NEWS ARROUND PRISON AND LAW / ASIA

27. Dezember 2005

PAKISTAN

der leiter des knastes adyal, rawalpindi, wurde nach einem hungerstreik von 16 männern abgelöst. die männer, die als jihadi-gefangene bezeichnet werden, hatten den hungerstreik begonnen, nachdem der leiter des knastes während ihres gebetes eine zellendurchsuchung machte und dabei auch "den koran entweiht" hatte.

JAIL CHIEF SUSPENDED OVER KORAN ALLEGATIONS

Pakistani authorities have taken swift action after Jihadi inmates in a Rawalpindi jail embarked on a hunger strike in protest at the alleged desecration of the Koran. The official involved in the incident, deputy prison superintendent Tipu Sultan, has been suspended from his post. Sixteen terrorist suspects awaiting trial have now suspended their hunger strike.

The deputy inspector general of police, Salik Jalal, and the superintendent of the prison, Adyala Faisal Nisar, visited the 16 inmates in Adyala Jail on Tuesday, informing them that officer Tipu Sultan who allegedly desecrated the Muslim holy book has been suspended with immediate effect and an inquiry has been set up. They assured the inmates that if the allegations against the jail officer Tipu Sultan were proven, he would be given exemplary punishment.

Earlier, as reported by Adnkronos International (AKI), 16 prisoners in Adyal Jail, Rawalpindi, released a signed message in which they maintained that when Tipu Sultan visited their cell, the inmates were performing their prayers individually as they were in shackles. In their account the assistant superintendent cursed them and forced them to stop their prayers and conducted a search, during which a copy of the Koran was recovered. They say he threw it on the ground and yelled: "This is the book which teaches you terrorism. This is the book which has brought you here."

The news has spread like wild fire around the country and by Tuesday evening, various evening newspapers in the northern parts of Pakistan ran it on their front pages and took out special issues on the issue of the desecration of the Muslims holy book, after which the government had to move fast. Earlier this year, a report in Newsweek, later retracted, that guards in the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had desecrated the Koran, caused intense unest in Afghanistan, during which at least 15 people were killed in protests.

[  adnki.com

27. Dezember 2005

ISRAEL

einige zitate aus dem bericht des palästinensischen ministeriums für gefangene und ehemalige/ befreite gefangene :

" 9.200 gefangene sind in den israelischen gefängnissen inhaftiert."

" 570 gefangene ( 6.2%) wurden vor der al aqsa intifada, die ende 2000 ausbrach, verhaftete, davon wurden 369 gefangene ( 4%) vor 1994 ( oslo ? verträge etablierung der palästinensischen autonomiebehörden) festgenommen."

"35 gefangene wurden vor mehr als 20 jahren verhaftet, 6 vor 25 jahren....."

" 400 frauen wurden während der al aqsa intifada festgenommen, 116 ( 1.3%) sind immer noch inhaftiert." " sechs frauen sind unter 18 jahre alt, ..."

" folter ist immer noch eine praxis in israelischen gefängnissen, trotz eines urteils des höchsten gerichtes 1966 das die anwendung jeder art von folter während den verhören verbietet."

" 181 gefangene sind durch die folter gestorben, einige wurden nach ihrer verhaftung ermordet, während andere wegen der fehlenden medizinischen betreuung starben."

" 4000 palästinensische kinder wurden seit dem beginn der intifada verhaftet, 301 ( 3.3%) sind noch inhaftiert."

" 1. 200 gefangene leiden unter chronischen krankheiten, darunter einige gefangene die bei ihrer festnahme angeschossen und verletzt wurden und die nicht behandelt wurden."

Report: "9200 detainees are imprisoned in Israeli prisons"

The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and Freed Detainees, reported that 9200 Palestinian detainee are still detained in more than 28 Israeli prisons, detention facilities, and interrogation centers. The ministry released a report on Tuesday and revealed that 270 detainees were arrested during November, and are currently placed in interrogation centers.

Also, the ministry reported that Israel arrested since 1967 more than 650.000 detainees, which resembles 20% of the total population of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.In spite of the current “truce” Israeli soldiers carried dozens of arrest raids and “random arrests”, and arrested since the Sharm Al Sheikh truce agreement, in February, 3000 residents, and opened new branches in Ofer and Shatta detention facilities.

The report revealed that Israel resumed its violations against the detainees, and attacked them in their rooms and cells; dozens of detainees were injured by bullets which cause skin burn, while others were hit with batons after soldiers repeatedly broke into the detention facilities.

570 detainees (6.2%) were arrested before Al Aqsa Intifada, which erupted late 2000, in addition to 369 detainees (4%) who were arrested before the Palestinian Authority was established.

201 detainees (2.2%) were arrested after the Oslo agreement and before Al Aqsa Intifada, and remained in custody.

400 female detainees were arrested during Al Aqsa Intifada, 116 (1.3%) of them are still imprisoned. 107 of the female detainees are from the West Bank, 6 from Jerusalem, and 3 from the Gaza Strip.

Six female detainees are still under the age of 18, 25 women were arrested this year and 35 were arrested in 2004.

The detainees are facing very bad living conditions, lack of medical treatments, and suffering continuous violations and attacks.

Regarding detained children in Israeli prisons, the report revealed that Israel is arresting children and detaining them under cruel and inhuman conditions, directly violating the international laws and principle of human rights.

The report also mentioned that Israel is still using torture during interrogation, including torture against child detainees, in addition to barring the detainees from their basic rights, such as medical attention, and imposing fines on them.

Torture is still practiced in Israeli detention facilities in spite of a ruling by the Israeli High Court of Justice in 1966 which prohibited the usage of all sorts of torture during interrogation.

According to the report, torture starts directly after arrest; soldiers attack the arrested residents, cuff them with plastic handcuffs that cause cuts and pressure the hands, blindfold and drag them.

Dozens of detainees were also kicked, clubbed and hit with the back of the rifle during arrest.

181 detainees died as a result of torture, some of them were killed after they were arrested, while others died as a result of medical neglect. The latest casualty among the detainees was Jawad Adel Mgheisib, 18, who died as a result of medical neglect, at the Negev detention camp on 28 July 2005.

Abu Mgheisib was arrested on December 1, 2002, he was only 15 years old when he was arrested and was sentenced to 33 months imprisonment.

The future of child detainees is directly endangered especially since Israel deprives them from the right of education.

4000 Palestinian children were arrested since the beginning of the Intifada, 301 (3.3%) are still detained. 15 child detainees are from Jerusalem, 6 from the Gaza Strip, and 208 from the West Bank; 77 from Nablus, 62 from Ramallah, 27 from Hebron. 295 of the child detainees are males.

79 child detainees (26.2%) are suffering different sorts of sicknesses and deprived from medical care and treatment. Hundreds of detainees arrived the age of 18 while they were imprisoned.

99% of the child detainees were tortured, especially by placing bags on their heads, beating them and forcing them to stand for long periods.

200 child detainees are placed in Telmond detention facility, 37 are in Ofer, 20 in Majiddo, 10 in the Negev, while the rest are detained in Hasharon, Al Jalama, Atzion and other detention facilities.

Also, there are 369 detainees who were arrested before the Palestinian Authority was formed, and are still imprisoned.

1200 detainees are suffer chronic diseases, among them several detainees who were shot and injured during their arrest and did not receive the needed treatment.

Dozens of Palestinian detainees are barred from their visitation rights since several years.

35 detainees were arrested more than 20 years ago, 6 were arrested 25 years ago, and they are still imprisoned.

[  imemc.org

25. dezember 2005

CHINA

ein 44 jähriger mann, der während der proteste gegen japan im april festgenommen wurde, wurde als angeblicher organisator zu 12 jahren knast verurteilt. anlass der demos war die herausgabe eines neuen schulbuches in japan in dem die japanischen massaker in nanjing 1937/38 ,bei denen zwischen 250.000 und 300.000 menschen ermordet wurden, als "vorkommnis/ zwischenfall" bezeichnet werden.

Anti-Japanese protest earns jail term

China reportedly sentenced a citizen to 12 years in jail for organizing anti-Japanese protests over that country's approval of controversial textbooks. The rallies last April were to protest the textbooks, which the organizers said had glossed over Japan's wartime atrocities, the BBC reports. Xu Wanping, 44, who was among those arrested for the protests, was found guilty of incitement to subvert state power at a closed hearing, his wife said. The "New History" textbooks, published by a right-wing publisher, deal with the 1937-38 Nanjing massacre in which Japanese troops killed an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 people and refer to it only as an "incident," the report said

[  sciencedaily.com

25. Dezember 2005

IRAQ

die usa - militärbehörden werden keine gefangenen an die irakischen behörden ausliefern. als grund wird angegeben das die gefängnisse und die unterbringung sowie die behandlung von gefangenen nicht dem us standard entsprechen werden. die behörden geben die zahl der irakischen menschen in us- haft mit 14.000 an, 3.000 gefangene seien noch nicht vor einem gericht gewesen.

US demands Iraq protect prisoners

The huge prison complex became infamous after photographs revealed the abuse and sexual humiliation of detainees by US guards. The US military admitted that most US-run prisons in Iraq are severely overcrowded, and that its target of handing over facilities and detainees to the local authorities next year could be set back, the newspaper said. "A specific timeline for doing this is difficult to project at this stage with so many variables," US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson said.

"The transition will be based on meeting standards, not on a timeline." The US says there are more than 14,000 prisoners held in US custody - up from about 8,000 in January - and more than 3,000 had still not come before a court. US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said this month that at least 120 abused prisoners had been found in two detention facilities run by Iraq's interior ministry. The alleged abuse discovered by US and Iraqi troops included electric shocks and the removal of finger nails. Sunni groups in Iraq have claimed that torture is common in Shia-run prisons.

[  news.bbc.co.uk

21. Dezember 2005

PAKISTAN

der innenminister der provinz sindh sagte das 70% der gefangenen seit jahren in den knästen sind für taten die sie nie verübten. sindh ist eine von 4 pakistanischen provinzen. die hauptstadt ist karatschi. im sindh leben etwa 40 millionen menschen.

70 per cent prisoners innocent, says Rauf business

Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui has said that seventy per cent of the prisoners could be freed by the courts as they were languishing in the jails since years for the crimes they had never committed. "It is up to the courts to play the role and dispense justice to the innocent persons," he said while addressing at a three-day training workshop for lawyers organized by the Society for Human Rights and Prisoners? Aid at a local hotel on Monday night.

He said that lawyers could protect the rights of people and urged them to work for dispensation of justice to those who were ignorant of their legal rights and were helpless to seek justice. "A majority of prisoners is languishing in jails for the last five years for having committed no crimes," he said adding that the courts can release such persons. He urged the religious scholars to play their role in getting the nation rid of such infamous and un-Islamic traditions. Rauf Siddiqui suggested the human rights organization to get published booklets in Sindhi, Urdu, Balochi, Pushto, Punjabi and other languages on legal rights of people.

[  dawn.com

15. Dezember 2005

ISRAEL

ein längerer bericht über taxifahrer in israel die verurteilt werden weil sie sog. shabah ( die hebräische bezeichnung für jemanden der "illegal" in israel ist) aus palästina gefahren haben. 1996 wurde ein notstandsgesetz no. 12a , welches jährlich erneuert wird, in das gesetzbuch von 1952 eingefügt. " eine person die mit einem fahrzeug einen ausländischen bewohner , dessen aufenthalt illegal ist, transportiert soll mit bis zu 2 jahren gefängnis bestraft werden." ( dies betrifft nicht alle migrantinnen, sondern bezieht sich speziell auf die menschen aus den besetzten gebieten die als bewohnerinnen gelten).

anfangs war das ganze ein vergehen auf verwaltungsebene doch seit etwa 5 jahren ist es ein kriminelles delikt. 2001 hat das oberste gericht dazu eine strenge richtlinie vorgegeben, die praktisch aus jedem taxifahrer einen polizisten macht.

jede/r fahrer/in mit fahrgästen im auto , egal ob die bezahlt haben für die fahrt oder nicht, ist verantwortlich dafür das diese legal in israel sind, will er oder sie nicht verurteilt werden. die strafzumessung erfolgt dann automatisch: " wenn der beschuldigte keine außergewöhnlichen umstände geltend machen kann, muß er" selbst wenn er ein ganz normaler/ einfacher bürger ist, der unschuldig handelt oder es wegen einer dringlichen notlage getan hat - verurteilt werden zu einer angemessenen gefängnisstrafe ( 1 monat bis 2 jahre) ohne die möglichkeit dies in gemeinnütige arbeit umzuwandeln, schrieb richter yaacov turkel in dem urteil 2001. nachdem immer mehr taxifahrerinnen verurteilt wurden, befördern einige taxiunternehmen keine palästinenserinnen mehr.

The taxi police

Shlomo Eliahu was unable to get up. He tried to rise from the chair and extended a hand in greeting, but fell back again. His back has been killing him since he was released from Ma'asiyahu Prison a few weeks ago. Of the 150 prisoners who were in his wing, he says, 100 were sick all the time and infected each other. He was sick, too. The cold permeates your bones there and the germs are all over, he says, holding his back and groaning. Eliahu, 45, is a taxi driver. "A generally normative citizen who is not an offender, an accused who has no criminal past," was the impression he made on Judge Chanoch Feder, the deputy president of Kfar Sava Magistrate's Court. Nevertheless, the judge sent him to prison for a month, "in these troubled security times." What was Eliahu's crime? In March 2004 he gave a ride to a Palestinian shabah (the Hebrew acronym for one who is "llegally present" in Israel), who worked without a permit in a vegetable store in Herzliya Pituah. That is a criminal offense that carries a minimum jail term of one month.

According to the legislators, Eliahu should not only have somehow known that his passenger was a shabah - he was also obligated to ask him for identification papers and entry permits to Israel. As it happens, Eliahu asked his passenger to show him some ID, but the document he showed him - as it turned out when it was already too late - was not a permit allowing him to be in Israel. Eliahu was arrested by Border Police at a checkpoint near the Green Line (Israel's pre-1967 border) and his cab was impounded for a month. The Palestinian passenger was released and went back to work in the vegetable store. Eliahu was tried, convicted and sentenced to seven months in prison, of which six months were suspended (but will be activated if he repeats the offense during the next three years); he also paid a fine of NIS 1,000.

What is a permit?

Shlomo Eliahu is not alone. The police and the Israel Prisons Service (IPS) have no data concerning the number of taxi drivers who have been caught, but from a sample of 850 drivers who work at 11 depots in Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Kfar Sava, Ra'anana and Netanya, it turned out that 25 had been apprehended with shabahim in their taxis. Some have already been convicted and served time, others are in various stages of criminal proceedings against them. If that figure represents the situation throughout the country, then nearly 900 of Israel's approximately 30,000 registered taxi drivers have already been detained for this offense. Many of them may still be awaiting trial, trembling with fear and praying that the state forgets about them.

But the state does not forget. In 1996, in the wake of a wave of terrorist attacks, emergency provision No. 12A (which is renewed annually) was appended to the Entry into Israel Law of 1952, stipulating, "A person who transports in a vehicle a foreign resident who is present in Israel illegally shall be sentenced to two years in prison." (The prohibition does not apply to foreign workers - those who are not Palestinians from the territories - because they are not considered "residents.") The provision also authorizes a policeman who finds "a reasonable basis for suspecting that an offense has been committed" to prohibit the vehicle's driver or owner "from using the vehicle for a period of 30 days and to seize the vehicle permit for the same period." The emergency provision does not stipulate a minimum punishment or even a mandatory one; the offense is classified as an administrative one for which the usual punishment is a fine of NIS 2,000.

Drivers of buses and minibus taxis are not required by law to check their passengers' papers. Five years ago the Knesset decided to be tougher on the offenders and made the offense a criminal rather than an administrative one - though the maximum sentence remained two years' imprisonment. In 2001 the Supreme Court heard an appeal on emergency provision No. 12A in the case of Talat Khatib, and laid down a strict interpretation of it, which is today followed by nearly all courts. The practical significance of the court's ruling was to make every driver a potential cop.

Any driver with passengers in his vehicle, whether they have paid for the ride or not, is responsible for verifying that they are in Israel legally if he does not want to be considered a criminal offender. This approach overturns the judicial principle that every person is presumed innocent until proved otherwise. Today the burden of proof lies not with the prosecution, but with the taxi driver or the private individual who is driving: He has to prove that he did not know that his passenger is a "resident of the region" (i.e., a Palestinian living in the territories, according to the jargon of the legislature). And if the driver knew that the passenger was a Palestinian who is a resident of the territories, he has to prove that he checked the Palestinian's permits and found them to be valid.

The punishment meted out to offenders is almost automatic. "If the offender cannot cite extraordinary circumstances, he must be sentenced - even if he is an ordinary citizen whose action is innocent or is done because of some pressing need - to a proper prison term (a month to two years) without the possibility of converting it to community service," Justice Yaacov Turkel wrote in the Khatib judgment.

A regular passenger

In Shlomo Eliahu's case, the passenger was not someone he picked up on the street, but a neighbor; the man worked in a store across from the taxi depot.

"He looked like a regular passenger, like a Jew. We know him at the depot," Eliahu explains. "Every Friday afternoon someone drives him home. As we are driving, I ask him, "Where do you want to go?" And he tells me, "In the direction of [the West Bank settlement of] Alfei Menashe." I asked, "Where exactly?" Then he says, "To a village next to there." Then I realized that he is not a Jew and asked him for an ID card. He took out a green ID. I served in the territories in the army reserves and I knew there was an orange ID.

"I didn't know what a green ID was, and anyhow I didn't know what these permits look like. No one ever explained it to us. I looked at it and my impression was that it was okay. But afterward there was a Border Police checkpoint and they asked to see ID and permits, and then it turned out that he didn't have the papers." Eliahu lives in Tzur Yigal, a community that is located on the Green Line. He is married and the father of five children, virtually the sole provider in his household. During the time he spent in prison and his cab was impounded, the family did not have alternative sources of income. "All us drivers got together and collected money and sent it to his wife," says Shlomo Sidi, a fellow cabbie at the depot.

Meanwhile, Eliahu is trying to forget his experience during the interrogation and behind bars. "I was held in a Border Police station next to Kibbutz Eyal for three hours. Without water and without food - I dried up. They were waiting for an interrogator who was supposed to come from his home. He finally showed up. I was on pins and needles, it was Friday, I had to say the kiddush [the blessing over wine]; it was all a big mess. The interrogators lord it over you as though they nabbed some criminal. They kept me there until dark, I was all nerves when I got home, the whole Shabbat was ruined."

Did you know about this law?

Eliahu: "Yes, but not like that. Okay, let's say I drove someone from there to here - but in my case I took him from here to there. When I got back to the depot afterward, I saw that he was still working in the store. I called the Herzliya police and told them that the person because of whom my car was taken for a month was still working in the same place. They told me, 'It's none of your business.'"

Eliahu's trial dragged on for a year and a half. He managed to get his hearings postponed time and time again, in the hope that maybe someone would realize that he was not a criminal. But no one was impressed by his plea of innocence and the trial ended three months ago with a plea bargain. At the final hearing, Eliahu tried to persuade Judge Feder. "I told the judge, 'I have sat here for 40 hearings, each three-quarters of an hour, and I saw rapists and thieves and they were all given a chance, so why don't you give me a chance?' The judge said, 'here is a Supreme Court ruling that we have to give imprisonment for this.'I asked him, 'Then why didn't you send me the judgment in the mail? What are you sitting here for?'"

Eliahu entered Ma'asiyahu Prison a month ago to serve his term. At the admission desk the warder asked, without looking up from the computer, what his prisoner number was. Eliahu didn't understand. "I asked him, 'Which prisoner do you mean?' The warder was amazed, 'What, you haven't ever been in prison before?'"

Eliahu got a third of his term off for good behavior and was released after two and a half weeks in prison. "That is a prison that I don't wish on anyone in the world," he says. "A closed wing. A count every evening. There isn't enough food, two packages of cheese for 10 people in the morning. Everyone gets a raw egg and unlimited bread. If there is yellow cheese, it's a quarter of a slice per person. Tomatoes are a luxury. I had money deposited for me in the canteen, but I didn't get a permit to go to the canteen by the time I got out. For lunch, hotdogs and macaroni. Disgusting. Sometimes there are also peppers. "Ten people in a room of 2.6 by 6 meters, bunk beds. A wing of 120 people on half a dunam [an eighth of an acre]. There are hard cases there, people they are afraid will escape. A lot of them are in for violence. They took my mobile phone. There are phones outside that work with a card that you can buy in the canteen, but you only get a permit to enter the canteen once a month."

Eliahu came out of the prison humiliated and furious. He is angry at the whole world. "I am not a policeman and I am not a separation fence," he snaps. "I made a mistake, it can happen to anyone. But with us the Mafioso don't go to jail. I fought in four wars, I saw friends fall around me, and now they take away all my honor? For what? I used to love this country, now I hate it. I still don't understand why I was sent to jail. Until the last minute I didn't believe it would happen. That they would come and take me in handcuffs, that they would strip me naked. Who will give me back my self-respect? Now I have a criminal stain. If I need a good-conduct certificate, they won't give me one. If I need a gun permit, I won't be able to get it."

Refresher course

Some 50,000 people drive taxis in Israel. The official association for taxi drivers, which represents more than half of them - only the registered cabbies - has the image of an outspoken body that fights for its members' interests. But in this matter, its leaders have a moral problem. "We went to the Knesset committees," says Yehuda Bar Or, the organization's chairman. "They say the security situation does not allow them to change things. They want us to supervise, keep watch and help ... We didn't agree for a second."

Ami Weissman - who manages the Adiv taxi firm in Kfar Sava, which lies very close to the Green Line - has, however, instituted a "refresher course in permits" for his drivers, and is in close contact with the local police. They call him whenever there are serious warnings of a possible kidnapping along the so-called seam line, and tell him when and where there is a curfew in the territories. When there is a curfew, Weissman says, all the papers and permits are canceled, even those that were previously valid. He has learned from the police how to distinguish between several types of permits, such as those for medical or agricultural purposes, and this is what he passes on to the drivers in the monthly refresher course.

Another solution has been adopted by the 100 or so taxi drivers of the Kfar Sava depot managed by Shlomo Hazan: They do not pick up Palestinians at all. "Even if they show papers, we don't take them, because there are all kinds of different permits and we don't know what is valid. We have drivers from Taibeh and Tira (Arab towns in Israel) and they are not willing to take Palestinians, either."

Many drivers complain that even though they have been burdened with a legal obligation, no official body has ever explained what is actually required of them or what the proper permits look like. Three weeks ago, Roni Ovadia, from Pituah Taxis, organized a ride home for a worker who was employed at a Herzliya construction site. He sent him with the driver who shares his cab, but before asking to see a valid permit for being in Israel. "It said 'permit to be within the borders of Israel' and below there was a date, June 2006, and all the rest was in Arabic," Ovadia says. "To be on the safe side I asked to see his ID card and I made a word-for-word comparison, to be sure it was the same person."

The driver was stopped at a checkpoint and the worker's permit turned out to be invalid. Ovadia's cab was impounded on the spot and was released only a few days later - maybe because of the letter he wrote to the court. "I wrote a long letter outlining my claims. I said I am ready to stand before His Honor and to show him currency notes from a country he has never been to and let him tell me which note is real and which is forged. If the worker had brought me an ordinary piece of paper with a stamp of the State of Israel on it, I would have believed him then, too, because no one ever showed me what a permit like this looks like."

The greatest absurdity, Ovadia says, is that his driver was detained at a police station for six hours, but the Palestinian was released immediately. "I asked the interrogator why they let him go. He told me, 'He doesn't interest me, the contractor doesn't interest me, only the cab driver interests me.'" The Kafkaesque situation in which the taxi drivers find themselves has intensified an intolerable racist discourse among them. They have started to take note of the color of their passengers' eyes, of subtle forms of body language, of the size of the nose and of the space between eyebrows. Excessively guttural speech immediately arouses suspicion. Dark skin color does even more. Sloppy dress causes warning lights of unease, dusty shoes raise questions. "I do not stop for people in the street who are wearing work clothes or carrying work tools," Ovadia explains. "Without offense and without racism, I don't stop either for Arabs or for Jews who look shady to me."

No know-how

Moshe Katlan, who runs the Balfour depot in Tel Aviv, is very angry: "We have become security guards, even though it is not our role to stop people who we think are suspicious and ask them to show an ID card. There are some Arabs who have blue eyes and I can't tell them, "You are a suspect, show me an ID card." If the Border Police fail in their work and don't stop him in the territories, there is no way that I, a taxi driver, will arrest him here. I do not have the know-how or the tools to arrest people."

Do you know what a legal permit looks like?

Katlan: "I asked the clerk at our depot whether he had received any mail about arrest procedures and he said he hadn't. Our organization didn't send us any information about identifying suspects. Through colleagues that were arrested we found out that there is a problem and we have to check passengers. Say an Arab goes into a grocery store to buy something and it turns out he doesn't have a permit to be in Israel - will they shut down the store? So why do they take away taxis? It's a scandal."

Why aren't the drivers' voices heard?

"Because it is only recently that we have found out the scale of the scandal ... We went into shock. It's a noose around the driver's neck, and as it is we don't have anything to live on. The driver is taken off the car and the family is left on its own and no one knows if there is anything to eat." Shlomo Namdar, 59, from Holon, was caught five months ago, as he left Modi'in. He works at a taxi depot in the lower-class Yad Eliahu neighborhood of Tel Aviv and says he knows Arabs like he knows the palm of his hand. "Half my life I grew up with them - I am from Iran - and when I see Arabs in Jaffa or Tel Aviv, I don't let them into my cab. They pulled a fast one on me a few times - and got out without paying. The guy I picked up in Modi'in, I was positive he was a Russian. He had blue eyes and fair skin, just like a Russian. If I had suspected him, I would have asked to see papers."

Namdar did not ask to see papers, and was arrested. It turned out that the Palestinian, who did not have a permit, lives in Hebron and has been entering Israel to work in Tel Aviv every day for the past 10 years. "Just look - this guy has been entering for 10 years and was never caught, and I took him once and was caught!" Namdar's cab was impounded for 31 days and his driver's license was revoked for 60. He also spent a week under house arrest. A hearing in his case was held two weeks ago in Ramle Magistrate's Court. Surprisingly, the prosecution stated it would drop the case if Namdar agreed to donate money to a charitable cause. "We will retract the indictment after the accused donates NIS 3,500 to the Society for the Blind," the trial transcript states.

Attorney Lihi Gutman from the Public Defender's unit was the lawyer for both Shlomo Namdar and Shlomo Eliahu. "In the last half-year," she says, "there has been a tendency to retract indictments if the evidence looks weak. In Namdar's case, the fact that he was sure the passenger was a Russian was evidentiary weakness, because it is hard to prove criminal thought behind his act. In any event, I think it is a sweeping and racist law and that the State of Israel cannot make the country's citizens its law enforcers."

A year ago, Judge Oded Mudrik, from the Tel Aviv District Court, referred to the impounding of cabs by the state when relating to the case of a taxi driver who had appealed the ruling against him. "Return the cab to its owner immediately," Mudrik ordered in his decision, and went on: "Is the driver supposed to suspect the passenger according to his facial features, the color of his skin and so forth? In my opinion, at least, it is untenable for there to be a distinction made between passengers on the basis of appearance or destination in Israel. I am far from certain that a taxi driver is authorized to clarify the identity of his passengers. I do not know on what basis it is possible to authorize a taxi driver to demand that a passenger show him a permit allowing him to be present in Israel or show him his ID card." Mudrik's judgment remains the exception, though: Most Magistrate's and District Court judges prefer to pass judgment according to the Khatib ruling. Last month, however, the Supreme Court allowed a criminal appeal to be filed in the matter of emergency provision No. 12A of the Entry into Israel Law

Dr. Yoav Sapir, the deputy national public defender, is one of those who supported the appeal. "There is a double problem," Sapir says. "One is the law itself, which imposed a heavy burden on the drivers, demanding them to examine the documents of those they pick up, and the second problem is the level of punishment. Toeing the line of the Khatib ruling is contrary to the principle of punishment, according to which every court examines each case on its own merits and does not set a sweeping punishment. There is a situation here in which the judges have no discretion. They make no distinction between one defendant and the next, between people with a criminal record or without a criminal record - all the things that a court has the duty to weigh. There are some Magistrate's Court judges who took a very dim view of all this and tried to show consideration for the defendants, but then the state appealed and the District Courts went along with it."

Draconian provisions

"This is a racist law from beginning to end and does not meet the criteria of a democratic society," says MK Raleb Majadele (Labor), chairman of the Knesset's Interior and Environment Committee. Attorney Lila Margalit, from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), is leading the public struggle against provision No. 12A. Because of ACRI's stance, the government has refrained from taking action to enshrine the provision in law. In a letter Margalit sent to the attorney general, she described the terms of the provision as "among the most draconian and injurious on the books in Israel." As a result, and following a year of discussions in Knesset committees and government ministries, a new government bill has been formulated that passed its first reading in the Knesset two weeks ago, and was discussed last week by the Interior Committee ahead of the second and third readings.

While extending the emergency provision for two more years, this bill will alter the wording relating to a driver's duty to check his passengers' papers. Henceforth, the legislation states, the prosecution will have to prove that the driver "knew in practice or shut his eyes to the fact that the passenger was a foreign resident." But in any case, a driver will still have to prove "that he examined the documents or did not suspect that the foreign resident entered Israel illegally."

Attorney Margalit views this as something of a relief for the drivers, though the wording is still far from what should prevail in a democracy: "We are happy with the change, but think that the proposal to extend the provision is grave. This is an injurious law. It places on trial people who are not criminals. There is no place in a democratic country to examine the identity of people for any reason. That has a racist effect from the point of view of the passengers and the drivers alike."

[  haaretz.com

15. December 2005

SRI LANKA

am 7. dezember wurden 3 männer von polizisten der horana wache festgenommen und gefoltert. deren angehörige hatten sich am 11. dezember an die human rights commission des landes gewandt, die unterhalten eine sog. folter- hotlinie, aber diese hat nichts unternohmen. bis zum 15. dezember wurden die 3 männer weder von ärzten untersucht noch einem richter vorgeführt.

SRI LANKA: Arbitrary detention; torture; government inaction

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from a reliable source regarding the arbitrary detention of three men, namely Nihal Kithsiri (30) and his friends – Kumara and Sumith Haputhatri who were severely tortured following their arrest on 7 December 2005 by policemen attached to the Horana police. They have not been produced before the Magistrate’s Court nor have they been examined by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO).

The victims were separately arrested and taken to the Horana police station. One of the victims – Nihal Kithsiri – who was first arrested was brutally assaulted by two policemen, identified as Bandara and Kaldera, while in police custody. Nihal was also suspended from the ceiling while he was beaten. The two other victims – Kumara and Sumith Haputhatri – were arrested by the same policemen in a separate incident. They were taken to the same police station where they were severely tortured.

On 11 December 2005, one of the victim’s relatives informed the Human Rights Commission (HRC) about the illegal detention and torture by calling them through their “torture hotline”. The HRC, however, have reportedly not taken any immediate action regarding the information relayed to them.

We urge your strong intervention asking for an impartial investigation into this case without delay. The three men must be released from police custody if there are no charges laid against them or any other justification for their detention. The Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) must examine the victims and conduct an inquiry on allegations of torture. The alleged perpetrators must be indicted for violation of the Convention against Torture Act No. 22 of 1994 if the allegations are found to be true.

Further, please urge the concerned Government agencies to afford medical and rehabilitation assistance to the victims without delay. The victims and their relatives must also be provided with appropriate protection if the situation requires. They must be protected from any harassment and intimidation should they file charges in a court of law against the perpetrators.

[  ahrchk.net

14. Dezember 2005

YEMEN

5 männer, die im april, mai und august aus guantanamo entlassen wurden, sind seitdem im knast in jemen, ohne das die staatsanwaltschaft bisher bekannt gab unter welcher anklage die männer inhaftiert sind.

Yemen rights group wants release of ex-Guantanamo detainees

A Yemeni rights group demanded that the government release from prison five men who were freed earlier this year by US authorities from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba.

"Their imprisonment is a blatant breach of Yemen's constitution and its pledge to respect human rights according to international conventions and agreements," said the National Committee for the Defense of Rights and Liberties. All five, released in April, May and August, were immediately locked up in Yemeni prisons pending trial, without the authorities specifying what charges the men would face in most of the cases. One of the men, Karama Khamisan, was scheduled to appear in court Sunday on charges of being a drug dealer who tried to smuggle in narcotics from Pakistan, where he had gone in 2001, but a judge postponed the trial. Khamisan told AFP from the court's prison that he "confessed to being a drug dealer to escape the graver charge of being a terrorist after being tortured by his interrogators at Guantanamo."

Sanaa has long been trying to secure the handover of it nationals from Guantanamo for trial in their own country. The government says they number 124 while a list compiled by US authorities shows 104 Yemenis are being held in Guantanamo and another two at the US base of Bagram in Afghanistan. The United States is holding an estimated 600 suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters at Camp Delta, a high-security camp in Guantanamo Bay, and has faced strong international criticism of the legal limbo that has left the prisoners without access to legal representation. With US backing, Yemen launched its own crackdown on Islamists following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

[  yahoo.com

12. Dezember 2005

BANGLADESH

um gegen islamisten und selbstmordattentäter vorzugehen hat der präsident eine vorläufige verfügung erlassen nach der die polizei telefone abhören kann. die vorläufige anordnung muß vom parlament innerhalb von sechs monaten bestätigt werden. begründet wurde diese so fort wirksame anordnung mit den anschlägen die es seit dem 17. august gibt. dabei wurden bisher 30 menschen getötet und mehr als 150 verletzt. eines der ziele der anschläge sind lt. dem artikel die gerichte des landes, da die islamisten ein sharia-system für bangladesh fordern.

Bangladesh okays phone bugging to combat militancy

Bangladesh will allow police to monitor suspicious telephone calls as part of a crackdown on Islamist militancy and suicide bombers, officials said on Monday.

President Iajuddin Ahmed signed an ordinance allowing the move on Sunday, said his spokesman, Mokhlesur Rahman Chowdhury. It takes effect immediately. State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar said last week the government was determined to crush an Islamist network maintained largely through mobile phones. "We know Islamist leaders use 20 to 30 different temporary cellphone numbers to guide the bombers," he said, "something we are going to crush soon".

More then eight million people in Bangladesh use cellphones provided by five operators, while nearly another one million people use fixed-line phones managed by state-owned Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board. An ordinance usually remains in force for six months until approved by parliament. An ordinance was used this time because parliament is not in session. The country is reeling from a series of attacks by suspected Islamist suicide bombers that have killed nearly 30 people and wounded more than 150 since Aug. 17.

The victims have included judges, lawyers, police, journalists and activists. Bangladesh's main opposition party termed the presidential ordinance allowing police to monitor telephone calls as a "new tool to harass rival politicians".

"It will violate basic rights of the people and will be used to spy on the activities of opposition parties," Abdul Jalil, general secretary of the Awami League, told Reuters. "The ordinance is just a desperate attempt by the government to divert people's attention from its failure to do anything to stop the Islamist militancy," Jalil added. Failing to combat Islamist militancy would frustrate Bangladesh's recent economic achievements, British Minister for International Development Hilary Benn told a news conference at the end of a two-day visit to Bangladesh. "It's a global threat to all. We will have to respond it globally," he added.

The World Bank said in a statement it was ready to consider Bangladesh proposals for financing security enhancements at court buildings in the wake of recent attacks. Courts have been among the primary targets of the Islamists wanting Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim democracy, to introduce Islamic sharia law and shun its secular constitution.

[  reuters.com

10. Dezember 2005

JAPAN

der tokyo high court ( das höchste bezirksgericht) hat drei antikriegsaktivistinnen wegen unerlaubten betretens einer militärwohnanlage, wo sie flugblätter gegen den irakeinsatz der armee verteilten, zu geldstrafen verurteilt und damit den freispruch eines unteren gerichts aufgehoben.

Antiwar activists found guilty of flier distribution

The Tokyo High Court on Friday found three antiwar activists guilty of trespassing at a Self-Defense Forces housing facility and distributing leaflets against the SDF deployment in Iraq, overturning a lower court's not-guilty verdict last year. The three ( Toshiyuki Obora, 48, Sachimi Takada, 32, and Nobuhiro Onishi, 32 ) were fined from 100,000 to 200,000 yen each. The three trespassed at the SDF residential quarters in Tachikawa on Jan 17 last year to distribute fliers urging Japanese troops and their families to think about whether SDF deployment in Iraq is appropriate, although the housing complex's manager had asked them to stop their activities. (Kyodo News)

[  japantoday.com

8. Dezember 2005

AFGHANISTAN

laut dem iwpr's afghan press monitor nr. 210 wird in kabul von der un ein frauenknast gebaut der von kanada, italien und österreich finanziert wird. 170 frauen sind zur zeit im alten kabuler knast. im ganzen land sind insgesamt 6.640 menschen inhaftiert.

UN TO BUILD WOMEN'S PRISON

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with funding from Canada, Italy and Austria, is to build a special jail to house female prisoners, UN spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters in Kabul on December 6. He said that 170 female prisoners are currently being held in very poor conditions in Kabul's old jail. Edwards said the new building will have three sections for different age categories, it will be up to international standards, and will be completed in December 2006. According to the director of Afghanistan?s prison system, General Abdul Salam Bakhshi, there are more than 6,640 people in prisons across the country. Cheragh is an independent daily run by the Development and Democracy Association.

[  iwpr.net

7. Dezember 2005

INDIA

im tihar knast wurde eine videokonferenzanlage installiert , angeblich um den schmuggel von drogen, waffen und handys zu verhindern. tihar ist der größte knast in indien, dort sind 7.500 menschen inhaftiert.

TIHAR jail gets video conferencing

NEW DELHI: A video conferencing facility was Tuesday inaugurated at India's biggest prison, the Tihar Jail here, to curb smuggling of narcotics, weapons and money. Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit launched the facility at the jail that holds around 7,500 prisoners, more than double its capacity. The jail authorities said video conferencing would enable them to control the smuggling of narcotics, weapons, money and telephones inside its sprawling premises. The use of video conferencing would also make the criminal justice system more efficient and transparent, Dikshit told reporters. It would reduce deployment of police personnel and save resources that can be put to other use, she said. Authorities at Tihar Jail plan to use the new facility to link the prison to local courts hearing the cases of prisoners being held there, thereby speeding up the trial of cases.

[  economictimes.indiatimes.com

30. November 2005

MALAYSIA

Der malayische minister der für die polizei zuständig ist sagt das "ausländer die die art und weise wie seine polizisten sich verhalten nicht mögen", das land verlassen könnten. Nih omar's bemerkung kam einen tag nachdem ein video veröffentlicht wurde das eine chinesische frau zeigt die in einer polizeiwache gezwungen wurde sich mehrfach nackt niederzuhocken. Zuvor hatte der vize polizeichef gesagt daß dies standart bei festnahmen sei.

Malaysia minister defends police

The Malaysian minister in charge of the police has said that foreigners who do not like the way his officers behave should leave the country. Noh Omar's remarks come just days after a video emerged of an ethnic Chinese woman being forced to perform naked squats in a Malaysian police station.

China has protested about the alleged treatment of its citizens. Far from containing this crisis some politicians and police officers seem determined to make it worse. First Malaysia's deputy police chief said it was standard procedure for suspects to be forced to strip and squat repeatedly while holding their ears.

Now the minister in day-to-day charge of the police has hit out at complainants from overseas. "If foreigners think that Malaysia police are brutal, please go back to their own countries and not to stay here," Noh Omar told reporters in parliament. On Monday he told lawmakers that he believed police had followed the rules, seemingly putting him at odds with Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who had announced a full independent inquiry. The video prompted widespread outrage in Malaysia and the government has distanced itself from Mr Noh's remarks.

But this is becoming increasingly difficult for Mr Abdullah who is sometimes characterised as too nice for the job.

Calls for the deputy police chief and now the deputy internal security minister to be sacked have so far gone unheeded. On Tuesday the Chinese government stepped in and asked for abusive police officers to be punished, and for its citizens in Malaysia to be properly protected. Several Chinese women have complained of being humiliated and robbed by Malaysian police officers, and the video footage has lent weight to their stories.

[  bbc.co.uk

24 November 2005

SRI LANKA

4 jugendliche ( in dem artikel werden sie immer nur als boys erwähnt, ohne altersangabe) wurden von polizisten der mahawela wache gefoltert. Festgenommen wurden sie als angebliche diebe, obwohl sie nicht in dem nachbardorf wo der diebstahl stattgefunden haben soll, waren. Einer der jugendlichen ,er wird als "mental zurückgeblieben" beschrieben wurde entlassen, die anderen sind nachwievor im knast.

Four persons, including a mentally retarded boy, tortured by Mahawela police

SRI LANKA: Arbitrary arrest, torture, threats and intimidation, maltreatment and deprivation from receiving medical treatment in hospital The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that a mentally retarded boy along with three other persons were allegedly tortured by police attached to the Mahawela police station. The policemen intended to implicate the boy in a theft case, which took place in a nearby village. He was assaulted at the scene of his arrest and brutally beaten again by the policemen at their station. The victim sustained considerable injuries to his body.

Meanwhile, the police intimidated the victim visiting the Matale District Hospital where he was hospitalised and influenced the authorities there to discharge him before the completion of his treatment. The other victims were also tortured during their arrest and currently remain detained at the Mahawela police station. The AHRC is calling upon you to write letters to the relevant authorities in Sri Lanka, in particular the Inspector General of Police and the National Police Commission, urging them to take immediate disciplinary and legal action against the errant policemen of the Mahawela police station. The necessary compensation and arrangement of medical treatment for the victims must be met.

[  ahrchk.net

18 November 2005

INDONESIA

am 15. oktober wurde ein 51 jähriger mann in jakarta von der militärpolizei festgenommen, und so schwer gefoltert daß er am 17. oktober starb.

INDONESIA: Torture; illegal arrest and detention; rule of law

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Jakarta (PBHI Jakarta), a human rights organization in Jakarta, Indonesia that a 51-year-old man, Bagus Ariyanto, died after he was brutally tortured by a group of army officers attached to the Detachment Supplies and Transportation Jaya Raya 44-12, TNI AD (Denhar 44-12, TNI AD) from 15 to 16 October 2005. Bagus was arrested from his village in Tambak Street, Central Jakarta on October 15 on suspicion that he stole a bicycle owned by an army officer. He was then taken to the detachment. According to residents living close to the detachment, they saw Bagus stripped naked, forced by the officers to do push ups, run and other exhausting physical movement. He was also seen tied to a pillar.

On October 16, Bagus was picked-up by his relatives at the detachment. The military officers demanded Rp. 270,000.00 Indonesian rupiah (USD 27) from them before they released Bagus as payment for the bicycle. Bagus was in poor condition and his body had traces of severe injuries. He could not even walk properly. Bagus died in his home the next day. Bagus' relatives were not able to bring him to a hospital for treatment because they had no money.

After he was buried on October 18, the station commander of the Detachment Supplies and Transportation Jaya Raya went to the relatives of the victim. The commander handed over Rp 1,200,000 (USD 120) to them and demanded that they sign a letter stating they would not file charges. They received the money and signed the statement because they were promised an investigation.

This is yet another case of victims being arrested illegally, illegally detained and tortured while in custody of government forces occurring in Indonesia. The AHRC recently reported the torture of a man over mistaken identity (UA-210-2005). He was not afforded medical treatment and compensation. In most cases, efforts are being made by high ranking officials to conceal the incident.

We urge your strong intervention to pressure the concerned government agencies in Indonesia, in particular the Office of the Military Police to ensure that criminal charges are filed against the perpetrators before a court of law. The army officers of the Detachment Supplies and Transportation Jaya Raya, including its station commander, must be investigated to look into allegations of bribing the victim's relatives for them not to pursue cases. Charges must be filed against any army officers if allegations are true that there was conspiracy to hush up the case.

Further, please also ask that protection and appropriate assistance to the victim's relatives is also afforded in pursuing their case in court. They must be free of harassment and intimidation, including those witnesses to the crime who will surface, in seeking justice for the victim in prosecuting the perpetrators. Any action taken in this case must be in accordance with the provisions of the Convention against Torture (CAT), of which the Indonesia government is a state party. Domestic legislation must be introduced in Indonesia to make acts of torture a criminal offense without delay.

[  ahrchk.net

4. November 2005

JAPAN

bewährungsstrafen für zwei wärter des nagoya knast, 270 km westlich von tokyo, die vor fünf jahren einen 43jährigen mann mit einem hochdruckwasserschlauch töteten.

Light sentences for Japan prison abuse

Two guards at a Japanese prison received suspended sentences on Friday after being found guilty of killing a prisoner with a high-pressure fire hose four years ago. The verdict was immediately condemned by human rights groups who said it was too lenient. Inmate treatment in Japan's jails have often been criticised by human rights groups as brutal, and its prison law was replaced earlier this year after a re-evaluation of the system prompted by the discovery of fatal abuses at Nagoya Prison in 2001 and 2002.

Mikio Otomaru, a former guard at Nagoya, was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years, for aiming water from a high-pressure hose at a prisoner's bare buttocks in December 2001 a Nagoya District Court official said.

The 43-year-old victim suffered severe damage to his anus and rectum, and died of a bacterial infection early the following morning. He had been serving a five year sentence for robbery. Masahiro Takami, received a 14 month prison term, suspended for three years, for assisting Otomaru in the attack.

Prosecutors had said the prisoner was sprayed as a form of punishment, but presiding judge Hideki Shibata was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying that the guards had sprayed him to clean him. Shibata added, however, that the defendants' acts had been "dangerous and illegal abuse" that had damaged public trust in correctional facilities.

Another inmate at Nagoya Prison, located some 270 km west of Tokyo, died after suffering internal injuries when restrained with a device consisting of a leather belt and manacles. Human rights activists said the ruling was regrettable.

"From what we've heard from former prisoners, they were subjected to various kinds of abuse in the prison," said Makoto Teraoka, with Amnesty International Japan. "That the judge did not recognise this as a form of punishment in his ruling was extremely regrettable." An outcry over this incident and others at Nagoya prompted the revision of Japan's prison law in May, the first time this had been done since 1908. Under the new law, the human rights of prisoners are legally guaranteed and the transparency of prison management has been increased.

[  tvnz.co.nz

2. November 2005

JAPAN

nach knapp 24 stunden hat der neue justizminister seiken sugiura seine aussage ,keine todesurteile zu unterschreiben da er gegen die todesstrafe sei, wieder zurück genommen. Jetzt sagt er , er würde seine pflichten nach "sorgsamer abwägung" erfüllen.

Justice minister in death penalty retreat

· Japanese PM raps ally over executions

· Row reignites debate about abolition

Japan's new justice minister was forced into an embarrassing retreat yesterday, less than 24 hours after he said he would refuse to sign execution orders because he opposes the death penalty.

Seiken Sugiura, who was given the post in a cabinet reshuffle on Monday, said he would carry out his duties with "careful consideration" after he was reportedly given a dressing down by the prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi. "The comment was an expression of my feelings as an individual and was not made in relation to the conduct of the duties and responsibilities of a justice minister," he said. "I would like to correct my statement because I would regret any misunderstandings I might have caused with the remark." But his remarks fuelled speculation that Japan, one of two G7 nations - the other is the US - to retain the death penalty, would review its stance on capital punishment. "In the long term I have the feeling we will move towards abolition," he said after his appointment.

Japan implemented an unofficial moratorium on executions between November 1989 and March 1993 because anti-hanging justice ministers refused to sign execution orders. Japan executes only a handful of people a year. It executed two people in 2004, compared with 59 in the US, according to Amnesty International. There are currently 77 people on death row in Japan, and only one person has been hanged this year. But the United Nations, the European Union and Amnesty International have frequently criticised Japan's retention of the death sentence and the secretive way in which it is carried out.

Inmates, who often spend years, sometimes decades, on death row, are only told they are to be executed shortly beforehand; their relatives are informed afterwards so that they can collect the body. Hangings are usually carried out during parliamentary recesses to ward off protests from abolitionist MPs. Public support for the death penalty, recorded at 81% in a poll conducted earlier this year, rose following high-profile crimes such as the 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway in which 12 people died, and the murder of eight schoolchildren in 2001 by Mamoru Takuma, who was hanged last year.

Mr Sugiura's appointment, however, is expected to lend weight to the campaign for abolition. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has urged the government to suspend executions and abolitionist MPs plan to submit a bill that would replace the death sentence with life in prison. Despite his apparent climbdown, Mr Sugiura indicated that his opposition to the death penalty could influence his conduct. "Personally I believe that nobody should be able to take away somebody else's life," he said. "Even those who have been sentenced to death for whatever reason - they are still human beings."

[  guardian.co.uk

JAPAN SUSPENDS DEATH PENALTY

1. november 2005

Japan's new justice minister says he will suspend the death penalty, a move that would leave the United States as the only major industrialised country to practice capital punishment. Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura, who was appointed Monday in a cabinet reshuffle after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's re-election, said he would not sign any execution orders because of his personal philosophy, Kyodo news agency said.

Japan has come under intense international criticism over its executions. It gives prisoners only several hours' notice before hanging them and does not forewarn the family, as a way of preventing last-minute appeals. The justice minister must sign off on hangings, but the ministry by practice does not identify whom it has executed.

Japan suspended the death penalty from November 1989 to March 1993 when justice ministers opposed to the capital punishment refused to agree to executions. Japan has carried out only one execution in the past year, on September 16.

Japanese media reported that the man who was hanged had been convicted of killing two women in robberies. Human rights group Amnesty International, which opposes the death penalty, accuses the Japanese government of executing prisoners when parliament is out of session to ward off criticism. But the death penalty remains widely supported by the Japanese public.

A government-run survey in February found more than 81 per cent of Japanese backed capital punishment. The most prominent prisoner awaiting the death penalty is Shoko Asahara, the founder of a doomsday cult that attacked the Tokyo subway with nerve gas in 1995, killing 12 people and injuring thousands more.

[  sbs.com.au

28. September 2005

INDIA

180 gefangene im sakchi knast ( in der stadt jamshedpur / jharkhand) sind an einem virus fieber erkrankt, da es aber nur einen arzt im knast gibt, können viele nicht behandelt werden.in dem knast sind 820 menschen inhaftiert.

180 Sakchi jail inmates catch fever

About 180 inmates at Sakchi jail are suffering from viral fever, which could be malaria, typhoid or simply influenza.

But there is no way to confirm that since the jail has just one doctor and not all the prisoner-patients are being attended to. As a result, the number of patients continues to go up at a steady pace.The jail administration today wrote to East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Nitin Madan Kulkarni requesting for an additional doctor and a paramedical staff urgently.

"I am left with no option but to request the district civil surgeon to send at least one more doctor and a paramedical staff," said jailer Saket Behari Singh.According to sources, Sakchi jail has 820 inmates, of which 19 are women and one child. About 180 of them have been infected by the viral fever. "Many of these sick inmates have stopped taking food and are not able to move. It is worse because there is no one to look after them," said the sources.

"The jail has a hospital with 10 beds. But it is packed with the inmates. As the fever is contagious, even the healthy inmates are facing danger of infection," said a high school teacher lodged in the jail over a dowry death case.Kulkarni is said to have ordered the civil surgeon to rush a doctor and paramedical staff to the jail. "I have asked the civil surgeon to ensure an additional doctor and a paramedical staff are engaged for the jail from tomorrow," he said.

[  telegraphindia.com

27. September 2005

MALAYSIA

ein neuer human rights watch bericht über gefangene die unter der isa- gesetzgebung inhaftiert sind.unter isa ,internal sercurity act, können menschen ohne anklage auf unbestimmte zeit inhaftiert werden.der bericht basiert auf u.a. auf aussagen von 25 menschen die im kamunting detention center inhaftiert sind und nach einer auseinandersetzung mit wärtern im dezember 2004 mißhandelt wurden.

MALAYSIA: ISA Detainees Beaten and Humiliated

Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA), which gives the government unchecked powers to detain individuals for long periods without charge, is a recipe for abuse, Human Rights Watch said today. In a new report released today, Human Rights Watch called for the repeal of the 45-year-old ISA, which allows for detention without trial and bars judicial review of detentions. The report, Detained Without Trial: Abuse of Internal Security Act Detainees in Malaysia, is based on interviews with family members of current ISA detainees, their lawyers and handwritten statements of ISA detainees. It documents the physical abuse, ill-treatment and humiliation of more than 25 detainees in Kamunting Detention Center in December 2004. None of these detainees have been charged or tried.

"Those held under the ISA are defined as a group that has virtually no rights, so it is hardly surprising that prison guards treat them as less than human," said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division.According to eyewitness accounts, ISA detainees were beaten, abused and humiliated in a December 2004 incident when prison guards, armed with batons, shields and riot gear, mistreated handcuffed detainees. Mohamad Faiq bin Hafidh, who has been detained since January 2002, described the events of December 8 and 9, 2004, in Kamunting Detention Center. He wrote:

I was handcuffed . . . and my head was pushed down to waist level. My head was struck with a baton and my eye was hit, injuring it. When I reached room seven of [the cell block], I was continuously beaten and then forced to strip naked, ordered to crawl while entering the room and then my buttocks were kicked and that was how I stumbled inside, naked.

No prison officials have been disciplined and the government has not made public the findings of its investigation into the incident. Human Rights Watch's requests to visit Kamunting Detention Center and to interview the director of Kamunting or a government official knowledgeable about the events were denied. Most of the 112 people currently detained in Malaysia under the ISA are held under allegations of associating with militant Islamist groups, though the government has expanded its use of the ISA to include individuals accused of counterfeiting and forging documents and has threatened to use it against practitioners of religious beliefs deemed "deviant" by the government. Some detainees have been in custody for more than four years.

Human Rights Watch said that ISA detainees have no effective recourse to challenge their detention because the law prevents the courts from reviewing the merits of ISA detentions. Although the law allows judicial review of the procedural requirements for detention, Malaysian courts routinely dismiss habeas corpus petitions challenging ISA detentions.

The Malaysian government admits that it chooses not to prosecute ISA detainees. In July 2005, a cabinet minister, Datuk Mohamed Nazri, told Human Rights Watch, "They [ISA detainees] have not committed any crime because ISA is preventive. You cannot, therefore, go to court. The government has information that something will happen. We can't wait till it happens. Lives and property will be lost. So before it happens we detain them."

Human Rights Watch said that it recognizes the obligations of the Malaysian government to protect its population from terrorist attacks and to bring those responsible for engaging in such attacks to justice. But the Malaysian government has not yet demonstrated that any of the individuals it has detained have actually engaged in any illegal activity, or cannot be prosecuted under existing laws.

"Malaysia's policy amounts to the executive branch presuming the guilt of people without charge or trial," said Adams. "The presumption of innocence does not exist for ISA detainees."

Since 1960, the law has been misused by the ruling United Malay National Organization (UMNO) to silence critics, resulting in the detention of more than 10,000 people.

Human Rights Watch said that the ISA's provisions violate fundamental international human rights standards, including prohibitions on arbitrary detention, guarantees of the right to due process and the right to a prompt and impartial trial. Malaysia should end its use of ISA detention and rely on its robust criminal law and capable judiciary to tackle security and other alleged crimes.

"Malaysia aspires to be a leader in the region and a developed country by 2020," said Adams. "The ISA is not a sign of leadership or development??it is a sign of repression."

Human Rights Watch said that long-term critics of the ISA, notably the United States, have been silent since the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. A senior State Department official, when questioned about the ISA, told Human Rights Watch in December 2003, "With what we're doing in Guantánamo, we're on thin ice to push on this." A Malaysian cabinet minister, Datuk Mohamed Nazri, confirmed this, telling Human Rights Watch that the U.S. no longer criticizes Malaysia's use of the ISA because of U.S. detention practices at Guantánamo Bay.

Human Rights Watch called for the repeal of the ISA, to immediately charge or release individuals detained under the ISA and to set up an independent commission of inquiry into the allegations of abuse in December 2004.

In May 2004, Human Rights Watch issued a report, In the Name of Security: Counterterrorism and Human Rights Abuses Under Malaysia's Internal Security Act, detailing abuses against ISA detainees during the first 60 days of detention.

[  alertnet.org

[  Detained Without Trial
Abuse of Internal Security Act Detainees in Malaysia.pdf

21. September 2005

PAKISTAN

das oberste gericht in peshawar hat entschieden das eine person die nicht wegen kriminellen verstößen angeklagt ist nicht präventiv inhaftiert werden kann und hat einen aktivisten der verbotenen religiösen gruppe sipah e sahaba entlassen.

Arrests without criminal charges:
Preventive detention illegal, declares PHC

* Frees man detained only for being member of banned Sipah-e-Sahaba

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) ruled on Tuesday that keeping citizens not charged with a criminal offence in detention under preventive laws was illegal. PHC Chief Justice Tariq Pervez and Justice Qaim Jan Khan accepted a writ petition filed by the detainee, Muhammad Aslam Aslami, an activist of banned religious outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba, in which he had challenged his detention under Section 11EEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The chief justice ruled that a person not charged in criminal cases could not be detained under the preventive laws. "When a person is charged in a criminal offence, he will have to face trial under the relevant provision of the law," he observed.

The petitioner's counsel Khursheed Ahmad Shahaan told the court that DI Khan police arrested the petitioner on July 23 only because that he had been a member of the banned organisation. His detention was extended for two months under the said law by the NWFP Home Department. The counsel said his client had been kept in illegal detention by the government. The court asked the home secretary to produce evidence which showed Aslami needed to be kept in detention, but he could not do so. Deputy Advocate General Esa Khan appeared on behalf of the state and submitted that the petitioner had been charged in various FIRs in the past. A sub-inspector rank official of the DI Khan police also appeared in court and submitted that the petitioner was detained on the home secretary?s orders. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court ordered the instant release of the petitioner. Meanwhile, the bench adjourned the petition of another SSP activist, Maulana Hafeezur Rehman, till today (Wednesday) on the request of the Home Department.

[  dailytimes.com.pk

19. September 2005

ISRAEL

keine anklagen gegen die polizisten die im Jahr 2000 12 arabische israelis und einen palästinenser während einer demo erschossen haben.

State won't indict police over Arab deaths in 2000 riots

All investigations into the actions of police during the October 2000 riots that left 13 Arab citizens dead have been closed, the Justice Ministry's Police Investigations Unit announced on Sunday. Among the investigations closed were those against the commander of the police's Northern District at the time, Major General Alik Ron, former Amakim District police chief Commander Moshe Waldman, and Misgav police station commander Superintendent Guy Reif, who was suspected of shooting and killing two demonstrators in the Sakhnin area.

Ron and Waldman had been accused of issuing directives to snipers to open fire on stone-throwing protesters in several instances. As for Reif, the Police Investigations Unit found that the superintendent had been allowed to fire at the rioters' lower bodies and that his shots, including the ones that apparently killed civilians, may have been justified. In contrast, the Or Commission found that Reif could have prevented clashes with the rioters and that he used live fire without justification, causing the deaths of two civilians and wounding others.

The Police Investigations Unit said it had not found sufficient evidence to indict any of the police officers. In some cases, investigators were unable to locate the police officers involved in the riots. In other instances, they were unable to determine which police officer was responsible for the gunfire that killed the rioters.

The investigations turned up substantial contradictions between the position of the Or Commission, as published in its report on the incidents, and the findings and recommendations compiled by the Justice Ministry unit. Several of the contradictions, including those regarding the extent of the risk the police faced at the time of the shootings, led to the closure of the cases against them. Justice Ministry official Herzl Shviro, who headed the investigations, said the unit's work was made more difficult because the families of the victims had refused to allow autopsies. Additional sources at the unit named several other factors that hampered the investigation procedure: Investigation teams did not reach the scenes in real time and did not attempt to collect evidence shortly thereafter as the fierce violence during the riots would have endangered the investigators had they tried to do so. The sources also said that a considerable portion of the evidence had been destroyed or removed from the scene before investigators got there. In addition, policemen who were to undergo questioning were constantly changing their location according to security needs, and therefore it was impossible to collect their testimonies in real time.

According to Shviro, the Police Investigations Unit conducted its probe "with both hands tied behind its back." Another significant factor that made it difficult for investigators to substantiate suspicions against police involved in the incidents was the fact that the unit's probe was delayed for three years following a decision by former state prosecutor Edna Arbel not to go ahead with the Justice Ministry investigation at the same time as the Or Commission was deliberating the matter.

Arbel's decision was intended to allow the various witnesses to share all the information at their disposal with the Or Commission without fearing a criminal investigation. Another problem facing the investigators was the fact that in most cases, Arab citizens and relatives of the victims refused to cooperate with the investigation teams. They refused to furnish their versions of the events and refused to allow autopsies to be performed on the dead.

The Justice Ministry investigation turned up large discrepancies between its conclusions and the recommendations of the Or Commission. The Justice Ministry probe found that in some of the fatal incidents, police who were further from the rioting may have been the ones who were responsible for the shooting, and not the police who were initially suspected during the Or Commission's investigation. In other cases, the Justice Ministry unit concluded that the firing had been illegal but was unable to identify those responsible after all the police officers involved had denied such actions. "I know that we now have a number of hitchhikers ­ public figures and politicians ­ who will try to catch a ride on our findings and conclusions and claim that the investigation is evidence of discrimination against the Arab sector," Shviro said.

"No one should try to teach us how to investigate or doubt our credibility and unbiased position," he continued. "I am saying to all the politicians: Leave the findings of the investigation alone. If you have claims of discrimination, take them to another playing field." In a statement released following the publication of the Justice Ministry findings, the Israel Police said: "In recent years, numerous resources have been invested in boosting preparedness in the field of maintaining public order and state security ... At the same time, the police have worked toward strengthening relations with the Arab sector, out of a commitment to a service-oriented approach ... The police gave both the Or Commission and the investigation team all the required assistance and proved its credibility. We will continue to ardently preserve this credibility."

The families of the riot victims responded angrily Sunday to the findings of the Police Investigations Unit. According to the spokesman for parents of the victims, Hassan Asala, "The recommendations of the Police Investigations Unit were expected in light of the deliberate failure of this unit that has continued since October 2000 and through to today. For each of the 13 people killed there is a murderer who shot at him, and there are those who gave the orders, and there are those who helped to conceal evidence and bury the truth. All of them are accomplices to the crime, and we demand that they be brought up on charges."

Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, said Sunday that in the coming days, it would be asking Attorney General Menachem Mazuz for permission to petition the High Court of Justice directly against the Justice Ministry unit's decision. "The report constitutes a basis for an indictment against the Police Investigations Unit itself," said Hassan Jabareen, director general of the center.

[  haaretzdaily.com

14. September 2005

NEPAL

bericht des amtierenden präsidenten der nepalesischen studentengewerkschaft über mißhandlung und folter in polizeihaft

Police atrocity in detention

Shiv Bohora, 23, acting president of Nepal Students Union at Mahendra Ratna Campus, lost control of his bladder and bowels, and fell unconscious due to severe torture at the hands of police while in detention at Kalimati Police Office.The police beating has left Bohora with two broken teeth, five stitches on his forehead and seven on his upper lip. He also has several bruises on his back, hands and legs.

According to Bohora, police arrested him on Tuesday, along with another student Gokul Lamichhane, from the campus premises at around 3 pm on the charge of pelting stones at police personnel."After the arrest, three policemen beat me with batons, boots and the butts of their rifles inside the police van. "I fell unconscious for three hours," he said.

"At around 6:30 in the evening, three policemen brought me to Bir Hospital for treatment. When I tried to inform the police officer on duty at the hospital about the incident, the attending police personnel stopped me."The policemen left him at the hospital when a police officer informed them about an order from the authority to release him. However, they arrested him again when he came out of the hospital after treatment." They took me back to Kalimati police station, tied my hands on the armrest of the chair and attacked me with their boots," he said.

Bohora said that apart from the beating, the police also verbally abused him saying, "You should know who the police are. If you do anything against us, we will punish you even more harshly." Madhusudhan Khadka is the Inspector in charge of Kalimati police station.Bohora and Lamichhane, who also claimed that he was abused while in custody, were released at 8:30 this morning. Bohora, studying B Ed second year, hails from Bajura district. He said he was not afraid of such callous atrocities and would continue his struggle for democracy and sovereignty of people.

[  kantipuronline.com

11. September 2005

PAKISTAN

86. 194 menschen sind in den 81 knästen pakistans inhaftiert, gebaut sind die knäste für 36.825. 7.213 männer und 33 frauen sind in den todeszellen

Inmates in Pakistan exceed prisons’ capacity: CJSTI report

* Most inmates are under trial, Sindh has highest number of foreign inmates

LAHORE: The number of prisoners in Pakistan’s 81 jails has exceeded twice the authorised capacity of these jails.

According to the date compiled by the Central Jail Staff Training Institute (CJSTI), Lahore in August, there are 86,194 prisoners in the jails against the capacity of 36,825.Of the 86,194 prisoners, 48,352 male and 1,023 female prisoners are under trial, 18,445 male and 300 female prisoners are convicted and 7,213 male and 33 female prisoners are on the death roll. There are 2,329 male and six female juvenile prisoners, 1,632 male and 129 female foreigner prisoners and 6,448 male and 284 female drug dealers/addicts in the jails. Sindh has the highest number of foreign inmates while Punjab has the highest number of under-trial prisoners.

In Punjab, 27,182 male and 585 female prisoners are under trial, 11,067 male and 148 female prisoners are convicted and 6,629 male and 28 female prisoners have been sentenced to death. There are 1,279 male and six female juvenile prisoners, 530 male and 35 female foreigner prisoners and 5,294 male and 270 female drug dealers/addicts.In Sindh, 14,868 male and 205 female prisoners are undergoing trials, 2,808 male and 21 female prisoners are convicted and 250 male prisoners are on the death roll. There are 657 male juvenile prisoners, 1,034 male and 93 female foreigner prisoners and 568 male and 14 female drug dealers/users.

5,310 male and 212 female prisoners are under trial, 3,045 male and 121 female prisoners are convicted, while 187 male and five female prisoners are on the death penalty in the NWFP. There are 287 male juvenile prisoners, 19 male and one female foreigner prisoners and 54 male drug dealers/addicts.In Balochistan, 992 male and 21 female prisoners are under trial, 1,525 male and 10 female prisoners are convicted and 147 male prisoners are on the death sentence. There are 106 male juvenile prisoners, 49 male foreigner prisoners and 45 male drug dealers/addicts in the province.

According to the report, Punjab has 10 central prisons, 19 district prisons and one sub-jail. Sindh has six central prisons, seven district prisons and six sub-jails, the NWFP has three central prisons, seven district prisons and 12 sub-jails while Balochistan has four central and six district prisons.A CJSTI official said that the government should not ignore prisoners’ rights.

Saeed Akbar Khan Nawani, Punjab Jail Department minister, was not available for comments.

[  dailytimes.com.pk

06. September 2005

CHINA

Information supplied by Yahoo ! helped journalist Shi Tao get 10 years in prison

The text of the verdict in the case of journalist Shi Tao - sentenced in April to 10 years in prison for “divulging state secrets abroad” - shows that Yahoo ! Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. provided China’s state security authorities with details that helped to identify and convict him, Reporters Without Borders said today.

“We already knew that Yahoo ! collaborates enthusiastically with the Chinese regime in questions of censorship, and now we know it is a Chinese police informant as well,” the press freedom organisation said. “Yahoo ! obviously complied with requests from the Chinese authorities to furnish information regarding an IP address that linked Shi Tao to materials posted online, and the company will yet again simply state that they just conform to the laws of the countries in which they operate,” the organisation said. “But does the fact that this corporation operates under Chinese law free it from all ethical considerations ? How far will it go to please Beijing ?”

Reporters Without Borders added : “Information supplied by Yahoo ! led to the conviction of a good journalist who has paid dearly for trying to get the news out. It is one thing to turn a blind eye to the Chinese government’s abuses and it is quite another thing to collaborate.” Translated into English by the Dui Hua Foundation (which works to document the cases of Chinese political prisoners), the verdict reveals that Yahoo ! Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. provided the Chinese investigating organs with detailed information that apparently enabled them to link Shi’s personal e-mail account (huoyan-1989@yahoo.com.cn) and the specific message containing information treated as a “state secret” to the IP address of his computer.

Yahoo ! Holdings (Hong Kong) is subject to Hong Kong legislation, which does not spell out the responsibilities in this kind of situation of companies that provide e-mail services. Nonetheless, it is reportedly customary for e-mail service and Internet access providers to transmit information to the police about their clients when shown a court order.

Tests carried out by Reporters Without Borders seem to indicate that the servers used for the Yahoo.com.cn e-mail service, from which the information about Shi was extracted, are located on the Chinese mainland. Shi Tao Aged 37, Shi worked for the daily Dangdai Shang Bao (Contemporary Business News). He was convicted on 30 April of sending foreign-based websites the text of an internal message which the authorities had sent to his newspaper warning journalists of the dangers of social destabilisation and risks resulting from the return of certain dissidents on the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Chinese state security insisted during the trial that the message was "Jue Mi" (top secret). Shi admitted sending it out by e-mail but disputed that it was a secret document. He is still being held in a prison in Changsha to which he was sent after his arrest in the northeastern city of Taiyuan on 24 November 2004. Yahoo ! and Chinese censorship For years Yahoo ! has allowed the Chinese version of its search engine to be censored. In 2002, Yahoo ! voluntarily signed the "Public Pledge on Self-Discipline for the China Internet Industry", agreeing to abide by PRC censorship regulations. Searches deemed sensitive by the Chinese authorities such as “Taiwan independence” in Chinese into the Yahoo ! China search engine, retrieve only a limited and approved set of results.

A US-based multinational, Yahoo ! Appears to be willing to go to any lengths to gain shares of the Chinese market and it is investing heavily in local companies. In 2003, it spent 120 million dollars to buy the search engine 3721.com. More recently Yahoo ! acquired a large stake in the Internet giant Alibaba in an operation that reportedly cost nearly a billion dollars. Reporters Without Borders has written several times to Yahoo ! executives in an attempt to alert it to the ethical issues raised by its Chinese investments. These letters have so far received no answer.

[  rsf.org

Weitergabe von Daten durch Yahoo bringt Journalisten ins Gefängnis

Yahoo hat offensichtlich durch die Herausgabe von E-Mail-Daten die chinesischen Behörden bei der Verhaftung des Internet-Dissidenten Shi Tao unterstützt. Reporter ohne Grenzen ist entsetzt über das Verhalten des internationalen Konzerns. Shi Tao wurde im April zu zehn Jahren Haft wegen der "Weitergabe von Staatsgeheimnissen" an "feindliche Elemente" verurteilt.

Das schriftliche Urteil enthüllt die Hilfe, die Yahoo bei der Verfolgung Tao´s geleistet hat. Der Internetdienstleister hat Chinas Staatssicherheit Details der E-Mail-Kommunikation von Shi Tao zur Verfügung gestellt, mit denen diese den Journalisten ausfindig machen und verurteilen konnte. Der regimekritische Journalist Shi Tao schickte eine E-Mail über sein privates Yahoo-Konto an die Betreiber einer ausländischen Website. Dort wurden seine Informationen über eine Warnung der Propagandaabteilung an chinesische Journalisten vor dem 15. Jahrestag des Tiananmen-Massakers vom 4. Juni 1989 anonym veröffentlicht. Chinesische Ermittler verfolgten die E-Mail mit Hilfe von Yahoo zu der Zeitung in Hunan zurück, wo Shi Tao damals noch als Redakteur arbeitete.

„Dass Yahoo sich offensichtlich beigeistert an der Zensur beteiligt hat, war uns bekannt“, so Reporter ohne Grenzen. „Nun wissen wir, dass das Unternehmen auch als Informant der Polizei tätig ist.“ Reporter ohne Grenzen hat die Zusammenarbeit von Internetfirmen wie Yahoo, Google und Microsoft MSN mit dem chinesischen Regime bereits mehrfach kritisiert.

[  reporter-ohne-grenzen.de

[  Yahoo gerät wegen Geschäftspraktiken in China in die Kritik

2. September 2005

MALDIVES

5 mitglieder der national security service wurden zu lebenslanger haft verurteilt. Die wärter hatten während eines riots im maafushi knast im september 2003 , bei dem 4 menschen starben und 17 verletzt wurden, auf die nicht bewaffneten gefangenen geschossen.

FIVE NSS Sentenced to Life in Prison for Riot Murders

Today Judge Uz. Abdul Baaree Yusef passed sentence on National Security Services staff involved in the murder of inmates during the September 2003 Maafushi Jail riots.

Four were left dead and seventeen injured after NSS security personnel fired on unarmed inmates during the prison riots, which followed Maafushi NSS staff beating to death Evan Naseem.In connection with these shootings, the government brought charges of premeditated murder against four NSS security personnel: Lamu Atoll Maavashu Ziyaraiydhoshuge Ibrahim Shareef and Haa Alifu Atoll Hoarafushi Andhaleeduge Hassan Rifaau, South Thiladhunmathi Kulhudhuffush Nooraaneeaage Mohamed Mujuthaba Hussain and Male’ Municipality Ha’ssa Dhaftharu Shahid Ali Maniku (Appa).

The state also brought charges of participating in premeditated murder against Ma Dhihi Adam Mohamed (Fusfaru), NSS commander in charge of the security personnel in Maafushi at that the time of the shootings. The judge sentenced all of them under article 88 (raa) of the penal code: life in prison, two months fasting, and financial retribution (26666.66 Rufia) to the families of each of the dead within one month.Evan Naseem’s mother speaking to Minivan expressed dissatisfaction with the sentences, particularly to that of Adam Mohamed. She said that the death penalty would be the appropriate punishment.

Reflecting on Adam Mohamed’s earlier sentence for the death of her son she said, “I’m unhappy because Adam Mohamed was sentenced to only six months for Evan Naseem’s death. He should have been given the death penalty for that. He was the one who orchestrated the whole thing… He served his six months… in Dhoonidhoo with a mobile in hand, while playing volleyball, going night fishing and having a grand time with the security personnel there.”She expressed concern and disgust that those sentenced today may be similarly pardoned after 6 months.She also wanted it noted that the Commander in Chief of the armed forces (Gayoom) should bear responsibility for the shootings and resultant murders.

[  minivannews.com

1. September 2005

JAPAN

das oberste gericht in tokyo hat ein urteil nachdem ein iranischer mann abfindung wegen der gewaltsamen verabreichung eines beruhigungsmittels durch wärter des fuchu knastes eine abfindung erhalten sollte, wieder zurüchgenommen.

High court repeals decision ordering compensation to Iranian

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday repealed a lower court ruling ordering the state to pay an Iranian man 600,000 yen in compensation for abuse he suffered from prison officers at Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo.The Tokyo District Court had found the forcible use of a psychotropic agent on Bahman Daneshian, 38, illegal, ordering the stay to make the compensation. But Judge Makoto Nemoto at the high court ruled it was "a legitimate therapeutic intervention to control the excited state of a prisoner," repealing the lower court order. (Kyodo News)

[  japantoday.com

26. August 2005

INDIA

artikel mit vielen infos über knäste in indien. Aufhänger ist der mann der nach 54 jahren ohne anklage kürzlich aus der haft entlassen wurde.

Article with a lot of information about the prisons in india.

[  Fifty-four years in jail without trial: the plight of prison inmates in India

17. August 2005

PAKISTAN

ein wegen blasphemie zu lebenslanger haft verurteilter mann muß in isohaft untergebracht werden weil man angebl. nicht für seine sicherheit bürgen kann. Es soll bereits drohungen gegen den mann gegeben haben, sowie mehrere fatwas.

Insult Islam, get life in jail, face prisoners' wrath

A Pakistani man sentenced to life imprisonment for blasphemy is being kept in solitary confinement because of fears other inmates will harm him for insulting Islam, police said on Tuesday.Mohammad Younus Sheikh was found guilty last week of writing and distributing books containing blasphemous and sacrilegious material.

"In Pakistan, insulting Islam or Islamic teachings is a very sensitive matter and people try to take the law into their own hands," said investigating police officer Mohammad Younis.Other inmates had already picked fights with Sheikh, 40, and he was being kept in a separate cell."We told him he can't mix with other prisoners and say anything about his books," Younis said.Sheikh, a restaurant worker, was arrested in February after a complaint from a religious organisation over a book he had written.

Blasphemy cases are relatively common in predominantly Muslim Pakistan.Human rights groups say anti-blasphemy laws need to be struck off the books as they are often abused to settle personal disputes or religious rivalry, and are often used unfairly against religious minorities. Younis said some clerics had already issues fatwas, or edicts, declaring that Sheikh was liable to be killed for insulting Islam.Sheikh had memorised the Koran and done some research work on Islamic teachings after coming under the influence of a cleric, Younis said.

[  expressindia.com

17. August 2005

INDONESIA

etwa 1.500 free aceh movement rebellen werden als teil eines waffenstillstandsabkommen zwischen der regierung und den rebellen entlassen. 447 wurden bei der amnestie am indonesischen unabhängigkeitstag (17. august) entlassen

HUNDREDS of Acehnese released from jail

Nearly 1,500 Free Aceh Movement rebels will be freed as part of an accord signed on Monday between the government and rebel negotiators to end three decades of fighting.But another 447 will be released on Wednesday to mark 60 years of independence from Dutch and Japanese colonial rule, said Zulhakil Mubin, the chief correctional officer in the province.

Jakarta regularly shortens jail sentences for well-behaved prisoners on August 17, but officials said this year the Justice Ministry had been particularly generous toward Acehnese political prisoners.More than 150 inmates who turned themselves in to authorities after the December 26 tsunami that crashed into Aceh, sweeping away everything in its path - including prisons - were among those being freed on Wednesday.

[  smh.com.au

14. August 2005

INDIA

im knast in bhopal werden gefangene in religiösen riten unterrichtet damit sie nach ihrer entlassung als priester arbeiten können.

BHOPAL jail hopes to make priests out of prisoners

When he steps out of the Bhopal Central Jail after completing his sentence for murder, Dinesh Tiwari hopes to become a priest for which he is being trained at the prison. Authorities at the jail in the Madhya Pradesh capital have started a programme to train Brahmin Hindu inmates in religious rituals as part of steps by the Bharatiya Janata Party government to reform prisoners.

The administration has decided to distribute religious books among inmates and make changes in jails according to Vaastu Shastra, the ancient Indian canons of architecture.The task to make priests out of prisoners has been entrusted to Gaayatri Shakti Peeth, a Hindu organisation whose members hold classes every morning for some 60 prisoners.The prisoners are taught how to perform religious rites. They have also been given copies of religious hymns in Sanskrit.The classes, which began last week, will continue for a month."When the inmates are free they will be eligible to get a job in a temple or perform puja in homes," said Shyam Sharma, a member of Gaayatri Shakti Peeth. "At the end of the month we will also teach inmates rites that are performed when a person is cremated."

Sharma is hopeful the prisoners will become good priests and will never take to crime again. Sharma cites the example of Valmiki, the author of Hindu epic Ramayana."When Valmiki, a bandit, can give up crime and become a sage, why cannot these inmates become good citizens?" asked Sharma.Said jailor G.K. Tamrakar: "It's an effort to reform the criminals so that they do not take to crime once they are free."Jail authorities feel religion will not only cleanse the hearts of the inmates but will change their psychology for good.

In any case, becoming a priest does not require any major investment. But the inmates are aware that making a place for themselves as a priest once they are free will not be an easy task.Admits 50-year-old Tiwari who is to be released after four years: "Why would people or temples want to hire us when we have served a term in prison? But our job is to make an attempt and we will try."

[  eians.com

13. August 2005

MALAYSIA

lt. Offiziellen angaben sind 9.000 menschen in abschiebehaft und warten auf ihre gerichtsverhandlungen.

'9,000 illegal immigrants still in detention centres'

At least 9,000 illegal immigrants, caught for committing various offences including over-staying, are still being held in detention centres throughout the country awaiting trials.

Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid said today these immigrants could not be sent home immediately "because either their cases are pending in court or they are required as witnesses"."The Government would like to send them home as soon as possible but it is not possible due to the process of law."I was told that there are also backlog cases involving them," Azmi said.Many of the illegal immigrants are being held in detention centres for more than a year.Azmi said the Government was in the process of finding solutions to resolve the immigrants' "long stay" at the centres."This is because the number of immigrants being detained here are on the rise," he said after flagging off a convoy in conjunction with the Merdeka Day celebrations.The expedition, involving 20 vehicles, was organised by the Puteri Umno Padang Besar branch.

[  nst.com.my

09. August 2005

SAUDI ARABIA

"ausländische" arbeiterinnen mit hiv werden inhaftiert und abgeschoben. Sie bekommen keine medikamente, die werden nur saudiarabischen menschen zur verfügung gestellt.

Saudis jail, deport foreigners with HIV

By MARK MACKINNON

Mohammed spends his days in a crowded cage, dying of a treatable disease for which the richest country in the Middle East won't provide medicines.The Palestinian is HIV positive and has been kept in a cell at the King Saud Hospital for Infectious Diseases for three months, along with two roommates who also are infected with the virus. They live behind a brown steel door with barred windows, victims of a closed society that would rather deport people, such as Mohammed, than talk about sex, drug use or AIDS.

Saudi Arabia can afford the antiretroviral medication that slows the spread of HIV and often prolongs the life of those infected, and does give the drugs to Saudi nationals who have contracted the illness. It refuses, however, to extend the same treatment to the more than 4,200 foreigners in the country who have tested positive for HIV.Foreign workers, many of whom hail from South Asia and come to Saudi Arabia looking for better-paying jobs than they could find back home, make up 25 per cent of the country's population, and 54 per cent of those known to have HIV.Burly and hale-looking despite his illness, Mohammed said the only medications he has received in the past three months are basic pain relievers and anti-allergy pills. He says he was allowed out of his cell -- which is bolted and padlocked from the outside -- just once in recent weeks.

That time, he said, he was put into an ambulance and taken to finish his deportation proceedings. When it was determined the necessary documents were not yet ready, he was driven back to the hospital and again locked up."We are prisoners here. They treat us like animals," Mohammed said during a short discussion of his circumstances through the bars of his cage before hospital security guards arrived and ended the interview.There was another, gaunt-looking African man in the caged hospital room -- who also has AIDS -- and Mohammed said all foreigners with AIDS were treated the same way. There are often six people in the caged ward at the same time, he said. "They say we're dangerous, so we can't go out. We get no medicines at all."

When The Globe and Mail returned the next day, it was impossible to speak to Mohammed. The wing of the hospital where the caged foreigners with AIDS are kept, which was open to visitors the day before, was suddenly under guard by triple the number of security guards.Mohammed said one of his former cellmates, a man named Ismael who was born in Saudi Arabia to illegal immigrants and thus considered a non-citizen, was deported to Myanmar (formerly called Burma) recently after being kept under lock and key for a year without access to antiretrovirals.One doctor at the hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ismael and Mohammed were both lucky and have survived thus far because they are young and arrived at the hospital while still relatively healthy. Many others, he said, died in front of him while awaiting their deportation, an infuriating experience for a medical professional who knew he could do more to help them.

Like Mohammed, he said foreigners with AIDS who arrived at King Saud were treated like "prisoners, not patients.""They get no medicine, no care, nothing. I tried my best, I talked to the director of the hospital about this many times. They told me: 'These are the rules of the country. You cannot change this." "The doctor said since Saudi Arabia treats its own citizens who contract HIV reasonably well, the lack of care given to foreigners with AIDS can be attributed to racism alone.Doctors say the antiretroviral medication costs the equivalent of about $1,500 a month a person.The country views AIDS as an imported phenomenon, and in a 2004 report the Ministry of Health said Saudi Arabia's policy for dealing with foreigners with AIDS is to treat them until they are stable enough to be deported.

The low number of AIDS cases in the country is frequently attributed to the kingdom's strict Islamic laws, which prohibit premarital sex, relations outside marriage and homosexuality. Penalties for adultery and drug use include imprisonment, public stoning or beheading.Saudi Arabia's economy is heavily reliant on foreign labourers, who nonetheless have few rights and are treated as an underclass. The largest number have settled in Jeddah, a vibrant port city of 2.8 million people near Islam's holy sites of Mecca and Medina. Unknown thousands live in rundown neighbourhoods and makeshift refugee camps where intravenous drug use and prostitution -- almost unheard of in the rest of the country ? have become rampant. Over half of the country's reported AIDS cases are in Jeddah.

Many of those who end up at the King Saud hospital work in the country for years beforehand and only discover they have AIDS when they're brought to hospital after a workplace or traffic accident. There, they receive a mandatory HIV test. After that, they're forcibly taken to hospital and confined there to await deportation or death, whichever comes first.Wealthier foreign workers, such as oil-industry specialists and education professionals, are unlikely to use Saudi Arabia's public health-care system and thereby avoid the scrutiny of the government.

How long those locked up with AIDS remain inside the hospital often depends on their nationality. Some countries, such as the Philippines, move relatively quickly to take their nationals home for treatment. But in cases like Ismael's and Mohammed's, where the patient hails from a country with little or no diplomatic presence in Saudi Arabia, the wait is much longer.Christoph Wilcke, Saudi Arabia researcher for the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said this was the first time he had heard about the practice of jailing and withholding medication from the country's foreigners with HIV and AIDS. He called the practice "despicable."

[  theglobeandmail.com

07. August 2005

ISRAEL

für einen summe zwischen $ 50.000 und 150.000 holt eine angeblich 7 leute große grupppe israelische menschen aus knästen in sog. "entwicklungsländern" raus. Die gruppe soll pidyon shevuyim heißen und bisher 8 menschen befreit haben.

For hire: elite Israeli squad who can break you out of jail

You won't find them listed in any telephone book. But if you're locked up in a Third World jail, seemingly beyond help, the secret team of Israeli soldiers-of-fortune can spring you from your cramped and fetid cell - for a price.

With an armoury ranging from spiked drinks and disguises to fake passports, honeytraps and sheer brute force, the seven-strong squad of former special forces troops will launch freelance jail-breaks across the developing world. Assuming you can find them, they charge up to $150,000 (£85,000) to get their prize safely home.Although they might sound like a team dreamt up by a Hollywood screenwriter, their existence was confirmed to The Sunday Telegraph this week by lawyers - and by Dafna Margolin, a 46-year-old from Tel Aviv, who was smuggled out of Cuba by the team four years ago.

"We have rescued eight people so far," said the commander of the group, who insisted on remaining anonymous. "Our price is anything from $50,000 to $150,000."From India to Cuba and Mexico, the team specialises in rescuing Israeli prisoners from countries where lawyers say that corruption can hamper chances of a fair trial and prison conditions can be horrendous.

"We have rules," said the commander. "We only work in developing countries and we can choose the cases that we accept. We don't want heavy drug smuggling cases - we try not to take them."Yet he also admitted: "We don't really ask questions. It's the job we have and we do it."

The unit has broken its self-imposed rule only once, when a cousin of one of its members was locked up in Norway. Then, its leader says, it had few scruples about storming into one of the world's most prosperous and crime-free nations."Norway was an exception," said the unit commander. "It was family, so we had to do it."Those familiar with the unit say that it is called Pidyon Shevuyim, or Redemption of the Captive, after an ancient Jewish law that calls on Jews to free their fellows from captivity as a duty.

While the team may be rooted in tradition, its methods and equipment come straight from today's covert operations battlefield.The core group of the seven met in the army, but others have been recruited in recent years. The team members are aged between their late twenties and early forties."These are mostly special forces guys and they think life is the army. It's what they know, so they continue to use these Mossad-type tactics," said an associate, referring to Israel's foreign intelligence service, involved in countless exploits on foreign soil, including rescues and assassinations.

"For most cases we spend between two and six months on reconnaissance and preparation," said the unit commander. "We work on two or three at a time and then take time off, sometimes a year, as a 'cool-down' period."The team is reluctant to divulge details about how it frees its clients, from whom it demands a vow of silence over the specifics of the escape. Those who know their techniques, however, say that the mission is often launched as a prisoner is being moved from place to place."One tactic is for the prisoner to fake illness and get moved to a hospital wing, or a clinic, which is less secure," said the associate. "The unit forces the vehicle transporting the prisoner to stop and snatches the inmate.

"Or it uses sedatives to drug police watching the inmates at the hospital, or even girls to fool around with the guards."The team usually acquires its weapons locally and uses fake passports to get its clients out of the country.Ms Margolin was smuggled out of Cuba in early 2001 after disaster struck on a week-long holiday in Havana.In October 2000, she had been involved in a traffic accident in eastern Cuba in which the pillion passenger on a motorcycle died. She insists that the motorcycle swerved in front of her car and that the only witness supported her version of events, only to testify against her later in court.

"The trial was a terrible ordeal. There were hundreds of people outside and I thought I would be lynched," she said this week. "The prosecutor asked for a five-year suspended sentence, which meant I would have been deported, but the judge gave me three years in jail with hard labour."Back in Israel, a member of Ms Margolin's family managed to contact Pidyon Shevuyim. Two weeks before her appeal to the supreme court and the likely start of her sentence, Ms Margolin said, the team landed in Cuba.

"They sent three guys for reconnaissance, following me, tracking my movements, then four days before I was to be locked up, they took me outside Havana and one of the men changed my looks."I was very scared. They told me that sometimes they have to sedate some of their clients because they are so nervous. Only on the escape plane I felt really free. But in three days I was back in Israel."Ms Margolin said: "I think it's a humanitarian thing to spread the word about these guys. People in my situation need help and these guys can help."Israel's ministry of foreign affairs however, has a less charitable view of the unit's activities. "We demand that Israelis abroad show the same high respect for the local laws as we expect of foreigners here,"said Mark Regev, a spokesman. "We do not support any illegal activity abroad and I think you can say that includes breaking into foreign jails."

Some lawyers in Israel, however, say that the ministry has indirectly encouraged the rescue unit through its failure to offer robust support to Israelis in trouble abroad."The foreign ministry thinks that if it exerts any influence for an Israeli in India say, then India might have some comeback in Israel," said Mordechai Tsivin, a lawyer who deals with many of the estimated 560 Israelis held in foreign jails.

"It doesn't give any help to Israeli prisoners or their families - zero. While you can't forgive the criminal activities of this group, it has been encouraged to exist by the failures of the state."Two families of Israelis serving time in foreign jails supported his stance, telling The Sunday Telegraph that they had had almost no help from the Israeli state in challenging what they claim are unjust sentences.

For the team commander, however, ethical niceties are not a concern. What matters is that the money keeps flowing and the next operations are successful."We are in the planning stage for more jobs now," he said. "So far they have all gone well but there are always risks involved."But we don't do it to feel good," he added. "We do it because this is what we do best."

[  telegraph.co.uk

04. August 2005

INDONESIA

300 gefangene, die während des tsunami am 26. dezember aus den knästen in aceh flohen und sich danach selbst stellten, wird die knaststrafe um die hälfte verringert.

'Honest' Aceh prisoners rewarded

Hundreds of prisoners in Aceh who chose not to escape from their jails during the tsunami are to have their sentences halved, a minister said on Thursday.About 300 people will have their prison terms cut because "they are deemed to have high integrity," said Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin."They actually could escape, and we do not have data on them," he said.

"But they reported themselves and helped provide humanitarian assistance voluntarily."The Indonesian province of Aceh was the area worst hit by the massive earthquake and tsunami on 26 December last year.More than 130,000 people perished in Aceh alone, including many prisoners who were trapped inside their cells.

Many jails - along with thousands of other buildings - were destroyed in the disaster.The remissions will be granted to mark Indonesia's independence anniversary on 17 August, Mr Awaluddin said.The government traditionally marks independence day by cutting some prisoners' sentences, but usually only by a few months.

[  bbc.co.uk

04. August 2005

PAKISTAN

zwei artikel über ein gerichtsurteil bzw. die reaktion darauf.
das höchste gericht hat ein am 14. juli in der north west frontier province erlassenes hisba-gesetz das "islamische grundsätze in der öffentlichkeit" einführen sollte und als taliban- ähnlich bezeichnet wurde, als gegen die verfassung gerichtet gesetz für ungültig erklärt.

Pakistan court rejects provincial bill

[  aljazeera.net

6. august 2005

COURT opinion will not deter us: NWFP

A day after the Pakistani Supreme Court opined that several clauses of the bill introducing a Taliban-style moral code in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) were unconstitutional, the Provincial Government declared that it would continue its legal battle for the Hasba Bill.

At a press conference in Peshawar on Friday, the Frontier Law Minister Malik Zafar Azam claimed that the court opinion on the Presidential reference was not binding on any party.He hoped that President Pervez Musharraf would uphold the provincial legislature's right to legislate it.In a brief order on the reference made by Gen. Musharraf, the court on Thursday said the Governor of the NWFP was not obliged to sign the Bill.The reference sought the court's opinion on whether or not it conformed to the provisions of the Constitution.

The NWFP Assembly dominated by Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), conglomerate of six religious parties, approved the bill in early July.The court said the reasons for its order would be recorded later.It heard arguments from all sides and gave its opinion in a record time of less than four weeks.

The bill's ostensible purpose is to ensure strict enforcement of Islamic laws and way of life. It includes measures to ensure people respect calls to prayer and to discourage singing and dancing. The MMA's critics and large segments of civil society are convinced that the Bill will lead to Talibanisation of the NWFP.It envisages the establishment of a new department to "discourage vice and encourage virtue," and seeks to set up an office akin to an ombudsman to be headed by a cleric called /Mohtasib/ (one who holds others accountable) whose main function would be to "protect/watch the Islamic values and etiquettes at the provincial level."

The Mohtasib's jurisdiction would be all encompassing. Under "special powers," he shall also monitor adherence to the moral values of Islam in public places; discourage /Tabdhir/ or extravagance, particularly at marriages and family functions; ensure that Islamic codes are followed while giving dowry; discourage beggary; and ensure strict adherence to Islamic values during /Iftar/ (breaking fast) and /Taravih/ (special prayers performed during Ramadan).Once the Assembly adopted the Bill, Gen. Musharraf was faced with a dilemma: to act or not act against the MMA Government.

He opted for the safe route and made a reference to the Supreme Court.The NWFP Law Minister claimed that the Provincial Government had only taken a minor step to fulfil the responsibility of the state through the legislation. After the court's detailed opinion on the law was known, a decision would be taken on amendments to it or sending it back to the Governor.

[  hindu.com

03. August 2005

INDONESIA

bei 53.000 menschen werden zum unabhängigkeitstag (17.august) die knaststrafen reduziert bzw. werden entlassen.

ANGER as Bali bomb cleric has jail term cut

A militant cleric jailed for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings will be among 53,000 inmates receiving sentence reductions to mark Indonesi's independence day, authorities said today.Abu Bakar Bashir " the alleged spiritual head of the al-Qaida-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah " would be the most controversial inmate to benefit from a reduction.He was convicted in March of conspiracy in the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, many of them Australian tourists.

The Supreme Court rejected his appeal earlier this month.Peter Hughes, an Australian survivor who suffered serious burns in the attack, said the bombers should serve out their entire sentence."We don't like it but there is not much we can do about," Hughes said."This is not justice. These guys are criminals and murders should be given heavy penalties without a reprieve".

[  breakingnews.iol.ie

02. August 2005

BANGLADESH/INDIA

10 indische menschen deren haftzeit z.t. seit 2002 vorbei ist, sind nach wie vor noch in knästen in bangladesh weil die indische regierung ihre papiere nicht bestätigt.

10 Indians in CHT not freed after serving jail terms

At least 10 Indian nationals are languising in Rangamati and Khagrachhari jails for years after completion of their prison terms.They can not return home due to lack of clearance from their government, according to sources in the jails.

The Home Ministry, acting on reports by the jail authorities, wrote months ago to the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh to take steps in this regard, but to no effect, the sources said yesterday. Of the Indianbs, six arre in in Khagrachhari jail and four in Ranagamati jail.Debu Das, now 26, completed four years' prison term in October 2003 in Khagrachhari jail. He was caught and punished for illegal entry into Bangladesh and possessing arms.

Two others--Bipul Tripura, 30, and Samson Tripura, 29completed one month's prison term on December 5, 2002 for illegal entry. But they are languishing in Khagrachhari jail for about three and a half years. Mantu Chan, 27, Md. Sajjad Hossain, 20, and Rafiqul Islam, 23, caught for illegal entry and punished, are also waiting for long to return home.

Four other Indians punished for the same offence, are in Rangamati jail for about six months after completing prison terms.Rangamati jail authorities said they are facing problems in maintaining them as the jail is already overcrowded. This is also a mental torture on them, the officials said.

[  bangladeshweb.com

30. July 2005

AFGHANISTAN

bericht über den knast pul-I-charkhi und die auswirkungen des neuen gesetzes für knäste.

New Hope for Afghan Prisoners

Legislative changes say prisoners need no longer fear ill-treatment and can even hope for training courses.

Abdul Rahman squatted on the iron bunk in his cell in Afghanistan's central Pul-i-Charkhi prison. The 60-year-old, his black beard streaked with grey, was deep in thought over what he saw as the injustice of life.Sipping a glass of tea, he told IWPR he was detained four months ago in Kandahar province charged with kidnapping a 25-year-old Iranian woman. He denies it, despite being found guilty by a court.Rahman says prison officials in Kandahar beat him with rubber hoses and wooden batons and then demanded 500 US dollars, promising to free him instead of transferring him to the Kabul prison. But he didn't have that kind of money.

A six-year sentence stretching ahead of him, the convict at least finds some consolation in a new law on prisons ratified by the government in May."With the new law in place, the prison officials will treat us like friends and we will be educated instead of beaten," he said with cautious optimism.Pul-i-Charkhi stands alone in the desert some 15 kilometres east of Kabul. It is surrounded by mud-coloured, eight-metre high concrete walls, with a huge iron gate that swings shut ominously after one enters. Watchtowers in each corner are manned by alert armed guards.

There have already been some signs of improvement for Rahman and the five other inmates with whom he shares the second-floor cell in this grim place.Now, instead of being allowed out of their cells for only an hour a day, the prisoners can exercise between 2 pm and 4 pm each day.There are also signs that leisure activities may one day be available. A large room has been set aside for a library and while so far, there are no shelves, some books are already scattered on tables and will be available for the inmates, who include some 70 women held in a separate section.

The new prison law was drawn up by the Afghan justice ministry with the help of the Italian government, and approved by President Hamed Karzai.Sayed Yousef Halim, a legal expert with the justice ministry, said the law was based on Italian legislation whose application in prisons was seen by a panel led by the then justice minister, Abdul Rahim, during a visit to Italy.

"As all international standards were observed in those prisons, which were in accordance with Islam, and in which the basic rights of all inmates were ensured, we drew on their legislation in drafting this prison law," he said.Afghanistan's new law explicitly bans torture, saying "no one is allowed to torture any prisoner". But if a detainee tries to escape, resist, attack others or cause any disturbance, prison officers may use force , the nature of which is not defined.

Article 3 of the law states "prisons officials, attorneys, judges and other people who deal with prisoners must observe their human rights while carrying out their duties and should treat them impartially" in other words without regard to ethnic background, religion and gender.There are other aims which may seem ambitious in a country where there are so many demands on the state's resources after more than two decades of conflict.

One is that prisoners should be sent to whichever detention centre - which have yet to be built - is closest to home so that relatives can visit more easily.Under the law, prison officers cannot walk around inside the prison carrying guns. Prisoners must be given a chance to learn a trade such as carpentry or tailoring, they should be allowed special leave, for example to attend a funeral, and they should have access to television, radio and newspapers.

Televisions in prisons seems a long-term objective when millions of law-abiding Afghans lack basic facilities in towns and villages.Justice ministry legal expert Halim acknowledges that not everything will change immediately. Noting that the food currently on offer is poor, he said only 60 US cents was spent per prisoner per day - not enough to provide each inmate with three good meals a day.

Zahruddin Zahir, the head of Pul-i-Charkhi prison, also accepts that some parts of the law will be difficult to put into practice in the present situation.

"We can implement the whole prisons law eventually, but we have problems with some articles," he said. "For example, if we let a prisoner go home on for a special occasion, he won't come back to prison because the situation there is still not good."Ratified on May 11, the new law was followed by a series of seminars held by the International Committee of the Red Cross to try to train prison officials in internationally-accepted ways of treating prisoners.

General Abdul Salam Bakhshi, director-general of prisons at the justice ministry, said the seminars were the best way to make officers aware of prisoners' rights."There were some private jails in Afghanistan several years ago where people's nails were pulled out, where they were burnt in oil and their heads were cut off," he said, adding that such prisons no longer existed.

Bakhshi said the ministry would try to set up training courses in prisons and ask traders to invest in small factories and businesses there. "On the one hand they will benefit and on the other hand the prisoners will be busy and rapidly acquire a trade." he said. "The prisoner will be paid a wage that can help him support his family."The law, for the first time, gives prisoners the right to put complaints to prison officials, the director-general of prisons, a lawyer or the justice minister.Jolanda Brunetti Goetz, special coordinator for the justice sector assistance programme for which Italy has taken the lead role, says her government has spent eight million euros (some 9.7 million dollars) over three years on improving Afghanistan's judicial system, training lawyers and prison officials, and drawing up the new law.

In Pul-i-Charkhi, prisoner Abdul Razaq, a man in his mid-thirties who has been inside for three years now, was more optimistic about the remaining two years he had to serve.He said that with the new law, mistreatment of prisoners was not allowed and there had already been moves to start a library, arrange some training courses and prepare some new floor-coverings in the jail.Abdul Baseer Saeed and Amanullah Nasrat are IWPR reporters in Kabul. Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, an IWPR reporter in Mazar-e-Sharif, also contributed material for this report.

[  iwpr.net

26. July 2005

IRAN

in der kurdischen stadt mahabad kam es zu mehrtägigen riots. Die riots brachen aus nachdem bekannt wurde das die polizei einen jungen kurdischen mann erschossen hat.

Iran says calm restored in kurdish area after riots

The Kurdish town of Mahabad in northwestern Iran was calm on Monday following days of riots that erupted after police shot dead a young Kurdish man, a spokesman for the Iranian Interior Ministry said. "The security situation is under control and the city is calm," said Interior Ministry spokesman Jahanbakhsh Khanjani. "It was not a political issue at all."

The ISNA students news agency said at least one police officer had been killed and 18 protestors arrested during the riots, which were triggered by the fatal shooting of Kamal Asfarm on July 9. Police said Asfarm was on the run and had refused to surrender. Khanjani said he died while police were taking him to hospital. Relatives say Asfarm was an activist who led protests against the ruling clerical establishment in the western Kurdish towns, demanding more power for Iran?s Kurdish ethnic minority. During the unrest people smashed and set fire to cars and banks and clashed with security forces, who responded with tear gas, ISNA reported. Former Kurdish lawmaker Bahaeddin Adab told Reuters the unrest resulted from the denial of the Kurdish minority's "democratic rights" since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

"Their rights have been denied in the past two decades. Iran's Kurds are ready to begin a civil disobedience movement," said Adab, a former MP from the Kurdish town of Sanandaj. Adab said Iranian Kurds had used the killing as an excuse to show their dissatisfaction. "Kurds want their share of the power and wealth. They want justice in the distribution of that power," he added. Iran denies any discrimination against ethnic minorities. Adab said pictures posted by Asfarm?s family on the internet showed he had been tortured by police.

Officials have denied such reports. A local official told ISNA that the Internet pictures of Asfarm were taken after an autopsy to find the cause of his death. Predominantly Sunni Muslim Kurds rioted in at least two other towns in response to rumours Asfarm?s death, the official IRNA news agency said on Monday. Iran is home to about six million Kurds and its 67 million population is an ethnic patchwork. Roughly half the population is Persian, with the other 50 percent made up of Azeris, Kurds, Arabs, Lors, Baluch and Turkmen. Tehran is very sensitive about any suggestion of ethnic unrest, particularly by its Arab and Kurd populations, and anti-government demonstrations are usually dealt with quickly.

[  kurdmedia.com

25. July 2005

BANGLADESH

BANGLADESH: Torture; Impunity; Rule of law

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the severe torture of a man by members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Jasimuddin road, Uttara sector- 7, Dhaka and RAB?1 Office at Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh on 15 July 2005. The victim was taken into RAB custody because he protested against the assault of an elderly man by plain-clothed RAB members on the street and then defended himself from their attack. In Bangladesh, there are gross human rights violations committed by RAB personnel.

The AHRC recently reported the increasingly common practice of extra-judicial killings by law enforcement agencies, especially by RAB, in Bangladesh. Three hundred and seventy eight people have been killed by these agencies since June 2004, with 18 killed in a matter of only 13 days in recent weeks.[  See further:UG-03-2005 Of these killings, it is alleged that approximately 80 persons have been killed by RAB members in 2005 so far.

DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: SK. Abubakkar sultan Bitan, Executive Director of Harness Level Industries Ltd Alleged perpetrators: Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ashraf and other members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)

Date of incident: 15 July 2005

Place of incident: Jasimuddin road, Uttara sector- 7, Dhaka and RAB?1 Office at Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh SK.

Abubakkar sultan Bitan, Executive Director of Harness Level Industries Ltd, was severely tortured by the members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Jasimuddin road, Uttara sector- 7, Dhaka and RAB?1 Office at Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh on 15 July 2005. At about 8:00pm on July 15, Bitan was caught in a traffic jam at Jasimuddin road on the way back home and he saw three men in plainclothes, who were identified as members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) later, beating up an elderly man on the street. When Bitan protested against the assault, another RAB member threw sand in his eyes and pushed him aside. After that, Bitan defended himself and pushed a man, who later identified himself as RBA's Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ashraf. ASP Ashraf then threatened Bitan saying, "Do you know who I am? How dare do you hit a RAB member? I will teach you a good lesson".

He communicated with the mobile team of RAB and took Bitan to RAB?1 office at Uttara where he was beaten with iron rods. Bitan finally fell unconscious. Bitan said that he could escape death only after a high police official intervened and was released from RAB custody at 11:00pm. He was admitted to a local clinic first and later transferred to Central Hospital, Dhaka. Bitan's sister Khadija Rahman filed a General Dairy (GD-complaint) at the Uttara Police Station about the incident on July 16. In the meantime, the RAB had earlier filed a GD against Bitan accusing him of assaulting ASP Ashraf.

[  ahrchk.net

24. July 2005

INDIA

obwohl er nie verurteilte wurde, war ein jetzt 77 jähriger mann 54 jahre inhaftiert. Er wurde 1951 nach § 326 des indischen strafgesetzbuches festgenommen, seine höchststrafe wäre 10 jahre gewesen. Er wurde aber kurz nach der festnahme in eine psychatrie eingewiesen. 1967 wurde er von der psychatrei als geheilt eingestuft und dies den behörden zugesandt. Da es keine antwort gab, musste der mann bleiben.

JUSTICE KNOCKS AFTER 54 LONG YEARS!

GUWAHATI: A court in Assam has freed a tribal man held in judicial custody for 54 years, though he was never tried for the crime that led to his arrest. Machang Lalung, 77, was arrested sometime in 1951 from his native village of Silsang in eastern Assam's Morigaon district in northeastern India.

There are no official police records now to pinpoint the crime for which Lalung was put behind bars, expect for a document that indicates he was booked under section 326 of the Indian Penal Code. This section pertains a non-bailable offence for "voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means". If found guilty, the maximum penalty under this provision is 10 years in prison. After his arrest, police shifted Lalung to a mental asylum in northern Assam's Tezpur town, and since then he has been languishing there without ever facing trial.

Lalung was declared fully "recovered" by the Tezpur mental asylum authorities way back in 1967 in a letter sent to Guwahati Jail officials. But the officials sat on the letter.

In May this year, Lalung was shifted to Guwahati Central Jail.

It was then that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took up his case and pleaded for his release. And as luck would have it, the case came up for hearing for the first time this month at the chief judicial magistrate's court at Kamrup in Guwahati. Lalung was eventually freed with a token personal release bond of Rs.1 with magistrate H.K. Sarma terming his case as "unusual".

"This is a situation where neither the executive nor the judiciary can shirk or skip responsibility on technical grounds. It is the question of life and liberty of a person who has been in judicial custody for 54 years in a mental hospital and who was not brought before the court to face trial even long after his recovery from mental ill-health," Sarma said in his judgment. "If we insist on technicalities (no police records of the crime) none but justice will be the casualty," he said in his verdict.

Lalung is a free man today, but does not remember much about his past.

[  timesofindia.indiatimes.com

20. JULY 2005

SRI LANKA

folter und extralegale hinrichtung eines mannes durch die polizei in kadawatha

SRI LANKA: Extra judicial killings; torture; police cover-up

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the alleged torture and extra-judicial killing of a man by the Kadawatha police, Sri Lanka. On 30 April 2005, Damikka Dissanayake had been enjoying himself at a musical show with friends. Later in the night, however, Damikka was seen being led away from the show by police officers from Kadawatha Police Station. Damikka?s body was found some time later at the bottom of a well near his house, and blood stains were located nearby.

Though the Judicial Medical Officer gave the cause of death as "drowning", 36 injuries were found on Damikka's body, confirming that severe torture took place prior to his death. As a result of this, Damikka's family and friends believe that the police tortured then killed Damikka, before disposing of his body in the well.

INFORMATION:

*Name of the victim:* R. Damikka Dissanayake of No. 294, Mahara Prison Road, Ragama
*Name of the Complainant**:* Kara Dissanayake (father of victim)
*Alleged perpetrators:* Police officers attached to the Kadawatha Police Station

Details:

Damikka Dissanayake and his friends went to a musical show on 30 April 2005. During the show, according to friends, they all danced and enjoyed themselves. After a short while the friends found that Damikka was missing. Upon looking for him, one of the friends allegedly saw Damikka being held by a police officer by his shirt collar and two other police officers were also holding and preventing him form leaving. There were also four other officers at the scene. These police officers then allegedly took Damikka away.

Later one of the friends inquired from one of the officers who was there at the time of the apparent arrest of Damikka and asked after his whereabouts. The alleged reply was: ?we have sent him off?.

According to police report no. B1703/05, filed at the Magistrate?s Court by the Kadawatha Police, the body of Damikka was found in a well close to his house. The well is approximately 20 feet deep, having water up to about four and a half feet and a width of seven and a half feet. On the wall of the house near the well one blood stain was located and two further blood stains were found on the parapet of the well. When the body was examined by the Judicial Medical Officer he noted 36 injuries on the body of the victim but none of which were purported to be fatal injuries. The medical officer's report gave the cause of death as"drowning." The court verdict based on the medical report was one of death due to drowning.

The parents and the friends are calling for an inquiry into the circumstances of the arrest, the injuries found on the body and how his body came to be found in the well. No evidence has explained so far as to the circumstances surrounding the manner in which his body came to be in the well. There is no evidence whatsoever to indicate any suicide attempt.

Under these circumstances Damikka?s family and the friends believe that the police killed him and disposed of his body in the well. As the officers of the same police station are conducting inquiries into the death they suspect that the matter will be covered up and no proper inquiry will be made.

At this same police station, the Asian Human Rights Commission previously reported on another mysterious death of Garlin Kankanamge Sanjeewa, a 25-year-old soldier who was found to be hanging at the police station by his trouser belt. A postmortem was hurriedly conducted where the mother of the deceased was contacted to identify the body only. The medical inquiry concluded that it was suicide. However, the mother kept the body buried in her own family compound in order to get a fresh inquiry as she believed that it was a custodial death. Later at the request of the mother a second inquest was held and a report is pending. (See further:[  SRI LANKA: Another two cases of deaths in custody

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12. July 2005

SRI LANKA

illegale verhaftung und folter eines mannes durch die polzei in wadduwa.

SRI LANKA: Illegal arrest, detention and torture of a man by the Morantuduwa Police

SRI LANKA: Arbitrary arrest and detention; torture; fabrication of charges The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the alleged illegal arrest, detention and brutal torture of a man by the Officer-in-Charge and other police personnel at the Morantuduwa Police Post in Wadduwa, Sri Lanka.

Athurugiriyage Jeevananda, a married father of one, was arbitrarily detained by the Morantuduwa police who suspected him of cattle theft. However, instead of properly investigating the matter, as they should have done, the police brutally tortured the victim by hanging him from a pole and severely beating him. When the victim continued to maintain that he was not involved in the cattle theft, the police carried on with the beating regardless. After several days of detention, in which time the victim had to receive medical attention for his injuries, he was presented before the Panadura courts on charges that carried no evidence.

The victim was immediately granted bail and has since had to receive further medical treatment for his injuries, which has included a three day stay in hospital. He has lodged a complaint with the Senior Superintendent of Police at Panadura, but to date, no action has been taken. His family also informed the National Human Rights Commission, but again, nothing has come of this.

DETAILED INFORMATION:

*Name of victim:* Athurugiriyage Jeevananda, 23, married and a father of one; three wheel cab driver; resident of Panapitiya, Waskaduwa.
*Perpetrators:** *The Officer-in-Charge and other policemen attached to the Morantuduwa police post (Wadduwa).
*Date of incident:* 2 July 2005

Case Details:

On 2 July 2005, five policemen from the Morantuduwa police, including the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Kumarajeeva, visited the victim?s house and inquired from his wife of the victim?s whereabouts. At the time he was not at home, so his wife phoned him and told him to come home as the police were looking for him. The victim returned home, at which time the police had already left.

Together with his wife, the victim then went to a nearby junction where he had seen a police jeep parked. When the victim arrived at the junction, a person nearby pointed in his direction and told the police, "This is the person called Kumara." OIC Kumarajeeva called the victim, took his mobile phone and said "let us go to the police station". He then forced the victim into the police vehicle and took him to the station.At the station, the victim was taken to the OIC's room and was told that he had been brought to the station in connection with a cattle theft. He was told to confess his involvement immediately. When he denied any involvement, the OIC slapped him hard on the face. A police officer using a pole then struck the victim in the stomach and told another policeman to put the victim in a cell.

Accordingly the victim was locked up. Around 12.30 a.m. the victim was visited by the OIC and three others who removed him from the cell and took him to their private quarters. They demanded that the victim remove his shirt. They then tied his hands with the shirt and handcuffed him. He was told to sit on the ground and put his hands on his legs. A pole was locked between his elbows and knees and he was lifted on the pole, which was hung across two tables. (This torture method is commonly known in police circles as the "dharma chakraya"). A policeman then began to assault him on the soles of his feet. This continued for about 2 hours. Two policemen swung on the pole on which the victim hung ? and though the victim screamed in pain they continued torturing him. As a result the victim says he suffered severe back pain.

After he was tortured he was once again locked up in the police cell. The next day he was deprived of food and drink. On the third day of his detention his two brothers visited him when the OIC had commented "your brother is an ace cattle thief. So are your brothers getting together and stealing cattle?" One brother denied any involvement and protested at the injustice meted out to the victim, but the OIC threatened to lock him up too. Then the OIC brought three persons called Siril, Sunil and Vajira Fonseka to meet the victim. Sunil said that he had seen something akin to cow dung on the victim's shirt but when the OIC asked him whether he was sure of seeing cow dung on the victim?s shirt, Sunil replied that he was now unsure whether what he saw was cow dung or mud.

That day around 5.30pm the police informed the victim that he would not be released on bail. Later his relatives informed the Human Rights Commission about the victim's illegal arrest and torture at the hands of the Morantuduwa police. Again his brother had attempted to see him but the OIC prevented him boasting, "I hear you have gone to the HRC to complain against me. I have about seven cases against me, but I am not afraid."

Then around 10 p.m. that day, the victim was taken to the Gonaduwa government hospital. On the way, the OIC threatened him to remember that he will be brought back to the same police station. Therefore if he told the doctor he had been assaulted by the police, he would get worse treatment than the previous day. The victim was presented to the doctor as a drug addict but the doctor said that drug addicts did not have his build. When the doctor queried whether he had been hurt, he remained silent and did not dare inform on the police. The next day at around 2am the victim was taken to the Wadduwa police and from there produced before the Panadura courts where he discovered that he had been falsely charged with four cases. However, he was released on bail and was immediately admitted to the Nagoda hospital. He received treatment as an in-patient for three days. Thereafter he also complained about his torture to the Senior Superintendent of Police at Panadura.

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