Impunity Watch: Europe

UPDATE: U.S. Asks Belarus to Release Zeltser

MINSK, Belarus - On Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy released a statement urging Belarus to release Emanuel Zeltser on humanitarian grounds.

Consular officials allowed to visit Zeltser on Friday reported that he appeared "considerably weaker and thinner" than on their previous visit in late March. 

Zeltser had been arrested in early March.

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch - U.S. Attorney Disappears into Hands of Belarussian KGB - 18 March 2008

International Herald Tribune - U.S. urges Belarus to release lawyer - 30 April 2008

Bosnian Court Convicts and Sentences Former Commander

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bosnia's war crimes court today found a Bosnian Muslim ex-police commander guilty of eleven counts of violations of the laws and practices of warfare.  He has been sentenced to eleven years of imprisonment.

Zijad Kurtovic, former commander of the Military Police Squad with Dreznica Independent Battalion of the Bosnian army, was charged with crimes committed against Croatian soldiers and civilians detained in the All Saints church in Donja Dreznica during October 1993.  He was indicted for the crimes themselves, and not for his commanding role.

Kurtovic's indictment included allegations that he tortured and sexually abused civilians and war prisoners in the village of Donja Dreznica and used Croats as human shields between the Bosnian Army and the Bosnian Croat Militia (HVO).  The indictment also alleged that while detaining the prisoners in the local Roman Catholic Church he beat the detainees with iron bats, crosses, and statues of Saints, and forced them to eat pages from the Bible and other religious books.

The Trial Chamber of the Bosnian war crimes court considered the "extreme brutality and callousness" as a mitigating circumstance becuase the detainees were "exposed to extreme humiliation in a religious object." 

According to BalkanInsight, prior to the pronouncement of the verdict, Prosecutor Vesna Tancica called for a verdict of guilty and asked that a sentence be announced, "which will, at least to some extent, represent a satisfaction to the victims and ease their emotional scars."

For more information, please see:

BalkanInsight - Bosniak Jailed 11 Years for War Crimes - 30 April 2008

Earthtimes - Bosnian Muslim war criminal Zijad Kurtovic jailed for 11 years - 30 April 2008

Reuters - Court jails Bosnian Muslim over war crimes - 30 April 2008

UPDATE: EU-Serbia Economic Pact Frozen by War Crimes

LUXEMBOURG - Officials from the European Union (EU) and Serbia today signed a pre-EU membership pact, but the promised trade and assistance will be frozen until Serbia further cooperates with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). 

It is unclear what is expected under the terms of the agreement, but leaders in the EU have expressed opinions that either Serbia surrender Ratko Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb military leader indicted for genocide, or that Serge Brammertz, ICTY's current chief prosecutor, declare that Serbia's cooperation with the ICTY is satisfactory. 

The pact commits the EU to admitting Serbia into the trade bloc if it meets the conditions of the agreement, but no EU state will begin to ratify the agreement until the ICTY conditions have been met.  Leadership on both sides see the move as largely symbolic, and an effort to stem the rising Serbian nationalist party, which prefers closer ties with Moscow than the EU.

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch - ICTY Prosecutor Visits Serbia, Requests Further Cooperation - 19 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - EU cracks door for Serbia in advance of vote - 29 April 2008

BRIEF: al-Qaeda Leader In Spain Faces New Charges

MADRID, Spain - The convicted leader of al-qaeda in Spain has been charged in a new case on suspicion of financing terrorist cells.  Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, 44, was sentenced to imprisonment in 2005 for leadership of an al-Qaeda group in Spain.  Along with two other men, he stands of accused of financing terrorist operations. 

CNN reports that he was arraigned on April 24 and denied the charges.  Although he only faces additional prison time, this trial is important because it ties up loose ends concerning al Qaeda's involvement in Spain.  The successful prosecution of these cells hinders al-Qaeda's ability to target innocent civilians.

For more information, please see:

CNN - Funding charges for Spain's al-Qaeda chief - 28 April 2008

BRIEF: Kosovars Indicted for Bullying Haradinaj Witnesses

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)announced Friday that it had charged Kosovo Culture Minister Astrit Araqijan and his advisor for contempt of court for bullying witnesses connected to the Haradinaj trial.  The sealed contempt indictment had been brought on January 8, 2008. 

Araqijan and his advisor, Bajrush Morina, were former supporters of Ramush Haradinaj, who was acquitted earlier this month, partially due to lack of evidence at trial because several witnesses refused to testify.

ICTY reported that the charges against both men were triggered in July and August 2007 when they attempted to convince anonymous witnesses not to appear in court.  Police reported that Morina, at the Ministry of Culture's expense, traveled to witnesses' countries of residence.

For more information, please see:

AFP - War crimes court charges Kosovar minister for bullying witness - 26 April 2008

Balkan Insight - Kosovo Minister & Reporter Indicted by Hague - 26 April 2008

German Surveillance Programs Target Citizens

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BERLIN, Germany - Today the German government ordered disciplinary measures against German intelligence officials for spying on correspondence between Afghan Commerce Minister Amin Farhang and journalist Susanne Koelbl.  However, the controversy in Germany over the proper use of surveillance is hardly new.

Last week the German interior and justice ministries agreed on a new set of surveillance guidelines, which the ministries hope to see become law by the summer. The measures would allow German investigators to use wiretaps and surveillance cameras in home of innocent citizens in order to track terror suspects. 

On Friday, the International Herald Tribune reported that Interior Ministry spokesman Stefan Paris said the measures would permit the federal police to install "hidden technical equipment, that is to say bugs or cameras inside or outside apartments" in case of a "pressing danger for state security." 

In the draft law, recording and filming are normally restricted to the suspect and the suspect's home, but exceptions are possible. 

The proposal was met with strong opposition from the Social Democrats, and even members of the more conservative Christian Democrats spoke against the proposal. 

Last September about 8,000 protestors gathered in Berlin to demonstrate against another anti-terror package designed to give the ministry's agents the power to conduct online searches of private computers and telecom data.  The demonstration was under the title "Stop the surveillance madness."   

The AP reported one protestor saying "I don't think people are ready to give up their personal freedom."

Although the BND (the German Foreign Intelligence Service) is responsible for international surveillance activities, two years ago the German parliament rebuked the agency for its surveillance of German journalists.  The BND at that time was accused of not only monitoring email, but also picking through journalists' trash and tracing their research.  It issued a formal apology and labeled the occurrences one time events.

This time, Der Spiegel exposed the BND's surveillance of Susanne Koelbl, an editor at the German newsweekly.  Koelbl has covered Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban and has significant access to political officials there.  BND chief Ernst Uhrlau apologized to Koelbl on Friday.

This latest case is expected to go before the parliamentary control committee of the Bundestag on Wednesday.  Last time the committee heard a case and issued a report on the BND's surveillance, Germany's ranking dropped in the Reporters Without Borders ranking list of press freedom.

For more information, please see:

CBS News (AP) - Germans Protest Online Surveillance - 23 September 2007

Deutsche Welle - German Spies Caught Reading Journalist's E-Mails - 21 April 2008

Deutche Welle - Germany Apologizes for Spying on Afghan Minister - 26 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - 9 people detained as Germans raid Islamic centers - 23 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - Germany imposes 'disciplinary measures' on spy agency - 25 April 2008

   

Nazi Occupation Exhibit Misleading

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

PARIS, France - A controversial exhibit depicting Parisian life under Nazi rule (1940-1944) is currently on display at the Paris City History Library.  The only problem is the photographs, when taken out of the correct context, are quite misleading about the quality of life in France during this period.

The exhibit entitled 'Parisians Under Occupation' contains 270 photographs taken by Andre Zucca, a French photographer who was employed by the Nazi propaganda magazine Signal.  Zucca's collection is one of only a few sets of color photographs taken in Paris during the occupation.  In line with Nazi propaganda demands, Zucca shows French citizens living happy lives.  France 24 describes the mood of a few scenes:

"Under a clear blue sky in the summer of 1942, a smiling woman in sunglasses lounges in Luxembourg Gardens.  At outdoor cafes or in pleasantly illuminated interiors, life seems quite rosy in wartime Paris.   

Noticably absent from almost all of the photographs are scenes depicting starvation, long lines waiting for food, Nazi brutality, and deportation proceedings.  The captions appearing alongside these photographs made little mention of wartime suffering either. 

As a result, the exhibit has sparked outrage in many of its viewers.  Although the quality of the photos is quite good, many believe that, taken out of context, these photographs offer a very misleading portrayal of French life under Nazi rule.  Perhaps most importantly, little mention is made of Zucca's role as a Nazi photographer - and for this reason it is quite likely that the photos will be misunderstood. 

In light of several protests, mayor Bertrand Delanoe has ordered that the exhibit be reworked.  While he refused to order that the exhibit be dismantled because of censorship concerns, he did require that the exhibit contain captions reflecting that these photographs represent Nazi propaganda, and for this reason fail to highlight aspects of French suffering during World War II. 

The story behind this exhibit is noteworthy because it reminds us how important it is that world maintains a clear understanding of the events of World War II.  In this fashion, perhaps the best way to prevent impunity in the future is by understanding impunity's ugly past.

For more information, please see:

France24 - German occupation photo exhibit causes scandal - 22 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - Photo exhibit shows Paris under Nazi occupation, minus the misery - 25 April 2008

MSN - Gay Paris? Photos of Paris under Nazi occupation draw fire - 23 April 2008

BRIEF: German Police Raid Islamic Sites

BERLIN, Germany - On Wednesday German police officers raided 16 locations, including Islamic cultural centers and private homes in multiple cities.  The raids were conducted in connection with nine suspected radical Islamists accused of spreading extremist material and recruiting militants. 

The nine individuals are suspected of using the Internet and audio and video materials to encourage radicalism among ethnic minority Muslims and German converts to Islam.  None of the nine were arrested yesterday. 

One of the largest raids took place in Neu-Ulm, where a now-dissolved Islamic cultural center - Multi-Kultur-Haus - had been suspected of being a meeting point for radical Islamists.  The Multi-Kultur-Haus formally dissolved in 2005 to avoid a prohibition order, but police suspect members have remained covertly active.

None of the individuals detained have been charged.  Prosecutors, however, have said that terrorism charges are unlikely.  Rather, charges will likely center on forming a criminal groups, anti-constitutional pursuits, and sedition.

For more information, please see:

Deutsche Welle - Police Suspect Islamist Groups of Recruiting Militants - 23 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - 9 people detained as Germans raid Islamic centers - 23 April 2003

BRIEF: Three Bosnia Serbs Convicted of War Crimes

SARAJEVO, Bosnia - A war crimes court in Bosnia has convicted three men of the September 1992 massacre of 23 Muslim civilians.  The men were found guilty of shooting 27 civilians to death as they were forced to line up next to a cliff's edge.  Twenty-three of the men, women, and children among the civilians died.  Four survived the massacre, with one agreeing to testify openly before the defendants in court. 

The court found in this case that none of the civilians who were killed were ever involved in Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. 

Milorad Savic, Mirko Pekez, and (two men with the same name) Mirko Pekez received sentences ranging between 21 and 29 years in prison.

For more information, please see:

BBC - Bosnia war crimes trio convicted - 22 April 2008

ICTY Appellate Chamber Reduces Bosnian Commanders' Sentences

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Appellate Chamber today reduced the sentences of Evner Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura.

Hadzihasanovic and Kubura were found guilty in March 2006 for failing to take measures to sanction the perpetrators of crimes committed in towns and villages in central Bosnia.  Many of the alleged atrocities were committed by foreign mujahadeen fighters from Islamic countries fighting on the side of Bosnian Muslims. Hadzihasanovic and Kubura's initial indictment included accusations of murder and persecution of Serb and Croat civilians and prisoners, including ritual beheadings.

The two men were among the highest-ranking Bosnian Muslims to have stood trial in the Hague. Hadzihasanovic is the former commander of the Third Corps of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Army, and Kubura is the former acting commander of the Seventh Muslim Mountain Brigade of the Third Corps.

The ICTY Trial Chamber sentenced Hadzihasanovic to five years and Kubura to two and a half years of imprisonment. Both the prosecution and defense appealed the initial Trial Chamber verdict.

The Appellate Chamber rejected the Trial Chamber's finding that Hadzihasanovic failed to take reasonable actions to sanction the perpetrators of a murder and cruel treatment of detainees in a detention camp in Bugojno in August 1993. Hadzihasanovic's sentence of five years was reduced to three.

The Appellate Chamber acquitted Kubura of the charges alleging that he was responsible for the crimes committed by his subordinates in the Vares area in November 1993.  Kubura's sentence of two and a half years was reduced to two. 

Both men had been arrested in August 2001. Both men are now free, since time already served satisfies their new sentences.

For more information, please see:

Adnkronos International Italia - Bosnia: UN war crimes tribunal reduced Muslim officers' jail terms - 22 April 2008

BIRN - ICTY: Bugojno crimes verdict revised - 22 April 2008

EuroNews - War crimes court cuts jail terms for Bosnian Muslim pair - 22 April 2008