AMNESTY

INTERNATIONAL
NEWSLETTER • ::
COLOMBIA

Armedforces
involvedin
masskillings
The national debate on human rights violations in Colom-
bia has intensified following the publication of Al's report.
The report received widespread authority, are responsible for a
coverage in the country's major program of political murder.
newspapers and magazines. The However. on 3 May the major
Colombian Government has pub- Colombian weekly news maga-
licly rejected its findings as zine Semana published extracts
biased. from a confidential report by the
Colombian Administrative
Department of Security. (DAS).
the civilian security agency.
This report implicates members
of the armed forces in collective
Paraguayans protest during Pope John Paul II's visit about political
killings of banana plantation wor- restrictions. Several peasant leaders and members of opposition politi-
kers in the Uraba region of An- cal parties were arrested before and during the Pope's visit. See page 2.
tioquia department. It concludes,
on the basis of evidence collected
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
by the DAS including testimonies
of survivors, that members of the
Uraba-based Voltigeros army bat-
talion participated in the attack on
Killingsand ill-treatment
the "Honduras" and "La Negra''
plantations on 4 March 1988 in
by policein Tibet
which 21 banana workers were Thirty people are reported to have been killed by police in
killed. Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, during a riot on 5 March,
According to press reports the the last day of a major religious festival. AI has called on
Colombian Procurator General,
the government to set up a public inquiry into these reports.
Dr Horacio Serpa Uribe. con-
According to various sources, official media.
firmed that members of the armed
at least 12 monks, including a There have been numerous ar-
forces participated in the Urabii
13-year-old novice, were beaten rests since 5 March. In early April
killings and stated: "the discov-
to death by police inside the Jok- the authorities acknowledged that
ery and punishment of the per-
Funeral procession of one of the 21 hang Temple in central Lhasa on 200 people were being detained,
petrators of crimes which have
banana workers killed in Urabá in 5 March. Another 18 people are but unofficial sources claimed in
been committed and the actions of
March. An official report, leaked to said to have been killed by police May that the number might be as
. . . control and disarmament of
the press, has implicated members or military personnel either in the high as 2,000. Some of those de-
those who commit these acts,will,
of the armed forces in the killing. temple or in a Lhasa office of the tained are reported to have been
no doubt, be the best response to
The Minister of Defence Chinese security agency. tortured in detention.
the assertions in the 1Amnesty In-
described the report as "repetition Police stormed the temple after One man, a truck driver from
ternational] report".E
upon repetition of cases which violent clashes between demon- Lhasa, is believed to have died in
have not yet been completely clar- strators and police during the clos- custody as a result of torture
ified" and called for an "energet- ing ceremony of the Great Pray- sometime between 5 March and
I ' I
ic response" from the civilian er Festival. They allegedly at- 23 March. According to witness-
administration. tacked anyone who resembled a es, his face was so badly beaten
In the government's official Tibetan with clubs and truncheons that it was hardly recognizable.
response, Presidential Adviser on studded with nails. They are said One eye was hanging out of its
Human Rights Dr Tirado to have removed the bodies of the socket, and most of the bones in
although not disputing the facts dead in trucks later that day. his body had been broken.
and scale of human rights viola- Official sources have only ac- Al has called on the government
tions presented in the report, re- knowledged that there were five to take all appropriate measures to
jected the report's conclusion that deaths during the riot, including ensure that detainees are humane-
Colombian armed forces person- that of a police officer who has ly treated and allowed regular ac-
nel. or civilians acting on their been described as a martyr in the cess to relatives and lawyers.E
2 July 1988
INDIA
Reportsof rape and
ill-treatment
Members of underprivileged groups in India, the Scheduled
Castes (formerly known as "Untouchables") and Scheduled
Tribes (tribal people), have been among victims of torture
and ill-treatment by the police, according to information
received by AI in recent years.
Al has now published two
reports on the subject*. One fo-
cuses on allegations of rape by the
police of a woman in their custo-
dy. The other describes the ill-
treatment by the police of tribal
leaders in Dungarpur district,
Rajasthan.
The first details recent alle-
gations of rape by police in the
states of Bihar and Assam and fo-
cuses particular attention on the
case of a 22-year-old tribal wom-
an, Gunta Behn Ramji, in Gujarat.
In October 1986 a Commission of
Inquiry set up by the Supreme
Court of India found that at least
eight men—police officers, local
officials and doctors—had con-
spired to cover up her rape in
January 1986 by four policemen
from the Sagbara police station. It
'
• • • I : •
.111
1 1
1 1
SRI LANKA
No Al mission
'at this stage'
AI wrote to PresidentJ.R.
Jayewardene on 11 May
asking him to explain why
an AI mission could not
be received in Sri Lanka.
In April AI had received a
letter from the Sri Lankan
High Commission stating that
a mission was not possible "at
this stage". AI was surprised
by this response, since the
President had said, in a BBC
World Service radio program
broadcast on 7 February, that
Al could have "free access"
to Sri Lanka.
In its letter to the president,.
AI asked whether a fact-
finding mission could visit Sri
Lanka in the near future. It
also asked the government for
its comments on reports of hu-
man rights violations in vari-
ous parts of the country, in-
cluding the north where the In-
dian Peace Keeping Force is .
stationed.
SYRIA
Politicalprisonerdies
after torture
A 41-year-old Syrian political prisoner, 'Abd al-Razzaq
Abazid, died after being tortured during interrogation,
according to information received by AI.
'Abd al-Razzaq Abazid was
recommended that action be taken arrested in early February 1988
against those responsible for the by the Department of Political
rape and cover-up. Security for his membership of
In December 1987 the Supreme the prohibited Communist
Court criticized the Gujarat Party-Political Bureau, and de-
Government for not pursuing the tained without charge or trial.
matter. Al wrote to the Gujarat He was initially held in the town
Government urging it to imple- of Dar'a for one month, and
ment the Supreme Court's recom- subsequently transferred to
mendations and to bring those Damascus under the jurisdiction
responsible for the crime and its of Military Intelligence.
concealment to justice. He is believed to have died
On 16 April the Gujarat Chief between 20 and 22 April at the
Minister replied that the state Military Interrogation Branch,
government had "initiated steps and his body was returned to his
on the recommendations of the family on 23 April. No response
commission appointed by the to Al's call for an investigation
Supreme Court". He did not into his death was received from
specify what these were. the authorities. In January and
February 1988, Al had called
In the other report AI describes
for an investigation into the
the case of nine tribal leaders in
death in custody of two other po-
Dungarpur district, Rajasthan
litical prisoners but received no
who were beaten by police in mid-
response.
August 1987 after leading a
demonstration against what they
saw as inadequacies in the region- PARAGUAY
al drought relief program.
AI wrote to the Chief Minister
of Rajasthan in November 1987
Arbitraryarrestsmark
and February 1988, calling for an
independent investigation into the
allegations and for those respon-
Pope'svisit
Several peasant leaders and members of opposition politi-
sible to be brought to justice, but
has received no reply. cal parties were arbitrarily detained before and during Pope
Meanwhile, in March 1988, Al
endorsed the National Police
John Paul II's visit to Paraguay in May. This was appar-
ently an attempt to prevent them raising their concerns with
Commission's recommendations the Pope.
that the government withdraw im- On 12 May Domingo Laino, present the Pope with a letter
munity from prosecution given to leader of the opposition Authen- about the plight of Paraguayan
police officers suspected of human tic Radical Liberty Party, and 10 peasants. They were held incom-
rights abuse of detainees. The others were detained for three municado at the Provincial
commission has also recommend- days after police broke up a mass Government Headquarters and
ed the formation of special units in Arroyito, 360 miles north of eventually released without charge
from
to investigate complaints Asunción. on 23 May. Both are reported to
members of Scheduled Castes and Domingo Laino was due to par- have been beaten in custody and
Tribes but, except in a few Indi- ticipate in the public gathering for tortured with electric shocks.
an states, these recommendations the Pope organized by the church- Six members of the National
have not yet been implemented. sponsored group, the Builders of Peasant Union, including its lead-
AI has urged the Indian Society. The government had er Marcelino Coraz6n Medina,
Government to prevent further originally tried to prevent the were arrested on 18 May during
such abuses by issuing strict in- meeting on grounds of security, an informal gathering in a private
structions for all arrested but it went ahead on 17 May af- house in San Lorenzo, 10 miles
prisoners to be brought before a ter strong pressure from the south of Asunci6n. Their deten-.
magistrate within 24 hours of ar- Vatican. tion was initially denied by the
rest and that torture and ill- Most of those detained were authorities.
treatment—including rape—will held for short periods but two They were apparently arrested
not be tolerated and will invaria- peasant leaders were held for over because they participated in the
bly lead to criminal prosecution.III two weeks. Corsino and José fast organized by peasants in the
Nicanor Coronel, father and son, church of La Encarnaci6n in
* India: allegations of rape by
both leading members of Nation- Asunci6n. The fast was staged to
and India: some allegations of torture
and ill-treatment of tribal leaders in al Peasant Organization, were de- bring the poor conditions of
Rajasthan, are both available from Al tained in the city of Presidente Paraguayan peasants to the Pope's
sections, or from the International Stroessner on 7 May. attention. The six were released
Secretariat in London. The two men had intended to on 23 May without charge.0
 July 1988 3

•
Freeat last
Week after week, year after year, thousands of Al mem-
bers write to governments all over the world appealing for
the release of prisoners of conscience—peoplewho have been
put behind bars for their beliefs.
Those thousands of letters alert governments to the fact
that the prisoner has not been forgotten. People all over the
world know that he or she has been unjustly imprisoned.
They remind the prisoners that they are not isolated in-
dividuals but members of a great community of the wrong-
fully imprisoned.
"I was so pleased with your let- I*.v Sara Gizaw, and a grand-
ters they make me feel part daughter Seble Desta —were
of the human solidarity which released.
grows in this world . . . Day af- Over 50 Ethiopian political
ter day I believe the darkness in prisoners of Oromo ethnic origin.
this world is going away." A including some prisoners of con-
prisoner of conscience in Jordan, science detained since 1980, were
released on expiry of his sentence, released without publicity be-
wrote these words to Al. tween March and May 1987.
Thousands of appeals were Hundreds of political prisoners
made during 1987 on behalf of were released in Burundi after the
50 prisoners of conscience whose government was overthrown in a
cases were featured in the News- military coup on 3 September
letter. Over half of them have 1987. Father Jean-Baptiste
now been released. This article Ndikuriyo was among them. A
tells you about them: it also Roman Catholic priest, he had

d."".
Audience at one of the concerts during the "Conspiracy of Hope" tour
organized in Al's 25th anniversary year. Bono, a singer in U2, one of the
bands which played on the tour, commented: "Amnesty inspires us to play.
The music cuts through to people and the message is clear: you can write
a letter or send a postcard. And the more you give, the more you get back."
reports on recent releases of been detained illegally without
prisoners for whom appeals have charge almost continuously since
been made in previous years. December 1986. Joseph Gacukuzi,
When revolution in Ethiopia in sentenced to five years' im-
1974 resulted in the overthrow of prisonment for insulting the head
Emperor Haile Selassie, a num- of state, also benefited from the
ber of his relatives were put in pri- change in government. Three
son. Their crime? Just being his others sentenced with him, An-
relatives. On 21 May, after 14 toine Manirakiza, Cyprien
years in prison without charge or Ndamukenanye and Leocadie Sin-
trial, his seven female relatives— girankabo. were released on
including his 75-year-old daugh- finishing their sentences last
ter Tenagnework, his daughter-in- August.
No longer behind bars! Nepali prisoner Birodh Khatiwada (left) was released
in May 1987.
Another Roman Catholic priest.
South African Father Smangaliso
Mkhatshwa, was released in June
1987, after being detained for 12
months without charge or trial.
Father Mkhatshwa said he had
been tortured in detention by
members of the South African
Defence Force and security
police. After his release he initiat-
ed a claim for damages against the
state, following the failure of the
Attorney General to prosecute the
six men who allegedly assaulted
him.
Shortly after his release in June
1987 he was charged and later
found guilty of possessing a fire-
arm and ammunition without a li-
cence, for which he was fined
R500 (US$170). He told the court
that they had been left with him
for safekeeping when a friend
went overseas and that he was un-
aware he had to report this to the
police.
There were several other
releases in the Africa region,
mainly of prisoners detained
without charge or trial. Somalian
poet Abdulle Rage Taraweh was
released in 1987 after some five
years in prison, apparently for
criticizing the government. In
Uganda, Secretary General of the
Uganda Human Rights Activists.
Lance Seera Muwanga, was
released in March after being held
for over a year. Cameroonian
security guard, André Beyegue
Yakana, was reportedly released
after being detained for two years
because of his religious beliefs.
Gibson Kamau Kuria, the most
prominent lawyer in Kenya will-
ing to take political cases, was
also released after being detained
for 10 months. In an interview af-
ter his release he said that the ef-
forts of AI and other human rights
groups helped in improving his
conditions in detention.
4 July 1988
In Comoros, Moustoifa Said
Cheikh continues to serve a life
sentence for conspiring to over-
throw the government, but three
others sentenced with him were
released in a presidential act of
clemency.
Cuban civil engineer Andrés
Solares Teseiro was one of many
prisoners seen by AI's Secretary
General and two staff members
when they visited Cuba earlier this
year. He was released on 13 May
and is now living with his family
in the United States. He had been
serving an eight-year prison sen-
tence imposed in 1981 for "ene-
my propaganda". He was accused
of drafting letters about his plans
to try and register a new political
party to people like French Presi-
Janet Cherry, , who was a leading dent Francois Mitterrand and US Czechoslovak prisoner Pavel Krivka (foreground), an ecologist, was released
member of the End Conscription
Senator Edward Kennedy. after spending over two years in prison for writing a letter criticizing the
Campaign (ECC) in South Africa,
Also released was Jorge Enrique authorities for neglecting ecological problems.
was released from detention without
charge or trial on 30 July 1987. AI Hernández Aguilar, a Mexican The King of Thailand's 60th
believes she was held because of her journalist, and six others who had birthday last December was the
opposition to the government's been detained since May 1986 ap- occasion for a general royal
apartheid policies. Her release from parently because of their support pardon which benefited a number
detention was subject to restrictions: for peasant organizations. He was of political prisoners: some were
she cannot take part in the activi-
one of several delegates.arrested released and others had their sen-
ties of certain organizations, includ-
on their way to negotiate a solu- tences reduced. Sanan Wongsuthii
ing the ECC, or attend their
meetings.
tion to peasant farmers' demands was among those released in en-
for higher guaranteed prices for suing months. A trade unionist, he
their maize.
In Haiti, a new constitution con- Syrian writer Muham-
taining positive measures affect- mad Haitham Khoja died
ing human rights was overwhelm- at the age of 35 — three
ingly approved in a national
referendum in March 1987.
However, AI continued to receive
weeks after his release
from prison at the end of
Air
reports of human rights abuses, June 1987. He had
and elections in the country in late been admitted to a hospi-
1987 were called off because of tal in Aleppo, suffering Vu Ngoc Truy was released from a
violence at the polling booths—at from chronic inflamma- "re-education" camp in Viet Nam
least 30 unarmed civilians were tion of the kidneys; he under an amnesty in February.
killed by the officially disbanded died a few days later. mark the 1987 National Day
tontons macoutes militia, active- Reports of his ill-health celebrations in September, and
ly supported by uniformed secu- and lack of medical treat- later in an amnesty in February.
rity personnel.
ment had been received The amnesty meant freedom for
In April 1987 an Al member
by AI for years. Through- Vu Ngoc Truy, arrested in 1978
received a letter from the then
Minister of Information and Coor-
out 1987 AI continued to for being a "counter-revolution-
receive reports that ary" and held without charge or
dination about Chariot Jacquelin,
prisoners in Syria were trial. He was a well-known law-
a literacy teacher, who "disap-
being deprived of essen- yer in the former Republic of
peared" in September 1986 after
South Vietnam.
Aida Desta was one of seven rela- being arrested by members of the tial medical care for seri- In Nepal, dozens of prisoners of
tives of former Emperor Haile Selas- security forces. The Minister stat- ous illnesses or injuries conscience and other political
sie released in Ethiopia in May.
ed that his case was among a num- resulting from torture. prisoners were released in 1987,
ber into which a thorough inves-
among them lawyer and journalist
After spending over a tigation was taking place, had been serving a five-year sen- Birodh Khatiwada who was freed
third of his life in deten- however there has not been any tence for "lese majesty" imposed in May. He had been held without
tion, Tibetan monk and further news. No steps have so far in November 1986. charge or trial since October
Buddhist scholar Geshe been taken by the new govern- Another Thai prisoner of con- 1986.
Lobsang Wangchuk died ment of President Manigat, who science, Anan Senakhan, had The Afghan Government said
in Drapchi prison, Lhasa, took power after a second round been released a month before the that over 7,000 political prisoners
of elections in February, to inves- pardon. Also convicted of "lese were released by the end of July
last November at the age
tigate human rights abuses under majesty" he had not been due for 1987, after a general amnesty was
of 74. An official said he previous administrations. release until February 1989. announced in January. Professor
had died of cancer. He
Following appeals, the Govern- In Laos, hundreds of political Habiburahman Halah and three
had been serving an ment of the Dominican Republic prisoners were freed in 1987. others—all former academics at
18-year sentence for ad- told Al in April 1987 that inves- Pane Rassavong was one. A form- Kabul University—were released,
vocating Tibetan indepen- tigations would be reopened into er civil servant, he had been de- and a senior university official
dence. On several occa- the "disappearance" in 1974 of tained without charge or trial since said that they had all been reinstat-
sions he was said to have student Pablo Liberato Rodriguez, 1975 for "re-education". ed in their former posts. One later
been ill-treated while -in who "disappeared" while in In Viet Nam too, hundreds of left the country.
prison. police custody. No news has as political prisoners were released In China, Bishop Peter Joseph
yet been received of the outcome. from "re-education" camps to Fan Xueyan was released on parole
July 1988
last November during a visit by
Cardinal Sin of the. Philippines
who had interceded on his behalf.
He had been under house arrest.
One of AI's longest serving
prisoners of conscience in Eu-
rope, Radomir Veljkovic, was
freed in March—after being kept
in a Yugoslav prison psychiatric
hospital for 15 years. The court
ordered his compulsory confine-
meat after it had found him guilty
of "hostile propaganda". He had
accused the late President Tito of
responsibility for crimes alleged-
ly committed by the State Securi-
ty Police. The court ruled that
when he committed the offences
he was not accountable for his ac-
tions; however several specialist
examinations made at the same
time found he was not mentally ill.
Another Yugoslavian, Destan
Aliu, was released after a pardon
to mark the state anniversary. An
ethnic Albanian, he had been sen-
tenced in 1983 to eight years' im-
prisonment for "hostile activity".
Changes in the political climate
gathered momentum in the USSR
last year when significantly few-
er people were arrested on politi-
cal grounds and a large number of
prisoners of conscience were
released, most as a result of
pardons. They included Leonid
Borodin, a writer, who had served
six years of a 15-year sentence for
"anti-Soviet agitation and
propaganda".
Al believes that an amnesty in
Romania in January to com-
memorate the president's 70th
birthday has resulted in the release
of electricians Dumitru luga and
Ion Bugan who had both been
convicted of "propaganda against
the socialist state".
In Czechoslovakia Ervin Motl,
a firefighter, was freed in March
and the remaining 16 months of
his sentence were suspended for
three years. Student Pavel Kriv-
ka also had five months of his sen-
tence suspended for three years
after he was released in Decem-
ber. Both had been accused of
criticizing the state. Pavel Skoda,
who had been sentenced with Pav-
el Krivka, was released when his
sentence expired in July 1987.
One prisoner was released in
Turkey. Birol Basoren was freed
in February on completion of his
sentence.
"I can never be a jailer. I am
a liberator," said Libyan leader
Colonel Gaddafi in announcing
the release of 400 political
prisoners in March. Al hopes
those released included 77
prisoners of conscience on whose
behalf it had worked for years, in-
cluding four members of the pro-
Iraqi Ba'th party and nine stu-
dents. However it has not received
confirmation of their release and
Cuban prisoner of
Andres Solares Teseiro was released
in May,
Thai Police Major Anan
release from imprisonment
is seeking more information.
The Ba'th party members are
Farid Hasan Ashraf and Muham-
mad Hilal, both sentenced to
death, and Dr 'Abd al-Hamid al-
Babur and Mahmud 'Umar Abu
'Ubayd, sentenced to eight years'
imprisonment. The four have
been in prison since 1983 appar-
ently because of their political
activities.
The students—Idris Sulayman
al-Layas, Mahir Bu Shrida,
Bashir Jarbu', Mustafa Husayn al-
Far, al-Sanussi Habib al-Huni,
Rida Bin Musa, Mansur Bu
Shanaf, Nur al-Din Maqui and
Khalid al-Turjman—were arrest-
ed following protests in 1976
about government interference in
Student affairs. They were tried
on charges which reportedly in-
cluded membership of an illegal
political organization and given
sentences of between eight years
and life imprisonment.
Mazin 'Abd al-Wahid al-As'ad,
a writer in Jordan, was released
in February when he completed
his sentence. He had been sen-
tenced to three years' imprison-
ment on charges of membership
of an illegal organization.
5
..
conscience Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, a former prisoner of conscience, address-
ing a rally on the plight of children in South Africa. He was released in
June 1987 after a year in prison. /IMF
This month we
report on the fate
of many prisoners
of conscience on
whose behalf we
4 have asked our
readers to send appeals.
Some of the governments
to whom appeals have
been sent have not
responded at all. They
continue to hold these
people as prisoners of
conscience in violation of
their fundamantal human
rights.
In this issue we publish
the good news. Some of
Senakhan with members of his family after his
the prisoners are now
on charges of "lese majesty". free. Some have thanked
AI for that. We, of course,
1 take no credit for any-
one's freedom. We know
from experience that
many factors—many of
which may never be ap-
parent to outside observ-
ers—may influence a
government's decision to
release prisoners.
What we do know is
this . . . that none of these
people should ever have
been prisoners of con-
science. They exercised
their rights peacefully.
Their arrest and deten-
tion was not only an as-
sault on their rights but a
repudiation of the inter-
national standards set by
the world community for
the protection of every-
one's rights.
Our job now must be to
increase the international
pressure on behalf of all
the remaining prisoners
of conscience who still
await the day their free-
In Yugoslavia, Radomir Veljkovic dom is restored.
was freed in March.
6 July 1988
SOMALIA
Sheikh Nur Barud Gurhan: aged 33, a blind preacher and
Quranic teacher, he is serving a prison sentence of unspeci-
fied duration for his religious beliefs.
Sheikh Nur Gurhan was among
many Islamic teachers and mem-
bers of Islamic congregations ar-
rested in May 1986 because of
their religious activities. They
were arrested on 9 May
Mogadishu after the formation of
the Somali Islamic Movement was
announced.
The movement stated that its
aims were to educate society in
moderate Islamic beliefs and laws.
It criticised the government's
repression of religious activities,
including restrictions imposed on
religious teaching and mosques in
August 1985.
After months of detention,
Sheikh Nur Gurhan and 15 others
were brought to trial on 7 April
1987 before the National Securi-
ty Court in Mogadishu. They
were charged with "organizing
subversive organization" and
"exploiting religion for creating
national disunity or subverting or
weakening state authority". Both
offences are punishable by death.
The defendants had no lawyers.
The court denied them the right
to choose their own lawyers and
they refused to accept the court-
appointed lawyers.
The trial lasted for one day.
Sheikh Nur Gurhan and eight
others were convicted on both
charges and sentenced to death.
Three others were sentenced to
long prison terms, and four were
acquitted.
The condemned had no right of
appeal. They or their families
could only petition the President
for clemency. AI issued urgent
appeals for the commutation of the
death sentences. The organization
feared that they might be execut-
ed within hours of their convic-
tions. This had been the fate of 10
sheikhs convicted of the same
offence in 1975.
However, on 4 August 1987
President Mohamed Siad Barre
commuted their sentences to un-
specified terms of imprisonment.
Please send courteously word-
ed appeals for the immediate and
unconditional release of Sheikh
I '
I
Eachof thepeoplewhosestoryistoldbelowis a prisoner
causeofhisor herreligious orpolitical
beliefs,colour,sex,ethnicoriginorlanguage. Nonehasusedor
advocated violence.
Theircontinuingdetention isa violation
HumanRights. International
appealscanhelpto securetherelease
detentionconditions. In the interestof the prisoners, lettersto the authorities
carefullyandcourteously. Youshouldstressthatyourconcernfor humanrightsis notin anyway
politically
partisan.In no circumstances shouldcommunications
Nur Barud Gurhan to: His Ex-
cellency President Mohamed Siad
Barre/President of the Somali
Democratic Republic/People's
Palace/ Mogadishu/Somal ia. E
in
USSR
Enn Tarto: 49-years-old and a former philologist from Esto-
nia on the Baltic Sea, he is now in his fifth year of imprison-
ment for criticizing official policies.
Enn Tarto was arrested in 1983
after he had opposed the construc-
tion of a new commercial port in
Tallinn. the Estonian capital.
Quoting statistics from an official
census, he argued that economic
decisions taken in Moscow had
resulted in an influx of Russian
labourers who almost outnum-
bered the local Estonian
a
population.
He expressed his fears that the
new port would accelerate this
process in an Open Letter signed
by 12 other Estonians.
He was convicted of "anti-
Soviet agitation and propaganda"
by the Estonian Supreme Court in
1984 and given the maximum sen-
tence of 10 years' imprisonment,
followed by five years' internal
exile. Three of his co-signatories
were also imprisoned on the same
charge.
Unusually. his defence lawyer
called for his complete acquittal,
on the grounds that he had acted
within the USSR Constitution and
exercised basic rights guaranteed
to him in the Universal Declara-
tion of Human Rights.
Enn Tarto is currently in a cor-
rective labour colony for political
prisoners in Perm region—
institution VS 389/35—where as
a "recidivist" he is imprisoned on
special regime. This is the har-
shest regime of labour camp. Enn
Tarto had previously served 10
years as a prisoner of conscience
in the 1950s and 1960s.
Since glasnost, or "openness",
was declared an official policy in
the USSR, leading Estonian cul-
tural figures have also voiced con-
cern about the influence of Rus-
of conscience.Eachhasbeenarrestedbe-
oftheUnited NationsUniversalDeclaration
oftheseprisoners orto improve
shouldbe worded
be sentto the prisoner.
PERU
Agripino Quispe Hilario: a 56-year-old lay Protestantpreacher
of the San Pablo peasant community in Huancavélica, he is
serving a six-year prison term on charges of terrorism.
He was detained in October
1985 by the Peruvian Investigative
Police. Members of the Protestant
Church saw him shortly after-
wards. They said he told them he
sians in their cultural and econom-
ic life, and a number of mass
demonstrations have taken place
in Estonian cities. In April 1988
the Estonian republic was grant-
ed more autonomy in seven key
areas of the economy.
In 1987 the authorities pardoned
and released Enn Tarto's three co-
signatories. As far as Al is aware,
Enn Tarto has not been offered the
chance of a pardon or early
Ailak
release. Under the terms of a 1987
amnesty to mark the 70th anniver-
sary of the Bolshevik Revolution,
his release from labour camp was
brought forward by two years, to
1991, but it seems likely that he
will then have to serve five years'
internal exile.
Please send courteous appeals
for a review of his case with a
view to his immediate and uncon-
ditional release to: Yury
Khristoradnov/Chairperson of the
Council of the Union of the USSR
Supreme Soviet/Kremlin/Moscow/
RSFSR/USSR.7
of
their
had confessed to being a "ter-
rorist" because he was severely
tortured. Guerrilla actions have
taken place in the Huancavélica
region.
Apart from this "confession'•
the only other evidence present-
ed against Agripino Quispe was a
denunciation made by another de-
tainee. In court, Agripino Quispe
denied the charges of terrorism.
Agripino Quispe earned his liv-
ing as a cobbler. He is known as
a founding member and leader of
the Evangelical Church in Huan-
cavélica (affiliated to the Protes-
tant Council of Churches of Peru)
and has acted as a justice of the
peace.
In 1987 human rights groups
and political parties submitted a
list of political prisoners they pro-
posed should benefit from an am-
nesty being considered by parlia-
ment. Agripino Quispe was
named on the list, which was
limited to prisoners supported by
institutions that rejected the vio-
lent actions of the guerrilla groups.
Disagreements between political
parties prevented the final ap-
proval of the law in Congress.
Members of Peru's Evangelical
Church have frequently suffered
human rights abuses, according to
reports received by AI. The small
Evangelical church community
has often been the target of repres-
sion in the emergency areas since
major army and police operations
were launched in 1981, and AI be-
lieves this is the reason for Agripi-
no Quispe's arrest and
imprisonment.
Agripino Quispe's case is now
under appeal at the Supreme
Court.
• Please send courteous appeals
for his immediate and uncondi-
tional release, preferably in Span-.
ish, to: Sr. Armando Villanueva
del Campo/Primer Ministro de la
Presidencia/Palacio de Gobierno/
Plaza de Armas/Limal/Peru; and
to General Enrique Lopez Albdjar/
Ministro de Defensa/Ministerio
de Defensa/Avda Boulevard/
Monterrico/Lima 33/Peru.E
July 1988 7

The six unarmed men killed by security forces in Northern Ireland in 1982.
(Above, left to right) Michael Tighe, 17, Gervaise McKerr, 31, Seamus Grew,
34, Eugene Toman, 21; Sean Burns, 21 (right), Roddy Carroll, 22 (far tight).

UNITED KINGDOM/NORTHERN IRELAND

Killingsbysecurityforces
'
and 'supergrasstrials
A series of fatal shootings by security forces in Northern
Ireland has given rise to allegations of an official policy of
deliberately killing members of armed opposition groups,
which official investigations have failed to refute.
Sixty-five defendants tried be-
fore Northern Ireland's "Diplock
Courts– between 1983 and 1985
were convicted solely on the un-
corroborated testimony of inform-
ers known as "supergrasses".
The procedures and rules of evi-
dence applied under which they
were convicted failed to guaran-
tee the right to a fair trial.
In June AI published a report on
these two aspects of its main con-
cerns in Northern Ireland in the
1980s. The report examines short-
comings in the administration of
justice by the Government of the
United Kingdom in responding to
violent civil unrest.
Officers of the Royal Ulster
Constabulary (RUC), the North-
ern Ireland police force, falsified
and concealed information crucial
to the initial police investigation
into the killing of six unarmed sus-
pects in November and December
1982. Deputy Chief Constable
John Stalker, a senior English
police officer appointed to lead an
official inquiry into these killings,
stated that his inquiry was also
obstructed.
The inquiry took three years
and concluded that RUC officers
had conspired to pervert the
course of justice. However, in
January 1988 the government stat-
ed that for reasons of "national
security" and "public interest"
no officers would be prosecuted,
and that the findings of the inquiry
would not be made public. This
calls into question the govern-
ment's commitment to fully inves-
tigate disputed killings by its secu-
rity forces, make the findings pub-
lic and prevent future unlawful
killings. AI has called on the
government to publish the find-
ings of the inquiry. . also vital to prevent future unlaw-
AI concluded that official
procedures to investigate disput-
ed killings are ineffective. The
main procedure for publicly
clarifying the facts, the coroner's
inquest, is severely restricted in
Northern Ireland. The inquest is
unable to rule that a killing is un-
lawful, as is possible in England
and Wales. Efforts by the de-
ceased's family to establish the
facts are hindered by the lack of
legal aid, and because they are not
allowed to see forensic and wit-
ness reports before the inquest.
Furthermore, security forces
personnel allegedly responsible
for the killing do not give oral tes-
timony to the inquest. This makes
it difficult for the family to
challenge the official version of
the incident.
AI also concluded that the laws
and regulations governing the use
of lethal force in Northern Ireland
are inadequate deterrents against
unlawful killings.
A wide-ranging judicial inquiry
into disputed killings since 1982
is essential to evaluate official in-
vestigative procedures and to as-
sess legislation governing the use
of lethal force. Such an inquiry is
ful killings and to ensure that all
disputed killings by security
forces are promptly investigated
and publicly clarified.
AI has also been monitoring the
judicial procedures and rules of
evidence used in "Diplock
Courts" in Northern Ireland.
These special procedures were es-
tablished in 1972 to deal with ac-
tivities of armed opposition
groups. "Diplock Courts" have
a single judge and no jury.
trials took
Ten "supergrass"
place in Northern Ireland between
1983 and 1985, based on testimo-
ny from "supergrasses" — par-
ticipants in the crimes who in-
formed against large numbers of
their alleged accomplices. Sixty-
five of more than 200 defendants
in these trials were convicted solely
on the uncorroborated testimony of
"supergrasses". Some defendants
spent nearly five years in prison
before being released on appeal.
Although the Court of Appeal
quashed all but one of these con-
victions, the UK Government de-
nied as recently as October 1987
that the procedures and rules of
evidence applied in the "super-
grass" trials failed to guarantee
the basic right to a fair trial.
Northern Ireland's "Diplock
Courts" may have convicted
defendants who would have been
acquitted or perhaps not even tried
in the ordinary court system. AI
has called for legal safeguards to
AIL
ensure that future "supergrass"
trials are fair.
The current period of civil con-
flict in Northern Ireland began in
1968. There are armed opposition
groups in both the Roman Cathol-
ic and Protestant populations. Be-
tween 1969 and 1987, armed
groups in Northern Ireland were
responsible for more than 2,000
deaths.
Al takes no side in such con-
flicts, nor does it question the
authority of governments to deal
with violent offences. It opposes
torture and killing by anyone, in-
cluding opposition groups, and
holds that governments are
responsible for bringing the per-
petrators to justice. In meeting this
responsibility, governments must
act in accordance with internation-
al standards for the protection of
human rights.
AI examined its concerns in
Northern Ireland in the light of the
International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights and the Eu-
ropean Convention on Human
Rights, both of which have been
ratified by the government.
For many years AI has ex-
pressed its concern about human
rights violations in Northern
Ireland to the government. The
organization has drawn attention
to situations in which political
prisoners in Northern Ireland
were denied human rights availa-
ble to other detainees, both in
Northern Ireland and in other
.parts of the United Kingdom.E
8 July 1988
ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Over2,000 held without
chargeor trial
Over 1,700 West Bank Palestinians had been administratively
detained without trial in Israel and the Occupied Territories by
19 May, accordingto an officer of the IsraeliCentralCommand.
If the administrative detainees
from the Gaza Strip and Israel
proper are included, the total
number of Palestinians held
without trial at the end of May
could have been over 2,000.
The detainees include students,
doctors, lawyers, journalists, trade
unionists, academics and human
rights activists. Gazan lawyer Mu-
hammed Abu Sha'aban. who has
been active in publicizing human
rights abuses by Israeli security'
forces, was detained after address-
ing a conference on peace in Tel
Aviv. AI has adopted him as a
prisoner of conscience, and be-
lieves that many of the others may
also be prisoners of conscience.
An administrative detention ord-
er is issued by a regional military
commander for a maximum peri-
od of six months. The order can
be renewed indefinitely for further
six-month periods without any ju-
dicial involvement.
There is provision for an appeal.
However the hearing takes place
in camera and the evidence is not
presented to the detainee, provid-
ing virtually no opportunity to
challenge the order. Many de-
tainees do not appeal. arguing that
it lends legitimacy to what they
consider an unjust process.
Some administrative detainees
have been held for long periods of
interrogation before being put un-
der administrative detention. It ap-
pears that when the detainee is not
charged after interrogation, the
authorities have resorted to ad-
ministrative detention rather than
release the detainee. For example,
Mutawakel Taha. President of the
Association of Poets and Authors
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
was held for interrogation for 76
days before being placed under ad-
ministrative detention.
Other cases are reported where
the courts have ordered the release
of Palestinians under interrogation
because of insufficient evidence
against them and the military
authorities have then placed them
under administrative detention.
Administrative detainees may
not know the status of their deten-
tion until up to a month after their
arrest, and appear to find out only
by chance. They rarely receive co-
pies of the order against them. In
one case the detainee's lawyer
asked to see a copy of the order
but it could not be found anywhere
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Mitcham, Surre A,,ailahle on
in the court. When the lawyer
demanded to know the basis for the
detention, the judge is said to have
replied that he presumed there
Palestinian prisoners in Ketziot, commonly known as Ansar III, a new de-
tention centre situated in the Negev desert in southern Israel.
ZAIRE
Hundreds
arrested
Arrests occurred in April 1988, for the second time this year,
of suspected supporters of an opposition political party, the
Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). Those
arrested included party leaders.
UDPS leader Tshisekedi wa
Mulumba was arrested in January
with several hundred others as he
was about to address a public
meeting in Kinshasa. The meeting
had not received government
Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, held for
two months without charge, was a
Prisoner of the Month in April 1985.
authorization. He was not
prosecuted, but was detained for
two months because the authori-
ties claimed that he was suffering
from psychiatric illness. Other
less well-known detainees were
PUBLICATIONS, 1 ka,,ton Street, London
uhscription at i5 iUSS12. 50) for I iues
POLAND
must be a copy of the order
somewhere. Arrests
Most administrative detainees
are held in tents in Ketziot, a new during
detention centre better known by
its nickname Ansar Ill, situated in
the Negev desert in southern Is-
strikes
rael. Detainees held there have Hundreds of people were
complained of the extreme heat detained in Poland in con-
and of insufficient water and med- nection with strikes that
ical care, which has facilitated the occurred in April and
spread of skin diseases: May 1988. AI considered
that many were prisoners
of conscience.
Most were released after
periods of up to 48 hours' de-
tention, but 20 prisoners of
conscience received sentences
of up to three months' im-
prisonment for non-violent ac-
tivity in connection with the
strikes. All were subsequent-
ly released.
A further six were detained
on charges which carried pos-
sible sentences of up to three
years' imprisonment but they
were also subsequently
released.
R,uu,‘
held for almost two months and
released uncharged.
The April arrests began when
Tshisekedi wa Mulumba urged a
boycott of parliamentary elections
in the Kinshasa area. Many of
those arrested were already
known to AI as they had been fre-
quently arrested since the UDPS
was formed in 1982. They includ-
ed former prisoners of conscience Bogdan Lis
Bijanu Mutunda and Kyungu
Although the strikes appear
Mukange.
to have started spontaneously,
Zaire is a one-party state in
one of the strikers' main de-
which opposition parties are pro-
mands was recognition of the
hibited. However, when
trade union, Solidarity.
Tshisekedi wa Mulumba and
Solidarity was banned after the
some 40 other UDPS supporters
imposition of martial law in
were released from banishment
December 1981.
orders in mid-1987 it seemed that
Bogdan Lis, a leading
the government had agreed to al-
Solidarity member, and Czes-
low the UDPS to remain in exis-
law Nowak, a dockworker and
tence as part of the ruling party.
Solidarity activist, both from
However, the April arrests, which
Gdansk, were each sentenced
in some cases are reported to have
to three months' imprisonment
been followed by harsh beatings
for calling for a strike. Bogdan •
of detainees, suggest that the
Lis was also charged with be-
authorities remain determined to
longing to Solidarity's national
suppress political dissent.
executive. Both men had their
Tshisekedi wa Mulumba is
sentences reduced to three
reported to have been banished to
weeks' imprisonment on ap-
a remote town in northeast Zaire,
peal on 20 May, and have now
while others remain in incommun-
been released.
icado detention in Kinshasa.E
WC1 \ SLIT United Kingdom Primed in Great Britain h , Shadowdean Ltd.,
ISSN 01108 6557