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

BRIEF: War Crimes Charges Brought Against Serb Fighters

BELGRADE, Serbia - Serbia's war crimes prosecutor has filed charges against four of Serbia's former paramilitary fighters.  The charges stem from a massacre of 19 ethnic Albanian citizens in Kosovo in March 1999.  The massacre is considered to be one of the worst crimes of Kosovo's 1998-1999 war because only five children survived. 

In March 1999 the accused were part of a an elite "Scorpions" unit that gunned down a group of 19 civilians - some of whom were women, children, and elderly persons.  It is believed that the massacre was a retaliation against the start of a NATO bombing campaign that halted a Serbian crackdown on Albanian separatists and eventually forced Serb troops out of Kosovo. 

The four men were arrested last year.  They are identified as Zeljko Djukich, Dragan Medich, Dragan Borojevich, and Modrag Solaja.

For more information, please see:

CNN - Serb fighters charged over kosovo massacre - 21 April 2008

BRIEF: Bomb Explodes Outside Socialist Party Office

ELGOIBAR, Spain - A small bomb exploded just outside Socialist Party offices in northern Spain early on Sunday morning.  No one was injured in the blast. A preliminary investigation reveals that the bomb contained 3 kilograms of explosives which caused considerable damage to the interior of the office. 

Investigators believe that the ETA is behind the attack.  For the past four decades, the ETA has battled the Spanish government for the creation of an independent Basque state.  The group has claimed responsibility for a variety of bombings over the years, including the infamous attack at on Madrid's central train station several years ago.  If the ETA is truly responsible for this attack, it is likely  continuation of the group's effort to achieve independence.

For more information, please see: 

International Herald Tribune - Bomb damages Socialist Party offices in northern Spain - 20 April 2008

ICTY Prosecutor Visits Serbia, Requests Further Cooperation

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELGRADE, Serbia - Serge Brammertz, chief U.N. prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), announced Thursday that his office was looking into the possibility of bringing an appeal against ICTY's recent acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj.  Haradinaj, former Kosovo Prime Minister, was acquitted earlier this month of all charges of killing Serbs during the Kosovo war.  Brammertz's announcement coincided with his first visit to Serbia since taking over as prosecutor from Carla Del Ponte. 

Brammertz reported that his office is currently studying ICTY's 300-page judgment to assess possible grounds for appeal.  The court cited "vague, inconclusive or nonexistent" evidence as the reason for acquittal while acknowledging that many witnesses were too afraid to testify even after the court indicted them for contempt. 

At the same time, Brammerz insisted that Serbia arrest and transfer of four fugitives still at large: former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who allegedly orchestrated the 1995 Srebenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims; former Bosnian Serb police commander Stojan Zupljanin; and Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, wanted for war crimes in Croatia. 

Serbian officials warned that Haradinaj's aquittal diminished the chances that top fugitives would be arrested any time soon.  Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica said that the court's validity had to be examined in light of Haradinaj's acquittal, which he characterized as anti-Serb.

Brammertz's report on Serbia's progress toward arresting the fugitives has far-reaching political implications for Serbia: a positive report would give the EU the opportunity to offer Serbia a pre-accession pact prior to the Serbian elections next month.  Polls currently show pro-EU accession candidates marginally trailing the nationalists, whose platforms include strengthening ties with Russia and pulling out of EU accession talks until EU members denounce the legitimacy of Kosovo's independence.   

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch - Former Kosovo Rebel Leader Acquitted of War Crimes Charges - 4 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - Serbia: New UN war crimes prosecutor urges arrest of fugitives - 17 April 2008

Reuters - War crimes prosecutor urges more progress by Serbia - 17 April 2008

Southeast European Times - UN prosecutor tells Serbia remaining war crimes fugitives must be captured - 18 April 2008

BRIEF: EU Targets Internet As Tool For Terrorism

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - EU justice and interior ministers met in Luxembourg today to tighten regulations concerning the use of the internet as a tool in furtherance of terrorism.  Public provocation to commit terrorist attacks, as well as recruiting and training people for terrorism will now be punishable offenses through the EU. 

EU officials noted that the new regulations are designed to fill a current gap in European legislation because the internet is currently being used as a training camp to incite militants into terrorist activity.

A new database is also being created that will give police permanent access to information on incidents involving explosive devices.

For more information, please see:

BBC - EU tightens anti-terrorism laws - 18 April 2008

BRIEF: Norway to Extradite Vukovar War Crimes Suspect

OSLO, Norway - Norway on Tuesday rejected Damir Sireta's extradition appeal.  Sireta is suspected of participating in the 1991 Vukovar massacre.  He was arrested in 2006 based on a Croatian Interpol warrant, but will be extradited sometime in the next four weeks based on a Serbian request. 

According to the Associated Press, Justice Minister Knut Storberget said the government "wants to make sure that Norway cannot be a safe haven" for war crimes suspects.

Norway's denial of Sireta's extradition appeal came just a week after UK resident Milorad Pejic was indicted in Serbia for participation in the same Vukovar atrocity.

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune - Norwegian government upholds extradition of Serb war crimes suspect - 15 April 2008

German SS Killer Faces Murder Charges

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

BERLIN, Germany - A German prosecutor filed three murder charges today against an admitted Nazi hit man.  Heinrich Boere, now 86, stands accused of killing three Dutch citizens in 1944.  This case, if brought to trial, could be the last Nazi war crimes trial ever to take place in Germany. 

In 1944, Boere was part of an SS hit squad that targeted Dutch civilians in reprisals for attacks on Nazis by Dutch resistance fighters.  Boere's job was to eradicate the Dutch resistance by shooting civilians deemed sympathetic to it.  Describing his duties, Boere told Spiegel Online last August that, "We didn't know the men [we were sent to kill.]  The security service of the SS just gave us the name and off we went."

Documents reveal that, along with SS companion Jacobus Petrus Besteman, Boere killed a pharmacist, a bicycle dealer, and another Dutch civilian.  All three were unarmed at the time they were shot. 

Boere confessed to killing the men when he was captured by American forces at the end of the war.  But he escaped from an Allied prison camp soon after and fled to Germany, where he has avoided extradition to the Netherlands for the past six decades. 

Boere was sentenced to death in absentia by a Dutch court in 1949, a sentence that was later commuted to life imprisonment. 

Describing how he felt about the murders to a Dutch newspaper last year, Boere said, "Orders were orders, otherwise it would have meant my skin.  Later it began to bother me, now I'm sorry...it was another time, with different rules."  He admitted that he was a 'fanatic' at the time, and that he prays the victims of his brutality.  "I'm sorry about what happened in 1944" he commented. "I pray for the dead every night and for everyone who died in the war." 

Boere also admitted that he only realized after the war that he was misguided in his allegiance to the Nazis.   

Jewish Nazi hunters couldn't be happier with the decision to formally charge Boere.  In an interview from Jerusalem, Efraim Zuroff, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi hunter, remarked, "It's high time that this happened, and I'm very pleased that the German prosecutors have finally moved against Boere.  We're running out of time and every day that goes by without these people being put on trial is another chance they have to elude justice." 

For now, Boere remains at an old-age home near Eschweiler while the process takes its course.  It will likely take some time to determine whether he is fit for trial, and in what manner the trial will proceed.

For more information, please see:

Spiegel Online - 86-Year-Old SS Killer Faces Murder Charges - 14 April 2008

The Washington Times - Germany charges admitted Nazi hit man - 16 April 2008

Yahoo(AP) - German prosecutor charges admitted Nazi hit man in 3 murders - 16 April 2008

Council of Europe Committee Recommends Chechnya Investigation

by Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France - Parliamentary Assembly senator and Legal Affairs and Human Rights rapporteur Dick Marty today released a memo entitled "Legal remedied for human rights violations in the North Caucasus." 

The memo highlights ongoing human rights violations by security forces in Chechnya, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, forced disappearances, torture, and extra judicial executions, and characterizes the human rights situation in the region as "by far the most alarming" on all 47 Council of Europe member states.  Most of these human rights violations have been documented by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.  The memo calls on the Council of Europe to begin conducting its own investigation into the actions of the Russian security forces. 

Amnesty and Human Rights Watch report that prosecutions for these crimes remain extremely rare, and that most disappearances remain unresolved years later.  They have also found that torture in both official and secret detention facilities remains widespread and systematic, and that there are patterns of harassment and violence against human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists.

"The fighting in Chechnya has died down but the rapporteur's memo shows the situation for civilians there is still dire," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, according to alertnet.org. "The Parliamentary Assembly could improve life for the people of the North Caucasus by sending monitors in to report on the serious human rights abuses still taking place."

For more information, please see:

Alertnet - Council of Europe Failing on Russia - 15 April 2008

Amnesty International - Chechnya - human rights under attack - accessed 15 April 2008

Human Rights Watch - EU: Seize New Opportunities to Press Russia on Chechnya - 7 April 2008

Holocaust Train Visits Berlin

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

BERLIN, Germany - The "Train of Commemoration" (Zug der Erinnerung) landed in Berlin on Sunday after spending most of the past four months visiting many places in Germany.  The train was created by a grass-roots group of German citizens who believed that the Deutsch Bahn, as current operator of the German national railway system, had not sufficiently addressed the role of its predecessor (The Reichsbahn) in the use of the railway for Nazi deportations.

The train carries photos and archive materials of children who were deported across the country by the Nazi regime.  Most of them died in Nazi gas chambers at Auschwitz and other concentration camps. 

Many citizens waited in long lines for up to four hours in order to view the exhibit on the train. 

Approximately 160,000 people have visited the train and have commented that the experience is quite riveting.  "It was really heart wrenching," said patron Andre Hieronymus after stepping off the train.  Organizer Hans-Ruediger Minow also commented that, "time and time again, there are very painful moments on the train.  In particular, Germans born at the end of the war often start to cry, especially the men.  That's when they see their parents hid the truth and covered up these crimes." 

The train's visit to Germany has also stirred some controversy.  The organizers originally intended for the train to be viewed in Berlin at its central station on Sunday.  But the Deutsch Bahn refused to allow the train to stop here, noting that it would have caused a major disruption to normal services.  Instead, it offered an alternate site - the Ostbahnhof in East Berlin. 

The Deutsch Bahn is charging the exhibit approximately $110,000 for use of the railway.  Many feel that this fee is an affront to an otherwise good cause, and have urged the Deutsch Bahn to drop the charge.  Pierre Pau, a member of Parliament, commented on the matter, "the blockade by the firm and the travel charges it imposed on the train were a reminder of the difficulties still faced when trying to shed light on Germany's past crimes. 

Regardless, many are satisfied that the train is getting its message out.  Holocaust survivor Herbert Schenkmann said, "I think it is very important because it shows, when I see the people who have come here, that there is a need to come to terms with the past." 

The train's final stop will be at the former Auschwitz concentration camp on May 8.

For more information, please see:

BBC - Holocaust train in German capital - 14 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - Holocaust train arrives in Berlin - 13 April 2008

Yahoo (AP) - Thousands view Holocaust train exhibit - 13 April 2008

BRIEF: Catholic Church Releases Report of WWII Forced Labor

BERLIN, Germany - In a report issued last Tuesday, the German Roman Catholic Church acknowledged the exploitation of nearly 6,000 forced laborers during the Nazi era. 

"It should not be concealed that the Catholic Church was blind for too long to the fate and suffering of men, women and children from the whole of Europe who were carted off to Germany as forced laborers," remarked Cardinal Karl Lehmann at the presentation of the report. 

According to the International Herald Tribune, the 703-page report documents the fate of 1,075 prisoners of war and 4,829 civilians who were forced to work for the Nazis in nearly 800 Catholic institutions - mainly hospitals, homes and monastery gardens - as part of the war effort.

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune - German Catholic Church details wartime use of forced labor - 8 April 2008

BRIEF: Bosnians Sue Government for Damage to Religious Sites

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia - The Islamic community in Banja Luka is suing Republika Srpska for damage to Muslim religious sites during the Bosnian war.  The trial is expected to start before April 25, 2008.  The community's attorney, Esad Hrvacic, reports that he expects compensation in excess of 60 million Euros. Banja Luka's Islamic community is seeking compensation for 14 mosques destroyed in the Banja Luka area. 

Bosnian Muslims estimate that 614 mosques were destroyed during the war at the hands of the Serbs and another 307 damaged.  Catholic and Serbian Orthodox religious sites throughout the countryside were also destroyed during the war.  Religious sites were targeted as cultural symbols of specific ethnic groups.

According to BalkanInsight, Hrvacic said the Republika Srpska and the city of Banja Luka had “an obligation to admit guilt and undertake a fair compensation for the damage caused to the Islamic Community due to the senseless destruction of our buildings… in the course of the war”.

For more information, please see:

BalkanInsight - Bosnian Muslims Sue Serbs Over Destroyed Heritage - 10 April 2008

BRIEF: Former U.N. Prosecutor Alleges Possible War Crimes in Kosovo

PRISTINA, Kosovo - Former U.N. Prosecutor Carla del Ponte has presented "sufficiently grave" evidence to warrant an investigation into allegations that Albanian guerillas killed dozens of Serbs and sold their organs at the end of the war in Kosovo.  The evidence appears in Ms. Del Ponte's newly published book, and it offers that Kosovo Albanians may have transported up to 300 Serbian civilians into northern Albania where doctors extracted their captives internal organs." 

New York based Human Rights Watch is calling upon authorities in Kosovo to fully investigate the matter to determine the veracity of these charges. 

For more information, please see: 

CNN(AP) - Serbs slain for their organs, says ex-U.N. lawyer - 11 April 2008

Impunity Watch - BRIEF: Serb Families Sue Former ICTY Prosecutor - 23 March 2008

UK Resident Charged with Participating in Vukovar Massacre

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELGRADE, Serbia - Serbia's war crimes prosecutor announced today that Milorad Pejic will be tried with sixteen other individuals before the Belgrade District Court's War Crimes Chamber. 

Pejic stands accused of taking part in the Vukovar massacre, during which Croatian fighters and civilians seeking refuge in the town's hospital were taken by bus to a farm complex in Ovcara and executed.  Exhumations of mass graves from the farm have identified 261 corpses. Pejic's indictment reports that victims were "lined up before firing squads in front of previously dug pits," while others were killed "by slicing their throats with knives."  Pejic and the other sixteen members of the Serb Vukovar Territorial Defense force have been charged with the murder of 192 named victims.

Pejic, who is 39 and has been living and working in the United Kingdom for the last ten years, was arrested in March when he flew into Belgrade to visit his mother.  Serbian officials began investigating Pejic in 2003, and had issued an international warrant for his arrest through Interpol in 2006.  The 16 others indicted for the same massacre were found guilty by a lower court; their case is being retried, and Pejic's case will now be brought along with the others'.  During the first trial many witnesses named Pejic along with the other sixteen.

It is unclear why the Serious Organized Crime Agency (Soca), the UK's London-based agency responsible for working with Interpol on international arrest warrants, did not apprehend Pejic.  Pejic had obtained a UK passport, had been employed there, and had just purchased a £110,000 home in Corby with his wife and two boys.  The international arrest warrant, however, contained no specific link to the UK.  Pejic's whereabouts were unknown, and Serbian officials had assumed he had changed his name.

Pejic's wife, Loubica Dokic, said, "There is no chance of him being guilty of anything because he is such a good father, such a good husband and such a good guy."

For more information, please see:

BalkanInsight - Serbia Charges Man Over Croatia Massacre - 10 April 2008

BBC News - Serbian faces war crimes charge - 10 April 2008

Daily Mail - British locksmith charged over war crimes massacre of 200 prisoners in Balkans war - 10 April 2008

Guardian - British citizen charge with Balkans war crimes - 10 April 2008

Kosovo Signs New Constitution

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

PRISTINA, Kosovo - Kosovo's parliament signed a new constitution at a special parliamentary session on Wednesday.  The charter is scheduled to take binding effect on June 15 of this year when the UN will handover all powers to Kosovo as a new state. 

The document was not well received in Belgrade, where Serbia Minister for Kosovo Slobadan Samardzic called the charter's adoption an 'illegal act.' 

Nevertheless, Kosovo's president Fatmir Sejdiu pledged that the document will create an equal society for both Serbs and Kosovars.  "Serbs are the citizens of Kosovo.  This constitution is also theirs," he told reporters. 

Prime Minister Hasim Thaci also commended the new constitution, "this constitution is a document that guarantees freedom...and creates equal opportunities for all of Kosovo's citizens," he said. 

Kosovo's constitution is modeled partly on the constitution of the United States, and it is said to offer guarantees to 10% minority of Serbians currently living in Kosovo.  It is estimated that, at this time, Kosovo's population is approximately 90% Albanian. Its preamble reads: 'Kosovo is a state of free citizens that will guarantee the rights of every citizen, civil freedoms, and equality of all citizens before the law.' 

Kosovo officially declared its independence from Serbia on February 17.  Although more than 30 nations have recognized its independence, Serbians in Belgrade have held daily protests against the creation of an independent Kosovo.  Several of these protests have even turned to violence. 

The international community hopes that the constitution's inclusion of protections for Serbians in Kosovo will begin to pave the way for better relations between these two states. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Kosovo adopts new constitution - 9 April 2007

PressTV - Kosovo's new constitution signed - 7 April 2008

Yahoo(DPA) - Kosovo parliament to adopt new constitution Wednesday - 8 April 2008

European Leaders Debate Anti-Terrorism Proposal's Protection of Human Rights

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

STRASBOURG, France - Dick Marty, Swiss senator in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Chairman of the PACE Sub-Committee on Crime Problems and the Fight Against Terrorism, is among many European political leaders to recently express concerns that the European Commission's new proposal for a framework to combat terrorism lacks measures to property safeguard human rights.

The European Commission's EU proposal includes provisions of the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No. 196) that establish public provocation to commit a terrorist offense and training and recruitment for terrorism as criminal offenses.  The Commission's proposal, however, omits CETS Article 12, which is a safeguard clause guaranteeing the protection of fundamental human rights as a priority condition of anti-terrorism measures.

"Article 12 of the Council of Europe Convention is essential because it has to be taken into account in domestic law and by domestic courts," said Marty in a statement released on Monday. "One should not be left with the impression that fundamental rights are  an optional accessory or a piece of decoration solely to embellish law-enforcement instruments."

EU accession to CETS was an integral part of CETS drafting.  Marty criticized the Commission's selective borrowing and raised a concern about the EU's sincerity in protecting human rights.  Although the protection of human rights is included in the preamble of the proposal, Marty characterized it as having only a declarative value. 

"This is unacceptable . . . governments with bad intentions could thereby criminalize all kinds of opposition," he said in a round table discussion organized by the European Parliament Civil Liberties Committee. 

EU anti-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove stated, "We need an intense democratic debate to strike the balance between security and liberty . . . Al Qaeda communicated every three days on average in 2007 . . . On the internet, around 5000 websites are helping to radicalize our young people in Europe."  De Kerchove supports the current proposal, believing that Member States' courts will know the difference between incitement to murder and the expression of a political opinion.   

Europol director Max Peter Ratzel reported that there were 482 attacks in 2007.  "Islamic terrorism is starting to put down roots in the European population," he said.

Roselyne Lefrançois, a Parliament Member from France, expressed her concern that the proposal does not allow the outlawed behavior to be defined: "Where does freedom of expression stop? We need a clear formulation, a safeguard clause and provisions guaranteeing respect for fundamental rights."

For more information, please see:

JURIST - Draft EU counterterror proposals lack rights protections: Marty - 7 April 2008

Council of Europe News - Statement by Dick Marty, addressing the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament in Brussels - 7 April 2008

European Parliament News - Criminalising incitement to terrorism: a threat to fundamental rights? - 8 April 2008

BRIEF: Members of Terrorist Group Sued in Civil Court For Alleged Roles in Bombing

BELFAST, Northern Ireland - Five leaders in the Irish Republican Army have been named in a lawsuit that seeks to collect damages in connection with a bomb that killed 29 people on August 15, 1998.  Over three-hundred people were injured in the attack, and to date, no one has been convicted. 

"For the first time, private citizens are confronting terrorists in our courts" lawyer Lord Daniel Brennan remarked in his opening statement to High Court Justice Declan Morgan. 

If the suit is successful, it could set a precedent for other lawsuits connected with the IRA's 40 year conflict with Northern Ireland.  While these suits won't lead to jail-time, it represents a new way that citizens in Northern Ireland can fight impunity and achieve some measure of justice.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo (AP) - Omagh bombing lawsuit starts -  7 April 2008

BRIEF: Bolshevik Activists Detained in Red Square Rally

MOSCOW, Russia - Twenty-five members of the National Bolshevik Party were arrested on Saturday for holding an unsanctioned rally in Red Square.  The party, led by writer Eduard Limonov, has been banned from in Russia for being an extremist organization.  Limonov says that he will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to have the ban lifted.   

As of today, all but one of the arrestees have been released.  No criminal charges have yet been filed.

For more information, please see:

Ria Novosti - Police release Bolshevik activists detained in Red Square rally - 6 April 2008

Former Kosovo Rebel Leader Acquitted of War Crimes Charges

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - A former commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army was acquitted on Thursday of all charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  Ramush Haradinaj, who was also once a prime-minister of Kosovo, was acquitted of 37 counts of murder, persecution, rape, and torture. 

Haradinaj fought for KLA forces in the liberation effort against Serbia in 1998.  He was regarded as one of Kosovo's most feared leaders in the campaign against Serbia. 

Two other defendants also stood trial with Haradinaj in this case.  Idriz Balaj, a codefendant, was also acquitted on all counts.  The third defendant, Lahi Brahimaj was convicted of "cruel treatment and torture," for which he received a sentence of six years imprisonment. 

In a statement released to the press, the tribunal announced that the evidence "did not always allow the chamber to determine whether a crime was committed or whether the KLA was involved as alleged."  The court also concluded that "ill treatment was not on a scale of frequency that would allow for a conclusion that there was an attack against a civilian population."  While acknowledging that the evidence presented was vague and inconsistent, the tribunal did note that many witnesses seemed afraid to testify, even when threatened with contempt. 

Haradinaj has been released from a U.N. jail and was scheduled to return to Kosovo on Friday.  The prosecution has not yet decided whether it will appeal the tribunal's ruling. 

The acquittal is expected to further divide the already tumultuous relations between Serbia and Kosovo.  Most citizens in Kosovo regard Haradinaj as a national hero, and welcome his return.  Kosovo's Prime Minister Hasim Thaci praised the verdict: "This judicial process proves that the war of the Kosovo Liberation Army was a just, liberation war that followed international rules and conventions." 

In stark contrast, Serbians expressed outrage at the decision.  Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica released a statement telling the press, "The ruling is truly worrisome.  It turns out that crime pays."  Serbia's President Boris Tadic echoed the sentiment.  He announced today that, "Haradinaj's acquittal does not bring justice and does not encourage the Serbs and other non-Albanians to trust they will have a safe and calm life in Kosovo in the future."

This decision may have future implications for the prosecution of war criminals in Europe.  Some feel that this verdict ensures that Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, two suspected war criminals, will never be captured.  Although these men are believed to be hiding near Belgrade, some fear that Serbia may not ever be willing to give them up after this decision. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Hague court acquits Kosovo ex-PM - 3 April 2008

CNN - Serb outrage at Kosovo war crimes ruling - 4 April 2008

Impunity Watch - BRIEF: ICTY Hands Down Verdicts for Former KLA Leaders - 3 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - Former Kosovo leader acquitted of war crimes - 3 April 2008

BRIEF: ICTY Hands Down Verdicts for Former KLA Leaders

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Today the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) acquitted former Kosovo Prime Minister and Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander Ramush Haradinaj of all charges.  The court also acquitted Idriz Balaj, the commander of the KLA's "Black Eagles" special unit.  Lahi Brahimaj, Haradinaj's uncle, was cleared of some charges but sentenced to six years in jail for taking part in torture and cruel treatment of detainees.

Haradinaj and Balaj were accused of torture, rape, murder and persecution.  The court found that KLA forces had committed crimes, but that the crimes not part of a wider, deliberate campaign to kill and expel ethnic Serbs living in the Kosovo region. 

Serbian PM Kostunica has declared that the court's "dark decision.... mocks justice and the innocent victims who suffered in Haradinaj's hands." 

In a statement following his acquittal, Haradinaj said the verdict strengthens Kosovo.  "We endured a difficult liberation struggle that cost many lives," he said.  "Today we are a free and sovereign nation."

For more information, please see:

Balkan Insight - Ex-Kosovo PM Not Guilty of War Crimes - 3 April 2008

New York Times - Former Leader in Kosovo Acquitted of War Crimes - 3 April 2008

Reuters - U.N. court clears ex-Kosovo PM of war crimes - 3 April 2008

BRIEF: Russia Sends Aid To Serbs In Kosovo

MOSCOW, Russia - President Vladimir Putin has arranged for the first planeload of Russian aid packages to be delivered to Kosovo's Serbian population today.  Approximately 40 tons of aid were given, and more than than 140 tons of similar aid are expected to be delivered by Russia over the next several months.   

The aid is part of a relief effort to alleviate the suffering of Kosovo's Serbian population, many of whom are caught in the middle of an ongoing political dispute over Kosovo's future.  While Albanians in Kosovo remain undeterred in their quest to receive world recognition as an independent nation, Serbians in Kosovo have made protesting a daily event, even turning to violence on a few occasions.   

Russia has never supported Kosovo in its bid for independence, and it may attempt to block Kosovo's admission into the United Nations. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Russia sends aid to Kosovo Serbs - 2 April 2008

Kosovo Health Ministry Delays Medical Supplies Destined for Serb Enclaves

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LIPLJAN, Kosovo - Citing problems with the delivery's paperwork, the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) customs service has held a shipment of medicines destined for Lipljan for more than eleven days.  This is the second shipment this month that has been delayed until being approved for release by Kosovo's Health Ministry. 

UNMIK spokeswoman Matilda Haneke reported that the problem lay with the imports and import rules and not with UNMIK.  Serbian imports have to be certified and approved for release by the Kosovo Health Ministry's Drug Agency.  UN customs spokesman Adriatik Stavileci reported that UNMIK was in contact with the Kosovo Health Ministry and would release the packages when the certification of the medicine was confirmed. 

The shipments include € 21,000 worth of medicine for medical centers in Dobtoin and Gušterica. 

Rada Trajković, director of the Medical Center in Gracanica called the delay an act designed "to impose pressure on sick people in the enclaves... The pressure destabilizes Serbs, Roma, Gorani, Croats, and even Albanians who are treated in our institutions..."  He characterized the delay as "yet another attempt to cause a humanitarian disaster."

Doctor Zvonko Stasevic said, "Without drugs we are close to catastrophe.  We don't want to end up smuggling medicines to Kosovo from Serbia."  He then blamed the crisis on the government of Kosovo. 

Last week Russia approved a request from Serbia to provide humanitarian aid to Kosovo Serb enclaves.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergie Lavrov reported that the Serbian government had approached Moscow with a request for medicine, medical equipment, long-life foods and hygiene products. 

Kosovo Prime Minister Hasin Thaci responded with a reiteration of Kosovo's sovereignty.  "Kosovo is an independent, sovereign state, and has its own legitimate institutions," he said.  "Serbs are Kosovan nationals and form part of these legitimate democratic institutions.  Therefore everything should go through these institutions as soon as agreements are reached." 

For more information, please see:

B92 - UNMIK again blocks medicines for Serbs - 26 March 2008

BalkanInsight - Kosovo Serbs Facing Health 'Catastrophe' - 30 March 2008

Ria Novisti - Kosovo wants to be consulted on Russian aid to Serbs - 26 March 2008

Ria Novisti - Russia to meet Belgrade's request for aid to Kosovo Serb regions - 24 March 2008