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amnesty DECEMBER 1979 Volume IX Number 12 international newsletter Dramatic deterioration of human rights in Pakistan At least 300 political figures have been arrested in Pakistan since the government announced its decision to detain the leaders of most of the country's political parties. Censorship has been imposed, strikes banned and elections postponed indefinitely. Following the announcement on 16 October there has also been a sharp increase in the number of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments handed down by the country's military courts. 1-, Dissenters on trial in China An official newspaper in Peking announced on 6 November that human rights activist WEI Jingsheng (see page 3), who had been sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment on 16 October, had lost his appeal in Peking High People's Court. A woman activist, FU Yuehua, was also brought to trial on 17 October but her trial was adjourn- ed at the end of the day's hearing for "further investigation". She had been arrested on 18 January, a few days after taking part in peasant demonstrations in Peking (March Newsletter). Even before the latest arrests, there were already several thousand political prisoners known to be in jail in Pakistan under martial law provisions. Most had been tried and convicted by military courts without the possibi- lity of appeal to a civil court and without even the right of being defended by a lawyer. In a public letter to President ZIA-ul-Haq on 1 November, Al expressed its grave concern at the dramatic deterioration of the human rights situation in the country and called for the immediate and uncondi- tional release of those arrested since 16 October. AI also expressed its dismay that following an amendment to the country's constitution, the powers of the civil courts to protect prisoners from infringements of their human rights had been further eroded. The Constitution (Second Amend- ment) Order, announced on 16 October, prevents Pakistan's civil courts from reviewingthe decisions of the military courts, whose verdicts are now final. The letter also pointed out that new martial law legislation had further widened the powers of the military courts, enabling them to try cases that were previously only within the juris- diction of the civil courts. Implementation of the constitut- ional amendment could exceed the limitations on martial law determined by Pakistan's Supreme Court in a judgment in November 1977. The court ruled that martial law had a legal basis only so long as the civil courts retained the right "to judge the validity of any act or action of the martial law authorities". The Supreme Court had validated the proclamation of martial law in July 1977 only to the extent that this was "for a temporary period and for a specified objective" which was "the restoration of law and order and normalcy in the country and the earliest possible holding of free and fair elections". AI called on President Zia to abolish all trials of civilians before military courts and to immediately restore the supervisory jurisdiction of civil courts over military hearings. Al has repeatedly pressed the Pakistan government to set up an independent review of the cases of all political prisoners held without trial, to immediately release all those against whom there was no evidence that they had committed criminal offences and to halt all floggingsand threatened amputations0 Copyright: UPIIPopper According to the Pakistan press in the two weeks since the government crack- down on 16 October, at least 80 people were sentenced to be flogged. In all cases the sentences were carried out immediatelyin public, some of them admini- stered by "mobile militarycourts". However,reliableobservers estimate that in the same period there were at least 200 public floggings.In several cases the protective coverings usually appliedto the victim's lower back to shield the kidneys from permanent damage were not usea.

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Page 1: amnesty international newsletter...amnesty DECEMBER 1979 Volume IX Number 12 international newsletter Dramatic deterioration of human rights in Pakistan At least 300 political figures

amnesty DECEMBER 1979 Volume IX Number 12

international newsletter

Dramatic deterioration ofhuman rights in PakistanAt least 300 political figures have been arrested in Pakistan since thegovernment announced its decision to detain the leaders of most of thecountry's political parties. Censorship has been imposed, strikes bannedand elections postponed indefinitely. Following the announcementon 16 October there has also been a sharp increase in the number ofcruel, inhuman and degrading punishments handed down by thecountry's military courts.

1-,

Dissenters ontrial in ChinaAn official newspaper in Pekingannounced on 6 November thathuman rights activist WEIJingsheng (see page 3), who hadbeen sentenced to 15 years'imprisonment on 16 October,had lost his appeal in Peking HighPeople's Court.

A woman activist, FU Yuehua,was also brought to trial on 17October but her trial was adjourn-ed at the end of the day's hearingfor "further investigation". Shehad been arrested on 18 January,a few days after taking part inpeasant demonstrations in Peking(March Newsletter).

Even before the latest arrests,there were already several thousandpolitical prisoners known to be injail in Pakistan under martial lawprovisions.

Most had been tried and convictedby military courts without the possibi-lity of appeal to a civil court andwithout even the right of beingdefended by a lawyer.

In a public letter to PresidentZIA-ul-Haq on 1 November, Alexpressed its grave concern at thedramatic deterioration of the humanrights situation in the country andcalled for the immediate and uncondi-

tional release of those arrested since16 October.

AI also expressed its dismay thatfollowing an amendment to thecountry's constitution, the powers ofthe civil courts to protect prisonersfrom infringements of their humanrights had been further eroded.

The Constitution (Second Amend-ment) Order, announced on 16 October,prevents Pakistan's civil courts fromreviewing the decisions of the militarycourts, whose verdicts are now final.

The letter also pointed out that newmartial law legislation had furtherwidened the powers of the military

courts, enabling them to try cases thatwere previously only within the juris-diction of the civil courts.

Implementation of the constitut-ional amendment could exceed thelimitations on martial law determinedby Pakistan's Supreme Court in ajudgment in November 1977. Thecourt ruled that martial law had alegal basis only so long as the civilcourts retained the right "to judgethe validity of any act or action of themartial law authorities".

The Supreme Court had validatedthe proclamation of martial law in July1977 only to the extent that this was"for a temporary period and for aspecified objective" which was "therestoration of law and order andnormalcy in the country and theearliest possible holding of free andfair elections".

AI called on President Zia toabolish all trials of civilians beforemilitary courts and to immediatelyrestore the supervisory jurisdiction ofcivil courts over military hearings.

Al has repeatedly pressed thePakistan government to set up anindependent review of the cases of allpolitical prisoners held without trial,to immediately release all those againstwhom there was no evidence that theyhad committed criminal offences and tohalt all floggings and threatenedamputations0

Copyright: UPIIPopper

According to the Pakistan press in the two weeks since the government crack-down on 16 October, at least 80 people were sentenced to be flogged. In allcases the sentences were carried out immediately in public, some of them admini-stered by "mobile military courts". However, reliable observers estimate that inthe same period there were at least 200 public floggings. In several cases theprotective coverings usually applied to the victim's lower back to shield thekidneys from permanent damage were not usea.

Page 2: amnesty international newsletter...amnesty DECEMBER 1979 Volume IX Number 12 international newsletter Dramatic deterioration of human rights in Pakistan At least 300 political figures

2 DECEMBER 1979

CzechoslovakiaHuman rights activists convicted

News in Brief

GhanaThree days before the return tocivilian rule in Ghana on 24 September,the military government of the ArmedForces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)declared an amnesty for 258 peopledetained under previous militaryregimes. All people sentenced to termsof imprisonment for political offencesreceived "free, absolute and uncondi-tional pardons". All people sentencedto death, excepting those given thissentence by the AFRC's own SpecialCourts, are reported to have had theirsentences commuted to lifeimprisonment.

Ivory CoastThirteen students who had been heldin military camps since August 1978were released by the Ivorian authoritieson 25 September. They were held onsuspicion of sympathizing with abanned student organization, afterpolitical pamphlets had been distributedin the capital, Abidjan. The governmentcancelled their scholarships to collegesand universities in France, forciblyconscripted them into the army, wherethey are believed to have undergone aparticularly rigorous form of "training",and allowed them no contact with theoutside world for six months.

MaliFour people were given prison sentencesranging from six months to four yearson 2 October by a Bamako criminalcourt for "offending the Head of State".The prisoners, Doctor MamadouGOLOGO, Idrissa DIAKITE, AbdoulGatta BA and Oumar SENGARE, hadbeen arrested in early April with fourothers after a pamphlet, which criticizedthe workings of the country's solepolitical party, the Union Democratiquedu Peuple Mallen (the Democratic Unionof Malian People), had been produced.

Two of the detainees are reported tohave been tortured and beaten in thefirst week after their arrest. Ars requestto be allowed to send a trial observerwas never acknowledged. Because anadjournment was denied, only onedefence lawyer could attend.

United StatesJesse BISHOP, convicted of killing aman during a 1977 casino robbery,became the first prisoner executed inthe State of Nevada in nearly 20 yearswhen he was sent to the gas chamber on22 October. All mandatory appeals inhis case had been rejected0

Six Czechoslovak human rightsactivists, including playwright VaclavHAVEL, were convicted of subversionand given prison sentences of up to5 years on 23 October, after a two-daytrial in Prague.

The six, members of the unofficialCommittee for the Defence of theUnjustly Persecuted (VONS), hadprepared and disseminated documentson cases in which they believed otherCzechoslovak citizens had been deniedtheir rights.

Petr UHL, an engineer, wassentenced to 5 years; Vaclav Havel to4% years; Vaclav BENDA, philosopherand mathematician, to 4 years; OttaBEDNAROVA and Jiri DIENSTBIER,both journalists, to 3 years; and DanaNEMCOVA, a psychologist, received a2-year suspended sentence.

Although the trial attracted con-siderable attention in Czechoslovakiaand abroad, it was closed to the generalpublic and to foreign journalists andobservers.

An Al observer, Austrian lawyerHenry GOLDMANN, sought to attendthe trial but was denied admission tothe courtroom. He was however ableto interview relatives of the accusedand other people who were present atthe trial. After studying his report, thetext of the indictment and relatedinformation, Al sent appeals to

Britain has announced the closing of afive-year-old program under which itaccepted refugees from Latin America,where exile is often the only alter-native to political imprisonment. HomeSecretary William WHITELAW toldparliament on 29 October that thegovernment would only considerindividual applications where therewas a strong indication that the UnitedKingdom was a natural choice ofcountry for resettlement.

AI wrote to Mr Whitelaw the nextday, urging the government to recon-sider. AI said in the letter that a con-tinuing pattern of arbitrary arrest,torture, political murder and otherviolations of human rights meant thata significant number of LatinAmericans still had to leave theircountries. It was not Ars policy toencourage exile, but "when this is

President Gustav HUSAK and toCzechoslovak legal and judicialauthorities, expressing the belief thatthe prosecution had not substantiatedthe charge that the accused acted withthe intention of subversion, and thatthey were in fact sentenced for exercis-ing their right to freedom of expressionand that they did not have a fair trial.

Al asked President Husak to grantamnesty to the prisoners and to orderan end to proceedings against five oftheir associates who are in pre-trialdetention.

The indictment cited the fact thatone of the accused made documents onhuman rights violations available to twoAl members, and it accused Al of"spreading slanders aboutCzechoslovakia". Al has rejected theaccusation of slander and has said itfollowed its usual practice of publiclyreporting the cases of individualprisoners of conscience wherever theywere held.

The documents cited, AI said,included statements that theCommittee had submitted to theCzechoslovak government and thathad been sent abroad. At the time thestatements were given to AI members,the texts were already known abroad.Al added that nothing in the state-ments "could be construed as incite-ment to violence or subversion"0

the only alternative to torture, murderor long-term imprisonment withouttrial, we would hope that governmentswho do respect human rights wouldnot close their borders to thepotential victims."

Reducing the possibilities for re-settlement could also discouragecountries that provided temporaryrefugee to asylum seekers, the lettersaid.

An estimated 3,000 people enteredthe United Kingdom under the program,which permitted the granting of asylumon a case-by-case basis to victims ofpolitical persecution. The program wasdesigned for refugees from Chile whenit began early in 1974, after themilitary coup in that country, but itwas later expanded to cover other LatinAmericans0

United KingdomGov't threatens refugee program

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DECEMBER 1979 3

Campaign for Prisoners of the MonthEach of the people whose story is told below is a prisoner of conscience. Each

has been arrested because of his or her religious or political beliefs, colour, sex,

ethnic origin or language. None has used or advocated violence. Their continuing

detention is a violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human

Rights. International appeals can help to secure the release of these prisoners or

to improve their detention conditions. In the interest of the prisoners, letters to

the authorities should be worded carefully and courteously. You should stress

that your concern for human rights is not in any way politically partisan. In no

circumstances should communications be sent to the prisoner.

WEI Jingsheng, People's Republicof China

A 29-year-old electrician at PekingZoological Garden and editor of anunofficial journal was sentenced inOctober to 15 years' imprisonment anda further three years' deprivation ofcivil rights after being convicted by aPeking court of "counter-revolutionary" offences.

Before his arrest on 29 March 1979,WEI Jingsheng had been activelyinvolved in the "human rights move-ment" which started in Peking in theautumn of 1978. He was the maineditor of an unofficial journal,Exploration, which publishedarticles critical of many aspects ofpolitical life in China. In December1978 Wei Jingsheng published anessay entitled "The Fifth Moderniza-tion" in which he argued that Chinaneeded not only a modernization ofthe economy but also a politicalmodernization: democracy.

At his trial on 16 October WeiJingsheng was charged with conducting"counter-revolutionary activities" and"passing military secrets to a foreigner".The second charge referred to informa-tion about the Sino-Vietnamese con-flict which Wei Jingsheng was accusedof having given to a foreigner inFebruary while the conflict was stillgoing on. According to dissidentgroups in Peking, however, the informa-tion could hardly be consideredsecret because it had been publishedin the Reference News, a magazinecirculated to many cadres in China.

The charge that Wei Jingshengengaged in "counter-revolutionaryactivities" referred to his publishingand writing activities. All informationavailable indicates that he has beenconvicted for exercising his constitu-tional rights to freedom of speech,publication and association.

Please write courteously-wordedappeals for the immediate release ofWei Jingsheng to: His Excellency HuaGuofeng, Premier, Peking, People'sRepublic of China.

Obert Mpangele MABUZA,Swaziland

A veteran politician and leader of thesmall Swaziland United Front (SUF)has been detained without trial since7 October 1978. Obert MpangeleMABUZA has been held at Matsaphaprison under a series of administrativedetention orders.

Under Swaziland law, the PrimeMinister is empowered to order thedetention without trial of any personfor up to 60 days, but these orders areoften renewed as soon as they expire —resulting in continuous detentionwithout trial. This practice has becomeincreasingly common in Swaziland inthe last two years. No courts maychallenge the validity of any detentionorder and detainees have no right to anappeal or review of their case.

Obert Mpangele Mabuza wasdetained three weeks before the firstgeneral election to be held inSwaziland since the Head of State,King Sobhuza 11, suspended theIndependence Constitution and dis-solved parliament in April 1973.Prior to the election, which took placeon 27 October 1978, a law was intro-duced establishing a new parliament.Under this law, any person who hadbeen detained for 60 days or morewas expressly disqualified from standingas a member of parliament until atleast two years after his release.

The election, in which politicalparties like the SUF were not permittedto participate, was conducted withoutany registration of voters or politicalcampaigning and without a secretballot.

In August Al received informationthat conditions at Matsapha prisonhad deteriorated. Detainees are nowsaid to be held incommunicado and tobe denied reading material.

Please write courteously-wordedletters appealing for the immediaterelease of Obert Mpangele Mabuza to:Senator Benjamin Nsibandze, DeputyPrime Minister, PO Box 57, Mbabane,Swaziland.

11001 Chin Han, MalaysiaTen years ago this month H001 ChinHan was arrested under the MalaysianInternal Security Act (ISA). He hasbeen held without trial ever sinceunder successive two-year detentionorders.

At the time of his arrest inDecember 1969, Hooi Chin Han, aged42, was a member of the PartaiSosialis Rakyat Malaysia (the MalaysianPeople's Socialist Party), a party thathas sought to win support particularlyamong the peasantry. Several leadingmembers of the party have beendetained under the ISA at varioustimes, including its chairman, KassimAhmad, who has been held sinceNovember 1976.

Little is known about the groundsfor Hooi Chin Han's detention, butunder the ISA a person may bedetained if the Minister of HomeAffairs is satisfied that detention is"necessary with a view to preventinghim from acting in any manner pre-judicial to the security of Malaysia".

Hooi Chin Han is detained at BatuGajah Detention Camp where condi-tions are particularly grim, especiallysince the introduction of new regula-tions in March 1977. Al has beeninformed that the Advisory Board, theofficial body to which prisonersdetained under the ISA may makerepresentations, has recommendedthe release of all detainees held in BatuGajah. However, the Advisory Board'spowers are purely recommendatoryand the Minister of Home Affairs hasnot followed its recommendations inthis instance.

During his detention Hooi Chin Hanhas suffered from severe bouts ofbronchial asthma and has beenhospitalized on a number of occasions.

Please write courteously-wordedletters appealing for Hooi Chin Han'simmediate release, particularly in viewof the length of his detention withouttrial and the state of his health. Writeto: Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie, Minister ofHome Affairs, The Ministry of HomeAffairs, Jalan Datuk Onn, KualaLumpur, Malaysia.

Page 4: amnesty international newsletter...amnesty DECEMBER 1979 Volume IX Number 12 international newsletter Dramatic deterioration of human rights in Pakistan At least 300 political figures

4 DECEMBER 1979

Since the AI movement started, the Newsletter has appealed for international assistance on behalf ofhundreds of prisoners of conscience and victims of cruel treatment. In 1975, the Newsletter reportedthat of more than 360 prisoners featured in the Campaign for Prisoners of the Month alone over theprevious 10 years, at least 178 prisoners in 45 countries had been released, had their sentences reducedor been transferred to better conditions following the Al campaign. In this issue we look at cases ofprisoners on whose behalf readers sent appeals from the beginning of this year until August.

Where are they now?Each of the prisoners whose cases are cited below from the Campaign for Prisoners of the Month has beenadopted—or is being adopted—by one or more Al groups. In those cases of prisoners who have not beenreleased, the Al groups are still hard at work trying to secure the prisoners' liberty.

The cases taken up in the Campaign for the Abolition of Torture are those of people known or fearedto be subject to cruel and degrading treatment. AI has acted to prevent ill-treatment and does not alwayshave sufficient information to establish whether the individuals can be considered prisoners of conscience.

t IIJohnChirisa, the former NationalOrganizing Secretary of the internalwing of the Zimbabwe African People'sUnion, is still held under an indefinitedetention order in Zimbabwe(Rhodesia).

Mykhalo Osadchy, the Ukrainianjournalist, poet and literary critic con-victed of "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda", is now in his seventhyear in a "special regime" correctivelabour colony.

Ciro Molina, the crippled Nicaraguanpoet, was held without charge by thecountry's National Guard in September1978. Al learned of his release inFebruary 1979.

appealsBoris Evdokimov, arrested in Leningradin 1972 on charges of "anti-Sovietagitation and propaganda", was trans-ferred in January 1979 from Kazanspecial psychiatric hospital toKashchenko ordinary psychiatrichospital in Leningrad. In April he wasreleased, suffering from cancer, after8 years' psychiatric confinement. Heapplied to emigrate from the USSRbut was refused by the authorities. On4 October 1979 he died in Leningrad.

February1979

Alfonso Avelino Fernandez Cabrelli,the Uruguayan lawyer, historian andjournalist imprisoned under thecountry's military penal code, is stillbeing held. A renewed appeal on hisbehalf was included in the November1979 Newsletter.

Tan Hock Hin, a schoolteacher andlegislative councillor, has now enteredhis 12th year in detention underMalaysia's Internal Security Act.

Miloslav Cerny, the Czechoslovakworker who was reported sufferingfrom epileptic fits in prison and whosecase was highlighted first in theSeptember 1978 Newsletter, remainsin jail despite repeated internationalappeals on his behalf. There has beenno further news about his condition.

appealsThere has been no further news ofJuan Rad Borg and his family whohave been missing in Argentina sinceOctober 1977.

March1979

KhamkingSouvanlasy, one of manyofficials and civil servants of the

former administration in Laos sent to"re-education" camps in 1975, is stillbeing held in a camp in northeast Laoswithout charge or trial.

Ciro Vélez Mendoza, associated withthe Partido Socialista RevolucionarioEcuatoriano (Ecuadorean SocialistRevolutionary Party) at the time ofhis imprisonment in 1973, was releasedin February 1979.

Mohamed Ben Kilani, a Tunisianscience student serving a seven yearprison sentence for membership in abanned organization, was transferredfrom Bourji Er Roumi prison to TunisCivil Prison in August 1979.

appealsMarta Roman, wife of HermannSteffen Artique, is the only member ofthe Steffen family so far released. Theother members of his family, alsoarrested in Uruguay without explana-tion in November 1978, are now ontrial, charged with "assisting subver-sion". They have been adopted by AIas prisoners of conscience.

April 1979

JassimHaddad, the poet held since1975 without charge or trial inBahrain, was released in August 1979.

January1979

ur

Page 5: amnesty international newsletter...amnesty DECEMBER 1979 Volume IX Number 12 international newsletter Dramatic deterioration of human rights in Pakistan At least 300 political figures

DECEMBER 1979 5

Edival Nunes da Silva, a member ofBrazil's Justice and Peace Commissionof the Roman Catholic church whowas detained in May 1978, subjectedto torture and held without trial, wasreleased in May 1979.

Bui Tuong Huan, a former universityprofessor held since late 1975 in a"re-education" camp in Vietnam, wasreleased in June 1979.

appealsThe Tsamaraint brothers, members ofan Amazon Indian family reportedlyforced under torture to confess tomurder, are in prison in Cuenca insouthern Ecuador. They have not yetgone on trial.

Lev Grigorievich Ubozhko, a Sovietphysicist arrested for circulatingsamizdat literature, is still compulsorilyconfined in Tashkent special psychiat-ric hospital where he is recentlyreported to have been subjected tointensive drug "treatment" as a resultof which his physical condition is saidto have greatly deteriorated.

ISLA May1979

Zheng Chaolin, the 77-year-old ChineseTrotskyist arrested in Shanghai in1952, was released along with his wife,Wu Jingru, in June 1979 after 27 yearsas a prisoner of conscience.

Peter Jones, the Black Consciousnessleader detained in South Africa at thesame time as Steve Biko in 1977, isstill serving a five-year banning orderimposed on him in February 1979.

Chng Min Oh, an active trade unionistin Singapore is now nearing the endof his ninth year in detention under thecountry's Internal Security Act. He hasnever been formally charged or hadthe opportunity to defend himself inopen court.

appealsThere has been no further news ofAna Rosa Kucinski Silva, whodisappeared and was reportedly sub-jected to torture after her arrest inBrazil in early 1974.

June1979

Irzadi Mirwan, one of more than 30student leaders facing charges of"insulting the Head of State" afterthey blamed the leadership ofPresident Suharto for corruption andthe gap between rich and poor inIndonesia, is still on trial.

Franz Kobold, who was sent to prisonin 1975 for making plans to flee theGerman Democratic Republic, mayhave benefitted from the amnestyannounced in October 1979. However,Al has received no news about him.

Mwarabu Mak Lubia, a former sub-lieutenant in the Zairean Air Forceimprisoned on conspiracy charges in1975, wai released in an amnestydeclared in October 1979.

appeals

The Ukrainian dissenter, IosifMikhailovich Terelya, is still forciblyconfined in Dnepropetrovsk specialpsychiatric hospital where he isreported to be undergoing continual"treatment" with psychotropic drugs.Doctors have reportedly told his wifethat there is no hope that he will bereleased in the near future. He isreported to be in very poor health.

There has been no further news ofOscar Tassino, a trade unionist, takenfrom his home in Montevideo in July1977 by armed men claiming to befrom the Uruguayan Combined Forces.

Mario Argentino Paoletti andGuillermo Alfieri, two Argentinejournalists who are reported to havebeen tortured, are still being held inadministrative detention.

Mahanth Thakur, a Nepali universitylecturer dismissed from his teachingpost and detained without trial as aresult of his.allegiance to the bannedNepali Congress Party, has beenreleased.

appeals

Valeria Makeyeva, a 50-year-oldRussian Orthodox nun, is compulsorilyconfined in Kazan special psychiatrichospital where she is reported to haveundergone intensive "treatment" withdrugs which have paralyzed her rightarm and undermined her general stateof health.

To Ars knowledge, the sentences ofamputation passed on Allah Ditta andGhulam Mustafa in May in Pakistanhave not been carried out.

August1979

Moon Ik-hwan, the Presbyterianminister imprisoned for his part in theMyong-Dong Declaration that calledfor the restoration of civil liberties inthe Republic of Korea, is still in prison.

Virgilio Bareiro Riveros and SeveroAcosta Aranda are two Paraguayansheld without trial since 1964. Sr.Acosta Aranda was released in October.Sr. Bareiro Riveros is still detained andis believed to be the last long-termprisoner in the country.

True Orthodox Believers in the SovietUnion. The 10 women, all of whom areserving sentences of 10 years' imprison-ment or more under legislation restrict-ing freedom of expression, are stillheld in the Mordovian complex ofcorrective labour colonies.

appealsThe office of the President of Colombiahas informed Al that Alvaro Duran isnow in Model Prison and DoraPatricia Duran in Buen Pastor Prison,both in Bogota. Sr. Duran isaccused of membership in a left-wingguerrilla group. Al maintains its interestin both cases and is trying to obtainfurther information.

• July1979

Veselin Masic,the Yugoslav medicaldoctor imprisoned after being accusedof having private conversations aboutthe political conditions in his country,is still in prison.

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6 DECEMBER 1979

NigeriaNo more public executionsTwo days after the return to civilianrule on 1 October, Nigeria's Chief ofthe Army General Staff, Major-General T.Y. DANJUMA, announcedthat executions would no longer takeplace in public, and that executionswould now be carried out "with

Soviet authorities arrested threedissenters on 1 November: Father GlebYAKUNIN, a Russian Orthodox priestand founder member of the unofficialChristian Committee to Defend theRights of Believers; AntanasTERLECKAS, a former politicalprisoner closely associated with religiousand nationalist dissent in Lithuania;and Tatyana VELIKANOVA, who forthe past 10 years has been one ofthe most active participants in thehuman rights movement. Al regardsall three as prisoners of conscience.

In October Leningrad truck driverNikolai NIKITIN was sentenced to oneand a half years in prison because ofhis activities in an unofficial tradeunion group. Charged with "circulat-ing fabrications known to be falsewhich defame the Soviet state andsocial system", Nikitin was the fifthmember of the group sentenced toprison or internal exile or confinedto a psychiatric hospital during its firstyear of existence.

The Nikitin case is one of a seriesin which dissenters continue to bearrested and held for trial in the SovietUnion.Eduard ARUTYUNIAN hasbeen imprisoned since July for hisinvolvement in a group set up inArmenia to monitor Soviet compliancewith the human rights agreements ofthe 1975 Helsinki Conference. Fourmembers of a similar monitoring groupin the Ukraine are awaiting trial.

Al has learned in recent months ofat least eight people imprisoned inconnection with their seeking per-mission to emigrate from the country,and 15 Crimean Tartars sentenced toprison or internal exile for trying toreturn to their ancestral homeland inthe Crimea.

Religious activities have also led toprison sentences and confinement to

discretion". Major-General Danjumais reported to have said that inNigeria the deterrent value of thedeath sentence had worn off. On thesame occasion 678 prisoners, most ofwhom had been convicted for criminaloffences, were amnestied to commemo-rate the return to civilian rule0

psychiatric hospitals. SergeiYERMOLAYEV, a member of anunofficial Russian Orthodox seminarin Moscow, and Igor POLYAKOV, afriend of his, were sentenced inOctober to 4 and 31/2years in jailrespectively for "hooliganism". Atleast five other members of the seminarhad already been tried or confined topsychiatric hospitals, and twomembers of a related seminar inLeningrad are awaiting trial.

Three Seventh Day Adventists weresentenced in June for unofficiallyprinting and distributing religiousliterature, one of them to 7 years'imprisonment. Al knows of at least25 cases of Protestants arrested andtried this year because of theirreligious activities.

Soviet responseFollowing publication of Al's openletter to President BREZHNEV(November Newsletter), Reuters newsagency carried the following dispatch:

"Tass today described an openletter from Amnesty International onhuman rights in the Soviet Union asan attempt to poison the minds ofWesterners attending the MoscowOlympic Games.

Tass analyst Yevgeny Babenkosaid the writers had resorted to 'outand out misinformation' about Sovietlife.

'The organizers of the new wave ofanti-Soviet speculative insinuation• . .are attempting to sow in the mindsof future Western guests at the MoscowOlympic Games the seeds ofunfriendliness, mistrust and suspicion'it declared.

The commentary hinted thatAmnesty's prestige would suffer whentourists came for next year's Olympicsand saw for themselves 'the realityof the accomplishments of developedsocialism"0

TunisiaAI appeals toHead of Stateafter prisoners'releaseNine A /-adopted prisoners of con-science were released in Tunisia inAugust, but about 70 remain inprison, some of them held since 1974.In a letter to Tunisian President HabibBOURGUIBA on 25 October, AI saidit believed their imprisonment contra-vened the Tunisian Constitution andthe country's obligations under inter-national law.

The right to legal defence wasconsistently violated during the trialsof such prisoners, and, in one case,defendants were prevented fromattending their own trial, the lettersaid.

Frequent and detailed reports oftorture and ill-treatment of politicaldetainees in Tunisia have reached Alover the past 10 years. Methodsinclude the "swing" system, in whichthe victim is suspended and swung froman iron bar placed under the knees,beatings, burning with cigarettes andin several cases electric shocks havereportedly been used. Many prisonersare reported to be in poor health dueto ill-treatment and the conditions inwhich they are held.

AI welcomed the release of the nineby presidential amnesty, but expressedconcern at restrictions imposed onthem and other released prisoners ofconscience, which include housearrest, surveillance and denial ofpassports.

The organization called onPresident Bourguiba to guaranteeconstitutional and internationallyagreed rights in Tunisia0

Change of Address

Amnesty InternationalSezione ltalianaViale Mazzini 14600195 RomaItaly

Prisoner Releases and CasesThe International Secretariat learnedin October of the release of 128prisoners under adoption or investiga-tion and took up 254 new cases.

USSRNew arrests and political trials

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DECEMBER 1979 7

amnesty international

campaign for the abolition of torture

USSRUkrainian heldin hospital

appealsAmnesty International opposes the torture of prisoners in all cases,wherever and whenever it is practised. Any act of torture or othercruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is a violation ofthe international human rights standards unanimously adopted by theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations. International appeals canhelp to alleviate the plight of prisoners being subjected to cruel treat-ment. Your letters should follow carefully the instructions givenbelow.

UruguayFears for lives of Argentinian familyAn Argentinian family living inMontevideo, Uruguay, since May 1977has been missing for over 18 monthsdespite efforts by their relatives tolocate them.

Claudio Ernesto LOGARES, a 24-year-old accountant, his wife M6nicaSofia GRINSPON DE LOGARES, andtheir three-year-old daughter, Paula,disappeared on 18 May 1978 aftervisiting a park in Montevideo. Relativeshave travelled to Uruguay severaltimes since then to report the disappear-ance and to try to establish thewhereabouts of the Logares family,but all efforts have been in vain.

According to eye-witness reportscivilian personnel, using three cars,had been watching the building wherethe family lived for several days. Thepatrolling stopped after the familydisappeared. Their arrest took placeat 3.30 pm when a group of armedmen forced Claudio Logares into onecar and his wife and daughter intoanother.

Political prisoners in Uruguay arenormally held in incommunicadodetention during which they aresubjected to torture, including pro-longed standing, submarino (sub-mersion in water until nearlydrowned), electric shocks, and variousother forms of severe torture. Al fearsthat the Logares family may havedied from torture or be held in secretdetention in Uruguay or Argentina.The security forces of Uruguay andArgentina have previously cooperatedin abductions of each other's nationalson each other's territory. In suchoperations several young children

This family may have been torturedto death or may be held in secretdetention in Uruguay or Argentina.Their arbitrary arrest in Uruguayviolated the International Covenanton Civil and Political Rights ratifiedby that country in 1970.

have disappeared. Recently, twoUruguayan children abducted inArgentina in 1976 were discovered tobe living in Chile; however, theirparents are still missing.

Please write courteously-wordedletters urging that the fate of theLogares family be immediatelyclarified and that their physicalsafety be guaranteed. Write to:Comandante en Jefe del Ejército,Tte. General Luis V. Queirolo,Soriano 1090, Montevideo,Uruguay. Please send a copy of yourletter to the Uruguayan and Argentinianembassies in your country.

A 43-year-old former journalist fromthe Ukraine has been forcibly confinedto a special psychiatric hospital in theSoviet Union since April 1979. PavloSKOCHOK is reported to have beencharged with "circulating anti-Sovietslander"; Al believes he was arrestedfor writing letters to the authoritiesasking to be reinstated in his job as ajournalist.

In the early 1960s Pavlo Skochokworked on the editorial staff of theUkrainian daily newspaper RadyanskaUkraina(Soviet Ukraine). He wasone of several Ukrainians who pro-tested against the trials in 1965 of20 young intellectuals imprisoned foradvocating national views in theircultural work. When his newspapersent him to cover the trial of one ofthese, Mykola Ozerny, he made atranscript of the proceedings whichhe sent together with a letter of protestto the First Secretary of theCommunist Party of the Ukraine. Hewas dismissed from his job and wassubsequently unable to find work asa journalist. At the time of hisarrest on 1 December 1978 he wasreported to be working as a stoker.

After his arrest Pavlo Skochok wassent to Pavlov psychiatric hospital inKiev for forensic psychiatric examina-tion and was ruled to be "notaccountable for his actions". Althoughhis imprisonment is related to the non-violent exercise of the right to freedomof expression, he has been confinedsince April to Dnepropetrovsk specialpsychiatric hospital—a type of institu-tion reserved in Soviet law for thosewho "represent a special danger tosociety". AI has adopted PavloSkochok as a prisoner of conscienceon the grounds that he is detainedfor exercising his right to freedom ofexpression rather than for authenticmedical reasons.

Please write courteously-wordedletters to the Procurator of theUkraine, Mr F.K. Glukh, asking him to

initiate an immediate review of PavloSkochok's case. Write to: SSSR,Ukrainskaya SSR, g. Kiev, Kreshchatik2, Respublikanskaya Prokuratura,Prokuroru, F.K. Glukhu.

Page 8: amnesty international newsletter...amnesty DECEMBER 1979 Volume IX Number 12 international newsletter Dramatic deterioration of human rights in Pakistan At least 300 political figures

a DECEMBER 1979

Political prisoners in Syria held without trialand subjected to torturePolitical prisoners in Syria arebeing held in prolonged detentionwithout trial and subjected totorture resulting, in some cases,in death, according to a briefingpaper published by AI on 24October.

In the 16-page booklet Alalso said that political trials beforethe country's State Security Courtwere routinely held in secret,thereby denying prisoners theright to a fair and open hearing.

Most political prisoners in Syria,however, are simply held without trialunder emergency legislation that hasbeen in force for more than a decade.AI estimates that the total number ofuntried political detainees is at least350 at any one time and on occasionshas risen to nearly a thousand. Some

prisoners, still in detention, have beenheld without trial for more than eightyears.

Al stressed that it had difficultyin establishing a firm figure becausepolitical arrests are carried out bydifferent branches of the securityforces acting independently of eachother and many arrests are notofficially acknowledged.

Those detained for politicalopposition include adherents of thefundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood,members of break-away movementswithin the ruling Ba'ath Party,supporters of policies promoted by thelate Egyptian President Gamal AbdelNASSER under the Syrian-Egyptianunion of 1958-61, Marxists, Kurdsand Palestinians.

Tortures inflicted upon detaineesduring interrogation are said to be

applied in increasing order of severity.The methods most commonly report-ed include beating and whipping,burning with cigarette lighters, pouringpetrol over parts of the body andsetting it alight, simulating executions,immersing victims to the point ofnear asphyxiation and applyingelectric shocks to the genitals.

Syria retains the death penalty for grave political offences. Over the past two years, more than 30 executions have been carried out in cases involving sabotage, murder and membership in armed gangs. Twelve of the executions were carried out by publiC hanging.

Amnesty International Briefing on

Syria, 16 pages, is published in English andArabic by Amnesty InternationalPublications, 10 Southampton Street,London WC2E 7FIF, England. Price : 40pence (US $1.00) and is available fromAl's national sections°

United Nations' Proposal to study disappearances,The United Nations Sub-Commissionon Prevention of Discrimination andProtection of Minorities hasrecommended the creation of a workinggroup to help locate "disappeared"people throughout the world. At its32nd session in late August, the Sub-Commission proposed that the workinggroup's members should be given allavailable information about the"disappeared" and make contact withthe governments and familiesconcerned.

The Sub-Commission also requestedthe United Nations Secretary Generalto prepare a study on the protectionof people detained on grounds ofmental ill-health "with a view to theformulation of guidelines".

The Sub-Commission, which con-sists of 26 independent experts, makesrecommendations to its superior body,the United Nations Commission onHuman Rights, comprised of 43government representatives.

In recent years Al has submittedto the United Nations information on"disappearances" in Afghanistan,Argentina, Chile, DemocraticKampuchea, Ethiopia and Uganda.

On the question of protectingindividuals detained on grounds ofmental ill-health, Al presented theSub-Commission with information on

psychiatric abuse in Romania, SouthAfrica and the Soviet Union.

In a statement to the Sub-Commission Al said it considered thedisappearance of political opponentspractised or tolerated by governments asone of the most serious human rightsviolations of our time.

The statement continued: "In theview of AI it is necessary to make adistinction between abductions whichhave taken place in the past and abduc-tions which continue to take place inthe present and in the future.

"As for the first category, Al wouldwelcome the establishment of such agroup [to locate disappeared people]and would certainly be willing to makeavailable to such a group all its informa-tion on disappeared persons.

"In the view of AI the attitude takenby some governments that the presentrate of abductions in their country is notas high as before, and that therefore nomore attention should be paid to thosewho disappeared in the past, is com-pletely unacceptable.

"No government should be left aloneuntil the last case of a disappeared personin its territory has been cleared up.

"As for the second category, thereseems to be a clear need to set up asystem of emergency intervention by theUnited Nations. . . . This would definitely

influence the governments in question."The experts from Argentina and

the Soviet Union voted against theSub-Commission's resolution to set upa working group to deal with theproblem.

In its statement on the abuse ofpsychiatry Al cited a 1977 World HealthOrganization report that in South Africabetween 8,000 and 9,000 blacks sufferingfrom mental disorders were detainedagainst their will in privately ownedinstitutions.

Al said it was aware of more than100 people in the Soviet Union andanother 30 in Romania who had beenconfined in psychiatric hospitals overthe past four years for exercising theirrights in a manner disapproved of by theauthorities.

The Soviet member of the Sub-Commission said that although AIfrequently produced well-founded state-ments it had "fallen for the bait offabricated material". The Romanianmember said the allegations were"entirely lacking in loundation"D

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