Impunity Watch: Europe

Zoe's Ark Charity Members Pardoned

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

PARIS, France - All six members of the charity group Zoe's Ark were released from prison today after Chadian president Idriss Deby pardoned them for their roles in a botched kidnapping attempt last October.  The group had orchestrated a plot to remove 103 children from the Chadian town of Abeche and whisk them away on a flight to France. 

Chadian officials received word of the plot, and the flight never made it off the ground.  The six members of Zoe's Ark were arrested and put on trial for kidnapping in Chad.   

The defendants justified their actions by arguing that the children were were either orphans or refugees from Sudan's Darfur region.  They argued that the kidnapping attempt was a humanitarian effort to save these children from this war-torn region.  An investigation revealed, however, that almost all of the Children were Chadian, and had at least one living parent.  Each participating member was sentenced to eight years of hard labor in Chad. 

A judicial agreement between France and Chad allowed the prisoners to serve their sentences in France, which has no provision for hard labor in its criminal sentencing structure. 

The possibility of a pardon inflamed anti-French sentiment in Chad, but President Deby announced that he would consider the pardon after France came to his aid to ward off a rebel attack on his capital in February.  Deby also said today that he had discussed the issue with French President Nicolas Nicolas Sarkozy at that time and that they were working together to resolve the issue.  Today's pardons likely reflect an unpublicized agreement between these two nations to mend relations regarding this incident. 

President Deby maintains that he still expects the French government to pay approximately $12 million in compensation to the victims, but he did not make the pardons conditional on this payment.  He would like the money to come either from the aid workers or from France, but absent either of these, he agreed that his government will pay the victims. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - French aid staff freed from jail - 31 March 2008

International Herald Tribune - President of Chad pardons French aid workers - 31 March 2008

Yahoo (AP) - Aid workers leave French jail - 31 March 2008

BRIEF: Belarus Cracks Down on Journalists

MINSK, Belarus - Belarusian KGB agents have recently stepped up efforts to detain journalists who insult Belarusian president Victor Lukashenko or who are unauthorized by the government to cover stories in Belarus.

Belarusian Jouralists' Association chief Zhanna Litvina reported that two Minsk radio station offices of Radio Racja and European Radio were raided and Radio Liberty correspondents were detained.  The three radio stations are funded by sources in the EU and US.  During the raids, at least 20 Belarusian employees were detained, and 16 were summoned for further questioning.

Litvia believes the searches were ordered in retaliation of press coverage of last Tuesday's protests.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said the searches were conducted to find journalists working illegally in Belarus: Radio Racja, European Radio, and Belsat have been denied government accreditation.  Deputy Prosecutor Alexie Stuk said the agents were seeking individuals connected to animated cartoons circulated last week that insulted Lukashenko.  Libeling the president of Belarus is a punishable by up to four years in jail.

For more information, please see:

LawInfo.com - Belarusian KGB detains journalists, searches offices and apartment in major sweep - 29 March 2008

BRIEF: US and Russia Make Progress in Talks

MOSCOW, Russia - Although the U.S. and Russia have yet to resolve their dispute over the U.S. plan to build a missile defense system in Europe, they have made progress on issues such as combating terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. 

Russia continues to object to the U.S. plan, arguing that the defense system could possibly be aimed at its people.  Nevertheless, the U.S. argues that the system is necessary to protect its interests from attacks from rogue states like Iran. 

Continued talks between these two nations are important to prevent a new arms race from taking control in Europe.  In earlier discussions, Putin threatened to build up the Russian military if the U.S. goes through with this operation.  It is encouraging that Russia and the U.S. are beginning to find some common ground on issues related to the security of people both in Europe and the United States.  Hopefully progress in talks concerning efforts to combat terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction will eventually translate into an agreement over the positioning of a missile defense system.   

U.S. President George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin will meet in Russia next week to discuss the issue further.

For more information, please see:

BBC - US hails progress in Russia talks - 28 March 2008

BRIEF: Man on Trial at ICTY is Top Parliamentary Candidate of Serbian Political Party

BELGRADE, Serbia - Vojislav Seselj, currently standing trial for war crimes committed during the Balkan wars, is first on the list of parliamentary candidates from the Serbian Radical Party. 

The Serbian Radical Party, which was in power under Slobodan Milosevich, submitted its list of candidates late Tuesday. 

According to the AP, U.N. prosecutors accuse Seselj of giving hate-laced speeches as part of an overarching  scheme to send paramilitaries to Croatia and Bosnia to ethnically cleanse the region of non-Serbs.  Seselj denies the charges and is currently representing himself before the tribunal.

For more information, please see:

PR Inside - Leader indicted for war crimes tops Serbian ultranationalists' list for parliamentary elections - 26 March 2008

BRIEF: Austria Steps Up Effort To Return Art Seized By Nazis

VIENNA, Austria - The Austrian government announced a new initiative today that will tighten regulations concerning the ownership of pre-World War II art.  The effort seeks to return more works of art to the families of their rightful owners.  This initiative is welcomed by the Jewish community in Austria, which had many pieces stolen by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. 

Before World War II, the Jewish community in Austria flourished with an estimated population of 200,000 people.  As a result of the holocaust, only about 10,000 Jews remain in Austria today.  This effort to return stolen artwork represents one more step in the healing process for Europe's Jews, which may never fully recover from the impunity of the holocaust. 

Many of the pieces that will be returned are currently on display in museums.  One valuable work, the "Hauser am Meer," valued at $15 million, may be returned to a family in Britain.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo (Reuters) - Austria to return more art Nazis stole from Jews - 26 March 2008

Protestors Clash With Riot Police in Belarus

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MINSK, Belarus - Thousands of protesters gathered today in Minsk to demonstrate against the Belorussian government despite the government's ban on such rallies.  Eye witnesses report protesters being beaten with truncheons and violently hauled away to waiting police trucks.

March 25, known as "Freedom Day," marks the anniversary of the 1918 declaration of the first independent Belorussian state, the Belorussian National Republic, which lasted 10 months until falling under the control of the Bolsheviks.

Protesters, many of whom were reported to be students, gathered in a central square in Minsk and chanted slogans including "Down With Luka!," "Freedom!," and "Long Live Belarus!"  Many protesters waved opposition and European Union flags.    

Belorussian riot police closed off roads leading to Yakub Kolas Square and shut down metro stations in the area.  Belorussian leadership agreed to allow protesters to march from the Academy of Sciences to Bangalor Square.  Refusing this offer, one opposition leader, Alexander Milinkevich, reported that the protesters would march along Minsk's central Independence Avenue to the Belorussian president's administrative offices and residence.  Riot police prevented the crowds from continuing toward the presidential residence.

Another opposition leader, Anatoly Lebedko, said "The authorities have resorted to extreme measures... By doing this, they are showing to the world that Belarus is a dictatorship with no freedom of speech nor freedom to gather."

Prior to the rallies, Belorussian Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov said, "Of course today more forces and equipment will be deployed.  Any unsanctioned march will be prevented in accordance with the necessary laws." 

An authorized opposition action began near the Academy of Sciences to protest the detention of Alexander Kazulin.  Kazulin was sentenced to five and a half years in jail for participating in and antagonizing police during March 2006 protests; Kazulin's case is internationally significant as it is upheld by many western countries as an example of the repression of freedom in Belarus.  Kazulin was the leading presidential candidate running against Alexander Lukashenko during the presidential race, which most western countries claim was an election staged to give Lukashenko's power legitimacy.

For more information, please see:

AP - Belarus Protesters Clash With Police - 25 March 2008

Itar-Tass - Belorusian opposition clash with police in downtown Minsk - 25 March 2008

Itar-Tass - Minsk police bracing for opposition celebrations of Freedom Day - 25 March 2008

RIA Novosti - Police in Belarus round up opposition protesters - 25 March 2008

TIME Magazine - Belarus: 'They Knocked My Husband Down and Dragged Him Away' - 25 March 2006
   

BRIEF: Justice Initiative Urges Dutch Government to End Discriminatory Data-Gathering

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - The Open Society Justice Initiative urged the Dutch government last week to end its discriminatory practice of targeting certain groups for data-gathering.  The government has been using a database entitled, "Reference Index of Antilleans" since 2005 to identify Antillean and Aruban youths deemed at-risk for committing crimes.  Targeted Individuals are first registered in the database, and then they are subjected to enhanced scrutiny which can even include unwarranted personal surveillance in some cases. 

The Dutch government engages in this practice despite that some of the individuals being scrutinzed have committed no crime.  This may be a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, not to mention customary international human rights law. 

In July 2007, the Hague Regional Court ruled against the use of the database, but the ruling was appealed to the Dutch Council of State.  The Council will now have the opportunity to determine whether the government will be allowed to continue to target specific groups for data-gathering and enhanced scrutiny, even when no crime has been committed.   

For more information, please see:

Open Society Justice Initative - Justice Initative Finds Racial Discrimination in Dutch Database - 21 March 2008

Dutch Website Suspended for Review

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - A U.S. network hosting service suspended a Dutch website on Sunday to review the appropriateness of its material.  Network Solutions made the decision after it had received numerous complaints that a Dutch right-wing politician was planning to use the site to launch a new hate film that denigrates Islam. 

Geert Wilders admits to producing the film, but denies that its specifically about Muslims.  In a recent commentary to a Dutch newspaper he explained his intentions, "this film is not so much about Muslims as about the Koran and Islam.  The islamic ideology has as its utmost goal the destruction of what is most dear to us, our freedom."  He went on to explain, "Fitna [the film's title, an Arabic word meaning strife or discord] is the last warning for the west.  The fight for freedom has only just begun." 

Wilders has been using Network Solutions to promote the film, which only lasts about 15 minutes.  But in light of so many complaints from Muslim nations, Network Solutions decided to suspended the website today for review. 

Network Solutions announced that its policy cannot allow it to show any material that is in violation of any applicable law.  This would include any material deemed harassing, hate propaganda, threatening, harmful, or otherwise objectionable.  They will now review the website, and perhaps even the film, to ensure its appropriateness for dissemination to the public. 

Dutch officials have since urged Wilders to drop the project.  They fear that, if the film is released anywhere, it may spark violent protests similar to those that were occurred two years ago when a Dutch cartoonist portrayed the prophet Mohammad preparing to detonate a bomb.  Wilders remains undeterred, however.  He responded by saying, "If necessary, I'll go hand out DVD's personally on the Dam [Amsterdam's central square]." 

On Friday, a Dutch court is expected to rule on a claim filed by a Dutch-Muslim association which seeks to have the film independently reviewed by a panel of censors to determine if it should be banned. 

If Wilders is allowed to release his film in a venue where it can be largely accessed by the public, the result may be an escalation of anti-Islamic sentiments in the region. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Dutch Islam film website 'shut' - 23 March 2008

CNN - Dutch anti-Koran film's Web site shut down - 23 March 2008

Yahoo (AFP) - Dutch anti-Islamic film's Internet site suspended - 23 March 2008

BRIEF: Serb Families Sue Former ICTY Prosecutor

BELGRADE, Serbia - Families of kidnapped Kosovo Serbs will sue former ICTY prosecutor Carla Del Ponte for "hiding the truth" about organ trafficking.

Del Ponte reports in her book 'The Hunt' (set to be released in June) that she learned from journalists that some 300 Serbs were kidnapped from Kosovo and taken to Albania, where their organs were removed and they were then killed.  According to B92, the prosecutor reports that she dropped the case because the investigation would have been impossible to conduct.

The kidnapped victims' families were not aware of the organ trafficking until information about the book was released.  The president of an association of the victims families, Simo Spasić, said "Del Ponte hid the truth and left this information about the grave crimes committed against Serbs out, in this way helping the crime... she must answer for this."   

For more information, please see:

B92 - Families of kidnapped Kosovo Serbs to sue Del Ponte - 23 March 2008

BRIEF: Serbian Leaders Propose Kosovo Partition

BELGRADE, Serbia - Serbia's Minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, today confirmed Serbia's proposal for a plan for the "functional division of Serbs and Kosovo Albanians." 

"If [UNMIK] wants peace and stability, they must reach a lasting agremement with the Serbs, and not try to pull out fire every other day through violence," said Samardzic.  He stated that under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244, only Serbs can perform police, judiciary, and customs office duties since the Albanians violated 1244 with their unilateral declaration of independence.

Samardzic submitted the proposal to UNMIK last week.

President Boris Tadic has stated that Samardzic does not speak for all of Serbia.  The coalition government collapsed because the parties associated with Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica were divided by arguments over Kosovo's status and joining the EU.  The government was dissolved on March 10, 2008; elections will be held in May. 

The U.N. believes that the Serbian interior ministry had agents in Mitrovica who instigated the occupation of the court building there which resulted in the death of a Ukrainian U.N. policeman.  The U.N. blames the Serbian government's nationalists for actively undermining U.N. authority in Kosovo Serb enclaves.

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch - UPDATE: Serbian Nationalists Attempt to Freeze EU Bid - 5 March 2008

Impunity Watch - Kosovo Independence Increases Threat of Partition - 19 February 2008

International Herald Tribune - Serbia's president denies Serbia wants to divide Kosovo - 21 March 2008

Reuters - Serb minister details Kosovo division proposal - 22 March 2008

Reuters - Serbian government disovled, election to come - 10 March 2008