en estudio у opinion con el segundo agente adscrito de la Procuraduria General de Justicia Militar. Asimismo, la Procuraduria General de Justicia Militar informo que los citados acudieron a la diligencia de forma voluntaria у ratificaron su denuncia. Sin embargo, declararon que no les constaban los hechos, toda vez que ellos unicamente eran transmisores de la informacion proporcionada por el Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolome de las Casas y Enlace Civil, A.C.
291. Por carta fechada el 3 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de Mexico informo respecto a los casos de Margil Guerra, Ciro Rodriguez у Mauro Cruz, enviados por la Representante Especial junto con el Relator Especial sobre el derecho a la libertad de opinion y de expresion el 26 de septiembre de 2001. El Gobierno respondio que la Procuraduria General de Justicia Militar no tiene registro de ninguna denuncia interpuesta con motivo de los hechos del presente caso, у senalo que esta dispuesto a investigar у dar seguimiento al caso una vez que se presenten las denuncias correspondientes.
292. Por carta de fecha 18 de diciembre de 2001, el Gobierno de Mexico informo respecto a los casos de Melina Hernandez у de Aldo Gonzalez. El gobierno establecio que la Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado de Oaxaca se encuentra investigando los hechos. Por otra parte, el Gobierno indico que estan siendo acordadas con las autoridades competentes las medidas cautelares con el fin de proteger la vida e integridad fisica de los nombrados.
293. Por carta de fecha 10 de enero de 2002, el Gobierno de Mexico remitio informacion en torno a la situacion de Manuel у Juan Gomez Hernandez, asi como de la comunidad indigena de la colonia Los Angeles en Chiapas. El Gobierno establecio que la Comision Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Chiapas decreto medidas cautelares a favor de las personas mencionadas у dirigio estas medidas a la Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado. En el informe rendido por la
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Policia Judicial del Estado con relation al cumplimiento de las medidas cautelares, se senala que se han efectuado patrullajes de vigilancia en los alrededores de la colonia de Los Angeles, asi como de permanencia discreta para vigilar la zona.
Observations
294. The Special Representative is grateful to the Government of Mexico for its detailed replies to her communications. She further welcomes the commitment made by the authorities to the protection of human rights defenders. In this connection, the Special Representative urges the Government to comply with its obligations investigate fully the murder of Ms. Digna Ochoa and to bring those responsible to justice. She further calls upon the authorities to order the immediate release of General Jose Francisco Gallardo as recommended by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. In a letter dated 14 November 2001, the Special Representative thanked the Government for the invitation extended to her on 31 October 2001. She hopes to undertake this visit in the near future.
MOROCCO
Communications envoyees
295. Le 3 avril 2001, la Representante special e a adresse au Gouvernement un appel urgent concernant M. Abderrahmane Benameur, President de Г Association marocaine des droits de l'homme (AMDH), Mme
Amine Abdelhamid, Vice-Presidente de Г AMDH, M. Lahcen Khattar, membre du bureau central de Г AMDH, de meme que 33 autres personnes, qui auraient ete inculpes suite a une manifestation pacifique, organisee a l'occasion du cinquante-deuxieme anniversaire de la Declaration universelle des droits de l'homme, devant le Parlement du Maroc a Rabat le 9 decembre 2000. La manifestation aurait ete organisee afin d'exiger que ceux qui avaient commis des violations des droits de l'homme soient juges. Les 36 personnes auraient comparu devant la Cour de premiere instance le 28 fevrier 2001 pour repondre aux accusations de manifester sans autorisation. D'apres les informations recues, les individus susmentionnes seraient passibles de peines allant jusqu'a trois ans d'emprisonnement. Cet appel urgent concernait egalement M. Noumri Brahim, ex-disparu sahraoui, et M. Elhamed Mahmoud, deux militants du Forum verite et justice - section Sahara, qui auraient ete interpelles par la police marocaine le 24 mars 2001 dans la zone internationale de l'aeroport de Casablanca. Selon les informations recues, ils se seraient appretes a prendre l'avion pour Geneve pour assister a la cinquante-septieme session de la Commission des droits de l'homme. Au cours de cette interpellation, la police marocaine aurait saisi leurs passeports, ainsi que les documents, videocassettes et disquettes qu'ils souhaitaient presenter a la Commission des droits de l'homme. Ils auraient ete relaches quelques heures plus tard et auraient passe la nuit dans Г enceinte de
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l'aeroport. En depit du fait que leurs passeports leur auraient ete restitues le lendemain,
MM. Noumri et Elhamed se seraient vu interdire de quitter le territoire marocain, sur instruction
de la Direction generate de la Surete nationale.
296. Le 2 novembre 2001, la Representante special e a envoye une allegation au Gouvernement marocain concernant le capitaine Mustapha Adib qui aurait ete condamne, en fevrier 2000, a cinq ans d'emprisonnement et a la radiation de 1'armee par le Tribunal permanent des Forces armees royales. Il aurait denonce des faits de corruption s'etant produits a l'interieur de l'armee et en aurait fait part au journaliste du Monde,
Jean-Pierre Tuquoi, en 1999. Le 24 juin 2000, cette decision aurait ete cassee par la Cour supreme, qui aurait renvoye Г affaire pour un nouveau jugement au fond. Le 6 octobre 2000, le deuxieme jugement du Tribunal permanent des Forces armees royales aurait ete rendu a l'encontre de M. Adib, le condamnant a deux ans et demi d'emprisonnement et a sa radiation de l'armee pour «violation de consigne» et «outrage a l'armee». Le 21 fevrier 2001, la Chambre criminelle de la Cour supreme du Maroc aurait rejete le recours en cassation introduit par le capitaine Mustapha Adib et il purgerait donc actuellement sa peine.
Communications received
297. By letter dated 9 April 2001, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent
on 3 April 2001. Concerning Mr. Adbderrahmane Benameur and Ms. Amine Abdelhamid, the Government informed the Special Representative that the Central Bureau of the Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) had submitted a request to hold a demonstration to mark Human Rights Day. In spite of being notified by the Rabat prefecture that permission had been refused, some people gathered illegally on the public highway, disrupting the traffic. The Government added that in spite of many police warnings to the demonstrators, they persistently refused to disperse, which inevitably resulted in their being arrested and brought before the Rabat court of first instance. The Government informed the Special Representative that they were prosecuted under articles 11 and 14, paragraphs 2, 17 and 21 of the Dahir of 15 November 1958 for holding an unauthorized demonstration and for gathering on the public highway in such a way as to threaten public security. The persons concerned were at liberty when summoned and received all the legal guarantees of a fair trial. As for the cases of Mr. Noumri Brahim and Mr. Elhamed Mahmoud, the Government stated that the information has been transmitted to the competent authorities and that a reply would be sent as soon as possible.
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Observations
298. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply. She also welcomes the acquittal on 21 November 2001 by the Court of Appeal in Rabat of the 36 human rights defenders who were sentenced on 17 May 2001 to three years' imprisonment and fined 3,000 dirhams for having organized and participated in a demonstration. The Special Representative regrets, however, that the Government was unable to respond positively to the request of the Morocco Human Rights Association for permission to hold a demonstration on Human Rights Day, which would have been in accordance with the responsibility of the State under article 2 of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
NEPAL
Communication sent
299. On 22 November 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. S. K. Pradhan, Secretary-General of the Peoples Forum for Human Rights and Democracy (PFHRD), an organization based in Nepal. According to the information received, policemen in plainclothes reportedly arrested Mr. Pradhan without a warrant on 19 September 2001 at his home in Kathmandu. It was reported that he was charged with involvement in the murder of Mr. R.K. Budhathoki, Chairman of the Bhutan Peoples' Party (BPP), on 9 September 2001. According to the information received, Mr. S.K. Pradhan was arrested on the basis of written complaints made by Mr. Balaram, BPP Secretary-General, in the absence of any evidence of his involvement in the crime. In addition, at the time of the murder, Mr. S.K. Pradhan was allegedly in Kathmandu as he had just returned from South Africa where he attended the World Conference against Racism. Mr. S.K. Pradhan has been actively associated with the movement for human rights and democracy in Bhutan and has denounced the situation of Bhutanese people and refugees in almost all United Nations forums and world conferences.
Observations
300. No reply from the Government has been received so far.
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NICARAGUA
Urgent appeal
301. On 23 May 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal regarding the case of Ms. Vilma Nunez de Escorcia, President of the Centro Nicaragiiense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH), and other members of the same organization. According to the information received, Mr. Jose Marenco Cardenal, a member of the Government has reportedly claimed that Ms. Vilma Nunez de Escorcia and CENIDH have links with the illegal armed group Frente Unido Andres Castro (FUAC). It was further reported that, on 8 May 2001, when the Government handed over evidence in court, the Fiscal General officially dismissed the Government's claims as unfounded. Despite this, the Government has not retracted its claims and is continuing its smear campaign against CENIDH. Ms. Vilma Nunez de Escorcia has also reportedly been threatened and harassed by anonymous phone calls and letters, and repeated rumours of plots to kill her. It was also reported that newspapers and radio stations have said "her death might be the answer to the unrest in northern Nicaragua". In December 2000, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reportedly asked the Nicaraguan authorities to provide protection for Ms. Vilma Nunez de Escorcia and CENIDH. According to the information received, they have been given police protection, but the police investigation into the campaign of death threats has apparently been inadequate.
Observations
302. The Special Representative awaits a reply from the Government.
PALESTINE
Communication sent
303. On 3 September 2001 the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, transmitted an allegation regarding information according to which the Ramallah Police Commander justified the beating of detainees during a discussion on 7 August 2000 with the Director-General of the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and Environment (LAW), Khader Shkirat. When the Director of LAW responded by saying that this violated Palestinian law, the Police Commander allegedly threatened him and told him that he would detain him. He then reportedly asked his guards to take Khader Shkirat out of the police headquarters by force. Later on in August, the Chief of the Palestinian Police Service reportedly issued an order to heads of police districts and detention centres, prohibiting members of LAW
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from visiting prisons, detention centres, police command centres, and police locations on grounds of Khader Shkirat's "continuous attacks on the Authority". A High Court petition is said to have been lodged challenging the order.
Observations
304. No reply has been received so far.
PERU
Communication sent
305. On 6 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, sent an urgent appeal regarding the case of Jenard Lee Rivera San Roque's relatives and neighbours in San Bartolome, Lima department. According to the information received, Jenard Lee Rivera San Roque died on 9 May 2001 while in detention in Cruz Blanca. It was reported that his body showed evidence of torture. The following day, Jenard Lee Rivera San Roque's relatives organized, jointly with neighbours in San Roque, a demonstration in front of the Cruz Blanca police station to protest the killing. During the protest, the police reportedly took photographs of the demonstrators and afterwards asked questions about them. It was reported that, on 19 May 2001, Ms. Gina Requejo, the lawyer of the victim's relatives, reportedly received a phone call from an anonymous caller, who said "do not search anymore, investigate anymore". It was further reported that such intimidation was aimed at dissuading the relatives and their lawyer, as well as the other demonstrators, from bringing to justice those responsible for the torture and killing of Jenard Lee Rivera San Roque. Fears have been expressed for their safety.
Communications received
306. By letter dated 28 September 2001, the Government of Peru informed the Special Representative that an investigation was being conducted into the complaint submitted by
Ms. Migda Mirtha Rivera San Roque through the Human Rights Committee that a crime against humanity by means of torture followed by death had been committed by Lieutenant Julio Cesar Oliva Cuneo and others. This complaint was brought before Dr. Ricardo A. Gomez Hurtado, provincial prosecutor in the First Provincial Criminal Prosecutor's Office in Huaura, Lima, and a decision is pending. The Government further indicated that since the Public Prosecutor's Department was conducting the criminal proceedings, its decision would be binding and it was therefore not possible to provide further information on this case. In addition, the Government
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reported that the Ministry of the Interior had brought administrative-disciplinary proceedings in the Second National Police Judicial Division against Officer Julio Castro Reyes and Officer Mario Mayta Yupanqui, members of the Vehicular Robbery Investigation Section of the Huacho Road Traffic Safety Division, for alleged commission of the offence of disobedience.
Observations
307. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply. She would be grateful to the Peruvian Government to be kept informed of the measures taken to address the harassment and intimidation suffered by the lawyer of Jenard Lee Rivera San Roque and his family.
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Communication sent
308. On 2 November 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Dan Byuong-ho, president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). According to the information received, the authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Dan Byuong-ho in June 2001 for leading the KCTU campaign for workers' rights in 2001. It was also reported that
Mr. Dan Byuong-ho had previously been imprisoned in connection with his efforts to promote basic labour standards, but was released in August 1999 as a part of the general presidential amnesty. At that time, he still reportedly had two months and four days left of his sentence. It was further reported that an agreement was reached between the KCTU and the Government on 2 August 2001, according to which Mr. Dan Byuong-ho would return to prison to serve his remaining time and the authorities would stop bringing new charges against him in relation with the KCTU campaign in 2001. It was also reported that, on 28 September 2001, a few days before Mr. Dan Byuong-ho's release on 3 October 2001, the authorities issued a new arrest warrant, enabling them further to hold him in detention for investigation and trial. Since then, Mr. Dan Byuong-ho has reportedly been in prison and the authorities have allegedly denied that an agreement between the Government and the KCTU ever existed.
Communications received
309. By letter dated 21 December 2001 the Government informed the Special Representative that Mr. Dan had been arrested and imprisoned on a charge of leading illegal labour-related activities and had later been granted general amnesty and released in August 1999. The Government stated that, from December 1999 to July 2001, Mr. Dan continued to lead more than 10 illegal strikes and violent demonstrations. Holding Mr. Dan accountable for the
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aforementioned acts, the government authorities repealed the suspension of execution previously granted to him and he returned to prison to serve his remaining sentence. The Government assured the Special Representative that it had never agreed to stop bringing new charges against Mr. Dan in connection with the KCTU campaign in 2001. The Government stated that the strikes and demonstrations led by Mr. Dan had proved to be politically motivated and organized with the aim of undermining economic restructuring.
Observations
310. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Communications sent
311. On 5 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Dik Alterimov, a Chechen human rights activist and former Minister for Tourism and Sport and Vice President of the Chechen Republic with responsibility for social and humanitarian issues. He was reportedly arrested by Russian federal forces on 24 May 2001 in Grozny. The official reason for his arrest is said to be his alleged participation in activities of Chechen armed groups. It is nevertheless believed that he was held solely for his involvement in human rights activities in favour of victims of the armed conflict in Chechnya, since he is known to oppose the tactics adopted by Chechen armed groups and to have criticized the activities of Islamic fundamentalist groups in Chechnya.
312. On 10 August 2001, the Special Representative, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture, transmitted an allegation regarding Sergei Grigoryants, the head of the Glasnost Foundation, an organization involved in the defence of human rights. He was reportedly kicked by masked men who entered the offices of the Foundation located in a residential building on Tsvetnoi Bulvar, in central Moscow, on 29 August 2000. According to the information received, 10 commandos and a police lieutenant, who was believed to have identified himself as being from the 18th precinct, at gunpoint ordered everyone present in the Foundation's office, i.e., about 12 persons, including a 10-year-old girl, to lie face down on the floor with their hands behind their heads. It was believed that this incident is related to the work of the Foundation.
313. On 30 October 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal concerning Ms. Anna Politkovskaia, a Russian journalist for the weekly newspaper Novaya gazeta
who was reportedly forced to flee from Russia and take
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refuge in Austria. Ms. Politkovskaia is a renowned journalist who has published many articles denouncing human rights violations committed by Russian forces in Chechnya, for which she received the Amnesty International Human Rights Prize for journalists in April 2001. According to the information received, Ms Politkovskaia received several death threats following the publication on 10 September 2001 of an article about Serguei Lapin, a Russian official whom Ms. Politkovskaia accused of having committed exactions against Chechen civilians. Ms. Politkovskaia is said to have received e-mails on 15 September and 10 October 2001 mentioning that Officer Lapin would come to Moscow to get his revenge on the journalist.
314. On 12 November 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal, jointly with the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, regarding Mr. Imran Elsheyev, a human rights defender and a leader of the Russo-Chechen Friendship Society, who was reportedly arrested on 13 October 2001, near Karabulak, Ingushetia, by the Federal (Russian) authorities (FSB) after having had contacts with researchers from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC). According to the information received, he was taken to Grozny and was detained in a FSB facility (Leninskij RVD); no formal charges have been made public against him. The Russo-Chechen Friendship Society is a humanitarian organization that deals with the situation of internally displaced persons from the war in Chechnya. It has been reported that the NHC met several times with the Friendship Society during its visit to Ingushetia from 30 September to 5 October 2001. The Friendship Society reportedly assisted the Committee's visits to a number of so-called spontaneous settlements. According to the information received, Mr. Elsheyev and his colleagues told the NHC on 4 October 2001 that they had received a visit from the FSB the evening before and had been warned against meeting with "those foreigners".
Communications received
315. By letter dated 27 July 2001, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent
on 5 June 2001 concerning the case of Dik Alterimov. The Government assured the Special Representative that the Office of the Procurator General of the Russian Federation, the Office of the Procurator of the Chechen Republic and the Grozny City Procurator had checked the claims made in the communication regarding the allegedly unlawful detention and disappearance of Mr. D. Altemirov. The Government informed the Special Representative that Mr. Altemirov was indeed arrested in Grozny on 24 May 2001 on suspicion of involvement with an illegal armed formation (pursuant to the Federal Anti-Terrorism Act of 25 July 1998). He was released upon completion of relevant checks and was never subjected to any kind of physical violence or psychological pressure. He had no complaints about his conditions of detention and had made a written statement to that effect. Mr. Altemirov was currently living at home in Grozny.
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316. By letter dated 26 September 2001, the Government responded to the allegation transmitted on 10 August 2001 regarding Mr. Grigoryants, the head of the Glasnost Foundation. The Government informed the Special Representative that it had provisionally been established that the Meshchansky District Internal Affairs Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Moscow Central Administrative District had received a collective communication from residents of Building 5, 22 Tsvetnoy Bulvar, Moscow, concerning the illegal use as offices of three rooms in communal apartment No. 40 in the same building. The said apartment, which comprises four rooms, is municipally owned. Mr. M.I. Arshinov was registered as living in one of the rooms; the others are unoccupied. In the course of an inspection on 27 July 2000, it was discovered that the sealed rooms had been opened and were illegally being used as offices by the Glasnost Foundation. On 28 August 2000, following a meeting of the heads of the Sretenka District Operating Board, Internal Affairs Department officers inspected without violence apartment No. 40 and checked the identity papers of the people whom they found there. It was discovered that Mr. S.I. Grigoryants had without permission installed office equipment, copying machines, telephones and faxes in the three unoccupied rooms. The Government informed the Special Representative that Mr. S.I. Grigoryants had already submitted a similar complaint under the 1503 procedure.
317. By letter dated 7 December 2001 the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 30 October 2001 regarding Ms. Anna Politkovskaia. The Government informed the Special Representative that on 11 and 15 October 2001 anonymous threats addressed to Ms. Politkovskaya were indeed e-mailed to the editorial office of the weekly newspaper Novaya gazeta.
The Moscow Central Department of Internal Affairs had taken steps to identify the authors of the threats and to document any subsequent threats e-mailed to the editorial office of Novaya gazeta.
The Government stated that verification of the information was being supervised by the Central Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and would be completed when Ms. Politkovskaya returned from abroad. The Government specified that Ms. Politkovskaya herself had not notified the procuratorial agencies, the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs or its local branches of any threats. The Government added that the allegation that she had been forced to seek political asylum outside the Russian Federation had not been corroborated by the editorial office. The Government assured the Special Representative that no one had prevented Ms. Politkovskaya from publishing articles on the situation in the Chechen Republic, even though the facts presented in her articles had not been objectively corroborated when checked.
318. By letter dated 20 December 2001 the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 12 November 2001 regarding Mr. Imran Elsheyev. The Government informed the Special Representative that an investigation had been undertaken and nothing was found to support the allegation that Mr. Ezheev was detained or arrested by units of the Russian Federal Security
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Service, local security agencies, military security units or staff operating in the territory of the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic. The Government added that the investigation had established that Mr. Ezheev was detained on 13 October 2001 by internal affairs officers in the village of Yandar in the Republic of Ingushetia of the Russian Federation. He was detained pursuant to a request from the Aktobe Oblast Internal Affairs Authority in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Government affirmed that information was received on 9 November 2001 from the Aktobe Oblast Internal Affairs Authority in Kazakhstan indicating that the offence committed by Mr. Ezheev was subject to an amnesty to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Whereupon, pursuant to a decision of the Acting Procurator of the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, Mr. Ezheev was released from custody. Nothing was found to support the allegations made in the inquiry that Mr. Ezheev was arrested on account of human rights activities.
Observations
319. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its replies. She was informed that on 20 November 2001, Mr. Imran Elsheyev (urgent appeal dated 12 November 2001) was released by the Prosecutor General of the Chechen Republic, Mr. V. Chernov, who offered an official apology for this illegal detention. The Special Representative remains concerned about the situation of Ms. Anna Politkovskaia and wishes to be kept informed of further developments.
RWANDA
Communication envoyee
320. Le 4 mai 2001, la Representante special e a envoye un appel urgent concernant Theobald Rwaka, ancien Ministre de l'interieur et fondateur de l'organisation
non gouvernementale LIPRODHOR, qui serait porte disparu depuis le vendredi 27 avril 2001. Il aurait quitte son domicile a Kigali vers 18 heures a bord d'un vehicule non identifie a la suite d'un appel telephonique. Depuis, sa famille et ses collegues seraient sans nouvelles de lui. Selon les informations recues, Theobald Rwaka aurait ete demis de ses fonctions de Ministre de l'interieur le 16 mars 2001, apres avoir ete accuse de communiquer des informations aux organisations non gouvernementales de defense des droits de l'homme. Des craintes ont ete exprimees quant au fait que sa disparition soit Нее a son engagement en faveur des droits de l'homme.
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Observations
321. La Representante special e regrette qu'aucune reponse du Gouvernement ne lui soit parvenue.
SINGAPORE
322. In a communication dated 25 July 2001, the Special Representative requested the Government to extend an invitation to her to carry out an official visit to Singapore. No reply has been received so far.
SRI LANKA
Communication sent
323. The Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal on 2 August 2001 and an allegation on 30 August 2001 concerning the arrest of Thivyan Krisnasamy, a student of the Science Faculty at the University of Jaffna and former secretary of the Jaffna University Students Union. The army reportedly arrested him on 2 July 2001, in Inuvil. According to the information received, Mr. Krisnasamy has also been heavily involved in the "Tamil Upsurge" movement, a non-violent movement that is protesting against the State armed forces, demanding self-determination for the Tamils and calling for an end to the current conflict. Since 1996, Mr. Krisnasamy has also reportedly been active in protesting against large- scale disappearances in Jaffna and violations committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces, such as sexual violations of Tamil women. It is believed that his arrest was connected with these activities. According to the information received, he was accused of being a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and of conducting "subversive activity". It is believed that Mr. Krisnasamy has been tortured during his detention, in order to get him to make a false confession that he is involved with the LTTE, which can then be used against him as evidence in a trial.
Communications received
324. On 6 December 2001, the Government informed the Special Representative that on 2 July 2001, following the receipt of information that a group of LTTE cadres, posing as civilians, were moving around in the area of Uralu in the Jaffna Peninsula, a team of army personnel had been deployed to conduct search operations. Mr. Krisnasamy was arrested while trying to escape after the team had ordered him to stop and was then detained under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Government stated that he was in possession of an automatic weapon and
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that consequent to detailed interrogation some detonators and ammunition were found in a little safe house in Urumbirai. The Government added that the investigations revealed that the suspect had been in charge of LTTE activity within the Jaffna University. The Government also stated that upon consideration of the investigation material, the Attorney-General had indicted the suspect in the High Court of Jaffna and filed three cases against him under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act of 1979.
325. On 13 December 2001, the Government of Sri Lanka sent a communication to the Special Representative to inform her of the creation of the Directorate of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in the Sri Lanka Army. This Directorate will be mandated to implement the directives of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army relating to human rights and to oversee the implementation of human rights norms and standards, in line with domestic constitutional and other legal provisions and those relating to international human rights law.
Observations
326. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply.
SUDAN
Communications sent
327. On 18 December 2000, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, sent an urgent appeal concerning four lawyers, Messrs. Saatie Mohammed al-Haj, Hadi Ahmed Osman, Ghazi Suleiman and Ali Mahmoud Hassanaian, members of the National Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (NARD), who were arrested in their offices in Khartoum. Although no official reason was given, it was alleged that they were detained in connection with the arrest, on 6 December 2000, of seven leading opposition politicians during a meeting with a
United States diplomat in Khartoum. It was further alleged that these four lawyers had signed a petition to the Justice Ministry protesting the detention of the seven politicians. They have not been formally charged and have, since their detention, been held incommunicado, without access to their lawyers, families or medical treatment.
328. On 13 March 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, sent an urgent appeal concerning Dr. Nageeb Nigim El Din, a member of the Sudanese Victims of Torture Group (SVTG) and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), who was arrested on 11 March 2001 by the security forces. The security forces allegedly
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confiscated the computers of the Amal Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Physical and Mental Trauma situated in northern Khartoum, all of the files of the patients at the centre and some other documents. Dr. Nageeb Nigim El Din was allegedly held at the offices of the security forces in Khartoum on Mohamed Nageeb Street before being transferred to Kober prison. The information received indicates that he was due to meet the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, Mr. Gerhard Baum, on 13 March 2001, and that the security forces have accused him of preparing lists of victims of torture for the Special Rapporteur. The information further indicates that Dr. Nageeb Nigim El Dim has been arrested seven times since 1989 and has spent over four years in prison.
329. On 21 June 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, regarding Faisal el Bagir Mohamed, a journalist and member of the SVTG. On 13 June 2001, he was reportedly arrested at home in Khartoum and the security forces searched his house, confiscating his computer and fax machine, as well as various documents. They reportedly had no search warrant and gave no reason for his arrest. According to the information received, Mr. Bagir Mohamed was taken away to be interrogated and was released later on the same evening, but was told to report to the security headquarters the following day. When he did so, he was reportedly rearrested. He has since allegedly been held incommunicado. It was reported that shortly before his detention, Faisal el Bagir Mohamed had met with the Ministry of Justice twice to seek permission for the SVTG and the Amal Centre to celebrate the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June 2001.
330. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, sent an urgent appeal concerning a series of operations allegedly launched by the Sudanese security authorities against several civil society organizations. It was reported that the following organizations were targeted, the Abduulkareem Margani Cultural Centre, the Centre for Sudanese Studies, the Gender Centre, the Amal Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Physical and Mental Trauma and the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights Studies. According to the information received, the director of the Centre for Sudanese Studies, Dr. Hydar Ibrahim Ali, was summoned to the security forces headquarters
on 9 October 2001. He was reportedly interrogated about the activities of the Centre and was ordered to suspend all the Centre's activities until further notice. It was also reported that Mr. Hydar Al-halab, director of the Abdulkareem Margani Cultural Centre, was also summoned on the same day, together with the director of the Gender Centre. Dr. Nagib Nagm El din, director of the Amal Centre, was reportedly likewise summoned to the security forces headquarters on 10 and 11 October 2001. He was reportedly interrogated about the Centre's activities by security officers, who informed him that the Centre would be under permanent surveillance for a period of two months, after which they would decide about its future.
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Mr. Faisal Al-bagir, a member of staff of the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights Studies, was reportedly summoned on 9 October 2001 to the security forces headquarters and questioned about his demands that the security forces return the Centre's equipment, which they had confiscated during his arrest in June 2001. Representatives of the Amal and Khartoum Centres were told by security officers that they would be under continued surveillance.
Observations
331. The Special Representative welcomes the release on 26 June 2001 of Mr. Faisal el Bagir Mohamed and the release on 29 March 2001 of Dr. Nageeb Nigim El Din. She still, however, awaits a reply from the Government to her communications.
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Communications sent
332. On 13 August 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal concerning independent Member of Parliament and human rights defender Mamun al-Humsi, who was arrested on 9 August 2001 in the National Assembly building in Damascus. Mamun al-Humsi, who has represented a Damascus constituency for 11 years, had reportedly begun a hunger strike at his office some 48 hours before he was arrested, in protest against the continued application since 1963 of the Syrian emergency laws, under which the authorities have sweeping powers to suppress dissent. In June 2001, he had called for a parliamentary human rights committee to be set up and was also active within the newly emerging human rights and civil society movement in Syria. Mr. Mamun al-Humsi has allegedly been charged with offences including "insulting the Constitution, opposing the Government and engagement in intelligence with foreign quarters". These offences, which are tried by the Supreme State Security Court, carry sentences of up to 15 years' imprisonment. It was also reported that
Mr. Mamun al-Humsi is reportedly being held incommunicado at the Adra prison, and is allegedly denied his rights to legal representation, access to his family and access to medication for his diabetes, which he takes regularly. It is also reported that under the state of emergency, political opponents of the Government can be arrested and detained indefinitely.
333. On 14 September 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression regarding the following nine political opposition activists who are said to have been arrested since 1 September 2001: Riad Turk, a lawyer and the first secretary of the "Syrien-Bureau Politique" Communist party; Riad Seif, a parliamentarian from Damascus; Kamal Labouani, an
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old doctor and member of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDF) administrative council and the editorial committee of the "AMARJI" publication; Aref Dalila, a Damascus University professor and founding member of the "Commissions de la renaissance de la societe civile" (CRSC) movement; Habib Saleh, a businessman from Tartus and CRSC activist; Hassan Sa'Doun, from the Al-Hassaka region of northern Syria and a debate forum activist; Walid Al-Bouni, a doctor and "national dialogue" forum organizer; Habib Issa, a lawyer and spokesperson for the "Jamal Attassi" forum; Fawaz Tello, an engineer and member of the "dialogue national" forum.
334. On 15 November 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning Mr. Aktham Naisseh, president of the Syrian Committee for Human Rights, and one of its members, Dunia Khawla. According to the information received, on 5 November 2001 Mr. Naisseh was prevented from leaving the airport to go to a conference organized by the International Federation for Human Rights in Belgium, although he had previously obtained a visa, as well as administrative authorization to leave Syria. The following day, Mr. Naisseh was reportedly asked to go to the Palestine section of the Intelligence Services. As for
Ms. Dunia Khawla, she reportedly could not obtain a visa to go to the same conference. Furthermore, on 9 October, Mr. Naisseh was asked by the security forces to go to the Palestine section of the Intelligence Services after he distributed a petition relating to the arrests which took place in Beirut at the beginning of September during a seminar organized by the International Federation for Human Rights.
Observations
335. The Special Representative regrets that at the time of the finalization of this report the Government had not transmitted any reply to her communication.
TANZANIA
Communication sent
336. On 30 November 2001, the Special Representative sent, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, an urgent appeal regarding the arrest and interrogation of Mr. Rugemeleza Nshala, president of Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT), a public interest law firm, part of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW) network dedicated to the protection of the environment through law and advocacy.
It was reported that Mr. Nshala was representing small-scale miners in Tanzania who are complaining about the death of some 50 colleagues during the eviction by force of thousands of miners from the Bulyanhulu area in August 1996. This action was allegedly carried out in order
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to enable the Canadian-owned conglomerate, Kahama Mining Company Ltd. (KMCL), supported by the Government of Tanzania, to take hold of the property. It was reported that, on 24 November 2001, the police raided the offices of LEAT in Dar es Salaam and seized a videotape and some of the evidentiary material in the case. Mr. Nshala was reportedly arrested and interrogated for about five hours. It was also reported that he was released on police bail and required to report daily to the police. He was allegedly accused of "sedition", along with two other LEAT members, Mr. Tundu Lissu and Ms. Augustine Mrema. According to the information received, this arrest and search followed a press conference held by LEAT on 19 November 2001 during which the organization asked for an international commission of inquiry to investigate the Bulyanhulu massacre of August 1996.
Observations
337. No reply from the Government has been received so far.
TOGO
Communications envoyees
338. Le 1er
octobre 2001, la Representante special e a envoyё un appel urgent concernant Me
Yawovi Agboyibo, President du Comite d'action pour le renouveau (CAR), fondateur de la premiere commission nationale des droits de l'homme en Afrique et ex-membre de la Commission pontificale Justice et Paix. D'apres les informations recues, Me
Agboyibo aurait ete condamne le 3 aout 2001 a six mois de prison ferme et a 100 000 francs CFA d'amende par le tribunal correctionnel de Lome suite a une plainte pour diffamation intentee par
M. Agbeyome Kodjo, actuel Premier Ministre. Cette condamnation ferait suite a la "reactivation" d'une plainte deposee le 23 octobre 1998 par M. Kodjo a l'encontre de Me
Agboyibo qui aurait demande au Ministre de l'interieur et de la securite, dans un communique du CAR, d'ouvrir une enquete sur des actes criminels commis par une milice armee pretendant agir sur approbation de M. Kodjo. Il n'y aurait eu aucune suite donnee a cette plainte puisque Me
Agboyibo etait alors membre du Parlement et beneficiait de l'immunite. D'autre part, les informations recues indiquent que la detention de Me
Agboyibo pourrait egalement etre liee au fait qu'il aurait rencontre les membres de la Commission d'enquete de l'Organisation des Nations Unies et de l'Organisation de Г unite africaine creee le 7 juin 2000, a la demande du Gouvernement togolais. Cette commission etait chargee de verifier les allegations d'Amnesty International sur les executions extrajudiciaires commises au Togo a l'occasion des elections presidentielles de juin 1998. Selon les informations recues, au moins une douzaine de personnes ayant temoigne devant la Commission d'enquete ONU-OUA auraient fait l'objet de represailles
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depuis la publication de ce rapport en fevrier 2001. Ces personnes auraient ete victimes d'intimidations et de menaces, tandis que d'autres auraient ete contraintes de fuir le Togo.
339. Le 29 octobre 2001, la Representante speciale a envoye un appel urgent concernant de nouvelles informations portant sur Me
Yawovi Agboyibo, qui aurait ete accuse, le
21 septembre 2001, de s'etre rendu complice du "groupe de malfaiteurs de Sendome, dirige par Kodjovi Akomabou, en lui apportant aide et assistance sous forme d'encouragement". Selon les informations recues, ce groupe de malfaiteurs serait celui dont Me
Agboyibo aurait denonce les agissements des 1997, aupres du Prefet de Yoto, du commandant de la brigade de gendarmerie de Tabligbo, de M. Agbeyome Kodjo, actuel Premier Ministre, et du Ministre de l'interieur et de la securite. Cette seconde accusation, qui rend Me
Agboyibo passible d'un a cinq ans d'emprisonnement, aurait pour but de rendre Me
Agboyibo ineligible aux prochaines elections.
Observations
340. The Special Representative regrets that at the time of the finalization of this report the Government had not transmitted any reply to her communications. She would also like to reiterate her concerns over a credible report alleging that several persons or organizations had received threats or suffered reprisals for cooperating with the International Commission of Inquiry for Togo. In this regard, the Special Representative would like to recall article 12.2 of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure, adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration". The Special Representative would also remind the Government of Commission on Human Rights resolution 2001/11, entitled "Cooperation with representatives of United Nations human rights bodies", which "urges Governments to refrain from all acts of intimidation or reprisal against those who seek to cooperate or have cooperated with representatives of United Nations human rights bodies, or have provided testimony or information to them".
TUNISIA
Communications envoyees
341. Le 10 j anvier 2001, la Representante speciale, conj ointement avec le Rapporteur special sur l'independance des juges et des avocats, a envoye un appel urgent concernant
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Me
Nejib Hosni, avocat reconnu dans le domaine des droits de l'homme, membre du Conseil national pour les libertes en Tunisie (CNLT) et laureat de plusieurs prix internationaux pour son travail de protection et de promotion des droits de l'homme. D'apres les informations recues, Me
Hosni aurait ete condamne le 18 decembre 2000 a 15 jours d'emprisonnement ferme pour exercice non autorise de sa profession, puis arrete le 21 decembre 2000 a son domicile de El Kef ou il aurait ete battu par le chef de la police judiciaire locale lors de son arrestation. Alors que Me
Hosni aurait du etre relache le 5 Janvier 2001 apres avoir purge sa peine, il aurait ete maintenu en detention pour une duree allant jusqu'a cinq ans et demi, suite a une decision des autorites tunisiennes de revoquer ainsi la mesure de liberation conditionnelle qui lui avait ete accordee en 1996. Selon les informations recues, Nejib Hosni aurait ete reconnu coupable d'avoir enfreint "une mesure d'interdiction de l'exercice de sa profession" d'avocat, emise en Janvier 1996 pour une duree de cinq ans. Les informations recues mentionnent que l'interdiction imposee a Me
Hosni d'exercer sa profession aurait ete prise arbitrairement sans Г aval du Conseil de l'ordre des avocats. Le Conseil aurait d'ailleurs emis en avril 2000 un document autorisant Me
Hosni a exercer son metier et certifiant qu'il etait regulierement inscrit au barreau.
342. Le 27 juin 2001, la Representante speciale, conjointement avec le Rapporteur special sur la liberte d'opinion et d'expression, a envoyё un appel urgent concernant Mme
Sihem Ben Sedrine, proprietaire de la maison d'edition "Aloes", directrice du magazine en ligne Kalima
et porte-parole du Conseil national pour les libertes en Tunisie (CNLT). D'apres les informations recues, Mme
Ben Sedrine aurait ete interpellee le 26 juin 2001 a l'aeroport de Tunis-Carthage de retour de Marseille pour etre deferee devant un juge d'instruction. Elle se serait vu notifier son placement en detention jusqu'au 5 juillet avant d'etre transferee a la prison pour femmes de
la Manouba, situee dans la banlieue ouest de Tunis. Selon les informations recues, l'interpellation de Mme
Ben Sedrine serait consecutive a une information judiciaire ouverte par un juge tunisien pour "diffamation", "outrage a magistral" et "atteinte a l'autorite de justice", suite a des propos tenus les 17 et 24 juin 2001 dans remission "Le Grand Maghreb" sur la chaine arabe "Al Mustaquilla" ("L'lndependante"), basee a Londres. Mme
Ben Sedrine у aurait notamment aborde la question de la corruption en Tunisie et fait reference a des propos tenus par un magistrat tunisien lors d'une audience publique.
343. Le 19 octobre 2001, la Representante speciale a transmis au Gouvernement tunisien une allegation concernant les cas suivants :
344. La Ligue tunisienne de defense des droits de l'homme (LTDH) ferait l'objet de poursuites judiciaires depuis le 27 novembre 2000 suite a une decision judiciaire provisoire ordonnant au Comite directeur nouvellement elu de quitter les bureaux, lui interdisant d'agir au nom de
la LTDH et le remplacant par un administrateur nomme par le tribunal. D'apres les informations recues, cette decision judiciaire serait le resultat d'une plainte portee par quatre congressistes
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battus lors des elections du Comite directeur et dont les liens avec le pouvoir seraient manifestes. Selon les informations recues, une decision de la Cour d'appel de Tunis aurait ete rendue le 21 juin 2001, confirmant la decision du tribunal de premiere instance du 12 fevrier 2001 annulant les elections du congres de la Ligue. Le Comite directeur actuel de la Ligue, elu au terme de ces elections declarees illegitimes, se verrait ainsi depourvu de tout statut legal. La Cour d'appel aurait aussi decide de suspendre l'administrateur judiciaire nomme le 27 novembre 2000. Dans ce meme jugement, la Cour d'appel ordonnerait a ce meme Comite directeur d'organiser, dans un delai d'un an, la tenue de nouvelles elections. Depuis la decision de la Cour d'appel, la LTDH continue a denoncer les violations des droits de l'homme en Tunisie, ce qui lui aurait valu une convocation au Ministere de l'interieur, qui lui aurait interdit toute autre activite que l'organisation de nouvelles elections.
345. Me
Mokhtar Trifi, President de la LTDH, aurait comparu le 10 mars 2001 devant le juge d'instruction pour etre entendu concernant les chefs d'accusation de propagation, faite de mauvaise foi, de fausses nouvelles susceptibles de troubler l'ordre public et de refus de se conformer a une decision judiciaire. Ces chefs d'accusation lui auraient ete notifies
le 3 mars 2001 et seraient lies a un communique emis par Me
Trifi le 12 fevrier 2001 dans lequel il aurait commente le jugement rendu le meme jour dans le proces concernant la LTDH. La comparution aurait ete reportee par manque d'espace pour tous les avocats venus supporter Me
Trifi.
346. Mme
Khedija Cherif, sociologue, membre fondateur du Conseil national pour les libertes en Tunisie (CNLT) et membre du Conseil d'administration de Г Association tunisienne des femmes democrates (ATFD), aurait fait l'objet, le 10 mars 2001, d'une agression physique devant le palais de justice de Tunis. Mme
Cherif etait venue apporter son soutien a Me
Trifi, appele a comparaitre devant le juge d'instruction. A sa sortie du palais, un agent des services de securite habille en civil Г aurait agressee et lui aurait arrache le dossier qui se trouvait dans son sac.
Le dossier qui lui aurait ete vole contenait des photos et des documents concernant la premiere agression par des policiers dont elle aurait ete victime le 1er mars 2001. Il a aussi ete rapporte que le 24 mars 2001, Mme
Cherif n'aurait pas pu assister, en tant que membre, au Conseil d'administration d'Internet des droits humains, une organisation non gouvernementale basee au Canada, puisqu'il lui aurait ete interdit de quitter le territoire tunisien.
347. Me
Anouar Kousri, Vice-President de la LTDH et membre du Comite directeur, ferait l'objet d'une surveillance constante par la police civile depuis qu'il aurait publie, en 2000, une liste commentee des agents de la surete du nord de la Tunisie pretendus coupables de persecutions, de harcelement et de torture. De meme, il a ete rapporte que suite a la plaidoirie, le 14 mars 2001, de Me
Kousri, avocat de la partie civile dans le proces de policiers impliques dans le deces du jeune tunisien Ridha El Jeddi, les alentours de son domicile et de son bureau
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auraient ete invests par des policiers en civil qui auraient multiplie les menaces a son egard, envers ses proches et ses clients.
348. Mme
Souhayer Belhassen, Vice-Presidente de la LTDH chargee des relations internationales, aurait ete agressee par des policiers en civil, le 14 avril 2001, a l'aeroport de Tunis-Carthage. Mme
Belhassen rentrait d'Europe ou elle avait defendu le dossier des droits de l'homme en Tunisie et de la LTDH, aupres des instances des Nations Unies, du Parlement europeen et d'ONG internationales. Lorsque Mme
Belhassen s'est rendue au poste de police pour porter plainte, les agents de police auraient refuse d'enregistrer sa deposition.
349. M. Fathi Chamkhi, President du Rassemblement pour une alternative internationale de developpement (RAID), aurait ete insulte et menace le 2 mai 2001 par des policiers en civil postes en faction quasi permanente devant son domicile. Il a aussi ete rapporte que
le ler
mai 2001, son fils de 8 ans qui revenait de l'ecole aurait ete interroge par deux individus sur sa famille, tout en lui tenant les mains. Cet incident ferait suite a la coupure du telephone de M. Chamkhi et a l'interception de son courrier. Selon les informations recues, M. Chamkhi aurait egalement ete condamne a un mois de prison en juin 2000 pour avoir ete implique dans des organisations non autorisees. Lors de son arrestation, on aurait trouve en sa possession des rapports du RAID et du CNLT.
350. Le docteur Mouncef al-Marzouki, defenseur des droits de l'homme et ancien porte-parole du CNLT, a ete condamne le 30 decembre 2000 a huit mois de prison ferme pour "appartenance a une association illegale" et a quatre mois de prison ferme pour "diffusion de fausses informations de nature a troubler l'ordre public". Depuis cette date, le docteur Marzouki etait en liberte surveillee jusqu'a ce que sa peine soit reduite en appel a un an avec sursis
le 29 septembre 2001. D'apres les informations recues, la premiere condamnation resulterait de son implication avec le CNLT, dont il etait le representant, et la deuxieme concernerait une contribution ecrite du docteur Marzouki au Congres des defenseurs arabes des droits de l'homme, qui s'est tenu a Rabat (Maroc) du 8 au 11 octobre 2000 et dans laquelle il aurait condamne la situation des droits de l'homme et des libertes publiques en Tunisie. Il a aussi ete rapporte que, le 10 mars 2001, le docteur Marzouki aurait ete interdit de sortir du territoire tunisien alors qu'il devait se rendre a Paris ou il avait obtenu un statut de professeur associe dans une universite. Invite a une reception de passation de mandat organisee par le CNLT le ler
mars 2001, le docteur Marzouki aurait ete empeche d'acceder au lieu de cette reunion, qui aurait ete boucle par un important dispositif policier.
351. M. Hichem Gribaa, ancien Vice-President de la LTDH, aurait ete victime d'une attaque dans la nuit du 3 au 4 aout 2001. Selon les informations recues, des personnes non identifiees auraient penetre par effraction dans le bureau de M. Gribaa et auraient detruit du materiel. Deux
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imprimantes, un fax, deux telephones et une machine a ecrire auraient aussi ete voles et le contenu des boites d'archives disperse. Il a aussi ete rapporte que depuis la fin du mois de mars 2001, M. Gribaa serait victime de filatures constantes de la part des services de police. Selon les informations recues, cette attaque serait Нее а Г engagement de M. Gribaa en faveur des droits de l'homme.
352. Mme
Sihem Ben Sedrine, qui a ete liberee le 11 aout 2001 apres six semaines de detention, continuerait, selon les informations recues, de faire face a des accusations de "diffamation", "outrage a magistrat" et "atteinte a l'autorite de la justice". Liberee sur decision presidentielle, Mme
Ben Sedrine ne serait pas repassee devant la justice et pourrait de ce fait, a tout moment, etre amenee a comparaitre de nouveau. De plus, Mme
Ben Sedrine et un groupe de sympathisants qui se seraient reunis le 17 aout 2001 pour celebrer sa sortie de prison auraient ete attaques par des policiers en civil. Mme
Ben Sedrine aurait ete battue a coups de pied dans les cotes. Son mari et sa fille de 13 ans auraient egalement ete violemment battus ainsi que plusieurs de ses sympathisants.
353. M. Khemais Ksila, Secretaire general de la LTDH, ferait l'objet d'une campagne de diffamation depuis le 30 aout 2001, date a laquelle le Comite directeur de la LTDH aurait recu par fax un tract anonyme au contenu diffamatoire envers M. Ksila, l'accusant de harcelement sexuel sur M e
Sonia Labidi, secretaire a la LTDH. Le contenu de ce tract aurait ensuite ete diffuse massivement par fax et repris par plusieurs quotidiens et hebdomadaires de la presse tunisienne. D'apres les informations recues, la police politique et le comite central du parti au pouvoir (RCD) auraient exerce des pressions sur Mlle
Labidi et sur sa famille afin de la contraindre a porter plainte. M e
Labidi aurait fini par deposer une plainte pour harcelement sexuel a l'encontre de M. Ksila le 17 septembre 2001, plainte qui aurait elle aussi ete diffusee massivement par fax. Selon les sources, cette campagne viserait a destabiliser la LTDH en portant atteinte a sa credibilite.
354. M. Sadri Khiari, membre du Comite de coordination du RAID et membre fondateur du CNLT, aurait ete empeche de se rendre a Aix-en-Provence, en France, ou il devait participer a un colloque le 24 septembre 2001. Il aurait ete refoule a l'aeroport de Tunis par un policier en civil qui lui aurait signifie qu'il lui etait interdit de quitter le territoire tunisien en vertu d'une decision du juge d'instruction. Le 19 juin 2001, M. Khiari aurait egalement ete empeche de se rendre a Paris, ou il devait presenter sa these, au motif qu'il aurait ete l'objet de poursuites judiciaires pour des affaires remontant a mars 1997 et mars 2000.
355. Jerome Bellion-Jourdan et Philip Luther, deux delegues d'Amnesty International, auraient ete apprehendes et maltraites par des membres en civil des forces de securite lors d'une visite officielle en Tunisie, au cours de laquelle ils devaient assister au proces du defenseur des droits
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de l'homme Moncef Marzouki. D'apres les informations recues, les deux delegues se seraient vu barrer la route par des agents de police le 29 septembre 2001 a une heure du matin alors qu'ils rentraient d'une reunion avec l'avocate Radhia Nasraoui. Selon les sources, leurs effets personnels, notamment un ordinateur, un telephone portable, un numeriseur (scanner), un dictaphone, deux cameras, une pellicule photographique et tous leurs documents, leur auraient ete confisques. Parmi ces documents se trouvaient des temoignages confidentiels de defenseurs des droits de l'homme, de victimes de violations, ainsi que de leur famille. Au moment de l'incident, les deux delegues se seraient dument identifies et auraient egalement produit une lettre emise par le Ministre des droits de l'homme, Slaheddine Maaoui, les invitant a le rencontrer le 4 octobre 2001. Les deux delegues auraient final em ent ete relaches et certains des objets confisques leur auraient ete remis par des policiers en civil et par un employe du Ministere des droits de l'homme. Selon les sources, les documents confidentiels n'auraient pas ete remis.
356. Le 22 octobre 2001, la Representante speciale a envoye un appel urgent concernant le docteur Sahib Amri, qui aurait ete attaque par quatre hommes le 16 octobre 2001. Selon les informations recues, le docteur Amri aurait voulu deposer plainte au commissariat local en specifiant que ses agresseurs etaient membres de la police politique, mais les gendarmes auraient refuse de mentionner cet element et lui auraient propose d'inscrire seulement "contre X". Le docteur Amir aurait refuse cette proposition et, a ce jour, aucune plainte n'aurait ete officiellement deposee. Selon les informations recues, cette agression serait due aux commentaires faits par le docteur Amir, lors des Jeux mediterraneens de septembre 2001, sur
la mort du commandant Mansouri en 1987, ainsi que sa volonte affichee de creer un comite legal de lutte contre la torture.
Communications received
357. By letter dated 11 December 2000, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 29 November 2000 (see E/CN.4/2001/94, para. 82) and the press statement issued by the Special Representative on 7 December 2000. The Government expressed its concern that the press statement was released before the competent Tunisian authorities had had time to reply to the urgent appeal. The Government informed the Special Representative that some members of the Tunisian League for Human Rights had brought an action in the Court of First Instance of Tunis for the annulment of the General Assembly of the League held
from 27 to 29 October 2000. During a press conference on 1 December 2000, the plaintiffs asserted that there had been a number of breaches of the statutes and rules of procedure of the League, and that this undermined its principles, interfered with the activities of its bodies and violated the rights of several of its members. The plaintiffs have also submitted an application to the interim relief judge for the appointment of a judicial officer to protect the League's property and documents and to represent it at law until the court hands down a decision on the main case.
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The Government informed the Special Representative that, on 27 November 2000, the court decided that all the activities of the League's present executive board should be suspended pending the court's decision on the main case and appointed a judicial official pending that decision. The Government assured the Special Representative that the provisional measures as decided at law were executed in accordance with the rules of civil procedure in force, which require the supervision of a notary acting as bailiff. The Government stated that these legal proceedings were purely an internal matter concerning the League, involving only certain members who contested the conditions under which the last General Assembly took place, and were not at all intended to bring about its dissolution.
358. By letter dated 8 February 2001, the Government informed the Special Representative that on 18 November 2000 the doyen of the corps of investigating magistrates declared the investigation proceedings closed and ordered the committal of Mr. Marzouki, without custodial detention, for trial by the Court of First Instance of Tunis on charges of support of an illegal association and dissemination in bad faith of false information prejudicial to public order. The Government added that on 30 December 2000 the Court of First Instance of Tunis sentenced Mr. Marzouki to eight months' imprisonment for support of an illegal association and four months for the dissemination in bad faith of false information prejudicial to public order. Since the Public Prosecutor's Office has lodged an appeal, the judgement given at first instance will not become executory until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. The Government assured the Special Representative that throughout these legal proceedings Mr. Marzouki had enjoyed all the rights of defence in accordance with the legislation in force. It followed from the foregoing that the legal proceedings instituted against Mr. Marzouki had been based on acts designated as criminal under the Tunisian legislation in force. The Government added that his alleged activism in the field of human rights could not place him above the law. According to the Government, Mr. Marzouki, who was employed by the regional public health directorate in Susa, submitted an application for 13 days of annual leave beginning on 12 June 2000. However, that period coincided with the holding of examinations and the meetings of examination boards in the Faculty of Medicine at Susa. The administration had to inform Mr. Marzouki that he could not take the leave applied for. Mr. Marzouki, immediately submitted to the above-mentioned regional directorate a medical certificate prescribing "30 days' sick leave". The administration, in application of the provisions of article 41 of the general regulations applicable to public officials, ordered a second examination. The inspecting physician went to the home of Mr. Marzouki but was unable to perform his task, since the official concerned was never at home. The administration later learned that he had left the country. The administration consequently decided to refer him to the Disciplinary Board, which recommended "the dismissal
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of the person concerned without loss of pension rights". The Minister of Public Health accepted the recommendation and on 29 July 2000 issued an order dismissing Mr. Marzouki. The order of the Minister of Public Health, being an administrative decision, is subject to appeal before the administrative tribunal.
359. By letter dated 22 March 2001, the Government informed the Special Representative that Mr. Nejib Hosni drew up a contract dated 28 October 1989 for the sale of a property for his own profit, which he claimed had been agreed by Mr. Mohamed Moncef Rezgui.
On 3 January 1996, the Appeal Court of Kef sentenced Mr. Nejib Hosni to four years' imprisonment for forgery, two years for possession of false documents and two years for use of false documents. The Court also banned him from practising as a lawyer for a period of five years. In December 1996, Mr. Hosni was granted conditional release for humanitarian reasons. The additional sentence banning him from practising as a lawyer remained in force, as required by law. The Government asserted that, despite his sentence, Mr. Hosni had in fact defended cases in court, thereby violating the Criminal Code, article 315, under which "anyone failing to abide by the rules or decisions adopted by the competent authority is liable to punishment". As a result, on 18 December 2000, the court sentenced Mr. Hosni to 15 days' imprisonment. Following this sentence, and in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, article 359, the Minister for Internal Affairs, by a decision dated 3 January 2001, revoked the December 1996 decision on conditional release for Mr. Hosni. He will therefore have to serve the remainder of the sentence handed down on 3 January 1996. The Government stressed that the court banned Mr. Nejib Hosni temporarily from practising as a lawyer and stated that this was an additional sentence imposed in accordance with the law. The Bar Council's competence to decide whether one of its members should be disbarred or suspended is a disciplinary competence. The competence of a disciplinary body can never outweigh the competence of a court, which is defined by law. The Government stated that during the entire course of the proceedings against him, Mr. Hosni had been treated in accordance with the law and with strict regard for the right to a defence. The allegations that he was beaten at the time of his arrest on 21 December 2000 were completely without foundation.
360. By letter dated 18 May 2001, the Government informed the Special Representative that Nejib Hosni had been released on 12 May 2001 with a presidential pardon.
361. By letter dated 16 July 2001, the Government informed the Special Representative that Ms. Ben Sedrine was arrested because, in a programme broadcast by a London-based satellite television channel, she had made personal accusations concerning a magistrate, an act which constitutes an offence under Tunisian law. The Government added that Ms. Ben Sedrine was the subject of a complaint by the magistrate in question, who availed himself of his rights in the matter, claiming he was the victim of defamation. Court proceedings were immediately initiated
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against Ms. Ben Sedrine, who was accused of defamation and malicious spreading of false information. On 26 June 2001, she appeared before the examining magistrate and requested a stay of proceedings in order to obtain legal assistance. The examining magistrate granted her request, deferred proceedings until 5 July 2001 and issued a warrant for her detention in accordance with the provisions of Tunisian law. According to the Government, under article 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the judge may order preventive detention where there are serious presumptions and as a security measure to ensure that further offences are not committed. On 5 July 2001, Ms. Ben Sedrine appeared before the examining magistrate, assisted by 32 lawyers. After informing her of the counts with which she was charged, the examining magistrate requested her to respond to them, but the accused insisted that she would respond only in the presence of all the lawyers she had appointed. In view of the physical impossibility of accommodating all the defence lawyers she had appointed and the obstinate refusal of the accused to respond except in their presence, the examining magistrate entered the accused's position in the record of proceedings and ordered the extension of the detention warrant.
Suivi
362. Le 28 decembre 2000, la Representante speciale a repondu a la lettre du Gouvernement tunisien datee du 11 decembre 2000. La Representante speciale assure que s'agissant de la pratique en matiere de publication de communiques de presse dans le cadre des procedures speciales des Nations Unies, si l'usage requiert que la publication de communiques de presse soit precedee par l'envoi de communications au Gouvernement, il n'est pas exige d'attendre une reponse du Gouvernement a cette communication avant d'emettre le communique. Apres avoir analyse les informations contenues dans la communication du Gouvernement tunisien, la Representante speciale indique que, d'apres les informations recues, les procedures judiciaires intentees contre la LTDH ne constitueraient pas une affaire purement interne a la Ligue. Les allegations, selon lesquelles les procedures intentees contre la LTDH seraient a l'origine d'une manoeuvre pour destabiliser le travail de Г organisation, sont serieuses. Considerant l'histoire personnelle des plaignants qui ont intente le proces, il serait difficile de discrediter les allegations et de considerer ce cas comme une affaire interne a la LTDH. La Representante speciale ajoute qu'elle est preoccupee par les procedures utilisees a l'encontre de la LTDH. De telles procedures n'auraient jamais ete utilisees auparavant pour regler des problemes internes a une telle association. Par ailleurs, s'agissant de la situation des membres de la LTDH, il a ete rapporte que, du fait que la Ligue soit sous "administration judiciaire" et du fait de la "suspension de toutes les activites de l'actuel Comite directeur", le President et les membres de ce comite risqueraient d'etre arretes et poursuivis. Il a aussi ete rapporte que les membres du Conseil national de la LTDH auraient ete empeches de se reunir a Bizerte le 3 decembre 2000 en raison d'un deploiement policier bloquant l'acces non seulement aux locaux de rencontres mais meme aux rues ou se trouvent ces locaux. La Representante speciale mentionne aussi sa preoccupation
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quant a l'arrestation de Nejib Hosni, avocat et membre du CNLT, le 21 decembre 2000 chez lui a El Kef, suite a sa condamnation a une peine de 15 jours de prison pour avoir repris ses activites en tant qu'avocat, malgre Г interdiction d'exercer sa profession emise en 1994 contre lui. De plus, la Representante speciale rappelle a l'attention du Gouvernement la situation de Moncef Marzouki, porte-parole du CNLT, qui devait comparaitre le 30 decembre 2000, pour repondre a des accusations d'appartenance a une organisation non reconnue et la diffusion de fausses nouvelles de nature a troubler l'ordre public.
Observations
363. The Special Representative would like to thank the Government for its detailed replies. She welcomes the release on 12 May 2001 of Mr. Neijib Hosni following a presidential pardon. She remains concerned, however, about the situation of human rights defenders and the conditions under which they are exercising their activities in Tunisia. The Special Representative continues to receive allegations of violations targeting human rights defenders. These violations are believed to consist mainly of illegal searches, confiscation of property, anonymous and threatening telephone calls, surveillance by unidentified individuals, the cutting of phone lines, arbitrary detention, confiscation of passports, legal proceedings, physical violence, defamation in the media, and other acts which might constitute a pattern of intimidation against human rights defenders. According to the information received, a significant portion of those acts of harassment and intimidation have been marked by impunity as, even in the rare instances where incidents have been investigated by the judicial authorities, those responsible have not been brought to justice. Finally, the Special Representative sent a request on 19 October 2001 to the Government of Tunisia to visit the country and hopes for a positive reply.
TURKEY
Communications sent
364. On 2 February 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning
Ms. Nimet Tanrikulu, a member of Insan Haklari Dernegi
(IHD), the Turkish Human Rights Association, reportedly held in detention at the Bakirkoy Women's and Children's Prison in Istanbul since 7 January 2001 and charged with breaching the Law on Demonstrations. According to the information received, she was arrested as she took part in a ceremony to lay a wreath in front of the Democratic Left Party headquarters in Istanbul to protest against the prison raids that allegedly took place on 19 December 2000. Furthermore, it was reported that the security police had raided the IHD headquarters in Ankara on 25 January 2001 and had confiscated documents and five computer hard disks containing the organization's information.
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The police raid on the IHD offices reportedly followed a decision by the 9th Criminal Court of Ankara on the grounds that the organization had received funding from the Greek Foreign Ministry without previous authorization from the Turkish authorities. However, it has been alleged that the police raid was linked to the organization's high-profile campaign against the new prison system, in particular the forced transfer of prisoners to so-called F-type prisons, as well as its support for prisoners on hunger strike. It was further reported that six IHD branches were closed down in January 2001. An allegation concerning the raid on the IHD offices in Ankara was also sent by the Special Representative on 19 October 2001.
365. On 18 April 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, sent an urgent appeal regarding threats reportedly received by Ms. Eren Keskin, a prominent lawyer who is a leading member of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and founder of the Legal Aid Project for women who have been raped or sexually abused in custody. It was reported that Ms. Eren Keskin has been receiving threatening telephone calls on her mobile phone, at her law office and at the offices of the IHD, including threats that she will be raped or killed. The harassment has allegedly taken place since Ms. Eren Keskin visited Silopi, in the south-eastern province of Sirnak, as a member of a delegation investigating the disappearance of two members of a Kurdish political party.
366. On 28 June 2001, the Special Representative, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, sent an urgent appeal concerning the trial of 16 individuals, which was due to recommence on 29 June 2001, by the Ankara Military Court of the Office of the General Staff. According to the information received, these individuals, namely, Yavuz Onen - president
of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFD), Vahdettin Karabay - chairman of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions, Salim Uslu - chairman of Hak-Is, Siyami Erdem - former chairman of the Confederation of Public Labourers' Trade Unions, Hiisiin Ondiil - president of the Human Rights Association, Cengiz Bektas - chairman of the Writers' Trade Union, Atilla Maras - chairman of the Writers' Trade Union, Yilmaz Ensaroglu - president of Mazlum-Der, Zuhal Olcay, Lale Mansur, Sanar Yurdatapan, Ali Nesin, Erdal Oz, Omer Madra, Etyen Mahcupyan and Sadik Tasdogan, who published a book entitled "Freedom of Thought 2000", were accused of "driving people away from wanting to conduct their military service" in violation of article 155 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC). It has been reported that this case forms part of a larger set of judicial proceedings against these individuals because of the publication of the above-mentioned book. On 13 February 2001, they were acquitted by the Istanbul State Security Court of charges under the Anti-Terror Law. They also face proceedings in the Penal Court of First Instance for "insulting the religions" in violation
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of article 175 of the TPC and before the Uskudar Criminal Court for "insulting the quality of being a Turk, the Republic, Parliament, Government, Ministries, jurisdiction or the forces of the Government related to the military", in violation of article 159 of the TPC.
367. On 14 August 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal regarding harassment by the police against members of the Human Rights Association (IHD) in Beytusebap, Sirnak, and the arrest and detention of one of the IHD key witnesses, Rasim Asan. According to the information received, executives of the IHD, as well as representatives of the Turkish Union of Chambers of Architects and Engineers (TMMOB), the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT), the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity with Oppressed People (Mazlum-Der), the Confederation of Public Sector Unions (KESK) and the Diyarbakir Democracy Platform, were taking part in an investigative mission on 8 August 2001 in Beytusebap. The purpose of the mission was reportedly to investigate information relating to the torture of villagers, evictions in some villages and food embargos imposed on other villages. It was reported that, after the mission, its members were stopped at the entry checkpoint police station at Sirnak. The policemen allegedly collected cameras and notes owned by members of the mission and banned them from using their phones. The
police reportedly confiscated 20 videotapes, 19 music tapes and some handwritten notes. After releasing the 14 members of the mission, the police allegedly kept 18-year-old Rasim Asan under detention. Rasim Asan had reportedly given a witness statement to the IHD mission - which was recorded on one of the tapes confiscated by the police - and had asked the mission to accompany him to his home in Mersin. It was reported that Rasim Asan was forced to sign a written statement saying that he had received money from Mr. Osman Baydemir, vice-president of IHD, in order to bring a testimony to the mission. After a short trial, Rasim Asan was allegedly transferred to prison on 9 August, on the basis of article 159 of the Turkish Penal Code, which provides for from one to six years' imprisonment for "insulting the Turkish Republic... and the military and security of the State".
368. On 11 September 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning the raid, on 7 September 2001, on the Diyarbakir offices of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT). HRFT has five centres which provide treatment and rehabilitation for people who have reportedly been tortured by the security forces in the south-east of the country. According to the information received, the police obtained from the Diyarbakir Public Prosecutor's Office a search warrant ordering the seizure of all documents in the offices that related to the treatment of torture victims, which has been reportedly described as an illegal activity. This information had been kept confidential as people known to have complained of being tortured by the security forces reportedly face intimidation, torture and disappearance to stop them pursuing their
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complaints. It was further reported that the police seized all the files and documents in the office, including confidential medical files and information on staff, other doctors supporting them and patients at the HRFT.
369. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation regarding the following cases.
370. Ms. Giinseli Kaya, a teacher and secretary of the HRFT office in Izmir, and Dr. Alp Ayan, a psychiatrist with the HRFT Rehabilitation of the Victims of Torture Centre, both members of the Human Rights Association of Turkey (HRA) and Mr. Berrin Esin Akan, medical secretary of HRFT were reportedly accused of violating the law on meetings and demonstrations. According to the information received, they were among the people arrested on 30 September 1999 in Izmir as they were on their way to the village of Helvaci to attend the funeral of Nevzat Ciftci, one of the prisoners allegedly killed in the Ulucunlar massacre in Ankara Central Prison on 26 September 1999. On 3 October 1999, after a hearing before the Criminal Court of Izmir, they were reportedly charged, along with 12 other people, on the basis of article 32, paragraph 3 of the law on meetings and demonstrations ("coercion, violence, threat, assault or resistance" to a police decision forbidding a meeting) and of article 7, paragraph 2 of the anti-terror law ("helping the members of a terrorist organization and disseminating propaganda on its behalf”). Ms. Giinseli Kaya, Dr. Alp Ayan and Mr. Berrin Esin Akan were reportedly released on 20 January 2000 after four months in prison, but the case is still under trial.
371. Liitfi Demirkapi, president of the Human Rights Association (HRA) Ankara Branch Office, Ilhami Yaban, Ismail Boyraz, Erol Direkci, Mesut Cetiner, Zeki Irmak, and Riza Resat Cetinbas, office members, Ali Riza Bektas, Saniye Simsek, Ekrem Erdin, Gokce Otlu, Emrah Serhan Soysal and Selim Necati Ort, HRA Prisoners' Commission members, were reportedly charged under article 169 of the Penal Code, on 11 January 2001, by the Bureau of the Prosecutor of the Criminal Court with "aiding and abetting of members of illegal organizations". According to the information received, the charges mentioned that during a police raid
on 23 December 2000, a detailed list of prisoners with information on their health was found on the HRA premises, along with press releases which included statements against the building of an F-type prison (with small, one- and three-person cells) and in support of the prisoners on hunger strike. It was also reported that the Prosecutor demanded the closure of the Ankara branch of HRA. It was further reported that the 12 HRA members charged were released and that Ali Riza Bektas and Selim Necati Ort were released from preventive detention on 22 May 2001. According to the information received, the court decided to combine an additional case against Selim Necati Ort with this trial, which is still ongoing.
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372. According to the information received, the HRA headquarters in Ankara were reportedly searched by the police on 25 January 2001 and the association's computers and all its documents and floppy disks were confiscated. According to the information received, this search followed a decision of the 9th Penal Tribunal of Ankara which, on 22 January 2001, at the request of the Ankara Prosecutor, was seized of the matter of the receipt of financial support from abroad (Greece) by HRA without prior authorization from the authorities. It was also reported that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Turkey published information on its web site aimed at discrediting HRA, and questioning its impartial and objective character. According to the information received, on 19 March 2001, a court case started against the HRA at Ankara Judicial Court No. 24, with the demand, by the Prosecutor that the headquarters of the Association be closed, under article 37 of the Law on Associations. The indictment reportedly claimed that HRA had been active beyond the aims described in its statutes.
373. On 26 October 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning Mr. Saban Dayanam, a member of the HRA national board and of the Istanbul branch board. According to the information received, on 19 October 2001, five unknown men tried to break into Mr. Dayanam's apartment in Istanbul. It was reported that these men introduced themselves as police officers and produced identity cards. This act was reportedly connected with the publication on the same day of a report by the IHD Istanbul branch on a hunger strike by political prisoners, which had been under way for a year. It was further reported that
Mr. Dayanam had been followed during the previous days by people in plain clothes, different from the plain clothes police officers who reportedly kept the IHD Istanbul branch under surveillance.
374. On 19 November 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding threats against members of the HRA in Istanbul. According to the information received,
on 15 November a man called Zeki Gene reportedly entered the IHD offices carrying a pistol, a large knife and a parcel that he claimed was a bomb. He threatened that he would kill everybody. Saban Dayanan and three other IHD members managed to wrestle him to the ground and disarm him.
Communications received
375. By letter dated 5 June 2001 the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent
on 18 April 2001. The Government informed the Special Representative that in the context of police operations in Konya, Hiiseyin Calik was taken into custody on 25 April 2000. He confessed that he had been planning to murder Eren Keskin and that he had gone to Istanbul in March 1999, possessing a pistol. He said that he had gone to the office of Eren Keskin, but could not achieve his goal owing to the crowd in the office. The Government stated that upon
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the completion of the investigation, Hiiseyin Calik had been arrested and was in prison. The Government added that it was incorrect and misleading to refer to "a Kurdish political party" in Turkey because no political party could be established on ethnic grounds.
376. By letter dated 13 June 2001, the Government provided additional information.
Eren Keskin had not requested the security forces to provide her with personal protection. She had asked for a police patrol in the neighbourhood of the Istanbul branch of HRA. The Government informed the Special Representative that upon receipt of this request, the necessary measures had been taken by the security forces.
377. By letter dated 4 July 2001, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent
on 2 February 2001. The Government informed the Special Representative that the relevant court had decided to release Nimet Tanrikulu on 6 February 2001 and she had been acquitted on 24 May 2001. The Government assured the Special Representative that none of the medical reports indicated any trace of ill-treatment or torture while she was in custody. The Government added that, upon the decision of the relevant court, the security forces searched the IHD premises in Ankara in January 2001 and found empty cartridges, a mortar shell head and illegal publications. A suit was therefore filed demanding that IHD be closed down. The Government informed the Special Representative that the case was pending.
378. By letter dated 29 August 2001, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 28 June 2001. The Government informed the Special Representative that the accused persons were on trial on different charges in the Turkish General Staff Military Court, Istanbul State Security Court No. 5, Uskiidar Criminal Court No. 2 and Uskiidar Criminal Court of First Instance No. 2. The Government added that the Uskiidar Public Prosecutor's Office gave a decision of non- jurisdiction on 5 October 2000 in the case of the publishers of the book entitled "Diisiinceye Ozgurluk 2000" (Freedom of Thought 2000). The Uskudar Public Prosecutor's Office therefore decided to forward the file to the General Staff Military Prosecutor's Office. The Government added that, according to article 1 1/A of the Code on the Establishment and Trial Procedure of Military Courts, military courts also have jurisdiction to try non-military persons for offences specified in article 58 of the Military Criminal Code. The Government informed the Special Representative that the accused persons were acquitted by the Istanbul State Security Court No. 5 on charges of aiding and abetting the terrorist organization PKK by spreading its propaganda, spreading propaganda against the indivisible entity of the Turkish State with its territory and nation, as well as inciting people to hatred and enmity on the basis of race and region. The judgement was upheld for Sadik Tasdogan, while it was overruled for the other accused persons by the Court of Appeal on 11 June 2001. The case was therefore pending. The Government informed the Special Representative that the trial of the accused persons on charges of insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic and the Government through a publication was pending in
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Uskiidar Criminal Court No. 2. The trial of the accused persons on charges of insulting religions, judges, the Turkish flag and Atatork through the press was pending in Uskiidar Criminal Court of First Instance No. 2.
379. By letter dated 19 September 2001, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 14 August 2001. The Government informed the Special Representative that Rasim Asan had been arrested upon a decision of Sirnak Criminal Court of Peace on 9 August 2001 on the grounds of violating the Turkish Criminal Code by insulting the military. The Government assured the Special Respresentative that none of the medical reports indicated any trace of torture or ill-treatment. The Government added that the confiscated cameras had been returned to their owners and the tapes handed over to the security forces as part of the investigation.
380. By letter sent on 2 January 2002, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 14 August 2001 regarding Rasim Asan. The Government informed the Special Representative that a lawsuit has been filed against Rasim Asan and Osman Baydemir under the Turkish Penal Code on the grounds of insulting the armed forces. Rasim Asan was released following the first hearing, held on 19 September 2001, and Osman Baydemir was not taken into custody. The case is pending.
381. By letter dated 2 January 2002, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 11 September 2001 concerning the raid on the HRFT offices in Diyarbakir. The Government informed the Special Representative that, upon the decision of the competent court, the security forces searched the premises of the Diyarbakir branch of HRFT on 7 September 2001. Afterwards, an investigation had been initiated regarding the HRFT on the grounds of its carrying out activities which went beyond the purposes prescribed by its founding charter and aiding the terrorist organization PKK by its involvement in treating PKK members. The Government added that, following the investigation, a decision of partial non-prosecution was given regarding the accused persons on 25 October 2001, and a decision of non-jurisdiction was given regarding Sezgin Tanrikulu and his file was therefore transferred to the Diyarbakir Public Prosecutor's Office.
382. By letter dated 2 January 2002 the Government responded to the allegation transmitted on 19 October 2001. The Government informed the Special Representative that Ms. Giinseli Kaya and Dr. Alp Ayan had both attended a demonstration held without permission for the funeral of Nevzat Ciftci on 30 September 1999. When the security forces advised the group to disperse, the group attacked with stones and cudgels. Some members of the group, including Ms. Kaya and Dr. Ayan, were detained on the ground of violating the law on meetings and demonstrations. They were released on 20 January 2000 pending trial. The Government added that upon the decision of the relevant court, the security forces searched the HRA premises in Ankara on
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22 December 2000. Ali Riza Bektas and Selim Necati Ort were arrested. A suit was filed demanding the punishment of 12 persons, including Liitfi Demirkapi, on the grounds of aiding and abetting terrorist organizations, and demanding the closure of the Ankara HRA. The Government added that Emrah Serhan Soysal had been taken into custody on 26 May 2001 and arrested on 30 May 2001. His file is pending, as is the IHD file.
383. By letter dated 8 January 2002, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 19 November 2001 regarding Zeki Gene. The Government informed the Special Representative that investigations had been initiated. Zeki Gene was taken into custody on 15 November 2001 and arrested on 19 November 2001. The Government added that a lawsuit had been filed against him and his two fellows on the grounds of carrying out armed acts, restricting personal freedom, threat by weapon and violating law No. 6136.
Observations
384. The Special Representative thanks the Government of Turkey for its detailed replies. The Special Representative was pleased to learn that the Diyarbakir Directorate for Security returned on 10 October 2001 all 365 patient files which had been seized by Turkish police forces from the Diyarbakir Rehabilitation Centre. She also welcomes the release on 19 September 2001 of Rasim Asan. However, the Special Representative remains concerned about the human rights defenders against whom criminal trials are still pending.
UGANDA
Communication sent
385. On 2 November 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation regarding an NGO registration amendment bill under consideration by the Ugandan Parliament. The Special Representative expressed her concern over information alleging that such a bill allows the suspension of NGO activities when their statutes are deemed in "contravention of any government policy or plan or public interest". The draft bill does not contain any provision regarding the identity of the entity making this determination. It was also alleged that it stipulates individual liability for acts committed in the service of the organization, including possible imprisonment for up to one year for operating beyond the expiration or revocation of a licence. This draft bill also "expands the Minister's power to make regulations to include prescribing the manner in which organizations shall be wound up when they cease to operate and also prescribing the duration and form of a permit issued to an NGO when it is registered".
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Observations
386. No reply has been received so far.
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Communications sent
387. On 11 December 2000, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding the situation of the Pat Finucane Centre, a human rights organization based in Derry, Northern Ireland. According to the information received, on 1 December 2000, the Centre allegedly received a Christmas card from the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, Nanyuki, Kenya, in an official United Nations Protection Force envelope. This card reportedly created an atmosphere of apprehension amongst the members of the Centre. It was reported that the Centre has been actively protesting a decision of the Army Board, which allowed two members of this battalion to continue their careers in the armed services. These two members were convicted
on 10 February 1995 of murdering Mr. Peter McBride (an unarmed civilian) in Belfast on 4 September 1992. It was reported that this Christmas card may be a threat to members of the Centre, particularly since it was received on the same morning that they organized a day of action protesting the Army Board's decision to re-employ the two convicted soldiers. Fears have been expressed that members of the Pat Finucane Centre may be at risk of attack and/or reprisals for their protests against the members of the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards.
388. On 16 July 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding the case of an NGO representative based in Belfast whose name has appeared on a list called "Know The Provo". According to the information received, the fact that he appears on the list constitutes a threat to him as well as to other members of the NGO concerned. The NGO representative had heard nothing of his own inclusion in the list until he was informed by someone in the
United States. The web site on which the list appeared now advertises that if $20 is sent to the Loyalist Volunteer Prisoner Welfare (LVPW), to an address in the United States, a hard copy of the list will be posted out. It has been reported that the list was previously available on the Ulster Loyalist Information Services Network (ULISNET) web site but has been removed. It allegedly targets many known republicans but also human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, politicians, community activists and others. It was further reported that the list, which names about 970 individuals, makes many false accusations of involvement in or sympathy for republicanism.
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Communications received
389. In a letter dated 2 May 2001, the Government of the United Kingdom replied to the urgent appeal sent on 11 December 2000 and reported that officials had investigated the circumstances surrounding this incident. According to the Government, the Commanding Officer of the Scots Guards affirmed that no official card was sent. The origin of the card remains unknown. The Government added that the Police Division of the Northern Ireland Office, which operates the Key Person's Protection Scheme (KPPS) in Northern Ireland, had stated that it had had no approaches from members of the Pat Finucane Centre expressing concern regarding their safety.
390. In reply to the communication dated 16 July 2001, the Government of the United Kingdom provided, on 7 August 2001, information on the "Know the Provo" list. The Government reported that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) had a dedicated computer crime unit, which had been working with the service provider to have the sites removed from their server. The Government further indicated that the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland had concluded that no criminal offences in respect of the ULISNET list had been committed within Northern Ireland. However, the Government stated that the RUC had also been in contact with the United States authorities and had taken steps to inform those named on the list and to offer them advice on personal security. Regarding the case of the Belfast based NGO representative, the police informed him on 20 July 2001 that his name was found on a computer owned by a person believed to have an association with a Loyalist paramilitary organization, and offered him the opportunity to seek advice about his personal security.
Observations
391. The Special Representative would like to thank the Government for its replies. However, she remains concerned about the threats directed against human rights defenders in Northern Ireland and would urge the Government to investigate them thoroughly and without delay. In this regard, a prompt and independent judicial investigation into the murders of lawyer Patrick Finucane in 1989 and solicitor Rosemary Nelson in 1999 are essential in order to restore a secure environment for human rights defenders in Northern Ireland.
UZBEKISTAN
Communications sent
392. On 22 February 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning the arrest on 19 February 2001 of Elena Urlayeva, a member of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU). Information received indicated that she was taken by four militia workers
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to the Yunusabad District Department of Internal Affairs, where several documents she was carrying were confiscated and recorded as anti-constitutional. These documents apparently included the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, documents from various non-governmental organizations, correspondence addressed to President Karimov and the Ombudsman of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan legislation and individual complaints to the United Nations. The militia workers reportedly demanded that she sign a statement admitting the material was anti-constitutional. She was allegedly detained for seven hours, during which time she was threatened and given no water nor her medication for a heart condition, then taken to the office of Colonel Djurabayev, who told her she was not guilty and would be freed. However, the information indicated that neither her documents nor her passport were returned to her. Furthermore, urgent attention was drawn to the case of Tulkan Karaev, also a member of the HRSU, who was detained by the militia at Tashkent airport on 15 February 2001 as he returned from a human rights course in Ekaterinburg. He was reportedly carrying human rights literature and other documents from various non-governmental organizations. According to the source, the militia declared the literature unconstitutional and called an official from the Department for the Prevention of Religious Extremism and Terrorism. Tulkan Karaev was reportedly informed that he would be imprisoned for carrying this literature and asked to write an explanatory paper. The information indicates that later that evening he was released and his passport and other documents were returned to him.
393. On 15 March 2001, the Special Representative sent, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, another urgent appeal regarding Elena Urlayeva. It was reported that in the night of 8 March 2001, her house was doused with petrol and set on fire while she and her family were asleep inside. According to the source, the arson could be connected to an incident that occurred on 19 February 2001 when Ms. Urlayeva was reportedly arrested by four militia workers.
394. On 22 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Shovruk Ruzimuradov, the head of HRSU. He was reportedly arrested on 15 June 2001 by members of the Kashkadaryn District Department of the Interior (DDI). Later the same day, a group of members of the DDI, including 31 armed policemen, are said to have raided and searched his house and to have confiscated several items, including a HRSU computer and several documents. It is believed that they did not have any search warrant. It was also alleged that Shovruk Ruzimuradov's mother, T. Burieva, his wife, R. Ruzimuradova, his sister, O. Burieva, and his daughter were present in the house during the search and were severely beaten. Since his arrest, Shovruk Ruzimuradov has reportedly been held incommunicado in a secret place.
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395. On 5 September 2001, the Special Representative sent, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, an urgent appeal regarding Ruslan Sharipov, president of the Union of Independent Journalists of Uzbekistan. According to the information received, on 31 August 2001 Mr. Sharipov was detained by officials from the Kibrayskiy Department of Internal Affairs, who confiscated his passport and journalist's card. It was reported that the internal affairs officials interrogated Mr. Sharipov and accused him of being involved in terrorist activities. It was also reported that members of Mr. Sharipov's family were also intimidated by the same internal affairs officials. It was alleged that such harassment is linked to Mr. Sharipov's human rights activities in particular his publication of articles entitled "Shadow of independence" relating inter alia to persecution of Muslims, torture in Uzbekistan prisons, corruption and intimidation of journalists.
396. On 1 October 2001, the Special Representative transmitted, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture, an allegation regarding the following cases.
397. Elena Urlayeva, a member of HRSU, on behalf of whom the Special Representative sent two urgent appeals, on 22 February 2001, and 15 March 2001, was reportedly arrested
on 6 April 2001 and taken to Mirzo Ulugbek district police headquarters in Tashkent, where she is believed to have been interrogated and beaten. It was reported that she was later transferred to the Municipal Clinical Psychiatric Hospital No. 1, where on 7 April 2001 a medical commission, in which the deputy district police chief is believed to have taken part, reportedly ordered that she had to undergo "compulsory treatment". According to the information received, Elena Urlayeva was perfectly healthy and had never been treated for mental illness. It is thought that she was targeted for her human rights activities. On 4 June 2001, the Mirabadski court reportedly held a hearing to decide whether the forced treatment and detention of Urlayeva, who was not present, needed to be extended. The second day of the hearing, which took place in the Municipal Clinical Psychiatric Hospital, included Elena Urlayeva. The latter reportedly stated that hospital employees strapped her to a bed and forced her to receive injections and to take tablets. According to the information received, shortly after the hearing Ms. Urlayeva was transferred to the Republican Psychiatric Hospital No. 2, which she was reported to have left voluntarily on 20 June 2001. It was also reported that, on 12 July 2001, a hearing on the legality of her detention took place in the Tashkent City Court, which was alleged to have ruled that her detention was legal.
398. Vassily Evtigneev, the brother of the above-named human rights activist, Elena Urlayeva, was reportedly sentenced to six years' imprisonment by the Mirza Ulugbek District Court in Tashkent in April 2000, on allegedly fabricated charges, probably in retaliation for his sister's human rights work. According to the information received, he was kept in the "red zone" in
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Karshi town, and was transferred in October 2000 to a medical penitentiary facility in Tashkent in a serious condition. It was alleged that, on 6 November 2000, the manager of the medical facility did not allow his relatives to visit him.
399. On 1 October 2001, the Special Representative transmitted jointly with the
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture, an allegation of the assassination of Shovruk Ruzimuradov, the head of the HRSU Kashkadaryn regional department, on behalf of whom the Special Representative had sent a joint urgent appeal on 22 June 2001. Mr. Ruzimuradov was reportedly arrested on 15 June 2001 and held incommunicado for at least three weeks. His body was delivered to his family on 7 July 2001. The reasons of his death in custody are not known.
400. On 2 November 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal concerning Mr. Yusuf Juma, a poet, journalist and active member of The Popular Movement Birlik on Uzbekistan. Mr. Juma was reportedly arrested on 23 October 2001 by the Security Service of Uzbekistan (SSU) in Bukhara district. The SSU agents allegedly searched Mr. Juma's house and confiscated many poems written by him and his daughter. According to the information received, those poems criticized government policies and referred to police violence, impunity and corruption. Mr. Juma was allegedly accused of anti-government activities and charged under article 159 of the Criminal Code for having published some of these poems on a web site.
Observations
401. The Special Representative regrets that at the time of the finalization of this report the Government had not sent any reply to her communications. The Special Representative recalls that she has indicated her interest in visiting Uzbekistan and hopes that the Government will give positive consideration to this request.
VENEZUELA
402. An official invitation to visit Venezuela was extended to the Special Representative by the Government on 8 August 2001, following a request sent by the Special Representative
on 27 April 2001. The Special Representative hopes to undertake this visit in the near future.
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VIET NAM
Communication sent
403. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation to the Government of Viet Nam. The Special Representative expressed her concern that human rights defenders are perceived with unveiled hostility by the authorities. Under vaguely defined "national security" provisions embodied in the Criminal Code and other domestic legislation, human rights defenders are said to be at risk of being imprisoned or placed in "administrative detention" without trial, allegedly for their peaceful activities. The Special Representative was also concerned that there are no independent indigenous human rights NGOs in Viet Nam and that all "social organizations" (i.e., organizations which are not direct branches of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP)) must belong to the "Fatherland Front", an umbrella organization composed of non-Party elements, but said to be under Communist Party control.
404. The communication concerned the following cases.
405. Professor Nguyen Dinh Huy, a journalist and press editor, founder and president of the Movement to Unite People and Build Democracy, is said to be currently detained in Z30A prison camp, Xuan Loc, Dong Nai province, where he had been since May 1996. According to the information received, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy was arrested on 17 November 1993 for trying to organize an international conference on democracy, human rights, economic development and peaceful political change in Ho Chi Minh City. In April 1995, he was reported to have been sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment and hard labour, allegedly for "acting to overthrow the people's Government".
406. Professor Nguyen Thanh Giang, a writer and outspoken intellectual, was reportedly arrested and imprisoned for two months on 4 March 1999, for having reportedly written documents which showed "close collusion with reactionary forces abroad to disrupt the social order". His writings have allegedly focused on political pluralism, labour rights and the problems of State-owned enterprises. According to the information received, he was released after he went on hunger strike in June 1999 and he has been victim of harassment since then. It was alleged that on 20 October 1999 he was subjected to police harassment and his computer was confiscated after two days of interrogation and he was forced to quit his research job at a government science institute. According to the information received, Mr. Giang remained under surveillance throughout the year 2000.
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407. Mr. Nguyen Dan Que, founder of the Non-violent Movement for Human Rights in
Viet Nam, was reportedly under house arrest at Ho Chi Minh City. According to the information received, he was arrested in 1990 for "trying to overthrow the regime" and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. He reportedly issued an appeal calling for a free and democratic Viet Nam through free and fair elections. Mr. Que was reportedly released and placed under house arrest in 1998. It was also alleged that, in 1998, his telephone was cut, his mail censured and his family harassed by the police. According to the information received, on 12 April 2000, the Vietnamese authorities arrested Ms. Sylvaine Pasquier, a reporter with the French magazine L 'Express,
while she was trying to meet Mr. Que for an interview at his house. She was reportedly expelled from Viet Nam after 24 hours of detention and interrogation at a police station in Ho Chi Minh City. It was also reported that, on 15 January 2001, Mr. Que and his wife were summoned to a "popular denunciation session" staged by the public security in the 5th district of Ho Chi Minh City. They were accused of treason because Dr. Que is said to have proclaimed the foundation of his new organization, named "Get-together for Democracy", in November 2000.
408. Mr. Nguyen Van Ly Thadeus, a Roman Catholic priest, was reportedly detained in Thua Phu prison. He was allegedly arrested on 17 May 2001 for his peaceful advocacy of religious freedom. According to the information received, Mr. Nguyen Van Ly Thadeus was placed under administrative detention for two years for having sent, on 13 February 2001, a written testimony to a United States congressional hearing on violations of religious freedom in Viet Nam. The Thua Thien-Hue Provincial People's Committee had reportedly forbidden him to exercise his religious functions during his two-year administrative detention period and he was said to have later been arrested for violating this order. It was also reported that the State-controlled press has begun a vilification campaign against him, accusing him of treason.
409. Mr. Thich Tue Sy, secretary general of the Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam, a writer and honorary member of PEN International and PEN Canada, was reportedly under house arrest in the Quang Huong Gia Lam pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City for his peaceful advocacy of freedom of belief and opinion. According to the information received, Mr. Thich Tue Sy was released in September 1998 after 17 years of imprisonment and hard labour. After his release, he was allegedly subjected to police surveillance, interrogations and threats. On 14 September 1999, he was interrogated at the local police station and his computer hard disk was confiscated for his alleged attempt to overthrow the Government. It was also alleged that, in May 2001, he was harassed and interrogated by the police, who were reported to have initiated a repression campaign against the Vietnamese Unified Buddhist Church. On 25 May 2001, he was
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threatened at his pagoda by the police for his refusal to go to the police station in order to be interrogated. It was also alleged that, on 3 June 2001, Mr. Thich Tue Sy wrote a letter to the "Tribunal Populaire Supreme", protesting against the harassment he has allegedly been subjected to.
410. Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang, patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam, has reportedly been under house arrest without charges since 1982. Security police are said to be permanently stationed on the only road leading to his hut and are thus able to monitor and control all his visits. Mr. Thich Huyen Quang was allegedly never officially sentenced and was arrested allegedly for his peaceful advocacy of religious freedom, human rights and democracy. In November 1993, he reportedly issued a landmark "Declaration" calling for democratic reform, such as the legalization of opposition parties, free elections and a multiparty system. According to the information received, Thich Huyen Quang was formally "released" by order of the Quang Ngai Security Police on 27 October 1997, even though he remains under house arrest.
411. Venerable Thich Quang Do, a writer, scholar, head of the Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma and the second-highest dignitary of the Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam, was reportedly detained incommunicado in Thanh Minh Zen monastery. It was alleged that
on 1 June 2001 the Ho Chi Minh People's Committee placed him under administrative detention for two years, which was a "reactivation" of a five-year probationary detention sentence for which Thich Quang Do was amnestied in 1998. This "reactivation" was said to have been the consequence of a letter sent by Mr. Thich Quang Do to the authorities, asking for the release of Mr. Thich Huyen Quang, and to be aimed at preventing Mr. Thich Quang Do from travelling to the central province of Quang Ngai on 7 June 2001 to escort Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang to Saigon for medical treatment. It was reported that Security Police officers guard the room of Thich Quang Do, control his meals and forbid any visits or phone calls. It was also reported that the State-controlled press has begun a vilification campaign against Thich Quang Do, accusing him of "corruption", and that the police have circulated a series of "anonymous letters" in Saigon slandering the monk.
Communications received
412. On 2 November 2001, the Government of Viet Nam replied that the allegations regarding the individual cases mentioned were inaccurate and falsified and that the true information on those cases had been provided to the other thematic mechanisms of the Commission on Human Rights. The Government affirmed that all the individuals mentioned were criminal offenders who had been found in violation of the law and duly prosecuted for their acts. The Government said that there were hundreds of Vietnamese NGOs and professional associations working in all spheres of life, contributing actively to the renewal process of the country and to the promotion
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and protection of the social, cultural, economic and political rights of every citizen. The Government assured the Special Representative that these NGOs need not and in fact did not all belong to the "Fatherland Front".
Observations
413. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its reply. She nevertheless remains concerned about the situation of human rights defenders in Viet Nam. She will continue to watch the situation and seek the cooperation of the Government for the implementation of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
ZIMBABWE
Communication sent
414. On 19 November 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, sent an urgent appeal regarding the cases of
Mr. David Coltart, a prominent and well-respected human rights lawyer and Member of Parliament, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and other members of the political opposition in Zimbabwe. It was reported that on 15 November 2001, Mr. Coltart was detained by the police in Harare and then released after two hours. Mr. Coltart has campaigned for many years to improve access to legal services and to uphold the basic rights of everyone in Zimbabwe. In addition, Vice-President Mr. Joseph Msika and other government officials reportedly appeared to be inciting violent action against members of the MDC. In November 2001, the ruling Zanu PF party allegedly accused MDC members of being responsible for the abduction and murder of Mr. Cain Nkala, chairman of the Bulawayo war veterans' association, an armed militia closely associated with the Zanu PF party. Members of the political opposition and human rights activists are reportedly the targets of threats, detention and physical attack as part of a crackdown on the political opposition in Zimbabwe prior to the elections scheduled for March 2002.
Observations
415. No reply from the Government has been received so far.
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Appendix
Submission of allegations to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders
Overview
At its fifty-sixth session, the Commission on Human Rights requested the Secretary-General to appoint a special representative on human rights defenders (resolution 2000/61 of 26 April 2000). Ms. Hina Jilani (Pakistan) was appointed in August 2000. Her work on the mandate, which began in September 2000, is based largely on the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (General Assembly resolution 53/144 of 9 December 1998).
The Declaration recognizes that the definition of a human rights defender must be broadly understood as encompassing also those striving for the promotion, protection and realization of social, economic and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights. As the Special Representative stated in her first annual report (E/CN.4/2001/94), she believes that the ambit of her mandate is broad enough to include, for example, those defending the right to a healthy environment, promoting the rights of indigenous peoples, or engaging in trade union activities. The mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders, as set out in Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/61, is:
(a) To seek, receive, examine and respond to information on the situation and the rights of anyone, acting individually or in association with others, to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms;
(b) To establish cooperation and conduct dialogue with Governments and other interested actors on the promotion and effective implementation of the Declaration;
(c) To recommend strategies better to protect human rights defenders.
Any individual, group, non-governmental organization, intergovernmental agency or government organization with reliable knowledge of human rights violations against human rights defenders is encouraged to bring the relevant information to the attention of the Special Representative in writing. The Special Representative will transmit information she considers credible and reliable to the Government concerned and request that it respond with its comments and observations.
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Because of the wide range of groups and individuals that send allegations to the Special Representative, those submitting complaints are encouraged to provide information regarding their own human rights work.
While there is no formal procedure for the submission of allegations, certain details must be provided to enable the Special Representative to bring the appropriate cases to the attention of the Governments concerned as soon as possible. The information required includes the identity of the alleged victim, the alleged violation, the perpetrator(s), and the steps, if any, taken by the authorities. Complaints must be made in writing and sent to:
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
FAX: (41 22) 917 90 06
Guideline for submissions
The following outline should be followed, to the extent possible, by those wishing to submit allegations of violations against human rights defenders.a
1.
Information regarding the alleged victim
- Full nameb
- Age
- Sex
- Profession or occupation
- Place of residence (or origin, if relevant to the violation suffered)
- The victim's affiliation, if any, with an organization, association or group engaged in human rights work
- Name of the organization, association or group
- Name of the person heading the organization, association or group
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- Nature of human rights work the individual performs If the alleged violation is against an organization:
- Name of the organization
- Nature of the human rights work/activities it is engaged in
- Territorial scope of its work (national, regional, international)
- Affiliations with other human rights organizations, if any
- Name of person(s) heading the organization
Additional information on the history of the work the individual or organization has performed, if submitted, may be helpful in assessing the complaint/allegation.
2. Nature of the alleged violation
All relevant information regarding the violation allegedly committed against the human rights defender, or organization, association or group, including:
- Date
- Place
- Description of the events/incident
- Nature of violation suffered or threatened
The information must indicate the connection of the alleged violation to human rights activities performed.
If the violation involves or includes the arrest and/or imprisonment of an individual or group of human rights defenders, information is required on:
- Identity of the authority involved (individual and/or ministry and/or department)
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- Date and place of arrest
- Any circumstances under which the arrest was made that are relevant to the violation
- Nature of charges, if any, and the legal statute invoked
- Potential penalties the individual or group faces
- Place of detention, if known
- Term of detention
- Information on the provision of access to legal counsel and family members
- Steps taken to seek administrative or judicial remedy, nature of the remedy sought, legal entity before which proceedings have been taken, and stage or result of such proceedings
If the defender is being prosecuted in the courts for any activity in defence of human rights or related activity, or as a consequence of such activity:
- The date and location of the trial
- The court hearing the case
- The relevant appeal procedures
- The penalties the group or individual faces 3. Perpetrator(s) of the alleged violation
- Name(s), if known
- If they are members of the security forces, their rank, functions, the unit or service, etc., to which they belong
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- If they are members of a civil defence group, paramilitary or other forces or an armed group, details on whether or how these groups relate to the State (e.g. cooperation with the State security forces, including information on chains of command, if available, State collusion with or acquiescence in their operations)
4.
Steps taken by or on behalf of the victim or organization to seek a remedy at the national level
- All relevant information regarding whether a complaint was filed
- If so, when, where, by whom and before which authority
5.
Steps taken by the concerned authorities
- Whether or not an investigation or inquiry into the alleged violation has been initiated and/or concluded
- If so, by which authority, ministry or department of the Government
- Progress and status of the inquiry or investigation at the time of submission of the allegation
- Whether or not the investigation or inquiry has resulted in charges or other legal action
- If so, the reason why the result is unsatisfactory
- Measures, if any, taken to protect person(s) under threat
6.
The violation alleged may not be the result of one incident or event, but may be a continuing violation owing to conditions, policies, practices or laws that obstruct the promotion, protection and/or realization of human rights
In such cases submissions must include:
- All relevant information regarding such conditions, policies, practices or laws
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- The nature of the prejudice suffered by an individual or group(s) working for the defence of human rights because of the above
- Methods used to impede the work of human rights defenders on the basis of the above conditions, policies, practices or laws
- Agencies (State, non-State) employed to harass, intimidate and/or injure human rights defenders on the basis of these conditions or in implementing such laws, practices and policies
- Possible measures that can be taken to remedy the situation
- Any action taken by individuals or groups at the national level to reverse the conditions, policies and practices or for reform of the laws that are contrary to the rights recognized by the Declaration
а
This guideline is not final. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
ъ
Please note in the submission if the name of the alleged victim SHOULD NOT be
transmitted to the Government. Names of alleged victims will remain confidential
IF REQUESTED.
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