AFGHANISTAN - Financial Times

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AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN

Head of state and government: Hamid Karzai

Death penalty: retentionist

International Criminal Court: ratified

UN Women’s Convention: ratified

Optional Protocol to UN Women’s Convention: not

signed

The government and its international partnersremained incapable of providing security to thepeople of Afghanistan. Factional commanderssecured positions of public authority, actedindependently of government control and remaineda major source of insecurity. Absence of rule of law,and a barely functional criminal justice system leftmany victims of human rights violations, especiallywomen, without redress. Over 1,000 civilians werekilled in attacks by US and Coalition forces and byarmed groups. US forces continued to carry outarbitrary arrests and indefinite detentions. Refugeeswere pressured into returning to Afghanistan,despite continuing threats to their safety.

BackgroundThe 2001 Bonn process culminated in the holding, inSeptember, of elections to the National Assembly(Wolesi Jirga) and provincial councils. Marred by aclimate of intimidation in the run up to polling, therewas widespread public dismay at the number offactional leaders – many accused of human rightsabuses – who stood for election.

Women were guaranteed at least a quarter of theseats in the Wolesi Jirga but faced social andadministrative barriers. The legitimacy of the processwas called into question on account of the low turnout,notably in Kabul.

In February, the UN Development Programme rankedAfghanistan at 173 of 178 in the world in terms ofdevelopment, reflecting the country’s severe socio-economic situation.

The flawed UN-supported Disarmament,Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmeended in March. It was supplemented by theDisarmament of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) project. InSeptember, the UN extended the mandate of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force to 2006.

In February, Cherif Bassiouni, the UN IndependentExpert on the Situation of Afghanistan, criticized theAfghan criminal justice system and the US detention ofAfghans. The mandate of this position was, however,ended by the UN Commission on Human Rights in April,in accordance with US wishes.

Redressing past violationsIn January, the Afghanistan Independent Human RightsCommission (AIHRC) issued a report examining measuresto address past human rights violations. In December,

the government passed the Transitional Justice ActionPlan, which calls for the commemoration of victims,vetting of state employees to exclude human rightsviolators, the creation of a truth-seeking mechanism, thepromotion of national reconciliation and theestablishment of justice mechanisms for past crimes.b In July Faryadi Sarwar Zardad, a commander whohad fled to the UK in 1988, was sentenced to 20 years’imprisonment in connection with human rightsviolations carried out by him and those under hiscommand. The UK authorities cited their obligationsunder the UN Convention against Torture as the basisfor prosecution.b In September, Habibullah Jalalzai and HesamuddinHesam, both former senior officials of KHAD, a securitybody during the 1980s, were sentenced to nine and 12years’ imprisonment respectively following a trial inthe Netherlands.

Many regional officials and commanders – oftencalled warlords – continued to wield power withinAfghanistan. Some continued to maintain links witharmed groups responsible for abuses that included warcrimes committed during armed conflicts since 1979-80, including mass killings and rape. In December anational conference on truth-seeking andreconciliation was held.

Violence against womenIn a climate of continued lack of public security and ruleof law, women were denied enjoyment of their humanrights. Women continued to face systematic andwidespread violence and discrimination in public andprivate including discriminatory customary practices. InJune the government established an inter-ministerialcouncil aimed at combating violence against women, butby the end of 2005 few legal provisions to protect womenhad been promulgated, and fewer implemented.b In April, a 29-year-old woman called Amina waskilled in Badakhshan. An elder, a member of her familyand at least two other people were subsequentlyarrested.b In May, the bodies of three women were foundraped and strangled on a road in Pul-e Khumri. Arrestsfollowed but it was not known whether these resultedin trials.

Ineffective justice systemFlaws in the administration of justice remained a keysource of human rights violations, especially in ruralareas. All stages of the legal process were hampered bycorruption, the influence of armed groups, lack ofoversight mechanisms, non-payment of salaries andinadequate infrastructure. Detainees continued to beheld unlawfully for prolonged periods and denied a fairtrial. There were reports of inhumane conditions inprisons.b In October, prisoner of conscience Ali MohaqqeqNasab, the editor of a journal on women’s rights, wassentenced to two years’ imprisonment for “defamation”and “blasphemy”. An appeal court in Decembersuspended his sentence and he was freed.

51Amnesty International Report 2006

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Abuses by armed groupsHundreds of civilians including aid workers, electionofficials and clerics were killed by armed groups such asthe Taleban, who were resurgent in the southernregion. Most of the killings resulted from suicideattacks and roadside bombs.b On 30 May, cleric Molavi Abdollah Fayyaz, who hadspoken out against the Taleban, was shot dead inKandahar. During his funeral ceremony the followingday, a suicide bomber killed at least 21 people.b On 20 July, two or more unidentified gunmen inPaktika killed Hamid Mohammad Sarwar, an electionworker from the Joint Electoral Monitoring Board, whowas educating voters ahead of the September elections.At that stage, he was the fourth Afghan working insupport of the elections to be killed.

Violations by US and Coalition ForcesUS forces continued to arbitrarily detain hundreds ofpeople beyond the reach of the courts and their ownfamilies, UN human rights experts, the AIHRC and, insome instances, the International Committee of theRed Cross (ICRC). Excessive use of force during arrestand torture and ill-treatment inside Bagram airbaseand other US facilities continued to be reported.Conditions for many detainees reportedly improved inthe second half of the year.

In May, reports of torture and ill-treatment in US-controlled facilities led to civil unrest across thecountry. In Jalalabad up to seven people died in riots.The UN called on the USA to open the detentionfacilities at Bagram airbase to the AIHRC.

Despite repeated calls for independentinvestigations into reports of torture by US forces anddeaths in custody, investigations were conductedunder the auspices of the US Department of Defense.

Military operations undertaken by US and CoalitionForces continued to result in civilian deaths or injury,usually following air strikes in southern areas. Therewere concerns that not all necessary precautions hadbeen taken in the conduct of such attacks.b In 2005, more than 20 US military personnel wereinvestigated in connection with the deaths in custody in2002 of Dilawar and Habibullah, two Afghan detaineesheld in Bagram airbase. As of December 2005, sevenlow-ranking soldiers had been convicted of minoroffences and received light penalties, but no one hadbeen held directly responsible for the deaths in custody.b On 4 July, US military sources confirmed that theyhad killed 17 civilians in an air strike in Chichal village,Kunar province.

Hundreds of Afghans were released by the USauthorities from Bagram airbase and Guantánamo Bayduring 2005. Some claimed that they were ill-treated incustody.

RefugeesIn response to pressure from the authorities in Iran andPakistan, more than 100,000 refugees returned toAfghanistan during 2005.

The Iranian authorities reportedly added torestrictions imposed on Afghan refugees in recent

years by refusing to issue them with identity cards.There were unconfirmed reports that Iranianauthorities expelled hundreds of asylum-seekers fromsouthern Iran.

In June it was announced that up to 90,000 Afghanshad left Pakistan for Afghanistan over the precedingtwo and a half months. Hundreds of others had movedwithin Pakistan as camps were consolidated.

In August, the Minister for Refugees and Repatriationstated that 40 per cent of all returned refugees were ina vulnerable situation, “struggling between hope andhopelessness”. The same month Afghanistan ratifiedthe UN Refugee Convention.

Human rights defendersThe growing community of human rights defendersfaced harassment and death threats. In November, amember of the AIHRC was the target of a grenadeattack.b Shaheeda Hussain, a women’s human rightsdefender and candidate for the Wolesi Jirga, was shotat in her car during the election campaign.

Death penaltyAt least 24 death sentences were passed by lower andappeal courts. AI did not learn of any executions. InFebruary, three people were sentenced to death inconnection with the killing of a taxi driver. Theyappealed against the sentence. In May, four men weresentenced to death in connection with armed robberyand murder. In August, seven men were sentenced todeath in connection with the kidnapping of electionworkers and, in a separate case, robbery.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Afghanistan: Addressing the past to secure the future

(AI Index: ASA 11/003/2005)• Afghanistan: Women still under attack – a systematic

failure to protect (AI Index: ASA 11/007/2005)• Afghanistan: Human rights challenges facing

Afghanistan’s National and Provincial Assemblies –an open letter to candidates (AI Index: ASA11/011/2005) ASA 11/011/2005)

VisitAI visited Afghanistan in November and December tocarry out research into human rights abuses in thecontext of the “war on terror”.

52 Amnesty International Report 2006

ALB

ALBANIA

REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA

Head of state: Alfred Moisiu

Head of government: Sali Berisha (replaced Fatos Nano

in September)

Death penalty: abolitionist for ordinary crimes


UN Women’s Convention and its Optional Protocol:ratified

A number of detainees complained that they weretortured or ill-treated during arrest, in police custodyor in prison. Investigations into complaints tended tobe delayed and inconclusive, although in a few casespolice officers were prosecuted or disciplined.Detention conditions, particularly for remandprisoners held in police stations, remained harsh.Domestic violence was common. There were arrestsand prosecutions for trafficking women and childrenfor forced prostitution and cheap labour.

BackgroundPoverty, unemployment and widespread corruptioncontinued to undermine efforts to promote the rule oflaw. National elections in July were won by theDemocratic Party and its allies, who called for acrackdown on corruption and organized crime.

Torture and ill-treatmentPolice officers or prison guards allegedly beatdetainees during arrest or subsequently in detention.At least six such complaints, three of them made bytaxi-drivers, related to police officers attached to Korçëpolice station.b Rrok Pepaj was arrested in Shkodër in April andcharged with trafficking explosives. He subsequentlyfiled a complaint against a named judicial police officerwhom he accused of torture, forgery and “abuse ofoffice”. He alleged that following his arrest he wasrepeatedly kicked and beaten with truncheons bymasked police officers and that while his head wascrushed between two tables he was forced to sign adocument that he could not see. He suffered damage tohis kidneys; in October he was reportedly still urinatingblood and receiving medical treatment while in pre-trial detention.b In April the Ministry of Justice dismissed thedirector and the chief of the police guards of Tiranaprison 302 after a number of remand prisonerscomplained that they had been physically andpsychologically ill-treated. Also in April, criminalproceedings were started against two police officers atLushnjë police station following a complaint by adetainee, Miti Mitro, that they had beaten him.

In May the UN Committee against Torture consideredAlbania’s initial report, submitted with an eight-yeardelay. Among other recommendations, the Committeecalled on Albania to “ensure strict application of the

provisions against torture and ill-treatment,adequately qualifying, prosecuting and punishingperpetrators in a manner proportionate to theseriousness of the crimes committed”.

ImpunityProsecutors did not always investigate complaints ofill-treatment or did so only after delay. Even when aninvestigation was formally opened, it was ofteninconclusive. Prosecutors were reluctant to applyprovisions of the Criminal Code dealing with “tortureand any other degrading or inhuman treatment”,preferring to invoke lesser charges, such as “arbitraryacts”, which usually resulted in non-custodialsentences. AI did not learn of any convictions for theseoffences, although there were several reports thatpolice officers had received disciplinary punishmentsfor ill-treating detainees.b On 30 June Ali Shabani was allegedly beaten andinjured by Korçë traffic police officers after he failed toobey their orders. He was brought to hospital withserious head injuries. Police sources denied that he hadbeen beaten and claimed that he had injured himself.He was charged with resisting arrest. A local prosecutorreportedly declined to investigate a complaint filed byAli Shabani, who subsequently brought a civil suitagainst the police.b In April Elsen Gropa from Patos alleged that theinvestigation of a complaint he had filed 11 monthspreviously was being deliberately delayed by theinvestigating and police authorities. He complainedthat two police officers had twice arrested him andbeaten him at Fier police station in an unsuccessfulattempt to force him to confess to a crime or to givethem money to close the case. He said that he hadsupported his allegations with photographs of hisinjuries and a medical forensic report.

Conditions of detentionIn March a new prison in Lezhë was opened as part of aplan supported by the European Union (EU) to improvethe infrastructure of the penitentiary system. Despitethis and certain other improvements, prison conditionscontinued to be marked by overcrowding and poor dietand hygiene, leading to frequent protests by prisoners.Conditions for remand prisoners in Vlorë detentioncentre and in pre-trial detention facilities in policestations were particularly harsh. In violation ofdomestic law, some convicted prisoners continued tobe held together with remand prisoners and minors(under 18 years of age) sometimes shared cells withadult detainees. A 2003 government decision totransfer responsibility for all pre-trial detentionfacilities from the Ministry of Public Order to theMinistry of Justice had not been implemented by theend of 2005.

Violence against womenSurveys indicated that domestic violence was common,affecting up to 40 per cent of women. Intimate partnerviolence affected women of all ages and social groupsand was often persistent. Women rarely reported such


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incidents to the police, and few perpetrators wereprosecuted, except in cases of serious injury or death.At least three women were convicted of killing partnerswhom they claimed had persistently subjected them tophysical and psychological violence.

The law did not adequately protect victims ofdomestic violence, for whom there were limitedsupport services provided by non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs). The Criminal Code did notspecifically criminalize domestic violence. Local NGOscompiled a draft law aiming to introduce procedures togive victims of domestic violence legal protection, asenvisaged in the 2003 Family Code.

TraffickingPoverty, lack of education, family breakdown and crimenetworks at home and abroad contributed to thetrafficking of women and children for sexualexploitation and cheap labour. There were reports thatalthough the numbers of Albanian women beingtrafficked might be decreasing, many were being re-trafficked, sometimes as often as twice in a month.

The adoption of a witness protection law in Albaniain 2004 appeared to have encouraged EU countries todeport victims of trafficking. However, difficulties inimplementing the law meant that protection was inpractice inadequate and victims were usually unwillingto testify against their traffickers for fear of reprisal.There were also concerns that traffickers or theirfamilies were using bribes or threats to induce relativesof those victims who did testify to persuade them towithdraw their testimony. According to official figures,62 people were prosecuted for trafficking women forprostitution, and 13 people for child-traffickingbetween January and June.

In February the government approved a nationalstrategy to combat child trafficking. In November theUN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, childprostitution and child pornography, following a visit toAlbania, welcomed the legislative measures, but calledon the authorities to “develop a national childprotection system aimed at combating the poverty thatdrives exploitation”.b In July the Serious Crimes Prosecutor’s Officecharged a man with trafficking six children to Greece.He had allegedly forced them to sell trinkets and beatthem if they failed to earn enough money. The childrenhad been returned to Albania in 2004 by the Greekauthorities.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Albania: Obligations under the UN Convention

against Torture – a gap between law and practice (AIIndex: EUR 11/001/2005)

VisitAI representatives visited Albania in October.

ALGERIA

PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA

Head of state: Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Head of government: Ahmed Ouyahia

Death penalty: abolitionist in practice

International Criminal Court: signed

UN Women’s Convention: ratified with reservations


signed

The government promoted a controversial plan aimedat bringing closure to the internal conflict of the1990s amid continuing restrictions on human rights.The level of violence decreased in comparison withprevious years, but hundreds of people were killed,among them dozens of civilians. Tens of thousands ofcases of torture, killings, abductions and“disappearances” carried out since 1992 by thesecurity forces, state-armed militias and armed groupshad still not been investigated; this remained the keyobstacle to addressing the legacy of the conflict.Torture continued to be reported, particularly in thecases of suspects accused of “belonging to a terroristgroup”. More than a dozen suspected members ofarmed groups were sentenced to death, most of themin their absence. A moratorium on executionsremained in place. Changes to the law graduallyimproved the legal status of women, but manydiscriminatory provisions remained unchanged.

BackgroundGas price rises at the beginning of the year sparkedviolent protests throughout the country.Demonstrations, strikes and violent protests eruptedthroughout the year over a range of social, economic andpolitical problems, including water, job and housingshortages, public mismanagement and corruption.

An association agreement with the European Unionentered into force on 1 September. The agreement,which sets out conditions for trade liberalization andsecurity co-operation, contains a human rights clausewhich is binding on both parties.

The state of emergency, imposed in 1992, remained inforce.

KillingsSome 400 people were killed as a result of continuingviolence, including dozens of civilians. Attacks byarmed groups on military targets, and to a lesserextent, civilians, continued to be reported. Dozens ofpeople suspected of being members of armed groupswere killed during operations by the security forces.There were concerns that some of these killings mayhave been extrajudicial executions.

ImpunityPresident Abdelaziz Bouteflika officially stated that some200,000 people were believed to have been killed since


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1992, but there was no commitment to establishing thetruth about these killings and other gross human rightsabuses, the vast majority of which had not beeninvestigated. Instead, President Bouteflika called areferendum seeking a mandate to exonerate the securityforces and armed groups, ostensibly in an effort to bringclosure to the conflict of the 1990s.

A Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation wasadopted by referendum on 29 September. In a speechmade in late March, President Bouteflika declared thatreconciliation required that families of victims ofhuman rights abuses make sacrifices and that theymight have to renounce some of their rights.

The Charter proposes clemency or exemption fromprosecution for members of armed groups who givethemselves up to the authorities. Armed groups havebeen responsible for widespread and grave abuses –such as targeted killings of civilians, abductions, rapeand other forms of torture – some of which amount tocrimes against humanity. Although perpetrators ofcertain serious abuses were not to be exempt fromprosecution, no details were provided concerning theprocess for determining who would be eligible. Similarmeasures introduced in 1999 were applied arbitrarilyand resulted de facto in wide-ranging impunity forabuses committed by armed groups.

The Charter denies that the security forces and state-armed militias have been responsible for seriouscrimes, thus conferring systematic impunity. Thisdenial stands in stark contrast to a body of evidencewhich points to their responsibility for thousands ofcases of torture, extrajudicial executions and“disappearances”, some of which constitute crimesagainst humanity.

Victims of human rights abuses, human rightsdefenders, and others opposing the Charter wereintimidated by state agents in an effort to stiflecriticism. Some continued to express their anger atthe authorities’ failure to uphold their right to truthand justice. In the province of Blida, near the capital,Algiers, victims of abuses by armed groups and theirfamilies gathered at the cemetery on the day thereferendum was held to remember the dead and burytheir ballots in protest at the provisions of theCharter.

The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,summary or arbitrary executions and the UN WorkingGroup on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearancesexpressed concern about the proposed measures. Theyurged the Algerian government not to adopt laws whichwould contravene its obligations under internationallaw to ensure the right of victims of grave human rightsabuses to truth and full reparations.

By the end of the year, no concrete measures hadbeen taken to implement the provisions of the Charter.

‘Disappearances’No new cases of “disappearance” were reported duringthe year, but several thousand Algerians remained“disappeared” and no progress was made in clarifyingtheir fate and whereabouts. The Charter for Peace andNational Reconciliation specifically denies state

responsibility for “disappearances”, claiming that pastwrongful acts have been punished.

At the end of March the mandate of an officialcommission on “disappearances”, set up with a narrowmandate in 2004, expired. The head of the commissionpublicly excluded criminal prosecution of thoseresponsible for the “disappearances” and proposedcompensation payments to the families, many of whomcontinued to endure economic hardship. Thecommission remained silent on the state’s duty toinvestigate serious human rights violations and toguarantee the victims’ right to an effective remedy. Thehead of the commission told AI in May that, on the basisof complaints which families had made to theauthorities, it had concluded that 6,146 individuals had“disappeared” at the hands of security officers between1992 and 1998. However, media reports later quotedhim contradicting this by saying that half of these were“terrorists”, rather than victims of state abuses. Thecommission did not have powers to investigate cases of“disappearances”. The commission’s confidentialreport to the President had not been made public by theend of the year.

Many families of the “disappeared” feared that thecompensation payments would be a substitute for long-overdue investigations. The government did notrespond to the interest expressed since August 2000 bythe UN Working Group on Enforced or InvoluntaryDisappearances to visit the country.

Torture and ill-treatmentThere were further allegations that individuals arrestedafter protests were tortured or ill-treated in custody. Thevast majority of allegations of torture made during 2005and in previous years were not investigated. The UNCommittee on the Rights of the Child expressed concernabout a number of cases of torture and ill-treatment ofchildren reported in previous years. The UN SpecialRapporteur on torture was not invited to Algeria, despiterepeated requests to visit the country since 1997.

In violation of national and international law,detainees accused of “belonging to a terrorist group”continued to be held in a secret location during garde àvue detention (the period before they are broughtbefore the judicial authorities) and denied their right tocommunicate with their families, putting them at risk oftorture.b Amar Saker was arrested on 19 February andreportedly tortured over a period of 15 days while heldby the Department for Information and Security, anintelligence agency formerly known as MilitarySecurity. Among other things, he alleged that he wasbeaten until he lost consciousness, given electricshocks and suspended by his arms for three days toforce him to sign a police report which he had not read.He was charged with “belonging to a terrorist groupoperating in Algeria and abroad” and remained indetention awaiting trial at the end of the year. Theallegations of torture were not known to have beeninvestigated, although a prison doctor had certifiedthat his body bore traces of violence when he wastransferred to prison.


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Freedom of expression and assemblyJournalists, civil society activists and government criticsfaced harassment and intimidation and riskedimprisonment. Pressure on journalists remained high.Dozens of journalists who criticized representatives ofthe state and security forces or reported on human rightsabuses and corruption allegations faced charges ofdefamation, many of which were filed by public officials.Some 18 journalists were sentenced to imprisonment ondefamation charges; others received suspendedsentences and heavy fines. Nearly all remained at libertypending appeals at the end of the year.b Mohamed Benchicou, former editor of the Frenchlanguage daily Le Matin, remained in prison. He hadbeen convicted of violating exchange regulations andsentenced to two years’ imprisonment in June 2004.Further prison terms and heavy fines were imposed in aseries of lawsuits for defamation, but remained atappeal stage.

Independent organizations, among them humanrights groups and independent trade unions, wererepeatedly refused authorizations for public events.b Kamal Eddine Fekhar – a doctor, elected memberof the Parliamentary Assembly in the province ofGhardaia in southern Algeria, and a member of theSocialist Forces Front and of the Algerian League for theDefence of Human Rights – was imprisoned for fivemonths, apparently to discourage him and others frompolitical activity. He was accused of incitement torebellion and arson, among other things, in the wake ofviolent demonstrations which took place in the area inlate 2004. Some of the protesters reported having beenbeaten on arrest and ill-treated or threatened withtorture during questioning to force them to sign policereports incriminating Kamal Eddine Fekhar.Eyewitnesses reported that he had attempted tonegotiate a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The authorities stepped up pressure on families ofthe “disappeared” to abandon their public protestsagainst the Charter for Peace and NationalReconciliation. At least three demonstrations byfamilies of the “disappeared” were violently dispersedby the security forces. Several relatives of the“disappeared” were summoned by security forces,questioned and threatened with legal proceedingsshould they continue their protests.b Belkacem Rachedi, whose father “disappeared” in1995 and who had publicly accused members of a localmilitia of having arrested his father and of beingresponsible for his “disappearance”, was sued fordefamation by two of the alleged perpetrators. In oneof the cases, a court in Relizane province, westernAlgeria, sentenced him to a six-month suspendedprison term and a fine; the second case remainedpending at the end of the year. The court had failed toinvestigate some 10 complaints lodged by the Rachedifamily since 1997 in respect of the father’s“disappearance”.

Women’s rightsIn February amendments were introduced to the Familyand Nationality Codes. Women were given equal rights

with men in transmitting their nationality to theirchildren. Changes to the Family Code revised someprovisions discriminating against women but fell farshort of offering women equal status with men. Keychanges include the introduction of the same legal agefor marriage for both men and women, and of a legalrequirement for a divorced man to provide housing forhis former wife if she has custody of the couple’s under-age children. Homelessness among divorced womenand their children had been recognized as a growingproblem. The new law also rescinded the legal duty of awife to obey her husband and introduced equal rightsand duties for men and women during marriage.

However, numerous provisions which discriminateagainst women were maintained. These includepolygamy and a husband’s unilateral right to divorce.Discriminatory provisions governing inheritance rightsremained unchanged.

Algeria maintained reservations to key articles of theUN Women’s Convention, undermining its purpose. InFebruary, the UN expert committee overseeingimplementation of the Convention recommended thatthe government establish a binding timeline forreforming discriminatory legislation and withdrawingreservations to the Convention. The committee alsoexpressed concern about the lack of progress inaddressing the situation of female relatives of the“disappeared” and of women who had suffered physicaland sexual violence by armed groups.

An unprecedented study on domestic violence waspublished, reflecting increasing recognition of violenceagainst women as a problem in Algerian society. Thestudy, which was conducted collaboratively by Algeriangovernmental and non-governmental bodies, revealedfactors facilitating violence against women andidentified needs for improving care for survivors.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Algeria: Initial report of an Amnesty International

delegation’s visit to Algeria, 6-25 May 2005 (AI Index:MDE 28/008/2005)

• Algeria: President calls referendum to obliteratecrimes of the past (AI Index: MDE 28/010/2005)

VisitAI delegates visited Algeria in May.


ANG

ANGOLA

THE REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA

Head of state: José Eduardo dos Santos

Head of government: Fernando da Piedade Dias dos

Santos

Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes




signed

Hundreds of families were forcibly evicted from theirhomes. Police were responsible for human rightsviolations, including extrajudicial executions andexcessive use of force. There were also reports ofhuman rights violations by police and soldiers inCabinda, with no prosecutions of any accusedofficers. Human rights defenders and politicalactivists were threatened and briefly detained fortheir non-violent activities. Efforts to improve humanrights increased with the appointment of a JusticeOmbudsman.

BackgroundHundreds of families were left homeless in KwanzaNorte province as a result of heavy rains and floods inthe first quarter of 2005.

In February, Angola ratified the African UnionProtocol to the Convention on the Prevention andCombating of Terrorism. In May it became the 100thcountry to sign an agreement with the USA, which wassubsequently approved by the National Assembly,giving US troops and others immunity from prosecutionbefore the International Criminal Court.

In March, the UN Committee on Human Rights ruledthat the Angolan government had breached journalistRafael Marques’ human rights. He had been arrestedand imprisoned for six months in October 1999 forcriticizing President José Eduardo dos Santos andordered to pay damages to the President. TheCommittee held that his conviction and sentenceconstituted an unlawful interference with his right tofreedom of expression and urged the government toprovide him with an effective remedy, includingcompensation. He had not been compensated by theyear’s end.

A Justice Ombudsman was appointed in April. Theestablishment of an Ombudsman Office was providedfor by the Constitution of 1992 but was delayed by thecivil war. The law establishing the mandate of theOmbudsman and his Office had not been approved bythe end of the year

Elections were scheduled for late 2006. PresidentJosé Eduardo dos Santos announced that he wouldstand as the presidential candidate of the rulingPeople’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola(Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola,MPLA).An amended electoral law was promulgated in August

after the Supreme Court ruled that some of itsprovisions barring President dos Santos from standingwere unconstitutional.

In November the country was officially declared freeof the Marburg fever epidemic which, between Marchand July, killed 227 out of the reported 252 peopleinfected. Most cases occurred in the northern provinceof Uige.

In November, the Huila Provincial Court convictedJosé Marques Pinto, the administrator of a ranchowned by a former minister, of the illegal imprisonmentand torture of 18 villagers in 2003. He was sentenced to28 years’ imprisonment.

Forced evictionsThe regulations for the implementation of a land lawapproved in 2004 had not beeen drafted by the end of2005 and consultation with civil society groups had notstarted.

Hundreds of families were made homeless and hadtheir property destroyed or stolen after being forciblyevicted from their homes in several Luanda suburbs.They were not given compensation. Members of thenational and military police, who assisted the Luandaprovincial government fiscal agents and privatedemolition brigades who carried out the evictions, usedforce. There were no investigations into allegations ofpolice misconduct.b An ongoing land dispute between the CatholicChurch and about 2,000 families in the Wenji Makaneighbourhood was not resolved. Between June andNovember, scores of families were forcibly evicted byheavily armed police officers who beat residents andused excessive force. Dozens of residents and humanrights activists were arrested and released withoutcharge within 24 hours.b Over 300 families in Cidadania neighbourhoodhad their houses demolished and were forciblyevicted, some for the fifth time, in September.Apparently, the land had been allocated to a formermember of the government. The demolitions werecarried out by a private construction firm andmunicipal fiscal agents, protected by about 20 heavilyarmed police officers.b Over 600 families were forcibly evicted from theirhomes in Cambamba I and II in November. Policearrived at about 7am and started demolishing thehouses and beating residents who opposed theevictions. Twelve people, including Luís Araújo, thecoordinator of the non-governmental organization(NGO) SOS-Habitat, were arrested for allegedlyinciting violence and held overnight at the local policestation. The following day they appeared in court butwere released for lack of evidence. The judge referredthe case to the criminal investigation police.

Policing and human rightsEfforts were made to improve police respect for humanrights and to combat impunity. In July the AngolaNational Police signed an agreement with theAssociation for Justice, Peace and Democracy toprovide human rights and civic education to the police.


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Some police officers were expelled from the force formisuse of firearms and beatings. However, no policeofficer was known to have been prosecuted for humanrights violations, including extrajudicial executions,torture and ill-treatment or the use of excessive forceduring 2005.b In January, a police officer extrajudicially executedAntoninho Tchsiwugo, a homeless youngster, in the cityof Lobito. The officer went to the fourth floor of theabandoned building where Antoninho Tchsiwugo andother homeless young people lived, threatened themwith his gun, grabbed and handcuffed AntoninhoTchsiwugo and shot him in the head at close range. Theofficer then removed the handcuffs and threw the bodydown the elevator shaft. The body was removed thenext day by the police and buried without informing hisfamily. It was not clear whether the officer was arrested.Following pressure from the local NGO, OMUNGAProject, officials from the Attorney’s Office in Luandawent to Lobito in February to investigate the killing andstated that the officer had escaped from prison, with theconnivance of his colleagues. In June, an official fromthe Ministry of the Interior stated that the officer hadbeen arrested in March and was in prison. He had notbeen tried by the end of the year. Two of the witnessesto the killing received threats and were later arrested onsuspicion of theft. In March, José Patrocínio,coordinator of the OMUNGA Project, received veiledthreats because of his work on this case.

Police apparently used excessive force to prevent ademonstration by university students protesting againstthe cost of transport. The students were reportedlybeaten. About 20 students, including student leaderMfuca Fualala Muzambe, were arrested and briefly heldat the 3rd Police Station where they were beaten againbefore being released without charge.

UpdateThe trial of 17 people charged with disobeying theauthorities in Cafunfo in 2004 resumed in July. All wereacquitted. However, there was no investigation intoreports that police had used excessive force.

The results of an inquiry initiated in late 2004 intofive deaths in police custody in Capenda-Camulembaand the killing by the police of two demonstratorsoutside the police station had not been made public bythe end of the year.

Human rights defendersHuman rights defenders were subjected to threats andarrest on account of their activities.b Luís Araújo, coordinator of SOS-Habitat, wasbriefly detained in June and November because of hisactivities to prevent forced evictions.

CabindaIn January the Provincial Governor reportedlyadmitted that there had been human rights violations inthe province and that cases had been investigated andmany individuals had been tried.

The first authorized demonstration was held inJanuary to commemorate the anniversary of the

Simulambuco Treaty which incorporated Cabinda intoAngola. However, further demonstrations werebanned; police used force to suppress them anddemonstrators were arrested.

There were unconfirmed reports of sporadic fightingin May and June between Angolan forces and the Frontfor the Liberation of the Cabindan Enclave (FLEC). Civilsociety groups accused both sides of embarking on acampaign of misinformation and called on them toenter negotiations.

The appointment in February of a Catholic bishopfrom outside Cabinda to the province led to violentprotests. In June the police reportedly used force andtear gas to disperse a demonstration protesting at theappointment.

In November Rapid Intervention Police usedfirearms to disperse a reportedly peacefuldemonstration in Landana and beat demonstrators.Some 25 demonstrators were arrested and brieflydetained.

Political violenceThere were several reports of politically motivatedviolence between supporters of the MPLA and theNational Union for the Total Independence of Angola(UNITA). In March, one person was reportedly killedand 28 others were wounded in clashes between MPLAand UNITA supporters in the southern town of Mavinga,when UNITA members tried to raise their flag tocommemorate the 39th anniversary of theorganization’s foundation.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Angola: The establishment of the Justice Ombudsman

should comply with international standards (AIIndex: AFR 12/002/2005)


ARG

ARGENTINA

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

Head of state and government: Néstor Kirchner




Optional Protocol to UN Women’s Convention: signed

Thousands of prisoners were reportedly held in verypoor conditions. Excessive use of force by the securityforces against demonstrators and indigenous groupswas reported. Important judicial decisions signalledprogress in ending impunity for human rightsviolations by the military.

BackgroundAlthough there was some economic recovery during theyear, levels of poverty remained high. Unemploymentran at 12.1 per cent and some five million people werereported to be working in the informal economy,largely without labour rights or access to socialsecurity. Demonstrations by piqueteros (unemployedprotesters) demanding jobs, better pay and betterunemployment benefits continued.

In September, the government approved a NationalPlan against Discrimination.

Indigenous peopleIn August and September indigenous representativesdemanded that the national government stop violentevictions and suspend mining projects in regionsinhabited by indigenous communities.b In July, 73-year-old José Galarza – leader of theWichi indigenous people in Pozo Nuevo, SaltaProvince – was reportedly seriously injured when hewas hit by rubber bullets fired by police as theyentered indigenous land to recover a landowner’svehicle. Wichis had taken the vehicle in protest at thefencing off of land they claimed belonged to thecommunity.

DemonstrationsIn April teachers taking part in a peacefuldemonstration in support of a pay demand in Salta,Salta Province, were beaten and threatened withfirearms by police. Some demonstrators requiredmedical attention and some were arrested andcharged. All were subsequently released.

PrisonsSome 62,500 inmates were held in Argentine prisonsduring 2005. Most provincial prisons lacked basicfacilities such as drinking water, adequate light andsanitation, medical facilities and rehabilitationschemes. Many prisoners experienced severeovercrowding, and ill-treatment by prison guards wasreported. Seventy-five per cent of those detained wereawaiting trial. Inmates in Córdoba, Coronda, Rosario,

Tucumán, Mendoza and Magdalena prisons stagedprotests and riots in which several prisoners died.b In October at least 33 inmates died during a fire inblock 16 of Penitentiary Unit 28 in Magdalena, BuenosAires Province. The prisoners had reportedly beenprotesting to demand better conditions. Most of thosekilled died of asphyxiation. Reports indicated thatprison guards locked the gates when the fire started;prisoners from a neighbouring block managed to helprelease some of those trapped inside. A judicialinvestigation was initiated but had not concluded bythe end of the year.b In June, Ricardo David Videla Fernandez, anadolescent sentenced to life imprisonment, was foundhanging in his cell in the maximum security block No. 2in the Provincial jail in Mendoza, Mendoza Province.Days before, Ricardo David Videla had been held in hiscell in inhuman and degrading conditions, according toa Local Commission on Penitentiary Policies.

Judicial decisions to end impunityIn June the Supreme Court ruled that the Full Stop andDue Obedience laws were unconstitutional, upholdingthe decision by Congress in August 2003 to declare thelaws null and void. The judicial ruling cleared the wayfor the prosecution of members of the militarysuspected of human rights abuses during the militarygovernments (1976-83).

Adolfo ScilingoIn April former naval officer Adolfo Scilingo was tried inSpain on charges of crimes against humanity, includingarbitrary detention and torture, committed inArgentina during the military governments. He wassentenced to 640 years’ imprisonment of which he wasexpected to serve 30 years. The former officer hadadmitted being aboard planes carrying detainees whowere drugged, stripped naked and thrown into the sea.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Argentina: Historical ruling opens the way for justice

in the country (AI Index: AMR 13/005/2005)• Argentina: Memorandum to the Governor of

Mendoza Province (AI Index: AMR 13/008/2005)• Argentina: Implementation of the United Nations

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (AI Index: AMR 13/001/2005)

VisitAn AI delegation visited Santiago del Estero, Salta,Jujuy and Mendoza in May.


AUS

ARMENIA

REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

Head of state: Robert Kocharian

Head of government: Andranik Markarian



UN Women’s Convention: acceded

Optional Protocol to UN Women’s Convention: not signed

Conscientious objectors to compulsory militaryservice remained in jail. A new law failed to introducea genuine civilian alternative service despiteArmenia’s commitments made to the Council ofEurope. The authorities reportedly ill-treated someresidents who were peacefully protesting at thedemolition of their homes.

BackgroundOpposition parties boycotted a 27 Novemberreferendum on constitutional reforms and contestedofficial reports of an overwhelming turnout and “yes”vote. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council ofEurope concluded that although the referendumgenerally reflected the will of voters, serious abuses inseveral polling stations raised questions about officialturnout claims. The authorities failed to prevent anopposition demonstration in the capital, Yerevan, on 29November to protest that the constitutional reformswere not sufficiently far-reaching.

On 6 May the Constitutional Court ruledunconstitutional a provision in the Law on the HumanRights Defender that allowed the Ombudsperson tomake recommendations to the courts to ensure theright to a fair trial. The Ministry of Justice had arguedthat it undermined the judiciary’s independence. TheOmbudsperson questioned whether the judiciary couldbe independent, given their direct appointment by thehead of state, and said most complaints received by herOffice were about unfair trials.

Conscientious objectors imprisonedArmenia did not release jailed conscientious objectors,in defiance of its commitments to the Council ofEurope. Although a law that came into force in 2004provided for unarmed military service, this was not agenuinely civilian alternative to compulsory militaryservice, and the authorities continued to imprisonconscientious objectors.

At least six members of the Jehovah’s Witnessesreligious group who had begun but then abandonedunarmed military service were sentenced to prisonterms of up to three years. They had objected to theservice being under the control of the Ministry ofDefence and not genuinely civilian. They complained ofrestrictions on their movements and of being forced towear military-style uniforms.b On 3 November, four conscientious objectors whohad abandoned their unarmed military service were

sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for beingabsent without leave. They had been working in apsychiatric hospital. They were reportedly detained forfive months in the hospital compound, forced to shovelsnow with their bare hands and locked out in freezingrain with no outdoor clothes. Their appeal was pendingat the end of 2005.

Alleged ill-treatment of peaceful protestersIn August the police allegedly used excessive forceagainst peaceful protests by residents of Yerevan overdemolition of their homes for an urban renewalscheme. Those who refused to vacate their homes hadparts of their houses destroyed. One resident wasallegedly removed by force and severely beaten. Thepolice forcibly removed barricades. A lawyerrepresenting several residents, Vahe Grigorian, wasarrested on 10 October, reportedly on fabricated fraudcharges based on evidence obtained under duress. Hewas still in pre-trial detention at the end of the year.The father of one of his clients told the Ombudsperson’sOffice that he had been ill-treated and forced toincriminate Vahe Grigorian. The protesters said thecompensation paid was not adequate and their evictionillegal – claims supported by the Ombudsperson’sOffice, which received more than 200 complaints.

AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by

Michael Jeffery

Head of government: John Howard





signed

Indigenous people continued to make up adisproportionate percentage of the prisonpopulation. Major changes to immigration detentionpractices resulted in the release of child asylum-seekers and their families. However, the policy ofmandatory detention of asylum-seekers remainedunchanged. There were concerns that new counter-terrorism measures could have a negative impact onfundamental human rights.

Violence against womenAlthough the government extended the nationalawareness campaign, “Violence against Women –Australia says No”, it did not provide funding in the2005 budget for the two substantive national


AUS

programmes addressing domestic and sexual violenceagainst women (Partnerships against DomesticViolence and the National Initiative to Combat SexualAssault). The Australian Institute for Health andWelfare found that on average 48 per cent of womenfleeing domestic violence were turned away fromspecialist accommodation for lack of resources.

The Victorian state government abolished the partialdefence of provocation to murder and amended self-defence laws in recognition of the gendered nature ofthese defences. Victoria and New South Walesestablished pilot, specialized domestic violence courts.b In August, a Northern Territory court sentenced a50-year-old man to one month’s imprisonment withtwo years suspended after a charge of raping a 14-year-old girl was reduced to “carnal knowledge”. The man’sdefence argued that he had a right to sexual relationswith the girl who was a “promised bride” underAboriginal customary law. In December an appeal courtfound the sentence “manifestly unjust” and orderedthat the man serve at least 18 months’ imprisonment.

Indigenous people The government’s Productivity Commission report,Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators2005, noted an increase in the number of indigenousAustralians who reported being victims of violence. Thereport noted that indigenous people were 11 times morelikely than other Australians to be imprisoned and thatthe life expectancy of indigenous people was around 17years less than that of the population as a whole.b A coroner’s inquiry into the 2004 death in custody ofCameron Doomadgee on Palm Island started in February2005 and was continuing at the end of the year.

Refugees and asylum-seekersIn June, the government announced changes tomigration legislation affecting asylum-seekers andrefugees. These increased ministerial discretionarypowers and resulted in the release of all children andtheir families from immigration detention centres intocommunity detention. Not all those released weregranted permanent visas and many still faced uncertainfutures.

Public awareness of the detention of an Australianpermanent resident and the forcible removal fromAustralia of an Australian citizen resulted in inquiriesinto Australia’s immigration detention centres and intothe operation of the Department of Immigration andMulticultural Affairs. The ensuing reports were critical ofboth cases and found additional instances of wrongfuldetention, poor case management and inadequate careof detainees’ mental health.

Human rights and securityCounter-terrorism laws introduced in Decembercontained measures with potentially negative impactson fundamental human rights. Measures includedpreventative detention in secret for 14 days withoutcharge or trial, and renewable control orders for up to12 months; the latter could severely constrain freedomof movement and association and could limit

employment and communications. Freedom of speechwas limited by new sedition laws.

Australian David Hicks entered his fourth year indetention in Guantánamo Bay, pending his trial by a USmilitary commission which fails to meet internationalfair trial standards. The Australian governmentcontinued to assert such commissions would deliverfair trials. David Hicks’ trial was stayed by a US court on14 November 2005 (see United Kingdom entry).Mamdouh Habib, the other Australian detainee held bythe US authorities in Guantánamo Bay, was repatriatedto Australia without charge in January 2005.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Australia: The impact of indefinite detention – the

case to change Australia’s mandatory detentionregime (AI Index: ASA 12/001/2005)

AUSTRIA

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA

Head of state: Heinz Fischer

Head of government: Wolfgang Schüssel




There were allegations of ill-treatment by police.Austria failed to comply with a ruling by the UNHuman Rights Committee. New laws on asylum andpolice powers contravened human rights standardsand could threaten the work of human rightsdefenders. Overcrowding in prisons continued toworsen.

Allegations of police ill-treatmentThere were continuing allegations of ill-treatment andharassment by police, particularly of foreign nationals.b In July, the trial opened of six police officers, threeparamedics and a doctor charged with involuntarymanslaughter under especially dangerous conditions inconnection with the death in July 2003 of Mauritaniancitizen Cheibani Wague in Vienna. In November, theHigher Criminal Court in Vienna sentenced the doctorand one police officer to suspended seven-monthprison terms; the other defendants were acquitted. AIhad repeatedly expressed concern about thecircumstances surrounding the death of CheibaniWague while being restrained by police officers andparamedics, and at what appeared to be substantialfailures to conduct a prompt, independent and


AZE

impartial investigation aimed at bringing thoseresponsible to justice. Evidence produced in the trialalso highlighted deficiencies within the police trainingsystem with regard to restraint methods.b In March, the Independent Administrative Tribunalconcluded that the arrest, detention and beating of ayoung man by police in Vienna on 13 August 2004 wasunlawful.b During a stop-and-search police operation againsta family from Ghana in Ansfelden, in July, a woman, MrsA., was arrested, taken to a police station and strip-searched, apparently without any legal basis. Thepolice officers involved have not reportedly faced anycriminal investigation.

Compliance with international human rights lawIn violation of the requirement to ensure an effectiveremedy to people whose rights under the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) have beenviolated, the authorities refused to pay compensation toPaul Perterer, who was denied his right to a fair hearingwhen he was dismissed from the civil service. On 20August 2004, the UN Human Rights Committee concludedthat Austria had violated Paul Perterer's right to a fairhearing and recommended that the authorities ensurehim an effective remedy, including compensation.Austria argued that neither the ICCPR (to which Austria isa state party) nor the views of the Human RightsCommittee have any effect in domestic law.

ExtraditionIn September, the Vienna Court of Appeal confirmed aprevious court decision allowing the extradition ofMuhammad ‘Abd al-Rahmin Bilasi-Ashri to Egypt on thebasis of diplomatic assurances. Bilasi-Ashri would be atserious risk of torture and other serious human rightsviolations if returned to Egypt. On 18 November, theEuropean Court of Human Rights issued an interimmeasure not to extradite Bilasi-Ashri.

New laws on asylum and foreign nationalsSeveral provisions in the new Asylum Act and the AliensPolice Act contravened international refugee andhuman rights standards. A provision penalizing peoplewho “abet” “unauthorized habitation” could result inpersecution of human rights defenders who representasylum-seekers.

Justice sectorThe Ministry of Justice failed to address deficiencies inthe prison system. Prisons continued to beovercrowded, and conditions were aggravated by anincreasing number of mentally ill inmates and adecrease in staff. Sixty taser guns were in use in judicialinstitutions as of July.

Arms controlDespite amendments, long-standing loopholesremained in the Law on War Material, allowing surplusweapons to be transferred to countries where theymight be misused for human rights violations.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Austria: Court delivers verdict in the case of Cheibani

Wague (AI Index: EUR 13/002/2005)• Austria: Risk of forcible return/torture: Muhammad

‘Abd al-Rahmin Bilasi-Ashri (AI Index: EUR13/001/2005)

AZERBAIJAN

REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

Head of state: Ilham Aliev

Head of government: Artur Rasizade


International Criminal Court: not signed


Rights to freedom of expression and assembly wererestricted. The security forces used excessive force tobreak up peaceful opposition demonstrations. Scoresof opposition activists and journalists were beatenand detained. Seven opposition leaders werepardoned and released. Charges of attempting tooverthrow the government were brought againstdozens of opposition activists and state officials.Several were reportedly tortured or ill-treated indetention.

BackgroundDespite a presidential decree in May that the Novemberparliamentary elections were to be held in ademocratic manner, there was constant obstruction ofopposition campaigning. International observersreported that the elections did not meet internationalstandards. After the poll, opposition parties formed anew coalition, the Democratic Popular Front,announced a boycott of the new parliament, anddemanded a re-run in at least 100 constituencies.

In March, Elmar Husseinov, editor of the weeklyMonitor magazine, was killed in suspiciouscircumstances outside his home in the capital, Baku. Hisdeath sparked large-scale demonstrations amidopposition claims that he was murdered because of hiscriticism of official corruption. The authorities deniedany involvement. No one had been brought to justiceby the end of 2005.

Excessive use of forceBetween May and December, the security forces usedexcessive force to break up both authorized andunauthorized demonstrations in Baku, kicking and


BAH

beating protesters and journalists. Scores ofdemonstrators were detained, and some werereportedly beaten in custody.b The excessive force reportedly used to break up anauthorized demonstration by the Democratic PopularFront in Baku on 26 November provoked criticism fromthe USA and the European Union. No attempt wasapparently made to disperse the crowd peacefully, andopposition leaders said they were hit on the head withtruncheons by the police, despite offering no resistance.b At an unauthorized demonstration organized byopposition coalition Azadlig (Freedom) on 9 October, 14journalists were among those said to have beenseverely beaten. Idrak Abbasov, of the Zerkalo (Mirror)newspaper, was reportedly hit on the head repeatedlywith baseball bats by a plainclothes police officer andother men until he lost consciousness. He was taken tohospital, where guards allegedly prevented otherjournalists from seeing him.

Opposition trials: updateIn February the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published its findings onthe trials of 125 people charged in relation to theOctober 2003 post-election violence. In 2004 at least 40men received prison sentences after unfair trials fortheir alleged participation in the violence. The OSCEreport concluded that most of the trials fell well shortof international fair trial standards, that the courtsadmitted evidence reportedly obtained through the useof torture, and that defendants were denied the rightsto presumption of innocence and to prepare aneffective defence. The report called for the release orretrial of all those denied a fair trial.b In March, seven opposition leaders imprisonedsince October 2003 were pardoned by President Alievand subsequently released. In July their convictionswere quashed in court, allowing them to run in theNovember elections. They had been sentenced inOctober 2004 to prison terms of between two and a halfand five years for their alleged participation in the 2003post-election violence. The Supreme Court had turneddown their appeal.

State security arrestsb In August, Ruslan Bashirli, the leader of Yeni Fikir(New Thinking), a youth organization with reportedlinks to the opposition Azerbaijani Popular Front Party(APFP), was arrested on charges of attempting tooverthrow the government. He denied officialaccusations of accepting money from Armenia todestabilize the country. He was reportedly put underpressure to implicate APFP leader Ali Kerimli in analleged coup plot. He was remanded in custody forthree months. Pro-government demonstratorsattacked his family home and APFP offices withimpunity, and his father was made to resign from hisjob. Members of Yeni Fikir were reportedly detained,threatened, beaten, denied medical care and coercedinto making statements against Yeni Fikir and APFP.b Dozens of officials, including governmentministers, were arrested or dismissed following an

alleged coup attempt in October. Four officialsreportedly confessed on state television to conspiringwith Rasul Quliev, the exiled leader of the oppositionAzerbaijani Democratic Party. There were fears thattheir confessions had been coerced. Rasul Quliev wasdetained in Ukraine on 17 October after his plane wasprevented from landing in Baku. Azerbaijan requestedhis extradition on embezzlement charges, but he waseventually released by a court in Ukraine. Theauthorities in Azerbaijan detained scores of hissupporters, and claimed to have seized weapons. Somewere later charged.

BAHAMAS

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Paul

Adderley (replaced Ivy Dumont in December)

Head of government: Perry Gladstone Christie





Death sentences were imposed by the courts. Noexecutions were carried out. Detained asylum-seekersand migrants, the majority black Haitian nationals,were held in harsh conditions and reportedly ill-treated. Reports of police abuses continued.

Death penaltyThe courts continued to pass death sentences. Noexecutions took place. At the end of 2005, there were atleast 39 prisoners on death row. Numerous people,including the Commissioner of Police, called for theresumption of executions in reaction to an increase inviolent crime.

In April, 12 prisoners on death row at the Fox HillPrison staged a three-day hunger strike to protest attheir “inhumane” conditions. Inmates allegedinadequate sanitation, food, water and medical care. InOctober a new prison building was commissioned, forcompletion in 2007.

Police abusesThere were continued reports of police brutality.b In January a riot erupted in Nassau Village afterpolice allegedly abused Haitian women and shot ayoung man aged 19 in the face. A police investigationhad not concluded by the end of 2005.


BAH

Asylum-seekers and migrantsThere were continued reports of abuses againstasylum-seekers and other detainees at the CarmichaelDetention Centre. Inmates were reportedly beaten andreceived inadequate medical attention, food and water.Asylum-seekers were forcibly returned to countriesincluding Cuba and Haiti without access to a full andfair determination procedure.

Hostility increased towards Haitian immigrants,unofficially estimated at 60,000 out of a population of300,000. In 2005, according to the Department ofImmigration, 5,543 irregular immigrants – 4,504 fromHaiti – were forcibly returned to their countries oforigin.

AI country reports/visitsVisitIn May, AI sent a police expert to provide human rightstraining to members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

BAHRAIN

KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Head of state: King Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa

Head of government: Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al

Khalifa





signed

Three people were arrested in connection withmaterial published on an Internet website. A humanrights activist appeared before a court on chargesthat seemed to be politically motivated. Securityforces used excessive force to dispersedemonstrators in the capital al-Manama.

Key developmentsThe government proposed a new counter-terrorism lawto the National Assembly (parliament) in April underwhich anyone convicted of committing or planningterrorist acts would face the death penalty. Humanrights activists and some members of parliamentcriticized the proposed law as an attempt to restrictfreedoms excessively. The law was approved by theparliament in December and was due to be referred tothe Shura (Consultative) Council and then ratified bythe King in 2006. In July, parliament approved a newlaw to regulate political associations. This requiresassociations to be approved by the Minister of Justicewho can also apply to the Supreme Court to have them

dissolved or cease their activities. Human rights andother groups criticized the new law as overly restrictiveand called on King Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa to cancelit. He had not done so by the end of 2005.

Human rights activists and some members of theparliament continued to urge the government to pressfor the release of six Bahraini nationals detained by theUS military at Guantánamo Bay. Three of them werereturned to Bahrain in November and released.

Political arrestsThree men were arrested in February in connectionwith comments published on their Internet websitediscussion forum (www.bahrainonline.org) which werealleged to be critical of the government and offensiveto the royal family. ‘Ali ‘Abdul Imam, Mohammad al-Mousawi and Hussain Yousef were detained for 15 dayson the orders of the Public Prosecution. The chargesagainst them included “inciting hatred, defamation andspreading false information”. The three went on hungerstrike during their detention at al-Hoora police stationin al-Manama. They were released on 14 March. At theend of the year it was not clear whether they were stillawaiting trial.

Human rights defendersGhada Jamsheer, a leading human rights defender,appeared in court in June. She faced charges ofinsulting the judiciary; defamation and slander of afamily court judge; and slander of the husband of avictim of domestic violence. The first charge arose frompetitions and articles issued between October 2002 andJune 2003 by the Women’s Petition Committee, of whichGhada Jamsheer is the director. The group was formedin October 2002 to campaign for the reform of personalstatus courts and the codification of family laws. GhadaJamsheer denied all the charges, most of which weredropped or dismissed by the courts. However, thecharge of slandering a judge remained pending at theend of the year.

Lawyers acting for the Bahrain Centre for HumanRights (BCHR) filed a court case against the Ministry ofLabour in January. The action contested the Minister ofLabour’s decision to order the closure of the Centre inSeptember 2004 for an alleged breach of the 1989Societies Law. The application was rejected by the HighCivil Court in January. The lawyers acting for the Centrethen reportedly referred the case to the AdministrativeCourt in April, where it was believed to remain pendingat the end of the year.

Excessive forceIn June, the security forces were reported to have usedexcessive force when dispersing peacefuldemonstrators calling for more job opportunities whohad gathered outside the Royal Court in Rifa’a in al-Manama. Many of the demonstrators were beaten andsome required hospital treatment. About 30 werearrested but released the same day without charge. InJuly, a further demonstration against unemploymentresulted in more than 30 people being severely beatenby the security forces; some required hospital


BAN

treatment. Those assaulted included ‘Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja and Nabeel Rajab, human rights activistsbelonging to the BCHR.

UN Committee against TortureIn May the UN Committee against Torture consideredBahrain’s report on its implementation of the UNConvention against Torture. The Committee regrettedthe government’s five-year delay in submitting thereport, but noted that several positive developmentshad occurred in Bahrain since 2001. However, theCommittee expressed concern about the continuing“lack of a comprehensive definition of torture” inBahraini law; the “provision of blanket amnesty to allalleged perpetrators of torture and other crimes byDecree 56 of 2002”; and the “lack of redress available tovictims of torture”. It urged the government to adoptlegislation to prevent and punish violence againstwomen, including domestic violence, and to amendDecree 56 to “ensure there is no impunity for officialswho have perpetrated or acquiesced in torture andother cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment”.

Death penaltyTwo Bangladeshi nationals, Jasmine Anwar Hussain andMohammad Hilaluddin, had their death sentencesupheld on appeal in December. At the end of the year itwas unclear whether the case would be referred to theCourt of Cassation. They had been sentenced to deathfor murder in November 2004.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Women

deserve dignity and respect (AI Index: MDE04/004/2005)

VisitIn January AI held a conference in al-Manama onviolence against women in the Gulf region.

BANGLADESH

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH

Head of state: Iajuddin Ahmed

Head of government: Begum Khaleda Zia




Optional Protocol to UN Women’s Convention: ratified

A rising tide of violence, much of it perpetrated byIslamist groups, affected most parts of the country.The main targets of the violence were human rightsdefenders, lawyers, judges, opposition activists,members of minority communities and places ofworship. Police abuses, including torture, continued.Violence against women was widespread. At leastthree people were executed.

BackgroundEscalating levels of violence, including several waves ofbombings, combined with lack of appropriate action bythe authorities pushed Bangladesh to the edge of ahuman rights crisis. The government – a four-partycoalition led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)– at first blamed the main opposition Awami Leaguebefore acknowledging that it faced growing Islamistmilitancy. In February it banned two Islamist groups –Jama’atul Mujahideen (Assembly of the Holy Warriors)Bangladesh and Jagrata Muslim Janata (AwakenedMuslim Citizens) Bangladesh.

The World Bank cancelled funding for threedevelopment projects, blaming government corruptionfor its decision. For the fifth consecutive year, the non-governmental organization Transparency Internationalnamed Bangladesh the world’s most corrupt country.

In August, the High Court declared the FifthAmendment to the Constitution unlawful. Theamendment had legitimized the imposition of martiallaw from 1975 to 1979. Following an appeal by thegovernment, the Supreme Court suspended the HighCourt ruling.

Escalating violenceAfter a series of isolated bomb attacks from thebeginning of the year, on 17 August hundreds of smallbombs, many targeting government buildings, weredetonated within a period of 30 minutes across thecountry. Two people were killed and hundreds injured.Jama’atul Mujahideen leaflets at the bomb sites calledfor the introduction of Islamic law in Bangladesh.Hundreds of people were arrested in the followingweeks.

At least 25 people were killed and hundreds injuredin similar attacks at other times in the year. On 29November Bangladesh’s first suicide bombings markeda significant escalation in the violence and sparkedwidespread criticism of the ruling coalition for failing toprevent such attacks.


BAN

Targets of attacks and other abusesOpposition membersOpposition activists faced attack by Islamists andmembers of the ruling BNP.b On 27 January a bomb killed five people, includingformer Finance Minister and leading Awami Leaguepolitician Shah Abu Mohammad Shamsul Kibria, at anAwami League rally in Habiganj, north-east of thecapital Dhaka. The family of the assassinatedpolitician demanded an independent internationalinvestigation, but the government refused theirdemand.b Hundreds of Awami League supporters werereportedly injured on 15 August when various AwamiLeague gatherings were attacked by BNP members.Human rights defendersHuman rights defenders continued to face abuses bythe police, army and other law enforcementpersonnel, including arbitrary arrest and torture.They were also harassed through the filing ofunsubstantiated criminal accusations against them.Many were threatened by individuals or groups linkedto armed criminal gangs or political parties. Somewere physically attacked. Despite the attacks, humanrights defenders remained extremely active.b Suresh Chandra Halder, former General Secretaryof the Association for Village Advancement, a non-governmental organization in Faridpur, was arrestedon 9 August, reportedly without a warrant. Heremained in Faridpur jail for more than three months,and was denied medical treatment vital for hisdiabetes and other medical conditions. Hisharassment was believed to be linked to his attemptsto expose corruption in the Association, whichangered members of the organization linked to thegovernment. On the orders of a court, he was releasedon 25 November.JournalistsHundreds of journalists were reportedly harassed,intimidated and attacked by state agents and non-stateactors including Islamist groups.b On 5 February a bomb outside the press club inKhulna seriously injured Sheikh Belaluddin Ahmed, thelocal bureau chief of the daily Dainik Sangram. He diedseveral days later.b A national conference to discuss repression ofjournalists planned for 11 November in Dhaka by theFederal Union of Journalists was reportedly stoppedby the government two days before it was due tostart.Lawyers and judgesIslamist groups attacked courts, judges and lawyers,apparently because they practised non-Islamic law.b On 3 October, two people were killed when bombsexploded in court buildings in several places aroundthe country. Jama’atul Mujahideen appeared to havecarried out the attacks. Two judges were killed on 14November when a bomb was thrown at their car inJhalakathi. b Nine people, including two lawyers, were killed on29 November by suicide bombers outside courts inChittagong and Gazipur.

Attacks on minority communitiesAttacks on minorities, including Hindus, Christians,Ahmadis and tribal people in the Chittagong Hill Tractsand elsewhere were carried out with apparentimpunity.b On 24 July, dozens of tribal villagers in theChittagong Hill Tracts were severely beaten andotherwise abused, reportedly by soldiers, at FakinalaNee Aung Karbari Para, Manikchari sub-district, inKhagrachari.b A hate campaign against members of theAhmadiyya Muslim Jamaat continued and involvedattacks on Ahmadi places of worship. In one attack inApril, more than 50 men, women and children werereportedly injured at Sundarban Bazar inJotindryanagar by the International Khatme NabuwatMovement Bangladesh, an Islamist group.b In October, Hindu temples and houses wereattacked and set on fire in Rangpur. Five people werereported to have been seriously injured.

Abuses by policeb Shankar Sen, aged 27, reportedly died on 14 Augustallegedly after being tortured by police at Ramna policestation. He had been arrested six days earlier onsuspicion of stealing a mobile phone. Relatives saidShankar Sen had mental health problems.b On 24 August, Mokaddes Hossain, GeneralSecretary of the Tetulbaria union of the Jubo League,died allegedly as a result of torture by police. He wasarrested on his way home from attending an AwamiLeague event.

Violence against womenAccording to media reports, in the first quarter of theyear alone, more than 1,900 women were allegedlysubjected to violence, over 200 were killed allegedlyfollowing rape, over 300 women were allegedly abusedfor not meeting their husbands’ dowry demands andover 100 were trafficked. Acid Survivors Foundationsaid that at least 166 incidents of acid attacks involving210 victims – 138 of whom were women – took place inthe first nine months of the year. Social stigma, policerefusal to act on most reports of violence againstwomen, and a lack of legal and community support forthe victims prevented many of them from seekingjustice. However, almost all reports of acid attackswere believed to have been investigated by the police.

Death penaltyAt least 217 men and one woman were sentenced todeath, and at least three men were executed byhanging.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Bangladesh: Human rights defenders under attack

(AI Index: ASA 13/004/2005)VisitAI delegates visited Bangladesh in February/March toresearch human rights and to help stage a workshop forhuman rights defenders.


BEL

BELARUS

REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

Head of state: Alyaksandr Lukashenka

Head of government: Sergei Sidorsky




The government continued to restrict freedom ofexpression and assembly. Opposition activists werearbitrarily detained and allegedly ill-treated bypolice. Some were given lengthy prison sentences forexercising their right to freedom of expression.Human rights defenders and civil societyorganizations were subjected to further restrictionsand harassment. No progress was made ininvestigating four cases of “disappearance”. Use ofthe death penalty continued.

BackgroundThe government clampdown on civil society andfreedom of expression remained of concern to theinternational community. In February theRepresentative on Freedom of the Media of theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE) visited Belarus. He criticized its restrictivemedia legislation, lack of an independent news media,and laws that criminalize libel and protect stateofficials from legitimate criticism. On 10 March theEuropean Parliament adopted a resolution stronglycondemning the harassment of opposition figures. Theresolution called for efforts to overcome the isolationof Belarus through the creation of alternative newssources and the provision of scholarships in theEuropean Union to Belarusian students.

Prisoners of conscienceGovernment critics were sentenced to prison termsor continued to serve long prison sentences forvoicing their opposition to the government or itspolicies. Some prisoners had their sentences reducedunder an amnesty declared by President Lukashenkaon 5 May to commemorate the end of the SecondWorld War.b Mikhail Marinich, an opposition leader sentencedto five years’ imprisonment on 20 December 2004, hadhis sentence reduced to three and a half years inFebruary. He had been convicted on trumped-upcharges of abusing an official position and theft. Thecourt of appeal granted his appeal because of his pastservices to the state and his deteriorating health. Hehad a stroke on 7 March, but the authorities failed toinform his family or lawyer, who only learned of itwhen a fellow-inmate was released and told anewspaper. He was transferred to a prison hospital inMinsk on 15 March and returned to the prison colonyon 18 May. In July he was hospitalized again with an

eye infection. In August his sentence was reduced by afurther year under the May amnesty measure.b On 31 May Nikolai Statkevich, chair of NarodnayaGramada, a social democratic party, and PavelSeverinets, head of the Popular Front youth movement,were sentenced to three years of corrective labour byMinsk Central District Court. They had been convictedof public order offences (under Article 342 of theCriminal Code) for organizing protests in Minsk.Opposition activists were protesting at electoralirregularities in parliamentary elections in October2004 and in a referendum in which PresidentLukashenka won the right to lift the constitutional limitof two presidential terms. Their sentences wereimmediately reduced to two years under the terms ofthe May amnesty.b On 10 June, Andrei Klimov, a former businessmanand outspoken opposition politician, was sentenced toone and a half years of “restricted freedom” after beingconvicted of public order offences for organizingprotests on 25 March. He started his sentence inSeptember. Many protesters had been injured whenriot police forcibly dispersed the March demonstration,which marked Freedom Day, the anniversary of thecreation of the Belarusian People’s Republic in 1918. On28 March, 24 demonstrators were sentenced to jailterms of between three and 15 days for administrativeoffences.Updateb On 5 August, Yury Bandazhevsky was conditionallyreleased under the May amnesty after serving fouryears of an eight-year sentence. Former rector of theGomel State Medical Institute, he had been convicted inJune 2001 of bribe-taking, although AI believes that thereal reason for his imprisonment was that he hadcriticized official responses to the Chernobyl nuclearreactor catastrophe of 1986. He remained subject torestrictive conditions, among them reporting regularlyto the police and being barred from any managerial orpolitical functions. In addition he was required to pay afine of 35 million Belarusian roubles (US$17,000), theamount he was alleged to have taken in bribes, beforehe was allowed to travel abroad.

Clampdown on freedom of expressionOpposition groups were harassed and threatened.Protests at the failure of investigations into the“disappearances” of four people, widely believed to havebeen killed by state agents, were among those that lawenforcement officers suppressed with excessive force.b The youth opposition movement Zubr recorded 417incidents of harassment, including detention, of theirmembers by the authorities between January andDecember. Three members were expelled fromeducational establishments for their political activities.b In April police Special Forces (OMON) beat anddetained peaceful demonstrators who had gathered onthe 19th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.A 14-year-old boy was allegedly pulled into a police van,so forcefully that ligaments in his hand were torn, andthreatened for wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan“Free Marinich”.


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b On 7 July police dispersed a demonstration tocommemorate the anniversary of the “disappearance”of television camera operator Dmitry Zavadsky in 2000.His wife, Svetlana Zavadskaya, was reportedly punchedin the face by riot police officers.b On 16 September police attempted to disrupt ademonstration to observe the anniversary of the“disappearance” of opposition leaders Viktor Goncharand Anatoly Krasovsky in 1999, and reportedly beat fiveZubr protesters. One of them, Mikita Sasim, was treatedin hospital for head injuries.

Human rights defendersHuman rights organizations, already severely hamperedin their work by bureaucratic registration requirementsand controversial guidelines, faced furtherobstructions. During the year parliament adopted anumber of amendments to laws on public associationsand political parties that further strengthened statecontrol of non-governmental organizations. In July apresidential decree limited the financial support suchgroups could receive from Belarusian organizations anddonors. In August international financial support forany activities that “aimed to change the constitutionalorder in Belarus, overthrow state power, interfere ininternal affairs of the Republic of Belarus, or encouragethe carrying out of such activities” was prohibited byamendment of a presidential decree of 22 October 2003.b In April the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the lastremaining registered human rights organization, appliedfor a tax exemption for financial assistance from theInternational Helsinki Federation. In June it wasinformed that the request could not be granted becausethe funding was not in line with the presidential decreeon the acceptance of foreign financial support.b In July, Andrei Pochebut, Yusef Pozhetsky andMecheslav Yaskevits, three prominent members of theUnion of Poles of Belarus, were given prison sentencesof between 10 and 15 days for protesting at governmentinterference in the running of the Union. Policesubsequently seized control of its headquarters. Thethree were convicted of “participating in an illegalprotest” and “disobeying police orders”. Thegovernment had refused to acknowledge the removal inelections of government supporters from its leadership.

Death penaltyNo official statistics on the death penalty werepublished. According to the human rights group Viasna,at least one execution was carried out in 2005.

In July the deputy head of the presidentialadministration said that abolition of the death penaltycould be considered “once social and economicpreconditions were in place”. Despite this statementfrom the government, there were no moves to end theuse of the death penalty.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of Amnesty

International’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Belarus (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

BELGIUM

KINGDOM OF BELGIUM

Head of state: King Albert II

Head of government: Guy Verhofstadt




Racist attacks directed against ethnic, religious andother minorities continued to be reported. Little wasdone to implement the National Plan of Action onDomestic Violence (2004-07). Foreign nationals,including minors, continued to be confined toairport transit zones for extended periods, inconditions often amounting to cruel, inhuman ordegrading treatment. A Belgian court found twoRwandans guilty of war crimes committed in 1994in Rwanda.

BackgroundDuring 2005, Belgium signed a number of human rightsinstruments including the Optional Protocol to the UNConvention against Torture and the EuropeanConvention on Action against Trafficking in HumanBeings.

In October, the Belgian Council of Ministers proposeddraft counter-terrorism legislation to parliament. Thestated intent of the draft law was to modify the currentcriminal and judicial codes in order to “improve themethods of investigation in the fight against terrorismand grave and organized crime”. The measures proposedincluded extending the hours during which a housesearch can be conducted; allowing suspects to be filmedwithout the authorization of a judge; and authorizing thecreation of a confidential file to which suspects and theirlawyers may be denied access. The law was awaitingapproval at the end of the year.

Prison conditionsNew legislation on prison conditions was notimplemented and prison conditions continued to fallshort of human rights standards.

On 18 March, a riot involving approximately 50inmates took place in Ittre prison in the region ofWalloon. The riot ended with three people injured andextensive material damage. On 27 March, the Council ofState nullified the disciplinary proceedings initiatedagainst some detainees thought to be responsible.Prison officers responded to this decision by going onstrike for more than a week. The lawyer acting onbehalf of some of the prisoners reported that thejudgement of the Council of State had been ignored andher clients were being held in solitary confinement.There were also allegations that the inmates in solitaryconfinement were not allowed to read or write andthose with an “Arab sounding” surname were deniedcontact with the religious counsel.


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A delegation of the Council of Europe’s Committee forthe Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or DegradingTreatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out its fourthvisit to Belgium in April.

A month-long strike by the prison guards at Antwerpprison started in September. They were protestingagainst overcrowding in detention facilities and theshortage of personnel. One of the consequences ofovercrowding was that detainees were not allowed anydaily exercise, despite a court order to reinstate dailyexercise periods.

Racism and discriminationIn its annual report published in June, the Centre forEqual Opportunities and the Fight against Racism(Centre pour l’égalité des chances et de la lutte contrele racisme) expressed its concern at increasingxenophobia and racism in the country. The reporthighlighted employment discrimination, socialdiscrimination and discrimination in access to publicservices. It also noted discrimination against peoplewith disabilities, on the basis of sexual orientation andlinked with health conditions.

Many racist incidents directed against ethnic, religiousand other minorities continued to be reported in 2005.b In March, a Muslim woman resigned from her job in afood processing firm in Ledegem, western Belgium, afterher employer received seven written death threats from apreviously unknown organization. The threats stated thatthe life of the woman and the lives of her colleagues werein danger because she wore a headscarf to work. Twobullets were included in the seventh threatening letter.Despite the threats, her employer was actively supportiveof her, and in April she resumed her job at the firm.b In March and May, the Juvenile Court of Louvainfound three individuals guilty of a violent attack againsttwo gay men in 2003. It was the first time a judgment bya Belgian court had referred specifically to sexualorientation and homophobia as the motivation behinda violent attack. The three men were sentenced to 100-euro fines.b In June, two trials regarding anti-Semitic actsopened in Antwerp. In the first case, a 22-year-old manwas sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and a fineof 550 euros on a charge of racism for threatening aJewish man with a knife. The second case involved a 23-year-old man who was also convicted of racism forverbally abusing two Jewish youths. He received a two-month suspended sentence and a fine of 330 euros.

Violence against womenThe prevalence of violence in the home remained aserious concern. According to a poll commissioned by AIin February and carried out within the French-speakingcommunity, 29 per cent of Belgians knew of at least onehousehold in which domestic violence had taken place.

In June, AI together with a large number ofrepresentatives of civil society – including women’sorganizations, unions, friendly societies and the largestemployer’s federation in Belgium, the Belgian Federationof Enterprises – presented the Belgian authorities with alist of principles and priorities on domestic violence.

The lack of official government statistics regardinggender violence in the home meant that the true scaleof the problem was difficult to gauge. By the end of theyear little had been done by the authorities toimplement the National Plan of Action on DomesticViolence initiated in 2004.

Detention and deportation of foreign nationalsIn February the report of an independent commission(the so-called Vermeersch II), set up by the Minister ofthe Interior to re-evaluate the techniques used inforcible deportations, was made public. The commissionaddressed some issues of concern including the need fortransparency during forced removal; for asylum-seekers denied entry into Belgian territory from atransit zone to be provided with a right of appeal; andfor the need to assign legal guardians forunaccompanied minors to be investigated. However, itconcluded that a foreign national who resists forciblereturn can be detained until they abandon all resistanceand can be expelled, raising concerns at the lack of aclear definition of what would constitute resistance andat the absence of a maximum period of detention.

Foreign nationals, including minors, continued to beconfined to the airport transit zones for extendedperiods and in conditions often amounting to cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment. The UN HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated inDecember, that the number of minors detained in suchcentres had continued to increase during the year andthe length of their detention had also increased.

Universal jurisdictionAlthough the law on universal jurisdiction wasamended in 2003 so that victims could lodge complaintsdirectly with an investigating magistrate only if the casehad a direct connection with Belgium, a limited numberof cases were pursued.b On 29 June, two Rwandans were convicted of warcrimes and murder committed in 1994 in Rwanda. Half-brothers Etienne Nzabonimana, aged 53, and SamuelNdashyikirwa, aged 43, were sentenced to 12 and 10years’ imprisonment respectively.b In September, Belgium issued an internationalarrest warrant against the former President of Chad,Hissène Habré. He was accused of human rightsviolations including torture, murder and“disappearances”. Hissène Habré was arrested inNovember by the authorities in Senegal, where he hadtaken up residence. The Senegalese authorities statedthat he would remain in detention until January 2006when his extradition would be discussed at the summitof the African Union.


BOL

BELIZE

BELIZE

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented

by Colville Young

Head of government: Said Musa




There were reports of police abuse and use ofexcessive force. Eight people remained on death row.Children were subject to a wide range of humanrights abuses.

BackgroundThere were strikes and riots in January and April as aresult of public anger over the economy.

The government expressed a desire to change theConstitution in order to accept the jurisdiction of theCaribbean Court of Justice as the final court of appeal inBelize, replacing the Privy Council.

Death penaltyOne person was sentenced to death in 2005. In 2004two death sentences were passed, but no executionswere carried out. At the end of 2005, eight people wereheld on death row. There had been no executions since1985.

Abuses by policeThere were several reports of abuses by police,including torture, ill-treatment and arbitrarydetention.b Three men, a father and his two sons, werearrested separately in July, on suspicion of withholdingevidence related to a bank robbery. All three werereportedly beaten and subjected to electric shocktorture before being released without charge.

ChildrenThe UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expresseda number of concerns about abuses of children in Belizein its Concluding Observations issued in 2005, althoughit acknowledged that the government had made someefforts to remedy the situation. Concerns included:corporal punishment of children; discriminationagainst vulnerable groups of children; children withoutbirth registration and nationality; the lack of access ofnon-registered children to services such as educationand health; and the generally violent environment inwhich many Belizean children live.

BOLIVIA

REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA

Head of state and government: Eduardo Rodríguez

Veltzé (replaced Carlos Mesa Gisbert in June)




Peasant farmers, indigenous communities andhuman rights activists were threatened and violentlyevicted in land conflicts. Indigenous people wereexploited as slave labour on farms and in homes inreturn for food, clothes and schooling. Judicialinvestigations into killings during political unrest in2003 were delayed. Prison inmates protested atsevere overcrowding and the lack of minimumfacilities.

BackgroundThere was widespread political unrest. Publicdemonstrations and road blockades led to theresignation of President Carlos Mesa Gisbert in June.The protests were staged mainly by indigenouscommunities, peasants and miners, who called forearly elections and a greater role in determiningeconomic policy. Following popular rejection oftraditional political parties and of the constitutionalsuccession of the Presidents of the Senate orChamber of Deputies, President of the Supreme CourtEduardo Rodríguez Veltzé was appointed interimhead of state.

In general elections in December, Evo Morales Aymaof the Movement to Socialism (Movimiento alSocialismo, MAS) was elected President.

Land and economic rightsSeveral disputes over land rights were reported,involving violent evictions. Indigenous groups, peasantfarmers seeking land rights and members of non-governmental organizations representing them facedthreats and assault. The economic rights of indigenouspeoples were not respected.b In January members of the Association of Ranchersand Foresters of Riberalta (ASAGRI) destroyed andlooted equipment at the offices of the non-governmental Centre for Legal Studies and SocialResearch, in Riberalta, Beni Department. The attackersalso burned documents related to land ownership andthreatened to burn lawyer Cliver Rocha alive. TheCentre offers legal aid to indigenous and peasantcommunities. ASAGRI members had previously warnedthe Tacana people in the Miraflores area of Beni toleave communal land officially granted them in 2002, orbe evicted by force.b In May, Silvestre Saisari Cruz, President of theLandless Movement of Santa Cruz Department, wasbeaten and kicked by men allegedly linked to a local


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landowner. He had denounced the burning of thecommunity’s recently harvested crops of rice andpineapples.

In August the Ombudsman called on PresidentRodríguez Veltzé to promote the correctimplementation of Law 1715 in the Province ofGuarayos, Department of Santa Cruz. Law 1715 regulatesentitlements to communal land and use of naturalresources by indigenous communities. In November heurged the authorities to end the exploitation and slavelabour of 14,000 indigenous Guarani people in Chaco,Chuquisaca Department. Indentured labourersreceived food, clothes and a daily payment of underUS$2, and children did farm or domestic work inexchange for a school education.

Delayed investigation into killingsInvestigations into killings of civilians in October 2003were further delayed. In October senior armed forcesofficers refused to testify to the court investigating thekillings on the grounds that they had acted within theConstitution. In November the Supreme Courtconfirmed the court’s request for their testimony, andPresident Rodríguez Veltzé, as Commander in Chief ofthe armed forces, authorized them to testify.

In November former head of state Gonzalo Sánchezde Lozada was served in the USA with judicialdocuments related to the criminal investigation inBolivia into his responsibility for crimes committed atthat time including human rights violations.

Prison overcrowding and protestsThere were riots and hunger strikes as a result ofovercrowding and the lack of essential facilities.b In September over 1,000 inmates of the sevenprisons in Cochabamba Department started a hungerstrike to press for food subsidies.b In October inmates rioted after telephone use wasrestricted and visits were cancelled in the women’swing of Cantumarca prison, Potosí Department.

The director of San Pedro prison, La Paz, stated inJune that inmates had been forced to constructmakeshift shelters inside the prison. Built for 380people, the prison was housing 1,300.

Children’s rightsAmong recommendations made by the UN Committeeon the Rights of the Child in January was theformulation of an action plan to eliminate the worstforms of child labour. The Committee recommendedthat sexual and economic exploitation and traffickingof children be made criminal offences, and thatchildren subjected to these crimes be treated asvictims and the perpetrators prosecuted. It alsorequested assistance for street children; thedevelopment of alternatives to imprisonment as apunishment; significant improvements in conditionsfor imprisoned juveniles; and ratification of theProtocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Traffickingin Persons Especially Women and Children,supplementing the UN Convention againstTransnational Organized Crime.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Bolivia: Fear for safety of Cliver Rocha and others (AI

Index: AMR 18/001/2005)• Bolivia: Fear for safety, Silvestre Saisari Cruz (AI

Index: AMR 18/003/2005)• Bolivia: The solution to the crisis lies in respect for

human rights (AI Index: AMR 18/004/2005)• Bolivia: Open letter from Amnesty International to

the candidates to the Presidency of Bolivia (AI Index:AMR 18/006/2005)

BOSNIA AND

HERZEGOVINA

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Head of state: rotating presidency – Ivo Miro Jovi»,

Borislav Paravac, Sulejman Tihi»

Head of government: Adnan Terzi»

President of the Federation of Bosnia andHerzegovina: Niko Lozan½i»

President of the Republika Srpska: Dragan ¼avi»




Impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanityduring the 1992-95 war was widespread. Thousandsof “disappearances” were still unresolved. Victimsand their families were denied access to justice. Lackof full co-operation with the International CriminalTribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Tribunal),particularly by the Republika Srpska (RS), remainedan obstacle to justice. Efforts to tackle impunity inproceedings before domestic courts remained largelyinsufficient, although some war crimes trials wereconducted. The first convictions for war crimescommitted by Bosnian Serbs were passed by RScourts. Of the one million refugees and internallydisplaced people who had returned to their homessince the end of the war, many continued to facediscrimination.

Background Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) remained divided in twosemi-autonomous entities, the RS and the Federation ofBosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), with a special statusgranted to the Br½ko District.

The international community continued to exertsignificant influence over the country’s politicalprocess, in particular through a High Representative


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with executive powers nominated by the PeaceImplementation Council, an intergovernmental bodymonitoring implementation of the Dayton PeaceAgreement. Approximately 6,500 troops of theEuropean Union (EU)-led peacekeeping force EUFORand 400 members of the European Union Police Missionremained in BiH. In November negotiations for aStabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) betweenthe EU and BiH were opened.

International prosecutions for war crimesThe Tribunal continued to try alleged perpetrators ofserious violations of international humanitarian law. InJanuary, Vidoje Blagojevi» and Dragan Joki», formerofficers of the Bosnian Serb Army (Vojska RepublikeSrpske, VRS), were sentenced to 18 and nine years’imprisonment respectively for their role in the killing ofthousands of Bosniak men and boys after the fall ofSrebrenica in July 1995.

In November Sefer Halilovi», former Chief of theMain Staff of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina(Armija Bosne i Hercegovine, ABiH), was acquitted ofthe charge of murder as a war crime for the killing ofnon-Bosniaks in the villages of Uzdol and Grabovica.The Tribunal ruled that it had not been establishedbeyond reasonable doubt that he had effective controlover the troops when the crimes were committed.

In December Miroslav Bralo, former member of theCroatian Defence Council (Hrvatsko vije»e odbrane,HVO), the Bosnian Croat armed forces, was sentencedto 20 years’ imprisonment for crimes committed in 1993against Bosniaks in and around the villages of Ahmi»iand Nadioci. Miroslav Bralo had pleaded guilty to eightcounts of war crimes and crimes against humanity,including persecutions, murder, torture and inhumanetreatment, outrages upon personal dignity includingrape, and unlawful confinement.

The trial continued of former President of theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milo®evi»,charged with war crimes and crimes against humanityfor his alleged involvement in BiH, Croatia and Kosovo,and with aiding and abetting genocide in the war in BiH.

Co-operation between the RS authorities and theTribunal remained inadequate. By the end of 2005, nosuspect indicted by the Tribunal had been arrested bythe RS police. A policy of “voluntary surrenders” by theRS authorities resulted in a number of transfers fromthe RS, or with the assistance of the RS authorities.However, the policy violated the obligation of the RS toco-operate fully by arresting and transferring indictedsuspects. Six publicly indicted suspects remained atlarge, some of them believed to be in the RS or in Serbiaand Montenegro.

Under a “completion strategy” laid down by the UNSecurity Council, the Tribunal was expected toconclude all cases, including appeals, by 2010. The lastindictments before the closing down of the Tribunalwere confirmed and unsealed between Februaryand April.

In February former VRS officers Zdravko Tolimir,Radivoje Mileti» and Milan Gvero were indicted oncharges of war crimes and crimes against humanity

against the Bosniak population in the Srebrenica andÛepa enclaves. Radivoje Mileti» and Milan Gverosurrendered voluntarily but Zdravko Tolimir remainedat large at the end of 2005. Also in February the Tribunalindicted Rasim Deli», former Commander of the MainStaff of the ABiH, for murder, cruel treatment and rapecommitted in 1993 and 1995 against the non-Bosniakpopulation. Following his indictment, he voluntarilysurrendered.

Among those who surrendered voluntarily wereMom½ilo Periši», former Chief of Staff of the YugoslavPeople’s Army, in March. He was indicted in February,charged with war crimes and crimes against humanityin BiH and Croatia, including against the civilianpopulation during the siege of Sarajevo and againstnon-Serbs after the fall of Srebrenica. The indictmentagainst former RS Interior Minister Mi»o Stani®i»,confirmed in February, charged him with war crimesand crimes against humanity, committed as part of ajoint criminal enterprise aimed at permanentlyremoving non-Serbs from areas under Bosnian Serbcontrol. He voluntarily surrendered.

In May the Tribunal decided for the first time to referone of its indictments to a national jurisdiction.Following a request by the Prosecutor, the case offormer Bosnian Serb soldier Radovan Stankovi»,charged with the enslavement and rape of non-Serbwomen detained in Fo½a, was referred to the WarCrimes Chamber of the BiH State Court (see below). TheTribunal subsequently transferred seven othersuspects’ cases to BiH.

In August Milan Luki», former member of a BosnianSerb paramilitary group indicted for war crimes andcrimes against humanity including extermination,persecution, murder and inhumane acts against thenon-Serb population in the Vi®egrad area, was arrestedin Argentina by the local police. He was still held inArgentina at the end of 2005. In August former sub-commander of the RS military police and paramilitaryleader in Fo½a, Dragan Zelenovi», indicted for tortureand rape committed by Bosnian Serb forces againstnon-Serb women detained in Fo½a, was arrested in theRussian Federation, where he remained in detention atthe end of 2005.

Domestic prosecutions for war crimesA War Crimes Chamber within the BiH State Court, setup to try cases referred by the Tribunal andparticularly sensitive cases, became operational inMarch. The first trial before the Chamber started inSeptember. In December the Prosecution at the BiHState Court confirmed indictments against 11 BosnianSerbs suspected of involvement in the 1995 Srebrenicamassacre. There remained concerns over theinadequacy of mechanisms to ensure the transfer ofevidence from the Tribunal to the Chamber, and toensure that the Tribunal’s jurisprudence wasconsistently applied in its proceedings. The WarCrimes Chamber only tried cases referred by theTribunal and particularly sensitive cases, while a largenumber of cases remained to be dealt with by RS andFBiH courts.


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In general, prosecutions were not actively pursued.Victims, witnesses and courts, particularly in casesbefore RS and FBiH courts, were not adequatelyprotected from harassment, intimidation and threats.However, some war crimes trials opened or continuedbefore national courts.

In January the Sarajevo Cantonal Court sentencedVeselin ¼an½ar to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonmentfor crimes committed against the civilian populationdetained by the Bosnian Serb forces in Fo½a. Former RSpoliceman Boban ©im®i», suspected of war crimesagainst civilians in the Vi®egrad area, surrendered toEUFOR troops in January. In May the War CrimesChamber decided that he would be tried at the BiH StateCourt, and proceedings began in September.

In February, 11 former RS police officers wereacquitted by the Banja Luka District Court of charges ofillegally detaining Father Tomislav Matanovi», a RomanCatholic priest, and his parents in 1995. The bodies ofthe priest and his parents were found in 2001 nearPrijedor, with close-range gunshot wounds.Investigations into the killings reportedly continued.

In June, Tomo Mihajlovi», a former RS police officer,was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by theZenica Cantonal Court for crimes against the non-Serbpopulation in the Tesli» area in 1992. Also in June,Goran Vasi», a former member of a Bosnian Serbparamilitary group, received a six-year prison termfrom the Sarajevo Cantonal Court for the cruel andinhuman treatment of prisoners of war detained in theSarajevo suburb of Nedûari»i in 1992.

In July, Abduladhim Maktouf, a BiH citizen of Iraqiorigin, was sentenced by the BiH State Court to fiveyears’ imprisonment for his role in the abduction ofnon-Bosniak civilians, who were beaten and ill-treatedin a detention camp in Ora®ac and one of whom wasbeheaded. The sentence was quashed on appeal inNovember and a retrial ordered.

In October Konstantin Simonovi» was found guilty bythe Br½ko Basic Court for war crimes, including torture,against non-Serbs detained in the Luka camp nearBr½ko and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

In November, for the first time since the end of thewar, a war crimes trial of Bosnian Serb suspects beforean RS court ended in convictions. The Banja LukaDistrict Court sentenced Drago Radakovi», Dra®koKrndija and Radoslav Kneûevi», former RS policeofficers, to between 15 and 20 years’ imprisonment forthe murder of six Bosniak civilians in Prijedor in 1994.In December, the Banja Luka District Court sentencedformer VRS member Nikola Dereta to 13 years’imprisonment for the murder of one Bosniak civilianand the attempted murder of his father in the villageof ©trbine.

Unresolved ‘disappearances’According to estimates of the InternationalCommission on Missing Persons (ICMP), between15,000 and 20,000 people who went missing during thewar were still unaccounted for. Many of the missingwere victims of “disappearances”, and the perpetratorscontinued to enjoy impunity. In August the BiH Council

of Ministers became the co-founder, with the ICMP, of anational Missing Persons Institute.

In a ceremony in July marking the 10th anniversary ofthe Srebrenica massacre, the remains of 610 victimswere buried at the Poto½ari Memorial. At the end of2005 the remains of approximately 5,000 victims hadbeen recovered and over 2,800 victims identified.

Implementing a decision by the High Representative,the RS in January appointed a working group to studydocumentation produced by the SrebrenicaCommission, established by the RS authorities toinvestigate the Srebrenica massacre, with a view toidentifying those implicated. In its first report in March,the working group presented a list of 892 suspects stillreportedly employed in RS and BiH institutions. TheHigh Representative expressed concern at the failure ofthe RS Ministries of the Interior and of Defence toprovide specific data on individuals deployed inSrebrenica in July 1995, and urged them to provide allinformation necessary to complete the list so that itcould be forwarded to the Tribunal and the BiHProsecutor. A further report and list were presented bythe working group in September, which the HighRepresentative deemed had met the obligations of the RS.

Right to return in safety and dignitySince the end of the war, out of an estimated 2.2 milliondisplaced people, more than a million refugees andinternally displaced persons (IDPs) were estimated tohave returned to their homes. According to the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees field mission in BiH,between January and December, approximately 6,400refugees and IDPs returned to their pre-war homes. Ofthese, approximately 5,800 people were registered asmembers of minorities.

Lack of access to employment continued to be amajor factor in people’s decision not to return orremain in their pre-war community. Employmentopportunities were scarce in general, reflecting theweak economic situation and difficulties of economictransition and post-war reconstruction. In addition,returnees faced discrimination on ethnic grounds whentrying to find work and, in some cases, ethnicallymotivated harassment and attacks.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Amnesty International’s concerns on the

implementation of the “completion strategy” of theInternational Criminal Tribunal for the formerYugoslavia (AI Index: EUR 05/001/2005)

• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of AmnestyInternational’s concerns in the region, July-December 2004: Bosnia and Herzegovina (AI Index:EUR 01/002/2005)

• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of AmnestyInternational’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Bosnia and Herzegovina (AI Index: EUR01/012/2005)

VisitAn AI delegate visited BiH in February.


BRA

BRAZIL

FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL

Head of state and government: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva





Brazilians, especially the poor and socially excluded,continued to suffer high levels of human rightsviolations. There were few policy initiatives in thearea of human rights, with many federal governmentproposals still awaiting implementation and few, ifany, state authorities introducing promised publicsecurity reforms. Violations at the hands of thepolice, including extrajudicial executions, tortureand excessive use of force, persisted across thecountry. Torture and ill-treatment were widespread inthe prison system, where conditions were often cruel,inhuman or degrading. Indigenous peoples sufferedattacks and killings as well as forcible evictions fromtheir ancestral lands and the federal government fellshort of its stated goal of demarcating all remainingindigenous lands by 2006. Human rights defendersand land activists suffered threats, attacks andkillings. Impunity for human rights violations was thenorm, arising from the slowness of judicialproceedings and the reluctance of some of thejudiciary to prosecute such cases.

BackgroundThe year was marked by a political crisis as evidenceemerged of high-level corruption involving membersof the government and of Congress. Accusations thatthe governing Workers’ Party (Partido dosTrabalhadores, PT) had been involved in raisingundeclared electoral funds, awarding governmentcontracts dishonestly and buying votes in Congressshook the government and led to the resignation ofthe President’s chief of staff, José Dirceu, and hissubsequent expulsion from Congress. Threeparliamentary inquiries into corruption wereinitiated and several members of Congress wereunder investigation by Congress’ ethics committee.President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva publiclyapologized, accepting some of the charges levelledagainst his party, although denying any involvement.

Important efforts were made towards disarmament,with a law to control the carrying of guns introduced in2003 apparently contributing to a national decline inhomicides. However, Brazilians rejected a total ban onthe sales of guns to civilians in a national referendumheld in October, reflecting the public’s anxiety aboutlevels of crime. The federal authorities reported adecline of 8.2 per cent in the number of homicidesnationally, the first such decline since 1992, while thestate of São Paulo reported notable declines over aperiod of five years. These reductions were attributed

to a combination of efforts to control small arms,alternative public security policies and targeted socialinvestment at local level.

In October the UN Human Rights Committeeexpressed concern about a number of issues includingextrajudicial executions and torture by police forcesand threats to indigenous populations.

Public security and killings by the policeReports of extrajudicial executions, excessive use offorce and the systematic use of torture by state policeforces persisted. Many states continued to defendtough policing policies to counter high levels of crime.

The number of people killed by police in situationsofficially registered as “resistance followed by death”(implying that the police had acted in self-defence)remained high in the states of Rio de Janeiro and SãoPaulo. Between 1999 and 2004, more than 9,000 cases ofpolice killings, predominantly “resistance followed bydeath”, were recorded in the two states. Investigationsinto these killings continued to be minimal.

There were also recurrent reports of human rightsviolations by federal and state police officers involvedin corrupt and criminal activity, and of killingsperpetrated by “death squads” involving active andformer members of the police. State governmentsconsistently failed to implement the public securityreforms set out in the proposed Single Public SecuritySystem (SUSP) and the federal government focused itsattention on police training rather than broader humanrights-based reforms. As a result, residents of poorcommunities continued to suffer discriminatory,invasive and violent policing which failed to combatcrime or provide any form of security.b On 31 March, 29 people were killed in the BaixadaFluminense district of Rio de Janeiro. The killings wereattributed to a “death squad” of military police officers,who drove through the towns of Queimados and NovaIguaçu shooting randomly at passers-by. Ten militarypolice officers and one former police officer werearrested and charged with murder. The joint federaland civil police investigation linked at least 15 earlierkillings to the massacre suspects, who were believed tohave been involved in kidnapping and extorting moneyfrom lorry drivers.

While official statistics of police killings declined inSão Paulo, human rights groups and residents of poorcommunities reported several multiple homicidesallegedly committed by police officers.b On 22 June, five youths aged between 14 and 22were reportedly executed by members of the civilpolice in the Morro do Samba community in Diadema.During a raid on the area, 35 police officers reportedlycornered the five in a house and sprayed them withmachine-gun fire from the door and through the roof.Investigations into the killings were reportedly closedas the Internal Investigations Unit claimed the victimswere all drug traffickers. Some family members of thedead youths were forced to leave the community forfear of reprisals.

In November the parliamentary Commission ofInquiry of the lower house of Congress published its


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final report on “death-squad” activity in the north-east,detailing cases from nine states. According to one ofthe parliamentarians responsible for the report, allinvolved active or former police officers. The reportfound links between state officials, business interestsand organized crime across the north-east.

Torture and ill-treatmentTorture and ill-treatment continued to be used at thetime of arrest, during interrogations and as a means ofcontrol within the detention system. There were alsomany reports of torture being used by law enforcementofficials for criminal ends.

Impunity persisted and lack of published informationabout prosecutions under the 1997 Torture Law madethe extent of the problem uncertain. The federalgovernment’s promised campaign against torture wasfinally launched in December. Proposals for Brazil toratify the UN Optional Protocol to the UN Conventionagainst Torture were pending before Congress.

Throughout 2005 there were reports of torture in SãoPaulo’s FEBEM juvenile detention centres. Punishmentunits were reportedly staffed by guards from the adultprison system, contrary to the law. In the Vila Mariaunit, which was reportedly used as a punishmentcentre, detainees were allegedly tortured and lockedup all day. Concern was heightened by attempts by theauthorities to block access to the detainees.

Riots within the juvenile detention system led to thedeath of at least five young detainees. In an apparentattempt to undermine the work of human rights groups,Governor Geraldo Alckmin accused two leading humanrights activists – Conceição Paganele and Ariel deCastro Alvez – of inciting the riots. In November theInter-American Commission on Human Rights orderedthe Brazilian government to take measures to improvethe FEBEM system.b In September, the mother of a juvenile in the VilaMaria unit reported that her son had been so severelybeaten by wardens that he was urinating blood. Anotherimprisoned juvenile showed his mother bruising andsigns of torture. He told her that the director of the unithad personally ordered that his food be withheld. Hewas kept for four days in solitary confinement, afterbeing dragged out of class by a guard who shot five timesinto the ceiling to intimidate him.

In April, two civil police officers, from Xinguara in thestate of Pará, were convicted of the torture of a 15-year-old boy in 1999. The boy was severely beaten andsuffered continuing psychological problems. This wasthe first conviction for torture in the region.

In November a video was aired on television showingveteran soldiers of an armoured infantry unit in thestate of Paraná inflicting electric shocks, drowning andbranding with irons during an initiation ceremony ofrecent recruits. The army immediately announced thesuspension of the commanding officer and an internalinvestigation.

Prison conditionsConditions in prisons amounted to cruel, inhuman ordegrading treatment, and the prison population

continued to rise. Overcrowding, poor sanitation andlack of health facilities contributed to frequent riots andhigh levels of prisoner-on-prisoner violence. There werealso consistent reports of violent and abusive behaviourby guards, including the use of torture and ill-treatment.Special punishment regimes for prisoners found guilty ofcrimes within the prison system continued to be used,although in July the National Council on Criminal andPenal Policy of the Ministry of Justice described them asunconstitutional and contrary to international standardsfor the protection of detainees.

In Rio de Janeiro, human rights groups denouncedconditions in the Polinter pre-trial detention centre. InAugust the unit held 1,500 detainees in a space designedfor 250, with an average of 90 men per 3m x 4m cell.Between January and June, three men were killed inincidents between prisoners. Officials in the detentioncentre were also forcing detainees to choose whichcriminal faction they wished to be segregated withinside Polinter. In November the Inter-AmericanCommission on Human Rights ordered the Braziliangovernment to take measures to improve the situation.

In June, during a riot in Zwinglio Ferreira detentioncentre in Presidente Venceslau, São Paulo state, fivedetainees were beheaded by other prisoners fromopposing prison gangs.

In November the federal Commission of HumanRights of Congress held a public hearing on women indetention. The Commission received reports of humanrights violations against women detained in São Paulo,who suffered from overcrowding, especially the 52 percent held, many irregularly, in police holding cells.

Abuses in connection with land disputesThirty-seven land workers were killed between Januaryand November, according to the Pastoral LandCommission (CPT). However, according to the CPT, evenmore died as a result of lack of medical or socialassistance after they were evicted from land they hadsettled. Many land workers suffered death threats andharassment, as did homeless activists in cities andactivists fighting against the constructions of dams.

In November, members of a congressional inquiryinto rural violence approved a final report which calledfor farm invasions by land workers from the LandlessWorkers’ Movement (Movimento dos TrabalhadoresRurais Sem Terra, MST) to be denoted “terrorist acts”.They voted down a version of the report that cited thelack of land reform as the major factor in land conflict.

Reports of the use of slaves or indentured labourpersisted. In December, AI delegates were informed bymembers of the Araquara town council that many sugarcane workers in the interior of São Paulo state had died,allegedly from exhaustion. According to these reports,workers were forced to cut several tons of sugar caneeach day.

Proposed legislation that would allow theconfiscation of land where slave labour is usedremained in Congress. According to figures from theCPT, by August the government’s campaign to combatslave labour had received reports of 173 such casesinvolving 5,407 people.


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Indigenous peoples campaigning for land and humanrights faced violent attacks and forced evictions. Manysuffered extreme deprivation as a result. In MatoGrosso do Sul, long-standing demarcation processes ofGuarani-Kaiowa lands were delayed by judicialproceedings, culminating in the forced evictions ofGuarani-Kaiowa. While the federal government didratify some important territories, they remained a longway from complying with their promised target ofdemarcating all remaining indigenous lands by 2006.b On 12 February, hired gunmen killed Sister DorothyStang, a nun who had long campaigned on ecologicaland land issues in Pará state. Two days earlier she hadmet the federal government’s Special Secretary forHuman Rights and told him of death threats against her.In December, two gunmen were convicted of the killingbut those who allegedly ordered it were still awaitingtrial. After this killing, the federal government sentfederal police and army forces to help in investigationsand to support the formation of a protected ecologicalarea. Nevertheless, according to human rights groups,numerous land activists in the region were still underthreat. A further 15 land activists were killed in the firstsix months of 2005 in Pará. An appeal to transfer SisterDorothy’s case to the federal judicial system was turneddown by the Federal Appeals Court. This was the firstcase to seek to use new legislation allowing humanrights crimes to be heard in the federal system.b In February, two homeless activists were shot andkilled by military police officers during their forcedeviction from a building in Goania, Goias state.b In June Adenilson dos Santos and his son Jorgewere killed when four armed men, allegedlyundercover police officers belonging to a “deathsquad”, opened fire at a party held by the Trukácommunity in Cabrobó, Pernambuco. The policestated that there was an exchange of fire, but Trukárepresentatives stated that no one at the party wasarmed. The Truká alleged the attack was a result oftheir struggle for land and their opposition toorganized crime and drug-trafficking organizations intheir territory.

Human rights defendersHuman rights defenders, including those defendingmarginalized groups, opposing organized crime andcorruption, and challenging vested political andeconomic interests, suffered defamation, threats,attacks and killings. The federal government’spromised programme for the protection of humanrights defenders showed little sign of implementation.In December the UN Special Representative on thesituation of human rights defenders visited Brazil.b In September, military police raided the offices ofAntonio Fernandez Saenz, a lawyer working with thesocially deprived inhabitants of São Bernardo doCampo, south of São Paulo. The officers allegedly didnot present a search warrant and took severaldocuments containing statements by local residentsaccusing civil and military police of torture, extortionand sexually assaulting children. When AntonioFernandez Saenz tried to report the incident to the

civil police, he was threatened and intimidated.According to reports, he continued to receiveanonymous death threats.

ImpunityThe criminal justice system continued to fail thosesuffering human rights violations, as few perpetratorswere brought to justice. There was little progress inseveral long-standing cases. The commanding officersconvicted of the 1992 Carandiru massacre of prisonersby the military police and the 1997 Eldorado dos Carajásmassacre of land activists remained at liberty pendingappeals. Individual police officers in both cases werestill awaiting trial.

Human rights groups expressed dismay following thegovernment’s announcement that only selectedarchives relating to “disappearances” and killings ofpolitical prisoners during the military governmentwould be opened.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Brazil: “Foreigners in our own country”– Indigenous

peoples in Brazil (AI Index: AMR 19/002/2005)• Brazil: Briefing on Brazil’s Second Periodic Report on

the Implementation of the International Covenanton Civil and Political Rights (AI Index: AMR19/021/2005)

• Brazil: “They come in shooting” – Policing sociallyexcluded communities in Brazil (AI Index: AMR19/025/2005)u

VisitsAI delegates visited Brazil in January, April andNovember/December.


BUL

BULGARIA

REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

Head of state: Georgi Parvanov

Head of government: Sergey Stanishev (replaced

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in August)





Reports of torture or ill-treatment of police detaineescontinued. Discrimination against the Romanicommunity persisted, although legal action toenforce anti-discrimination legislation achievedfavourable court rulings, including a landmarkdecision that established the right of Romanichildren to equality in education. Some residents ofcare homes for people with mental disabilitiescontinued to live in conditions that amounted toinhuman and degrading treatment. A court ruledthat neglect by the state caused the deaths of 13children deprived of food and heating at a care homein 1996 and 1997.

Political developmentsAfter a general election in June, a coalition governmentwas eventually formed two months later, headed bySergey Stanishev of the Socialist Party. The far-rightparty Ataka (Attack) saw a rapid rise in support, comingfourth in the poll.

Bulgaria made progress towards greater respect forhuman rights in an attempt to meet the criteria formembership of the European Union (EU), scheduled for2007. Efforts were made to observe the rights ofsuspects in criminal proceedings, to end trafficking inhuman beings and to fulfil health rights. However, theEuropean Commission expressed concerns about ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, discriminationagainst Roma and the living conditions of people withmental disabilities in its annual report, published inOctober, on Bulgaria’s preparations for EU accession.

Police and prison abusesThe European Court of Human Rights gave a number ofrulings that poor conditions of detention hadamounted to cruel or degrading treatment. The Courtalso found in several cases that Bulgaria had violatedthe right to liberty and security of person, the right toa hearing within a reasonable time, and the right tofair trial.

Reports of torture or ill-treatment by lawenforcement officials continued. Failure to respect thedetainee’s right to be questioned in the presence of alawyer often contributed to such abuse.b On 16 April Julian Krastev, aged 38 and homeless,was reportedly beaten to death by a police sergeant inthe town of Varna. He had been living in a cupboard inthe apartment block where the officer lived.

Reportedly, the officer had been drinking alcohol andtwo police colleagues witnessed the assault. The officerwas dismissed from the police and charged before theVarna Regional Military Court.b In November, 39-year-old businessman AnguelDimitrov died during a police operation in Blagoevgrad,according to the police from a heart attack during hisarrest. Following public protests by his family, whoclaimed that the police were responsible for his death,an inquest was opened. In December, the findings of anautopsy revealed that he had died from a haemorrhagecaused by a blow to the head. Although the InteriorMinistry publicly accepted responsibility for thewrongful actions of the police and the Blagoevgradpolice chief resigned, the Prosecutor’s Officeannounced that there was insufficient evidence tobring a prosecution.

The International Helsinki Federation, a humanrights organization, reported inhuman conditions inseveral detention facilities, especially in Plovdiv andNova Zagora. There were no effective mechanisms torespond to complaints of ill-treatment and violencebetween prisoners. Medical care in prisons was of poorquality and was not integrated within the nationalhealth care system.

Discrimination against RomaThe Romani community was most often targeted for ill-treatment by law enforcement officials anddiscriminatory treatment.b In July the Grand Chamber of the European Courtof Human Rights for the first time addressed the racialelement in a case involving the deprivation of life. Itupheld an earlier decision by the Court in thelandmark case of Nachova v Bulgaria, which involvedthe 1996 killing of two unarmed Romani armydeserters by a military police officer. The Courtunanimously found the Bulgarian state responsiblefor the deaths of the two men, and for the failure toconduct an effective official investigation intoallegations that the killings were motivated by anti-Roma racism.b In June a court in Blagoevgrad ruled against arestaurant for refusing to serve a group of Romanicustomers in March 2004 while serving non-Romanipeople who had arrived later. The Romani groupbrought a complaint of discrimination after waitingfor service for an hour, and the restaurant owner wasunable to show that he had not treated themdifferently from others, as required under Bulgaria’scomprehensive anti-discrimination legislation.Forced evictions in Sofiab On 31 August at least 24 Romani houses in the HristoBotev municipality of Sofia were demolished, leavingsome 150 Roma homeless. In September the authoritiesin Vuzrazhdane municipality subsequently warnedRomani inhabitants to abandon their illegallyconstructed houses in Serdika district within sevendays. However, a day before the scheduleddemolitions, the Sofia District Court ordered theevictions to be postponed pending a decision on theRoma’s legal entitlement to remain. The authorities had


BUR

reportedly made no provision for compensation oralternative accommodation for those to be evicted.School segregationb In October the Sofia District Court ruled that theMinistry of Education, the Sofia municipality and a Sofiaschool had segregated Romani children in violation ofanti-discrimination legislation. It found that theschool’s students were all Romani, not through thechoice of the students but because of failures by theauthorities. The court held that substandard conditionsin the school, lack of control over school attendanceand lower educational requirements violated Romanichildren’s right to equal and integrated education.

This was a landmark case for Bulgarian Roma, whofaced discrimination in many spheres of public life,including education and employment. According to theEuropean Roma Rights Centre, between 70 and 90 percent of students in special schools for children withphysical and developmental disabilities in Bulgariawere Roma.

People with mental disabilitiesPeople with mental disabilities living in social carehomes were not effectively protected from physicaland mental abuse. The services they received did notmeet international human rights standards or conformto best professional practice.b The situation for former residents of a care home inDragash Voyvoda, closed in 2003 following publicityabout inadequate medical care and harsh livingconditions, was only slightly improved in some of thehomes to which residents had been transferred.Although their material provision had in most casesimproved slightly, some still lived in conditions thatamounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. Therewas still no independent mechanism to ensure prompt,thorough and impartial investigation of reportedabuses against residents of mental health institutions.b In June, Ivailo Vakarelski, aged 24, was found deadin the State Psychiatric Hospital in Karlukovo to whichhe had been admitted several days earlier. According toreports, his body showed extensive bruising. Hospitalstaff were said to have told his parents that an autopsycould only be performed if they paid for one, eventhough the hospital was obliged to perform an autopsyunder the Health Care Act. The regional prosecutorordered an investigation after the local prosecutorinitially declined to investigate the death.

The International Helsinki Federation reported thatmany Bulgarian psychiatric hospitals and social carehomes lacked facilities for adequate treatment or carefor people with mental and developmental disabilities.Despite some improvements, food was insufficient, andtreatment methods were not compatible withinternational obligations to provide the highestattainable level of health and life in dignity for peoplewith disabilities.b In May the District Court of Plovdiv acquitted threemembers of staff from a social care home in Dzhurkovowho had been charged in connection with the deaths of13 children from hypothermia, malnutrition and lungdiseases between December 1996 and March 1997. The

court was unable to establish a causal link between thedeaths and negligence by staff, but found that neglecton the part of the state had left the home without themeans to pay for food and heating, resulting in livingconditions that were cruel, inhuman and degrading.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Bulgaria: Failings in the provision of care – The fate

of the men of Dragash Voyvoda (AI Index: EUR15/002/2005)

• Bulgaria and Romania: Amnesty International’shuman rights concerns in the EU accession countries(AI Index: EUR 02/001/2005)

BURUNDI

REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI

Head of state: Pierre Nkurunziza (replaced Domitien

Ndayizeye in August)





Local, legislative and presidential elections wereheld, signalling the end of Burundi’s transitionperiod, although armed conflict continued in twoprovinces. Government forces committed serioushuman rights violations including arbitrary arrestsand detentions, rape and extrajudicial executions.An opposition armed group committed abusesincluding unlawful killings. Sexual violence againstwomen, including rape, persisted. The Burundiauthorities forcibly returned more than 5,000Rwandan asylum-seekers, and reportedly allowedRwandan soldiers into the country to take them backto Rwanda. At the end of 2005, 499 detainees wereunder sentence of death.

Background2005 saw a series of elections. On 28 February, anational referendum on the Constitution produced a“yes” vote of more than 90 per cent. However,negotiations between the political parties relating tothe electoral code and the schedule for local andlegislative elections stalled. The UN Secretary-General and regional leaders intervened, setting adeadline of August to complete the electoral process,and the President called local elections on 3 June,legislative elections on 4 July and the presidentialelection on 18 August.

The former armed opposition group, the CNDD-FDD, won the local elections with more than 55 per


BUR

cent of the vote, and in the legislative electionsgained 59 of the 118 seats in parliament. On 26 August,Pierre Nkurunziza, leader of the CNDD-FDD, becamePresident, ending the transitional period that startedin 2002.

Armed conflict continued throughout 2005 betweenone armed group, PALIPEHUTU-FNL, known as the FNL(Forces nationales de libération), and the governmentarmed forces (Forces de défense nationale, FDN) in theprovinces of Bujumbura rural and Bubanza, despite thepresence of 5,634 UN peacekeeping soldiers servingwith the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB). The FNL stillrefused to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with thegovernment.

Human rights violationsGovernment armed forces composed of former CNDD-FDD fighters and soldiers of the former Burundi armedforces (Forces armées burundaises, FAB) wereresponsible for serious human rights violations.Civilians in Bujumbura rural and alleged FNL memberswere subjected to abuses including arbitrary arrestsand detentions, rape and extrajudicial executions.b On 14 May in the commune of Isale the FDNallegedly shot dead 17 FNL fighters who werereportedly unarmed.

After the election, the security forces and thenational intelligence agency (Documentationnationale) undertook operations to secure the borderswith the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and tocounter the FNL. During these operations, theyfrequently detained Burundi and DRC nationalsarbitrarily.b On 24 September, a Congolese refugee from theBanyamulenge community was arrested in the towncentre of Bujumbura by intelligence agents. He washeld for more than three weeks without being told thelegal basis for his arrest.b During the week beginning 3 October, intelligenceagents arrested two local civil servants and dozens ofother people in Bujumbura for allegedly being FNLmembers. According to reports, several of them werebeaten and injured in detention.

Human rights abuses by the FNLThroughout 2005, the FNL threatened and intimidatedthe civilian population in the provinces of Bujumburarural and Bubanza, often demanding shelter or food.

During the election period, low-level governmentofficials and civilians suspected of collaborating withgovernment armed forces were killed by the FNL.Between 6 March and 6 June, the FNL reportedly killed atleast six local administrative staff in Bujumbura ruralprovince and abducted three others. Several politicalmembers of CNDD-FDD were beheaded and ruralfamilies were targeted for merely speaking with soldiers.b On 16 June, a group of 11 combatants, reportedlybelonging to the FNL, entered a Protestant churchservice in Muyaga, Muhuta commune. Once inside, theyclosed the doors and windows of the church and firedinto the congregation. Eight people were killed and 30others were wounded.

b A single mother was attacked on 14 August at herhome in the province of Bujumbura rural by armed FNLcombatants who accused her of working for thegovernment. According to her statement, to punish her,they buried her child alive, physically assaulted her andtied her to a tree. She only managed to escape afterthree days.

During the second half of 2005, the FNL sought toexpand its activities in other provinces, notablyBubanza and Ngozi, often with the help of local officials.

Violence against womenRape and other forms of sexual violence persisteddespite the implementation of a ceasefire in most areasof the country.b On 20 August, H.A., a 16-year-old girl from thecommune of Murwi, Cibitoke province, was raped. Thealleged perpetrator was arrested but then immediatelyreleased.

According to the human rights department ofONUB, in 2005, only one out of every three womenraped lodged a complaint. Of these, the majoritydropped their case before anyone was brought tojustice.

Death penaltyAt the end of 2005, 499 detainees were under sentenceof death. The last executions, of seven civilians, tookplace in 1997, but courts continued to pass deathsentences.

Kassi Manlan verdictOn 3 May, the Bujumbura appeals court sentenced todeath four people accused of taking part in theassassination of Dr Kassi Manlan, the representative ofthe World Health Organization, in November 2001:Emile Manisha, the former commandant of the publicsecurity police station; Colonel Gérard Ntunzwenayo,the assistant commissioner in charge of Documentationnationale; Aloys Bizimana, the former commandant ofthe Kiyange brigade; and Japhet Ndayegamiye, theofficial in charge of Documentation nationale. Threeother men were sentenced to life imprisonment, two ofwhom had been in prison at the time of the murder. Twomen were sentenced to 20 years in jail: ExpertBihumugani, head of a private security firm, andAthanase Bizindavyi, Director of the central prison ofBujumbura.

Administration of justiceThe justice system continued to suffer from lack ofresources and inadequate training for personnel. Therewere frequent complaints of corruption at national andlocal levels.b On 10 July 2005, detainees in Rumonge prison wenton strike to protest against the indefinite detention ofprisoners without trial. Some detainees accused ofordinary criminal offences had been waiting for morethan five years for a trial.

Trials of people accused of participating in theviolence which followed the 1993 assassination offormer President Ndadaye continued.


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National Truth and Reconciliation CommissionLegislation establishing a National Truth andReconciliation Commission (NTRC), passed inDecember 2004, mandated the NTRC to establish thetruth about acts of violence committed in the course ofthe conflict since 1962, specify which crimes had beencommitted, other than genocide, and identify bothperpetrators and victims of such crimes. In a reportpublished in March, the UN Secretary-General raiseddoubts about the credibility and impartiality of theNTRC and addressed the feasibility of establishing aninternational judicial commission of inquiry. Itrecommended amending the composition of the NTRCby including an international component (originally itwas to comprise 25 members, all Burundians) andsetting up a special chamber within the court system ofBurundi. This chamber would be competent toprosecute those bearing the greatest responsibility forthe crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and warcrimes, and would be composed of national andinternational judges. In November, the newgovernment designated a delegation of eight membersto establish an NTRC in collaboration with the UN.

On 15 November, the authorities set up a commissionto identify political prisoners. Composed of 21members, its tasks included defining political prisonersand formulating recommendations.

Juvenile justiceIn most prisons, children endured harsh andovercrowded conditions. Some child detaineesreported acts of sexual abuse; many weremalnourished and had lost contact with their families.Several suffered cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment.b R., aged 14, was arrested in January 2004, accusedof robbery, and sentenced in May 2004 to 30 months’imprisonment. He said that during his initial six months’custody, he was beaten with a metal rod and a stick by apolice officer. When AI delegates met him in January2005, they saw the scars on his arms.

Although Burundi ratified the African Charter on theRights and Welfare of the Child in 2004, and its nationallegislation includes provisions specific to children, theauthorities failed to take into account children’s specialstatus. Magistrates and penitentiary authorities did notreceive the necessary training on how to implement thelaws that apply to children.

Refugees, returnees and the internally displacedBetween April and November, more than 10,000Rwandans fled their country to seek asylum in Burundi(see Rwanda entry). The Burundian authorities initiallyregistered the asylum-seekers and requestedassistance from the UN High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR). However, at the end of April,Burundi changed this approach under pressure fromRwanda. On 27 April, in breach of its regional andinternational obligations, the government declaredthat the Rwandans would not be granted asylum, and inthe following days and weeks soldiers rounded up

asylum-seekers, placed them in trucks and forced themto go back to Rwanda. As early as 25 May, more than7,000 of them had found their way back to Burundi. TheBurundian authorities then reportedly allowedRwandan soldiers to enter the country, to destroy theasylum-seekers’ makeshift camps and to forciblyrepatriate them once more. On 13 June, Burundianofficials described these people as “illegal immigrants”.

After the elections, the new government declaredthat there would be no forcible returns and that itwould allow UNHCR to assist asylum-seekers. However,the authorities continued to refer to them as “illegalimmigrants”.

Between January and December, UNHCR facilitatedthe repatriation of some 60,000 Burundian refugees(returnees), bringing the total number to 300,000 since2002. The lack of land available in Burundi causedproblems for returnees trying to regain their formerproperty.b Marthe Misago, a 28-year-old widow, fled Kirundoprovince in Burundi in 1994. She returned in 2004 withher four children. Her mother-in-law, who had takenover her land, refused to return it and threatened to killher if she tried to recover it. Marthe Misago asked theauthorities to intervene but by the end of 2005, her casewas still unresolved.

At the end of 2005, more than 120,000 people stilllived in internally displaced people’s camps, mainly inthe northern and eastern provinces. Meanwhile, thepopulations of Bujumbura rural and Bubanza continuedto face short-term displacement. Many of them weretoo frightened to spend the night in their homesbecause of armed attacks.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Burundi: Refugee rights at risk – human rights abuses

in returns to and from Burundi (AI Index: AFR16/006/2005)

• Burundi: Gatumba massacre – an urgent need forjustice (AI Index: AFR 16/010/2005)

• Burundi: Fragile peace at risk as refugees pressuredto return (AI Index: AFR 16/008/2005)

• Burundi: Security considerations should notprejudice human rights (AI Index: AFR 16/011/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited Burundi in January, July andOctober.


CAM

CAMBODIA

KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA

Head of state: King Norodom Sihamoni

Head of government: Hun Sen





Peaceful criticism of the government was curtailed.Immunity was lifted for three oppositionparliamentarians; two were subsequently sentencedto imprisonment. Criminal charges were broughtagainst trade union leaders and a mediarepresentative. Human rights defenders andopposition politicians faced threats. Restrictions onfreedom of assembly were maintained. VietnameseMontagnard asylum-seekers continued to arrive;some were forcibly returned.

BackgroundCambodian politics continued to be pursued throughthe courts. Political opponents lodged numerouscriminal complaints against each other, puttingconsiderable political pressure on the judiciary.

In February a closed session of the NationalAssembly lifted the parliamentary immunity of threeSam Rainsy Party (SRP) members. The SRP respondedby boycotting the legislative chamber until August. Theboycott and a culture of declining attendance meantthat parliament was repeatedly inquorate.

The agreement between Cambodia and the UN to setup a criminal tribunal to prosecute suspected majorperpetrators of gross human rights violations duringthe Khmer Rouge rule (1975-1979) took effect in April.

In October a supplemental border agreement wassigned with Viet Nam.

In November UN Secretary-General Kofi Annanannounced the appointment of Professor Yash Ghai ashis Special Representative on human rights inCambodia. The appointment followed the resignationfrom the post of Peter Leuprecht.

Critics gaggedIn a crackdown against critics of the border agreementwith Viet Nam, radio manager Mam Sonando andPresident of the Independent Teachers AssociationRong Chhun were detained and charged withdefamation and incitement to commit a crime. If foundguilty they could face several years’ imprisonment.They were prisoners of conscience.

Court summons were issued on similar charges to atleast three other union leaders and a number of publicfigures, several of whom sought sanctuary abroad.

Two leading human rights defenders, Kem Sokha andYeng Virak, were arrested on 31 December for allegedlydefaming the government. Their detention came ninedays after opposition leader Sam Rainsy, in exile since

he lost his parliamentary immunity, was convicted inabsentia of defamation and sentenced to 18 months’imprisonment.

These breaches of the right to freedom of speechcaused considerable tension within civil society.

In September, two Ministry of the Environmentrangers were shot dead in an apparently premeditatedattack in Aural Wildlife Sanctuary. The attackunderscored the dangers facing defenders of naturalresources and local livelihoods. Days earlier theinternational non-governmental organization GlobalWitness had closed its Cambodia office after itsinternational staff were denied visas and its local staffwere harassed.

Weak legal systemIn March, Prime Minister Hun Sen launched an “ironfist” policy, purportedly to combat corruption in thejudiciary. Several judges and prosecutors wereremoved without due disciplinary procedures, and theUN Special Representative on human rights inCambodia warned that the policy further underminedthe independence of the courts.

Two high-profile trials illustrated the corrupt andweak judicial system’s failure to ensure impartialityand its disregard for the presumption of innocence.b Cheam Channy, the SRP shadow minister ofdefence, was arrested immediately after hisparliamentary immunity was lifted. He was tried in amilitary court and, despite the lack of evidence,convicted in August of establishing an illegal armedforce and fraud. He was sentenced to seven years inprison.

There were numerous irregularities in the trial.Military courts have no jurisdiction over civilians. Thedefence was barred from calling witnesses to testifyand prevented from cross-examining all prosecutionwitnesses. No credible evidence was presented tosubstantiate the charges which were believed to beunfounded.

Fellow party member Khom Piseth had fled abroadafter the accusations were levelled against the two in2004 and had resettled as a political refugee. At thesame trial he was sentenced to five years’imprisonment after being convicted, in absentia, ofsimilar charges.b In August, Born Samnang and Sok Samoeun weresentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder in 2004of trade union leader Chea Vichea following an unfairtrial. The criminal investigation lacked integrity; peopleproviding alibis for the suspects were threatened witharrest; the prosecution failed to produce evidence; andthe pre-trial detention period exceeded by almost oneyear the legal limit under Cambodian law.

Land and housingAfter a visit to Cambodia in August, the UN SpecialRapporteur on adequate housing highlightedsubstantial land grabbing which appeared to bedepriving the rural and urban poor of land. The SpecialRapporteur also noted that many violent forcedevictions followed inconclusive court investigations.


CAM

b Two hundred families in Kbal Spean village near theThai border crossing of Poipet were forcibly evicted inMarch after a court battle against their village chief. Fivevillagers, including one man disabled in a mine accident,were shot dead and 40 wounded as armed forcesimplemented a court order following a questionable legalprocess. By the end of the year nobody had been broughtto justice for the shootings. The provincial authoritiesendorsed the relocation of residents to an area far fromthe border crossing where they earn their living.

Land concessions continued to dispossess andimpoverish Cambodians.b In Mondulkiri province, indigenous Phnong peoplelost both ancestral land and farmland as a result of a landconcession granted by the government in 2004. Villagersand local authorities were never consulted and noenvironmental or social impact studies were undertakenbefore the company was awarded the concession for treeplantation, which vastly exceeded the legal limit of10,000 hectares. The company failed to comply with agovernment order issued in June to suspend operations.

RefugeesMontagnard refugees from Viet Nam continued to crossinto Cambodia. Some were forcibly returned beforethey could present their asylum claims, in breach ofCambodia’s obligations under the 1951 UN RefugeeConvention.

Following a tripartite Memorandum of Understandingsigned by Cambodia, Viet Nam and the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees in January, refugees who didnot wish to resettle in a third country or to return to VietNam were sent back to their native Central Highlandsdespite the absence of permanent monitoring (see VietNam entry). Of the several hundred people awaitingresettlement abroad in sites in Phnom Penh, some 340were resettled, mainly in the USA.

The government warned that villagers assistingVietnamese Montagnard asylum-seekers in the borderprovinces would face trafficking charges. Harassmentand threats were reported against individual humanrights defenders who had aided refugees.

Violence against womenIn September the National Assembly adopted a lawagainst domestic violence. The law extended the legalauthority for police and local officials to respond todomestic violence, and included legal protections forvictims.

In its annual Trafficking in Persons report, the USgovernment criticized the lack of progress made by theCambodian authorities in combating trafficking and thefailure to convict public officials and others involved inpeople trafficking.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Cambodia: Chea Vichea (AI Index: ASA 23/001/2005)• Cambodia: Amnesty International calls on states to

nominate their highest qualified judges andprosecutors to the Extraordinary Chambers ofCambodia (AI Index: ASA 23/004/2005)

• Cambodia: Sentencing of parliamentarian reflectscontinuing flaws in the judicial system (AI Index: ASA23/005/2005)

• Cambodia: Open Letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen onthe occasion of International Human Rights Day 2005raising concern about the state of freedom ofexpression in the Kingdom of Cambodia (AI Index:ASA 23/006/2005)

VisitAn AI delegation visited Cambodia in November.

CAMEROON

REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON

Head of state: Paul Biya

Head of government: Ephraim Inoni




Human rights defenders were harassed, assaultedand detained. Individuals were unlawfully detainedon account of their sexual orientation. A group ofpolitical prisoners, convicted after unfair trials andheld in life-threatening conditions that have killedthree of their number since 1999, continued to bedenied a right of appeal. Investigations were startedinto a few deaths in police custody that reportedlyresulted from torture, but they were notindependent or open. Inmates were killed andinjured in prison riots stemming from severeovercrowding and harsh discipline.

BackgroundThe oil-rich Bakassi peninsula remained under thecontrol of the Nigerian government, despite a 2002ruling by the International Court of Justice in the Haguethat it be handed over to Cameroon. Local leaders ofNigerian nationality urged their government not tocede sovereignty over the peninsula to Cameroon.

Human rights defenders under threatCritics of the government’s human rights recordcontinued to be routinely harassed, detained andassaulted.b Nelson Ndi, a member of the government’sNational Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms,was assaulted on 3 February by members of theparamilitary police Mobile Intervention Unit. He hadtried to stop officers beating a group of youths near hisoffice. No action was known to have been taken againsthis assailants.


CAM

Unlawful detention for sexual orientationEleven men, aged between 18 and 49, and two womenwere arrested by gendarmes on 20 and 21 May inYaoundé, the capital. The two women were chargedwith public disorder and released to await trial. Themen, who should have been brought before a judgewithin three days, were transferred to KondenguiCentral Prison in Yaoundé on 13 June, where they saw alawyer for the first time. They were subsequentlycharged with sodomy because of their real or perceivedsame-sex orientation.

Southern Cameroons National CouncilIn December, the Appeal Court in Yaoundé decided onappeals by imprisoned members of the SouthernCameroons National Council (SCNC) against their 1999convictions by a military tribunal. Adelbert Ngek andPromise Nyamsai, who were serving 10-year prisonterms, had their convictions quashed and were released.Three prisoners had their life sentences reduced to 25years, and one had a 20-year term reduced to 15 years.Two prisoners had 15-year terms reduced to 10 years, andfour others had 10-year terms confirmed. Two prisoners,Wilson Che Neba and Samuel Che Neba, had beenreleased in May after serving eight-year prison terms.The prisoners who remained in custody appealed to theSupreme Court against the decision of the Appeal Court.

The prisoners had been denied an appeal for morethan five years. After lawyers lodged a complaint withthe African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rightson the prisoners’ behalf, the Minister of Defenceannounced in November 2004 that they could appeal tothe Appeal Court. The hearings, which started in January2005, were repeatedly adjourned because the authoritiesfailed to produce some of the prisoners in court orprovide an interpreter for English-speaking prisoners.

The prisoners had been sentenced to between eightyears and life imprisonment after an unfair trial beforea special court directly controlled by the Ministry ofDefence, on charges in connection with armed attacksin North-West Province in 1997. Most of the prisonerswho appeared before the Appeal Court looked sick andfrail as a result of life-threatening prison conditionsand medical neglect.b Julius Ngu Ndi, who had been serving a 20-yearprison sentence, died from tuberculosis in July. He hadreportedly been denied adequate and prompt medicaltreatment for several months and was taken to hospitalonly days before he died.

Peaceful political activities by SCNC members weremet with arbitrary and unlawful detentions.b On 15 January as many as 40 SCNC supporterswere detained and the group’s leader, Henry Fossung,was reportedly assaulted by Mobile Intervention Unitofficers in Buéa. The women detainees, who had beenpreparing food for a celebration at Henry Fossung’shome, were released without charge the same day.The men were freed two days later. A governmentminister reportedly said they had been holding aclandestine meeting. Ayemba Ette Otun and about 20other SCNC members were arrested while meeting inOctober and detained for up to two weeks.

Denial of freedom of expressionThe authorities continued to use criminal libel laws toimprison journalists in cases that appeared to bepolitically motivated.b Jules Koum Koum, director of Le Jeune Observateurnewspaper, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonmenton 10 January for publishing articles alleging corruptionamong insurance company executives. Provisionallyreleased on 9 February, he faced further charges incriminal libel cases involving an insurance company andtwo former government ministers.

Harsh prison conditionsOvercrowding, inadequate food and medical neglectcontinued to result in high mortality rates in prisons.New Bell prison in Douala, built for only 800 prisoners,held about 3,000 at the start of 2005. Prisoners weresaid to sleep on the ground, sometimes in the toiletsand even outdoors. Prison authorities failed to ensurethe safety of inmates.b On 3 January, one prisoner was reportedly killedand about 20 injured in a riot in New Bell prison. Thefighting between prisoners involved a group known as“anti-gang”, which was accused of inflicting harshdiscipline in the prison, including by beatings, at therequest of the authorities. Soon after the riot wasquelled, the prison director was replaced.

Torture and ill-treatmentThe systematic torture continued of suspects arrestedby the police and gendarmerie. Most perpetrators werenot held to account, but investigations were opened ina few cases in which suspects died.b In March, after months of inaction, the procuracyin Buéa initiated investigations into the death of AfuhBernard Weriwo in hospital on 10 July 2004. A seniorpolice officer had allegedly been involved in assaultingand setting fire to him after he was arrested at his homein Ikiliwindi town on suspicion of stealing a bicycle. InOctober the High Court in Kumba sentenced him to fiveyears’ imprisonment for torturing and causing thedeath of Afuh Bernard Weriwo. A key witness for theprosecution reportedly received death threats fortestifying against the officer.b On 8 February, Emmanuel Moutombi died frominjuries sustained after he was detained in Douala inmid-January following accusations of embezzlement.A postmortem revealed severe swelling and injuriesto his entire body. Six gendarmes and the victim’sformer manager were implicated in the death andwere on trial before the Douala military tribunal at theend of 2005.b Eleven people arrested in September 2004 inconnection with the killing of John Kohtem, a leader ofthe opposition Social Democratic Front, remained incustody without trial. A member of parliamentimplicated in the killing remained free on bail.

Violence against womenWomen remained without adequate protection in lawagainst violence. Approximately 20 per cent of womenand girls were reported to undergo female genital


CAN

mutilation (FGM), which continued to be practisedprimarily in the far north and the south-west and wasstill not prohibited in law. Provisions also remained inthe Penal Code that exempted a rapist from judicialproceedings if he married his victim, effectivelyprotecting the perpetrator while subjecting the victimto further abuse.

Death penaltyNo death sentences were known to have been passedor executions carried out. By the end of 2005 theauthorities had still not made public how manyprisoners under sentence of death had benefited from apresidential decree issued on 29 December 2004. Underthe decree, death sentences were commuted to lifeimprisonment, except in some specified cases,including the killing of a child. The numbers ofprisoners still awaiting execution remained unknown.

AI country reports/visitsVisitsThe government continued to deny AI representativesaccess to the country, as it has done for over a decade.

CANADA

CANADA


Michaëlle Jean (replaced Adrienne Clarkson in September)

Head of government: Paul Martin




Indigenous women and girls continued to suffer ahigh level of discrimination and violence. There wereconcerns that counter-terrorism practices did notconform to human rights obligations.

BackgroundCanada ratified in September the Optional Protocol tothe UN Children’s Convention on the sale of children,child prostitution and child pornography, and inNovember the Second Optional Protocol to theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

Violence against Indigenous womenHigh levels of discrimination and violence againstIndigenous women continued. Federal and provincialgovernments announced initiatives to address theseproblems, but officials failed to advance a

comprehensive national strategy. Crucially, policeresponses to threats against Indigenous women’s liveswere inconsistent and often inadequate.

Police abusesThere were reports of excessive use of force involvingtaser guns. During the year, five men died after beingsubdued by police using a taser, bringing the number ofsuch deaths to 14 since April 2003.

Security and human rightsA public inquiry continued into Canada’s role in thecase of Maher Arar, a Canadian-Syrian national whowas deported in 2002 from the USA to Syria where hewas detained without charge for a year and tortured.

There were concerns about three other dualCanadian nationals who had been detained andtortured abroad: Abdullah Almalki, of Syrian origin,held in Syria for nearly two years; Ahmad Abou El-Maati, of Syrian origin, held in Syria and Egypt for overtwo years; and Muayyed Nureddin, of Iraqi origin, heldin Syria for one month. The government refused to holda public inquiry into the cases.

Four Muslim men remained in detention pendingdeportation and a fifth was released on strict bailrestrictions, all pursuant to security certificates issuedunder the 2001 Immigration and Refugee ProtectionAct. The men faced a serious risk of torture if deported.Under security certificate proceedings, detainees onlyhave access to summaries of evidence and noopportunity to challenge key witnesses.

There were reports that Canadian forces inAfghanistan were handing over detainees to US forceswithout reliable assurances that the detainees wouldnot be subjected to the death penalty, and would betreated in a manner consistent with internationalhumanitarian law and human rights obligations.

Omar Khadr, a Canadian national arrested by USforces in Afghanistan in July 2002 when he was a minor,remained in US custody in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba,where he had been since November 2002. In August aninterim injunction was granted by the Federal Court ofCanada prohibiting Canadian officials from questioningOmar Khadr unless this directly related to providinghim with consular assistance.

Refugee protectionUnder the 2004 Canada/USA “safe-third country” deal,most refugee claimants arriving in Canada via the USAwere restricted to making refugee claims in the USA,where there were concerns that some faced humanrights violations.

The government announced in November that itwould not enact provisions under the Immigration andRefugee Protection Act to establish a full appeal ofdecisions denying refugee status.

Other concernsIn October, Rwandan national Desire Munyaneza, whohad been denied refugee status in Canada, became thefirst person charged under the Crimes against Humanityand War Crimes Act.


CEN

There were no further negotiations with the LubiconCree in Alberta. In November the UN Human RightsCommittee called on Canada to make every effort toresolve the long-standing land dispute, to consult withthe Lubicon before licensing any economic exploitationof the disputed lands, and to ensure that the human rightsof the Lubicon are not jeopardized by such activities.

AI country reports/visitsReport• 2005 UN Commission on Human Rights:

Recommendations to the government of Canada onthe occasion of its election on the Bureau of theCommission on Human Rights (AI Index: AMR20/001/2005)

VisitIn October AI’s Secretary General visited Canada andmet federal government officials to discuss a range ofhuman rights issues.

CENTRAL AFRICAN

REPUBLIC

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Head of state: François Bozizé

Head of government: Elie Dote (replaced Célestin-Leroy

Gaombalet in June)





signed

Hundreds of women who were raped in late 2002and early 2003 by combatants remained withoutredress, although the government asked theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) to investigateallegations of war crimes committed during theperiod. Members of the security forces suspected ofbeing responsible for human rights violationsenjoyed impunity. Journalists who publishedinformation unfavourable to the governmentreceived death threats. Thousands of civilians fled toChad to escape human rights abuses during clashesbetween armed gangs and government forces.

BackgroundAlthough most of the country was politically stable,insecurity persisted in the north. Repeated clashesbetween armed gangs and members of the securityforces caused more than 10,000 civilians to flee tosouthern Chad. Armed gangs were reported to have

looted property and food from the local population andto have raped women. In October, members of apeacekeeping force backed by the Economic andMonetary Community of Central Africa (Communautééconomique et monétaire d’Afrique centrale, CEMAC)were deployed in the north-eastern province of HauteKotto to restore security in the region. The mandate ofthe CEMAC peacekeepers was extended for six monthsin June, and they were still deployed in the country atthe end of 2005.

In January, President François Bozizé signed a decreepromoting himself from the rank of Major General tothat of General. His promotion had been recommendedby the 2003 National Dialogue.

In January, seven opposition presidential candidatesand their supporters called for the dissolution of theTransitional Constitutional Court, which in December2004 had disqualified them from standing. Followingmediation by Gabonese President Omar Bongo, thecandidates were reinstated. However, exiled formerPresident Ange-Félix Patassé was still banned fromstanding on the grounds that he was underinvestigation for atrocities committed before he wasoverthrown in March 2003.

After elections on 13 March, there was no outrightwinner among the presidential candidates. On 16March President Bozizé dismissed the Vice-President,Abel Goumba, who had stood as a presidentialcandidate. President Bozizé defeated former PrimeMinister Martin Ziguélé in the second round on 8 May.In June Prime Minister Célestin-Leroy Gaombaletresigned and was replaced by Elie Dote. On 24 June theCentral African Republic was readmitted to theAfrican Union’s Peace and Security Council, fromwhich it had been suspended after the overthrow ofPresident Ange-Félix Patassé.

ImpunityThe judiciary failed to investigate the rape of hundredsof women and other human rights abuses whichoccurred during the armed conflict in late 2002 andearly 2003, as well as those that took place afterPresident Bozizé took power in March 2003. However,in January the government formally requested the ICCto investigate and prosecute war crimes and otherhuman rights abuses which occurred in the countryduring the armed conflict. The ICC had not startedinvestigations by the end of 2005.

Five soldiers sentenced to five years’ imprisonmentafter being convicted of raping a woman in custodywere reported to have been freed by early 2005,without completing their sentence or having theirconviction reviewed by a court. A government ministerclaimed to be unaware of the release of the soldiers,but no action was known to have been taken to re-arrest them.

Reports of unlawful killings, mainly by members ofthe presidential guard, remained uninvestigated.b In January, Jules-Aimé Gaboua was killed bymembers of the presidential guard in Bangui. No actionwas known to have been taken to identify theperpetrators and bring them to justice.


CHA

b A military officer accused of several unlawfulkillings and arrested in September 2004 was freedwithout charge or trial at the start of 2005. Hereportedly attempted to kill an employee of the USEmbassy in January. He was believed to have remainedat large throughout 2005, despite written protests bylocal human rights activists.

Freedom of expressionAlthough there were no further arrests of journalistsfollowing the press law passed in 2004, severalindependent media journalists were threatened withdeath after they reported electoral malpractices,including intimidation of voters by members of thesecurity forces.b After the second round of presidential elections inMay, Zéphirin Kaya and Patrick Akibata of Ndeke Lukaradio station were reportedly threatened with death byPresident Bozizé’s supporters and members of hispresidential guard. Similar threats were reportedlymade against Alexis Maka Gbossokotto, editor of LeCitoyen newspaper.

Continued detention of a government opponentVirtually all government opponents still held at the endof 2004 were released during 2005. However, SimonKulumba, who had been briefly released due to ill-health, was re-arrested and remained in custodywithout trial. He had been arrested in 2003 and accusedof colluding with former President Patassé to embezzlefunds from the sale of fuel donated by Libya. Thosefreed included General Ferdinand Bomba Yeke, formerPresident Ange-Félix Patassé’s head of security, whowas released in October after being pardoned byPresident Bozizé. General Bomba Yeke had been incustody without charge or trial since November 2003.

AI country reports/visitsStatement• Central African Republic: Referral to the

International Criminal Court should be accompaniedby judicial reforms to address impunity (AI Index:AFR 19/001/2005)

VisitAI delegates visited the Central African Republic inApril to gather information about the human rightssituation, particularly the progress of investigationsinto violence against women during the armed conflict.

CHAD

REPUBLIC OF CHAD

Head of state: Idriss Déby

Head of government: Pascal Yoadimnadji (replaced

Moussa Faki Mahamat in February)





signed

Freedom of expression remained under threat, andjournalists faced politically motivated andarbitrary arrest, prolonged detention andimprisonment. Thousands of refugees arrived fromthe Central African Republic. The legal frameworkgoverning the construction of an oil pipelineundermined the rights of those living and workingin the vicinity.

BackgroundA new constitution was approved allowing PresidentDéby to stand for re-election by removing the previoustwo-term limit. It was approved after a referendum inJune which was boycotted by the opposition andhuman rights organizations.

A peace agreement was signed in August between theauthorities and the Movement for Democracy andJustice in Chad (Mouvement pour la démocratie et lajustice au Tchad, MDJT), one of the Chadian armedopposition groups which had been active in Tibesti,northern Chad. A dissident group of the MDJT rejectedthe agreement and said that it would carry on fighting.

In October, a group of soldiers including militaryofficers deserted their posts in N’Djaména and fled tothe eastern part of the country. The deserters called onPresident Déby to step down and to free politicalprisoners. President Déby then dissolved thepresidential guard and created a new unit drawn fromthe army and the police.

In November, the opposition coalition refused toappoint representatives to the electoral commissionfor the 2006 legislative and presidential elections. Theopposition asked for the contested census, which wasclosed in January, to be reopened.

In September, gunmen on horseback from Sudanattacked the village of Madayouna, eastern Chad.Dozens of people were killed, including villagers andmembers of the assailant group. In a radio interview,President Déby accused the Janjawid militia group ofbeing behind this attack.

In December the town of Adré, in eastern Chad closeto the Sudanese border, was attacked. The Rally forDemocracy and Liberty (Rassemblement pour ladémocratie et la liberté, RDL), a new armed oppositiongroup, claimed responsibility for the attack. TheChadian authorities blamed Sudan which denied anyinvolvement in the attack.


CHA

RefugeesAround 200,000 Sudanese refugees remained in Chad,nearly half of them living in the south-eastern region ofGoz-Beida. Thousands of refugees fleeing human rightsabuses in the Central African Republic arrived in Chad.

Freedom of expression under attackFreedom of expression came under attack throughout2005. Journalists faced politically motivated andarbitrary arrest, prolonged detention andimprisonment. Between July and September, at leastfour journalists were sentenced to prison terms. Theywere released in September on appeal.

In July, Samory Ngaradoumbé, El Hadj GarondeDjarma and Koumbo Singa Gali of the weeklyL’Observateur were sentenced to prison terms after thepublication of articles critical of the authorities.Samory Ngaradoumbé was sentenced to three months’imprisonment and a fine after his newspaper publishedan open letter asking President Déby to releaseprisoners. Garonde Djarma was sentenced to threeyears’ imprisonment after he criticized theconstitutional amendment allowing President Déby tostand for re-election. Koumbo Singa Gali wassentenced to one year’s imprisonment after hernewspaper published an interview with imprisonedjournalist Garonde Djarma.

In August, Michael Didama, editor of the weekly LeTemps, was convicted on charges of defamation andincitement to hatred after the publication of articles onthe activities of armed opposition groups in easternChad. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

In September the N’Ddjaména Court of Appealoverturned the convictions of Garonde Djarma andKoumbo Singa Gali because of proceduralirregularities. The court also overturned the convictionof Samory Ngaradoumbé. Michael Didama’s convictionwas upheld but his sentence was reduced to the time hehad already served. All the journalists were freed.

ImpunityIn August, the authorities dismissed at least six peoplewho had served under deposed President HissèneHabré. It was unclear whether any formal charges werebrought against people suspected of committing humanrights violations.

Few steps were taken to bring Hissène Habré tojustice for human rights violations committed duringhis time in power. In November, the Dakar AppealCourt in Senegal declared itself “not competent” torule on whether to issue an order for Hissène Habré’sextradition to Belgium. In a press interview, PresidentDéby appealed to the Senegalese President toextradite Hissène Habré (see Senegal entry).

Chad-Cameroon pipelineIn September, AI published a report on the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project, a World Bank supportedproject. The report detailed concerns that contractssigned between the governments of Chad andCameroon and an Exxon Mobil-led oil companyconsortium undermined the ability of Chad and

Cameroon to fulfil their obligations under internationalhuman rights law. The report said that the contractscreated risks for all human rights, ranging from civil andpolitical to economic, social and cultural rights. Forexample, some clauses in the contracts made it difficultor impossible for Chad to regulate the activities of theoil consortium, including to protect the safety andhealth of workers or the rights to food and water forpeople living near the oil development areas. AI calledfor the contracts underpinning this project to beamended to guard against the risks to human rights. AIalso urged project lenders to institute policies toensure that such contracts would not obtain funding inthe future.

In November, the authorities substantially modifiedthe Revenue Management Law, which governs theproceeds of the pipeline project. This law originallysought to ensure that revenue from the project wasused for the benefit of local populations, throughhealth and education spending for example, and forfuture generations. The government’s amendmentwould allow revenues to be diverted to military andsecurity spending. In December the President of theWorld Bank expressed serious concerns about theproposed amendment to the Revenue ManagementLaw.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Contracting out of human rights: The Chad-

Cameroon pipeline project (AI Index: POL34/012/2005)


CHI

CHILE

REPUBLIC OF CHILE

Head of state and government: Ricardo Lagos





The prosecution of Augusto Pinochet for humanrights violations committed under his militarygovernment took a significant step forward.However, the 1978 Amnesty Law was used to acquitfive former secret service agents of involvement in a1974 “disappearance”. Prisoners were injured infighting over the minimal facilities provided inprisons.

BackgroundPresidential elections in December produced nooutright winner. The two candidates who obtained thehighest votes – Michelle Bachelet of the Coalition forDemocracy and Sebastian Piñera of the Alliance forChile – were set to contest the second round of theelections in January 2006.

Provisions for the appointment of “designated”senators and according others lifetime tenure wereremoved in August when the 1980 Constitution,introduced under the military government (1973-90),was amended by Congress. The amended Constitutionalso allowed Chile to ratify the Rome Statute of theInternational Criminal Court, although ratification hadnot taken place by the end of 2005. In June, Chile signedthe Optional Protocol to the UN Convention againstTorture.

In November, former Peruvian President AlbertoFujimori was arrested in Santiago and held inpreventive detention pending an extradition requestby Peru on charges of corruption and human rightsviolations.

Ill-treatment in prisonsDetainees continued to suffer overcrowding, lack ofmedical care, deficient sanitary conditions and poorinfrastructure. In March, 30 prisoners were injured infighting over sleeping space at the Detention Centre(former Penitentiary) in Santiago Sur. Severeovercrowding – 400 inmates held in an area designatedfor 76 – forced 120 detainees to sleep in the open.

Past human rights violationsIn January the Supreme Court upheld the December2004 indictment and house arrest of Augusto Pinocheton nine charges of kidnapping and one of murderduring “Operation Cóndor”, a joint plan by SouthernCone military governments in the 1970s and 1980s toeliminate opponents. However, in June the SantiagoAppeals Court ruled that he was too ill to stand trial forthe kidnappings and murder. The same court, in a

separate ruling, allowed his prosecution on charges oftax evasion and other financial crimes to proceed. InNovember, Augusto Pinochet was charged and placedunder house arrest. The charges against him includedthe murder of 119 people and the “disappearance” of 15others in 1975 as part of “Operation Colombo”. Othercharges included homicide, torture, kidnapping, moneylaundering, tax evasion and falsifying documents. Thiswas the first time prosecutors in Chile had successfullycleared all the legal hurdles and indicted him.

In January the Supreme Court put a time limit of sixmonths on judicial investigations into “disappearances”and other human rights violations by the militarygovernment, but suspended the ruling in May. Thisallowed investigation to continue into more than 150cases of human rights violations.

In June, five former secret service agents wereacquitted under the 1978 Amnesty Law of involvementin the “disappearance” of Diana Arón Svigilsky in 1974.Although the Amnesty Law – introduced by militarydecree but still in force – contravenes Chile’s dutiesunder international law, it was invoked to absolve theaccused.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Chile: Dangerous and illegal Supreme Court decision

on cases involving human rights violations (AI Index:AMR 22/002/2005)

• Chile: Probes of Pinochet-era crimes face shut down – Ensure mandate of special judges to continuetheir investigations (a joint release by AI, HumanRights Watch and the International Commission ofJurists) (AI Index: AMR 22/003/2005)

• Chile: A call to protect human rights in Chile – Anopen letter from the Secretary General to thepresidential candidates (AI Index: AMR 22/004/2005)


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CHINA

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Head of state: Hu Jintao

Head of government: Wen Jiabao





signed

Limited legal and judicial reforms did little toimprove human rights protection. Tens of thousandsof people continued to be detained in violation oftheir human rights and were at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Thousands of people were sentenced todeath or executed. The authorities frequentlyresorted to the use of force against growing socialunrest. There was a renewed crackdown on the mediaand Internet controls were tightened. The Uighurcommunity in the Xinjiang Uighur AutonomousRegion (XUAR) continued to face severe repressionas part of the authorities’ “war on terror”. Freedom ofexpression and religion continued to be severelyrestricted in Tibet and other Tibetan areas. China’sarms sales to Sudan raised concerns that its actionswere contributing to human rights violations in othercountries. China continued a limited dialogue withselected members of the international community onhuman rights issues. However, human rightsdefenders at home continued to be arbitrarilydetained and some were sentenced to prison terms.

International communityUncontrolled arms exports from China continued tofuel massive human rights violations in Sudan. TheChinese government opposed the strengthening of theUN Security Council arms embargo on Sudan.

The European Union (EU) resisted lobbying from theChinese government to lift its arms embargo on China,imposed after the crackdown on the pro-democracymovement in June 1989.

The government continued to engage with UN humanrights mechanisms, although it largely failed toimplement their recommendations. The UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights and the UN SpecialRapporteur on torture visited China in August andNovember. In September, China and the RussianFederation spearheaded a move to block the creationof an effective new Human Rights Council at the UN.

Human rights defendersIndividuals continued to use China’s petitioningsystem, and sometimes the courts, in an attempt toobtain redress for various abuses. However,fundamental weaknesses in both systems left manywithout redress, fuelling an increase in social proteststhroughout the country. New regulations wereintroduced in May in a stated attempt to provide better

protection for the interests of petitioners but theseappeared to have little impact on resolving complaints.

Informal networks of rights defenders publiclylobbied the authorities and the internationalcommunity about various abuses. However, theauthorities continued to use broadly defined nationalsecurity offences to prosecute and imprison activists,including lawyers, petitioners and housing rightsadvocates. Civil society organizations continued togrow in number and effectiveness. However, controlswere tightened to curtail the activities of those whochallenged official policies.b Hou Wenzhuo, director of the non-governmentalEmpowerment and Rights Institute, was subjected tonumerous abuses in connection with her human rightsactivities, including eviction from her home and officein Beijing and arbitrary detention by the police insouthern China. Her work included investigatingreports of illegal land expropriation from farmers inFoshan, Guangdong province. She fled China inOctober in fear of further arbitrary detention by the police.

Journalists and Internet usersThe authorities became increasingly intolerant ofreporting which covered sensitive issues or questionedgovernment policies. There was a renewed crackdownon journalists and the media. Those reporting onsensitive issues or who challenged the status quo wereat risk of dismissal, arbitrary detention orimprisonment. Broadly defined “state secrets” offencescontinued to be used to prosecute journalists andreporters. Restrictions on Internet use were tightenedand dozens of people remained behind bars foraccessing or circulating politically sensitiveinformation on-line.b Journalist Shi Tao was sentenced to 10 years inprison in April for leaking “state secrets”. He had postedto an overseas website Communist Party instructionson how journalists should handle the 15th anniversaryof the crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracymovement.

Violations in the context of economic reformForced evictions in urban areas as well as landrequisition and high taxes in the countryside wereincreasingly the focus of local protests and socialunrest. Disturbances were often met with violence,sometimes by criminal gangs, allegedly backed or hiredby local authorities or enterprises.

Despite ongoing reforms to the HouseholdRegistration (Hukou) System, migrants from rural tourban areas remained vulnerable to discrimination inthe cities, including denial of access to health care andother social services.

General working conditions in factories, mines andother enterprises remained poor. The rights of freedomof expression and association of workers’representatives continued to be severely curtailed andindependent trade unions remained illegal.b Xu Zhengqing, an activist who had campaignedagainst land grabs and evictions in Shanghai, was


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sentenced to three years in prison in October for“disrupting public order” when he travelled to Beijing inJanuary in an attempt to commemorate deceasedformer Premier Zhao Ziyang.

Violence against womenDespite laws prohibiting such practices, many womencontinued to be subjected to forced abortions andsterilizations by local authorities attempting to complywith strict family planning policies.

Prohibition of sex identification of foetusesappeared to have little effect on the sex imbalance.Trafficking in women and children, especially girls,continued to be reported.

Some provinces adopted regulations aimed atpreventing domestic violence but abuses reportedlyremained widespread.

Women in detention remained at risk of sexual abuseand other forms of torture or ill-treatment.

In August the authorities amended the Law on theProtection of Women’s Rights and Interests specificallyto prohibit sexual harassment of women andstrengthen women’s rights to lodge complaints.b Chen Guangcheng, a blind, self-trained lawyer, washarassed, beaten and arbitrarily detained at his homein September after he attempted to sue the localauthorities in Linyi city, Shandong province, forconducting forced sterilizations and abortions inpursuit of birth quotas. He remained held at the end ofthe year.

Repression of spiritual and religious groupsReligious observance outside official channelsremained tightly circumscribed. In March, theauthorities promulgated a new Regulation on ReligiousAffairs aimed at strengthening official controls onreligious activities.

The crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritualmovement was renewed in April. A Beijing officialclarified that since the group had been banned as a“heretical organization”, any activities linked to FalunGong were illegal. Many Falun Gong practitionersreportedly remained in detention where they were athigh risk of torture or ill-treatment.

Unregistered Catholics and Protestants associatedwith unofficial house churches were also harassed,arbitrarily detained and imprisoned.b In November, prominent defence lawyer GaoZhisheng was forced to close down his law firm for ayear after he refused to withdraw an Open Letter to thePresident and Premier calling on the authorities torespect religious freedom and to stop the “barbaric”persecution of Falun Gong. The order came shortly afterhe had filed an appeal on behalf of undergroundProtestant pastor Cai Zhuohua who had been sentencedto three years in prison for illegally printing bibles.

Death penaltyThe death penalty continued to be used extensivelyand arbitrarily, at times as a result of politicalinterference. People were executed for non-violentcrimes such as tax fraud and embezzlement as well as

drug offences and violent crimes. Based on publicreports available, AI estimated that at least 1,770 peoplewere executed and 3,900 people were sentenced todeath during the year, although the true figures werebelieved to be much higher.

Several miscarriages of justice in death penalty casespublished in the Chinese press in the first half of theyear caused considerable public disquiet and increasedmomentum towards reform. In September, a seniorSupreme Court official announced that the Court wasestablishing three branch courts to review deathsentences. Previously this had been delegated to lowercourts, reducing safeguards against unfair proceedings.Officials anticipated that the reform would lead to a 30per cent reduction in executions. However, nationalstatistics on death sentences and executions remainedclassified as a state secret, making analysis andmonitoring of the death penalty problematic.b Wang Binyu, a migrant worker from Gansu, wassentenced to death in Ningxia in June for stabbing todeath his foreman and three others during a violentdispute about unpaid wages. He reportedly neededthe money to pay for an operation for his father. Hewas executed in October despite calls for leniencyfrom academics and members of the public in theChinese media.

Torture, arbitrary detention and unfair trialsTorture and ill-treatment continued to be reported in awide variety of state institutions. Common methodsincluded kicking, beating, electric shocks, suspensionby the arms, shackling in painful positions, and sleepand food deprivation. Restricted access to the outsideworld for detainees and a failure to establish effectivemechanisms for complaint and investigation continuedto be key factors allowing the practice to flourish.

In May the authorities announced a pilot projectallowing police interrogation of criminal suspects infront of video cameras and lawyers in three regions. InJuly the authorities announced that they wereaccelerating their campaign to prosecute police whoextract confessions through torture, adding that 1,924officials had been prosecuted since the campaign waslaunched in May 2004.b Gao Rongrong, a Falun Gong practitioner, died incustody in June after being detained in Longshan Re-education through Labour facility in Shenyang,Liaoning province. Officials had reportedly beaten herin 2004, including by using electro-shock batons on herface and neck, which caused severe blistering andeyesight problems, after she was discovered readingFalun Gong materials in the facility.

A proposed new Law on the Rectification of IllegalBehaviour was reportedly being discussed bylegislators as a replacement for Re-education throughLabour — a system of administrative detention used todetain hundreds of thousands of people for up to fouryears without charge or trial. Officials indicated thatthe new law would probably reduce terms ofdetention. However, elements that contraveneinternational fair trial standards potentially remainunchanged.


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A campaign aimed at improving the conduct of thepolice and eradicating torture was initiated, but fewefforts were made to introduce the fundamental legaland institutional reforms necessary to prevent suchabuses in practice.

People accused of political or criminal offencescontinued to be denied due process. Detainees’ accessto lawyers and family members continued to beseverely restricted and trials fell far short ofinternational fair trial standards. Those charged withoffences related to state secrets or terrorism had theirlegal rights restricted and were tried in camera.

North Korean asylum-seekersPeople continued to flee across the border into Chinato escape the acute food shortages in North Korea.Hundreds, possibly thousands, of North Koreans werearrested and forcibly returned by the Chineseauthorities who considered them to be economicmigrants and denied them access to any refugeedetermination procedures, in breach of the UN RefugeeConvention. Unconfirmed reports suggested that atleast five South Korean nationals of North Koreanorigin were abducted in China and forcibly taken toNorth Korea.

Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR)The authorities continued to use the global “war onterror” to justify harsh repression in the XUAR,resulting in serious human rights violations against theethnic Uighur community.

While China’s latest “strike-hard” campaign againstcrime had subsided in most parts of the country, it wasofficially renewed in the XUAR in May to eradicate“terrorism, separatism and religious extremism”.Repression resulted in the closure of unofficialmosques and arrests of imams.

Uighur nationalists, including peaceful activists,continued to be detained or imprisoned. Those chargedwith serious “separatist” or “terrorist” offences were atrisk of lengthy imprisonment or execution. Thoseattempting to pass information abroad about theextent of the crackdown faced arbitrary detention andimprisonment.

The authorities continued to accuse Uighur activistsof terrorism without providing credible evidence forsuch charges.b Rebiya Kadeer, a prisoner of conscience releasedin March, became a key target in an apparent attemptto counter her influence as a Uighur activist abroad.b Writer Nurmuhemmet Yasin was sentenced to 10years’ imprisonment in a closed trial in February afterhe published a short story entitled “Wild Pigeon” abouta trapped bird that commits suicide in captivity –apparently seen by the authorities as an allegory forUighurs living in China.

Tibet Autonomous Region and other ethnic Tibetan areasFreedom of religion, expression and associationcontinued to be severely restricted and arbitraryarrests and unfair trials continued. Some prisoners of

conscience were released at the end of their sentences,but dozens of others, including Buddhist monks andnuns, remained behind bars where they were at risk oftorture or ill-treatment.b Tashi Gyaltsen and four other monks were assignedto between two and three years’ Re-education throughLabour in Xiling, Qinghai province, in February forpublishing a newsletter which contained poems andarticles deemed to be politically sensitive.

Hong Kong Special Administrative RegionIn April the Hong Kong Court of Final Appealoverturned all remaining convictions against eightFalun Gong practitioners for obstructing and assaultingthe police during a demonstration in March 2002. Somecharges against them had already been quashed onappeal in 2004.

In September, the Coroner’s Court’s verdict on thedeath of Kim Shuk-ying and her two daughters at thehands of her husband accelerated the process ofrevising the Domestic Violence Ordinance, whichnarrowly defines domestic violence as physicalviolence between couples.

Human rights activists protested against a decisionby the Hong Kong authorities to commission the Societyfor Truth and Light, a conservative Christian groupwhich opposes gay rights and “excessive use” of humanrights, to educate school teachers on human rights andanti-discrimination.

Police used pepper spray, tear-gas and bean-bagrounds against protesters during ministerial meetingsof the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December,prompting accusations by human rights monitors ofexcessive use of force. More than 1,000 protesters weredetained, and several claimed to have been ill-treatedin police custody. All were later released, but 14 werecharged with unlawful assembly and released on bail.Their trial had not taken place by the end of the year.b William Leung, a 20-year-old gay man, successfullychallenged a law which prohibits sex betweenconsenting men under 21. A court of first instance ruledthat the law was discriminatory and a violation ofhuman rights. The Hong Kong authorities vowed toappeal against the ruling, but the appeal had not beenheard by the end of the year.

AI country reports/visitsReports• People’s Republic of China: Human Rights Defenders

at risk (AI Index: ASA 17/002/2005)• People’s Republic of China: The Olympic

countdown – three years of human rights reform? (AI Index: ASA 17/021/2005)

• People’s Republic of China: Briefing on EU concernsregarding human rights in China (AI Index: ASA17/027/2005)

VisitsAI delegates attended an EU-China Human RightsDialogue Seminar in June and a UN Workshop of theFramework on Regional Cooperation for the Promotionof Human Rights in the Asia Pacific Region in August,both held in Beijing. AI’s Secretary General and two


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other delegates attended a meeting of the UN GlobalCompact, a voluntary international corporateresponsibility network, in Shanghai in November.

COLOMBIA

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA

Head of state and government: Álvaro Uribe Vélez





Although the number of killings and kidnappings insome parts of the country fell, serious human rightsabuses committed by all parties to the conflictremained at critical levels. Of particular concern werereports of extrajudicial executions carried out by thesecurity forces, killings of civilians by armedopposition groups and paramilitaries, and the forceddisplacement of civilian communities. Paramilitarieswho had supposedly demobilized under the terms of acontroversial law ratified in July continued to commithuman rights violations, while armed oppositiongroups continued to commit serious and widespreadbreaches of international humanitarian law.Individuals who may have been responsible for warcrimes and crimes against humanity were not broughtto justice.

BackgroundPresident Álvaro Uribe ratified the Justice and PeaceLaw on 22 July. The law, which provides a legalframework for the demobilization of members ofparamilitary and armed opposition groups, fails torespect international standards on the right of victimsto truth, justice and reparation and threatened toexacerbate Colombia’s endemic problem of impunity.By the end of 2005, negotiations between thegovernment and the paramilitary umbrellaorganization, the United Self-Defence Forces ofColombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC), ledto the reported “demobilization” of more than half ofthe country’s estimated 20,000 AUC-linkedparamilitaries. However, paramilitaries in supposedlydemobilized areas continued to commit violations, andevidence of links between paramilitaries and thesecurity forces remained strong. There were also fearsthat government policies designed to reintegratemembers of illegal armed groups into civilian life riskedrecycling them into the conflict.

Efforts to negotiate a prisoner exchange with themain armed opposition group, the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas

Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC), failed to achieveconcrete results. However, “talks about talks” with thesmaller National Liberation Army (Ejército deLiberación Nacional, ELN) resumed in December. TheFARC and ELN were responsible for serious andwidespread breaches of international humanitarianlaw, especially kidnappings, hostage-taking and killingsof civilians.

On 1 April, Colombia ratified the Inter-AmericanConvention on Forced Disappearance of Persons.

The Justice and Peace Law: paramilitary demobilizationThe Justice and Peace Law grants significantly reducedprison sentences to members of illegal armed groupsunder investigation for human rights abuses who agreeto demobilize. Although most of the beneficiaries wereexpected to be paramilitaries, by the end of 2005 thelaw had reportedly only been applied to around 30alleged FARC prisoners. Because of the problem ofimpunity, few members of illegal armed groups wereunder investigation for human rights offences. Mostdemobilized paramilitaries thus benefited from defacto amnesties granted under Decree 128,promulgated in 2003.

The Justice and Peace Law gives judicialinvestigators strict time limits to investigate eachcase, with little incentive for potential beneficiariesto collaborate with investigators. The participation ofvictims in legal proceedings is limited, and there areno provisions to expose third parties, such as thesecurity forces, who have played an integral part incoordinating human rights violations carried out byparamilitaries.

The law was criticized by the Office in Colombia ofthe UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and theInter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)and Inter-American Court of Human Rights of theOrganization of American States (OAS).

All paramilitaries were supposed to demobilize bythe end of 2005. However, the process stalled inOctober after the government transferred paramilitaryleader Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano, alias “DonBerna”, to prison for his alleged involvement in the 10April killing of legislator Orlando Benítez, and overrumours about his possible extradition to the USA ondrug-trafficking charges. The demobilization processresumed in December after an agreement was reachedin November between the government and the AUCextending the timescale for demobilization.

More than 2,750 killings and “disappearances”were attributed to paramilitaries between theannouncement by the AUC of a ceasefire in 2002 andthe end of 2005. Because of its limited mandate, theMission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia,set up by the OAS in 2004 to verify the ceasefire,could not take action against paramilitaries whofailed to abide by the ceasefire nor comment ongovernment policy.

The government encouraged demobilizedparamilitaries to work in intelligence-related activities,such as the civilian informer network, as auxiliaries in


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security force operations, as “civic police”, and asprivate security guards. This raised fears that themechanisms that led to the creation of paramilitarygroups were being replicated and threw into doubt thegovernment’s commitment to reintegrate combatantsfully into civilian life.

There were reports that paramilitary groups werestill recruiting members after they had supposedlydemobilized. On 25 August, the IACHR wrote to thegovernment asking for clarification of reports thatparamilitaries were still recruiting minors in Medellín,despite having supposedly demobilized in 2003.

There were numerous reports of human rightsviolations committed by paramilitaries in areas wherethey had supposedly demobilized, including Medellín,and evidence of collusion between paramilitaries andthe security forces.b On 29 January, paramilitaries reportedly killedseven peasant farmers in El Vergel, San CarlosMunicipality, Antioquia Department. Members of thearmed forces were allegedly patrolling in El Vergel from26 to 31 January. Just before the killings, the army hadreportedly been searching for one of the victims, whothey labelled a subversive.b On 9 July, paramilitaries allegedly killed sixcivilians in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department.The police, who had been patrolling the area,reportedly withdrew hours before the killings. Theparamilitary group, the Calima Bloc (Bloque Calima),which operated in Buenaventura, supposedlydemobilized in December 2004.

ImpunityImpunity for human rights abuses remained the norm.High-ranking military personnel, and paramilitary andguerrilla leaders, continued to evade justice.

Action was taken in very few cases. In July, an armylieutenant, three soldiers and a civilian were formallycharged for the August 2004 killing of three tradeunionists in Arauca Department, while the Office of theAttorney General ordered the arrest of six soldiers forthe killing in April 2004 of five civilians, including ababy, in Cajamarca Municipality, Tolima Department.However, criminal investigations into the possibleinvolvement of more senior officers in these killings didnot advance.

In January, the Supreme Court dismissed a caseagainst former Rear Admiral Rodrigo Quiñónezregarding his role in the 2001 Chengue massacre, inwhich at least 26 people were killed by paramilitaries,operating in collusion with the armed forces. TheProcurator General’s Office criticized this decision,calling on the Office of the Attorney General to pressforward criminal investigations into the massacre.

On 15 September, the Inter-American Court of HumanRights ruled that the Colombian state must paycompensation to the families of 49 peasant farmerskilled by paramilitaries in 1997 in Mapiripán, MetaDepartment. Paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso,now officially demobilized, and several army officials,including retired general Jaime Humberto Uscátegui,have been implicated in the killings.

The military justice system continued to claimjurisdiction over cases of potential human rightsviolations committed by members of the securityforces, despite the 1997 ruling of the ConstitutionalCourt that such cases must be investigated by thecivilian justice system.b In April, the military justice system absolved 12army soldiers of responsibility in the killing of sevenpolice officers and four civilians in GuaitarillaMunicipality, Nariño Department, in March 2004.

Killings by the security forcesThere were continuing reports of extrajudicialexecutions by the security forces, with some estimatessuggesting at least 100 fatalities. These killings wereoften falsely described as “guerrillas killed in combat”.Although the military justice system claimedjurisdiction over most such cases, and then archivedmany of them, the civilian justice system wassometimes able to intervene.b In July, the Office of the Attorney General orderedthe arrest of eight soldiers for the killing of ReinelAntonio Escobar Guzmán and brothers Juvenal andMario Guzmán Sepúlveda in Dabeiba Municipality,Antioquia Department, on 8 May. The army had allegedthat the three men were FARC guerrillas killed incombat.

Civilians were reportedly killed by the police anti-riot unit (Escuadrón Móvil Antidisturbios, ESMAD)during protests. ESMAD agents carry no visibleindividual identification.b On 1 May, at least eight ESMAD agents allegedlybeat 15-year-old Nicolás David Neira during a May Daymarch in Bogotá. A week later he died of his injuries.b On 22 September, Jhony Silva Aranguren died andseveral other students were injured after allegedlybeing shot by ESMAD agents during a protest at auniversity in Cali.

Abuses by armed opposition groupsOn 12 September, ELN leader Gerardo Bermúdez, aliasFrancisco Galán, was released from prison for a limitedperiod to help restart the peace process. As a result,exploratory talks between government and ELNrepresentatives took place in Cuba from 16 to 22December.

The FARC and ELN continued to commit serious andrepeated breaches of international humanitarian law,including hostage-taking and civilian killings.b On 15 August, the ELN killed two priests and twoother civilians on the Teorema-Convención highway inNorte de Santander Department.b On 23 August, the FARC allegedly killed 14 peasantfarmers in Palomas, Valdivia Municipality, AntioquiaDepartment.

The FARC also carried out disproportionate andindiscriminate attacks which resulted in the deaths ofnumerous civilians.b On 20 February, three civilians and three soldiersdied, and 13 civilians and 11 soldiers were injured, whena bomb exploded in a hotel in Puerto Toledo, MetaDepartment.


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b On 3 October, a bomb killed three members of anindigenous community, including two children, inFlorida Municipality, Valle del Cauca Department.

Violence against womenWomen and girls continued to be killed, tortured andkidnapped by both sides in the conflict.b On 24 May, a woman and her husband weredetained by the army in Saravena Municipality, AraucaDepartment. The woman was reportedly handed overto a paramilitary who raped her.b On 9 August, an indigenous woman was allegedlyraped by a soldier in Coconuco, Cauca Department.b The body of Angela Diosa Correa Borja was foundon 15 September in San José de Apartadó, AntioquiaDepartment. She had allegedly been killed by the FARCafter they accused her of collaborating with the police.

KidnappingsIn November, the government announced plans to set upan “international commission” to help negotiate therelease of FARC hostages. However, repeatedspeculation about a possible prisoner exchange failed toyield results by the end of 2005. The FARC and ELNcontinued to hold numerous hostages, including high-profile politicians such as former presidential candidateIngrid Betancourt, kidnapped by the FARC in 2002. Therewere more than 751 kidnappings in 2005, compared to1,402 in 2004, of which 273 were reportedly carried out byarmed opposition groups and 49 by paramilitaries.Responsibility could not be attributed in 208 cases.b On 23 January, the ELN allegedly kidnappedcommunity leader Héctor Bastidas in SamaniegoMunicipality, Nariño Department. He had not beenreleased by the end of 2005.b On 31 March, the FARC kidnapped five human rightsactivists working with the Afro-descendantcommunities of Jiguamiandó and Curvaradó in ChocóDepartment. They were released on 8 April.b On 30 August, paramilitaries abducted at least 11children and 13 adults in El Carmen Municipality, Nortede Santander Department, during an attack in whichthree people were killed and a woman was allegedlysexually abused. The 24 were subsequently released.Paramilitary units operating in this region supposedlydemobilized at the end of 2004.

Attacks on civiliansCivilians continued to bear the brunt of the conflict, withtrade unionists, human rights defenders and communityactivists, as well as indigenous, Afro-descendant anddisplaced communities, and those living in areas ofintense conflict, at particular risk. At least 70 tradeunionists and seven human rights defenders were killedin 2005. At least 1,050 civilians were killed or“disappeared” in non-combat situations during the firsthalf of 2005.

More than 310,000 civilians were internally displacedin 2005, compared to 287,000 in 2004. Economicblockades imposed by combatants and clashesbetween the parties to the conflict created serioushumanitarian crises in different parts of the country.

b About 1,300 members of the Awá indigenouscommunity were forced to flee their homes in Junebecause of clashes between the army and FARC inNariño Department.

The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó,Antioquia Department, which insists on the right ofcivilians not to be drawn into the conflict, was againattacked. Over 150 of its members have “disappeared”or been killed since 1997, mostly by paramilitaries andthe security forces, but also by the FARC. On 21February, eight community members, includingcommunity leader Luis Eduardo Guerra, were killed bymen who witnesses claimed were army troops. Thecommunity has often been labelled as subversive by thearmy and paramilitaries, while the FARC accuses it ofsiding with its enemies. On 20 March, President Uribepublicly accused some Peace Community leaders ofbeing FARC auxiliaries.

Members of the Jiguamiandó and Curvaradó Afro-descendant communities also continued to bethreatened by the security forces and theparamilitaries.b On 24 October, the body of Afro-descendantactivist Orlando Valencia was found in ChirigorodóMunicipality, Antioquia Department. He had beenabducted by alleged paramilitaries on 15 October, hoursafter being detained by police who accused him ofbeing a FARC member.

Clashes resulting from attacks by the FARC on 14 and17 April against security force units in the indigenouscommunity of Toribío, Cauca Department, resulted inthe death of 10-year-old Yanson Trochez Pavi, andinjuries to 19 civilians. The FARC reportedly used gascylinders in the attacks, while the security forcesallegedly used aerial strafing in their response.

Freedom of expressionFreedom of expression was undermined by continuedthreats, kidnappings and killings of journalists.b On 11 January, journalist Julio Palacios Sánchez waskilled by unknown assailants in Cúcuta, Norte deSantander Department.b On 20 February, the FARC detonated a car bomboutside the Cali headquarters of the RCN television andradio station, injuring two people.b On 16 May, journalists Hollman Morris, CarlosLozano and Daniel Coronell, who have repeatedlydenounced human rights violations by paramilitaries,received death threats in the form of funeral wreaths.

US military aidIn 2005, US assistance to Colombia was some US$ 781million, with military aid accounting for around 80 percent of the total. The US Congress again required thatthe US Secretary of State certify progress in specifichuman rights categories before the final 25 per centcould be transferred. Given the lack of progress onseveral human rights categories, the US StateDepartment withheld its certification for severalmonths before granting it. US financial assistance to theparamilitary demobilization process was approved,albeit with certain human rights conditions. In August,


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the State Department announced it would ceasesecurity assistance to the XVII Brigade of the Colombianarmy, due to accusations of human rights violations,including the February killings in San José de Apartadó.Assistance was not to be renewed until the accusationswere “credibly addressed”.

Intergovernmental organizationsThe UN Commission on Human Rights expressedconcern at violations of human rights and internationalhumanitarian law, recognizing the responsibility ofarmed opposition groups, paramilitaries and thesecurity forces. It deplored reports of extrajudicialexecutions attributed to members of the security forcesand other public servants and reports of arrests andmass searches carried out without appropriate legalfoundations. It also expressed concern about collusionof state agents with paramilitaries. It condemnedviolence against women committed by all parties to theconflict and the impunity which prevailed.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Colombia: Justice is the only way forward for the

Peace Community of San José de Apartadó (AI Index:AMR 23/004/2005)

• Colombia: Amnesty International condemns attacksagainst the population of Toribío (AI Index: AMR23/011/2005)

• Colombia: The paramilitaries in Medellín –demobilization or legalization? (AI Index: AMR23/019/2005)

• Colombia: The Justice and Peace Law will benefithuman rights abusers (AI Index: AMR 23/030/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited the country in February, April andOctober.

CONGO(DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE)

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Head of state and government: Joseph Kabila





Slow progress was made in building security, justiceand respect for human rights after nearly a decade ofwar. Tens of thousands of people died in continuingconflict or from preventable disease and starvation.Extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings,arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, acts of tortureor ill-treatment, and life-threatening prisonconditions were reported across the country. Thesecurity forces used indiscriminate or excessive forceto break up political protests. Ethnic tensions weremanipulated for political ends in politically ormilitarily strategic areas, including Katanga andNorth-Kivu provinces. Insecurity persisted in easternDemocratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where warcrimes were committed by Congolese armed factionsand foreign armed groups from Rwanda andUganda, including unlawful killings, rape, tortureand the use of child soldiers. The government and theinternational community largely failed to addressthe immense humanitarian needs of a populationbrought about by insecurity, displacement and lackof access to humanitarian and medical care.

BackgroundThe transitional power-sharing government, created in2003 and including members of the former government,major armed groups, opposition political parties andcivil society, made little progress towards unificationand a transition to democratic rule. Serious delays inthe passing of electoral laws and the organization ofelections planned for June 2005 resulted in thetransition being extended to June 2006.

Factionalism and mistrust within the governmentcontributed to continued tension and occasionalarmed conflict between military units supposed to bepart of a unified national army. Integrating tens ofthousands of members of former armed groups and theformer army into the new army started in early 2005, asdid the disarmament, demobilization and reintegrationinto civilian life of tens of thousands of other fighters.Former belligerents remained reluctant to dismantletheir military structures, and integration was resistedin some areas. In North-Kivu hundreds of soldiersdeserted before being persuaded to return to theirunits. The integration process was under-resourced,with no or minimal payment of salaries, and insufficientsupplies of food, water and medical equipment tointegration sites. Coordination was poor between theintegration of fighters into the new army, led by the


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military, and the reintegration of demobilized fightersinto civilian life, led by a civilian government body.Projects to support re-entry into civilian life, involvingthousands of child soldiers, were still not fullyidentified or functional. In Ituri, a voluntaryDisarmament and Community Reinsertion programmehad disarmed over 12,500 combatants from formerarmed groups by the end of 2005 out of an estimated,but disputed, total of 15,000. However, mostcommunity projects to facilitate reinsertion intocivilian life were considerably delayed or notundertaken at all, leaving thousands of demobilizedmilitia members without access to alternative forms ofemployment. Thousands of other combatants, opposedto demobilization, were still at large.

The peacekeeping force of the UN OrganizationMission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo(MONUC), with only some 16,000 troops at the end of2005, continued to be overstretched. The governmentsof Uganda and Rwanda allegedly continued to channelsupport to armed groups, or factions of armed groups,that opposed the transitional government.

Unlawful killingsAll armed forces and groups were responsible forunlawful killings, which were reported on an almostdaily basis.

Government security forces used excessive andsometimes lethal force to break up publicdemonstrations. In January, scores of people in Kinshasawere killed or seriously injured by army and police unitsduring protests at the postponement of the elections.b On 30 June, the notional end date of the transition,10 protesters in a number of cities were reportedly shotdead by the security forces.North-KivuArmed groups that failed to engage in the militaryintegration process continued to commit almost dailykillings and other grave human rights abuses in North-Kivu, particularly in Rutshuru territory. Informationemerged that hundreds of civilians had been killed,raped or tortured in Nyabiondo, in Masisi territory, andBuramba, in Rutshuru territory, in December 2004,following fighting between rival forces not integratedinto the new army. Many abuses appeared to beethnically motivated.South-KivuThousands of civilians were killed, raped and abducted,and child soldiers continued to be used, especially inthe Walungu and Kabare territories of South-Kivuwhere Rwandan insurgents operated.b On 9 and 10 July around 40 civilians, mainly womenand children, were killed in Ntulumamba locality,reportedly by a group of armed Rwandan fighters.

Government forces were also responsible forkillings, rapes and looting during counter-insurgencyoperations.IturiDespite a significant improvement in security aroundBunia town, the Ituri district was still affected byviolence. On 25 February, nine UN peacekeepers werekilled in Kafe, a region believed to be the stronghold of

several ethnic and political armed militias. Murder,rape and looting by the militias drove over 80,000civilians from their homes to camps for the internallydisplaced, despite the presence of three integratedarmy brigades in parallel or joint security operationswith MONUC forces.KatangaKatanga province experienced heightened instabilityand a sharp increase in killings, rapes, abductions andlooting, mainly by mayi-mayi militia. In the north,frequent fighting between mayi-mayi and governmentforces resulted in massive population displacement.During an ethnic and political leadership contest, atleast 65 people were detained incommunicado in Apriland May by military intelligence agents in connectionwith an alleged secession plot. A number werereportedly tortured or severely ill-treated. Most werereleased without charge. Others were still in detentionin Kinshasa at the end of 2005.

Violence against womenLarge numbers of women and girls continued to besubjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence bygovernment forces and armed groups. In eastern DRC,girls under five and women over 70 were not spared.Rape was sometimes committed in front of the victim’schildren, family or community, and was oftenaccompanied by other extreme forms of torture. Insome cases, the girl or woman was killed or deliberatelywounded. Few rape survivors had access to appropriatemedical care.b Bitombo Nyumba, a 56-year-old widow and motherof four children, died from her injuries and inadequatemedical treatment in June 2005 after seven soldierstortured and raped her in Fizi territory, South-Kivu.

Attacks on human rights defendersIn most areas the authorities remained hostile tohuman rights defenders. A number of prominentdefenders were physically attacked, illegally detainedor threatened.b Pascal Kabungulu, Executive Secretary of thehuman rights organization, Heirs of Justice (Héritiers dela Justice), was shot dead by three armed men on 31 Julyat his home in Bukavu, South-Kivu. An officialcommission of inquiry failed to report its findings, andno suspected perpetrators had been brought to justiceby the end of 2005.

Torture and ill-treatmentTorture and ill-treatment continued of detainees in thecustody of the military, police and other securityforces. It was frequently facilitated by the use ofincommunicado detention. Among practices reportedwere sustained beatings, often with sticks, lengths ofmetal or rifle-butts; death threats or mock executions;prolonged suspension by the arms or legs from walls ordoors; and the forcing of detainees to stare for longperiods into strong sunlight.

Conditions in many prisons and detention centres,which were often overcrowded, insanitary and life-threatening, amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading


CON

treatment. Deaths from malnutrition or untreatedmedical conditions were common. In some prisons, littleeffort was made adequately to separate children fromadult inmates, or women from men. In many casesdetainees were refused access to lawyers, familymembers or medical care, especially in pre-trialdetention.

Impunity and lack of access to justiceDespite systematic violations of human rights, hardlyany suspected perpetrators were brought to justice. Noeffort was made to exclude individuals suspected ofgrave human rights abuses from the new army, andpeople allegedly responsible for crimes underinternational law and other human rights abusesassumed key positions in the army and transitionalinstitutions.

Victims of human rights abuses were blocked frompursuing legal action against the perpetrators byfailings in the justice system. Few had the confidencein the system to lodge a legal complaint. They had topay for the costs of summons and court proceedings.Authorities failed to protect victims and witnessesfrom intimidation or reprisals. Rape survivors, manyof them living in the same communities or areas astheir attackers, were particularly affected by the lackof access to justice, and lived in fear of furtherassault.

Justice officials operated with limited resources,without office equipment or even basic legal texts.Non-payment of police and judicial salaries had ademoralizing and corrupting effect. Pre-trial detaineeslanguished in prisons for want of funds to bring them totrial, including their transport to court. Politicalinterference and pressure, sometimes accompanied bythreats or dismissal, were exerted on judges,prosecutors and police officers.

Despite the introduction in 2002 of a revised militarypenal code, military courts and tribunals sometimesfailed to respect international fair trial standards. Insummary trials before such courts, defendants did nothave full or adequate legal representation.International justiceTwo years after the prosecutor of the InternationalCriminal Court announced that the Court wouldinvestigate crimes committed in the DRC since July2002, investigations have yet to result in anyinternational arrest warrants. The likelihood that onlya handful of suspected perpetrators would beprosecuted underlined the necessity forcomprehensive action by the DRC government toreform the national justice sector and take steps to endimpuntiy, including by enacting appropriate legislationto implement the Rome Statute of the InternationalCriminal Court.

Death penaltyDeath sentences continued to be passed, mainly bymilitary courts. Hundreds of prisoners remained undersentence of death, nearly all of them convicted afterunfair trials by military courts. No executions werereported.

In March argument over abolition of the deathpenalty resurfaced during parliamentary debates onthe new national Constitution. An early draft of theConstitution proposed abolition, but a majority in theSenate and National Assembly rejected the change.

Repression of freedom of expressionIn advance of national elections, and as dissatisfactionwith the transitional government grew, politicallymotivated harassment and detentions were used in anattempt to silence government critics. Members ofhuman rights organizations, journalists and oppositionactivists were arbitrarily detained for denouncinghuman rights violations or criticizing the authorities.More than 40 journalists were detained, and many werecharged with defamation. Others were threatened.Journalist Franck Ngyke Kangundu and his wife wereshot dead in unexplained circumstances outside theirhome on 3 November. Dozens of opposition activistsand some high-profile figures perceived as a politicalthreat were harassed or detained.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Democratic Republic of the Congo: Arming the East

(AI Index: AFR 62/006/2005)• Democratic Republic of the Congo: North-Kivu –

Civilians pay the price for political and militaryrivalry (AI Index: AFR 62/013/2005)

VisitsIn February and March, AI delegates visited North andSouth-Kivu, Oriental province and Kinshasa, andorganized a workshop in Bukavu, South-Kivu, tosupport initiatives by local non-governmentalorganizations and address the issue of sexual violenceagainst women. In November, delegates from AI andFront Line, an international foundation for theprotection of human rights defenders, jointly visitedNorth and South-Kivu and Kinshasa to assess theprotection needs of human rights defenders.


CON

CONGO(REPUBLIC OF THE)

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Head of state and government: Denis Sassou-Nguesso





signed

More than 20 people were arrested in January andFebruary in connection with an alleged plot againstthe government; more were arrested later in the year.Several of them were granted provisional release, butmost remained in custody without trial at the end ofthe year. A trial of 15 serving members of the securityforces and a civilian charged with genocide andcrimes against humanity ended in August. All 16were acquitted, but the court held the governmentresponsible for the “disappearance” of at least 80returning refugees in 1999.

BackgroundThe 2003 peace agreement between the governmentand the armed opposition National Resistance Council(Conseil national de résistance, CNR) was notimplemented and armed clashes were reported. InMarch the government announced a programme ofdemobilization, disarmament and reintegration ofsome 450 former CNR fighters but the armed group didnot participate.

There were reports during the year of looting andlawlessness by CNR combatants. In one incident inApril they attacked a UN humanitarian delegationvisiting the Pool region and stole the delegates’property. On 13 October, three gendarmes, twopolicemen and a Chinese trader were killed duringclashes between members of the security forces andCNR combatants in Brazzaville. The combatants wereoccupying a house allocated by the government to CNRleader Frédéric Bitsangou as part of the 2003 peaceaccord. On 19 October government forces attacked thecombatants and drove them out of Brazzaville.

In July the Congolese Human Rights Observatory(Observatoire congolais des droits de l’homme, OCDH),a local independent human rights group, pulled out ofthe government-sponsored National Human RightsCommission. The OCDH accused the Commission offailing to act on human rights abuses and of lack ofindependence.

Former Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas, who hadbeen sentenced to death in absentia in May 2000,returned home in October to bury his wife. Parliamentgranted him an amnesty in November.

Congo remained suspended from the Kimberleyprocess, which traces the origin of diamonds, althoughofficials said that they were doing all they could torejoin the process.

ImpunityIn July the trial of 15 members of the security forces anda civilian began before the Brazzaville criminal court.The men were charged with genocide and crimes againsthumanity for their alleged role in the “disappearance” inmid-1999 of more than 350 refugees returning from theneighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo(formerly Zaire). Members of the security services werenot suspended from their positions before or during thetrial. When the trial concluded in August, the courtfound the state responsible for the “disappearance” of atleast 80 people but acquitted all the defendants on thegrounds that they bore no responsibility for the“disappearances”. The court failed to specify who hadcarried out the “disappearances” but ordered the stateto pay unspecified compensation to the families of thevictims. Local and international human rightsorganizations expressed concern that the criminal courthad only pursued the case to prevent the trial of thealleged perpetrators by an independent foreign court.

Detention without trialIn January, at least eight gendarmes and four civiliansaccused of involvement in the theft of arms fromBifouiti gendarmerie were arrested in Brazzaville anddetained at the headquarters of the Central Directorateof Military Intelligence (Direction centrale desrenseignements militaires, DCRM).

In February, more than 20 members of the securityforces and civilians accused of plotting against thegovernment were arrested in Pointe-Noire anddetained by the security services. They weretransferred to Brazzaville in March. Most of them weredetained at the DCRM headquarters; others were heldat the military academy, north of Brazzaville.

While in military custody without charge or trial, thedetainees were held incommunicado and denied theright to see their defence counsel or their relatives. AIdelegates visiting Brazzaville in April were also deniedpermission to meet the detainees. In May the detaineeswere transferred to Brazzaville’s central prison andwere allowed visits thereafter.

In September they were charged with endangeringthe security of the state. They had not been tried by theend of the year. At least four of the detainees, includingMagoud Beconith Cotody and Jean Romain Tsiba, weregranted provisional release in September.

AI country reports/visitsVisitAI delegates visited the Republic of the Congo in April.


CÔT

CÔTE D’IVOIRE

REPUBLIC OF CÔTE D’IVOIRE

Head of state: Laurent Gbagbo

Head of government: Charles Konan Banny (replaced

Seydou Diarra in December)





The postponement of presidential elections inOctober, despite intense diplomatic efforts by theAfrican Union and pressure from the UN and theinternational community, resulted in politicaldeadlock. In December a transitional governmentand prime minister were appointed. A resumption ofhostilities was averted by international efforts tofind a peaceful solution to the crisis and the presenceof 10,000 peacekeeping troops. Both governmentsecurity forces and the New Forces (ForcesNouvelles), a political coalition of former armedopposition groups in control of the north, continuedto commit human rights abuses. People suspected ofsupporting the opposition forces were reportedlykilled in the custody of the security forces. The deathof a foreign national detained by opposition forceswas believed to be the result of torture or other ill-treatment. Inter-ethnic tensions were stirred up byxenophobic propaganda. No progress was made indemobilizing forces under the peace process.Freedom of expression was under constant attack byboth sides.

BackgroundIn February a pro-government militia attacked a NewForces position in the first renewal of hostilities sinceforces loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo bombedrebel-held towns in November 2004, shattering an 18-month ceasefire.

In April, following mediation by South Africa’sPresident Thabo Mbeki, both sides signed anagreement (Pretoria I) declaring an official end to thewar, and pledged to demobilize, disarm andreintegrate all forces enlisted since the start of theinsurgency in September 2002. Following ethnicclashes in the west in May and June, all the partiesfurther agreed in June (Pretoria II) to African Unionsanctions against forces that failed to implementpeace agreements. In July, President Gbagbo adoptedlegal amendments identified in the peace accords aspre-conditions for presidential elections in October,but the New Forces and other opposition partiesclaimed the amendments were not in line with thePretoria agreements.

In July tensions increased after attacks byunidentified armed groups on guard posts in two townsclose to Abidjan, the economic capital, in which at leastfive military policemen were killed. In August, General

Mathias Doué, a former Army Chief of Staff, threatenedto use “any means” to oust President Gbagbo, saying hewas an obstacle to peace.

In October, following postponement of thepresidential elections, the African Union proposed thatPresident Gbagbo remain in power until October 2006,12 months beyond his term of office, while conditionswere created to hold fair elections. Under thisproposal, which was endorsed by the UN, a new PrimeMinister “acceptable to all Ivorian parties” wasappointed in December as a result of the mediation ofPresidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and OlusegunObasanjo of Nigeria. Prime Minister Charles KonanBanny and a new government that included members ofall Ivorian political parties were appointed for atransitional period until October 2006 to preparefuture presidential elections.

The UN Security Council and Secretary-Generalcontinued to raise the possibility of sanctions againstthose undermining the peace process. In October, aftera visit to Côte d’Ivoire, the head of the UN SanctionsCommittee said that the international communitywould impose “measures” against political factions ifthey failed to reach a peace agreement.

Deaths in detention and unlawful killingsThe security forces were responsible for theextrajudicial execution of detainees suspected ofsupporting the armed elements of the New Forces.b In April, Samassi Abdramane, Touré Adama andNimba Kah Hyacinthe were arrested by the police onsuspicion of being “rebels”. They were denied access totheir lawyer, although their families were able to visitthem at police headquarters in Abidjan some days aftertheir arrest. A few days later, their bodies were found inthe morgue at Anyama, 20km north of Abidjan. Despitea judicial investigation, by the end of 2005 nosignificant progress appeared to have been made inidentifying their killers.b In July, following an attack by unidentified armedmen on police stations in the towns of Abgoville andAnyama, the security forces arrested dozens of civiliansas suspects. A number were reported to have beenextrajudicially executed, including Koné Gaoussou, adriver, and Diarra Lacény, an apprentice driver. Noinvestigation was known to have been opened intothese deaths.

Abuses by the New ForcesArmed New Forces units continued to be responsiblefor human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention,torture and ill-treatment.b In March, Brian Hamish Sands, a New Zealandnational, was arrested on suspicion of being amercenary and detained incommunicado in Bouaké,the New Forces stronghold. He died three weeks later,according to the New Forces from natural causes.However, autopsy findings appeared to exclude thispossibility. Other reports suggested that he had beentortured or might have committed suicide. There wasno independent investigation into the circumstancessurrounding his death.


CRO

b Also in March, some 35 men accused of being pro-government fighters were arrested by the New Forces.They were transferred to Korhogo, where they wereallegedly detained for months incommunicado, withoutcharge or trial and at risk of torture.

Extrajudicial execution by Frenchpeacekeeping forcesIn May, soldiers of the French peacekeeping forceLicorne killed Firmin Mahé, an alleged highway gangleader wanted for murder and rape. He suffocatedwhile being transferred to hospital on the roadbetween Bangolo and Man in the west. In October,three members of the French forces – includingGeneral Henri Poncet, former commander of thepeacekeeping force – were suspended andreprimanded over their role in covering-up the killing.French investigators subsequently launched a militaryinvestigation and a criminal investigation intovoluntary manslaughter.

Ethnic clashes in the west of the countryIn the west, antagonism between the indigenouspopulation and farmers from other regions orneighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso continuedto provoke ethnic clashes. Xenophobic rhetoric bypoliticians and the news media aggravated the conflict.b In May and June, more than a hundred people werekilled, many with machetes and cudgels, in twoseparate incidents in Duékoué, 500km north-west ofAbidjan. The conflict took place in a region undergovernment rule, alongside the “confidence zone”controlled by French soldiers and the peacekeepingforce of the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).

Demobilization at a standstillThe stalling of the demobilization, disarmament andreintegration programme constituted one of the mostobvious failures of the peace process. An estimated50,000 combatants enlisted since the start of theinsurgency in September 2002 were supposed to enterthe programme. They included armed elements of theNew Forces, pro-government militia members, andwomen and child soldiers. However, none of themeasures anticipated in the timetable had beenimplemented by the end of 2005, in particular thepreparation of sites designated for demobilizedcombatants. The main obstacle to progress appeared tobe a lack of mutual confidence between thegovernment and the New Forces leadership.

Child soldiersAs in previous years, child soldiers were recruited byboth parties to the conflict.b In February, two children aged 10 and 11,apparently of Liberian origin, took part in an attackon the western town of Logoualé by a pro-government militia, the Movement for the Liberationof Western Côte d’Ivoire (Mouvement de Libérationde l’Ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire). The two children wereplaced under the protection of UNICEF, the UNChildren’s Fund.

Freedom of expression under attackJournalists and media organizations were harassed andattacked by the security forces and pro-governmentmilitias.b In July, members of the Young Patriots (JeunesPatriotes), a loosely defined movement professingsupport for President Gbagbo, destroyed copies ofopposition newspapers including Le Patriote and LeNouveau Réveil.b Also in July, the National Council for Radio andTelevision Broadcasting suspended broadcasts of RadioFrance Internationale in Côte d’Ivoire, and accused thestation of unprofessional and biased coverage. Itsbroadcasts were still suspended at the end of 2005.b In August, General Philippe Mangou, the ArmyChief of Staff, threatened to ban newspapers that were“not working in the interests of the country”.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Côte d’Ivoire: Stop the use of child soldiers (AI Index:

AFR 31/003/2005)• Côte d’Ivoire: Threats hang heavy over the future

(AI Index: AFR 31/013/2005)VisitIn January and February an AI delegation visited Côted’Ivoire to investigate reports of human rights abusesduring clashes in November 2004, including the allegeduse of excessive force by French peacekeeping forcesagainst civilian supporters of President Gbagbo inAbidjan.

CROATIA

REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Head of state: Stjepan Mesi»

Head of government: Ivo Sanader




The legacy of the 1991- 95 war continued toovershadow human rights in Croatia. Many of thoseresponsible for human rights violations during theconflict continued to evade justice. The Croatianjudicial system failed to address wartime humanrights violations, regardless of the ethnicity of thevictims or of the perpetrators. Of at least 300,000Croatian Serbs displaced by the conflict,approximately 120,000 were officially registered ashaving returned home.


CRO

BackgroundIn March the European Union (EU) Council decided topostpone the beginning of accession talks, because ofthe failure of the Croatian authorities to fully co-operatewith the International Criminal Tribunal for the formerYugoslavia. In October, after the Tribunal’s Prosecutorassessed that Croatia was fully co-operating with theTribunal, the EU Council decided to open membershiptalks with Croatia. The EU Council agreed that less thanfull co-operation with the Tribunal at any stage wouldaffect the overall progress of the negotiations andcould be grounds for their suspension.

War crimes and crimes against humanityInternational prosecutionsb In December former Croatian Army General AnteGotovina was arrested in Spain, apparently after theCroatian authorities had provided the Tribunal withinformation on his whereabouts. He was subsequentlytransferred to the Tribunal’s custody. Ante Gotovinawas indicted by the Tribunal on seven counts:persecution; murder – including the murder of at least150 Croatian Serbs; plunder; wanton destruction ofcities, towns and villages; deportation and forceddisplacement; and other inhumane acts. b In January Pavle Strugar, a former Lieutenant-General in the Yugoslav People’s Army (Jugoslovenskanarodna armija, JNA), was sentenced to eight years’imprisonment for his role in attacks on civilians andthe destruction of cultural property during theshelling of Dubrovnik’s Old Town in December 1991.b In February the Tribunal indicted Mom½ilo Periši»,former JNA Chief of Staff, for war crimes and crimesagainst humanity committed during the wars inCroatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), includinghis alleged role in the shelling of Zagreb in 1995.b In June the Tribunal Prosecutor withdrew herapplication to refer the “Vukovar Three” case to adomestic jurisdiction in the former Yugoslavia, citingits highly sensitive nature and the fact that anydecision to transfer it would provoke “deepresentment in one or the other country considered forthe transfer”. The accused, Mile Mrkši», MiroslavRadi» and Veselin Šljivan½anin, who remained in theTribunal’s custody, are all former JNA officers indictedfor their alleged involvement in the removal andexecution of more than 250 non-Serbs from Vukovarhospital, after Vukovar fell to the JNA and CroatianSerb forces in 1991. The trial started at the Tribunal in October.b In November the case of Rahim Ademi and MirkoNorac was officially transferred to Croatia. TheProsecution had requested the transfer in 2004. MirkoNorac was already serving a prison sentence inCroatia after being convicted in 2003 by the RijekaCounty Court of war crimes against non-Croatcivilians. The accused are former Croatian Army commanders charged with crimes againsthumanity and war crimes, including murder andpersecutions, committed against Croatian Serbsduring military operations in the so-called “Medakpocket” in 1993.

Domestic prosecutionsTrials for war crimes and crimes against humanitycontinued or started before local courts, often inabsentia. In some cases these trials did not meetinternationally recognized standards of fairness. Ingeneral, ethnic bias continued to affect theinvestigation and prosecution by the Croatian judiciaryof wartime human rights violations. There continued tobe widespread impunity for crimes allegedly committedby members of the Croatian Army and police forces.b In February, three former Croatian police officersand one serving police officer, accused of having killedsix captured JNA reservists in 1991, were acquitted bythe Varaûdin County Court. In May 2004 the CroatianSupreme Court had quashed a previous acquittal in thiscase by the Bjelovar County Court and ordered a retrial.b In April proceedings against 27 Croatian Serbs,Roma and Ruthenians, 18 of whom were being tried intheir absence, reopened at the Vukovar County Court,in what was reportedly the biggest war crimes trial everheld in Croatia. The defendants, who faced charges ofgenocide, were suspected of crimes against the civilianpopulation of the village of Mikluševci, near Vukovar, in1991 and 1992. The trial initially started in 2004 on thebasis of an indictment issued in 1996 against 35suspects. It was suspended when it was ascertainedthat eight of the accused had died.b In May proceedings started at the Zagreb CountyCourt against five former members of a CroatianMinistry of the Interior unit. In September, threereceived prison sentences of between five and 10 yearsfor the murder of a member of the Croatian Army in1991. The other two defendants were sentenced to twoand four years’ imprisonment for abducting anddetaining three Croatian Serbs living in Zagreb whowere later killed by unknown perpetrators in Pakra½kapoljana. Two of the accused went into hiding the dayafter the verdict was issued and were still at large at theend of 2005.b In July an investigation was launched into murdersand “disappearances” of Croatian Serb civilians inOsijek in 1991 and 1992. In October two suspects,reportedly former members of the Croatian Army, werearrested on suspicion of involvement in the wartimemurder of four Croatian Serbs. In December AntoÐapi», President of the Croatian Party of Rights andMayor of Osijek, reportedly disclosed to the media thenames of 19 potential witnesses who could testifyabout crimes committed against Croatian Serbs inOsijek, leading to concerns about their safety and theirwillingness to testify in court.b In September the retrial started at the Split CountyCourt of eight former members of the Croatian MilitaryPolice, accused of having tortured and murdered non-Croat detainees in Split’s Lora military prison in 1992.Four of the accused were tried in their absence. Aninitial trial held in 2002 ended with an acquittal verdict,subsequently overturned by the Croatian SupremeCourt. b In September the trial restarted at the KarlovacCounty Court of a former member of the Croatianspecial police on charges of having killed 13 disarmed


CUB

JNA reservists in 1991. Two earlier acquittal verdicts hadbeen overturned by the Croatian Supreme Court.

Right to return/attacks against Croatian Serbs At least 300,000 Croatian Serbs were displaced by the1991-95 conflict, of whom approximately 120,000 wereofficially registered as having returned home. One ofthe greatest obstacles to sustainable return was thefailure of the Croatian authorities to provide adequatehousing for Croatian Serbs who were stripped of theirrights to socially owned flats during and after the war.

Cases of violence and harassment by privateindividuals against Croatian Serbs appeared to haveincreased in 2005. These included racist graffiti, threatsand assaults. The most serious incident saw theapparently ethnically motivated killing in May of anelderly Croatian Serb man in Karin, near Zadar. Theinvestigation into this murder was continuing at theend of 2005. Also in May, there were three bomb attackson municipality buildings in the predominantlyCroatian Serb towns of Borovo and Trpinja and in thepremises of a Croatian Serb party in Vukovar. In Augusta bomb was thrown into the yard of a house owned by aCroatian Serb in the Imotski region, damaging thebuilding. In October and November two Croatian Serbreturnees were killed by explosive devices in a wood inthe village of Jagma, Lipik municipality. The incidentsraised particular concern since both occurred, insimilar circumstances, in an area that was notconsidered to be affected by mines. The Croatianauthorities were still investigating the incidents at theend of the year.

Violence against womenIn February the UN Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women expressed, among otherthings, its concern over the high incidence of domesticviolence, the limited number of shelters available forvictims of violence and the lack of clear procedures forlaw enforcement and health care personnel dealingwith domestic violence. The Committee also expressedconcern at the high incidence of trafficking in women.



• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of AmnestyInternational’s concerns in the region, July-December 2004: Croatia (AI Index: EUR 01/002/2005)

• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of AmnestyInternational’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Croatia (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

CUBA

REPUBLIC OF CUBA

Head of state and government: Fidel Castro Ruz





Restrictions on freedom of expression, associationand movement continued to cause great concern.Nearly 70 prisoners of conscience remained inprison. The US embargo continued to have a negativeeffect on the enjoyment of the full range of humanrights in Cuba. The economic situation deterioratedand the government attempted to suppress privateentrepreneurship. More than 30 prisoners remainedon death row; no one was executed.

BackgroundThere was increasing international concern aboutCuba’s failure to improve civil and political rights. InApril, in a highly politicized process, the UNCommission on Human Rights condemned Cuba onceagain for its human rights record.

The government maintained a tight control on thosewho criticized it, and detained several human rightsdefenders and political dissidents. However, in May theAssembly to Promote Civil Society — a coalition of morethan 350 independent non-governmental organizations(NGOs) — held an unprecedented meeting of dissidentsin Cuba.

The authorities launched an energetic campaign totackle informal economic activities and widespreadcorruption in the state sector.

Prisoners of consciencePrisoners of conscience continued to be arrested andsentenced for their peacefully held views. Some werereleased for health reasons.b René Gómez Manzano and Julio César LópezRodríguez were detained, along with several others, inthe capital Havana after participating in a peacefulanti-government demonstration on 22 July. RenéGómez Manzano, a member of the Assembly toPromote Civil Society, and eight others remainedimprisoned awaiting trial.b On 13 July around 20 people were detained whileparticipating in a peaceful event in Havana. They werecommemorating the “13 de Marzo” tugboat disaster of1994, in which some 35 people were killed whileattempting to flee Cuba when their boat wasreportedly rammed by the Cuban authorities. Sixremained in detention without charge and one wassentenced to one year’s imprisonment for“peligrosidad predelictiva” defined as “a person’sspecial proclivity to commit offences as demonstratedby conduct that is manifestly contrary to the norms ofsocialist morality”.


CYP

b Prisoner of conscience Mario Enrique MayoHernández, sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in2003, was conditionally released on health grounds on 1 December.

Restrictions on freedom of expression, association and movementHuman rights activists, political dissidents and tradeunionists were harassed and intimidated. Such attackswere frequently perpetrated by quasi-official groups,the rapid-response brigades, allegedly acting incollusion with members of the security forces.

Freedom of expression and association continuedto be under attack. All legal media outlets were undergovernment control and independent mediaremained banned. Independent journalists facedintimidation, harassment and imprisonment forpublishing articles outside Cuba. Human rightsdefenders also faced intimidation and politicallymotivated and arbitrary arrests.

The laws used to arrest and imprison journalists,relating to defamation, national security and disturbingpublic order, did not comply with internationalstandards. According to the international NGOReporters Without Borders, 24 journalists wereimprisoned at the end of 2005.b Oscar Mario González Pérez, an independentjournalist, was arrested on 22 July after covering ademonstration. He remained in prison without charge.

Dissidents continued to face restrictions whenattempting to travel abroad.b Miguel Sigler Amaya, a member of the unofficialAlternative Option Movement (MovimientoIndependiente Opción Alternativa), was detained atHavana International Airport when he and his familywere about to board a plane to the USA even thoughthey had exit visas as political refugees. He and hisfamily were released several days later and finally leftCuba on 5 October. Miguel Sigler Amaya’s brothers,Guido and Ariel, both prisoners of conscience,continued to serve sentences of 20 and 25 yearsrespectively.b In December, representatives of Ladies in White(Las Damas de Blanco), a group of prisoners’ femalerelatives who had marched every Sunday since March2003 demanding the release of their husbands, brothersand sons, were not given official permission to travel toattend the award ceremony in Strasbourg, France, toreceive the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize forFreedom of Thought.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Cuba: Prisoners of conscience – 71 longing for

freedom (AI Index: AMR 25/002/2005)

CYPRUS

REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

Head of state and government: Tassos Papadopoulos




Foreign nationals were reported to have beenunlawfully expelled, arbitrarily detained and ill-treated in police custody. The police allegedly usedexcessive force against demonstrators andjournalists at a picket by striking lorry drivers. Statepolicies failed to provide protection, support, justiceor redress to victims of violence in the family.

BackgroundThe de facto separation of the north and south parts ofthe island persisted, with the northern part remainingunrecognized by the international community. TheCommittee of Missing Persons, which reconvened in2005 in an attempt to discover the fate of about 2,000people missing in ethnic strife since 1963, held furthermeetings but made little progress.

Detention and deportation of foreign nationalsExperts from the European Union Network ofIndependent Experts in Fundamental Human Rightsexpressed concern in January that foreign nationalsarriving in Cyprus in 2004 had been deported withoutbeing offered access to the asylum process. They citedcases of individuals who had been detained forprolonged periods pending deportation, even in caseswhere deportation orders could not be carried out orwhere detainees’ asylum applications were underconsideration.

Foreign detainees at the Central Prison in Nicosiacomplained that prison staff mocked them and maderacist comments, the Ombudsperson reported inFebruary. She also reported that foreign nationals whohad filed asylum applications were being detained inpolice stations around the country.

In May there were reports that foreign detainees hadbeen beaten while held in poor detention conditions inLimassol police station.

In July the Ombudsperson reported receivingcomplaints from foreign nationals applying for asylumwho said they had been detained in police stations, ill-treated and forced to sign declarations withdrawingtheir requests for asylum. In one case, an Iranianasylum-seeker was arrested in February, detained forthree months in Limassol police station andsubsequently expelled to Iran. He had been arrestedafter he visited the police station to inform the Cypriotauthorities that his address had changed. In her report,the Ombudsperson said that his arrest and detentionwere arbitrary, and that the expulsion was in violation


CZE

of the principle of non-refoulement which states thatthose seeking asylum should not be forcibly returned tocountries where they risked serious human rightsabuses.

Excessive use of forceOn 18 July members of the special police MobileImmediate Response Unit were alleged to have usedexcessive force against demonstrators and journalistsat a picket by striking lorry drivers. In response to acomplaint by the Union of Journalists, theOmbudsperson carried out an investigation. Sheconcluded that the police had exhibited “unpardonablenegligence” and failed to inform the strikers about their“intention to ensure, using any possible means,including violence, lorry access across the picket line”.The Ombudsperson also concluded that “the situation[which led to the beating and arrest of one cameramanin particular] was not of an intensity or gravity and didnot bear a serious or direct danger such that wouldjustify the involvement of the police officer in charge[as was the case]”. Her report recommended that thepolice reconsider their role in policing futuredemonstrations to ensure that the public’s right tofreedom of information was not compromised and thattheir actions during the policing of such demonstrationswere not excessive.

Domestic violenceCyprus had not formulated a National Action Plan tocombat domestic violence, according to the Swedishorganization Kvinnoforum (Women’s Forum) in areport in March. Experts from the local MediterraneanInstitute of Gender Studies identified a number offailures in state policies on violence in the home. Theseincluded limited psychological support to victims; alack of coordination between police and the judiciary;the absence of training for lawyers and judges; the lackof information in foreign languages to assist non-Cypriot victims; and the non-existent legal protectionsfor lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people.

CZECH REPUBLIC

CZECH REPUBLIC

Head of state: Václav Klaus

Head of government: Ji¦í Paroubek (replaced Stanislav

Gross in April)




Roma continued to suffer discrimination at thehands of public officials and private individuals.There were continuing reports of police ill-treatment.

Discrimination against RomaRoma continued to face discrimination in employment,housing and education. They also suffered frequentviolent attacks by racist individuals.HousingDiscriminatory practices in public and private rentalmarkets meant that in practice Roma could frequentlynot obtain housing, even if they were able to presentfinancial guarantees, and as a result lived in segregatedsubstandard housing. Ostensibly neutral eligibilityrequirements, such as an adequate education level forall members of the family applying for housing,disproportionately affected Roma whose level ofeducation was often lower than that of ethnic Czechs.b In June, the municipality in the northern town ofBohumin issued eviction orders to the predominantlyRomani residents of a hostel that it decided to convertinto flats. The municipality offered no feasible plan toprovide the low-income residents with alternativeaccommodation. Instead, it proposed to segregate themen from the women and children, and move them intoa shelter for single mothers. Most of the residents left,while the remaining 15 appealed against the evictionorders. By November a regional court had orderedthem to leave the hostel, without instructing theauthorities to provide alternative accommodation.They appealed, and pending a decision, the townauthorities were prohibited from evicting them.EducationIn May the European Court of Human Rights inStrasbourg decided to admit a complaint filed by 18schoolchildren of Romani origin against the CzechRepublic. The complaint alleged racial discrimination ineducation. The applicants claimed that their placementin “special schools” for mentally disabled children onthe basis of their ethnic origin constituted racialdiscrimination and contravened international humanrights principles.

Police ill-treatmentReports of ill-treatment by the police continued,particularly of Roma, but also of other vulnerablegroups, such as homeless people, people withsubstance abuse problems and foreigners. There was


DOM

no mechanism, totally independent from the InteriorMinistry, for investigating complaints about the actionsof law enforcement officials.b The League of Human Rights, a local non-governmental organization, reported that on 1February an 18-year-old Roma youth, R.B., wasassaulted by municipal police in the city of Krupka. Hewas stopped on the street by the police and taken in apatrol car to a bar where he had allegedly earlierbroken a window. He was reportedly kicked in thebody and head in front of several witnesses, andrequired treatment for extensive injuries. The Leagueof Human Rights filed a complaint on behalf of R.B.with the state police but, despite witness testimonies,the case was closed.b On 20 April, brothers Jan M. and Jozef M., bothminors, were reportedly ill-treated after being takeninto custody by police in a Prague street on suspicionof illegally pasting posters. In the car, Jan M. was hit bya policeman. At the police station in Prague 3 (Ûiûkov),the boys were made to strip naked and do push-ups infront of three policemen. During the interrogation, JanM. was reportedly hit on the head so hard that his earand nose bled and he had concussion. Relying on thetestimony of the three policemen and despite amedical report on one of the youngsters, the case wasnot taken forward by the Inspectorate of the InteriorMinistry. The League of Human Rights appealed againstthe decision of the inspectorate and, as of November,the case was under investigation by the state attorney.b On 30 July police intervened to disperse some5,000 people gathered in a field near the village ofMlýnec, West Bohemia, for a music festival known as“CzechTek”, which was allegedly unauthorized andcausing damage to private property. Police in riot gearreportedly shot tear gas grenades and used watercannons to end the festival. More than 80 people wereinjured, and around 20 members of the public and fivepolice officers sought medical attention. In November,the Ombudsman’s office stated that the interventionwas legal but that police failed to take adequatepreventive measures that might have helped to avoidthe later use of force.

Mental health issuesDespite the banning of cage beds in psychiatricinstitutions under the Ministry of Health, their use wasstill permitted in social care centres under the Ministryof Labour and Social Affairs. These centres housedchildren and adults with mental disabilities and peoplewith substance abuse problems.

In May, parliament adopted an amendment to thelaw on social care on the use of restraint in all socialcare institutions, including cage beds. Regularizationof restraint use was cited as the objective of the law,although in fact it legalized the use of restraints. Theamendment allows employees of social care homeswho are not qualified physicians to make decisionsregarding restraint use. Moreover, the amendmentdoes not provide for supervision of the restraintorder, time limits on restraint, or a complaintmechanism for victims.

Forced sterilization of womenIn late 2004, the Ministry of Health established a panel toreview the files of alleged victims of forced sterilization,to facilitate investigation of the issue and to respond toqueries from the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman wasconducting an independent investigation intoapproximately 80 complaints against hospitals thatallegedly sterilized women without their informedconsent. In December, the Ombudsman produced a finalreport, stating that in most cases of forced sterilization,women were not able to give informed consent becausethey did not understand the procedure, because of lackof time (sometimes the procedure was carried out withina few minutes of their agreeing to it, or after labour hadstarted) or because of misleading information on the partof hospital personnel about the nature andconsequences of the sterilization procedure. A numberof these cases were transferred to the state attorney andthe police for investigation.b The Group of Women Harmed by Sterilization, avictim advocacy group, lodged formal complaints incases of Romani women sterilized under coercion.In November, the Ostrava District Court indicated thatit would uphold the complaint of Helena Ferencikova,who was sterilized in an Ostrava hospital in 2001 whilegiving birth to her second child by caesarean section.The court was expected to rule that, in violation of therules on informed consent, the doctors secured herconsent when she was deep in labour and did not fullyunderstand the consequences of her actions.

DOMINICAN

REPUBLIC

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Head of state and government: Leonel Fernández Reyna




Large numbers of Haitians and Dominicans ofHaitian origin were forcibly expelled. Many werebeaten and some killed in a climate of xenophobichostility. Women continued to suffer domesticviolence.

Discrimination against HaitiansExpulsionsThere were mass expulsions of Haitians andDominicans of Haitian origin across the border to Haiti.Although officials stated that the round-ups and


ECU

deportations were to combat illegal immigration,Haitians with a legal right to remain in the DominicanRepublic and black Dominicans were among thoseforcibly expelled.b In May, more than 3,000 Haitians and blackDominicans were forcibly expelled in three days. Theywere reportedly rounded up in the early hours of themorning, forced onto buses and left at the Haitianborder. Many were unable to collect their belongings andsome were allegedly separated from family members.Access to nationalityb In October, the Inter-American Court of HumanRights ruled in the case of Dilcia Yean and VioletaBosico v Dominican Republic. The two girls of Haitiandescent were born on Dominican territory and livedthere all their lives but were denied Dominicannationality in contravention of the country’sConstitution. As a result, they could not obtain birthcertificates or enrol in school, and remained vulnerableto expulsion. The Court found that the DominicanRepublic’s application of nationality laws andregulations was discriminatory and thereforecontravened international human rights standards.AssaultsHaitians faced an increasing climate of xenophobichostility, particularly after the murder in May of aDominican shop owner in the north of the country,allegedly perpetrated by Haitian migrants. Incidents oflynching were reported, often after the murder or rapeof a Dominican, and several Haitians were killed. Thesecurity forces failed to intervene to halt attacks.b In August, three Haitians were lynched and burnedalive following an alleged argument with a group ofDominicans.

Killings by security forcesThere was an increase in the number of people killed inshoot-outs (“intercambios de disparos”) with membersof the security forces, apparently in the context of anti-crime operations. Between January and August, 348people were killed in this way, according to officialstatistics, compared with 360 such deaths during thewhole of 2004. Uncorroborated reports suggested thata number of these fatal shootings may have beenextrajudicial killings. Fifty-five members of the securityforces were reportedly killed in the same eight-monthperiod.

Torture and ill-treatmentIn August, five inmates from the prison in the city ofMao were reportedly tortured by police personnel fromthe prison, leaving them with broken ribs, arms andlegs. They had allegedly helped another inmate toescape. The escaped prisoner was eventually shot deadby prison guards. According to press reports, the Chiefof the National Police ordered the local policecommander to open an investigation into the prisoners’allegations of torture.

Violence against womenViolence against women continued to be widespread,affecting women from all backgrounds. During the first

six months of 2005, the Care Centre for BatteredWomen reported 386 cases of sexual violence in which205 women were beaten.

Human rights defendersFather Pedro Ruquoy, a Belgian Catholic priest,received death threats in September apparentlybecause of his work on behalf of Dominican peasantsand Haitian migrants working in sugar caneplantations. As a result of the threats and otherintimidation, Father Ruquoy was forced to leave theDominican Republic in November after 30 years ofmissionary work in the country. According to reports,other human rights defenders working on behalf ofHaitians and Dominicans of Haitian origin also had toflee the country.

AI country reports/visitsStatement• Dominican Republic: Fear for safety/death threat —

Father Pedro Ruquoy, human rights defender (AI Index: AMR 27/001/2005)

ECUADOR

REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR

Head of state and government: Alfredo Palacio

(replaced Lucio Gutiérrez Borbua in April)




The independence of the judiciary was threatened bythe sacking of Supreme Court judges. There wereclashes between demonstrators and the securityforces during protests in the capital, Quito, in April,and the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana in Mayand August. Critics of the government werethreatened. Cases of torture and ill-treatment by thepolice continued to be tried in police courts.

BackgroundThe political atmosphere remained unstable. Followingpublic protests over interference in the appointment ofSupreme Court judges, first by Congress and later byPresident Gutiérrez, Congress ousted and replaced thePresident on 20 April. In October, when he returnedfrom Colombia, he was arrested and charged withcorruption and undermining the security of the state.

The number of refugees fleeing the internal armedconflict in Colombia grew, asylum applications


EGY

reportedly reaching 20,000 by October. Colombian stateforces and armed opposition groups reportedly enteredEcuador’s increasingly militarized border areas.

The appointment of the Human Rights Ombudsmanin July was criticized by human rights defenders forapparently flouting procedures aimed at ensuring theinvolvement of civil society. The candidate supportedby civil society organizations was denied theopportunity to be considered for the position.

Judicial independence attackedIn March, the UN Special Rapporteur on theindependence of judges and lawyers said that thereplacement by Congress of most Supreme Court judgesin December 2004 had been unconstitutional. Also inMarch, the new Court withdrew corruption chargesagainst three former heads of state in a move thatappeared to favour their political affiliations. In April,President Gutiérrez sacked the Court in an attempt toavert an impending constitutional crisis. A new Courtwas appointed at the end of November.

Attacks on human rights defendersThere were continued reports of individuals working toprotect human rights, and people who criticized theauthorities, being threatened and harassed.b In July, María Teresa Cherres Mesías, a communityleader from Orellana province, was threatened andintimidated apparently because of her workdefending the labour rights of oil company workers inthe region.

Ill-treatment of oil protestersIn May and August, the government declared a state ofemergency in response to demonstrations, strikes andoccupations in the provinces of Sucumbíos andOrellana. Protesters were demanding greater localinvestment of revenues from oil exploitation in thearea. Amid reports of violence by protesters, dozens ofpeople, including minors, were detained by police, andsome were reportedly ill-treated in custody. Noinvestigation was opened.

Torture and impunityIn November the UN Committee against Tortureexpressed concern at the high level of allegations oftorture and ill-treatment, including of indigenouspeoples, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender people. The Committee expressedserious concern that complaints of human rightsviolations by the security forces continued to be triedin police and military courts, which were neitherindependent nor impartial.b On 2 February, Juan Carlos Pesantes Umatambowas detained at a police roadblock for not carryingidentity papers, and reportedly forced to strip, hosedwith cold water and beaten with a metal bar. Aninvestigation was opened in a civil court, and the judgeordered the arrest of a police officer. However, aparallel investigation was conducted in a police court.The arrested officer was remanded in police, notprison, custody. Reportedly, none of the other officers

accused of involvement was suspended from duty. Bythe end of 2005 no decision had been made as towhether the civil or police court would be grantedjurisdiction over the case.

Economic, social and cultural rightsMany women and children from marginalizedcommunities still did not have access to health careguaranteed them under 1998 legislation. In someprovinces, health centre and hospital staff werereportedly not even aware of the legislation.

ChildrenIn June, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Childexpressed concern at continued discrimination againstindigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian people, includingchildren; the limited enjoyment of the rights toeducation and health by poor indigenous children; thelack of policies on widespread abuse and violencewithin the family; and the high levels of child labourand commercial sexual exploitation of children.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Ecuador: It is essential for the intimidation of

government critics to stop if respect for human rightsis to be safeguarded (AI Index: AMR 28/004/2005)

• Ecuador: Respect for human rights must be the toppriority of the political agenda (AI Index: AMR28/010/2005)

VisitAI delegates visited Ecuador in February.

EGYPT

ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT

Head of state: Muhammad Hosni Mubarak

Head of government: Ahmed Nazif





Ninety people were killed and more than 100 injuredin bomb attacks in Cairo in April and Sharm el-Sheikhin July. Scores of people were arrested in connectionwith the attacks and at least 14 people, includingseveral police officers, were killed in shoot-outsbetween police and alleged suspects. Peacefuldemonstrations calling for political reform wereviolently dispersed. Non-governmental organizations(NGOs) continued to operate under a restrictive lawintroduced in 2002. Hundreds of members of thebanned Muslim Brothers organization were arrested;


EGY

scores of them remained held awaiting trial at theend of the year. Thousands of suspected supportersof banned Islamist groups, including possibleprisoners of conscience, remained in detentionwithout charge or trial; some had been held for years.Torture and ill-treatment in detention continued tobe systematic. Deaths in custody were reported. Inthe majority of torture cases, the perpetrators werenot brought to justice. At least two people weresentenced to death; no executions were known tohave taken place.

BackgroundThe nationwide state of emergency imposed in 1981remained in force despite calls by human rights groupsand others for it to be lifted.

President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak began a fifthterm of office following an election in September, whenfor the first time other candidates were allowed tostand against him after the government amendedArticle 76 of the Constitution. The amendment was firstproposed by President Mubarak in February and thenapproved by a national referendum in May, which someopposition parties sought to boycott. Nine candidatesstood against the President in September, but he wasreturned by a large margin. There were someallegations of electoral fraud. In December AymanNour, leader of the al-Ghad party who came second inthe election with less than 10 per cent of the poll, wasprosecuted and jailed for five years, allegedly forfraudulently obtaining signatures to support hisapplication to legalize his party. The prosecutionprovoked widespread international and nationalcriticism.

Elections for a new parliament were held in threestages in November and December. They were marredby serious irregularities and by violence, includingpolice shootings of voters, which left at least 11 deadand many others injured. Many supporters ofcandidates associated with the Muslim Brothers weredetained by police, and many others were violentlyattacked by supporters of the ruling NationalDemocratic Party (NDP) who were allowed to act withimpunity. While the NDP kept its majority inparliament, the Muslim Brothers won 88 seats, sixtimes more than they held in the previous parliament.

Egypt’s government-sponsored National Council forHuman Rights (NCHR) issued its first report in April,covering February 2004 to February 2005. It called forthe abolition of the state of emergency, drew attentionto continuing human rights violations, notably tortureand ill-treatment, and made a number ofrecommendations.

In September, the European Union and Egypt begannegotiating an Action Plan for Egypt within theframework of the European Neighbourhood Policy.Twenty-five Egyptian NGOs called for a stronger humanrights agenda to be considered during negotiations.

Human rights violations in the ‘war on terror’New information emerged about Egypt’s role inconnection with the international “war on terror”.

While visiting the USA in May, Prime Minister AhmedNazif stated that more than 60 people had been forciblytransferred to Egypt by US forces since September 2001.However, no Egyptian or US officials provided furtherdetails of the individuals concerned or their fate. Inaddition, the Egyptian authorities continued actively toseek the forcible return of alleged members of Islamistgroups from abroad.

Scores of people detained following the bombattacks on civilians at Taba and Nuweiba in October2004 were released during 2005, but more than 100others were still detained at the end of the year, manyof them apparently held under administrativedetention powers. Many of those released alleged thatthey had been tortured in detention.b Ahmed Abdallah Raba‘, who was arrested inNovember 2004 in al-‘Arish, was detained withoutcharge for three and a half months, mostly withoutcontact with his relatives or a lawyer. For most of thattime, he was held at Istiqbal Tora prison. However, hewas taken twice to the State Security Intelligence (SSI)headquarters in Cairo for interrogation where, healleged, he was repeatedly tortured for a week bybeing beaten, hung by his wrists and ankles incontorted positions and subjected to electric shockswhile all the time naked and with his eyes covered bya blindfold. He said that a doctor regularly checked onthe health of torture victims while he was at the SSIheadquarters.

Further arrests were made following the bombattacks in Cairo in April and in Sharm el-Sheikh in July.Again, many of those detained were reportedlytortured and there were at least two deaths in custodyin circumstances suggesting that torture or ill-treatment were contributory factors.b Muhammad Suleyman Youssef and Ashraf Sa‘idYoussef, two cousins, both died soon after beingdetained. Following the former’s death on 29 April, hisfamily was reportedly pressured by the authorities intosigning a medical report which attributed his death tonatural causes. Ashraf Sa‘id Youssef, who was detainedon the day that his cousin died, was heldincommunicado for 13 days and his relatives onlylearned of his whereabouts when he was transferred toal-Minyal University Hospital with serious head injurieson 11 May. He died six days later. The Public Prosecutorsaid he caused his own injuries by repeatedly banginghis head against his cell wall. No proper investigationwas known to have been carried out.

The authorities generally failed to conduct prompt,impartial and thorough investigations into allegationsof torture, especially in cases having a political orsecurity aspect, where officials responsible for carryingout investigations were allowed to commit abuses withimpunity. By contrast, there were several prosecutionsof police officers accused of torturing, ill-treating orcausing the deaths of suspects in ordinary criminalcases. There were reports that some torture victims hadreceived compensation.

Defendants facing charges relating to nationalsecurity or terrorism were frequently tried beforecourts established under emergency legislation or


EGY

military courts, even when the defendants werecivilians. These courts fail in many respects to satisfyinternational standards for fair trial; for example, theyprovide for no right of full judicial review before ahigher tribunal.b Muhammad Abdallah Raba‘ and Muhammad GayizSabbah went on trial before the (Emergency) SupremeState Security Court at Ismailia in July, accused inconnection with the Taba and Nuweiba bomb attacks ofOctober 2004. Both defendants alleged at the trial’sopening session, which AI observed, that they had beentortured by the SSI to force them to confess. They werethen referred for medical examination, but asubsequent report dismissed their allegations and thecourt failed to order a thorough, impartialinvestigation. Although arrested in October 2004, theyfirst had access to their lawyers only on the openingday of the trial.

Violence against womenIn July, a coalition of 94 organizations and civilassociations from various governorates launched anational campaign to criminalize all forms of domesticviolence against women in Egypt. The launch wasdeclared during a conference organized by the NadimCentre for the Psychological Treatment andRehabilitation of Victims of Violence in the presence ofa number of human rights and women activists.

Restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assemblyRestrictions on freedom of expression, association andassembly persisted. NGOs continued to operate undera restrictive 2002 law; some faced obstacles at theMinistry of Social Affairs when seeking to register andobtain legal status. For example, the Ministry turneddown the Egyptian Association Against Torture’sapplication to register, a decision subsequently upheldby an administrative court.

Journalists continued to be threatened, beaten orimprisoned because of their work. A Bill introduced byPresident Mubarak in February 2004 that would abolishprison terms for publishing offences was not made law.

On several occasions, police used excessive forceagainst people demonstrating against governmentpolicies or to assert their basic rights. At other times,police stood back and took no action when supportersof the ruling NDP physically assaulted oppositionsupporters.b Scores of demonstrators advocating a boycott ofthe May referendum to amend the Constitution andjournalists working for opposition newspapers wereassaulted, reportedly by NDP supporters. Some of theassaults allegedly took place in the presence of policewho failed to intervene. The Public Prosecutor orderedan investigation into the assaults but closed it inDecember on the grounds that there was insufficientevidence to prosecute.b During the December parliamentary elections,police fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and teargas into crowds seeking to vote at polling stations thatpolice had closed or cordoned off in al-Daqahlia,

al-Sharqia and other areas. At least 11 people werekilled in the violence. No official investigation wasknown to have been held.

Refugees and migrantsIn December, 27 Sudanese refugees and migrants werekilled and others injured when police brutallydispersed what had been for three months a peacefulsit-in close to the offices of the UN High Commissionerfor Refugees in Cairo. Police were said to have aimedwater cannons at protesters and subjected them toindiscriminate beatings. The demonstrators, whosenumbers had swelled to around 2,500 by December,were calling for improvements in their livingconditions, protection from return to Sudan, andresettlement in Europe or North America.

Prison conditionsIn September, up to 2,000 prisoners were released forhealth and humanitarian reasons, reportedly followingrecommendations by the NCHR. Thousands of otherdetainees were held in prisons where conditionsamounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.Hundreds held in administrative detention werereportedly suffering from illnesses includingtuberculosis, skin diseases and paralysis, which werecommon because of lack of hygiene and medical care,overcrowding and poor food quality. Scores of themwent on hunger strikes in May and June to protestagainst their ill-treatment and lack of adequate medicalcare.b Relatives of hundreds of administrative detaineesheld a sit-in at the Lawyers’ Syndicate’s building inCairo for several months prior to the Septemberpresidential elections. They were protesting against thecontinued detention of their relatives and theconditions of detention, which had caused healthproblems. They also demonstrated in October outsidethe Ministry of the Interior building in Cairo’s LazoghlySquare to call for the release of their relatives, some ofwhom were thought to have been detained for morethan a decade.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Egypt: Mixed signals — arrests of political opponents

amidst talks of political reform (AI Index: MDE12/016/2005)

• Egypt: Continuing arrests of critics and opponents“chill” prospects for reform (AI Index: MDE12/021/2005)

• Egypt: Intimidation and assault on journalists andpeaceful demonstrators must stop (AI Index: MDE12/025/2005)

• Egypt: Amnesty International condemns bombattacks in Sharm el-Sheikh (AI Index: MDE12/030/2005)

• Egypt: Human rights should be at centre of electionagenda (AI Index: MDE 12/032/2005)

• Egypt: Amnesty International concerned about massarrests and violent attacks (AI Index: MDE12/037/2005)


ELS

• Egypt: Police killings of voters requires urgent,independent investigation (AI Index: MDE12/039/2005)

VisitIn June/July AI delegates met victims of torture andtheir families, families of administrative detainees,human rights activists, lawyers, and NCHR andgovernment officials.

EL SALVADOR

REPUBLIC OF EL SALVADOR

Head of state and government: Elías Antonio Saca





Impunity for past human rights violations, including“disappearances”, persisted. Reports of violenceagainst women increased but investigationsremained inadequate. There were threats againsthuman rights defenders.

BackgroundCriminal violence increased during the year by around34 per cent, according to the National Civil Police. Therewere 3,761 murders, 82 per cent committed withfirearms. The harsh government initiatives of previousyears against maras (gangs) did not bring theimprovements in the security situation predicted by theauthorities. Instead, the prison population increased,causing greater overcrowding and protests. Prisonsdesigned for 7,000 held around 12,000 inmates.

Natural disasters hit El Salvador, particularlyaffecting the poor. In October a volcanic eruption killedtwo peasant farmers and displaced over 5,000 people.Later, Hurricane Stan caused extensive damage andcasualties. The authorities were criticized for failing toprovide prompt relief to the victims.

‘Disappeared’ childrenIn March the Inter-American Court of Human Rightsruled that the state of El Salvador, by failing to carryout an effective and timely investigation into the“disappearance” of three-year-old Ernestina andseven-year-old Erlinda Serrano Cruz in June 1982during a military operation in Chalatenango, hadviolated their human rights and those of their family.The ruling compels the state to determine thewhereabouts of the girls, investigate and bring thoseresponsible to justice and, among other things, to setup a National Search Commission to trace

“disappeared” children. Only some of the Court’srecommendations had been implemented by the endof 2005.

Three more cases of children who “disappeared”during the armed conflict were admitted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in November.

Violence against womenThere was a sharp rise in the number of womenmurdered. According to the National Civil Police, 323women and girls were killed between January andNovember, a rise over the corresponding period in2004. The incidence of domestic violence alsoincreased. In the first six months of the year, theemergency system of the National Civil Police receivednearly 12,000 calls reporting incidents of domesticviolence and 24 women were killed by partners orfamily members.

The report of the 2004 visit of the UN SpecialRapporteur on violence against women was publishedin February. She recommended that the governmentprevent, investigate and punish acts of violence againstwomen, whoever the perpetrator, and prioritize endingimpunity for these crimes. The authorities apparentlytook no steps to comply with the recommendations.

No progress was made in investigating cases ofwomen who had been killed and, in some cases, rapedin previous years. AI called on the authorities toproperly investigate such cases, but no progress wasevident by the end of 2005.

Human rights defendersFour officials from the Human Rights Procurator’sOffice were arrested in April on charges of havingcommitted “arbitrary acts” while monitoring theprocedures followed in the deportation of anEcuadorian doctor. He had been living in El Salvador forseveral years and was married to a Salvadorean citizen,and denied allegations that he had participated inpolitical activities. The Human Rights Procurator’sOffice considered the arrests to be harassment of itsofficials, an obstruction to their lawful activities and ademonstration of the government’s opposition to theinstitution’s work. The four officials were released afterthree days.


EQU

EQUATORIAL

GUINEA

REPUBLIC OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Head of state: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Head of government: Miguel Abia Biteo Borico





signed

Suspected political opponents were arbitrarilydetained without charge or trial. At least 20detainees, including prisoners of conscience, werestill in custody after being detained in 2003 and2004. There were reports of torture, in at least onecase resulting in death. Two people were alleged tohave been killed unlawfully by soldiers. Fourgovernment opponents reportedly “disappeared” incustody following their abduction from neighbouringcountries. Conditions at Black Beach prison in thecapital, Malabo, were life-threatening. Over 20soldiers and former military personnel were givenlong prison sentences for an alleged attempted coupafter an unfair military trial. Six Armenian nationalssentenced to long prison terms after an unfair trial in2004 were released. Two young boys were unlawfullycharged and detained.

BackgroundIn January, Equatorial Guinea signed the Protocol tothe African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights onthe Rights of Women in Africa.

Despite high levels of economic growth and oilproduction, poverty remained widespread. Shortagesof drinking water in the main cities, sometime lastingfor several weeks, were frequent. According to the UNDevelopment Programme’s Human DevelopmentIndex, life expectancy decreased from 49.1 years in 2001to 43.3 years in 2005.

In September a High Court in the United Kingdomdismissed a claim for damages brought by PresidentTeodoro Obiang Nguema against several Britishbusinessmen and an Equatorial Guinean exile whowere accused of financing an alleged coup attempt inMarch 2004.

Arbitrary detentionAt least 20 people arrested in 2003 and 2004, includingsome 12 prisoners of conscience, continued to be heldwithout charge or trial. Interrogation of the detainees bythe investigating judge started in late December 2005.

Dozens of suspected political opponents werearbitrarily detained, some of them briefly. Others werestill in prison, without charge or trial, at the end of2005. Most appeared to be prisoners of conscience.

b Vidal Bomabá Sirubé, Marcelino Barila Buale andDeogracias Batapa Barila were arrested in January,apparently on suspicion of being members of theMovement for the Self-determination of Bioko Island(Movimiento para la autodeterminación de la isla deBioko, MAIB). They were still held without charge ortrial in Black Beach prison at the end of 2005. VidalBomabá Sirubé, a lawyer resident in Spain, received nomedication for a chronic kidney ailment.b In April, 75-year-old Anastasia Ncumu was arrestedand briefly detained after she took food to her son inBata prison, apparently because she had criticizedPresident Obiang.

Death in detention, torture and ill-treatmentPolice tortured or ill-treated detainees with impunity.At least one detainee was reported to have died as aresult of torture. Those responsible were not broughtto justice.b In March taxi driver Mariano Esono “Nenuco” diedin the Mondoasi police station in Bata, a week after hisarrest for allegedly not repaying a debt to his employer.He was reportedly burned with an iron and subjected toelectric shocks on his genitals and face. He was taken tocourt, where a judge was said to have orderedimmediate hospital treatment. However, police officersallegedly returned him to the police station, where hedied soon afterwards, then tried to hide his body byburying it on a beach, where they were observed bypassers-by. They then returned the body to his family.b In May Prosper Diffo, a Cameroonian car mechanic,was held for four hours at police headquarters in Bata.He was reportedly beaten with batons and kickedbecause he had refused to work on the ProvincialGovernor’s car. He required two days’ treatment inhospital and could not work for a month. He receivedno compensation, and those responsible were notbrought to justice.

‘Disappearances’The authorities failed to disclose the whereabouts ofdetainees who “disappeared” following their arrest inlate 2004. A further four people “disappeared” in 2005.b Former Navy Commander Juan Ondó Abaga, arefugee in Benin since 1997, was allegedly abducted byEquatorial Guinean security personnel in February.Lieutenant-Colonel Florencio Bibang Elá, soldier FelipeEsono Ntumu “Pancho” and civilian Antimo Edú werearrested in April in Lagos, Nigeria, and transferred tothe capital, Abuja. In July, Equatorial Guinean securitypersonnel reportedly abducted them from Nigeriancustody after bribing prison officials. After beingreturned to Equatorial Guinea, all four men wereimprisoned incommunicado in Black Beach prison,where they were allegedly tortured and denied medicalcare. They subsequently “disappeared”. The threemembers of the armed forces were tried in theirabsence in September on charges of attempting a coupin October 2004, and sentenced to 30 years’imprisonment. The state-controlled radio said that theywere outside the country. No official announcementwas made about the fate of Antimo Edú.


ERI

Unlawful killingsSoldiers who killed two people in Bata were not broughtto justice.b Plácido Ndong Anvam died in January, a few daysafter being beaten in the street by soldiers whoappeared to be drunk.b In May, Miguel Ángel Ndong Ondó died from hisinjuries 10 days after a soldier allegedly ordered him toraise his hands and shot him at close range. He hadbeen returning home with a woman friend in the earlyhours of the morning, when they were followed by thesoldier and there was a brief fight.

Unfair political trialsFurther arrests took place in January of people accusedof involvement in an alleged coup attempt in October2004. Of the 70 prisoners who were tried by a militarycourt in Bata in September, on charges of treason andundermining the security of the state, 20 soldiers andformer soldiers were convicted and sentenced toprison terms of between six and 30 years. The rest ofthe accused were acquitted. The trial was unfair. Thedefendants were held incommunicado before the trialand reportedly convicted on the basis of confessionstatements they said were extracted under torture.They bore scars consistent with their allegations. Thereis no right of appeal from a military court.UpdateIn June, six Armenian nationals, sentenced to longprison terms in November 2004 for their allegedparticipation in an alleged coup attempt in March 2004,were released under a presidential pardon. TwoEquatorial Guineans sentenced in the same case werealso released in August, having completed theirsentences.

Harassment of a human rights defenderb In June, lawyer and human rights defender FabiánNsué Nguema, a former prisoner of conscience, wasarbitrarily suspended from the Bar Association for a year,for alleged misconduct. The suspension order did notspecify the nature or source of the complaint againsthim, and he was given no opportunity to refute anyaccusation. His suspension appeared to be politicallymotivated and related to his work as a lawyer for peopletried for alleged coup attempts, including a group ofSouth African nationals convicted after unfair trials in2004, and to his criticisms of the government.

Prison conditionsPrison conditions were life-threatening as a result ofovercrowding, lack of medical treatment andinsufficient food.b Prisoners in Black Beach prison were at risk ofstarvation, particularly those without families tosupport them. Food rations, reduced to one or twobread rolls a day in late 2004, were cut again in lateFebruary, with prisoners receiving no food at all fordays at a time. The situation improved in late April.Prisoners were held incommunicado from February toSeptember, when limited family visits were againallowed.

Unlawful arrest of childrenTwo 12-year-old boys were unlawfully arrested,detained and charged in February in Malabo. They wereheld in a police station for three days on charges ofkilling another child three years earlier, before beingtaken before a judge to have their detention legalized.The judge ordered their detention at Black Beachprison, which has no facilities for juveniles. They werereleased two weeks later to await trial. The trial had notstarted by the end of 2005. Under national law, the ageof criminal responsibility is 16 and there is no juvenilejustice system.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Equatorial Guinea: A trial with too many flaws

(AI Index: AFR 24/005/2005)

ERITREA

ERITREA

Head of state and government: Issayas Afewerki





Several thousand prisoners of conscience, many heldbecause of their religious beliefs and others forpolitical reasons, were in indefinite andincommunicado detention without charge or trial,some in secret locations. Many detainees weretortured or ill-treated, and large numbers were heldin metal shipping containers or underground cells.

BackgroundThe government took no steps to establish a multi-party democratic system as required by the 1997Constitution. The ruling party, the People’s Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ), was the sole partyallowed and no opposition activity or criticism wastolerated.

Two thirds of the population were dependent oninternational emergency food aid. They included70,000 people living in internally displaced people’scamps since the war with Ethiopia in 1998-2000, andrefugees who had returned from Sudan. Many donorssuspended development aid programmes because ofthe government’s failures in democratization andhuman rights.

Human rights defenders were not allowed tooperate. A new law in May imposed severe restrictionson non-governmental organizations (NGOs), allowingthem only to work on relief and rehabilitation projects


ERI

through government structures. International NGOshad to deposit US$2 million in Eritrean banks and localNGOs US$1 million. No local NGOs were able to register.

The government continued to support two Ethiopianarmed opposition groups fighting inside Ethiopia, theOromo Liberation Front and the Ogaden NationalLiberation Front. The Sudan-based armed oppositionEritrean Democratic Alliance was supported byEthiopia, although it was not clear that it had carriedout any armed activities inside Eritrea during 2005.

Fears of a new war with EthiopiaThe UN Security Council called on Ethiopia toimplement the International Boundary Commission’sjudgment regarding the border areas, particularly itsallocation to Eritrea of Badme town, the flashpoint ofwar in 1998. Ethiopia refused to agree to borderdemarcation, instead calling for negotiation overcertain issues. Eritrea demanded UN action againstEthiopia to enforce the border judgment.

In October, Eritrea banned UN helicopter flights andother travel to UN monitoring posts, further restrictingthe multinational UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea(UNMEE), whose 2,800 personnel administered a bufferzone along the border. Both countries had re-armedsince 2000 and deployed troops near the border in late2005. The UN Security Council threatened sanctionsagainst either side if it started a new war.

Religious persecutionA 2002 ban on religions other than the EritreanOrthodox Church, the Catholic and Lutheran Churchesand Islam remained in force. Minority religions wereordered to register and provide details of theirmembers and finances, which many refused to do,fearing reprisals. Those that applied received noresponse, and remained banned.

The government cracked down on evangelicalChristian churches such as the Kale Hiwot (Word of Life)and Mullu Wengel (Full Gospel) churches. More than1,000 believers from some 35 churches were arrested bypolice in at least 23 incidents during 2005 in Asmara andother towns, while worshipping in their homes or atweddings. They were detained without charge or trial,tortured or ill-treated, and usually were only releasedif they agreed to stop attending religious gatherings.Parents of detained children were forced to signguarantees that their children would stop worshipping.

At least 26 pastors and priests, and over 1,750 churchmembers, including children and 175 women, anddozens of Muslims, were in detention at the end of 2005as prisoners of conscience because of their religiousbeliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses and members of newgroups within the Eritrean Orthodox Church and Islamwere also detained on account of their beliefs.b In January, Pastor Ogbamichael Haimanot of theKale Hiwot church was detained in Asmara. He suffered amental breakdown in Sawa army camp on account ofprolonged solitary confinement, forced labour anddenial of medical treatment. He was released in October.b In July, Semere Zaid, an agriculture lecturer at theUniversity of Asmara who had been detained for a

month in January on account of worshipping in theChurch of the Living God, was rearrested. He wasdetained in the Karchele security prison, then moved toSembel civil prison to serve a secretly imposed prisonterm of two years.

In August, Patriarch Antonios, head of the EritreanOrthodox Church, who had apparently opposedgovernment interference in church affairs, wasreportedly stripped of his authority by the governmentand restricted in his movements. The governmentdenied undermining him.

Prisoners of conscience and political prisonersFew details were available about prisoners ofconscience arrested for their political opinions. Threetrade unionists – Tewelde Gebremedhin, MinassieAndezion and Habtom Woldemichael – were detainedin Asmara in March and were still detained withoutcharge at the end of 2005.

Thousands of prisoners of conscience detained inprevious years remained in incommunicado detentionthroughout 2005, some of them in secret locations. Nopolitical prisoners were brought before a court.

Prisoners of conscience included 11 formergovernment ministers detained in secret since aSeptember 2001 crackdown on people calling fordemocratic reforms. They were publicly accused oftreason but never charged. They included HaileWoldetensae and Petros Solomon, both former ForeignMinisters, and Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo, a formerVice-President.

Dozens of women prisoners of conscience were held.They included Aster Fissehatsion, a former PFDJ centralcommittee member arrested in 2001, and AsterYohannes, the wife of Petros Solomon, who hadreturned voluntarily from the USA in 2003 to be with herchildren. She was detained on arrival at Asmara airport,despite a previous government guarantee of her safety.

Other prisoners of conscience were former leadersof the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (now thegovernment), such as Bitwoded Abraha, an armymajor general detained almost continuously for thepast 13 years and reportedly mentally ill as a result;civil servants and professionals; and some 300asylum-seekers forcibly returned by Malta in 2002 andby Libya in 2003.

During 2005 several prisoners of conscience wereillegally sentenced to prison terms in their absence by asecret security committee. They were denied the rightto present a legal defence or to appeal to a higher court.

Military conscriptionMilitary service was compulsory for all men agedbetween 18 and 40, although the upper age limit forwomen’s conscription was reduced to 27. Theinternationally recognized right of conscientiousobjection was denied.b Six Jehovah’s Witnesses were detained in 2005 forrefusing military service, bringing the total number to22. They included Paulos Iyassu, Negede Teklemariamand Isaac Moges, detained incommunicado in Sawaarmy camp since 1994.


EST

Several hundred youths fled the country to avoidmilitary service, and many conscripts escaped frommilitary service to seek asylum abroad. In July andNovember, relatives of conscription evaders weredetained in the southern Debub Region.

JournalistsTwo prisoners of conscience were released. SaadiaAhmed, a television reporter for the government’sArabic-language service, detained in 2002, was freed inearly 2005, and Aklilu Solomon, a reporter for the Voiceof America international radio station, detained in2003, was freed in mid-2005.

Ten other journalists arrested in 2001 when theentire private press was shut down, and two othersarrested in 2002, were still detained without charge ortrial at the end of 2005. They were held incommunicadoand in secret without charge or trial.b Dawit Isaac, owner and editor of Setit newspaperand a Swedish citizen, detained in 2001, was releasedfor a few days’ medical treatment in November, thenreturned to prison.

Torture and ill-treatmentPeople detained on account of their political opinionsor religious beliefs were tortured in military custody.They were tied up in painful positions for hours ordays, particularly in a method nicknamed “helicopter”,and beaten. Conscript soldiers were also punished inthis manner.

Religious and political prisoners were often held inharsh conditions with little or no medical treatmentand inadequate food and sanitation. Some were held inunderground cells or metal shipping containers.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Eritrea: Religious persecution (AI Index: AFR

64/013/2005)

ESTONIA

REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA

Head of state: Arnold Rüütel

Head of government: Andrus Ansip (replaced Juhan

Parts in April)





signed

A report published by the European Committee forthe Prevention of Torture (CPT) documented anumber of positive developments, but some areas ofconcern remained. The Council of Europe’s AdvisoryCommittee on the Framework Convention for theProtection of National Minorities issued a report alsonoting progress, while continuing to expressconcerns about the treatment of non-nationals andnational minorities in Estonia. Many residentscontinued to live in the country without citizenshipand as a result often faced discriminatory practices,particularly in the fields of education and labour andlanguage rights.

Torture and ill-treatmentIn April, the CPT published a report based on the findingsof a visit to the country by a CPT delegation in 2003.

The CPT delegation recorded that it had receivedvery few reports of ill-treatment in detention.However, there were a number of allegations thatpeople had been punched, kicked or hit with batons atthe time of detention. The CPT recommended that “nomore force than is reasonably necessary” should beused during apprehension.

The CPT report expressed concern about conditionsof detention which could amount to inhuman ordegrading treatment at the Kohtla-Järve and Narvadetention centres. Detainees were locked up for 24hours a day in cells that were generally dirty, badly litand ventilated, and overcrowded.

Other concerns raised by the CPT included: theabsence of special provisions for detaining juvenilesand the failure to house them separately from adults;the absence in national law of an explicit legal right ofdetainees to notify a third party of their detention; andthe lack of prompt medical screening of detainees onarrival in detention facilities.

In response to reports of beatings of inmates in theTartu prison by masked members of a special squad inMay 2003, the CPT recommended independentmonitoring of any future activity by specialintervention squads in prisons.

Ethnic minoritiesIn February, the Council of Europe’s AdvisoryCommittee on the Framework Convention for theProtection of National Minorities noted that Estonia


ETH

had taken certain legal and administrative steps tomake the naturalization process more accessible andstreamlined, and that the rate of naturalization hadrecently increased. However, it also noted that 150,536people were living in Estonia without citizenship at theend of 2004, a figure which the Committee described asdisconcertingly high.

The Committee noted that non-citizens were notproperly protected under current legislation andrecommended that Estonia introduce anti-discrimination laws which included adequate legalsafeguards for non-citizens. It also encouraged theauthorities to make naturalization more accessible.Such measures would include pursuing the proposals toexempt elderly applicants from language requirementsunder the Citizenship Act.

The Committee expressed concern that nationalminorities did not have a legal right to communicatewith the authorities in a minority language free ofcharge. It also pointed out that regulations onlyallowed written documentation to be submitted in aminority language in local government units wheremore than half of the population belonged to a nationalminority. The Committee considered this to be anexcessively high threshold.

The Committee recommended that teaching ofEstonian in secondary schools should be pursued in away that did not harm the quality of education providedto members of national minorities or limit their accessto higher education.

The Committee also expressed concern thatmembers of national minorities, especially youngwomen, experienced higher levels of unemploymentthan other groups. The Committee called on authoritiesto ensure that national minorities were not subjectedto direct or indirect discrimination in the labourmarket. The Committee also recommended that theauthorities review the suitability of existing languageproficiency requirements in all sectors of employmentto ensure that they were realistic and proportionateand did not have a discriminatory effect.

ETHIOPIA

FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA

Head of state: Girma Wolde-Giorgis

Head of government: Meles Zenawi





Opposition candidates and supporters were arrested,beaten and intimidated in the run-up to elections.Some 9,000 opposition supporters were detained inJune for several weeks following protests at allegedfraud in elections in which soldiers killed at least 36people. In November, police killed at least 42 peopleafter peaceful protests turned violent. Over 10,000opposition supporters and demonstrators weredetained. Ten new members of parliament, 15journalists, several human rights defenders andprisoners of conscience were among 86 detaineeslater charged with treason, genocide and otheroffences. Civilians were killed and arbitrarilydetained in the context of armed conflicts in theOromia and Somali regions, with thousandsremaining in detention without charge or trial.Several Oromo community activists were prisoners ofconscience. Journalists and human rights defenderswere detained and threatened with prosecution forcriticizing the government. Death sentences werepassed but no executions carried out.

BackgroundSeven million people were dependent on emergencyfood aid, with a critical drought and food shortages inthe Somali region in eastern Ethiopia.

The government faced armed opposition from theOromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ogaden NationalLiberation Front (ONLF), both based in Eritrea. Ethiopiacontinued to support the Sudan-based armed Eritreanopposition group, the Eritrean Democratic Alliance,although it was not clear that it had carried out anyarmed activities inside Eritrea during 2005.

The UN Security Council called on Ethiopia toimplement its acceptance in principle of theInternational Boundary Commission’s judgmentregarding the border areas, particularly its allocation toEritrea of Badme town, the flashpoint of war in 1998.Ethiopia refused to agree to border demarcation,instead calling for negotiation over certain issues.Eritrea demanded UN action against Ethiopia to enforcethe border judgment.

In October, Eritrea banned helicopter flights andother travel by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea(UNMEE), which administered a buffer zone along theborder. Both sides had re-armed since 2000 anddeployed troops near the border in late 2005. The UNSecurity Council threatened sanctions against eitherside if it started a new war.


ETH

ElectionsIn the months preceding parliamentary and regionalassembly elections in May, there were arrests, beatingsand intimidation of candidates and supporters from thetwo main opposition groupings, the Coalition for Unityand Democracy (CUD) and the United EthiopianDemocratic Front (UEDF). Election observers fromEthiopian non-governmental organizations were onlyallowed after they won a court case against theNational Election Board.

Provisional results in June gave the ruling EthiopianPeople’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) anarrow majority. The opposition complained aboutelection fraud in over half the constituencies. EuropeanUnion election observers reported numerous electionirregularities. In re-runs in 31 constituencies, severalgovernment ministers regained their seats afteropposition candidates withdrew, alleging intimidationand violence.

In the final results in September, including from thedelayed Somali region elections in August, the EPRDFand affiliated parties won two thirds of the 527 seats.Most CUD elected members of parliament and regionalassemblies did not take their seats, in protest at allegedelection fraud and at new procedural rules thatdisadvantaged the opposition. Parliament withdrewtheir parliamentary immunity.

Post-election killings and arrestsOn 8 June soldiers shot dead at least 36 oppositionsupporters and wounded dozens of others in initiallypeaceful demonstrations in Addis Ababa at allegedelection fraud by the EPRDF. In the weeks following,police arrested some 9,000 people allegedly involvedin violent protests, including 2,000 Addis AbabaUniversity students, some 120 opposition partyofficials, and six human rights defenders. The detaineeswere initially held incommunicado, and many beatenor ill-treated. They had all been released withoutcharge by the end of July.b Two air force officers who fled to Djibouti at thebeginning of the protests were forcibly returned anddetained after being denied access to asylumprocedures. They were reportedly tortured on theirreturn to Ethiopia, and still detained incommunicadowithout charge or trial at the end of 2005.

After the final election results, CUD called for non-violent protests and stay-home strikes. On 31 October,30 taxi drivers were arrested after drivers in AddisAbaba protested by sounding their horns. On 1November peaceful street protests were followed byshootings and violence. Riot police killed at least 42protesters and wounded about 200 others, some attheir homes. Police admitted 34 deaths, and said sevenpolice officers were killed and others injured.

In the weeks following 1 November police arrestedmost CUD leaders, including 10 members of parliament,15 journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and ateachers’ union leader. The Prime Minister accused themof treason and organizing a violent uprising. They weretaken to court, allowed access to lawyers and relatives,and remanded in custody for investigation. In December,

131 defendants (86 of whom were in custody) werecharged with the mostly capital offences of treason,inciting armed uprising and genocide against an ethnicgroup and members of the ruling party. Several thousandschool and college students were detained and beatenby police in late December in Addis Ababa and towns inAmhara region for demonstrating in support of therelease of the CUD leaders.b The accused included 55 CUD party leaders andothers earlier arrested or declared “wanted”, such asBerhanu Negga, an economics professor and newlyelected Mayor of Addis Ababa; Birtukan Mideksa, aformer judge; and Yacob Hailemariam, a former UNprosecutor in the Rwanda genocide trial in Tanzania.Also charged, in their absence, were 30 governmentopponents living abroad, mostly in the USA. Many ofthe accused were prisoners of conscience. They deniedcalling for violent protests, and on 28 November begana hunger strike that lasted some weeks.

Other detentions and killingsThousands of people remained in indefinite and mainlyincommunicado detention without charge or trial inconnection particularly with the armed conflicts in theOromia and Somali regions, and arrests continuedthroughout the Oromia region. Thousands of Oromoschool students were detained – and many ill-treatedand some killed – in demonstrations in November andDecember throughout the Oromia region in support ofthe release of Oromo detainees and other politicaldemands.b Diribi Demissie, President of the Mecha TulemaAssociation, an officially registered Oromo communitywelfare organization, was arrested in February withthree other members. He had been released on bail inNovember 2004. The four were charged with armedconspiracy and membership of the OLF, along with 24others, including university students and two statetelevision journalists arrested in May 2004, DabassaWakjira and Shifferaw Insarmu. All denied the charges.They were all acquitted by the High Court in June butwere immediately re-arrested after the prosecutionappealed to a different bench of the High Court. Theyremained in custody at the end of 2005, with the 24other co-accused.b Some 900 alleged government opponents, allmembers of the Anuak ethnic group, remained indetention without trial in the south-west Gambelaregion throughout 2005. Most had been arrested forpolitical reasons during the killings by the army andcivilian mobs in December 2003 in Gambela. Fifteen ofthem, including former regional president OkelloNyigello, were acquitted and freed in December.Following a Commission of Inquiry into the killings,seven soldiers were charged with murder. They had notbeen tried by the end of 2005. Government soldiersreportedly killed and arbitrarily detained Anuakcivilians on several occasions in 2005, including afteran attack by an armed Anuak group on a prison inGambela in November.

Human rights abuses were committed withimpunity by government forces against civilians,


ETH

including the reported killing of over 20 civilians andpolitical prisoners in Kebri Dahar town in the Somaliregion in November.

Violence against womenIn May the revised Criminal Code made female genitalmutilation a new criminal offence punishable by up to10 years’ imprisonment. It also increased the punishmentfor the traditional practice of bride abduction for thepurpose of marriage from three to up to 10 years’imprisonment, and made the offence liable forpunishment as rape, removing the impunity previouslyallowed to suspects who married the rape victim.

Women’s organizations campaigned against harmfultraditional practices affecting women’s rights andagainst domestic violence.

Freedom of the mediaThe private press, which often criticized thegovernment, remained under pressure. The Ministry ofJustice instigated further court action in 2005 againstthe Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association (EFJA),aiming to replace its leadership with a pro-governmentgroup. A court ruled in favour of the EFJA, but inDecember its president, Kifle Mulat, was charged withtreason in his absence, together with other journalists.Most of the private press was shut down.b In December, three journalists were given prisonterms ranging from three to 15 months because ofarticles published some years previously. Dozens ofother journalists and publishers arrested in previousyears were on bail awaiting trial on charges under the1992 Press Law.b Three journalists were briefly detained during theelections and released on bail.b Fifteen journalists were arrested in the Novemberround-up of opposition leaders (see above) andcharged. Nearly all had previously been imprisonedafter unfair trials under the 1992 Press Law.

A new harsh Press Law, proposed by the government in2003, was still under consideration but not yet enacted.

Human rights commissionA National Human Rights Commission, originallyproposed by the government in 1997 and finallyestablished in 2004, did not begin functioning in 2005.In March its work plan contained no objective tomonitor human rights or to co-operate with local orinternational human rights defenders.

Human rights defendersIn early 2005, the Ministry of Justice finally registeredthe Human Rights League, an Oromo human rightsdefenders group, some of whose founding membershad spent four years in prison before being acquitted ofviolent conspiracy. However, human rights defendersremained at risk of imprisonment.b Three investigators from the Ethiopian HumanRights Council (EHRCO), Yared Hailemariam, CherinetTadesse and Berhanu Tsige, and three EHRCO branchofficials were detained for a month in the mass round-up of early June.

b Three prominent human rights defenders weredetained in the November arrests and charged withtreason: Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, the 75-year-old founder and former president of the EthiopianHuman Rights Council, who was in poor health; andanti-poverty campaigners Daniel Bekelle, a seniorofficial of ActionAid, and Netsanet Demissie, presidentof the Organisation for Social Justice in Ethiopia.

Dergue trial updateThe trial continued of 33 former senior governmentofficials on charges of genocide, torture and othercrimes. They had been in detention for 14 years. Othertrials continued in the absence of the defendants,including former President Mengistu Hailemariam,whose extradition had been refused by the Zimbabwegovernment.

The series of trials of less senior officials was still notcompleted at the end of 2005. Over a dozen formerofficials were under sentence of death at the end of2005. Mekonnen Dori, 72, a prominent member of asouthern Ethiopia opposition party arrested in 1993,who appeared to be a prisoner of conscience, wasacquitted of genocide and released in December.

Death penaltySeveral death sentences were imposed, but noexecutions were reported. There were dozens of peoplereportedly in prison after being sentenced to death inprevious years.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Ethiopia: The 15 May 2005 elections and human

rights – Recommendations to the government,election observers and political parties (AI Index:AFR 25/002/2005)

VisitAI representatives visited Ethiopia in March.


FIJ

FIJI

REPUBLIC OF THE FIJI ISLANDS

Head of state: Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda

Head of government: Laisenia Qarase





Legislation supposed to reconcile groups involved inand affected by the May 2000 coup insteadprovoked further political schisms. A landmark HighCourt ruling upheld the right to privacy and equalityfor lesbian and gay people under the Constitution.Legislative reforms were proposed to improve prisonservices and provide protection against domesticviolence.

Reconciliation and Unity CommissionPolitical power struggles continued among the civilianand military elites. The government proposedlegislation to establish a Reconciliation and UnityCommission with the power to recommend amnestyfor “politically motivated” crimes committed inconnection with the May 2000 coup and to grantcompensation to those affected by such crimes. Theproposed legislation promoted impunity for humanrights violations and acts of treason, and was opposedby the military, the political opposition, and manyareas of civil society on this basis. In late 2005 aparliamentary committee recommended that theamnesty proposal be amended to reflectconstitutional principles.

Coup trialsTrials of individuals charged with offences relating tothe May 2000 coup continued. Sentences passed during2005 ranged from four months’ to two years’imprisonment, with the two-year sentence suspended.A number of those convicted, including formergovernment senators, were given community-basedpunishments or released early on health grounds.Former government minister Ratu Lalabalavu wassentenced to eight months’ imprisonment in April,served most of the sentence out of prison, and was thenappointed Minister of Transport. There was at least onereport that state witnesses in coup-related trialsreceived threats.

In August the Court of Appeal ordered the retrial of20 soldiers convicted of participating in a November2000 mutiny because their trial had not been fair.Their retrial by court martial was delayed, in part byfailures to deliver all the accused to the courtroomand by the President’s temporary removal of thepresiding judge advocate appointed by the military.No progress was made in investigating the beating todeath of four mutineers by soldiers suppressing theNovember mutiny.

Landmark ruling on discriminationIn April, two men were sentenced to two years’imprisonment for homosexual acts. In August the HighCourt overturned their conviction. It also declaredprovisions in the penal code discriminatory andunconstitutional in violating guarantees on privacy andequality to the extent that they penalized consensualsexual acts between males. The state appealed againstthe ruling.

The Methodist Church held a rally in June againstsame-sex marriages, but two further applications forlarge-scale marches were refused on the grounds thatthey could encourage hate crimes.

Violence against womenThere was a 70 per cent increase in reported rapes andattempted rapes since 2004, police said in November.Where convictions were obtained for rape, prisonterms of up to 20 years were imposed.

In a report in November 2005 the Fiji Law ReformCommission recommended a comprehensive overhaulof civil and criminal law responses to domesticviolence. It proposed improving prosecutions,strengthening protection and services for victims, andadopting a national strategy to combat domesticviolence.

Law reformReform of the Prison Act was also amongrecommendations made by the Fiji Law ReformCommission, which proposed a draft Corrections Bill tobring prison services into line with internationalhuman rights standards.


FRA

FINLAND

REPUBLIC OF FINLAND

Head of state: Tarja Halonen

Head of government: Matti Vanhanen




Seven conscientious objectors to military servicewere imprisoned; they were prisoners of conscience.Little coordinated action was taken to combatwidespread violence against women.

Conscientious objection to military serviceThe length of alternative civilian service remainedpunitive and discriminatory. Conscientious objectorswere obliged to perform 395 days of civilian service,215 days longer than the usual military service. Inaddition, the option of alternative service wasrestricted to peacetime. Conscientious objectorsimprisoned for refusing to do civilian service becauseof its punitive length were prisoners of conscience.

AI continued to urge the authorities to reduce thelength of alternative civilian service in line withinternationally recognized standards andrecommendations. The Labour Minister proposedshortening the alternative service, but in June thegovernment decided not to amend the law.b Seven conscientious objectors were known to havebeen imprisoned during the year. They receivedsentences of between 126 and 197 days for refusing toperform alternative civilian service. The length of theirsentences equalled half of their remaining civilianservice time.

Violence against womenViolence against women continued to be widespread.The last extensive study on the issue, conducted in 1998,showed that 40 per cent of women in Finland had beenvictims of physical or sexual violence or threats ofviolence by men, and 22 per cent of married women andwomen cohabiting with men had been victims of physicalor sexual violence or threats of violence by their partner.The government failed to follow up effectively on anational project on the prevention of violence againstwomen that was carried out between 1998 and 2002.

During 2005 AI and 18 other non-governmentalorganizations called for an inter-ministry action planfor the prevention of violence against women andsubmitted detailed recommendations. A reply receivedin February from the Prime Minister implied that therewas no overall action plan but that the issue of violenceagainst women was being included in othergovernment programmes. In November AI reiteratedits call for an overall action plan.

AI also conducted a survey of the work of Finnishmunicipalities on eradication of violence against women.

It found that in general this work lacked political will,coordination, expertise and resources, although a fewmunicipalities were doing pioneering work.

Unfair residence permit proceduresThe immigration authorities reportedly refused togrant some residence permits solely on the basis ofinformation provided by Finland’s Security Police(Suojelupoliisi, SUPO). The applicants were notallowed to see the information, which they couldtherefore not contest.b Qari Muzaffar Iqbal Naeemi, a Pakistani nationalresident in Finland since May 1997, remained uncertainof his future. He had been denied a renewal of hisresidence permit in September 2002 and issued with adeportation order in March 2003 on the basis of secretinformation supplied by SUPO. In April, AI raised hiscase with the authorities, but it had still not beenresolved by the end of the year.

FRANCE

FRENCH REPUBLIC

Head of state: Jacques Chirac

Head of government: Dominique de Villepin (replaced

Jean-Pierre Raffarin in May)




Following serious unrest in many cities and townsthroughout France, the government declared a stateof emergency in November. Immediate expulsions ofpeople involved in the riots were also announced bythe Minister of Interior. Developments in law andadministrative regulations restricted the right toseek asylum and to have the asylum claim consideredon its merits. An AI report demonstrated a 10-yearpattern of racist ill-treatment and killings by thepolice, and of failures in the judicial system to holdthose responsible to account. Racism within thepolice and other law enforcement bodies wastargeted at people of Muslim or minority ethnicorigin. A draft anti-terrorism law would allow longerperiods in incommunicado detention, removingsafeguards against torture and ill-treatment andreinforcing the effective impunity of lawenforcement officials. New regulations curtaileddomestic asylum law by cutting the time in whichasylum applications could be made, and requiringapplications to be made in French.


FRA

State of emergency declaredFrustration at discriminatory practices in areas suchas employment among communities of Frenchnationals of North African and sub-Saharanextraction, as well as migrants, coupled with anger atthe often racist and aggressive conduct of the police,boiled over into rioting in many cities and townsthroughout France after the disputed deaths of twoboys in October. On 9 November the governmentdeclared a state of emergency in the wholemetropolitan territory and imposed specificadditional measures in some areas and cities,including Paris, under a law passed in 1955 and appliedonly once since then. The law allows Préfets (high-level civil servants who represent the state at thelocal level) to take measures needed for themaintenance of public order. The measures includedcurfews within certain areas and times, and allowedlaw enforcement officials to carry out searcheswithout warrants, close public meeting places of anykind and limit freedom of movement.

On the same day, the Minister of Interior announcedthat he had ordered the Préfets to proceed with theimmediate expulsion of people convicted of criminalacts during the riots, whether their status was regularor irregular, and regardless of whether they hadresidence permits.

The state of emergency, initially due to last only 12days, was later extended until 21 February 2006.

Impunity for police abusesIn April, AI published a report demonstrating a 10-yearpattern of racist ill-treatment and killings by the police.The report highlighted failures in the judicial system tohold those responsible to account, and to providevictims of human rights violations with the right toredress and reparations. The report concluded that thegovernment’s continued failure to address theseviolations had led to a climate of impunity for lawenforcement officers, resulting in a “two-speed”approach by officials which ensured that theprosecution of cases brought by police officersproceeded more quickly than those brought by thevictims of police abuse. The vast majority of such casesinvolved foreign nationals or French nationals offoreign origin.b On 17 May, two policemen were given suspendedprison sentences after being convicted of the seriousassault and racial abuse in 2002 of Karim Latifi, acomputer consultant. The High Court in Paris gave themsuspended three- and four-month prison sentences,and acquitted two other law enforcement officers inthe same case. A civil lawsuit for damages was stillpending. In 2002 the case had been closed afterinvestigation by the Services General Inspectorate, thepolice complaints body for the Paris area, and judicialproceedings were pursued only because Karim Latifiinitiated a private prosecution.b On 31 August, Brice Petit and Jean-Michel Maulpoix,both writers and teachers, were convicted ofdefamation and fined 3,000 euros each. Brice Petit wasacquitted of insulting public officials. He had been

roughly handled and detained for 12 hours afterchallenging police treatment of a suspect restrained onthe ground in Montpellier in April 2004. He and otherssubsequently published information about the case onthe Internet. He and an eyewitness testified in courtthat he had not called the officers “Nazis” or “anti-Semites”, as alleged, but had peacefully protested thatthe force used to arrest an unarmed man for a minorpublic order offence was unacceptable.

Racism and discriminationIn February and March, the UN Committee on theElimination of Racial Discrimination consideredperiodic reports by France on implementation of theUN Convention against Racism. The Committeewelcomed legislative measures to combat racialdiscrimination, including a law adopted in June 2004 toban the spread of racist messages on the Internet and inDecember 2004 to establish an official body toinvestigate and take action against discrimination.However, the Committee recommended furtherpreventive measures, impartial investigation of allcomplaints, punishments proportionate to the gravityof the crimes, and the publicizing of complaints andcompensation procedures.

In a report in February the Council of Europe’sEuropean Commission against Racism and Intolerance(ECRI) acknowledged that France had taken steps tocombat racism and intolerance. These included theestablishment of a free telephone helpline forreporting racial discrimination and schemes tofacilitate the integration of newly arrived immigrants;improvements in immigrant children’s access toeducation; and the creation of an independent policeand prison oversight body, the National Commission onEthics in Security. However, the ECRI pointed topersistent complaints of violence, humiliation, racistverbal abuse and racial discrimination by police andgendarmerie officers, prison staff and personnelworking in reception centres or holding areas forrefugees and asylum-seekers.

A 38 per cent rise in complaints of police violence (97in 2004, compared with 70 in 2003) was reported inApril by the National Commission on Ethics in Security.In a third of cases, the violence was said to bemanifestly racist in character.

In March, the National Consultative Human RightsCommission (CNCDH) published its annual report,according to which the number of racist and anti-Semitic attacks had almost doubled in 2004 compared with the previous year. The CNCDHexpressed its concern that anti-Semitism had become“rooted” in society.

Anti-terrorism measuresDraft anti-terrorism lawA new anti-terrorism law proposed to the Council ofMinisters in October would remove safeguardsagainst torture or ill-treatment. Under the draft, theperiod in which people suspected of terrorism couldbe detained for interrogation before being broughtbefore a judge (garde à vue) was to be extended from


FRA

four to six days. The Minister of Interior, NicolasSarkozy, was reported as saying that such detaineeswould have access to a lawyer only after 72 hours inpolice custody. Combined with the continued failureto videotape the interrogation of adult suspects, suchmeasures risked contributing to the effectiveimpunity of law enforcement officials for the tortureor ill-treatment of detainees.

Other measures in the draft law were an expansionof video and telephone surveillance; the monitoring ofpublic transport records; and new powers of officialaccess to connection data held by Internet cafés and todata on identity cards, passports, driving licences, carregistration documents, residence permits for non-nationals and other personal records. The draft lawwould also raise the sentence for heading a terroristorganization from 20 to 30 years’ imprisonment and,under its provisions, people who had becomenationals through naturalization in the previous 15years could have their French nationality withdrawnand be expelled from the country (previously the limitwas 10 years).

The proposed law was approved by both chambers ofparliament in December. It was then sent to theConstitutional Council for approval.Deportationsb In separate cases in July and August, four Algeriannationals were deported to Algeria where they were atrisk of torture or ill-treatment. The men werereportedly suspected of a range of offences, includingpromoting violence and religious hatred in mosques inthe Lyon and Paris areas. Three of them had servedprison sentences in France after being convicted oncharges including unauthorized entry to the country;having links with terrorist networks; providingparamilitary training to young Islamist activists; and anattempted attack on a train.

Asylum rights curtailedIn April a three-year process of increasing restrictionson asylum, included under a new asylum law inDecember 2003, concluded with the implementationof administrative measures. New regulations allowedless time for submitting asylum applications: asylum-seekers were to be issued temporary residencepermits but had to complete their applications andsubmit them in French within 21 days (previouslywithin a month).

A new list of 12 “safe” countries was adopted in June.Under the new regulations the claims of people fromthese countries are examined under a fast-trackprocedure that lacks basic elements of protection.Asylum-seekers are not granted a residence permit, donot receive any support from the state, and have onlytwo weeks to submit their application in French. Theymust be given a decision within two weeks, and may bedeported before any appeal is heard.

Under the new regulations, individuals held in adetention centre and awaiting expulsion had only fivedays to make an asylum application (previously theyhad 12 days). The European Court of Human Rightscondemned Turkey for a similar procedure in 2000, on

the grounds that such a short time limit denied thepossibility of adequate scrutiny of the asylum-seeker’s case.

A decree in May legalized the practice – alreadyimplemented in certain prefectures from the beginningof 2005 – of denying language interpretation free ofcharge to asylum applicants in detention centres.Several administrative courts subsequently ruled that itwas essential to provide interpreters, given that asylumapplications had to be submitted in French. In July AIand other non-governmental organizations filed anappeal to overturn the decree before the State Council.At the close of 2005 AI had still not received a response.Domestic asylum law requires that applicants be giventhe means to support their claim and that decisions andinformation are communicated in a language theapplicant understands, whether in writing or throughan interpreter.

Ineffective domestic remediesOn 27 January the European Court of Human Rightsruled on the case of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (often knownas “Carlos the Jackal”). He was held in solitaryconfinement after his arrest in 1994, was sentenced tolife imprisonment for murder in 1997 but remainedunder investigation for other alleged crimes. He hadlodged an application with the Court in July 2004. TheCourt was unanimous that the prisoner had beenunable to challenge his prolonged solitary confinementbecause of the lack of any remedy in domestic law,although it held that this did not violate the prohibitionof torture.

AI country reports/visitsReport• France: The search for justice – The effective

impunity of law enforcement officers in cases ofshootings, deaths in custody or torture and ill-treatment (AI Index: EUR 21/001/2005)

VisitAI delegates visited France in April.


GEO

GEORGIA

GEORGIA

Head of state: Mikhail Saakashvili

Head of government: Zurab Noghaideli (replaced Zurab

Zhvania in February)




Reports of torture and ill-treatment by lawenforcement officers continued, despite efforts bythe authorities to address the issue. Someperpetrators of attacks on religious minorities wereimprisoned but hundreds of others remainedunpunished. Chechens sought by the RussianFederation on terrorism charges and a Kurd wantedby Turkey were at risk of expulsion or extradition. Thejudiciary appeared to be unduly influenced by thegovernment. There were allegations of governmentinterference with freedom of the media in particularin relation to television. The internationallyunrecognized breakaway areas of South Ossetia andAbkhazia retained the death penalty.

Torture and ill-treatmentThe authorities took a number of measures to tackletorture and ill-treatment and several key governmentofficials publicly stated their commitment to fight suchabuses. The measures included legal amendments andextensive monitoring of detention facilities, in particularby the office of the Public Defender of Georgia(Ombudsman). Eleven perpetrators of crimes amountingto torture or ill-treatment were serving prison termshanded down since the “Rose Revolution” in November2003. In June Georgia recognized the competence of theUN Committee against Torture to consider individualcomplaints and in August it acceded to the OptionalProtocol to the Convention against Torture.

Nevertheless, reports of torture and ill-treatmentcontinued. The methods allegedly included puttingplastic bags over the detainee’s head; placing a gun inthe detainee’s mouth and threatening to shoot;beatings, including with gun butts; kicking; and threatsagainst the detainee’s family.

Most injuries inflicted by police were reportedlysustained at the time of arrest. In some cases detaineeswere reportedly tortured or ill-treated in policevehicles, in police stations, and in the Ministry ofInternal Affairs. One detainee alleged that he was ill-treated during a court hearing.

Many cases did not come to light because policecovered up their crimes and detainees were oftenafraid to complain or identify the perpetrators for fearof repercussions. There were shortcomings in theimplementation of legal safeguards aimed atpreventing torture and ill-treatment, such as promptaccess to a lawyer.

Impunity for torture and ill-treatment remained aproblem, and no victims of torture or ill-treatmentwere known to have been awarded compensation.According to the Human Rights Protection Unit of theGeneral Procuracy, 151 criminal cases or preliminaryinvestigations were opened and charges were broughtagainst 31 law enforcement officers during 2005.However, procurators did not open investigationsinto all potential torture and ill-treatment cases in asystematic manner. In dozens of cases where theprocuracy opened investigations the perpetratorswere not brought to justice. Many investigations werenot carried out in an impartial and independentmanner.

In March the UN Special Rapporteur on tortureissued a list of recommendations to the authoritiesaimed at eradicating torture and ill-treatment, aftervisiting Georgia in February. He recommended: thatjudges and prosecutors should routinely ask detaineeshow they had been treated; that any public officialindicted for abuse or torture should be suspended fromduty and prosecuted; and compensation, medicaltreatment and rehabilitation for victims.

The European Committee for the Prevention ofTorture (CPT) stated in its report issued in June that inGeorgia, “criminal suspects ran a significant risk ofbeing ill-treated by the police, and that on occasionresort may be had to severe ill-treatment/torture”.

In November AI urged the authorities to set up abody independent of the police, procuracy and thejustice system to review investigations intoallegations of torture and ill-treatment and judicialproceedings in such cases. Such a body should havethe authority to present findings and makerecommendations to the relevant authorities and toissue public reports. The organization also called onthe authorities to pay special attention to endingtorture and ill-treatment in the regions of Georgiaoutside Tbilisi. AI called for masks and other clothingthat hides officers’ personal identities to beprohibited, other than in exceptional circumstanceswhen each officer should be identifiable by suchmeans as an identification number.b Givi Janiashvili was arrested by more than 30masked special unit police officers at his home in thetown of Rustavi on 12 May. He was unarmed, and saidthat he put up no resistance. He was reportedly beatenseverely in front of his wife, his 11-year-old child andseveral neighbours. A forensic expert who examinedhim four days later found injuries consistent with hisaccount. Tbilisi city procuracy did not open aninvestigation into the allegations of ill-treatment until29 June.

In many cases investigations were not openedpromptly after complaints of torture or ill-treatment bylaw enforcement officers.b Alexander Mkheidze, a 27-year-old architect, wasdetained by police in the village of Tsqneti near Tbilision 6 April. He alleged that he was beaten and kickedwhile he was being taken to the building of theMinistry of Internal Affairs in the centre of Tbilisi, andthat police continued to beat him there. Later that day


GER

he was transferred to a detention facility, where thedoctor who examined him found that his skin was“slightly red” on his legs but diagnosed him as“healthy”. Two days later he was transferred to aninvestigation-isolation prison, where AlexanderMkheidze reiterated his allegations and a doctorrecorded bruising on his legs. Two weeks later he wasexamined by a forensic expert who found bruises andabrasions caused by a heavy blunt object consistentwith his allegations.

Religious minoritiesThere were several instances where members ofreligious minorities were beaten and harassed bysupporters of the Georgian Orthodox Church. In somecases, it was alleged that the attacks were incited byGeorgian Orthodox priests. Several perpetrators ofviolent attacks on religious minorities in recent yearswere imprisoned during 2005. However, hundredscontinued to enjoy impunity. Some of those who wereconvicted were not tried for all the attacks they werebelieved to have been involved in.b On 31 January Vake-Saburtalo district court inTbilisi sentenced Basil Mkalavishvili, Petre Ivanidzeand Merab Korashinidze to six, four and one year’simprisonment respectively on charges including“illegal interference with the execution of religiousrites or other religious rules and habits”, “beatings”and “arson”. Other supporters of Basil Mkalavishvili –Avtandil Donadze, Avtandil Gabunia, Akaki Mosashviliand Mikheil Nikolozashvili – were given three-yearsuspended prison sentences. In October a higher courtin Tbilisi turned down an appeal by Basil Mkalavishviliand Petre Ivanidze.

Risk of expulsionChechen refugees sought by the Russian Federation onterrorism charges and an ethnic Kurd wanted byTurkey, who was allegedly a member of the KurdistanWorkers’ Party (PKK), faced being forcibly returned to acountry where they would be at risk of serious humanrights violations.b In March, three young Russian citizens, ShengeliTsatiashvili and his younger brothers Suleiman andSosran, were reportedly detained in the Ministry ofRefugees and Accommodation in Tbilisi by officers ofthe Interior Ministry’s anti-terrorism group. They hadgone to the building to register an asylum claim forthe two younger men; the older brother had appliedfor asylum in December 2004. They were reportedlyfirst taken to the offices of the anti-terrorism groupfor questioning and then to the Red Bridge on theborder with Azerbaijan. They were left in the territorybetween Georgia and Azerbaijan but managed toreturn to Georgia. They returned to the Ministry ofRefugees and Accommodation, accompanied byrepresentatives of the Ombudsman’s office and theUN Association of Georgia, and registered the asylumclaim. Reportedly, there was no extradition requestfor the three brothers and they were expelledalthough the authorities had not yet considered theirasylum applications.

Abkhazia and South OssetiaThe status of the internationally unrecognizedbreakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetiaremained unresolved. Both retained the death penaltyin law. While in South Ossetia a de facto moratorium ondeath sentences and executions was believed to be inforce, Abkhazia had a de facto moratorium onexecutions only.

In February, as part of his visit to Georgia, the UNSpecial Rapporteur on torture visited South Ossetia andAbkhazia. In Abkhazia he visited a man and a womanheld on death row, and in March he called for the deathpenalty to be abolished there.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of Amnesty

International’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Georgia (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

• Georgia: Torture and ill-treatment – Still a concernafter the “Rose Revolution” (AI Index: EUR56/001/2005)

VisitsAI conducted research in Georgia from March to Juneand in October, visiting Tbilisi, the western town ofZugdidi and the internationally unrecognized region ofSouth Ossetia.

GERMANY

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

Head of state: Horst Köhler

Head of government: Angela Merkel (replaced Gerhard

Schröder in November)




In breach of the absolute ban on torture underinternational human rights law, a court ruled thatevidence that could have been extracted undertorture or ill-treatment was admissible in legalproceedings.

Torture concernsOn 14 June the Hamburg Supreme Court ruled thatevidence possibly obtained under torture or cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment was admissible inlegal proceedings, a ruling that breached internationalhuman rights law. In the retrial of Mounir al-Motassadeq, who stood accused of membership of a“terrorist group” and aiding the attacks in the USA on 11September 2001, the court accepted statements as


GHA

evidence that had been provided by US authorities.The court argued that it could not be proven that thestatements were obtained through torture or other ill-treatment, apparently ignoring the widespreadevidence of torture and other ill-treatment in thenetwork of detention centres around the world usedby US authorities to hold terror suspects. Thestatements reportedly comprised summaries ofinterrogations of three people held by US authorities —Ramzi Binalshibh, Mohamed Ould Slahi and KhalidSheikh Mohammed.

In November, 13 of the 16 Länder (regional states)agreed to the ratification of the Optional Protocol tothe UN Convention against Torture, whileNiedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Sachsen (Saxony) andSachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt) refused to give theirrequired approval.

Public debate continued on whether there arecircumstances, including the threat of terrorism, thatjustify the use of torture by law enforcement officials.

Refugees at riskThe Federal Agency for Migration and Refugeescontinued to withdraw refugee status from individuals,in particular refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq andKosovo. When considering withdrawal of refugeestatus, the Agency looked only at whether the situationin the country of origin had changed. It did notconsider, as required by the UN Refugee Convention,issues such as whether the authorities in the country oforigin could offer the returning refugees effectiveprotection. After refugee status had been withdrawn,the residence permits of the individuals concernedwere often cancelled, putting them at risk ofdeportation to their country of origin.

This policy began in 2004, when up to 16,800refugees had their status withdrawn. In the first half of2005, some 5,897 refugees lost their status, a slight dropon the rate of the previous year, but 7,346 cases werepending. In November the policy was confirmed by aFederal Administration Court decision.

The German authorities continued to deportforeigners to countries where the human rightssituation was extremely fragile. The German Aliens Actallows authorities to stop deportations to certaincountries or regions if the human rights situation isgenerally insecure. However, this provision was rarelyimplemented. There were deportations to places suchas Afghanistan, Chechnya and Togo as well asdeportations of members of ethnic minorities toKosovo.

Racist attacksAccording to official statistics, the number ofxenophobic and racist acts of violence continued tobe high.

Anti-discrimination legislation passed by the FederalParliament (Bundestag) on 17 June was rejected by theFederal Council (Bundesrat). The legislation wasintended to incorporate European Union anti-discrimination guidelines into German law, thedeadline for which was in 2003.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Germany: Hamburg court violates international law

by admitting evidence potentially obtained throughtorture (AI Index: EUR 23/001/2005)

GHANA

REPUBLIC OF GHANA

Head of state and government: John Agyekum Kufuor





The government released the final report of theNational Reconciliation Commission with plans forimplementing some of its recommendations. ThePresident granted amnesty to 1,317 prisoners onhumanitarian grounds. Violence against womencontinued to be widespread without progress in lawreform.

The National Reconciliation CommissionOn 22 April, the report of the National ReconciliationCommission, investigating past human rights abusesduring Ghana’s periods of unconstitutionalgovernment between 1957 and 1993, was made public bythe government, together with a white paper acceptingsome of the recommendations and promising that areparation and rehabilitation fund would beoperational before the end of 2005. Norecommendations had been implemented by the end ofthe year. The government issued an apology to all thosewho had been wronged by past governments.

The report concluded that the majority of humanrights abuses were attributed to the unconstitutionalgovernments. The recommendations includedreparation for and rehabilitation of victims, and paidparticular attention to rape and other sexual violenceagainst women. Specifics included a formal presidentialapology to victims of abuses by state agents, financialcompensation, restitution of property, medical care,and the creation of trauma and counselling centres inhospitals. The report also recommended reconciliationand institutional reforms such as training on humanrights for the police, judges and prison officials.

Violence against womenViolence against women continued to be widespread,with violence in the family thought to affect one inthree women. Civil society organizations discussedreform of abortion legislation and laws permittingmarital rape, and some members of parliament


GRE

advocated higher sentences for rape and defilement ofwomen. However, no progress was made in passing theDomestic Violence Bill into law.

The Human Trafficking Law was passed by parliamentin June; it had not received presidential assent by theend of the year. Ghana had not yet ratified the Protocolto the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights onthe Rights of Women in Africa.

GREECE

HELLENIC REPUBLIC

Head of state: Karolos Papoulias (replaced Constantinos

Stephanopoulos in March)

Head of government: Constantinos Karamanlis




Migrants, refugees and members of minority groupssuffered human rights violations, including denial ofaccess to asylum procedures, ill-treatment indetention and discrimination. Romani homes weretargeted for demolition in ways that breachedinternational standards, and Roma faceddiscrimination and racist attacks. A new lawimproved the situation for conscientious objectors tomilitary service, but still provided for punitivealternative civilian service.

Denial of refugee protectionThe government continued to fail to comply with itsobligations under international law in relation toproviding access to asylum procedures and theprohibition of refoulement. On several occasionsgroups of people arriving in Greece seeking asylumwere forcibly expelled without being given access toasylum procedures. Cases were reported on Greece’scoastline and some islands, and at the border area ofEvros. During meetings with government officials, AIwas told that such practices would be stopped, butfurther cases were subsequently reported.b On 1 April, 106 people who said they werePalestinians, but whom the government maintainedwere Egyptians, landed on the island of Crete seekingasylum. They were reportedly expelled to Egypt 12 dayslater without being given an opportunity to file asylumclaims. The group arrived in the Palaiochora area ofCrete after their boat sank just off the coast. They wereescorted by police to a hotel, where they were detainedfor 10 days. The local police chief and the DeputyMinister of Public Order initially refused to allow

human rights activists and lawyers to meet the groupand said that all 106 would be immediately expelled.However, a meeting with a lawyer present was allowedon 7 April, during which the detainees said they wantedto seek asylum in Greece. On 10 April they wereescorted by police onto a ship bound for Athens. Onarrival, they were detained at the Attica AliensDepartment and other police stations in Attica. AIrepresentatives who visited them on 12 April witnessedpoor conditions of detention and heard allegations ofill-treatment by police. Later that day all 106 detaineeswere put on a ship bound for Egypt.b A group of 141 people shipwrecked on Crete on 23October were expelled to Egypt on 4 November,reportedly without being given access to refugeeprotection or lawyers.

Detention and ill-treatment of irregularmigrants and asylum-seekersAsylum-seekers and people without legal permission tobe in the country (irregular migrants), includingunaccompanied minors, were arbitrarily detained,often in poor conditions which may have amounted tocruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Asylum-seekers and irregular migrants alleged that they wereill-treated by police officers and in detention centres.

Several irregular migrants who arrived on the islandof Chios in April were detained in conditions thatamounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,including being held in a metal container close to theisland’s main harbour. On 19 April, human rightsactivists on the island demonstrated against the use ofthe metal container to hold migrants.

Police ill-treatmentOn 13 December in the case of Bekos and Koutropoulosv Greece, the European Court of Human Rights foundthat Greece had violated provisions of the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights (ECHR) which prohibittorture and other ill-treatment, and discrimination inthe enjoyment of ECHR rights. The two applicants,Greek Roma who were arrested in 1998, were taken toMesolonghi police station where police officers beatthem with a truncheon and iron bar, slapped and kickedthem, threatened them with sexual assault, andverbally abused them. The police officers in questionwere cleared of ill-treatment by both the internalpolice inquiry and the trial that ensued. In its judgment,the European Court of Human Rights found that the twoRoma had suffered inhuman and degrading treatmentat the hands of the police, that the authorities failed toconduct an effective investigation into the incident,and that the authorities failed to investigate possibleracist motives behind the incident.Update: the killing of Vullnet BytyçiOn 5 June the police officer charged with fatallywounding Vullnet Bytyçi was found guilty ofmanslaughter and received a suspended prisonsentence of two years and three months. VullnetBytyçi, an 18-year-old Albanian national, was shot ashe tried to cross the Greek-Albanian border inSeptember 2003. The court also sentenced in absentia


GRE

one of the five Albanians who had attempted to crossthe border with Vullnet Bytyçi to three months’imprisonment, suspended for three years, for illegalentry, and fined him.

Discrimination against minoritiesRomani families continued to be targeted for evictionand demolition of their homes in ways thatcontravened international human rights standards,including the International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights and anti-discrimination laws.b On 23 and 24 June, during a “cleaning operation” byPatras local municipality, 11 of around 20 homesbelonging to Albanian Roma legally residing in Greecewere demolished, including one that still contained thefamily’s belongings. There were also reports of arsonattacks against the Romani settlement in Patras on 21,23 and 24 June. No investigation into the attacksappeared to have been initiated by the end of the year.

In October, according to the Greek Helsinki Monitor,parents of Romani children attending the elementaryschool of Psari, outside Athens, were pressured by localand education authorities to sign declarations askingfor their children to be moved to segregated, all-Romani education facilities far from the Romanisettlement. The reports followed racist protests byparents of non-Romani pupils demanding the removalof Romani children from the school.

The authorities continued to refuse to re-issuecitizenship documents to members of the Muslimpopulation of western Thrace. According to legalprovisions abrogated in 1998, Greek citizens who werenot of ethnic Greek origin could have their citizenshipwithdrawn if they were believed by the authorities tohave emigrated to another country. People from thisminority were classified as “non-citizens”: some ofthem had lost their citizenship because they had left thecountry at some point in their lives. In most cases, theauthorities did not take adequate steps to ensure thatthe people concerned were informed of the decision towithdraw their citizenship in time to appeal againstthese decisions. Such people continued to be deniedaccess to state benefits such as security benefits andpension allowances.

Conscientious objection to military serviceIn November parliament approved an amended law onmilitary service, which revised the conditions ofalternative civilian service for conscientious objectors.The new law allowed people who have lost their claim toconscientious objection status to reapply. However, thelength of alternative civilian service remained punitiveand the law still fell short of international standards. Inparticular, the board responsible for grantingconscientious objection status was not under a civilianauthority; professional soldiers were not allowed tochange their views and become conscientious objectors;conscientious objectors were not allowed to vote orform unions; and the right to conscientious objectioncould be suspended during war.b In August the military court of Xanthi convictedconscientious objector Boris Sotiriadis to three and a

half years in prison for disobedience. He wasconsequently imprisoned between 22 August and 20September but was released pending appeal. Theappeal had not been heard by the end of the year. On 9November the military court of Ioannina found him notguilty of a further charge of disobedience.

Violence against womenInter-ministerial efforts to combat trafficking in humanbeings continued. Several initiatives were started,including the establishment of shelters offeringprotection to victims of trafficking. However, theshelters remained empty, reportedly because of thedifficulties experienced by victims of trafficking inobtaining official designation as such. In order forvictims to access shelter protection, they needed tohave filed complaints against their traffickers and couldonly be designated “victims of trafficking” by theprosecutor to whom the complaint was addressed.

In December the government presented non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with a draft law ondomestic violence, expected to pass throughparliament in 2006. Successive governments hadworked on domestic violence legislation for threeyears. While the draft contained a provisioncriminalizing marital rape, the proposed law failed todefine “violence between family members” or torecognize it as a form of discrimination against women.It also failed to provide for the establishment andorganization of institutions for the protection ofvictims of domestic violence (including shelters andmedical care); to make training on domestic violencecompulsory for police and judicial personnel; or toallow NGOs to file suits in domestic violence cases. Thelaw also failed to allocate funding for activities aimingto combat and prevent domestic violence.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Greece: Punished for their beliefs – how

conscientious objectors continue to be deprived oftheir rights (AI Index: EUR 25/007/2005)

• Greece: Out of the spotlight – the rights of foreignersand minorities are still a grey area (AI Index: EUR25/016/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited Greece in January and October.


GUA

GUATEMALA

REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA

Head of state and government: Óscar Berger Perdomo



UN Women’s Convention and its Optional Protocol:ratified.

Record numbers of women were killed; thegovernment’s response remained ineffective andinadequate and there were few successfulprosecutions of those responsible. Human rightsdefenders faced repeated threats and intimidation,especially at times of nationwide protest againstgovernment economic policies. Hundreds of cases ofdisputes between rural communities and landownersremained unresolved. Those responsible for pasthuman rights violations, including genocide,committed during the internal armed conflict, werenot brought to justice.

BackgroundIn March, Congress ratified a free trade agreement(known as CAFTA) with the USA, the DominicanRepublic and other Central American states. This andother economic policies, such as the expansion ofmining activities by foreign companies and proposedprivatization of parts of the public sector, causedsignificant protest nationwide. At least twodemonstrators were killed, allegedly by members of thesecurity forces, and many were injured duringdemonstrations.

The government issued public apologies in fourcases of past human rights violations committedduring the internal armed conflict. One publicapology, for the 1982 Plan de Sánchez massacre ofmore than 250 indigenous villagers by state forces,had been ordered by the Inter-American Court ofHuman Rights.

An Office of the UN High Commissioner for HumanRights was established in September.

More than 650 people died in Guatemala in the wakeof Hurricane Stan which caused extensive damage andcasualties in Central America in October.

Efforts to make progress on a UN-backed proposal toestablish a commission to investigate illegalorganizations and clandestine groups failed tomaterialize despite previous government assurances.The proposed commission had been rejected byCongress in 2004.

Violence against womenAccording to police figures, up to 665 women weremurdered in Guatemala, an increase from the 527 killedin 2004. The attacks were often accompanied by sexualviolence and extreme brutality. Little progress wasmade in bringing those responsible to justice. InJanuary cases were transferred to a new investigating

agency with more resources, but this did not result insuccessful prosecutions.

A law which considers sexual relations with a femaleminor a crime only if the woman is “honest” remainedin force. However, a law which allowed rapists, incertain cases, to escape prosecution if they marry theirvictim, was suspended in December by theConstitutional Court, the country’s highest court.b Nineteen-year-old Claudina Velázquez’s body wasfound on 13 August. She had died from a gunshot woundto the head. There were bruises on her cheek and kneeand traces of semen were found. There were seriousconcerns about the effectiveness of the investigation.For example, tests on the principal suspects, toascertain if they had fired a gun, were not carried outand the investigating prosecutor attempted to returnher clothes to the family, who insisted that they be keptas a potential source of future evidence.

Economic, social and cultural rightsTwenty-two evictions of rural communities werereported to have been carried out in 2005. Theauthorities showed undue partiality towardsindividual, normally wealthy, landowners in issuingeviction orders. The evictions themselves werecharacterized by destruction of homes and excessiveuse of force which sometimes resulted in injuries.

Threats and intimidationDuring 2005, 224 attacks on human rights activists andorganizations were reported. The timing and nature ofmany of these attacks suggested the involvement ofillegal clandestine groups.

The Rapporteur for Guatemala of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights visited in Julyand noted the difficult situation faced by human rightsdefenders. While commending the government’spublic declaration of support for defenders, theRapporteur concluded that impunity was a structuralproblem and little progress was being made ininvestigating present and past human rights violationsagainst activists.b In January, Makrina Gudiel, a campaigner againstcorruption and the daughter of a prominent humanrights defender who was murdered in December 2004,was attacked. Her car was drenched in gasoline in anattempt to burn her alive. She managed to escape andremained in hiding for most of 2005.b In May, the office of a national rural workers’organization was raided. Computers were takencontaining important information on the organization’swork and members, while many other objects of valuewere left behind. The organization had been active inopposing CAFTA and forced evictions of ruralcommunities.

ImpunityThere was no progress in trying past cases of genocideor crimes against humanity in Guatemala.

In February, the Constitutional Court halted a trial inthe case of the 1982 massacre in Dos Erres, in whichover 200 people were killed by the Guatemalan Army.


GUI

The Court determined that due process had beenviolated. The case was pending at the end of the year.b In September, the Spanish Constitutional Courtruled that the case for alleged genocide againstGuatemalan General Rios Montt, military ruler ofGuatemala between 1981-82, and other officers, couldproceed in Spain.

Death penaltyIn April President Berger announced he would seek toabolish the death penalty. Legislation was presented toCongress in May where it remained pending at the endof the year.

In two separate cases in June and September, theInter-American Court of Human Rights ruled thatarticles of the Criminal Code relating to theapplication of the death penalty for murder andkidnapping were unclear and therefore could not beapplied. The Court ordered a reprieve for the twoprisoners who presented their cases and for a further18 prisoners condemned to death for kidnapping. Ifimplemented, the judgments could reduce those ondeath row from the current 29 to nine.

No executions took place in 2005.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Guatemala: Memorandum to the Government of

Guatemala: Amnesty International’s concernsregarding the current human rights situation (AI Index: AMR 34/014/2005)

• Guatemala: No protection, no justice – killings ofwomen in Guatemala (AI Index: AMR 34/017/2005)

• Amicus Curiae Brief before the Inter-American Courtof Human Rights in the matter of Ronald ErnestoRaxcacó Reyes (AI Index: IOR 62/003/2005)

VisitsAI delegations visited Guatemala in August and inSeptember.

GUINEA

REPUBLIC OF GUINEA

Head of state: Lansana Conté

Head of government: Cellou Dalein Diallo





Several people were arrested following an attempt toassassinate the head of state in January. Police usedexcessive force to disperse a protest march. Freedomof expression remained under threat. Deathsentences continued to be imposed; no executionswere reported.

BackgroundIn January, an unidentified group wearing militaryuniforms attempted to assassinate President Conté.The authorities said that the attackers escaped aftergunshots were fired at a presidential convoy. Severalpeople, including military officers, were arrested.

In September, following clashes between differentethnic groups in Nzérékoré that left several peopleinjured, the authorities imposed a curfew and arrestedat least 20 people.

The opposition, which had boycotted presidentialelections in 2003, took part in local elections inDecember 2005. The ruling Party for Union andProgress won most urban districts and ruraldevelopment communities. Opposition parties accusedthe authorities of rigging the polls.

Excessive use of forceIn November, police allegedly used excessive forceagainst high-school students during a protest marchover a lack of teachers in Télémélé, 250km north of thecapital Conakry. Two students were killed and a thirdperson who was shot died later in hospital.

Detention without trialAround 11 military officers, including Amadou Dialloand Alama Condé, held since November 2003 onsuspicion of plotting to overthrow President Conté,were still in detention without charge or trial at the endof the year. It was learned during 2005 that MoussaTouré, a military officer arrested in 2003, had died indetention in September 2004 and had been deniedmedical care.

Attacks on freedom of expressionIn August, the authorities ended the state monopoly onbroadcasting. A new law allows private citizens andorganizations to broadcast, but not political parties orreligious movements. Freedom of expressioncontinued to be curtailed, with journalists, lawyersand others who criticized state representatives at riskof beatings, arrests and imprisonment.


GUI

b Sotigtui Kaba, a journalist with Le Lynx newspaper,was beaten in February while covering a protest marchby truck drivers who were demanding better workingconditions.b Mohamed Lamine Diallo, known as Ben Pepito,editor-in-chief of the weekly La Lance, was detained forthree days in February on unknown charges. He hadbeen investigating the case of Antoine Soromou, amember of the opposition, who had been detained formore than two weeks in January.b In November, Louis Espérant Célestin, editor ofGuinée Actuelle newspaper, was detained for morethan 48 hours after he published an article about PrimeMinister Cellou Dalein Diallo that was considereddefamatory.

Death penaltyIn August the Minister of Security signalled a tougherapproach to crime and announced that “whoever killsdeliberately will also be killed”. A wide range ofoffences, including murder, carry a mandatory deathsentence; execution is by firing squad.b In August a diamond merchant, Malick Condé, anda policeman, Cléophace Lamah, were sentenced todeath for murder. They said they would appeal. Two co-defendants were sentenced to four years’imprisonment.

GUINEA-BISSAU

REPUBLIC OF GUINEA-BISSAU

Head of state: João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira (replaced

Henrique Pereira Rosa (interim) in October)

Head of government: Aristide Gomes (replaced Carlos

Gomes Júnior in November)





The risks of conflict and instability remained high.Political tension increased in the run-up topresidential elections in July, and the election offormer President João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira failedto calm the situation. The police used firearms todisperse a demonstration, killing four people andinjuring several others. There was no investigationinto this incident.

BackgroundEconomic and social conditions remained dire andcontinued to threaten the stability of the country,ranked the sixth poorest in the world. In January, a

locust invasion threatened the cashew nut harvest, thecountry’s main cash crop. Following a donors’conference in February, the government relied oninternational donors to pay salary arrears, especially tothe armed forces, and to finance elections.International donors also pledged assistance torestructure the armed forces.

In March, a UN delegation visited the country toassist in efforts to combat the proliferation of illegallycirculating small arms, estimated at around 175,000.

Former President João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira wassworn in as President in October having won thesecond round of presidential elections in July. Theelections were declared free and fair by internationalobservers. The delay in taking office arose because hisopponent, Malam Bacai Sanhá, of the ruling AfricanParty for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and CapeVerde (Partido Africano da Indepêndencia da Guiné eCabo Verde, PAIGC), contested the results anddemanded a recount of the votes.

At the end of October the new President dismissedthe government. Three days later he appointed AristideGomes as Prime Minister. Aristide Gomes had beenexpelled from the PAIGC in May for supportingPresident Vieira in the presidential election. The PAIGCrejected the appointment as unconstitutional. Thedismissed Prime Minister refused to hand over officeand demonstrators in Bissau protesting against the newappointment burned tyres and caused some materialdamage. There were no arrests.

In October the government declared that it hadfulfilled its obligations under the Ottawa Convention bydestroying its stockpile of about 5,000 landmines.However, several minefields remained to be cleared.

There was conflict between Muslim groups in the cityof Gabú in the east in February. A month later, theauthorities accused the Muslim group Ahmadi of failingto co-operate with other Muslim groups and banned itfrom carrying out its activities. The group had beenbanned and arbitrarily expelled from the country in2001 by then President Kumba Ialá, but in January 2005the ban had been lifted following a court order.

Political violence and impunityPolitical tension heightened around the presidentialelections and the army was placed on high alert.Tension was exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s delayin making a decision to allow two former presidents tostand in the elections. Kumba Ialá of the Social RenewalParty (Partido da Renovação Social, PRS) wasoverthrown from power in September 2003 and bannedfrom seeking political office for eight years. JoãoBernardo “Nino” Vieira, a refugee in Portugal sincebeing ousted in 1999, was forbidden to seek politicaloffice by the Constitution. Kumba Ialá threatened toseize power if his candidacy was rejected. In May, theSupreme Court ruled that the two could stand.Opposition parties criticized the ruling as politicallymotivated. Despite the ruling, Kumba Ialá declaredhimself President and occupied the presidential palacefor a few hours. The army broke up a demonstration byPRS supporters and pledged loyalty to the government.


GUY

In June, Kumba Ialá rejected the results of the firstballot. The PRS organized a demonstration in hissupport, which led to violence in which people losttheir lives. The Rapid Intervention Police reportedlybeat demonstrators and used tear gas and liveammunition to disperse them, killing four and injuringabout six others. There were reports that some of thedemonstrators were armed with sticks, stones andguns. About 50 people were reportedly arrested,including Artur Sanhá, Secretary General of the PRS. Allwere released uncharged after two days, pending aninvestigation. However, no investigation was carriedout by the end of 2005.

A week before the second ballot, in July, a group ofarmed men wearing military uniforms attacked theMinistry of Interior. Two police officers were killed andseveral people were injured in the attack. Twentypeople were reportedly arrested. The Army Chief ofStaff blamed the attack on people acting outside themilitary command structure. No investigation into thisincident was known to have taken place.

Similarly, there was no investigation into the killingin September 2004 of the Chief-of-Staff of the ArmedForces. Soldiers arrested in 2002 and released in 2004pending trial were not tried.

Freedom of expressionIn September the government dismissed the directorsof the national television and radio stations. Therewere reports that the dismissals were politicallymotivated and related to the two men’s alleged supportfor the President-elect, João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira.

GUYANA

REPUBLIC OF GUYANA

Head of state: Bharrat Jagdeo

Head of government: Samuel Hinds





There were reports of killings by a “death squad”allegedly involving serving and former policeofficers. The criminal justice system failed to bringvast numbers of cases of sexual violence againstwomen to trial.

Death penaltyNo executions took place but 21 people remained ondeath row – 19 men and two women.

Guyana formally adopted the Caribbean Court ofJustice, inaugurated in April, as its highest appellatecourt. Since independence in 1970, the Court of Appealof Guyana had been the final court of appeal.

‘Death squad’In April a Presidential Commission found that there wasno evidence of “a credible nature” linking the HomeAffairs Minister to the activities of an alleged “deathsquad”. In June, following international pressure, theMinister resigned. According to reports, severalwitnesses failed to appear before the Commissionbecause of fears for their safety.

In August a high court overturned the decision of alower court to charge an alleged hit-woman with theJune 2004 murder of George Bacchus. He was shot deaddays before he was due to testify in a trial related to“death squad” killings.

The separate killings of five people between Augustand September were attributed in the news media to“death squad” activities.

Violence against womenAccording to a report by the Guyana Human RightsAssociation, in only nine out of 647 rapes reported from2000 to 2004 was the perpetrator convicted. The reportdetailed a rise of some 30 per cent in the incidence ofsexual violence against women, and a 16-fold increasein statutory rape cases from 2000 to 2004. Only threeper cent of rape cases filed over the five-year periodresulted in a trial. The report pointed to “deficienciesand weaknesses in the justice system”.


HAI

HAITI

REPUBLIC OF HAITI

Head of state: Boniface Alexandre

Head of government: Gérard Latortue





signed

Excessive use of force by police officers continuedand there were reports of extrajudicial executions.No proper investigations were carried out,reinforcing the climate of impunity. Unlawful killingsand kidnappings by illegal armed groups escalated,exacerbating political tensions ahead of elections.Clashes between UN soldiers and illegal armedgroups continued throughout 2005. Violenceagainst women persisted and officials failed to takeadequate steps to prevent and punish it. The justicesystem remained dysfunctional and scores of peopleremained imprisoned without charge or trial.Impunity for past human rights violations prevailed.

Background2005 was marked by instability and violence,particularly in Port-au-Prince, the capital. The largequantity of small arms in circulation fuelled criminalactivities and human rights abuses. The number ofkidnappings for ransom increased dramatically withover 1,000 cases between March and December. Allsectors of society were targeted, along with foreignnationals. Among the victims was one of Haiti’s best-known journalists and poets, Jacques Roche, who waskidnapped and murdered in July. Many children wereabducted to extort money from their parents. At least20 Haitian National Police (HNP) officers were arrestedfor taking part in kidnappings.

The security situation improved generally acrossthe country, although armed gangs in the capital,particularly in the Cité Soleil district, continued todefy both the HNP and soldiers from the UNStabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Clashesbetween armed gangs and MINUSTAH military andHNP officers continued throughout 2005 – most ofthose killed and injured were unarmed civilian men,women and children, although several gang leaderswere also killed. Reports of unlawful killings, rape,extortion and arson continued to be frequent in theimpoverished neighbourhoods controlled by armedgangs.

MINUSTAH had its mandate extended until February2006 and its strength increased to more than 8,000military personnel and UN police officers. In March,MINUSTAH forces reclaimed two police stations in PetitGoâve and Terre-Rouge that had been occupied since2004 by former officials of the Haitian Armed Forces(FADH), disbanded in 1995, and former rebels. MINUSTAH

acknowledged responsibility for the deaths ofcivilians during military operations carried out in CitéSoleil in July.

In April, Remissainthe Ravix, the self-proclaimedleader of the demobilized armed forces, was killed in aclash with police. Disarmament of the ex-FADH officersand former rebels was not implemented by the end of2005. Former members of the FADH pressed the interimgovernment to pay them compensation for theirdemobilization in 1995 and to reinstate their pensionfund. The interim government agreed to pay US$28million in compensation to the ex-FADH officers,without making the payment conditional onimplementing a disarmament and demobilizationprogramme. In addition, hundreds of ex-FADH officerswere incorporated into the HNP without proper vettingof their past human rights record.

Delegations from the UN Security Council and theInter-American Commission on Human Rights visitedHaiti in April. Both delegations raised concerns aboutthe human rights situation. The UN Security Councilstrengthened MINUSTAH’s mandate to give it a morevigorous role in professionalizing the HNP, afternumerous reports of human rights violations by policeofficers. In June the Minister of Justice resigned and theDirector of Police was dismissed after criticism from theinternational community over the administration ofjustice and the failures of the HNP to comply withinternational standards of policing.

Local, legislative and presidential elections wereinitially scheduled for October and November but werepostponed on four occasions until early 2006.Shortcomings in organizing the ballot and delays inregistering more than 4 million potential voters,particularly those living in impoverishedneighbourhoods and rural areas, gave rise to seriousconcerns over the capability of the interim governmentand the Provisional Electoral Council (Conseil ElectoralProvisoire, CEP) to organize the elections according tointernational standards. The CEP endorsed 43 politicalparties and 35 presidential candidates, only one ofthem a woman.

There was continued concern about theindependence of the judiciary after the interimgovernment dismissed five members of the SupremeCourt following their decision to allow a candidate withUS and Haitian nationality to stand for president.

Violence against womenGender-based violence, in particular rape of women bygang members, was reported increasingly frequently inimpoverished neighbourhoods of the capital.

Long overdue reforms to the Criminal Code toaddress flaws in the criminalization of gender-basedviolence, including rape, were finally introduced inOctober by a Presidential decree. Under the amendedCriminal Code rape was defined as a criminal offence –previously it was considered a moral offence –punishable by up to 10 years’ forced labour. However,the majority of rapes were not reported to theauthorities for fear of reprisal or because of lack ofconfidence in the authorities and the justice system.


HAI

The interim government failed to combat the culture oftolerance of violence against women and to provideassistance for victims of sexual violence.

Killings and attacks by illegal armed groupsIllegal armed groups or gangs killed dozens ofcivilians. Twelve police officers were also killedduring 2005. Gangs allegedly supporting formerPresident Jean-Bertrand Aristide committed most ofthe killings. Inter-gang warfare decreased after a gangleader linked to the Lavalas opposition was killed inFebruary.b On 31 May, an armed group allegedly supporting theLavalas party attacked Tèt-Boeuf public market in Port-au-Prince and set it on fire. More than 15 peoplereportedly died in the attack.b On 10 August, groups armed with machetes (widelyknown as “attachés”), allegedly acting in collusion withHNP officers, reportedly killed at least 10 people in theDelmas 2 and Bel-Air neighbourhoods of the capital.

Excessive force and unlawful killings by policeThe HNP continued to use excessive force and therewere several allegations of extrajudicial executions.The victims included criminal suspects, a journalist andLavalas supporters.b On 14 January, HNP officers allegedly killed AbdiasJean, a Miami-based radio reporter, while he wascovering a police operation in Village de Dieu, Port-au-Prince. The police denied the killing. Local residentsclaimed that Abdias Jean was killed because he wasinvestigating the deaths of four alleged bandits killedduring the police operation. According to witnesses, heidentified himself to the police officers as a journalistbefore he was shot dead.b On 27 April, HNP officers opened fire on a peacefuldemonstration in front of MINUSTAH headquarters.Five people were killed and several others wounded.b On 20 August, the HNP interrupted a football matchattended by about 5,000 people in the Martissantstadium. According to reports, HNP officers orderedeveryone to lie down while “attachés” belonging to agroup called the Small Machetes Army (Lame Timanchèt) attacked people identified by the police ascriminal suspects. The stadium was surrounded bypolice officers and “attachés” who shot or hacked todeath those who attempted to flee. Nine people werekilled and four injured. At least 13 police officers werearrested in connection with the killings.

Prisoners of conscience, political prisonersScores of detainees were held for long periods withoutlegal basis and denied a fair trial. In November, LouisJoinet, the UN Independent Expert on Haiti, expressedconcern about the lack of transparency of the justicesystem and the unjustifiable delays in bringingdetainees to trial. He called for the release of allpolitical prisoners.

The UN Security Council and other internationalbodies urged the interim government to expedite thecases of political prisoners, in particular that of formerPrime Minister Yvon Neptune.

b Former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, imprisonedsince June 2004, staged a hunger strike in March andApril in protest at his prison conditions and detentionwithout trial. In June, the investigative magistratefinally indicted Yvon Neptune and 30 other individualsfor their involvement in an alleged massacre at LaScierie in February 2004. At the end of 2005, he was stillawaiting trial.b On 21 July, Father Gérard Jean-Juste, a Catholicpriest and Aristide supporter, was taken into policecustody after a mob attacked him outside the churchwhere journalist Jacques Roche’s funeral took place.Considered a potential presidential candidate for theLavalas party, Father Jean-Juste was illegally arrestedand held on trumped-up charges. He was a prisoner ofconscience.b Annette Auguste (known as Sò Ann), a grass-rootsorganizer and folk singer, remained imprisoned withouthaving been formally charged. The 65-year-old womanwas arrested on 11 May 2004 by US Marines, part of theMultinational Interim Force deployed in Haiti hoursafter former President Aristide went into exile. AnnetteAuguste was handed over to the Haitian authorities,who imprisoned her in the Pétion-Ville Penitentiary.The reason for her initial detention was unclear but sheremained imprisoned without trial on suspicion ofinciting Lavalas supporters to attack universitystudents in December 2003.

Journalists under attackJournalists were harassed and subjected to abusethroughout 2005. In September the Council of the Wise(Conseil des Sages), a body of notable citizens createdto guide the interim government, publicly threatenedto prosecute journalists who broadcast the views ofopposition leaders advocating the return to Haiti offormer President Aristide.b On 14 January, Le Nouvelliste newspaper reportersClaude Bernard Serrat and Jonel Juste were assaultedby mobs in Bel-Air, a stronghold of Aristide supporters.The mobs reportedly accused the press of contributingto the ousting of the former president.b Kevin Pina, a US journalist and film maker, andJean Ristil, a Haitian journalist working for theAssociated Press, were arrested on 9 September whilemonitoring a search at Father Jean-Juste’s church (seeabove). They were accused of showing disrespect to themagistrate executing the warrant, but were releasedwithout charge four days later.b On 3 October, President Boniface Alexandre’ssecurity guards attacked Guyler C. Delva, a Reuterscorrespondent, and Jean Wilkens Merone, a RadioMetropole reporter. Both journalists were covering aceremony marking the beginning of the judicial yearwhen they were dragged into a courthouse andseverely beaten.

ImpunityThere was no effective system to administer justice,uphold the rule of law and provide impartial protectionof human rights. Abuses committed by HNP officialswere committed with impunity. Investigations into


HON

most police violations, when conducted, did not meetinternational standards. Prosecutions and convictionsfor human rights violations were non-existent.

The authorities also failed to address human rightsviolations committed in previous years, including long-standing cases of political killings and massacres.Former military leaders accused of human rightsviolations during the 1991-1994 military governmentcontinued to enjoy impunity. Investigations into thecases of murdered journalists Brignol Lindor and JeanDominique were at a standstill.b In May, the Supreme Court overturned thesentences passed in the Raboteau massacre trial onthe grounds of a technical error. The court argued thatthe trial, in 2000, should not have taken place before ajury. Thirty-four former members of the military andparamilitary groups had been sentenced to prisonterms of two to 10 years. The Raboteau trial wasconsidered by human rights organizations as amilestone in fighting impunity in Haiti. Most of thoseconvicted in the case had escaped from prison inearly 2004.b In August, Louis Jodel Chamblain, former second incommand of a paramilitary group during the 1991-1994military government, was freed from jail without anylegal grounds. He was awaiting his second trial for theRaboteau massacre. He had been sentenced in absentiain 2000 and he turned himself in after PresidentAristide was ousted in 2004. According to Haitian law,those sentenced in absentia face a re-trial once theyreturn to Haiti.

DisarmamentLittle progress was made towards disarmament. ANational Commission on Disarmament was created inFebruary but only became operational in July. Repeatedcalls from the UN Security Council to implementwithout delay a disarmament programme remainedunheeded. Lack of political will to disarm illegal armedgroups undermined efforts to establish peace and asecure environment throughout the transition process.MINUSTAH initiated small-scale disarmamentprogrammes as pilot projects at a community level, butfaced opposition from sectors of Haitian society.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Haiti: Disarmament delayed, justice denied

(AI Index: AMR 36/005/2005)• Haiti: Arms proliferation fuels human rights abuses

ahead of elections (AI Index: AMR 36/011/2005)• Haiti: Obliterating justice – overturning of sentences

for Raboteau massacre by Supreme Court is a hugestep backwards (AI Index: AMR 36/006/2005)

HONDURAS

REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS

Head of state and government: Ricardo Maduro





The killing, torture, imprisonment on fabricatedcriminal charges and harassment of human rightsdefenders and indigenous community activistscontinued. Complaints of violence against women inthe family continued to soar.

BackgroundIn November elections, Manuel Zelaya of theopposition Liberal Party was elected President.

In June, Honduras had over half its external debtwritten off as part of a programme for heavily indebtedpoor countries. Some 64 per cent of the populationlived in poverty, and Honduras ranked 116 out of 177countries in the UN Human Development Index.Hurricanes left dozens dead, thousands homeless andcrops destroyed.

Attacks on human rights defendersActivists defending the environment and the rights ofindigenous people were among those killed, torturedand imprisoned. The government showed little politicalwill to end the abuses, instigated in most cases bypowerful landowners or logging interests.b Edickson Roberto Lemus, regional coordinator of aleading peasant farmer organization, the NationalUnion of Farm Workers, was killed on 24 May. Anunidentified individual shot him on a bus. He was on hisway to visit the peasant group Renacer (Rebirth) in thecommunity of El Pajuiles, Yoro department, which hadbeen served with an eviction order on 19 May. Theauthorities had reportedly said they could provide noprotection after he received threats. By the end of 2005no one had been identified or detained in relation to hiskilling.b Feliciano Pineda, a community leader in themunicipality of Gracias, Lempira department, wasattacked and seriously injured in June. He washandcuffed and arrested on his arrival at hospital, andsubsequently imprisoned before he could receiveproper medical treatment. Criminal charges broughtagainst him were reportedly fabricated. In Decemberhe was acquitted of the charge of homicide butremained in prison on other lesser charges, despite thefact that the time limit for bringing him to trial on thesecharges had lapsed.b The case of convicted indigenous communityleaders Marcelino and Leonardo Miranda, who wereattempting to have 25-year prison sentencesoverturned, was still before the courts. They wereconvicted after a politically motivated trial because of


HUN

their work to resolve local land disputes and defendindigenous rights. Both men were repeatedly torturedin pre-trial detention. An appeal on procedural defectssubmitted to the Supreme Court in 2004 was rejected inAugust. In October a new appeal, on defectiveapplication of the law, was submitted to the SupremeCourt. A decision was pending at the end of 2005.

Violence against womenSpecial domestic violence courts were reportedlyoverwhelmed with growing numbers of complaints,said to total over 30,000 between 2000 and mid-2005.According to the Special Prosecutor for Women’sAffairs, three out of 10 women who submittedcomplaints were eventually killed by their attacker. InAugust, Deputy Attorney General Omar Cerna wasreported as acknowledging that allegations of violencein the family were not taken seriously enough.b In January, Marta Beatriz Reyes died after being seton fire while she slept, reportedly by her estrangedhusband. Taken to hospital in San Pedro Sula withsecond and third degree burns to 40 per cent of herbody, she died 11 days later. After enduring years ofviolence, she had left her husband. Although shesubmitted several complaints to the police, they failedto protect her or take action.

Children and young peopleA high level of killings of children and young peoplepersisted, with 431 deaths in 2005. Governmentinitiatives to investigate and bring those responsible tojustice, promised in previous years, did not materialize,and the perpetrators continued to enjoy impunity.b The case of four young people who were killed in1995 in Tegucigalpa was submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in February followingfailure by the government to act on recommendationsmade by the Inter-American Commission on HumanRights. The four were among around 120 peopledetained by the police in September 1995. Their bodieswere found two days later in different parts of the city;each had been shot several times in the back of thehead. The case was representative of thousands ofsimilar cases that the authorities have failed toinvestigate.

HUNGARY

REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY

Head of state: László Sólyom (replaced Ferenc Mádl in

June)

Head of government: Ferenc Gyurcsány




Racist attacks on Roma and other minorities, anddiscrimination against Roma in all sectors of public services, continued. There was officialacknowledgement that segregation in schools hadincreased for Romani children, a quarter of whomwere being taught separately despite anti-discrimination legislation. In education, health careand housing, the Romani population continued toface deprivation and discrimination. Legislation to tackle violence against women in abusiverelationships was delayed.

Racism and discriminationRacist attacks and other racially motivated crimescontinued to target Romani and Jewish communities.Public statements by senior political figures and thenews media fostered racism and intolerance. PrimeMinister Ferenc Gyurcsány apologized after referring tothe Saudi Arabian football team as “full of terrorists” inFebruary. The Vice-Chairman of Parliament’s HumanRights Commission, Zsolt Semjén, also came in forcriticism in February for a homophobic jibe at a rivalpolitical party.

In February the Constitutional Court declaredprovisions in a housing decree to be discriminatory andunconstitutional. The decree declared people ineligiblefor social housing if they had previously occupiedaccommodation without legal entitlement. The Courtheld that the decree had a disproportionately negativeeffect on Roma, and conflicted with local governmentobligations to house the socially deprived. Romanifamilies reportedly received eviction notices evenduring a moratorium on winter evictions.b By denying two Romani men entrance to a discobar in Nagyhalasz, its owners had violated their dignityand infringed legal requirements of equal treatment,the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Court held in June.Under comprehensive anti-discrimination legislationfrom 2003, the Court awarded 150,000 Hungarianforints (US$695) to each man as victims of racialdiscrimination. The disco bar was ordered to refrainfrom further discrimination against Roma.

In September, the European Roma Rights Centrebased in Budapest, the capital, issued a report onRomani children’s rights in Hungary, in advance of aperiodic review of Hungary’s obligations by the UNCommittee on the Rights of the Child in January 2006.The report described how Romani children


IND

experienced segregation in education, health careand housing, and said that disproportionately highnumbers were removed from their families by thestate. More than half of Romani households did nothave access to hot running water, and 17 per cent ofthe Romani population lived in settlements wherethere is no doctor.

In November the Commissioner for Integration ofDisadvantaged and Roma Children at the HungarianMinistry of Education confirmed that the segregation ofRomani children remained a serious problem. At least3,000 elementary school classes and 178 schools werepredominantly made up of Romani students, and 25 percent of Romani students were being taught in asegregated environment.

The police reportedly downplayed the discriminatorymotivation of physical assaults on Roma and otherminorities, and this reluctance was claimed to have ledto punishments for the perpetrators of violent crimesthat did not reflect the gravity of the offence.b The case of 15-year-old Roma József Patai, who wasstabbed on a bus in Budapest in May, was initiallytreated as a racist crime. However, after it emerged thatthe perpetrator was himself Roma, the police becamereluctant to consider racism as a motive in subsequentcrimes.

Domestic violenceA resolution on the development of a national strategyto prevent and effectively address domestic violence,passed by parliament in 2003 in response to publicconcerns, remained largely unimplemented. The draftLaw on the Order of Protection, requiring an abusivepartner to temporarily leave jointly owned premises,was delayed. The only crisis centre in Budapest forwomen experiencing violence in the home remainedpartially closed, and no new shelters were established.

A new law to protect victims of domestic violencewas being drafted. However, it still required a court toissue an order to restrain an abuser from approaching avictim, making immediate intervention by the policeimpossible. In addition, the draft law did not providefor extension of the 10-to-30-day limit of a restrainingorder, and imposition of such an order remainedvirtually impossible unless the victim was able orwilling to testify against the abuser.

In January the UN Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women found in a landmarkcase that Hungary had not provided effectiveprotection from domestic violence. In a case broughtbefore the Committee, an applicant who had beensubjected to regular and severe violence, and whosepartner had threatened both her and the children, wasnot admitted to a government shelter as none wasequipped to accept her with her children, one of whomhad severe disabilities. Neither protection nor a legalrestraining order was available under national law.Legal proceedings initiated by the applicant herselfwere slow and ineffective, and a domestic courtordered that she share ownership of their apartmentwith her partner. The Committee ordered immediatemeasures to guarantee the physical and mental

integrity of the woman and her family, and to ensurethat all victims of domestic violence were accorded themaximum protection of the law.

INDIA

REPUBLIC OF INDIA

Head of state: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Head of government: Manmohan Singh





signed

Perpetrators of human rights violations continued toenjoy impunity, particularly in Gujarat, whichwitnessed widespread violence in early 2002. Therewere reports of human rights violations in thecontext of unrest in several states, including Jammuand Kashmir and some north-eastern states. Thegovernment repealed security legislation which hadbeen used to facilitate arbitrary arrests, torture andother grave human rights violations. However, someof the provisions allowing these violations weretransferred into existing laws, a move widelycriticized by human rights organizations. Sociallyand economically marginalized groups, includingwomen, dalits and adivasis (tribal people), continuedto face systemic discrimination and serious doubtsremained about whether moves to enact new lawscould achieve the intended aim of protecting theirrights. Some states in central and eastern India,where traditional adivasi habitations are located,witnessed an increase in violence involving armedgroups and state forces.

BackgroundOngoing peace talks between India and Pakistanensured the resumption of bus services across thedivided Himalayan region of Kashmir after 58 years. InOctober and November, transport lines were opened atfive points along the Line of Control in Kashmir tofacilitate the delivery of aid to people affected by theearthquake in October. However, with issues at the coreof the conflict yet to be taken up, relations between thetwo countries improved at only a slow pace.

During the year, government and foreign agencieswere engaged in the relief efforts for those affected bythe 26 December 2004 tsunami which killed anestimated 15,000 people and displaced more than112,000 others in the southern states of Tamil Nadu,Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and the union territories ofPondicherry and Andaman and the Nicobar Islands.


IND

In Andhra Pradesh, peace talks between the stategovernment and the Maoist (naxalite) People’s WarGroup (PWG) collapsed after eight months, signalling areturn to a series of attacks during which civilians wereroutinely targeted. Similar incidents were witnessed inseveral central and eastern states, putting members ofalready marginalized rural and adivasi populations atincreased risk.

In the north-east, talks between the Uniongovernment and a section of the National SocialistCouncil of Nagaland remained inconclusive. Therewere moves to initiate talks between the Uniongovernment and the United Liberation Front of Assam.The region also witnessed sporadic clashes betweenmembers of tribal communities during which civilianswere targeted.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governmentintroduced a draft bill to prevent communal violence,following widespread criticism of its predecessor forfailing to halt the 2002 communal violence in Gujarattargeting the Muslim minority. However, some of thebill’s provisions were criticized as repressive.

Proceedings regarding the 1992 demolition of BabriMosque at Ayodhya, in which senior leaders of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were facing trial, madelittle progress during the year.

Following a vigorous civil society campaign, theIndian parliament passed landmark legislationguaranteeing the right to information. However, it wasunclear whether various union and state governmentagencies would fully enforce this legislation.

Violence against womenIn an effort to stem increasing abuses against girls andwomen, including dowry deaths, sexual assault andacid attacks, parliament in August passed theProtection of Women from Domestic Violence Bill(2005), which legislates for comprehensive protectionof women from all forms of domestic violence.

Traditional preference for boys has led to thousandsof female foetuses being aborted despite theprohibition of pre-natal sex determination for thispurpose. In May the Health Minister stated that therehad not been a single conviction for breaking the bansince it was introduced eight years earlier.

Many of the abuses suffered by Muslim women inGujarat in 2002 fell outside the definition of rape innational law, thereby hampering victims’ quest forjustice.

The Supreme Court in October objected to a 2003order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court reducing a 10-year sentence for rape to nine months’ imprisonment.It held that an inadequate punishment for rape was an“affront to society”.

The personal law of specific communities became apolitical issue after the All India Muslim Personal LawBoard confirmed Muslim clerics’ fatwa concerning themarriage of Imrana Ilahi. Imrana Ilahi alleged rape byher father-in-law in June in Muzzaffarnagar, UttarPradesh; the Board subsequently annulled hermarriage and pressed for her rape allegation to be re-framed as a charge of adultery. Imrana Ilahi and her

husband defied the directive but the local villagecouncil continued to put pressure on them to withdrawtheir charge of rape.

A petition seeking to prevent the establishment of aparallel Muslim judicial system and binding fatwasissued by Muslim clerics or organizations was pendingin the Supreme Court at the end of the year.

Jammu and KashmirPolitically motivated violence slightly decreased buttorture, deaths in custody and “disappearances”continued to be reported. At least 38 people werereported to have died in custody. In January, theMinister of State for Home Affairs stated that some600 people, including 174 foreigners, were held underthe Public Safety Act (PSA), a preventive detentionlaw. In October 44 detainees were released but newdetentions were reported. Several people had beenheld under the PSA for over 10 years under successivePSA detention orders.b Farooq Ahmad Dar was detained in Novemberunder his ninth consecutive PSA order. He had been incontinuous detention under the PSA since 1991.

Civilians were repeatedly targeted by state agenciesand armed groups.b In May, armed fighters threw a grenade just aschildren were leaving their school in Srinagar, killingtwo women who had come to pick up children andinjuring 50 others, including 20 pupils.b In July, four juveniles aged between 11 and 15 wereshot dead by paramilitary Rashtriya Rifles in Kupwaradistrict. Local people said that the boys hadparticipated in a marriage party and gone for a strollbut ran away when ordered to stop. They said that thearmy had been informed of possible movements ofpeople attending the party late at night.

In September, the State Human Rights Commission,which had registered 3,187 cases of human rightsviolations since its inception in 1991, reiterated itsearlier complaint that government departments failedto implement its recommendations.

GujaratSurvivors of targeted killings and sexual violence in2002, some of which had amounted to crimes againsthumanity, continued to be denied justice andreparations. Key cases relating to these killings andsexual assaults of Muslim women in whichcomplainants had sought transfers to courts outsidethe state, were still pending in the Supreme Court atthe end of the year. In December a mass gravecontaining the remains of Muslim victims was found.

ImpunityMembers of the security forces continued to enjoyimpunity for human rights violations.b Nine years after the “disappearance” and killing ofhuman rights lawyer Jalil Andrabi in Srinagar, Jammuand Kashmir, an army major identified as responsibleby a special investigation team had still not beenbrought to justice. Army representatives asserted thatthey had not been able to locate him.


IND

More than two decades after the anti-Sikh riots inDelhi and elsewhere in the aftermath of Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi’s assassination, a judicial commissionconcluded that there was credible evidence pointing tothe involvement of two leaders of the Congress partyheading the ruling UPA. Both were forced to resign fromtheir official posts. Several others belonging to thesame party were cleared of charges, leading to criticismby human rights organizations. Prime MinisterManmohan Singh offered a public apology to the Sikhcommunity and the government promised to reopensome of the riot cases.

In Punjab, the vast majority of police officersresponsible for serious human rights violations duringthe period of civil unrest in the mid-1990s continuedto evade justice, despite the recommendations ofseveral judicial inquiries and commissions. Inresponse to 2,097 reported cases of human rightsviolations during this period, the National HumanRights Commission (NHRC) had ordered the state ofPunjab to provide compensation in 109 casesconcerning people who died in police custody. TheNHRC did not address issues of liability; the culture ofimpunity developed during that period prevailed.Reports of abuses including torture and ill-treatmentpersisted.b Six policemen were convicted of the abduction andmurder of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Kalrain 1995. Kalra had exposed large-scale violations inPunjab.

Human rights defendersHuman rights defenders in many parts of the countrycontinued to be harassed and attacked. Among themwere activists working on behalf of marginalizedcommunities including dalits and adivasis who facedsystemic discrimination.

Abuses by armed groupsThere were reports of abuses – including torture,attacks and killings of civilians – by armed groups inJammu and Kashmir, the north-east and several centraland eastern states where left-wing armed groups werebecoming increasingly active. (See Jammu and Kashmirabove.)b In November, during elections in Bihar, Maoists(naxalites) attacked the Jehanabad prison. More than340 prisoners, including key Maoist leaders, were freed.Eight prisoners belonging to a private army of dominantlanded castes, Ranvir Sena, were killed and 20 otherskidnapped.

Following the upsurge in the activities of left-wingarmed groups in several states, the government set inmotion plans for joint inter-state anti-naxaliteoperations. These initiatives raised concerns over therights and safety of adivasi populations whotraditionally inhabit the area.

In July, there was an attack on the disputedreligious site at Ayodhya. Later in October, during therun-up to the annual festival season, Delhi was rockedby a series of blasts which left 66 people dead andmore than 220 injured.

Death penaltyAt least 77 people were sentenced to death during theyear; no executions took place. No comprehensiveinformation on the number of people under sentence ofdeath in each state was available.

President Kalam and the newly-appointed ChiefJustice to the Supreme Court expressed themselves ingeneral against the death penalty. The President soughtfrom the Indian parliament a comprehensive policy todeal with clemency petitions from those undersentence of death.

Security legislationMore than a year after the repeal of the Prevention ofTerrorism Act (POTA), cases of all those held under theAct had not been fully reviewed within the stipulatedperiod. In addition, a number of state governments hadnot taken action on the recommendations of a judicialcommittee set up to review the cases.

Human rights organizations continued to expressconcern over amendments made to the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act which granted specialpowers to the state, similar to those previouslyprovided by the POTA. Although the 1958 Armed ForcesSpecial Powers Act (AFSPA) was under review, therewas concern over its continued enforcement in“disturbed areas”, including large parts of the north-east.b Syed Geelani, a Kashmiri lecturer sentenced todeath under the POTA for conspiring, planning andabetting the attack on the parliament building in NewDelhi in December 2001 and acquitted on appeal in2003, was shot and injured in February outside hislawyer’s office. The inquiry into the shooting wasentrusted to the very police force that Syed Geelanialleged had harassed him since his release. An appealfiled by police against his acquittal was dismissed bythe Supreme Court in September.

Economic, social and cultural rightsDespite positive economic gains in recent years,approximately 300 million people remained mired inpoverty.

Following persistent reports over increasing ruralunemployment and campaigns to empower the ruralpoor, the UPA government enacted legislation toguarantee minimum annual employment for all poorhouseholds in selected rural areas. However, guidelinesfor its implementation had not been fully framed by theend of the year.

Twenty-one years after the Union CarbideCorporation’s (UCC) pesticide plant in Bhopal leakedtoxic gases that took a heavy toll on lives and theenvironment, survivors continued to struggle foradequate compensation, medical help andrehabilitation. The plant site had still not been cleanedand toxic wastes continued to pollute groundwater.UCC and Dow Chemicals (which took over UCC in 2001)had publicly stated that they had no responsibility forthe leak or its consequences. AI joined a year-longcampaign by the Bhopal survivors and otherorganizations to call for an immediate clean-up of the


IND

pollutants from the site and the affected surroundingsas well as a full remedy for the victims, and for thoseresponsible to be brought to justice.

Other issuesThere was grave concern at the intensification of social,political, cultural and economic discrimination,oppression and violence against dalits. Data suggestedthat few cases under the Scheduled Caste andScheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989had resulted in convictions.

Adivasi communities in several states continued toface great pressure from dam and mining developmentprojects, expansion of modern forms of agriculture andsettlements. Legislation aimed at recognizing andguaranteeing the rights of these communities to accessforest areas and resources was under debate in theIndian parliament at the end of the year.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Justice the victim: Gujarat state fails to protect

women from violence in 2002 (AI Index: ASA20/002/2005)

• India: Union Carbide Corporation, DOW Chemicalsand the Bhopal communities in India – the case (AI Index: ASA 20/005/2005)se nx: ASA 20/005/2005).

• Briefing on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act(Manipur) (AI Index: ASA 20/025/2005)

• The death penalty in India: briefing for the EU-IndiaSummit, 7 September 2005 (AI Index: ASA20/034/2005)

VisitsAI delegates, including AI’s Secretary General, visitedIndia in February and met government officials, NHRCrepresentatives and civil society organizations.

AI representatives met government officials andactivists in December.

INDONESIA

REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

Head of state and government: Susilo Bambang

Yudhoyono





Although the general situation in Nanggroe AcehDarussalam (NAD) improved after a peaceagreement was signed in August by the governmentand the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan AcehMerdeka, GAM), impunity for serious human rightsviolations remained a concern. In Papua, cases oftorture and arbitrary detention were reported. Acrossthe country, the police used excessive force againstdemonstrators, and ill-treatment in detentionfacilities and police lock-ups was widespread. Atleast two people were executed by firing squad andat least 10 people were sentenced to death. Freedomof expression remained severely curtailed and atleast 18 people were detained for criticizing thegovernment.

BackgroundFor the first time a representative of Indonesia chairedthe annual session of the UN Commission on HumanRights in Geneva. In September parliament took thenecessary steps to approve ratification of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights andthe International Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights.

Various religious minority groups came under threat.Members of the Ahmaddiya community were targetedfor attacks, sometimes forcing them to flee. The LiberalIslam Network was also attacked, and several Christianchurches were forced to close in Java. In Maluku andCentral Sulawesi, ethnic and religious tensionscontinued to result in violence.

On 1 October bomb attacks in Bali killed 23 people.

Nanggroe Aceh DarussalamOn 15 August a Memorandum of Understandingbetween the government and GAM was signed settingout a framework to end peacefully the 29-year conflictin NAD. Over 200 monitors from European Union andAssociation of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)countries were deployed to monitor compliance withthe agreement. By the end of the year over 30,000police and army personnel had left the province andthe fourth phase of the decommissioning of GAM’sweapons had been completed. There was hope that thepeace process would hold. Preparations for localelections were well under way.

In January human rights monitors, humanitarian aidagencies and journalists were allowed to operate inNAD for the first time since martial law was declared in


IND

May 2003. Their presence, although mainly restricted toareas affected by the 2004 tsunami, contributed to anenhanced feeling of security in the province.

In May, as part of the government’s post-tsunamireconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, the CivilEmergency status in NAD was downgraded to CivilOrder status. This had little impact in practice asmilitary operations continued. However, as a result ofthe peace agreement in August the human rightssituation improved significantly.

Despite considerable human and financialinvestment in the reconstruction effort, there waswidespread criticism of the aid agencies’ lack of localconsultation and coordination. In November over130,000 people were still living in tents or temporarybarracks waiting for permanent housing. There wereconcerns that many were living in facilities that did notmeet basic needs.

In August more than 1,400 political prisoners and atleast two human rights activists were released fromprisons in NAD and Java as part of an amnesty grantedto alleged GAM combatants and their supporters. InOctober, concerns were raised that 115 GAM prisonershad not been released. During the military and civilemergencies, suspected GAM members and supportersfaced unfair trials. Many suspects were denied fullaccess to lawyers and were convicted on the basis ofconfessions reportedly extracted under torture.

According to local human rights organizations,during the Civil Emergency period alone (May 2004-May 2005) 80 civilians were killed: three died as aresult of torture; 64 were assassinated; six wereabducted and killed; and seven were killed duringshootings. There were concerns that past humanrights violations would not be prosecuted and thatimpunity could undermine prospects for a lastingpeace. Despite provisions within the Memorandum ofUnderstanding that a human rights court would be setup, the government announced that the court wouldnot have powers to hear cases from the past.

PapuaIn March, the military announced plans to increasetroop numbers in Papua by 15,000. There wereconcerns that this might lead to more human rightsviolations in the province. Hundreds of additionalmilitary troops were reportedly sent to Merauke inOctober. Concerns were also expressed that troopswithdrawn from NAD could be deployed in Papua.

Tight restrictions on access to Papua by internationalhuman rights monitors, as well as harassment andintimidation of local activists, hampered independenthuman rights monitoring. At least two peacefulsupporters of Papuan independence were sentenced tolong jail sentences. There were reports of arbitraryarrests, torture and ill-treatment.b In April, prisoners of conscience Yusak Pakage andFilep Karma were sentenced to 10 and 15 years in prisonrespectively for having raised the Papuan flag inDecember 2004. Both were imprisoned in Jayapura,Papua province, and had lodged appeals to theSupreme Court by the end of the year.

Security legislationBetween April and June, at least 64 civilians werearrested under the Law on Combating Criminal Acts ofTerrorism. Concerns about the legislation remained,including the inadequate definition of acts of“terrorism”; provision for up to six months’ detentionwithout access to judicial review; and provisionsallowing capital punishment. There were reports that36 of those arrested were arbitrarily arrested and fourof them were ill-treated.b In June, four peasant farmers — Jumaedi, Jumeri,Mastur Saputra and Sutikno — who were arrested inrelation to a bomb attack in Tentena, Sulawesi district,in May, were reportedly beaten by police duringinterrogation. An internal investigation was initiatedby the police but there were fears that it would not leadto full prosecution of those found responsible.

Excessive use of forceMembers of the police used excessive force onnumerous occasions, including against demonstratorsand detainees.b In September, 37 people were reportedly woundedwhen the police shot into a crowd of around 700peasant farmers in Tanak Awuk, Lombok island. Thegathering was organized to commemorate NationalPeasants’ Day and to discuss land issues. The policesaid they were responding to people attacking them.The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM)sent a team to investigate the incident in October.

Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatmentAccording to a survey conducted by a local non-governmental organization, over 81 per cent ofprisoners arrested between January 2003 and April2005 in Salemba detention centre, Cipinang prison andPondok Bambu prison, all in Jakarta, were tortured orill-treated. About 64 per cent were tortured or ill-treated during interrogation, 43 per cent during arrestand 25 per cent during detention.

For the 12th consecutive year, the request by the UNSpecial Rapporteur on torture to conduct research inthe country was not granted.

At least 29 men convicted of gambling and twowomen were caned under local Sharia (Islamic law) in NAD.

ImpunityThe Human Rights Courts proved unable to bringperpetrators of serious human rights violations tojustice, including those in Tanjung Priok, Timor-Lesteand Abepura.

In a report submitted to the UN Security Council, aCommission of Experts (CoE) appointed by the UNSecretary-General to review the prosecution ofserious violations of human rights in Timor-Leste(then East Timor) in 1999 concluded that the judicialprocess before the Indonesian ad hoc Human RightsCourt for Timor-Leste was “manifestly inadequatewith respect to investigations, prosecutions andtrials”. The CoE pointed to provisions in the terms of


IND

reference of the Truth and Friendship Commission,officially established by the governments of Indonesiaand Timor-Leste in March to reveal the truth about the1999 events, which “contradict internationalstandards on denial of impunity for serious crimes”. Inparticular, the CoE stated that the Truth andFriendship Commission should not allow amnestiesfor cases of genocide, crimes against humanity andother grave human rights violations. Despite suchcriticism, the Truth and Friendship Commission wasset up in August without appropriate changes to itsmandate.b In July, an Appeals Court overturned the decisionby the ad hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta to convict12 military officials of charges arising from thedetention, torture and killing of Muslim protesters inTanjung Priok, Jakarta, in 1984. No one has been held toaccount for these crimes.b In September, two police officers were acquittedby the Human Rights Court in Makassar and victimswere denied reparations. The officers were chargedwith command responsibility for the killing of threepeople and the torture of many others in Abepura,Papua, in 2000. The initial investigation was marredby allegations of witness intimidation. The trialsuffered severe delays in both the investigation andtrial stages. The victims and their families lodged anappeal.

Investigations into other human rights violationswere stalled. The report submitted in September 2004by Komnas HAM to the Attorney General’s Officesuggesting that security forces had committed crimesagainst humanity in Wasior in June 2001 and Wamena inApril 2003 were not acted upon during the year.

Freedom of expressionAt least 19 prisoners of conscience were sentenced toprison terms during the year and three otherssentenced in previous years remained in jail. Theyincluded peaceful political and independence activists,members of religious minorities, students andjournalists. Defamation suits were also used againsthuman rights activists, sending a chilling message to thehuman rights community.b In September Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti andRatna Bangun were each sentenced by the IndramayuDistrict Court, West Java, to three years’imprisonment for having violated the 2002 ChildProtection Act. The three women, all prisoners ofconscience, were accused by a chapter of theIndonesian Council of Muslim Clerics of enticingchildren to participate in a Sunday school programmeand trying to convert them to Christianity. The trialwas marred by Islamists who made threats inside andoutside the courtroom to kill the accused. InNovember the High Court confirmed the sentence.

Death penaltyAt least 10 people, including two convicted ofterrorism-related charges, were sentenced to death,bringing to at least 82 the total number of peopleknown to be under sentence of death.

At least one woman, Astini, and one man, Turmudibin Kasturi, were executed by firing squad. Both wereconvicted of murder.

Violence against womenWomen’s organizations expressed concern about thelack of implementation of the 2004 Law on DomesticViolence. In November, the commission on violenceagainst women reported that the Law had notcontributed to reducing the high number of domesticviolence cases, and that the lack of clarity of thedefinitions and regulations pertaining to the Lawhampered full enforcement by local police and judges.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Recommendations to the Government of Indonesia

on the occasion of the election of AmbassadorMakarim Wibisono as Chair of the United NationsCommission on Human Rights (AI Index: ASA21/001/2005)

• The role of human rights in the wake of theearthquake and tsunami: A briefing for Members ofthe Consultative Group on Indonesia, 19-20 January2005 (AI Index: ASA 21/002/2005)

• A briefing for EU and ASEAN countries concerningthe deployment of the Aceh Monitoring Mission toNanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province (AI Index: ASA21/017/2005)

VisitsIn February, AI delegates attempted to investigateconditions facing internally displaced people intsunami-affected areas in NAD, but were not grantedthe necessary authorization by the authorities.

AI delegates visited Jakarta in September andOctober.


IRA

IRAN

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

Head of state: Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran:

Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei

Head of government: President: Dr Mahmoud

Ahmadinejad (replaced Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin

Sayed Mohammad Khatami in August)



UN Women’s Convention and its Optional Protocol:not signed

Scores of political prisoners, including prisoners ofconscience, continued to serve prison sentencesimposed following unfair trials in previous years.Hundreds more were arrested in 2005, mostly inconnection with civil unrest in areas with largeminority populations. Internet journalists andhuman rights defenders were among those detainedarbitrarily without access to family or legalrepresentation, often initially in secret detentioncentres. Intimidation of the families of those arrestedpersisted. Torture remained commonplace. At least94 people were executed, including at least eightwho were under 18 at the time of their allegedoffence. Many sentences of flogging were imposed.The true number of those executed or subjected tocorporal punishment was believed to be considerablyhigher than the cases reported.

BackgroundThe political stalemate of the previous year continueduntil the election of a new president in June. Over 1,000presidential candidates were excluded from theelection by the Council of Guardians, which reviewslaws and policies to ensure that they uphold Islamictenets and the Constitution. All 89 women candidateswere excluded on the basis of their gender underdiscriminatory selection procedures known asgozinesh. There were reports of arrests of peopledemonstrating against the elections. Up to 10 peoplewere killed in separate pre-election bomb attacks inAhvaz and Tehran, and six others were killed in a bombattack in Ahvaz in October. The authorities faced armedopposition from Kurdish and other groups.

The election as President of former RevolutionaryGuard Special Forces member Dr MahmoudAhmadinejad, who took office in August, completed themarginalization of pro-reform supporters from thepolitical process and led to a concentration of power inthe Office of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed ‘AliKhamenei. In October, the Supreme Leader delegatedsome of his supervisory powers over the government tothe Expediency Council, headed by defeatedpresidential candidate Hojjatoleslam AliAkbar HashemiRafsanjani.

Relations with the international communityremained strained over human rights and Iran’s nuclear

programme, particularly after Iran announced inAugust that it was resuming uranium enrichment forcivilian purposes. Iran accused foreign governments,particularly those of the USA and UK, of instigatingunrest in border areas; the UK accused Iran of aidinganti-UK insurgency activities in Iraq. The EuropeanUnion-Iran human rights dialogue was suspendedbecause of diplomatic tensions.

In December, the UN General Assembly passed aresolution condemning the human rights situation in Iran.

Repression of minoritiesDiscriminatory laws and practices remained a source ofsocial and political unrest and of human rightsviolations, particularly against Iran’s ethnic andreligious minorities. In July the UN Special Rapporteuron the right to adequate housing visited Iran. He founddiscrimination in the distribution of resources, and inaccess to and quality of housing, water and sanitationin areas populated by minorities.ArabsIn April, at least 31 Arabs were killed and hundredsinjured during clashes with the police followingdemonstrations in Ahvaz and elsewhere in Khuzestanprovince. Hundreds of other people were detained. Thedemonstrators were protesting against a letterallegedly written by a presidential adviser, who deniedits authenticity, which set out policies for the reductionof the Arab population of Khuzestan. Waves of arrestscontinued throughout the year, particularly followingbomb explosions in Ahvaz in June and October andattacks on oil installations in September and October.b At least 81 people were arrested in Novemberwhile attending an Arab cultural gathering calledMahabis. Those arrested included Zahra Nasser-Torfi,director of the Ahwaz al-Amjad cultural centre, whowas reportedly tortured in detention, including withbeatings and threats of execution, rape and othersexual abuse, before being released on bail to await trial.AzerisAt the end of June, scores of ethnic Azeris participatingin an annual cultural gathering at Babek Castle inKalayber were arrested. At least 21 were latersentenced to prison terms of between three monthsand one year, some of which were suspended. Somewere also banned from entering Kalayber for 10 years.b Abbas Lisani, an Azeri butcher, was arrested duringthe Babek Castle event. He was released on bail in Julyand was sentenced in August to one year’simprisonment to be spent in internal exile afterconviction of “spreading propaganda” and “disturbingpublic opinion”. He was believed to have appealedagainst his sentence.KurdsIn June, clashes between security forces and Kurdscelebrating events in Iraq led to injuries to policeofficers and the arrest of dozens of demonstrators. InJuly, after Iranian security forces shot dead a Kurdishopposition activist, Showaneh Qaderi, and reportedlydragged his body through the streets behind a jeep,


IRA

thousands of Kurds took to the streets to protest.Security forces reportedly killed up to 21 people,injured scores more and arrested at least 190. In furtherclashes in October and November, at least one person,Shoresh Amiri, was killed, several people were injuredand others were arrested.b Dr Roya Toloui, a women’s rights activist, and twojournalists, Ajlal Qavami and Sa’id Sa’edi, were amongthe Kurds arrested in August. All were released on bailin October and were reported to be facing politicalcharges that can carry the death penalty.Religious minoritiesMembers of Iran’s religious minorities were detainedsolely in connection with their faith.b Hamid Pourmand, who had converted toChristianity from Islam over 25 years previously, wassentenced in February by a military court to threeyears’ imprisonment on charges of deceiving theIranian armed forces about his religion and “actsagainst national security”. In May he was acquitted ofapostasy.b At least 66 Baha’is were detained and two remainedheld at the end of the year. Mehran Kawsari and BahramMashhadi were sentenced to three years and one year inprison respectively in connection with an open lettersent to President Khatami in November 2004.

Human rights defendersThe registration process for independent non-governmental organizations remained a barrier to theireffective operation, and individual human rightsdefenders remained at risk of reprisal for their work.b In July, Abdolfattah Soltani, a lawyer and co-founder of the Centre for Defenders of Human Rights,was detained. He was reportedly accused of releasing“secret and classified national intelligence” inconnection with his work defending an espionage case.He remained in detention at the end of the year withlimited access to his family and no access to his lawyer.b Prisoner of conscience Akbar Ganji, aninvestigative reporter who uncovered the involvementof government officials in the murder of intellectualsand journalists in the 1990s, continued to serve a six-year prison sentence imposed after he was convicted ofvaguely worded charges including “acting againstnational security”. Following a hunger strike in protestat being denied independent medical treatmentoutside prison, accompanied by considerable domesticand international protests, he was temporarilyreleased for medical treatment in July. He was returnedto prison in September and placed in solitaryconfinement for over six weeks. His wife said he hadbeen beaten by security forces in hospital.

Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading punishmentsTorture continued to be routine in many prisons anddetention centres. At least five people died in custody.In several cases, torture or ill-treatment may have beena factor. Denial of medical treatment to put pressure onpolitical prisoners emerged as an increasingly commonpractice.

In July a report by the judiciary detailed human rightsviolations, including torture, of prisoners anddetainees. It stated that measures had been taken toaddress the problems, but gave no details.b In September, Arezoo Siabi Shahrivar, aphotographer, was arrested along with up to 14 otherwomen, at a ceremony commemorating the 1988“prison massacre” in Evin prison, Tehran, in whichthousands of political prisoners were executed. Indetention she was suspended from the ceiling, beatenwith a wire cable and sexually abused.b A man from Shiraz sentenced to 100 lashes in 2004for homosexual activities alleged that he had beentortured and threatened with death by security forces.

At least three amputations were carried out. Itremained common for courts to hand down sentencesof flogging.

Update: Zahra KazemiIn November the Appeals Court upheld the acquittal ofan Intelligence Ministry official accused of killingCanadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi incustody in July 2003. A new investigation into the killingwas announced.

Death penaltyAt least 94 people were executed in 2005, including atleast eight aged under 18 at the time of the crime. Scoresmore were reported to have been sentenced to death,including at least 11 who were under 18 at the time of theoffence. The true figures were probably much higher.Death sentences continued to be imposed for vaguelyworded offences such as “corruption on earth”.b In October, a woman was reportedly sentenced todeath by stoning, despite a moratorium on the use ofthis punishment introduced in 2002.

In January, the UN Committee on the Rights of theChild urged Iran to suspend immediately the executionof people aged under 18 at the time of the crime, and toabolish the death penalty for people who commitcrimes before they are 18. Despite Iran’s statement thatthere was a moratorium on the use of the death penaltyagainst juvenile offenders, Iman Farrokhi was executedon the very day that Iran’s report was considered by theCommittee. He was 17 when he allegedly killed a soldierin a fight.

Following domestic and international protests, thedeath sentences of some women and of men agedunder 18 at the time of their alleged offence weresuspended or lifted.

Freedom of expression and associationFreedom of expression and association remainedseverely curtailed. Journalists and webloggers weredetained and imprisoned and some newspapers wereclosed down. Relatives of detainees or those sought bythe authorities remained at risk of harassment orintimidation.

Press Courts were reintroduced in Octobercomprising a panel of three judges and a jury selectedby the judiciary. Some journalists’ organizationscriticized the composition of the juries.


IRA

b Mohammad Reza Nasab Abdolahi, a studentcampaigner for human rights and a newspaper editor,was sentenced in January to six months’ imprisonmentand a fine for “insulting the country’s leader andmaking anti-government propaganda”. He was releasedin August. His pregnant wife, Najameh Oumidparvar,was detained in March for 24 days after posting amessage on her weblog that her husband apparentlywrote before his arrest.

Women’s rightsThe UN Special Rapporteur on violence against womenvisited Iran in January and February. She criticized thearbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment of women,including women human rights defenders, and calledon Iran to adopt a national action plan to promote andprotect human rights that would eliminate violenceagainst women. She also expressed particular concernat discriminatory laws and failures in theadministration of justice which result in impunity forperpetrators and perpetuate discrimination andviolence against women.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequatehousing noted discrimination against women inrelation to housing and a lack of safe houses for womenwho are victims of violence.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Iran: Prisoner of Conscience Appeal Case – Hamid

Pourmand: Imprisonment due to religious belief (AIIndex: MDE 13/060/2005)

• Iran: Medical Action – Akbar Ganji (AI Index: MDE13/036/2005)

IRAQ

REPUBLIC OF IRAQ

Head of state: Jalal Talabani (replaced Shaikh Ghazi al-

Yawar in April)

Head of the interim government: Ibrahim al-Ja’fari

(replaced Iyad ‘Allawi in April)





signed

Both the US-led Multinational Force (MNF) and Iraqisecurity forces committed grave human rightsviolations, including torture and ill-treatment,arbitrary detention without charge or trial, andexcessive use of force resulting in civilian deaths.Armed groups fighting against the MNF and the Iraqigovernment were responsible for grave human rightsabuses, including the deliberate killing of thousandsof civilians in bomb and other attacks, hostage-taking and torture. Dozens of people were sentencedto death by criminal courts and at least three wereexecuted. Former President Saddam Hussain andseven others were brought to trial. Women and girlscontinued to be harassed and lived in fear as a resultof the continuing lack of security.

BackgroundElections for the Transitional National Assembly (TNA),Iraq’s interim parliament, held on 30 January, saw a highturn-out in the south and in Iraqi Kurdistan. However,most Sunnis boycotted the polls, apparently in supportof calls by Sunni religious and political figures opposed toholding elections while the MNF remained in Iraq; othersdid not vote because they feared reprisals from armedgroups. A Shi’a alliance received the majority of votesand won 140 of the 275 seats in the assembly. A Kurdishalliance won 75 seats, and a coalition led by outgoingPrime Minister Iyad ‘Allawi won 40 seats.

After weeks of deadlock, an agreement between theShi’a and Kurdish alliances led to the formation of anew government in May. It was headed by Ibrahim al-Ja’fari, leader of the al-Da’wa Party and member of theShi’a alliance, and included several Sunnis. JalalTalabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK), was appointed President.

Further protracted negotiations occurred before theConstitution Drafting Committee agreed a new draftConstitution in late August, two weeks after thedeadline set under the Transitional Administrative Law.On 15 October, the new Constitution was put to anational referendum and approved overall by a three toone margin, although it was rejected by a two to onemargin in two provinces with majority Sunnipopulations, al-Anbar and Salahuddin. It was agreedthat the new parliament would establish a committee toconsider possible amendments.


IRA

Elections for the new Council of Representatives – a275-seat parliament which is to hold office for a four-year term – were held on 15 December and contested bySunni as well as Shi’a and Kurdish parties. There was ahigh turn-out, officially estimated at 70 per cent, withmost votes cast along ethnic and religious lines. A newgovernment had yet to be formed by the end of theyear. Against this political backdrop, grave abuses,including war crimes and crimes against humanity,were committed by armed groups, the MNF and theIraqi security forces.

Abuses by armed groupsArmed groups fighting against the MNF and Iraqisecurity forces were responsible for grave humanrights abuses. Hundreds of Iraqi civilians werereportedly killed or injured in attacks by armedgroups. Some, including translators, drivers andothers employed by the MNF, were attackedapparently because they were considered“collaborators”; others, including civil servants,government officials, judges and journalists, weresingled out because of their links to the Iraqiadministration. Many others were targeted becausethey belonged to specific religious and ethnic groups.Civilians were also killed and injured in indiscriminatecar bombings and suicide attacks by armed groupstargetting Iraqi police and government forces, andmilitary convoys and bases of the MNF.

Armed groups were also responsible for abductingdozens of Iraqis as well as foreign nationals and holdingthem hostage. Many of the hostages were killed. Mostwere civilians.b On 25 January, a judge, Qais Hashem al-Shamari,the secretary of Iraq’s Council of Judges, was shot deadtogether with his son in an ambush by armed men in acar. The judge and his son had just left home and weredriving in eastern Baghdad. The armed group Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the killings.b On 28 February, at least 118 people were killed and132 injured in a suicide car bomb attack near a policestation and a busy market in al-Hilla, south of Baghdad.The victims included people queuing outside a healthclinic to receive medical certificates which wouldenable them to apply for jobs in the army and police.Many other victims were at the market across the road.In a statement posted on the Internet a group called al-Qa’ida of Jihad Organization in the Land of Two Riversclaimed responsibility for the attack.b On 14 September, a suicide bomber drew scores ofpeople to his van with promises of work and thendetonated a bomb in al-‘Uruba Square in al-Kadhimiya,a predominantly Shi’a district of Baghdad. At least 114civilians, including children, were killed and scoresinjured.b On 26 November, four human rights defenders,members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams – TomFox, Norman Kember, James Loney and Harmeet SinghSooden – were abducted in Baghdad. An armed group,Swords of the Truth, claimed responsibility anddemanded the release of all Iraqi prisoners. The fourmen were still held at the end of the year.

Detention without charge or trialThousands of people were held without charge or trialby the MNF. Most were Sunnis arrested in the so-calledSunni Triangle where armed groups opposed to theMNF and the Iraqi government were especially active.Most were denied access to lawyers and families for thefirst two months of detention.

US military forces continued to control four maindetention centres: Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad; CampBucca in Um Qasr, near Basra in the south; CampCropper near Baghdad International Airport; and FortSuse, near Suleimaniya in the north. At the end ofNovember, more than 14,000 detainees were being heldin these detention centres; more than 1,400 had beenheld for more than a year. Among those held were ninewomen detained in Camp Cropper.b ‘Ali ‘Omar Ibrahim al-Mashhadani, a 36-year-oldcameraman, was detained by US forces on 8 August.He was arrested after a search of his home in al-Ramadi following a shooting in the city. His brother,who was arrested with him and then released, saidthat the soldiers arrested both of them after they sawfilm material taken by ‘Ali ‘Omar Ibrahim al-Mashhadani. At the end of the year ‘Ali ‘Omar Ibrahimal-Mashhadani was still held without charge or trial atCamp Bucca.

Thousands of detainees were released includingsome 500 security detainees who were released by theMNF in October, a few days before the start of the holymonth of Ramadan.b Two Palestinian students, Jayab Mahmood HassanHumeidat and Ahmad Badran Faris, both aged 22,returned to their homes in the West Bank after theywere released at the end of August. They had beendetained without charge or trial by US forces for 28months in Camp Bucca.

Torture and ill-treatmentThere was evidence of widespread torture and ill-treatment by the Iraqi security forces. Methods oftorture included hanging by the arms, burning withcigarettes, beatings, the use of electric shocks ondifferent parts of the body, strangulation, the breakingof limbs and sexual abuse. Torture and ill-treatmentwere reported in secret detention centres, policestations and official detention centres in different partsof the country as well as in buildings in Baghdad underthe control of the Interior Ministry.b In February, three alleged members of the BadrOrganization died in custody after being arrested byIraqi police at a police checkpoint. The bodies of thethree men, Majbal ‘Adnan Latif, his brother ‘Ali ‘AdnanLatif, and ‘Aidi Mahassin Lifteh, were found three dayslater, bearing marks of beatings and electric shocks.b In February, a 46-year-old housewife from Mosul,Khalida Zakiya, was shown on the Iraqi TV programme“Terrorism in the Grip of Justice” alleging that she hadsupported an armed group. However, she later statedthat she had been coerced into making a falseconfession. She reported that during her detention byInterior Ministry forces she had been whipped with acable and threatened with sexual abuse.


IRA

b In July, 12 men were detained by the Iraqi police inBaghdad’s al-‘Amirya district. Nine of the 12 suffocatedto death after being confined in a police van. The Iraqiauthorities suggested that the 12 were members of anarmed group who had engaged in an exchange of firewith US or Iraqi forces. However, other sources claimedthey were a group of bricklayers who were arrested assuspected insurgents and then tortured by policecommandos before being confined in a police van inextremely high temperatures for up to 14 hours. Medicalstaff at the Yarmouk hospital in Baghdad, where thebodies of those who died were taken on 11 July, werereported to have confirmed that some of them boresigns of torture, including electric shocks.b In November, US forces announced that they hadfound 173 detainees confined secretly in a buildingcontrolled by the Interior Ministry. Many had beentortured, ill-treated and were malnourished. Shortlythereafter, the Iraqi government launched aninvestigation into these and other allegations of torture.

There were also reports that the MNF tortured or ill-treated detainees.b In September, several members of the US NationalGuard’s 184th Infantry Regiment were sentenced toprison terms in connection with torture or ill-treatmentof Iraqis. The detainees had reportedly been arrested inMarch following an attack on a power plant nearBaghdad. According to media reports, an electric stungun had been used on handcuffed and blindfoldeddetainees.

Death penaltyDozens of people were sentenced to death by Iraqicriminal courts during the year. The first executionssince Iraq re-imposed the death penalty in August 2004were carried out in September. At the end of the yeardozens of people remained on death row.b Ahmad al-Jaf, Jasim ‘Abbas and ‘Uday Dawud al-Dulaimi, who were believed to be members of thearmed group Ansar al-Sunna, were sentenced to deathin May by a criminal court in the town of al-Kut, about170km south-east of Baghdad. The three men werefound guilty of kidnapping, rape and murder. They wereexecuted in September by hanging.

Unlawful attacksMNF forces used excessive force, resulting in civiliancasualties. There were reports that they failed to takenecessary precautions to minimize risk to civilians.b In August, US troops shot dead Walid Khaled, anIraqi sound engineer working for the Reuters newsagency, and wounded his colleague, Haidar Kadhem.The soldiers fired at the car in which the men weretravelling to the scene of an earlier insurgent attack onan Iraqi police convoy in the al-‘Adel district inBaghdad. A US official later claimed that US soldiers hadtaken “appropriate action” according to their rules ofengagement.b On 16 October, some 70 people were killed near al-Ramadi in a US air raid. Local Iraqi police said thatabout 20 of those killed were civilians, includingchildren who had gathered around wreckage of a

military vehicle. US military officials initially said thatthose killed were “terrorists”. However, two days laterthey reportedly stated that they would investigateallegations that civilians had been killed.

Trial of Saddam Hussain and other former officialsFormer President Saddam Hussain was brought to trialon 19 October together with seven others, includingformer Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadhan andBarzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, the former head of theintelligence service (Mukhabarat). They were on trialbefore the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (SICT),formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal. They were accusedin connection with the executions of 148 people fromal-Dujail, a predominantly Shi’a village, following anassassination attempt against Saddam Hussain when hevisited the village in 1982.

The trial was held in Baghdad’s heavily fortifiedGreen Zone amid concern for the safety of thoseparticipating and was marred by proceduralirregularities. For example, the names of prosecutionwitnesses were withheld from the defence and thecourt’s name and procedures were amendedimmediately before the proceedings opened. Thedefendants, all of whom could face death sentences ifconvicted, denied the charges and questioned thelegitimacy of the court.

On 20 October, defence lawyer Sa’dun al-Janabi wasabducted from his office in Baghdad by armed men andmurdered. A second defence lawyer, ‘Adil al-Zubeidi,was killed in November when gunmen opened fire atthe car in which he was travelling. The trial wascontinuing at the end of the year.

Violence against womenWomen and girls continued to face threats, attacks andharassment. Their freedoms were severely curtailed asa result of the lack of security on the streets. Manywomen and girls were under pressure to wear the hijabor Islamic veil and change their behaviour. Womenwere killed and abducted by armed groups.b On 20 February, Ra’ida Mohammad al-Wazzan,aged 35, a journalist and news presenter for al-‘Iraqiya,the Iraqi state television channel, and her 10-year-oldson were abducted by gunmen. The boy was releasedthree days later but Ra’ida Mohammad al-Wazzan’sbody was found on a street in Mosul on 25 February. Shehad been shot in the head. She had previously beenthreatened by armed men who demanded that she quither job.

Northern IraqHuman rights abuses were also reported from areas ofnorthern Iraq controlled since 1991 by the KurdistanDemocratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union ofKurdistan (PUK).b On 7 September, security forces in Kalar, a town inthe PUK-controlled area, killed one person and injuredsome 30 others when they fired on protestersdemonstrating outside the governor’s office againstfuel shortages and poor public services.


IRE

b Kamal Sayid Qadir, a Kurdish writer with Austriancitizenship, was arrested in October in Arbil bymembers of Parastin, the KDP’s intelligence service.In December, he was sentenced to 30 years’imprisonment for defamation after an unfair trial. Hehad published articles on the Internet which werecritical of the KDP leadership.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Iraq: Decades of suffering, now women deserve

better (AI Index: MDE 14/001/2005)• Iraq: Iraqi Special Tribunal – fair trials not

guaranteed (AI Index: MDE 14/007/2005)• Iraq: In cold blood – abuses by armed groups (AI

Index: MDE 14/009/2005)• Iraq: The new Constitution must protect human

rights (AI Index: MDE 14/023/2005)VisitIn October an AI delegation observed the openingsession of the trial of former President Saddam Hussainand seven others.

IRELAND

IRELAND

Head of state: Mary McAleese

Head of government: Bertie Ahern





There were concerns about the treatment of peoplewith mental disabilities. Police ill-treatment andabuses of power were reported. New counter-terrorism legislation raised concerns about potentialviolations of fundamental human rights. There werecontinuing concerns about the effectiveness ofattempts to address discrimination and about theprevalence of violence in the family.

BackgroundThe bill published in 2003 to incorporate the RomeStatute of the International Criminal Court into Irishlaw had still not been enacted by the end of the year.

In October the Irish Human Rights Commissionpublished its annual report. The report raised seriousconcern about the Commission’s lack of resources andthe “democratic deficit” in parliamentary proceduresfor scrutinizing legislation with human rightsimplications.

Treatment of people with mental disabilitiesThe first annual report of the Inspector of MentalHealth Services, published in July, found unacceptablelevels of care in some services, and inadequatefacilities and services for children.

Procedures for the compulsory detention of peoplein mental health facilities, and independent tribunalsto review decisions, provided for under the MentalHealth Act (2001) had not come into force. Proceduresunder 1945 legislation continued to operate, in breachof international standards in relation to thedeprivation of liberty.

PolicingThe Garda Síochána (Police) Act (2005) set out for thefirst time in statutory form the functions of the police(Garda) and provided for the establishment of a Code ofEthics for the service. The Act also established anindependent Garda Ombudsman Commission toinvestigate complaints against members of the policeservice. However, it adopted a narrow definition ofserious cases which would automatically come underthe jurisdiction of the Ombudsman Commission.

In April the police service published an audit of itscompliance with international human rights standards.The audit documented abuse of powers, ill-treatment,institutional racism and unaccountability within theservice.b The Tribunal of Inquiry into complaints againstGarda officers in the Donegal Division issued itssecond report in June, revealing systematic violationsof the rights of the McBrearty family at the centre ofthe inquiry. The tribunal found gross negligence atsenior levels of the service amounting to criminalnegligence, and corruption and a lack of objectivity atlower levels.

Counter-terrorismThere were mounting concerns that the governmenthad not satisfactorily investigated allegations thatShannon airport may have been used as a transit pointin the transfer of terrorism suspects, with theinvolvement of the USA or its agents, in circumstancesthat put them at risk of torture or cruel, inhuman ordegrading treatment (extraordinary rendition).

The Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act (2005),adopted to give effect to the European UnionFramework Decision on Combating Terrorism,significantly expanded law enforcement powers. Itsprovisions contained such broad and vague definitionsthat there were concerns that it could lead to violationsof the rights of association, peaceful assembly andfreedom of expression.

Places of detentionThe annual report of the Inspector of Prisons andPlaces of Detention published in July noted that prisonconditions fell below international standards, withovercrowding and a lack of adequate sanitationfacilities. Mentally ill prisoners continued to be held inprisons rather than in specialized mental healthfacilities. A report published by the Probation and


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Welfare Service highlighted the unnecessaryincarceration of homeless people or people withmental illness.

Asylum-seekers and migrantsA process of public consultation began on governmentproposals for consolidating and reforming immigrationlegislation. These included commitments to addresstrafficking and to provide protection for migrantwomen experiencing domestic violence. Proposals didnot address the inappropriate use of prisons forholding immigration detainees.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of RacialDiscrimination expressed concern about the treatmentof asylum-seekers and the failure to prevent theexploitation of migrant workers, and called on thegovernment to review its policy of dispersal of asylum-seekers.

It urged the Irish government to incorporate the UNConvention against Racism into Ireland’s domesticlegislation.

DiscriminationThe first National Action Plan Against Racism waslaunched in January. However, there was concern thatit lacked effective accountability mechanisms andfailed to address institutional racism withingovernment bodies.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of RacialDiscrimination questioned the effectiveness ofgovernment measures to improve access by theTraveller community to economic and social rights, andrejected the government’s contention that Travellerswere not a distinct ethnic minority group.

The Committee urged the government to introduce incriminal law a provision that committing an offencewith a racist motivation or aim constitutes anaggravating circumstance, allowing for a more severepunishment; establish an effective monitoringmechanism to carry out investigations into allegationsof racially motivated police misconduct; considerexpanding the scope of equality legislation so as tocover the whole range of government functions andactivities; review its security procedures and practicesat entry points with a view to ensuring that they arecarried out in a non-discriminatory manner; and takemeasures with regard to the special needs of womenbelonging to minority and other groups at risk.

WomenThere were concerns that the government had takeninsufficient measures to identify, combat and redressviolence against women.

In July, the UN Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women expressed its concernat the prevalence of violence against women and girlsin Ireland; the low prosecution and conviction ratesof perpetrators; high withdrawal rates of complaints;and inadequate funding for organizations that providesupport services to victims. It also criticized thestate’s failure to address trafficking of women andchildren.

The Committee was also critical of the persistence oftraditional stereotypical views of the social roles andresponsibilities of women, reflected in theConstitution, in women’s educational choices andemployment patterns, and in women’s lowparticipation in political and public life.

ChildrenChildren continued to be detained in adult prisons. TheOmbudsman for Children, in her first annual report,was concerned that the statutory exclusion of certaingroups of children, in particular those detained inprisons and Garda stations, from her Office’sinvestigatory remit, conflicted with the UN Conventionon the Rights of the Child, and could preclude her Officefrom executing effectively its role and functions.

The report on clerical sex abuse in the diocese ofFerns (the Ferns Inquiry) published in October wascritical of Catholic Church authorities, the Garda andthe health authority in their handling of more than 100allegations of child sexual abuse made between 1962and 2002. It highlighted ongoing gaps in childprotection, and the need to place governmentguidelines on mandatory reporting of child abuse on alegislative basis.

ISRAEL AND THE

OCCUPIED

TERRITORIES

STATE OF ISRAEL

Head of state: Moshe Katzav

Head of government: Ariel Sharon


International Criminal Court: signed but declared

intention not to ratify



signed

Israel withdrew its settlers and troops from the GazaStrip and dismantled four small settlements in thenorthern West Bank. However, it continued to buildand expand illegal settlements and relatedinfrastructure, including a 600km fence/wall, onPalestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Militaryblockades and restrictions imposed by Israel on themovement of Palestinians within the OccupiedTerritories continued to cause high unemploymentand poverty among the Palestinian population.


ISR

There was much less violence between Israelis andPalestinians, although attacks by both sidescontinued. Some 190 Palestinians, including around50 children, were killed by Israeli forces, and 50Israelis, including six children, were killed byPalestinian armed groups. Israeli forces carried outunlawful attacks and routinely used excessive forceagainst peaceful demonstrators protesting againstthe destruction of Palestinian agricultural land andthe Israeli army’s construction of the fence/wall.Israeli settlers frequently attacked Palestinianfarmers, destroying orchards and preventingcultivation of their land. Israeli soldiers and settlersresponsible for unlawful killings and other abusesagainst Palestinians and their property generallyhad impunity. Thousands of Palestinians werearrested by Israeli forces throughout the OccupiedTerritories on suspicion of security offences. Israeliconscientious objectors continued to be imprisonedfor refusing to serve in the army.

BackgroundFollowing negotiations between the PalestinianAuthority (PA), Egyptian mediators and the mainPalestinian armed groups early in the year, the latterdeclared an open-ended tahadiyeh (quiet), a pledge notto initiate attacks against Israel. The Israeli armylikewise announced that it would refrain from attackingPalestinian targets. Despite this, both sides carried outnew attacks, claiming these were in response to attacksby the other. Nevertheless, the year saw a markedreduction in attacks and killings by both sides.

The removal of Israeli settlers and troops from theGaza Strip under Prime Minister Sharon’s“disengagement plan” sharply divided the governingLikud party. In November, Prime Minister Sharonresigned from Likud and formed a new party, promptingearly elections, scheduled for March 2006.

Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groupscommitted acts that were part of a pattern of warcrimes and crimes against humanity.

Killings and attacks by the armySome 190 Palestinians, including around 50 children,were killed by the Israeli army in the OccupiedTerritories. Many were killed unlawfully, in deliberateand reckless shootings, shelling and air strikes indensely populated residential areas, or as a result ofexcessive use of force. Some were extrajudiciallyexecuted and others died in armed clashes with Israelisoldiers. Hundreds of others were injured.b Seven children aged between 10 and 17 were killedand five others seriously wounded in an Israeli airstrike as they were picking strawberries in the northernGaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya on 4 January. Those killedincluded six members of the Ghaben family – Rajah,Jaber, Mahmoud, Bassam, Hani and Mohammed – andJibril al-Kaseeh.b On 27 October, Karam Mohammed Abu Naji, 14,Salah Said Abu Naji, 15, and Rami Riyad Assaf, 17, werekilled when the Israeli army launched an air strike on acar travelling near the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza

Strip. As well as the three child bystanders, all fourpeople in the car were killed. Nineteen otherbystanders, including seven children, were injured.Two members of a Palestinian armed group werebelieved to be the intended target.b On 3 November, 12-year-old Ahmed al-Khatib wasfatally wounded by Israeli soldiers during a raid in Jeninrefugee camp and died three days later. The armystated that he had been playing with a toy gun andsoldiers had mistaken him for a gunman.

Killings and attacks by Palestinian armed groupsPalestinian armed groups killed 41 Israeli civilians,including six children, in suicide bombings, shootingsand mortar attacks in Israel and the OccupiedTerritories. Most of the attacks were carried out by al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Fatah, andIslamic Jihad. Nine Israeli soldiers were also killed byPalestinian armed groups, most of them in the OccupiedTerritories.b On 12 July, Rachel Ben Abu and Nofar Horowitz,both aged 16, Julia Voloshin, 31, Anya Lifshitz, 50, andCorporal Moshe Maor, 21, were killed in a suicidebombing carried out by Islamic Jihad in a shopping mallin Hasharon, near Natania.b Palestinian gunmen shot dead Oz Ben-Meir, 15,Matat Rosenfeld-Adler, 21, and Kineret Mandel, 23, atthe Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank on 16October. A 14-year-old boy, another civilian and asoldier were also injured in the attack. Al-Aqsa MartyrsBrigades claimed responsibility for the killings.

Attacks by Israeli settlers in the Occupied TerritoriesIsraeli settlers in the West Bank repeatedly attackedPalestinians and their property. They destroyed crops,cut down or burned olive trees, contaminated waterreservoirs and prevented farmers from cultivating theirland, in order to force them to leave. Such attacksincreased during the olive harvest months of Octoberand November.b In March and April, Israeli settlers spread toxicchemicals in fields around Palestinian villages in thesouthern Hebron Hills and near Salfit. The chemicalswere spread in areas where Palestinian farmers grazetheir sheep, effectively depriving them of theirlivelihood. The farmers were forced to quarantine theirflocks and stop using the milk, cheese and meat duringthe productive season.b On 16 October some 75 acres of olive grovesbelonging to Palestinian villagers near Salem in thenorthern West Bank were burned by Israeli settlers.Much of the villagers’ land was cut off from the villageby a settlers’ road leading to the nearby Elon Morehsettlement. For years, Israeli settlers from Elon Morehhad prevented Palestinian villagers from accessingtheir land under threat of attacks.

Israeli settlers also attacked Israeli and internationalpeace activists and human rights defenders who soughtto document their attacks on Palestinians.b On 26 September settlers from the Havat Ma’on


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settlement outpost assaulted Israeli peace activists anda film crew. Ra’anan Alexanderovitch was severelybeaten and injured by a settler armed with an M16assault rifle, and some of the crew’s equipment wasstolen by the attackers.

Israeli soldiers and police at times intervened to stopsettlers attacking Palestinians, often when Israeli orinternational peace activists were present. However, inmost cases they failed to intervene and oftenresponded to settlers’ attacks by imposing furtherrestrictions on the local Palestinian population, asdemanded by the settlers.

Administration of justice and impunityThe Israeli army detained hundreds of Palestinians.Many were released without charge but hundredswere charged with security offences. Trials beforemilitary courts often did not meet internationalstandards of fairness, with allegations of torture andill-treatment of detainees inadequately investigated.Some 1,000 Palestinians were detainedadministratively without charge or trial during theyear. Family visits for Palestinian detainees wereseverely restricted and in many cases forbidden asrelatives were denied permits to enter Israel, wherethousands of Palestinians were imprisoned.

In July Israel passed a discriminatory law denyingPalestinian victims compensation for abuses inflictedby Israeli forces.

Israeli soldiers, police and settlers who committedunlawful killings, ill-treatment and other attacks againstPalestinians and their property commonly did so withimpunity. Investigations were rare, as were prosecutionsof the perpetrators, which in most cases did not lead toconvictions. By contrast, Israel used all means at itsdisposal, including assassinations, collectivepunishment and other measures that violateinternational law, against Palestinians who carried outattacks against Israelis or who were suspected of director indirect involvement in such attacks. Palestiniansconvicted of killing Israelis were usually sentenced to lifeimprisonment by Israeli military courts, whereas in theexceptional cases when Israelis were convicted of killingor abusing Palestinians, light sentences were imposed.b In August, Israeli soldier Taysir Hayb wassentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for the killingof UK peace activist Tom Hurndall in the Gaza Strip in2003. He was convicted of manslaughter, not murder, aswell as obstruction of justice, providing falseinformation and unbecoming conduct.b In November an Israeli army company commanderwas acquitted of all charges in relation to the killing of a13-year-old girl, Iman al-Hams. She had been shot deadby Israeli soldiers in October 2004 in Rafah in thesouthern Gaza Strip while walking near a fortified Israeliarmy tower opposite her school. According to an armycommunication recording of the incident, thecommander had stated that “anything that’s mobile, thatmoves in the zone, even if it’s a three-year-old, needs tobe killed”. Neither the commander nor any other soldierwas charged with the girl’s murder as the court acceptedthat the commander had not breached regulations on

when to open fire. The court focused on whether he hadacted improperly by repeatedly shooting at the child asshe lay injured or dead.b In September, Yehoshua Elitzur, an Israeli settler,was convicted of killing Sayel Jabara, a 46-year-oldPalestinian, near the West Bank village of Salem inSeptember 2004. Even though Yehoshua Elitzur wasarmed with an M16 assault rifle and shot dead anunarmed man, the court contended that there was noproof that he intended to kill Sayel Jabara. It convictedhim of manslaughter, not murder. He remained free ashe had been released on bail within a day of his arrestand did not appear in court for his verdict.

Imprisonment of conscientious objectorsSeveral Israelis who refused to serve in the army becausethey opposed Israel’s occupation of the OccupiedTerritories and refused to serve there were imprisonedfor up to four months. They were prisoners ofconscience.

Expansion of settlements and construction of the fence/wallWhile international attention focused on the Gaza“disengagement plan”, Israel continued to expandillegal Israeli settlements and stepped up constructionof a 600km fence/wall through the West Bank,including in and around East Jerusalem. Theconstruction compounded the military blockades andother stringent restrictions imposed by the Israeli armyon the movement of the Palestinian populationthroughout the Occupied Territories, includingmeasures which increasingly cut off East Jerusalemfrom the rest of the West Bank.

Israel seized and destroyed large areas of Palestinianland to build roads for Israeli settlers, militarycheckpoints and the fence/wall through the West Bank.Palestinians were increasingly confined to restrictedareas and denied freedom of movement between townsand villages within the Occupied Territories. ManyPalestinians were cut off from their farmland, theirmain source of livelihood, and others were preventedfrom accessing their workplaces, education and healthfacilities, and other services.

Israeli government officials repeatedly reiteratedtheir determination to strengthen most of the Israelisettlements in the West Bank, where some 450,000Israeli settlers live, and to build new ones, notably in andaround East Jerusalem. The Israeli government took nosteps to fulfil its commitment to dismantle settlementoutposts established since 2001 in the West Bank. InMarch former State Prosecutor Talia Sasson published areport, commissioned by the government, which notedthat unauthorized settlement outposts continued to beestablished and expanded by the authorities, contrary tothe government’s promise to dismantle them.

Restrictions on movement and violations ofeconomic and social rightsRestrictions on the movement of people and goodsremained the primary cause of high unemploymentand poverty in the Occupied Territories, with about


ISR

50 per cent of Palestinians living below the povertyline and forced to depend on charity. The restrictionshindered the access of Palestinians to hospitals,schools and jobs. Cases of malnutrition and otherhealth problems resulted from the extreme poverty.

With few exceptions, Palestinians were not allowedto move between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip andhad to obtain special permits from the Israeli army tomove between towns and villages within the WestBank. Travel on main roads in the West Bank, whichwere freely used by Israeli settlers living in illegalsettlements, was forbidden to Palestinians orrestricted. Such restrictions were increased in reprisalfor attacks by Palestinian armed groups and duringJewish holidays.

Increasing restrictions were also imposed by theIsraeli army on the movement of Israeli andinternational peace activists to prevent them fromparticipating in peaceful demonstrations and othersolidarity activities with Palestinian villagers in theWest Bank.

During and after its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,Israel closed the Gaza-Egypt border, the sole point ofexit and entry for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.The border was allowed to reopen at the end ofNovember under the supervision of a European Unionforce. Israel maintained control of the Gaza Strip’s seaand airspace, and of the passage of goods in and out ofthe Gaza Strip.

Destruction of homes and propertiesAlthough far less extensive than in previous years,destruction of Palestinian homes and land by Israeliforces continued. Large areas of agricultural land wereseized and destroyed, and thousands of trees uprooted,to make way for the fence/wall and for settlers’ roadsthrough the West Bank. Israeli settlers also destroyedPalestinian farmland in order to open new roads toconnect recently established settlement outposts. Eventhough these outposts contravened government policy,the army rarely intervened to prevent such actions.

Scores of Palestinian homes were demolished by theIsraeli army and security forces in the West Bank,including in and around East Jerusalem, on the groundsthat they were built without a building permit. TheIsraeli authorities denied permission to Palestinians tobuild on their own land in large areas of the West Bank,and at the same time continued to approve theconstruction and expansion of illegal Israelisettlements on Palestinian land.b On 5 April the Israeli army destroyed the Zaatrehfamily home in the East Jerusalem suburb of ‘Azariya tomake way for the fence/wall, which was built on theruins of the house. The demolition left 29 members ofthe family homeless, including 16 children. Althoughthe land belongs to the family, they could not obtain abuilding permit so their house was demolished.b During the week beginning 4 July the Israeli armydemolished some 35 stone and metal structures/shacksin the village of Tana, near Nablus, in the northern WestBank. Fourteen of the structures were home to thevillagers and the rest were used to store fodder or

shelter sheep and goats, which provide the main sourceof livelihood for the village. A school, which had beenbuilt in 2001 and had served the village’s children sincethen, was also demolished, along with two waterreservoirs. The army took advantage of the absence ofthe villagers, who live a semi-nomadic life and spendthe hottest months of July and August in nearby BeitFurik, to destroy much of their habitat. The reasongiven for the destruction was that the structures hadbeen built without a permit.

Violence and discrimination against womenThe UN Committee on the Elimination of Discriminationagainst Women examined Israel’s report in July. Itexpressed concern about laws governing personalstatus which are based on religion and about the 2003law which bars family unification for Israelis who marryPalestinians from the Occupied Territories. It called onthe Israeli government to intensify efforts to combattrafficking in women and girls; to take measures toimprove the status of Israeli Arab women, especially inthe fields of education and health, and to eliminatediscrimination against Bedouin women; and to enforceadherence to the minimum age of marriage.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Israel: Briefing to the Committee on the Elimination

of Discrimination against Women (AI Index: MDE15/037/2005)

• Israel and the Occupied Territories: Conflict,occupation and patriarchy – Women carry theburden (AI Index: MDE 15/016/2005)016/2005)

VisitsAI delegations visited Israel and the OccupiedTerritories in March and April.


ITA

ITALY

ITALIAN REPUBLIC

Head of state: Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

Head of government: Silvio Berlusconi




Refugee rights were threatened by implementationof a new immigration law, the failure to legislatespecifically to protect those seeking asylum, andreports of plans by Italy to build detention centres formigrants in Libya. The expulsion of more than 1,425migrants to Libya throughout the year took place indefiance of international refugee law. Officials andcivilian personnel convicted of physical assault andracial abuse at a detention centre for migrantsreceived suspended prison sentences. The trialsproceeded of police officers charged with assaultand other offences in 2001 at the time of massdemonstrations in Naples and during the G8 Summitin Genoa. Italy failed to take action to address theimpunity enjoyed by law enforcement officials,including by setting up an independent policecomplaints and accountability body, making torturea specific crime under the penal code, or requiringpolice officers to display prominently some form ofidentification.

Refugee rights under threatItaly still lacked a specific and comprehensive law onasylum, despite being a party to the UN RefugeeConvention. In practice, asylum was regulated underthe 1990 immigration law, as amended in 2002 by theBossi-Fini law, the implementing rules of which cameinto force on 21 April 2005. The law establishedIdentification Centres to detain asylum-seekers andan accelerated asylum determination procedure fordetainees, raising concerns about access to asylumprocedures, the detention of asylum-seekers inviolation of international refugee law standards, andviolation of the principle of non-refoulement – thatthose seeking asylum should not be forcibly returnedto countries where they risked serious human rightsabuses.

There were fears that many of the thousands ofmigrants and asylum-seekers arriving in Italy by boat,mainly from Libya, were forcibly returned to countrieswhere they were at risk of human right violations. Atleast 1,425 people were deported to Libya betweenJanuary and October.b Between 13 and 21 March, 1,235 foreign nationalsarrived at the Italian island of Lampedusa. A request on14 March by the Office of the UN High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) for access to the detention centre onLampedusa was refused on security grounds. On 16March the Minister of the Interior informed parliament

that Libyan officials had been allowed into the centre toidentify people traffickers. The following day, 180people were allegedly expelled, escorted on the flightby Italian law enforcement officers, to the Libyancapital, Tripoli. On 18 March, UNHCR expressedconcern that, if any Libyan asylum-seekers had been inthe centre during the visits by Libyan officials, suchvisits would have contravened basic refugee protectionprinciples. On 14 April, the European Parliamentexpressed concern at the expulsion of migrants fromLampedusa between October 2004 and March 2005. On10 May the European Court of Human Rights orderedthe Italian authorities to suspend the plannedexpulsion of 11 migrants who arrived in Lampedusa inMarch.

Thousands of foreign nationals without residencerights were detained in Temporary Stay and AssistanceCentres (CPTA), amid reports from some of thesecentres that law enforcement officers and supervisorystaff assaulted inmates. There were also reports ofovercrowded and unhygienic living conditions;inadequate medical care and the excessive and abusiveadministration of sedatives; and difficulties for inmatesin accessing legal advice and asylum procedures.Similar conditions were reported in the newlyestablished Identification Centres where hundreds ofasylum-seekers were held.UpdatesIn July, a court in Lecce convicted 16 people charged inconnection with the physical assault and racial abuse ofinmates of the Regina Pacis CPTA in the Puglia region inNovember 2002. The director of the centre, a RomanCatholic priest, and two of the carabinieri (militarypolice) who provided security at the centre were givensuspended sentences of 16 months’ imprisonment. Theother accused, six members of the administrative staff,two doctors and five other carabinieri, also receivedsuspended sentences, of between nine and 16 months.Detention by proxyItaly’s decision to build three detention facilities inLibya – one in Gharyan, close to Tripoli, a second inSheba, in the desert, and a third in Kufra, close toLibya’s borders with Egypt, Sudan and Chad – wasunofficially reported during the year. There werefears that the human rights of migrants could be atserious risk. Libya had not ratified the UN RefugeeConvention or its Protocol, and did not acknowledgethe presence of refugees and asylum-seekers in thecountry or recognize the official status of the UNHCR.

Police brutalityItaly still failed to make torture, as defined in the UNConvention against Torture, a specific crime within itspenal code. It also took no steps to establish anindependent national human rights institution, or anindependent police complaints and accountabilitybody. Policing operations were not brought in line withthe European Code of Police Ethics, for example byrequiring officers to display prominently some form ofidentification, such as a service number, to ensure theycould be held accountable.


ITA

Updates: policing of 2001 demonstrationsTrials of police officers continued in relation to policingoperations around the mass demonstrations in Naplesin March 2001 and during the G8 Summit in Genoa inJuly 2001.b The trial of 31 police officers on charges rangingfrom abduction to bodily harm and coercion inconnection with the Naples demonstration, whichbegan in December 2004, continued in 2005.b In March public prosecutors in Genoa set outevidence of verbal and physical abuse of detainees inthe Bolzaneto temporary detention facility throughwhich over 200 detainees passed during the G8 summit.Detainees were reportedly slapped, kicked, punchedand spat on; subjected to threats, including of rape, andto verbal abuse, including of an obscene sexual nature;and deprived of food, water and sleep for lengthyperiods. On 16 April, a total of 45 police officers,carabinieri, prison guards and medical personnel werecommitted for trial on various charges. The trial beganon 11 October.b On 6 April the trial began of 28 police officers,including several senior officers, involved in anovernight police raid on a school in Genoa during thedemonstrations in 2001. During the raid, nearly 100people were injured and three were left in a coma. Theofficers were charged with various offences, includingassault and battery, falsifying and planting evidence,and abusing their powers as officers of the state. Nonehad been suspended from duty. Scores of other lawenforcement officers believed to have participated inassaults could apparently not be identified.

Ill-treatment in prisonsChronic overcrowding and understaffing persisted inprisons, along with high rates of suicide and self-harm.There were many reports of poor sanitary conditionsand inadequate medical assistance. Infectious diseasesand mental health problems persisted.

Criminal proceedings, involving large numbers ofprison staff, were under way into alleged ill-treatmentof individual prisoners and sometimes large groups ofprisoners. Some trials were marked by excessivedelays. Charges related to the alleged psychologicaland physical abuse of prisoners, in some cases said tohave been carried out systematically and at timesamounting to torture.

International scrutinyIn January the UN Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women found the measurestaken by Italy to address the low participation ofwomen in public life to be inadequate. It recommendedthat a definition of discrimination against women beincluded in relevant legislation, to bring Italy in linewith the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women.

On 28 October the UN Human Rights Committee, inits response to a report by Italy on its implementationof the International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights, recommended the establishment of anindependent national human rights institution. It

pressed for increased efforts to ensure that reportedill-treatment by state agents was subject to prompt andimpartial investigation, and to eliminate domesticviolence. The Committee raised concerns about theright to apply for asylum, and requested detailedinformation regarding re-admission agreementsconcluded with other countries, including Libya. Iturged Italy to ensure the judiciary remainedindependent of the executive power, and highlightedconcerns about overcrowding in prisons.

International Criminal CourtDespite Italy’s major role in drafting the Rome Statuteof the International Criminal Court, and its ratificationof the Statute in 1999, by the end of 2005 the authoritieshad still not enacted implementing legislation thatwould allow investigation and prosecution of crimesunder international law in national courts or co-operation with the International Criminal Court inits investigations.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Italy: Temporary stay, permanent rights – The

treatment of foreign nationals detained in“temporary stay and assistance centres” (AI Index:EUR 30/004/2005)

• Italy: Lampedusa, the island of Europe’s forgottenpromises (AI Index: EUR 30/008/2005)

• Italy: Law reform needed to implement the RomeStatute of the International Criminal Court (AI Index:EUR 30/009/2005)

• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of AmnestyInternational’s concerns in the region, July-December 2004: Italy (AI Index: EUR 01/002/2005)


JAM

JAMAICA

JAMAICA


Howard Felix Cooke

Head of government: Percival James Patterson





Reports of police brutality continued. A number ofpolice officers were charged and tried after unlawfulkillings, but none was convicted. At least 168 peoplewere killed by the police, many in circumstancessuggesting they were extrajudicially executed.Conditions of detention frequently amounted tocruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. At least twopeople were sentenced to death; there were noexecutions.

BackgroundJamaica continued to suffer from increasing levels ofviolence; 1,674 people were reportedly murderedduring 2005, an increase on previous years. At least 13police officers were killed. In May, three police officerswere killed within hours of each other in apparentlycoordinated attacks.

Unlawful killings and impunityAt least 168 people were allegedly killed by members ofthe police, an increase over the previous year.

For the sixth consecutive year, no police or armyofficers were convicted of unlawful killings committedwhile on duty. Investigations into alleged extrajudicialexecutions remained inadequate. Police officers oftenfailed to protect crime scenes, and statements fromofficers were often taken only after long delays.

Numerous police officers charged with unlawfulkillings fled from justice, including the officer chargedwith the murder of 10-year-old Renee Lyons in 2003 inKingston.b In February, six police officers were acquitted ofthe 2001 murder of seven young men in Braeton despiteoverwhelming evidence that the seven had beenextrajudicially executed. The judge ruled that theprosecution had failed to present sufficient evidencefor the case to continue.b In August, six police officers were charged with themurder while on duty of two elderly men killed whenpolice officers opened fire on their taxi in the Flankersarea in October 2003. The trial had not taken place bythe end of 2005.b In December, the trial of six police officers chargedwith the murder of two men and two women in Crawlein 2003 resulted in acquittals. In July, two police officerswere charged with intending to pervert the course ofjustice and other offences in connection with thekillings. It was alleged that the officers had attempted

to alter the crime scene to make it appear that thevictims had fired at the police. The investigation wasnot completed by the end of 2005.b In December, three police officers were acquittedof the murder of 15-year-old Jason Smith in 2003 inKingston.

In October, a law was passed to establish a policeCivilian Oversight Authority. However, the law did notmandate the Authority to play any major role ininvestigating alleged unlawful killings by police butrelated to matters such as the efficient use of resources.

In November, the Inter-American Commission onHuman Rights issued a report critical of Jamaica’shandling of the case of Michael Gayle, who wasallegedly beaten to death by members of the securityforces in 1999. No one was ever charged with the killing.

Death penaltyNew sentencing hearings were held following the 2004decision by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Councilthat mandatory death sentences wereunconstitutional. At least four prisoners were re-sentenced to death and at least 11 had their sentencescommuted to terms of imprisonment.

Throughout 2005, high levels of crime led to calls forthe resumption of executions. There were discussionsbetween the government and the opposition regardingchanges to the Constitution to facilitate executions.

Torture and ill-treatment in detentionConditions in prisons and other places of detentionwere reported to be harsh and in many cases amountedto cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

In April, one prisoner and one guard were shot deadand other prisoners beaten during an attempted escapefrom the Tower Street Correctional Centre. Agovernment-appointed Board of Inquiry investigatedthe incident and found numerous violations ofprisoners’ human rights, including one prisoner beatento death by guards and another dying because he wasnot given timely medical attention after being injured.There were no reported criminal charges brought inconnection with the abuse of prisoners.

Violence against womenAccording to government figures, in the first eightmonths of 2005 there were 835 reported sexual assaultsagainst women and girls, of which 67 per cent wereagainst girls, and 16 per cent were at gunpoint. Mostinjuries to women were inflicted by an intimatepartner. Rates of HIV infection among women and girlswere rising, and people living with HIV faced systematicdiscrimination.

Routine investigations of sexual assaults werereported to be inadequate, and despite the specialunits set up to work with victims of sexual assault,police investigations were often returned to theregular constabulary.

Amendments to reform and update the Offencesagainst the Person Act and the Incest (Punishment)Act, submitted to parliament in 1995, were stillawaiting approval. Marital rape was still not a


JAP

criminal offence. In sexual assault cases only, judgeswere required to warn juries that women and younggirls sometimes told lies.

In November Jamaica ratified the Inter-AmericanConvention on the Prevention, Punishment andEradication of Violence against Women (Convention ofBelém do Pará).

Gay men and lesbiansGay men and lesbians continued to face violence anddiscrimination on a daily basis. In August, two menwere convicted of buggery and sentenced to two years’imprisonment with hard labour, suspended for twoyears. During previous hearings, the two men had beeninsulted by crowds gathered outside the courthouse. InSeptember, popular musician Buju Banton was chargedwith assaulting six men who he alleged werehomosexuals. His song lyrics repeatedly advocatedviolence against gay men and lesbians. In November,AIDS activist Steven Harvey was murdered, allegedlybecause of his homosexuality.

AI country reports/visitsVisitsIn April and November delegations visited Jamaica tohold talks with non-governmental organizationsaddressing violence against women in Jamaica. InNovember, a delegation observed the trial of six policeofficers on charges of murder.

JAPAN

JAPAN

Head of government: Koizumi Junichiro





One man was executed and 78 prisoners remainedon death row. The authorities continued to denyreparations to victims of Japan’s system of sexualslavery during World War II. A new law governing thetreatment of prisoners was adopted in May. Increasedpunishments for trafficking in persons came intoeffect in July. A Bill to establish a national humanrights commission was debated but not adopted.

BackgroundElections in September increased the majority of theruling party. The deployment of Japanese troops asoverseas peacekeepers renewed public debate onwhether to revise Article 9 of the Constitution whichdefines Japan as pacifist.

In November, the former President of Peru, AlbertoFujimori, left Japan for Chile where he was arrested atthe request of the Peruvian authorities, pending anextradition request.

The 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, andrenewed efforts by the government to secure apermanent seat on the UN Security Council, increasedtensions in the east Asia region. The government wascriticized for its continued failure to apologizeadequately and provide full reparations for wartimecrimes against humanity such as forced sexual slavery,and for the way Japanese history textbooks portray itspast aggressions.

The Diet (parliament) debated but did not adopt a Billfirst submitted in 2003 to establish a national humanrights commission.

The government indicated that it would accede to theRome Statute of the International Criminal Court by 2009.

Death penaltyKitagawa Susumu was executed in secret by hanging inSeptember, while the Diet was in recess. A formerpolice officer, Kitagawa Susumu was sentenced todeath in 1994 for the murder of two women, in 1983 and1986. His appeal had been rejected by the SupremeCourt in 2000.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations held a jointinternational conference against the death penalty inDecember, reiterating calls for a moratorium. On hisappointment in October, the Minister of Justice, SugiuraSeiken, acknowledged the worldwide trend towardsabolition of the death penalty and announced that hewould not personally sign any execution order. Heimmediately retracted this commitment.

Treatment of prisonersA new Penal Facilities and Treatment of Prisoners Lawwas adopted in May, replacing the 1908 law. It providesfor a monitoring body to inspect prisons, improvedaccess to the outside world for prisoners and humanrights education for prison staff. It does not, however,cover conditions in pre-trial detention or for prisonerssentenced to death.b In November, two guards at Nagoya prison receivedsuspended sentences for killing a prisoner in 2001.Otomaru Mikio was sentenced to three years in prison,suspended for four years, for aiming water from a high-pressure hose at a naked prisoner, causing internalinjuries. Takami Masahiro received a 14-month prisonterm, suspended for three years, for assisting in the attack.b In June, a pregnant detainee in Tokyo DetentionCentre was handcuffed in hospital during her delivery,and prevented from seeing her newborn baby. She hadalso been required by the detention centre to have thebirth induced to fit the hospital schedule. In October,the Minister of Health and Labour stated that birthsshould be induced only when a clear medical need wasestablished by a doctor.

Violence against womenSurvivors of Japan’s system of sexual slavery – beforeand during World War II – continued to be denied full


JOR

reparations. Survivors were also denied a remedy in theJapanese courts. In February the Supreme Court rejecteda compensation claim by seven Taiwanese survivors (thecase had begun with nine but two died). A Tokyo HighCourt also rejected a case by Chinese survivors in March.

Courts continued to argue that compensation claimswere settled by post-war treaty arrangements. Contraryto international law, some applied statutes of limitation.In June a US federal appeals court rejected, for the secondtime, a damages suit filed by 15 survivors. The court citedJapan’s immunity from such lawsuits in the USA.

Trafficking in personsAmendments to the Criminal Code increasedpunishments for unlawfully detaining or buyingtrafficked persons. Related amendments were madeto the Immigration Law and Criminal Procedure Codebut none adequately addressed the protection ofvictims of trafficking. The government’s commitmentto ratify the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress andPunish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women andChildren (the Palermo Protocol) was not fulfilled bythe end of 2005.

Restrictions on freedom of expressionThe Tokyo High Court reinstated the convictions fortrespass against three people detained in 2004 fordistributing pamphlets within a residential militarycompound, opposing Japanese involvement in Iraq.They were fined between 100,000 and 200,000 yen andappealed to the Supreme Court.

RefugeesRevisions to the Immigration and Refugee RecognitionLaw effective from May increased time limits for filingasylum claims from 60 days to six months from arrivalin Japan. Revisions also established an expertcommittee to give confidential recommendations tothe Minister of Justice on appeals against rejectedasylum claims. Appointed by the Ministry of Justice,most of the 18 members were former officials and only afew were refugee law experts.

The number of people recognized as refugees underthe limited provisions of Japan’s refugee law rose to atleast 46. More than 40 others were granted specialpermission to stay for humanitarian reasons. Someindividuals were released on condition they did nottake up employment, but without basic livelihoodassistance. Conditions in immigration centresremained harsh with inadequate medical care.b On 18 January Ahmet Kazankiran and his son,recognized as refugees by the UN High Commissionerfor Refugees (UNHCR) in October 2004, were forciblyrepatriated to Turkey in contravention of Japan’sobligations under international law and in spite ofappeals from UNHCR and human rights groups.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Still waiting after 60 years: Justice for survivors of

Japan’s military sexual slavery system (AI Index: ASA22/012/2005)

VisitsAI delegates, including AI’s Secretary General, visitedJapan in May/June. Delegates met senior governmentofficials, as well as local human rights groups, and awide range of people in civil society.

JORDAN

HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN

Head of state: King ‘Abdallah II bin al-Hussein

Head of government: Ma’arouf Bakhit (replaced Adnan

Badran in November, who replaced Faisal al-Fayez in April)





Scores of people were arrested for political reasons,including on suspicion of terrorism. Many werebrought to trial before the State Security Court (SSC),whose procedures fall short of international fair trialstandards, and alleged that they had been torturedto “confess”. There were continuing restrictions onfreedom of expression and assembly. Women werestill subject to legal and other discrimination andinadequately protected against violence within thefamily. At least 11 people were sentenced to deathand 11 were executed. Bomb attacks, apparentlycarried out to protest against Jordanian governmentpolicy on Iraq, targeted civilians.

BackgroundSuicide bombings at three Amman hotels in November,claimed by an armed Iraqi-based group led byJordanian national Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi, killed 60people and injured many others. Sajida Mubarak Atrousal-Rishawi, an Iraqi national arrested in connectionwith the attacks, stated on television that she hadsought unsuccessfully to blow herself up with herhusband at one of the hotels. After the attacks thegovernment announced its intention to introduce newanti-terror laws that would include holding suspectsunder interrogation for indefinite periods. Theauthorities said that 12 Iraqi nationals were arrested inconnection with the bombings but unofficial sourcesreported that scores of people were detained forquestioning.

In November King ‘Abdallah announced that theDirector of National Security, Ma’arouf Bakhit, wouldreplace Adnan Badran as Prime Minister and form anew government that would tackle Islamist “militants”and proceed with reforms including enhancingdemocracy in Jordan.


JOR

In August, Jordan finalized a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with the UK according to whichJordanian authorities provided assurances that anypeople suspected of terrorism who were forciblyreturned to Jordan from the UK under the terms of theagreement would not be treated inhumanely ortortured.

A separate bilateral agreement between Jordan andthe USA, under which Jordan would undertake not tosurrender US nationals on its territory to theInternational Criminal Court to face charges ofgenocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, wasratified by parliament.

King ‘Abdallah told an Italian newspaper inNovember that Jordan could soon abolish the deathpenalty.

Restrictions on freedom of expression andassemblyThe authorities continued to censor newspapers andother publications that criticized the government.Under the Public Assemblies Law, they reportedlydenied permission for demonstrations against Israel,the war in Iraq and rising oil prices.

The government proposed a new law that wouldrestrict the activities of the Professional AssociationsCouncil (PAC), an umbrella organization representingmembers of 12 professional bodies which has criticizedgovernment policies. The law would require the PAC torestrict its discussions to “professional” issues and toobtain advance written approval from the InteriorMinistry before it could hold public gatherings ormeetings. The draft law was pending before parliament.b ‘Ali Hattar, a PAC member, lost his appeal in Mayagainst a three-month prison sentence imposed on 24April. He was prosecuted for slandering thegovernment after he delivered a lecture in December2004 entitled “Why We Boycott America”. The sentencehad not been enforced by the end of the year.b Three men were charged in September withbelonging to the outlawed Islamist group Hizb al-Tahriral-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party) and distributingleaflets. They were arrested in July, apparently while ata conference on Islam in Amman. In all, 28 memberswere reported to have been arrested during the yearand remained in detention, two of them for trying toorganize a demonstration in a Palestinian refugee camp.

Abuses in the context of the ‘war on terror’There were persistent reports that Jordan permittedthe US government to maintain a secret detention andinterrogation centre on its territory. The Jordanianauthorities denied this.

Scores of people were arrested on suspicion ofinvolvement in terrorism. Most were detainedincommunicado by the General IntelligenceDepartment (GID), the main security serviceresponsible for the arrest of political detainees. Morethan a hundred people appeared before the SSC, whoseproceedings fall far short of international fair trialstandards and whose judges are invariably militaryofficers, even when the accused are civilians.

Dozens of security-related or political cases wereheard by the SSC in 2005. In many of these, defendantsreportedly told the court that they had been tortured toextract “confessions”. In no case known to AI did judgesinstigate an independent investigation into allegationsof torture.b Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi was rearrestedin July, four days after he was released from six months’detention without charge or trial, on suspicion ofcontacting “terror” groups. By the end of the year hereportedly remained in detention apparently without charge.b AI was informed in 2005 by two Yemeni nationalsthat they had been detained and tortured for severaldays each by the GID in October 2003 before being flownout of Jordan in a military airplane to a secret detentioncamp run by US officials. Muhammad Faraj Bashmilahsaid he was arrested when he travelled to Amman fromIndonesia to meet his mother. Salah Nasser Salim wasarrested in Indonesia, where he lived, then flown toJordan and tortured by the GID, including by being hungupside down and beaten on the soles of his feet.

Torture and ill-treatmentIn June the government-funded National Centre forHuman Rights said it had received 250 reports of torturebetween June 2003 and December 2004. It also pointedto the difficulties faced by criminal and SSC defendantsin proving torture allegations. However, in one case, 10police officers were sentenced in March to prison termsof up to 30 months after they were convicted ofinvolvement in the death of ‘Abdallah al-Mashaqbeh,who died in September 2004 in Jweideh prison.

Discrimination and violence against womenAmendments to the Personal Status Law, which wouldgive women rights to divorce without their husband’sconsent, remained pending before parliament.

Article 98 of the Penal Code continued to be invokedas a defence by men being tried for killing femalerelatives. The Article allows for reduced sentenceswhere killings are committed in a “fit of rage” caused by“unlawful” or “dangerous” acts on the part of the victim.In July 2004 the Justice Ministry proposed raising theminimum sentence for crimes committed in a “fit ofrage” to five years’ imprisonment, but no progress onthis was evident in 2005. At least five men who said theyhad committed killings in defence of their family’s“honour” benefited from Article 98 during the year, andat least 12 women and one man were reported to havebeen victims of family killings.

Dozens of women were administratively detainedwithout charge or trial. Some of them, including victimsof rape, women who had become pregnant outsidemarriage and women accused of extramarital sexualrelations or of being prostitutes, were believed to beheld to protect them from their family and communitymembers. Some were detained after serving prisonsentences; others had not been convicted of anyoffence. In the past, women have been killed byrelatives after they were released from “protective”custody, including in cases where their relatives hadsigned a guarantee not to harm them.


KAZ

In June, activists launched the Jordanian Coalition toHelp Women in Protective Custody, which the InteriorMinister promised to support.

Death penaltyAt least 11 people were sentenced to death and 11 wereexecuted. On 16 November an Italian newspaperquoted King ‘Abdallah saying that “Jordan could soonbecome the first country in the Middle East withoutcapital punishment.”b In May, Zuheir Ahmed al-Khatib was sentenced todeath for three murders including one for whichanother man, Bilal Musa, was executed in 2000. BilalMusa had also been convicted of 10 other murders butalleged at his trial that he was tortured while heldincommunicado by the Criminal InvestigationDepartment (CID). His wife, who received a 15-yearprison sentence but subsequently died, had alsoalleged that she was tortured. No judicial investigationwas conducted into their torture allegations. ZuheirAhmed al-Khatib was executed by hanging at Swaqaprison on 8 November for two murders – his convictionand sentence for the third murder had been overturnedon appeal in September.

AI country reports/visitsReport• USA/Jordan/Yemen: Torture and secret detention –

Testimony of the “disappeared” in the “war on terror”(AI Index: AMR 51/108/2005)

KAZAKSTAN

REPUBLIC OF KAZAKSTAN

Head of state: Nursultan Nazarbaev

Head of government: Danial Akhmetov




Asylum-seekers and refugees from Uzbekistan wereat risk of detention and forcible return. At least eightmen were forcibly returned to Uzbekistan. Anopposition party was closed down and somemembers briefly detained. A jailed opposition leaderwas recommended for early release.

BackgroundThe Organization for Security and Co-operation inEurope (OSCE) said the December 2005 presidentialelection, which saw incumbent President NursultanNazarbaev win over 90 per cent of the votes, fell farshort of OSCE and Council of Europe standards. The

Constitutional Council had brought forward theelection date by a year in August, and oppositionparties and independent news media complained ofharassment and intimidation by the authorities.

Political imprisonmentb In January a court ordered the closure of theopposition Democratic Choice of Kazakstan (DVK)party, in response to an application by the ProsecutorGeneral’s office which accused it of “inciting socialtension” and “extremism”. Police reportedly broke upan unauthorized demonstration in Almaty organizedby the DVK and detained eight DVK members,reportedly for using the slogan “Terror of the stateagainst its citizens”. Seven were subsequently broughtbefore a court.b In November the Ministry of Justice recommendedthe early release of Galimzhan Zhakianov, a leadingDVK member. On 14 December, a court decided to granthim early release. He had been sentenced to sevenyears’ imprisonment in 2002 for “abuse of office” andfinancial crimes, but the real reason for hisimprisonment appeared to be his peaceful oppositionactivities.

Fear of forcible returnRefugees from Uzbekistan were not effectivelyprotected and risked being forcibly returned toUzbekistan and subjected to serious human rightsviolations there. Some had fled to Kazakstan after thesecurity forces fired indiscriminately on a crowd inAndizhan, Uzbekistan, on 13 May, killing hundreds ofpeople. Others were suspected members of bannedIslamic parties or movements. The Uzbekistaniauthorities have frequently targeted suspectedsympathizers of such organizations or independentMuslims in the name of national security.b Lutfullo Shamsuddinov, a prominent human rightsdefender, fled Uzbekistan with his wife and fivechildren. His eyewitness testimony of the events inAndizhan, quoted by the international media, differedfrom the official account. Although recognized as arefugee by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) on 27 May, he was arrested by the Kazakstanipolice on 4 July at the request of the Uzbekistaniauthorities, who said that he faced charges of“terrorism”, a capital offence, and spreadinginformation to cause panic. Despite pressure fromUzbekistan, the Kazakstani authorities eventuallyhanded him over to UNHCR, which flew him and hisfamily to another country.b On 24 and 27 November, 10 Uzbekistani nationalswere allegedly detained by the National SecurityCommittee (KNB), the security services, and heldincommunicado in the southern city of Shymkent. Theywere reportedly wanted for “participation in a bannedreligious organization” and “attempting to overthrow theconstitutional order”. According to reports, at least eightof them were forcibly returned to Uzbekistan early in themorning of 29 November. One man escaped into hiding inKazakstan, and the whereabouts of another wereunclear. Of the eight deportees, two were given access to


KEN

lawyers and their place of detention in Uzbekistan wasknown, but the location of the remaining six was stillunclear at the end of 2005. Reportedly, four of the eightmen were holding asylum-seeker certificates issued bythe UNHCR Office in Kazakstan.

KENYA

REPUBLIC OF KENYA

Head of state and government: Mwai Kibaki





There was increased intimidation and harassment ofthe media and journalists by the authorities.Violence against women, including rape anddomestic violence, remained a serious concern. Thework of human rights defenders was obstructed.

BackgroundThe protracted constitution-making process endedafter a referendum on 21 November in which 57 per centof voters rejected the draft constitution. Campaigningwas marred by violence, with at least eight peoplekilled in Kisumu and Mombasa. Following thereferendum, President Kibaki sacked the entirecabinet, announcing a new cabinet on 7 December.

The proliferation of illegal weapons remained aserious concern. In July, the authorities burned 3,786small arms recovered by police. According to policeestimates, over 20,000 crimes were committed in thecountry annually using small arms.

In early June, four men charged with murder followingthe bombing of a hotel in Kikambala near Mombasa inNovember 2002 were acquitted after the trial judge ruledthere was no evidence to connect them to the murders.One of them was rearrested and charged with illegalpossession of arms. His application for bail was rejected.On 27 June, Nairobi’s Chief Magistrate acquitted anotherthree men charged with conspiracy to commit murder inthe November 2002 hotel attack, saying that theprosecution had failed to prove its case.

More than 300,000 people continued to be internallydisplaced in Kenya. Conflict along borders and overaccess to scarce resources such as water and grazinglands, as well as inter-communal hostility aggravatedby political rivalry, were among the main causes ofinternal displacement.

In March, Kenya ratified the Rome Statute of theInternational Criminal Court (ICC). Kenya did not signthe Article 98 exemption that would give US citizens onKenyan soil immunity from prosecution by the ICC.

Kenya presented its second periodic report forconsideration by the UN Human Rights Committee inMarch, after an 18-year delay.

Attacks on freedom of the mediaThere was increased intimidation and harassment ofthe media and journalists as the authorities tookaggressive measures to silence investigative or critical voices.b Criminal libel charges were brought againstKamau Ngotho, an investigative journalist, arisingfrom an article about corruption published in theStandard in January. Following a public outcry, thecharges were dropped.b In September, David Ochami of the Kenya Timeswas arrested and charged with “publishing alarminginformation” for writing an article critical of thePresident. His trial started in November.b The wife of the President went to the premises ofthe Nation Media Group on 2 May, accompanied bybodyguards, allegedly to complain about criticisms ofher. She reportedly assaulted a cameraman, CliffordDerrick Otieno, who was filming the scene. Hecomplained to police, but no further action was taken,and the Attorney General terminated a privateprosecution that he initiated.

Violence against womenWomen and girls continued to face widespreadviolence and discrimination. However, data on theprevalence of acts of violence against women,including domestic violence and rape, wasinadequate. According to figures quoted inparliament, police recorded 2,300 rapes in 2004.However, statistics from health facilities and non-governmental organizations suggested that thenumber of unreported rapes in Kenya could be as highas 16,000 a year.

In April, parliament agreed to discuss a proposedSexual Offences Bill.

Human rights defenders and demonstratorsThe work of human rights defenders was obstructed.They were subjected to harassment and ill-treatment.During protests and demonstrations, demonstratorsand their leaders were arrested and charged.b Scores of anti-globalization activists were arrestedin early March in Mombasa. They were protestingagainst unfair trade practices while officials from 33countries met to discuss trade negotiations ahead ofthe World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in HongKong in December. The activists were charged with“conducting an unlawful procession”.b Before the opening of parliament in March, policein Nairobi used tear gas and water cannons to dispersesome 200 people demonstrating peacefully to demanda referendum on the draft constitution. Seven peoplewere arrested and detained. Two of them, injuredduring the arrest, were reportedly denied access tomedical care.b At least one person was killed by the police infurther demonstrations over the draft constitution in


KEN

July. About 20 people were detained and charged with“creating disturbance and malicious damage”.b On 10 August, 22 activists demonstrating againstirregular allocation of public land to private investorsin Kitale Town were arrested and detained. On 12August, Father Gabriel Dolan, a well-known humanrights defender who had taken part in thedemonstration, was arrested when he visited those incustody. Father Dolan was charged with “incitement toviolence, malicious damage of property by a riotingassembly group and taking part in unlawful assembly”.

Torture and unlawful killingsThere were continuing reports of torture and unlawfulkillings by state agents.

A survey commissioned by the Kenya Human RightsCommission to establish the level of public awarenessof human rights disclosed that people were reluctant toreport torture.

In March, human rights groups condemned astatement by the Minister for Internal Security callingfor police to shoot to kill anyone found with illegalfirearms. Human rights defenders argued that whilethey deplored the level of insecurity in the country,shooting in such conditions would amount to unlawfulkilling.

There were several reports of unlawful killingsperpetrated by law enforcement officials. Few suchcases were investigated or prosecuted, encouragingimpunity for such acts. No statistics were available onthe number of people killed by police.

Protection of refugees and asylum-seekersApproximately 240,000 refugees and asylum-seekerslived in Kenya. Refugees lived in designated refugeecamps – Dadaab had about 138,000 refugees,predominantly from Somalia, and Kakuma had about87,100 refugees, the majority from Sudan. There werealso substantial numbers from Ethiopia, Eritrea andneighbouring countries in the Great Lakes region. Anestimated 15,000 to 60,000 refugees were livingwithout the necessary documents in Nairobi and other towns.

In April, the Minister for Immigration, Registrationof Persons and Refugees stated that non-citizens whodid not possess necessary registration documentswould be deported to their countries of origin. Thedeadline for registration was fixed for 30 June, laterextended to 15 August 2005. Large numbers of peopleturned up at the Office of the UN High Commissionerfor Refugees in Nairobi in June in order to register anasylum claim. Many would be at risk of serious humanrights violations in their countries of origin if theywere arrested and deported. The process of refugeestatus determination was still under way at the end ofthe year.

In March, the authorities released former Iraqi airforce pilot, Adel Mohammed Al-Dahas, after four yearsin detention in a police cell in Nairobi despite the factthat he was granted refugee status in 2001. By the end of2005, his request for resettlement to a third countryhad not yet been granted.

Death penaltyIn March, the Minister of Justice and ConstitutionalAffairs declared at the UN Commission on HumanRights that his government was committed toabolishing the death penalty and that in the meantimeall death sentences would be commuted to lifeimprisonment. At the end of the year, however, thisprocess had not been completed.

In April, the High Court in Kakamega freed fourUgandans who had been on death row since 1995 after asuccessful appeal against their death sentences. Thefour were members of the February EighteenMovement, which allegedly aimed to overthrow theformer government in Kenya.

Impact of ‘anti-terrorism’ operations on human rightsHuman rights violations were committed during “anti-terrorism” operations conducted since the 2002bombing of a hotel near Mombasa that killed 15 people.The violations included: the use of torture and other ill-treatment during detention including physical abuse;detention of suspects without charge in undisclosedlocations and without access to a lawyer or relatives;the holding of suspects in degrading and unsanitaryconditions without access to medical care; harassmentof family members and arbitrary detention of relativesto put pressure on suspects to hand themselves in; andthe failure of police to show warrants when arrestingindividuals or conducting searches of property.

AI country reports/visitsReports/statements• Kenya: The impact of “anti-terrorism” operations on

human rights (AI Index: AFR 32/002/2005)• Kenya: Abolition of the death penalty is essential for

a Constitution that respects human rights (AI Index:AFR 32/005/2005)

• Kenya: The Government must respect the rights ofrefugees under international law (AI Index: AFR32/007/2005)

VisitAI delegates visited Kenya in March to meetgovernment officials and launch the report Kenya: Theimpact of “anti-terrorism” operations on human rights.


KOR

KOREA (DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF)

DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Head of state: Kim Jong-il

Head of government: Pak Pong-ju





signed

Fundamental rights including freedom of expression,association and movement continued to be denied.There were reports of public executions, widespreadpolitical imprisonment, torture and ill-treatment.Access by independent monitors continued to berestricted.

BackgroundIn March, North Korea declared itself a nuclear power.In September, the fourth round of six-party talks inBeijing (involving North Korea, South Korea, China,Japan, Russia and the USA) reached a breakthroughaccord in which North Korea pledged to abandon itsnuclear programmes in exchange for aid and securityassurances. However, there was no further progress onimplementing the agreement.

International scrutinyIn April the UN Commission on Human Rights expressedconcern about the human rights situation in NorthKorea, the third such resolution in three years.

In November, for the first time, the UN GeneralAssembly passed a resolution expressing concernabout the human rights situation in North Korea.

In August, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situationof human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea (DPRK) reported that there was evidence oftorture, detention without trial, public executions andcapital punishment for political dissidents.

In July, the UN Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women considered North Korea’sinitial periodic report. The Committee expressedconcern about the government’s lack of awareness of theextent of domestic violence, the absence of legislation todeal with violence against women, including domesticviolence, and the lack of prevention and protectionmeasures for victims. The Committee also expressedconcern that the government had not given sufficientinformation on the impact of the famine and naturaldisasters on women and young girls. The Committee wasconcerned that in such circumstances, they mightbecome vulnerable to trafficking and other forms ofexploitation, such as prostitution.

Denial of accessInformation and access continued to be highlycontrolled. Despite repeated requests, the

government continued to deny access to independenthuman rights monitors including the UN SpecialRapporteur on the situation of human rights in theDPRK and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right toadequate food.

Death penaltyThere were renewed reports of executions of politicalopponents in political prisons, and of executions ofpeople charged with economic crimes, such as stealingfood. Unconfirmed reports suggested that peopleoperating underground churches had been executed.b In February, there were unconfirmed reports thatabout 70 North Korean defectors had been executedin public in January after being forcibly repatriatedfrom China.b Video footage emerged showing two people beingshot in a public execution. The execution reportedlytook place on 1 March in Hoeryang, a north-eastern city,after a public trial of 11 people charged with traffickingin people and aiding unauthorized visits to China. Thefootage also showed an execution which reportedlytook place on 2 March in the nearby city of Yuson.

Torture and ill-treatmentHundreds of North Koreans forcibly returned fromChina faced detention, torture or ill-treatment, and upto three years’ imprisonment in appalling conditions.

Prisoners reportedly died from malnutrition inlabour camps for political prisoners and in detentioncentres, which were severely overcrowded. Prisonerscharged with breaking prison rules had their food cuteven further.

Women in detentionWomen detainees continued to be subjected todegrading prison conditions. Prisons lacked basicfacilities for women’s needs. There were unconfirmedreports that pregnant women detainees were forced toundergo abortions after being forcibly returned fromChina. Women detainees stated that during pre-trialdetention male guards humiliated them and touchedthem inappropriately. Women who attempted toprotest were reportedly beaten. All women, includingthose who were pregnant or elderly, were forced towork from early morning to late at night in fields orprison factories.

Freedom of expressionSevere restrictions on freedom of expression andassociation persisted.b In July, 64-year-old Moon Sung-Jun was reportedlyarrested on suspicion of leading an undergroundchurch in Shinuiju, North Pyongan province. At least 80local residents, including eight of Moon Sung-Jun’ssiblings were reportedly detained and questioned onsuspicion of attending the church.

North Koreans in AsiaHundreds of North Koreans were forcibly returned bythe Chinese authorities to North Korea. Many tried toenter foreign-run schools in Beijing and foreign


KOR

diplomatic missions to seek permission to leave China.At the end of 2005, more than 100 were awaitingdecisions in diplomatic missions.

North Korean women in China were reportedlyexploited sexually, including through forced marriagesand trafficking into the sex industry. The authorities inViet Nam, Laos and Cambodia reportedly increasedforcible repatriations of North Korean refugees whowere attempting to reach South Korea.

People assisting North Koreans in China weretargeted by the North Korean authorities.b In March, Kang Gun, who had settled in SouthKorea, was reportedly abducted by North Koreanagents from Longjing in Jilin province in China, wherehe was helping North Koreans who had fled to China asa result of the food crisis. He was apparently held in aNational Security Agency prison in Pyongyang.

The right to foodA national nutrition survey conducted by thegovernment, the World Food Programme (WFP) andthe UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was published inMarch. It found that 7 per cent of children wereseverely malnourished; 37 per cent were chronicallymalnourished; 23.4 per cent were underweight; and onein three mothers was malnourished and anaemic. Thestudy found that the plight of the most vulnerable hadbeen aggravated by an economic adjustment processinitiated in mid-2002 that led to steep increases in themarket prices of basic foods, and sharply lowerincomes for millions of factory workers maderedundant or employed part-time. Market prices ofcereals, which tripled in 2004, continued to rise.

In September the government called for moredevelopment aid and an end to humanitarian aid, citinggood agricultural harvests in 2005. It also called forWFP monitors to be expelled, raising concerns aboutthe monitoring of food aid. Reports in Septembersuggested that up to half of bilateral food aid suppliedby China and South Korea did not reach the intendedrecipients.

At the government’s request, the WFP shut down fiveregional offices and 19 food factories in North Korea inDecember.

KOREA(REPUBLIC OF)

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Head of state: Roh Moo-hyun

Head of government: Lee Hae-chan





signed

Refugee recognition procedures did not take intoaccount the threats faced by asylum-seekers. A draftbill to abolish the death penalty was introduced. Atleast 63 prisoners remained under sentence of death.At least eight prisoners of conscience sentencedunder the National Security Law (NSL) were released.The NSL, which allowed the imprisonment ofprisoners of conscience, remained in use. At least200,000 irregular migrant workers faced detentionand deportation. Despite improved protections formigrant workers, poor working conditions anddiscrimination in wages and access to justicecontinued. At least 1,090 conscientious objectorsremained imprisoned for refusing to do militaryservice.

Refugees and asylum-seekersRefugee recognition procedures lacked transparencyand failed to take into account threats faced by asylum-seekers. Refugee status was granted to as few as 40applicants between February 2001 – when asylum wasgranted for the first time under the UN RefugeeConvention – and the end of 2005, 15 of them in 2005.Detention policies for asylum-seekers were vague andarbitrary.

In May new guidelines under the Immigration Lawrequired that asylum-seekers who had not possessedvalid residence visas for over three years be detainedand fined before their applications were considered.Applicants were not informed of the grounds fordecisions on their cases. They did not receive sufficientprotection or support, including from qualifiedinterpreters, and were not allowed to work.b In March the authorities rejected asylumapplications made by nine Myanmar nationals in May2000. In April the men were ordered to leave thecountry within five days. On appeal in July, they wereallowed to stay until April 2006. They were reportedlyactive in opposition political activities in Myanmar andSouth Korea that put them at risk of serious humanrights violations if they returned to Myanmar. Althoughno interpreters were present during the interviews,applicants’ signatures had been added to thetranscripts of their testimonies. The lawyerscomplained that transcripts of their interviewsappeared to have been either omitted or distorted.


KUW

Migrant workersBasic rights of migrant workers appeared to bestrengthened after the Employment Permit System Actcame into effect in August 2004. However, migrantworkers continued to face widespread discrimination inwages and in access to justice. Many worked indangerous conditions, were not paid regularly or did notreceive severance pay. In December, there were over200,000 undocumented migrant workers liable toimmediate detention pending deportation.b In May, Anwar Hossain, head of the new MigrantsTrade Union that had not been recognized by thegovernment, was arrested by over 30 immigration andpolice officers and reportedly assaulted. The day beforehis arrest, he had criticized government policy towardsirregular migrant workers in a national newspaper. Hewas still held at the Chonju Immigration DetentionCentre at the end of 2005.

Death penaltyThere were no executions. At least 63 prisonersremained under sentence of death. A bill to abolish thedeath penalty, proposed by 175 members of the 299-member National Assembly in December 2004, wasintroduced in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee ofthe National Assembly in February.

National Security LawUnder a presidential amnesty in August, at least eightprisoners of conscience sentenced under the NSL werereleased. At least two long-term prisoners were servingsentences imposed under the NSL.b Kang Tae-woon, aged 75, sentenced to six years’imprisonment in August 2003 for espionage, wasreportedly in poor health. His sentence was reportedlyreduced by half in August.

The NSL, in force since 1948, allowed for long prisonsentences or the death penalty for non-violent politicalactivities, including vaguely termed offences such as“benefiting the enemy” or “anti-state” activities. Despitegrowing support for repeal of the NSL, including fromPresident Roh Moo-hyun and the National Human RightsCommission, the government did not amend or repeal it.

Conscientious objectorsAt least 1,090 conscientious objectors, most of themJehovah’s Witnesses, were in prison at the end of 2005for their refusal to carry out compulsory military service.The government gave no consideration to introducing analternative civilian service.UpdateLim Tae-hoon was released in June. He had been arrestedin February 2004 and sentenced to 18 months’imprisonment in July 2004 for refusing to performmilitary service because of his pacifist beliefs anddiscrimination against gay, bisexual and transsexualpeople by the military.

AI country reports/visitsStatement• South Korea: Death penalty abolition – historic

opportunity (AI Index: ASA 25/003/2005)

KUWAIT

STATE OF KUWAIT

Head of state: al-Shaikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah

Head of government: al-Shaikh Sabah al-Ahmad

al-Sabah





signed

Women gained the right to vote and stand forpolitical office. Clashes between armed groups andsecurity forces resulted in 12 deaths. At least 30people were detained for alleged links to armedgroups; one died in custody and others, whenbrought to trial, alleged torture. Fourteen peoplewere charged with trying to form a political party.Migrant workers faced a wide range of abuses. Atleast 15 people were sentenced to death and at leastseven people were executed.

Women’s rightsWomen gained the right to vote and stand for politicaloffice under a new electoral law which took effect on16 May. Under the law, women are required to abideby Sharia (Islamic law) when voting or standing forelection.

In June, the government appointed two women tothe 16-member Municipal Council, and women’s rightsactivist Massouma al-Mubarak became Minister ofPlanning and Minister of State for AdministrativeAffairs.

Political arrests and imprisonmentThe authorities detained 14 people in May forquestioning about their links to the Ummah Party,which was formed in January despite the ban onpolitical parties and apparently advocates pluralismand peaceful political change. They were released butreportedly charged with establishing a political party topromote a change of government, punishable by up to15 years’ imprisonment. Their trial had not taken placeby the end of the year.

At least 29 prisoners continued to serve sentencesimposed in 1991 after manifestly unfair trials beforeMartial Law and State Security Courts for“collaborating” with Iraqi forces during theiroccupation of Kuwait. Sentences ranged from 15 yearsto life imprisonment.

Abuses in the context of the ‘war on terror’Gun battles in January between security forces andIslamist armed groups left 12 people dead.

In February, the authorities detained at least 30people for suspected links to al-Qa’ida and relatedgroups. Amer Khlaif al-Enezi, the alleged leader, diedin custody eight days after his arrest in unclear


KYR

circumstances; the Interior Minister later denied thathe had been tortured. Others were among 37 peoplebrought to trial in May, including 11 in absentia, onterrorism-related charges. They were accused ofbelonging to the Peninsula Lions Brigade, allegedlylinked to al-Qa’ida, calling for war against the stateand attempting to kill members of Kuwait’s securityforces and other “friendly forces”. Some defendantssaid they had confessed under torture and showed thecourt what they said were torture injuries. Followingrepeated requests by defence lawyers, the courtappointed an independent medical commission toprobe the torture allegations. On 27 December, sixwere sentenced to death, one was sentenced to lifeimprisonment, others received prison terms ofbetween four months and 15 years, and seven wereacquitted.

Twenty-four suspected militants arrested in previousyears were tried on charges of recruiting people to jointerrorist groups, including groups fighting US-led forcesin Iraq. One received an eight-year prison sentence, 19received three-year terms and four were fined andreleased.

Six of 12 Kuwaiti nationals held for over three years inthe US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, werereleased and returned to Kuwait, where they weredetained. Nasser Najd al-Mutairi, aged 28, wasacquitted by the Lower Court on 15 June of belonging toal-Qa’ida, seeking to take up arms against a friendlystate, and possessing weapons. The Appeals Courtoverturned the verdict on 2 November and sentencedhim to five years’ imprisonment. The other five werebeing detained pending trial.

Abuse of migrant workersMigrant workers, who constitute a large part ofKuwait’s workforce, protested against workingconditions, non-payment of wages, arbitrary pay cuts,ill-treatment, unsatisfactory living conditions, andnon-renewal of residence permits. The authorities saidthey were considering changes to the country’s labourlaws to improve conditions for migrant workers. InOctober it was announced that a new contractstipulating a minimum wage for domestic workerswould come into effect at the start of 2006.

Women migrant workers in domestic service wereespecially vulnerable to abuse because ofdiscriminatory legislation and practices, and theexclusion of domestic workers from the protection oflabour laws. They suffered gender-based violence,including rape by employers or their associates, andhad little recourse given the prevailing climate ofimpunity for perpetrators of crimes against migrantdomestic workers.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Women


• Kuwait: Time to release the remaining prisoners ofthe 1991 unfair trials (AI Index: MDE 17/003/2005)

KYRGYZSTAN

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

Head of state: Kurmanbek Bakiev (replaced Askar Akaev

in March)

Head of government: Feliks Kulov (replaced Kurmanbek

Bakiev in July, who replaced Nikolai Tanaev in March)




Hundreds of people fled to Kyrgyzstan after securityforces reportedly fired on thousands of mainlyunarmed and peaceful demonstrators inneighbouring Uzbekistan in May. Four Uzbekistanimen were forcibly returned to Uzbekistan in June,and the Uzbekistani security forces pursued refugeesand asylum-seekers on Kyrgyzstani territory, in somecases with the co-operation of the authorities inKyrgyzstan. Many were unable to access asylumprocedures. Kyrgyzstani citizens among those whofled Uzbekistan were not protected from beingpursued illegally in Kyrgyzstan by the Uzbekistanisecurity forces.

BackgroundIn February elections to a new unicameral parliamentsparked widespread protests amid allegations of fraudand vote-rigging. On 24 March opposition supportersstormed government buildings in the capital, Bishkek,and a loose coalition of political groups took power.President Askar Akaev formally resigned on 4 Aprilafter talks in Moscow.

Feliks Kulov, leader of the opposition Ar-Namys(Dignity) party and former Minister of NationalSecurity, was released from prison – where he wasserving a 17-year sentence for abuse of office andembezzlement after an allegedly political trial – andwas asked by parliament to take charge of nationalsecurity and restore order. Kurmanbek Bakiev, aleading opposition member and a former PrimeMinister, was named acting Prime Minister andPresident by parliament. The old parliamentdisbanded on 28 March and recognized the legitimacyof the newly elected parliament. In April the SupremeCourt overturned Feliks Kulov’s convictions oncharges of embezzlement and corruption. Inpresidential elections on 10 July, Kurmanbek Bakievwas elected President. He appointed Feliks KulovPrime Minister.

A law enacted in August to outlaw extremismappeared to threaten freedom of expression and, inparticular, freedom of the media because of its broaddefinition of extremist activities and extremist materials.

Tensions increased in September and October. Morethan 20 inmates were killed in widespread prison riots,which were reportedly in response to harsh prisonconditions and collusion between prison authorities


KYR

and jailed criminal leaders. Tynychbek Akmatbaev, amember of parliament (MP), two of his assistants, andIkmatullo Polotov, a senior prisons official, were killedwhile visiting one of these prisons on 20 October.Demonstrations in Bishkek led by the MP’s brother,Ryspek Akmatbaev, who was awaiting trial on murdercharges in a separate case, accused Feliks Kulov ofcomplicity in the deaths. However, the demonstrationswere called off a week later after President Bakievagreed to meet a delegation. On 1 November moreviolence erupted when government forces tried toregain control of prisons left without guards andadministrators following the October riots.

A moratorium on executions was extended foranother year. Draft amendments to the Constitutionincluded the permanent and full abolition of the deathpenalty.

Refugees from Uzbekistan at riskOver 540 men, women and children crossed intoKyrgyzstan in the early hours of 14 May following thereported killings of hundreds of demonstrators inAndizhan, Uzbekistan, on 13 May (see Uzbekistan entry).Initially in a makeshift camp near the border, theirsafety could not be guaranteed and the Office of the UNHigh Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) moved themto a camp at Besh-Kana on 4 June. However, Kyrgyzstaniofficials allegedly handed over lists of their names andhome addresses to the Uzbekistani security services,who put pressure on relatives to persuade refugees toreturn voluntarily – including by transporting therelatives in buses to the camp – and reportedlyinfiltrated the camp. Uzbekistani media reportsdescribed it as a “terrorist” camp run by “dangerouscriminals”, and the local population reportedlythreatened to force the refugees out. On 29 July, UNHCRairlifted 439 refugees to a holding centre in Romania,pending resettlement.Extraditions and threat of forcible returnKyrgyzstan came under pressure from Uzbekistan toextradite a large number of the refugees. AlthoughPresident Bakiev gave UNHCR guarantees of temporaryprotection for an initial group of over 540 refugees, on 9June the authorities forcibly returned four of them toUzbekistan in contravention of their internationalobligations. On 16 June the Uzbekistan ProsecutorGeneral’s Office said it was seeking the extradition of131 refugees who were “direct participants in the acts ofterrorism [in Andizhan]”.

On 22 June the Prosecutor General of Kyrgyzstanreportedly described as “criminals” 29 refugees whohad been transferred from the Besh-Kana camp todetention, indicating they would be returned toUzbekistan within a week. On 24 June he reportedlycalled for the detention of a further 103 refugees. Helater said Kyrgyzstan would abide by its internationalobligations to protect refugees, and that the 29 indetention would not be sent back to Uzbekistan untiltheir refugee determination had been completed.Fourteen of the 29 were evacuated to Romania forresettlement in July and a further 11 of them wereresettled to other European countries in September.

The status of the other four was disputed. TheUzbekistani authorities said that one had beenconvicted of narcotics offences and the others werewanted for the killing of the Andizhan city prosecutoron 13 May. UNHCR recognized one as a refugee, adecision rejected by the Kyrgyzstani authorities. TheKyrgyzstani authorities initially did not allow theother three to apply for asylum, and a court upheldthe men’s appeal against this decision, referring thecases back for reconsideration.Lack of access to asylum proceduresOf the hundreds of people who fled Uzbekistan after 13 May, some were reportedly denied entry or wereforcibly returned to Uzbekistan. Others were said tohave stayed with relatives or friends, or lived withoutproper registration, since effective opportunities tolegalize their presence in Kyrgyzstan did not exist.Little or no information was readily accessible to themon how to lodge an asylum claim. Although UNHCRregistered asylum claims independently, theKyrgyzstan authorities did not provide physicalprotection from the Uzbekistani authorities.b In late June, Bakhodir Sadikov, an asylum-seekerfrom Uzbekistan hiding in Osh region, registered hisasylum claim with UNHCR but was detained on his wayfrom the office for having no registration papers. Hewas on a list of criminal suspects published by theUzbekistani authorities in June. Two days later he wasreportedly in a transit prison with another Uzbekistaniasylum-seeker, Hadir Ulmas, who had also been hidingin Osh. Both were believed to have been subsequentlysent back to Uzbekistan.

Failure to protect nationals of KyrgyzstanAs many as 50 Kyrgyzstani men, in Andizhan forprofessional or private reasons, fled with the refugeesafter 13 May. However, in Kyrgyzstan they were put in arefugee camp; no notification was sent to their families;and there was no record of their arrival in search ofprotection or of their protection needs. The campauthorities transferred them directly to a temporarydetention centre, where they were held for up to 15days on administrative charges.

Families reported that law enforcement officerssystematically extorted large sums of money to allowthem to visit their relatives in the camp or to haverelatives released from the camp or from detention.The details of 37 of the Kyrgyzstani men were includedin the list of wanted criminal suspects published by theUzbekistani authorities in June. To avoid being seizedand forcibly transferred to Uzbekistan, those on the listwent into hiding.b Relatives asked the local authorities in Osh forinformation about the whereabouts of four youngmen from Kyrgyzstan who went missing after theAndizhan events. Two days later a car withUzbekistani number plates came to their house afterdark, and well-built men who presented noidentification papers or legal warrant, and who theysuspected were from the Uzbekistani securityservices, questioned them about every member of thehousehold.


LAO

AI country reports/visitsReports• Kyrgyzstan: Refugees in need of a safe haven

(AI Index: EUR 58/008/2005)• Kyrgyzstan: Uzbekistan in pursuit of refugees in

Kyrgyzstan – A follow-up report (AI Index: EUR58/016/2005) A f58/016/2005)

VisitsIn February an AI delegate visited Kyrgyzstan. AIrepresentatives also visited Kyrgyzstan to interviewrefugees from Uzbekistan in May, June and July.

LAOS

LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Head of state: Khamtay Siphandone

Head of government: Bounyang Vorachit





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The internal armed conflict with predominantlyethnic Hmong rebel groups continued. The fate ofhundreds of Hmong civilians who surrendered to theauthorities was not known. At least four prisoners ofconscience remained in detention and one long-termpolitical prisoner died in prison. Reports of tortureand ill-treatment continued. An increasing number ofdeath sentences were handed down, but noexecutions were known to have been carried out. Twopeople were sentenced to prison terms for refusing torenounce their religion, and suppression of religiouspractice continued in several provinces.

BackgroundAssessment of the human rights situation washampered by continuing restrictions on freedom ofexpression and severe limitations on access byindependent observers and human rights monitors tothe country.

The UN Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women recommended inJanuary that domestic violence and rape be madecriminal offences in Laos.

In June Laos ratified two International LabourOrganization (ILO) Conventions for ending child labour.However, Laos still did not ratify the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights and theInternational Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights, which it had signed in December 2000.

The World Bank gave the final go-ahead to the NamTheun 2 dam project, despite continuing concernsraised by environmental groups on its possible impacton the thousands of people needing resettlement andthe livelihoods of many others.

Opium poppy cultivation and opium productioncontinued to decline substantially, as Laos movedtowards the goal of becoming opium-free by the end of2005. However, concerns arose that this had resulted inan estimated 65,000 members of upland Laocommunities being displaced to areas where their basicneeds were not met.

Ethnic Hmong conflictCovert visits by international journalists to rebel areasoccasionally highlighted the plight of ethnic Hmongrebels and their families in the decades-old internalarmed conflict. Attacks by the Lao military on rebelgroups and their families were reported.

Groups of ethnic Hmong civilians, including women,children and elderly people, surrendered to theauthorities throughout 2005 because they were unableto find food in the jungle and lacked basic medical care.It was unclear what became of them. In June a group of173 surrendered to the authorities at Chong Thuangvillage in Xieng Khouang province. The surrender waswitnessed by two US nationals from the US-based FactFinding Commission and two ethnic Hmong US nationalssupporting the Hmong. The four were subsequentlyarrested and deported. The surrendering civilians weretaken away by soldiers and their fate and whereaboutsremained unknown. In October it was reported that twoindividuals in Chong Thuang village were arrested andtortured and another was unlawfully killed by Laomilitary and police in connection with the surrender.

Despite a public statement by UN Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan that the UN was ready to providehumanitarian assistance to such groups, the authoritiesmade no requests, and UN agencies were not givenaccess.

In October, 242 Hmong people in around 43 familiessurrendered in Bolikhamxay province. They reportedlyreceived virtually no humanitarian assistance. Theauthorities denied that surrenders of people from ethnicHmong rebel groups had taken place, claiming that theywere local people not connected to rebel groups.

The internal conflict continued to cause hundreds ofethnic Hmong to flee to Thailand, where they joinedother Hmong refugees. At the end of 2005 more than6,000 Lao Hmong were living in Phetchabun province.

In February a long overdue report from Laos wasconsidered by the UN Committee on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination (CERD). The Committee reiteratedcalls for the authorities to allow UN agencies access toareas where members of ethnic Hmong groups in conflictwith the authorities have taken refuge, and to provideemergency humanitarian assistance.

Political imprisonmentPrisoners of conscience Thongpaseuth Keuakoun andSeng-aloun Phengphanh remained in detention inSamkhe prison. They were among five members of the


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Lao Students’ Movement for Democracy arrested inOctober 1999 for attempting to hold a peacefuldemonstration in Vientiane and were reportedlysentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The identity oftwo other members of the group, Keochay andBouavanh Chanhmanivong, continued to be disputedby the authorities; they were reportedly sentenced tofive years’ imprisonment and due for release in October2004. However, there was no confirmation of theirrelease. The fifth group member died in detention in2001 following torture by prison guards.

Pangtong Chokbengboun, who was seriously ill butdenied appropriate medical treatment by theauthorities, died in detention in March. His co-detainee Sing Chanthakoummane remained indetention in harsh conditions. Both men werearrested in 1975 and detained without charge or trialfor 17 years for “re-education” before being sentencedto life imprisonment after an unfair trial in 1992.

Freedom of religious practiceDespite the constitutional guarantee of freedom ofreligion, several denominations faced varying degreesof harassment and persecution, particularlyevangelical Christian groups. There were reports ofChristians being subjected to harsh treatment andforced to renounce their faith.b Eleven men from the ethnic Bru minority werearrested in Houeihoy Neua village, Muong Phinedistrict of Savannakhet Province, while taking part inEaster celebrations in March. Nine were released aftersigning renunciations of their faith. They hadreportedly spent 48 hours in a rice plantation with theirhands tied and without food or water. Two others –Khamchanh, a former village chief and local CommunistParty member, and Vanthong – were subsequentlysentenced to three years’ imprisonment on charges ofpossessing illegal weapons. The real reason for theirimprisonment appeared to be their refusal to renouncetheir faith.

Death penaltyLaos retained the death penalty for a wide range ofoffences and an increasing number of death sentenceswere imposed. Twenty-six people, including onewoman, were sentenced to death for drug traffickingoffences, bringing the number of people on death rowto at least 60.

No executions were known to have taken place.

LATVIA

REPUBLIC OF LATVIA

Head of state: Vaira Vike-Freiberga

Head of government: Aigars Kalvïtis





signed

In July, the Prime Minister made derogatorycomments regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender (LGBT) people and the Riga City Counciltemporarily withdrew permission for a Gay Pridemarch. A report published by the EuropeanCommittee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)highlighted several worrying practices and maderecommendations for improvements.

BackgroundIn June, Latvia ratified the Council of Europe’sFramework Convention for the Protection of NationalMinorities. However, the Latvian government’sdefinition of a minority in practice excluded mostmembers of the Russian-speaking community in Latviafrom qualifying as a minority.

LGBT rights under attackOn 20 July, the executive director of the Riga City Council,Èriks Škapars, withdrew permission for the gay andlesbian community to hold a Gay Pride march on 23 July.Èriks Škapars’ decision came after the Prime Ministerstated on television that he could not “accept that aparade of sexual minorities takes place in the middle ofour capital city next to the Dom Cathedral. This is notacceptable. Latvia is a state based on Christian values.We cannot advertise things which are not acceptable tothe majority of our society.”

The organizers of the march subsequently made anofficial complaint to the Riga administrative courtregarding the decision to ban the march. On 22 July theadministrative court decided to annul Èriks Škapars’decision to withdraw permission for the march. On 23July the march went ahead as originally planned.

Organizers and news media covering the eventestimated that approximately 300 people participatedin the march. Meanwhile, over a thousand people hadgathered to stage a protest against the march. Some ofthe protesters tried to block the march, while othersused tear gas and threw eggs at the marchers.

In July the European Commission’s Employment,Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities unit published its2005 annual report on equality and non-discrimination.According to the report, Latvia was the only country inthe European Union which had not fully transposed therequirement of the Employment Equality Directive anddid not explicitly ban discrimination on grounds ofsexual orientation in employment.


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Torture and ill-treatmentIn May the CPT published a report based on findingsfrom a visit to Latvia in 2002. The report highlightedseveral worrying practices and made recommendationsfor improvement.

The CPT’s delegation said that it had received aconsiderable number of credible allegations of physicalill-treatment by law enforcement agencies throughoutLatvia. Most of the allegations of ill-treatment relatedto events at the time of detention. However, many ofthe allegations also concerned ill-treatment duringpolice questioning. The forms of ill-treatment reportedto the CPT included “asphyxiation with a plastic bag,strangulation, very severe beating, infliction of electricshocks, submerging the head of the suspect in the waterof a lake.” Some of this ill-treatment was so severe thatit could be considered to constitute torture.

The CPT also remarked on the poor conditions ofdetention in police establishments. It stated that “thesituation was particularly bad at Daugavpils, Liepajaand Ventspils Police headquarters, where persons werebeing held 24 hours per day in overcrowded cells, whichwere humid, dirty and poorly lit and ventilated.” TheCPT further recommended that all those who weredeprived of their liberty by law enforcementauthorities, regardless of the circumstances, begranted, from the very outset of their deprivation ofliberty, the right to notify a close relative or third partyof their choice about their situation. Concern was alsoexpressed about the fact that some people in policecustody needed urgent medical attention, but that thishad not been provided.

AI country reports/visitsStatement• Latvia: Leading politicians make remarks which may

have incited to verbal and physical attacks (AI Index:EUR 52/001/2005)

LEBANON

LEBANESE REPUBLIC

Head of state: Emile Lahoud

Head of government: Fouad Siniora (replaced ‘Najib

Mikati in June, who replaced ‘Umar Karami in April)





signed

Former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and more than30 other people were killed in bomb attacks againstcivilians. A UN inquiry suggested that seniorLebanese and Syrian officials were implicated in theattack on Rafiq al-Hariri. Several people werearrested for their alleged connections with a bannedpolitical party. Tens of prisoners, including somesentenced after unfair trials in previous years, werefreed under an amnesty law in July. Palestinianrefugees resident in Lebanon continued to facediscrimination and to be denied access to adequatehousing and certain categories of employment. Thelaw continued to discriminate against women.Protection against violence in the home wasinadequate; women migrants employed as domesticworkers were particularly at risk of abuse. Massgraves were exhumed in November and December.

Assassination of Rafiq al-HaririFormer Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 otherswere killed by a car bomb in Beirut on 14 February.

Rafiq al-Hariri’s murder sparked popular protestsand the government resigned after losing a confidencevote in parliament in February. Subsequent elections,held between 29 May and 19 June, were won by theFuture Movement Block, led by Saad al-Hariri, son ofthe assassinated former Prime Minister.

Speculation that the Syrian authorities were involvedin the assassination prompted new demands fromwithin Lebanon and internationally for Syria towithdraw its military forces from Lebanon, inaccordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559 ofSeptember 2004. In May the UN confirmed that Syriahad withdrawn its forces from Lebanon.

UN investigationThe UN Security Council sent a fact-finding team, withthe agreement of the Lebanese government, toinvestigate the killings. The team’s findings led the UNSecurity Council to establish the UN InternationalIndependent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC).

Four former heads of Lebanese intelligence andsecurity services – General ‘Ali al-Hajj (InternalSecurity Forces), General Raymond Azar (MilitaryIntelligence), Brigadier General Jamil al-Sayyed(Sûreté Générale) and Mustafa Hamdan (PresidentialGuard) – were arrested on 30 August and remained in


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detention at the end of the year. An interim report byUNIIIC published in October implicated seniorofficials of both the Lebanese and Syrian securityservices in the assassination and a fifth formerLebanese security official, Ghassan Tufeili, wasarrested in November after he was named in thereport. On 15 December, a second UNIIIC reportrequested that Syria detain several suspects. It alsostated that Syria had hindered the investigation andthat further investigation was necessary. On 15December the UN Security Council endorsed a six-month extension of the investigation, but did not voteon the Lebanese authorities’ request to establish aninternational court to try suspects in the case.

Other politically motivated killingsRafiq al-Hariri’s assassination was followed by 13 otherbombings of civilian targets in which 12 people werekilled and at least 100 injured. Among those targetedwere critics of Syria’s military presence in Lebanon.b Samir Qasir, an academic, journalist and well-known critic of human rights abuses by the Lebaneseand Syrian governments, was killed by a car bomb on 2 June in Beirut.b George Hawi, former leader of the LebaneseCommunist Party, was killed by a car bomb in Beirut on21 June.b Gibran Tueni, a journalist and politician wellknown for his criticism of Syrian interference inLebanon, was killed with two others in a car bombexplosion in Beirut on 12 December.

In November, six Lebanese men were reported tohave been charged with mounting attacks at thebehest of a Syrian intelligence officer who had beenbased in Beirut. They had not been brought to trial bythe end of 2005.

Earlier, tens of Syrian nationals working in Lebanonwere reported to have been killed and others injured inattacks by Lebanese, apparently in reaction to Rafiq al-Hariri’s assassination; it was not clear whether therewas an investigation or any prosecutions.

‘Disappearances’A new joint Syrian-Lebanese committee wasestablished in May to investigate the fate of more than600 Lebanese who “disappeared” during and after the1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, apparently while in thecustody of Syrian forces. The findings of two previousLebanese investigations were never fully disclosed andno perpetrators were ever prosecuted. Concerns aboutthe new committee’s independence and powerssuggested that it would be no more effective.

A mass grave inside the Lebanese Ministry of Defencecompound at al-Yarze, reportedly containing 20 bodies,was discovered in November. Another mass grave,reportedly containing 28 bodies, was exhumed inDecember at ‘Anjar, in the Beqa’ Valley, near the formerSyrian military intelligence headquarters in Lebanon.During and after the Lebanese civil war, mass humanrights abuses were committed with impunity. Abusesincluding killings of civilians; abductions and“disappearances” of Lebanese, Palestinian, and foreign

nationals; and arbitrary detentions were carried out byvarious armed militias and Syrian and Israeligovernment forces. In 1992 the Lebanese governmentstated that a total of 17,415 people “disappeared” duringthe 1975-1990 civil war, but no criminal investigationsor prosecutions had been initiated by the end of 2005.

Arrests and releasesSamir Gea’gea and Jirjis al-Khouri, respectively theleader and a member of the Lebanese Forces, werefreed under an amnesty law approved by parliament inJuly. Both were serving life sentences, imposed afterunfair trials, for their alleged involvement in politicallymotivated killings. They had been held in solitaryconfinement since 1994 at the Ministry of DefenceDetention Centre in Beirut.

The amnesty law also resulted in the release of atleast 25 men detained for several years followingviolent clashes with Lebanese army troops in 2000 inthe northern Dhinniyeh area. They had been chargedwith involvement in “terrorism” and other securityoffences. At the time of their release they were on trialbefore the Justice Council in proceedings that did notmeet international standards. Some said they had beentortured and coerced into making false confessions.

Ten detainees from Majdel ‘Anjar arrested inSeptember 2004 were also released in the amnesty.Several of the men, who had not been charged or tried,were reported to have been tortured.

The authorities arrested 15 people in September fortheir alleged involvement with Hizb al-Tahrir (IslamicLiberation Party). All were released. Three — Sherif al-Halaq, Muhammad al-Tayesh and Bassam al-Munla —were convicted of membership of a bannedorganization and were awaiting sentencing at the endof the year.

Conditions in prisons and detention centresThe authorities continued to refuse the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered access toall prisons despite a presidential decree in 2002authorizing such access for the ICRC. There wasparticular concern about lack of ICRC access to centresoperated by the Ministry of Defence where detaineeshave been tortured and ill-treated.

Human rights defendersMany human rights groups operated freely but somehuman rights defenders were harassed or faced threatsto their lives.b Muhamad Mugraby, a lawyer and human rightsdefender, was detained for 10 hours in February. He waslater charged with “slander of the military establishment”for criticizing Lebanon’s military court system in a speechto the Mashrek Committee of the European Parliament inNovember 2003. He was due to appear before theMilitary Court in Beirut in January 2006.

Palestinian refugeesAccording to the UN, some 400,000 Palestinianrefugees were resident in Lebanon. They remainedsubject to wide-ranging restrictions on access to


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housing, work and rights at work despite the Minister ofLabour’s decision in June to allow Palestinian refugeesto work in some sectors that had previously beenbarred to them by law. However, Palestinian refugeescontinued to be excluded from the medical, legal andother professions regulated by professional syndicates.

Discrimination and violence against womenWomen continued to be discriminated against andinadequately protected from violence in the family.Discriminatory practices were permitted underpersonal status laws, nationality laws and lawscontained in the Penal Code relating to violence in the family.

In July, the UN Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women recommended thatLebanon withdraw its reservations to Articles 9 and 16of the UN Women’s Convention concerning nationalityand marriage rights and address inequalities whichallow children to obtain Lebanese nationality onlythrough their father and permit only men to divorcetheir spouse.

Women migrants employed as domestic workersfaced multiple discrimination on grounds of theirnationality, gender and economic and legal status.Their contracts effectively restricted exercise of theirrights to freedom of movement and association byforbidding them from changing employers. They alsofaced exploitation and abuse by employers, includingexcessive hours of work and non-payment of wages.Hundreds were reported to have suffered physical andsexual abuse at the hands of employers.

The UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in personsdrew attention to the plight of migrant domesticworkers during a visit to Lebanon in September, statingthat they were denied basic human rights and wereinadequately protected by law. The Minister of Laboursaid new legislation to improve conditions for migrantworkers would be proposed by October 2005. However,no progress appeared to have been made on this by theend of the year.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Lebanon: A human rights agenda for the

parliamentary elections (AI Index: MDE18/005/2005).

VisitsAI delegates visited Lebanon several times during 2005.

LIBERIA

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

Head of state and government: Charles Gyude Bryant





Sporadic outbreaks of violence continued to threatenprospects of peace. Former rebel fighters who shouldhave been disarmed and demobilized protestedviolently when they did not receive benefits. Slowprogress in reforming the police, judiciary and thecriminal justice system resulted in systematicviolations of due process and vigilante violenceagainst criminal suspects. Laws establishing anIndependent National Commission on Human Rightsand a Truth and Reconciliation Commission wereadopted. Over 200,000 internally displaced peopleand refugees returned to their homes, althoughdisputes over land and property appropriated duringthe war raised ethnic tensions. UN sanctions on thetrade in diamonds and timber were renewed. Thoseresponsible for human rights abuses during thearmed conflict continued to enjoy impunity. The UNSecurity Council gave peacekeeping forces in Liberiapowers to arrest former head of state Charles Taylorand transfer him to the Special Court for Sierra Leoneif he should return from Nigeria, where he continuedto receive asylum. Liberia made a commitment toabolish the death penalty. A new law on rape, whichinitially proposed imposition of the death penalty forgang rape, was amended to provide a maximumpenalty of life imprisonment.

BackgroundImplementation of the Comprehensive PeaceAgreement remained on track. The registration of 1.3million voters was completed in May. Some members ofthe Mandingo community were denied registration orfaced discrimination in establishing their Liberiannationality during the registration process.

In the lead-up to presidential and parliamentaryelections in October, the peacekeeping forces of the UNMission in Liberia (UNMIL) were increased in strength.Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf emerged as victor in thepresidential ballot, after a second round of voting inNovember. There were some protests at pollingirregularities by supporters of a rival candidate,football star George Weah. International observersconsidered the elections to have been free and fair.

The International Contact Group on Liberia, agrouping of donor governments, proposed measures toaddress corruption. In September the transitionalgovernment signed up to a Governance and EconomicManagement Assistance Programme, which ensuresthat the revenue generated from the resources ofLiberia are used to impove the living standards of


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Liberians. The programme required checks andbalances on government spending and a transparentand functioning state bureaucracy.

The UNMIL human rights and protection sectionfocused on failures to observe due process by thepolice, judiciary and prisons; provided support to theTruth and Reconciliation Commission; and madeprogress in drafting a National Human Rights ActionPlan to fulfil Liberia’s obligations under internationalhuman rights treaties.

Among the 103 international treaties Liberia accededto in September was the Second Optional Protocol tothe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

A new law in June provided for the establishment of aTruth and Reconciliation Commission to investigatehuman rights violations from 1979 to 2003. Five men andfour women were selected as commissioners in October.

The return continued of refugees and peopleinternally displaced by the war; the total number wasestimated to be at least 300,000. However, there werecomplaints that the return programme was poorlyorganized although the situation improved later in theyear. No arrangements were made for hundreds ofthousands of refugees, who were not able to return intime for the elections, to vote. Liberian refugees inGhana were reported to have been assaulted by theGhanaian police in November and to have fled theirrefugee camp.

Incomplete demobilizationIncomplete demobilization and reintegration of formercombatants resulted in several violent incidents.b Former combatants rioted several times overfailures to provide reintegration benefits orresettlement allowances – in January in Bong Countyand on three occasions in May in Nimba County.

The fragile peace process in Côte d’Ivoire affectedUNMIL efforts to stabilize Liberia. Liberian children andadults in border areas continued to be recruited byarmed groups, including for continuing conflict in Côted’Ivoire. Illegal exploitation of natural resources alsocontinued. Former combatants occupied rubberplantations and tapped rubber, claiming it was their onlymeans of survival. They were reportedly responsible forkillings and torture, including rape, against the civilianinhabitants. UNMIL subsequently took action to removeformer combatants from the plantations.

By September close to 26,000 former combatantshad still not entered reintegration programmes. InSeptember the UN Secretary-General announced aUS$18.5 million shortfall in international funding forreintegration and rehabilitation. This was partially metby funding made available later in the year.

Funding shortfalls contributed to delays inrestructuring the armed forces. Troops demonstratedviolently in June in response to late payment of theirsalaries. The demobilization of both regular andirregular armed forces was scheduled for completionby the end of 2005, so that the vetting, recruiting andtraining of a new 2,000-strong army by DynCorp, aconsultancy firm based in the USA, could begin.

Ethnic tensionsA commission of inquiry into four days of violence inand around Monrovia in October 2004, in which some20 people died and 200 were injured, reported itsfindings in June. It concluded that ethnic tensions anddiscrimination against the Mandingo population werethe primary cause of the violence. No action was takento implement the commission’s recommendations forfurther investigation and to bring those responsible tojustice.

Ethnic tensions and disputes over land and propertyseized during the war remained a cause of concern forinternally displaced people and refugees returninghome. In Lofa and Nimba Counties, the Mandingopopulation said they had been driven from their homesduring the war and their property taken over bymembers of the Lorma community.

Delayed reformsThe slow pace of reform of the criminal justice systemresulted in continued failures of the police and thecourts to respond effectively to crime. Communitiestook justice into their own hands, and criminal suspectswere sometimes assaulted or killed where there weresuspicions of ineffective policing or of injustice orcorruption in the courts.

Police involvement was minimal in traditionalmatters such as ritual killings, trials by ordeal orwitchcraft, or vigilante action against people suspectedof being witches. Most such cases occurred in GrandBassa, Grand Gedeh and River Cess Counties. Ritualkillings – killings committed in the context of religiousbeliefs, often in pursuit of political gain – sometimesprovoked popular protests. In Bong County in July, acrowd destroyed the property of a person suspected ofperforming ritual killings and shots were fired. Theunrest was brought under control by UNMIL forces.Ritual killings reportedly increased in the period beforethe elections.

During a visit to Liberia in July, the UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights said thatstrengthening the justice sector should be the highestpriority, a recommendation subsequently endorsed bythe UN Independent Expert on the situation of humanrights in Liberia.PoliceBy the end of 2005, 1,800 police officers should havebeen trained and deployed. Full deployment was notachieved, especially in remote areas, because ofshortfalls in funding and lack of equipment. Trainingwas provided by the UN Civilian Police (CIVPOL). Aspecial police unit was set up to deal with violenceagainst women and children.JudiciaryJudicial officials systematically failed to uphold the ruleof law. Ignorance of the law, poor court management,bribery and lack of accountability remained majorconcerns. In January a Circuit Court judge in GrandGedeh County unfairly tried three men for murder andsentenced them to death. The UNMIL human rightssection intervened and the case was subsequentlydismissed for lack of evidence. In September judges and


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magistrates were deployed to courts around thecountry. However, a shortage of judges remained,linked closely to their poor conditions of service.PrisonsConditions in the majority of prisons and detentioncentres remained well below minimum standards.Delays in processing the cases of remand prisonersthrough the courts resulted in overcrowding. A UNcorrections team, the International Committee of theRed Cross, the World Food Programme and otherpartners provided prisoners with meals, blankets andmattresses. By mid-2005, 28 corrections officers hadgone through a vetting and training process, and weredeployed throughout the country.Juvenile justiceStandards set by the Juvenile Justice Procedure Codewere not observed. The police had a poor record ofinvestigating reports of sexual crimes against children,and irregularities were reported in the handling ofcases in which children and juveniles were broughtbefore the courts.

Violence against womenA law on rape, sponsored by women’s groups, wasdebated in parliament in November and passed. Thelaw broadened the definition of rape and denied bail toanyone charged with raping a minor. The law alsoincreased sentences for the most serious offences,allowing life imprisonment to be imposed for the rapeof a minor and for gang rape.

UNMIL worked with civil society groups and the UNDevelopment Programme on a one-year campaign toend violence against women, to start in early 2006.

Independent National Commission on Human RightsIn March a law to establish an Independent NationalCommission on Human Rights, provided for in theComprehensive Peace Agreement, was passed by theNational Assembly. Its members had been appointed bythe head of state before the law was passed. Theindependent and effective functioning of theCommission was hampered by conflicts of interest anda lack of understanding of the Commission’s mandate.Civil society groups continued to call for thereappointment of the commissioners in a transparentprocess.

ImpunityNo progress was made in creating an adequatemechanism for prosecution before the domestic courtsof war crimes and crimes against humanity. Peoplesuspected of such crimes were among those elected tothe National Assembly in October.UN sanctionsSanctions on the trade in diamonds and timber wererenewed by the UN Security Council in June to reinforcemeasures against government corruption. Severalindividuals who were subject to the travel ban andfreezing of assets by the UN won seats in theparliamentary elections. They included Jewel Howard,Charles Taylor’s wife, who was elected to the Senate in

Bong County, and Edwin Snowe, a close associate ofCharles Taylor, who was elected to the House ofRepresentatives. The UN Sanctions Committee bannedthe foreign travel of five men formerly associated withwarring factions for destabilizing the peace process.Charles TaylorIn July, Liberia demanded that Nigeria provide a copy ofthe agreement under which Charles Taylor had beenallowed to leave Liberia and seek asylum in Nigeria inAugust 2003. On 28 July, the leadership of the ManoRiver Union countries (Guinea, Liberia and SierraLeone) stated that some of Charles Taylor’s activities inNigeria breached the terms of his asylum.

In November the UN Security Council authorizedUNMIL to apprehend Charles Taylor and transfer him tothe jurisdiction of the Special Court for Sierra Leone ifhe returned to Liberia.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Liberia: Violence, discrimination and impunity

(AI Index: AFR 34/003/2005)

LIBYA

SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA

Head of state: Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi





The People’s Court was abolished. The conviction of85 members of the banned Libyan Islamic Group –also known as the Muslim Brothers (MB) – who hadbeen sentenced to death or long prison terms in2002 after an unfair trial was overturned by theSupreme Court. Their retrial before a newlyestablished ad hoc court was ongoing at the end ofthe year. Five prisoners of conscience who had beenheld since 1998 were released but many otherpolitical prisoners, including prisoners of conscience,were believed to be held and several new arrests werereported. There was still no clarity regarding the fateof suspected government opponents who“disappeared” in previous years. Freedom ofexpression and association remained severelyrestricted and one journalist was killed incircumstances suggesting official complicity. At leastsix people, all foreign nationals, were executed. Therights of asylum-seekers and refugees were abused.


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BackgroundLibya’s relations with the USA and other Westerncountries continued to improve. In October Libya andthe UK agreed a Memorandum of Understanding,according to which Libya gave diplomatic assurancesthat it would not torture Libyan nationals suspected ofterrorism by the UK if they were returned to Libya. InSeptember the USA waived some defence exportrestrictions on Libya to allow US companies toparticipate in destroying Tripoli’s chemical weapons’stockpile and to refurbish eight transport planes.

Human rights reformsThe government continued the process of reform. ThePeople’s Court, before which many political suspectshad received grossly unfair trials, was formallyabolished in January. The authorities said that suspectswould be tried before the ordinary criminal courts infuture. However, an ad hoc court was reportedlyestablished in September to retry the case of 85 MBmembers whose sentences had been overturned by theSupreme Court. In August, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi,head of the Al-Gaddafi International Foundation forCharitable Associations (GIFCA) and son of Libya’s headof state, Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi, told Al-JazeeraTV that Libya wished to establish an independentjudiciary after dispensing with revolutionary andpeople’s tribunals and that new legislation was beingprepared to create “a free environment that is suitablefor a normal political life in Libya”.

In April, the authorities announced that acommittee had been established to investigate anincident at Tripoli’s Abu Selim Prison in June 1996when an undisclosed number of prisoners were killedor “disappeared”. Estimated figures for those killedranged from tens to hundreds. AI called for thecommittee to have full powers to investigate and torecommend prosecutions of perpetrators andcompensation for victims or their families, and for itsfindings to be made public.

In November the authorities, responding to the entryon Libya in Amnesty International Report 2005, statedthat both Libyan law and the Constitutional Declarationcontained human rights safeguards. They also deniedthat the country held prisoners of conscience and saidthat the existence of 57 “associations actively involvedin different walks of life” indicated that the rights tofreedom of opinion and expression were respected.

Political prisonersFive prisoners of conscience held since 1998 werereleased in September, a few weeks after Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi told Al-Jazeera TV that 131 political prisonerscould soon be released. Ramadan Shaglouf, Tariq al-Dernawi, Tawfiq al-Jehani, Ali Be’aou and Musa al-Ziwiwere all serving long prison terms for their allegedmembership of the banned Islamic Alliance Movement.They reportedly pledged that they would not againbecome involved in politics as a condition of their release.

Despite these releases, scores of other politicalprisoners, including prisoners of conscience, continuedto be held.

b Fathi el-Jahmi remained in detention following hisarrest in March 2004. A prisoner of conscience, he wasdetained after he criticized Libya’s head of state andcalled for political reform in international mediainterviews. He was held by the Internal Security Agency(ISA), reportedly at a special detention facility on theoutskirts of Tripoli.b Abdurrazig al-Mansouri, a writer and journalist,was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in Octoberfor possessing an unlicensed pistol. The gun wasapparently found the day after he was arrested inJanuary at his home in Tobruk. The real reason for hisimprisonment was believed to be critical articles aboutpolitics and human rights in Libya that he had publishedon a website shortly before his arrest.

Among others who continued to be imprisoned werethe 85 members of the MB, whose retrial before an adhoc court was ongoing at the end of the year. Thesentences imposed on them in 2002, which includedtwo death sentences and long prison terms, wereoverturned by the Supreme Court in September. Dozensof members of other political groups, including theLibyan Islamic Fighting Group, were still serving prisonsentences imposed after unfair trials in previous years.

Several new arrests were reported, including of long-term government critics who returned to Libya afterapparently receiving official assurances that theywould not be arrested.b Mahmoud Mohamed Boushima was detained inTripoli two weeks after he returned to Libya in July fromthe UK, where he had been resident since 1981. Theauthorities denied him access to his family and did notdisclose the reasons or legal basis for his detention orwhere he was being held, raising concern about hissafety and treatment. He was still held by the ISA at theend of 2005.b Kamel el-Kailani was detained by the ISA when heflew to Tripoli from the UK in July. A dual UK-Libyannational, he had reportedly been assured by Libyandiplomats in London and by GIFCA that he would not bearrested if he returned to Libya. He was still held at theend of the year and the authorities had not disclosedthe reason or legal grounds for his detention.

Freedom of expression and associationrestrictedThe authorities maintained strict controls on freedomof expression and there were no independent domestichuman rights organizations. The state-owned mediawas closely controlled and legislation continued toprohibit the formation of independent newspapersoutside the existing political system. Journalists andwriters who criticized the authorities were arrested orotherwise harassed.b On 2 June, Dhaif al-Gazzal’s mutilated body wasfound near Benghazi 12 days after he was reported tohave been detained by two men who identifiedthemselves as ISA officials. He had been shot in thehead. In March, he had left his job as a journalist on al-Zahf al-akhdar (The Green March), the officialnewspaper of the Revolutionary Committees,apparently because of his concern about corruption,


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but had continued to denounce corruption and call forpolitical reform, including on the Internet. In July, theauthorities said that an official investigation into themurder was in progress.

Death penaltyThe death penalty continued to be used despite Colonelal-Gaddafi’s stated opposition, but it was not clear howmany death sentences were passed or executionscarried out. At least six foreigners, two Turkish and fourEgyptian nationals, were executed in July.

The death sentences imposed in May 2004 againstfive Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor wereoverturned in December by the Supreme Court, whichordered a retrial in a lower court. The six had beensentenced after being convicted by the People’s Courtof deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV whileworking at a hospital in Benghazi. They alleged thatthey were tortured in pre-trial detention. A case wasbrought against eight police officers, a military doctorand a translator, who were accused of beingresponsible for the alleged torture. All 10 wereacquitted in June. The six medical workers remained indetention awaiting trial at the end of the year. TheBulgarian government and many others, including AI,had criticized deficiencies in the trial of the six.

Past ‘disappearances’No progress was made in establishing the fate orwhereabouts of prisoners who “disappeared” inprevious years although it was hoped that the Abu Seliminvestigation would result in clarification of somecases. One case, that of Iranian-born Shi’a religiousleader Imam Musa al-Sadr, who reportedly“disappeared” while visiting Libya in 1978, was thesubject of legal action in Lebanon, where he had beenresident. A Lebanese examining magistrate called forColonel al-Gaddafi and other Libyan officials to appearbefore his court in March, but they declined to do so.

Migrants and asylum-seekersLibya continued to treat asylum-seekers inhumanelyand deny them minimum protection. In August around300 Eritreans were detained in the south-east of thecountry, near the border with Sudan, without beinggiven access to lawyers or representatives of the UNHigh Commissioner for Refugees.

In November the UN Committee on Economic, Socialand Cultural Rights expressed concern that Libya didnot have a law on asylum-seekers and refugees and thatthe effective guarantee of their rights was “seriouslyundermined”.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Libya: Abolition of People’s Court is an important

step (AI Index: MDE 19/001/2005)• EU-Libya cooperation: No safeguards for refugees

(AI Index: MDE 19/044/2005)

LITHUANIA

REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

Head of state: Valdas Adamkus

Head of government: Algirdas Brazauskas




Trafficking in women and girls remained a seriousand increasing problem. The government introducedprogrammes to counter violence in the family andtrafficking in women and children.

Domestic violenceLithuanian law did not specifically define domesticviolence as a crime, although changes in the CriminalProcess Law which came into force late in 2004 allowedthe authorities to remove a domestic offender from thehousehold and to keep the offender separate from thevictim or other family members.

During the year, the National Programme ofPrevention of Violence against Children and of Supportfor Children for 2005-2007 was established. TheProgramme aimed to reduce violence against children,raise public awareness of the problem and increasechildren’s ability to recognize different forms of abuseand so better protect themselves.

Trafficking of women and girlsAccording to a survey issued by the InternationalOrganization for Migration (IOM), the number ofpeople being trafficked to work in the sex tradeincreased following Lithuania’s entry into theEuropean Union (EU) in 2004. About 2,000 women andgirls were taken abroad illegally. Nearly a quarterended up in the UK where about 15 Lithuanian womena month aged between 18 and 25 were sold, accordingto Interpol.

The IOM survey also highlighted a marked increase ininternal trafficking and a rise in the trafficking ofminors. Organizations working with trafficked womenand girls who had returned to Lithuania were believedto be reaching only 10 per cent of those affected.

Trafficking-related convictions and sentencesincreased in 2005, but the overall effort to investigateand prosecute allegations of trafficking still remainedinadequate. Recent amendments to the Penal Coderaised the maximum punishment for trafficking inhuman beings to 12 years’ imprisonment if victimswere adults and to 15 years if the victims werechildren.

On 24 May, the Lithuanian government adopted anew Programme on Control and Prevention ofTrafficking in Human Beings for 2005-2008, under thecoordination of the Minister of the Interior. Thisprogramme aimed to reintegrate victims of trafficking,providing medical, legal and psychological support. It


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further intended to provide counselling andoccupational training as part of the rehabilitationprogramme.

Equal treatmentOn 1 January, the Law on Equal Treatment came intoforce, implementing the prohibition of any direct orindirect discrimination on the grounds of age, sexualorientation, disability, racial or ethnic origin, religionor beliefs. While this was a welcome step, concernsremained about the vague definition of equal treatmentin Article 2 of the Law.

MACEDONIA

THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Head of state: Branko Crvenkovski

Head of government: Vlado Buckovski




Investigations were opened into allegations that theMacedonian authorities unlawfully transferred aGerman national into US custody in Afghanistan.Two people were imprisoned after a “terrorism” trialconducted in camera. The International CriminalTribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Tribunal) indictedtwo former officials for war crimes committed in2001 and decided to return four cases involvingformer leaders of the Albanian National Army (ANA)to the Macedonian authorities for trial. Three formerofficials were acquitted by domestic courts inconnection with the extrajudicial execution of sevenmigrants in 2002. Violence against women remainedwidespread but prosecutions were rare.

BackgroundAlthough the Albanian minority were increasinglyrepresented in the police force and municipalauthorities, reforms to tackle discrimination againstminority communities, agreed under the OhridAgreement following the 2001 conflict, proceeded slowly.

Elections in March in 80 municipalities created inAugust 2004 failed to guarantee universal and equalsuffrage or ensure the secrecy of the ballot. TheOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europeurged investigations of those suspected of electoraloffences. Many ethnic Albanian women werereportedly denied the right to vote.

On 9 November Macedonia’s 2004 application to jointhe European Union (EU) was received positively,although no date was set for talks at the London summiton 15 December.

Unemployment and poverty levels remained high.According to official figures, about 18 per cent of thepopulation was unemployed. The World Bank reportedin November that some 22 per cent of the populationlived in “absolute poverty”.

In January a National Strategy for Roma waslaunched. However, Romani women were deniededucation, employment and health care rights becausethey were not Macedonian citizens, according toreports in July to the UN Committee on the Eliminationof Discrimination against Women.

The EU police force tasked with advising theMacedonian police left the country on 15 December.

Indictments for war crimesOn 14 March indictments were made public by theTribunal against former Minister of Internal Affairs LjubeBoshkovski and Jovan Tarchulovski, a police officer, whowere transferred to the Tribunal’s custody on 24 Marchand 16 March respectively. Ljube Boshkovski was chargedwith criminal responsibility for murder, destruction ofhouses and cruel treatment in the predominantly ethnicAlbanian village of Ljuboten in August 2001.

In April the Tribunal’s Chief Prosecutor informed theMacedonian authorities that the remaining four cases, inwhich the Tribunal had gained primacy over nationalcourts in a ruling on 4 October 2002, would be returnedto Macedonia for trial. On 20 June the Macedonian PublicProsecutor was reported to be still awaiting a date fromthe Tribunal for a joint review of war crimes cases underthe Tribunal’s jurisdiction involving suspects who maynot have benefited from a 2002 amnesty. A March 2002law amnestied those whose offences in the 2001 conflictcame under national jurisdiction. No review had takenplace by the end of 2005.

Political trialsThe presence in a Skopje suburb of an armed group ofethnic Albanians, including former ANA leader AgimKrasniqi, continued despite negotiations in late 2004.On 5 June, four police officers were handcuffed, beatenand detained for two hours after they went to arrestAgim Krasniqi, indicted on seven criminal charges. Hevoluntarily surrendered to the court in August, andproceedings opened in October.b In April, Rajmonda Malecka, a journalist fromAlbania, was arrested after she visited Kondovo tointerview Agim Krasniqi. Her father, Bujar Malecka,was also arrested. Video tapes allegedly showing theANA conducting exercises were found in theirpossession. On 13 May they were convicted of“preparation for terrorism” in a trial conducted incamera at Skopje District Court, and each sentenced tofive years’ imprisonment. On 23 September the Court ofAppeal annulled the conviction on the grounds thatthe verdict was “unclear and incomprehensible” andthat no link had been established between theactivities of the defendants and the charge on which


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they had been indicted. It returned the case for retrialto the Skopje court, which on 8 November confirmedthe original verdict. There were concerns that theprosecution was politically motivated and the trialunfair.

The ‘disappeared’ and abductedThere was little progress in discovering the fate of 20missing people – 13 ethnic Macedonians, six ethnicAlbanians and one Bulgarian citizen – who“disappeared” or were abducted during the 2001 conflict.b Despite the appearance of former ANAcommander Daut Rexhepi “Leka” at a public electionmeeting in Tetovo in February, he was not arresteduntil September. An arrest warrant had been issued inSeptember 2004 in connection with the abductedethnic Macedonians. His trial began in October.

No indictments in connection with the “disappeared”ethnic Albanians had been issued by the end of 2005.

Extrajudicial executions in Rashtanski LozjaOn 22 April, Skopje District Court acquitted threeformer police commanders and a businessman chargedwith killing one Indian and six Pakistani nationals inMarch 2002 in Rashtanski Lozja. The judge foundinsufficient evidence that the seven migrants wereunlawfully killed on the pretext that they wereinternational terrorists. Former Minister LjubeBoshkovski, also indicted, remained in the Tribunal’scustody (see above).

The authorities had acknowledged in 2004 that theseven had been extrajudicially executed, despiteearlier claims that they were Islamic militantsconnected to ethnic Albanian insurgents and had firedon the authorities.

Key witnesses, including two special police officersamong the original suspects arrested, withdrew incourt statements made during the initial pre-trialinvestigation. Both the Macedonian Public Prosecutorand the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan indicated theywould appeal against the acquittal.

‘War on terror’In November, state prosecutors in Germany openedinvestigations into allegations that Lebanese-bornKhaled el-Masri, a German national, had beenunlawfully transferred into US custody in Afghanistan.He was reportedly detained by Macedonian policeofficers on 31 December 2003, repeatedly questionedabout Islamic organizations, handed over on 24 January2004 to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and –outside any judicial process – flown to an airbase inAfghanistan for further interrogation. He was sent toAlbania in May 2004. In December 2005 the USauthorities said he was one of five people detained onthe basis of mistaken identity.

Prisoner of conscience Zoran VranishkovskiOn 23 June, the Bitola Court of Appeal confirmed theconviction of Zoran Vranishkovski, a bishop of theSerbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia in Ohrid. In

August 2004 he had been sentenced to 18 months’imprisonment for allegedly inciting religious and ethnichatred through his support for ecclesiastical control ofthe Macedonian Orthodox Church by the SerbianOrthodox Church. He was arrested on 26 July to servehis sentence as a prisoner of conscience.

Violence against womenIn proceedings against a previously convicted traffickerin March, mechanisms to protect witnesses wereineffective. A witness protection law was introduced inMay. On 1 November, a national referral mechanismwas launched that would provide assistance andprotection to those affected by trafficking.

Domestic violence against women remainedwidespread but prosecutions were rare.b Of 100 incidents reported to the Tetovo police byAugust, criminal proceedings were brought in 10 cases,only one of which resulted in a conviction.

Refugees and internally displaced peopleAccording to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR), 831 registered internally displaced peopleremained after the 2001 conflict in Macedonia. Some160 registered people who were unable to return totheir homes reportedly had their status withdrawn.

According to UNHCR, there were some 2,114 refugeesfrom Kosovo, predominantly Roma, Ashkali orEgyptiani, 1,234 of whom were under “temporaryprotection”. Few were granted asylum, and some werereportedly threatened with return to Kosovo. In Maythe government opened discussions with the Kosovoauthorities on protocols for their voluntary return.

AI country visits/reportsReports• Amnesty International’s concerns on the


• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of AmnestyInternational’s Concerns in the Region, July-December 2004: Macedonia (AI Index: EUR01/002/2005)


MAL

MALAWI

REPUBLIC OF MALAWI

Head of state and government: Bingu wa Mutharika





The food crisis intensified during 2005. Prisonconditions remained a significant concern. Therewere instances where freedom of expression wasthreatened. The government began investigationsinto child prostitution.

BackgroundFollowing a split within the ruling United DemocraticFront (UDF), the President left the UDF to form theDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP). Opposition partieswere drawn into this conflict, distracting governmentand legislators from national priorities such as thehunger crisis. This culminated in October in moves toimpeach the President. The impeachment did notproceed. This political insecurity appeared to fuel adisturbing tendency to crack down on critics of thegovernment.

PolicingTorture and ill-treatment of suspects in police custodywere reported.b On 6 June, 12-year-old Mabvuto Bakali, who wasdetained on suspicion of theft, died in police custodyfollowing severe beatings at Ngabu Police post. Whenvillagers confronted police, live ammunition was usedto disperse the crowd, killing 16-year-old Anock Sande.A police investigation into the deaths had not beencompleted by the end of the year.

Police arrested individuals critical of those in thePresident’s immediate circle.b In October, members of parliament instrumental inthe impeachment process were arrested on charges offalsifying documents in what the President described as“tit for tat” arrests.

PrisonsConditions in prisons remained a serious concern.According to official figures, on average more than 14people died every month in an average prisonpopulation of 9,700 people.

The International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) considers that more than 15 deaths per monthin a prison population of 10,000 in sub-Saharan Africarequires urgent remedial measures. Many of thedeaths were HIV-related, but many were treatableand avoidable. Overcrowding, poor diet and poorsanitary facilities in prisons exacerbated AIDS-related conditions and other illnesses. The prisonauthorities continued to work within severe resourceconstraints.

Freedom of expressionIn March, two journalists were arrested in Blantyre inconnection with an article about the President’s fear ofghosts in The Nation newspaper and broadcast on BBCWorld Service. They were transferred to the capital anddetained for two nights before being released withoutcharge by the Inspector General of Police.

Women’s rightsChild prostitution remained widespread. Girls,including many under the age of 13 which is the legal ageof consent, were “bought” from their parents for aslittle as US$3 on the promise of working as waitressesand then in effect indentured in brothels. The Ministryof Gender and Children’s Affairs initiatedinvestigations.

FoodMalawi faced severe food shortages after an extremelypoor harvest. Despite repeated warnings by the WorldFood Programme of an imminent food crisis, by the endof the year food aid pledges for Malawi still fell far shortof need. Concern was expressed by civil society andfaith-based groups that the continuing political feudbetween the UDF and President wa Mutharika’s DPPdiverted attention and national resources from thefood crisis.

MALAYSIA

MALAYSIA

Head of state: Raja Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin

Head of government: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi





The government pledged to implement wide-rangingrecommendations for police reform. At least 71suspected Islamist activists remained detainedwithout charge or trial under the Internal SecurityAct (ISA). Restrictive laws curtailed freedom ofexpression, association and assembly. Many peoplewere imprisoned and caned after unfair trials forimmigration offences, and some of those heldpending deportation were ill-treated and held in poorconditions. At least 58 people were arrested foralleged religious “deviancy”. Death sentences wereimposed. Hundreds of convicted prisoners, mostlyundocumented migrant workers, were caned.


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Police reformIn May the independent Royal Commission of Inquiryexamining the conduct and management of the policereleased its report. Acknowledging reports ofcorruption and human rights violations by police, theCommission called for legislative, procedural anddisciplinary reform. Recommendations included theestablishment of an independent police complaintscommission with investigatory powers, strongercustodial safeguards and increased resources andtraining.

The government agreed in principle to implement all125 recommendations, but the full scope and timing ofthe implementation process remained unclear at theend of 2005.b In November, three women of Chinese nationalitycomplained of being physically assaulted and strippedwhile in police detention.b In December, an inquiry was established aftercirculation of a video clip showing a naked Malaywoman detainee being required by police to performsquats while holding her ears.

Detention without trial under the ISA andEmergency OrdinanceThe ISA continued to allow for detention without trialfor up to two years, renewable indefinitely, of anyoneconsidered by the authorities to be a potential threat tonational security or public order.

ISA detainees were at risk of physical intimidation,humiliation and intense psychological pressure, attimes amounting to torture, while held incommunicadoduring an initial police investigation period of up to 60days. Complaints of abuse by ISA detainees were noteffectively investigated.b In a rare case, the High Court heard a civil suitlodged by Abdul Malek Hussin against police forallegedly torturing him in ISA detention in 1998.

At least 71 alleged Islamist activists reportedlyremained in detention under the ISA at the end of 2005.They included 65 detainees accused of association withal-Qa’ida and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), as well as threealleged members of the Malaysia Mujahidin Group(Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, KMM). At least 38 menwere also in ISA detention for alleged passport forgeryor other offences.

In March, the National Human Rights Commission(Suhakam) urged the government to review the cases ofall ISA detainees, calling for them to be tried orreleased.b In March, five students detained in 2003 followingtheir arrest in Pakistan on suspicion of links to al-Qa’idaand JI were released. They remained subjected torestriction orders curtailing their freedom ofmovement.b In October, three alleged KMM supporters werereleased. Two remained under restriction orders. Thethree were among six detainees arrested in 2001 whohad detention orders extended in September.

In September opposition parties and civil societygroups called for the abolition of the Emergency(Public Order and Prevention of Crime Ordinance)

Ordinance, which allows for detention without trialof those believed by police to be “hardened”criminals.

At least 700 suspected criminals, including 105minors aged between 14 and 21, were reportedlydetained under two-year renewable detention ordersat the Sempang Renggam detention centre. They wereheld under the Emergency Ordinance or the DangerousDrugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act, which alsoallows for detention without trial.

Restrictive lawsRestrictive laws continued to be used to imposeunjustified curbs on the rights to freedom ofexpression, association and assembly of oppositionfigures, journalists, students and other members of civilsociety.b In April, a magistrate’s court acquitted sevenstudents charged in 2001 with illegal assembly underthe Police Act for staging a peaceful protest againstthe ISA. The prosecution lodged an appeal. Under theUniversities and University Colleges Act (UCCA) the students had been suspended from universitysince 2001.b In October, at least 10 students were charged underUCCA disciplinary rules for taking part in peacefulprotests against disputed campus elections. InNovember, riot police were called to disperse a protestoutside Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) against thedisciplinary actions.

Migrant workers, refugees and asylum-seekersIn March the authorities launched mass arrest anddeportation operations against people suspected ofbeing undocumented migrant workers. There wereperiodic reports of abuses and the authorities failed toprovide adequate medical care, food and clean water insome detention centres and police cells. In May theoperations were scaled back.

Hundreds of migrant workers prosecuted under theImmigration Act were imprisoned and caned. Failure toensure fair trial standards led to repeated miscarriagesof justice.b In March, Mangal Bahadur Gurung, a Nepalimigrant worker, was convicted, imprisoned andwhipped under the Immigration Act. In July the courts,given evidence of a valid work permit, set aside hisconviction and ordered his immediate release.

The authorities failed to distinguish consistentlybetween people seeking asylum (mostly fromMyanmar and Indonesia) and undocumented migrantworkers. Asylum-seekers and refugees weretherefore at risk of arrest, detention and forciblereturn.

In July the authorities announced that recognizedrefugees would be permitted to work, butimplementation of this policy remained slow.b In June, 68 Burmese refugees and asylum-seekerswere arrested after holding a peaceful pro-democracyprotest outside the Myanmar embassy. Most werecharged with illegal assembly and immigrationoffences.


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Freedom of religion: growing intoleranceWhile Islam is the official religion of multi-ethnicMalaysia, the religious freedom of non-Malay ethnicgroups is constitutionally protected. Sharia (Islamiclaw), which applies to ethnic Malays who by definitionmust be Muslim, imposes criminal sanctions on thosewho seek to follow other faiths (apostasy), and on thosefound to hold heretical beliefs that “deviate” from SunniIslam. In June the authorities labelled 22 religious sectsas “deviant”.

In July a mob of unidentified men set fire to thecommune of the Sky Kingdom religious sect inTerrenganu state, which calls for a peaceful synthesis ofall faiths. Following the attack, 58 sect members,including women and children, were detained. Forty-five people were subsequently charged with offencesunder Sharia law, including practising “deviant” Islamicbeliefs. There were no prosecutions of thoseresponsible for the attack.b In July Kamariah Ali and Daud Mamat, both Malaymembers of the Sky Kingdom religious sect arrestedafter the attack on their commune, filed a petition totest constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion.Charged with apostasy under Sharia law, they werereleased on bail before their petition was heard.

Death penalty and corporal punishmentDeath sentences were imposed, mostly for drugtrafficking offences. No executions were reported.

Caning, a cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment,was carried out throughout 2005 as an additionalpunishment to imprisonment. Hundreds of peoplefound guilty of breaches of the Immigration Act wereamong those caned.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Malaysia: Towards human rights-based policing (AI

Index: ASA 28/001/2005)VisitsAI delegates visited Malaysia in April and November.

MALDIVES

REPUBLIC OF MALDIVES

Head of state and government: Maumoon Abdul

Gayoom





Promises of wider political freedoms wereundermined by the mass arrest of people attendingpolitical gatherings and the continued imprisonmentof prisoners of conscience after unfair and politicallymotivated trials. Flaws in the judicial systempersisted. Dozens of detainees were subjected totorture or ill-treatment, and complaints of violationsby security personnel remained without prompt,thorough or independent investigation.

BackgroundIn June, parliament removed legal barriers to thefunctioning of political parties for the first time in the27-year presidency of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

In July, parliament passed a bill to establish a HumanRights Commission. Facing mounting concerns that theCommission had been given insufficient powers,President Gayoom indicated that it would be revised.

In September, Maldives signed the Optional Protocolto the UN Convention against Torture.

International scrutiny of the human rights situationcontinued. The International Committee of the RedCross visited detention centres in April and August. Adelegation of British lawyers, visiting Malé inSeptember, found that defendants were deniedfundamental rights of defence, and that “the judiciaryand legal system lack[ed] the basic capacity,competency and necessary independence to deliver afair trial”.

Prisoners of conscienceAugust and succeeding months saw a wave of arrests ofopposition activists and human rights defenders.b More than 100 political activists, including AhmedAbbas, Latheefa Umar, Ahmed Mohamed Fomy, AliRiyaz and Aminath Shareef, were arbitrarily andunlawfully detained in August after they attended apolitical gathering. They were held without charge ortrial for periods of up to several weeks, were deniedregular access to lawyers and families, and had norecourse to the courts to challenge the legality of theirdetention.b Jennifer Latheef, a film maker and human rightsdefender, was sentenced on 18 October to 10 years’imprisonment on charges of terrorism, and wasremoved to Maafushi prison. A former prisoner ofconscience, she had been arrested in September 2003after she was among thousands of mostly peacefulprotesters who demonstrated in the streets of Malé at


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the cover-up of a prisoner’s death. She was released inDecember 2003 to await trial. Her trial was marked byirregularities including an arbitrary dismissal ofdefence witnesses. Although some acts of violenceoccurred during the protest, the government providedno substantive evidence to prove her involvement. Re-detained in August 2004, she was reportedly assaultedand sexually molested in custody, then held underhouse arrest until late 2004. Her and other detainees’complaints to the authorities of torture and ill-treatment by security personnel remained withoutinvestigation.b Naushad Waheed and Ahmed Ibrahim Didiremained under house arrest, serving long sentencesimposed in 2002 after unfair political trials. Two of theprisoners convicted with them, Fathimath Nisreen andMohamed Zaki, were released in May and Augustrespectively.

Political trialsThe government in 2004 acknowledged flaws in thejudicial system and promised reform, but unfairpolitical trials continued in 2005.b Prominent politician Mohamed Nasheed wasarrested during a peaceful protest in mid-August.Charged with terrorism and sedition, he was remandedin custody until 1 November when he was transferred tohouse arrest. Under international pressure, thegovernment allowed an international legal observer athis trial, which started on 28 August.b In October, four people were sentenced tobetween 10 and 11 years’ imprisonment on charges ofinvolvement in violence during the mass protests inSeptember 2003. Their trials appeared to have fallenshort of internationally accepted fair trial standards.

Torture and ill-treatmentThere were consistent reports that dozens of detaineeswere beaten and otherwise ill-treated at the time oftheir arrest. These reports were not investigated.b Imran Zahir, a photojournalist and human rightsdefender, was arrested on 4 September while takingphotographs of police dismantling loudspeakers at apublic gathering of the opposition MaldivianDemocratic Party. Officers pushed him into a police vanand beat him severely. He was accused of assault,reportedly on the basis of a complaint made after hisarrest, but was released without charge in earlyOctober.

AI reports/visitsReports• Maldives: Human rights violations in the context of

political reforms (AI Index: ASA 29/001/2005)• Maldives: Human rights defender Jennifer Latheef

should be released immediately and unconditionally(AI Index: ASA 29/006/2005)

MALTA

REPUBLIC OF MALTA

Head of state: Edward Fenech-Adami

Head of government: Lawrence Gonzi





Asylum-seekers continued to be detained incontravention of international law and subjected toprocedures which fell short of internationalstandards. Harsh conditions, ill-treatment andbrutality by law enforcement officials were reportedfrom detention centres holding asylum-seekers.

Asylum and immigrationThe policy of mandatory detention for up to 18 monthsof irregular migrants continued throughout 2005.Although the UN High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) has stated that no country should justifyusing detention as a form of deterrence againstirregular migration, the Maltese governmentconfirmed its commitment to continue this practice ina policy paper issued in January.

The government explored options for returningirregular migrants to Libya; the Libyan authoritiesclaimed to have stopped 40,000 people migrating fromtheir territory in 2005. During the year several dozenpeople drowned while trying to reach Malta by sea;untold numbers more were feared to have also beenlost at sea.

On 13 January, individuals housed in the Hal-SafiDetention Centre held a demonstration to protest at theconditions at the centre, the length of their detentionand the lack of information about the progress of theirapplications for refugee status and humanitarianprotection. Eyewitnesses reported that soldiers attackedthe peaceful protesters in a violent assault. Twenty-sixpeople were taken to hospital, several with seriousinjuries. On 12 December, the Maltese Board of Inquirypublished the results of its investigation into the eventsat the Hal-Safi Detention Centre. The inquiry found thatmembers of the armed forces applied excessive force –“exaggerated and out of proportion in thecircumstances” – in their attempts to force the protestersback into the detention centre. There were reports thatmembers of the armed forces beat migrants after theyhad been subdued and were lying on the ground.

In November, the government enacted anamendment to Article 10 of the Refugees Act whichwould allow Malta to deport asylum-seekers while theirappeal against the rejection of their application forasylum was still pending.

Prohibition on tortureOn 25 August, the European Committee for thePrevention of Torture (CPT) published a report on Malta


MAU

following a visit to the country in January 2004. Thedelegation was particularly concerned about certainphysical conditions in detention facilities, such as alack of appropriate heating and clothing for peopledetained at the centres. The temperature in the Hal-SafiDetention Centre was reported to drop as low as 6°Cduring winter nights.

The CPT delegation reported allegations ofdeliberate physical ill-treatment of foreign nationals,including kicks, punches and blows with batons. Thereport noted that cases of self-mutilation, suicideattempts, hunger strikes, vandalism and violence wererelatively common and that none of the detentionfacilities visited had its own health care staff. Medicalmembers of the CPT’s delegation observed that thesituation had a detrimental impact on the physical andpsychological state of health of the detainees.

Women’s rightsIn late 2005, the government passed the DomesticViolence Act (2005), which defines domestic violence as“any act of violence, even if only verbal, perpetrated bya household member upon another householdmember”. The act contains some important protectivemeasures, such as the inclusion of harassment, bothphysical and verbal, as a crime and terms providing forrestraining orders physically restricting theperpetrator from the areas where the victim lives andworks. However the bill excludes stalking as a crime.Under the provisions of the new bill, charges may befiled by anyone – not just the victim – but the victimmay ask the court to dismiss the proceedings, leavingthe door open for the abuser to put pressure on thevictim to drop the charges.

The act contains provisions for a court to issueTreatment Orders requiring perpetrators of violence toundergo treatment for their behaviour. Prior to this, itwas estimated that on average, less than 5 per cent ofmen responsible for abuse sought help voluntarily tocorrect their behaviour. The act also calls for theestablishment of a Commission on Domestic Violenceto give expert advice to the government about domesticviolence issues.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Protection Gaps: Amnesty International’s concerns

to UNHCR’S Standing Committee 8-11 March 2005 (AI Index: IOR 42/001/2005)

• Malta: Alleged ill-treatment of asylum-seekers mustbe investigated (AI Index: EUR 33/001/2005)

• Malta: Investigation of incidents at Hal-SafiDetention Centre finds excessive use of force and ill-treatment of detainees by armed forces (AI Index:EUR 33/002/2005)

MAURITANIA

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF MAURITANIA

Head of state: Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall (replaced

Maaouyia Ould Sid ‘Ahmed Taya in August)

Head of government: Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar

(replaced Sghaïr Ould M’Bareck in August)





Dozens of people, including prisoners of conscience,were detained during the year. Scores of peoplearrested in connection with alleged plots tooverthrow the government in previous years weresentenced to varying terms of imprisonment after anunfair trial. All were released under a generalamnesty announced in September following a coupthe previous month that toppled the President. Therewere reports of torture, none of which appeared tohave been independently investigated. The practiceof slavery persisted.

BackgroundIn August a bloodless military coup headed by Colonel ElyOuld Mohamed Vall deposed President Maaouyia OuldTaya while he was in Saudi Arabia. President Taya hadbeen in office since 1984. The coup was welcomed by mostMauritanians but was condemned by the internationalcommunity, including the UN and the African Union (AU).A Military Council for Justice and Democracy led by thenew President issued a charter for governing the country.An interim government was formed charged withorganizing legislative and presidential elections withintwo years. In September President Vall granted a generalamnesty for political prisoners.

Prisoners of conscienceDozens of political prisoners, including prisoners ofconscience, were detained. Some were held for monthsbefore being provisionally released. Others weredetained incommunicado at an unknown location inthe capital, Nouakchott. Several arrests appeared to bepart of a campaign of intimidation against religiousfigures and the opposition.b Jemil Ould Mansour and two other prisoners wereprovisionally released from Nouakchott central prisonin February. They were prisoners of conscience,detained solely for their religious beliefs and peacefulpolitical activities. They had been detained inNovember 2004 and held incommunicado for 14 days atan unknown place on charges of “complicity infabrication and forgery of documents that might causea disturbance of public order and prejudice internaland external security”. They were then transferred toNouakchott civil prison.b Cheick Mohamed El Hacen Ould Dedew and 20other people, who were arrested between April and


MAU

July, were provisionally released in August after a courtdismissed the case against them. They were heldincommunicado at an unknown location in Nouakchott.The police stated that the 21 men were accused of“planning acts of terrorism” and of being in contact witha group allied to al-Qa’ida.

Another group of 21 political detainees, includingAbdallahi Ould Eminou and two Algerian nationals,were still detained at the end of the year. The solicitorgeneral appealed against a court decision to releasethem.

Unfair trialIn February about 100 civilians and military officers,including 50 tried in absentia, were convicted ofthreatening the security of the state in connection witha failed coup in June 2003 and alleged coup plots inAugust and September 2004. They were sentenced tovarious terms of imprisonment ranging from 18 monthsto life. They were among 195 defendants whose trialbegan in November 2004 before the criminal court inOuad Naga. The rest were acquitted, including formerPresident Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, leader ofthe Rally of Democratic Forces, and Ahmed OuldDaddah.

The trial fell short of international standards.Defence lawyers did not have access to their clients’files before trial and faced serious intimidation by thePresident of the court. The prosecution case was basedmainly on statements obtained by torture, which wereadmitted as evidence by the court without any scrutinyof the torture allegations.

Torture and ill-treatmentTorture and ill-treatment continued to be widespreadand systematic in police stations as well as duringarrests. Detainees were reportedly tied inexcruciating positions and subjected to the “jaguar”technique, which involves suspending the victim froma metal bar and beating the soles of the feet. Severaldetainees tried in Ouad Naga (see above) said theyhad been tortured, including by the “jaguar”technique.b Mahfoudh Ould Hamed Ould Idoumou, who wasarrested in May, was reportedly kept in handcuffs andleg irons for 25 days at a police training centre. Otherdetainees who were arrested between April and Junewere held naked and were beaten duringinterrogation.

Harsh prison conditions and health concernsThere were continuing concerns about the health ofmany prisoners. Some were reportedly denied accessto appropriate medical attention and were held inharsh conditions, which reportedly contributed to theirillnesses. The food was reportedly poor quality and didnot meet the special needs of detainees.b Saleh Ould Hannena and Abdehramane Ould Miniwere detained in solitary confinement in cells withoutwindows. They were handcuffed and held in leg ironsfor 24 hours a day for several days. Both were releasedunder the September amnesty.

Recognition of human rights organizationsSeveral Mauritanian non-governmental organizations(NGOs), including SOS Esclaves and the MauritanianHuman Rights Association, were officially recognized inJune. Although recognized by international humanrights bodies, including the African Commission onHuman and Peoples’ Rights, these and several otherNGOs had remained illegal for years under Mauritanianlaw and had operated with great difficulty.

SlaveryAlthough slavery was officially abolished in 1981,further evidence emerged about the persistence of thispractice. Those denouncing slavery remained at risk ofharassment.b In March, Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi, afreelance journalist, was arrested after investigating acase of domestic slavery in Mederdra, south-westMauritania. He was arrested with two other people,including the wife of an opposition senator, when hewas transcribing the story of Jabhallah Mint Mohamed,who had recently fled an estate in Abokak, 20km fromMederdra, where she had been all her life. MohamedLemine Ould Mahmoudi was accused of harmingnational security and Mauritania’s economic anddiplomatic interests by publishing “false information”.All three were released provisionally after a month.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Mauritania: Health concern – six inmates in Ouad

Naga prison (AI Index: AFR 38/004/2005)• Mauritania: 2005 UN Commission on Human Rights –

Recommendations to the government of Mauritaniaon the occasion of its election on the Bureau of theCommission on Human Rights (AI Index: AFR38/005/2005)

• Mauritania: Fear of torture or ill-treatment (AI Index:AFR 38/006/2005)


MEX

MEXICO

UNITED MEXICAN STATES

Head of state and government: Vicente Fox Quesada




President Fox’s government maintained that it wascommitted to the implementation of internationalhuman rights treaties and standards. Nevertheless,domestically there was little advance in endinghuman rights violations and impunity, particularly atstate level. A National Human Rights Programmewas initiated but appeared to have little impact.Proposed reforms to the Constitution and criminaljustice system did not progress. Presidential andcongressional elections scheduled for 2006increasingly dominated the political agenda, as didconcerns over public security and violent crime. Therewere continuing reports of arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and torture. The number of young womenmurdered in Ciudad Juárez rose again and theresponse to violence against women remainedinadequate. The judicial system continued to be akey source of human rights violations, failing toprotect the rights of victims of crime and suspects. Itsfailings had a disproportionate impact on thepoorest and most disadvantaged sectors of society. Anumber of journalists were killed or threatened.Human rights defenders working in localcommunities faced threats and attacks. Efforts tohold those responsible for past human rightsviolations accountable failed. Many members of themost socially excluded communities, particularlyindigenous peoples, continued to sufferdiscrimination and limited access to economic, socialand cultural rights.

BackgroundMexico ratified the Rome Statute of the InternationalCriminal Court and resisted pressure to sign anunlawful bilateral immunity agreement with the USA. Italso ratified the Optional Protocol to the UNConvention against Torture and submitted a number ofoverdue reports to UN thematic mechanisms. Thegovernment also played a positive role in promotingUN reform to strengthen human rights protection.

In April the Attorney General of the Republic resignedamid increasing political pressure in the wake ofCongress’ decision to allow the prosecution of the Mayorof Mexico City, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Theindictment of Andrés López Obrador, the presidentialcandidate for the Party of the Democratic Revolution(Partido de la Revolución Democrática, PRD) would haveled to his disqualification from the presidential elections.The prosecution, which was abandoned in May, had beenwidely perceived as politically motivated.

According to reports, at least 440 undocumentedmigrants died while trying to cross the border into theUSA. The USA proposed that a border wall beconstructed. This raised concerns that more migrantswould attempt to cross in the most dangerous desertregions, resulting in increased fatalities.

Judicial reformCongress amended the Constitution and the MilitaryPenal Code, abolishing the death penalty for all crimes.Important reforms were also initiated regardingjuvenile justice. However, Congress failed to agreeother major human rights reforms.

In response to the failure to secure changes atfederal level, some states proposed changes to theirlocal justice systems, but by the end of the year it wasunclear what the effects of these initiatives were.

No action was taken to limit the application ofmilitary justice to ensure that military personnelaccused of committing human rights violations areinvestigated and tried in the civil judicial system.

A National Human Rights Programme was initiated.However, it did not receive new resources and lackedan effective national plan. An evaluation committeewas established in November involving some humanrights organizations.

A new representative was assigned to the Office ofthe UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in MexicoCity. Despite a number of valuable projects, there werefew advances in the implementation ofrecommendations proposed by the UN Office.

ImpunityLittle progress was made in bringing to justice thoseresponsible for grave human rights violationscommitted during the “dirty war” in the 1960s, 1970sand 1980s. Despite four years of work, only seven arrestwarrants against former state officials were executed.In the hundreds of other cases, either the SpecialProsecutor did not file charges, or charges wererejected by the courts.

In July, in breach of international law, the SupremeCourt ruled that genocide committed before 2001 wasbound by the statute of limitations. This led to thecollapse of the prosecution of nine people for themurder of students in a 1971 protest known as “Corpus Cristi”.

The prosecution of former head of state LuisEcheverría and former interior minister Mario Moya,for genocide in relation to the same case, also collapsedwhen a federal judge ruled there was insufficientevidence to file charges. In September a judge alsorejected charges, including genocide, against theformer president and seven others in relation to themurder of students in demonstrations in Tlatelolco,Mexico City, in 1968. At the end of the year, a ruling bythe Supreme Court was awaited on the appeal againstthis decision filed by the Special Prosecutor.

Violence against womenWomen and young girls, particularly from the poorestsectors of society, continued to suffer discrimination


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and violence in the home and community. Officialstatistics indicated that nearly half of all women overthe age of 15 had suffered some form of violence duringthe previous year. Efforts by the authorities to preventand punish such crimes were frequently inadequate,despite increasing public awareness of the problem.The Supreme Court ruled that marital rape was a crime.

The pattern of killings of women and girls in CiudadJuárez, Chihuahua state, continued with at least 28murders. Although the state authorities appeared to bemore committed to tackling the crimes, officialsresponsible for failings in the original investigationswere not held to account and there was little progressin bringing to justice those responsible for pastabductions and murders both in Ciudad Juárez and thecity of Chihuahua. The Special Federal Prosecutor’sOffice in Ciudad Juárez failed to guaranteeaccountability and the post remained vacant at the endof the year. The Commission for the Prevention andEradication of Violence against Women in CiudadJuárez and the National Human Rights Commission bothissued reports containing serious criticisms of federaland state efforts to secure justice for the women ofCiudad Juárez.b Seven-year-old Airis Estrella Enríquez Pando and10-year-old Anahí Orozco Lorenzo were brutallymurdered in Ciudad Juárez in May. Separate suspectswere detained for both crimes and were on trial at theend of the year.b In June the body of Minerva Torres was formallyidentified by her family, after being kept by theauthorities for two years despite clear evidence as toher identity. Minerva Torres was 18 years old when shewas abducted in Chihuahua city in 2003. The family filedcharges against state authorities for illegalconcealment of a body.

Public securityHigh levels of violence related to drug crime andkidnapping kept public security high on the politicalagenda. The government extended the military’sinvolvement in policing functions in a number of stateswith the initiative “Secure Mexico”, leading to morethan 5,000 arrests.b In May, three young men and a federal police agentwere reportedly unlawfully killed in Reynosa,Tamaulipas state, by members of the FederalPreventive Police, a police force primarily made up ofmilitary personnel. Police reportedly opened fire onthe victims’ vehicles without provocation or warning.Families were denied information about the officialinvestigation which was repeatedly delayed.

Unfair justice system and discriminationA number of factors contributed to undermining theright to a fair trial, including a failure to ensureimmediate access to defence counsel and a lack ofeffective oversight of the prosecution service andjudicial police. In May the recently founded NationalCouncil to Prevent Discrimination published a nationalsurvey illustrating the patterns of discrimination facedby socially disadvantaged groups.

b In September Felipe Arreaga, a human rightsdefender and prisoner of conscience known for hisenvironmental activism, was acquitted of murdercharges after his defence demonstrated that theprosecution case had been fabricated as a reprisal forhis activism.b Nicolasa Ramos was released from prison in BajaCalifornia on appeal for lack of evidence. She hadserved nearly three years in prison on the basis ofreportedly fabricated criminal charges of stealingwater from the local authority on behalf of the long-standing squatter community of Maclovio Rojas,Tijuana.b In June human rights defender and gay activistOctavio Acuña was murdered in Querétaro. He and hispartner had filed a complaint against local policeofficers for discrimination in 2004 and had complainedof homophobic harassment prior to the murder. Despitethis, official investigators reportedly ignored evidencethat the killing was motivated by homophobia.

Arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatmentReports of arbitrary detention and torture remainedcommon. The authorities failed to investigate manyreports of arbitrary detention or torture. The NationalHuman Rights Commission issued a report highlightingthe widespread practice of torture across the country.b In June, Teodoro Pérez Pérez, an indigenous Tzotzilman from Yabteclúm, was allegedly tortured bymembers of the Chiapas State Police. They reportedlybeat him, threw hot water on his chest, forced him toundress and threatened him with rape. He was releasedthe following morning without charge. He wasreportedly threatened after filing a complaint.b At least 12 people were convicted of involvement inviolent demonstrations in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, inMay 2004, many reportedly on the basis of evidenceextracted under torture. The state authorities refusedto investigate well-founded allegations of torture orreports of irregularities in the presentation ofprosecution evidence and police conduct.b In June excessive force was reportedly usedagainst protesters in Cancún resulting in 34 detentionsand a number of injuries. The authorities failed toinvestigate complaints of ill-treatment and torture.

Journalists and human rights defendersAt least four journalists were killed, apparently inreprisal for their work exposing corruption andorganized crime. Many others were harassed,threatened and assaulted. The government promised toassign a special prosecutor to investigate cases. Humanrights defenders working in local communities alsofaced intimidation, threats and judicial harassment.b Obtilia Eugenio Manuel, a human rights defender inAyutla de los Libres, Guerrero state, received deaththreats against herself and her family. She hadhighlighted abuses committed by the military in theregion, including the reported rape of two indigenouswomen in 2002. The federal authorities provided someprotection but the state authorities reportedly failed toconduct an effective investigation.


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b In December, journalist and women’s rightsdefender Lydia Cacho was arrested and taken toPuebla, where she was held for 30 hours and chargedwith defamation. She was released on bail and wasawaiting trial at the end of the year.

Southern statesChiapasIn April police used excessive force to break up aprotest in the town of Tila. They arrested 49 people,many of whom were reportedly detained arbitrarilyand held incommunicado for several days.

In June various families were forced to flee theirhomes in Sabanilla municipality after reported threatsfrom members of a paramilitary group, Peace andJustice (Paz y Justicia).

In October Hurricane Stan left many poor ruralcommunities in extreme hardship and the response ofthe authorities was reportedly inadequate. New statelegislation restricting press freedom was invoked todetain and question the editor of a local newspaperwhich alleged corruption in the official response to thenatural disaster.

In July the Zapatista National Liberation Army, anarmed opposition group, announced plans to initiatealternative political activism.OaxacaThere was a crisis in the rule of law and the protectionof human rights. In an apparent attempt to deteropposition, the new state government executed severalquestionable old arrest warrants, mounted politicallymotivated prosecutions and undermined freedom ofexpression.b Agustín Sosa, a grassroots political activist, wascharged and remanded in custody, initially accused ofmurder. Despite winning federal appeals on thegrounds of insufficient evidence, local prosecutorsbrought further unfounded charges. National andinternational concern at the worsening human rightssituation in the state led to his release along with themajority of other detained activists.b Staff of the opposition newspaper Noticias wereharassed and threatened during the year, particularlyby members of a trade union linked to the localgoverning party. The state authorities failed to takesteps to investigate or punish threats against staff andattacks on the newspaper’s premises. In October theInter-American Commission on Human Rights grantedprecautionary measures in favour of the director andstaff of Noticias.GuerreroEnvironmental activists were harassed and attacked.b In June gunmen in Petatlán reportedly tried to killenvironmental activist Albertano Peñalosa. Two of hissons were killed and two others injured in the ambushwhich was apparently carried out in reprisal for hisefforts to save the local forests.

In September, after two years of campaigning bylocal human rights organizations, legislation waspassed criminalizing forced disappearance.

The manner in which the authorities soughtapproval for the proposed construction of the

hydroelectric La Parota dam continued to causedivision and communal violence.

Economic, social and cultural rightsDenial of rights to basic services remained a primaryconcern in many poor sectors of society, particularlyindigenous communities. The impact of governmentprogrammes to alleviate poverty and marginalizationremained limited.

In Chiapas and Guerrero, two of the states with thelargest indigenous populations, there were insufficienthealth care professionals available to meet theminimum needs of the population.

Access to clean water was an increasing concern,reportedly giving rise to 413 community conflicts acrossthe country.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Open letter to Mexican political parties (AI Index:

AMR 41/031/2005)VisitsIn August AI’s Secretary General visited Mexico andmet senior government officials. AI delegates alsovisited the country in March.

MOLDOVA

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Head of state: Vladimir Voronin

Head of government: Vasile Tarlev





Torture and ill-treatment in police custody werewidespread. There were restrictions on freedom ofexpression and attempts to silence oppositionpoliticians. The death penalty was completelyabolished in law. Men, women and children weretrafficked for forcible sexual and other exploitation.Two men continued to be arbitrarily detained in theself-proclaimed Dnestr Moldavian Republic.

BackgroundIn March the ruling Communist Party of PresidentVladimir Voronin won parliamentary elections. Theelections generally met standards set by theintergovernmental Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, election observers reported, but


MOL

access to the media and to campaigning facilitiesfavoured the government party. In February a jointMoldova Action Plan was signed with the EuropeanUnion, setting objectives for further moves towardsEuropean integration.

Torture and ill-treatment in custodyOn 30 June parliament amended the Criminal Code tomake torture a criminal offence. Poor conditions ofdetention and ill-treatment in pre-trial detentionfacilities continued to be reported.b Stela Draghici, who is registered blind, wastransferred from a temporary detention centreoperated by the police Department for CombatingOrganized Crime in Chiôinãu to a detention centre inBeltsy, a northern town. No allowances were made forher disability in either facility, for example in assistingher to the shower or toilets, resulting in bullying byother inmates. Repeated appeals by lawyers for animprovement to her detention conditions wereignored.b Mikhail Kaldarar, Vasilii Kodrian, Anna Kodrian andVyacheslav Pleshko were detained without charge ortrial in the weeks following an armed police raid in thetown of Yedintsy on 18 July to investigate a multiplemurder in Chiôinãu. More than 30 Romani men and boyswere allegedly arrested and beaten to force them toconfess and to incriminate others. Mikhail Kaldarar wasarrested on 18 July and detained for more than sixweeks despite an order for his release by an appealcourt in Beltsy on 25 July. Vasilii Kodrian was arrestedon 5 August and detained without charge for over amonth, allegedly because his son was a suspect. Hiswife, Anna, was arrested on 18 August and brieflydetained. Vyacheslav Pleshko was arrested in Ukraineby Ukrainian and Moldovan police in late July or earlyAugust, forcibly returned to Moldova without anyextradition proceedings, and detained at a temporaryholding facility in Yedintsy until 4 September. All fourwere released without charge.

In a resolution adopted on 4 October, theParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calledon Moldova to continue the reform of law enforcementagencies and to considerably improve conditions ofdetention.

Freedom of expressionThe threat of heavy fines for “moral damage” or“insulting the honour and dignity” of an individual(Article 16, Civil Code) was used in defamation casesbrought against journalists and the media forpublishing criticisms of politicians and officials.b In April, Iurie Roôca, head of the Christian-Democrat People’s Party and Deputy Speaker ofParliament, sued the Timpul de diminea÷a and Jurnal deChiôinãu newspapers under Article 16 for 50,000 and62,000 euros respectively in damages. They hadpublished articles criticizing him.b In October the European Court of Human Rightsruled that there had been a violation of the right tofreedom of expression in the case of Julieta Savi÷chi, acorrespondent of the Basapress news agency. She had

been prosecuted for defamation for publishing anarticle about corruption in the traffic police.

Opposition politicians prosecutedIn its 4 October resolution, the Parliamentary Assemblyof the Council of Europe called for an investigation intothe high number of court cases against leadingopposition figures.b Mihail Formuzal, Mayor of Ceadar Lunga in theGagauz autonomous region, Chair of the oppositionPeople’s Republican Party, and a rival contestant to aruling party incumbent for the regional governorship,faced criminal charges twice. In July he was tried foralleged abuse of office and acquitted. In October he wascharged with misuse of funds.b Georghe Straisteanu, a former member ofparliament, founder of the first private televisioncompany in Moldova, and a well-known critic ofgovernment attacks on media freedoms, was detainedwith an employee on 22 July. He was charged with aseries of large-scale thefts from cars, punishable by upto 25 years’ imprisonment (Article 195, Criminal Code).His employee testified for the prosecution afterallegedly being tortured. Acquitted and released on 18 August by the Central District Court of Chiôinãu,Georghe Straisteanu was reported to have beenimmediately redetained by police officers in defianceof a further court order on 19 August for his release. Heremained in pre-trial detention until 17 Novemberwhen he was released on bail on condition that heremain at his place of residence. At the end of 2005, thecar thefts trial was still pending.

Death penaltyMoldova took further steps towards abolition of thedeath penalty in law. In September the ConstitutionalCourt approved two amendments to the provision inthe Constitution that had previously allowed for thedeath penalty in certain cases. Parliament was due totake a final decision in 2006.

Violence against womenIn May, Moldova signed a Council of Europe declarationagreed by member states at a summit meeting inWarsaw that included a commitment to fight domesticand other forms of violence against women andchildren. Also in May, Moldova signed the Council ofEurope Convention on Action against Trafficking inHuman Beings. On 20 October the Moldovan parliamentadopted a law on trafficking.

Although Moldova reportedly increased the number ofconvictions for trafficking in human beings, protectionfor the victims of trafficking remained inadequate andthe government did not implement a 1998 witnessprotection law. The main destinations were Cyprus,Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, accordingto a local human rights organization, La Strada. In mostcases women were trafficked for sexual exploitation, butalso sometimes for forced labour. Trafficked womenwere mainly seeking work abroad because ofunemployment and domestic violence. Increasingnumbers of children and men were trafficked.


MON

Self-proclaimed Dnestr Moldavian RepublicThe status of the Dnestr Moldavian Republic (DMR), aninternationally unrecognized breakaway region,remained unresolved.b Tudor Petrov-Popa and Andrei Ivan÷oc were still indetention in Tiraspol at the end of 2005, despite a July2004 judgment by the European Court of Human Rights,which did not recognize their conviction by a court ofthe DMR and which found their detention to bearbitrary and in breach of the European Convention onHuman Rights. They were members of the “Tiraspol Six”,who were sentenced to prison terms in 1993 for“terrorist acts”, including the murder of two DMRofficials. The four men convicted with them werereleased in 1994, 2001 and 2004.

The Criminal Code of the DMR retained the deathpenalty for six offences, but a moratorium on its usecontinued.


International’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Moldova (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

MONGOLIA

MONGOLIA

Head of state: Enkhbayar Nambaryn (replaced

Bagabandi Natsagiin in June)

Head of government: Elbegdorj Tsakhiagiin




Prisoners held in police stations, pre-trial detentionfacilities and on death row were at risk of torture orill-treatment in harsh living conditions. Theapplication of the death penalty remained highlysecretive.

Torture and ill-treatmentTorture and ill-treatment persisted and beatings weresystematic in police stations and pre-trial detentionfacilities.b In May, Monkhbayar Baatar died eight days afterbeing released from Gants Hudag detention centre. Atthe time of his release, he had severe bruising on hisbody and repeatedly vomited blood.

Detention conditions remained harsh. Prisonerstypically suffered from overcrowding, a high incidenceof tuberculosis, inadequate nutrition and extremes ofhot and cold temperatures in cells. Those serving

special 30-year “isolation sentences” were subjected toextreme physical and mental suffering by beingdeliberately isolated from other prisoners and deniedvisits from families and lawyers.

Despite a new unit in the Prosecutor’s Office tocombat abuses by law enforcement officials, impunityremained a problem. Mechanisms to receive andinvestigate allegations of ill-treatment wereineffective. The Criminal Code contained no definitionof “torture” in line with the UN Convention againstTorture. Compensation or rehabilitation was notavailable to torture victims.

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture visitedMongolia in June and highlighted the unimpededimpunity enjoyed by those responsible for torture andother ill-treatment.

Human rights defenders at riskb Prisoner of conscience and lawyer LodoisambuuSanjaasuren was reportedly denied access to his doctorin prison from May onwards despite a worsening heartcondition. In a closed trial, he had been convicted ofrevealing state secrets and sentenced to 18 months’imprisonment in November 2004 after his client,Enkhbat Damiran, described on television beingabducted from France and tortured by Mongoliansecurity agents. Lodoisambuu Sanjaasuren wasreleased in August after serving half his sentence.

Death penaltyThe government failed to make available statistics ondeath sentences and executions. Human rights workerswere denied access to prisoners on death row. Threeprisoners under sentence of death reportedly killedthemselves in Gants Hudag detention centre inNovember and December because of the harshconditions and to ensure that their bodies werereturned to their families for burial. The UN SpecialRapporteur on torture found conditions on death rowto be so poor as to amount to cruel treatment.

Alleged violence against protestersThe authorities reportedly failed to investigateallegations of assaults on peaceful protesters by thesecurity personnel of a private company.b In May and July, private security forces employedby the Mongol Gazar Mining Company in Arkhangaiprovince allegedly dispersed unarmed demonstratorswith tear gas, batons and shots fired in the air. Activistswere protesting that mining would harm waterresources and destroy ancestral burial grounds.Security agents were said to have thrown one woman tothe ground and kicked her; struck and injured otherprotesters with batons, handcuffs and rifle butts; andwrecked a television reporter’s camera.

Trafficking of womenTrafficking of women increased from the early 1990s,according to a study by the non-governmentalorganization, the Asia Foundation. Most at risk wereyoung, single women, lured by recruiters with promisesof education or high-paying jobs. Most were trafficked


MOR

to China, including Macao, and South Korea as well asto European countries, including Poland and Hungary,for commercial sexual exploitation. The Criminal Codecontinued to lack clear and comprehensive anti-trafficking provisions.

AI country reports/visitsStatement• Mongolia: Medical/legal concerns/prisoner of

conscience – Lodoisambuu Sanjaasuren (AI Index:ASA 30/001/2005)

MOROCCO/

WESTERN SAHARA

KINGDOM OF MOROCCO

Head of state: King Mohamed VI

Head of government: Driss Jettou





The Equity and Reconciliation Commissioncompleted its work and submitted its report to KingMohamed VI. It recommended that compensation bepaid to more than 9,000 people who had sufferedhuman rights abuses between 1956 and 1999, but itwas not permitted to name perpetrators. Newallegations surfaced about Morocco’s role in the US-led “war on terror”. Eight Sahrawi human rightsdefenders were imprisoned after protests whichoriginated in Western Sahara and to which policeresponded with excessive force. At least 13 migrantswere shot dead at the border between Morocco andthe Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. ThePolisario Front released the last of the Moroccans ithad held as prisoners of war; some had been held foralmost 20 years.

BackgroundFrom May until December, the territory of WesternSahara, particularly the town of Laayoune, was rockedby a series of demonstrations. In many of them,demonstrators expressed their support for thePolisario Front, which calls for an independent state inthe territory and had set up a self-proclaimedgovernment-in-exile in refugee camps in south-western Algeria, or called for independence fromMorocco. The continuing deadlock in attempts to

resolve the dispute between Morocco and the PolisarioFront over Western Sahara appeared to have been amajor factor behind the protests.

Equity and Reconciliation CommissionThe groundbreaking Commission, the first truthcommission in the Middle East and North Africa region,completed its work in November and reported itsfindings to King Mohamed VI. Since it was inauguratedin January 2004 with a remit to inquire into gravehuman rights violations committed between 1956 and1999, the Commission had received information frommore than 16,000 people. Many had appeared in personbefore the Commission. Several dozen had spokenabout their experiences at seven televised hearingsheld in six regions of Morocco. A planned hearing inLaayoune, Western Sahara, was cancelled withoutofficial explanation. AI co-operated with theCommission, providing it with hundreds of documentsfrom its archives, including details of several hundredcases of “disappearance” and arbitrary detention.

The Commission placed particular emphasis onfinding ways of providing reparations. It ruled that over9,000 individuals should receive financialcompensation, and recommended assistance for thosein need of medical attention or rehabilitation as a resultof the violations they had suffered. The Commissionalso made a series of proposals for institutional andlegislative reform.

The Commission’s final report announced that it hadresolved 742 “disappearance” cases and that 66outstanding cases would be investigated further by afollow-up committee. The Commission indicated,however, that it had often not obtained the testimoniesand documents it had requested from state officials,who were under no compulsion to co-operate with it.Many families of the “disappeared” were consequentlydisappointed.

Under its statute, the Commission was precludedfrom assigning responsibility to individuals forviolations and, in its final report, made no proposals forsuspected perpetrators to be brought to account.Impunity for past crimes remained a serious concern,particularly since some alleged perpetrators continuedto be members, or even high-ranking officials, of thesecurity forces. The independent Moroccan HumanRights Association, one of the Commission’s maincritics on this issue, organized its own public hearings,in which some victims named individuals they heldresponsible for violations against them.

Abuses in the context of the ‘war on terror’New allegations surfaced about Morocco’s role in theUS-led “war on terror”. In December a Council ofEurope investigator said that he believed someprisoners previously held by the USA in Europe hadbeen moved to North Africa, possibly Morocco, a monthearlier. Morocco denied the claim. However, theallegation echoed previous reports that the USA hadsent detainees to Morocco for interrogation.b Information emerged about the case of BenyamMohammed al-Habashi, an Ethiopian national. He was


MOR

arrested and detained in April 2002 by Pakistaniofficials in Pakistan, and said that he was handed overto US officials in July 2002 and then flown to Morocco.He alleged that he was held incommunicado there forthe next 18 months and systematically tortured at thebehest of US authorities, before being taken toAfghanistan and then to the US naval base atGuantánamo Bay, Cuba, where he remained held at theend of the year.

Dozens of suspected Islamist activists were arrestedand prosecuted in Morocco during the year. Thisbrought the total number of those arrested since bombattacks in Casablanca in May 2003 to over 3,000 and thetotal of those prosecuted to over 1,500, according toofficial statements. Many of those prosecuted weresentenced to prison terms on charges based on a broadand unspecific definition of terrorism. At least fourwere sentenced to death.

Protests in Western SaharaPopular protests which rocked Western Sahara,particularly Laayoune, from May until December weremet with a police response that included excessive useof force. Scores of people, mostly demonstrators butalso including police, were injured. Hundreds of peoplewere arrested. Two men died allegedly after beingbeaten by police on arrest.b Hamdi Lembarki, aged in his thirties, died on 30October as a result of a head injury, according to anautopsy. Witnesses said that several Moroccan policeofficers had arrested him during a demonstration inLaayoune, taken him to a nearby wall, surrounded himand repeatedly beat him with batons on the head andother parts of his body. An investigation was launchedby the authorities into his death.

Dozens of those held in custody alleged that theywere tortured or ill-treated, either to force them to signconfessions, to intimidate them from protesting furtheror to punish them for their pro-independence stance.In July the Justice Ministry told AI that all complaints itreceived were treated seriously and that, on the basisof three complaints, investigations had been openedinto allegations of torture and ill-treatment.

Dozens of people were charged with inciting orparticipating in violence in the demonstrations. Over20 were later convicted and some were sentenced toseveral years in prison. Among those sentenced wereseven long-standing human rights defenders who weremonitoring and disseminating information on thecrackdown by the security forces. Two alleged that theyhad been tortured during questioning. An eighth humanrights defender was detained awaiting trial at the endof the year. All eight were possible prisoners ofconscience.

Freedom of expressionContinuing restrictions on freedom of expression werereported, particularly on issues related to themonarchy and the Western Sahara dispute. Severaljournalists from independent newspapers andmagazines, such as Tel Quel, were sentenced tosuspended prison terms or heavy fines in this regard. In

an unprecedented move, the Moroccan authoritiesblocked access to the Internet sites of severalinternational associations advocating independencefor Western Sahara.b Ali Lmrabet, a journalist and former prisoner ofconscience, was banned from working as a journalistfor 10 years in April and given a heavy fine after he wasconvicted of violating both the Penal Code and PressCode. The case arose from a report he wrote afterbecoming the first Moroccan journalist to visit therefugee camps run by the Polisario Front in south-western Algeria. He stated that the Sahrawis there wererefugees, not held as captives as the Moroccanauthorities had long contended. This led to his beingaccused of defaming the spokesperson of a Moroccanorganization that campaigns for the “release” of theSahrawis in the camps.

Legal reformTortureLegal safeguards against torture were strengthened. Alaw defining torture as a criminal offence, punishableby long prison terms, was approved by parliament inOctober. At the international level, Moroccorecognized the competence of the UN Committeeagainst Torture to investigate complaints submitted by individuals.Women’s rightsWomen continued to face discrimination despite theintroduction of the reformed Family Code in 2004. InJuly, however, King Mohamed VI announced that onemore element of discrimination was to be removed,declaring that the 1958 Citizenship Act would bereformed to allow children of Moroccan mothers andforeign spouses to be eligible for Moroccan citizenshipon the same basis as children of Moroccan fathers withforeign spouses.

Refugees and migrantsThousands of migrants, many of them from countries inwest and central Africa and including an unknownnumber of refugees and asylum-seekers, sought to gainaccess to countries of the European Union fromMorocco. Many congregated close to the Spanishenclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and made efforts to gainentry to the enclaves by various means, including byclimbing over border fences. This came to a crisis pointbetween late August and early October when bothSpanish and Moroccan security forces resorted toexcessive and, in some cases, lethal force against themigrants. At least 13 were killed as a result, some beingshot dead while they were reportedly scaling fences butposing no risk to the lives of security force personnel orothers. Moroccan officials told AI in October thatjudicial authorities were investigating the deaths ofpeople whose bodies were found on the Moroccan sideof the border.

From September Moroccan authorities forciblyremoved hundreds of migrants from their informalcamps close to the enclaves. They arrested some andtransported others to remote desert areas close toMorocco’s border with Algeria, where they were


MOZ

dumped without adequate water, food or shelter,reportedly resulting in further deaths. Hundreds ofmigrants and dozens of asylum-seekers weresubsequently held in military bases without access tolegal counsel and other rights guaranteed to themunder Moroccan law, such as the right to appeal againsttheir custody. Many of the migrants were thenrepatriated, while the asylum-seekers had their claimsassessed by representatives of the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees after being denied access tothem for several weeks.

Polisario campsIn August, the Polisario Front released the lastprisoners of war that it was holding in its camps insouth-western Algeria. Some 404 prisoners werehanded into the care of the International Committee ofthe Red Cross and repatriated to Morocco; some hadbeen held for almost 20 years.

In November the Polisario Front committed to a totalban on the use of anti-personnel mines by signing theDeed of Commitment of Geneva Call, an internationalhumanitarian organization dedicated to engagingarmed non-state actors to respect humanitarian norms.

Those responsible for human rights abuses in thecamps in previous years continued to enjoy impunity.The Polisario Front took no steps to address this legacy.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Morocco/Western Sahara: Sahrawi human rights

defenders under attack (AI Index: MDE 29/008/2005)VisitsAI delegates visited Morocco in January for meetingswith the Equity and Reconciliation Commission,government authorities and local associations, and inOctober to investigate abuses against migrants andasylum-seekers seeking access to the Spanish enclavesof Ceuta and Melilla. An AI observer visited WesternSahara in November to attend a trial of Sahrawi humanrights defenders.

MOZAMBIQUE

REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE

Head of state: Armando Guebuza

Head of government: Luisa Diogo





Over 800,000 people needed food aid as a result ofprolonged drought. Some 200,000 people were stillunable to access anti-retroviral drugs and othertreatment for HIV infection. High death rates fromAIDS-related illnesses seriously affected economicand social development. Police officers were chargedwith extrajudicial executions, ill-treatment ofsuspects and extortion, and were imprisoned to awaittrial. However, others accused of using excessive forceagainst protesters were not subject to independentinvestigation or brought to justice. Violence betweensupporters of ruling and opposition parties led todeaths and the destruction of homes. Restrictions onfreedom of the press remained, and journalists facedharassment and assault.

BackgroundArmando Guebuza was sworn in as the new President inFebruary. He pledged to consolidate national unity, topromote human rights and democracy, and to fightpoverty, corruption and crime. In March, the newgovernment launched a five-year programme aimed atgood governance, transparency in public servicesmanagement, and public security.

The judiciary remained seriously understaffed, withjust over 1,000 officials, including 184 judges, serving apopulation of nearly 19 million. As a result, peopleoften took justice into their own hands.

Steps to combat drug trafficking, acts of terrorismand other organized crime included the deployment ofspecial police anti-terrorist brigades in all airports fromJuly. However, efforts to curb rising crime wereundermined by the deaths each year of around 1,000police officers from AIDS-related illnesses.

Efforts to combat corruption included the upgradingin September of the Anti-Corruption Unit to a CentralOffice for Combating Corruption, with increasedstaffing and resources. The Anti-Corruption Unit, aninvestigation unit independent of the police, hadproved its effectiveness in the investigation andsubsequent prosecution of several high-profile cases.

In December Mozambique ratified the Protocol to theAfrican Charter on Human and People’s Rights on theRights of Women in Africa and the protocol establishingthe African Court of Justice.

Food shortages and HIV infectionPoverty remained widespread, with over half thepopulation reported to be living on less than one US


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dollar a day. Over 800,000 people were affected byfood shortages and in need of food aid. Severe droughtin central and south Mozambique caused widespreadcrop failures and inflated prices.

The rate of HIV infection among people agedbetween 15 and 49 was 15.6 per cent, the NationalStatistics Institute announced in June. Only one percent of children with HIV had access to anti-retroviralor other drugs.

Police abusesThere were fewer allegations of police torture ofdetainees than in previous years. Some action wastaken to discipline or prosecute police officers,particularly in Manica province. There, following aninvestigation by the provincial Procurator inNovember, 14 police officers were charged withvarious offences, including the assault andextrajudicial execution of suspects, extortion andtheft. At least five extrajudicial executions occurredin the first half of 2005. The officers were imprisonedto await trial. According to reports, one was chargedwith attempted murder for trying to shoot theProcurator during an interrogation session. The trial,set for December, was postponed and had not startedby the end of 2005. b After a robbery at a national electricity premises inChimoio in April and an exchange of fire with the police,two suspects were reportedly captured and killed inpolice custody. Four police officers were arrested inAugust and subsequently charged with stealingproceeds from the robbery that had been recovered butlater went missing. In November, two of them were alsocharged with the killing of the suspects. b In August officers of the Rapid Intervention Policeand the public order police harassed and beat people inthe Munhava area of Beira, a stronghold of theMozambique National Resistance (Renamo) party,allegedly for not carrying identity cards.b In June municipal police officers in Maputoassaulted and briefly detained two photojournalistswho took pictures for the Zambeze newspaper ofofficers chasing street vendors and seizing their goods.The police commander later apologized publicly andpromised to punish those responsible.

The force used by the police to break up protestsappeared to be excessive, and no investigations wereconducted into whether force and firearms wereappropriately used.b In July the Rapid Intervention Police and otherpolice units used tear gas to disperse a peacefuldemonstration in the Xipamanine market in Maputoagainst the removal of unauthorized traders.b In September the police beat and opened fire onvendors in the Limpopo market in Xai-Xai, Gaxaprovince, who were marching to the municipal officesto complain about conditions in the market. Twopeople were arrested for throwing stones at thepolice.b Rapid Intervention Police officers reportedlyassaulted striking students who set up barricades at theEduardo Mondlane University in Maputo to protest at

new scholarship regulations. Eleven students were saidto have required medical treatment for fractures andother injuries.

Political violencePolitically motivated violence erupted in Mocimboa daPraia, Cabo Delgado province, between supporters ofthe ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique(Frelimo) and the Mozambique National Resistance-Electoral Union (RUE) over disputed municipalelections won by Frelimo in May. RUE accused Frelimoof rigging the elections and in September installed aparallel local authority, prompting three days ofviolence. Twelve people, including a police officer,were killed; 47 were injured; and nearly 200 houseswere burned in Mocimboa da Praia and the nearbytown of Muindumbe. Thirty-six people weresubsequently arrested. There was no official inquiryinto the incident. The Mozambican Human RightsLeague concluded that both parties had beenresponsible for the violence.

Press freedoms restrictedJournalists faced harassment and official impedimentsto their work.b In March the news media were denied access to atrial for criminal libel, an offence punishable by up toone year’s imprisonment. The accused were Teodoro deAbreu, former editor of the Demos newspaper, andMomad Assi Satar, the author of an open letter to theAttorney General and in prison since being convicted ofthe murder in 2000 of Carlos Cardoso, a journalistinvestigating fraud and corruption. The open letter,published by Demos in August 2004, said the AttorneyGeneral was complicit in delaying investigations intoallegations that the son of former President JoaquimChissano was implicated in the murder. In March thelibel trial was suspended in response to a defencecomplaint that the Attorney General was representedin court by one of his subordinates. It had not resumedby the end of 2005.b In August journalist Isaías Natal said that he hadbeen threatened with death by a Frelimo official inSofala province after the Zambeze newspaperpublished an article about the defection of two Frelimomembers to another party.


MYA

MYANMAR

UNION OF MYANMAR

Head of state: Senior General Than Shwe

Head of government: General Soe Win





Over 1,100 political prisoners were arrested orremained imprisoned. They included hundreds ofprisoners of conscience, held for peaceful politicalopposition activities. At least 250 political prisonerswere released. The army continued to commit serioushuman rights violations, including forced labour,against ethnic minority civilians during counter-insurgency activities. The International LabourOrganization (ILO), other UN agencies andinternational aid organizations faced increasingrestrictions on their ability to assist vulnerablepopulations.

BackgroundThe National Convention, reconvened in 2004 by theruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) todraft a constitution, met in February and December.The National League for Democracy (NLD) and severalother political parties did not participate, althoughsome ceasefire groups did. The SPDC selected all thedelegates, whose freedom of movement and speechwere restricted.

The Karen National Union (KNU), an armedopposition group, and the government failed to agree aceasefire amid continued fighting in the Kayin State.Conflict persisted between the Shan State Army-South(SSA-South) and government forces in the Shan State.The SPDC demanded that some armed groups in thestate, which had agreed ceasefires, give up theirweapons. Other smaller, ethnically based armedopposition groups continued to engage SPDC forces inthe Chin and Kayah States.

All NLD offices except its headquarters in Yangon,the capital, remained officially closed on SPDC orders.

In May bombs in Yangon killed an unknown numberof people.

Political imprisonmentOver 1,100 people arrested for political reasonsremained in prison. The NLD and other oppositionpolitical parties faced severe restrictions, harassmentand intimidation.b Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, NLD General Secretary, andU Tin Oo, NLD Vice Chairman, remained under housearrest and incommunicado.

Following arrest, political prisoners were deniedaccess to relatives and in some cases their lawyers.b In February, U Khun Htun Oo, a member ofparliament (MP)-elect from the Shan Nationalities

League for Democracy, and other Shan politicalrepresentatives were arrested, reportedly because oftheir discussions about the National Convention. InNovember, they were sentenced in a secret trial tobetween 70 and 106 years’ imprisonment for treason.Some had been denied access to their families sincetheir arrest. One of the group, 82-year-old U Shwe Ohn,was held under house arrest.

Often lengthy prison sentences were imposed onscores of individuals convicted in political trials,including for the possession of published materials thathad been authorized by the state censor, or ontrumped-up criminal charges.b Three NLD MPs-elect, U Kyaw San, U Kyaw Khin andU Saw Hlaing, arrested in February and March, weresentenced to seven, 14 and 12-year prison termsrespectively – U Saw Hlaing for distributing politicalleaflets. U Kyaw Khin and U Kyaw San had beenreleased in late 2004 and early 2005 from earlier prisonsentences.b U Kyaw Min, a National Democratic Party forHuman Rights MP-elect and member of the Committeeto Convene People’s Parliament, was sentenced to 47years’ imprisonment, and his wife, son and twodaughters to 17 years’ imprisonment, reportedly forliving in Yangon without official permission.b NLD local officials and members were sentenced toprison terms of up to 10 years for possessing politicalleaflets and a video of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visitingparty members.b U Sao Oo Kya, a Shan political representativerelated to U Khun Htun Oo, was arrested in August andsentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment for reportedlyinfringing tour guide regulations.

Individuals who took action to end forced labourwere imprisoned for their legitimate activities.b U Aye Myint, a lawyer, was released from prison inJanuary after serving a sentence imposed in part forcontacting the ILO about forced labour. He was re-arrested in September and sentenced to seven years’imprisonment in October under legislation penalizingthe circulation of false information. He had helpedfarmers lodge an official complaint to the ILO aboutland confiscations by the local authorities.ReleasesSome 50 political prisoners were released in Januaryand more than 200 in July.b Those released included Dr Khin Zaw Win, a dentistand NLD member arrested in 1994; Sein Hla Oo, an NLDMP-elect arrested in 1994; and Ohn Kyaing, journalistand NLD MP-elect arrested in 1990.b At least seven prisoners, who were held underadministrative detention laws after their sentencesexpired, were released. Among them were studentleaders Ko Ko Gyi and Zaw Min, arrested in 1991, andDemocracy Party leaders U Htwe Myint and U Thu Wai.

Torture and ill-treatmentReports of torture in pre-trial detention and prisonspersisted.b An unknown number of former MilitaryIntelligence personnel, some of whom were reportedly


MYA

tortured during interrogation, received lengthy termsof imprisonment following their convictions oncorruption and other charges during the year. They hadbeen detained after Prime Minister General Khin Nyuntwas deposed and arrested in October 2004. He wasreportedly sentenced for corruption in July to 44 years’imprisonment. The sentence was suspended but he wasrestricted under house arrest.b Prisoners who took part in a hunger strike overconditions in Insein Prison in May were reportedlybeaten and held in cells designed for military dogs.

Prison conditions remained harsh and politicalprisoners were denied proper medical treatment.b Four political prisoners reportedly died incustody, including Ko Aung Hlaing Win, an NLD YouthWing member. It was feared that torture orinadequate health care might have contributed tosome of the deaths.b U Win Tin, a journalist and NLD leader arrested in1989, was one of three prisoners of conscience whoremained imprisoned despite serious multiple healthproblems. In January and February respectively,detention orders were extended by a year on Dr ThanNyein and Dr May Win Myint, NLD MPs-elect arrestedin 1997, sentenced to prison terms, and held underadministrative detention orders after completing theirsentences in 2004.

Ethnic minoritiesMembers of ethnic minorities, including the Karen,Mon, Shan and Rohingya, continued to be subjected toforced labour and other violations at the hands of themilitary, especially in counter-insurgency areas in theMon, Shan, Kayah and Kayin States, and in Bago andTanintharyi Divisions. Hundreds of thousands ofcivilians in these areas were still displaced from theirhomes, mostly because of counter-insurgencyactivities. They were generally cut off frominternational aid organizations and UN agencies,restricting their access to health care and food. Severalthousand civilians in northern Kayin State and easternBago Division were reportedly displaced as a result ofSPDC efforts to break up imputed links with the KNU.Government troops continued land confiscations,extortion and restrictions on freedom of movement inthe Shan State, and abducted civilians for portering andother forced labour in the Mon State. The Rohingyas, aMuslim ethnic minority in Rakhine State, wereincreasingly forced to do sentry duty and to maintainroads, military camps and farms.

International developmentsIn July the SPDC announced that it would postponetaking up the chair of the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN), planned for July 2006, amidwidespread reports that other ASEAN member stateshad urged a delay. The USA and the European Unionrenewed sanctions against Myanmar. The UNCommission on Human Rights adopted a resolution inApril, expressing grave concern at “ongoing systematicviolations of human rights” and renewing the mandateof the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar. In November

the UN General Assembly adopted a similar resolution.The Special Rapporteur and the UN Secretary-General’sSpecial Envoy continued to be denied access to thecountry by the SPDC. The UN Security Council held aclosed session to discuss the situation in December.

In February senior ILO officials visited Myanmar butwere not permitted to meet Senior General Than Shwe.In June the Committee on the Application of Standardsof the International Labour Conference meetingrecalled its 2000 resolution instructing all membersand international organizations to ensure that theirrelations with the SPDC did not promote forced labour,foreign direct investment, or relations with state ormilitary-owned enterprises. Mass rallies organized bySPDC-supported groups in mid-year called for the SPDCto withdraw from the ILO. In October the ILO reportedthe SPDC’s stated intention to withdraw from the ILO,and the 21 death threats received by its Liaison Officerin Yangon. In November the ILO Governing Bodyexpressed grave concern about the degradation of thesituation in Myanmar.

In August the World Food Programme reported thatabout 40 per cent of children were malnourished,despite Myanmar’s rich resources. The SPDC imposedincreased restrictions on the activities and access tovulnerable populations of UN and international aidorganizations, including the UN High Commissioner forRefugees, the UN Development Programme and theILO. In August the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria announced that it wouldwithdraw its programme by the end of 2005 partlybecause of these difficulties.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Myanmar’s political prisoners – a growing legacy of

injustice (AI Index: ASA 16/019/2005)• Myanmar: Leaving home (AI Index: ASA 16/023/2005)• Myanmar: Travesties of justice – continued misuse of

the legal system (AI Index: ASA 16/029/2005)


NEP

NAMIBIA

REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA

Head of state and government: Hifikepunye Pohamba

(replaced Samuel Nujoma in March)




The discovery of several mass graves near theAngolan border led to renewed calls for a truth andreconciliation commission. After PresidentHifikepunye Pohamba took office, there were fewerinstances of government hate speech. Violenceagainst women and children remained pervasive.

BackgroundIn March President Pohamba succeeded SamuelNujoma, who had been head of state sinceindependence in 1990. Former President Nujomaremained the President of the ruling party, SWAPO.

Mass gravesA series of mass graves, believed to contain the remainsof SWAPO members from the 1966-89 liberation war,were uncovered in the north of the country. Whileopposition and civil society groups called for a truthand reconciliation commission, the governmentmaintained that those who had information about suchgraves should come forward because the policy ofnational reconciliation would protect them fromrecrimination. SWAPO has rejected calls for a truth andreconciliation commission since independence.

Hate speechThere was less official hate speech after PresidentPohamba took office. However, former PresidentNujoma and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs andImmigration Teopolina Mushelenga did verbally attackgays and lesbians. Regular verbal attacks on minoritieshad been a hallmark of former President Nujoma’s rule.

Trial of Caprivi detaineesMost of the 120 people on trial in connection with aseparatist uprising in the Caprivi region in 1999 spenttheir sixth year in detention. The trial, which started in2004 after years of procedural delays, was postponedfor much of 2005 after a prosecuting lawyer was killedand two of her colleagues seriously injured in a caraccident in March. Police officers accused of torturingsuspects detained in the wake of the uprising have yetto face any formal charges or disciplinary action.

Violence against women and childrenA high level of violence against women and childrenwas evident from police bulletins, although no officialfigures were released. The particularly brutal murder of21-year-old Juanita Mabula provoked popular outrage.

Her beheaded body was found dumped on the outskirtsof Windhoek in September. No one had been arrestedfor the murder by the end of the year.

NEPAL

KINGDOM OF NEPAL

Head of state: King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev

Head of government: King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah

Dev (replaced Sher Bahadur Deuba in February)





The human rights situation deteriorated sharplyafter King Gyanendra seized direct power anddeclared a state of emergency. Civil liberties wereundermined, with thousands of politically motivatedarrests, strict media censorship and harassment ofhuman rights defenders. The security forces –operating with impunity – unlawfully arrested,tortured and killed civilians and suspectedCommunist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist) cadres.CPN (Maoist) forces abducted civilians andcommitted unlawful killings and torture. Thousandsof people were displaced by the conflict, whilestrikes, insecurity and displacement prevented manypeople from enjoying their economic and socialrights. Women and children were particularlyvulnerable to violence and human rights violations.

BackgroundOn 1 February King Gyanendra seized power, takingdirect control of government, declaring a state ofemergency and suspending fundamental human rights.Strict media censorship was imposed and freedom ofinformation was severely restricted. Human rightsdefenders were threatened and arrested. Politicalparties and civil society organizations staged pro-democracy protests and many participants were beatenor arrested. Although the state of emergency was liftedat the end of April, fundamental rights were not fullyrestored and human rights organizations and the mediafaced continued restrictions. Demonstrations for therestoration of human rights and democracy continuedthroughout the year.

Some countries, including India, the UK and the USA,suspended most military assistance to Nepal inresponse to the King’s takeover, although some “non-lethal” supplies were resumed once the state ofemergency was lifted.

Fighting between the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA)and the CPN (Maoist) escalated in the first half of the


NEP

year, with large numbers of people killed, includingmany civilians. On 3 September, the CPN (Maoist)announced a unilateral three-month ceasefire, whichwas later extended until the end of the year. The mainpolitical parties formed a pro-democracy alliance andengaged in dialogue with the CPN (Maoist). InNovember the political parties and the CPN (Maoist)announced a 12-point agreement that established aframework for co-operation, with the shared aim ofholding elections for a constituent assembly.

It was estimated that as many as 200,000 peopleremained displaced by the conflict, many of whom wereliving in severe poverty.

Under significant international pressure during theMarch-April session of the UN Commission on HumanRights (CHR), Nepal signed a memorandum ofunderstanding with the UN High Commissioner forHuman Rights providing for the establishment of anoffice in Nepal. The new office began work in May butwas not fully staffed until November. The CHR adopteda resolution in April that called on all parties to theconflict to respect human rights and internationalhumanitarian law, condemned abuses committed bythe CPN (Maoist) and urged the government to takespecific measures to abide by its internationalobligations.

Political arrestsFollowing the King’s takeover, thousands of politicalactivists, human rights defenders, students, tradeunionists and journalists were arrested. Many wereheld in preventive detention under the Public SecurityAct (PSA) and some were reportedly tortured. Theleaders of Nepal’s main political parties were placedunder house arrest. Although the majority of theseprisoners of conscience were released by April,political arrests continued throughout the year.

People suspected of involvement with the CPN(Maoist) were also arrested. They were held inpreventive detention under the Terrorist andDisruptive Activities Ordinance (TADO). Many wereheld in RNA barracks and were reportedly tortured.

In February King Gyanendra established a powerfulRoyal Commission on Corruption Control (RCCC),prompting fears that it would be used to discreditpolitical opponents. In April, in a case that was widelyseen as politically motivated, the RCCC sentencedformer Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to twoyears’ imprisonment for misappropriating funds.b Student leader Gagan Thapa was arrested on 26April. The Supreme Court ordered his release but hewas immediately rearrested under a 90-day detentionorder. He was released on 25 May after anotherSupreme Court intervention. He was arrested again inJuly, accused of shouting anti-monarchist slogans at ademonstration. In August he was charged withsedition before the Special Court in Kathmandu butreleased on bail.

Rule of law underminedThe security forces operated with impunity anddisregard for the rule of law. Judges and lawyers faced

intimidation and harassment by the security forces,and military and civilian authorities obstructed judicialprocesses. In particular, many people freed by thecourts were immediately rearrested. b On 19 September, 11 detainees suspected ofinvolvement in CPN (Maoist) activity were rearrestedby members of the security forces from the premises ofthe Kanchanpur District Court following a SupremeCourt order for their release. This was the third timesecurity forces had arrested the group despite repeatedcourt orders for their release on the grounds that thegovernment had not provided sufficient evidence tojustify their preventive detention. The detainees wereconsidered to be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

‘Village defence forces’The emergence of “village defence forces” – civilianmilitias apparently supported by the state – led to anincrease in civilian casualties and significantlyworsened the human rights situation. Vigilanteattacks also threatened to exacerbate ethnic andcommunal tensions. Some villagers reported beingpressured into joining the militias, including by beingbeaten or accused as Maoist sympathizers if theyrefused. Militias were frequently accused of harassingwomen during home searches and while conductingguard duties. It was reported that the governmentprovided funds and training for “village defenceforces” and there were joint military/“village defenceforce” patrols. CPN (Maoist) forces attacked peoplesuspected of participating in “village defence force”activities.b In February the abduction of two local men inKapilvastu district by the CPN (Maoist) and thesubsequent killing of one of them sparked massiveviolence led by “village defence forces” operatingreportedly with the support of the state and securityforces. Between 17 and 23 February, 31 people werereportedly killed, two women and one young girl raped,and 708 houses burned down in the district. Elevenother people were reportedly victims of revengekillings by the CPN (Maoist).

Unlawful killings Security forces were reportedly responsible forextrajudicial executions of civilians and suspected CPN(Maoist) members in their custody, as well as unlawfulkillings of armed Maoists who could have been takeninto custody.

Extrajudicial executions were most commonlyreported during search operations in villages whenlocal people were taken into custody, interrogated andbeaten, then taken to a secluded place and shot. Mostsuch killings were reported outside Kathmandu. Somepeople were killed by security forces for providingfood, shelter or money to the CPN (Maoist), eventhough they may have done so under duress.

Torture and ill-treatmentThere were frequent reports of torture and ill-treatment by security forces, particularly to extractconfessions and information.


NEP

In September the UN Special Rapporteur on torturevisited Nepal and concluded that torture and ill-treatment were systematically practised by the police,armed police and RNA to extract confessions andobtain intelligence. In November the UN Committeeagainst Torture expressed grave concern at reports ofthe widespread use of torture and ill-treatment by lawenforcement personnel and at the prevailing climate ofimpunity for torture.

Human rights defenders The human rights community was directly targeted inthe crackdown that accompanied the state ofemergency. Scores of human rights activists werearrested, and many faced harassment by the securityforces and the civil authorities. In an apparent effort tolimit human rights monitoring, a number of humanrights defenders were prevented from leavingKathmandu in February and March. Some human rightsdefenders left the country fearing for their safety. Evenafter the lifting of the state of emergency, human rightsdefenders continued to face harassment andobstruction. b Krishna Pahadi, founding chairman of the HumanRights and Peace Society and former chair of AI Nepal,was arrested in Kathmandu on 9 February for planninga demonstration. He was held under the PSA for fivemonths.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),which had since its inception faced seriousobstruction, was prevented from carrying out many ofits core functions following the King’s takeover. Inviolation of its mandate, some NHRC staff andCommissioners were prevented from travellingoutside Kathmandu and from visiting detainees. Whenthe sitting Commissioners’ terms expired in May, thestatutory procedure for appointing Commissionerswas changed by Royal Ordinance and newCommissioners were appointed, although the existingChairman remained in place. There was widespreadconcern that the process used to appoint newCommissioners jeopardized the independence andcredibility of the NHRC.

In November the government adopted a code ofconduct to regulate the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which placedsweeping restrictions on freedom of expression andassociation. There was widespread concern that thecode of conduct could be used to suppress legitimatedissent by civil society. However, in December theSupreme Court issued a stay order on the code ofconduct.

The media were particular targets for suppression,with the introduction of censorship in February, a banon news broadcasting by FM radio stations and thearrest and harassment of journalists. On 9 October thegovernment promulgated a severely restrictive MediaOrdinance that further contravened the right tofreedom of expression. b On 27 November police raided Radio Sagarmathaand terminated broadcasting, seized broadcastingequipment and detained staff.

Abuses by the CPN (Maoist) CPN (Maoist) forces carried out indiscriminate attacksand attacks on civilians. They also abducted, torturedand killed civilians accused of “spying” and othercrimes. Captured soldiers, their families and those whohad left the CPN (Maoist) movement were killed inparticularly brutal ways. b On 15 April, CPN (Maoist) cadres surroundedBargadwa village, Nawalparasi district, and rounded upvillagers. They then reportedly separated all the boysand men aged between 14 and 40 and killed 10 men andone boy. b Lila Singh, aged 23 from Mahendranagar,Kanchanpur district, was reportedly abducted by CPN(Maoist) cadres from her home on 29 April, allegedly onsuspicion of spying. b Six family members of soldiers, including threewomen and a one-year-old child, were abducted byMaoists in Kailali district in mid-June. Their bodies,reportedly badly mutilated, were found two days later.

ChildrenChildren faced human rights abuses from both sides ofthe conflict. There were reports of children beingdetained and tortured by security forces, as well asbeing abducted and recruited by the CPN (Maoist).Children were also killed in indiscriminate attacks andwere particularly at risk from improvised explosivedevices planted by the CPN (Maoist) in civilian areas.Many children died from poverty and disease,exacerbated by the conflict.

Many schools were forcibly closed by the CPN(Maoist) and thousands of schoolchildren abducted for“political education” sessions. While most of theabducted children returned home after a few days, afew did not and may have been recruited into CPN(Maoist) forces.b On 20 February, in Kapilvastu district, an 11-year-old girl was raped by three members of an anti-Maoistmilitia amid widespread violence led by vigilantegroups. Her family was reportedly too frightened toseek justice.b Five children were killed and three injured on 22 April when an explosive device left by Maoists at apublic tap exploded in Dalsing, Rukum.

WomenThere were many reported incidents of trafficking, rapeand other sexual violence as a result of the conflict,which also exacerbated existing discrimination againstwomen. Widows and single women were particularly atrisk of violence and harassment from parties to theconflict, as well as from within their families andcommunities. The breakdown in local government andlaw enforcement, and scarcity of shelter and othersupport services for women, meant there was littlerecourse for survivors of domestic violence.

Nepali women mobilized to claim their rights.Conflict widows worked to support each other andcalled for an end to the violence, while wives andmothers of those who had “disappeared” at the hands ofthe security forces demanded accountability.


NET

Economic, social and cultural rightsThe impact of the conflict severely reduced people’sability to enjoy their economic, social and culturalrights.

Frequent strikes (bandhs) imposed by the CPN(Maoist), which stopped all trade and traffic, had asevere effect on people’s livelihoods and ability totravel.

Both the Maoists and the RNA disrupted the work ofNGOs in deprived rural areas, exacerbating foodshortages and preventing access to medical care.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Nepal: Killing with impunity (AI Index: ASA

31/001/2005)• Nepal: A long ignored human rights crisis is now on

the brink of catastrophe (AI Index: ASA 31/022/2005)• Nepal: Human rights abuses escalate under state of

emergency (AI Index: ASA 31/036/2005)• Nepal: Open letter from Amnesty International,

Human Rights Watch and the InternationalCommission of Jurists to the leader of the CommunistParty of Nepal (Maoist) (AI Index: ASA 31/046/2005)

• Nepal: Military assistance contributing to gravehuman rights violations (AI Index: ASA 31/047/2005)

• Nepal: Children caught in the conflict (AI Index: ASA31/054/2005)

• Nepal: Fractured country, shattered lives (AI Index:ASA 31/063/2005)

• Nepal: Open letter to the leader of the CommunistParty of Nepal (Maoist) (AI Index: ASA 31/086/2005)

VisitsAI’s Secretary General visited Nepal in February andmet the King, Foreign Minister, Home Minister, Chief ofArmy Staff and representatives of civil society. AIdelegates also visited Nepal in March, May, June andNovember.

NETHERLANDS

KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Head of state: Queen Beatrix

Head of government: Jan Peter Balkenende




There were concerns about the treatment of asylum-seekers and migrants and about the extension ofcounter-terrorism legislation.

Migration issuesb On 26 January, the Royal Dutch Constabulary (RDC)failed to intervene in the expulsion from the USA of aSyrian man, Abd-al Rahman al Musa, so that he couldfile an asylum request. Subsequently, Abd-al Rahman alMusa was detained upon his arrival in Syria. In the wakeof this case, the RDC announced that it would amend itspolicy and respond to non-governmental organizationsand lawyers intervening to prevent refoulement ofasylum-seekers in future.b On 27 October, there was a fire in the temporarydetention centre at Schiphol Airport in which 11 irregularmigrants (people who did not have legal permission toremain in the country) perished. Approximately 350people were being held in the complex when the firebroke out. The centre, which held both prisoners andirregular migrants, had caught fire on two previousoccasions, the first being shortly before it was opened in2003 and the second in 2004. According to some reports,previous recommendations by fire prevention officialshad not been implemented. Survivors said that there wasa delayed reaction by centre staff to cries for help fromthe detainees. On 27 October, the Safety InvestigationCouncil launched an investigation into the fire. While thenature and extent of the investigation were not madepublic, the Safety Investigation Council indicated theinvestigation should be concluded within a year. TheNational Agency for Correctional Institutions wascharged with collating all relevant materials for use bythe Safety Investigation Council. Additionally, theForensic Science Service was also conducting its owninvestigation on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service.

Counter-terrorismIn January, the government announced theintroduction of new counter-terrorism measures,including the criminalization of “incitement toterrorism”. The measures were announced shortly afterthe murder in November 2004 of film maker Theo vanGogh by Mohammed B., a member of the HofstadNetwork, which was considered a “terrorist group” bythe Dutch government.

The draft proposal on counter-terrorism measureswould also criminalize glorifying, condoning,trivializing and denying other serious crimes, including


NIC

war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Thedraft legislation stated that in order to be found guilty,a person must have known or reasonably expected thattheir utterance(s) could seriously disturb public order.Although the draft bill was circulated to advisorybodies in July, it had not been submitted to parliamentby the end of the year.

A separate draft bill, introduced in parliament inJune, included measures raising the maximum period ofpre-trial detention for terrorist offences.

In December, the Hague Court of Appeal overturneda decision of the District Court and permitted theextradition to the USA of Mohammed A., a Dutchnational of Egyptian origin accused of crimesinvolving fraudulent phone cards which may havebeen used to facilitate contact between members ofal-Qa’ida. His lawyers argued against extradition,fearing he would be treated as an enemy combatant ifhe were extradited to the USA. The Court of Appealallowed the extradition after receiving the assuranceof the USA that he would be prosecuted “before aFederal Court in accordance with the full panoply ofrights and protections that would otherwise beprovided to a defendant facing similar charges”. TheUSA further guaranteed Mohammed A. would not faceprosecution by a military commission, be criminallyprosecuted in any tribunal or court other than a USFederal Court, and that he would not be treated ordesignated as an enemy combatant.

NICARAGUA

REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA

Head of state and government: Enrique Bolaños



UN Women's Convention: ratified

Optional Protocol to UN Women's Convention: not

signed

Violence against women remained a serious concern.People suffering from health problems reportedlylinked to the use of pesticides on banana plantationssought redress from multinational companies andstate support. Excessive use of force by police wasreported.

BackgroundCivil unrest and political tensions intensified in 2005.There were efforts to strip the executive of powers andcorruption scandals implicating government officials atthe highest levels. Large-scale demonstrations tookplace in several towns against the rising cost of fuel,food and public transport.

Violence against womenHigh levels of violence against women and theinadequate response by the authorities remained amajor concern. According to press reports, 25 womenand girls were killed between January and August as aresult of domestic or sexual violence. b Xiomara Obregón Hondoy was shot dead by herpartner on 12 April. She had reported his violent andabusive behaviour on a number of occasions to theauthorities but they had failed to take appropriateaction to protect her.

Right to health: state and corporate accountabilityBanana workers formerly employed by USmultinational companies intensified their struggle forcompensation for health problems. They alleged thatthese were caused by the pesticides used on thebanana plantations during the 1960s, 1970s and early1980s. Health problems reported included skin andbreast cancer; liver, pancreas and kidney problems;nervous disorders; and miscarriages. About 22,000former workers and family members were estimatedto be affected. By the end of 2005, over 1,000 formerbanana workers had reportedly died from pesticiderelated diseases. There were protests at thegovernment’s failure to comply with a March 2004agreement in which commitments were maderegarding medical and legal assistance for thoseaffected. A new agreement was signed in August,setting out a legislative agenda to address theworkers’ demands, in particular around access tohealth care.

At the end of the year, court orders against severalmultinational companies in Nicaragua and the USAwere still awaiting implementation or were the subjectof appeals by the companies.

Indigenous peoplesIn June the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruledin favour of the indigenous group Yabti Tasba MasrakaNanih Asla Takanka (YATAMA) on the grounds that theirright to judicial guarantees had been violated, leadingto their exclusion from participating in the 2000municipal elections.

In May the Awas Tingni indigenous communitysought the intervention of the Inter-American Court ofHuman Rights with a new request for additionalreparations. The Nicaraguan government had failed tocomply with the Court’s 2001 ruling ordering Nicaraguato provide reparations to the Awas Tingni indigenouscommunity and demarcate and title their lands. Thecase had been brought after the state granted anexploration licence to a foreign-based logging companyin 1994 in the community’s ancestral territory withoutits consent and in breach of national and regionallegislation.

Excessive use of force by policeAccording to press reports, police officers usedexcessive force against protesters during at least twodemonstrations. In February, three people who had


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occupied the Pañoleta farm in Chinandega werereportedly killed by police officers as they were forciblyevicted.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people Nicaragua continued to criminalize gay and lesbianrelationships. The LGBT community was reportedlyprevented from filing complaints and subjected toarbitrary detention and abuse of authority by policeofficers.

NIGER

REPUBLIC OF THE NIGER

Head of state: Mamadou Tandja

Head of government: Amadou Hama





Niger suffered devastating food shortages becauseof repeated cycles of droughts and an invasion ofdesert locusts in 2004. Several leaders of civil societywere arbitrarily detained.

Famine and belated international responseSerious food shortages were compounded by years ofdrought and an invasion of desert locusts in 2004, theworst in more than a decade, which wiped out much ofthe country’s cereal production. Although several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had been warningabout the risk of famine in Niger since late 2004,international donors, including the UN and theEuropean Union, did not react quickly to calls forurgent food aid. In June, thousands of peopledemonstrated in the capital, Niamey, to demand thedistribution of free rations. Their demand was refusedby the authorities who said that they could notdistribute for free the little food they had. In July,following renewed calls from NGOs, the internationalcommunity, including UN agencies, began to sendemergency food aid, which slightly improved the situation.

The UN estimated that the famine put in danger thelives of 3.5 million of Niger’s 12 million inhabitants. Noofficial figures were released for how many people diedas a result of the food shortages. The famine in Nigerhad a knock-on effect in neighbouring countries: inBenin and Nigeria, rising prices and a plague of crop-

eating birds threatened food supplies, and in BurkinaFaso and Mali food shortages were reported.

Arbitrary arrestsLeaders of civil society organizations were arbitrarilydetained.b In March, five leaders of the anti-povertyFairness/Equality Coalition against the High Cost ofLiving were arrested. They included Kassoum Issa,Secretary of the national teachers’ trade union, NouhouArzika, Moustapha Kadi, Morou Amadou and journalistMoussa Tchangari. All five were charged with “plottingagainst state security” after the coalition called for ageneral strike against a new tax on basic goods such asflour and milk. They were provisionally released 10days later and by the end of the year no further legalaction against them was known to have been taken.b In May, Ilguilas Weila, President of the anti-slaveryorganization Timidria, and five other people workingwith him were arrested and charged with “attemptedfraud”. They were accused of seeking to defraudinternational lenders by soliciting funds to organize aceremony marking the liberation of slaves. The six menwere provisionally released in June and by the end ofthe year no further legal action was known to havebeen taken against them. The arrests took place againsta background of attempts by the authorities to muzzleTimidria and prevent it from denouncing slavery, apractice punishable in law in Niger since 2003.


NIG

NIGERIA

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

Head of state and government: Olusegun Obasanjo




Death sentences continued to be handed down, butno executions were carried out. While onegovernment commission recommended amoratorium on the death penalty or its abolition,others called for its continued use against juvenilesand, reportedly, the execution of death row prisonersto decongest the prisons. The security forces in theNiger Delta killed people and razed communitieswith impunity to prevent disruption to oil productionand in response to community protests. Violenceagainst women, including in the family, was stillwidespread. Although some states introducedlegislation on violence in the home, the federalgovernment did not review discriminatory laws oramend national law to comply with the Protocol tothe African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rightson the Rights of Women in Africa. Outrage over sixextrajudicial executions by the police in Abuja, thecapital, prompted investigation and the prosecutionof suspect officers. However, few human rightsabuses were investigated or their perpetrators heldto account. The findings of a judicial commission ofinquiry into human rights violations between 1966and 1999 were finally made public, but thegovernment did not announce plans to implement itsrecommendations. Human rights defenders andjournalists continued to face harassment andunlawful detention. Over 3,000 people were madehomeless without adequate prior notice, alternativeaccommodation or compensation in a mass forcedeviction. Killings increased throughout the country inviolence between and within political parties.

Death penaltyNo executions were carried out. However, at least fourdeath sentences were handed down by Sharia (Islamiclaw) courts in northern Nigeria. Appellate courtsoverturned one death sentence passed by Shariacourts.

Trials by Sharia courts – since 1999 empoweredacross northern Nigeria under new Sharia penallegislation to impose floggings and the death penalty onMuslims for zina (sexually related offences) – were ingeneral grossly unfair. They frequently denied the poorand vulnerable basic rights of defence such as the rightto a lawyer.b Two men in Katsina State were arrested andcharged with “sodomy” in June, and faced death bystoning if convicted. On 6 December a Sharia courtacquitted the two men for lack of evidence.

b On 24 May the Bauchi State Sharia Court of Appealupheld an appeal filed by Umar Tori after he wassentenced to death by stoning for zina, and ordered hisretrial before the Upper Sharia Court in Kobi. He hadbeen convicted by the Upper Sharia Court in Alkalereon 29 December 2004.b On 10 November the Upper Sharia Court of Yankabadistrict, Kano State, sentenced two men to death byhanging for murder under the state Sharia Law of 2000.

The government did not make public its response torecommendations for a moratorium on the deathpenalty by the National Study Group on the DeathPenalty, which submitted its report in October 2004. InJuly a committee of the National Political ReformConference, whose representatives met from Februaryonwards to debate a new Constitution, recommendedthat minors should be executed when they committed“heinous offences such as armed robbery and cultism”.A presidential committee set up in March 2004 toreview death row prisoners reportedly recommendedthat they could be executed to decongest Nigeria’sprisons. In March the UN Special Rapporteur onfreedom of religion or belief, during a fact-findingmission to Nigeria, raised human rights concerns aboutthe introduction of legal systems and a mandatorydeath penalty based on religion. The UN SpecialRapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitraryexecutions, whose mandate includes the death penalty,also visited Nigeria in June and July.

Injustice, oil and violenceThe exploration and production of oil continued toresult in deprivation, injustice and violence in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. The proliferation of smallarms – reportedly part-financed by oil thefts – and thegovernment’s inadequate disarmament programmescompounded the violence. The security forces razedcommunities and killed and injured people withimpunity. Community activists who protested in pursuitof rights and resources, sometimes against oilcompanies, faced violence and arbitrary detention. Thesecurity forces often responded with disproportionate,including lethal, force. Whole communities weretargeted for allegedly hindering oil production orharbouring criminal groups.

Oil spills and gas flaring continued to contribute toenvironmental degradation and affect health andlivelihoods. In a historic judgment, all oil companieswere ordered to stop gas flaring by the High Court inBenin state on 14 November, on the grounds that itcontravened human rights including the right to life.However, access to justice for the victims of mosthuman rights abuses remained out of reach because ofexpensive and lengthy litigation processes.b On 4 February soldiers fired tear gas and later liveammunition to disperse as many as 300 protesters atthe Chevron Nigeria-operated Escravos oil terminal inDelta State. One demonstrator, fisherman BawoAjeboghuku, was shot and later died, and at least 30others were injured. The protesters from the Ugborodocommunity said that Chevron Nigeria had not providedthe jobs and development projects promised in return


NIG

for a “non-disruptive operating environment” in a 2002agreement between the company and the community.No thorough or independent investigation was knownto have been conducted by the federal government orChevron Nigeria.b On 19 February soldiers invaded the community ofOdioma in Bayelsa State, killing at least 17 people andrazing about 80 per cent of the buildings. Two womenwere reportedly raped and community leaders saidthey were beaten and forced to eat sand. The purposeof the raid was to arrest leaders of an armed vigilantegroup allegedly responsible for killing 12 people inJanuary. The findings of a state-level judicialcommission of inquiry was not made public .

Violence against womenWomen were raped and subjected to other forms ofsexual violence by government agents as well aspartners, employers and others. In some communities,female genital mutilation and forced marriages werestill practised. The numbers of women killed, injured,raped and beaten by their partners remained high.Despite the lack of official statistics, nearly two-thirdsof women in certain groups in Lagos State, for example,were estimated to be victims of violence in the home.Discriminatory laws and practices, dismissive attitudeswithin the police, an inaccessible justice system and thelack of shelters for victims contributed to violenceagainst women being widely tolerated andunderreported.b ”Folake” was remanded in prison after accusing herformer employer of rape. Although medicalexamination supported her case, she was charged withslander. The material evidence of the crime, handedover to the police, was later said to have disappeared.The alleged perpetrator was not brought to justice.

By the end of 2005, national law had not beenamended in line with the Protocol to the AfricanCharter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights ofWomen in Africa, which had been ratified by Nigeria inDecember 2004. A committee set up to reviewdiscriminatory legislation had its first meeting at theend of 2005.

The first state-level laws on domestic violence werepassed by state legislators in Ebonyi State and CrossRiver State. In Lagos State, a draft domestic violencelaw made slow progress, despite pressure from humanrights organizations.

ImpunityProtests at police killings of five Igbo traders and onefemale companion, allegedly suspected of beingarmed robbers, on 8 June in Abuja prompted aninvestigation and the prosecution of eight officers onmurder charges. However, in most cases, the securityforces continued to commit human rights violationswith impunity.

Where abuses were the subject of commissions ofinquiry, the findings were generally not made public.The report of investigations into human rightsviolations between 1966 and 1999 by the Human RightsViolations Investigation Commission, known as the

Oputa Panel, was published by civil societyorganizations before it was made available to membersof the National Political Reform Conference.

Charles TaylorResolutions by the European Parliament in Februaryand by the US House of Representatives in July calledon the Nigerian government to hand over formerLiberian President Charles Taylor to the Special Courtfor Sierra Leone to face charges of crimes againsthumanity, war crimes and other serious violations ofinternational law. The government neither handedover Charles Taylor nor brought charges against him inthe Nigerian courts.

In November a federal High Court ruled admissiblea legal challenge to the Nigerian government’sdecision to grant asylum to Charles Taylor in 2003. Thecase had been brought in 2004 by two Nigeriannationals who had had limbs amputated by an armedgroup backed by the Liberian government during theconflict in Sierra Leone.

Journalists under threatNewspaper editors and journalists were harassed bythe security police, and sometimes detainedincommunicado for several days, after criticizing thefederal government, exposing corruption, or reportingthe activities of secessionist or armed oppositiongroups. Activists faced arrest and violence when tryingto investigate oil spills and human rights violations inthe Niger Delta.b On 2 May police arrested Omo-Ojo Orobosa,publisher of the weekly Midwest Herald, in Lagos, anddetained him incommunicado and without charge until13 May at an interrogation centre. He appeared to havebeen detained because his paper had reportedallegations that relatives of President Obasanjo wouldbenefit from the sale of government-owned flats.b On 1 and 2 August, three men were arrested anddetained without charge until 4 August. The reason fortheir arrest appeared to be that they were printingmaterials for the international Campaign AgainstImpunity coalition of human rights groups, and hadcopies of the Interpol arrest warrant for Charles Taylor.b On 11 October, Owei Kobina Sikpi, publisher of theWeekly Star newspaper, was arrested and charged with“false publication” after an article in his paper accusedthe Governor of Rivers State of money laundering.

Following a visit to Nigeria in May, the UN SpecialRepresentative on human rights defenders said that thereturn to civilian rule in 1999 had given human rightsdefenders greater freedom to operate, but that accessto official information and to sensitive sites – of forcedevictions, oil spills or intercommunal violence, forexample – remained too restricted.

Forced evictionsIn a number of mass forced evictions, thousands ofpeople were made homeless without adequate notice,compensation or the provision of alternative housing.b During three days in April approximately 3,000residents were evicted from Makoko in Lagos. The


OMA

Lagos State administration engaged police officers toexecute a court order to restore the area to its owners,but failed to give adequate notice or providealternative accommodation to people living on theland. The police reportedly used tear gas, and beat andkicked residents, including five young children, to forcethem from their homes. The many buildings demolishedincluded a church and a medical centre.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Nigeria: Unheard voices – Violence against women in

the family (AI Index: AFR 44/004/2005)• Nigeria: Ten years on – Injustice and violence haunt

the oil Delta (AI Index: AFR 44/022/2005)VisitsAI delegates visited Nigeria in April and May to conductresearch and meet government officials, and in June tolaunch a report on violence against women.

OMAN

THE SULTANATE OF OMAN

Head of state and government: Sultan Qaboos bin Said




Scores of people were arrested in January inconnection with calls for political reform. Most werereleased without charge; 31 were tried andsentenced to prison terms but released under anamnesty. A death sentence imposed in 2004 formurder was commuted by the head of state.

Political arrestsSecurity forces arrested up to 100 people, includingacademics, religious leaders and others, in January inresponse to growing calls for political reform. Many ofthe arrests were carried out at night and computerequipment and documents were seized. Most of thedetainees were released after several days or weeks incustody, but 31 of them were charged with threateningnational security and tried in May before the StateSecurity Court (SSC) in Muscat, the capital. All wereconvicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging fromone to 20 years, but then released on 9 June under aroyal pardon granted by the Sultan of Oman.

Other government critics who also called for politicalreform were arrested during the year, including twoprisoners of conscience.

b Taiba al-Mawali, a leading human rights activistand one of a number of women nominated for theNobel Peace Prize, was arrested in June soon after shehad acted as an observer at the trial of the 31defendants brought before the SSC in Muscat. In July, aLower Court in Muscat sentenced her to 18 months’imprisonment in connection with SMS messages thatshe had sent through mobile phones and the Internet.The Court of Appeal cut her sentence to six months inAugust but she was still held at the end of the year.b Abdullah al-Riyami, a writer and activist, wasarrested on 12 July and held incommunicado for oneweek before being released without charge. Whiledetained, he was questioned before a judge for overfour hours about articles in which he had criticized thegovernment and research he had conducted intotorture in police stations in Oman. When released, hewas reportedly warned that he would be recalled bypolice if he persisted in criticizing the government.

Death penaltyIn January, the Sultan of Oman commuted the deathsentence imposed on US national Rebecca Thompsonto 15 years’ imprisonment. She had been convicted ofmurder in 2004.

Women’s rightsOmani laws and practices continued to discriminateagainst women in a number of important respects,including personal status, employment andparticipation in public life. Domestic violence remaineda concern.




PAK

PAKISTAN

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

Head of state: Pervez Musharraf

Head of government: Shaukat Aziz





signed

Dozens of people were arbitrarily arrested anddetained in the context of the “war on terror”. Severalof them “disappeared” and some were handed over toUS custody. “Disappearances” were also reportedfrom Balochistan province. Blasphemy laws continuedto be used to persecute members of religiousminorities. The state took no action to prevent“honour” crimes or to punish perpetrators. TheJuvenile Justice System Ordinance, which providesprotection for children within the justice system, wastemporarily reinstated. At least 241 people weresentenced to death and 31 were executed.

BackgroundThe government vacillated between seeking to controland appeasing religious groups and parties. In March, itreintroduced a “religious column” in nationalpassports, in breach of earlier promises to minoritygroups. In July, following bomb attacks in the UK bymen of Pakistani origin, at least 900 members ofreligious groups and religious school students werearrested. Most were released within weeks but somecontinued to be held under preventive detentionlegislation. The government announced that all foreignstudents of religious schools would be expelled andthat such schools needed to register. However, afterprotests by religious groups, these directions were notfully implemented. In July, the Hasba (accountability)Bill was passed in the North West Frontier Province. Itprovided for an ombudsman empowered to “reformsociety in accordance with Islam”. The Supreme Court,in August, declared sections of the billunconstitutional. In the tribal areas on the border withAfghanistan, civilians suffered abuses during anongoing security operation.

A draft bill to establish a national human rightscommission was presented in May but was not passedby the end of 2005.

Arbitrary arrests and ‘disappearances’Dozens of suspects, Pakistanis as well as foreign men,women and children, were arbitrarily arrested onsuspicion of terrorist activities and of contact with al-Qa’ida. Several “disappeared” in custody and somewere handed over to US custody, apparently withoutlegal process.b Abu Faraj Al Libbi, a Libyan national alleged to bethe operational commander of al-Qa’ida, was

arrested on 2 May in Mardan, near the border withAfghanistan. The Interior Minister stated that hewould be tried in an anti-terrorism court forattempting to assassinate the President. He was heldincommunicado at an undisclosed location. At theend of May Al Libbi was handed over to US custody,apparently without legal process. By the end of theyear, nothing was known of his whereabouts or thewhereabouts of more than 12 other suspects arrestedin connection with him.

The non-governmental Human Rights Commission ofPakistan investigating the situation in Balochistanprovince found evidence of arbitrary arrests anddetention, extrajudicial executions, torture and“disappearances” committed by security andintelligence agencies. On 9 December, 18 labour unionleaders from Balochistan “disappeared” in Karachiwhere they had gone to negotiate with the managementof their company. Their whereabouts remained unknown.b Several members of the Balochistan StudentOrganization (BSO) “disappeared” during 2005. BSOchairman Dr Imdad Baloch was arrested on 25 Marchalong with five others in Karachi. He and three otherswere released on bail two months later facingpolitically motivated criminal charges. He reported thatthey had been tortured and held blindfolded, in ironshackles and threatened with death if they did not giveup politics. The other two remained in custody.

Failure to protect minoritiesThe state failed to protect members of religiousminorities from abuse by private individuals. At least 72people were charged and arrested under blasphemylaws, including laws that make it a criminal offence formembers of the Ahmadiyya community to practise theirfaith. Among the accused were 39 Muslims, 26 Ahmadis,four Hindus and three Christians.b In October, eight Ahmadis were shot dead and 22injured in their mosque by men shooting from a passingmotorbike. Eighteen men arrested shortly afterwardswere released without charge.b Mohammad Younus Shaikh was sentenced to lifeimprisonment in August on charges of blasphemy forwriting about religious matters in a book. He was heldin solitary confinement in Karachi Central Prison afterfellow prisoners threatened him. No action was takenagainst those threatening violence.

Violence against women“Honour” killings and mutilations of girls and women,and to a lesser extent of boys and men, continued.Successful prosecutions for “honour” killings were rare.Legal changes introduced in late 2004 failed to curb theauthority of the victim’s heirs to forgive theperpetrators, allowing them to escape conviction.b In September Amna Abbas had her nose and lipscut off by her brother-in-law near Dera Ghazi Khan,Punjab province, after she filed for divorce. He wasreportedly not arrested.b Mukhtaran Mai’s attempt to secure justice afterbeing gang-raped on the orders of a council of eldersin Meerwala, Punjab province, led to her suffering


PAL

further threats. In March the Lahore High Courtreversed the August 2002 trial court’s decision tosentence six men to death. It commuted the deathsentence imposed on one to life imprisonment andacquitted and released five. On a request byMukhtaran Mai, who feared for her life, the Punjabgovernment held the five for three months inpreventive detention. In June, a review board orderedtheir release. The Supreme Court took up the appealagainst the acquittals and ordered all the originalaccused to be held in judicial custody. The appeal waspending at the end of 2005. Mukhtaran Mai, who hadbeen invited to the USA to speak on women’s rights,was prevented in June from leaving the country andplaced under virtual house arrest.

Women’s rights activists were under increasedthreat. Police tore the clothes and pulled the hair ofwomen activists participating in a mixed gendermarathon in Lahore in May. About 40 were detaineduntil evening.

Children’s rightsIn February, the Supreme Court suspended the LahoreHigh Court judgment of December 2004 which hadrevoked the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000(JJSO), as unconstitutional. The JJSO provides protectionfor children in the criminal justice system. This latestdecision meant that the JJSO was reinstated, but onlytemporarily, pending a still awaited decision on theconstitutionality of the law by the Supreme Court.

In several cases courts rejected applications forcases to be retried in juvenile courts.b The Lahore High Court in February dismissed apetition that Muhammad Hayat was a juvenile at thetime of a murder for which he was sentenced to death in1995, arguing that he had not raised the point in earlierhearings. His brother asserted that they had beenignorant of legal safeguards for juveniles.

The JJSO, although formally extended to the tribalareas, was not implemented there. In the FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas, dozens of children, someunder the age of five, were imprisoned on three-yearsentences under the collective responsibility clause ofthe Frontier Crimes Regulation for crimes allegedlycommitted by members of their families.

Death penaltyAt least 241 people were sentenced to death. At least 31people were executed, the majority for murder. Manywell-off convicts were able to escape punishmentunder provisions of the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance thatallow heirs of murder victims to accept compensationand pardon the offender. In other cases convictsremained on death row for long periods while seekingpardon from the heirs of victims. In January theSupreme Court ruled that the person convicted ofmurder could have the sentence reduced only if all thelegal heirs agreed to forgive the offender.b Six members of the same family sentenced to deathfor murder in 1989 had their executions postponed for athird time in August as they negotiated a settlementwith the heirs of the victims.

In the tribal areas two men were executed by firingsquad immediately after a tribal council – which has nopowers to adjudicate criminal cases – convicted themof murder. They had had no legal counsel and nochance to appeal.

Earthquake reliefA massive earthquake hit northern Pakistan in Octoberleaving some 73,000 people dead and two millionpeople in need of relief and rehabilitation.International humanitarian assistance was inadequate,coordination between relief agencies lacking anddistribution hampered by difficulties of access.Adequate health care, including trauma counselling,shelter and protection against exploitation includingtrafficking was lacking, particularly for injured andorphaned children and homeless women.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Pakistan: Recommendations for an effective

National Human Rights Commission (AI Index: ASA33/019/2005)

• Pakistan: Protection of juveniles in the criminaljustice system remains inadequate (AI Index: ASA33/021/2005)

• Pakistan: Amnesty International’s comments on theLahore judgment of December 2004 revoking theJuvenile Justice System Ordinance (AI Index: ASA33/026/2005)

PALESTINIAN

AUTHORITY

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

President: Mahmoud Abbas (replaced Rawhi Fattouh in

January)

Prime Minister: Ahmad Quray


Inter-factional violence within the PalestinianAuthority (PA) and its security forces, and betweenpolitical factions and armed groups, caused a furtherdeterioration in security in the West Bank and GazaStrip. Armed confrontations, attacks and abductionsby Palestinian armed groups increased, and scores ofPalestinians were killed amid growing lawlessness.Killings of Israelis by Palestinian armed groupsdiminished significantly compared to previous years.Impunity remained widespread as PA security forceswere unable or unwilling to prevent killings andattacks or to apprehend the perpetrators. Members


PAL

of PA security forces also participated in attacks,abductions and other abuses. Five Palestiniansconvicted of murder were executed, ending a three-year de facto moratorium on executions.

BackgroundAfter the election in January of President MahmoudAbbas, Palestinian armed groups agreed to an indefinitetahadiyeh (quiet), during which they would refrain fromattacking Israelis, and the Israeli authorities announceda suspension of offensive attacks against Palestinians inthe Occupied Territories. Attacks by both sides continuednonetheless, but to a lesser extent than in previous yearsof the Palestinian intifada (uprising) that began in 2000.In 2005, Israeli forces killed some 190 Palestinians, manyof them unlawfully and including some 50 children (seeIsrael and the Occupied Territories entry). Palestinianarmed groups killed 50 Israelis, most of them civiliansand including six children, both in the OccupiedTerritories and inside Israel. Most attacks against Israeliswere claimed by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (anoffshoot of Fatah) and Islamic Jihad. Hundreds ofPalestinians and Israelis were injured in attacks by bothsides. Palestinian armed groups also launched mortarattacks from the Gaza Strip towards nearby Israeli towns.

In August and September Israel removed all its 8,000settlers and all its troops from the Gaza Strip. However,the Israeli army retained control of the airspace,territorial waters and land borders of the Gaza Strip.Israel imposed a closure at the Rafah crossing betweenthe Gaza Strip and Egypt, the only point for Palestiniansto leave or enter the Gaza Strip, from September toNovember.

Blockades and stringent restrictions imposed by theIsraeli army throughout the West Bank continued tohinder or prevent Palestinians’ access to theiragricultural land, workplaces and education and healthfacilities. The Israeli army also carried out frequentraids into Palestinian towns and villages and steppedup its construction of a 600km fence/wall and majorcheckpoints throughout the West Bank, including in theEast Jerusalem area, cutting off towns and villages fromone another. Such restrictions continued to preventeconomic recovery and caused high unemploymentand extreme poverty in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,where more than half of Palestinians were obliged torely on international aid for subsistence.

Municipal elections, which began the previous year,were held in several locations in the West Bank andGaza Strip. Parliamentary elections, scheduled for July,were postponed to January 2006.

Increased lawlessness and impunityThe PA took some steps to reform its security services,which had been repeatedly targeted and largelydestroyed by the Israeli army in previous years. InApril President Abbas replaced some security forces’chiefs, but the security and judicial institutionsremained dysfunctional, beset by factional fightingand power struggles, and unable or unwilling torestore law and order. Rare attempts by securityforces to confront political and criminal armed groups

invariably resulted in armed clashes, with the securityforces often being forced to retreat. Several PAofficials were attacked by armed groups. In othercases PA security forces’ members participated inattacks and abuses alongside armed groups. Somearmed groups and security forces’ members used thecall for PA reforms and accountability to justify theirown attacks and abuses. The Israeli army continued toprevent PA security forces from operating in much ofthe West Bank, including by refusing to allow them tobe present or to carry weapons in many areas. Facedwith PA security forces and judicial institutionsperceived as powerless or unwilling to address theirgrievances, many people sought the protection ormediation of armed groups to resolve their problems.

The proliferation of armed groups, the absence of therule of law and systematic impunity compounded theatmosphere of insecurity. Scores of bystanders,including children, were killed and injured in clashesbetween armed groups and security forces, and byreckless use by Palestinian armed groups of weaponsand explosive devices. Palestinian mortars aimed atnearby Israeli towns often missed their targets andlanded in Palestinian residential areas in the Gaza Strip.Armed groups continued to use children to carry outattacks and transport explosives or weapons. SeveralPalestinian children were arrested by the Israeli armyfor their alleged involvement in such activities. Themain armed groups reportedly disavowed the use ofchildren and some blamed such abuses on local cellsacting on their own initiative.b On 2 October, two bystanders, a PA police chief anda security forces’ member were killed during armedclashes between PA forces and Hamas gunmen in GazaCity and in an attack by a previously unknown armedgroup, the Popular Army, in the southern Gaza Striptown of Khan Younis. Armed clashes broke out when PAsecurity forces attempted to enforce a PA-imposed banon armed groups carrying weapons in populated areas.Several bystanders and dozens of Hamas supportersand PA security forces’ members were also wounded inthe clashes.

AbductionsMore than 20 Palestinians and foreign nationals,including journalists and aid workers, were abducted inthe Gaza Strip by Palestinian armed groups. In manycases the groups demanded jobs or protested againstPA policies or actions. Those abducted were generallyreleased unharmed within hours.b Two staff members of the UN DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) were abducted in Gaza City on 29 July by relatives of a senior member of the PAIntelligence, who had been abducted the previous dayby gunmen affiliated to Fatah. The three werereleased unharmed by their respective kidnappers afew hours later.b On 8 August gunmen abducted three staff membersof the UN Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) in KhanYounis. The three were released after a few hours. Thegunmen demanded the release of a Fatah officialdetained the previous day by PA security forces.


PAP

Unlawful killings and targeting of suspected ‘collaborators’Well over 100 Palestinians were killed in political inter-factional fighting, family feuds and score-settling, andseveral were killed or attacked by armed groups whoaccused them of “collaborating” with Israeli securityservices. Most of the killings were attributed to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and other Fatah splinter groups.b Major-General Musa Arafat, PA national securityadviser and former chief of military intelligence, waskilled on 7 September in Gaza City. Gunmen draggedhim out of his house, shot him dead and abducted hisson. His son was subsequently released. PA securityforces from a nearby police station did not intervene.b In September Farid Manasra was abducted in theWest Bank village of Beni Na’im by gunmen whotortured him for four days. The gunmen, who allegedlyincluded members of PA security forces, accused himof “collaborating” with Israeli forces and demandedmoney to release him and the publication of acommuniqué. When he refused to pay, they shot himin the foot and stole his money, before releasing him.b In October, two Palestinians were abducted in theGaza Strip by the Knights of the Tempest, a previouslyunknown Fatah splinter armed group. After theabduction the gunmen held a press conference,displaying the two men hooded and bound, andaccusing them of “collaborating” with Israel. Thegroup’s spokesman said they had seized the twobecause PA security forces had failed to bring“collaborators” to justice. The two were shot in thelegs before being released several days later.

Death penaltyIn June President Abbas authorized the execution offour prisoners who had been convicted of murderbetween 1995 and 2000. These were the first executionsto be carried out by the PA since August 2002. A fifthexecution was carried out in July. At the end of June,President Abbas ordered the retrial of those who hadbeen sentenced to death by the State Security Court,which was disbanded in 2003. Some 50 Palestinianswere believed to be under sentence of death.

Illegal detentionsIn May the PA released several detainees who had beenheld for several years in Gaza City Prison without trialor in spite of court orders for their release. Otherdetainees continued to be held for prolonged periodswithout trial or beyond expiry of their sentences.

Violence against womenPalestinian women, especially those in the OccupiedTerritories, suffered particularly because of the conflict,including from the impact of home demolitions,movement restrictions that impeded their access tohealth services and education, and increased poverty. Atthe same time there were increased demands on womenas carers and providers. The high level of conflict-relatedviolence contributed to increased family and societalviolence, and many women faced grave abuses in theirhomes. At least four women were known to have been

killed by male relatives in so-called “honour” crimes. InFebruary the UN Special Rapporteur on violence againstwomen called on the PA to enact legislation to providefor the punishment and redress for the wrongs caused towomen victims of violence.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Israel and the Occupied Territories: Conflict,

occupation and patriarchy – Women carry theburden (AI Index: MDE 15/016/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited areas under the jurisdiction of thePA from March to May and met PA officials.

PAPUA NEW

GUINEA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented

by Paulias Matane

Head of government: Michael Somare





Law and order problems continued to impact on theenjoyment of fundamental rights and access to basicservices. Police proved unable or unwilling to preventor effectively investigate most incidents of violencein the home and general community. Publicconfidence in the police was further undermined bynumerous allegations of police abuses, includingtorture. Women and children were particularlyvulnerable to violence.

BackgroundCelebrations in September to mark 30 years ofindependence were tempered by concerns over thedevelopment challenges facing the country. Access tobasic services remained poor, literacy rates were low,and corruption was endemic. The HIV/AIDS epidemicposed a major threat to growth and stability.

Women continued to be grossly underrepresented innational and provincial parliaments, the police force,judiciary, village courts and other decision-makingbodies.

The mandate of the UN Observer Mission inBougainville expired in June. This followed theinstallation of a newly elected autonomousgovernment led by former separatist leader Joseph


PAR

Kabui. Under the UN-brokered peace deal, areferendum on independence for Bougainville will be held within 15 years.

Law and order problemsAlthough police reported a decrease in the crime raterelative to 2004, the number of reported crimes, includingrapes and murders, remained high. Port Moresby and theWestern Highlands were worst affected. The resultantfear, especially among women, restricted freedom ofmovement and limited access to basic services.

Police were generally ineffective in addressing crimeand often cited resource constraints for their failure toinvestigate complaints properly. Escapes from policecustody and prisons were common. In January andFebruary alone, 131 prisoners escaped in three separatemass breakouts.

Conflict over land and resources often fuelledviolence. Tribal fighting was reported in at least sixprovinces and resulted in deaths, destruction ofproperty and displacement.

In response to growing concern over the use ofillegal firearms, many originating from police, militaryand corrective services armouries, the governmentconducted a public awareness campaign and held asummit in June. A report recommending a series oflegislative and policy reforms was presented togovernment in November.

Australian police deployed under a 2004 bilateralagreement were withdrawn in May when the SupremeCourt ruled that laws granting them immunity fromprosecution were unconstitutional. Plans were agreedfor a smaller contingent to return with a more limitedmandate.

Violations by the policeIn response to reports that police continued to useexcessive force during arrests, and engaged in torture,including rape, against suspects, both the InternalSecurity Minister and Police Commissioner concededthat police brutality occurred. The Minister promisedreform, while the Commissioner cited figuresdemonstrating that officers were disciplined whencomplaints could be substantiated. Nonetheless, therewas little public confidence in existing accountabilitymechanisms, which lacked independence andtransparency and had failed to deter police violence.b In November at least one person was killed and atleast 18 students were injured when police opened fireon students at a school near Porgera. Police werereportedly at the school to arrest the headmaster whenstudents began to throw stones. A criminalinvestigation into the shootings was initiated.b No police officers were known to have facedcriminal proceedings for their role in the rape andcruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of women andgirls arrested during a raid on Three Mile Guest Housein Port Moresby in March 2004.

Violence against womenInformation gathered from women’s organizations,hospitals and police indicated that domestic violence

and rape were widespread. Counselling and health carefacilities for victims of violence, particularly outsidemajor towns, were generally non-existent. Thewidespread violence exacerbated women’svulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Weaknesses in the formal justice sector and male-dominated “traditional” justice mechanisms severelylimited women’s access to redress. Only a smallpercentage of cases of violence against womenprogressed through the formal justice system. Mostincidents, including gang-rapes, were not reported orinvestigated and many were resolved privately with thepayment of compensation to the victim’s family.

AI country reports/visitsVisitAn AI delegate visited Papua New Guinea in October.

PARAGUAY

REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY

Head of state and government: Nicanor Duarte Frutos




Violent evictions of peasant farmers and threats tohuman rights defenders over land issues werereported. There were calls for greater efforts toprotect children from abuse. Prisons remainedovercrowded and violent.

BackgroundThere were renewed calls for the reintroduction of thedeath penalty after the discovery in February of thebody of Cecilia Cubas, daughter of a former President.She had been kidnapped in September 2004.

More than 40 per cent of the rural population wasreported to live in poverty. There were frequentprotests over land reform and other socio-economicissues.

Land issuesConflicts over land rights led to excessive use of forceby the authorities. Human rights defenders working topromote peasants’ rights were harassed andthreatened.b Two people were shot dead and at least five injuredduring a violent eviction in Tekojoja, Vaqueria,Caaguazu Department, on 24 June. According toreports, armed civilians shot unarmed bystanderswhile police destroyed crops, burned down homes and


PER

beat and detained dozens of peasant families, includingchildren. The detained peasant farmers weresubsequently released and a judicial investigation wasopened into the incident.b Two Roman Catholic nuns – Juana Antonia Baruaand Clara Nimia Insaurralde – and a community leader,José Bordón, received death threats in August. Thethreats were apparently linked to their work inNaranjito, San Pedro Department, promoting peasantfarmers’ rights and environmental concerns.

In June the Inter-American Court of Human Rightsruled in favour of the Yakye Axa indigenous community,which had been expelled from its ancestral lands. TheCourt ordered the Paraguayan state to demarcate theancestral territory of the Yakye Axa community andhand it back within three years.

Abuses against childrenThe UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children,child prostitution and child pornography, who hadvisited Paraguay in 2004, called for more intensiveefforts to protect children, including strongerlegislation, action against police corruption, cross-border co-operation, the segregation of young peoplefrom adults in prisons, programmes to reduce povertyand social exclusion, and the eradication of thepractice of using children to perform domestic tasksin exchange for board, lodging or a basic education.In the area near the border with Brazil and Argentinathe government set up a new office to combat thesexual exploitation of children, including sextrafficking.b The case of a servant girl who had reportedly beenphysically and sexually abused by her employer fromthe age of 12 was one of the few cases of child abuse toreach the courts. However, although legal complaintswere filed in 2002, no judge had been appointed to hearthe case by the end of 2005 .

Prison conditions and ill-treatmentReports indicated that prisons were grosslyovercrowded, with inadequate sanitation, medicalfacilities and education and rehabilitation activities.There were reports that inmates, including juveniles,were ill-treated.b In May, 30 juveniles held in the regionalpenitentiary of Ciudad del Este began a hunger strikein protest at an alleged assault by a prison guard on a17-year-old inmate. After police restored order, aforensic doctor reported that two juveniles hadsustained injuries.

UN Human Rights CommitteeIn October the UN Human Rights Committee made anumber of recommendations including that theauthorities take appropriate measures to combatdomestic violence and ensure that those responsibleare brought to trial and receive an appropriatepunishment. It also called for the conscription of childsoldiers to be eradicated and for all complaints of ill-treatment and deaths of conscripts to be investigatedand compensation awarded to the victims.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Paraguay: Human rights should not be disregarded in

the name of security (AI Index: AMR 45/001/2005)• Letter to the Minister of the Interior: Amnesty

International’s concerns on human rights violationsduring evictions in Paraguay (AI Index: AMR45/004/2005)

PERU

REPUBLIC OF PERU

Head of state and government: Alejandro Toledo

Manrique




Some of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’srecommendations were implemented, but progresson bringing perpetrators to justice remained slow.Human rights defenders, prosecutors and witnesseswere subjected to threats and attacks. Military andpolice officers accused of torture and ill-treatmentcontinued to be charged with lesser offences. Therewere concerns about access to health care, especiallyfor low-income families.

Background2005 saw social unrest and increasing demands forbetter living and working conditions. A 30-day state ofemergency was declared in Apurímac department aftera group of former army reservists calling for theresignation of President Toledo seized a police stationin Andahuaylas. Four police officers held as hostagesand one reservist were reportedly killed. There werereports of violent clashes with security forces and thepossible use of excessive force by police and militaryduring protests against mining projects in Piura andHuaraz departments.

Small cells of the armed opposition group ShiningPath (Sendero Luminoso) reportedly continued tooperate in some areas in Huallaga, Huánucodepartment, Ayacucho department, and Satipo, Juníndepartment. Shining Path’s leaders, who had been triedin military courts in the 1990s, were put on trial again,this time in civil courts.

In November, former President Alberto Fujimori,who was accused of human rights violations, wasdetained while in Chile pending an extradition requestfrom the Peruvian authorities.

Draft legislation to reform the military and policejustice systems failed to comply with a 2004 ruling by


PER

the Constitutional Court. The draft law did not definethe term offences “committed in the line of duty” orintegrate military and police courts into the civilianjudicial system.

A permanent Human Rights Ombudsman wasappointed by Congress, four years after the lastpermanent post-holder left office.

In December, the first ever National Human RightsPlan was agreed. However, there were concerns thatthe plan, which covers the period 2006 to 2010, doesnot address discrimination on the basis of sexualidentity or orientation.

Past human rights violationsThe government failed to fulfil the commitment madein 2001 to comply with recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding 165cases of human rights violations. The recommendationsincluded establishing the truth, bringing thoseresponsible to justice and compensating victims andtheir relatives.

Congress passed legislation establishing aComprehensive Reparations Plan and a single registerof people whose human rights had been violated duringthe internal armed conflict. President Alejandro Toledomade a commitment to fund collective reparations andto consider individual reparations. Remembranceevents and memorials were organized to mark thesecond anniversary of the publication of the FinalReport of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission(TRC). Investigations were opened into 26 of the 59cases of human rights violations documented by theTRC and the Ombudsman’s Office. Some trials beganduring 2005, but no cases had been resolved by the endof the year. There were concerns that detention ordersagainst military and police officers accused of pasthuman rights violations were not being enforced. Someof these cases continued to be tried in military courts.In some cases, the Ministry of Defence had reportedlynot co-operated with civilian courts investigatingmilitary officers accused of past violations.Threats and intimidationLocal human rights organizations registered 46 casesof threats and intimidation of human rights defenders,witnesses, victims and their relatives, judges,prosecutors and forensic experts involved in theinvestigation and trial of past human rights violationsdocumented by the TRC. According to anOmbudsman’s report, those who were threatened andintimidated had been provided with inadequate or noprotection at all.The legacy of the counter-insurgencyThree prisoners of conscience were released, butthere were concerns that dozens of prisoners ofconscience and possible prisoners of conscienceunfairly charged with terrorism-related offencesremained in jail.

Torture and ill-treatmentThere were reports of torture and ill-treatment ofdetainees by members of the police and of militaryofficers and conscripts by higher-ranking officers.

Legislation introduced in 1998 to criminalize tortureremained largely ineffective and suspectedperpetrators continued to be charged with lesseroffences.

Prison conditionsIn February, the government stated that the nationalprison system was in crisis because of overcrowding,inadequate infrastructure and insufficient staff toguarantee security. The government announcedincreased funding, up to 400 new prison staff, theopening of a new prison and construction of two morein Lima department, and the enlargement of othercentres in Ica and Piura departments.

Following sustained national and internationalpressure, all inmates at Challapalca prison, locatedmore than 4,600m above sea level in an extremelyisolated area, were transferred to other prisons.

Violence against womenThe Ombudsman expressed concern that the legislationprohibiting violence against women was still not beingimplemented by some police officers and judges andthat only a small number of perpetrators had beenconvicted. Delays in the investigation and trial of thesecases was also a concern.

Women’s organizations expressed concerns aboutthe lack of resources provided to the Human RightsProsecutor’s Office investigating forced sterilizationsunder the former government of Alberto Fujimori.

Economic, social and cultural rightsThe World Health Organization reported that maternityand child mortality rates remained high. Despite legalprovisions on the right to health and measures taken inrecent years to improve access to free maternity andchild health care for people on low income, there wereconcerns that this was not reaching people in the mostvulnerable communities.

According to a report by the Ombudsman, more than25 per cent of people lacked adequate access todrinking water; in rural areas this rose to 38 per cent.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Peru: Free the “innocent prisoners” now! (AI Index:

AMR 46/001/2005)• Peru: Amnesty International calls for guarantees that

human rights will be respected during the protests inPiura and Cajamarca (AI Index: AMR 46/008/2005)

• Peru: Close Challapalca Prison! (AI Index: AMR46/011/2005)

• Chile/Peru: Chilean courts must extradite or tryAlberto Fujimori (AI Index: AMR 46/012/2005)

• Peru/Chile: Fujimori facing justice – the victims’ right(AI Index: AMR 46/015/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited Peru in February and July.


PHI

PHILIPPINES

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Head of state and government: Gloria Macapagal

Arroyo




Scores of leftist activists were killed by unidentifiedassailants, often reportedly linked to the armedforces. Peace talks between the government andarmed groups – Muslim separatists in Mindanao andcommunist rebels – made limited or no progress.Arbitrary arrests, unlawful killings, torture and“disappearances” were reported in the context ofmilitary counter-insurgency operations. Armedgroups were responsible for abuses includinghostage-taking. Complaints procedures,investigations and criminal prosecutions ofsuspected perpetrators of human rights violationswere often ineffective. Criminal suspects in custody,including women and children, were at risk of tortureor ill-treatment by police. Death sentences wereimposed but no executions were carried out.

BackgroundIn June, allegations that President Arroyo was linked tovote-rigging and corruption during the 2004 electionsheightened political tensions. In July, amid calls formass public protests, 10 members of her Cabinetresigned. President Arroyo denied the allegations and,responding to the crisis, called for constitutionalreforms including change from a presidential to afederal parliamentary system. In September anopposition motion to impeach the President wasdefeated in Congress.

Communist insurgency and the peace processPeace talks between the government and the NationalDemocratic Front (NDF), representing the CommunistParty of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, theNew People’s Army (NPA), remained suspended. Inorder to resume talks, the NDF called on thegovernment to work for the removal of the NPA’sdesignation as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” by theUSA and its allies. With the peace process stalled, theJoint Monitoring Commission (JMC), set up to examinecomplaints of human rights abuses and breaches ofhumanitarian laws by both sides, failed to makesignificant progress. Previous government pledges torelease listed political prisoners remained onlypartially implemented. At least 251 political prisonersdetained within the context of anti-insurgencyoperations were reported still held.

NPA attacks on government targets and clashesbetween the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) andNPA units continued throughout 2005. Suspected NPA

members and their supporters were subjected toarbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial executions and“disappearances”.b In March, Angelina Bisuna Ipong, a 60-year-oldwoman, was abducted by armed men wearing facemasks in Misamis Occidental province, Mindanao.Blindfolded and transferred between military camps,she was held incommunicado for eight days. Shecomplained of torture and ill-treatment duringinterrogation, including sexual abuse and physicalassaults. She was charged after reportedly being forcedto admit being a senior regional CPP leader.b In April, four farmers in Compostela Valleyprovince, Mindanao – Adreano and Joseph Otida,Malaquias Sampan and Joshua Bustillo – were arrestedby the AFP and reportedly accused of being NPAmembers. Their complaints of torture during militarydetention included being punched, kicked in the face,chest and abdomen, and hit with rifles and stones.b In June, Elmer Osila, a senior NPA member, wasarrested by soldiers at a checkpoint in Albay province,Luzon. He reported being tortured duringinterrogation, including by suffocation with a plasticbag and electric shocks. Three days after his arrest,investigators from the Philippine Commission onHuman Rights recorded marks consistent with tortureon his body.

Increased killings of leftist activistsThe number of attacks on leftist activists andcommunity workers rose sharply, with at least 66 fatalshootings reported during 2005. Most of the attackswere carried out by unidentified assailants onmotorcycles, at times wearing face masks, who wereoften described as “vigilantes” or hired killers allegedlylinked to AFP members.

As well as suspected CPP-NPA members, those mostat risk included members of legal leftist politicalparties, including Bayan Muna (People First) andAnakpawis (Toiling Masses), other human rights andcommunity activists, priests, church workers andlawyers regarded by the authorities as sympathetic tothe broader communist movement. Increased killingsin particular provinces were reportedly linked to thepublic labelling of leftist groups as NPA “front”organizations by local AFP commanders.

A climate of impunity shielding the perpetrators ofsuch killings deepened as ineffective investigationsfailed to lead to the prosecution of those responsible.In many cases witnesses were reportedly toofrightened to testify.b In March, Felidito Dacut, a lawyer and a BayanMuna regional coordinator, was shot dead by twounidentified men on a motorbike in Tacloban city,Leyte.b In May, Reverend Edison Lapuz, a Church ministerand a Bayan Muna member, was shot dead byunidentified men in San Isidro, Leyte. He hadparticipated in a fact-finding mission into the killing of Felidito Dacut.

At least 25 alleged “disappearances” of leftists andothers were also reported.


POL

Mindanao peace processDespite periodic breaches, the ceasefire agreementbetween the government and the Muslim secessionistMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), monitored bymilitary observers from Malaysia and Brunei, wasmaintained in Mindanao. Intermittent informal peacetalks continued.

In August, the MILF boycotted local elections for thefive-province Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao(ARMM), set up in 1990 and whose administration washeaded by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)leaders following a peace agreement in 1996. FormerMNLF members and members of the Muslim separatistarmed group Abu Sayyaf were reportedly involved inperiodic clashes with the AFP. Fighting on Jolo island inFebruary led to the displacement of over 25,000 civilians.

Reports indicated that Abu Sayaff and renegadeMNLF and MILF members were involved in kidnappingsfor ransom.

Administration of justicePublic confidence in the ability of the authorities toconduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigationsof human rights violations and other crimes, and todeliver justice, remained fragile.

Implementation of fair trial and custodialsafeguards remained weak, and criminal suspectswere at risk of ill-treatment or torture by thePhilippine National Police (PNP) during extendedperiods of “investigative” detention. Intimidation,aggravated by a lack of effective witness protectionprogrammes, undermined the ability of victims ofhuman rights abuses to gain redress, especially whenthey were members of poor or marginalizedcommunities.

Lack of confidence in the criminal justice systemcontributed to an apparent public tolerance of killingsof suspected criminals, including alleged petty thievesand street-children, by unidentified “vigilantes”allegedly linked to municipal authorities and the PNP.More than 90 such killings were reported in Cebu cityand at least 100 in Davao city.

Journalists were also at risk of armed attacks with atleast seven killed by unidentified assailants, reportedlybecause of their work. In November, in a rareconviction, a policeman was found guilty and given alife sentence for murdering a radio broadcaster in 2002.

Despite an array of legislative and proceduralsafeguards, minors in detention continued to be at riskof physical or sexual abuse and poor prison conditions.Children were at times detained with adults inovercrowded facilities and exposed to abuse fromother prisoners.

Inhumane prison conditions also affected adult maleand female prisoners and incidents of excessive use offorce by the authorities were reported.b In March, 26 prisoners, mostly members of Muslimarmed groups, were killed as police stormed the BagongDiwa prison, Bicutan, after an escape attempt andprison revolt. Prisoners were reportedly shot afterattempting to surrender. Three prison wardens and apolice officer were also killed.

Death penaltyAmid continuing concerns about failures to uphold fairtrial standards, death sentences were imposedthroughout 2005. A total of 1,214 inmates were undersentence of death at the end of 2005. No executionstook place as President Arroyo continued to issue aseries of reprieves for prisoners whose sentences hadbeen confirmed by the Supreme Court and were facingimminent execution. Bills calling for the repeal of deathpenalty legislation were considered by Congressionalcommittees.

Despite continuing reviews of their sentences by thelower courts, at least 22 young offenders remainedunder sentence of death for offences committed whenthey were under the age of 18, even though the lawmakes clear that child offenders cannot be sentencedto death or executed.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Philippines: Sharp rise in “vigilante” killings as

human rights activist’s death remains unsolved (AIIndex: ASA 35/001/2005)

POLAND

REPUBLIC OF POLAND

Head of state: Lech Kaczyñski (replaced Aleksander

Kwaóniewski in December)

Head of government: Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz (replaced

Marek Belka in October)




Racism and intolerance towards minorities wasreported in both the private and public spheres. Noaction was taken against public figures whosestatements appeared to incite intolerance. Policereportedly used excessive force against non-violentdemonstrators.

Background2005 was a year of significant political changes. Aftergeneral elections in September and a presidentialelection in October, the Law and Justice party (Prawo iSprawiedliwoó», PiS) came to power. Before theelections, the PiS criticized gay rights campaigners andexpressed support for the death penalty. FollowingLech Kaczyñski’s election as President, the EuropeanCommission issued a formal warning to Poland, saying


POR

that it could lose its European Union (EU) voting rightsif the President continued to oppose gay rights andsought to introduce the death penalty.

One of the first decisions of the new government wasto abolish the Office for Gender Equality, makingPoland the only EU country without a statutory equalitywatchdog.

Identity-based discriminationMembers of sexual minorities continued to facediscrimination and restrictions on their right tofreedom of expression and assembly. In June, LechKaczyñski, then mayor of Warsaw, refused for thesecond year to authorize the Equality Parade, holdingthat such an event would be “sexually obscene” andoffensive to other people’s religious feelings. Animprovised parade still took place on 10 June, gatheringmore than 2,500 participants. Less than a week later,the mayor authorized the so-called Normality Parade,allowing an extremist homophobic grouping known asAll Polish Youth (Mêodzieø Wszechpolska) to mobilizeon the streets of Warsaw.

In November the mayor of Poznañ banned a gayparade, ostensibly because of security concerns.However, the parade’s organizers claimed that thePoznañ municipality had earlier indicated that therewere no reasons to ban the parade, and that the mayorhad given in to the demands of the conservativepolitical parties Law and Justice and the League ofPolish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin). An unauthorizedparade which took place on 19 November was met withphysical attacks and verbal abuse from members of AllPolish Youth. As a protest, demonstrations in supportof tolerance and equality took place throughout Polandon 27 November. In December an administrative courtin Poznañ annulled the authorities’ decision to ban theparade.

There was no action against public statementsinciting intolerance against sexual minorities, such asthat made by a then Member of the EuropeanParliament from the League of Polish Families: “Afterthe elections, we will illegalize all homosexualorganizations and we will attack paedophiles who arestatistically the most numerous among them.”

RacismIn its third report on Poland, released in June, theEuropean Commission against Racism and Intolerance(ECRI) expressed concern that the authorities rarelyinvestigated and prosecuted cases of racial hatred, andallowed anti-Semitic material to freely circulate on themarket. ECRI pointed out that in investigating violentattacks against ethnic minorities, such as Roma ormigrants, the police often did not take into account theracist motivation of crimes, which resulted in a lightersentence for the perpetrator, if convicted. Moreover,there was still no comprehensive body of legislationprohibiting racial discrimination in all fields of life.

PORTUGAL

PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC

Head of state: Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio

Head of government: José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de

Sousa (replaced Pedro Santana-Lopes in March)




Reports of ill-treatment by police officers continuedto give rise to concern about Portugal’s failure tocomply with international law and standards. Lawenforcement training in the use of force and firearmsand operational guidelines reportedly continued tobe insufficient. At least 33 women were reported tohave been killed as a result of violence againstwomen in the family.

Policing concernsIll-treatment by police officers continued to bereported, including one case in which a mansubsequently died in police custody. b In March, José Reis was arrested for causing apublic disturbance in the city of Lagos. A witnessreported seeing six or seven policemen beating him atthe time of his arrest. He was taken to the local policestation at around 4am, and was found hanging in hiscell, dead, at 5.20am. The coroner’s report concludedhis death was suicide, but the Judiciary Police and theGeneral Inspectorate of the Internal Administration(IGAI), the Interior Ministry’s police oversight body,opened investigations into the circumstances of hisdeath.

Training and operational guidelines for the police,including in the use of force and firearms, reportedlyremained inadequate. Officers reportedly receivedinitial training in the use of firearms, and could thenhave further training only once every three to fouryears.

At least three people died as a result of lethal forceduring the year, again raising long-standing concernsabout the possible unnecessary or disproportionateuse of force.b In March an unnamed 48-year-old man was shotdead by a member of the Republican National Guard(Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR). An officerreportedly fired shots at the man’s vehicle after heallegedly stole petrol, tried to get away and hit anofficer with his car, causing him minor injuries. Aninvestigation into the killing was opened, but theofficer concerned was not suspended from duty.b Also in March, João Martins, aged 17, was fatallywounded when a GNR officer fired at his car during apolice chase. The bullet passed through the car, hittinghim in the chest. No official investigation was known tohave been carried out into the killing.


QAT

Violence against womenViolence against women in the family remained a majorconcern, despite Portugal’s record since 1990 ofspecific legislation, amendments to the penal codesand national plans against domestic violence toprevent and punish acts of violence against women,and to provide support and redress to the victims.

Thirty-three women were reported to have beenkilled as a result of violence against women in thefamily. Of these, 29 were killed by their husband,former boyfriend or partner, and four by otherrelatives.

PUERTO RICO

COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO

Head of state: George W. Bush

Head of government: Aníbal Aceveda-Vilá (replaced Sila

María Calderón Serra in January)


Killing in suspicious circumstancesThere was concern about the circumstances of the fatalshooting by US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)agents of prominent independence activist FilibertoOjeda Ríos in September. A member of the nationalistgroup “Los Macheteros” (Cane Cutters) accused ofinvolvement in a 1990 robbery in the USA, FilibertoOjeda Ríos was shot after agents surrounded thefarmhouse in which he and his wife were staying. Hisfamily accused the FBI of initiating the shooting, thenleaving him to die. Separate investigations were beingcarried out by the US Department of Justice and thePuerto Rico Justice Department with the results stillpending at the end of the year.

Federal death penaltyThe second death penalty trial in Puerto Rico for morethan 75 years took place in March, resulting in lifesentences for Hernando Medina Villegas and LorenzoCatalán Román, who had been convicted of the murderof a security guard. Pursuit of the death penalty in thecase by the US federal authorities sparked protests inPuerto Rico which has been abolitionist since 1929. TheUS federal authorities said that they would continue toseek the death sentence for federal capital crimes inPuerto Rico.

QATAR

STATE OF QATAR

Head of state: Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani

Head of government: Shaikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-

Thani




Up to 6,000 members of a Qatari tribe werearbitrarily deprived of Qatari nationality. Womenfaced discrimination under a range of laws andpractices. At least 19 people remained undersentence of death.

BackgroundA new Constitution, which came into force in June,provides for hereditary rule by the Al-Thani familythrough the male line and contains various humanrights guarantees, including some that continued to be ignored in practice.

One man was killed and at least 12 people wereinjured in March when a suicide bomber, believed to be an Egyptian national, exploded a car close to anEnglish-language school in Doha.

The Interior Ministry established a human rights unitto monitor and respond to human rights issues raisedby international human rights organizations and toconsider complaints. In July the Ministry opened ashelter for victims of crime, labour abuse and humantrafficking.

Abuses in the context of the ‘war on terror’Security forces carried out a number of arrestsfollowing the March bombing in Doha. At least 17people, including foreign nationals, were still detainedwithout charge or trial at the end of 2005. b Mohamed Naseem Abdel Latif Hijazi, an Egyptiangraphic designer, was arrested at his workplace on 21March. He was detained without charge or trial insolitary confinement at the State Security prison inDoha until November, when he was released.

Deprivation of citizenshipAs many as 6,000 members of the Al-Ghufran branch ofthe Al-Murra tribe were deprived of Qatari nationalitybetween October 2004 and June 2005 on grounds,believed to be spurious, that they were nationals ofother countries. Some were reportedly forced to leaveQatar to seek resettlement in neighbouring countries,or detained to induce them to do so, despite guaranteesin the new Constitution against the deportation ofQatari nationals.

Women’s rightsArticle 35 of the new Constitution bans alldiscrimination “on grounds of sex, race, language, or


ROM

religion”. In practice, however, women remainedsubject to gender discrimination under a range of lawsand practices, such as laws concerning marriagecontracts that favour men. Women must also obtainapproval from their husband or guardian beforetravelling, and children of Qatari women who marryforeign nationals do not qualify for Qatari citizenship,unlike children born to Qatari fathers and foreignmothers.b Hamda Fahad Jassem Ali Al-Thani, a member of theruling family, was reportedly confined to her home inDoha because her father disapproved of her choice ofhusband, and ill-treated. She was allegedly abductedfrom Egypt and forcibly returned to Qatar by Qatarisecurity officials in November 2002. She was detainedin secret in Doha for five months until April 2003, andthen transferred to the offices of the state’s SpecialSecurity Directorate in Doha, where she was detaineduntil November 2003. She was then handed over to herfamily, who confined her against her will.

Death penaltyAt least 19 people remained under sentence of death fortheir part in a failed coup attempt in 1996. Two others,Hamad bin Jassem bin Hamad Al-Thani and BakhitMarzouq al-Abdullah, were pardoned by the Emir,Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and released.



ROMANIA

ROMANIA

Head of state: Traian Bäsescu

Head of government: Cälin Popescu-Täriceanu




Discrimination and attacks against Roma continued.The situation in mental health institutions remainedunsatisfactory. Deaths of individuals in psychiatricinstitutions were not investigated effectively andimpartially. Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexualand transgender (LGBT) community experienceddiscrimination and intolerance.

BackgroundThe European Commission noted in October thatRomania had made progress towards greater respectfor human rights in an attempt to meet the criteria formembership of the European Union, accession to whichis scheduled for 2007. The Commission said that stepshad been taken to ensure the independence of thejudiciary, guarantee greater media freedom andpromote the rights of the child. It said further effortswere needed to combat ill-treatment in police custody,prevent trafficking in human beings and ensure theeffective integration of the Roma minority with regardto their economic and social rights.

Roma and racismDiscrimination against Roma continued despiteRomania’s commitment to the Decade of Roma Inclusion,a campaign to eliminate marginalization of Roma thatstarted in 2005. According to the Open SocietyFoundation, which works to promote human rights, 75per cent of Romanians do not want to live near Roma.

In July, the European Court of Human Rights ruled onthe Hädäreni case, an incident in 1993 when three Romawere killed and more than 170 others were forced toabandon their homes in the town of Hädäreni and fleeafter a night of racial violence. Following a rowbetween three Roma men and another villager, inwhich one ethnic Romanian was killed, a crowd ofRomanians and ethnic Hungarians had vandalized 14Romani houses beyond repair. Following the attack, theconcerned Roma families were forced to live indegrading conditions as the government failed toprovide them with adequate remedies.

The European Court of Human Rights found Romaniain violation of numerous provisions of the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights, including the right to afair hearing, the right to respect for family and privatelife, and the right not to be discriminated against. TheCourt obliged Romania to pay compensation to theRoma affected by the 1993 attacks.


ROM

In August a court in Romania moved to comply withthe ruling, ordering the seizure of property fromperpetrators of the Hädäreni attacks to financecompensation for the victims. After police arrived inHädäreni to execute the court ruling, there was anoutpouring of racist speech directed at Roma by themedia and politicians.

There was an increase in racist remarks in theRomanian media. The Mayor of the southern city ofCraiova was fined twice by the National Council forCombating Discrimination for expressing racist views inpublic. Although he was made to resign as vice-president of the Social Democrats, a national politicalparty, he remained the Mayor of Craiova.

The procedural rules for the government’s NationalCouncil for Combating Discrimination, did not allow fora speedy, independent investigation of complaints thatwould provide effective and proportionate remediesfor victims of discrimination. Public debate to changethe rules to make the work of the Council more effectivewas ongoing.

A draft law on national minorities adopted by thegovernment in May was rejected by parliament inOctober. The law aimed to prevent discriminationagainst all minorities in Romania, and guarantee theright to cultural autonomy, religious freedom, freedomof expression, and the right to use minority languages.The law was supported by the Hungarian and Romaniminorities in Romania.

Concerns about mental health careFollowing the tragedy in Poiana Mare psychiatrichospital in 2004 when 17 patients died of malnutritionand hypothermia, the prosecutor initiated criminalinvestigations into the events. Having found “no causallink” between the deaths and the involvement of staff,the prosecutor closed the investigations in February2005. After campaigning by local and internationalhuman rights organizations, the investigation wasreportedly reopened in August. In November theMinister of Health announced a plan to close downPoiana Mare hospital and transfer its patients to moreappropriate and centrally located institutions.

In February the UN Special Rapporteur on the right ofeveryone to the enjoyment of the highest attainablestandard of physical and mental health released areport on Romania. He stressed that “the enjoyment ofthe right to mental health care remains more of anaspiration rather than a reality for many people withmental disabilities in Romania.” The Rapporteurrecommended that an independent mental healthcommissioner be established urgently.

Inadequate investigations of ill-treatment of minors Several cases involving ill-treatment of minors werenot properly investigated or the results ofinvestigations were not made public. They included thecases of I.G., who was beaten by the police in 2003; I.M.,who was ill-treated by police in 2003; F.F., who wasbeaten by a policeman in 2004; C.B., who was ill-treatedby police in 2004; and D.N., who was beaten by a

policeman with a rubber truncheon in 2004. In manycases the authorities said that the children eitherinflicted the injuries on themselves or had the injuriesprior to their arrest. Such claims contradicted thevictims’ statements.

LGBT community under attackAlthough homosexuality was decriminalized in 2001,reportedly more than 40 per cent of the populationcontinued to believe that homosexuals should beremoved from the country. The GayFest parade on 28May was opposed by the Orthodox Church and the localauthorities. The municipal authorities of Bucharest,who initially agreed to provide logistical support for themarch, later withdrew this offer. They said they couldnot provide enough cover to keep people safe and thatthe time of the parade was inappropriate. Authorizationfor the parade was finally granted after the President ofRomania intervened in an emergency meeting with theMayor of Bucharest. The parade subsequently passedwithout incident.

In February the non-governmental organizations(NGOs) Accept and the Centre for Legal Resources wona case against the state-owned airline TAROM whichillegally excluded a homosexual couple from aValentine’s Day sale. The National Council forCombating Discrimination declared that TAROM hadbeen “restricting the free access, under equalconditions, to public services and places” and orderedTAROM to pay a US$180 fine, which it did without delay.Following the decision, the NGOs filed anadministrative complaint against the fine, which theybelieved was nominal and not sufficient to have adissuasive effect against further such actions. Havinglost the administrative appeal, the NGOs werepreparing a court appeal at the end of the year.


RUS

RUSSIAN

FEDERATION

RUSSIAN FEDERATION:

Head of state: Vladimir Putin

Head of government: Mikhail Fradkov




Hostility towards human rights defenders increasedand some were prosecuted for their peaceful exerciseof the right to freedom of expression. Racist attacks,some of them fatal, continued, despite a smallincrease in convictions for racially motivated crimes.Domestic violence was widespread and the statefailed to provide adequate protection. Prisonersconducted mass protests about ill-treatment in prisoncolonies. Serious human rights abuses including“disappearances” and abductions, torture, killings andarbitrary detention continued in the context of theconflict in Chechnya. Impunity remained the norm forthose committing human rights violations. Peopleseeking justice faced intimidation and death threats;some were killed or “disappeared”.

BackgroundThere were mass protests across the country at thebeginning of the year against social welfare reform. InSeptember the UN Committee on the Rights of the Childhighlighted a wide range of concerns relating tochildren in Russia. In November the Federal MigrationService announced their intention in 2006 to grantamnesties and give work permits to around 1 millionmigrant workers from former Soviet countries workingin Russia without official permission. In Chechnya,separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed in thevillage of Tolstoi-Yurt on 8 March, during an operationby federal security forces. According to officialinformation, these forces had attempted to detain himbut he had refused to surrender. Chechenparliamentary elections were held in November inwhich the pro-Kremlin United Russia party gained over60 per cent of the vote. A Council of Europerepresentative stated that the elections took place inan “atmosphere of fear” and Russian and internationalhuman rights groups declared that free and fairelections had not been possible given the securitysituation and the climate of impunity in Chechnya.

Conflict in the North CaucasusSerious human rights violations, including war crimes,continued to be committed in Chechnya by Chechenand federal forces. Chechen security forces under thecommand of Ramzan Kadyrov, the First Deputy PrimeMinister of Chechnya, and divisions of federal forces

staffed by ethnic Chechens were increasinglyimplicated in arbitrary detention, torture and“disappearances” in Chechnya. High-level officials,including the President of Chechnya, Alu Alkhanov,were reported to have admitted to the involvement offederal and Chechen forces in “disappearances” inChechnya. People were also held incommunicado,sometimes in unacknowledged detention centres.Relatives of “disappeared” people demonstrated inChechnya for information about the fate of their lovedones. Reportedly, women continued to be subjected togender-based violence, including rape and threats ofrape, by members of the federal and Chechen securityforces. Chechen armed opposition groups reportedlycommitted war crimes including direct attacks oncivilians.

There was violence and unrest in other NorthCaucasus republics, increasingly accompanied byreports of human rights abuses such as arbitrarydetention, torture, “disappearances” and abductions.

Over 30,000 people remained internally displaced bythe Chechen conflict in neighbouring regions of thenorth Caucasus, in particular in Ingushetia andDagestan. Conditions in camps in Ingushetia varied butwere generally cramped and unsuitable. Thereremained other displaced populations in the NorthCaucasus from other conflicts.b In June, 11 men “disappeared” and at least one, 77-year-old Magomaz Magomazov, was reportedly killedduring a raid, allegedly by the Vostok (East) battalion ofthe Russian federal forces, on the village ofBorozdinovskaia, Chechnya. The raid prompted a massexodus over the border to neighbouring Dagestan ofaround 1,000 villagers. One member of the Vostokbattalion was convicted of “exceeding officialauthority”, and given a three-year suspended sentencein October.b In March security forces carried out a passportcheck in a district of Nazran, Ingushetia. The followingday a group of armed men in camouflage and wearingmasks reportedly returned to the district and searchedthe family home of Vakha Matuev and took him away.His wife told AI in September that the authorities inIngushetia had not opened a criminal investigation andthat she had not received any information as to thewhereabouts of her husband.b Adam Gorchkhanov was reportedly detained at hishome in the Republic of Ingushetia on 23 May byunidentified security services and taken away. He wasreportedly detained in a pre-trial detention centre andthe headquarters of the Regional Organized CrimeSquad in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, before beingtransferred to a hospital in Vladikavkaz with a serioushead injury. He died in hospital on 30 May 2005. Hismedical certificate gave the cause of death as having“jumped from the third floor”. According to a relative,by September there had been no further investigationinto Adam Gorchkhanov’s death as the cause of deathhad been “established”.Armed raid in Kabardino-BalkariaOn 13 October a group of up to 300 gunmen launchedattacks on government installations in and near


RUS

Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, includingthe building of the Federal Security Service (FSB), policestations, the TV centre and the airport. There werereports that gunmen took at least two civilians hostage.More than 100 people, including at least 12 civilians,were reported to have been killed during the ensuingshooting between law enforcement officials and thegunmen; many were wounded. The raid was reportedlyin response to months of persecution of practisingMuslims in the region, including arbitrary detentionand torture by law enforcement officials, andwholesale closure of mosques. Following the raid, lawenforcement officials detained dozens of people; manyof the detainees were reportedly tortured. At least oneperson was reported to have “disappeared” followingthe raid.b Former Guantánamo prisoner Rasul Kudaev wasdetained on 23 October by law enforcement officials athis home in Kabardino-Balkaria and taken to theheadquarters of the Organized Crime Squad in Nalchik,where he was reportedly tortured, before beingtransferred to a pre-trial detention centre. Heremained in detention at the end of the year, chargedwith terrorism-related offences. His mother was unableto visit her son or pass on to him sufficient medicationfor his serious health conditions, which according tothe family had rendered him bed-ridden. A lawyer whohad tried to complain about his treatment wassuspended from the case and replaced with anotherstate-appointed lawyer, a move thought to be againstRasul Kudaev’s wishes.ImpunityAI was aware of only two convictions during 2005 forserious human rights violations committed inChechnya. The majority of investigations into allegedviolations were ineffective and the prosecution of thehandful of cases that came to court was flawed.Applicants to the European Court of Human Rightsfaced serious reprisals including intimidation, deaththreats, killing and “disappearance”.b In March a court in the Chechen capital, Grozny,found Sergei Lapin, a member of a special federal policeunit (OMON), guilty of torturing Zelimkhan Murdalov,and sentenced him to 11 years’ imprisonment.Zelimkhan Murdalov had been detained by policeofficers in Grozny in January 2001 and subsequently“disappeared”. In November a criminal case wasopened against the OMON unit commander and hisdeputy who were implicated in Zelimkhan Murdalov’storture and “disappearance”, together with SergeiLapin. The whereabouts and fate of ZelimkhanMurdalov remained unknown.b In May, a court in Rostov-on-Don found fourmembers of a special Russian military intelligence unitnot guilty for a second time of the murder of sixcivilians from Dai village, Chechnya. Although the fouradmitted to the killings, the court ruled that theiractions were not punishable as they had been followingorders. This decision, like the previous acquittal in April2004, was widely criticized and subsequently quashedby the Military Collegiate of the Russian Supreme Courtin August 2005. A third trial started in November.

Council of EuropeIn February the European Court of Human Rightsreleased its judgments in the first six cases from theChechen Republic to reach the Court. The Court ruledthat in these cases the Russian government hadviolated the right to life, the prohibition of torture, therights to an effective remedy and the peacefulenjoyment of possessions. The cases brought by theEuropean Human Rights Advocacy Centre concernedthe Russian federal forces’ indiscriminate aerialbombing of a civilian convoy of refugees fleeing Groznyin October 1999; the “disappearance” and subsequentextrajudicial execution of five individuals in Grozny inJanuary 2000; and the indiscriminate aerial andartillery bombardment of the village of Katyr-Yurt inFebruary 2000.

In June, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council ofEurope (PACE) examined Russia’s progress in honouringthe obligations and commitments it undertook onjoining the Council of Europe in 1996. PACE passed aresolution which stated that while Russia had madeprogress in some areas of human rights, there had beenvery little progress in relation to the obligation to bringto justice those responsible for human rights violations,notably in relation to events in Chechnya. Theresolution called on the Russian authorities to “takeeffective action to put an immediate end to the ongoing‘disappearances’, torture, arbitrary detentions,incommunicado detention in illegal and secretdetention facilities, and unlawful killings” reported inChechnya. The resolution also highlighted the lack ofprogress on the commitment formally to abolish thedeath penalty and to withdraw Russian troops fromMoldova.

Violence against womenAccording to the Russian governmental newspaperRossiiskaia Gazeta up to 80 per cent of all violentcrimes in Russia were committed in the private sphere.Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) remainedconcerned that women were the main victims of suchviolence. While no official statistics were available,independent research showed that about 70 per cent ofmarried women had been subjected to some form ofviolence from their husbands. There were no measuresunder Russian law which specifically addressedviolence against women in the family. The Ministry forHealth and Social Development stated that there were23 state-run crisis centres for women in the RussianFederation. However, women’s human rightsorganizations were concerned that governmentsupport for crisis centres and hotlines was on thedecline. According to these organizations, there wasonly one shelter place for every 9 million women inRussia.

Human rights defendersThe climate of hostility towards some NGOs grew,spurred on by statements by President Putin thatforeign financing of political activity by NGOs wasunacceptable. Human rights defenders, activists andindependent journalists working on human rights


RUS

issues, in particular on Chechnya, were harassed,prosecuted and in some cases subjected to arbitrarydetention and “disappearance”. In some cases theprosecution of activists under anti-extremism and anti-racial hatred laws amounted to a violation of the rightto the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression. Thehuman rights organization Russian Chechen FriendshipSociety (RCFS) was subjected to administrativeharassment from the tax authorities and theregistration department of the Ministry of Justice.Possible prisoners of conscienceb In March a Moscow court found Yuri Samodurov,director of the Andrei Sakharov Museum and PublicCentre in Moscow, and Ludmila Vasilovskaia, curator atthe centre, guilty of charges relating to incitement tonational and religious enmity, and fined them. A thirddefendant, artist Anna Mikhalchuk, was found notguilty of similar charges. The three had organized anexhibition called “Caution, Religion!” in January 2003,in which artists exhibited artwork using religioussymbols.b In November Stanislav Dmitrievskii, ExecutiveDirector of the RCFS and editor-in-chief of the Pravo-zashchita (Rights Defence) newspaper, went ontrial on charges of incitement to racial hatred, for hisdecision to publish articles written by a formerChechen separatist leader and his envoy. However,both articles were critical of Russian government policyrather than expressing any criticism of ethnic Russians,and contained calls for a peaceful resolution to theChechen conflict. The charges are punishable by up tofive years’ imprisonment.Investigation into murder of Galina StarovoitovaIn June the St Petersburg City Court convicted two menof the 1999 murder of Duma Deputy and leader of theDemocratic Russia Party, Galina Starovoitova, and theattempted murder of her assistant, Ruslan Linkov.However, the person who ordered the murder had notbeen identified or prosecuted. The verdict recognizedthe political character of the killing. GalinaStarovoitova had been an outspoken critic ofcorruption and an advocate of human rights.Legislation and non-governmental organizationsIn June an amendment to the tax code came into forceincreasing the list of areas for which grants could begiven tax free, to include the defence of human rights,which was welcomed by human rights groups. However,a draft law on civil society organizations was passed bythe State Duma at the end of the year which raisedserious concerns about freedom of association. Thedraft law provided for much greater scrutiny of theactivities and funding of NGOs by the authorities. Theproposals threatened to open the door to arbitrarydecisions by the authorities, potentially compromisingthe independence of civil society organizations.

Racism, xenophobia and intoleranceForeign nationals from all around the world, includingasylum-seekers, refugees, students and migrantworkers, were victims of racially motivated physicalassaults, some of which were fatal. The SovaInformation-Analytical Centre reported that there were

at least 28 murders and 365 assaults across the countrywhich had been motivated by racial hatred. Citizens ofthe Russian Federation were also targeted, in particularChechens and other North Caucasus ethnic groups, Jews,Roma and practising Muslims. In some cases a lack oftrust in the police prevented victims from reporting theattack. Meskhetians living in Krasnodar Territorycontinued to be refused Russian citizenship on groundsof ethnicity, resulting in discrimination in almost everyaspect of daily life. Anti-racist protest marches andinitiatives took place in cities notorious for attacks,including Voronezh, St Petersburg, Tiumen and Moscow.b Peruvian student Enrique Arturo Angelis Urtadowas beaten and stabbed to death in October in the cityof Voronezh, and two other students were badlyinjured. A number of people were detained inconnection with the attack.b There were suspected arson attacks and robberieson Roma homes in the town of Iskitim, Novosibirskregion, and Roma were subjected to threats andassaults. The Novosibirsk regional procuracy statedthat it was investigating the incidents.b In October a jury in St Petersburg started to hearevidence in the case of Khursheda Sultonova, a nine-year-old Tajik girl who was killed in February 2004. Sevenpeople, aged between 14 and 21 when the crime wascommitted, faced charges of hooliganism, punishable byseven years’ imprisonment, and one youth, aged 14 whenthe crime was committed, faced charges of murder of aperson in a helpless state, motivated by racial hatred, aswell as hooliganism and robbery.

Fair trial concernsIn May former associates of the oil and gas companyYUKOS Mikhail Khodorkovskii and Platon Lebedev werefound guilty of charges including tax evasion and fraudand sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment. Theconvictions followed an investigation and trial thatincluded violations of fair trial standards. Manybelieved the prosecutions to be politically motivated.The cases highlighted serious problems in Russia’scriminal justice system relating to the independence ofthe judiciary; access to effective legal counsel;conditions of detention; and the use of torture and ill-treatment in order to extract confessions. Theprosecution and conviction of Mikhail Khodorkovskiiwas seen as having a chilling effect on freedom ofexpression and political pluralism in Russia.

Arbitrary detention, torture and conditions of detentionViolations of Russian and international law relating todetention, including arbitrary detention and torture,were reported. Conditions in some overcrowded pre-trial detention facilities were so poor that theyamounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.Prisoners serving life sentences lived in conditions thatamounted to ill-treatment and in some cases possiblytorture. Prisoners in regions including Kursk,Ulyanovsk, Smolensk and Mordovia conductedorganized protests, including hunger strikes and massself-harm, against conditions and ill-treatment.


RWA

b In May and June, Senyo Adzokpa, a Ghanaian livingin Moscow, was reportedly tortured in a pre-trialdetention centre in Ivanovo. He was allegedly beatenrepeatedly and coerced into signing a confession bybeing placed in a punishment cell and threatened withrape. He was also subjected to racist abuse.b Former Guantánamo detainees Airat Vakhitov andRustam Akhmiarov were arbitrarily detained inMoscow in August by Moscow and Tatarstan lawenforcement officials, transferred to Tatarstan andheld in detention with access only to a state-appointedlawyer until their release six days later. A court inTatarstan ruled on the legality of the two men’sdetention in their absence, in violation of Russian andinternational law, which require detainees to bepresent for such hearings. Rustam Akhmiarov and AiratVakhitov were simply handed a copy of the courtdecision to detain them further.b Mikhail Trepashkin was denied urgently neededhealth care while in detention in prison colony IK-13 inSverdlovsk oblast. On 20 October he was medicallyexamined and the doctor recommended that he beadmitted to hospital for monitoring and treatment.However, according to his lawyers, the prisonadministration refused to allow him to be transferredto hospital and failed to provide adequate medical care.

Refoulement The Russian authorities forcibly returned at least oneperson to a country in former Soviet Central Asiadespite a serious risk of torture and other grave humanrights violations.b Student Marsel Isaev was forcibly deported fromthe Russian Republic of Tatarstan to Uzbekistan inOctober, despite the fact that his application for asylumwas under consideration by the Russian authorities. Inhis asylum application he had stated that he feared thatin Uzbekistan he could face torture as a suspectedmember of the banned organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Russian Federation: Violations continue, no justice in

sight – a briefing paper on human rights violations inthe context of the armed conflict in the ChechenRepublic (AI Index: EUR 46/029/2005)

• Russian Federation: Torture, “disappearances” andalleged unfair trials in Russia’s North Caucasus (AIIndex: EUR 46/039/2005)

• Russian Federation: Nowhere to turn to – violenceagainst women in the family (AI Index: EUR46/056/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited the Russian Federation in February,March, September and December.

RWANDA

REPUBLIC OF RWANDA

Head of state: Paul Kagame

Head of government: Bernard Makuza





signed

Human rights organizations were prevented fromworking freely and activists were harassed andattacked. Journalists continued to face intimidation.Trials continued of people suspected of involvementin the 1994 genocide: some 36,000 of the more than80,000 detainees awaiting trial were provisionallyreleased in August. There were concerns about thefairness of some of the trials.

BackgroundDuring the first half of the year, Rwanda deployedpeacekeeping troops in Sudan. In mid-2005, severalprominent figures from various countries visited Kigalito pay tribute to the recovery of Rwanda after thegenocide. Their statements were accompanied by newfinancial pledges. The UK announced plans inNovember to provide up to US$83 million to assist thegovernment in the areas of education, land reform andhealth. However, the international depiction ofRwanda contrasted greatly with the human rightssituation on the ground.

Rwanda’s relations with neighbouring Burundi,Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC) improved slightly, despite the government’scontinued support for armed opposition groupsoperating in eastern DRC. Rwanda also continued to beresponsible for arms trafficking to the DRC. Severalmultilateral meetings indicated that an unofficialagreement was emerging between leaders of the regionto control, at least on a temporary basis, the activitiesof armed groups responsible for numerous humanrights abuses.

Human rights work hamperedThe humanitarian responsibility to prevent arecurrence of genocide or any other acts of ethnichostility or violence was given by the authorities asthe principal motive for putting into effect measuresthat suppressed individuals or bodies critical ofgovernment policy. A politically motivated reportendorsed by parliament in 2004 adversely affected thework of human rights organizations. Theparliamentary commission report had accused severalinstitutions, including national and internationalnon-governmental organizations (NGOs) andindividuals, of supporting genocide or disseminatingits principal tenets. Following the report severalmembers of civil society, including staff of human


RWA

rights organizations such as the League for thePromotion and Protection of Human Rights in Rwandaand the League for the Protection of Human Rights inthe Great Lakes region, were forced to flee thecountry for fear of being persecuted or arbitrarilyarrested.

During the year the Senate began disseminating aquestionnaire to Rwandans and internationalorganizations asking them to denounce any foreignindividual or organization suspected of promoting“divisionism” or an “ideology of genocide”. This, alongwith other government measures, continued to create aclimate in which any criticisms or opposition werediscredited.

Some human rights organizations were only able towork in extremely difficult conditions and under closescrutiny by the authorities. Their freedom was alsoaffected by the law relating to non-profitassociations, which stipulates that all NGOs inRwanda must obtain an annual “certificate ofregistration” renewable from the Ministry of LocalGovernment, Good Governance, CommunityDevelopment and Social Affairs (Ministère del’Administration Locale, Bonne Gouvernance,Développement Communautaire et Affaires Sociales,MINALOC). This certificate is granted on the basis ofthe organization’s mission statement and annualreport. The process allows the authorities to monitorthe activities of NGOs and control their publications.

A MINALOC official told AI representatives that aBatwa association had its application rejected becauseit said it represented the Batwa community andtherefore breached the law against “divisionism”. Inlight of such rulings, some organizations censoredthemselves to obtain a certificate.

Human rights organizations were often told that theycould not obtain certification because of slowadministrative processes, even though other groupswere successful within days.

The acquisition of a certificate did not ensure thathuman rights organizations could workindependently. If they intended to address sensitiveissues, they had to go through another process ofauthorization at the ministerial or local level. A localhuman rights organization working on land issues inthe province of Kibungo did not receive the necessaryauthorization from the provincial authorities, eventhough MINALOC had issued it with a certificate ofregistration. The issue of land sharing remained oneof the most sensitive in Kibungo. Similar difficultieswere reported by an international NGO working in thesame field.

Freedom of expression under attackDespite the declaration by the Minister of Informationin November that the press was free to work in Rwanda,journalists continued to face intimidation andharassment for articles criticizing government policy.b On 7 September, Jean Léonard Ruganbage, ajournalist for Umuco, an independent newspaper, wasdetained because of his investigation into the justicesystem and the gacaca, a community-based system of

tribunals established by the government in 2002 to trypeople suspected of crimes during the 1994 genocide(see below).b Bonaventure Bizumuremyi, editor of Umuco, wasdetained several times after September and hisnewspaper seized. He had published articles thatcriticized the governing party Rwandan Patriotic Front(Front Patriotique Rwandais) for coercing local co-operatives to fund it.

Human rights activists who spoke out faced physicaland verbal attacks, and anonymous telephone callsaccusing them of being “traitors”. As a result, somewere intimidated into silence, a phenomenon that wasbecoming increasingly widespread.

Genocide trialsAt the beginning of 2005, more than 80,000 detaineesawaited trial for their alleged participation in the 1994genocide. The authorities had predicted that it wouldtake several decades to process all the cases given thecapacity of the judicial system. In August, 36,000 of thedetainees were provisionally released on the groundsthat they had confessed their involvement in thegenocide. The decision to release some detainees wasmade in part to relieve the overcrowded conditions inthe prison system, and in part to try detainees beforegacaca tribunals where they would have to providefurther information on the crimes of other perpetrators.

The gacaca system officially began in 2005 to gatherinformation on crimes committed between 1 October1990 and 31 December 1994. The department of gacacajurisdiction declared that more than 760,000 peoplecould be prosecuted (one in four of the adultpopulation) and that the process should be completedby 2007. This intention to process cases as quickly aspossible increased suspicion about the fairness of thegacaca system. Some decisions made by gacacatribunals cast doubt on their impartiality.b Guy Theunis, a Belgian Catholic priest, wasarrested on 6 September at Kigali Airport for hisalleged role in the 1994 genocide and was taken beforea gacaca court within five days. He was accused ofinciting ethnic hatred and masterminding killings in achurch in Kigali. After weeks of diplomaticnegotiations with the Belgian authorities, Guy Theuniswas transferred to Belgium on 20 November and theBelgian judicial authorities began investigatingcharges brought against him in Rwanda.

There was widespread distrust of the gacaca system.Some Rwandans feared being exposed for theirinvolvement in the genocide by the gacaca tribunals.Others feared that the tribunals could be used byindividuals to resolve personal conflicts or to makeeconomic gain.

RefugeesThousands of Rwandans fled to neighbouringcountries, apparently for reasons including fear of thegacaca system, suspicion of the authorities andrumours of politically motivated “disappearances”. InApril, on the 11th anniversary of the genocide,thousands of Rwandans fled to Burundi and Uganda. At


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the end of the year, more than 7,000 Rwandansremained in exile in Burundi (see Burundi entry).

International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaTrials of prominent genocide suspects continuedbefore the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda(ICTR), which held 60 detainees at the end of 2005.

Five trials involving 20 defendants continued fromprevious years, and five new trials involving sevendefendants began in 2005. Two judgments were given:one defendant received a six-year prison sentence andanother received life imprisonment.

One suspect surrendered himself to the ICTR inTanzania and was later transferred to the Hague fordetention pending his trial on charges of genocide,conspiracy to commit genocide and complicity ingenocide. Another suspect was arrested in Gabon. Inaddition to the same crimes, he was charged with directand public incitement to commit genocide andpersecution as a crime against humanity.

The ICTR continued to work under a UN SecurityCouncil deadline to finish trials by the end of 2008 andappeals by 2010. The Tribunal may transfer some casefiles to the Rwandan authorities to meet this deadline.The ICTR’s President estimated that 65-70 cases wouldhave been completed by 2008.

Update: Augustin Cyiza and Léonard HitimanaAugustin Cyiza, a former military officer and aprominent member of civil society, and LéonardHitimana, a member of parliament, were amongopposition activists who “disappeared” in 2003 in therun-up to elections. The authorities continued to statethat the men left the country to join the DemocraticLiberation Forces of Rwanda (Forces Démocratiques deLibération du Rwanda), an armed group operating inthe DRC. No investigation into their “disappearance”was opened and the authorities continued to ignorerequests for information from the UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. It appears that the two men wereabducted and killed in Rwanda.

AI country report/visitsStatement• Rwanda: Human rights organization forced to close

down (AI Index: AFR 47/001/2005)VisitsAI delegates visited Rwanda in May to investigate theissue of land restitution for refugees and internallydisplaced persons, and in November to monitor thehuman rights situation.

SAUDI ARABIA

KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

Head of state and government: King Abdullah Bin

‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud (replaced King Fahd Bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz

Al-Saud in August)





signed

Killings by security forces and armed groupsescalated, exacerbating the already grim humanrights situation. Scores of people were arrested forsuspected links with armed opposition groups butlittle information was available about their legalstatus or conditions in detention. Women remainedsubject to extensive discrimination in law andpractice, and inadequately protected againstviolence in the home, but there were some signs ofreform. Migrant workers also faced discriminationand abuse. At least 86 men and two women wereexecuted, almost half of them foreign nationals.

BackgroundCrown Prince Abdullah became King and Head of Statefollowing King Fahd’s death on 1 August and namedPrince Sultan, the Defence Minister, as the new CrownPrince. The accession of King Abdullah raised hopes ofpolitical reform, including in the area of women’srights, but progress was slow.

In April, the government announced plans to reformthe judicial system, introduce specialized labour,commercial and criminal courts, and establish aSupreme Court. In September, the government createda national human rights commission to “protect humanrights and spread awareness about them... in keepingwith the provisions of Islamic law”.

Saudi Arabia’s first-ever municipal elections wereheld in three stages from February to April to fill half ofthe 600 seats on the country’s 178 municipal councils.The other half are filled by government appointees.Women were excluded from the elections, provokingmuch controversy. Women’s rights activists called onthe government to appoint women to some of theunelected seats.

Armed clashes and killingsArmed men allegedly aligned to al-Qa’ida engaged inarmed confrontations with security forces in whichscores of people from both sides were killed. Suchclashes occurred in Riyadh, al-Madina, al-Dammam andelsewhere as the government intensified a “campaignfor fighting terrorism” announced by the InteriorMinistry in February.b In early April, security forces were reported tohave killed 15 armed men and injured others in fightingat al-Ras, near Riyadh. Among the dead were men


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whose names appeared on a list of 26 wanted menpublished by the government in late 2003, and amember of the security forces.b In September, according to reports, five armedmen were killed and others were injured whengovernment forces, two of whom were also killed,stormed a house in al-Dammam.

Abuses in the context of the ‘war on terror’The government took various measures to counter theactivities of groups suspected of links to al-Qa’ida. Ithosted an international counter-terrorism conferencein February which recognized that human rights abuseswere one cause of terrorism and recommended thatspecific codes of conduct be devised to assist lawenforcement agencies in combating terrorism whilerespecting human rights. Later, King Abdullah renewedhis call for members of armed groups to surrender tothe authorities.

Government forces arrested scores of suspectedIslamists but disclosed little information about thosedetained, not even their names. The Interior Ministryreportedly stated that many of those arrested would betried. However, the secrecy that surrounds the criminaljustice system meant that no trials were reported.There was concern that those prosecuted would notreceive fair trials.

Some of those arrested were among those named in anew list of 36 “most wanted” suspects, many of themforeign nationals, issued by the government in June.They included Faiz Ayoub, who reportedly handedhimself in to the authorities on 1 July.

Among others arrested were at least five Chadiannationals who were detained in June, and Mohamed al-‘Ameri and four people believed to be Saudi Arabiannationals who were reportedly detained in al-Madinaon 25 July.

Other security suspects were returned to or receivedfrom other countries. In February and March, 27 Yemeninationals were deported to Yemen, where they mayhave been detained, while Yemeni authorities returned25 Saudi Arabian nationals to Saudi Arabia on 28 March.Further exchanges of such prisoners between the twocountries, and between Saudi Arabia and othercountries, were believed to have occurred, but fewdetails were available.b Salem al-Baloushi was returned in April to theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE), having been detainedincommunicado without charge since February 2003.He was immediately detained in the UAE.b Ahmed Abu ‘Ali, aged 23 and a US national, wasreturned in February to the USA where he was tried andconvicted of conspiring to assassinate US PresidentGeorge W. Bush and other offences. He had beenarrested in Saudi Arabia in June 2003 and alleged that hewas tortured and ill-treated while held incommunicadofor two months and that US officials were aware of this.He also said that US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)officials had participated in his interrogation in SaudiArabia and threatened him with transferral toGuantánamo Bay, Cuba, or trial in Saudi Arabia where hewould not have the right to representation by a lawyer.

Women’s rightsWomen remained subject to discrimination in law andpractice and were not adequately protected againstdomestic and family violence. However, thegovernment expressed commitment to improving thestatus of women and was reported in March to bepreparing legislation to grant women the right tobecome permanent members of the Shura (ConsultativeCouncil).

The Ministry of Labour announced that it wishedto increase the number of women in paidemployment. However, it said this would onlyhappen with consideration of “the need of thewoman for work, the need of the society for herwork, the approval of her legal guardian” and issuesof “decency”, including dress, and that a woman’swork should not be at the expense of her family lifeor “lead to social or moral problems”. Women’s rightsactivists said it was such constraints that resulted inno more than 5 per cent of Saudi Arabian womenbeing in paid employment.

The exclusion of women from participation in themunicipal elections was widely criticized by women’srights activists. The government said that there werenot enough qualified women to administer women-only registration centres and that not all women hadidentification cards needed for voting. In response tothe criticisms, the Head of the Elections Committee saidthat he expected that women would participate infuture elections.

In April, the Grand Mufti issued a statement banningthe practice of forcing women to marry against theirwill and called for the imprisonment of those whopersisted in such practice. However, cases of forcedmarriages continued to be reported.b J.A., aged 29, reportedly remained at risk andconfined to the family home where she had sufferedserious violence since she was 14 years old.b Rania al-Baz, whose case was widely publicizedafter she was severely beaten by her former husband,reportedly fled from Saudi Arabia and settled inFrance.

Repression of freedom of expression and religionb Mohamed al-‘Oshen, editor-in-chief of al-Mohayednewspaper, was detained in January, reportedly afterhe published articles critical of the government, but hewas believed to have been released without chargelater that month.b One woman and 14 men were sentenced in Januaryto prison terms ranging from two to six months and tobetween 100 and 250 lashes for demonstrating inDecember 2004 in Jeddah on behalf of the Movementfor Islamic Reform. At least six others were said to beawaiting trial.b In April, police and members of the Committee forthe Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vicereportedly stormed a house in Riyadh and arrested 40people of different nationalities, including Pakistaniand Filipino migrant workers, for practisingChristianity. The detainees were later released.


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Political prisonersPeaceful critics of the state as well as suspectedmembers or sympathizers of armed groups weredetained during the year. The exact number of thosedetained was unclear.b Dr Sa’id Bin Zu’air, a possible prisoner ofconscience held at al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh, wasreleased in August following a pardon by King Abdullah.Two of his sons, Mubarak Bin Sa’id Bin Zu’air and Sa’adBin Sa’id Bin Zu’air, who were detained after theycampaigned for their father’s release, were freed, theformer at the beginning of 2005 and the latter in July.

Several prisoners of conscience were released undera royal pardon declared by King Abdullah on 8 August.b Dr Matrouk al-Falih, Dr ‘Abdullah al-Hamid and ‘Alial-Deminy were released under the pardon. They hadbeen held since March 2004 and were servingsentences of up to nine years’ imprisonment imposedin May after a closed session by the Cassation Court inRiyadh. The charges against them included “sowingdissent and disobeying the ruler”. Their lawyer, ‘AbdelRahman al-Lahem, who had been in custody sinceNovember 2004, was also released following a pardonby the King.

Migrant workersIn August, the government announced plans to reformthe country’s labour law to improve protection offoreign workers’ rights. It warned employers andemployment agencies that they could be punished,including with prison terms, if they mistreated workers.The authorities said that new guidelines would be givento migrant workers explaining their rights under SaudiArabian law and that complaints’ mechanisms would bestrengthened. It urged abused workers to submitcomplaints.

Despite these positive initiatives, there continued tobe reports of abuses against migrant workers.b Nour Miyati, an Indonesian woman employed as adomestic worker, was taken by her employer to aRiyadh hospital suffering from serious injuries whichnecessitated amputation of her fingers. She apparentlyalleged that her employer had tied her up for a month ina bathroom and assaulted her. According to reports,after she made the allegations she was charged withmaking false statements against her employer,removed from the hospital and detained for two daysby police. She was then released by order of theGovernor of Riyadh and handed into the care of acharitable organization.

Judicial corporal punishmentFlogging remained a routine corporal punishmentimposed by courts as a main or additional sentence fora wide range of offences, including in cases involvingprisoners of conscience.b Hamza al-Muzaini, an academic, was sentenced to75 lashes and two months’ imprisonment in March forallegedly criticizing a cleric in an article. Crown PrinceAbdullah intervened and annulled the sentence.b Four men who attended a “gay wedding” in Jeddahwere sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and 2,000

lashes in April; 31 others were sentenced to 200 lashesand between six months and one year in prison. Theywere prisoners of conscience.b Twelve Nigerian men were sentenced to seven-year prison terms and 700 lashes in May for assaultafter they were convicted following an unfair trial.

Death penaltyAt least 86 men and two women were executed. Almosthalf of them were foreign nationals.b Six Somali men were executed on 4 April eventhough they had served their prison sentences andbeen subjected to corporal punishment. Neither theynor their families were aware that they were at risk ofexecution, and they had not had access to consular orlegal assistance.b Suliamon Olyfemi, a Nigerian, remained undersentence of death. He had been convicted of murderafter a trial in November 2004 during which he had nolegal representation or translation services fromArabic, which he did not understand.

The authorities did not disclose the number of deathsentences, which may have significantly exceededthose known by AI. Defendants in capital cases often donot have legal representation and are not informed ofthe progress of the proceedings. There was concernthat some defendants were convicted and sentenced todeath solely or largely on the basis of confessionsobtained under duress, torture or deception.




SER

SENEGAL

REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL

Head of state: Abdoulaye Wade

Head of government: Macky Sall




Fighting came to a halt in the southern Casamanceregion. Reconstruction work and demining allowedrefugees and displaced farmers to return home.Threats to freedom of expression continued andseveral journalists and political opponents werearrested. Impunity continued with the adoption of anamnesty law on past politically motivated offences.

BackgroundFollowing the December 2004 peace agreement, whichended two decades of conflict in Casamance,reconstruction work and demining began in the region.This allowed refugees, former fighters and displacedfarmers to return home. In February negotiationsbegan on the implementation of the peace agreementbut were hampered by divisions within rival factions ofthe Democratic Forces of Casamance Movement(Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance,MFDC). Following the arrest of former Prime MinisterIdrissa Seck in July (see below) and repeatedintimidation of journalists and political opponents,President Wade faced increasing waves of protestsfrom civil society groups and some political parties.

Arrest of Idrissa SeckIn July former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck was arrestedand charged with threatening state security, anaccusation that appeared to be politically motivatedand unfounded. He was then charged withembezzlement of funds. He remained in prison andsome of his defence rights were initially not respected,including the right to meet his lawyers in private.Several other people were briefly arrested orinterrogated in connection with this case.

Threats to freedom of expressionJournalists and political opponents continued to beharassed and intimidated in an attempt to restrictfreedom of expression.b In May, Abdourahim Agne, the leader of theopposition Reform Party, was detained and charged withinciting the population to insurrection after he urgedpeople to follow Ukraine’s example and hold peacefulprotests to drive President Wade out of office.Abdourahim Agne was provisionally released in June.b In October, police shut down Sud FM, one of themajor private radio stations, and detained about 20staff after the station broadcast an interview withSalif Sadio, a military leader of the MFDC in which he

called for the separation of Casamance from Senegal.The Minister of Information said the action had beentaken because the interview might “threaten the securityof state”. All the Sud FM staff were released a few hourslater and the radio broadcast signals re-established.

ImpunityDespite public commitments by the authorities, nosteps were taken to end impunity for human rightsperpetrators. In January parliament passed a law thatprovides an amnesty for “politically motivated”offences committed between 1 January 1983 and 31December 2004.

Hissène Habré caseSenegal did not give a positive answer to theextradition request and international arrest warrantissued by a Belgian judge and charging Chad’s formerpresident, Hissène Habré, with gross human rightsviolations committed during his 1982-90 rule. HissèneHabré has lived in Senegal since he was ousted frompower in 1990. In November the Dakar Appeal Courtdeclared itself “not competent” to rule whether to issuean extradition order in the case. A few days later, theauthorities announced that the African Union (AU)should indicate who had jurisdiction to rule on this anddeclared that Hissène Habré would remain in Senegalpending the AU’s decision.

AI country reports/visitsStatement• Senegal: Government must immediately arrest and

extradite Hissène Habré to Belgium to face crimesagainst humanity charges (AI Index: AFR 49/001/2005)

SERBIA AND

MONTENEGRO

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO

Head of state: Svetozar Marovi»Head of government: Vojislav Ko®tunica (Serbia), Milo

Ðukanovi» (Montenegro)




Serbia’s co-operation with the International CriminalTribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Tribunal)improved in the first half of the year under intenseinternational pressure, with the apparent voluntarysurrender of 11 suspects indicted by the Tribunal.


SER

However, in December the Tribunal’s ChiefProsecutor reported that co-operation haddeteriorated. The Prime Minister of Kosovo wasindicted and surrendered to the Tribunal in March.Domestic trials and retrials of Serbs and KosovoAlbanians accused of war crimes continued. In Serbiatrials continued of former officials accused ofcomplicity in previous political crimes. Police tortureand ill-treatment continued. Roma were deprived ofmany basic rights. Trafficking of women and girls forforced prostitution remained a serious concern.

BackgroundSerbia and Montenegro (SCG) continued to operate withseparate governments and legal systems. On 3 Octoberthe European Union (EU) Council of Ministers authorizedthe European Council to start talks with the Union ofSCG. These started on 7 November aimed at aStabilization and Association Agreement with the EU. InOctober, a revised criminal code and a law on the policeand on the Protector of Citizens (ombudsperson) wereintroduced, but legislative reform remained slow. TheEU, through the Venice Commission, set out conditionsfor the Montenegrin independence referendum plannedfor April 2006.

The UN Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)continued to administer Kosovo. Some furthercompetencies were transferred to the ProvisionalInstitutions of Self-Government (PISG), and measureswere taken towards decentralization. The presence ofuniformed opposition groups was reported. The Self-Determination Movement organized non-violentdemonstrations against UNMIK in which at least 186people were arrested; some were reportedly ill-treatedby the police. In October, the UN Secretary-Generalappointed a Special Envoy to Kosovo to conduct talkson the future status of the province.

War crimes: international prosecutionsThe trial by the Tribunal of former President SlobodanMiloševi», accused of responsibility for war crimes inCroatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and Kosovo,continued. In June the prosecution presented the courtwith footage of members of a Serb paramilitary unit(the “Scorpions”) executing six Bosniak prisoners fromSrebrenica on Mount Treskavica in BiH in July 1995. The“Scorpions” were alleged to be under the control of theSerbian authorities when the crimes were committed.In December, the Tribunal amended the indictmentagainst Jovica Staniši» and Franko Simatovi» to includefurther charges related to this incident. Proceedingsalso opened on 20 December at the Belgrade war crimescourt against five members of the “Scorpions” inrelation to these executions.

The Serbian authorities failed to seek out and arrestsuspects indicted by the Tribunal. However, underpressure from the EU and the US government, theyadopted a policy of “encouraging” voluntary surrenderand affording suspects official support.

In January, former commander of the Priština CorpsVladimir Lazarevi» surrendered to the Serbianauthorities; he was transferred to the custody of the

Tribunal. He had been indicted along with three otherformer senior officers and government officials forindividual criminal responsibility and for commandresponsibility for crimes against humanity andviolations of the laws or customs of war in Kosovo in1999. Two others – Sreten Luki», former police generalin Kosovo and later assistant Serbian Interior Minister,and Nebojša Pavkovi», former commander of theArmed Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia –voluntarily surrendered in April and May. The fourthman, Vlastimir Ðorðevi», former Assistant Minister ofthe Interior, was believed to remain at large in Russia.

Between February and April, eight suspects indictedby the Tribunal for charges including war crimes,crimes against humanity and genocide in connectionwith the war in BiH, surrendered to the Serbianauthorities and were transferred to the Tribunal. Theyincluded former Bosnian Serb Army officers DragoNikoli», Vinko Pandurevi», Ljubomir Borov½anin andVujadin Popovi», all of whom were indicted inconnection with the killing of more than 8,000Bosniak civilians in Srebenica in July 1995 (see Bosniaand Herzegovina entry).

In October Tribunal Prosecutor Carla Del Pontereported “complete satisfaction with Belgrade’s co-operation” for the first time. However, neitherRadovan Karadûi» nor Ratko Mladi» had surrendered bythe end of the year. In December she reported that co-operation had deteriorated.

Ramush Haradinaj, former prime minister of Kosovoand Kosova Liberation Army (KLA) commander, resignedin March and surrendered to the Tribunal. He wasindicted, with Lahi Brahimaj and Idriz Balaj, on 37 countsof crimes against humanity and war crimes against theSerb, Roma, Ashkali and “Egyptian” populations.

On 5 May, Beqa Beqaj was convicted and sentencedto four months’ imprisonment for contempt of theTribunal in connection with the intimidation ofwitnesses in the Limaj case. In November, in the samecase, Haradin Bala was convicted of torture, crueltreatment and murder of prisoners in the Llapushnik(Lapušnik) area and prison camp in 1998. He wassentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. Two others werefound not guilty.

SerbiaWar crimes: domestic prosecutionsOf those indicted in connection with the Ov½aramassacre near Vukovar in Croatia in 1991, 14 wereconvicted of war crimes by the special War CrimesPanel within the Belgrade District Court in December.

In a case investigated by the Tribunal and transferredto Serbia in 2004, nine men were indicted in August forthe detention and torture of at least 174 Bosniakcivilians and the murder of at least 15 men at ¼elopek inBiH, and the deportation to Hungary of 1,822 BosnianMuslims; three suspects remained at large.

On 14 May, former police officer Goran Veselinovi»was convicted at Kraljevo District Court of war crimesand sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment for themurder of two Serb and two Albanian civilians inMitrovica in 1999.


SER

On 17 May, Saša Cvetjan, a member of the“Scorpions”, was again sentenced to 20 years’imprisonment at Belgrade District court for the killingof 14 Albanian civilians in Podujevo in 1999. TheSupreme Court had ordered a retrial in January.

On 23 May, the Montenegro Supreme Courtconfirmed the conviction and sentence of NebojšaRanisavljevi» for the abduction of 20 mainly Muslimcivilians from a train at ©trpci railway station inFebruary 1993.‘Disappearances’Investigations opened in January into the alleged masscremation of the bodies of ethnic Albanians at theMa½katica factory in Surdulica in 1999. TheHumanitarian Law Centre alleged that witnesses wereintimidated by local police officers.

By November, Serbia had handed over to UNMIK836 bodies of ethnic Albanians killed in Kosovo, whohad been transferred to Serbia in refrigerated trucksand buried in mass graves in Batajnica near Belgrade,Petrovo Selo and Bajina Bašta. No indictments hadbeen issued by the end of the year; investigations hadopened in 2000. On 25 October, six serving Serbianpolice officers and three former officers wereindicted on suspicion of the murder of 48 ethnicAlbanians in Suva Reka in Kosovo in March 1999;some of the bodies identified at Batajnica originatedfrom Suva Reka.Possible extrajudicial executionsSlavoljub ©»eki», Head of the General Criminal Divisionof the Montenegrin police, was murdered on 30 August.His family alleged official complicity and opened theirown investigation.

The trial continued of Damir Mandi», the sole suspect– despite allegations of official complicity – in themurder in May 2004 of Duško Jovanovi», editor-in-chiefof the Montenegrin daily Dan.Army of SCGThe Belgrade District Court opened investigations on 14March into the unresolved deaths of two conscriptsentries – Draûen Milovanovi» and Dragan Jakovljevi»– in October 2004 at a Belgrade military complex.Investigations continued with the German WiesbadenCriminological Institute invited to assist in September,and the US Federal Bureau of Investigations inDecember.

In October, the period of compulsory military servicewas reduced from nine to six months; alternativeservice was cut from 13 to nine months. Amendments tolegislation allowing for conscientious objection,introduced in February, breached Council of Europestandards allowing for application for conscientiousobjector status at any time.Past political murdersOn 29 June, Milorad “Legija” Ulemek-Lukovi» wassentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for his part in themurder of four people during the attempted murder ofcurrent SCG Foreign Minister Vuk Draškovi» in 1999.Former head of Serbian state security RadomirMarkovi» was also sentenced to 10 years’imprisonment, along with eight other security officials.In July Milorad Ulemek-Lukovi» was sentenced to 40

years’ imprisonment for the murder of former SerbianPresident Ivan Stamboli» in August 2000; RadomirMarkovi» was sentenced to 15 years in prison for failingto prevent the murder.

The trial continued of Milorad Ulemek-Lukovi»,accused of involvement in the murder in March 2003 ofPrime Minister Zoran Ðinði». In April another suspect,Dejan “Bagsy” Milenkovi», was extradited from Greeceand in July was given witness-associate status (becamea prosecution witness) by the court.Police torture and ill-treatmentReports of police torture or ill-treatment apparentlyfell, but investigations into previous cases remainedseriously flawed, and in a number of trials testimonyallegedly obtained under torture was admitted inevidence. In May a Ministry of Interior reportconfirmed six cases of torture during “Operation Sabre”in 2003, although the Ministry was reportedly unable toidentify the police officers concerned.

The UN Committee against Torture in both May andNovember found SCG to be in violation of theConvention against Torture in relation to complaintssubmitted on behalf of two Romani men, JovicaDimitrov and Danilo Dimitrijevi». In December,Belgrade District Court found the Republic of Serbia inviolation of its obligations under the Convention, inconnection with the Committee against Torture’sdecision of 2001 in the case of Milan Risti».MinoritiesIn May the UN Committee on Economic, Social andCultural Rights expressed concern over the lack of anti-discrimination legislation, reported incidents of inter-ethnic violence and widespread discrimination againstRoma. They urged SCG to take special measures toalleviate poverty among Roma, and ensure that Romahad access to adequate, affordable and secure housing,adequate sanitation and safe drinking water, andaffordable primary health care. The Committee alsoexpressed concern at the continuing uncertainresidence status of refugees, returnees and internallydisplaced people, including Roma.

Attacks on Roma individuals and communities wereregularly reported but few perpetrators were broughtto justice.

Attacks in the Vojvodina region continued,predominantly against the Hungarian minority.

In July, eight men were sentenced to between threeand five months’ imprisonment for the burning of theHadrovi» mosque in Niš in March 2004. The attack wasone of several that month targeting minorities in Serbiawhich took place in the wake of widespread attacks onSerb communities in Kosovo.Attacks on human rights defendersHuman rights defenders and non-governmentalorganizations seeking to challenge impunity for warcrimes were subjected to increased threats and attacks.Repeated and apparently systematic intimidation tookthe form of public threats, apparent “burglaries” andwhat appeared to be malicious prosecutions, as well asphysical attacks. There was increasing concern aboutthe independence of the media. Few perpetrators werebrought to justice.


SER

Violence against womenResearch conducted in 2003 by the BelgradeAutonomous Women’s Centre, and published by theWorld Health Organization (WHO) in November,showed that intimate partner violence remainedwidespread. Some 24 per cent of the 1,456 respondentssurveyed had experienced physical or sexual violence,but only four per cent had reported this to the police;some 78 per cent had never sought assistance from anyagency.

A Family Law introducing protective measures forvictims of domestic violence came into force in July.

SCG remained a source, transit and destinationcountry for women and girls trafficked for forcedprostitution.

KosovoWar crimes: domestic prosecutionsIn May, three members of the “Ka½anik” (Kaçanik) groupaccused of war crimes were convicted by aninternational panel at Priština District Court, andsentenced to between six and eight years’imprisonment. Four former members of the KLA knownas the “Llap group”, convicted and sentenced in 2003,were released in July after the Supreme Court annulledthe verdict and ordered a retrial. In September, fourSerb men were arrested in Gra½anica (Ulpiana) for warcrimes.‘Disappearances’ and abductionsIn April, a mass grave, reportedly containing theremains of non-Albanians killed in 1998, was found inKlina. Despite the resumption of talks, little progresswas made in bringing to justice those responsible forboth the “disappearances” of ethnic Albanians and theabduction of Serbs, Roma and other minorities.Ethnically motivated crimesThere were regular reports of attacks on Serbiancommunities, including the use of tear gas, handgrenades and other explosive devices, arson, beatingsand shootings.

According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), 426 people were chargedwith criminal offences in connection with the March2004 violence in which 19 people died and 954 civiliansand 184 police and security personnel were injured. Asof November, some 209 people had been convicted and12 acquitted, with 110 cases still pending and 95 chargesdropped. The OSCE reported in December that criminalinvestigations had been hindered by problemsincluding witness intimidation, loss of materialevidence and poor co-operation between the policeand the prosecution.b In May, six Albanians were sentenced to a total of38 years’ imprisonment at Gnjilane (Gnilanë) DistrictCourt for the murder of Slobodan Peri» and his mother,Anka Peri», in March 2004.b On 7 April, 12 ethnic Albanians were convicted andsentenced for the murder of former police officerHamez Hajra, his wife and three children in 2001; fourreceived 30-year sentences.b On 13 April, Florim Ejupi was arrested in Albania,and charged with the murder of 12 Serbs and six other

offences in connection with the bombing of the NišExpress bus in March 2001; he was also charged withthe murder of UNMIK and Kosovo Police Service (KPS)officers in February 2004.Politically motivated crimesSadik Musa, a former protected witness, was shot on 31January in Pe» (Peja), and died on 1 February.

On 4 June Abdhyl Ayeti, a journalist associated withthe Democratic League of Kosovo, was shot andwounded; he died on 25 June. A suspect was arrested on15 June.

UNMIK and KPS officers were targeted in shootingsand explosive devices were placed under policevehicles.b Umar Ali Karya, a Nigerian UNMIK police officer,was killed by a car bomb on 13 January in Prizren.

Discrimination against minoritiesIn April a Memorandum of Understanding between theGerman government and UNMIK allowed the forciblereturn of Ashkali and “Egyptian” individuals fromGermany. Voluntary returns remained low.

On 2 June, UNMIK submitted a report to the Councilof Europe on measures taken to implement theFramework Convention for the Protection of NationalMinorities. This failed to note that internallydisplaced Roma, Ashkali and “Egyptian” people livingnear the former Trep½a Mines lead-smelting site inZve½an (Zveçan) municipality had been found by theWHO in 2004 to have dangerous levels of lead in theirblood. There was grave concern at the failure ofUNMIK and the PISG to respect and fulfil their right tohealth; despite international calls for their urgentrelocation, they had not been moved by the end of the year.

Trafficking of women and girls for forced prostitutionAn Administrative Directive implementing the 2001trafficking regulation promulgated in February failed toguarantee trafficked women and girls an automaticright to protection and assistance. A trafficking actionplan published in May failed to fully meet AI’s 2004recommendations on protecting the human rights oftrafficked women and girls.

Arrests of groups of suspected traffickers werereported in March and May.b In May a senior member of the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees was convicted andsentenced for sexual exploitation of minors under 16years, but charges related to trafficking were dropped.



• Serbia and Montenegro: A wasted year – Thecontinuing failure to fulfil key human rightscommitments made to the Council of Europe (AIIndex: EUR 70/005/2005)


SIE

• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of AmnestyInternational’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Serbia and Montenegro (AI Index: EUR01/012/2005)

• Serbia and Montenegro. The writing on the wall:human rights defenders at risk (AI Index: EUR70/016/2005)

SIERRA LEONE

REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE

Head of state and government: Ahmad Tejan Kabbah





Trials continued before the Special Court for SierraLeone. The Nigerian government refused to surrenderformer Liberian President Charles Taylor to theSpecial Court for Sierra Leone to be tried on chargesof crimes against humanity and war crimescommitted during the armed conflict in Sierra Leone.The trials before national courts of formercombatants charged with murder and other offencesin 2002 continued. Weaknesses, such as staffshortages, remained in the judicial sector. The actingeditor of the leading newspaper For Di People diedafter a severe beating, amid fears that a member ofparliament had been involved in his death. The Truthand Reconciliation Commission’s 2004 report wasdistributed as part of a nationwide programme toraise awareness of human rights, including of womenand children. However, a recommendation by theCommission to abolish the death penalty was notimplemented.

BackgroundThe security situation remained generally stable. Thegovernment assumed further responsibilities formaintaining security and consolidating the peace, andextended its authority. Some 9,500 police officerswere deployed throughout the country, andinternational military advisers supportedstrengthening of the army.

Sierra Leone remained one of the poorest countriesin the world, with 70 per cent of the population livingon less than US$1 a day and high illiteracy rates. Therewas little progress in addressing other factors

contributing to human rights violations, particularlywidespread poverty, severe youth unemployment andthe lack of basic services.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights visitedSierra Leone in July, primarily to support theestablishment of the National Human RightsCommission. Later in July Parliament approved the lawsetting up the National Human Rights Commission,which was to start functioning from early 2006.

An August UN Security Council resolution replacedthe UN peacekeeping office in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)with a peace building office, the UN Integrated Office inSierra Leone (UNIOSIL), to focus on human rights andthe rule of law from January 2006. The human rightssection of UNAMSIL held a national conference inDecember to formulate a human rights action plan forthe new mission.

The Special Court for Sierra LeoneFormer Liberian President Charles Taylor continued toenjoy impunity despite international pressure,including from the European Parliament and the USCongress, for Nigeria to surrender him to the SpecialCourt for Sierra Leone to face charges of crimes againsthumanity, war crimes and other serious violations ofinternational law. The Campaign Against Impunity, acoalition of international human rights organizations,was formed to press the Nigerian government andother African Union member states for Charles Taylor’ssurrender to the Special Court.

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria maintainedhis refusal to surrender Charles Taylor, on the groundsthat it would disrupt Liberia’s transition. In Julymember states of the Mano River Union – Guinea,Liberia and Sierra Leone – called for Nigeria to reviewthe terms under which Charles Taylor had been grantedasylum in 2003, as he was allegedly breaking acommitment not to interfere in Liberian politics. InNovember the federal High Court in Nigeria ruled thattwo Nigerian victims of torture had legal standing tochallenge the asylum given to Charles Taylor.

The Special Court established a second trial chamberin January, enabling a third trial to start in March. Threetrials involving nine suspects indicted in 2003continued throughout the year. In April the second trialchamber ordered the prosecution of a defence lawyerfor allegedly revealing the identity of, and threatening,a protected witness. In July the prosecution closed itscase in the trial of three members of pro-governmentCivil Defence Force (CDF) militias, and in October thefirst trial chamber unanimously dismissed a motion foracquittal. In November the trial began of threemembers of the former armed oppositionRevolutionary United Front (RUF). The trial of threemembers of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council(AFRC) had not concluded by the end of 2005. Reportsof the death of Johnny Paul Koroma, the former AFRCChairman, were not confirmed, and he remained atlarge.

The Special Court remained without sufficientguarantees of international funding to enable it tocontinue operating effectively until the end of 2006.


SIE

High Court treason trialsAt the beginning of 2005, 57 former RUF and AFRCmembers and 31 former West Side boys, renegadesoldiers, were on trial before the High Court in thecapital, Freetown. They were charged with treason forallegedly overthrowing or seeking to overthrow anelected government by force. One of the accused, thedaughter of former RUF leader Foday Sankoh, died inprison in 2005. There were repeated adjournments ofthe trials.

Nine former members of the RUF and AFRC and onecivilian, sentenced to death for treason in December2004, planned to lodge an appeal but did not haveaccess to lawyers. The charges related to an armedattack in January 2003 on a military armoury inFreetown in an apparent attempt to overthrow thegovernment.

Other former combatants were held in safe custodyfor periods mid-year, reportedly because they weretestifying for the prosecution in the trials. Three formerRUF members spent a month in July and August in thecustody of the criminal investigation police.

Truth and Reconciliation CommissionThe Truth and Reconciliation Commission distributedits report, published in 2004, which contributed toraising awareness of human rights concerns ithighlighted. Key recommendations included theabolition of the death penalty, a moratorium onexecutions pending abolition, and commutation ofpending death sentences.

Inspired by the example set by the Special Court forSierra Leone, where the maximum sentence was a termof life imprisonment, civil society groups organizedevents throughout the year to raise concern about thedeath penalty.

The government’s response to the report, publishedmid-year, made no commitment to abolish the deathpenalty, however. In November, a non-governmentalfollow-up committee presented a draft law toParliament to adopt the Commission’srecommendations as law.

Protracted justice reformsReform of the justice sector was slow. There wereimprovements to infrastructure with the building ofcourt houses and prisons. Shortage of legal staffresulted in delays in the finalization of draft laws toprotect women’s human rights, including laws onmarriage, succession, inheritance and sexual offencesdrafted by the Law Reform Commission. The LawReform Commission carried out consultations ondomestic violence legislation, for a draft bill to bepresented to Parliament in 2006.

In the formal legal system, court adjournments andlong delays in trials remained common. There waslittle opportunity for convicted prisoners to lodgeappeals. Some legal aid was available in district townsbut not in Freetown. Local courts, in which lay judgesadministered customary law, were functioning.However, chiefs and local court officials often gaverulings and adjudications in cases outside their

jurisdiction, contributing to the denial of justice to alarge proportion of the population. The AttorneyGeneral’s Office provided training to local courtofficials during the year.

Press freedom under attackJournalists and editors were targeted, giving rise tofears of a concerted attack on press freedoms.b Paul Kamara, former editor of For Di People, wasreleased from prison on appeal in November afterserving 13 months of two concurrent two-year prisonterms in the Central Prison, Freetown. He wasconvicted of seditious libel in 2004, after the paperclaimed that a 1967 commission of inquiry had“convicted” President Kabbah, then a ministerialofficial, of fraud.b In May, Sidney Pratt and Dennis Jones, journalistsfor the Trumpet newspaper, were arrested by policeand accused of seditious libel. They were subsequentlyreleased without charge.b On 10 May, Harry Yansaneh, acting editor of For DiPeople, was assaulted on the newspaper’s premises bya group of men. He was hospitalized but died from hisinjuries in July. The coroner’s inquest found that thedeath was caused by the assault. Eight people,including a senior government official, were arrestedand charged with involuntary manslaughter. They werereleased on bail to await trial, which had not started bythe end of 2005. There were concerns aboutgovernment interference in the case after the AttorneyGeneral had the initial charges withdrawn because of aprocedural error by the coroner.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Special Court for Sierra Leone: Statement to the

National Victims Commemoration Conference,Freetown, 1 and 2 March 2005 (AI Index: AFR51/002/2005)

• Sierra Leone: No one to turn to – Women’s lack ofaccess to justice in rural Sierra Leone (AI Index: AFR51/011/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited Sierra Leone for research inOctober and for lobbying in December.


SIN

SINGAPORE

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

Head of state: S.R. Nathan

Head of government: Lee Hsien Loong





signed

Freedom of expression and assembly continued to becurbed. Thirty-six men were held without charge ortrial under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Deathsentences were imposed and eight people wereexecuted. Jehovah’s Witnesses continued to beimprisoned for conscientious objection to militaryservice. Criminal offenders were sentenced to caning.

BackgroundThe ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), in power since1959, maintained a dominating hold over political lifeand wider society. Official statements encouraging amore participatory, inclusive society were countered inpractice by an array of laws restricting rights tofreedom of expression, association and assembly.

Restrictions on freedom of expression and assemblyThe threat of potentially ruinous civil defamation suitsagainst opponents of the PAP continued to inhibitpolitical life.b In March, the leader of the opposition SingaporeDemocratic Party, Chee Soon Juan, was unable to paydamages of 500,000 Singapore dollars (approximatelyUS$306,000) awarded against him in defamation suitslodged in 2001 by two PAP leaders. He was at risk ofbeing declared bankrupt and therefore unable to standfor election.b In September, the High Court rejected a secondapplication to be discharged from bankruptcy lodgedby former leader of the opposition Workers’ Party, J. B.Jeyaretnam. Declared bankrupt after a seriesdefamation suits by PAP leaders and others, he wasexpelled from Parliament in 2001 and remained unableto stand for election.

The threat of prosecution, and uncertainty over theboundaries of permissible public debate, contributedto a climate of self-censorship.b In March, government censors required film makerMartyn See to remove a documentary on Chee SoonJuan from Singapore’s international film festival. Hewas then subjected to a criminal investigation andrequired to surrender equipment and material. Nocharges had been filed by the end of the year.b In May, the authorities threatened to sue aSingaporean student in the USA who criticized thegovernment’s scholarship system on his personalInternet blog.

Restrictions on freedom of assembly also inhibitedpeaceful civil society activity. In August, riot policeordered the dispersal of a group of four peopleholding a silent protest outside a government buildingto urge greater official accountability. A High Courtjudge subsequently dismissed their petition that thedispersal violated their constitutional right topeaceful protest.b In September police questioned local activists whohad set up placards protesting at delays in opening atrain station. No charges were filed.b In March, the authorities banned a weekendconcert by a local AIDS support group, stating that theevent, organized by a Christian gay organization, wasagainst the public interest.

Detention without trialAt least 36 men remained in detention without chargeor trial under the ISA. Seventeen other former ISAdetainees were reportedly under orders restrictingtheir freedom of movement and association. Theauthorities claimed the men were involved withIslamist groups, including Jemaah Islamiah, heldresponsible for planning or carrying out bomb attacksin the region.

Death penaltyEight people were executed. Singapore was believed tohave the highest rate of executions per capita in theworld.

The hanging in May of Shanmugam s/o Murugesu,sentenced to death in 2004 for possession of just over1kg of cannabis, sparked unprecedented publicdiscussion. From April to August, local activistsorganized a public forum, petitions, vigils and otherevents to campaign against the death penalty. Theauthorities refused to allow an AI representative toaddress the public forum in May, while in August policebanned the use of Shanmugam’s face on posters on thegrounds that it would “glorify” an executed convict.b In December Australian Van Tuong Nguyen,convicted in 2004 of smuggling heroin, was executed.

Conscientious objectorsAt least two conscientious objectors to military servicewere imprisoned in 2005, and 12 others continued toserve prison sentences. All were members of thebanned Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group. There wasno alternative to military service in practice forconscientious objectors in Singapore.

AI country reports/visitsVisitIn May an AI representative met local activists andattended a public forum against the death penalty, butwas denied permission to speak.


SLO

SLOVAKIA

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Head of state: Ivan Gasparovi½

Head of government: Mikulá®šDzurinda




There were continuing reports of discriminationagainst Roma in both public and private sectors;concerns included the lack of access to educationand housing for Roma.

Discrimination against RomaIn January, the government produced its comments onthe Concluding Observations of the UN Human RightsCommittee, which had been published in 2003 andwhich expressed concern about discrimination againstSlovakia’s 500,000 Roma in the fields of education,employment, housing, health, social care and access toservices. Among other issues the governmentaddressed the placement in special schools of Romachildren. In the context of Roma children often failingschool entry tests, the government stated that they“come to school without pre-school education andsufficient knowledge of Slovak, lack basic hygiene andcultural and working skills, have limited concentration,patience and perseverance, and have underdevelopedfine motor coordination, different experience andknowledge of the world, and different interests and feltneeds.” The government reported that it would preparedifferential school tests for Roma children from asocially disadvantaged environment by the end of 2005.

In April, the government official in charge of Romaaffairs, Klára Orgovánová, announced the adoption of aNational Action Plan for a “Decade of Roma Inclusion2005-2015”. The main areas of discrimination targetedin the National Action Plan are education, employment,health and housing. Housing rightsIn March, the UN Committee on Elimination of RacialDiscrimination found that Slovakia had discriminatedagainst a group of Roma with regard to housing rights.The case was brought by 27 Slovak citizens of Romaorigin from Dobšiná, and followed a decision not toproceed with a previously announced project to set uplow-cost housing for the Roma population in Dobšina,after an anti-Roma petition was received from certainpoliticians with nationalist agendas. The Committeestated that once a policy towards realization of theright to housing had been adopted by the authorities,its revocation and replacement with a weaker measureamounted to a violation of the Convention on theElimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Záhorská Ves – updateIn 2004 the Roma family of Štefan and Olga Šarkoziwere reportedly ordered by the mayor of Záhorská

Ves to leave their land and the village, after theirhouse had been burned down by a racist mob inDecember 2003. The mayor was also reported to haveconfronted the Šarkozi family with private securityguards, who assaulted Štefan and other members ofthe family with baseball bats. In 2005, KláraOrgovánová, the senior official for Roma affairs, wastold by the mayor that the Šarkozi family had beenoffered compensation to leave the village, which ithad initially accepted and later declined. AI wasunable to confirm this.Ban on affirmative actionIn October, the Constitutional Court declaredunconstitutional any affirmative action for ethnicminorities, such as Roma. The Court ruled that suchaction clashed with the Slovak constitution, as it“violated full equality before law”.

In practice, the decision appeared to ban specialmeasures, including those designed to improve accessto education and employment for members of ethnicminorities. Under its international human rightsobligations, Slovakia may be required to take specialmeasures to redress historical discrimination and theconditions that cause or help to perpetuatediscrimination.

Forced sterilizations A new comprehensive Public Health Law, includingprovisions on sterilizations, informed consent andaccess to medical records, entered into force on 1 January. The law was drafted after civil societyorganizations highlighted substantial gaps in theprevious legislation, which did not accord sufficientprotection against forced sterilizations of women.

Citing this new law, the UN Committee on theElimination of Discrimination against Women declined toconduct an inquiry into allegations of forced sterilizationsof Romani women submitted by the European RomaRights Centre. The Committee nevertheless expressedconcern about possible individual cases of forcedsterilizations in Slovakia and recommended that theSlovak authorities pursue the issue.

A case against Slovakia brought by three allegedvictims of forced sterilization was heard by theEuropean Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Thedecision was pending at the end of 2005.

AI wins case against Slovak policeIn June, the Supreme Court announced that the policehad not acted in line with the law when, in June 2004,they prevented 30 AI activists from gathering in front ofthe Belarus Embassy in Bratislava to protest against thedetention of prisoner of conscience Professor YuryBandazhevsky. Although AI notified the authorities ofthe demonstration in accordance with existingregulations, the police prevented demonstrators fromentering the street where the Belarus Embassy islocated. The Supreme Court decided that only themunicipality, not the police, has the legal power toprevent people exercising the right to assemble. Thepolice can only intervene if public order is disturbed orother illegal acts are linked to the event.


SLO


International’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Slovakia (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

SLOVENIA

REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

Head of state: Janez Drnov®ek

Head of government: Janez Jan®a




There was continued concern about the status ofthousands of people whose names were removedfrom the registry of permanent residents in 1992(known as the “erased”). Members of Romanicommunities faced discrimination including inaccess to education.

The ‘erased’The Slovenian authorities failed to resolve the status ofthe so-called “erased” – some 18,305 individualsunlawfully removed from the Slovenian registry ofpermanent residents in 1992. The “erased” were mainlypeople from other former Yugoslav republics who hadbeen living in Slovenia but had not acquired Sloveniancitizenship after Slovenia became independent. TheSlovenian authorities failed to ensure that the “erased”had full access to economic and social rights, includingaccess to work, health care and, in some cases,education.

Although the Slovenian Constitutional Court hadruled in 1999 and 2003 that the removal of theseindividuals from the registry of permanent residentswas unlawful, approximately 6,000 of the “erased” stilldid not have Slovenian citizenship or a permanentresidence permit at the end of 2005.

Following the 2003 Constitutional Court decision,the Slovenian Ministry of Interior had issuedapproximately 4,100 decrees retroactively restoring thestatus of permanent residents to the individualsconcerned. However, the Slovenian authoritiesstopped issuing such decrees in July 2004 and no newsteps were taken to implement the Constitutional Courtdecision and to restore the rights of the “erased”.

Many of the “erased” continued to live in Slovenia“illegally” as foreign nationals or stateless persons;others were forced to leave the country. Many of the

12,000 who had managed to obtain Sloveniancitizenship or permanent residency – in many casesafter years of bureaucratic and legal struggle –continued to suffer from the ongoing consequences oftheir past unregulated status and had no access to fullreparation, including compensation.

Lack of access to education for Romani childrenThe Slovenian authorities failed to fully integrateRomani children into the education system andtolerated or promoted the creation of special classesfor Romani children in certain primary schools. In somecases the children in the special classes were taught areduced or simplified curriculum.

Concern was expressed in July by the UN HumanRights Committee that members of Romanicommunities continued to suffer prejudice anddiscrimination, including in access to education.b In March, after protests by parents of non-Romanichildren against the “large share” of Romani pupilsattending the Bršljin primary school, the SlovenianMinister of Education and Sport proposed to create atthat school special separate classes in certain subjectsfor Romani children. This proposal was subsequentlyretracted following protests by Romani parents andnon-governmental organizations, including AI.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of Amnesty

International’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Slovenia (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

• Slovenia: The “erased” – Briefing to the UNCommittee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights(AI Index: EUR 68/002/2005)

VisitAn AI delegate visited Slovenia in September.


SOL

SOLOMON

ISLANDS

SOLOMON ISLANDS


Nathaniel Waena

Head of government: Allan Kemakeza




Reconstruction and development efforts continuedfollowing five years of armed conflict that ended in2003. Potentially divisive ethnic and regionaldifferences remained to be addressed. Inprosecutions for serious conflict-related crimes, atleast 10 people were convicted, including the formerleader of the Guadalcanal Liberation Front. Otherformer militants continued to await trial on remand,some after nearly two and a half years in pre-trialdetention.

Post-conflict developmentsProgress was reported on the reconstruction ofinfrastructure and key institutions affected by theconflict. However, significant development challengesremained, as more than 80 per cent of the populationwas still dependent on subsistence agriculture andfishing, with limited access to health and educationservices. The marked disparity in development betweenthe capital, Honiara, and the provinces stirred tensions,as did reported corruption among political leaders.

With the continued presence of the RegionalAssistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) thesecurity situation reportedly remained stable.However, in May a report by the Pacific Islands Forumfound that entrenched provincialism and stronganimosities between ethnic groups persisted. Thereport recommended establishing both a Truth andReconciliation Commission and a commission ofinquiry to investigate land issues and the underlyingcauses of ethnic conflict. Neither institution had beenestablished by the end of 2005, although there wereother community reconciliation initiatives. Concernsremained that proposed constitutional reformsdesigned to introduce a federal system of governmentcould lead to further fragmentation.

Trials relating to the conflictAlthough arrests relating to the conflict were still beingmade in December, most outstanding cases hadproceeded to trial or were awaiting trial. In such cases,there were concerns about the length of time somedetainees had been in custody. The courts decided thatmore than two years in pre-trial detention wasreasonable in the circumstances.

During the year, the High Court convicted at least 10people for their role in the violence and acquitted four.Among those convicted was Harold Keke, former leaderof the Guadalcanal Liberation Front, who, with twoothers, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2002murder of Augustine Geve, a former priest andgovernment minister.

In two other murder trials, the court held that,despite possible evidence of threats and intimidation,the defence of duress was not available to formermilitia members who had voluntarily joined militantgroups.

Militia members convicted in at least one trial lodgedappeals on the grounds that they had been induced tomake admissions as part of the peace process, withoutunderstanding that their statements would be used asevidence against them in criminal proceedings.

In October police used tear gas to quell a prison riotthat reportedly started when suspects awaiting trial forconflict-related offences believed their appeal foramnesty had not been delivered.

Violence against womenIn March the Christian Care Centre, the country’s firstpurpose-built shelter for victims of family violence,opened near Honiara. In September, Centre staff andpolice officers received training on gender-basedviolence from the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre. However,a national policy on violence against women, includinga coordinated, properly resourced inter-agencyapproach, was still outstanding. Women whoexperienced violence, particularly outside major towncentres, were left without effective protection, healthservices or redress.

As the courts worked through their case backlog, afew historical cases of sexual assault came to trial. InMay, former Deputy Police Commissioner WilfredAkao was convicted and sentenced to two years’imprisonment for abducting and assaulting a womanin Honiara in 1996. Another man was sentenced tofour and a half years on three counts of raping thesame woman.


SOM

SOMALIA

SOMALIA

Head of state of Transitional Federal Government:Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

Head of government of Transitional FederalGovernment: Ali Mohamed Gedi

Head of Somaliland Republic: Dahir Riyaale Kahin




Thousands of civilians escaping human rights abusesfled the country or were displaced. There was no ruleof law in the south. Journalists were arrested andhuman rights defenders threatened in several areas.Violence against women was widespread. InSomaliland, there were arbitrary detentions andunfair political trials and reports of torture. A 16-year-old girl imprisoned for espionage was released.

BackgroundTransitional Federal GovernmentIn January, the Kenya-based Transitional FederalParliament approved the appointment of a cabinet ofministers and assistant ministers by the Prime Minister,who had been appointed by the President of theTransitional Federal Government (TFG) in November2004. The five-year TFG and other federal institutionswere not, however, functional in Somalia by the end of2005. This was the result of an internal divisionbetween, on the one hand, President Abdullahi YusufAhmed and his associated clan-based factions, whomostly relocated from Kenya to Jowhar town in centralSomalia, and, on the other hand, faction leaders whohad returned to their base in the capital, Mogadishu.Open fighting between the two groupings was narrowlyaverted. The UN Secretary-General called again inOctober for a comprehensive ceasefire agreement.

An African Union peace-support force, proposed in2004 at the conclusion of a two-year peace andreconciliation conference in Kenya, was not deployedfor security reasons, and there was very littledemobilization of faction militias as required by theTransitional Federal Charter (the interim Constitution).

There were continuing periodic outbursts of factionfighting and clan-militia violence in most of the centraland southern regions. Police General Yusuf AhmedSarinle was assassinated in Mogadishu in January,apparently for supporting the TFG. Generally,humanitarian access was severely impeded,humanitarian supplies were often looted, andemployees of UN agencies and international aidorganizations were at risk of being killed or kidnappedfor ransom.

Several warlords and others who were alleged tohave committed war crimes, crimes against humanityor gross human rights violations, either under the pre-

1991 Siad Barre government or during the subsequentcivil wars, were appointed as ministers in the TFG or toother federal posts and continued to benefit fromimpunity.

The international community suspendedcommencement of reconstruction aid to Somalia untilthe TFG was united and functional, although the UN andWorld Bank began a joint needs assessment. Ahumanitarian emergency affected up to a millionpeople in need of urgent assistance.

SomalilandThe self-declared Somaliland Republic in the north-west continued to press its demand for internationalrecognition after 14 years of de facto independence. Itremained the only part of the former Somali Republic tohave a government and functioning administration. Itsdispute with neighbouring Puntland over the contestedSool and Sanaag border regions remained unresolved,but 36 “prisoners of war” on both sides who had beencaptured in 2004 were exchanged in December.

Parliamentary elections were held in September.President Dahir Riyaale Kahin’s ruling UnitedDemocratic People’s Party gained 33 seats, while theopposition Unity (Kulmiye) and Justice and Welfareparties gained 28 and 21 seats respectively.

UN arms embargoIn October the UN Security Council condemnedincreasingly serious violations of its 1992 internationalarms embargo on Somalia. The report by a panel ofexperts identified violations by the governments ofEthiopia and Yemen and a third unnamed government,and also by certain Somali warlords and businesspeoplein the fishing, charcoal and drugs industries. Themonitoring group’s report expressed concern that theseillegal flows of small weapons to the TFG and oppositionfactions contributed to general insecurity and problemsin establishing the transitional government.

Justice and rule of lawThere was no rule of law or justice system in the centraland southern regions of Somalia, apart from a numberof Islamic (Sharia) courts, which did not followrecognized international standards of fair trial.b In September, Jama Aden Dheere, a pro-TFGfaction-leader, was detained in Jowhar for politicalreasons and allegedly ill-treated.

In Somaliland there were cases of unfair politicaltrials and detention without trial.b In January, Zamzam Ahmed Dualeh, aged 16, waspardoned and allowed to return home to Puntlandunder the care of the UN Independent Expert on humanrights in Somalia. She had been convicted in 2004 ofespionage and sentenced to five years’ imprisonmentafter a grossly unfair trial. The Somaliland authoritiescontinued to reject her allegations of rape and tortureby police officers.b In September, dozens of people, including Muslimteachers, were arrested after a shoot-out between anarmed group and police. They were accused of beingpart of an Islamist group linked to al-Qa’ida who were


SOM

allegedly planning to attack government officials andforeigners. They were detained without charge or trialat the end of the year. Some were allegedly tortured.b Twenty-nine elders of the Ogaden clan fromEthiopia who had been detained in November 2003and convicted of armed conspiracy as allegedmembers of the Ogaden National Liberation Front(ONLF), which was in conflict with the Ethiopiangovernment, were acquitted on appeal by theSupreme Court in 2005. However, they remained indetention in poor health in Hargeisa prison where twodied in late 2005.

JournalistsSeveral journalists in Somalia (including Puntland) andalso in Somaliland were threatened or detained, andtwo were killed. In August at a conference on Freedomand Rights of Journalists held in Mogadishu, despitedeath threats to the organizers, a National Union ofSomali Journalists was established.b A British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)journalist, Kate Peyton, was assassinated in Mogadishuin February.b In February, HornAfrik radio station in Mogadishuwas bombed and a HornAfrik journalist, DuniyaMuhyadin Nur, was killed by faction militias at aroadblock in June.b In Puntland, Abdi Farah Nur, editor of the Shacabnewspaper which had been banned by the Puntlandauthorities, was briefly detained in June in Garowe, histhird arrest in the year.

Human rights defendersDespite death threats, Somali human rightsorganizations continued to monitor and report onhuman rights violations, and to campaign for betterprotection of human rights, including theestablishment of an independent National HumanRights Commission for Somalia, and similar humanrights commissions in Somaliland and Puntland.Somaliland human rights defenders criticized prisonconditions in Hargeisa, Berbera and Burao.b A prominent peace activist, Abdulqadir Yahya Ali,director of the Centre for Research and Dialogue, wasassassinated in Mogadishu in July by unidentifiedassailants.

The UN Independent Expert on human rights inSomalia reiterated concerns about human rightsviolations and welcomed the increasingly visible roleplayed by civil society in promoting human rights.

Women’s rightsSeveral women’s rights organizations were active inreconciliation, militia disarmament, child rightsprotection and development initiatives. Women’sorganizations, including in Somaliland, alsocampaigned against violence against women, includingfemale genital mutilation, rape – especially ofinternally displaced women – and domestic violence.There was deep concern that women’s representationin Somalia’s Transitional Federal Parliament fell shortof an agreed quota of 12 per cent of seats.

Minority rightsMembers of minorities continued to be subjected tosocial discrimination and abuses, including murder andrape, by clan members acting with impunity. Minorityrights issues were debated publicly and minorities wereallocated 31 seats in the Transitional FederalParliament.

In Somaliland in May, dozens of minority rightsactivists and supporters were briefly detained at ademonstration in Hargeisa at the trial of a policeofficer, who was given a prison sentence for killingKhadar Aden Osman of the Gaboye minority.

Refugees and internally displaced peopleRefugees continued to flee from faction-fighting,kidnappings, threats to human rights defenders andother human rights abuses. Conditions of 400,000people in internal displacement camps were extremelypoor. There were scores of deaths at sea of peopletrying to reach Yemen from Puntland in traffickingoperations.

Death penaltyEight men, including one tried in his absence, weresentenced to death in Somaliland in November for themurders of two British aid workers in 2003 and aKenyan aid worker in 2004. They were alleged to bemembers of a group linked to al-Qa’ida. Their appealswere pending at the end of the year.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Somalia: Urgent need for effective human rights

protection under the new transitional government(AI Index: AFR 52/001/2005)


SOU

SOUTH AFRICA

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

Head of state and government: Thabo Mbeki




There were incidents of police use of excessive forceagainst demonstrators and ill-treatment of arrestedsuspects. The conduct of presiding magistrates andpolice investigators undermined the right to fairtrial in several cases involving social movementprotesters. Department of Home Affairs practicesdenied the majority of asylum-seekers access torefugee status determination procedures.Conditions in prison fell below internationalstandards, largely as a result of acute overcrowding.Although an increased number of people clinicallyneeding antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDSreceived treatment, the majority still had no accessto treatment at public facilities. There was anincrease in reported rapes and concern at delays inlegal reforms affecting access to justice forsurvivors.

BackgroundDeputy President Jacob Zuma resigned under pressurein June, following the conviction on corruptioncharges of Schabir Shaik, his financial adviser. InNovember Jacob Zuma was indicted on corruptioncharges. These developments brought into the opendifferences within the ruling African National Congress(ANC) and between the ANC and its Alliance partners.With local government elections pending, ANC-dominated councils were increasingly targets of publicprotests for corrupt practices and their failure todeliver improvements in living standards. There wasconcern that municipal authorities misused theirpowers under the 1993 Gatherings Act in an attempt tosuppress demonstrations by groups critical of theirperformance.

Human rights violations by policePolice responded to the wave of public protests in mostcases without resorting to the use of excessive force.However, there were incidents in which they misusedrubber bullets – the weapon of “last resort” underSouth African Police Service (SAPS) regulations – intheir response to demonstrations in the Cape Town andDurban areas, in Delmas, Queenstown andJohannesburg. There was also misuse of pepper spray,in particular by members of the Municipal PoliceServices in Cape Town where they used it to break uppeaceful protests against local government authorities,and against criminal suspects under arrest.b On 12 July unarmed members of the TreatmentAction Campaign (TAC), who were involved in a

protest over the slow roll-out of antiretroviraltreatment, were baton-charged, tear-gassed and shotat with rubber bullets by police. The majority of theprotesters were HIV-positive women. The police didnot warn protesters before they forcibly dispersedthem from the Frontier Hospital in the Eastern Cape.Fifty-four people were seriously injured. The NationalCommissioner of Police ordered a departmentalinvestigation and the retraining of the police unitinvolved. The TAC lodged a complaint with theIndependent Complaints Directorate (ICD) which wasstill investigating the incident at the end of the year.b On 26 May, three Free State police officers werecharged in the Harrismith regional court with murderand 16 counts of assault with intent to cause grievousbodily harm in connection with the fatal shooting of17-year-old Teboho Mkhonza and the wounding ofscores of other demonstrators on 30 August 2004.

Unfair trialsb Fifty-one supporters of the Landless People’sMovement (LPM) remained on trial in the LenasiaMagistrate’s Court on a charge of breaching theElectoral Act by taking part in a demonstration onelection day in April 2004. In June the magistraterejected a defence application for her recusal(withdrawal from the case) on the grounds of biasafter she made comments in open court that she hadto report to the Minister of Justice about the trial. AIrepresentatives attending trial proceedings in Augustobserved that the magistrate behaved in a hostilemanner towards the accused. On 29 November themagistrate rejected a defence application for thedismissal of the charges. The magistrate did not givereasons for the ruling. The proceedings werepostponed until March 2006.

In November in the Protea Magistrate’s Court, thepresiding magistrate dismissed charges against apolice officer in connection with the alleged torture oftwo LPM activists in April 2004. The magistrate, inacquitting the accused, reportedly attacked thecomplainants’ organization as “disrespectful” of thegovernment and also accused the complainants ofbeing motivated by a desire to “undermine stateauthority”b In February, 13 officials and supporters of theGreater Harrismith Concerned Residents’ Associationfrom Intabazwe were charged with public violenceand sedition in connection with a demonstration inAugust 2004. Five defendants were subjected to bailconditions which restricted their public politicalactivities. On 10 February police allegedly arrestedand assaulted Malefu Molaba, a local resident, whilequestioning her about the whereabouts of one of theaccused, Neo Motaung. She lodged a complaint atHarrismith police station. In June, another accused,Sam Radebe, was allegedly assaulted and threatenedby the police Investigating Officer. He laid a chargeagainst the police officer at the Harrismith policestation. In August the state withdrew the seditioncharge and the court postponed the trial on theremaining charge until January 2006.


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Prisoners’ rightsOn 15 December the Jali Commission of Inquiry handedits report to the President after a four-year inquiry intocorruption and violence in prisons; the report had notbeen made public by the end of the year.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentionvisited the country in September and expressed alarmat the “rate of overcrowding in detention facilities”. Theovercrowding, in some cases by over 300 per cent ofcapacity, and the resulting poor prison conditions ledthe Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons to recommend thatminimum sentence legislation be allowed to lapse. TheUN delegates noted, in respect of prisoners awaitingtrial or sentence, a “lack of adequate facilities soblatant that they fall short of international guarantees”.The Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative urgedParliament in November to support the development ofrehabilitation programmes and non-custodialalternatives to imprisonment.

In November a non-governmental organization, theAIDS Law Project, began legal proceedings against theHead of Westville Correctional Centre, Durban, onbehalf of 20 prisoners who were urgently in need ofantiretroviral treatment but were effectively deniedaccess to it because of the alleged failure by theDepartment of Health to equip prison hospitals forthis task. The problem had not been resolved by theend of the year.

On 25 May the Constitutional Court confirmed thevalidity of the 1997 Criminal Law Amendment Actprovisions which enabled the replacement of all deathsentences. Forty of the original 465 prisoners who wereunder sentence of death at the time of the abolition ofthe death penalty in 1995 were still awaitingreplacement sentences at the time of a furtherConstitutional Court hearing in October.

Violations of refugee rightsThe UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the courts, theSouth African Human Rights Commission and non-governmental organizations criticized the Departmentof Home Affairs (DHA) for failing to addressorganizational issues and arbitrary practices whichprevented the majority of asylum-seekers fromobtaining access to refugee status determinationprocedures and documentation in a timely manner. Theclosure in April of the Johannesburg area RefugeeReception Office (RRO) exacerbated the crisis. Theeffective denial of access to documentation leftasylum-seekers at risk of arbitrary arrest, detention inpolice stations and in the Lindela Holding Facility, anddeportation. It also meant that they were denied theright to work legally and to obtain health care or accessto education. In August, the Minister of Home Affairsconfirmed the government’s determination to tacklethese problems.

In October the report of the Ministerial Committee ofInquiry into deaths at the Lindela Holding Facilityrecommended urgent steps to address failures in thehealth care system and overcrowding at the facility.Lindela, which was run by a private company on behalfof the DHA, handled over 4,000 people per month

awaiting deportation. Its clinic was found to haveinsufficient skilled staff and medicines and noemergency care procedures. On 28 October theMinister of Home Affairs stated that a new health carefacility would be established.b On 1 March asylum-seekers, frustrated withrepeatedly queuing outside the Cape Town RRO,pushed their way into the office and refused to leavethe premises. They were kicked and hit with batons byofficials, according to witnesses and the testimony ofthe asylum-seekers. The Minister of Home Affairsconcluded, on the basis of an inquiry into the incident,that “no excessive force was used” and that one of theofficials had been threatened with a knife by an asylum-seeker. The Minister instructed that changes should bemade in the system for managing applications.b On 10 May, the Johannesburg High Court orderedthe DHA to facilitate access to asylum determinationprocedures for 14 Ethiopians wrongly arrested anddetained at Lindela. In October lawyers secured therelease from Lindela of a recognized refugee who wasdue to be deported to Rwanda.b In a case brought by the Somali Refugee Forum, thePretoria High Court on 11 November ordered theMinister and the DHA urgently to implement specificmeasures, including the reopening of the JohannesburgRRO, to ensure asylum-seekers had access withoutdelay to asylum procedures. The government wasordered to file a report before 28 February 2006 on theextent of its compliance with the court order.

Access to health care for those living with HIV/AIDSIn July the Department of Health’s HIV and SyphilisAntenatal Sero-prevalence Survey stated that between5.7 and 6.2 million South Africans had been infectedwith HIV by 2004. It noted an increase in prevalenceamong women attending antenatal clinics, the highestrates being at 38.5 per cent of women aged between 25and 29. A report of the South African Human SciencesResearch Council in November concluded from itshousehold survey that women were disproportionatelyinfected, particularly women aged between 15 and 24,who had an HIV incidence rate eight times higher thanmen of the same age.

By the end of the year there were 229 “accredited”public health facilities providing treatment. However,the World Health Organization expressed concern atthe slow progress in the roll-out of the antiretroviraltreatment programme and at official statements thatalternative therapies alone could prolong the lives ofthose living with HIV/AIDS. In September theDepartment of Health reported that 86,000 people hadaccess to antiretroviral treatment in public sectorfacilities, although this was still less than 20 per cent ofthose estimated to need this treatment. About 10 percent of children needing treatment were receiving it.Obstacles to access to treatment included severeshortages of skilled medical staff. The Joint Civil SocietyMonitoring Forum reported in November thatadditional obstacles included “under-spending” ofHIV/AIDS budgets by provincial departments of health,


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a scarcity of appropriate drugs and treatmentprogrammes for HIV-positive children, and a lack ofnational political leadership.

Violence against womenPolice statistics for the year April 2004 to March 2005recorded 55,114 reported rapes, an increase of 4.5 percent over the previous year. Nationally, 40.8 per cent ofthe reported rapes were committed against minors andchildren.

In the period 2004/2005 the National ProsecutingAuthority continued to develop dedicated sexualoffences courts. The conviction rate in rape cases heardin these courts was at least 62 per cent, about 20 percent higher than in the ordinary courts, which heard thebulk of cases.

Organizations involved in assisting survivors ofsexual violence expressed concern at the continuingdelays in the finalization of the Sexual Offences Bill,introduced in parliament in 2003 but referred back tothe Department of Justice in early 2004.b On 6 December, former Deputy President JacobZuma was charged in the Johannesburg Magistrate’sCourt with the rape of a 31-year-old woman. He wasreleased on bail and the trial postponed untilFebruary 2006.b On 8 December, Ncedile Ntumbukana wasconvicted of the rape and murder of Lorna Mlofana, amember of the TAC executive committee in Khayelitsha,Cape Town, in December 2003. She was beaten to deathafter telling him that she was HIV positive.b At the end of the year a Free State police officerwas still on trial for the repeated rape of a womandetainee in custody at Smithfield police station; thewoman became pregnant as a result.

Two rulings by the Constitutional Court strengthenedthe protection of women’s rights.b On 13 June the Court ruled that a woman, referredto as N.K., who had been raped by three police officerswhile on duty, could sue the Minister of Safety andSecurity for damages. The Court held that in“committing the crime, the policemen not only did notprotect the applicant, they infringed her rights todignity and security of the person. In so doing, theiremployer’s [the Minister’s] obligation (and theirs) toprevent crime was not met”.b On 7 November the Court upheld theconstitutionality of Section 8 in the Domestic ViolenceAct which allows a court issuing a protection order toauthorize a warrant of arrest in the absence andwithout the knowledge of the respondent.

ImpunityIn September the Constitutional Court confirmed theState’s right to re-indict Dr Wouter Basson, the formerhead of the military’s covert chemical and biologicalwarfare programme in the 1980s. The charges related toconspiracies to murder “enemies” of the thengovernment outside the borders of the country. Thecharges had been quashed in 1999 by the trial judge.

In November the Butterworth Circuit Courtsentenced two former members of the Security Police,

Pumelele Gumengu and Aron Tyani, to 20 years’imprisonment each for the murder of an ANCsupporter, Sthembele Zokwe, in January 1988. Theywere also convicted of the attempted murder ofSthembele Zokwe in 1987. On 27 March 2000 theAmnesty Committee of the Truth and ReconciliationCommission had rejected their applications foramnesty on the grounds that they had failed to makefull disclosure, as required under the legislation, inrelation to both incidents.

Discrimination and sexual identityOn 1 December the Constitutional Court ruled that thedefinition of marriage under the common law wasinconsistent with the Constitution and invalid to theextent that it does not permit same-sex couples toenjoy the same rights accorded to heterosexualcouples. Section 30 (1) of the 1961 Marriage Act wasinvalid also to the extent that it omits the gender-neutral term “or spouse”. The effect of the ruling wassuspended for 12 months to allow Parliament to correctthe defects.

AI reports/visitsVisitsAI representatives visited the country in April, July andAugust.

SPAIN

KINGDOM OF SPAIN

Head of state: King Juan Carlos I de Borbón

Head of government: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero




Special courts were established to protect womenfrom violence, but the law still failed to require thestate to initiate investigations and prosecutionswhen violent crimes were committed in the home.While migrants already living in Spain were offeredthe opportunity to regularize their residency, most ofthose who succeeded in crossing Spain’s southernborders in North Africa and the Canary Islands weredenied assistance to seek asylum. Many wereunlawfully expelled. At least 13 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died and scores were injured trying toenter the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla inNorth Africa, most reportedly as a result of excessive


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force or ill-treatment by the Spanish and Moroccansecurity forces. Conditions in some detention centresfor minors were so poor as to amount to“institutional ill-treatment”.

BackgroundThe Basque armed group Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA)claimed responsibility for 24 attacks on business andtourist interests in Spain during 2005. In most cases, itused small explosive devices, causing minor injuriesand damage to property. At least 42 people were injuredat a convention centre in Madrid on 9 February,including at least five police officers, when a car bombexploded hours before a scheduled visit by King JuanCarlos I and Queen Sofia. ETA had given a 30-minutewarning by telephone to a newspaper. On 25 May, a carbomb planted by ETA in a Madrid street left 52 peopleinjured. On 21 November a mass trial of 56 defendants(initiated in 1998 by judge Baltasar Garzón) openedbefore the National Criminal Court. The defendantswere accused of being members of groups thatprovided financial, informational, political and othersupport to ETA.

On 17 May the lower chamber of parliamentauthorized the government to open talks with ETA if it abandoned its armed struggle.

On 7 February a programme was launched to grantamnesty to up to 800,000 undocumented migrants.Under regulations introduced in December 2004,migrants who could prove they were in Spain beforeAugust 2004, and who had a job contract and nocriminal record, had three months to sign up astaxpayers and obtain rights of residence.

On 30 June parliament passed a law allowing same-sex marriages. The new law also gave all married same-sex couples the rights of inheritance previously allowedonly to married men and women, and the right to adoptchildren.

On 9 November the Council of Europe’sCommissioner for Human Rights presented the reporton his March visit to Spain. He criticized the restrictionthat prevented lawyers interviewing some prisoners inprivate and the mechanisms for compensating victimsof torture or ill-treatment.

In December Spain ratified the Optional Protocol tothe UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,which it had signed in April.

Violence against womenIn January a law on gender-based violence, adopted inDecember 2004, came into force. The law sought tobring together in a single instrument measures toprevent, assist and protect victims of violence as wellas measures to prosecute, investigate and punish anyoffence committed. The law ensured the right forvictims who lodge formal complaints to receivecomprehensive assistance, including legal aid andaccess to health services and housing. For the first time,the law recognized that there are certain groups ofwomen who are at greater risk of suffering gender-based violence.

In June, 17 courts dedicated solely to cases of gender-based violence began hearing cases, with an additional433 courts empowered to hear domestic abuse cases.However, while strengthening protections againstviolence in the family, implementation of the new lawwas not as effective as had been hoped, resulting in anadditional burden placed on the victim to activelypursue their formal complaint and demand formalmeasures for their own protection be set in motion.Further, only 5 per cent of women who suffered gender-based violence registered complaints, and many ofthose faced indifference by government authorities orsuffered insensitive interrogations discouraging themfrom pursuing their case.

Survivors of domestic violence continued toexperience considerable obstacles in obtainingassistance, protection and justice. Prejudice anddiscriminatory practices in public institutions and alack of coordination between responsible governmentbodies increased the impediments for the mostvulnerable groups, particularly undocumented migrantwomen, Roma women, and women with disabilities,mental disorders or addictions.

During 2005 the Ministry of the Interior introduced aprotocol that provided, in conjunction with the Law onAliens, that the immigration authorities should proceedwith administrative sanctions and expulsionproceedings in the case of female irregular migrantswho had sought protection as victims of gender-basedviolence after their claims were registered. InNovember, AI asked for the protocol to be withdrawnon the grounds that it constituted unlawfuldiscrimination.

Killing and ill-treatment of migrantsPeople fleeing violence, injustice and deprivation whosucceeded in crossing Spain’s southern borders inNorth Africa, the Canary Islands and Andalusiacontinued to face obstacles in accessing asylumprocesses. Asylum-seekers were denied the necessaryguidance and legal support. In Ceuta and Melilla,migrants were held in overcrowded holding centresand many were unlawfully returned to Morocco.

Harassment of migrants in unofficial camps inMorocco and moves to raise the height of perimeterfencing around Ceuta and Melilla prompted massattempts to cross the border into Spanish territory fromlate August. At least 13 migrants died and scores wereinjured, many of them reportedly as a result ofexcessive force or ill-treatment by Spanish andMoroccan security forces. Despite President Zapatero’sannouncement of a joint investigation by theauthorities in both countries, this appeared not to havestarted by the end of 2005.

In late September, Spanish authorities deployed 480additional soldiers to guard the borders. During thatsame period, nearly 2,000 migrants and asylum-seekers who succeeded in entering Ceuta and Melillawere held in temporary holding facilities. Others wereunlawfully expelled. In October, the Moroccanauthorities reportedly bussed hundreds of men, womenand children to the border with Algeria. In that same


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month, the international aid organization MédecinsSans Frontières reported finding more than 500migrants, some handcuffed together, abandoned in thedesert by the Moroccan authorities without food orwater.b Ayukabang Joseph Abunaw, aged 31, was reportedlykilled when forces of the Civil Guard fired rubberbullets at close range at several hundred migrantsclimbing over perimeter fencing at Melilla at about 3amon 29 August. Eyewitnesses said that Civil Guardofficers beat Ayukabang Joseph Abunaw with rifle buttsand dragged him back into Moroccan territory. Hereportedly died several hours later. Médecins SansFrontières, in a preliminary examination, found abruise on his chest typical of injuries caused by rubberbullets. According to an autopsy by the Moroccanauthorities, the cause of death was internal bleedingfrom an injury to the liver.b Four men from sub-Saharan Africa died and severalothers were seriously injured during the night of 28September when several hundred people wereconfronted by Spanish and Moroccan security forces asthey climbed razor-wire fencing around Ceuta.According to reports, two bodies on the Spanish sideand two on the Moroccan side all had bullet wounds.The Civil Guard said bullets in the bodies on Spanishterritory were not of the type used by their forces.b On 28 December 2004, several people were illegallyexpelled, including asylum-seekers who had alreadyentered Spain, one of whom was a 15-year-old minorfrom Guinea Conakry who suffered abuse. In May 2005the Interior Ministry admitted that the minor had beensummarily expelled because he was found between thetwo fences in Ceuta.

Use of tasers: death in custodyIn February the Civil Guard stated that taser guns andother electro-shock weapons were not in official use.The Interior Ministry said in April that no such weaponhad been acquired, but conceded that “there [were] nospecific rules regulating the possible abuses of this typeof weapon” .

However, such weapons were reported to havebeen imported and used by the Civil Guard SpecialIntervention Unit, and local police forces in theCanary Islands, Espartinas (Seville) and Alcalà deXivert (Castellón). One detainee allegedly died as aresult of excessive force that included inappropriateuse of a taser.b Juan Martínez Galdeano died while detained bythe Civil Guard in Roquetas de Mar (Almería) on 24July. An internal investigation reported that closedcircuit television footage showed that a baton and ataser had been used to restrain him. An autopsyrevealed a causal link between the detainee’s deathfrom “acute respiratory or cardio-respiratoryinsufficiency” and his treatment in detention. He hadcuffs on both hands and feet, and his body borenumerous injuries consistent with being struck by abaton. Two officers were indicted on chargesincluding causing death by negligence and inhumanand degrading treatment.

Ill-treatment of minors in detentionConcerns about the conditions in detention centres forminors were raised in a report of the nationalOmbudsperson. The decrepit and unhealthy state ofmany centres did not comply with national law andregulations on the imprisonment of children. TheEducational Centre for Child Offenders in Melilla wasrecommended for immediate closure in the report. It hada dilapidated structure, small and poorly lit cells, andonly one small outdoor courtyard. Conditions in childdetention facilities around Madrid were little better.They were overcrowded, had poor sanitary facilities andlacked basic furniture such as beds and tables.

In April the Ombudsperson for the AutonomousCommunity of the Canary Islands condemned“institutional ill-treatment” of minors in the CanaryIslands. In June the first assistant to the nationalOmbudsperson requested the immediate closure of thedetention centre in Gáldar on Gran Canaria, whereconditions were particularly insanitary. The samerecommendation was made by the Council of Europe’sCommissioner for Human Rights.

Universal jurisdictionAdolfo Scilingo, an Argentine former naval officer whohad admitted to being aboard planes carrying detaineeswho were drugged, stripped naked and thrown into thesea during the military governments in Argentina, wasconvicted in Spain in April on charges that includedcrimes against humanity (see Argentina entry). He wassentenced to 640 years’ imprisonment.

A ruling by the Constitutional Court in Spain inSeptember opened the way for former GuatemalanPresident Rios Montt and other former military officersto be tried for human rights violations (see Guatemalaentry).

Victims of the Civil War and FrancoismThe government failed to present a report on thesituation of victims of the 1936-39 civil war and ofFrancoism, despite the 2004 request by parliament forthe authorities to submit such a report to allowreparations for the victims. An inter-ministerialcommission had been set up in November 2004 to thisend. In December 2005 President Zapatero promised topresent the results of the commission’s work within sixmonths.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Spain: More than words – Making protection and

justice a reality for women who suffer gender-basedviolence in the home (AI Index: EUR 41/005/2005)

• Spain: The southern border – The State turns its backon the human rights of refugees and immigrants (AIIndex: EUR 41/008/2005)

VisitsIn May and October AI delegates visited Spain to carryout research and to raise with government officialsconcerns about violence against women in the homeand the treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers,particularly in Ceuta and Melilla.


SRI

SRI LANKA

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA

Head of state: Mahinda Rajapakse (replaced Chandrika

Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in November)

Head of government: Ratnasiri Wickremanayake

(replaced Mahinda Rajapakse in November)




The ceasefire between the government and theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remained inplace despite numerous violations and adeteriorating relationship between the two parties.Escalating political killings, child recruitment,abductions and armed clashes created a climate offear in the east, spreading to the north by the end ofthe year, while a nationwide state of emergency wasin place for much of 2005. Hundreds of thousands ofpeople remained displaced. Violence against womenwas reported, including from displaced people’scamps. There were threats to reintroduce the deathpenalty and numerous reports of torture in policecustody.

BackgroundThe year began with massive efforts to provideemergency relief to the 1 million people displaced bythe tsunami. However, initial co-operation gave wayto wrangling, as the LTTE accused the government ofdiscriminating against the north and east in thedistribution of aid and allegations emerged thatvarious parties were obstructing and diverting aid. InJanuary the government declared a state ofemergency and a coastal buffer zone in whichrebuilding was not permitted, resulting in thousandsof coastal communities being relocated inland.

Despite growing violence in the east, hopes for areturn to peace negotiations rose as, in May, thegovernment and the LTTE reached an agreement tojointly manage the distribution of tsunami aid. In Junethe People’s Liberation Front (Janatha VimukthiPeramuna, JVP) withdrew from the governmentcoalition in protest at the agreement. Following apetition lodged by the JVP in July, the Supreme Courtput a stay order on some elements of the agreement,effectively blocking its implementation and resulting ina further deterioration in the relationship between theLTTE and the government.

There was an escalation of violence and insecurity inthe east and north throughout 2005, with a largenumber of killings and frequent ambushes andskirmishes, involving the LTTE, a breakaway LTTEfaction led by Colonel Karuna, and the Sri Lankan Army.

On 12 August the foreign minister, LakshmanKadirgamar, was assassinated, reportedly by the LTTE.In response the government announced a state of

emergency and asked the LTTE to discuss the ceasefireagreement. However, the talks did not take place.

Presidential elections on 17 November brought topower the former Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapakse.

Politically motivated killingsThere were large numbers of politically motivatedkillings, primarily in the east but increasingly also in thenorth. The majority were apparently committed by theLTTE, which assassinated civilians, members of rivalparamilitary groups and security force personnel.Members of the breakaway Karuna faction also killedcivilians and LTTE cadres. The LTTE accused the securityforces of supporting the Karuna faction. The securityforces were reportedly responsible for a number ofextrajudicial executions of civilians.

In addition to targeted assassinations, there werenumerous attacks on security force posts, LTTE officesand other sensitive targets. The high level of violencecreated an atmosphere of fear and insecurity forcivilians.

A number of high-profile individuals wereassassinated. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamarwas killed in Colombo on 12 August, reportedly by theLTTE. Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru, a member of theNorth East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) anda former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) member ofparliament, and Kaushalyan, the LTTE political head forBatticaloa and Ampara, were killed during an ambushon 7 February, reportedly by the Karuna faction. JosephPararajasingam, a member of parliament and of theNESOHR, was shot dead by unknown assailants on 24December in Batticaloa.

In December, during a visit to Sri Lanka, the UNSpecial Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary orarbitrary executions stated that extrajudicial killingswere “violating the right to life of a large number of SriLankans from all ethnic groups, and by undermining thepeace process, putting at risk the lives of many more.”b Dharmeratnam Sivaram, a Tamil journalist close tothe LTTE, was abducted and killed in Colombo on 28April. He had been gagged and shot in the head.b Kanapathy Rajadurai, Principal of Jaffna CentralCollege, was shot and killed on 12 October in Jaffnatown. He was reportedly killed by the LTTE.

Internally displaced peopleAt the beginning of 2005, an estimated 1 million peoplewere displaced by the tsunami and by Septemberapproximately 450,000 of these remained displaced,living in temporary shelters.

In response to the tsunami the governmentestablished a coastal buffer zone, set at 100 metres fromthe average high water line in the south and west, and200 metres in the north and east. It was announced thatno rebuilding was permitted in this buffer zone apartfrom certain exceptions (including tourist facilities) andthat communities who had lived in the buffer zone wouldbe relocated inland. By the middle of 2005 most of thesecommunities remained in temporary shelters awaitingland to be identified for relocation. Coastal communitiesexpressed concern that the forced relocation would


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erode their livelihoods and way of life. In addition, thelarge-scale relocation that followed the tsunamiincreased existing ethnic conflicts over land. Concernswere also raised that people displaced by the tsunamiwere treated differently on the basis of their ethnicityand regional location.

Approximately 350,000 people remained displacedby the conflict. These internally displaced persons(IDPs) had been unable to return home following the2002 ceasefire for a number of reasons, including high-security zones, lack of available land for resettlementand landmines. Many were living in government-runcamps in very cramped conditions with little privacy.Concern was expressed by the National Human RightsCommission in April at the lack of support and solutionsavailable for people displaced by the conflict incomparison with people displaced by the tsunami.However, there were some indications that the focus ondisplacement following the tsunami helped to increasesupport for conflict IDPs.

Child soldiersFollowing a short lull after the tsunami, reports of childrecruitment by the LTTE rose, peaking in July, when 97cases were reported to the UN Children’s Fund(UNICEF). Although a small number of children werereleased by the LTTE during 2005, the LTTE failed to liveup to its commitments under the Action Plan forChildren Affected by War to end recruitment andcomprehensively release the children within its ranks.In the face of these challenges, UNICEF began a reviewof the Action Plan.

It was reported mid-year that the LTTE was forcing allvillagers within its territory between the ages of 15 and50 to participate in military training.

Torture by policeDespite the announcement by the National PoliceCommission (NPC) in August 2004 that addressingtorture by police would be its top priority, during 2005there were numerous reports of torture in policecustody, sometimes resulting in deaths. There was littleattempt to prosecute police officers responsible fortorture or to provide compensation for torture victims.Some torture victims who brought complaints werereportedly threatened by police. The terms of office ofthe current commissioners of the NPC expired at theend of November.

In November, the UN Committee against Tortureconsidered Sri Lanka’s second periodic report andexpressed concern about “continued well-documentedallegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment aswell as disappearances mainly committed by the State’spolice forces”.b Hettiarachchige Abeysiri was detained andreportedly tortured at Peliyagoda police station on 13July. He was taken to hospital where he died frominjuries caused by a blunt instrument.

Death penaltyThere were no executions, despite an announcement in2004 that the death penalty would be reactivated for

certain crimes. However, in July, the Justice Ministryand Attorney General recommended that the deathpenalty be implemented in the case of three menconvicted of the rape and murder of Rita John. Thesedeath sentences were not carried out by the end of theyear.

In July, the Commissioner General of Prisonsreported that there were approximately 100 prisonerson death row.

Violence against womenIncidents of sexual and domestic violence werereported throughout 2005, including sexual anddomestic violence against women living in tsunami IDPcamps. Women’s groups expressed concern that thefacilities in these camps did not provide security andmade women vulnerable to violence. High levels ofdomestic violence were reported in some camps.

The Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill was passedin parliament, bringing in laws to arrest the growingtrend of domestic violence in the country.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Sri Lanka: Amnesty International urges President not

to resume executions (AI Index: ASA 37/001/2005)• Sri Lanka: Launch independent inquiry into attack on

National Human Rights Commission (AI Index: ASA37/002/2005)

VisitsAI delegates, including AI’s Secretary General, visitedSri Lanka in August and December. Delegates metsenior government and opposition politicians, localhuman rights activists and members of civil society andrepresentatives of the LTTE.


SUD

SUDAN

REPUBLIC OF SUDAN

Head of state and government: Omar Hassan Ahmad

al-Bashir




Grave abuses of human rights by government forces,government-allied militias and armed politicalgroups continued in Darfur, western Sudan. Bothgovernment-allied forces and, at times, armedpolitical groups attacked humanitarian workers andother civilians. Suspected sympathizers of armedpolitical groups in Darfur were arbitrarily detained,as were human rights activists and members ofpolitical groups throughout northern Sudan. The newGovernment of National Unity, formed in Julyfollowing a comprehensive peace agreement inJanuary, lifted the state of emergency, in force since1989, except in eastern Sudan and Darfur. A newInterim Constitution, in effect from July,incorporated many positive human rights provisionsbut retained the death penalty, including for minors,and failed to remove immunity from prosecution forsenior officials responsible for war crimes or crimesagainst humanity. Hundreds of political prisonerscontinued to be held arbitrarily in Khartoum.Arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, tortureand restrictions on freedom of expression persisted,aimed in particular at human rights defenders,student activists and internally displaced people inand around Khartoum.

BackgroundThere was continuing conflict in Darfur. Thegovernment agreed a Declaration of Principles toresolve the conflict with two armed political groups inJuly, but the ceasefire was widely breached and alasting settlement remained remote. African Union(AU) forces deployed in the region were still not at fullstrength.

The International Criminal Court (ICC), based on areferral by the UN Security Council, began toinvestigate the situation in Darfur, but by the end of2005 had not been granted access to Sudan. Sudanestablished a national court for conflict-related crimesin Darfur, claiming this would obviate the need for theICC. However, the authorities failed to investigate orprosecute more than a few of those suspected of crimesagainst humanity and war crimes in Darfur. The AU didnot enter into a co-operation agreement with the ICC,and the Security Council did not take any further actionto implement Resolution 1593 (see below).

A Comprehensive Peace Agreement, ending decadesof civil war between the north and south, was signed on9 January. The peace held, although certain southern

militias excluded from the peace agreement continuedto fight. The presence of the Ugandan armed politicalgroup the Lord’s Resistance Army increased in southSudan, as did the number of attacks it mounted againstcivilians and, occasionally, humanitarian workers.More than three million internally displaced people(IDPs) and half a million refugees were expected toreturn to the south.

On 24 March the UN Security Council established theUN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), with the task ofsupporting the Comprehensive Peace Agreement andproviding support to the AU mission in Darfur.

The death in late July of John Garang de Mabior, headof the government of South Sudan and first Vice-President in the new Government of National Unity,resulted in widespread rioting in Khartoum and Juba.He was succeeded by Salva Kiir. As many as 130 peopledied in the violence and over 1,500 people werearrested in Khartoum.

In the east, where unrest continued to simmer, twoarmed political groups, the Beja Congress and the FreeLions, merged in February to form the Eastern Front.

DarfurWar crimes and crimes against humanity continued tobe committed by the government and government-aligned nomadic militias known as the Janjawid. Warcrimes were also committed by armed political groupsopposed to the government. Civilians were killed andinjured by government troops, who sometimes bombedvillages from the air, by Janjawid militias and in attacksby armed political groups. Women and girls continuedto be sexually assaulted and abducted by government-aligned militias and, occasionally, government forces.

After a major government offensive in January,violence declined until April, then stabilized beforerising again in late August. Government human rightsviolations against human rights activists continued.Abuses by armed political groups increased as theircommand structures broke down as a result of growingfactionalism and in-fighting. Such groups alsoincreasingly harassed humanitarian workers.Peacekeeping troops of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS)suffered attacks, including kidnappings, bygovernment-backed militias and some factions of thearmed political groups.b On 7 April more than 350 militiamen attacked anddestroyed the village of Khor Abeche in south Darfur.An unknown number of unarmed civilians were killedor injured.b On 30 May the authorities briefly detained PaulForeman, head of the international non-governmental organization (NGO) Médecins SansFrontières-Holland. They charged him with crimesagainst the state for publishing an allegedly falsereport on rape in Darfur, and sought to compel him todisclose the names of confidential sources.b On 29 September, three members of the national NGO, the Sudan Social DevelopmentOrganization, were abducted from Zam Zam IDP camp,north Darfur, by the Sudan Liberation Army, an armedpolitical group.


SUD

Torture was widespread. In particular, suspectedsupporters of armed political groups and people withinIDP camps were arbitrarily detained and tortured.b On 14 March, military intelligence arrested BakheetAlhaj from Sanya Afondu IDP camp. He was reportedlyheld in a hole in the ground for 13 days, flogged andbeaten with gun butts. On 7 April he was remanded incustody to await trial.Internally displaced peopleMore than 1.8 million people remained forciblydisplaced internally, and 220,000 refugees were still inChad. IDPs travelled from rural areas to settlementsaround towns and villages in Darfur fleeing attacks.Even within IDP camps, security was jeopardized byJanjawid militias and government forces.b On 19 May police shot dead three people andinjured 10 others in Kalma IDP camp in Nyala, southDarfur. The next day there were violent clashesbetween police and people living in the camp. b On 25 May the security forces attacked Zam ZamIDP camp near El Fasher town in north Darfur. Theyreportedly fired indiscriminately, killing MohamedAdam Khatir and injuring seven others.b On 28 September, Janjawid militia forces attackedthe IDP camp of Aro Sharow, killing 35 people andwounding 10, which forced over 4,000 to flee.International initiatives on DarfurA UN-appointed commission of inquiry reported inJanuary that crimes against humanity and war crimeshad been committed in Darfur by government andgovernment-aligned militia, and that the Sudanesejustice system was unable and unwilling to address thesituation.

On 31 March the UN Security Council passedResolution 1593, referring the situation in Darfur to theICC. The resolution required Sudan and all other partiesto the conflict to co-operate with the court. However,as a result of US pressure, a provision was inserted inthe resolution to exempt nationals of states not partyto the Rome Statute of the ICC (other than Sudan) fromthe jurisdiction of the ICC.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’Rights did not make public the report of its July 2004mission to Sudan, apparently because it was waiting forthe Sudanese government to respond, despite thegovernment’s previous failure to co-operate on thisissue.

Arbitrary arrests, torture and use of forceFreedom of expression continued to be repressed, withwidespread arbitrary arrests, incommunicadodetention and torture. Prominent among the victimswere political activists, human rights defenders,student leaders and IDPs in and around Khartoum.Members of the political oppositionb Following demonstrations in Port Sudan in whichmore than 20 people were reportedly killed, 17members of the political wing of the Beja Congress weredetained in January and February. They were releasedwithout charge in May and June.b Supporters of the Popular Congress party arrestedin September 2004 remained imprisoned. The

government did not make public the findings ofinquiries promised after the deaths of two PopularCongress student activists in 2004, reportedly as aresult of being beaten after arrest.b The Umma National Party headquarters inOmdurman was raided and temporarily closed in April.On 15 April, three student members of the party – IdrissMohamed Idriss, Abu Bakr Dafallah Musa and OmarDafallah Musa – were arrested by the security forcesnear Al Kalaklah central market, Khartoum, andreportedly badly beaten. They had been putting upposters. They were charged with causing a publicdisturbance and denied bail.Human rights defendersHuman rights defenders and their organizationscontinued to face harassment and repression.b The government initiated legal proceedings againstone of the country’s leading human rights groups, theSudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), in anapparent attempt to silence it. The Bureau of CrimesAgainst the State reportedly began proceedings forspreading false information at the end of August, butdid not inform the organization. Its members, chargedwith disclosing military information, propagating falsenews and public order offences, could face more thanfive years’ imprisonment.b Prominent human rights activist Mudawi Ibrahimwas arrested on 24 January, went on hunger strike andwas detained without charge until 3 March. On 8 May hewas again arrested while leaving Sudan to receive aFront Line Defenders award from the President ofIreland. After considerable international pressure, hewas released uncharged on 17 May.b Adil Abdallah Nasr al-Din, the Director of abranch of the non-governmental Sudan SocialDevelopment Organization in Zalengei, west Darfur,was released on 19 April. He had been arrested inSeptember 2004 and detained without charge or trialfor four months, first in an unofficial detention centrenear Kober prison in Khartoum and then for twomonths in Debek prison, north of Khartoum. He wasreported to have been regularly beaten and tied upduring his detention.StudentsMany student activists were arrested and beaten bypolice and other security forces. At least one was shotdead by police.b On 11 April, Nagmeldin Gafar Adam Eisa, a studentactivist at Dilling University in Kordofan, died afterbeing shot by the police on university premises during aprotest against the conduct of student union elections.Police fired tear gas and live ammunition at thedemonstrating students.b On 19 April students demonstrating at El FasherUniversity in favour of UN Security Council Resolution1593, were attacked by police and other security forcesusing tear gas and stun grenades and firing shots in theair. Four students were arrested, charged with publicorder offences, tried and acquitted. Anotherdemonstration at the university, on 21 April, culminatedin two students being injured, one seriously, as a resultof police firing gunshots to disperse the crowd. Police


SUD

reportedly refused to allow the seriously injuredstudent, who was accompanied by AU personnel,passage to a hospital.

Restrictions on freedom of the pressNewspapers continued to be heavily censored,particularly in relation to Darfur. The news media wereinstructed not to comment on UN Security CouncilResolution 1593. Several newspapers were suspendedtemporarily or permanently after publishing articlesconsidered critical of the authorities. Journalists wereharassed.b In June the Khartoum Monitor was notified that itslicence had been revoked by the High Court in 2003. Thenewspaper had successfully appealed against theclosure at the time, but the National Security Serviceshad appealed to have that decision overturned on fourseparate occasions without informing the newspaper.b On 9 May the authorities briefly suspended al-Wifaq daily newspaper and fined the publication 8 million Sudanese pounds (about US$3,500) forpublishing articles deemed blasphemous. The capitalcharge of blasphemy was brought against the editor,Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, but withdrawn soonafterwards.

Displaced people in and around KhartoumThe government forcibly relocated large numbers ofIDPs living in and around Khartoum. Many had fledconflict and extreme deprivation in the south andDarfur; others were from marginalized communitiesthroughout Sudan. The involuntary relocationssometimes led to violent clashes and mass arrests.Despite promises in July by the Governor of KhartoumState to consult with donors and UN agencies beforerelocating camps, settlements and groups of people,forcible relocation without warning continued.b On 18 May fighting broke out between IDPs andpolice over the proposed relocation of the Soba AradiIDP camp. Fourteen police officers and up to 30 IDPswere killed. On 24 May police arrested large numbers ofIDPs. Mohammed Daw al Beit and three others arrestedreportedly died in police custody.b On 17 August armed police surrounded the ShikanIDP camp located in Omdurman, Khartoum. Theyarrived with lorries and emptied the entire camp of itsresidents. The majority of residents were moved toFatah III camp, where basic services were lacking.Those relocated reported abuses by security forcesduring the relocation.

The eastCivilians were killed by the security forces followingprotests in eastern Sudan about underdevelopmentand marginalization of the region.b On 26 January peaceful demonstrators from theBeja ethnic community in Port Sudan presented a list ofdemands to the Red Sea State Governor. On 29 Januarythe security forces reportedly used live ammunitionagainst demonstrators allegedly armed with sticks andstones, attacked houses in nearby areas, and woundedresidents, including children, by throwing grenades

inside homes. At least 20 people were killed. A similarprotest in Kassala town reportedly resulted in arrestsand the beating of two students by the security forces.Two investigations were set up, but their findings werenot made public.b The Eastern Front, an armed political group,abducted three ruling party politicians on 24 May. Theywere released in early September.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Sudan: Who will answer for the crimes? (AI Index:

AFR 54/006/2005)• Open letter to the President of Nigeria as Chairman

of the African Union regarding Sudan referral to theICC (AI Index: IOR 63/001/2005)

• Open letter to the members of the United NationsSecurity Council: The situation in the Sudan (AIIndex: AFR 54/024/2005)

• Sudan: Amnesty International’s recommendationson the deployment of a United Nations peacesupport operation (AI Index: AFR 54/025/2005)

• Sudan: Recommendations to donors funding Sudan(AI Index: AFR 54/036/2005)

• Sudan: Political repression in Eastern Sudan (AIIndex: AFR 54/051/2005)

• Sudan: Memorandum to the National ConstitutionalReview Commission (AI Index: AFR 54/049/2005)

• Sudan: List of political detainees (AI Index: AFR54/062/2005)

VisitAI delegates visited southern Sudan in October.


SWA

SWAZILAND

KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND

Head of state: King Mswati III

Head of government: Absalom Themba Dlamini





signed

Over a quarter of the population faced severe foodshortages. Three quarters of those in clinical need ofantiretroviral therapy were not receiving it. A newConstitution was adopted amid continuing politicaltensions. Victims of forced evictions were still unableto access their rights. Reported rapes and otherforms of sexual abuse of women and girls increased,but the government proposed legislative reforms toimprove access to justice. Reports of torture, ill-treatment and misuse of lethal force by members ofthe police persisted, and there was a lack of redressfor the victims. Limitations on freedoms of assemblyand association included the suppression ofdemonstrations by force. Three people were undersentence of death. A draft law proposed creating 14new death penalty offences.

Legal and constitutional developmentsIn June a new Constitution was adopted by parliament.Civil society organizations expressed concern atobstacles to public involvement in the drafting andadoption of the Constitution and at provisionsentrenching the King’s extensive powers and limitingthe exercise of certain rights.

On 26 July the King assented to the newConstitution, which was then published in theGovernment Gazette as law. However, the King failedto issue a decree repealing the Proclamation of 12April 1973, which vested all legislative, executive andjudicial powers in the King and banned politicalparties. Government officials claimed that theConstitution was not yet in force. In a test case heardin the High Court in December, lawyers representingmembers of the Industrial Court argued that theConstitution was the applicable and supreme law inthis case. The High Court had not given a ruling by theend of 2005.

The operations of the Judicial Services Commissionwere revived, and on its advice the King appointed threenew judges on an “acting” basis and for one year only.

The government’s obligations under a key 2002Court of Appeal ruling remained partly unfulfilled.The forcible eviction of Chief Mtfuso Dlamini and hisfamily from their home in KaMkhweli in 2000, alongwith that of other families from Macetjeni, hadtriggered a four-year rule of law crisis. In August thegovernment refused to accept a petition from theDlamini clan of KaMkhweli for the unconditional

return of Chief Mtfuso, in exile in South Africa, asrequired under the Court ruling.

Violence against women and girlsIn November a draft Sexual Offences and DomesticViolence Bill was issued in response to increasingconcerns about sexual violence against women andyoung children. The Bill sought to redefine the crimeof rape, criminalize marital rape, and introduceprotection for “vulnerable witnesses” as well as newcivil law remedies for those at risk of domesticviolence. However, it also proposed 14 new capitaloffences.

In October police officials confirmed an increasesince 2002 in reported rapes of women and childrenbelow 12 years of age. Over half the 544 rape casesreported to police by July involved minors under 18years and young children. The Swaziland Action GroupAgainst Abuse (SWAGAA), a non-governmentalorganization, dealt with an average of 21 cases of rapeand sexual abuse a month in the first 10 months of theyear. Perpetrators included family members andteachers. The Commissioner of Police established theDomestic Violence and Child Sexual Abuse unit in anattempt to improve police response to these crimes.

The new Constitution guaranteed women equalityunder the law, except in the “cultural” sphere.However, in a separate clause, which failed to fullyprotect women’s rights, a woman could “not becompelled to undergo or uphold any custom to whichshe is in conscience opposed”.

Access to health careAn HIV prevalence rate of 42.6 per cent was reportedamong women attending antenatal clinics. The UNProgramme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Ministry ofHealth and Social Welfare reported that 56 per cent ofpregnant women aged 25 to 29 were HIV-positive. InMarch, 8,373 people were receiving antiretroviraltherapy, 23 per cent of those estimated to need it,according to the World Health Organization andUNAIDS. The drug treatment was free, but shortageswere reported at certain hospitals. Access tovoluntary counselling and testing improved.

There were concerns that the proposal in the SexualOffences and Domestic Violence Bill, to provide amandatory death penalty for “intentionally” transmittingHIV through “unprotected sex with another person”,would increase the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS anddiscourage people from learning their status.

Children’s rightsSchool students were subjected to whippings andforced labour as a form of collective punishment.b In a two-week period, 59 per cent of 2,750 Swazichildren surveyed said they were beaten at school,including with sticks, canes and sjamboks (whips), areport by the international aid organization, Save theChildren, revealed in May.b In February, 16-year-old Sandile Melusi Mthethwawas sentenced to “six strokes” by the High Court forculpable homicide.


SWA

Torture and misuse of lethal forceb In January the Prime Minister released theCoroner’s report into the death in custody ofMadlenkhosi Ngubeni on 22 May 2004. The Coronerconcluded that he had been tortured, possibly bysuffocation methods, by the police, who had alsonegligently failed to obtain urgent medical care. TheCoroner also recommended that police officers whohad tortured him and other detainees be investigatedfor possible prosecution, and that measures weretaken to improve police professionalism. InNovember, in response to a civil claim for damagesinstituted by Madlenkhosi Ngubeni’s family, thegovernment denied in court papers any responsibilityfor his death.

There were further reports of torture, beatings andthe misuse of lethal force by the police against crimesuspects and political activists, and by game rangers,who have immunity from prosecution under the GameAmendment Act, against members of rural communitiesaccused of illegal hunting.b Zwelithini Mamba and Andreas Tsabedze, chargedwith contravening the Game Amendment Act, allegedin the Mbabane Magistrate’s court that they had beenseverely caned and beaten by game rangers when theywere arrested in Mlilwane Game Park in July.b Steven Thwala, arrested on 17 August andconvicted a week later of assaulting a police officer,alleged in court that he had been handcuffed andsubjected to suffocation torture. He instituted a civilaction against the police for the assault.b Police investigating petrol bombings of threepolice officers’ homes arrested supporters of bannedorganizations. Mabandla Gama, a member of theSwaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), was questionedat Mbabane police station on the evening of 2November. After returning home later that night, hewas reportedly taken again from his Nkwalini home bysix plain-clothes officers, and beaten and interrogatedfor several hours before being left at a bus station. Herequired treatment in hospital for his injuries.b On 24 May, Charles Mabuza was shot dead by policewho had come to his home to arrest his brother,Mfanzile Mabuza, for illegal possession of a pistol.Mfanzile Mabuza and a police officer, SergeantMfanasibili Dlamini, died in an exchange of gunfire.Initially the police said Charles Mabuza had been shotdead by his brother, and arranged a hasty official post-mortem without the presence of a familyrepresentative. After intervention by the family’slawyer, a second post-mortem was conducted by anindependent forensic pathologist. The physical andballistic evidence confirmed that Charles Mabuza diedfrom injuries caused by high velocity gunshotconsistent with that used in a police-issue R4/R5 assaultrifle. No criminal or disciplinary steps against anypolice officer had been taken by the end of 2005.b In December the Siteki Magistrate’s Court orderedthe police to take detainee Mduduzi Mamba to hospitalfor examination and treatment after he complained incourt that he had been subjected to suffocation tortureand beaten while suspended. He was charged with

treason and attempted murder in connection withpetrol bombings of government infrastructure, andremanded in custody.

Freedom of assembly attackedb In August, Roland Rudd and Lynn DinganiMazibuko, members of the Swaziland Agricultural andPlantation Workers Union, were acquitted of chargesunder the Arms and Ammunition Act in connection witha trade union demonstration in August 2003. Anotheraccused, Alex Langwenya (see below), had beenacquitted in December 2004.

Police used excessive force against unarmeddemonstrators in a number of incidents.b On 8 September police fired tear gas withoutsufficient warning at university students, injuring atleast 10, including Khumbuzile Nkambule, who washit in the face by a tear gas canister. The students hadgathered outside the government’s Cabinet Offices toprotest at drastic reductions in the number ofstudent scholarships. Khumbuzile Nkambule andothers required hospital treatment. On 12 Septemberthe Deputy Commissioner of Police announced aninquiry by the police Complaints and Discipline Unit.No results were announced by the end of 2005. Thestudent complainants expressed concern that noinquiry had been conducted by an independent body.

Demonstrations by opposition organizations werebroken up by police on the grounds that they remainedprohibited under the 1973 Proclamation.b On 1 October tear gas and rubber bullets were usedto disperse a SWAYOCO rally in the Manzini area. Policearrested seven SWAYOCO officials and members,including its president Alex Langwenya, who wasbeaten with batons. On 3 October, Alex Langwenya andsix others were charged with malicious damage toproperty. After several court appearances, they werereleased on bail and the case was remanded but no trialdate was set.

Death penaltyNo new death sentences were imposed. Threeprisoners remained under sentence of death awaitingthe outcome of clemency appeals.

The new Constitution retained the death penalty butstated that the punishment could not be mandatory.However, the Sexual Offences and Domestic ViolenceBill proposed 14 new offences carrying a mandatorydeath penalty.

AI country reports/visitsVisitIn February, AI delegates met the Prime Minister andother government officials visiting the UK to discuss arange of concerns.


SWE

SWEDEN

KINGDOM OF SWEDEN

Head of state: King Carl XVI Gustaf

Head of government: Göran Persson




Decisions by the Swedish authorities to deportforeign nationals were criticized by internationalhuman rights bodies. Asylum-determinationprocedures continued to fall below internationalstandards.

International scrutinyIn May the UN Committee against Torture concludedthat the Swedish authorities’ decision to deport aBangladeshi woman and her daughter to Bangladeshwould amount to a breach of Sweden’s obligation not toforcibly return a person to another state where theywould be at risk of torture. The woman and her thenfour-year-old daughter had applied for asylum inSweden in 2000. The Committee noted that the Swedishauthorities had not contested the fact that she had beenpersecuted, detained and tortured, including by beingraped. However, the Swedish immigration authoritiesconsidered that she had been raped by individualpolice officers, and had thus concluded that theculprits’ actions were not sufficient to establish theresponsibility of the Bangladeshi authorities.

In November, the European Court of Human Rightsheld unanimously that the deportation of fourmembers of a Syrian family to Syria would amount to aviolation of their right to life and of the prohibition ofinhuman or degrading treatment. The case concerned aSyrian national and his family who had been refusedasylum in Sweden on several occasions. In 2003 theprincipal applicant had been convicted in absentia by aSyrian court of complicity in a murder, and sentencedto death. Citing AI and other sources the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights stressed that the death penaltywas enforced for serious crimes in Syria. In spite of this,the Swedish authorities had considered that, upon hisreturn to Syria, his case would be reopened and aretrial granted and had thus concluded that the familywere not in need of protection.

‘War on terror’ deportationsIn May the UN Committee against Torture concludedthat the Swedish government’s expulsion of AhmedHussein Mustafa Kamil Agiza from Sweden to Egypt in2001 breached the prohibition of refoulement. TheCommittee considered that the Swedish governmentknew, or should have known, at the time of thecomplainant’s removal that the Egyptian authoritiesresorted to consistent and widespread use of tortureagainst detainees and that the risk of such treatment

was particularly high in the case of detainees held forpolitical and security reasons.

The Committee noted that the diplomatic assurancesprocured by the Swedish government provided nomechanism for their enforcement, and concluded thatthey did not suffice to protect against the manifest riskof torture. The Committee recalled that the prohibitionof refoulement was absolute, even in the context ofcounter-terrorism measures. The Committee furtherstated that the Swedish government had also breachedits obligations under the Convention by neitherdisclosing to the Committee relevant information norpresenting its concerns to the Committee for anappropriate procedural decision.

The parliamentary Constitutional Committeeconcluded in September that the Swedish governmentshould not have accepted the Egyptian authorities’diplomatic assurances, and that therefore it should nothave expelled Muhammad Muhammad SuleimanIbrahim El-Zari and Ahmed Hussein Mustafa KamilAgiza to Egypt in December 2001. Hanan Attia, AhmedHussein Mustafa Kamil Agiza’s wife, and her fivechildren were granted refugee status according to theUN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

Refugees and asylum-seekersThe Swedish authorities continued to consider abroad range of asylum applications to be “manifestlyunfounded”, including those from Romani applicants.The accelerated asylum-determination proceduresfell far short of international standards for refugeeprotection. The asylum applicants were not given afull asylum interview and were, among other things,denied access to legal aid. In addition, those whoseclaims had been rejected could be forcibly returned totheir home countries or a third country pendingappeal against an initial rejection of their claim.

Violence against womenIn March, the government decided to establish acommission to investigate why certain municipalitieshad action plans for addressing violence againstwomen while others did not. The commission was alsoto consider ways in which to make the municipalitiesassume responsibility for supporting women who hadbeen subjected to violence, including women withspecial needs. The results of the commission’s workwere to be announced in June 2006.

Prison conditionsOvercrowding in remand detention continued to be ofconcern despite several measures taken by the Swedishauthorities to improve the situation. Reports ofdetainees having to share cells intended for singleoccupancy continued. The number of complaintsreceived by the Justice Ombudsman regarding thetreatment of detainees was higher than in recent years.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Sweden: Refugee rights undermined in “War on

Terror” (AI Index: EUR 42/001/2005)


SYR

SWITZERLAND

SWISS CONFEDERATION

Head of state and government: Samuel Schmid





signed

Allegations of ill-treatment, use of excessive forceand racist abuse by police officers continued. Afederal amendment to the asylum law was proposedwhich would violate the UN Refugee Convention bylimiting asylum-seekers’ access to an effectiveasylum and appeals procedures. Although importantsteps were taken by the legislature and police inseveral cantons, domestic violence against womenremained a significant problem.

Police racism, ill-treatment and use of excessive forceThe UN Committee against Torture (CAT) and theCouncil of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rightspublished their recommendations on Switzerland inMay and June respectively. Both recommended thecreation of an independent regional (cantonal) appealcommission that could examine complaints againstpolice forces. CAT also recommended that victims andtheir families should be informed of their right topursue compensation and that procedures should bemade more transparent. In this regard CAT requestedinformation about what steps Switzerland had taken tocompensate the families of two people who had diedduring forcible deportation. The Commissionerproposed that an observer should be present duringdeportations of foreign nationals and insisted thatprivate security agencies should not be permitted tomanage deportations.

Following protests by a large number of internationaland national institutions and organizations, thegovernment prohibited the use of electro-shockweapons, including tasers, during forced deportationsof foreign citizens.

Some cantons took significant steps to preventhuman rights violations and introduced high humanrights standards in policing.

AsylumIn December, parliament proposed an amendment tothe federal asylum law, limiting access to an effectiveasylum and appeal procedure for people who did nothave identity documents. It also proposed limitingaccess to social welfare for rejected asylum-seekers,even if they could not leave Switzerland immediately.This amendment, if approved, risked exacerbating thecriminalization and inhuman treatment of asylum-seekers whose applications for asylum have beenrejected. Asylum-seekers have consistently

complained about abuse and inhuman treatment bycantonal migration offices and cantonal police corps.In the canton of Solothurn, for example, asylum-seekers whose applications were rejected wereunable to access social welfare services until theFederal court ruled that this practice wasunconstitutional.

Violence against womenDomestic violence remained prevalent throughoutSwitzerland, despite the fact that the Swiss Penal Codeallows for the prosecution of crimes of domesticviolence, including rape, without an official complaintfrom the victim. Other aspects of domestic legislationregarding violence in the home varied betweencantons.

A new federal law concerning foreign nationals gaverise to concerns as it failed to protect victims ofdomestic violence who were classified as non-nationals. They had a right to stay in Switzerlandindependently of continued marriage or cohabitationonly if certain conditions were fulfilled, such as if theyhad been resident in Switzerland for at least three yearsand had important personal reasons to remain in thecountry. There were also concerns about the impact ofthis law on non-nationals who were victims orwitnesses in cases of human trafficking, as the law didnot give these individuals the right to stay inSwitzerland. Cantons were, however, free to give thempermission to stay on humanitarian grounds.

SYRIA

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

Head of state: Bashar al-Assad

Head of government: Muhammad Naji ‘Otri





signed

Freedom of expression and association remainedseverely restricted. Scores of people were arrestedand hundreds remained imprisoned for politicalreasons, including prisoners of conscience and otherssentenced after unfair trials. However, about 500political prisoners were released under twoamnesties. Torture and ill-treatment were common.Human rights defenders continued to faceharassment. Women and members of the Kurdishminority continued to face discrimination.


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BackgroundSyria became increasingly isolated after theassassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiqal-Hariri in Beirut on 14 February. In May the UNconfirmed that Syria had withdrawn its forces fromLebanon. The state of emergency imposed in 1962remained in force. The Association Agreement betweenSyria and the European Union, which was initialled inOctober 2004 and contains a human rights clause,remained frozen at the final approval stage.

Releases of political prisonersUp to 312 political prisoners, including prisoners ofconscience, were ordered to be released on 30 Marchunder a presidential amnesty. Most were Kurds whohad been detained following violent disturbances innorth-eastern Syria in March 2004.

Some 190 political prisoners, including prisoners ofconscience, were released under a presidential amnestyon 2 November. They included: ‘Abd al-’Aziz al-Khayyir,arrested in February 1992 and sentenced after an unfairtrial before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) inAugust 1995 to 22 years’ imprisonment for membership ofthe Party for Communist Action; Haythem al-Hamwi,Muhammed Shehada, Yahya Shurbajee and Mu’atezMurad, community activists from Darya arrested in May2003 and sentenced to between three and four years’imprisonment after unfair trials before Field MilitaryCourts; and Mus’ab al-Hariri, who was arrested on 24 July2002, aged 14 or 15, shortly after he and his motherreturned to Syria after living in exile in Saudi Arabia.Mus’ab al-Hariri had been sentenced by the SSSC on 19June 2005 to six years’ imprisonment for allegedmembership of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Imprisonment for political reasonsScores of people were arrested during the year forpolitical reasons, including tens of prisoners ofconscience. At least several hundred people, includingprisoners of conscience, remained imprisoned forpolitical reasons. Scores were brought to trial beforethe SSSC and Military Courts, all of which suffer from agross lack of independence and impartiality. Many ofthose facing trial were suspected members or affiliatesof banned political parties such as the KurdishDemocratic Union Party, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizbal-Tahrir, and the pro-Iraqi Arab Socialist DemocraticBa’th Party.

Prisoners of conscience included:b Six men, who were arrested in 2001 and sentencedto up to 10 years’ imprisonment after unfair trials in2002 for their involvement in the “Damascus Spring”pro-reform movement, remained in prison.b Former “Damascus Spring” detainee Kamal al-Labwani, who was released in September 2004 afterthree years’ imprisonment, was rearrested on 8November upon arrival in Damascus after severalmonths in Europe and the USA. Charges against him,which related to his peaceful activities promotingdemocracy and human rights, included “weakeningnational morale”, “inciting strife” and “belonging to asecret organization”.

b ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah was arrested on 15 May, a weekafter he read a statement on behalf of the exiled MuslimBrotherhood leader at the unauthorized Jamal al-AtassiForum. The Forum was then closed down by theauthorities. He was charged with “promoting an illegalorganization”. He was released under the presidentialamnesty on 2 November.b Riad Drar was arrested on 4 June after he made aspeech at the funeral of Islamic scholar SheikhMuhammad Ma’shuq al-Khiznawi. He faced chargesbefore the SSSC of “inciting sectarian strife”, a chargecommonly used against people promoting the rights ofSyrian Kurds. He remained held in solitaryconfinement.

‘War on terror’ detentions and tortureScores of Syrians remained in detention and were beingtried before the SSSC for alleged membership of a SalafiIslamist organization and for alleged plans to carry outacts of terrorism, including in Iraq. The detaineesincluded 16 men from al-’Otaybe, who were arrested inApril 2004, and 24 men from Qatana, aged between 17and 25, who were arrested in July 2004. They werereportedly tortured and ill-treated during long periodsof incommunicado detention. There were widespreadconcerns that the arrests and trials were attempts bythe authorities to portray the country as under threatfrom terrorism.

According to unconfirmed media reports emanatingfrom government sources, in 2005 the Syrianauthorities arrested up to 1,500 people allegedlyseeking to fight alongside anti-US forces in Iraq. Manywere reportedly returned to their country of origin.Saudi Arabian media and human rights activists statedfrom July that Saudi nationals had been detained andtortured in Syria, from October 2003, before beingreturned to Saudi Arabia.b Pregnant sisters Heba al-Khaled, 17, and Rola al-Khaled, 20, and Nadia al-Satour and her baby, werearrested on 3 September and held hostage by theauthorities to put pressure on their husbands, allegedIslamist militants, to give themselves up. They werefirst detained in the town of Hama, then transferred tothe Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence inDamascus where they remained at the end of the year.b Muhammad Haydar Zammar, a German national ofSyrian origin, remained detained incommunicado, at anunknown location and without charge, for a fourthyear, apparently on account of alleged links to al-Qa’ida. The US security forces were reportedly involvedin his arrest and interrogation in Morocco in 2001, andin his secret transfer to Syria one or two weeks later. Hewas reportedly interrogated in Syria in November 2002by agents of German intelligence and criminalinvestigation agencies.

In August and October, information was releasedduring an inquiry in Canada on the actions ofCanadian officials in relation to Syrian/Canadiannational Maher Arar. It indicated that, like him, atleast three other Canadian nationals of Arab originhad been detained, interrogated and tortured in Syriain previous years with the possible complicity or


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involvement of Canadian and other foreignintelligence agencies. All three claimed they wereforced to sign statements without being permitted toread them. They were:b Ahmed Abou El-Maati was detained for 11 weeksafter he arrived in Syria on 12 November 2001. Healleged that during this time he was beaten with electriccables, burned with cigarettes and had ice-cold waterpoured over him. He was then transferred to Egyptwhere he suffered further torture.b ‘Abdullah Almalki said he was beaten on the solesof his feet, hung in a tyre and beaten, and suspended byhis hands from a metal frame and beaten whiledetained at the Palestine Branch of MilitaryIntelligence in Damascus for 22 months from May 2002.b Muayyed Nureddin said he was beaten repeatedlyon the soles of his feet with a cable and had cold waterpoured on him while detained in Syria from 11December 2003 to 13 January 2004.

Human rights defenders under threatSyrian human rights defenders became increasinglyactive, but faced arrest and harassment. Severalunauthorized human rights organizations wereoperating. At least 10 human rights defenders wereforbidden from travelling outside the country.b Nizar Ristnawi, a founding member of theunauthorized Arab Organization for Human Rights-Syria (AOHR-S), was arrested on 18 April. He remainedin detention on unknown charges at the end of the year.b Muhammad Ra’dun, head of the AOHR-S, wasarrested on 22 May in connection with statements hehad made about human rights in Syria. He was chargedwith “spreading false news” and “involvement in anillegal organization of an international nature”. He wasreleased under a presidential amnesty on 2 November.

‘Disappearances’The government provided no information aboutthousands of Syrians, Lebanese and other nationals who“disappeared” in the custody of Syrian forces in previousyears. These included some 17,000 people, mostlyIslamists who “disappeared” after they were detained inthe late 1970s and early 1980s, and hundreds ofLebanese and Palestinians who were detained in Syriaor abducted from Lebanon by Syrian forces or Lebaneseand Palestinian militias. In September, however, thegovernment named one judge and two generals as itsrepresentatives on a joint Syrian-Lebanese committeeintended to address the “disappearances” issue. Localhuman rights groups welcomed this but questioned thelack of independence and the limited powers of thecommittee.

Torture and ill-treatmentTorture and ill-treatment of political and criminaldetainees continued to be widely reported, particularlyduring incommunicado, pre-trial detention. At leasttwo deaths as a result of such treatment were reported.b Ahmad ‘Ali al-Masalma, a Muslim Brotherhoodmember, died at the end of March, two weeks after hewas released from four weeks in detention. He was

arrested on his return from 26 years’ exile in SaudiArabia. He was allegedly tortured in detention anddenied essential medication.b Sheikh Muhammad Ma’shuq al-Khiznawi, anIslamic religious leader and outspoken figure within theKurdish community, died on 30 May, 20 days after he“disappeared”, apparently in the custody of MilitaryIntelligence agents. His nose and teeth were brokenand there was a wound on his forehead.b Seraj Khalbous became seriously ill probably as aresult of torture while detained incommunicado inSeptember at al-Mezze and al-Fayha Political SecurityBranches in Damascus. He was beaten, stamped on,struck with large sticks, threatened with anal rape,subjected to extreme cold, sleep deprivation andhumiliation, and witnessed others being tortured withelectric shocks. He was released on 25 October.Most allegations of torture were not investigated.However, in June it was reported that two senior officialsat the Ma’dan Court building in Raqqa were eachsentenced to two months in prison for torturing Amna al-‘Allush in March 2002 to force her to “confess” to amurder. Despite this, Amna al-‘Allush continued servingthe 12-year prison sentence she received in April 2004.

Discrimination against KurdsSyrian Kurds continued to suffer from identity-baseddiscrimination, including restrictions on the use of theKurdish language and culture. Tens of thousands ofSyrian Kurds remained effectively stateless. As a result,they were denied full access to education, employment,health and other rights enjoyed by Syrian nationals, aswell as the right to have a nationality and passport. InJune, at its first meeting for 10 years, the ruling Ba’thParty Congress ordered a review of a 1962 census whichcould result in stateless Kurds obtaining Syriancitizenship.

Discrimination and violence against womenWomen remained subject to discrimination under arange of laws including in the areas of marriage,divorce, the family, inheritance and nationality. Theywere also inadequately protected against domestic andother forms of violence. For example, men who commitrape can escape possible punishment if they marry thevictim, and men who murder a female relative ongrounds of her alleged “adultery” or “extra-maritalsexual relations” can also escape punishment or betreated more leniently than other murderers.The scale of violence against women remained poorlydocumented and few cases were publicized during theyear.b At her wedding party in al-Suweida in August, HudaAbu ‘Assali, a Druze, was reportedly killed by her fatherand brother for having married a Kurdish man whileaway from home at university in Damascus. Noprosecution was known to have been brought.

Death penaltyThe death penalty remained in force for a wide range ofcrimes but the authorities disclosed little informationabout its use. It was not known how many people were


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sentenced to death or executed in 2005. However, thegovernment informed the UN Human Rights Committee(HRC) that 27 executions were carried out during 2002and 2003, although it was unclear whether this was thetotal or it excluded executions carried out after trialsbefore the SSSC or military courts. In an interviewpublished in August, former Defence Minister MustafaTlas claimed that he had authorized the hanging of 150political opponents a week throughout the 1980s andthat he had signed execution orders for thousands ofdetainees whose families were not notified.

UN Human Rights CommitteeThe HRC, commenting on Syria’s third periodic report,criticized the government’s failure to implement humanrights reforms recommended by the HRC in 2001. Itexpressed concern about the continuing state ofemergency; restrictions on freedom of expression andother basic rights; discrimination and violence againstwomen; the targeting of human rights defenders; andSyria’s use of the death penalty.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Syria: Kurds in the Syrian Arabic Republic one year

after the March 2004 events (AI Index: MDE24/002/2005)

VisitsAI and the Syrian authorities discussed the possibility ofan AI visit to the country but no decision was reached. AIhas not been permitted into Syria since 1997.

TAIWAN

TAIWAN

Head of state: Chen Shui-bian

Head of government: Frank Hsieh Chang-ting


The government was reported to be drafting legalamendments to remove mandatory death penaltyprovisions from the Criminal Code. However, thedeath penalty remained as a discretionarypunishment for murder, kidnapping leading tomurder and other serious crimes. Three men wereexecuted during the year and 17 sentenced to death.Migrant workers were reportedly subjected toviolence while protesting against denial of theirbasic human rights.

Death penaltySeventeen people were sentenced to death and threemen were executed during 2005.

b Wang Chung-hsing was executed in January. Hehad been convicted of causing the deaths by drowningof six Chinese women in the Taiwan Straits. Theexecution order was signed by then Minister of JusticeChen Ding-nan, who in 2000 had promised to take stepstowards total abolition of the death penalty.b Two brothers, Lin Meng-kai and Lin Hsin-hung,were executed in December following convictions formurder.b The 11th retrial of three men known as the “HsichihTrio” was pending at the end of 2005, as the procuratorappealed to the Supreme Court against their acquittal.b In November a district court began hearing thesixth retrial of Hsu Tzu-Chiang, who had been convictedof kidnapping and murder and sentenced to death bythe Supreme Court in April 2000.

Migrant workersLarge numbers of migrant workers continued to live ininhuman conditions in dormitories, with limited freedomof movement. Several protests were reported of migrantworkers complaining about poor living conditions, lackof freedom of movement outside dormitories andpayment below the official minimum wage.b In August, about 300 Thai nationals who had beenhired by a company involved in the construction ofKaohsiung mass transit railway protested against theirpay and working conditions. In the course of theirprotests they reportedly set fire to company property.b In August, at least four Filipino migrant labourersworking at a chemical factory in Mailiao Yunlin Countywho were involved in a strike over deductions fromsalaries and other grievances were severely beaten bycompany security guards near Hsinchu. They werereportedly taken to the airport for deportation, and atleast one was carried onto the plane semi-consciousand in need of medical attention. The four wereaccompanied by two more Filipino colleagues whowere allegedly beaten by company security guardsbefore their forcible deportation.

LegislationSignificant laws addressing human rights were passedin January, including the Aboriginal Basic Law and theSexual Harassment Prevention Act. A law addressingfreedom of expression – The Organic Law of theNational Communications Commission – was passed inOctober.


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TAJIKISTAN

REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

Head of state: Imomali Rakhmonov

Head of government: Akil Akilov





Torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officerswere reported. The location of the burial sites ofprisoners sentenced to death and executed inprevious years remained secret, subjecting relativesto cruel and inhuman treatment. Independentjournalists faced increasing intimidation, includingcriminal prosecutions, by the authorities. FiveAfghan refugees were forcibly returned toAfghanistan.

BackgroundThe ruling People’s Democratic Party won a largemajority in parliamentary elections in February. Theleaders of two opposition parties were banned fromstanding on the grounds that criminal cases had beenopened against them, even though no trial had takenplace. The Organization for Security and Co-operationin Europe (OSCE) observed the elections and concludedthat they “failed to meet many of the key OSCEcommitments for democratic elections”.

In September, during his visit to Tajikistan, the UNSpecial Rapporteur on the independence of judges andlawyers raised concern about the lack of independenceof the judiciary.

Torture, ill-treatment and impunityThere were continuing reports of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officers. It appearedthat in most cases no investigation was conducted andthe perpetrators enjoyed impunity.

The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), afterconsidering Tajikistan’s first report to the Committee,raised concern about the “widespread use of ill-treatment and torture by investigation and otherofficials to obtain information, testimony or self-incriminating evidence from suspects, witnesses orarrested persons”. It also reported on “poor conditionsand overcrowding” in places of detention and the“limited access” to penitentiary institutions by civilsociety and international bodies.

Death penaltyRelatives of people executed before the moratorium ondeath sentences and executions took effect in 2004continued to have no right to know where their lovedones were buried. The HRC urged the authorities to“take urgent measures to inform families of the burialsites”. It also issued rulings on the cases of three formerdeath row prisoners. In all cases it found serious

violations of the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights and urged Tajikistan to provideappropriate compensation. In the case of ValijonKhalilov, for example, who was executed on 2 July 2001,the HRC ruled that the execution was “in violation ofthe right to a fair trial”. It said Tajikistan was obliged toprovide Valijon Khalilov’s mother with an appropriateremedy, including to inform her of the location of herson’s grave.

RefugeesFive Afghan refugees – a mother and her four children –were forcibly returned to Afghanistan in September, inviolation of Tajikistan’s obligations as a party to the 1951Refugee Convention and other human rights treaties. In2004 they had applied for resettlement; three weresubsequently accepted by Canada. In early 2005 theRefugee Status Determination Commission of Tajikistanannulled the mother’s refugee status; her appealagainst the decision was still pending before Dushanbecity court when the five were detained and thendeported.

Trafficking of human beingsTrafficking of human beings remained a grave concern.The HRC urged Tajikistan to “redouble its efforts” intackling trafficking and “rigorously review the activitiesof responsible governmental agencies to ensure that noState actors are involved”.

TANZANIA

UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

Head of state: Jakaya Kikwete (replaced Benjamin

Mkapa in December)

Head of government: Edward Lowassa (replaced

Frederick Sumaye in December)

Head of Zanzibar government: Amani Abeid Karume





signed

There were reports of human rights abuses duringelections in Zanzibar. Female genital mutilationcontinued. Up to 400 people were under sentence ofdeath; there were no executions.

BackgroundElections for the Union (national) President andparliament scheduled for October were postponeduntil December. Jakaya Kikwete, candidate of the rulingParty of the Revolution (Chama Cha Mapinduzi, CCM),


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was sworn in as President after defeating the CivicUnited Front (CUF) and other opposition candidates.The CCM won 206 of the 232 parliamentary seats.

Zanzibar electionsElections in semi-autonomous Zanzibar for theZanzibar President, parliament and local councils wereheld in October. Amani Abeid Karume, the CCMcandidate, was re-elected as President, defeating theCUF candidate. The CCM won 30 seats in the parliament,as against 19 for the CUF.

The CUF alleged that numerous human rights abuses,including beatings and arbitrary arrests of theirsupporters, were carried out by security forces andpro-CCM youth militias (known as “Janjaweed”) duringthe voter registration process in early 2005.

Later there were violent clashes between CCM andCUF supporters in the weeks before the Octoberelections, with scores of people injured. Police shotand wounded eight opposition supporters at areportedly peaceful rally which took place on 9October despite a ban.

For three days after the poll, CUF supporters allegingelection fraud – some throwing stones and burningtyres, others protesting peacefully – confronted thesecurity forces, who used tear gas and water-cannon todisperse protesters. Dozens of people were arrested,and two protesters reportedly died. Some detaineeswere charged with criminal offences but none had beentried by the end of the year.

There were allegations of widespread beatings andlooting by the security forces targeting CUF supporterson Pemba island, including a reported shooting.

In November, several CUF leaders were brieflydetained.

Violence against womenFemale genital mutilation continued to be practised inmany mainland areas, although the practice is illegalfor girls under 18 years. There were no prosecutionsreported.

Human rights defendersChristopher Kidanka, an official of the Legal and HumanRights Centre, and Mpoki Bukuku, a photographer ofthe Citizen newspaper, were among dozens of peopleseverely beaten by prison officers in Dar es Salaam on10 September. The two men were investigating theforcible eviction of illegal tenants on Ukonga Prisonproperty. Several prison officers involved weresubsequently charged with assault.

Death penaltySeveral death sentences were imposed by courts. Therewere no executions. Up to 400 people were undersentence of death at the end of the year.

THAILAND

KINGDOM OF THAILAND

Head of state: King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Head of government: Thaksin Shinawatra




Violence continued in the Muslim-majority southernprovinces. Unidentified Muslim armed groupsbombed, beheaded or shot Muslim and Buddhistcivilians and members of the security forces. Theauthorities arbitrarily detained people and failed toinvestigate human rights abuses. Human rightsdefenders in the south were subjected to surveillance,harassment and anonymous death threats. Those inother regions also faced abuses. Torture and ill-treatment continued to be reported. Some 1,000people remained under sentence of death. Noexecutions were known to have taken place. Migrantworkers continued to be denied basic labour rights.

BackgroundIn February Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s party,Thai Rak Thai, won a majority of parliamentary seatsand formed a one-party government.

The violence in the south continued; more than 1,100people died between January 2004 and the end of 2005.In July a new Emergency Decree empowered the PrimeMinister to declare a state of emergency. Also in Julythe UN Human Rights Committee expressed concernabout the new Emergency Decree; about persistentallegations of extrajudicial killings and ill-treatment bythe police and army, particularly in the south during2004; and about reports of the widespread use oftorture and ill-treatment of detainees by lawenforcement officials.

Legal developmentsThe Prime Minister used the new Emergency Decree,enacted by the Cabinet on 15 July, one day after a majorattack by insurgents on Yala town, to declare a state ofemergency in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces. Itreplaced the 1914 Martial Law Act previously in forcethere and was renewed in October for a further threemonths. The Emergency Decree’s provisions include:detention without charge or trial for up to 30 days; theuse of unofficial detention centres; press censorship;and legal immunity from prosecution for lawenforcement officers.

Violence in the southViolence in Songkla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwatprovinces in the far south continued, characterized bybombings, beheadings and “drive-by” shootings ofMuslim and Buddhist civilians and members of thesecurity forces. The armed groups responsible did not


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identify themselves and did not publicly state theirdemands, nor did they indicate any willingness tonegotiate with the government. However, from Augustonwards, anonymous leaflets were found threateninganyone who opened their businesses on Fridays.Anonymous notes were also found at the scene ofseveral attacks by armed groups which stated that thekillings were in revenge for the security forces’ arrestingand killing “innocent people”. The victims of the violenceincluded members of the security forces and militias,civilian government officials, Buddhist and Muslimcivilians, and members of Muslim armed groups.

The authorities’ response to the violence was markedby arbitrary detentions and lack of investigations intohuman rights abuses. In February the governmentestablished the National Reconciliation Commission(NRC), chaired by former Prime Minister AnandPanyarachun, to help resolve the violence. In April theNRC made public two reports by government-appointed commissions investigating the securityforces’ violent suppression of a demonstration in TakBai in October 2004 and the military siege of Krue SeMosque in April 2004. In October the NRC said that thegovernment verged on “administrative bankruptcy” inthe south because of its inability to protect people.Human rights violationsb Several Muslim political detainees were heldcontinuously in heavy shackles in Yala Prison. Anunknown number of detainees were held at the YalaPolice Training Centre under the provisions of theEmergency Decree; they were not permitted full accessto legal counsel or to their families.b Reports emerged in August in Narathiwat Provincethat the authorities had established a blacklist ofpeople thought to be members of or sympathetic toarmed opposition groups. Scores of young Muslim menwere coerced into reporting to the provincialgovernment to clear their names; some were requiredto attend a residential camp in what amounted toarbitrary detention. None were known to have beencharged with any offence.

The government failed to conduct properinvestigations into political killings and abductions andit remained unclear who was responsible for theviolence.b In June Riduan Waemano, a Muslim student, andtwo of his friends were shot dead while praying in ahouse in Pattani Province. No forensic investigationwas known to have been carried out and no one wasbrought to justice.Abuses by armed opposition groupsArmed opposition groups killed Buddhist villagers,Muslim members of government-sponsored volunteermilitias, Buddhist monks and civilian local governmentemployees. Between January 2004 and September2005, 60 teachers, principals, and employees of theschool system were shot dead by unidentified armedgroups.b In April Ma Rike Samae and his uncle Mat Samae,both Muslim volunteer militia members, were shotdead while they patrolled their village in Narathiwatprovince at night.

b In October armed insurgents attacked a Buddhisttemple in Pattani Province, beheading a Buddhist monkand killing two boys.

ImpunityAlmost 200 people were killed or died from ill-treatment during the violent suppression of attacks byarmed groups in April 2004 and a demonstration in TakBai in October 2004. No members of the security forcesresponsible were brought to justice.

The trial of five police officers accused of an assaulton and theft from Muslim lawyer and human rightsdefender Somchai Neelapaijit in 2004 continuedthroughout 2005; his whereabouts remained unknown.

Human rights defendersIn the south, human rights defenders, includingstudents, lawyers and academics, were subjected tosurveillance, harassment, and anonymous deaththreats. Those in other regions also faced abuses.b In June Phra Supoj Suvacano, a Buddhist monk at aforest temple in Fang District, Chiang Mai Province, washacked to death. He had been working to protect anarea belonging to a Buddhist foundation frominfluential local land developers attempting toencroach on the land. The Ministry of JusticeDepartment of Special Investigations conducted aninvestigation but no one was brought to justice for hismurder.

Refugees and migrant workersRefugees from Myanmar continued to arrive inThailand, fleeing forced labour, relocation, extortion,and arrest. Almost 143,000 Karen and Karenni refugeesremained in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border;refugees from the Shan ethnic minority continued to bedenied access to refugee camps. More than 2,400refugees were resettled to third countries during 2005.

A total of 705,293 migrant workers, 539,416 of themfrom Myanmar, registered for work permits while anunknown number of migrants remained in the countryillegally. In July and August migrants from Myanmar,Laos and Cambodia were registered, entitling them tothe same labour rights as Thai workers, including a legalminimum wage and safe working conditions. Inpractice, working and living conditions for migrantworkers, most of whom did not receive the legalminimum wage, were poor. Migrant workers in garmentfactories in Tak Province received little more than halfthe legal minimum wage.b In September, more than 200 legally registeredmigrant workers from Myanmar were arrested anddeported to Myanmar after protesting to the Ministry ofLabour about long working hours and payment belowthe legal minimum wage in a fishing net factory in KhonKaen Province.

Death penaltySome 1,000 people remained under sentence of death,many of them held continuously in heavy metalshackles. The government told the UN Human RightsCommittee that shackling was necessary because there


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was not enough space to hold all the death rowprisoners in solitary confinement.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Thailand: The plight of Burmese migrant workers

(AI Index: ASA 39/001/2005)VisitAI delegates visited Thailand in September/October toinvestigate the violence in the south.

TIMOR-LESTE

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE

Head of state: Jose Alexandre “Xanana” Gusmão

Head of government: Dr Marí Bim Amude Alkatiri


International Criminal Court: acceded


Despite efforts to strengthen human rights and therule of law, the administration of justice was weakand there were allegations of police abuses,including arbitrary detention and ill-treatment.Impunity for perpetrators of serious human rightsviolations in 1999 continued despite the completionof the UN-sponsored serious crimes process in May.

BackgroundIn March parliament appointed Sebastião Dias Ximenes as Provedor for Human Rights and Justice(Ombudsman). His mandate was to combat corruption,prevent maladministration, and protect and promotehuman rights by making recommendations to relevantinstitutions, including the government. In July heexpressed concern about his insufficient budget.

The UN Mission in Support of East Timor (UNMISET)was replaced in May by the UN Office in Timor-Leste(UNOTIL), which was mandated to support thedevelopment of critical state institutions until May 2006.

Justice system weaknessesA severe shortage of national judges, prosecutors anddefence lawyers in district courts limited the judiciary’sability to function and ensure the right to a fair trialwithin a reasonable time. This inadequacy discouragedaccess by the population to the formal justice system,and perpetuated reliance on traditional justicemechanisms that do not guarantee fair trial standards.

Freedom of expression and associationConcerns were expressed throughout the year by localand international organizations about provisions on

“defamation” in the draft criminal code that wouldrestrict freedom of expression.

In May, the Court of Appeal found that someprovisions in the Law on Freedom of Assembly andDemonstrations were unconstitutional as they did notrespect the principle of proportionality. The law, whichwas revised by parliament in July after eliminating thearticles declared unconstitutional, was awaitingpromulgation.

Police violationsDespite progress by the National Police of Timor-Lestein dealing with demonstrations without excessive useof force, reports of arbitrary detention and ill-treatment continued to occur.

Past human rights violationsThe UN-sponsored serious crimes process, which wasmandated to investigate and try those responsible forserious crimes committed in Timor-Leste (then EastTimor) during 1999, terminated in May, although the jobhad not been completed. The UN Special Panelsconvicted a total of 84 people of serious crimes,including crimes against humanity, and acquitted three.Over 300 people indicted for serious crimes were nottried because they could not be brought within thejurisdiction of the Special Panels before the mandateended. By the end of the year, there were seriousconcerns that indictees living in West Timor, Indonesia,were returning to Timor-Leste, and that there were noclear arrangements within the under-resourcedjudiciary to replace the Special Panels.b In August, Manuel Maia, who was indicted forcrimes against humanity committed in BobonaraDistrict in March and April 1999, entered Timor-Lestefrom West Timor. He was immediately detained bymembers of the community and handed over to thenational police. He remained in detention pending trialfor serious crimes at the end of the year.

In June, the report of a UN-sponsored Commission ofExperts (CoE) mandated to review the prosecution ofserious violations of human rights committed in 1999 inTimor-Leste was submitted to the UN Security Council.It concluded that accountability of those who bore the“greatest responsibility” for the violations had not beenachieved, and recommended the continuation of theserious crimes process.

The CoE report expressed concerns about the terms ofreference of the Truth and Friendship Commission, atruth-seeking mechanism officially established in Marchby Indonesia and Timor-Leste to review the 1999 crimes.The report was concerned that certain provisions maynot comply with international standards on denial ofimpunity (see Indonesia entry), and recommended“clarification, re-assessment and revision” of thoseprovisions. Despite these criticisms, the Truth andFriendship Commission was set up in August. Theprovisions relating to impunity remained in theCommission’s mandate. The Security Council had notacted on the CoE’s recommendations by the end of 2005.

In October, the Commission for Reception, Truth andReconciliation in Timor-Leste handed in its final report


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to the Timor-Leste President. It contained a detailedaccount of human rights violations in Timor-Lestebetween 1974 and 1999. Its recommendations echoedthose of the CoE report and called for the continuationof the UN-sponsored crime process and considerationof the setting up of an international tribunal under UNauspices if justice failed to be delivered.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste: Open letter to

all members of the Security Council (AI Index: ASA57/003/2005)

TOGO

REPUBLIC OF TOGO

Head of state: Faure Gnassingbé (replaced Gnassingbé

Eyadéma in February and Abass Bonfoh in May)

Head of government: Edem Kodjo (replaced Koffi Sama

in June)





signed

A UN fact-finding mission concluded that hundredsof people were extrajudicially executed andthousands wounded by the security forces and armedmilitia groups close to the ruling party before, duringand after the presidential election which broughtFaure Gnassingbé to power in April. Widespreadarbitrary detentions, torture and violence againstwomen were reported. Throughout the year critics ofthe government and human rights defenders facedharassment and intimidation.

BackgroundPresident Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who had ruled Togofor 37 years, died on 5 February. The Togolese ArmedForces (Forces armées togolaises, FAT) thenproclaimed Faure Gnassingbé, his son, as President.The following day, the President of the NationalAssembly who, according to the Constitution, shouldhave become interim President pending elections,was dismissed and replaced by Faure Gnassingbé. TheConstitution was modified to allow the new head ofstate to serve the rest of his father’s term, until 2008.This unconstitutional transfer of power wascondemned by the main opposition parties and by theinternational community including the African Union(AU) and the European Union (EU). The AU and theEconomic Community of the West African States

(ECOWAS) imposed sanctions and Togo wassuspended from the International FrancophoneOrganisation (Organisation Internationale de laFrancophonie, OIF).

In the face of international pressure, FaureGnassingbé stepped down and called presidentialelections in April. He won the elections amid widespreadviolence and allegations by opposition parties of vote-rigging and law-breaking. The European Parliamentconsidered that the elections were not free and fair.

Attacks on civilians by the FAT and militia groupsduring and after the presidential election led to thedisplacement and flight of tens of thousands of people.Humanitarian agencies reported that by August, morethan 40,000 people had sought refuge in neighbouringBenin and Ghana. At the end of 2005, several thousandrefugees were still in neighbouring countries.

In October, Togo ratified the Protocol to the AfricanCharter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights ofWomen in Africa.

Unlawful killings and ‘disappearances’Both government forces and armed militia groups closeto the ruling party, the Rally of the Togolese People(Rassemblement du peuple togolais, RPT), unlawfullykilled civilians between February and April. Some werekilled in indiscriminate attacks, others weredeliberately targeted and extrajudicially executed.

In the days following President GnassingbéEyadéma’s death and during the presidential election,the security forces and members of the militias firedindiscriminately at opposition supporters on protestdemonstrations. These attacks were particularlyviolent in Lomé and the towns of Atakapmé and Aného.Thousands of people were reportedly injured, withgunshot wounds to the upper parts of the body andhead. Some people reportedly “disappeared” after theirarrest by the FAT.b On the day of the election, soldiers burst intoseveral polling stations firing their weapons and teargas grenades. According to an election observer fromthe opposition Union of Forces for Change (Union desForces de Changement, UFC), assigned to the pollingstation at Be Plage, Lomé, two military vehiclescontaining members of the Presidential guard’scommando regiment arrived, firing in the air as thevotes were being counted. Many people panicked andtried to leave, but there was only one exit. The soldiersentered the room, fired tear gas grenades and liverounds and took the ballot boxes. The observer said hehad to step over about 30 bodies to escape.b On 26 April, the day on which the provisionalelection results were announced, soldiers andmilitiamen reportedly entered the home of anapprentice driver who lived in the Ablogamé district ofLomé, firing bullets. He said that they shot at people asthey tried to flee, killing his mother and one of hisfriends.b Kogbe Koffi, a 28-year-old sheet metal worker, wasreportedly shot in the back in Atakpamé, on 26 April,when the security forces fired live ammunition atdemonstrators protesting against the election results.


TOG

UN reportIn September a fact-finding mission set up by the UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights concluded that between400 and 500 people were killed and thousands woundedat the time of the presidential election. The report foundthe state security forces and militia groups responsiblefor the political violence and the violations of humanrights, and noted evidence that commando units withinthe FAT had been primed “not only to crush thedemonstrators and militants but also to round up thecorpses and systematically dispose of them so that theycould not be counted.” The report also criticizedopposition groups for their part in serious violence.

Arbitrary arrests and detentionsDozens of people were arrested during 2005, mostapparently for their peaceful political oppositionactivities. Some were released within hours or days butothers remained in detention without charge or trial formore than two months.b A woman shopkeeper named Dalas was arrested on7 May in Aklakou, suspected of preparing food forpeople who demonstrated in Aného shortly after thepresidential election. She remained in detentionwithout charge or trial until 15 July.b In Aklakou, at least seven school students werearrested and accused of demonstrating after thepresidential election. They were detained for morethan two months without charge or trial at Voganprison.

TortureDozens of people were tortured or ill-treated by the FATand militia groups between February and April. Somepeople were beaten to death in front of their family.b At Bé Chateau in Lomé, in front of witnessesincluding foreign journalists, a motorcyclist trying tocross town was stopped by soldiers. A soldier hit himseveral times with a stick, made him pull down histrousers and kicked him in the testicles.b At Tokoin Séminaire, 15 soldiers entered the houseof an opposition member and dragged him outside.They made him lie down, then held his arms and feetwhile others hit him with cudgels and thin cord. He wasunconscious when they left.

In May the UN Committee against Torture postponedits consideration of the report of Togo, given theabsence of a Togolese government delegation.

Violence against womenGender-based violence, in particular rape of women,was reported, including cases from Atakpamé whereFAT members and militia groups allegedly raped womensuspected of supporting the opposition.b On 26 April, members of a militia group entered ahouse and beat the husband, the wife and threechildren. They then held the arms and feet of thewoman while one of them raped her.

Attacks on freedom of expressionRepressive measures against the media, particularlythose critical of government policies and the FAT,

increased during 2005. Media workers were harassedand journalists were beaten for criticizing thegovernment or trying to disseminate information aboutthe repression that followed the death of PresidentGnassingbé Eyadéma.

A senior official intervened several times to preventthe radio station Nana FM broadcasting certainprogrammes, including a roundtable discussion whichwas suspended while on air three days after thePresident’s death. In a meeting, in the presence of theFAT communications officer, the official reportedlythreatened some private radio stations including NanaFM, Kanal FM and Radio Nostalgia.

The transmitters of Radio France Internationale (RFI)stopped broadcasting on FM for several months. TheMinister of Communications publicly accused RFI ofhaving launched “disinformation and destabilizationcampaigns”.b Thierry Tchukriel, a radio journalist with Rd’autan,who went to Togo to cover the presidential election,was beaten by four soldiers on the night of 24 April,after being detained by the Togolese police. His presscard and camera were confiscated.

Human rights defendersMembers of human rights organizations continued toface harassment, intimidation and to be at risk ofattacks. Perpetrators were believed to be linked withthe ruling party and to criminal gangs.b On 13 May, a group of young people associated withthe ruling party prevented the Togolese Human RightsLeague (Ligue togolaise des droits de l’homme, LTDH)from holding a press conference. The LTDH had plannedto publicize human rights violations since the death ofPresident Eyadéma.b On 9 October, Dimas Dzikodo, an outspoken humanrights defender and journalist, was assaulted by agroup of unidentified men on his way back from work.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Togo: Radio Silence (AI Index: AFR 57/003/2005)• Togo: AI memorandum on the human rights situation

in Togo and recommendations to the African Union(AI Index: AFR 57/007/2005)

• Togo: A high risk transition (AI Index: AFR57/008/2005)

• Togo: Will history repeat itself? (AI Index: AFR57/012/2005)

VisitAI delegates visited Benin in May to carry out researchon human rights violations in Togo.


TUN

TRINIDAD AND

TOBAGO

REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Head of state: George Maxwell Richards

Head of government: Patrick Manning





Death sentences continued to be imposed andofficials threatened to resume executions. Therewere continuing reports of abuses by the police.Prison conditions remained poor and in someinstances amounted to cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment.

BackgroundThe Caribbean Court of Justice, a Trinidad and Tobago-based final court of appeal intended to replace theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), openedin April. By the end of 2005, Barbados and Guyana hadaltered their constitutions to enable the court to heartheir cases.

More than 10,000 people took part in a protest inOctober against the high rate of violent crime. Therewere reportedly 382 murders in 2005, out of apopulation of 1.3 million.

Death penaltySenior officials repeatedly expressed their intention toresume executions – the last executions in Trinidadand Tobago were in 1999. The mandatory death penaltycontinued to be the only sentence available for thoseconvicted of murder.

Eighty-six people on death row whose sentenceswere commuted to terms of imprisonment by the JCPCin 2004 remained under sentence of death, as thegovernment apparently ignored the ruling.b In June, a warrant was issued for the execution ofLester Pitman, even though he had an appeal pending.He was later granted a stay of execution pending theoutcome of appeals. Lester Pitman was convicted ofmurder in 2004.

Abuses by policeAbuses by police, including unlawful killings, torture andill-treatment, continued to be reported. At least 14people were reportedly shot dead by police during 2005.b In January, 37-year-old Kevin Wallace was shotdead by police. Eyewitnesses said that he was shot inthe back as he tried to run away, and that police kickedhim as he lay bleeding, before taking him to hospital.b In August, 20-year-old Kendell Hamilton was shotdead by members of the Inter-Agency Task Force inLaventille. Police alleged that they fired in self-defence,

but relatives claimed Kendell Hamilton was aninnocent bystander. After community protests, policeannounced the death would be investigated.

Poor conditions of detentionConditions in places of detention caused grave concernand in some cases amounted to cruel, inhuman anddegrading treatment. Overcrowding in prisons, remandcentres and court cell blocks was rife. Conditions wereoften unsanitary and medical care was inadequate.Death row prisoners alleged that they were deniednecessary medicines.

Incidents of sexual assault in prison were allegedlyfrequent. Young offenders and people convicted ofpetty offences were reportedly held in crowded cellswith prisoners convicted of serious offences.

Corporal punishmentLaws allowing corporal punishment for crimesincluding rape remained. Sentences of floggingcontinued to be passed, but were not apparentlycarried out.b Rawle Bekaroo was sentenced to 15 strokes of thebirch and 20 years’ imprisonment for kidnapping, rapeand sexual assault by the First Criminal Court in Port ofSpain in June.

TUNISIA

REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA

Head of state: Zine El ’Abidine Ben ‘Ali

Head of government: Mohamed Ghannouchi





Dozens of people were sentenced to lengthy prisonterms following unfair trials on terrorism-relatedcharges. Torture and ill-treatment continued to bereported. Hundreds of political prisoners, includingprisoners of conscience, remained in prison. Manyhad been held for more than a decade. Solitaryconfinement and denial of medical care in prisonscontinued to be reported despite governmentpromises to end long-term solitary confinement.Freedom of expression and association remainedseverely restricted.

BackgroundIn July the ruling Democratic Constitutional Rally won71 of the available 85 seats in the country’s first everindirect elections to the new 126-member upper house,the House of Councillors. The remaining 41 seats were


TUN

appointed by President Ben ‘Ali in August. The TunisianWorkers’ General Union (Union Générale desTravailleurs Tunisiens) boycotted the elections.

In November, Tunisia hosted the World Summit onthe Information Society, an intergovernmental andcivil society meeting held under the auspices of theUN. The choice of Tunisia to host the meeting wascriticized by national and international human rightsorganizations because of its wide-ranging restrictionson freedom of expression and association. InSeptember, 11 governments and the European Unionissued a joint statement raising concerns aboutrestrictions on the participation of civil society groupsat the Summit by the Tunisian authorities. Humanrights defenders were intimidated and a Frenchjournalist was stabbed. AI delegates were preventedfrom meeting representatives of the National Councilfor Liberties in Tunisia (Conseil national pour leslibertés en Tunisie, CNLT) at its Tunis office, byTunisian security officers.

The Tunisia Action Plan, part of the EuropeanNeighbourhood Policy, came into force in July. It set outa series of actions and initiatives, and a regular reviewmechanism, on issues including human rights,migration and the fight against terrorism.

Violations in the ‘war on terror’Dozens of people were reportedly arrested and chargedunder anti-terrorism legislation passed in December2003; at least 30 people were tried and sentenced.Detainees were often held incommunicado, sometimesfor weeks, and there were allegations of torture toextract confessions or to force detainees to signstatements.b At least 13 prisoners, known as the Bizerte group,were sentenced in April to prison terms of between fiveand 30 years, reduced to a maximum of 20 years onappeal in July. The accused were allegedly tortured andill-treated during their detention in premises of theMinistry of the Interior. They had been arrested in April2004 and charged under the anti-terrorism law ofDecember 2003.b In September, Tawfik Selmi, a Tunisian-Bosniandual national, appeared before a military court in Tunison charges of membership of a terrorist organizationabroad. The court reportedly refused to allow thedefence team access to the case file. The trial was dueto recommence in February 2006. Tawfik Selmi hadbeen expelled from Luxembourg in March 2003.Updateb In March, Adil Rahali was sentenced under anti-terrorism legislation to 10 years’ imprisonment, reducedto five years on appeal in October. A Tunisian national,he had been extradited from Ireland in April 2004 afterhis application for asylum was refused, and arrestedupon arrival in Tunisia. He was secretly detained in theoffices of the State Security Department of the Ministryof the Interior, where he was reportedly tortured.

Freedom of expressionFreedom of expression remained severely curtailed.In October, the UN Special Rapporteur on the

promotion and protection of the right to freedom ofopinion and expression publicly expressed concern atthe lack of freedom of expression in Tunisia. In hisstatement he called on the Tunisian government totake action to increase freedom of expression andpress freedom, and to release unconditionally allthose imprisoned because of their beliefs or for theirwork as journalists.

The first congress of the Union of TunisianJournalists (Syndicat des journalistes tunisiens, SJT),scheduled to be held in September, was bannedwithout explanation after its president, Lotfi Hajji,had been repeatedly summoned for questioning bythe State Security Department. The SJT was formed in2004 in response to widespread censorship, todefend the rights of journalists and promote mediafreedom.

Human rights activists and organizationsHuman rights defenders continued to face harassmentand sometimes physical violence. Many human rightsdefenders, their families and friends were subjected tosurveillance by the authorities, and their activitieswere severely restricted.b In January, large numbers of police officerssurrounded the CNLT headquarters, preventingmembers from attending the organization’s generalassembly. The police allegedly said they were understrict instructions not to allow the meeting to takeplace. On 3 and 4 September, the entrance to thebuilding was again obstructed by plain-clothes policeofficers, who refused entry to members of the board. Inaddition, Sihem Ben Sedrine, the CNLT spokesperson,was subjected to a smear campaign in the state-controlled media, in which she was accused of “actinglike a prostitute” and serving the interests of the US andIsraeli governments.b In March, lawyer and human rights defenderRadhia Nasraoui was beaten up in the street by policeofficers. She was on her way to a demonstration toprotest at the Tunisian government’s invitation toIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to attend the WorldSummit on the Information Society. She sustained abroken nose, cuts to her forehead and extensivebruising. No action was known to have been takenagainst those responsible.b As human rights organizations organized activitiesin the run-up to the World Summit on the InformationSociety, one group particularly targeted was theTunisian Human Rights League (Ligue tunisienne pour ladéfense des droits de l’homme, LTDH). In September acourt order effectively prevented the LTDH fromcarrying out preparatory activities two days before itsnational congress. The order was in response to acomplaint by 22 people, reportedly close to theauthorities, who said they had been unfairly dismissedas members from the LTDH.

Attacks on the independence of the judiciaryIn a series of intimidatory measures, judges’ activitiesand right to freedom of expression were furtherrestricted.


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b In August, members were barred from the office ofthe Association of Tunisian Judges (Association desMagistrats Tunisiens, AMT), under orders from theMinistry of Justice and Human Rights. After calls formore independence for the judiciary, the AMT’stelephone, fax and Internet access were increasinglydisrupted, then effectively shut down. According toreports, judges were arbitrarily transferred to isolatedareas, far from their families, in an attempt tointimidate and silence them.

Prisoners of consciencePeople continued to be at risk of imprisonment,harassment and intimidation because of their non-violent beliefs.b Mohamed Abbou, a lawyer and human rightsdefender, was sentenced in April to three and a halfyears in prison, largely for publishing articles critical ofthe authorities on the Internet. Tunisian lawyers andcivil society activists who protested at his trial weresubjected to harassment and intimidation by the policeon several occasions. His lawyers were reportedlydenied permission to visit him in prison despiterepeated attempts. His sentence was confirmed onappeal in June. At the end of 2005 he was imprisoned inEl-Kef, 200 kilometres from his family home in Tunis,making visits difficult. The UN Working Group onArbitrary Detention adopted the opinion in Novemberthat his detention was arbitrary.

Prison conditionsIn April the authorities signed an agreement with theInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), whichallowed it to visit prisons regularly to assess conditionsof detention and the treatment of prisoners. The ICRCstarted visiting prisons in June.

Also in April the government said it would no longerhold prisoners in solitary confinement for more than 10days. This commitment was given in a meeting withHuman Rights Watch, which alleged that up to 40political prisoners were held in solitary confinement orin small groups isolated from the general prisonerpopulation. The government also said that HumanRights Watch would be allowed access to prisons whenit next sent representatives to Tunisia.

However, throughout the year large numbers ofpolitical prisoners went on repeated hunger strikes toprotest against the continuing denial of medical careand harsh prison conditions.

Torture and death in custodyb In June, Houcine Louhichi, a taxi driver fromTabarka in the north-west province of Jendouba, diedshortly after his transfer to Rabta Hospital in Tunis. Afew days earlier, he had been released by the StateSecurity Department in Tabarka, where he wasdetained incommunicado for almost two days andallegedly tortured until he lost consciousness. On hisrelease, there were bruises all over his body. Thereason for his detention was reportedly that he hadcarried in his taxi a Tunisian national wanted inconnection with an alleged terrorist offence.

AI country reports/visitsReport• Tunisia: Human rights abuses in the run-up to the

WSIS (AI Index: MDE 30/019/2005)VisitsAn AI delegate visited Tunisia in June to observe theappeal of lawyer and human rights defenderMohammed Abbou. In November, AI delegatesattended the World Summit on the Information Society.

TURKEY

REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

Head of state: Ahmet Necdet Sezer

Head of government: Recep Tayyip Erdo¬an




The Council of Ministers of the European Union (EU)formally opened negotiations for Turkey’smembership of the EU. Practical implementation ofreforms intended to bring Turkish law into line withinternational standards slowed in 2005. The lawprovided for continuing restrictions on the exercise offundamental rights. Those expressing peacefuldissent on certain issues faced criminal prosecutionand sanctions after the introduction of the newTurkish Penal Code. Torture and ill-treatmentcontinued to be reported, with those detained forordinary crimes particularly at risk. Law enforcementofficers continued to use excessive force in thepolicing of demonstrations; four demonstrators wereshot dead in November. Investigations of suchincidents were inadequate and law enforcementofficers responsible for violations were rarelybrought to justice. Human rights deteriorated in theeastern and south-eastern provinces in the context ofa rise in armed clashes between the Turkish securityservices and the armed opposition KurdistanWorkers’ Party (PKK).

BackgroundIn June, the new Turkish Penal Code (TPC), Code ofCriminal Procedure and Law on the Enforcement ofSentences (LES) entered into force. The laws containedpositive aspects, with the TPC offering greaterprotection from violence to women. However, the TPCin particular also included restrictions to the right tofreedom of expression. Human rights defenders inTurkey also raised objections to the punishment regime


TUR

for prisoners envisaged by the LES. A revised draft ofthe Anti-Terror Law was being discussed by aparliamentary sub-commission at the end of the year;human rights groups had commented critically onearlier drafts.

In September Turkey signed the Optional Protocol tothe UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

In October the Council of Ministers of the EU formallyopened negotiations for Turkey’s membership of the EU.

Freedom of expressionA wide range of laws containing fundamentalrestrictions on freedom of expression remained inforce. These resulted in the prosecution of individualsfor the peaceful expression of opinions in many areasof public life. The pattern of prosecutions andjudgments also often demonstrated prosecutors’ andjudges’ lack of knowledge of international human rightslaw. In some cases comments by senior governmentofficials demonstrated an intolerance of dissentingopinion or open debate and seemed to sanctionprosecution.

Article 301, on the denigration of Turkishness, theRepublic, and the foundation and institutions of thestate, was introduced in June and replaced Article 159of the old penal code. Article 159 and Article 301 werefrequently applied arbitrarily to target a wide range ofcritical opinion. Journalists, writers, publishers, humanrights defenders and academics were prosecuted underthis law. Among the many prosecuted were journalistHrant Dink, novelist Orhan Pamuk, Deputy Chair of theMazlum Der human rights organization Ôehmüs Ülek,and academics Bask¹n Oran and ±brahim Kabo¬lu .

An international academic conference onperceptions of the historical fate of the Armenians inthe late Ottoman period, to be held in May at BosphorusUniversity in Istanbul was postponed after commentsmade by the Minister of Justice, Cemil Çiçek, whichfundamentally challenged the notion of academicfreedom by portraying the initiative as treacherous.The conference eventually took place at Bilgi Universityin September. However, in December legal proceedingsunder TPC Articles 301 and 288 were initiated againstfive journalists who reported on attempts to preventthe conference.

A further restriction on freedom of expressionremained in the broad restrictions on the use ofminority languages in public life. Frequentprosecutions for speaking or uttering single words inKurdish continued to be brought under Article 81 of theLaw on Political Parties.

In May the Court of Appeal ordered the closure of theteachers’ union, E¬itim-Sen, on the grounds that aclause in its statute defending the right to “mother-tongue education” violated Articles 3 and 42 of theConstitution which emphasize that no language otherthan Turkish may be taught as a mother tongue. E¬itim-Sen later revoked the relevant article of its statute inorder to avoid closure.b In October the prosecutor initiated a case to closedown permanently the Diyarbak¹r Kurdish Assocation

(Kürd-Der) on various counts, including the decision toadopt a “non-Turkish” spelling of the word Kurdish inthe association’s name and statute, and provisions inthe association’s statute defending the right to Kurdish-language education. The association had previouslybeen warned to adjust the disputed elements in itsstatute and name.

Provisions in the Press Law restricting presscoverage of cases under judicial process were used inan arbitrary and overly restrictive way to hinderindependent investigation and public comment byjournalists on human rights violations. Theseprovisions were also used to hinder human rightsdefenders.

Legal proceedings were begun against theChairperson of the Diyarbak¹r branch of the HumanRights Association (HRA), Selahattin Demirta§, andMihdi Perinçek, HRA Regional Representative, inconnection with a report they co-authored with otherson the killing of Ahmet Kaymaz and U¬ur Kaymaz (seebelow). The indictment alleged that the report violatedArticle 19 of the Press Law, undermining theprosecutor’s preparatory investigation into the killings,despite the fact that the authors had no access to thecontents of files on the case which, by court order andfor reasons of security, were unavailable forinspection. The first hearing against the two began inJuly.

Torture and ill-treatmentTorture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officialscontinued to be reported, with detainees allegedlybeing beaten; stripped naked and threatened withdeath; deprived of food, water and sleep duringdetention; and beaten during arrest or in places ofunofficial detention. Reports of torture or ill-treatmentof individuals detained for political offences decreased.However, people detained on suspicion of committingordinary crimes such as theft or for public disorderoffences were particularly at risk of ill-treatment.Reports suggested that there were still many cases oflaw enforcement officials completely failing to followlawful detention and investigative procedures and ofprosecutors failing to ascertain that law enforcementofficials had complied with procedures. Police alsoregularly used disproportionate force againstdemonstrators, particularly targeting leftists,supporters of the pro-Kurdish party DEHAP, studentsand trade unionists (see Killings in disputedcircumstances below). Often those alleging ill-treatment, particularly during demonstrations, werecharged with resisting arrest while their injuries wereexplained away as having occurred as police attemptedto restrain them.b In October in Ordu, five teenagers aged between 15and 18 were detained at the opening of a new shoppingcentre.The five reported being beaten, verbally abused,threatened and having their testicles squeezed whilebeing taken into custody and while in custody at theOrdu Central Police Station. They were later released.Two reported that they were stripped and threatenedwith rape. Three were not recorded as having been in


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police detention. One was subsequently charged withviolently resisting arrest. Beyond the alleged ill-treatment, which was documented in medical reportsand photographs, other irregularities in the handling ofthe detained teenagers by the police and prosecutordemonstrated a failure to follow legal procedures atany point from the moment of detention onwards.b In March, in the Saraçhane area of Istanbul,demonstrators gathering to celebrate InternationalWomen’s Day were violently dispersed by police,beaten with truncheons and sprayed with pepper gasat close range. Three women were reportedlyhospitalized. The scenes drew internationalcondemnation. In December, 54 police officers werecharged with using excessive force; senior officerswere not charged, but three received a “reprimand”for the incident.

ImpunityInvestigations into torture and ill-treatment continuedto be marked by deeply flawed procedures andsupported suggestions of an unwillingness on the partof the judiciary to bring perpetrators of human rightsviolations to justice. An overwhelming climate ofimpunity persisted.b In April, four police officers accused of the tortureand rape with a truncheon of two teenagers, NazimeCeren Salmano¬lu and Fatma Deniz Polatta§, in 1999were acquitted. More than six years after the judicialprocess had begun and after the case had been delayedmore than 30 times, a court in ±skenderun acquitted theofficers due to “insufficient evidence”. Lawyers for theyoung women announced that they would appealagainst the decision. The two women had beensentenced to long prison terms on the basis of“confessions” allegedly obtained under torture.b Fifteen years after the death of university studentBirtan Alt¹nba§, the trial of four police officers accusedof killing him continued in the Ankara Heavy PenalCourt No. 2. Birtan Alt¹nba§ died on 15 January 1991following six days in police custody, during which hewas interrogated on suspicion of being a member of anillegal organization. The case, which receivedinternational condemnation and was widely reportedin the Turkish press, demonstrated many aspects of theflawed judicial process.b The trial of four police officers charged with killingAhmet Kaymaz and his 12-year-old son U¬ur Kaymaz on21 November 2004 in the K¹z¹ltepe district of Mardinbegan in February. The four officers on trial were notunder arrest and were still on active duty. It wassignificant that senior officers responsible for thepolice operation during which the two individuals werekilled were excluded from the investigation and notcharged, supporting the view that in cases of this kindprosecutors rarely examined the chain of command.

Fair trial concernsThe continuing inequality between prosecution anddefence and the influence of the executive on theappointment of judges and prosecutors prevented thefull independence of the judiciary. While from 1 June

detainees enjoyed the right to legal counsel andstatements made in the absence of lawyers were notadmissible as evidence in court, few prosecutors in thenew Heavy Penal Courts (which replaced the StateSecurity Courts in 2004) attempted to review ongoingcases where statements were originally made withoutthe presence of legal counsel and where defendantsalleged that their testimony had been extracted undertorture. Little effort was made to collect evidence infavour of the defendant and most demands of thedefence to have witnesses testify were not met.

Imprisonment for conscientious objectionConscientious objection was not recognized and nocivilian alternative to military service was available.b In August, Sivas Military Court sentencedconscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan to four years’imprisonment on charges of “disobeying orders” andrefusing to perform military service. He was a prisonerof conscience.

Killings in disputed circumstancesOn 9 November in the Ôemdinli district of Hakkâri, abookshop was bombed, killing one man and injuringothers. Three men were charged in connection withthe incident. The alleged bomber was subsequentlyrevealed to be a former PKK guerrilla turned informantand his alleged accomplices were two members of thesecurity services, with identity cards indicating thatthey were plain-clothes gendarmerie intelligenceofficers. Subsequently, as the prosecutor carried out ascene-of-crime investigation, the assembled crowdwas fired upon from a car, resulting in the death of onecivilian and injury of others. The prosecutor’s crime-scene investigation was postponed. A gendarmeriespecialist sergeant was charged with disproportionateuse of force resulting in death. AI called upon thegovernment to establish an independent commissionof inquiry to investigate all dimensions of theseincidents including allegations of direct officialinvolvement. During subsequent protests at the eventsin Ôemdinli, three people in the Yüksekova district ofHakkâri and one person in Mersin were shot dead bypolice.

During 2005 approximately 50 people were shot dead by the security forces, over half of them in thesouth-eastern and eastern provinces. Many may havebeen victims of extrajudicial executions or the use ofexcessive force. “Failure to obey a warning to stop” wasa common explanation provided by the security forcesfor these deaths.

At least two individuals were alleged to have beenassassinated by the PKK. On 17 February, Kemal Ôahin,who split from the PKK to found an organization alliedwith the Patriotic Democratic Party of Kurdistan, waskilled near Suleimaniyeh in northern Iraq. On 6 July,Hikmet Fidan, former DEHAP deputy chair, was killed inDiyarbak¹r.

An organization calling itself the Kurdistan FreedomFalcons claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in Julyon a bus in the Aegean town of Ku§adas¹ that killed fivecivillians.


TUR

Violence against womenPositive provisions in the new TPC offered an improvedlevel of protection for women against violence in thefamily. The new Law on Municipalities requiredmunicipalities to provide shelters for women in townswith populations of more than 50,000 individuals.Implementation of this law will require adequatefunding for the establishment of shelters from centralgovernment and full co-operation with women’sorganizations in civil society. Further efforts wereneeded to ensure that law enforcement officials,prosecutors and the medical profession were fullyversed in the still little-known Law on the Protection ofthe Family.

Official human rights mechanismsOfficial human rights monitoring mechanisms attachedto the Prime Ministry failed to function adequately andhad insufficient powers to report on and investigateviolations. The work of the Prime Ministry HumanRights Advisory Board, encompassing civil societyorganizations, was obstructed and the Board becameeffectively inactive. Moreover, in November, formerChair ±brahim Kabo¬lu, and Bask¹n Oran, a boardmember, were prosecuted for the contents of a reporton the question of minorities in Turkey commissionedby the Board and authored by Bask¹n Oran. TheProvincial and Human Rights Boards, set up by theHuman Rights Presidency and also attached to thePrime Ministry, failed to conduct adequateinvestigations of human rights violations. Draftlegislation on the creation of an ombudsman failed toadvance.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Turkey: Memorandum on AI’s recommendations to

the government to address human rights violations(AI Index: EUR 44/027/2005)

• Concerns in Europe and Central Asia: January-June2005: Turkey (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

VisitAI delegates visited Turkey in November.

TURKMENISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

Head of state and government: Saparmurad Niyazov





Measures taken by Turkmenistan to counterinternational criticism of its human rights recordfailed to halt human rights violations. Religiousminorities, civil society activists and relatives ofdissenters were among those who faced harassmentor imprisonment or were forced into exile forexercising their right to freedom of expression. Atleast 60 prisoners, serving prison terms inconnection with an alleged assassination attempt onthe head of state in 2002, remained incommunicado.In a further trial in the series of secret and unfairtrials since the 2002 events, an unknown number ofmen were sentenced to life and other long terms ofimprisonment.

International scrutinyThe UN Commission on Human Rights, at its 61st sessionin March and April, failed to follow up resolutions in2003 and 2004 raising grave concerns about the humanrights situation in Turkmenistan.

In December the UN General Assembly expressed“grave concern at continuing human rights violations”,and, among other things, called on Turkmenistan torespond positively to requests by UN SpecialRapporteurs to visit the country.

In August the UN Committee on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination considered Turkmenistan’s firstreport to a UN committee. Among issues raised by theCommittee were reports of hate speech, including bysenior officials and public figures, against national andethnic minorities and in favour of Turkmen “ethnicpurity”. The Committee expressed concern at reportsthat members of minorities were denied stateemployment or access to higher education, and thatminority cultural institutions and numerous schoolsteaching in minority languages had been closed.

The authorities continued to deny that human rightswere violated. On 23 March, President SaparmuradNiyazov was reported as saying that nobody wasarrested on political grounds but that “wantedcriminals” living abroad spread false reports.

However, to avoid being classified as a “country ofparticular concern” under the USA’s InternationalReligious Freedom Act – which could incur measuressuch as targeted trade sanctions – some concessionswere made. The authorities released four conscientiousobjectors on 16 April, one of whom – BegenchShakhmuradov – had been sentenced to one year’simprisonment on 10 February for evading regular call-ups to active military service. Legal restrictions on


UGA

registering religious communities were relaxed, andseveral religious minority congregations registered.However, conscientious objection remained a criminaloffence, punishable by imprisonment, and harassmentand intimidation of registered and unregisteredreligious minorities continued.

The risk remained that asylum-seekers forciblyreturned to Turkmenistan might be arbitrarilydetained, tortured or ill-treated, or imprisoned afterunfair trials, including under a 2003 People’s Councildecree that increased the number of activities deemedtreasonable in law.

Repression of dissentCivil society activists, political dissidents and membersof religious minority groups were subjected toharassment, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment.b Jehovah’s Witnesses Durdygul Ereshova andAnnajemal Tuylieva were detained by police on 7October and taken to Niyazov district police station inAshgabat. A senior officer allegedly insulted them, beatand kicked Annajemal Tuylieva, and threatened to rapethem. Police were said to have accused them of “illegalreligious activity” and “vagrancy”, and to haveconfiscated the passport of Durdygul Ereshova’shusband and threatened her with forcible resettlementto Lebap region in the east.

Relatives of exiled dissidents were targeted in anattempt to silence critics abroad speaking out aboutabuses in Turkmenistan.b Ruslan Tukhbatullin, a senior postholder in themilitary administration of Dashoguz region, wasreportedly forced to resign from his post in March andrefused further military employment because of hisfamily relationship to his brother Farid Tukhbatullin, anexiled human rights activist and director of the non-governmental group Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights.

Political prisonersDozens of prisoners sentenced following unfair trials in connection with a November 2002 allegedassassination attempt on President Niyazov continuedto be held incommunicado. Many had allegedly beentortured and ill-treated following their arrests. Theywere denied access to families, lawyers andindependent bodies including the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross.

In a further secret trial in connection with theNovember 2002 events, several men were convictedand sentenced to imprisonment, bringing the numberof those convicted in the case to at least 60.b Major Begench Beknazarov, an armed forces officerwho had gone into hiding following the allegedassassination attempt, was arrested in Ashgabat inMay. He and several other men were subsequently triedand sentenced to prison terms in a closed trial in thefirst half of June. Their relatives were unable to visitthem or obtain official trial documents. BegenchBeknazarov was reportedly sentenced to lifeimprisonment. His parents, Raisa and AmandurdyBeknazarov, and one of his sisters, Dzheren

Beknazarova, were said to have been detained for 20days at the Ministry of National Security building afterthe November 2002 events in an attempt to obtaininformation about his whereabouts and to put pressureon him to turn himself in. The three were reported tohave been physically and psychologically ill-treated indetention. Their passports were subsequentlyconfiscated. Raisa Beknazarova was dismissed from herjob, and Dzheren Beknazarova expelled fromuniversity. Ayna Shikhmuradova, an aunt of BegenchBeknazarov and sister-in-law of prominent oppositionleader Boris Shikhmuradov, who was sentenced to lifeimprisonment following the alleged assassinationattempt, was reportedly threatened with a beating bypolice at Ashgabat city police station in February 2003unless she disclosed her nephew’s whereabouts.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Turkmenistan: The clampdown on dissent and

religious freedom continues (AI Index: EUR61/003/2005)

• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of AmnestyInternational’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Turkmenistan (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

UGANDA

REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

Head of state and government: Yoweri Kaguta

Museveni





The independence of the judiciary, freedom ofexpression and press freedom came under attack.Violence against women and girls was widespread.Torture by state security agents persisted.

BackgroundOn 28 June Parliament voted to amend the Constitutionand lifted the limit of two terms that a president couldserve. Demonstrators protesting against this voteclashed with riot police. A national referendum on 28July brought a return to a multi-party system of politics.

Abuses against civilians by all parties to the conflictin northern Uganda continued. In October theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrestwarrants for five senior leaders of the armedopposition group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).The accused were Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA;Vincent Otti, the second in command; Okot Odhiambo,


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Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya. They werecharged with crimes against humanity and war crimescommitted in Uganda since July 2002.

Independence of the judiciaryRetired army colonel Dr Kizza Besigye, presidentialcandidate of the opposition party Forum forDemocratic Change (FDC) in the 2006 elections, wasarrested on 14 November. He was charged with rapeand, together with 22 other people, treason andconcealment of treason.

On 16 November, the High Court granted bail to 14 ofthe co-accused facing charges of treason. However,heavily armed state security agents were deployed inthe courtyard of the High Court, reportedly ready to re-arrest the 14 once they emerged. Consequently, theywere not released on bail but returned to prison. The 14 appeared before a military court on 18 November,charged with terrorism. Lawyers across Uganda stageda one-day strike on 28 November in protest at this siegeof the High Court.

Thousands of people demonstrated in Kampala citycentre against the arrest of Dr Besigye. Riot police usedlive ammunition, tear gas and water cannons againstdemonstrators. During the two-day protests, at leastone person was killed and dozens were arrested. TheInternal Affairs Minister banned demonstrations andprocessions ahead of Dr Besigye’s bail application andcourt case.

On 24 November, Dr Besigye was charged before themilitary court with terrorism and unlawful possessionof firearms. On the same day, he was scheduled toappear before the High Court for his bail application.Two lawyers representing Dr Besigye before themilitary court were charged with contempt of court andheld for seven hours as they attempted to explain thattheir client was due to appear before the High Court.They were convicted and fined.

Dr Besigye was granted bail by the High Court on 25November, but that morning, he had been remandedback to Luzira Maximum Security Prison by the militarycourt and therefore he did not regain his freedom. TheHigh Court ordered the military to suspend its trial untilthe Constitutional Court ruled on its legality, but themilitary court said the trial would go ahead. On 19December Dr Besigye appeared before the High Court –his trial before the military court was scheduled for thesame day. Dr Besigye’s treason and rape cases wereadjourned to January 2006 and he remained in prisonuntil the end of the year.

Attacks on freedom of expressionFreedom of expression and press freedom came underattack and continued to be threatened. Journalistsfaced criminal charges because of their work.b In February the Media Council banned the play TheVagina Monologues by the US playwright Eve Ensler,which several women’s organizations had planned tostage to raise awareness about violence againstwomen.b In August the Uganda Broadcasting Councilsuspended the licence of K FM 93.3 Radio for a week

after it broadcast a programme discussing the fatalhelicopter crash that killed John Garang de Mabior, theSudanese Vice President and Southern Sudaneseleader, and seven Ugandan crew members. AndrewMwenda, the programme’s host, was charged withsedition and released on bail. His trial had not beenfixed by the end of the year, pending the outcome of aconstitutional petition challenging the sedition laws.b On 17 November, policemen and intelligencepersonnel raided the offices of Monitor Publications,newspaper publishers and owners of K FM 93.3 Radio.The Monitor daily newspaper had run a paidadvertisement from the FDC calling for contributions toa fund for the legal defence of political prisoners inUganda. Police claimed the advertisement breachedthe law because the FDC had not obtained permissionto fundraise.

On 22 November, the State Minister for Informationand Broadcasting issued a directive to revoke thelicence of any media outlet hosting discussion of casesbefore the courts. He added that as the trial of DrBesigye had started, all talk shows or debates “inrespect of or incidental to that case and other cases”were banned.

Conflict in northern UgandaThe 19-year conflict between the government and theLRA persisted throughout 2005. There were clashesbetween the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF)and the LRA in Gulu, Pader, Kitgum, Lira and Apacdistricts.

At the end of August an estimated 1.4 million peoplewere confined to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)camps across northern Uganda. Overcrowding andpoor sanitation rendered them vulnerable to outbreaksof disease, including cholera, while insecurity put themat risk of human rights abuses. In February, thegovernment officially launched a National Policy forIDPs, which it said was based on internationalhumanitarian law, human rights instruments andnational laws.

The LRA extended its operations to daylight hours,contrary to its earlier practice, and continued to useroad ambushes to attack civilians.b On 21 November, between seven and 10 LRAfighters ambushed a minibus taxi between Pader andPaiula in Pader district. Two civilians were killedinstantly. Ten other civilians were removed from thevehicle, laid on the ground and executed. The vehiclewas set on fire.

The LRA attacked the staff of non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) in conflict-affected areas, makinghumanitarian access hazardous.b On 26 October, in an LRA ambush on the PaderPajule road, one staff member of the NGO Agency forCo-operation and Research in Development (ACORD)was killed and two others were wounded. In a separateincident on the same day, the LRA killed a staff memberof the NGO CARITAS about eight kilometres fromKitgum town.

Civilians also suffered human rights violations at thehands of government soldiers.


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b On 16 October, a family of four was shot dead by amember of the UPDF at the main entrance to the 4thDivision Headquarters in Gulu Town. The soldier wasreportedly a former LRA combatant.

TortureAllegations of torture and ill-treatment committed bystate security agents persisted throughout 2005.Uganda submitted its initial report on theimplementation of the UN Convention against Tortureto the Committee against Torture after a delay of 16years. The Committee noted with concern “the lack ofproportion between the high number of reports oftorture and the very small number of convictions forsuch offences” which contributed to impunity. Whileacknowledging the difficult situation of internalconflict in northern Uganda, the Committee stressedthat there were “no exceptional circumstances,whatsoever, which may be invoked as a justification oftorture”.b In July, the High Court sitting at Arua in the north-west ordered the government to pay compensation ofUganda Shillings 20,000,000 (approximatelyUS$11,000) to Justine Okot, following his arrest andtorture by UPDF soldiers who accused him of being a“rebel collaborator”. He had been beaten with clubsand iron bars and molten plastic was poured on hisbody. He sustained severe injuries and permanentimpairment. By the end of the year, he had notreceived payment.

Violence against women and girlsWomen and girls continued to face widespreadviolence both in the public and private spheres of life,being subjected to beatings, killings, acid attacks andrapes. In northern Uganda, women and girls were rapedand killed by all parties to the conflict. While policeexpressed concern about the growing number of rapes,especially of young girls, acts of violence were littlereported for fear of reprisals. Between January andJune, the rapes of 292 girls were reported in mid-western Uganda (Kabarole, Kamwenge, Bundibugyo,Kyenjojo and Kasese districts).

In September the UN Committee on the Rights of theChild recommended that the country adopt legislativemeasures to prohibit the persistent practice of femalegenital mutilation (FGM). It also recommendedawareness-raising campaigns to combat FGM and othertraditional practices harmful to the health, survival anddevelopment of children, especially girls.

Death penaltyIn a landmark judgment delivered on 10 June, theConstitutional Court ruled in favour of ending laws thatstipulate a mandatory death sentence. It ruled that thedeath penalty as such was not unconstitutional when itwas defined as the maximum sentence for a crime, butthat laws imposing a mandatory death sentenceinterfered with a judge’s discretion in dispensingjustice. The court stated that such laws wereunconstitutional and must be amended by Parliament.The Attorney General appealed against the ruling and

by the end of 2005, the parties were awaiting thehearing of the appeal before the Supreme Court.

Death sentences continued to be imposed. At LuziraMaximum Security Prison, at the end of June, therewere 555 prisoners on death row, 27 of whom werewomen. No executions were reported during the year.

AI country reports/visitsReports/statements• Uganda: Independent media and the right to

information under threat (AI Index: AFR 59/006/2005)• Uganda: First ever arrest warrants by International

Criminal Court – a first step towards addressingimpunity (AI Index: AFR 59/008/2005)

• Uganda: Call for a fair, prompt and public trial ofarrested opposition leader and co-accused (AI Index:AFR 59/015/2005)

• Uganda: Attack on the independence of the courts(AI Index AFR 59/017/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited northern Uganda in May and June toconduct research. An AI representative met PresidentMuseveni in October during his visit to the UK.

UKRAINE

UKRAINE

Head of state: Viktor Yushchenko (replaced Leonid

Kuchma in January)

Head of government: Yuriy Yekhanurov (replaced Yuliya

Timoshenko in September, who replaced Viktor

Yanukovych in January)




Torture and ill-treatment in police detentioncontinued to be routine. Anti-Semitic and racistattacks were reported throughout the country.Ukraine continued to be a major source of men,women and children trafficked abroad.

BackgroundAfter contested elections, Viktor Yushchenko tookoffice as President on 23 January. In his inauguralspeech he promised a “democratic government, a freepress and an independent judiciary”. On 8 September,after his chief of staff resigned alleging corruption inthe government, Viktor Yushchenko dismissed PrimeMinister Yuliya Timoshenko and other cabinetmembers, and formed a new government headed byYuriy Yekhanurov.


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Torture and ill-treatmentThe new government acknowledged that torture andill-treatment were a problem and took some positivesteps. In January, amendments to Article 127 of theCriminal Code concerning torture made it possible tocharge state officials with this crime. The GeneralProsecutor stated in September that 226 cases had beenopened against police officers for torture and ill-treatment and that there had been more than 1,000complaints during the past year. In September Ukrainesigned the Optional Protocol to the UN Conventionagainst Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or DegradingTreatment or Punishment.

Despite these measures, reports indicated that lawenforcement officers continued to use torture and ill-treatment routinely and with impunity to extractconfessions and information from detainees. Policeofficers were not adequately trained or equipped togather evidence and therefore depended onconfessions to solve crimes. Cases of torture and ill-treatment were rarely followed up and victims rarelyreceived compensation.b Maksim Kalinin, aged 16, was allegedly beaten bypolice on 6 June in Kerch. According to reports, a girlhe had argued with telephoned friends in the police tosay that he had insulted her. Three police officersarrived shortly after and beat Maksim Kalinin. Theythen handcuffed him and took him to the local policestation where they allegedly beat and threatened him.He was held for 24 hours and then driven home. Herequired hospital treatment for his injuries. Hisparents reported the ill-treatment to the prosecutor’soffice and a court case was started in June against thepolice officers involved. In December the officerswere sentenced to three and four years in prisonunder Article 365 of the Criminal Code for exceedingtheir authority.

Poor conditions in pre-trial detentionConditions in most pre-trial detention facilities failedto meet international standards. Most of the temporaryholding facilities (ITTs) of the Ministry of the Interiordated from the 19th century or earlier and were notequipped with adequate sanitary facilities, ventilationor exercise yards. Tuberculosis continued to bewidespread. However, a programme of renovation andreconstruction was started. According to theparliamentary Ombudsperson, by February, 139 of the500 ITTs had been renovated and new ITTs had beenbuilt in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Kyiv andMariupul.

Racist attacksThere were continuing reports of anti-Semitic andracist attacks across the country. The Union of Councilsfor Jews in the former Soviet Union reported at leasteight attacks against Jews and defacement ofsynagogues in Ukraine. Synagogues and Jewishcommunity centres were vandalized in Ivano-Frankivsk, Izmail, Zhytomyr, Kyiv and Vinnytsya, and anArmenian church was daubed with anti-Semitic andanti-Armenian graffiti in Lviv. On several occasions

during the year President Yushchenko condemnedanti-Semitism and pledged to end it.b On 26 February Robert Simmons, an African-American US diplomat, was attacked by a group ofskinheads in Kiev. His white companion was nottouched. A formal complaint was lodged and theUkrainian authorities initiated an investigation.b On 28 August Mordechai Molozhenov, a 32-year-oldstudent of Judaism, and another student were attackedby skinheads in an underground passage in Kiev. Theskinheads allegedly shouted anti-Semitic abuse duringthe attack. Mordechai Molozhenov was left in a comaand required brain surgery. He was later treated inhospital in Israel. Three suspects were detained for“hooliganism”. The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairstold the Israeli ambassador that the attack had notbeen motivated by anti-Semitism. PresidentYushchenko, in a written statement, condemned allforms of racism and xenophobia, and called theincident shameful.

Trafficking in human beingsUkraine continued to be a major source of men, womenand children trafficked abroad, despite governmentefforts to address the problem. Article 149 of theCriminal Code, which came into force in 2001,criminalizes trafficking. The comprehensive anti-trafficking programme for 2002-2005, which includedmeasures for prevention, prosecution and protection,continued to be implemented. However, a reportpublished in April by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF),the Organization for Security and Co-operation inEurope, the US Agency for International Aid and theBritish Council identified weaknesses in the steps beingtaken to stop trafficking. The report recommendedamendments to domestic legislation to addressinternal trafficking, which was not included in Article149. It also drew attention to the increasing number ofminors being trafficked, and identified domesticviolence as a major factor in forcing women to seekwork abroad.

Update: ‘disappearance’ of Georgiy GongadzeIn January President Yushchenko promised that thoseresponsible for the “disappearance” in September 2000of investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze would bebrought before a court within two months. In March,two suspects were detained and allegedly confessed.On 5 March former Minister of Internal Affairs, YuryiKravchenko, committed suicide. He was due to bequestioned that day in connection with theinvestigation. On 20 September parliament heard thelong-delayed report of the investigating committee,which concluded that Georgiy Gongadze had beenmurdered, that the crime had been organized by formerPresident Leonid Kuchma and Yuryi Kravchenko, andthat other high ranking officials had been involved. On8 November the European Court of Human Rights ruledthat Ukraine had violated three articles of the EuropeanConvention for the Protection of Human Rights andFundamental Freedoms in the case of GeorgiyGongadze.


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AI country reports/visitsReports• Ukraine: Time for Action – Torture and ill-treatment

in police detention (AI Index: EUR 50/004/2005)• Europe and Central Asia: Summary of Amnesty

International’s concerns in the region, January-June2005: Ukraine (AI Index: EUR 01/012/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited Ukraine in February, April,September and November to conduct research andmeet government officials.

UNITED ARAB

EMIRATES

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Head of state: Al-Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan

Head of government: Al-Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al

Maktoum



UN Women’s Convention: acceded


signed

Several political suspects were detained and heldincommunicado at undisclosed locations, in somecases for months. A criminal suspect was alleged tohave been tortured and at least one person, a foreigndomestic worker, was sentenced to flogging. Anapplication submitted in 2004 to establish anindependent human rights organization was still not granted.

BackgroundIn July a new federal law was introduced to prohibit theuse of boys under the age of 18 as jockeys in camelraces. In May the government agreed to establish ajoint programme with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)to repatriate to their home countries children who hadbeen brought to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to beused as camel jockeys.

In Dubai Emirate, hundreds of mostly Asian migrantworkers demonstrated outside the Labour and SocialAffairs Ministry in September in protest at theirworking conditions and their employers’ failure to paytheir wages. In response, ministry officials were said tobe pursuing these issues with the employers.

Incommunicado detentionAt least three political suspects were detainedincommunicado and without charge for severalmonths. Political detainees were mostly held by StateSecurity (Amn al-Dawla) officials, apparently onsuspicion of holding Islamist views or calling forpolitical reforms, although no reasons were given. Theywere held in solitary confinement and denied visitors,but allowed to make brief, usually monthly, telephonecalls to their families.b ‘Abdullah Sultan al-Subaihat, Mohammad AhmadSaif al-Ghufli and Sa’eed ‘Ali Hamid al-Kutbi, werearrested on 2 August, and their homes and offices weresearched. They were held incommunicado, reportedlyin Abu Dhabi, but released without charge on 25October.b Humeid Salem al-Ghawas al-Za’abi, a high-rankingofficer in the UAE air force who was arrested in March2004, continued to be held incommunicado throughout2005. No charges were known to have been broughtagainst him.

Torture and cruel judicial punishmentsA foreign national was reported to have been torturedin May by police. ‘Abdul Hameed Abu Fayad, an Irishnational of Libyan origin, was said to have been beatenand threatened with rape by police in Sharjah in orderto force him to confess to embezzlement.

Courts in some UAE Emirates continued to imposefloggings for a range of offences.b In October a foreign woman employed as adomestic worker was sentenced to 150 lashes forbecoming pregnant outside marriage by a Sharia(Islamic law) Court in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. Itwas not known whether the sentence was carried out.

Discrimination against womenWomen continued to be subject to discriminationunder UAE laws, including the nationality law. Thisspecifies that women, unlike men, cannot pass ontheir UAE nationality to their children if their spousesare foreign nationals. These children, in consequence,suffer serious restrictions on their residency,employment and education rights. They areconsidered migrant workers for employmentpurposes and required to pay higher fees for highereducation.

Freedom of expression and human rightsorganizationsIn Fujairah Emirate, the authorities intervened at the lastminute to ban a conference on civil rights, women’srights and democracy due to take place on 21 September.It was to be attended by local rights advocates,intellectuals and members of the UAE’s Jurists’Association. The authorities gave no reasons for the ban.

By the end of 2005, the Ministry of Labour and SocialAffairs had still not responded to an applicationsubmitted in July 2004 by the UAE Association forHuman Rights for legal registration as UAE’s firstindependent human rights organization. It gave noexplanation for the delay.


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VisitIn May AI and the UAE’s Jurists’ Association held a jointseminar to promote the Stop Violence against Womencampaign in the Gulf States.

UNITED KINGDOM

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND

NORTHERN IRELAND

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II

Head of government: Tony Blair





The government continued to erode fundamentalhuman rights, the rule of law and the independenceof the judiciary, including by persisting withattempts to undermine the ban on torture at homeand abroad, and by enacting and seeking to enactlegislation inconsistent with domestic andinternational human rights law. Nonetheless, it lostits legal battle to reverse the ban on the admissibilityin judicial proceedings of information obtainedthrough torture as evidence. In July, 52 people werekilled and hundreds wounded as a result of bombattacks on the London transport system. Measurespurporting to counter terrorism led to serious humanrights violations, and concern was widespread aboutthe impact of these measures on Muslims and otherminority communities. Public judicial inquiries intocases of alleged state collusion in past killings inNorthern Ireland began, but the governmentcontinued to fail to establish an inquiry into thekilling of Patrick Finucane. Proposed legislation thatwould impact on past human rights abuses inNorthern Ireland gave rise to serious concern.

‘Anti-terrorism’ measuresSerious human rights violations continued, includingthe persecution of men labelled by the government as“suspected international terrorists” on the basis ofsecret intelligence. Proposed and enacted measuresinvolved punishment of people whom the authoritiesdeemed a threat but against whom they said there wasinsufficient evidence to present to a court.

In the aftermath of the December 2004 ruling of theAppellate Committee of the House of Lords (the LawLords) that indefinite detention was incompatible with the right to liberty and the prohibition ofdiscrimination, the government failed to provideprompt redress to the victims. Instead, it waited untilMarch for the relevant legislative provision to lapse.Simultaneously, the government passed the Preventionof Terrorism Act 2005 (PTA), which was inconsistentwith the spirit of the Law Lords’ ruling and allowed forviolations of a wide range of human rights. The PTAgave a government minister unprecedented powers toissue “control orders” to restrict the liberty, movementand activities of people purportedly suspected ofinvolvement in terrorism, again on the basis of secretintelligence. The imposition of “control orders” wastantamount to the executive “charging”, “trying” and“sentencing” a person without the fair trial guaranteesrequired in criminal cases.

In March the government imposed “control orders”on people interned under the previous legislation,subjecting them to severe restrictions and violatingtheir human rights. “Control orders” were later imposedon other people, including at least one UK national.

In June the European Committee for the Preventionof Torture (CPT) published a report on its March 2004visit. It found that detention under the Anti-terrorismCrime and Security Act 2001 had caused mentaldisorders in most of those interned, and that detentionhad been even more detrimental to their healthbecause of its indefinite character and the lack ofknowledge about the evidence against them. The CPTconsidered that the situation of some of them at thetime of the visit amounted to inhuman and degradingtreatment.

Also in June the Commissioner for Human Rights ofthe Council of Europe published a report of hisNovember 2004 visit. This expressed concern about the PTA; the admission, as evidence, of informationobtained through torture in judicial proceedings;prison conditions; the treatment of asylum-seekers; thelow age of criminal responsibility; discrimination; andthe need to set up public inquiries capable ofestablishing the full circumstances surrounding casesof alleged state collusion in killings in Northern Ireland.

In August the Prime Minister proposed newmeasures to counter terrorism. Most of them wereinconsistent with the UK’s obligations under domesticand international human rights law and many targetednon-UK citizens.

The government concluded Memorandums ofUnderstanding with Jordan, Libya and Lebanon. Itasserted that the “diplomatic assurances” featured inthese memorandums could be relied on to relieve theUK of its domestic and international obligation not tosend anyone to a country where they would be at risk oftorture or other ill-treatment.

In August, most of the former internees wererearrested and, together with others newly arrested,were imprisoned under immigration legislationpending deportation on national security grounds. Thegovernment maintained it could forcibly remove the


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men, relying on the Memorandums of Understanding.The detainees were held in prisons far from theirfamilies, lawyers and doctors. Some of those detainedhad recently been acquitted by a UK court of terrorism-related charges. In October, partly as a result of theirseriously deteriorating mental and physical health, anumber of former internees were granted bail onconditions amounting to house arrest.

In October, a new Terrorism Bill was published. Itcontained sweeping and vague provisions that, ifenacted, would undermine the rights to freedom ofexpression, association, liberty and fair trial. InNovember the Bill’s proposal to extend the maximumperiod of police detention without charge from 14 to 90days was rejected in parliament; a provision of 28 dayswas agreed. The Bill underwent further parliamentaryscrutiny.

In December the government faced mountingaccusations that it had allowed the USA to use UKterritory in the context of secret transfers ofindividuals without any judicial process (“renditions”)to countries where they were reportedly tortured andto various US detention centres around the world.

Police shootingsb In July, after police shot dead Jean Charles deMenezes, an unarmed Brazilian man on his way to workin London, there were crucial delays in initiating anindependent investigation into the killing. Evidenceemerged giving rise to suspicion of an early attempt at acover-up by the police.b In October the prosecuting authorities declined tobring charges against the police officers involved inshooting dead an unarmed man, Harry Stanley, as hewas walking down a street in London in 1999.

Torture ‘evidence’In December, seven Law Lords unanimously confirmedthe inadmissibility as evidence in judicial proceedingsof information extracted under torture. They also ruledthat there was a duty to investigate whether torture hadtaken place, and to exclude any evidence if theconclusion was that, on the balance of probabilities, ithad been obtained through torture. AI coordinated acoalition of 14 organizations that jointly intervened inthe case.

The case had been brought by 10 foreign nationalsagainst being labelled “suspected internationalterrorists” by the UK authorities. As a result of thejudgment, their cases were to be referred back to thecourt of first instance for its reconsideration of the“evidence”.

Guantánamo BayIn January the last four remaining UK nationals werereleased from US detention in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.However, at least seven UK residents continued to beheld there, including Bisher al-Rawi, an Iraqi nationallegally resident in the UK, and Jamil Al-Banna, aJordanian national with refugee status in the UK. TheUK authorities were implicated in their unlawfultransfer to US custody, and continued to refuse to make

representations on behalf of the UK residents to the USauthorities.b In December, a UK court ruled that David Hicks, anAustralian national detained in Guantánamo Bay, wasentitled to be registered as a UK citizen and therefore toreceive assistance by UK authorities.

UK armed forces in IraqThe UK breached international and domestic humanrights law through its role in the internment withoutcharge of at least 10,000 people in Iraq. UK officials sat,along with US and Iraqi officials, on the Joint DetentionReview Board, which reviewed the cases of all thoseinterned by members of the Multinational Force in Iraq(in most cases, by US troops). At the end of October, theUK was itself holding 33 “security internees” in Iraqwithout charge or trial.b Hilal Abdul-Razzaq Ali Al-Jedda, a dual Iraqi-UKnational who was arrested in October 2004, continuedto be detained without charge in Iraq by UK forces.b In December the Court of Appeal of England andWales ruled in the case of Al-Skeini that the HumanRights Act 1998 in principle had extra-territorial effect,and that the system for investigating deaths at thehands of UK armed forces personnel was seriouslydeficient, including in its lack of independence from thecommanding officer.

Refugees and asylum-seekersThe Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill continuedto be discussed in parliament. Provisions in the Bill, ifenacted, would undermine one of the core purposes ofthe UN Refugee Convention – to provide protection forpeople seeking asylum on grounds of politicalpersecution.

An increasing number of people who sought asylum inthe UK were detained under Immigration Act powers atthe beginning and end of the asylum process. Thosedetained included families with children, torturesurvivors and other vulnerable people. They were held ingrim prison-like establishments and some complained ofracist and other verbal abuse in detention.

There was no maximum time limit to such detention,nor was there an automatic and regular review by acourt or a similar competent body as to the lawfulnessof the decision to detain. In most cases, detention wasarbitrary and other measures short of detention wouldhave sufficed.

PrisonsMartin Narey, the outgoing chief executive in charge ofprison and probation services, criticized the record-breaking increase in the prison population, which had ledto severe overcrowding. He also said it was “gross” thatabout 16,000 prisoners were held in conditions in whichthey had to share a toilet in a cell in which they also ate.The number of self-inflicted deaths continued to be high.

Inquiries Act 2005The Inquiries Act 2005 came into force in June. Itundermined the rule of law, the independence of thejudiciary and human rights protection. It therefore


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failed to provide for effective, independent, impartialor thorough public judicial inquiries into serious humanrights violations. AI called for its repeal.

Northern IrelandDirect rule continued. In December the prosecutingauthorities dropped all charges in the criminalprosecution which, in October 2002, had precipitatedthe suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly andthe reintroduction of direct rule by the UKgovernment. Shortly after, one of the people againstwhom charges had been dropped, a senior Sinn Féinpolitician, confessed publicly that he was a Britishagent.Collusion and political killingsThree separate public judicial inquiries into allegationsof state collusion in the killings of Robert Hamill, BillyWright and Rosemary Nelson began under NorthernIreland legislation. However, in November theSecretary of State for Northern Ireland converted theBilly Wright Inquiry into an inquiry to be held under theInquiries Act, a move opposed by AI.

The government stated that it was makingarrangements to establish an inquiry into the 1989killing of prominent human rights lawyer PatrickFinucane under the Inquiries Act. It added that it waslikely that a large proportion of the evidence would beconsidered in private since it involved issues “at theheart of the national security infrastructure inNorthern Ireland”. AI denounced as a sham theprospect of a Finucane inquiry under the Inquiries Act.Legacy of the pastThe government took two initiatives described asmoves to address the legacy of past human rightsabuses. In April a Historical Enquiry Team (HET) was setup with the view to the Police Service of NorthernIreland investigating unresolved conflict-relateddeaths. This gave rise to concern about a lack ofindependence in the investigation. In November theNorthern Ireland (Offences) Bill was introduced inparliament which, if enacted, would sanction impunityfor past human rights abuses committed by state agentsand paramilitaries, and deprive victims of effectiveredress. In light of this, there was concern about therelevance of the HET’s work.Abuses by non-state actorsAbuses by members of paramilitary organizations,including killings, shootings and beatings, continued.Seven killings were attributed to members of Loyalistgroups, two to members of Republican groups, and onepointed to Loyalist involvement.b In January, Robert McCartney, a Catholic, waskilled and another man seriously injured in the sameattack. According to the police, the attack was carriedout by members of the Provisional Irish RepublicanArmy, although not sanctioned by the organization. Intheir search for justice, the McCartney family and theirsupporters were intimidated and threatened. In June,two people were charged in connection with the attack.b In March, Stephen Nelson died as a result ofinjuries sustained during an assault in September 2004.The Independent Monitoring Commission attributed

his death to members of the Ulster DefenceAssociation, a Loyalist paramilitary organization.

Violence against womenAn opinion poll commissioned by AIUK about attitudestowards sexual assault against women revealedwidespread discriminatory and stereotypical views inthe UK. Two women each week on average were killedby a partner or former partner. The UK continued tohave very low conviction rates for the crime of rapewith only 5.6 per cent of rapes reported to the policeresulting in conviction.

AI country reports/visitsReports• United Kingdom: Seeking asylum is not a crime –

detention of people who have sought asylum (AIIndex: EUR 45/015/2005)

• United Kingdom: Amnesty International’s briefing on the draft Terrorism Bill 2005 (AI Index: EUR45/038/2005)

• United Kingdom: Case for the Interveners on Appeal(AI Index: EUR 45/041/2005)

• United Kingdom: Human rights are not a game (AIIndex: EUR 45/043/2005)

• United Kingdom: Amnesty International’s briefingfor the House of Commons’ second reading of theTerrorism Bill (AI Index: EUR 45/047/2005)

• United Kingdom: Amnesty International’ssubmission of 14 October to the UK Parliament’s JointCommittee on Human Rights in connection with theCommittee’s inquiry into the subject of “counter-terrorism policy and human rights” (AI Index: EUR45/050/2005)

• United Kingdom: Amnesty International’s Briefingfor the House of Lords’ second reading of theTerrorism Bill (AI Index: EUR 45/055/2005)

• United Kingdom: “I want justice” (AI Index: EUR45/056/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited several immigration detentioncentres throughout the UK. AI delegates observedjudicial hearings, including under counter-terrorismlegislation.


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UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Head of state and government: George W. Bush


International Criminal Court: signed but declared

intention not to ratify

UN Women’s Convention: signed


Thousands of detainees continued to be held in UScustody without charge or trial in Iraq, Afghanistanand the US naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.There were reports of secret US-run detentioncentres in undisclosed locations where detaineeswere held in circumstances amounting to“disappearances”. Dozens of Guantánamodetainees went on hunger strike to protest againsttheir harsh treatment and lack of access to thecourts; some were reported to be seriously ill.Reports of deaths in custody, torture and ill-treatment by US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan andGuantánamo continued to emerge. Despiteevidence that the US government had sanctionedinterrogation techniques constituting torture or ill-treatment, and “disappearances”, there was afailure to hold officials at the highest levelsaccountable, including individuals who may havebeen guilty of war crimes or crimes againsthumanity. Several trials took place of low-rankingsoldiers charged with abusing detainees; in mostcases sentences were light. There were reports ofpolice brutality and use of excessive force in theUSA. Sixty-one people died after being struck bypolice tasers, a huge rise over previous years. Sixtypeople were executed, taking the total to over 1,000since executions resumed in 1977.

Guantánamo BayAt the end of 2005 around 500 detainees of around 35nationalities continued to be held without charge ortrial at the US naval base in Guantánamo Bay; most hadbeen captured during the international armed conflictin Afghanistan in 2001 and were held for alleged links toal-Qa’ida or the former Taleban government. Theyincluded at least two juveniles who were under 16 whenthey were taken into custody.

Legislation passed in December (the DetaineeTreatment Act of 2005) removed the right ofGuantánamo detainees to file habeas corpus claims in the US federal courts against their detention ortreatment, allowing instead only limited appealsagainst the decisions of the Combatant Status ReviewTribunals (see below) and military commissions. Thelegislation called into question the future of some 200pending cases in which detainees had challenged the

legality of their detention following a US Supreme Courtruling in 2004 that they had the right to file such claims.

By March, the Combatant Status Review Tribunals(CSRT), administrative panels set up in 2004, haddetermined that 93 per cent of the 554 detainees thenbeing held were “enemy combatants”. The detaineeshad no legal representation and many declined toattend the CSRT hearings, which could consider secretevidence and evidence extracted under torture.

In August an unknown number of detainees resumeda hunger strike, initiated in June, to protest againsttheir continued lack of access to the courts and allegedharsh treatment, including beatings, by guards. Morethan 200 detainees were said to be taking part at onestage, although the US Department of Defense said thenumber was much lower. Several detainees allegedthey had been verbally and physically abused whilebeing force-fed, sustaining injuries when guardsroughly inserted feeding tubes through their noses. Thegovernment denied any ill-treatment. The hungerstrike was continuing at the end of the year.

In November, three UN human rights expertsdeclined an offer by the US government to visitGuantánamo as it had placed restrictions inconsistentwith the standard terms of reference for such visits.

Military commissionsIn November the US Supreme Court, ruling in the caseof Salim Ahmed Hamdan, agreed to review the legalityof the military commissions set up under apresidential order to try foreign terror suspects.However, a further five Guantánamo detainees werenamed to stand trial before the commissions, whichare executive bodies, not impartial or independentcourts, bringing the total number designated toappear before them to nine. The governmentscheduled arraignment hearings before thecommissions for January for two of those charged.One of them was Omar Khadr, who was 15 when takeninto custody and whose mental health and alleged ill-treatment remained a particular cause for concern.

Detentions in Iraq and AfghanistanDuring the year, thousands of “security internees” wereheld without charge or trial by US forces in Iraq.Regulations governing detentions stipulated thatinternees must either be released or transferred toIraqi criminal jurisdiction within 18 months. They alsoprovided that detainees could continue to be internedby the US-led Multi-National Force indefinitely for“continued imperative reasons of security”. TheInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visiteddetainees in internment facilities but not those held inUS division or brigade holding facilities immediatelyafter arrest.

In Afghanistan, hundreds of detainees continued tobe held in US military custody without charge or trial oraccess to families or lawyers at Bagram airbase, somefor more than a year. Although the ICRC had access todetainees at Bagram, it had no access to detainees heldin an unknown number of US forward operating bases.There were reports of ill-treatment in such facilities,


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including detainees being stripped naked duringinterrogation and deprived of food and sleep.

Detentions in undisclosed locationsThere were continued reports that the US CentralIntelligence Agency (CIA) operated a network of secretdetention facilities in various countries. Such facilitieswere alleged to detain individuals incommunicadooutside the protection of the law in circumstancesamounting to “disappearances”. Three Yemenidetainees told AI that they had been held in isolationfor between 16 and 18 months in three detentionfacilities apparently run by the USA in unknownlocations; their cases suggested that such detentionswere not confined to a small number of “high value”detainees as previously suspected. In November theCouncil of Europe launched an investigation intoreports that the network of US secret prisons includedsites in Eastern Europe. The US authorities refused toconfirm or deny the allegations.

Allegations of US involvement in the secret andillegal transfer of detainees between countries,exposing them to the risk of torture and ill-treatment,continued.

Torture and ill-treatment outside the USAEvidence continued to emerge of the torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Guantánamo, Afghanistanand Iraq, before and after the abuses in Abu Ghraibprison, Iraq, which came to light in April 2004. Furtherinformation was published describing interrogationtechniques officially approved at various periods for“war on terror” detainees, which included the use ofdogs to inspire fear, stress positions, exposure toextremes of heat or cold, sleep deprivation andisolation.

There was continued failure to hold senior officialsaccountable for abuses. The final report of NavalInspector General Vice-Admiral Church intoDepartment of Defense interrogation operationsworldwide, a summary of which was published inMarch, found “no link between approved interrogationtechniques and detainee abuse”. This was despite thefact that many such techniques violate internationalstandards that prohibit torture and ill-treatment. TheChurch investigation did not interview a singledetainee or former detainee, nor did it interviewSecretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. No inquiriesexamined the CIA whose activities remained shroudedin secrecy.

The US Army reported in March that 27 deaths ofdetainees in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan duringraids, capture or in detention facilities had been listedas confirmed or suspected homicides. Some cases wereunder investigation while others had been referred toother agencies or were recommended for prosecution.

Other sources, including court records and autopsyreports, strongly indicated that some detainees haddied after torture during or after interrogations.There was also evidence to suggest that delays anddeficiencies in investigations had hamperedprosecutions.

In March the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)and Human Rights First filed a federal lawsuit on behalfof eight men who had been tortured and ill-treated inUS military detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan,seeking a declaration that Secretary Rumsfeld wasresponsible for violating US and international laws. Thelawsuit, which was still pending at the end of the year,also sought compensatory damages for the victims.

Several trials of US military personnel accused ofabusing detainees took place during the year, mainlyinvolving low-ranking soldiers. Many receivedsentences that did not reflect the gravity of the crimes.

In March the government rescinded an April 2003Pentagon Working Group Report on DetaineeInterrogations which stated, among other things, thatthe President had authority during military operationsto override the international prohibition againsttorture with regard to interrogations. In November thePentagon approved a new policy directive governinginterrogations, which would allow the army to issue along-delayed revised field manual. The directive statedthat “acts of physical or mental torture are prohibited”.However, it did not elaborate other than to order thatdetainees be treated humanely “in accordance withapplicable law and policy”. In December the Armyannounced it had approved a new classified set ofinterrogation methods to be added to the revised ArmyField Manual. Although the manual would specificallyprohibit stripping, prolonged stress positions, sleepdeprivation and use of dogs in interrogations, therewas concern that the classified addendum may stillinclude abusive techniques.

In December, Congress passed legislationprohibiting the cruel, inhuman or degrading treatmentof people in the custody or control of the USgovernment anywhere in the world. However, concernremained that a statement attached by President Bushwhen signing the bill into law effectively reserved theright of the executive to bypass the provision onnational security grounds.b In August and September, trials took place in amilitary court of US soldiers accused of abusing twoAfghan detainees, Dilawar and Habibullah, who diedfrom multiple blunt force injuries while beinginterrogated in an isolation section of the Bagramairbase in December 2002. As of December 2005, sevenlow-ranking soldiers had been convicted and receivedsentences ranging from five months’ imprisonment toreprimand, loss of pay and reduction in rank. No onehad been found responsible for serious offences suchas torture or other war crimes.

Detention of ‘enemy combatants’ in the USAb Jose Padilla – a US national held for more thanthree years without charge in US military detention –was among five people indicted in a US federal court inNovember on charges of conspiracy to murder USnationals overseas and supporting terrorists. Thecharges made no mention of the alleged conspiracy todetonate a “dirty bomb” in a US city for which he wasoriginally detained. The Justice Department soughtpermission from the Appeals Court to transfer him to


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the federal prison system. However, the court did notagree and instead issued an order requiring both thegovernment and his lawyers to submit briefs onwhether it should withdraw its earlier ruling upholdingthe President’s power to detain Jose Padilla indefinitelyas an “enemy combatant”. The issue had not beendecided on by the end of the year.b Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a Qatari national,remained detained without charge or trial as an “enemycombatant” in military custody. A lawsuit was filed inAugust alleging that he was suffering from severephysical and mental health problems as a result of histreatment, which included sleep deprivation, sensorydeprivation, punitive shackling, exposure to cold, anddisrespectful handling of the Qu’ran.

Prisoners of conscienceb Kevin Benderman, a US army sergeant, wassentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment in July forrefusing to redeploy to Iraq on grounds of hisconscientious objection to the war, developed during a first term of service there. His application forconscientious objector status was refused on theground that his objection was not to war in general butto a particular war.b Camilo Mejia Castillo, Abdullah Webster and PabloParedes, three former soldiers imprisoned for theirconscientious objection to serving in Iraq, werereleased during the year.

Trial of Ahmed Omar Abu AliAhmed Omar Abu Ali, a US national, was convicted in aUS federal court in November on charges of conspiracyto commit acts of terrorism. The trial was flawed as thejury was not allowed to hear evidence supportingclaims by Ahmed Abu Ali that his videotapedconfession, on which the prosecution relied almostexclusively, had been obtained following torture inSaudi Arabia. Ahmed Abu Ali alleged that he wasflogged and threatened with death by the InteriorMinistry’s General Intelligence (al-Mabahith al-Amma)while being held incommunicado in Saudi Arabia in2003. During the trial, general statements on thetreatment of detainees from Saudi Arabian officialswere used to undermine Ahmed Abu Ali’s allegations,while the defence lawyers were not allowed to presentany evidence pertaining to Saudi Arabia’s human rightsrecord on torture.

Ill-treatment and excessive use of forceThere were continued reports of ill-treatment anddeaths in custody involving tasers – electro-shockweapons deployed by some 7,000 US police andcorrectional agencies.

Sixty-one people died after being struck by policetasers, bringing to 142 the total number of such deathssince 2001. Coroners found tasers had caused orcontributed to at least 10 of the deaths in 2005,increasing concerns about the safety of such weapons.

Most of those who died were unarmed men whoreportedly did not pose a serious threat when theywere electro-shocked. Many were given multiple or

prolonged shocks, potentially harmful acts highlightedin a Department of Defense preliminary study intotaser safety published in April 2005.

Several police departments suspended the use oftasers, others tightened the rules for taser use.However, most departments continued to authorizetasers in a wide range of situations, including againstunarmed people who resisted arrest or refused to obeypolice commands. Mentally disturbed and intoxicatedindividuals, children and the elderly were among thoseshocked.

AI renewed its call on the US authorities to suspenduse and sales of tasers and other stun weapons pendinga rigorous, independent inquiry into their use andeffects.b In February police in Florida tasered a 13-year-oldgirl who had been fighting with her mother. The girl washandcuffed in the back of a police patrol car when shewas shocked.b In February, a 14-year-old developmentallydisabled boy went into cardiac arrest after beingshocked with a police taser in Chicago, Illinois, as hewas sitting on a sofa in a care home and, according topolice, attempted to stand up “in an aggressivestance”. Doctors who treated him said the tasershocks had caused a potentially fatal disturbance ofthe heart rhythm and that he would have died had henot been immediately resuscitated by medical staff atthe scene.b Seventeen-year-old Kevin Omar, who was actingerratically under the influence of drugs, lapsed into acoma after being shocked three times by police officersfrom Waco, Texas; he died two days later. The medicalexaminer said he believed the taser was a contributoryfactor in the death.

Abuses of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender peopleIn September AIUSA published a report, Stonewalled:police abuse and misconduct against lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgender people in the United States.The report found that, although there was greaterrecognition of the rights of LGBT people, many stillfaced discriminatory treatment and verbal and physicalabuse by police. It also showed that within the LGBTcommunity, transgender individuals, people of colour,youth, immigrants, homeless individuals and sexworkers experienced a heightened risk of abuse. Thereport found that police often failed to respondadequately to hate crimes or domestic violence againstLGBT people.

Death penaltyIn 2005, 60 people were executed, bringing to 1,005 thetotal number of prisoners put to death since executionsresumed in the USA in 1977 following a moratorium. Twopeople were released from death row on grounds ofinnocence, bringing to 122 the total number of suchcases since 1973.

On 1 March the US Supreme Court banned theexecution of child offenders – those aged under 18 atthe time of the crime – bringing the USA into line with


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international standards prohibiting such executions.Twenty-two child offenders had been executed in theUSA since 1977.

Executions continued of people with mental illnessand disorders, of prisoners who had been deniedadequate legal representation at trial, and in caseswhere the reliability of evidence had been questioned.b Troy Kunkle was executed in Texas on 25 January,despite suffering from serious mental illness, includingschizophrenia, evidence of which was not presented tothe jury that sentenced him to death. He was just over18 at the time of the crime and had suffered a childhoodof deprivation and abuse.b Frances Newton was executed in Texas on 14September, despite doubts over the reliability of herconviction. She was found guilty on the basis ofcircumstantial evidence, and always maintained thatshe was innocent.

Hurricane KatrinaIn August Hurricane Katrina swept across Louisiana,killing more than 1,000 people and leaving hundreds ofthousands of others homeless or temporarily displacedwithout their basic needs for food, clean water andmedicines met. There was widespread anger at thefederal government’s slow response to thehumanitarian disaster.

Scores of inmates in New Orleans Parish Prison wereallegedly abandoned by guards following thehurricane. Prisoners reported being left locked in cellsfor days without food or drinking water as flood watersrose. There were reports, denied by the Louisianaauthorities, that some prisoners had drowned. AI calledfor a full inquiry and for the authorities to ensure thatall prisoners were fully accounted for. It also called foran investigation into allegations that evacuatedinmates were ill-treated.

Other concernsA joint study published in October by AI and HumanRights Watch, The Rest of Their Lives: Life withoutParole for Child Offenders in the United States,reported that at least 2,225 child offenders under 18 atthe time of the crime were serving sentences of lifewithout parole. Such a sentence for child offenders isprohibited under the UN Convention on the Rights ofthe Child, signed but not ratified by the USA. Of thecases examined, 16 per cent of the offenders were agedbetween 13 and 15 at the time of the crime and 59 percent received the sentence for their first conviction.Many were convicted of “felony murder” based onevidence of their participation in a crime during which amurder took place, but without direct evidence of theirinvolvement in the killing. The report called on the USauthorities to stop sentencing children to life withoutparole and to grant child offenders serving suchsentences immediate access to parole procedures.

Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz, volunteers with agroup called No More Deaths, were stopped by the USBorder Patrol in July while they were taking threeMexican migrants found in the Arizona desert forurgent medical treatment. The volunteers were

charged with offences linked to illegally transportingaliens and faced up to 15 years’ imprisonment.Hundreds of irregular or undocumented migrants die inthe desert each year after crossing from Mexico into theUSA, many from exposure to extreme temperatureswhich reached record levels in Arizona in July. AI calledfor the charges against the two volunteers to bedropped on the ground that they had not assisted themigrants to evade immigration controls but were actingsolely to protect life.

AI country reports/visitsReports• USA: Guantánamo and beyond – The continuing

pursuit of unchecked executive power (AI Index:AMR 51/063/2005)

• USA: US detentions in Afghanistan – an aide-memoire for continued action (AI Index: AMR51/093/2005)

• USA/Jordan/Yemen: Torture and Secret Detention –Testimony of the “disappeared” in the “war on terror”(AI Index: AMR 51/108/2005)

• USA/Yemen: Secret detention in CIA “Black Sites” (AIIndex: AMR: 51/177/2005)

• USA: Killing possibility – The imminent execution ofStanley Williams in California (AI Index: AMR51/187/2005)

• USA: The trial of Ahmed Abu Ali – Findings ofAmnesty International’s trial observation (AI Index:AMR 51/192/2005)

• Stonewalled: Police abuse and misconduct againstlesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in theU.S. (AI Index: AMR 51/122/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited Yemen in June and September/October to visit former US “war on terror” detainees.

In November an AI observer attended the trial ofAhmed Omar Abu Ali.


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URUGUAY

EASTERN REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY

Head of state and government: Tabaré Vázquez Rosas

(replaced Jorge Batlle Ibáñez in March)




Progress was made in dealing with human rightsviolations committed in the 1970s and 1980s.However, in most cases justice remained obstructedby the 1986 Expiry Law, which prevented legalproceedings against those involved in violations inthis period. There were reports of the ill-treatment ofdetainees and of harsh conditions in prisons.

Impunity under the Expiry LawThe government of President Tabaré Vázquez Rosasinitiated a number of investigations to establish thefate and burial places of victims of “disappearances”from the period of military government (1973-1985). Theinvestigation sites included military barracks where anumber of human remains were discovered. Threecases of past human rights violations were taken beforethe courts. However, no attempts were made to abolishthe Expiry Law.

The government of Tabaré Vázquez Rosasinterpreted the scope of the Expiry Law as limited tohuman rights violations committed under the militarygovernments after the June 1973 military coup. Thisinterpretation opened up the possibility of legal actionagainst some 600 active and former members of thearmed forces in connection with crimes committedbefore the coup.

The new government also excluded from the ExpiryLaw three cases that took place in Argentina, allegedlywith the co-operation of Uruguayan and Argentinearmed forces. The three cases were subsequentlybrought before the courts.b In June, former President Juan Maria Bordaberryand former Minister of Foreign Affairs Juan CarlosBlanco were charged with involvement in themurders of legislators Zelmar Michelini and HéctorGutiérrez Ruiz and activists Rosario Barredo andWilliam Whitelaw. All four were killed in Argentina in 1976.b In August the armed forces revealed that theremains of Maria Claudia Garcia de Gelman, who“disappeared” with her husband in 1976, were almostcertainly buried in the grounds of the army’s 14thBattalion near the capital, Montevideo. However, inNovember the Appeals Court shelved the case on thegrounds that it was covered by the Expiry Law.

Ill-treatment of prisonersThere were reports of detainees, including minors,being ill-treated in police stations.

Harsh conditions and other ill-treatment werereported at Libertad Prison, in the department of SanJosé, 50km from Montevideo. In June, hundreds ofprisoners staged a hunger strike in protest atovercrowding at the prison and at the lack of food,medical assistance, hot water or electricity. They alsodemanded that Congress urgently introduce legislationto ease prison overcrowding.

In September, the Senate passed the Humanizationand Modernization of the Prison System Law. The lawaimed to relieve overcrowding in prisons by grantingprovisional or early release to certain categories ofprisoners.

AI country reports/visitsStatements• Uruguay: Concrete reforms need to be made if there

is to be effective human rights protection (AI Index:AMR 52/001/2005)

• Uruguay: Open letter to the President of the OrientalRepublic of Uruguay, Dr Tabaré Vázquez Rosas (AIIndex: AMR 52/002/2005)

UZBEKISTAN

REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

Head of state: Islam Karimov

Head of government: Shavkat Mirzioiev





The security forces allegedly killed hundreds ofunarmed men, women and children when they firedindiscriminately and without warning on a crowd inthe eastern city of Andizhan in May. The governmentrejected international calls for an independentinternational investigation and attempted to blockall but official reports of the killings. Hundreds ofdemonstrators were detained and reportedly ill-treated, and witnesses were intimidated. Journalistsand human rights defenders were harassed, beatenand detained and some were prisoners of conscienceheld on serious criminal charges. Following unfairtrials, at least 73 people were convicted of “terrorist”offences and sentenced to between 12 and 22 years’imprisonment for their alleged participation in theunrest. Dozens of people were believed to have beensentenced to death and executed. A presidentialdecree promised abolition of the death penalty in 2008.


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BackgroundIn response to Uzbekistan’s refusal to allow anindependent international investigation of the Maykillings in Andizhan, the European Union (EU) inNovember announced an embargo on EU arms salesand military transfers to Uzbekistan, and a one-yearvisa ban on 12 senior government ministers andofficials. However, the Minister of Internal Affairs wasgranted an exception on humanitarian grounds toreceive medical treatment in Germany. In turn theauthorities in Uzbekistan banned European membersof the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) fromusing their airspace and asked all, apart fromGermany, to withdraw their troops from Termezairbase. The UN General Assembly adopted aresolution, put forward by the EU, expressing deepregret over Uzbekistan’s refusal to allow aninternational investigation and urging the authoritiesto stop their “harassment and detention ofeyewitnesses”.

Also in November the US military completed itswithdrawal from Khanabad airbase, as requested by theUzbekistani authorities. The airbase had been leasedsince October 2001 as part of the US-led “war on terror”.On 14 November, the government signed a mutualdefence agreement with the Russian Federation thatwould allow Russian use of military facilities inUzbekistan.

‘Akramia’ trialsOn 11 February, 23 business entrepreneurs prominentin Islamic charitable work went on trial at the AltinkulDistrict Court, Andizhan. They were charged withattempting to overthrow the constitutional order,membership of an illegal religious organization, andpossessing or distributing literature that threatenedpublic safety. Arrested between June and August 2004,the men were accused of being members of a groupseeking to establish an Islamic state and linked to thebanned Islamist opposition party Hizb-ut-Tahrir,categorized as a “terrorist” organization inUzbekistan. The authorities named the supposedgroup “Akramia” after its alleged founder, AkramYuldashev, serving a 17-year prison sentence for“terrorism” and other anti-state charges imposed in1999. The 23 consistently denied the charges ormembership of any group. They appeared to havebeen held almost completely incommunicado in pre-trial detention. They said they were repeatedlythreatened, subjected to physical, sexual and mentaltorture and ill-treatment, and forced to signincriminating statements under duress.

Other individuals were arrested and charged inconnected cases.b In February, nine men – all employees of one of the23 entrepreneurs, who owned a furniture company inTashkent – were charged with attempting to overthrowthe constitutional order and membership of an illegalreligious organization. In July, three of them weresentenced to between 15 and a half and 16 years inprison after an unfair trial. They were among 20employees detained in September 2004 and reportedly

coerced into saying they were Akramia leaders inTashkent. The fate of the remaining detainees was notknown.b In another case, a group of 13 men were reportedlyarrested in Andizhan on 23 and 24 January, and chargedwith similar offences.

13 May killingsDuring the night of 12 to 13 May, unidentified armed menbroke into military barracks and the prison inAndizhan, reportedly freeing the 23 entrepreneurs andhundreds of other prisoners, and occupying theregional government building. In the course of the day,thousands of people gathered in the main square,reportedly to demand justice and an end to poverty.According to the authorities, civilians took hostage anumber of officials, and gunfire was exchangedbetween armed men and the security forces.Throughout 13 May the security forces reportedly firedsporadically on the mostly unarmed and peacefulcrowd. In the early evening, after surrounding theprotesters with buses, armed personnel carriers andother barriers, the troops fired indiscriminately andwithout warning, killing and wounding as many as 300and possibly up to 500 people, eyewitnesses said.Relatives were not allowed to visit the wounded takento hospital.

The same night, hundreds of people fled across theborder to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, walking in largegroups. The authorities said most did not go voluntarilybut were forced at gunpoint to be human shields for thearmed insurgents. Refugees in Kyrgyzstan insisted theyhad not been coerced, and reported that Uzbekistanitroops opened fire without warning as they approachedthe border village of Teshik Tosh, killing at least eightpeople and wounding others, including women (seeKyrgyzstan entry).

The authorities said that 187 people were killed on 13May, and denied that troops had used excessive forceor killed civilians, including women and children. At theend of 2005, the government had yet to publish thenames of those killed. Although a parliamentarycommission of inquiry was established, its memberswere closely allied to President Karimov, andreportedly did not carry out their own investigation but simply reviewed the findings of the criminalinvestigation. The inquiry failed to meet internationalstandards for a thorough, independent and impartialinvestigation, and the government refused demands foran international inquiry. Although the trial began inDecember of 12 police officers charged with negligencein connection with the Andizhan events, by the end of2005 no members of the security forces responsible forhuman rights abuses had been brought to justice.

Extradition requests and forcible returnsFollowing the 13 May killings, the authorities requestedthe extradition of suspected supporters of Akramia andHizb-ut-Tahrir from Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and theRussian Federation. On 16 June the ProsecutorGeneral’s Office said it was seeking the extraditionfrom Kyrgyzstan of 131 refugees who were “direct


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participants in the acts of terrorism [in Andizhan]”.b On 9 June, Dilshod Gadzhiev, Tavakkal Gadzhiev,Muhammad Kadirov and Abdubais (Gasan) Shakirovwere forcibly taken from a refugee camp at Besh-Kanato a detention centre in the city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan,and handed over to Uzbekistani security forces. Thefour men were reportedly detained incommunicado,and at least one of them was tortured, in Andizhanprison after their return to Uzbekistan. The Uzbekistaniauthorities told the UN High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) that the four had returned “voluntarily” andwere held in a detention facility in Tashkent, but deniedthe UNHCR access to them.b Russian law enforcement officers detained 14ethnic Uzbek men in Ivanovo in the Russian Federationon 18 June, allegedly for swearing and refusing to showtheir identity documents. The Uzbekistani authoritiesrequested their extradition for involvement in the 13May events, supporting Akramia, and financing“terrorist” activities. All the men denied theaccusations. A Russian citizen among them said he hadvisited Uzbekistan in May only to renew his Uzbekistanipassport, and was released on 11 October. The other 13,a Kyrgyzstani national and 12 Uzbekistani nationals,applied for asylum in the Russian Federation in Augustbut were still in custody at the end of 2005.

Unfair trials of 13 May suspectsHundreds of people suspected of involvement in the 13May events were detained, and many were allegedly ill-treated or tortured. In June, the Prosecutor Generalsaid that 102 detainees had been charged. The chargesincluded “terrorism” and premeditated, aggravatedmurder – capital offences – as well as attempting tooverthrow the constitutional order and organizingmass disturbances.

The first group of 15 defendants went on trial on 20September. Access to the courtroom was restricted: alocal independent human rights organization wasallowed an observer, but the government refused arequest by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rightsto send observers. Subsequently, at least four closedtrials reportedly started in November. All were unfair.Most detainees were believed to have been heldincommunicado before trial and denied access tolawyers of their choice, relatives or medical assistance.The identity of the defendants, the charges againstthem, and the dates and locations of their trials werenot notified to their relatives. International observers,human rights activists and families were denied accessto all four trials, which were held in different locationsoutside Tashkent. In early December, 58 defendantswere sentenced to terms of imprisonment from 12 to 22years. b The first trial, of 15 defendants including TavakkalGadzhiev, opened on 20 September before theSupreme Court in Tashkent. Access to the court wasrestricted. Relatives of the defendants, without noticeof the trial, had not been able to apply to attend. Thedefendants pleaded guilty to charges of “terrorism”and asked for forgiveness, but there were concernsthat their confessions, which followed closely the

wording of the charges, had been extracted underduress. Government officials and the national mediamade prejudicial statements that presumed the guiltof the defendants. Most defendants had been heldincommunicado and none was granted adequateaccess to a lawyer of his choice in pre-trial detention.There was no cross-examination of defendants orwitnesses, and contradictions in the testimonies werenot addressed. Witnesses for the defence facedintimidation. Out of hundreds of witnesses whotestified, only one, Makhbuba Zokirova, told the court she had seen the security forces firingindiscriminately at mostly unarmed civilians,including women and children, even as they ran forsafety. She asked the prosecutor whether she wouldbe arrested for telling the truth. National newspaperssubsequently denounced her as a traitor and anaccomplice to terrorists. On 14 November the 15defendants were sentenced to terms of imprisonmentranging from 14 to 20 years. Their appeals against theirsentences were pending at the end of 2005.

Clampdown on dissentThe events in Andizhan were used as a pretext for afurther clampdown on political freedoms in the nameof national security and the “war on terror”. Scores ofcivil society activists, including human rights activistsand journalists who had tried to document the 13 Maykillings, were threatened, assaulted, detained, forciblyconfined to their homes, and had their telephoneconnections cut. A number of human rights defendersconsidered to be prisoners of conscience were held onserious criminal charges. The authorities denounced astraitors and hypocrites those who questioned theofficial version of events, restricted access to websiteslinked with opposition groups in exile, and blocked thebroadcasts of Russian television stations critical ofUzbekistan.b Prominent human rights defender and prisoner ofconscience Saidzhakhon Zainabitdinov was arrested on21 May and detained. Initially held in police custody atthe Andizhan Regional Department of Internal Affairs,he was reportedly transferred to Tashkent in July. Hisfamily and lawyer were denied information about hiswhereabouts. In November he was reportedly in anisolation unit at Tashkent prison, still incommunicado.Initially charged with defamation, punishable by up tothree years in prison, in relation to an open letter aboutthe case of the 23 entrepreneurs, he was subsequentlycharged with “terrorism” and other more seriouscharges. The real reason for his detention appeared tobe his representation in court of one of the 23, and hisreporting of the 13 May events, which receivedinternational media coverage.

The death penalty and flawed justiceDozens of death sentences were believed to have beenpassed and executions carried out, but the governmentdid not publish comprehensive statistics. The criminaljustice system was flawed throughout with widespreadcorruption and a failure to investigate allegations oftorture. The authorities carried out executions in


VEN

secrecy, not informing relatives of the date ofexecution in advance or revealing the place of burial.

The EU strongly encouraged abolition of the deathpenalty at a meeting of the EU-Uzbekistan CooperationCouncil in February. In March the UN Human RightsCommittee deplored the execution of death rowprisoners while their cases were still pending beforethe Committee.b On 14 March, the father of AkhrorkhuzhaTolipkhuzhaev, sentenced to death on 19 February 2004,was turned away when he tried to visit his son. Thefollowing day, when a lawyer asked to seeAkhrorkhuzha Tolipkhuzhaev, prison guards said he wasno longer registered on death row. On 21 March theauthorities assured the UN Human Rights Committee,which had been considering human rights violations inthe case since May 2004, that he was still alive. On 6April, his father received a death certificate stating theexecution had taken place on 1 March. The HumanRights Committee described Uzbekistan’s actions as a“grave breach” of its international legal obligations.

Under a presidential decree on 1 August the deathpenalty was to be abolished from 1 January 2008.However, without any moratorium on the deathpenalty or commutation of death sentences, scores ofpeople remained at risk of execution.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Uzbekistan: Questions of life and death cannot wait

until 2008 – A briefing on the death penalty (AIIndex: EUR 62/020/2005)

• Uzbekistan: Lifting the siege on the truth aboutAndizhan (AI Index: EUR 62/021/2005)

VisitsAI representatives visited Kyrgyzstan in May, June andJuly to interview refugees from Uzbekistan.

VENEZUELA

BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA

Head of state and government: Hugo Chávez Frías





There were reports of unlawful killings of criminalsuspects by police. Most cases were not investigatedand the perpetrators remained unpunished. The lackof independence of the judiciary remained a concern.Persistent social and economic inequalitiescontinued to limit access to the economic and socialrights of Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples.

BackgroundPolitical polarization continued to be a destabilizingfactor. There were continued concerns that critics ofthe government were being harassed, includingthrough the criminal justice system. Someconfrontations between supporters of PresidentChávez and the opposition took place before Augustmunicipal elections, which were won by PresidentChávez’ party, Movimiento V República.

Congressional elections in December resulted in alandslide victory for President Chávez’ party, afteropposition parties refused to take part, accusing theelectoral body of bias. The elections were largelyregarded as fair by international observers.

International relations with the USA remained tenseas US officials continued to accuse President Chávez’government of threatening the stability of the region.President Chávez continued to increase its co-operationwith Latin American nations, including trade andenergy links.

Police brutalityThere were continuing reports of human rightsviolations by the police, including unlawful killings ofcriminal suspects. In most cases an investigation wasnot opened and the alleged perpetrators were notbrought to justice. According to statistics published bythe Public Prosecutor’s Office in July, between 2000and mid-2005, more than 6,100 people were killed bypolice in 5,500 incidents. Of the nearly 6,000 policeofficers implicated, only 517 were charged and fewerthan 250 were under arrest.

The Commission of Internal Affairs of the NationalAssembly, the Human Rights Ombudsman and the PublicProsecutor’s Office received reports of killings by thepolice in Guárico, Aragua, Falcón and Carabobo states.The National Assembly expressed its commitment toinvestigate these allegations. In a report published inJuly, local human rights organizations warned of apattern of killings, possible “disappearances” andkidnappings in six states (Anzoategui, Capital District,Falcón, Miranda, Portuguesa and Yaracay).


VIE

Victims of human rights violations, and their relatives,were reportedly threatened and intimidated by police.b In January, 16-year-old Rigoberto Barrios died inhospital after being shot eight times by the police inGuanayen town, Aragua State. He was the thirdmember of his family allegedly killed by the police sincethey reported the killing of Narciso Barrios inDecember 2003, following an argument with AraguaState police officers. In June an attempt was made onthe life of Óscar Barrios. He escaped unharmed. InAugust, Juan Barrios was threatened by two uniformedpolice officers. The family was granted policeprotection in May, following instructions from theInter-American Court of Human Rights. However, bythe end of 2005, none of the police officers implicatedin the killings and threats had been prosecuted.b Carmen Alicia Mota de Hernández and her family inValle de la Pascua town, Guárico State, were reportedlysubjected to a campaign of intimidation by policeofficers after reporting the killing of her husband,Arturo Hernández, in April 2004.

Lack of independence of the judiciaryThe failure of the judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’sOffice to guarantee impartial and effective redressmechanisms for victims of human rights violationsundermined their credibility. According to reports, 98 per cent of human rights violations remainedunpunished. Only a small proportion of judges andprosecutors were reportedly in permanentemployment.

Human rights defendersHuman rights defenders continued to face harassmentand intimidation.

There were concerns over the safety of members ofthe human rights organization COFAVIC (Comité deFamiliares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzode 1989), after their police protection was withdrawn inMarch. The organization had made a public statementwhich criticized the authorities for not bringing tojustice the perpetrators of human rights violationscommitted during confrontations in 1989 between theopposition, the police and the military. In November2002, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights hadordered Venezuela to protect members of COFAVICafter they suffered threats and acts of intimidation.

Freedom of expressionAdministrative and tax proceedings were allegedly usedto restrict freedom of expression. The Office of theSpecial Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of theInter-American Commission on Human Rights expressedconcern over the decision of the National Agency for theAdministration of Taxes and Customs to impose a fineand order a 24-hour closure of the regional newspaper ElImpulso, reportedly because it had criticized restrictionson freedom of expression in Venezuela.

Economic, social and cultural rightsIn August the UN Committee on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination expressed concern that

persistent social and economic inequalities continuedto restrict the enjoyment of economic and socialrights by Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples. Itnoted that indigenous lands and resources continuedto be threatened by outsiders. The Committee alsoexpressed concern about child labour, childprostitution, and about slavery in illegal goldprospecting sites in the upper Orinoco and Casiquiareand Guainia-Río Negro basins.

VIET NAM

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM

Head of state: Tran Duc Luong

Head of government: Phan Van Khai





signed

Freedom of expression, association and religiouspractice continued to be restricted by the authorities.Despite sizeable prisoner amnesties, politicaldissidents remained in prison. The human rightssituation in the Central Highlands and limited accessto the area continued to cause concern. More than180 ethnic minority Montagnards continued to beimprisoned throughout 2005 and at least 45 facedunfair trials. At least 65 death sentences and 21executions were reported.

BackgroundMore than 26,500 people, including eight prisoners ofconscience, were released under three large prisoneramnesties marking major national anniversaries.Released political and religious dissidents facedvarying degrees of restriction and harassment.

In March the Prime Minister signed a Decree onPublic Order tightly restricting public gatherings andspecifying the authorization required. In July additionalregulations were issued in an attempt to further controlaccess to the Internet. New legislation was adopted bythe National Assembly, including a new Civil Code inMay and laws on National Security and Prevention andControl of Corruption in November.

In May the US Department of State and Viet Namcame to an agreement on enhancing religious freedom.The first Prime Ministerial visit to the USA since the endof the Viet Nam war in 1975 took place in June.

Viet Nam continued to deny access to independenthuman rights monitors.


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Central HighlandsAt least 45 members of Montagnard ethnic minoritygroups were sentenced to long terms of imprisonmentduring 2005. They were charged in connection with the2001 and April 2004 protests about land ownership andreligious freedom, and for assisting people to leave forCambodia. The true figure was believed to be muchhigher. Despite severe restrictions on freedom ofexpression and on access to the area, reports of arrests,ill-treatment and forced renunciations of religioncontinued to emerge. The human rights situationcaused more Montagnard people to seek asylum inCambodia.

A six-month tripartite Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) was signed in January by VietNam, Cambodia and the UN High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) aimed at resolving the situation ofaround 750 Montagnard asylum-seekers in sites inCambodia (see Cambodia entry). The MOU containedsignificant gaps that reduced the protection of asylum-seekers returning to Viet Nam. Viet Nam agreed not topunish returnees for illegally leaving the country, butthis did not preclude punishment for their religious orpolitical beliefs. UNHCR was allowed several briefmonitoring visits to returnees, apparentlyaccompanied by Vietnamese officials.b Y Jim Eban, Y Tuna H’Dok and seven otherMontagnards of the Ede ethnic group were sentencedto between eight and 13 years’ imprisonment in July for“undermining the national unity policy” by organizinganti-government protests and helping asylum-seekers.

Political imprisonmentDissidents continued to be held on espionage chargesfor sharing information and opinions on politicalreform and human rights via the Internet. Nguyen VuBinh, Nguyen Khac Toan and Dr Pham Hong Son,arrested in 2002 and sentenced to between five and 12years’ imprisonment, remained in prison at the end of2005. Dr Pham Hong Son suffered serious healthproblems for which he did not receive appropriatemedical treatment.b Prisoner of conscience Nguyen Dinh Huy, 73, aformer English and history professor, was releasedunder the prisoner amnesty to mark Lunar New Year inFebruary. He was arrested in November 1993 andsentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for planning aninternational conference on democracy and humanrights. He had previously spent 17 years in prisonwithout charge or trial for “re-education”.

Suppression of religious freedomReligious practice remained under the strict control ofthe authorities, despite the release of several religiousdissidents and the issuing of instructions intended tofacilitate official recognition of churches. Members ofchurches seen as opposing state policies wereharassed, arrested and imprisoned, and churchproperty was destroyed.

The senior leadership of the Unified Buddhist Churchof Vietnam (UBCV) remained under house arrest,including 86-year-old Supreme Patriarch Thich Huyen

Quang, and his deputy Thich Quang Do. In August, onemember of the Hoa Hao Buddhist church burnedhimself alive in protest at religious persecution,following which at least seven other church memberswere arrested.

Religious dissidents and prisoners of consciencereleased during 2005 included UBCV Buddhist monkThich Thien Mien, detained for 26 years; Father PhamNgoc Lien (Tri) and Brother Nguyen Thien Phung(Huang), members of the Congregation of the MotherCoredemptrix, detained for 18 years; Catholic priestFather Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, imprisoned since 2001;and Vietnamese Mennonite Christian Church members,Le Thi Hong Lien and Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang.b Vo Van Thanh Liem, a Hoa Hao Buddhist monk, wasarrested in August following harassment by local policeauthorities of a temple in An Giang province. He wassentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for “opposingthe public authorities”.

Death penaltyDespite previous indications that the number of capitaloffences would be reduced, the death penalty wasretained for 29 crimes, including economic offences.Large numbers of death sentences and executions werereported. According to official media sources, at least 21people were executed and 65 people including sixwomen were sentenced to death. The true figures werebelieved to be much higher. Almost all were accused ofdrug trafficking offences. Statistics on the deathpenalty remained classified as a “state secret”.

In June the Ministry of Justice announced a proposalto change the method of execution from firing squad tolethal injection. By the end of 2005 this had not beenimplemented.b Duong Quang Tri was sentenced to death by Ho ChiMinh City People’s Court in January for tax fraud,allegedly involving up to US$382,000.b In January Tran Van Le, a former narcotics policeofficer, and 16 others were sentenced to deathfollowing a major drug-trafficking trial. The sentencesof 16 of the convicted were upheld on appeal in May;one sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

AI country reports/visitsReports• Viet Nam: Freedom for elderly prisoners of

conscience (AI Index: ASA 41/003/2005)• Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: Appeal for Cyber-

dissident – Dr Pham Hong Son (AI Index: ASA41/018/2005)

• Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: Appeal for Cyber-dissident – Nguyen Vu Binh (AI Index: ASA41/019/2005)

• Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: Appeal for Cyber-dissident – Nguyen Khac Toan (AI Index: ASA41/020/2005)


YEM

YEMEN

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

Head of state: ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh

Head of government: ‘Abdul Qader Bajammal





signed

Hundreds of people were killed in Sa’da Provinceamid armed clashes between the security forces andfollowers of Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi, a clericfrom the Zaidi community. Police also apparentlyused excessive force during violent protests in Julyagainst fuel price rises. More than 1,000 allegedfollowers of Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi weredetained without charge or trial, as were hundreds ofpeople arrested in previous years in the context ofthe “war on terror”. In the rare cases where politicalprisoners were brought to trial, the proceedings fellfar short of international standards. Press freedomwas further restricted and journalists were frequentlyattacked by police and others. The governmentcontinued to forcibly return people to countrieswhere they risked serious human rights violations.Dozens of people were reportedly executed andseveral hundred people remained under sentence ofdeath.

Fuel protestsMore than 30 people, including children, were reportedto have been killed, and hundreds of others injuredwhen a government decision to double fuel pricesresulted in violent protests across the country on 19/20July. Several soldiers and police were also among thosekilled. It was reported that protesters used firearmsand the military used heavy weaponry, includinghelicopter fire and tanks.

‘War on terror’At least 200 people continued to be detained withoutcharge or trial throughout 2005 as suspects in the “waron terror”. More than 100 others were released afterthey agreed to engage in religious dialogue with Islamicfigures and signed a pledge renouncing “extremist”views. However, dozens of those released were laterrearrested after it was reported that some of thosefreed had gone to Iraq to fight against US-led forces.b At least three Yemeni nationals who were returnedto the country from secret, apparently US-run,detention camps abroad continued to be detainedunlawfully and without trial apparently at the behest ofthe US authorities. The Yemeni authorities told AI inOctober that they had no basis for detainingMuhammad Faraj Ahmed Bashmilah, Salah Nasser Salim‘Ali and Mohammed Abdullah Salah al-Assad, followingtheir return to Yemen in May 2005, but had been

requested to do so by the US authorities. Two othermen, Walid Muhammad Shahir Muhammad al-Qadasiand Karama Khamis Khamisan, were returned to Yemenin April 2004 and August 2005 respectively. By the endof the year, the former was detained without charge ortrial and the latter was standing trial on drug charges. b In March, six Yemeni nationals accused of being al-Qa’ida members were sentenced to two years’imprisonment for forging travel documents. Five otherswere acquitted. All 11 were acquitted of another chargeof establishing an armed group to carry out attacks inYemen. Six of the defendants had been forciblyreturned to Yemen from Saudi Arabia.b In May, two suspected al-Qa’ida members, bothYemeni nationals who had been forcibly returned fromQatar, were reportedly convicted of forging documents.Al-Khadar Salam Abdullah al-Hatami was sentenced tothree years and four months in prison. Abdullah AhmedSaleh al-Raimi received a four-year sentence andlodged an appeal.

The Sana’a CommitteeThe Sana’a Committee, established in 2004 by Yemenihuman rights defenders, AI activists, lawyers andothers, met for a second time in June. The Committeewidened its mandate to provide legal and otherassistance to detainees’ families and called ongovernments in the Gulf region to ensure that peopledetained in the context of the “war on terror” weretreated humanely and in accordance with internationalhuman rights standards.

Unrest in Sa’da ProvinceHundreds of people were reportedly killed in Sa’daProvince where there were armed clashes betweengovernment security forces and followers of clericHussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi. Intense fighting broke outin the area in late March after the authorities launcheda search for followers of the cleric, who was killed inSeptember 2004. The area was closed to journalists andhuman rights activists on grounds of security. Some 400people were reported to have been killed in a two-weekperiod, many allegedly as a result of excessive use offorce by government troops. Hundreds of local menwere rounded up and detained. The government alsoclosed hundreds of religious schools within the Zaidicommunity and in October ordered the closure of 1,400charities which it said were contravening the law.

Arrests and trial of members of the Zaidi communityMore than 1,000 followers of Zaidi cleric Hussain Badral-Din al-Huthi were reported to have been detained.The crackdown was prompted by their continuedchanting of anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans after Fridayprayers.

In May, dozens of Zaidis, including children, werearrested. At the end of the year most remained inincommunicado detention without charge or trial andwere at risk of torture and ill-treatment.b Fourteen-year-old Ibrahim al-Saiani was detainedin May. He was reportedly arrested after the security


YEM

forces stormed his family home in the capital, Sana’a.He remained in detention at the end of the year,reportedly in the Political Security prison in Sana’a.There were fears that he was at risk of torture and ill-treatment. According to reports, he sustained seriousinjuries in the clashes in Sa’da: his right arm wasamputated, a piece of shrapnel was lodged in his skulland his right leg was injured. It was unclear whether hewas receiving adequate medical treatment.

On 25 September, the President announced a pardonfor followers of Hussain al-Huthi. However, it was notclear who was covered by the pardon and most of thoseheld reportedly remained in detention.b In August the trial began of 36 members of the Zaidicommunity, eight of them in absentia. They wereaccused of plotting to kill the President and seniorarmy officers. The trial was adjourned after it wasdisrupted by defendants shouting verses from theQur’an and political slogans. A subsequent hearing inNovember was also adjourned to seek clarificationwhether the suspects were covered by the presidentialpardon.b Zaidi cleric Yahia al-Dailami was sentenced todeath on 29 May after an unfair trial. Another Zaidicleric, Mohammed Muftah, who was also tried withYahia al-Dailami, was sentenced to eight years’imprisonment. The prosecution lodged an appealagainst the sentence and called for the death penalty tobe imposed. On 3 December the Court of Appeal upheldthe sentences. The two men were charged with vaguelyworded offences including “communicating with Iran”and “supporting Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi”. Bothwere prisoners of conscience.b In June, the Special Criminal Court for terrorism inSana’a reduced Judge Muhammad Ali Luqman’ssentence from 10 to five years’ imprisonment. Hissentence was reduced on the grounds that there wasinsufficient evidence in relation to one of the charges.He had been arrested for his alleged support forHussain al-Huthi and reportedly charged with “sedition,fanning sectarian discord and forming an armed gang”.

Restrictions on media freedomMedia freedom was restricted and journalists whocriticized the government were harassed, attackedand had their property confiscated. In May, theauthorities introduced a draft press law which wasstrongly criticized by journalists as posing an evengreater threat to press freedom than the existingPress and Publication Law (1990). New offences wouldinclude “criticizing heads of state” and some, such as“communicating classified information ordocumentation to foreign bodies”, would bepunishable by death.

Journalists attempting to report on the July fuelprotests were arrested and attacked by police andsecurity forces. Several were banned from covering theprotests or had their equipment confiscated.b Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, chief editor of theopposition publication al-Shura, was released on 23March following a presidential pardon. A prisoner ofconscience, he had been sentenced to one year’s

imprisonment in September 2004 for his allegedsupport for Hussain al-Huthi. During his appeal hearingin March, defence lawyers Mohammed Naji Allow andJamal al-Ju’bi, as well as the Secretary General of theUnion of Journalists, Hafez al-Bukari, were badlybeaten by the security forces. Other people attendingthe hearing were also allegedly beaten when they triedto leave the courtroom in protest.b Jamal Amer, chief editor of the independent al-Wassat newspaper, was reportedly abducted outsidehis home on 23 August, taken to an unknowndestination and beaten and threatened with death.Shortly before, his newspaper had accused governmentofficials of corruption. A day later the office of Ahmedal-Hajj, an Associated Press journalist, was reportedlyraided by the security forces, who confiscated files andtwo computers.

Women’s rightsWomen’s organizations continued to campaign againstdiscrimination and violence against women. Women’srights activists called on the government to reserve atleast 30 per cent of parliamentary seats for women. InSeptember the National Women’s Committeeannounced that it would establish a coordinationcouncil to press political parties to support women inforthcoming presidential and local elections.

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, a group ofwomen journalists established a new organization,Women Journalists Without Borders, to promotehuman rights, including women’s rights, across theMiddle East, but the government revoked its licenceafter members of the organization reported on the Julyfuel protests.

In December a conference on the rights of Arabwomen was held in Sana’a, continuing the work of asimilar conference in 2004.

Forcible returnsThe Yemeni authorities forcibly returned at least 25people to countries where they would be at risk oftorture and other human rights violations, incontravention of international human rights standards.b Twenty-five Saudi Arabian nationals considered tobe suspects in the “war on terror” were reportedlyreturned involuntarily to Saudi Arabia on 28 March. Inprevious months, Saudi Arabia had returned at least 27unnamed Yemenis to Yemen. Their fate was not knownat the end of the year.b Abdul Rahman Ameur and Kamal Berkane, bothAlgerian nationals, were believed to have beendeported in May. They had completed prison sentencesin Yemen in December 2003. Their whereaboutsremained unknown at the end of the year and it wasfeared that they had “disappeared”.

Death penaltyDeath sentences continued to be passed and dozens ofpeople were reportedly executed. Hundreds of peoplewere believed to remain under sentence of death.b Fuad ‘Ali Mohsen al-Shahari, whose death sentencewas ratified by President Saleh on 6 September, was


ZAM

executed on 29 November. He had been on death rowfor more than nine years. He had been sentenced todeath for murder in 1996 at the end of a grossly unfairtrial that may have been politically motivated orinfluenced by tribal factors.b Fatima Hussein al-Badi, who was sentenced todeath in February 2001 for the murder of her husband,was at risk of imminent execution. Her brother, whowas sentenced at the same time, was executed in May.b In February the Appeal Court upheld the deathsentence on Hizam Saleh Mejalli, who was convicted ofthe 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker Limburg andother attacks. It also imposed a death sentence onFawaz Yahya al-Rabi’ee who had previously beensentenced to 10 years in prison.b Hafez Ibrahim’s death sentence for a murdercommitted when he was 16, was stayed in April.b Amina Ali Abdulatif’s execution, scheduled for 2May, was stayed to allow a review of her case. She wassentenced to death at 16 for the murder of her husband.The Attorney General reportedly appointed a specialcommittee to review her case and confirm whether shewas under 18 at the time of the crime.

RefugeesAround 80,000 refugees registered with UN HighCommissioner for Refugees, including more than68,000 refugees from Somalia, were living in Yemen.Around 7,000 were housed in Al-Kharaz refugee camp.

Throughout the year, hundreds of refugees drownedoff the coast of Yemen either because they were forcedto jump from smugglers’ boats or because the boatsbecame unseaworthy.

Refugees in Yemen faced poor economic conditionsand a lack of work opportunities. There were reports ofrapes of refugee women; the justice system failed toensure that survivors had access to justice.

Oromo refugees from Ethiopia repeatedlycomplained of harassment by the Yemeni authorities,including arbitrary arrests.

AI country reports/visitsReports• USA/Jordan/Yemen: Torture and secret detention –

Testimony of the “disappeared” in the “war on terror”(AI Index: AMR 51/108/2005)

• USA/Yemen: Secret Detention in CIA “Black Sites” (AIIndex: AMR 51/177/2005)

VisitsAI delegates visited Yemen in June to attend the Sana’aCommittee meeting, and in September/October.

ZAMBIA

REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA

Head of state and government: Levy Mwanawasa





Human rights violations by the police remainedcommon. Independent journalists were harassed andarrested. Opposition politicians were detained. Nodeath sentences were carried out. In November,President Mwanawasa commuted 12 deathsentences to life imprisonment.

BackgroundThe Constitutional Review Commission reported inJune. If implemented, its recommendations wouldstrengthen freedom of expression by empoweringparliament, reducing presidential powers, andintroducing a Bill of Rights. Its recommendation thatthe new Constitution be adopted by a ConstituentAssembly – a demand of civil society organizations –was rejected by President Mwanawasa. The Presidentalso opposed popular demands that the newConstitution be implemented before elections due inDecember 2006. Peaceful nationwide demonstrationsover these demands took place in November.

In February, the Supreme Court dismissed a casebrought by opposition politicians challenging theresults of the 2001 elections.

A corruption case against former President FrederickChiluba dragged on without resolution. In September,agreement was reached for a UK court to sit in Lusaka tohear charges against the former President. This wasseen as a de facto recognition of the Zambian legalsystem’s failure to deliver prompt and effective justice.

Legislation was tabled to create 60 paralegal postsacross the country, which would strengthen popularaccess to legal advice. The Legal Aid Board had beeneffectively inoperative since its establishment in 2000due to a lack of funds.

Threats to freedom of expressionOpposition party officials were arrested and deniedequal access to state-controlled media. Independentjournalists were harassed and arrested.b On 24 July, opposition leader Michael Sata wasarrested and charged with sedition and espionage aftersupporting striking mineworkers. The Minister of Minesstated publicly that Michael Sata was a “terrorist” whosought to make Zambia ungovernable. Michael Sata wasreleased on 8 August. By the end of the year he had notbeen tried. The Chief of Police, Inspector General ZungaSiakalima, was dismissed by the President for initiallyrefusing to arrest Michael Sata.b In June Fred M’membe, editor of the independentnewspaper The Post, was questioned by police about a


ZIM

series of editorials critical of the President whichappeared in The Post. In November Fred M’membe wasarrested for allegedly defaming the President, thecharge relating to another editorial in the newspaper.He was released on bail after a few hours in custody.The case remained pending at the end of the year.

Violence against womenSexual violence against women continued to be a majorcause of HIV/AIDS. Widespread poverty continued toforce many women into economically dependentsexual relations. The belief that HIV can be cured by sexwith a virgin persisted, contributing to a high incidenceof rape of girls.

In January, President Mwanawasa declared that newlegislation would incorporate the UN Convention onthe Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination againstWomen into Zambian law. However, no such legislationhad been introduced by the end of 2005.

A Bill to amend the Penal Code, including bywidening the scope of what the law considers a sexualoffence and increasing the severity of punishments forsexual offences, received its second reading inDecember.

Abuses by policeTorture of suspects in police custody and excessive useof force by police continued. Low-paid police officersregularly detained people in order to recover debtsowed by them to third parties.b In June, police in Livingstone beat CatherineMubiana for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of her brother. No one was charged or disciplined inconnection with the assault.b In September, Kennedy Zulu died in police custodyin Lusaka after he was arrested in connection with atheft at his workplace. Relatives believed that policewere paid by his employer to torture him so he wouldreveal the whereabouts of the stolen goods. A postmortem established that death was a consequence ofinjuries sustained during a beating with a blunt object.Police promised an inquest into the death, but this hadnot happened by the end of the year.

ZIMBABWE

REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE

Head of state and government: Robert Mugabe





signed

The government engaged in widespread andsystematic violations of the rights to shelter, food,freedom of movement and residence, and theprotection of the law. Hundreds of thousands ofpeople were forcibly evicted during winter and theirhomes demolished as part of OperationMurambatsvina (Restore Order). Tens of thousandsof informal traders and vendors lost their livelihoodsand their ability to support their families as part ofthe operation. Despite overwhelming evidence ofhumanitarian need the government repeatedlyobstructed the humanitarian efforts of the UN andcivil society groups. The police continued to operatein a politically biased manner and police officerswere implicated in numerous human rightsviolations, including arbitrary arrest and detention,assault, ill-treatment of detainees and excessive useof force. Freedom of expression, association andassembly continued to be severely curtailed.Hundreds of people were arrested for holdingmeetings or participating in peaceful protests.

BackgroundIn parliamentary elections held on 31 March, PresidentMugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-PatrioticFront (ZANU-PF) party won 78 out of 120 contestedseats. This gave ZANU-PF an effective two-thirdsmajority in parliament, where a further 30 seats go topeople who are not elected, including traditionalleaders sympathetic to ZANU-PF and direct Presidentialappointees. There were fewer reports of politicallymotivated violence surrounding the elections than inprevious elections. However, AI was concerned by thelevels of non-violent intimidation and harassment,systematic repression of the rights to freedom ofexpression, association and assembly, and themanipulation of food distribution by the government-controlled Grain Marketing Board that took placebefore, during and after the parliamentary elections.Supporters of the main opposition party, the Movementfor Democratic Change (MDC), suffered acts of reprisalfollowing the March elections, including assault anddestruction of property.

Voter turn-out for Senate elections in November wasextremely low, reported to be less than 20 per cent ofeligible voters. The MDC was split over a decision by itsleader, Morgan Tsvangirai, not to contest the Senateelections and some MDC candidates stood for election.ZANU-PF won the majority of the seats.


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A report by the African Commission on Human andPeoples’ Rights (ACHPR) of a fact-finding mission toZimbabwe in 2002, which was officially made public inFebruary 2005, concluded that human rights violationshad occurred in Zimbabwe. The ACHPR made severalrecommendations, but by the end of the year almostnothing had been done to implement them.Government ministers and officials made disparagingcomments about the report and the ACHPR. InDecember the ACHPR adopted a resolution onZimbabwe for the first time, condemning human rightsviolations and calling on the government to implementACHPR and UN recommendations including an end toforced evictions and respect for freedoms ofexpression, association and assembly and the principleof separation of powers.

Despite a poor harvest, the government againdecided not to appeal for food aid. Supplies of maize via the government’s Grain Marketing Board wereextremely erratic, particularly towards the end of theyear, and many areas were without maize for longperiods. World Food Programme reports repeatedlyhighlighted serious food insecurity in many areas, withincidence of hunger increasing towards the end of theyear as Zimbabwe entered the traditional “hungryseason”.

Mass forced evictions and demolitionsIn May the government embarked on OperationMurambatsvina, a programme of mass forced evictionsand demolition of homes and informal businesses. Theoperation, which was carried out against a backdrop ofsevere food shortages, targeted poor urban andsurrounding (peri-urban) areas nationwide. Theevictions and demolitions were carried out withoutadequate notice, court orders, due process, legalprotection, redress or appropriate relocationmeasures, in violation of Zimbabwe’s obligations underinternational human rights law. During the operationpolice used excessive force: property was destroyedand people were beaten.

In June the UN Secretary-General appointed AnnaTibaijuka as Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issuesin Zimbabwe to examine the impact of OperationMurambatsvina. In a report released on 22 July, sheestimated that some 700,000 people had lost theirhomes, their livelihoods or both between May and Julyand that at least 2 million more people were indirectlyaffected by the operation. She stated that OperationMurambatsvina “was carried out in an indiscriminateand unjustified manner, with indifference to humansuffering, and, in repeated cases, with disregard toseveral provisions of national and international legalframeworks”.

The police, who carried out most of the evictions,and the government stated publicly that those evictedshould “return to their rural areas”. This was despitewidely acknowledged food shortages and hunger in therural areas. Moreover, many people evicted duringOperation Murambatsvina had fled these areas becauseof political violence in previous years. People wereforcibly put on police and government trucks and taken

to rural areas. In numerous cases the authorities simplyabandoned groups of people at rural bus stops or localauthority offices, without access to shelter, food, wateror sanitation.b On 28 June heavily armed police arrived at PortaFarm, an informal settlement of approximately 10,000people established in 1991 on the outskirts of Harare,and began demolishing homes. The police were actingin defiance of two court orders prohibiting evictionsfrom Porta Farm unless alternative accommodationwas provided for the community. The police reportedlytold residents that they were not going to obey thecourt orders as they were acting on orders “fromabove”. Demolitions continued throughout the day andon 29 and 30 June police forcibly removed people bytruck. Local human rights monitors reported thatduring the chaos several people were injured. At leastthree people reportedly died on 30 June. The deathswere raised with the authorities by the UN and civicgroups, but no investigation had taken place by the endof the year. Some of those forcibly removed from PortaFarm were abandoned outside Harare, apparently leftto make their own way to a rural village where theymight be received by relatives. Others were taken toCaledonia Farm Transit Camp, established by thegovernment to temporarily accommodate victims ofthe mass evictions. Conditions at Caledonia Camp wereextremely poor.

In July the government launched OperationGarikai/Hlalani Kuhle (Reconstruction), under which itwas implied that thousands of new homes would bebuilt to address the needs of those made homeless byOperation Murambatsvina. However, no proper planswere made public and, although the government statedthat 3 trillion Zimbabwe dollars had been allocated tothe operation, it did not appear in the national budget.Given the grave economic crisis affecting Zimbabwe,there was widespread scepticism about the operation.By the end of the year the state and independent mediaas well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs)were reporting that the rebuilding operation wassignificantly behind schedule. Many of those housesdesignated as “built” remained incomplete, withoutaccess to services such as water and sanitation, andappeared to be uninhabited. The criteria used forallocating new houses were unclear, but appeared toinclude proof of employment or income, effectivelyexcluding the majority of Operation Murambatsvinavictims. Reports in the media, as well as from NGOs,stated that some of the new houses were allocated tocivil servants and government officials, and there wereseveral reports of corruption in relation to theoperation.

While the majority of the evictions and demolitionstook place between May and July, the governmentcontinued to evict people during the remainder of theyear. In several cases, families endured repeatedevictions as the government sought to drive peopleback to the rural areas.Humanitarian crisisOperation Murambatsvina resulted in enormousinternal displacement of people. The UN described the


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aftermath as a “humanitarian crisis of immenseproportions”. Although the UN Special Envoyrecommended that there should be full and unfetteredaccess to humanitarian assistance for the victims of theforced evictions and house demolitions, theZimbabwean authorities repeatedly obstructed andcurtailed the humanitarian operations of the UN andcivil society groups.

Humanitarian groups reported that in some casesnegotiations with the authorities enabled them tosupply food, water and other relief items to internallydisplaced people, but that their access was constrainedand subject to arbitrary changes by the authorities, andthey were generally prevented from providingtemporary shelter, particularly tents, to those living inthe open. Many humanitarian actors maintained thatthis was because the government thought tents weretoo visible a sign of the humanitarian crisis created byOperation Murambatsvina.b On 20 July the police conducted a series of night-time raids on churches in Bulawayo sheltering morethan 1,000 of the most vulnerable victims of forcedevictions, including elderly and ill people, and children.According to witnesses, the police arrived aftermidnight wearing riot gear and forced their way intothe churches. Sleeping people were poked with batonsand kicked to wake them up. They were forced ontotrucks and transported to a transit camp outsideBulawayo. Within days the transit camp was closed andpeople were again forced to board trucks, in most casesat night, and were transported to various rural areaswhere they were left without shelter, food, water orsanitation. Following the raids the churches were toldthat they could no longer provide shelter to those madehomeless as a result of Operation Murambatsvina.Police subsequently checked to make sure the churcheswere complying with this directive.b At the end of July more than 1,000 people – manyfrom Porta Farm – were taken by police andgovernment agencies to Hopley Farm, where they were left on open land with no shelter, no access tosanitation and insufficient food and clean water. Thegovernment did not provide humanitarian assistance,nor did it inform the humanitarian community thatpeople were stranded there. On the contrary, when theplight of those at Hopley Farm began to be known inHarare, organizations that went to the camp to helpwere turned away by police. Some humanitarian accessto Hopley Farm was subsequently negotiated by the UN and civic groups, but at the end of the year livingconditions at Hopley Farm remained extremely poor.

On 31 October the UN Secretary-General expressedgreat concern about the humanitarian situation inZimbabwe and the failure of the government to ensureproper humanitarian assistance for those in need. InNovember the government agreed to allow the UN toprovide shelters, but continued to refuse the UNpermission to use tents to provide immediate shelterfor the homeless. By the end of the year the UN shelterprogramme had not been implemented and its futurewas unclear after the Minister for Local Government,Public Works and National Housing reportedly rejected

as sub-standard a model structure prepared by the UN in collaboration with government technicians.Meanwhile, thousands of people, including children,the ill, the elderly and other vulnerable people,continued to live without shelter and in conditions ofextreme hardship. Overall, humanitarian accessremained highly constrained.

Freedom of association and assembly curtailedThe Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and theMiscellaneous Offences Act continued to be usedselectively to prevent the political opposition and civilsociety groups from meeting or engaging in peacefulprotest. Hundreds of human rights activists andopposition supporters were arrested or detained underthese laws during the year. Dozens of people wereassaulted during arrest or while in police custody.Police repeatedly obstructed or denied detainees’access to lawyers, food and medical care.b On the evening of 31 March, the day of theparliamentary elections, police arrested approximately260 women, some carrying babies, when the activistgroup Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) attempted tohold a peaceful post-election prayer vigil at AfricaUnity Square in Harare. During and after the arrests,several of the women were beaten. Some were forcedto lie on the ground and were beaten on the buttocks bypolice. Several were seriously injured and neededhospital treatment. None was given access to adequatemedical treatment during their detention. The womenand children were detained overnight in an open-aircourtyard at Harare Central police station under armedguard. They were initially denied access to lawyers.Police reportedly told the women that they could pay afine and be released if they pleaded guilty to minoroffences under the Miscellaneous Offences Act;otherwise they would remain in detention over theweekend to face charges under the POSA. The women –several of whom were elderly, injured or with theirchildren – decided to pay fines, fearing further abusesin detention.b On 8 November more than 100 people werearrested in Harare when the Zimbabwe Congress ofTrade Unions tried to hold a peaceful demonstrationprotesting against the grave economic situation inZimbabwe. Lawyers were initially denied access to thedetainees, who were moved by police from one policestation to another in an apparent attempt to preventaccess to lawyers. Neither the detainees nor theirlawyers were informed of the charges against themuntil the second day of their detention, when policesaid they would be charged under the POSA. However,the Attorney General refused to prosecute and all thedetainees were released on 11 November.

Repressive laws including the Access to Informationand Protection of Privacy Act and the BroadcastingServices Act were used to curtail freedom ofexpression.b On 15 December armed police in Harare raidedVoice of the People, an independent radio station thatbroadcast from outside Zimbabwe but maintainedoffices in the country. Three staff members were


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detained. Police initially told lawyers that the threewould be held until Voice of the People executivedirector John Masuku presented himself at the policestation, and then said they would be charged under theBroadcasting Services Act. However, the AttorneyGeneral refused to prosecute, reportedly on groundsthat there was no evidence of any offence. The threewere released on 19 December. The same day JohnMasuku and Voice of the People board chairman DavidMasunda presented themselves at Harare Centralpolice station and were detained. David Masunda wasreleased later that day. John Masuku was held until 23December and was charged under the BroadcastingServices Act with illegal possession and use ofbroadcasting equipment.

Human rights defenders under threatLegislation passed by parliament in December 2004governing the operation of NGOs, which was stronglycriticized for targeting human rights groups, was notsigned into law by the President. However, thegovernment continued to use the Private VoluntaryOrganisations Act to intimidate and harass NGOs.Following the March elections, the government usedprovisions in the Act to investigate numerous NGOs.Investigation teams made unannounced visits to NGOs,and demanded to see documents relating to activitiesand funding. The investigation process was reported tobe intimidating and intrusive.

The ever-present threat of closure created a climateof fear and compromised the effectiveness of manyNGOs. Human rights activists continued to faceharassment, arbitrary arrest and detention and assault,most frequently at the hands of the police.

Repressive legislationOn 30 August parliament passed the Constitution ofZimbabwe Amendment Act (No.17), which wassubsequently signed into law by the President. The Actviolated internationally recognized rights, includingthe right to equal protection of the law and the right tofreedom of movement. Clause 2 of the Act removed thepower of courts to hear any challenge or appeal againstthe acquisition by the state of agricultural land underSection 16 of the Constitution. Land owners and anyonewith an interest or right in agricultural land so acquiredcan no longer challenge the lawfulness of theacquisition. Clause 3 of the Act extended the groundsunder which it is possible to limit the right to freedomof movement enshrined in Section 22 of theConstitution. Freedom of movement can now be limitedin “the public interest” and in “the economic interests ofthe State”. Moreover, the Constitutional AmendmentAct restricts the right to leave Zimbabwe. The newlimitations on the right to freedom of movement breachinternational human rights standards.b In December the authorities seized the passports ofTrevor Ncube, publisher of independent newspapersThe Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent,opposition politician Paul Themba Nyathi and tradeunionist Raymond Majongwe. The passports of TrevorNcube and Paul Themba Nyathi were returned and the

High Court subsequently ruled that the passportseizures were illegal. However, by the end of the yearthe passport of Raymond Majongwe had not beenreturned.

Update: Roy BennettFormer opposition member of parliament (MP) RoyBennett was released from prison on 28 June, havingserved eight months of an effective one-year prisonsentence. It remained standard policy to commute athird of any sentence for good behaviour. Roy Bennetthad been convicted of assaulting the Minister forJustice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs during a heatedexchange in parliament on 18 May 2004. He wasconvicted by a parliamentary committee acting underthe Privileges, Immunities and Powers of ParliamentAct. The procedure was politically biased and failed tomeet international standards for fair trial, including therequirement that a punishment be proportionate to thegravity of an offence. Roy Bennett was also denied theright of appeal. During his detention Roy Bennettsuffered humiliating and degrading treatment.

AI country reports/visitsReports and other material• Zimbabwe: Human rights defenders under siege (AI

Index: AFR 46/001/2005)• Zimbabwe: An assessment of human rights violations

in the run-up to the March 2005 parliamentaryelections (AI Index: AFR 46/003/2005)

• Zimbabwe: Unprecedented call for UN and AU actionover evictions by 200 rights groups (AI Index: AFR46/017/2005)

• Zimbabwe: Secret footage reveals desperate plight ofhomeless (AI Index: AFR 46/026/2005)

• Zimbabwe: A Joint Appeal to African Leaders toaddress the human rights situation in Zimbabwe (AIIndex: AFR 46/030/2005)

VisitsAmnesty International delegates visited Zimbabwe inFebruary, July/August and December.


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