Impunity Watch: Europe

Croatia Police Charge 5 for the Murder of Journalist

by Ese Omofoma
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ZAGREB, Croatia - Croatian police charged five people on Friday over the bombing death of a well-known journalist whose magazine often carried stories about organized crime.

Krunoslav Borovec, a senior police official, said the five were charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Ivo Pukanic.  Pukanic was editor-in-chief of Croatia's political weekly, Nacional. Pukanic and a colleague died Oct. 23 when a hidden bomb exploded in downtown Zagreb.

Borovec added, "Three suspects, all Croatian citizens, were brought before an investigative judge at the Zagreb county court while the two other are on the run.  International warrants had been issued for the two fugitive suspects."

The murder was one of a series of mafia-style killings. This has prompted Croatia's new justice minister to declare a crackdown against organized crime this week.

Organized crime has has flourished in the region since Yugoslavia disintegrated in the 1990's.

Croatian writer Slavenka Drakulic wrote that she believes that the sudden increase in crime is the consequence of neglect in the fight against crime.

"For the first time it became fearfully evident that the institutions of the state designated to protect citizens are not capable of doing their job. The explosion in the center of Zagreb is a result of almost two decades of deliberate neglect of serious crimes. The problem, far from being unique to Croatia, of course, is the elaborate network of criminals, politicians, big business and the police," Drakulic continued.

Combating organized crime is one of the key issues Croatia must address before its path towards membership of the European Union, which Zagreb hopes to join by 2010.  In order to do so, Croatia will have to convince the EU that journalists may express themselves freely without fear of reprisals from organized criminal organizations in the region.  Failure to do so only serves to advance impunity in the region. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Five charged over Croatia killing - 31 October 2008

IHT - Croatian police charge 5 in murder of journalist - 31 October 2008

Javno - Croatia Ruled by Mafia and Crime - 31 October 2008

USA Today - Croatian police charge 5 in journalist's killing - 31 October 2008

Albania, Serbia Clash Over Organ Trafficking Allegations

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

TIRANA, Albania - Earlier this week Albania refused to help visiting Serbian war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic further investigate claims of abduction and organ trafficking in northern Albania.  It has been alleged that after the end of the war in Kosovo, members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) abducted around 300 Serbs in the Kosovo region and moved them to Albania, at which point they disappeared.  Albanian Prosecutor-General Ina Rama said Albania would only assist prosecutors from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) or other international investigation.  Serbia now plans to take its evidence to the Council of Europe and its specially appointed rapporteur for the allegations, Dicky Marty.

The organ trafficking allegations became internationally known after the publication of Carla Del Ponte's book, The Hunt. In her book, she reports that "according to reliable information" the KLA took around 300 prisoners into northern Albania.  About 50 of the prisoners were separated and taken to a "yellow house" in Rribe (near Burrel) where their organs were removed in a makeshift operating room on the ground floor.  The organs were then taken to the Tirana airport and flown to paying customers in other countries.

Charges were never brought and the case was dropped for a number of reasons,including that the ICTY mandate did not cover crimes committed after the war ended and the UN investigating team did not find enough evidence for an indictment.  The owners of the house, which has been repainted white, reported that the UN investigators came to their house in 2004.  Sources also report that the UN uncovered syringes, bandages, empty infusion bottles and muscle relaxant solutions in a riverbed behind the house, as well as blood which was never determined to be human.  Witnesses, who either disappeared in protection programs or have since stopped talking, claimed the bodies were buried under Albanian names in a local cemetery.  Attempts to exhume parts of the cemetery were thwarted by local residents. 

Albania's refusal to assist Vukcevic was made public after his meeting with Rama on Monday. He had requested that Albanian authorities allow him access to witnesses and names of doctors and medical personnel from Kosovo who worked in Albania. 

The allegations are politically charged.  It is well-known that Albania supported the KLA in Kosovo.  Serbian media (B92) has also reported that it has seen documents linking Albanian PM Sali Berisha and former Kosovo PM Ramush Haradinaj to the destruction of documents reporting on those abducted.  Serbia calls Albania's refusal to assist "political," and attributes the political pressure to Kosovo.  Albania claims that it can only act within the bounds of its own laws. 

For more information, please see:

Balkan Insight - Serbia Seeks European Help in Organs Case - 30 October 2008

AP - Serbia scolds Albania over organ trafficking probe - 29 October 2008

B92 - UNSC to hear about organ trafficking - 29 October 2008

B92 - New allegations in organ trafficking case - 28 October 2008

Der Spiegel - Family Denies Organ Harvesting Allegations - 22 September 2008

Georgia Denies War Crimes in South Ossetia

by Ese Omofoma
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

TBILISI, Georgia - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has denied reports by Britain's BBC that Georgia's armed forces committed war crimes during Georgia's attack on South Ossetia in August.

The BBC reported on October 28 that it had obtained evidence that, "suggests Georgia used indiscriminate force, and may have targeted civilians."  The report also quoted witnesses who said tanks had fired into apartment blocks, and that civilians fleeing the fighting were shot.

The Human Rights Watch group has said that 300-400 civilians killed by "inappropriate use of force by Georgia against civilian targets" during the assault is a "useful starting point."

The rights group has not alleged that Georgian soldiers targeted individuals, but the group is critical of the use of Grad rockets by Georgian troops in a built-up urban area.

"We strongly deny any accusation of war crimes; but of course, we are open for any kind of comments, we are very open for any kind of investigation," President Saakashvili told BBC. 

"There were certainly war crimes committed, certainly not by us and certainly we want investigation of those war crimes; we demand that the people who are responsible for those war crimes are brought to international justice," Saakashvili added.

Russia says that Georgia's armed forces were responsible for the atrocities during their August 7-8 attack on the breakaway republic.  Russia has accused Georgia of the attempted "genocide" of the South Ossetian people.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who has sided with Georgia throughout the crisis, admitted that Tbilisi's actions were "reckless." He also stated that the Russian response was "disproportionate and wrong."

Russia has repeatedly accused Western media outlets of bias in their coverage of the five-day conflict.  Russia believes it has been portrayed as the sole aggressor in the conflict.

For more information, please see:

BBC - Georgia denies 'war crimes' claim - 29 October 2008

EU Observer - Georgia accused of war crimes in South Ossetia - 29 October 2008

Georgian Times - Tbilisi Denis 'War Crime' Claims - 29 October 2008

RIA - Saakashvili denies South Ossetia war crimes accusations - 29 October 2008

Karadzic Trial Progress Going "virtually nowhere"

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Mr. Karadzic and prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today appeared before Judge Iain Bonomy in a pre-trial hearing.  After verbally reprimanding both Karadzic and prosecutors for the slow pace of proceedings - complaining the proceedings had gone virtually nowhere - he scheduled the next hearing for January 20, 2009. 

Karadzic, who was arrested mid-summer on charges of genocide and other international crimes from the war, decided to represent himself.  He refused in July and August to enter a plea regarding his indictment, so Judge Bonomy entered a plea of "not guilty" on his behalf.  Today Karadzic argued repeatedly that he was not ready to respond to the amended indictment against him.

"I received the indictment yesterday and there was no time for me to look at it, since I had a visit and a lot of other jobs,” he said.  "I don't have the necessary resources, I don't have a defense team... With the speed with which matters are proceeding... I am afraid that I will be in an even less equal position and I'd like you to be aware of that."

Karadzic filed a motion yesterday for today’s conference to be postponed, claiming that family members were coming to visit him.  The hearing today was in regard to the prosecution's amended indictment, which contained only 27 of the original 41 charges against Karadzic in order to speed up the trial progress.  Karadzic claimed that he only yesterday received a Serb translation of the document.

Judge Bonomy then asked prosecutor Alan Tieger how many pages of the prosecution's evidence has not yet been transferred to Karadzic in Serbian.  According to Deutsche Welle, when Tieger could not provide an answer, Judge Bonomy, "visibly annoyed, temporarily adjourned the hearing and left the court room."

Karadzic has also stated that he does not have the resources to represent himself.  The ICTY appointed US attorney Peter Robinson as Karadzic's legal counsel.  Judge Bonomy dismissed Karadzic's concerns, reminding Karadzic that he had been continuously warned him of the particular problems associated with self-representation.

For more information, please see:

B92- Status conference on Karadzic case - 28 October 2008

BBC - Karadzic warned to get a move on - 28 October 2008

Deutsche Welle - Karadzic Trial Adjourned Until January - 28 October 2008

Four Charged in Britain Under Anti-terrorism Law

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom - British police announced today that they are charging four suspects with violating Britain's anti-terrorism laws.  More specifically, the four men are being charged with engaging in conduct with the intention of assisting in the commission of acts of terrorism.   

The suspects were found with approximately ten tons of explosives and are are believed to be members of the I.R.A.  They were arrested last Monday in London at the conclusion of several raids near Birmingham. 

A fifth man was also arrested but has been released without charge.

Britain continues to maintain its heightened terror alert, which has been at 'severe' since suicide bombings killed 56 people in July, 2005. 

More information about the status of these suspects will be reported on as it becomes available.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times - Britain Charges 4 Under Antiterrorism Law - 27 October 2008

Yahoo (AP) - Four charged under anti-terrorism laws: police - 27 October 2008

Car Bomb Kills Croatian Reporter in Zagreb

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ZAGREB, Croatia - A car bomb on Thursday killed Ivo Pukanic, owner of Nacional, a leading weekly, investigative newspaper known for exposing corruption and human rights abuses.  The bomb, which had been planted under Pukanic's Lexus, also killed the newspaper's marketing executive, Niko Franic.

"Terrorism has become a fact on the streets of our capital," said Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.  "The state is faces with an unprecedented challenge from criminal circles. . . Now it's them or us. . . rule of law and safety of citizens against criminals, terrorists and mafia." 

Croatian leadership has been concerned with growing occurrence of organized crime over the last year.  In early October, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader fired Croatia's minister of the interior, minister of justice, and chief of the national police after Ivana Hodak, daughter of a prominent Croatian lawyer, was murdered in broad daylight outside her apartment. 

"The government and all institutions will fight the organized crime and terror that is entering Croatian streets with even more determination and ruthlessness," said Sanader.  "We will not allow Croatia to become another Beirut."  Yesterday, Croatia's top security chiefs held an emergency meeting.

Pukanic was most famous for his published interview with former Croatian General Ante Gotovina two years after Gotovina had fled Croatia following his indictment for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Pukanic survived an assassination attempt in April.  He had been under police protection until two months ago, at which time he'd reported no more threats.  

B92 reports that Novi List journalist Ivica Đikić said there were two options for the motive behind Pukanic's murder: "one is that he was killed because of his texts, the other that he got himself deeply involved with some dangerous people."  Some independent media sources have accused Pukanic of being close to some criminal circles.  It is also rumored that he has connections with the Croatian secret services and the local mafia.  He was a personal friend of President Mesic. 

Many Croatians and European leaders are concerned that the rise in the prevalence of unpunished organized crime activity will harm Croatia's bid to join the EU.  European Parliament official, Hannes Swoboda, said yesterday that "the attitude and laxity of the Croatian government towards corruption and organized crime must stop. . . I think that Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has to personally undertake measures of organising a reponse to organised crime, but it is important to capture, apart from the perpetrators of crimes, those who are behind them, who ordered the attack." 

Reporter's Without Borders condemned the attack: “The reach of organised crime in the Balkans is becoming ever more disturbing. They have no hesitation in killing journalists who take too close an interest in their activities. . . Investigations into these attacks are very rarely successful, which gives the gangsters the feeling of complete power and impunity."

For more information, please see:

AFP - Croatia security chiefs to meet after deadly car-bomb - 24 October 2008

B92 - Croat journalist dies in car bomb attack - 24 October 2008

Javno - Pukanic's Killing Is Biggest Obstacle Towards EU - 24 October 2008

Reporters Without Borders, France - Car bomb kills owner and an executive of weekly Nacional - 24 October 2008

BBC - Zagreb car bomb kills journalist - 23 October 2008

BBC - Croatia 'mafia hit' spur sacking - 6 October 2008

Tensions Build as Russia and Georgia Accuse Each Other of Dangerous Troop Movements

by Ese Omofoma
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

TBILISI, Georgia - Georgia and Russia accused one another on Thursday of moving troops in violation of a ceasefire agreement.  Officials in Tbilisi accused Russia of amassing troops in South Ossetia and rebels in Abkhazia accused Georgia of killing a senior army officer.

"In the past week, Russia increased the number of troops by 2,000 to 7,000," Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told a news conference on Thursday. "We fear Russia is preparing provocations in South Ossetia."

Russia denied the troop build-up, accusing Georgia of violating a ceasefire agreement by deploying special forces near the rebel regions.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that, "Russia has already announced that under its agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, about 3,700 soldiers will be deployed on the territory of both republics."

Lavrov accused Georgia of violating the ceasefire agreement and criticized the European Union observers for taking a "light" view of incidents around the rebel regions.  "The Georgian side periodically send special forces and other armed formations to the zones adjoining Abkhazia and South Ossetia.  It worries us the the EU observers pay little attention to these aspects."

Russian-backed separatists in Georgia's other rebel region, Abkhazia, continue to accuse Georgia of being behind the killing of a senior army officer, Eduard Emin-zade.

Emin-zade was found shot dead on Thursday in the city of Gali on the de facto border with Georgia.The owner of the house was also found dead by a river close to the house.

"We believe the killing of Eduard Emin-zade is the latest terrorist attack by Georgia," Abkhazia's separatist defense minister Mirab Kishmariya was quoted as saying by Russia's Interfax news agency.

A Georgian interior ministry official, dismissed the charge, saying, "we strongly deny the accusation by Abkhaz separatists that the Georgian secret services were involved in the killing."

As tension remains tense around the rebel regions, an EU mission is monitoring the ceasefire.  The mission has been patrolling around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but Russia has refused to allow them inside the rebel regions.

For more informaton, please see:

AFP - Tensions boil up around Georgia rebel regions - 23 October 2008

Bloomberg - Georgia Says Russia Has 7,000 Troops in South Ossetia - 23 October 2008

CBC - Georgia, Russia accuse each other of dangerous troop movements - 23 October 2008

Gunmen Kill Five Policemen in Dagestan

by Ese Omofoma
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MAKHACHKALA, Russia - Gunmen have killed at least five policemen and wounded another nine in Russia's southern republic of Dagestan.  A police force said a special operation was under way to seize the attackers.

The incident appears to be the largest in months among the forces deployed in predominantly Muslim Dagestan, a poor mountainous region that borders Chechnya.

One officer was killed and three were injured when rebels ambushed their car in a forest area, said a spokesman for Russia's interior ministry.

"As a result of this incident a search was launched to find the gunmen. The policemen conducting the search were trapped in a forest on the border between the Sergokalinsky and Karabudakhkinsky districts," said the spokesman.

The rebels then ambushed the police search party, killing another four officers and wounding six.  Police are now searching the area to find the attackers.

Dagestan is one of the most ethnically diverse regions on the planet. It has 2.3 million residents who are divided into 34 ethnic groups.  The region has long been plagued by violence often linked to the Chechen rebel movement.  It is now seeing an increase in rebel attacks.

Human rights bodies say unemployment, lack of opportunities and tough reprisals by security bodies push young men in Dagestan towards the rebel movement.  Security forces believe the movement is linked to radical Islamists.

Observers had warned that Moscow's recent war with Georgia could fuel instability on Russia's southern flank.  It is believed that arms seized from Georgian soldiers had increased the supply of weapons in the region.  In addition, Russia's recognition of the independence of two rebel Georgian regions had fueled the independence ambitions of other groups.

For more information, please see:

BBC - Five policemen killed in Dagestan - 21 October 2008

IHT - Gunmen kill five policemen in Russia's Dagestan - 21 October 2008

RIA - Gunmen kill 5 police officers, injure 9 in south Russia - 21 October 2008

Serbia Charges Croatian Serb with Killing 200

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELGRADE, Serbia - Serbian prosecutors have filed charges against Damir Sireta, accusing him of participating in the murder of about 200 Croatian prisoners in 1991.

Sireta, known as "Sico," is accused of participating in an execution squad which killed 200 Croatian prisoners of war near the own of Ovcara at a pig farm located near at the pit "Grabovo."  At the time, Sireta was a member of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and participating in the territorial defense of Vukovar.  It is alleged that members of the paramilitary raided a hospital, captured 200 Croatians and then transported them to the farm where they were tortured and killed.

A separate trial is currently underway involving the same incident.  Seventeen members of Vukovar's territorial defense and paramilitary unit, "Leve Supoderice," are currently on trial before the special court for war crimes in Belgrade.  All 17 were originally tried, found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Belgrade District Court’s War Crimes Chamber.  The case was overturned by the Supreme Court and was restarted in March 2007.  Yesterday, continuation of the case was postponed until November due to the health of one of the defendants.   

Sireta is originally from Vukovar.  He fled to Norway and lived there until 2006 when he was arrested on a Croatian warrant issued through Interpol.  He was extradited from Norway to Serbia earlier this year.  At his appeals hearing Sireta denied committing crimes near Vukovar and claimed he left the city to look for his wife.

Sireta was convicted in absentia in Croatia for a murder committed in Vukovar in 1991.  He was sentenced to 12 years in prison there. Norway refused to extradite Sireta to Croatia in 2006 because Croatia's extradition request did not meet the necessary standards. 

For more information, please see:

Balkan Insight - Croatian Serb Indicted for Vukovar Deaths - 21 October 2008

International Herald Tribure (AP) - Serb war crimes suspect indicted - 21 October 2008

Javno - Indictment Filed Against Damir Sirete for Ovcara - 21 October 2008

B92 - Ovčara war crimes retrial adjourned - 20 October 2008

Vijesti.net - U Srbiji podignuta optuznicu protiv Damira Sirete - 20 October 2008

B92 - Serbia, Scandinavians liaising over war crimes - 28 August 2008

B92 - Produžen pritvor Damiru Sireti - 12 August 2008

Russian Convoy Ambushed in Ingushetia

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

INGUSHETIA, Russia - A Russian convoy was ambushed by rebel forces in Ingushetia on Saturday.  Initial reports have confirmed that at least two soldiers are dead, with seven others wounded.  Other reports suggest that the death toll could reach as many as 40 or 50. 

The convoy was traveling on a forest road near Chechnya when they were attacked.  They were near Nazran, capital of the north Caucasus region, when they came under grenade attack and heavy machine gun fire. 

Approximately twelve Islamist fighters are believed to be responsible for carrying out the attack.  Russian forces immediately launched a counter-terrorist operation in the area and are still searching for the assailants. 

If the death toll is as high as some think, this could be the worst loss for the Russian military in what has become a recent series of attacks against Russian forces in the Ingushetia region. 

For more information, please see: 

The Australian - Russian convoy ambushed - '50 dead' - 19 October 2008

BBC - Russians ambushed in Ingushetia - 18 October 2008

Yahoo (AP) - Militants kill 2 Russian soldiers in Caucasus - 18 October 2008