Concerns in Europe January June 2001
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Update on Prisoners of Conscience
Concerns in Europe: January - June 2001
Amnesty International September 2001 photographed hitting a Czech protester on the head with a wooden pole by the weekly news magazine
assembly held on 1 May, and reportedly threatened journalists of Týden, saying that “they would see [what is going to happen] once he got his hands on them”.
United Nations Committee Against Torture
On 14 May the United Nations Committee Against Torture, after considering the second report of the Czech Republic, recommended that the Czech authorities:
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ensure the independence and thoroughness of investigations of all allegations of ill-treatment in general, and in connection with the IMF/World Bank meeting in September 2001 in particular, and to provide the Committee in its next periodic report with information on the findings and measures taken, including prosecutions and compensation to victims, as appropriate; ·
independence of investigations of offences committed by law enforcement officials by introducing a mechanism of external control; ·
ensure that all persons deprived of their liberty should be guaranteed the rights to notify a close relative or third party of their choice, the right to have access to a lawyer of their choice, as from the very outset of their custody, and the right to have access to a doctor of their choice in addition to any medical examination carried out by the police authorities;
The Committee further expressed concern, inter alia, about:
· instances of racism and xenophobia in society, including the increase in racially motivated violence against minority groups, as well as the increase in groups advocating such conduct; ·
continuing incidents of discrimination against Roma, including by local officials, and particularly about reports of degrading treatment by the police of members of minority groups, continuing reports of violent attacks against Roma and the alleged failure on the part of police and judicial authorities to provide adequate protection, and to investigate and prosecute such crimes, as well as the lenient treatment of offenders; ·
of the prison system, in particular the rescinding of the legal provisions on civil inspection without replacement during the period under review, as well as the lack of effective mechanism for processing prisoners’ complaints; ·
inter-prisoner violence and bullying in various institutions, including prisons, the military and educational institutions, as well as the presence of male guards in prisons for women where it may lead to an abuse of their authority.
AI called on the Czech authorities to implement as a matter of urgency the Committee’s recommendations.
F I N L A N D
Imprisonment of conscientious objectors continues
In December 2000 parliament rejected , by a slim majority, proposals to reduce the length of alternative civilian service. AI members have continued writing to government ministers expressing the organization’s concern over the discriminatory and punitive length of alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors to military service. Letters were received by AI from the Minister of Defence and the Minister for Foreign Trade, both in favour of maintaining the status quo. However, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and several Finnish embassies informed AI that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will continue to work for a shortened period of non-military service. As conscientious objectors are still being imprisoned for refusing to perform alternative service, AI has continued to urge the authorities for their release. During the first half of 2001 AI adopted six conscientious objectors as prisoners of conscience. They were all convicted of a "non-military service crime" and sentenced to imprisonment. In April AI took up the case of Sampsa Oinaala who was imprisoned on 12 March 2001 for 77 days after being convicted of "a crime against civilian service" for refusing to finish his civilian service. Valo Ilmari Samuel Saarilehto was imprisoned on 2 October 2000 for 196 days following his conviction for committing "a non-military service crime" - he had refused to carry out any kind of service. In both cases the discriminatory length of civilian service compared to military service played an important part in the men’s decision. In June AI adopted Ikka Forsblom, who on 26 March started his 197-day prison sentence for refusing to perform alternative service because he considers the current system in Finland inadequate and unfair due to its punitive length. Aleksi Sutinen has been imprisoned since June after being sentenced to 197 days’ imprisonment. Esa Juhani Saranpää is currently serving a prison sentence of 92 days for refusing to finish his civilian service. He is a pacifist. Lauri Pekka Kostiainen was sentenced to l97 days’ imprisonment in January for refusing to perform alternative service due to, inter alia, its length. Some of these prisoners of conscience are total objectors whom AI has adopted in view of the failure by the government to provide a system that can be considered fair. As long as the duration for conscientious objectors is twice as long as for more than 50 per cent of recruits (395 days compared to 180 days), AI will adopt anyone refusing to carry out alternative service. Yüklə 1,36 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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