This page is maintained by Michael
Katz-Lacabe and Margarita
Lacabe. Last updated Dec. 11, 1996.
Nov. 25
(Reuters) - Zambia - After police raided the offices of two election watchdog
groups, Dean Mungomba, Azwell Banda, and Andrew Banda, leaders of one of Zambia's
Democratic Congress, an opposition party, went into hiding. The raid followed election
results that have been disputed by some groups. Police made several attempts to arrest
the three party officials over the weekend. The government also froze the bank account
of the human rights group Afronet, which had refused to endorse the re-election of
President Frederick Chiluba.
(Reuters) - former Yugoslavia - The newly-formed International Commission for
Missing Persons (ICMP) began a week-long mission to the former Yugoslavia to raise
the issue of missing persons with the leaders of Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. An
estimated 19,200 people are unaccounted for in Croatia and Bosnia.
The ICMP is led by former US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.
(Reuters) - Britain - The European Court of Human Rights today ruled that a
1989 British ban on "Visions of Ecstasy," an erotic film about Saint Teresa of Avila, did
not violate the European Convention on Human Rights. Nigel Wingrove had argued
that the ban violated his freedom of expression but the Court agreed (7-2) that "such
censorship was justified under blasphemy laws to avoid shocking Christians."
(Reuters) - China - According to Human Rights in China, Chinese dissidents
Shen Liangqing, Ma Lianggang and Huang Xiuming will be tried tomorrow on charges
of counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement. The three have already been
detained for more than a year as a result of articles written and distributed in 1991.
(The Independent) - France - Residents of Nice today were scheduled to vote on
whether to retain a law banning seasonal begging that has been condemned by human
rights groups.
(CTK) - Slovakia - The Slovak PEN Club said today that if European democratic
traditions are followed, an appeals court will not uphold a ruling that forces the
newspaper Sme to publish an apology to the Meciar cabinet and pay damages of US
$250,000 to the cabinet members.
(BBC) - Sri Lanka - The government of Sri Lanka will set up an office of the
Human Rights Task Force in Jaffna to monitor human rights and act on reports of abuse.
The task force will also monitor and protect the human rights of people taken into
custody by the security forces.
(AFP) - Indonesia/Malaysia - Indonesian ruler Suharto personally thanked
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad for suppressing the second Asia Pacific
Conference on East Timor in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. During a news
conference after the APEC forum in the Philippines, Mahatir also said that human rights
were not discussed at the forum.
(AFP) - Australia - A report released today by Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Dodson states that Aboriginal deaths in
custody have increased since a similar report produced by a Royal Commission five
years ago. According to data from the Australian Institute of Criminology, 107
Aboriginals have died in custody in the last seven years. Dodson's report found that
Aboriginals were 17.3 times more likely than whites to be arrested, 14.7 times more
likely to be jailed, and 16.5 times more likely to die in jail.
(HRW) - Colombia - Human Rights Watch today released a report which
presents evidence and eyewitness testimony that in 1991 the Colombian military made
paramilitary groups a part of its intelligence-gathering network in violation of
Colombian law. According to the report, the paramilitary groups worked under the
direct orders of the military and conducted surveillance of legal opposition figures and
attacked targets chosen by military commanders.
(AI) - Taiwan - Amnesty International called for a full and public inquiry into
the disturbances at Hsinchu Juvenile Prison on Nov. 20 and 21, which resulted in the
death of a 16-year-old and injuries to four others.
Nov. 26
(Reuters) - Zambia - Five journalists from the Zambian National Broadcasting
Corporation and one from the Zambia Information Services were suspended by the
Zambian government today after they were accused of being linked to an election
monitoring groups that rejected the results of last week's elections.
(Reuters) - Turkey - Ocak Isik Yurtcu, former editor of the now-defunct Ozgur
Gundem newspaper, accepted a Committee to Protect Journalists award for courageous
journalism from his jail cell in Turkey, where he is serving a 15-year sentence for
challenging censorship of coverage of Kurdish separatists. The newspaper was forced to
close in April 1994 and Yurtcu was jailed in December 1994.
(CNDDHH) - Peru - The National Coordinator of Human Rights, a human rights
umbrella group in Peru, reported today that former General Rodolfo Robles was arrested
by security forces in a violent confrontation. Eight people reportedly grabbed Robles
and sprayed him with an unknown substance in order to silence him. Robles was forced
to leave the military and seek exile in 1993 after he revealed the existence of a secret
army death squad known as the Grupo Colina, which was responsible for killing 10
students and a teacher at La Cantuta University in July 1992. Robles also publicly
stated that the Grupo Colina was under the direct orders of Vladimiro Montesinos with
the acquiescence of General Nicolas de Bari Hermoza Rios. Robles had recently
claimed that a member of Grupo Colina had attacked a local television station. Peruvian
Vice President of Congress Carlos Torres said that "Gen. (Rodolfo) Robles has been
arrested at the request of the Supreme Military Justice Council ... for insubordination."
According to School of the Americas Watch, Montesinos and Rios attended the US
Army School of the Americas.
(Reuters) - Colombia - Retired Colombian General Farouk Yanine Diaz, who is
accused of allowing paramilitary killings, will be tried by armed forces commander-in-chief
General Harold Bedoya, who regards Yanine as a national hero. Human rights
activists say that the decision ensures impunity for Yanine. Yanine was arrested last
month for allegedly approving the massacre of 19 merchants by a death squad in the
Magdalena Medio region in 1987. According to School of the Americas Watch, Bedoya
and Yanine attended the US Army School of the Americas.
(Reuters) - Bahrain - The government of Bahrain reported today that officials of
the International Committee of the Red Cross had ended the first phase of its visits with
people detained as a result of anti-government protests. Red Cross officials were not
available for comment. Hundred of people have been detained in the past two years as
members of the majority Shi'ite Moslem community have demanded political and
economic reforms.
(NY Times) - China - Chinese authorities recently warned Walt Disney
executives that Walt Disney involvement with a major film about the Dalai Lama would
jeopardize Walt Disney's standing in China's entertainment market. Kong Min, an
official of the Chinese Film Bureau of the Ministry of Radio Film and Television said,
"We are resolutely opposed to the making of this movie . . . It is intended to glorify the
Dalai Lama, so it is an interference in China's internal affairs."
(DPA) - Tibet - Yungdrung, a Tibetan artist, was found in a public toilet after
being released from a Chinese prison in such poor condition that he couldn't recognize
friends or remember where he lived, according to the Tibet Information Network.
Yungdrung had been detained for 58 days in Lhasa where he was tortured by Chinese
authorities. Yungdrung was well-known for his portraits of the Dalai Lama, which were
banned by the Chinese earlier this year.
(BBC) - Former Yugoslavia - The first meeting of the Association of Political
Prisoners was held on Nov. 24 in Sarajevo. Those present at the meeting including
many victims of the former communist regime. The association will fight for the
economic and moral rehabilitation of the political prisoners and to protect freedom of
expression for those who advocate democratic views.
(AFP) - Nigeria - Nigerian human rights activist Ola Oni was arrested yesterday
in Ibadan after Nigerian government security agents searched his home. Sources close to
Oni said that his arrest might be linked to a demonstration he organized last week to
demand the release of all political prisoners.
(AFP) - Saudi Arabia - An Islamic rights group calling itself "The Observatory of
the Islamic Press" said today that 14 Islamic militants handed over by Yemen to Saudi
Arabia, including Mohammed Abdallah al-Outaibi, Abdel Aziz Mohammed,
Mohammed Saleh and Salah Mohammed, face torture and possible death.
(AFP) - former Yugoslavia - The human rights group Coalition for International
Justice today revealed the locations of 36 indicted war criminals from the former
Yugoslavia, including their favorite bars and restaurants. Nina Bang-Jensen, a
spokeswoman for the Coalition, said "This illustrates in a very stark way how few of
them now fear arrest." An indicted Croat in Serb, Milan Martin, reportedly lives less
than 100 meters from an IFOR office in Banja Luka.
(AFP) - Indonesia - After the German magazine Der Spiegel published an
interview with Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Filipe Belo, the
Indonesian military wants the magazine to explain its interview because it was judged to
be anti-Indonesian.
(AI) - Zaire - Amnesty International condemned last week's massacre of an
estimated 500 Rwandese refugees and displaced Zairians at Chimanga refugee camp.
Victims of the massacre included Father Jean-Claude Buhendwa, a Zairian Roman
Catholic priest.
Nov. 27
(Reuters) - Turkey - According to a Turkish Justice Ministry statement today,
draft legislation was submitted to parliament that would shorten the time that suspected
criminals could be held without being charged from 30 days to seven days in provinces
under emergency rule. Human rights activists say that the initial period of detention is
when suspects are most at risk of torture and ill-treatment. Under the draft law, which
was prepared to comply with the rules of the Council of Europe, police could get a
three-day extension of the detention period.
(Reuters) - Israel - A UN committee today adopted a resolution by a vote of 126
to three that demands the complete cessation of all Israeli settlement activities. The
three dissenting votes were cast by the US, Israel, and Micronesia. The resolution also
called on Israel to prevent illegal violence by Israeli settlers and ensure the safety of
Palestinians in the occupied territories.
(UPI) - Peru - Peruvian human rights groups, newspapers, and others today
condemned the arrest of former army General Rodolfo Robles, who has been charged
under military law for disobedience and insulting a superior officer for comments he
made to the press. Robles' wife, Nelly Montoya, said she thinks that the agents who
abducted her husband would have killed him but changed their minds because of the
outcry and because witnesses recorded the license numbers of the vehicles involved.
The National Coordinator of Human Rights said that the former general should be
subject to civilian courts. Earlier this month, Robles told Peru's Global Television that
one of the people who blew up its television station in Puno was a member of Grupo
Colina, a death squad under the orders of intelligence adviser Vladimiro Montesinos.
Two callers claiming to be part of Grupo Colina have given death threats to Robles'
wife.
(NY Times) - China - Walt Disney Company announced yesterday that it would
continue its involvement with a film about Tibet's Dalai Lama despite threats from
China. Disney's stand against censorship comes at a time when many companies are
setting aside their principles as a cost of doing business in China.
(European Report) - Nigeria - European Union Foreign Ministers agreed Nov. 25
to extend travel restrictions on Nigerian officials and military personnel for another six
months. The restrictions were adopted on Dec. 4, 1995, after the execution of Ogoni
activists including Ken Saro-Wiwa. However, the EU has decided not to impose
economic sanctions, which would have cut off Nigeria's main source of revenue from
oil.
(BBC) - Albania - Albanian President Sali Berisha met with Adam Demaci,
chairman of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms in Kosovo on
Nov. 23, to discuss the situation in Kosovo and the human rights violations committed
by Serbian forces in Kosovo.
(AFP) - Indonesia - A court today sentenced 54 people to four months and three
days of jail for failing to follow police orders to disperse during riots in Jakarta on July
27. Since they had already been held for four months, those sentenced were expected to
be released later in the day.
(AFP) - Colombia - Five peasants in El Pinal and three people on a farm in
Antioquia province were killed yesterday by gunmen believed to be paramilitary groups.
Similar attacks over the weekend resulted in the deaths of 28 people.
(AFP) - Indonesia - Indonesian Justice Minister Utoyo Usman, addressing a law
seminar, defended the Indonesian Supreme Court's decision to re-jail union leader
Muchtar Pakpahan on a charge it had previously quashed. Usman claimed that the state
attorney can seek a trial review in the interest of the public and safety.
(AFP) - World - US professionals have called for the creation of a world
organization called Global Physicians and Lawyers for Human Rights as the anniversary
of the Nuremberg trials of Nazi doctors approaches. In the Journal of the American
Medical Association, Michael Grodin and George Annas write, "The world's physicians
and lawyers, because of both their moral authority in defending life and justice and their
privileged positions in society, have special obligations to humanity."
Nov. 28
(Reuters) - Sudan - The UN General Assembly's social, humanitarian and
cultural committee adopted a resolution calling on Sudan to stop torture, slavery,
arbitrary arrests, religious persecution, summary executions, and other human rights
violations.
(Reuters) - Brazil - Former police officer Nelson Oliveira dos Santos Cunha was
found guilty of eight charges of murder and one count of attempted murder by a
Brazilian jury for his role in a shooting spree at the Candelaria church on July 23, 1993.
Although he was sentenced to 261 years in jail, under Brazilian law, he can only serve a
maximum of 30 years. The National Movement of Street children says that four
children are every day in Brazil, usually by police, drug gangs, or death squads
composed of off-duty police officers.
(La Republica) - Peru - Peruvian military justice officials suspended the lawyer
of former general Rodolfo Robles for 3 months (later expanded to 5 months 11/30) for
casting doubts on the capabilities of the military judges who will try the former general.
Defending the suspension, Prosecutor Talledo said the remarks by Robles' lawyer that
not all the members of the Military Supreme Justice have legal knowledge or training
hurts the "majesty and the honor" of the military court. Only half of the members of the
Military Supreme Justice have graduated law school. Robles protested his lawyers'
suspension, stating that this was a maneuver by the military to deny him his right to a
defense and oblige him to be represented by a public defender.
(Irish Times) - Ireland - According to the latest report by the group Action from
Ireland (AfrI), the Irish Department of Tourism and Trade granted 578 dual use licenses
and 68 military licenses for the export of military goods through October 11, 1996. One
of the recipients of the licenses was Moog, which was involved in the development of an
aiming system for an air defense gun for a Singapore firm. The report said that the
destinations for the goods for which licenses were issued include Argentina, Brazil,
Jordan, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey.
(BBC) - Tunisia - According to a report Nov. 26 on Radio France Internationale,
a seminar of the Tunisian League of Human Rights which was scheduled for Sousse last
weekend was reportedly banned by the Tunisian Interior Ministry.
(AFP) - Turkey - The Turkish Parliament today voted to extend for four months
the state of emergency in nine provinces where large populations of Kurds live. The
state of emergency, introduced in 1987, grants government and security forces additional
powers and human rights groups say it is responsible for widespread human rights
violations.
(AFP) - Georgia - A Georgian human rights group said today that 58 death row
inmates are refusing food and water to protest the death penalty in the former Soviet
republic. In a statement to the human rights group, the prisoners complained about poor
living conditions, including lack of heat, fresh air, and medical treatment. Human rights
group spokesman Zurab Vardosanitze said that eight of the prisoners had been sentenced
to death for political reasons. Although the death penalty was suspended in May, three
people have been sentenced to death in recent weeks.
(AI) - Peru - Amnesty International said that General Rodolfo Robles was a
prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate and unconditional release.
Nov. 29
(Reuters) - Colombia - The UN will open a human rights monitoring office in
Bogota under an agreement signed today with the Colombian government. The six
member UN office will be given wide powers to inspect detention facilities and war
zones in Colombia. The initial period authorized is 17 months, but may be renewed for
another year after the initial 17 months or canceled at any time by either side.
(Reuters) - Indonesia - Indonesian Jesuit priest Father Ignatius Sandyawan
Sumardi will be presented with the Yap Thiam Hien award from the Center for Human
Rights Studies on December 10 for his commitment to the protection of human rights.
Sandyawan is currently under investigation for harboring activists accused of subversion
in relation to the July 27 riots in Jakarta.
(UPI) - Thailand - Twenty representatives from the human rights groups Union
for Civil Liberty, the Democratic Front for the People and the University Students
Association of Thailand presented a black wreath and a letter to police headquarters in
Bangkok, calling for an investigation into the extra-judicial killing of six drug suspects.
According to witnesses, the suspects were handcuffed and led into a house where
gunshots were subsequently heard at regular intervals. Then the bodies of the suspects,
without handcuffs, were carried out of the house.
(IPS) - Burkina Faso - The parliament of Burkina Faso approved a new penal
code on Nov. 12, which included the death penalty. While the Burkina Movement for
Human and Peoples' Rights (MBDHP) has denounced the death penalty as abusive, most
people in the country see it as a way of deterring violent crime. The death penalty has
only been imposed twice in Burkina Faso since it gained independence in 1960, but
there have been many cases of extra-judicial executions.
(DPA) - Israel - The Israeli Supreme Court today reaffirmed that the use of
violence in interrogations by the Shin Bet secret police was permissible. Human rights
groups have condemned the interrogation methods as torture.
(BBC) - Ukraine - The chairman of the Ukrainian Supreme Council (parliament),
Oleksandr Moroz said yesterday that "Ukrainian society is not prepared for the abolition
of the death penalty." The statement was made during a meeting with members of the
Council of Europe, which has required certain changes in Ukranian law for Ukraine's
admission into the Council.
(AFP) - Malaysia/East Timor - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad
warned that the Malaysian government would take action against organizations that took
part in the second Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor. Mahatir said that the
organizers held a public conference without a permit and foreigners misused their social
visit passes by attending the meeting.
Nov. 30
(Reuters) - Indian - Indian police detained 50 Tibetan exiles who demonstrated
against Chinese regression in Tibet outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi.
According to witnesses, protesters were dragged into police buses after a Chinese
official asked the police to remove the protesters.
(Reuters) - Indonesia - Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) today warned Portugal not to make Indonesia's rule in East Timor an issue
between ASEAN and the European Union. Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said
that ASEAN leaders supported Indonesia's position on East Timor.
(Richmond Times Dispatch) - USA - Five executions are scheduled in Virginia
for December, including one for December 10, the 48th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
(LA Times) - former Yugoslavia - Drazen Erdemovic, a Bosnian Croat, was
sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison for his role in the massacre of 1,200 unarmed
Muslims in Srebrenica on July 11, 1995. Most suspected war criminals remain free and
little or no effort is being made by local or international authorities to detain suspected
war criminals.
(AFP) - Indonesia - According to press reports in Indonesia, former national
police deputy chief of operation, retired general Kusparmono Irsan, and former armed
forces' legislator retired major general Samsudin were elected to Indonesia's National
Commission on Human Rights. The commission has been praised for it impartiality.
Dec. 1
(UPI) - Peru - Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori conceded today that were
"procedural errors" with the military's handling of the arrest of former General Rodolfo
Robles and indicated that he may pardon Robles if he is convicted by a military tribunal.
However, Fujimori did not seek Robles' release and an army tribunal has refused a court
order to free Robles. Yesterday, a habeas corpus appeal filed by lawyers for Robles'
family had been granted by Lima's 33 Criminal Court. Robles is imprisoned at the Real
Felipe military barracks charged with failure to obey orders, slander of the armed forces
and insulting a superior officer. The charges appear to be related to comments Robles
made about the attack on a television station in Puno. Francisco Soberon, president of
the Association for Human Rights (APRODEH), dismissed Fujimori's offer of a pardon,
"Fujimori's statements are lamentable, because they imply a presumption of guilt before
there has been any legal finding."
(DPA) - Egypt - The trial of 19 militants charged with joining an illegal group,
killing police officers, attacking tourists, and burning two theaters opened today in
Egypt's Supreme Military Court. Relatives of the defendants were not allowed to attend
today's session and lawyers who defend militants are not taking part in the trial because
they insist that civilians should be tried by civilian judges, not army officers appointed
by the president. Human rights groups have criticized the military tribunals for lacking
the conditions necessary for a fair trial.
(AFP) - South Korea - The South Korean Constitutional Court ruled 7-2 on Nov. 28 that capital punishment was a "necessary evil" to deter heinous crimes. The ruling came as a result of a petition filed in 1994 by Chong Sok-Bom, who filed the petition after his death sentence was commuted to life in prison. The death penalty has received a lot of attention recently because of the death sentence imposed on former president Chun Doo-Hwan and his subsequent appeal.
Copyright ©1996 Derechos. This information may be freely distributed (and we encourage you to pass it along) so long as the source is credited.
This service is provided to you by Derechos Human Rights. We encourage you to visit our web site: http://www.derechos.org/ and learn more about human rights issues and what you can do about them. To subscribe or unsubscribe from _The Week in Human Rights_, send a message to hrb@derechos.org with the word subscribe or unsubscribe. You can also obtain a copy of the latest summary by visiting http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/brief s/ or sending a message to: briefs@derechos.org
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 Michael
Katz-Lacabe and Margarita
Lacabe. Last updated Dec. 11, 1996.