This page is maintained by Margarita
Lacabe. Last updated Oct. 12, 1996.
Sept. 30
(Reuters) - Kenya - Kenya's prison conditions are outrageous, with 39,000 inmates in filthy jails designed for 18,000, a Kenyan human rights group said.
(Reuters) - Somalia - In response to the kidnaping and wounding of Hilal Aden, a Somali human rights activist with the Life and Peace Institute agency, aid agencies and donors have threatened to suspend aid to Somalia unless he is released.
(Reuters) - Nigeria - The eight-nation Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) dropped its demand that a Commonwealth fact- finding mission to Nigeria be permitted to visit opposition and human rights groups. The CMAG withdrew an identical fact-finding mission last month because of Nigeria's refusal to allow it to meet with the opposition. Human rights activists were quick to denounce the CMAG's decision to continue the fact-finding mission without meeting with opposition and human rights leaders.
(Reuters) - Ivory Coast - The parliament of the Ivory Coast approved a new law today giving police and security forces to raid and search private homes 24 hours a day. Although a clause was added that required judicial or administrative authorization, human rights groups and citizens expressed misgivings about the new law. Previously, raids of private homes between 9pm and 4am required an order from a judge. The law was passed in response to a crime wave which has hit the Ivory Coast hard. Last year, Parliament passed a law imposing the death penalty for robbery with violence certain areas and murder, but no executions have taken place to date.
(Reuters) - Mexico - The Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights denounced Mexican authorities today for using torture and death threats to extract information from suspected rebels during questioning. The state Attorney General Office said that those detained were suspected to be members of the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) from the indigenous village of San Agustin Loxicha. The human rights group also claimed that photographic evidence had been forged and that police planted notebooks and other objects that did not belong to the detainees.
(NYT) - Burma - For the first time since she was released from 6 years of house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi was prevented from making her regular weekend address. The Burmese military closed off streets leading to her house and arrested hundreds of her supporters and members of the National League for Democracy. Government officials claimed to have detained 100 of Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters while an official with the NLD claimed as many as 500. Government newspapers claimed that a planned meeting of the NLD had been instigated by the US and other foreign governments and that it "was intended to incite riots and upheaval in the entire country." Aung San Suu Kyi's telephone was also disconnected during the weekend.
(BBC) - China - The Information Centre on Chinese Human Rights and Democratic Movement reported that imprisoned Chinese dissidents are being tortured by illness. Wei Ling, the sister of Wei Jingsheng, reported that Wei Jingsheng was suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure, after she visited him in jail recently. Chen Ziming's wife, Wang Zhihong, reported that he suffers from testicular cancer but the authorities will not release him on medical grounds.
(AFP) - Nigeria - German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and German former head of state Richard von Weizsaecker called for the release of former Nigerian president and pro-democracy activist Olusegon Obasanjo. Their call came on the first anniversary of Obsanjo's conviction by a secret trial. Von Weizsaecker also lent his support to Transparency International's campaign for Obsanjo's release. Obsanjo is the head of the advisory council of Transparency International, a group devoted to ending corruption around the world.
(AFP) - Zaire/Switzerland - Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko was granted an extended visa to stay in Switzerland following surgery. Socialist MP Victor Ruffy asked the Swiss government to explain why it was allowing a person accused of human rights abuses to remain in the country.
(AFP) - Ethiopia - Former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam and his aides' genocide trial will resume tomorrow. The indictments accuse 120 people of genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity. Twenty-five defendants, including Mengistu, will be tried in absentia. If convicted, all of the defendants could face execution. During Mengistu's regime, an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 people were killed.
(AFP) - Turkey - Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan stirred controversy in Ankara by including Libya among an African tour that also includes Nigeria. The trip comes soon after a similar trip to Iran in August. Libya has been strongly criticized by Western countries for sponsoring terrorism and Nigeria has been criticized by Western and African countries for its human rights abuses.
(HRW) - Sudan - Human Rights Watch called for evidence from TV cameraman Osama Ghandi to be thrown out after he removed his shirt at a military tribunal to show scars remaining from the torture that used to coerce a confession. The group also called for the trial to be conducted in public, instead of at a secret military tribunal.
Oct. 1
(Derechos) - Peru - Jesus Alfonso Castiglione, Eduardo Sihue Cano and Jose Antonio Alvarez Pachas, three journalists, became the first innocent prisoners to be freed by a commission set up to expedite the release of those unjustly imprisoned after being convicted of terrorism. More releases are expected this week as the commission recommended that 31 prisoners be freed. The Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos, an umbrella group of 47 human rights groups, believes that there are least 600 and perhaps as many as 750 people who are still unjustly imprisoned.
(Reuters) - Indonesia - Munawir Sjasdzali, an adviser to President Suharto and a former minister of religion, was elected chairman of Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights today. The commission was created in 1993 by Suharto under pressure from human rights groups and foreign governments and has recently been criticized by the government and military for a preliminary report on the July 27 Jakarta riots that disagreed with the military's assessment of the riots.
(Reuters) - Burma - The Burmese government today said that it had released 88 of the 559 Aung Sun Suu Kyi supporters that it had arrested since Sept. 27. Burmese military officials indicated that the blockades around Aung Sun Suu Kyi would remain "as long as it is necessary."
(Reuters) - Armenia - The US government expressed concern today over reports that members of the opposition had been beaten by Armenian security forces. Government opponents claimed that President Levon Ter-Petrosyan was using unrest as an excuse to imprison his opponents. Opponents also claim that up to 250 people have been detained since the unrest began.
(UPI) - Egypt - In response to a lawsuit filed by a physician seeking to overturn the government ban on female genital mutilation, the Egyptian Court of Administrative Justice ordered a legal panel to review the lawsuit, according to the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. Health Minister Ismail Sallam banned female genital mutilation in July after several girls died after the procedure. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and five other groups have joined to support Sallam against the lawsuit. The EOHR estimates that 50 to 70 percent of urban women and up to 95 percent of rural women are subjected to the procedure.
(SF Chronicle) - USA - California governor Pete Wilson signed into a law a bill that prohibits the State of California from conducting business with companies that use child or slave labor. The bill, backed by human rights activist Harry Wu, received wide bipartisan support.
(Reuters) - Nicaragua - Top political party leaders called today for the formation of a truth commission to investigate human rights abuses during Nicaragua's civil war. These abuses have become an issue in the upcoming October 20 election and candidate Arnoldo Aleman has stated that his government will form a truth commission if he is elected. Daniel Ortega's campaign chief also indicated his support for a truth commission as long as it investigates abuses committed by both sides. A law passed at the end of the civil granted amnesty for human rights abuses committed by both sides.
(Reuters) - Europe - Italy and Austria today called for a comprehensive human rights clause to be incorporated into the European Union treaty and for non-complying countries to be penalized. Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini and Austrian Vice Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel at a joint news conference that the following clause be added to read: "The Union shall ensure that no discrimination on grounds particularly of race, colour, nationality, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, association with a national minority, social origin or property, disability, sexual preference or any other specific status takes place." They also proposed that any persistent violator of any of these rights should have certain EU benefits suspended.
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) - Russia - A bill will be introduced this week in the Duma that will impose a moratorium on the death penalty as part of Russia's admission into the Council of Europe. There are 466 people currently on death row.
(DPA) - Haiti - Protestors who filled the streets of Port-au-Prince today called for penalties for members of the police and military who committed human rights abuses during the military's 3-year rule. The protest marked the fifth anniversary of the coup that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
(DPA) - Zambia - The Munyama Human Rights Commission officially released its report detailing incidents of torture by security agents. The Commission gathered evidence throughout the country for two years from people who were tortured or witnessed torture. The report noted that some victims of torture died while others were permanently maimed physically and mentally. The report said that torture chambers existed throughout the country, including the official Presidential residence.
(DPA) - Turkey - The Turkish government called an Amnesty International report alleging massive human rights violations a repetition of earlier one-sided reports. The government said that the report didn't take into account the positive developments in Turkey, including a fully- functioning parliamentary system.
(AFP) - Israel/Palestinian Authority - The US contacted the Israeli government after reports that the Israeli army prevented medical supplies from reaching Palestinian towns. Palestinian deputy health minister Munzir Sherif told reporters that the Israeli army restricts the movement of ambulances and medical supplies in the West Bank.
(ABA) - USA - The October issue of the American Bar Association Journal detailed the presentation of awards at the ABA Annual Meeting. The ABA Section of Litigation presented its International Human Rights Award to Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana and Olisa Agbakoba, Nigerian lawyers who defended nine Ogoni political prisoners, including Ken Saro-Wiwa. None of the lawyers were able to attend the presentation because Fawehinmi and Falana have been jailed for supporting human rights and Agbakoba was not permitted to leave the country.
(AI) - Turkey - Amnesty International launched a worldwide campaign in support of human rights in Turkey today by releasing a report on human rights in that country. According to AI, while Turkey has signed many international and regional human rights standards, the country continues to violate the human rights of its citizens in the name of national security.
Oct. 2, 1996
(Reuters) - Morocco - The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) and the Moroccan League for the Defense of Human Rights (LMDDH) called conditions in two Moroccan prisons "catastrophic" and called for an inquiry. The groups said that Kenitra jail, 30 km north of Rabat, and Oukacha jail in Casablanca had bad hygiene and lacked medicine for the prisoners.
(UPI) - El Salvador - Civilian patrols accused of human rights abuses will not be dissolved, as the Salvadoran government today reversed its previous decision. President Armando Calderon Sol rejected calls from the opposition, including the Farabundo Marti Front (FMLN), which has charged that the patrols are successors to armed patrols organized by the government during the 1980s civil war.
(UPI) - Albania - Albania ratified the European Convention on Human Rights and most of its protocols, except for Article 6, which requires abolition of the death penalty, and had a formal reservation to Article 1, which called for free elections. The formal reservation means that free elections will not be required for five years. Albania also ratified the European Anti-Torture Convention.
(Tampa Tribune) - Czech Republic - Human rights activist Herberta Masarykova died in Prague at the age of 81. She and her sister Anna were outspoken against human rights violations during Communist rule in the former Czechoslovakia.
(Kyodo News Service) - Burma/Philippines - Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino expressed support for Aung San Suu Kyi and her desire to mediate a political settlement in Burma. Aquino made the statement while in Thailand for a conference on the development of democracy and human rights over the last two decades.
(IPS) - Kenya - The Kenya Human Rights Commission issued a report this week entitled "A Death Sentence: Prison Conditions in Kenya." The Commission interviewed ex-prisoners and prison wardens to paint a grim picture of Kenya's prisons since they were not granted permission to visit prisons. The report comes as no surprise, as the government has acknowledged that the prisons are in a deplorable state. The report noted that the medical budget at Kamiti prison was enough for about two aspirin per prisoner per year. Severe overcrowding is called the biggest problem with 37,000 prisoners in jails designed for 20,000.
(DPA) - World - The international group Reporters Without Borders stated that 51 journalists were killed last year while working. Twenty-two of the death occurred in Algeria and high death rates were noted in Russia and Sri Lanka.
(DPA) - Equatorial Guinea - After visiting the US, opposition politician Placido Mico said that the US will pressure the government of Equatorial Guinea to respect human rights. US Congressman Tom Lantos of California reportedly assured Mico that the US would take a more critical view of the Obiang government.
(AFP) - Greece - The government of Greece defended its human rights record after being criticized in the European Parliament's annual human rights report. The human rights report noted that Greece was the only country that did not provide a civilian alternative to mandatory military service and routinely imprisoned conscientious objectors. The report also criticized the lack of religious freedom, minority rights, and freedom of expression.
(AFP) - Asia - Human rights workers and medical professionals from 10 Asian nations gathered today for the Asian region's first regional symposium on medical ethics, torture and rehabilitation. The four-day meeting was organized by the University of the Philippines, the International Council for Torture Victims and the United Nations.
Oct. 3
(Reuters) - Turkey - The trial of Erol Anar, deputy general secretary of Turkey's Human Rights Association, began today in a state security court where he faces charges of spreading separatist propaganda for a chapter in his book on the history of human rights called "The Kurdish Question." Anar faces up to three years in prison if convicted under Article 8 of Turkey's anti-terror law.
(Reuters) - China - Tong Yi, former secretary to jailed Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng was released from jail today after completing a 2 year re-education labor term. Tong was a student activist during the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The Chinese government did not specify any restrictions on Tong Yi's movements or activities.
(Reuters) - Canada - Delwin Vriend, who was fired by King's University College in Edmonton, Alberta, because he is a homosexual, will have his case heard by the Canadian Supreme Court.
(Reuters) - Burma/US - The US government banned Burma's military leaders and their families from entering the US in a measured reaction to the arrests of hundreds of democracy activists in Burma.
(Reuters) - Belgium - The International Press Institute (IPI) called a Belgian police raid of the Kurdish-language MED-TV television station a grave violation of the rights of the media. The police reportedly believed that the television station was linked to the banned Kurdish PKK party when it handcuffed the occupants of the station, shut it down, and confiscated various items.
(Reuters) - Southeast Asia - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed concern over Burma's recent crackdown on democracy activists but will not necessarily change ASEAN's policy of constructive engagement with Burma.
(Tass) - Moldavia - Moldavian President Mircea Snegurhas called on the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and international human rights organizations to help people living in the Dniester region of Moldavia to be educated in their native language. A previous language conflict in 1992 led to armed conflict.
(New Media Age) - America Online (AOL) signed up Amnesty International for its UK online service. According to Mike Bull, the service will allow members and non-members to email letters to Amnesty, which will forward them to the offending authorities.
(The Guardian) - Great Britain - The British government is trying to get the United Nations to tighten the requirements for refugees in a way that activists say may lead to deportation of political dissidents. The move was brought about partly because of Saudi Arabian exile Mohammed al-Mas'ari, who is a vocal opponent of the Saudi Arabian government and whom the British government tried unsuccessfully to deport earlier this year. Egypt, Algeria, and India have complained of terrorist activity based in Britain. Anne Owers of the human rights group Justice stated, "Terrorism is such a frightener that states only have to mention it and there is a danger that all manner of human rights will melt away."
(CTK) - Eastern Europe - The International Helsinki Federation for human rights, in its annual report, criticized the governments of the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia for permitting attacks on Romanies, also known as gypsies. The report also criticized government control of the media in Slovakia, religious discrimination in Bulgaria and the lack of an independent judiciary in Albania and Georgia.
(CSM) - Colombia - Luis Gabriel Caldas has already served seven months in jail for conscientious objection, even though Article 18 of the Colombian constitution and the American Convention on Human Rights, to which Colombia is a signatory, guarantee the right to conscientious objection. However, the Colombia constitution also explicitly states that there is an obligation to "serve the country in time of need." The Center for Justice and International Law, the National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objection, and other organizations have filed a cased on behalf of Caldas before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights where the case is still pending.
(BBC) - Kazakhstan - Ethnic Russian activist Nina Sidorova was released, according to a report by the Russian newspaper Pravda Pyat. She had been arrested in August 20 and charged with insulting judges and guards during trial of Nikolay Gunkin. She was reported released because of international protests and public pressure.
(AFP) - Nigeria - The Nigerian government released National Democratic Coalition secretary general Ayo Opadokun and Chima Ubani, the former secretary general of the Campaign for Democracy, according to opposition sources. The release came the day after the 36th anniversary of Nigerian independence.
(AFP) - Sweden - An international anti-torture conference scheduled to begin tomorrow is shrouded in secrecy to protect it participants from reprisals from their governments. Amnesty International, which organized the conference, expected 150 participants from countries such as Turkey, Nepal, Senegal, Mexico, Colombia, Romania, and Morocco.
(AI) - South Korea - With more than 300 people arrested this year under South Korea's National Security Law, Amnesty International has called upon the South Korean government to stop the deteriorating human rights situation. Students arrested in August after violent protests at Yonsei University were reportedly beaten during two days of interrogations.
Oct. 4
(Reuters) - Colombia - General Farouk Yanine Diaz, a retired three- star Colombian general was arrested in Bogota for his alleged involvement in the 1987 massacre of 19 merchants in the Magdalena Medio region while he was army commander in the Santander province. A report by human rights and church groups in 1992 alleged that Yanine also ordered the torture-murders of three women, two brothers, and a child in 1984.
(AFP) - Burma/US - Apple Computer has ended all its "business dealings with Burma" effectively immediately in order to comply with a Massachusetts law that outlaws contracts with companies that conduct business in Burma.
(AFP) - Turkey - Akin Birdal, Husnu Ondul, and fifteen members of the Turkish Human Rights Association were acquitted today by the State Security Court of issuing separatist propaganda.
(AFP) - China - Wang Dan, a hero the 1989 demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, will reportedly be charged next week for counter- revolutionary crimes. If convicted, Wang may face up to seven years imprisonment. The latest charges are the result of published articles which allegedly attack the socialist system and slander the Chinese communist party. Wang will also be charged with conspiring with Wei Jingsheng.
(The Post and Courier) - USA - Larry Gene Bell, age 47, was executed in the electric chair early today at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. Bell was convicted of the murders of 7-year-old Shari Faye Smith and 9-year-old Debra Helmick. Bell's lawyers argues that he was too mentally ill to be executed. After murdering one child, he called the victim's family and described how he had killed her. Lawyers and mental health experts testified that Bell was schizophrenic and believed that he was Jesus Christ.
(HRW) - Uzbekistan - Human Rights Watch criticized the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for giving tacit approval to state control of the media and repression of free speech in Uzbekistan by sponsoring a forum entitled "Media Issues in the Transition to Democracy" at which only Uzbekistan government officials are invited and failing to put state censorship on the agenda.
Oct. 5
(Reuters) - China - According to the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement, a Hong Kong human rights group, dissident Guo Haifeng has been sentenced to seven years in prison for hooliganism by a Chinese court. According to a Hong Kong newspaper report in August, Guo was detained on suspicion of helping Liu Gang, a fellow leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.
(LA Times) - USA - The US Congress passed a bill that established scholarships and fellowships for exiled Burmese and Tibetan students. The bill also expands exchange programs for human rights leaders from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Tibet and Burma. It also bans aid to Mauritania until it rigorously enforces its slavery laws.
Oct. 6
(Reuters) - Argentina - Carlos Suarez Mason, a top Argentine general during the Dirty War, said in an interview that torture should have been legalized under the military dictatorship. "We did eliminate a few," he said, referring to people who were killed at the hands of the police and military during the Dirty War. The 72-year-old Suarez Mason was convicted in 1988 of 43 murders and 24 kidnappings, but was pardoned along with others convicted of human rights abuses by current president Carlos Menem in 1990.
(The Observer) - Turkey/Libya - During a visit that has been criticized in Ankara and abroad, Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan came under criticism from host Colonel Muammar Gadafy for Turkey's repression of Kurdish separatists in southeast Turkey and for Turkey's relations with the U.S. After Col. Gadafy berated Turkey for fighting people who were seeking independence, Necmettin defended Turkish policy declaring that Turkey had a terrorism problem, not a Kurdish problem.
(AFP) - India - The National Human Rights Commission, an Indian human rights body, has asked the Indian government to pay $2,850 to the family of Udayan, who committed suicide after being beaten by police.
Copyright 1996 Michael Katz-Lacabe and Margarita Lacabe. This information may be freely distributed (and we encourage you to pass it along) so long as it remains intact.
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AFP - Agence France Presse
AI - Amnesty International
AP - Associated Press
BBC - British Broadcasting Company
CTK - Czech News Agency
DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
GNS - Gannett News Service
HRW - Human Rights Watch
IPS - Inter Press Service
LA Times- Los Angeles Times
NYT - New York Times
PROVEA - Programa Venezolano de Educacio'n en Derechos Humanos
UPI - United Press International
WP - Washington Post
This page is maintained by Margarita
Lacabe. Last updated Oct. 12, 1996.