From: Laura Kay Rozen  ... Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 11:30 AM Subject: BOKSHI BELIEVED KIDNAPPED Just spoke with Natasa Kandic. She now believes Bokshi was abducted by a special group of Kosovo Serb police. Here's a wrap up of what she said... + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Natasa Kandic, executive director of the Humanitarian Law Center, now believes that the Kosovar defense attorney Teki Bokshi, arrested on the highway Friday 10 miles outside of Belgrade by plains-clothes men in a grey Mercedes with Ministry of Interior license plates, was being abducted by a special group of Serb police. Kandic says over the past five days she has checked every police station from Belgrade to Sremska Mitrovica, and he is not there. The men who took Bokshi, in an official Ministry of Interior car, said they were going to check on his identity. But no one ever went to the Slavija Luxe hotel where he was staying and his identity documents are still there. It has been five days since he was taken and Kandic says she is no longer speaking of Bokshi's disappearance or arrest, but of his abduction. "I don't know who kidnapped him, but I am sure he is abducted by some group of police. Serb police from Kosovo," Kandic said in a phone interview Wednesday. Kandic said the abduction resembled those that were implemented during the NATO air strikes. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + _______________________________________________________________________ Von:    Laura Kay Rozen  Wolfgang Unfortunately, due to a misunderstand, the Independent said I am in Pristina. In fact, I am in Cambridge Mass. Sorry for any confusion. Best, Laura _______________________________________________________________________ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Europe/lawyer081299.shtml Lawyer detained by Serbs vanishes  By Laura Rozen in Pristina  8 December 1999 Concern is mounting for a leading Kosovo human rights lawyer detained by Serb police and held incommunicado.       In an ominous sign that those working to uphold the law in Serbia are in growing danger, Teki Bokshi, who was representing many of the 2,000 ethnic Albanians held in Serbian jails, was arrested five days ago by plain-clothes police and taken away in mysterious circumstances.       One of his colleagues received a phone call from Mr Bokshi a day after his disappearance but the call was cut off and nothing has been heard of him since. The Serbian Ministry of the Interior has failed to respond to requests for information.       Mr Bokshi, a Kosovo Albanian lawyer, was working for the Humanitarian Law Centre (HLC), a human-rights organisation in Belgrade.       The United Nations special rapporteur for human rights, Jiri Dienstbier, and Amnesty International sounded the alarm among the international community and human rights activists about Mr Bokshi's arrest.       Barbara Davis, the representative to former Yugoslavia for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: "The special rapporteur has asked the Serbian authorities if they would explain Bokshi's whereabouts and help resolve his arbitrary detention. I hope this situation will not lead to a setback for all detainees." Amnesty International said it was "seriously concerned for Mr Bokshi's safety", and urged people to send letters to President Slobodan Milosevic.       Two lawyers, Ibish Hoti, and Mustafa Radoniqi, were with Mr Bokshi when he was arrested. The trio had met Kosovo Albanian detainees jailed in the southern town of Mitrovica. They were driving the 130 miles back to Belgrade when, 10 miles from the capital, they were ordered to pull over by a man in a grey Mercedes that had official Ministry of Interior licence plates.       Three men, in plain clothes, got out of the Mercedes and took the keys of the lawyers' car from the driver. They ordered Mr Bokshi to accompany them back to his Belgrade hotel to pick up his identity documents.       When alerted, Natasa Kandic, the executive director of the HLC, issued a request to the Serbian Ministry of Justice for information on why Mr Bokshi was being held. Yesterday, she had still not received any information.       Ms Kandic said she received a phone call from Mr Bokshi on Saturday, the day after his disappearance. According to Ms Kandic, Mr Bokshi said "I am here", before the phone was cut. Ms Kandic says she doesn't know where "here" is.       For those who have met Mr Bokshi, the arrest of this most moderate figure is a particular outrage. He is one of the rare individuals who inhabits the increasingly narrow common ground where Serbs and Albanians come together to fight for human rights.       Greying, mild-mannered Mr Bokshi worked side by side with colleagues from all ethnic groups. He was instrumental in winning the release last month of 19 Kosovo Albanian children, aged 13-17, being held in Serbian prisons.       He was due to defend 28 Kosovars being held in President Milosevic's home town, Pozarevac, tomorrow. According to Ms Kandic, the 28 were taken by Serbian police from a convoy of refugees trying to flee the province during Nato air strikes. "We had expected them to be released since they were all taken from a civilian refugee column," Ms Kandic said. "But now that Bokshi has been arrested, we don't know."       The trial of the prominent Kosovo pediatrician, leader of the Kosovar League of Women and human rights activist Flora Brovina is also due to resume tomorrow in the southern Serbian city of Nis. Ms Brovina's trial, which began last month, has helped to raise international attention to the issue of the thousands of Kosovo Albanians being held in Serbian jails, many of whom have not been charged.       Some 300 Kosovo Albanians have been released from Serb jails since June, but almost 2,000 are still confirmed as held. A Western official said it appeared that hundreds more were being held by "non-state actors", who were demanding ransom money of up to $50,000 (£30,000) per head for their release.       The Western official confirmed that a "prisoners market" was active north-east of Podujevo, near Kosovo's provincial border with Serbia. Ethnic Albanians were encouraged to pay middle men to secure the release of Kosovo Albanians, who were often not released after the payment.  © 1999 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd.

RECOMMENDED ACTION !!

[text new formated - I think some blanks in the addresses below  originally were serbian signs my PC could not read ! ] Betreff:   Fw: Amnesty International's Urgent Action Datum:     Mon, 6 Dec 1999 18:52:31 +0100 Von:       "Grupa 484" <grupa484@beotel.yu> Date: ïîíåäåšàê 06, äåöåìáàð 1999 13:44 Subject: Amnesty International's Urgent Action PUBLIC                                           AI Index: EUR 70/130/99 UA 314/99       "Disappearance"/fear for safety    6 December 1999 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)  Teki Bokshi - ethnic Albanian lawyer and human rights activist from Kosovo Ethnic Albanian lawyer Teki Bokshi was detained by Serbian police on 3 December. The authorities have not given any information about his whereabouts, and Amnesty International is seriously concerned for his safety. Teki Bokshi, who lives in Kosovo, works for a Belgrade-based human rights organization, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC). He was returning to Belgrade from visiting clients in Sremska Mitrovica prison, northwest of the city, with two other ethnic Albanian HLC lawyers, when their car was stopped about 15 kilometres from Belgrade by plainclothes police in a grey Mercedes with Ministry of the Interior licence plates. The police took the car keys and demanded all three men's identity documents. Teki Bokshi had left his documents at the Belgrade hotel where he was staying. The police kept the other two lawyers' documents and ordered them to wait at the roadside, saying that they were taking Teki Bokshi to the hotel to check his identity. Teki Bokshi was taken off at about 2pm. At 5pm the two other men raised the alarm. Despite appeals to the Serbian authorities, HLC director Nata a Kandi  has been unable to obtain news from them of Teki Bokshi since his "disappearance". BACKGROUND INFORMATION The HLC, established in 1992, is a well-respected national human rights organization with offices in Belgrade, Montenegro and Kosovo. Teki Bokshi and the other two lawyers were defending some of nearly 2,000 ethnic Albanian prisoners from Kosovo, including some women and minors, detained on suspicion of committing acts of "terrorism" and accused of being members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the main ethnic Albanian armed group in the conflict in Kosovo. Some have already been convicted in trials Amnesty International believes were unfair. The Serbian authorities transferred the ethnic Albanians to prisons in Serbia proper after the Serbian police withdrew from Kosovo in June. It is likely that many of them have been tortured or ill-treated in detention. Some 300 prisoners have been released after charges against them were dropped.  RECOMMENDED ACTION:  Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/airmail letters in English, French, German, Russian or your own language: - asking for information about the whereabouts of Teki Bokshi, who was detained by police between Sremska Mitrovica and Belgrade on 3 December 1999; - calling for his immediate and unconditional release; - expressing concern for his safety while he remains in unacknowledged detention. APPEALS TO: President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic Predsednik SRJ Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia           Telegrams:     President, Belgrade, Yugoslavia           Faxes:    + 381 11 636 775           Telexes:  11062 siv yu           E-mails:  slobodan.milosevic@gov.yu       Salutation:    Dear President Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Vlajko Stojiljkovi  Ministar unutra njih poslova Republike Srbije  Kneza Milo a 101 11000 Beograd, FR Yugoslavia        Fax: +381 11 3617 508 Salutation: Dear Minister Federal Minister of Internal Affairs Zoran Sokolovi  Ministar za unutra nje poslove Savezno ministarstvo za unutra nje poslove  11000 Beograd, FR Yugoslavia           Telegrams:     Federal Minister, Belgrade, Yugoslavia           Faxes:    + 381 11 361 7730           E-mails:  zoran.sokolovic@gov.yu       Salutation:    Dear Minister COPIES TO: Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Ministar za inostrane poslove  ivadin Jovanovi  Savezno ministarstvo za inostrane poslove Kneza Milo a 24-26 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia           Faxes:    + 381 11 367 2954           Telexes:  11173           E-mails:  zivadin.jovanovic@gov.yu and to diplomatic representatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.  Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 17 January 1999. _______________________________________________________________________ Betreff:    Fw: Amnesty International's News Service Datum:      Mon, 6 Dec 1999 19:07:57 +0100 Von:        "Grupa 484" <grupa484@beotel.yu> Date: ïîíåäåšàê 06, äåöåìáàð 1999 16:45 Subject: Amnesty International's News Service This is an Amnesty International News Service on Federal Republic of Yugoslavia released today News Service 229/99 AI INDEX: EUR 70/131/99 6 December 1999 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) /         Kosovo: OSCE reports should be applauded The release of two reports on Kosovo (Kosova) today by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a welcome development and could serve as a precedent to strengthen the OSCE's effectiveness in protecting human rights, Amnesty International said today.      The reports, Kosovo/Kosova: As Seen, As Told, Parts I and II, provide a revealing analysis of human rights violations and abuses in the region over the last year.      "The horrific human rights violations described in the two reports underscore the need to ensure that international organizations cannot be silent witnesses to human rights violations in any situation", Amnesty International said.      The OSCE identifies serious problems with the administration of justice in Kosovo, in particular confusion over which law should be applied and allegations of bias in the judiciary, conclusions which Amnesty International shares.  The United Nations (UN), with the support of the international community, must increase its efforts to establish an independent and impartial judicial system in Kosovo, Amnesty International said.      Amnesty International supports the OSCE's call for an end to impunity and urges the FRY to transfer all indicted suspects to the Hague to face trial for crimes committed before and during the armed conflict.      Amnesty International also supports the OSCE's call for all states contributing to the UN presence to immediately provide personnel and resources necessary for effective policing and human rights investigations," Amnesty International stated. "It must not be forgotten that the international presence is ultimately responsible for the protection of human rights in Kosovo."      "As the 22 murders over the past week demonstrate, the international community  is struggling to fulfil its mandate.  Amnesty International urges the international presence led by the UN and NATO to redouble efforts to control and disarm all armed groups, regardless of their political affiliation, and ensure that current applicants to the civil defence force are not engaging in unauthorized activities",  the organization said. The reports are available on the OSCE website: http://www.osce.org/kosovo/reports/hr/index.htm. ENDS.../ *********************************************************************** For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 171 413 5566, or visit our website at http://www.amnesty.org

 

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