Report 474
on the situation of the human rights and freedoms in Kosova
from December 1 until December 5, 1999

Prisoners

        FERIZAJ: According to a lawyer from Mitrovica, who paid a visit to the Albanian prisoners in Kraleva (Serbia), Murat Idriz Zeqiri from Ferizaj, who was believed to be dead, is alive and in this prison.

        KLINA: Xhevat Adem Desku (1970) from Klina was released from the prison in Sremska Mitrovica. On May 22, he had been heavily wounded during the massacre of the Serbian military and paramilitary forces over those imprisoned in the prison of Dubrava. Xhevat stated that the following were among those killed in the prison of Dubrava: Tefik Salihu (54) from Ferizaj, Arsim Krasniqi from Prishtina, Januz Krasniqi from Prizren, Sejdi Spahiu from the village of Kastriot near Skënderaj and Valentin Nikollë Bibaj from Gjakova; Bedri Kokola from the village of Prejlep near Deçan and Sali Kajtazi from Slivova near Gjilan, died due to being tortured in the prison in Lipjan. Xhevat stated that the following are still being kept in detention in Sremska Mitrovica: Sinan Tafilaj, Martin Zefi, Alban Shala and Ndue Malota.

        PEJA: Metë Isuf Ademaj (53) from the village of Raushiq, who was arrested several months ago, was released from the prison in Pozharevac.

REPORT NO. 472
on the situation of human rights and freedoms in Kosova
from 14 until 21 November 1999

The prisoners and prisons

        On 18 November, 31 Albanian prisoners were released from the prisons of Pozharevc, Zajeçar and Leskovc (Serbia). 
The following were released from the prison of Pozharevc: Zejnullah Ajet Qorri (1982) and Jeton Bajram Heta (1983) – Gllogoc; Fehmi Sylë Murtezi (1981), Sabri Bislim Musliu (1984) and Musli Sejdi Shemsiu (1985) – Shtrubullova; Kushtrim Qerim Adilaj (1983) and Faton Zemë Halilaj (1985) – Tërdec; Ekrem Xhafer Nebihu (1983) and Albert Kamer Nebihu (1984) – Domanek; Hazir Hajrullah Topalli (1982) and Ramë Ahmet Topalli (1985) – Bainca; Brahim Deli Asllani (1981) and Haxhi Feriz Haxhijaj (1983) – Çikatovë e Re; Sali Gani Hoxha (1982) – Krajkova, Muhamet Sherif Arllati (1983) – Tërstenik and Elmaz Shefqet Elshani (1984) – Gllobar (Gllogoc) and Skënder Riza Shabaj (1967) – Nabërgjan (Peja), Flamur Sali Ramaj (1981) – Cerovik (Klina), Jeset Alush Hoti (1983) – Marina (Skënderaj) and Skënder Enver Gashi (1984) – Lummadh (Vushtrri). 
The following were released from the prison of Zajeçar: Aziz Mehmet Zeqaj (1978) – Peja; Xhavit Musë Dreshaj (1971), Avdyl Mahmut Hysaj (1961) and Arif Cafë Husaj (1958) – Nabërgjan; Faruk Azem Kelmendi (1977) – Ruhot and Musli Qazim Berisha (1964) – Gllaviçica (Peja) and Xhemë Elez Mavraj (1963), Rizah Rrustem Mavraj (1967) and Fadil Smajl Berisha (1966) – Saradran (Istog).
The following were released from the prison of Leskovc: Idriz Zekë Blakaj (1942) – Jabllanica e Vogël (Peja) and Xhemë Rexhep Berisha (1952) – Saradran (Istog).
        On 20 November, Sali Rexhep Sokoli (1951), a former technical worker with the MUP, was released from the prison of Mitrovica e Sremit (Vojvodina), after serving his sentence of 5 years.

REPORT NO. 471
On the situation of human rights and freedoms in Kosova
from 7 until 14 November 1999

The prisoners and prisons

        PRIZREN: According to some sources, Sub-CDHRF in Prizren informs that in a private prison in Prokuple (Serbia) the following Albanians from the district of Suhareka are kept: Naser Jahaj (13) from Sllapuzhan, Burim Gollopeni (14) and Nuhi Gollopeni (17) from Dobërdolan and Besnik Gega (20) and Nebi Buçaj (33) from Studençan.
        In the meantime, during the last week, some tens of Albanians were released from the prisons of Serbia, Vojvodina and Montenegro. 
On 8 November, the following were released from the prison of Mitrovica e Sremit (Vojvodina): Besnik Sahit Ismajli (1979) from Tugjec (Kamenica), Lulzim Osmani from Gjilan and Esat Jaha (1940) from Rahovec, who declared that the following people are in the same prison: Besim Zymberi and Sylejman Bytyçi from Ferizaj; Ahmet Demiri and Ejup Selimi from Gjilan; Xhevat Haziri and Visar Demiri from Vitia; Ylber Topalli from Greme (Ferizaj), Shpëtim Krasniqi from Kamenica etc.
        On 10 November, the following were released from the prison of Spuzh near Podgorica (Montenegro): Ali Gashi (1959) from Nabërgjan (Peja), Sadri Rexhaj (1959) from Jabllanica e Vogël (Peja), Avni Avdylaj (1983) from Radavc (Peja) and Amedin Çollakoviq (1950), a Bosniac from Prigoda (Istog).
        The following were released from the prison of Leskovc (Serbia): Riza Ibish Ukaj, Flakron Hajdar Mekaj, Blerim Bajram Beqiraj, Zenel Sylë Ibërdemaj and Mehdi Mehmet Zeqaj – Peja; Qerim Bajram Elshani, Hasan Rifat Morina and Shaban Osman Gashi – Ozrim; Agim Miftar Avdullahu – Leshan, Adem Sheremet Berisha – Ramun, Arif Demë Neziraj – Tërstenik, Arif Smajl Gashi – Turjaka, Ilir Shefki Seniku – Jabllanica, Izet Nezir Kuçi – Zahaq and Riza Ramë Çeku – Qyshk (Peja); Milazim Sadik Blakaj, Çelë Shaban Shala, Musë Tahir Blakaj, Valdet Beqir Bajraktari and Selman Hysen Osmanaj – Trubuhoc; Gëzim Ramë Kabashi, Isa Ali Kabashi, Nexhdet Isuf Bajrami and Mustafë Daut Bajramaj – Gurakoc and Sali Musë Balaj, Naim Dervish Balaj and Avni Zenel Balaj – Zabllaq (Istog).
        The following were released from the prison of Zajeçar (Serbia): twins Aziz and Mexhid Mehmet Zeqaj (1973), Ymer Sherif Kelmendi (1959) – Peja; Bajram Rexhep Kelmendi (1955) and Isa Rexhep Kelmendi (1952) – Lutogllava; Afrim Bilall Shabani (1965) and Xhavit Idriz Berisha (1973) – Tërstenik; Isa Ismajl Hysenaj (1957) – Shkrel, Naim Haki Vranezi (1974) – Ramun, Hasan Adem Cacaj (1968) – Raushiq and Bajram Ramë Kelmendi (1943) – Llabjan (Peja); Hamdi Elez Mavraj (1970), Nexhmedin Tahir Mavraj (1975) and Deli Mustafë Mavraj (1978) – Saradran; Hamdi Ymer Shoshaj (1974) and Isat Ramadan Shoshaj (1980) – Kashica; Haxhi Dush Mehmetaj (1954) and Himo Misin Balaj (1957) – Zabllaq (Istog); Zeqë Adem Hasaj (1953), Afrim Smajl Hasaj (1954) and Armend Shpend Hasaj (1980) – Kodrali and Ismet Misin Çelaj - Maznik (Deçan).
        Agim Prokshi (1959) from Runik (Skënderaj) was released from the prison of Novi Pazar (Serbia). He was arrested on 9 November 1998.

Sunday, December 26, 1999

Missing Kosovars hamper peace effort

Thousands taken by Serbs during the war may be prisoners or dead

By Danica Kirka / Associated Press

    KORENICA, Yugoslavia -- Six months after the end of the Kosovo conflict, not a single man between the ages of 16 and 60 from this ethnic Albanian village, which had a prewar population of 600, has been accounted for, residents and human rights activists say. 
    "We don't know if they are alive or dead," said Hateme Kameri, whose husband, Rrustem, was last seen being beaten by Serb paramilitaries when they raided the village April 27. "We still have hope that the men are in prisons." 
    The uncertainty about the men -- and the thousands of other people missing in Kosovo -- is hampering reconstruction and clouding hopes of reconciliation between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. 
    Serb authorities have told the International Committee of the Red Cross that they are holding about 1,700 ethnic Albanians -- men and women ranging in age from 13 to 73 -- arrested during the conflict and transported out of the province before NATO-led peacekeepers arrived in June. 
    Many Kosovo Albanians believe many more people are being held and that Yugoslavia is keeping them as bargaining chips for future negotiations on the status of Kosovo. 
    Serb paramilitary forces swept into Korenica, a village of some 70 houses, about a month after NATO began its 78-day air campaign to halt Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. 
    The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has documented 89 missing people in Korenica and 30 others from a village a few miles away. 
    All told, an estimated 10,000 ethnic Albanians died in the 18-month crackdown and 1.5 million were expelled from their homes, the State Department reported this month. 
    "People are very frustrated here," said Kosovare Kelmendi of the Humanitarian Law Center, a non-governmental organization. "We are talking about people who have lost everything." 
    The Red Cross is still trying to compile a list of the missing, said spokesman Urs Boegli. The work has been stymied because the agreement that ended the Kosovo fighting did not compel the parties to offer any accounting. 
    "The key to the solution is the warring parties themselves," Boegli said. "They know what their soldiers have done ... They can take the skeletons out of the closet, quite literally." 
    In the highly charged postwar atmosphere, there's no goodwill between Albanians and Serbs and few answers for those trying to find out if their relatives are dead or alive. International officials admit they don't even have a good guess on how many people are missing. There's also no system to centralize information on bodies that have been found. 
    Individuals like Hateme Kameri, 32, and her cousin, Bekrije Kameri, 26 -- whose husband, Besim, is also missing -- are largely on their own. 
    The women visited the Red Cross offices and scanned the lists of prisoners known to be held in Serbia. When that proved fruitless, they began watching mass grave excavations, hoping to find a familiar shoe or a recognizable jacket. 
    "Whatever it is, I would like to have the truth," Hateme said. "Even if it is very bad, I would rather have the truth than not knowing anything at all." 
    Unsure of whether to wait or to grieve, Hateme chooses to hope, for herself and her four children. 
    "The children cry every night because they call for their father to come back." Bekrije said. "We cry with them." 

Copyright 1999, The Detroit News

Kosovo Missing Mire Hopes of Peace 

By Danica Kirka
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1999; 1:19 p.m. EST

KORENICA, Yugoslavia –– Six months after the end of the Kosovo conflict, not a single man between the ages of 16 and 60 from this ethnic Albanian village, which had a prewar population of 600, has been accounted for, residents and human rights activists say. 
     "We don't know if they are alive or dead," said Hateme Kameri, whose husband Rrustem was last seen being beaten by Serb paramilitaries when they raided the village April 27. "We still have hope that the men are in prisons." 
     The uncertainty about the men – and the thousands of other people missing in Kosovo – is hampering reconstruction and clouding hopes of reconciliation between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. 
     Serb authorities have told the International Committee of the Red Cross that they are holding about 1,700 ethnic Albanians – men and women ranging in age from 13 to 73 – arrested during the conflict and transported out of the province before NATO-led peacekeepers arrived in June. 
     Many Kosovo Albanians believe many more people are being held and that Yugoslavia is keeping them as "bargaining chips" for future negotiations on the status of Kosovo. 
     Serb paramilitary forces swept into Korenica, a village of some 70 houses, about a month after NATO began its 78-day air campaign to halt Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. 
     The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has documented 89 missing people in Korenica and 30 others from a village a few miles away.
     All told, an estimated 10,000 ethnic Albanians died in the 18-month crackdown and 1.5 million were expelled from their homes, the State Department reported this month. 
     "People are very frustrated here," said Kosovare Kelmendi of the Humanitarian Law Center, a non-governmental organization. "We are talking about people who have lost everything." 
     The Red Cross is still trying to compile a list of the missing, said spokesman Urs Boegli. The work has been stymied because the agreement that ended the Kosovo fighting did not compel the parties to offer any accounting. 
     "The key to the solution is the warring parties themselves," Boegli said. "They know what their soldiers have done ... They can take the skeletons out of the closet, quite literally." 
     In the highly charged postwar atmosphere, there's no goodwill between Albanians and Serbs and few answers for those trying to find out if their relatives are dead or alive. International officials admit they don't even have a good guess on how many people are missing. There's also no system to centralize information on bodies that have been found. 
     International war crimes tribunal investigators already are overwhelmed by the number of sites to examine. Frustrated residents aren't waiting for investigators to verify their claims of massacres and have been exhuming bodies on their own. 
     Individuals like Hateme Kameri, 32, and her cousin, Bekrije Kameri, 26 – whose husband, Besim, is also missing – are largely on their own. 
     The women visited the Red Cross offices and scanned the lists of prisoners known to be held in Serbia. When that proved fruitless, they began watching mass grave excavations, hoping to find a familiar shoe or a recognizable jacket. 
     "Whatever it is, I would like to have the truth," Hateme said. "Even if it is very bad, I would rather have the truth than not knowing anything at all." 
     Unsure of whether to wait or to grieve, Hateme choses to hope, both for herself and her four children. Without other options, she and Bekrije are taking on the tasks their husbands once performed – chopping wood, cleaning cow stalls, building fires. 
     The work helps them keep going during the day. It is only at night that things get really tough. 
     "The children cry every night because they call for their father to come back." Bekrije said. "We cry with them." 

© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press

Four Albanian prisoners were released by serb jails

Pejë, December 22 (Kosovapress)
According to some reports by information office in Peja, yesterday, by the serb jail in Leskovc were released another four albanian prisoners: Agron Ibrahim Kollçaku from Peja, Beqir Tahir Hoxha, Xhevdet Ramë Bajrami and Vllaznim Brahim Përgjegjaj from Vitomirica near Peja. The prisoners have been hostage at the Leskovci prison for seven months, they know very well how they have survived their tortures. Their stories are awful, more worse are to the others who are still in jail. The prisoners over mentioned detained the prison since the first days of NATO bombarding.

-----Original Message-----
From: Humanitarian Law Center <hlc@EUnet.yu>
Subject: HLC Statement
 

HUMANITARIAN LAW CENTER COMMUNIQUE

CHARGES AGAINST ETHNIC ALBANIANS STUDENTS NOT SUBSTANTIATED BY WITNESS TESTIMONY
21 December 1999

The trial of a group of ethnic Albanian students of Belgrade University resumed on 16-17 December 1999.  The Court heard the testimonies of three witnesses and denied a motion by the prosecution to have read out the statements made by defendant Petrit Berisha and witnesses to State Security inspectors in the pre-trial proceedings. The trial is scheduled to continue on 25 January next year.

The testimony given by the witnesses did not substantiate the prosecution’s charges that the defendants were planning to carry out acts of terrorism in Belgrade. Valentina Petrovic and her aunt, Dragoslava Aleksic, in whose apartment the police allegedly found hand grenades, stated that during the search of the apartment one of the police officers entered Valentina Petrovic’s room alone and came out carrying two grenades. Another two grenades were found in the living room by officers who went directly to a cabinet containing toys and a vase, and extracted the grenades from the vase. The rest of the room was not searched.  Witness Salko Vujic told the Court he had no knowledge of the students’ meeting in order to organize collection of funds for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

In denying the prosecutor’s motion for reading out of the statements made by Petrit Berisha and witnesses to the police, the Court acted in accordance with Article 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code under which such statements must be removed from the trial record.

The indictment against Petrit and Driton Berisha, Driton Mega, Shkodran Derguti and Abdulah Isam, all students, and Zef Paljuca, a jeweler who is being tried in absentia, contains two counts: conspiracy for the purpose of subversive activity and conspiracy to perpetrate terrorist actions, for which the law prescribes up to twenty years in prison.  The students told the Court they were questioned for three weeks and constantly beaten, tortured and threatened with death by State Security inspectors unless they confessed to the charges against them.  Petrit Berisha said that on one occasion the inspectors took him to a riverbank where there was a large hole in the ground with a coffin and spades beside it.  The inspectors threatened to kill him and his brother Driton, he said, and showed the Court the marks of cigarettes burns on his arms.

Under Article 84 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Court may again consider use of the police reports.  If it finds that the evidence presented during trial is insufficient for a decision, the Court can admit as new evidence the self-incriminating statement made by Petrit Berisha to the police which, he alleges, was extracted from him by physical abuse and threats against his life and the life of his brother.  The article envisages use of police reports only in exceptional circumstances, when required to clarify issues essential to the trial in cases where criminal offenses carrying 20 years imprisonment are involved.

The defense may appeal to a superior court against such a ruling. In connection with trials of Kosovo Albanians, Natasa Kandic, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Law Center, points to the practice of courts in Serbia when faced with insufficient evidence to admit confessions made by defendants to the police and to base their decisions on them.  With regard to the proceedings initiated against 155 Albanians from the Kosovo town of Djakovica who were arrested as civilians during the NATO military intervention, Natasa Kandic expects the charges against them to be dropped.  When questioned for the first time after seven months in custody, the defendants stated that they were arrested on the way from their homes to the town center, where they were ordered to go by the Yugoslav Army.  The police separated men, in particular younger ones, from their families.

BALKANS WATCH
- The Balkan Action Council -
Wednesday, December 22, 1999
A Weekly Review of Current Events
Volume 2.50

WEEK IN REVIEW - December 14-22, 1999
(...)

HUMAN RIGHTS. 
Husnija Bitic, defense counsel for 15 Kosovo Albanians being tried on charges of terrorism in Nis, called the proceedings "not a trial but a court farce." Bitic said those accused are "absolutely innocent, they have been taken from their homes or from [refugee columns]." Five Kosovo Albanian students held by Serbian authorities are being tried for "conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and sabotage during a state of war." All five deny the charges and claim that prior confessions were forced. One other student is being tried in absentia. Flora Brovina, the prominent Kosovo Albanian human rights activist and physician sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for "terrorism," has refused to appeal her sentence. According to Radio B2-92, Kosovo Albanian lawyer Teki Bokshi has been released by kidnappers, reportedly after a ransom of 100,000 German marks was paid. Natasa Kandic, head of the Humanitarian Law Center in Belgrade, said Bokshi's abductors "included Bosnian Serbs and a professional policeman."

Kosovo Albanians' trial in Serbia a ``farce''-lawyer 

09:25 a.m. Dec 21, 1999 Eastern 
By Dragan Stankovic 

NIS, Serbia, Dec 21 (Reuters) - A defence lawyer for 15 Kosovo Albanians charged with terrorism said on Tuesday the opening of their trial in Nis, south-eastern Serbia, was ``not a trial but a court farce.'' 
     Husnija Bitic told Reuters that at Monday's opening of the trial in the Nis District Court ``the court interviewed only four out of the 15 accused, and that lasted only an hour and a half.'' 
     All four pleaded not guilty to all charges, denying they had ever belonged to ethnic Albanian guerrilla groups in Kosovo. Some said the guerrillas had not been even present in their or surrounding villages. 
     The next hearing for the remaining 11 defendants is set for January 17. 
     ``The prosecutor did not give any evidence on any of the charges...The only thing he submitted as evidence was that these people were sitting and waiting for police,'' Bitic said, adding the case was ``unique in my practice.'' 
     ``These people are absolutely innocent, they have been taken from their homes or (refugee) columns. I fear such trials,'' Bitic said. 
     Slavko Stevanovic, the district prosecutor, told Reuters: ``According to the evidence, we have gathered sufficient ground to press charges.'' 
     The Nis trial followed a number of similar ones in nearby Leskovac and in the capital Belgrade, all of which have been based on more or less the same charges. 
     On November 22, a trial of six ethnic Albanians opened in the Belgrade District Court. The latest hearings were held last week and the trial is expected to resume soon. 
     In Leskovac, on December 10, 11 Kosovo Albanians were sentenced up to a maximum of 3-1/2 years in jail and two from the same group were released. Another group of 14 ethnic Albanians are waiting for their trial to resume in Leskovac. 

BITIC SAYS 15 TAKEN FROM HOMES, REFUGEE COLUMNS 

The Nis indictment says the 15 participated ``in creation of terrorist gangs in their villages in late 1998 and early 1999 and, after that, as ordered by their headquarters, observed and reported the movements of the (Serbian) police force'' in Kosovo. 
     Some are charged with shooting at police and others with digging trenches for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrillas. 
     If found guilty, the accused face from two to 20 years in jail, the maximum sentence under the Yugoslav Penal code, depending on whether they committed the alleged crimes before or during a state of war. 
     Yugoslavia declared the state of war on March 24 when NATO begun 11 weeks of air strikes against the country to stop its repression of the ethnic Albanian majority in the southern province of Kosovo. 
     Yugoslav armed forces and the KLA had fought each other for more than a year before an agreement between the Yugoslav army and NATO cleared the way for the Alliance-led peacekeepers to enter Kosovo after Yugoslav forces had withdrawn. 

Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited

 
Dear friends,

a public platform against the verdict to dr Flora Brovina was held in Belgrade, in Center for Cultural Decontamination, on Saturday, December 18th. The speakers were: Ajri Begu, Brovina's husband, Husnija Bitici, Brovina's attorney, Barbara Davis, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Natasa Kandic, Humanitarian Law Center, Radmila Lazic, PEN Yugoslavia, Gradimir Nalic, Yugoslav Committee for Human Rights, Stanislava Zajovic, Woman in Black, and Jelena Santic, Group 484. 

All participants of the platform explained who Flora Brovina is, what was she doing in Kosovo as director of League of Albanian women,  what was her "crime", how this shameful trial looked like. Barbara Davis brought from Kosovo "an evidence" of her terrorism - little pullover for babies, knitted by activists of League. Ajri Begu said that there were 2 announcements from the government of Republic of Kosovo, which said that Brovina was never a Minister for health in their government, Radmila Lazic read one of Brovina's poems, Stanislava Zajovic spoke about how she met Brovina, as a leader of women's liberation, Jelena Santic said that a true humanist was sent to prison only because of her nationality and that she is a true symbol of the fight for freedom, Gradimir Nalic announced that there is going to be an article in daily newspaper Danas about her trial named "Flora and Fauna", explaining that the people who sent her to jail were animals.

After the public platform all participants and audience signed the petition for her amnesty, which was first addressed to President of FRY Slobodan Milosevic, but Natasa Kandic stated that he is not the right addressee because he is on trial in Hague for war crimes, and that it should be addressed to Justice department of FRY and to all courts.

Best wishes,
for Jelena Santic
Dragana Gavrilovic

The advocate Teki Bokshi has been released for 100. 000 DM

Gjakovë, December 20 (Kosovapress)

The Albanian advocate Teki Bokshi from Gjakova has been kidnapped by the Serb Security forces near Belgrade city, on December 3, 1999. He has been released on December 18, when Teki's family has delivered 100.000 DM as exchange. Mr. Teki Bokshi claims that the kidnapers at the beginning have required from his family 500.000 DM for his release. He claims that he has stayed 12 days in a dark bathroom with the irons in his hands. All the time he does not know where he was. During all this time, he has been maltreated physically and psychologically. In the Moment of his arrest the advocate Teki Bokshi has been on his trip to visit the Albanian prisoners who are still kept in the Serb Jails.

Received: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 16:29:46 +0100
Betreff:  Serbia,trial of albanian students, Bokshi
          + HRW: Belgrade Tries Albanian Students for "Terrorism"
Datum:    Fri, 17 Dec 1999 18:17:01 +0100
Von:      "grupa484" <grupa484@beotel.yu>
 

Dear friends,
the rest of the message about Teki Bokshi is not true.Teki Bokshi was released yeasterday by five kidnappers, after Bokshi's family paid 100,000 DM. Bokshi said he had five kidnappers, some seemed to him to be Bosnian Serbs,  one was an official policeman, but was thought to be working in a "private capacity." Bokshi was kept for ten days on the floor of a bathroom in a private flat in Serbia, with his hands tied. He is said to be physically okay. The reason his kidnapping was money, and he was not arrested by Serbian secret police.

Today continued trial to albanian students. Todays whitness was Valentina Petrovic, Shkodran Derguti's Serbian girlfriend, in whose flat were found 4 bombs, emblems of KLA, notebook with the names of members of KLA and some plans for some attacks. When Valentina was arrested, the keys of her flat were at the police for 5 hours before they came to the flat to search it, so she doesn't know if the found things could have been placed there by somebody else. She said she knows that the notebook was not in her room, because she is very tidy and would have seen it before and that it is no Shkodran's handwriting inside, that the bombs which were found in the vase could not be put inside because the vase was too tight for the bomb, especially for the hand which takes it out of the vase, and she only saw the policeman with the vase in one hand and bombs in the other, and that the plans of the attacks were from her aunt's ex husband, who was in the military school 30 years ago. She says that she is in personal relationship with Shkodran for 4 years and that she knows he could not do such thing to her or to her family, and that she knows Berisha brothers as very hard working students, good bred and very polite.
The trial will continue on January 25th, 2000.

Best wishes,
for Jelena Santic
Dragana Gavrilovic
Group 484

From: Skye Donald <donalds@hrw.org>
To: Skye Donald (donalds) <donalds@hrw.org>
Date: 16 December, 1999 18:07
Subject: Belgrade Tries Albanian Students for "Terrorism"

  (...)  [ shortened; the text of this mail you can read below ]

Declaration

Kosovo International Human Rights Conference
Pristina
10-11 December 1999

The participants in the first Kosovo International Human Rights Conference, which took place on the 51st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, welcome the opportunity to discuss the human rights situation in Kosovo, which is of immediate concern. They declare that the debate during the Conference has demonstrated the need to make a concerted effort to build a human rights culture in Kosovo. In particular, they emphasise the necessity to obtain justice, secure fundamental freedoms and establish the rule of law. To this end, they call for concrete action to be taken in the following fields:

1. Justice and the rule of law are the basis for a stable and secure society. Perpetrators of past crimes must be called to account, and redress provided to victims. Failure to prosecute would perpetuate a cycle of impunity. Continued support for work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia must be complemented by the speedy reconstruction of a domestic judicial system, already underway with international participation. In particular, the prosecution of crimes committed during the recent armed conflict must be accelerated, namely through the establishment of a Kosovo war crimes tribunal. Witness protection before and after the trial is of highest importance. Human rights in present-day Kosovo must be protected by appropriate institutions, including an Ombudsman institution, to be established as soon as possible.

2. The search for missing persons must be given urgent priority. More resources must be allocated to speed up the task of locating missing persons. The identification of the dead through the work of international and local organisations is of paramount importance. Further pressure must be exerted so that persons detained in jails in Serbia are allowed to return home. 

3. A democratic society is a tolerant society, to which the protection of minorities is central. The inclusion of all communities in public and civic life must be the basis for reconstruction. Care must be taken and assistance provided, so that all parts of society can participate fully and their contributions are valued. Leaders must acknowledge their share of moral responsibility in ending violence and fostering tolerance.

4. Conditions must be created to allow for the safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons across Kosovo. Disputes about private property must be resolved speedily and in an equitable way. Institutional arrangements must be made so that the process is as fair and orderly as possible.

5. Everyone deserves a secure environment, which can only be provided by democratic policing and a culture of full co-operation of everyone with law enforcement agencies. The call for greater contribution to the international police force and OSCE training for members of the future Kosovo police force is supported. Torture is forbidden in all circumstances and can never be justified.

6. Non-governmental organisations will continue to monitor and expose human rights violations, wherever they take place. A strong and vibrant civic society is crucial in providing the necessary vigilance for democracy. It must be encouraged and supported.

7. Investing in the welfare of children is investing in the future of Kosovo. Young people must be encouraged in the development of fora in which they can discuss their views and express their concerns about their future. All children must have equal access to education, not only in theory but in practice. As part of a general awareness campaign, the curricula for schools should aim at instilling in future generations respect for human rights.

8. Full and equal participation of women throughout society and at all levels of governance must be ensured. The voice of women must be an integral part of public life in Kosovo. Mechanisms must be developed to protect women from further violations of their human rights. The fight against organised crime must be intensified in order to protect women and children from becoming victims of trafficking in human beings. 

9. A free, independent and pluralistic media, recognising both its rights and responsibilities, must flourish. Hate speech and incitement to violence are anti-democratic and should not be tolerated. Journalists who suffered in the past must be encouraged to take up again their profession in the pursuit of free and open democracy.

10. Respect for diversity, tolerance and pluralism, a commitment to non-discrimination, and the rejection of violence are the cornerstones of a democratic society. The participants appeal to all in Kosovo to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and work together for a future in which everyone?s rights and freedoms can be fully realised.

1999
OSCE Secretariat
Kärntner Ring 5-7
1010 Vienna, Austria
tel.: (+43-1) 514 36 180
fax: (+43-1) 514 36 105
e-mail: info@osce.org

 
Some numbers concerning prisoners (see below) found 

 "In the latest report from Kosovo, 

     Starting from Scratch in Kosovo: The Honeymoon is over   (10th December 1999) 

  http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/sbalkans/reports/kos31main.htm 
  http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/sbalkans/reports/83_31Starting.pdf 

ICG examines the performance of the international community concerning  the ambitious, long-term project of securing, rebuilding, and establishing the rule of law in Kosovo, while setting the territory on the path to self-governance. Six months into the mission, these promises have, so far, not been met. The paper highlights five key areas (security, the provision of basic services, civil registration and documentation, elections, as well as justice and the rule of law) and recommends ways to improve performance."
_______________________________________________________________________

Starting from Scratch in Kosovo
ICG Balkans Report N° 83, 13 December 1999 Page 10

"Nearly two thousand Albanians are known to be in Serbian prisons, ³⁹  while thousands more have been reported missing; ⁴⁰"

" ³⁹ As of 15 November 1999, after the release of 343 prisoners, 1,760 Albanian prisoners listed by the Serbian ministries of justice and interior remained in Serbian prisons, according to International Committee for the Red Cross officials in Prishtinë/Priština."
" ⁴⁰ Estimates of the numbers of missing range from 2,000 (Humanitarian Law Center) to 5,000 (Association of Political Prisoners, Prishtinë; UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva). The Humanitarian Law Center, ICRC officials, and many Albanians believe that most of these people are likely to be dead, rather than in Serbian prisons."

Belgrade's jailing of activist sparks international protest 

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic In Belgrade And Raymond Whitaker In Pristina 
19 December 1999

The jailing in Serbia of Flora Brovina, an Albanian paediatrician, writer and women's activist, has attracted international protest and highlighted one of the unresolved issues of the Kosovo war – the estimated 1,500 Albanian political prisoners still held by the Belgrade regime. 
     Dr Brovina, 50, was arrested in Pristina in April and has now been sentenced to 12 years by a court in the Serbian city of Nis for "conspiring to commit hostile acts" and "terrorism" aimed at promoting the independence of Kosovo. The evidence against her included possession of wool donated by Oxfam, which she distributed to displaced Albanian women to knit sweaters. The British-based aid organisation also has projects in Serbia, but as Nikola Barovic, a Belgrade lawyer, put it: "In Stalin's time one got 10 years for nothing. Here one gets 12." 
     Another Serbian legal figure, Natasha Kandic, head of the Humanitarian Law Centre, said: "The sentence against Flora Brovina is a political measure against her [and] clearly has nothing to do with the alleged crime Brovina has committed." 
     Other Serbian opposition groups described her imprisonment as "ethnic revenge", especially after it emerged that both the judge in Dr Brovina's trial, Marina Milanovic, and the prosecutor, Miodrag Surla, come from Kosovo. Both worked in the district court of Pristina, which hurriedly moved to Nis when the Serbian administration withdrew from the province in June. Serbian judges are named by parliament and are considered part of the regime. 
     Although she suffers from health problems – she has high blood pressure and slight paralysis on her left side – Dr Brovina is reported to have refused to lodge an appeal against her sentence. Married to Ajri Begu, who is now an economic adviser to the United Nations administration in Kosovo, she supported herself during her medical studies by writing for magazines, and has published several books of poetry. She is unusual in her generation of Albanian women for her involvement in public affairs – in 1992 she founded the League of Albanian Women in Kosovo to protest against Serbian rule and to provide humanitarian assistance to Albanian women and children. 
     Although she insisted the organisation was non-political, she organised numerous protests. When Serbian forces staged bloody reprisals in the Drenica region early in 1998, she led 20,000 women in a march through Pristina. 
     The Serbian authorities had probably marked Dr Brovina out as an opponent much earlier, however. Her PhD thesis was on a spate of mysterious poisonings in Kosovo in 1990, when thousands of Albanian schoolchildren were sent to hospital with head and stomach pains and vomiting. Some experts blamed mass hysteria, but a UN toxicologist who analysed the victims' blood and urine samples found signs of sarin poisoning. Several years later it emerged that the Yugoslav army had produced the deadly nerve gas. 
     Gradimir Nalic, of the Yugoslav Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights, said Dr Brovina was "a scapegoat". "The whole process against her," he added, "showed the arrogance of the regime. There was also a message in that for the first time it was not an anonymous, simple ethnic Albanian on trial, but an intellectual, a physician, a human rights activist." 
     Baton Haxhiu, editor of Koha Ditore, Kosovo's most prominent Albanian-language newspaper, described Dr Brovina as a "hostage" of Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic. "Her imprisonment, with the Serbian elections coming up, helps him to show his people that Kosovo is not lost," he said. "Milosevic can say: 'This is how we deal with separatists and terrorists on our soil.' It is also useful in his dealings with the international community – Flora and the rest of the Albanians held in Serbia can be used as bargaining chips as he tries to escape isolation."

© 1999 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd.

Friday, December 17 12:58 AM SGT 

Trial resumes of six Kosovo Albanians accused of terrorism

BELGRADE, Dec 16 (AFP) – 
The trial of six Kosovo Albanians accused of terrorism resumed in a Belgrade court Thursday, with a hearing of witnesses to the police search for evidence, Beta news agency reported.
     The six defendants are charged with "conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and sabotage during a state of war," including setting off explosive devices in public places" in Belgrade, as well as collecting data on police movements."
     Five of the accused denied the charges at the start of the trial in November, accusing police of forcing a confession from them during questioning.
     Five defendants, all students at Belgrade University, are appearing in court, while a sixth, Zef Palluca, a silversmith, is being tried in abstentia.
     If found guilty, they each face up to 20 years' imprisonment.
     Salko Vujic, a witness who lived in Palluca's flat, told the court Thursday that the police had found several explosive devices during the search, but insisted that this was the first time he had seen them.
     "The policemen told me they found explosives in the toilet boiler and washing machine, which we have been using every day without incident," Vujic told the court.
     Another witness, Dragoslava Aleksic, whose flatmate was a friend of one of the defendants, said ten policemen in plain clothes conducted the search, together with two other men described as witnesses.
     "A man who was presented as witness, came out from the room with two bombs in his bare hands, saying they were found in a vase," Aleksic said.
     She added that she had cleaned this room in the days before the trial and moved the vase numerous times before.
     The trial is scheduled to continue on Friday, the agency said, with hearing of another witnesses.
     The five are among 2,050 ethnic Albanians arrested by Yugoslav authorities. Many are accused of being members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, considered a terrorist organisation by Belgrade and officially demilitarised in September.
     The Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre said that about 150 ethnic Albanians were convicted in October and November and sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 15 years.
     Last week, Kosovo Albanian human rights activist Flora Brovina was sentenced to 12 years in prison for "terrorist activities," in a trial condemned by the United States and international human rights groups.

Copyright © 1999 AFP.

From: "Alice Mead" <alkosov@rcn.com>
Subject: print!!!quotables--for the site, rally, interviews
Date: Wed, Nov 17, 1999, 12:02 PM

post on APP site     --comments. Please add any significant quotations or statements. Keep them brief. thanks-Alice

1. IWPR article. Laura Rozen.  Nov. 1999. UNHCHR director in Serbia, Barbara Davis on the trials of the Albanian prisoners. "It's not just people's lives that are being ruined in these trials. It's the entire state of rule of law. And whether or not there can be rule of law and respect for rule of law is at stake."

2. Amnesty International-Nov. 1999 statement--The Brovina trial is not fair and does not meet international standards of justice. Amnesty found no evidence of her involvement in violent acts.

3. U.S. State Dept-James Rubin--Nov 11, 1999 The prisoners have suffered beatings, insufficient food, and denial of medical care. We are particularly concerned for the women and children.

4. U.S. State Dept.-James Rubin--Nov. 11,1999 As far as we can tell, the only thing Flora Brovina has done is to provide pediatric and medical services to displaced women and children during the conflict.

5. US Representative Eliot Engel--July 21,1999 the House of Representatives passed by unanaimous vote a resolution asking for:
a. immediate accounting of all Albanian prisoners
b. that all Albanian prisoners shall be treated according to international standards
c. that all 5,000 prisoners should be released and returned to Kosova in accordance with the Geneva Conventions of 1949

6. July 10, 1999/ Washington Post: According to Serb minister of Justice Dragoljub Jankovic, there are 800 prisoners in Pozharevac, 400 in Nish, 330 in Mitrovica, 180 in Leskovac, 95 in Prokuplje, and 55 in Zajecar. He claims that many of their files and court documents were lost during the transfer from Kosova when they were transfered in a convoy of buses.

7. July 10, 1999. Washington Post. The warden of Pozharevac Penitentiary, Stipe Marusic, said he had received 647 Albanian prisoners on the last day of the war. 579 of them were not convicted, but listed as detainees or "under investigation." They have now been held over 7 months without any convictions. Many were taken and held without charges under martial law.

8. On July 10, 1999. Representative Eliot Engel asked that the prisoners should be turned over to the United Nations.

9. The International Committee of the Red Cross worker, Dominique Dufour, explains the Serb position on the prisoners this way. "Serbs claim that the Albanians are Yugoslav citizens detained for crimes committed in Yugoslavia. So according to the Serbs, what the international human rights groups are asking for is amnesty. There was no formal agreement make about the prisoners between NATO and Yugoslavia and there needs to be."

10. Rep. Moran of Virginia-- July 10, 1999- "These 5,000 people are represented by families, thousands of people who do not know if their loved ones have been executed or are being held in prison."

11. Representative Smith of New Jersey, Chairman of the subcommittee of International Operations and Human Rights:
July 10, 1999-- I went to the OSCE Parliament in July in St. Petersburg. OSCE raised the prisoner issue in its St. Petersburg Declaration urging their release. Holding them violates the Geneva Conventions. We must go on record and say, "let these people go."

12. Rep. Cardin--July 10, 1999. The Engel amendment supports the work of the OSCE Parliamentary assembly. International humanitarian law requires the humane treatment of all prisoners, as well as Red Cross access. The prisoners must be released without delay following the cessation of hostile activities. That has not occurred.

13. Rep. Sue Kelly of New York--July 10, 1999. The continued detention of these prisoners can only prove to erode faith  in the peace agreement. Despite the end of military action, the war is not over for these 5,000 people.

14. Nikola Barovic, legal advisor the UNHCHR in Serbia, from IWPR article by Laura Rozen, Nov. 1999, "Only with  a change of government will there be a way to reform Serbia's legal system."

15. Laura Rozen. IWPR article. "Serbian authorities have confirmed that there are currently 12 Kosovo Albanian women and 25 minors in Pozharevac prison. There is also a five month old baby born in May to Igbale Xhafaj, age 20, who gave birth in her cell. Aside from the baby, the youngest prisoner is Sabri Muzliu, age 5, from Strubllove, a village near Glogovac, who is being held along with her sibling Shemsi, age 14."

16. Laura Rozen, IWPR. Nov. 1999. "The conviction of Kosovo prisoners on the basis of no evidence, as well as the growing number of arrests of Serbian pro-democracy activists on no legitimate charges, has convinced some human rights activists that there can be no rule of law in Serbia without major political change."

17. AP- Nov. 11, 1999. "U.S. Concerned About Serb Prisoners." James Rubin. "We want to express our concern over the apparent abuse of the legal system in these case and others and condemn Serbia's actions as a continued demonstration of Serbia's disregard for international norms of behaviour."

18. Human Rights Watch-Nov. 8, 1999. "The courts in Serbia are often controlled by the government. Defendants, especially Kosovar Albanians in political cases, are  often denied due process. Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that Dr. Brovina will not be granted a fair trial."

19. Holly Cartner, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch-Europe and Central Asia. "It was a great mistake that the fate of the Kosovar Albanian prisoners was not part of the agreement between NATO and Yugoslavia that ended the war."

20. Human Rights Watch--Nov. 8, 1999. The Yugoslav government has acknowledged that approximately 1,900 Kosovar Albanians are being held at thirteen different detention facilities in Serbia. All of them have been visited at least once in six months by ICRC. But some detainees do not appear on the government lists, such as Albin Kurti, the well-known student activist and former KLA political representative currently held in Pozharevac. It is not currently known if the more than 5,000 missing Albanians are being detained or are dead.

Alice Mead
598 Shore Rd
Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107
November 15, 1999

GREAT BALLS OF YARN !!!!

 Op-ed:       Who Is A Terrorist Here?

What do a five month old infant, a professor of Philosophy, a female pediatrician, a 24 year old telecommunications student, a journalist, twelve teenage boys from Gllogoc, several literature students, and eleven women have in common?

They are all Albanian prisoners who have been detained in Serbia since June. Most were arrested by Serb police in Kosova in April and May, 1999 during the war. They are all being detained on martial war warrants of detention, which officially expired on June 30th, and they have been accused, for the most part, of committing "acts of terrorism against the State of Yugoslavia."

Let us ignore for the moment whether the State of Yugoslavia actually exists,  though European experts declared it officially dissolved in 1994, and the United Nations chair for  The Republic of Yugoslavia has stood empty for five years.  And let¹s focus, instead, on the word "terrorism." It¹s one that, thanks to its gross overuse in the media, we readily accept. But what does it mean?

Terror itself is a state of intense fear, from the Latin word "to fear," and the Greek word "to flee from fear." Some of these men who are now prisoners, in fact perhaps thousands of them, were arrested for "terrorism" as they were in the very act of fleeing from fear-- from their own homes. Ironically, these very fleers have been accused of terrorism. It¹s hard to commit acts of terror while you are in the act of fleeing for your life through the high mountains of Albania.

Terrorism is the sytematic use of fear as a means of coercion, through either threats of actual violence. The word "systematic" suggests some level of planning and organization.  A terrorist is one who practices creating systematic fear. The dictionary gives the example of the Nazi "reign of terror." Bin Laden, the man who organized the bombing of the American embassies in Africa, acts which killed hundreds of innocent people, is a known terrorist. Timothy McVeigh, who blew up the Oklahoma Federal office building in Tulsa, committed a terrorist act.

Now that we have established what these words mean, let us see how they apply to the 5,000 Albanian prisoners detained in Serbia. For example, how could a five year old girl from a small village have created a systematic reign of terror against the State of Yugoslavia, especially considering that a war was on and her ability to obtain supplies would be greatly hampered? Who exactly did she coerce? And how?

How could a twenty year old woman, eight months pregnant, who later gave birth in her prison cell in Pozharevac, be, at the same time, committing acts that inspired terror and the urge to flee in fear throughout the Republic of Serbia?

How could a pediatrician commit acts of terror  while providing, at the same time, medical assistance to hundreds of displaced Albanian women and children, people who had fled in fear from their homes and had no place to live? Why were Albanians fleeing in fear if it was the Serbs who were being terrorized?

Bags of yarn from Oxfam have been collected from Dr. Brovina¹s  Prishtine office and submitted as evidence of her terrorist actions. Is it true that yarn can be used to create a fearful, explosive device? If so, move over to all those who believe that it takes a truckload of manure to blow up a building! Which Serbs throughout the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro fled in fear from these terrifying yarn balls? How could CNN have missed such a unique moment in history?

Immediately a question arises. Can refugees and Internally Displaced People also be terrorists, i.e. people who force others to flee in fear? Are children, journalists, doctors, teachers, and students terrorists? Shouldn¹t you have to be an identified terrorist to be a terrorist, like Bin Laden? Shouldn¹t you have to do something nasty and remorseless to qualify as a terrorist?

Did any of these 5,000 people enter Serbia, capture an airplane full of Serb civilians and then hold them hostage to gain freedom for Kosova? Did any of them enter Belgrade and blow up an embassy, killing hundreds of innocent people? Did the KLA throw explosive Oxfam yarn balls‹provided by Dr. Brovina- at the civilians in downtown Belgrade?

Obviously then, terrorism and terrorist acts are not at the heart of the prisoner problem. Instead, snatching these 5,000 Albanians, nearly all of them civilians, none of them known terrorists, out of Kosova and into Serbia at the end of the war was an act that of the gravest of human rights violations. The violation called disappearances. That is the truth of what happened.

These people are now trapped in a system without recourse to a fair trial. They are trapped in a system where distributing balls of yarn is seen as "dangerous and subversive."  How can they ever be released?

One reason they¹re still imprisoned is that irresolute Western leadership has not taken any meaningful action to secure the release of these 5,000 individuals, most of whom were arrested simply because of their ethnicity or because their political beliefs did not coincide with an ultra-nationalist Serb policy that called for their extinction and forced removal.

08 November 1999

Information obtained by the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) points to grave violations of due process by Serbian judicial bodies and correctional institutions against ethnic Albanians who were arrested in the 24 March-10 June period this year on charges of terrorism and other criminal acts against the constitutional order of FR Yugoslavia prior to 24 March, or who have been convicted of criminal offenses in connection with the Kosovo conflict. 
According to the HLC’s information, some 350 Kosovo Albanians are currently being held without any legal grounds.  The 30-day detention period set by the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs on the basis of the FR Yugoslavia government’s decree on the application of the Criminal Procedure Code during the state of war expired five and more months ago.  The persons being held include minors of the age of thirteen, among them Ekrem Nebihi. 
HLC attorneys Ibish Hoti and Mustafa Radoniqi, defense counsel for several Albanians detained at the Sremska Mitrovica penitentiary and correctional institution, have not been permitted to see their clients.  No explanation has been given. 
Trials are frequently scheduled without the indictments being first delivered to the accused or their lawyers or, when delivered, they are in the Serbian language.  Furthermore, courts neglect to summon lawyers from Kosovo retained by the accused or members of their families.  Defendants are assigned court-appointed attorneys, some of whom fail to appear in the courtroom on the trial date.  The HLC has noted also that various intermediaries often recommend that accused Albanians retain lawyers from Serbia, for whom defending Albanians charged with political offenses has become a lucrative business.  In addition, trials are held without professional interpreters so that the majority of defendants are unable to follow the proceedings.
Serbian judicial bodies thus systemically violate the rights of detained persons guaranteed by Article 24 of the FR Yugoslavia Constitution, Article 16 of the Serbian Constitution, articles 190 through 200 of the Yugoslav Criminal Procedure Code, and generally recognized international standards. 
Since the detainees in Serbia are Kosovo Albanian civilians who were arrested after 24 March while on their way to neighboring Albania after being driven from their homes by the security forces, and persons accused of being members of or aiding the Kosovo Liberation Army, the HLC strongly urges the highest Serbian government and judicial officials to initiate the procedure for the release of those who are being unlawfully detained and accused of political acts in connection with the Kosovo conflict. 
The Humanitarian Law Center reiterates its appeal to the relevant Serbian authorities to release immediately 25 Kosovo Albanian minors, around 200 wounded and sick, and Igbale Gjafaj and her four-month baby, considering their detention primarily as a humanitarian problem which must be dealt with on a priority basis.