26 June 2006

BELGIUM

Selbstmord in JVA Namür

In der Justizvollzugsanstalt von Namür hat sich ein Häftling das Leben genommen. Der etwa 50-jährige Mann sprang aus einem Fenster und stürzte zu Tode. Nach Angaben der Staatsanwaltschaft in Namür saß die Person in Untersuchungshaft. Die Gefängnisleitung hat bislang jeden Kommentar zu dem Suizid abgelehnt. Die näheren Umstände des Selbstmordes werden von der Staatsanwaltschaft in Namür jetzt untersucht.

[  brf.be

23 June 2006

GUATEMALA

Tote bei Bandenkrieg in Guatemala City-Gefängnis

In einer Justizvollzugsanstalt für Jugendliche in Guatemala sind bei einer Auseinandersetzung zwischen rivalisierenden Gefängnisbanden vier Insassen getötet und sieben schwer verletzt worden. Die Mitglieder der Gangs hätten Waffen gezogen. Zwei Gefangene kamen durch Schusswunden ums Leben, die anderen beiden wurden mit Betonblöcken erschlagen. "Wir wissen nicht, was passiert ist," meint ein Feuerwehrmann. "Die Jungs sagen, eine feindliche Gang sei in ihr Territorium eingedrungen, und da hätte es Ärger gegeben." Die Direktorin der Anstalt sagte, beim Abendessen sei es unter den Jugendlichen zum Streit gekommen. Warum die Insassen bewaffnet waren, sei unerklärlich. In dem 20 Kilometer östlich der Hauptstadt Guatemala City gelegenen Gefängnis gab es bereits in der Vergangenheit mehrfach Probleme zwischen den Banden, Mara Salvatrucha und Mara 18. Die Gruppen wurden in Los Angeles von hispanischen Einwanderern gegründet und haben ihren Wirkungskreis bis nach Mittelamerika ausgeweitet.

[  euronews.net

17 June 2006

BRD

Verzweiflungstat hinter verschlossener Tür
Seit Jahresbeginn gab es sechs Suizide im Gefängnis - so viele wie 2005 im ganzen Jahr

Die schwere Tür schnappt ins Schloss. Von außen wird der Schlüssel umgedreht. Dann beginnt das Martyrium der Beschuldigten: 23 Stunden am Tag sind sie hier gefangen, nur eine Stunde dürfen sie aus der Zelle. Die Untersuchungshäftlinge der Justizvollzugsanstalt (JVA) können nichts aus eigenem Antrieb tun. Der Alltag ist ausgelöscht, es gibt keine Ablenkung. Diese Situation stürzte dieses Jahr offenbar schon mehrere Häftlinge in die Krise. Sie verzweifelten. Als einziger Ausweg erschien ihnen der Tod.

Um 8.55 Uhr gestern Morgen wurde der 34 Jahre alte Andreas P. in einer Zelle der Justizvollzugsanstalt Moabit tot aufgefunden. Er hatte sich am Fensterkreuz erhängt. Der saß seit dem 24. Juli vergangenen Jahres in Untersuchungshaft. „Schwerer Menschenhandel“ wurde ihm vorgeworfen. Das Gerichtsverfahren lief. Ein Urteil war nicht gefallen. Für Andreas P. galt die „Unschuldsvermutung“. Bei der Senatsverwaltung für Justiz heißt es, niemand habe Anhaltspunkte für eine „Suizidgefährdung“ gehabt.Andreas P. ist schon der sechste Häftling, der dieses Jahr in einem Berliner Gefängnis Selbstmord begangen hat. So viele Fälle gab es 2005 im ganzen Jahr. Vor sechs Jahren war die Zahl der Suizide in Berliner Haftanstalten schon einmal sprunghaft angestiegen: neun Fälle hatte es bis Ende 2000 gegeben. Auch 2006 verging bisher kein Monat, ohne dass ein neuer Fall bekannt wurde. Fast jede Meldung endete mit dem lapidaren Satz: „Anhaltspunkte für eine Suizidgefahr hatte es nicht gegeben.“

So auch am 12. Mai, als sich der 24-jährige Pawel G. das Leben nahm. Auch er saß in Moabit, wegen des Verdachts einer gefährlichen Körperverletzung. Nur eine Woche zuvor hatte sich der 28-jährige Aamir C. selbst gerichtet. Nach eineinhalb Monaten Untersuchungshaft. „Nötigung“ wurde ihm vorgeworfen und Widerstand gegen Vollstreckungsbeamte.„Haft ist grundsätzlich nicht einfach, aber Untersuchungshaft ist das Schlimmste, was einem begegnen kann,“ sagt die katholische Seelsorgerin Elke Härtl. Aus dem Leben gerissen, in eine kleine Zelle gesperrt, würden die Häftlinge ihre Identität verlieren. Das treibe manchen in den Selbstmord. Elke Härtl kannte Andreas P.. „Es gäbe viel zu sagen“, meint sie -möchte über die Person des Häftlings jedoch nichts sagen. Gero Meinen, Abteilungsleiter Justizvollzug beim Senat, sagt: „Mit jedem Gefangenen wird ein Eingangsgespräch geführt.“ Bei Anzeichen auf eine Suizidgefährdung bekomme der Betreffende einen Zellennachbarn. „Wenn wir aber nichts erkennen, sind Suizide nicht auszuschließen“, sagt Meinen. Dass die Haftbedingungen für die Selbstmorde verantwortlich sein könnten, schließt er aus.

Der Leiter der JVA-Moabit, Wolfgang Fixson, sagt: „Eine Arbeitsgruppe aus Psychologen und Soziologen prüft jeden Fall, um Selbstmorden vorzubeugen.“ Man sei aber sehr auf Hinweise von Verwandten angewiesen: Lässt sich die Frau „draußen“ scheiden zum Beispiel, dann könne dies eine Kurzschlussreaktion auslösen.

[  tagesspiegel.de

16 June 2006

IRAQ

Mysteriöse Todesfälle in US-Haft

Erneut sind in amerikanischer Militärhaft drei Menschen unter offenbar seltsamen Umständen gestorben. Derweil glauben die USA einen Terroristen gefangen zu haben.

Zu den Todesfällen in Militärhaft erklärte das US-Militärs, das Kriminaluntersuchungskommando der US-Armee bemühe sich herauszufinden, weshalb die drei Männer am 9. Mai in dem Gefängnis in der Provinz Salaheddin gestorben seien.Gleichzeitig rechtfertigte die US-Armee die Gefangennahme des Vorsitzenden des Rates der Provinz Kerbela vom Vortag, gegen die zahlreiche Provinzpolitiker in Kerbela protestiert hatten. Das amerikanische Militärkommando erklärte, Scheich Akil al-Subaidi sei der „Kommandeur eines Terrornetzwerkes“. Er sei an der Tötung irakischer Bürger beteiligt gewesen und habe Angriffe gegen irakische und amerikanische Soldaten angeordnet.Trotz der massiven Sicherheitsoffensive der Regierung riss ein Selbstmordattentäter in Bagdad mindestens sieben Menschen in den Tod. 18 weitere wurden verletzt, wie die Polizei mitteilte. Der Anschlag ereignete sich während des Freitagsgebets vor der Buratha-Moschee im Norden der irakischen Hauptstadt. Anfang April hatten vier Selbstmordattentäter dort 85 Gläubige in den Tod gerissen.

Bagdad übernimmt bald Sicherung des Südens

Der stellvertretende irakische Ministerpräsident Salam Sikam Ali al-Subaie erklärte, die Regierung werde noch im Juni die Verantwortung für die Sicherheitslage im Südirak übernehmen. Es gebe eine entsprechende Vereinbarung, und „es ist der Traum aller Iraker, dass unsere Kräfte für die Sicherheitslage im ganzen Land verantwortlich sind“, sagte Al Subaie.Derweil wurde bekannt, dass ein türkischer Techniker und sein Dolmetscher von Extremisten entführt worden sind. Der türkische Außenminister Abdullah Gül sagte dazu: „Wir tun alles, was uns möglich ist, um unseren Landsmann freizubekommen.“Laut Medienberichten befindet sich der Techniker in der Gewalt einer Gruppe namens „Imam Ali Brigade“, die die Abberufung des türkischen Botschafters aus Bagdad und ein Ende der Kooperation türkischer Firmen mit den USA im Irak fordert.

[  sueddeutsche.de

12 June 2006

BRD

Erneutes Todesopfer der deutschen Abschiebemaschinerie

Mit Verspätung von einem Monat wurde ein Selbstmord am 7. Mai 2006 in der Abschiebehaftanstalt Neuss bekannt. Der Verein "Hilfe für Menschen in Abschiebehaft Büren e.V." fordert die ersatzlose Schließung der JVA Neuss.

In den Nachmittagsstunden des 7. Mai 2006 erhängte sich eine 57-jährige Frau, der die Deportation nach China drohte, im Neusser Abschiebegefängnis. Als die Beamten der JVA die Frau entdeckten, alarmierten sie sofort einen Notarzt, der die Frau wiederbeleben konnte. Doch in den Morgenstunden des 8. Mai starb sie im Johanna-Etienne-Krankenhaus in Neuss an den Folgen des Suizides.

Dieser tragische Vorfall macht wieder einmal deutlich, wie verzweifelt oft Menschen sind, die auf ihre Abschiebung warten müssen. Obwohl für die Frau noch kein Abschiebetermin feststand, hatte sie anscheinend so große Angst vor der Abschiebung nach China, dass sie bereit war, sich das Leben zu nehmen. Über das Fluchtschicksal und die Hintergründe liegen keine weiteren Informationen vor, allerdings gehört China zu den Ländern, in denen die meisten Todesurteile vollstreckt werden und wo es noch immer eine starke Verfolgung von Oppositionellen gibt.Da es keine Gruppe von politisch aktiven Menschen gibt, die zu der JVA Neuss arbeiten, wurde der Suizid der Frau nur durch Zufall bekannt. Dieser Fall macht wieder einmal deutlich, wie undurchsichtig die Mauern der Abschiebehaft für die Öffentlichkeit sind. Insgesamt konnten seit dem Jahr 1993 in Deutschland 49 Suizide in Abschiebehaft dokumentiert werden (Quelle: :: ARI Berlin (pdf)), die Dunkelziffer dürfte jedoch erheblich höher liegen, da es keine offiziellen Statistiken gibt.

Nach Plänen der Landesregierung soll die JVA Neuss Anfang 2007 geschlossen werden. Die Frauen werden dann in dem Abschiebegefängnis Büren inhaftiert, wo sie mit wesentlich längeren Haftzeiten und schlechteren Haftbedingungen rechnen müssen. Der Verein "Hilfe für Menschen in Abschiebehaft Büren" fordert daher die Landesregierung auf, den Beschluss, die Frauen von Neuss nach Büren zu verlegen, zu revidieren. "Mit Wut, Zorn und Trauer erfüllt uns die Nachricht, dass es einen erneuten Todesfall in der Abschiebehaft gibt. Wie viele Menschen müssen sich noch das Leben nehmen, bevor die Bundesregierung lernt, dass nicht in Krisengebiete abgeschoben werden darf", so der Vorsitzende des Bürener Hilfsvereins, Frank Gockel. "Die JVA Neuss muss ersatzlos geschlossen werden, nur dass wäre ein Schritt zu einer humaneren Flüchtlingspolitik."[...]

[  no-racism.net

26 May 2006

BRD

SELBSTMORD IN HAFT

Pakistaner bezweifeln Ergebnis der Cheema-Autopsie

Nach dem Tod Amer Cheemas in einem Berliner Gefängnis gibt es in Pakistan Zweifel an dem Ergebnis der Autopsie des Studenten. Das Parlament in Islamabad verlangt eine neue Obduktion, nachdem ein pakistanischer Beamter die Aussagen der deutschen Behörden über den Selbstmord unstimmig genannt hatte.

Islamabad - Den Berliner Behörden zufolge hat sich der 28-Jährige Mann am 3. Mai in seiner Zelle erhängt. Die Obduktion hatte keinerlei Hinweise auf Fremdverschulden ergeben. Die pakistanische Zeitung "The News" berichtet nun, der Ausschuss für Menschenrechte des Parlaments in Islamabad verlange eine neue Autopsie der Leiche. Anlass ist die Aussage eines pakistanischen Kriminalbeamten, der bei der Leichenöffnung Amer Cheemas in Deutschland anwesend war. Dem Zeitungsbericht zufolge berichtete Tariq Khosa den Abgeordneten von Unstimmigkeiten.Demnach sei Cheemas Leiche mit auf dem Rücken zusammengebundenen Händen gefunden worden. Auch fehle das Original des in Cheemas Muttersprache Urdu verfassten Abschiedsbriefes. Die deutschen Behörden hätten den Pakistanern nur einzelne ins Englische übersetzte Absätze zugänglich gemacht. Gemeinsam mit einem weiteren pakistanischen Beamten und einem Vertreter der Botschaft seines Landes habe er zwei Stunden an der Autopsie teilnehmen dürfen, aber kein unterschriebenes Exemplar des Obduktionsberichts erhalten.

Berliner Justiz weist Zweifel zurück

Der Sprecher der Berliner Justizbehörde, Michael Grunwald, bekräftigte heute gegenüber SPIEGEL ONLINE, dass sich bei der Obduktion der Leiche keine Zweifel am Selbstmord Cheemas ergeben hätten. Darin sei man sich mit den anwesenden pakistanischen Beamten seinerzeit einig gewesen. Cheemas Hände seien zum Zeitpunkt des Auffindens der Leiche tatsächlich fixiert gewesen, jedoch nicht auf dem Rücken, sondern vor der Brust. Nach Angaben der deutschen Pathologen habe Cheema dies selbst vorgenommen, um so eigene Befreiungsversuche in Todesangst zu erschweren, sagte Grunwald. Der vollständige schriftliche Obduktionsbericht werde den pakistanischen Kollegen in Kürze übermittelt. Cheema hatte im März in Berlin den Chefredakteur der "Welt" wegen des Abdrucks der umstrittenen dänischen Karikaturen des Propheten Mohammed angreifen wollen. Er wurde bei dem Versuch verhaftet, mit einem Messer in das Axel-Springer-Verlagshaus in Berlin einzudringen. Die Staatsanwaltschaft hatte Anklage wegen Nötigung in einem besonders schweren Fall und Widerstandes gegen Vollstreckungsbeamte erhoben. Mehr als 15.000 Menschen hatten vor zwei Wochen an der Beerdigung des Studenten in Saroki in der zentralpakistanischen Provinz Punjab teilgenommen.

Die Familie Cheemas hatte der deutschen Polizei Mord vorgeworfen. In Pakistan war es wegen des Falls zu anti-deutschen Protesten gekommen.

[  spiegel.de

Proteste gegen Deutschland in Pakistan

13. Mai 2006

Der in einem Berliner Untersuchungs- Gefängnis gestorbene Pakistaner ist in seiner Heimat beerdigt worden. Mehr als 15.000 Menschen kamen zum Begräbnis. Zuvor war es erneut zu anti-deutschen Protesten gekommen.Zum Begräbnis eines in Berliner Untersuchungshaft gestorbenen Pakistaners sind am Samstag mehr als 15.000 Trauernde gekommen. Der 28-Jährige wurde in seinem Heimatdorf Saroki in der zentralen Provinz Pujab beerdigt.Am Freitag war es in der Hauptstadt Islamabad wegen seines Todes erneut zu anti-deutschen Protesten gekommen. Die Demonstranten forderten die Ausweisung des deutschen Botschafters aus Pakistan und die Verhängung eines Wirtschaftsboykotts gegen Deutschland. Sie warfen den deutschen Behörden vor, den Pakistaner gefoltert und ermordet zu haben. Eine Obduktion hatte kein Fremdverschulden ergeben.

Der Pakistaner, der wegen der Veröffentlichung der umstrittenen Mohammed-Karikaturen den Chefredakteur der Zeitung «Die Welt» angreifen wollte, hatte sich am Mittwoch vergangener Woche in seiner Zelle erhängt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft hatte Anklage wegen Nötigung in einem besonders schweren Fall und Widerstandes gegen Vollstreckungsbeamte erhoben. (nz)

[  netzeitung.de

Häftling beging Selbstmord

11.5.2006

Die Todesursache eines am 3. Mai in seiner Zelle in der Justizvollzugsanstalt Moabit erhängt aufgefundenen Pakistaners ist geklärt. Eine Obduktion gestern sei zu dem Ergebnis gekommen, dass Aamir C. Selbstmord begangen habe, sagte ein Sprecher der Staatsanwaltschaft. C. habe sich mit einer Schlinge erhängt. Die Obduktion fand im Beisein von zwei Polizeibeamten aus Pakistan statt. Die pakistanische Bundespolizei hatte sie zu eigenen Ermittlungen gesandt. Der Vater des Studenten bezweifelte die Angaben der deutschen Behörden und vermutete, sein Sohn sei zu Tode gefoltert worden. Der 28-Jährige soll versucht haben, mit einem Messer bewaffnet beim Axel-Springer-Verlag einzudringen. Die Welt hatte die umstrittenen Mohammed-Karikaturen nachgedruckt. AFP, DDP

[  taz.de

Pakistani found dead in German jail

5 May 2006

A Pakistani student, who was arrested for allegedly trying to hurt a German newspaper editor for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, has died in custody in Berlin.

Tasnim Aslam, a Pakistani foreign ministry spokeswoman, identified the student as Amer Cheema, but would not say exactly when he was arrested. She said an initial report from Berlin suggested that Cheema had hanged himself at a prison, and added that Pakistan was trying to get more details. "So far, we only know that he had been detained for allegedly trying to hurt the editor of a German newspaper in Berlin, and his trial had not started yet," she told The Associated Press. In Berlin, a spokeswoman for justice officials confirmed that a 28-year-old whose name she gave only as Aamir C was found dead in his cell early on Wednesday, having hanged himself using his clothes.

Juliane Baer-Henney said there was no indication that anyone else had been involved in the man's death. "There were no indications of involvement of other persons," said Baer-Henney. "He used his clothing to fashion a noose and hanged himself on the grill over his window." The young man was being held in pre-trial confinement, she said, but declined to give immediate details of the case. In an earlier statement, justice officials said he was being held on "suspicion of attempted coercion and resisting arrest."

Torture claim

According to Pakistani media reports, Mian Aslam, a politician, met with Cheema's father in Rawalpindi, a city near the capital, on Thursday and promised to raise the issue in the parliament. On Friday, three members of parliament from Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal - a coalition of six religious parties - introduced a motion in the National Assembly, seeking a debate on the death of Cheema in his cell.

They said the student - according to his family - had allegedly been tortured to death, though they offered no evidence to back up the claim. The government did not oppose the motion, and Chaudhry Ameer Hussain, the assembly speaker, allowed it to be debated at an unspecified date. Cheema, who was studying at the University of Applied Sciences in the Bavarian city of Muenchberg since 2004, was arrested on March 20 after trying to enter the Axel Springer publishing house building in Berlin carrying a knife.

Muslim anger

Springer is the publisher of Die Welt newspaper, which in February had re-published the controversial caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that first appeared in September in a Danish publication. The cartoons sparked rallies by Muslims across the world. Some protests turned violent, including in Pakistan, where at least five people died in the unrest. The caricatures - including one that depicts the prophet with a turban shaped like a bomb with a burning fuse - were deemed blasphemous. Islamic tradition bars the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad, favourable or otherwise, to prevent idolatry.

[  aljazeera.net

Pakistaner stirbt in Berliner Untersuchungshaft

05. Mai 2006

Ein Pakistaner Student hat sich in einem Berliner Gefängnis erhängt. Er war verhaftet worden, weil er wegen der Mohammed- Karikaturen den Chefredakteur der «Welt» angreifen wollte. Pakistan verlangt jetzt Aufklärung des Falls. Der Selbstmord eines pakistanischen Untersuchungshäftlings in Berlin hat in seiner Heimat für Wirbel gesorgt. Parlamentsabgeordnete in Islamabad erhoben Foltervorwürfe und setzten eine Debatte in der Nationalversammlung über den Fall durch. Der pakistanische Student Aamir C. hatte sich am Mittwoch laut der Berliner Staatsanwaltschaft mit Hilfe seiner Kleidung in seiner Zelle im Gefängnis Berlin-Moabit erhängt.

Aus Protest gegen die Mohammed- Karikaturen habe er im März mit einem Messer in das Gebäude des Axel-Springer-Verlags eindringen wollen, wo er den Chefredakteur der «Welt» angreifen wollte. Das Sicherheitspersonal hielt ihn jedoch schon am Eingang auf. Die Tageszeitung hatte die umstrittenen dänischen Karikaturen über den Propheten Mohammed nachgedruckt, die in der islamischen Welt heftigen Protest ausgelöst hatten. Dem 28-Jährigen war Nötigung und Widerstand gegen die Polizei vorgeworfen worden. Pakistan forderte die Bundesregierung jetzt auf, die Todesumstände des Mannes aufzuklären. Ein Sprecher der Berliner Staatsanwaltschaft sagte, die Leiche des Pakistaners solle am Montag obduziert werden. (nz)

[  netzeitung.de

23 May 2006

BRD

Gefangener in Darmstadt-Eberstadt erstochen
Ermittlungen gegen zwei ebenfalls inhaftierte Georgier aufgenommen

Darmstadt. Im Gefängnis in Darmstadt-Eberstadt ist am Dienstag zwischen 8 und 9 Uhr ein 33 Jahre alter russlanddeutscher Gefangener erstochen worden. Als Tatverdächtige kommen zwei ebenfalls inhaftierte Georgier in Frage. Das teilte am Dienstag die Sprecherin des Hessischen Justizministeriums, Dr. Nicole Demme, mit.

Nach derzeitigem Stand gehe der Tod auf Stichverletzungen durch einen noch unbekannten Gegenstand zurück, sagt Nicole Demme. Die Stiche sollen dem Gefangenen bei einer Rangelei zwischen mehreren Gefangenen während einer Freistunde im Hof zugefügt worden sein.Die Bediensteten der Justizvollzugsanstalt seien zwar sofort eingeschritten, hätten die Stiche aber nicht verhindern können. Umgehend seien Krankenpflegedienst und Gefängnisärztin alarmiert worden, die wiederum Notarzt und Rettungswagen anforderten.Demme: „Trotz einer sofortigen notärztlichen Versorgung verstarb der Gefangene.“ Nähere Informationen über die Art der tödlichen Verletzung konnte das Ministerium noch nicht geben.

Nach derzeitigem Stand richten sich die Ermittlungen gegen zwei georgische Mitgefangene. Staatsanwaltschaft und Polizei haben umgehend Ermittlungen aufgenommen und vernehmen Zeugen. Der für Sicherheitsfragen zuständige Mitarbeiter des Justizministeriums ist ebenfalls nach Eberstadt gefahren. Die Obleute des „Unterausschusses Justizvollzug“ wurden durch das Justizministerium informiert.Der getötete Russlanddeutsche war inhaftiert wegen Einbruch und Verstößen gegen das Betäubungsmittelgesetz, sagte Demme auf ECHO-Anfrage. Bei allen Beteiligten sei bisher „keine besondere Gewaltkriminalität“ auffällig geworden.Die Grünen-Fraktion im hessischen Landtag und die Weiterstädter SPD-Abgeordnete Heike Hofmann forderten von Justizminister Jürgen Banzer (CDU) umfassende Auskunft über die Hintergründe der Gewalttat. Insbesondere müsse geklärt werden, woher die Häftlinge gefährliche Stichwaffen hätten und ob es zuvor Hinweise auf Streitigkeiten im Gefängnis gab.

[  echo-online.de

Justizvollzugsanstalt Darmstadt
Tod hinter Gefängnismauern

In der Justizvollzugsanstalt Darmstadt ist am Dienstag ein 33 Jahre alter Mann getötet worden. Offenbar hat es eine Rangelei unter Gefangenen gegeben. Der Gefangene wurde nach Angaben des Justizministeriums in Wiesbaden wahrscheinlich erstochen. Die Tatwaffe sei noch unbekannt. Die Ermittlungen richten sich gegen zwei Mitgefangene. Die Männer sollen während der Freistunde auf dem Gefängnishof mit dem späteren Opfer in Streit geraten sein.

[  hr-online.de

20 May 2006

GUATEMALA

Guatemala: Fünf Tote Bandenkrieg im Gefängnis

Bei gewaltsamen Auseinandersetzungen in einem Gefängnis in Guatemala sind am Freitag fünf Häftlinge von Mitgefangenen getötet worden.

Dreizehn Insassen des 100 Kilometer westlich von Guatemala-Stadt gelegenen Mazatenango-Gefängnisses wurden verletzt, wie die Gefängnisbehörde mitteilte. Mitglieder der Mara-Salvatrucha-Bande hätten nicht zu der Gruppe gehörende Mithäftlinge angegriffen, sagte ein Sprecher der Behörde. Die Verbrecherorganisation Mara Salvatrucha ist in ganz Mittelamerika aktiv. Im August vorigen Jahres kamen bei einem koordinierten Angriff von Mitgliedern der Mara Salvatrucha auf Mitglieder einer rivalisierenden Bande in sieben Gefängnissen 31 Häftlinge ums Leben.

[  20min.ch

16 May 2006

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe police threaten woman activist with death

BULAWAYO - Police in Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo have threatened prominent woman rights activist, Jenni Williams, with death if she dares organise any more anti-government demonstrations by her Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) group, ZimOnline has learnt.Bulawayo lawyer Kossam Ncube, whose law firm Job Sibanda and Associates acts for Williams and WOZA, told ZimOnline that they had reported the matter to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights which is expected to take up the issue with police authorities."These are serious allegations and they should be investigated because these are grave allegations and we are sending them to ZLHR so that they are documented," Ncube said.

The threat against Williams was allegedly made by one Assistant Inspector Ndlovu who is in charge of the police's law and order section in Bulawayo.Ndlovu reportedly threatened Williams after she and 165 other WOZA activists were released last week from police cells where they had been locked up for days after being arrested for demonstrating against a hike in public school fees announced by the government a fortnight ago.The WOZA women were only released after the Attorney General's office refused to prosecute them.

"Jenni Williams complained that the officer in charge of the law and order section Detective Assistant Inspector Ndlovu threatened her with death should she ever engage in similar conduct (leading demonstrations) in the future," the letter sent by Williams' lawyers to the ZLHR reads in part.It was not possible yesterday to establish from the ZLHR what action they had taken so far or were considering taking over Williams' complaint against the police.But an officer in the police's press and public relations office in Bulawayo said they had not yet received Williams' complaint against Ndlovu either from her lawyers or the ZLHR.

The officer said: "We have not seen the report they (Williams' lawyers) are talking about and the complainant has not approached the police about the matter, you can ask them to make a report to us."Williams and her WOZA colleagues have been arrested many times in the past by the police for holding public demonstrations without approval from the law enforcement agency as required by state security laws that require Zimbabweans to first seek police permission before staging demonstrations or holding public political meetings.

But the women activists have always returned to the streets to voice their disapproval of government policies and decisions, much to the chagrin of the police.The United States, African Commission on Human and People's Rights, ZLHR and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party have long accused the police and army for victimising perceived opponents of the government, a charge the security forces deny. - ZimOnline

[  zimonline.co.za

5 May 2006

TAJIKISTAN

angeblich hat ein mitglied der islamic rebirth party durch einen sprung aus dem dritten stock der polizeiwache suizid begangen.

Tajik Islamic Party Activist Dies After Detention by Police

An Islamic party activist in Tajikistan died in suspicious circumstances after he was detained by police, a party official said Thursday. The Associated Press reported. The body of Sadullo Marupov, 45, of the Islamic Rebirth Party, was found Thursday in the Isfara town morgue in the northern Soghd region, a day after he had been detained by police, said Kiyomiddin Avazov, a party representative in the capital Dushanbe. He said police had told party members in Isfara that Marupov had killed himself by jumping from the third floor of the police station. "We don't believe it, because our late brother was a theologian and a deeply religious man and could not have committed suicide," Avazov said. He said party leaders were traveling to Isfara to investigate the incident.

He could not say why Marupov had been detained. Police and prosecutor's office in Isfara said Marupov's death was being investigated and refused to give any details. The Islamic Rebirth Party is the biggest opposition party in the impoverished ex-Soviet republic. In the mid-1990s it fought a civil war against the secular government of President Emomali Rakhmonov, which ended in 1997 with a U.N.-brokered peace agreement. The IRP's influence has weakened in recent years as Rakhmonov has tightened his grip on power in the Central Asian nation. Several senior IRP officials have been jailed on various charges in cases that their supporters see as politically motivated.

[  mosnews.com

23 April 2006

USA

ein 43 jähriger mann starb unter ungeklärten umständen im orange county knast. der mann hatte lt. bericht asthma.

Orange County jail inmate found dead

ORANGE - An Orange man who would have turned 43 on Sunday died Thursday while in custody at the Orange County Jail. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause. When Orange County jailers made their rounds shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday they noticed that Anthony Stephney was not breathing. At an earlier bed check, Stephney appeared to be doing fine, according to Orange County Sheriff Mike White. Stephney was arrested by the Orange Police Department on March 28 and charged with shooting Samuel Earl Mitchell, 36, on March 22 in the 1300 block of Fourth Street. Mitchell was shot in the upper left thigh and lower right ankle by a small caliber hangun after the two had allegedy been engaged in an argument

Stephney was indicted by an Orange County grand jury this week and charged with aggravated assault with a firearm. Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Joe Parkurst pronounced Stephney dead at the jail Thursday. Autopsy results are pending. While in custody Stephney had previosly seen a physician for breathing difficulties that possibly were the result of asthma problems. Jail medical staff had been working with the inmate on the correct use of an inhaler, White said. "He really had a number of medical problems," White said.

If a death occurs while someone is in custody, it is customary for the police department?s criminal investigation division to obtain statements from all involved and determine whether the inmate?s death was the result of foul play or natural causes, White said. The Orange County District Attorney's office is also notified. "The jail commission is notified immediately and within 24 hours the attorney general has to be notified of the death with a follow-up report filed within 72 hours." White said.

[  orangeleader.com

23 April 2006

USA

wenige stunden nach seiner festnahme starb ein 23 jähriger mann im sumter county knast . die todesursache ist noch nicht bekannt.

Sumter Man Dies in Jail Hours After His Arrest

A man died in jail after having what appears to be a seizure a few hours after his arrest in Sumter County. Sumter County Coroner Verna Moore says the autopsy reports are in, but they cannot confirm the cause of death yet. A toxicology report is still pending, but officials do not believe drugs are involved. According to the Sumter Item, 23-year-old Terrence Boatwright was pulled over for speeding when officers discovered his license was suspended. During a vehicle search, a .32 caliber revolver was found and a serial number check revealed the weapon was stolen. The Item reports that jail officials say Boatwright "was alert and talking, up until two minutes before he displayed seizure-like symptoms." The guard reportedly called 911 immediately. Boatwright was transported to Tuomey Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

[  wltx.com

26 April 2006

TRINIDAD / TOBAGO

Trinidad and Tobago: police killings go unpunished

In a report published today, Amnesty International argues that structural reforms within the police forces -- including the implementation of a human rights- based Code of Conduct, a transparent chain of command and criminal prosecutions in cases of human rights abuses -- are key to regaining community support, essential for preventing and combating crime. Amnesty International’s report looks at the issue of police killings and deaths in custody through cases reported since 2003. The report highlights the authorities' failure to conduct investigations and to bring those responsible to justice.

The crime rate in Trinidad and Tobago is one of the highest in the Caribbean. Murders and kidnappings have been on the rise for the past few years. As a response to increasing crime, there have been calls for tougher police measures. Between 2003 and 2005, 35 people died after being shot by the police or while in police custody. In March 2006, Constable Dave Burnett became the first and only police officer convicted of murdering a civilian while on duty. The lack of information available regarding investigations into any of the other reported cases shows the lack of the authorities' commitment in bringing those responsible to account. “A Code of Conduct, which includes what actions or omissions are considered abuses, and which holds individual officers accountable would not only prevent abuses from happening in the future but might have prevented the killing of 35 people in the islands since 2003,” said Kerrie Howard, Amnesty International Americas Programme Deputy Director.

On 13 October 2004, 17-year-old Sherman Monsegue was shot and killed by a police officer. Sherman was in the street with a friend when police arrived and opened fire while the two ran off. Sherman died in hospital. According to the police, Sherman opened fire first. This was denied by a number of witnesses. A police investigation was opened almost a year after Sherman's death. Police officers called as witnesses have so far failed to appear. According to reports, the police officers are still on active duty in the area. Attorneys representing the family have not been given access to all relevant documentation, including witness statements. The inquest was due to resume yesterday. In April 2004, 41-year-old Galene Bonadie, was killed by a police officer in Morvant, a village in North-West Trinidad. Galene Bonadie was shot at close range with a rifle after she intervened to stop the police beating a man. The inquest into her death has been subject to delays and has been adjourned since the beginning of 2005.

"Galene's case perfectly illustrates how Trinidad and Tobago's police forces respond to a rise in crime: using lethal force without measuring the terrible consequences it has on dozens of people and their families." "Coroners inquests must be made mandatory in all investigations of police shootings and deaths in custody. Inquests should also be timely and effective if there is to be any justice for the victim's relatives," said Kerrie Howard. Recent measures to tackle street crime and improve police performance have done little to improve the situation. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA), a civilian oversight body set up in 1993 to monitor the investigation of complaints by the Police Complaints Division, received 12,919 complaints between 1999 and 2004. Complaints include battery, harassment and criminal damage. Only 20% of cases were investigated.

Amnesty International hopes that the recently passed Police Complaints Authority Act will enhance its ability to conduct independent investigations and that its recommendations will be made binding. "Policing is frequently a difficult and dangerous task requiring expert training and skills. A human rights approach should be at the heart of any reform process, as it represents the best means of ensuring that police practices recognize the human dignity and the rights of every person in Trinidad and Tobago, while providing them with effective protection from crime."

Background information

In January 2006, Amnesty International wrote to the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago setting out its concerns about allegations of human rights violations involving police officers and requesting information about some of the cases included in the report. No response has been received so far.

[  amnesty.org

[  Trinidad and Tobago End police immunity for unlawful killings and deaths in custody

19 April 2006

VENEZUELA

lt. offiziellen angaben wurden bei auseinandersetzungen zwischen gangs in einem knast im bundesstaat tachira, 10 menschen getötet, andere, nicht bestätigte quellen sprechen von 15 toten.

Deadly riot in Venezuela prison

Ten inmates have been killed in a prison riot in the Venezuelan state of Tachira, the authorities have said. The local National Guard commander, Luis Nieto, said the fighting was between rival groups of inmates at the jail, in the south-west of the country. Other unconfirmed reports put the number of prisoners killed at 15. Disturbances are relatively common in Venezuelan jails, which suffer from overcrowding and violence between rival prison gangs.

[  news.bbc.co.uk

15 April 2006

MALAYSIA

Mord im Polizeiknast
Malaysische Sicherheitskräfte verweigern Untersuchungen mysteriöser Todesfälle

In Malaysia ist die Zahl der Todesfälle in Polizeigewahrsam in den ersten drei Monaten dieses Jahres auf 96 gestiegen. Menschenrechtler und auch die Regierung unter Ministerpräsident Abdullah Badawi haben sich daher für die Einsetzung einer unabhängigen Untersuchungskommission ausgesprochen - eine Forderung den die zuständigen Polizeibehörden vehement zurückweisen. Nun droht sich der Konflikt zwischen Regierung und Polizeiführung zuzuspitzen.

Regierung gegen Polizei

»Diese Kommission muß ohne weitere Verzögerung einberufen werden«, verlangte der Abgeordnete Zaid Ibrahim von der regierenden Vereinigten Nationalen Organisation der Malaien (UMNO). Korruption und Straffreiheit bei der Polizei sollten schnell ein Ende haben. Zudem gehe es nicht an, daß sich Beamte dem Kabinett widersetzten. Als »Diener des Staates« hätten sie Entscheidungen der politischen Führung zu akzeptieren. Könnten sie dies nicht, müßten sie den Beamtenstand verlassen.

Maßnahmen gegen die grassierende Polizeibrutalität fordern auch Gruppen wie die malaysische Nichtregierungsorganisation (NGO) »Police Watch« und das überregionale »Asian Legal Resource Centre« (ALRC). Die Aktivisten machen Folter, die Verweigerung von Medikamenten selbst für chronisch Kranke, grobe Vernachlässigung und desolate hygienische Verhältnisse für die Todesfälle in der Haft verantwortlich und prangern Corpsgeist, schwere Untersuchungsmängel und Straffreiheit für die Täter an.

Von den 96 Todesfällen zwischen Januar und März 2006 sind im Rahmen interner Untersuchungen 39 bereits zu den Akten gelegt worden. Den involvierten Polizisten konnte angeblich keine Schuld nachgewiesen werden. Die übrigen sind noch ungeklärt. Die Gerichte wurden in elf Fällen eingeschaltet. Das ist bereits eine signifikante Verbesserung. So sind von den 80 höchst mysteriösen Todesfällen in Polizeigewahrsam in den Jahren zwischen 2000 und 2004 nur sechs vor Gericht gebracht worden, aber in keinem einzigen Fall mußten Polizisten Rede und Antwort stehen oder gar die Verantwortung übernehmen.

Tod kurz nach Festnahme

Diese Situation hat mittlerweile auch die malaysische Obersten Richterin Siti Norma alarmiert. Sie setzt sich jetzt für prompte Ermittlungen ein, so wie es das Gesetz verlangt. »Mitunter sind Inhaftierte nur wenige Stunden nach der Festnahme verstorben«, so die Richterin. Dabei bezieht sie sich vor allem auf den prominenten Fall des Mechanikers Alias Othman. Dieser war am 10. März wegen »Unruhestiftung« in einer Moschee verhaftet worden. Rund sechs Stunden später war Othman tot. Für Norma, anders als offenbar für die Polizei, hätte eine glaubhafte Untersuchung der Todesfälle das schwer beschädigte Bild der malaysischen Sicherheitskräfte in der Öffentlichkeit verbessern können.

Statt dessen setzen sich die Skandale fort. Wie der Fall Othman machte auch der Tod von Francis Udayapan Schlagzeilen. Die Leiche des 24jährigen war im Mai 2004 aus einem Fluß gezogen worden. Bis vor wenigen Tagen hat die Mutter des jungen Mannes versucht, ihre Position vor Gericht zu behaupten. Vergeblich bemühte sie sich, die Richter davon zu überzeugen, daß ihr Sohn in Polizeigewahrsam schwer mißhandelt und schließlich in den Fluß geworfen worden war. Selbst daß der Leichnam mit Blutergüssen überzogen aufgefunden wurde, hat der Polizeiversion, nach der der junge Mann geflohen und auf der Flucht ertrunken sei, anscheinend nicht die Glaubwürdigkeit nehmen können. Am 7. April wurde die Akte geschlossen.

[  jungewelt.de

12 April 2006

USA

bei der rückkehr vom gericht wollte ein gefangener angeblich flüchten und wurde von einem wärter des hilo knastes erschossen.

Prisoner fatally shot by guard during escape attempt

HILO, Hawaii (AP) _ A prison guard fatally shot a Hawaii Community Correctional Center inmate today during an escape attempt from a prison van in downtown Hilo. Frank Lopez is the interim director of the state Department of Public Safety. He says Thane K. Leialoha was pronounced dead at Hilo Medical Center around 6 p-m -- about five hours after he was shot. Lopez says Leialoha was shot when he bolted from the van while being returned to jail from the courthouse in Hilo. He says Leialoha had been detained at the jail Sunday for violation of parole. The wounded Leialoha was taken by a fire department rescue crew to the medical center, where he was initially listed in critical condition. Officials say nine other inmates in the van at the time of the shooting weren't injured.

[  kpua.net

5 April 2006

USA

angebl. suizid eines 34 jährigen im piscataquis county knast.

Inmate found dead in cell at Piscataquis County Jail

DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine --Officials are investigating the death of a 34-year-old Brownville man in an apparent suicide at the Piscataquis County Jail, where he was being held on sex charges involving minors. John Prado was found by corrections officers during a shift change early Tuesday morning, said Sheriff John Goggin.

Goggin wouldn't release specifics about the death, but said Maine State Police detectives conducted interviews with officers and inmates. The Department of Corrections is expected to conduct its own investigation, he said. It was the first suicide in the Piscataquis County Jail in about three decades and the first suicide in a county jail this year. There was one suicide at a county jail in 2004 and another in 2005, according to Denise Lord, associate commissioner in the Department of Corrections. Prado, who was unemployed, was being held on charges of gross sexual assault, sexual exploitation of a minor and tampering with a witness or informant.

[  boston.com

4 April 2006

USA

angebl. suizid eines 25 jährigen im la crosse county knast.

La Crosse County Jail Inmate Dies Following Suicide

A prisoner found hanging in his cell Tuesday at the La Crosse County Jail has died. Jail staffers performed CPR on 25-year-old Leonard Harvey when they found him with no heartbeat. Emergency crews rushed him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead Wednesday morning. Sheriff Michael Weissenberger calls it a tragedy and says his staff had no indication Harvey was suicidal. The sheriff says he'll ask an outside sheriff's department and the district attorney to conduct an investigation. Harvey's apparent suicide comes three months after a teenage inmate took his life. Harvey was bei

[  weau.com

2 April 2006

USA

ein 25 jähriger mann starb im santa clara county knast "unter verdächtigen umständen".

Sheriff investigates death of young inmate in jail cell

A 25-year-old inmate died under ``suspicious'' circumstances in Santa Clara County Jail on Saturday, a department of corrections spokesman said. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department launched a criminal investigation into the death of the man, who was a San Jose resident and whose name was not released. The department of corrections is conducting an internal administrative investigation, said spokesman Mark Cursi.

``It could be anything. He could have fallen and hit his head,'' said sheriff's spokesman Serg Palanov. ``We can't say it was an accident and we can't say it was a homicide. It's too premature at this point.'' The man, who was awaiting trial, was in a two-man cell, Cursi said. He appeared to have died sometime between 12:40 p.m. -- when correctional officers checked on his cell -- and 1:20 p.m. when officers were beckoned back by the man's cellmate. Officers found the man under his bunk bed. He was unresponsive so they tried to resuscitate him, Cursi said. Paramedics then took the man to Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:18 p.m. The man had been locked up since June on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism, two counts of threatening a school official and violation of parole. The cellmate, who is about the same age as the man who died, has been in jail since September 2004 on murder charges resulting from a San Jose Police Department investigation, according to Cursi.

[  mercurynews.com

1 April 2006

USA

angeblicher suizid eines 48 jährigen mannes im sacramento county knast.

County jail inmate hangs self in cell

First suicide of the year renews attention to a problem the facility has faced since 2002 deaths. A 48-year-old Sacramento County jail inmate took his life in his cell Friday, the first suicide this year in a jail that has wrestled with the issue after a series of seven suicides in 2002. The inmate, whose name was not released Friday, gave no indication he was suicidal, Sacramento sheriff's spokesman Sgt. R.L. Davis said. The man was found hanging from a door with shredded clothing when his cellmate returned from the visiting room, Davis said. Deputies are mandated by jail policy to make hourly cell checks on inmates, and Davis said "all the checks were when they were supposed to be." "It's unfortunate to have anyone lose their life," Davis said. "We've gone to great strides to alleviate the pressures inmates have in our facility." The deceased inmate was the fifth man to kill himself in the jail since the beginning of 2005.

Four of the inmates who committed suicide were being held on federal charges. The inmate had been in jail since Wednesday on federal robbery charges and faced a 32-year sentence, Davis said. Linda Harter, chief assistant federal defender, said attorneys in her office have met to discuss the number of suicides. "We worry about someone who says they're on anti-depressants, gets arrested and doesn't get medication on time," she said.

"We have heard clients tell us about pushing the panic button and no one responds." Davis said all inmates are screened for medical needs. Since the seven suicides in 2002, Davis said sheriff's officials have reviewed policies and stepped up training to spot signs of suicidal behavior. Jail staff have retrofitted most cells - including the 48-year-old inmate's - to eliminate holes in bunks that inmates have used to hang themselves. Officials also replaced sheets that have been used in suicides with blankets that have the texture of an oven mitt. The issues of suicides and use of excessive force have been under scrutiny in recent months and years.

This week, a federal judge ruled that Sheriff Lou Blanas, who runs the jail, can be held personally liable in a trial to determine whether excessive force is condoned in the jail. Negotiations between the Sheriff's Department and its union are expected to broach the topic of creating an independent oversight body - an issue that has been pressed by activists and a local assemblyman. Friday's suicide brings the focus back to an issue that has not been thoroughly addressed, according to an audit of the department released in February. Former Hayward police chief and consultant Joseph Brann says the need remains for "a critical analysis of the risk and protective factors for suicide," the report says. According to the report, the ratio of inmates to jail staff is 9.4 to 1 in Sacramento County, which is about twice the ratios for jails in Orange, San Bernardino and Santa Clara counties.

Staffing in the jail is so low it's dangerous, Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association president Steven Fisk said Friday. He said the ratio of inmates to deputies - not counting medical or support staff - is closer to 90 to 1. "The county needs to understand they have to spend some money," he said. "They will spend it one way or other - on staffing, or on lawsuits and liabilities." Staffing is one issue in a federal wrongful death lawsuit that details three jail suicides in 2002 and 2003. In one case, a judge ruled in December that a jury will hear about the practice of "pencil whipping."

In depositions, deputies said the term refers to writing in a jail log book that they performed the hourly check on inmates when they had not. In another case, documents say an unlicensed social worker determined an inmate was "whiny" after an evaluation. Four hours later, Jose Arambula was found hanged. The consolidated case is scheduled to go to trial in October. During extensive interviews and discovery for the case, attorney Stewart Katz said he believes jail officials have made changes for the better. "They don't say 'we were really screwed up then and now we changed things,' " he said. "But the reality is they cleaned house ... And I like to think individual officers are feeling more responsibility."

[  sacbee.com

1 April 2006

USA

ein 23 jähriger mann starb im polk county knast nach krämpfen, eine genaue todesursache ist noch nicht bekannt.

County Jail Inmate Dies After Convulsions

FROSTPROOF -- For the second time in two weeks, a Polk County Jail inmate has died while in custody. David Cowles, 23, an inmate in the South County Jail in Frostproof, was pronounced dead at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday after a bout of convulsions, according to a Polk County Sheriff's report. Cowles, of Frostproof, had been ``eating cookies'' with two other inmates. The time wasn't immediately known.

But shortly after 10 p.m., he began ``convulsing,'' the report said. Cowles' cell mates then called for detention deputies through the intercom system, at which point Cowle's convulsions stopped, and he was ``unresponsive'' to deputies, the report said. Deputies soon began CPR, and EMS took Cowles to Lake Wales Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the report said. Cowles showed no signs of medical problems and wasn't shown to be taking medication during his medical screen Jan. 15 when he was booked into Polk County Jail. He'd been arrested on a variety of charges, including: assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence battery and harassing phone calls, the report said. Sheriff's homicide detectives, along with agency's internal investigators will look into Cowles' death, the report said.

The Polk County Medical Examiners's Office will conduct an autopsy, and the State Attorney's Office has been notified, the report said. Cowles' death comes less than two weeks after the death of inmate James Lee Griffin, 21, at Bartow's Central County Jail. Griffin died March 19 after scuffling with detention deputies and being shocked with an electronic riot shield. The Medical Examiner is waiting on toxicology reports, which have not yet been completed, to determine Griffin's cause of death.

[  theledger.com

31 March 2006

IRAQ

lt. den angaben des us- militäres ist ein 62 jähriger mann im knast abu ghraib an einem herzinfarkt gestorben.

Detainee dies at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq

A 62-year-old prisoner at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison died of an apparent heart attack, the US military said on Friday. Detainees being held in the same compound as the man notified guards that he was having difficulty breathing, a statement said. The prisoner died Thursday at the onsite medical facility after efforts to revive him failed, it said. The military is investigating the incident, which is common procedure after all detainee deaths, the statement said. Abu Ghraib is the same site where American soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners after the US-led invasion of Iraq three years ago.

[  khaleejtimes.com

30 March 2006

USA

ein bundesrichter verurteilte die kalifornische knastbehörde dazu innerhalb von zwei monaten $ 58 millionen an ausstehenden ärztehonoraren zu bezahlen. viele ärzte weigern sich wegen der nicht bezahlten rechnungen gefangene zu behandeln. 64 vermeidbare todesfälle gibt es durchschnittlich jedes jahr wegen unzureichender medizinischer versorgung. der selbe richter hat anfang des jahres die für die medizinische versorgung der knäste zuständige abteilung unter eine bundeszwangsverwaltung gestellt.

State Prisons Ordered to Pay Millions Owed to Doctors

SACRAMENTO -- Managers of California's beleaguered prison system received a double dose of bad news today as a federal judge ordered them to pay tens of millions of dollars owed to doctors who treat inmates, and the state launched an audit of their agency. Some of the doctors have not been paid in four years. Some of their contracts have lapsed. And some who deliver cardiology, radiology and a wide range of other services to prisoners are no longer responding when called.

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson, who recently put the state prisons' healthcare system in the hands of a federal receiver, ordered that outstanding doctor bills --- which total more than $58 million --- be paid within two months. Henderson also had harsh words for corrections leaders, saying they have stuck "their collective heads in the sand" instead of resolving the contracting mess. "Predictably," he added, "this stunning example of the state's bureaucratic inaction ? is now culminating in a crisis."

Lax healthcare in California prisons is blamed for an average of 64 preventable deaths a year. In naming a federal receiver to take over this year, Henderson determined that corrections officials were incapable of solving the problem alone. Meanwhile, state Controller Steve Westly said his office will audit the department to determine why prison healthcare is so poor, despite a doubling of funding since 2000. "The taxpayers have nothing to show for the billions spent on prison healthcare. Instead, we've seen the first federal takeover of a state agency in California history," said, Westly, who is also a candidate for governor.

Dr. John Henry, a general surgeon in San Luis Obispo County, hasn't been paid since September. Henry said treating inmates at Avenal State Prison makes up about 40% of his caseload. Until recently, he was performing about 20 surgeries a month on prisoners. But then the anesthesiologists at the local hospital stopped providing service to inmates because of nonpayment by the state. Now, Henry performs only emergencies, such as appendectomies, and even those "reluctantly." "I won't tell you how much I'm owed, but it's a lot," Henry said. "Nobody wants to stop providing care, but this is ridiculous. We can't keep working for free."

[  latimes.com

25 March 2006

USA

den eltern eines 33 jährigen mannes der 2001 im knast vom maricopa county nach dem einsatz eines zwangsstuhls und einer "spukmaske" starb, wurde jetzt $ 9 millionen als schadensersatz zugestanden.

Jury awards $9M in jail death

Carol Agster had little to say Friday after walking out of a federal courthouse in downtown Phoenix. The 72-year-old Scottsdale woman let the $9 million verdict she had just won against Maricopa County, the sheriff ’s office and Correctional Health Services do the talking.“We hope the judgment (jurors) came up with will help prevent this from happening to other parents in the future,” said Agster, whose 33-year-old son, Charles Agster III, died in 2001, three days after being forced into a restraint chair by sheriff’s detention officers.A medical examiner later concluded that Charles Agster died from complications related to methamphetamine intoxication.

“I wish we would have been able to have the jury recognize that when a person has 17 times the known lethal dose of meth in their system that sometimes they die,” said James Stipe, one of the attorneys who represented the sheriff’s office.Charles Agster’s parents argued in their lawsuit that their son died because detention officers and jailhouse nurses acted improperly.The county’s final tab in the case could reach $12 million if U.S. District Court Judge James Teilborg grants lawyer Michael Manning’s planned request for attorney’s fees.

The county carries a $2 million deductible on its litigation insurance.Friday’s judgment surpasses the $8.25 million settlement the county reached in the 1990s with the family of Tempe resident Scott Norberg, 33. He died on June 1, 1996, after being placed in a similar restraint chair.Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has strongly defended the use of the restraint chair since Norberg’s death, said Friday he hasn’t decided whether he is going to rethink its use.The chair is used for controlling combative arrestees.

According to court documents, on Aug. 6, 2001, Carol and Charles Agster Jr. were taking their son, who had the mental capacity of a 12-yearold, to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital because he was exhibiting paranoia.They stopped at a Phoenix convenience store and had to call police because he wouldn’t leave it. But when police arrived he didn’t recognize them as officers.They handcuffed him and hog-tied him before taking him to Madison Street Jail, where detention officers placed a “spit mask” or “spit hood” over his face and strapped him to the restraint chair.“While Charles was in the restraint chair, the detention officers leaned Charles forward, and removed the cuffs,” the document states.One of the detention officers believed Charles Agster was having a seizure, and he lost consciousness. His family took him off of life support on Aug. 9, 2001, when testing showed no brain activity.

[  eastvalleytribune.com

23 March 2006

BRAZIL

nach offiziellen angaben starben 7 insassen des knastes in jundai durch den rauch der von ihnen in brand gesetzten matratzen. um gegen die verlegung einiger gefangener in andere knäste zu protestieren hatten die männer einen teil des knastes besetzt und hielten 3 als arbeiter bezeichnete männer als geiseln. nach einem tag haben etwa 200 riotpolizisten den knast gestürmt. der knast ist für 120 insassen gebaut, inhaftiert sind dort 470 menschen. in einem satz wird folgendes erwähnt: "am Dienstag ( 21.3.) haben insassen des gefängnis in mogi das cruzes, einer kleinen stadt etwa 50 km östlich von sao paulo, 10 geiseln frei gelassen."

Seven killed in Brazilian prison riot

Seven prisoners were killed in a Brazilian prison riot that was brought under control Thursday, Agencia Estado news agency reported. Prisoners at the Jundai facility in Sao Paulo state were protesting the transfer of prisoners at the facility to another prison. The prisoners reportedly died from smoke inhalation as the result of fires set to bedding. Many Brazilian prisons are the scenes of rioting and unrest due to do overcrowding at the pervasiveness of criminal gangs that operate from inside with relative impunity.

[  upi.com

7 die in Brazil prison revolt

23. märz 2006

Jundai - Seven prisoners died of smoke inhalation after rebelling inmates set fire to mattresses in a prison near Sao Paulo, authorities said on Thursday. The bodies of the prisoners were removed from the lockup in the city of Jundai early in the day, after officials regained control of part of the prison, said Carlos Gati, a spokesperson for the Sao Paulo state public safety department.

Jundai is about 60km west of Sao Paulo. The rebellion started on Wednesday, after prisoners protested the transfer of some inmates. On Thursday morning, prisoners still controlled another part of the facility and were holding three workers hostage, Gati said.

The prison has a capacity of 120 inmates, but as many as 470 are being held there. Brazilian media reported that two inmates were hospitalised with unspecified injuries. Authorities were negotiating with the prisoners in an attempt to end the stand-off, Gati said. Riot police arrive at prison There was extensive damage to the prison, but officials did not know what conditions were like in the part of the facility still being held by inmates, or whether there might be additional fatalities, he added. "The situation is still very confusing there," he said.

About 200 riot police, wielding shotguns, arrived at the prison late on Thursday morning. Authorities often bring in riot police when they plan to storm prisons taken over by inmates, although the presence of the heavily armed officers is also used as a tactic to persuade prisoners to surrender. Prison rebellions occur on an almost weekly basis in Brazil, where inmate overcrowding is common and human rights advocates describe conditions as inhumane. On Tuesday, inmates released 10 hostages at a detention center in Mogi das Cruzes, a small city about 50km east of Sao Paulo. A January prison uprising in Brazil's remote Amazon jungle state of Rondonia left four dead.

[  news24.com

20 March 2006

USA

ein 21 jähriger mann starb im polk county knast durch den einsatz eines sog. riot schutzschild. mit einem solchen schutzschild wird ein 75 000 volt starker stromschlag versetzt. bei der hier erwähnten firma nova , nach eigenwerbung weltweit führend in ?less ? than ? lethal? technik kostet ein solcher schild etwas über $ 400.

Inmate Dies at Polk County Jail

BARTOW -- A 21-year-old Lake Wales man died at the Polk County Jail on Sunday night, after scuffling with detention deputies and being shocked with a riot shield. An autopsy is being conducted by the Polk County Medical Examiner to determine cause of death. James Lee Griffin, of 401 Winston Ave., had been arrested early Saturday morning at the Lake Wales International House of Pancakes on a charge of violating his probation, said Polk County Sheriff's Spokesman Scott Wilder. He was supposed to be observing a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. while on probation for burglary, but he was at the IHOP causing a disturbance at 3:47 a.m., Wilder said. He was booked into the jail at 7:20 a.m. Saturday, and was put in the general population, according to a Polk County Sheriff's report. Saturday afternoon, he caused a disturbance among the inmates and was placed in an isolation cell, the report said.

About 8:30 p.m. Sunday, an inmate in another isolation cell caused a disturbance, and when deputies arrived to check on that disturbance, Griffin began kicking out the shatterproof glass of his cell, the report said. When deputies opened the door, he rushed them, the report said. Seven detention deputies were at the cell and one of them had a Nova Electronic Riot Shield, Wilder said. The shield is capable of giving a shock. Griffin was restrained and put in handcuffs and leg shackles, and carried to a nurse's station at the jail's clinic, according to the report. He later passed out, and EMS was called. Deputies and nurses tried to revive him with CPR, but were not able to. He was pronounced dead at 9:31 p.m. Sunday. The State Attorney's Office, the Medical Examiner's Office, and the Polk County Sheriff's Office are all conducting investigations into the incident, Wilder said.

[  theledger.com

[  riot shield / Nova

16 March 2006

PAKISTAN

nachdem er vor 20 tagen einen suizidversuch unternahm und angebl. vor einigen tagen versuchte zu fliehen, ist ein mann aus dem kotlakhpat knast bewußtlos in seiner zelle aufgefunden worden, und starb im krankenhaus. die todesursache ist ungeklärt, eine autopsie wird vorgenommen.

Prisoner dies in Kotlakhpat Jail

LAHORE: A middle-aged prisoner who had tried to commit suicide on Model Town Courts premises around 20 days ago died in the Kotlakhpat Jail on Wednesday. Saboor Khan was allegedly involved in six criminal cases and was detained since 2002. He was produced in court on February 4 this year, when he tried to commit suicide by cutting his wrists with a blade. He was produced in court again a couple of days ago when he tried to escape. He was found unconscious in the jail on Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital where he died. His body has been removed to the city mortuary for an autopsy.

[  dailytimes.com.pk

13 March 2006

PHILIPPINES

im bezirksknast in sorsogon starben seit letztem oktober 8 gefangene. bisher wurde noch keine angaben zu der als "mysteriöse krankheit" bezeichneten ursache allerdings wird behauptet das eine der ursachen unterernährung sein kann.

Unknown disease stalks Sorsogon jail

SORSOGON CITY-A mysterious disease continues to hound prisoners of the provincial jail here and has caused the death of at least eight prisoners since October last year. Three of the prisoners died within a week. The deaths prompted Gov. Raul Lee to send a medical team from the provincial health office to investigate. Jose Lopez, jail records officer, said the three inmates who died in just a span of six days exhibited similar symptoms.

The latest victims were identified as Angel Tagle, who died on March 4; Edwin Laura, March 8; and Eduardo Jalmansar, March 10. All experienced paleness, edema and sudden weakness before they died. Edema is an abnormal accumulation of fluids in a connective tissue or in cavities.

Lopez said that as far as he and other jail officials could remember, the first fatality, Christopher Biolena, had the same symptoms before he died in jail on Oct. 2 last year. Four more prisoners died after Biolena. They were identified as Jimmy James Balmes, who died on Dec. 21, 2005; Loreto Alvarez, Dec. 27, 2005; Jessie Hubilla, Jan. 24, and Arnel Solano, Feb. 8. Provincial health officer Dr. Edgar Garcia said he could not yet identify the disease that caused the deaths. But he said the latest victim was found to have died of a heart attack. Garcia, however, explained that heart attack could just be the secondary cause and another disease, the primary cause, could have triggered the heart attack.

Garcia said his office would conduct a background study on the victims to check their health history, as well as health conditions inside the jail, including the inmates? meals. The health official said malnutrition could be one reason, citing the symptoms exhibited by the victims. The inmates have reportedly complained about the food being given to them by a caterer, said to be managed by acting warden Isauro Pura.

It was learned that the prisoners were usually given a cup of rice, dried fish and meat broth for lunch and dinner, and just a cup of coffee and two pieces of bread for breakfast. Pura said he was also puzzled by the deaths. Governor Lee has ordered an investigation of jail conditions, including the series of jail breaks that resulted in the escape of at least 15 prisoners. He said he would designate an acting warden pending results of the probe.

[  news.inq7.net

12 March 2006

USA

am 3. märz 2004 wurde eine 39 jährige frau, die sich gegen durchsuchungen bei ihrer einlieferung im knast gewehrt haben soll, an einen stuhl gefesselt, der benutzt wird um ?widerspenstige gefangene zu bändigen?. eine stunde später war die frau tod. laut offiziellem bericht hat sie sich versehentlich erwürgt, da sich durch ihre versuche aus dem stuhl zu kommen einer der gurte um ihren hals legte. jetzt wurde eine klage gegen die benutzung dieser stühle, die in vielen knästen in florida benutzt werden, durch die kinder der frau, eingereicht. die benutzung dieser stühle ist seit der zwangsernährung der hungerstreikenden in guantanamo, die ebenfalls an diese im boden befestigten metallstühlen gefesselt wurden, sehr umstritten.

Use of restraint chairs under fire after mentally ill inmate's death

TAVARES -- Concerned about a sister who had struggled with drug abuse and mental illness, Dawn Edgar called from California two years ago to ask a favor of Lake County deputy sheriffs: Please check on my sister and her kids.

Edgar said she sought a "well-being" check because her 39-year-old sister, Denise Ossick, was leaving a bully of a boyfriend and suddenly couldn't be reached by phone. She now regrets that call. That same day, deputies found Ossick and a warrant for her arrest. She was wanted for skipping probation appointments and not paying fines levied against her for filing a false police report. Deputies arrested her and -- after she struggled with corrections officers at the jail -- strapped her into a chair used to restrain unruly prisoners.

An hour later, Ossick was brain dead. She was accidentally choked on a strap that had been "negligently secured" around her, according to a newly filed lawsuit on behalf of her three children. "They were supposed to make sure she was safe," said Edgar, 36. The lawsuit challenges the use of a restraint chair, which is widely used in Central Florida, though county jail and state corrections officials are split on its value. Osceola County stopped using them after a handcuffed inmate was beaten to death in one in 1997 by a corrections officer, who was later convicted of manslaughter. But jails in Lake, Orange, Volusia and Brevard counties use them regularly.

"It's been a valuable tool for us," said Michael Brickner, accreditation manager for the Brevard County Jail, which used restraint chairs to control inmates 112 times last year. The chairs allow jailers to restrain thrashing, violent prisoners until they calm down, sparing injury to officers and inmates, Volusia County spokesman Dave Byron said. He said the county's policy manual forbids use of a restraint chair for punitive measures and requires that inmates secured in one be "in sight and/or sound of an officer at all times." Other counties have similar policies, requiring visual checks every 15 minutes. Byron said Volusia County uses its chairs more than once a week.

State prison officials, on the other hand, have never used them. "There were several safety concerns," said Gretl Plessinger, a Florida corrections spokeswoman who listed asphyxiation among the possible risks posed by the device. She said prison staffers also feared the chairs might be inappropriate for inmates with mental-health issues. Restraint chairs also have come under fire at the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that houses foreign detainees with alleged ties to al-Qaeda. Detainees taking part in a hunger strike there have been strapped into the chairs and force-fed through a tube. A lawyer for one detainee has asked a federal judge to ban their use, calling it torture.

According to an investigation by the Lake sheriff's office, Ossick was escorted crying into the jail March 3, 2004, complaining that she had been arrested twice before on the same charges. She resisted staff orders to disrobe and shower and declared she would kill herself when she got out of jail. The remark prompted jail staffers to give her a "suicide smock," a padded gown fastened with Velcro. She refused to put it on and struggled with officers who wrapped it around her. Ossick retracted her suicide remark but continued to be combative. Corrections officers decided to put the 5-foot-2, 100-pound woman in a restraint chair.

The slightly reclined, armless metal seat was bolted to the cell floor. Hands cuffed behind her back, Ossick was tied onto the chair with a leather belt around her chest and a nylon strap around her waist. Her legs were shackled and ankles cuffed. Prisoners are typically secured with crisscrossing, automobile-style safety straps that lock on the seat. The sheriff's investigation did not explain why a leather belt was used instead of crisscrossing straps. Sheriff's records show corrections officers began routine checks about 6:30 p.m., peering through a glass window on the cell door and logging observations at 6:41, 6:55, 7:02 and 7:20. At 7:31 p.m., a corrections officer found Ossick had wriggled off the chair, though her ankles and legs were still secured to its base. The leather belt was around her neck. She had no pulse. She was pronounced dead the next day at Florida Waterman Hospital.

Ossick strangled on the belt, Medical Examiner Steven Cogswell said. The sheriff's investigation found no fault with corrections officers or the jail's medical staff. The lawsuit, however, does. "I don't think they should have put her in it," said Nathan Carter, a partner with the Orlando law firm of Colling Gilbert & Wright. "But once they did, they had a duty to carefully watch her, which clearly they didn't do because when they found her she was dead." Ossick, a former Miss Congeniality in a beauty pageant in her native Rhode Island, had difficulty adjusting to life after her husband died. The state Department of Children & Families had taken her two youngest children. She suffered from arthritis, asthma and multiple sclerosis and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder

Cogswell listed cocaine as a contributory cause of her death. County Attorney Sandy Minkoff would not comment on the suit. Sheriff Chris Daniels referred calls to Bruce Bogans, a lawyer in Orlando who is representing the office. Bogans said he could not comment. Daniels was not sheriff at the time of Ossick's death -- J.M. "Buddy" Phillips was. The lawsuit names both Daniels and Phillips, corrections officers Detara Wesley, Bria Britten, Tracy Ferguson and Brian Wardingley, and jail nurses Lisa Wilson and Fay Angles. All but Angles still work in the jail. Daniels said none of them would comment.

[  orlandosentinel.com

10 March 2006

PHILIPPINES

zwei männer versuchten auf dem weg vom polomolok knast zum gericht zu fliehen. die wärter erschossen einen der männer, der zweite wurde unverletzt festgenommen.

Jail inmate shot dead in escape try

POLOMOLOK, South Cotabato - An inmate was killed while another was recaptured after attempting to escape last Monday as they were about to be brought to court for trial. The slain inmate was identified as Roy Dante, 26, a resident of Barney Subdivision, barangay Canery, Polomolok. The recaptured inmate was identified as Alger Seb-lante, 24, a resident of barangay Poblacion. Police said six inmates, including Dante and Seblante, were about to leave the Polomolok Municipal Jail at around 1:55 p.m. on March 6 for their scheduled trials. Guard Cipriano Libiano Jr. was about to open the steel door of the jail when the two inmates pushed him and tried to escape by climbing the jail's cyclone wires. Jail warden Inspector George Cornelio fired three warning shots but the two inmates resisted, forcing Cornelio to fire at them. Dante was hit in the back and died instantly. Seblante was recaptured. Dante was declared dead on arrival at the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital.

[  lanesystems.com

8 March 2006

Bundesdeutsche Flüchtlingspolitik und ihre tödlichen Folgen

13 aktualisierte auflage

[...]Die vorliegende Dokumentation beschreibt in über 4700 Einzelgeschehnissen die Auswirkungen des institutionellen Rassismus auf die Betroffenen. Auf Flüchtlinge, die gehofft hatten, in diesem Land Schutz und Sicherheit zu finden, und letztlich an diesem System zugrunde gingen oder zu Schaden kamen. Die jährlichen Zahlen der Dokumentation sind im Vergleich n i c h t sinkend, sondern bleiben konstant. Auszugehen ist von einer wesentlich höheren Dunkelziffer. Die Dokumentation umfaßt den Zeitraum vom 1.1.1993 bis 31.12.2005.[...]

[...]Ein Fazit: Durch staatliche Maßnahmen der BRD kamen 333 Flüchtlinge ums Leben - durch rassistische Übergriffe oder bei Bränden in Unterkünften starben 80 Flüchtlinge.

* die Angaben für 2005 werden sich noch erhöhen, weil die offiziellen Zahlen des Bundesinnenministeriums noch nicht vorliegen[...]

[  Bundesdeutsche Flüchtlingspolitik und ihre tödlichen Folgen

07 March 2006

NIGERIA

4 während der riots in maiduguri festgenommen menschen sind in polizei- bzw. militärknast gestorben. es gibt keine angaben über die todesursache.

Four Suspects Die in Detention

Four suspects arrested in connection with the sectarian violence in Maiduguri have died in police and military custody.

Reliable sources told Daily Trust that some of the suspects died last week just as the police have ordered that autopsy be performed on three of the dead suspects to determine the cause and nature of their death. A combined team of police, army and plain-cloth securitymen arrested over 200 persons in Maiduguri during the civil disturbances which occurred three weeks ago in their attempt to determine those responsible for the violence resulting in the destruction of property and loss of lives.

The suspects are being kept in an army barracks as well as a number of police divisions in Maiduguri. Out of those arrested, at least 25 people found not to be directly connected with the crisis have so far been released on bail while the police told Daily Trust that those still in detention will be prosecuted by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation. One of the released suspects who spoke to Daily Trust yesterday complained about being tied up and fed only once in a day throughout the seven days that he was in detention, among other interrogation techniques used on him and other suspects.

However, in a chat with our correspondent, the Brigade Commander of 21 Armoured Brigade, Maiduguri, Brigadier General S.O. Idoko, denied that suspects in military custody were brutalized or refused three meals, saying that the military operated within the confines of the law to restore law and order. "What we did was to try to restore law and order. It is possible in the process of doing so to step on toes but we are fair and humane in our treatment of those we come into contact with in the process of our investigations," General Idoko said.

The army commander added that the arrests made by the military in Maiduguri was not done by accident, maintaining that all those arrested by the army were either arrested as the rioting was going on or were named as suspects by those already in custody. General Idoko also confirmed that one suspect has died in military custody, but added that the person's death was "as a result of natural factors" and not connected with the interrogation of suspects. Meanwhile, normalcy has returned to Maiduguri as people now go about their normal social and business activities. Our correspondent reports that military personnel and mobile policemen are still patrolling parts of the city to ensure complete enforcement of law and order.

[  allafrica.com

1 March 2006

USA

ein 20 jähriger mann ist im mcever probation detention center ( bewährungsjugendknast) / georgia angebl. an einem herzschlag gestorben. mcever wird als alternative zum knast beschrieben, soll ähnlich wie ein boot camp sein, und inhaftiert werden dort menschen die wegen drogen verurteilt wurden.

20-year-old dies in Perry detention center

A 20-year-old inmate of the McEver Probation Detention Center in Perry has died of a heart attack while in custody, state authorities reported today. Lucas Thompson of Warner Robins died at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, Peggy Chapman, public information officer for the Georgia Department of Corrections, said today. Thompson was seen by a nurse the night before his death after complaining about a respiratory problem, Chapman said. She declined to elaborate, citing an internal investigation by the corrections department into the death. Chapman said such an investigation is standard when an inmate dies. Thompson, who was jailed on a conviction for selling methamphetamine, had been expected to be released Oct. 11, 2006, Chapman said. The McEver detention center, an alternative to prison, operates similar to a boot camp and offers rehabilitation for inmates suffering from substance abuse, Chapman said.

[  macon.com

27 February 2006

SWITZERLAND

Zwei Untersuchungshäftlinge sterben in La Chaux-de-Fonds

LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS - Im Gefängnis von La Chaux-de-Fonds NE sind innerhalb von zwei Tagen zwei Häftlinge verstorben. Die Todesursachen sind noch unbekannt. Die Behörden haben zwei Untersuchungen angeordnet.Der erste Todesfall - es handelt sich um einen 35 jährigen Türken im Strafvollzug - habe sich in der Nacht von Samstag auf Sonntag ereignet, sei aber erst gegen Sonntagmittag entdeckt worden, teilten die Neuenburger Behörden mit. Der zweite Tote, ein 20-Jähriger aus dem Balkan in Untersuchungshaft, wurde am Montag ebenfalls gegen Mittag gefunden.Die Gefängnisbehörden hätten als Sofortmassnahme die Kantonspolizei beauftragt, die Räumlichkeiten nach gesundheitsgefährdenden Substanzen zu durchsuchen.Im Untersuchungsgefängnis in La Chaux-de-Fonds war es zuletzt im Sommer 2005 zu einem Todesfall gekommen; damals war es eine Selbsttötung. Vorher war seit 2002 niemand gestorben.

[  swissinfo.org

27 February 2006

USA

Two dead, 100 injured in Los Angeles County jail riots

On Saturday, February 4, racial riots broke out in Los Angeles County jails between black and Latino inmates. The rioting continued for more than two weeks, involving thousands of prisoners at several different facilities. More than a hundred have been injured, many critically, and two inmates are dead. The violence began at the North County Correctional Facility, part of the Pitchess Detention Center, in Castaic. The first outbreak—which by all accounts was instigated by leaders of the Mexican Mafia as means of establishing dominance over rival black gangs—involved hundreds of inmates. Outdated plumbing had caused sheriff’s deputies to move 500 extra inmates to an already overcrowded wing of the jail, which helped ignite the situation. By Saturday evening, well over 2,000 inmates were embroiled in the melee, using makeshift weaponry and bunk beds hurled from the upper stories of the jail onto brawling inmates below.

To retake control, hundreds of law enforcement officers from all over Southern California were called into emergency service. Repeatedly firing tear gas, pepper bombs and “sting ball grenades,” the guards were unable to contain the riot for nearly a day. Ten inmates were sent to local hospitals for emergency treatment of their critical injuries and one inmate, Wayne Tiznor—a 45 year old black man—was found beaten to death. Tiznor was in jail awaiting trial for failing to register with local police as a sex offender. He was the ninth inmate killed by other inmates in the county jails in the past 2 1/2 years.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca ordered a system-wide lockdown and eliminated all visits in the county’s six jails, which house over 20,000 inmates. Despite last year’s Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation of prisoners is unconstitutional, the Sheriff’s Department ordered black and Latino inmates placed in separate cells.

The emergency measures failed and more violence erupted Sunday night and again on Monday, February 6. The fighting seemed to be ending on February 9. Less than an hour after officials gave the media a guided tour of the Pitchess Detention Center, however, a new conflict erupted among 200 Latino and black inmates. This rioting continued four more days, culminating in a second death, that of 38-year-old black inmate Sean Anthony Thompson, who was killed at Men’s Central Jail while assisting an older inmate under attack by three Latino inmates. Baca sought out the Catholic Cardinal of the diocese of Los Angeles, Roger M. Mahony, for assistance in ending the riots. “The goal is to start a dialogue with the Latino inmates in such a fashion that they’re appealing to their common good as human beings,” Baca said.

When the violence continued into a second week, Baca came under increasing criticism from both law-and-order politicians and black officials. Right-wing County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, a reliable supporter of police violence in minority communities, said the department should have done more to protect black inmates. After a further outbreak on February 18, Baca ordered more than 100 inmates to strip naked, with mattresses taken away, and left with only blankets to cover themselves for a 24-hour period. Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times, “We would be horrified if these methods had taken place at Abu Ghraib. However effective or ineffective, humiliation and degradation is not a proper procedure for discipline.”

Overcrowding and understaffing

During an interview on Pasadena radio station KPCC-FM, Baca blamed the rioting on insufficient funds to incarcerate violent offenders. “And so it’s the almighty dollar that affects improvement when this thing is said and done,” Baca said. Programs which once helped mitigate harsh economic conditions have been systematically cut, and the Los Angeles County jail has the highest inmate-to-guard ratio of any major county jail system in the United States. For example, while New York City has a jail population of about 15,000 and a staff of 12,000, Los Angeles County has more than 20,000 inmates and a staff of only 5,000.

Despite the calls for more money, the Sheriff’s Department’s budget has almost doubled from $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion, and the budget for LA County jails has grown about 75 percent over the last 10 years. The Los Angeles County Jail system, like the metropolitan area itself, has a long history of racial violence. According to police, the Pitchess Detention Center alone has been the site of more than 150 racially motivated brawls since 1990, most pitting black inmates against Latinos. The rioting cannot be explained as the product of an increasingly violent jail population. The vast majority of jail and prison inmates are nonviolent offenders. The California Attorney General’s website documents a considerable drop in violent crime in California since the 1960s. During the last decade violent crimes, excluding robbery, have decreased from 207,000 to 141,000 per year, and the number of homicides fell in the same period from 3,699 to 2,402 annually, despite a rapidly growing population. At the same time as the drop in the incidence of violent crime, California’s average daily jail population has increased from 69,000 to over 81,000. The prison population has rocketed to a record 168,000, nearly double the capacity of the state’s 33 prisons.

Anticipating even more inmates, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling for a $600 million increase in state corrections spending, raising it to $7.9 billion. To put California’s incarceration rate in some perspective, Canada, with about the same population as California, has only about one quarter as many people behind bars. California’s massive inmate population is the fruit of three decades of bipartisan efforts to whip up anti-crime hysteria and push through increasingly severe and long-term punishments. Some examples include a “Three Strikes law” authorizing life imprisonment for non-violent felonies, draconian drug sentences and, most recently, the ominously named California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act, which can add up to 10 years to a person’s sentence if the crime was committed “in furtherance of a gang”—one of the more amorphous legal standards in criminal law.

The result has been such acute overcrowding that critical state prison programs and services are breaking down (prison medical services were so poor and disorganized that they have recently gone into federal receivership) requiring local jails to house more inmates for longer times. A permanently criminalized population Racially based gangs have developed increasing influence within the prisons and jails, which has carried over to the streets. The LA county sheriff’s office claims that as much as 80 percent of the jail population has a gang affiliation. There has been a subtle attempt in the media coverage of the riots to conflate violent inmates with gang membership. This false connection will doubtlessly be employed to steer even more spending into the bottomless pit of jails, prisons and law enforcement. To be sure, it is gang influence that has increased, not the number of violent criminals. But what is behind this growing influence?

Longer sentences for lesser crimes packs jails and prisons with nonviolent youth and the revolving door parole system ensures that even those released will be swept back into the system—parolees returning on mostly technical violations, such as missing an appointment or failing a drug test, make up nearly 50 percent of incoming inmates. This system permanently criminalizes a widening swath of the poor and working-class men. Although ostensibly free, parolees lose almost all rights to judicial process and constitutional rights, along with voting rights and even eligibility for urgently needed welfare programs. The state pays an estimated $1.5 billion a year for parolees returned to prison.

In the 30 years of bipartisan “law and order” demagogy, California’s economic crisis has sharpened and is now at the breaking point. Today basic needs such as housing, health care and even food are increasingly out of reach for growing numbers of people.

In June, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) released a study reporting that millions of Californians suffer food insecurity, and in October the California Budget Project reported that an annual income of over $71,000 was required for a family in California to enjoy a modest standard of living. Insecure in their basic needs, poor children—largely black and Latino—are pushed through a deteriorating educational system, which has failed them. The educational priorities of the state can be seen in the fact that in the last 20 years 22 new prisons have been built, and only one University of California campus. According to the Little Hoover Commission, an independent state research body, half of all parolees are illiterate, 80 percent are unemployed and 80 percent are drug users. In the face of the fear-mongering media accounts of the riot, it must be recalled that these traumatized young men are, in the first instance, products of the crisis of American society.

[  wsws.org

[  check more infos

23 February 2006

IRAQ / AFGHANSITAN

Human Rights First report documents deaths of Iraqis and Afghans in US custody

A report issued Wednesday by Human Rights First (HRF) documents the deaths of 98 people while in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. The report gives details of some of the killings, putting names and faces on the victims of US imperialism. The HRF report, coming on the heels of the newly released Abu Ghraib photos, provides a devastating exposure of systematic torture, abuse and murder.

The 82-page report, entitled “Command’s Responsibility: Detainee Deaths in US Custody in Iraq and Afghanistan,” documents both US crimes and their official cover-up. HRF lists 98 deaths in US custody since April 2002. “According to the US military’s own classifications,” the report finds, “34 of these cases are suspected or confirmed homicides; Human Rights First has identified another 11 in which the facts suggest death as a result of physical abuse or harsh conditions of detention. In close to half the deaths Human Rights First surveyed, the cause of death remains officially undetermined or unannounced. Overall, eight people in US custody were tortured to death.”

The report discusses the cover-up of these crimes by the US military and government authorities. It states that of the 34 homicides investigated by the military, “investigators recommended criminal charges in fewer than two thirds, and charges were actually brought (based on decisions made by command) in less than half. While the CIA has been implicated in several deaths, not one CIA agent has faced a criminal charge. Crucially, among the worst cases in this list—those of detainees tortured to death—only half have resulted in punishment; the steepest sentence for anyone involved in a torture-related death: five months in jail.” In a press release announcing the report, Deborah Pearlstein, director of the US Law and Security Program at Human Rights First, said: “Looking closely at these cases, we found time and again badly flawed investigations, and a lack of command responsibility for what’s gone wrong—especially in those cases where victims were tortured to death. The result across the board has been to create a culture of impunity, where no one... is held fully accountable for detainee deaths.”

The report notes that “command responsibility itself—the law that requires commanders to be held liable for the unlawful acts of their subordinates about which they knew or should have known—has been all but forgotten.” The key findings of the report include the following:

* “Commanders have failed to report deaths of detainees in the custody of their command, reported the deaths only after a period of days and sometimes weeks, or actively interfered in efforts to pursue investigations;

* “Investigators have failed to interview key witnesses, collect useable evidence, or maintain evidence that could be used for any subsequent prosecution;

* “Record keeping has been inadequate, further undermining chances for effective investigation or appropriate prosecution;

* “Overlapping criminal and administrative investigations have compromised chances for accountability;

* “Overly broad classification of information and other investigation restrictions have left CIA and Special Forces essentially immune from accountability;

* “Agencies have failed to disclose critical information, including the cause or circumstance of death, in close to half the cases examined;

* “Effective punishment has often been too little and too late.”

The undeniable conclusion that flows from these findings is that the US government and military have been deliberately abusing, torturing and killing detainees and carrying out a systematic cover-up, organized at the highest levels, of these war crimes. The report includes a number of detailed case studies. The first, the case of Hamed Mowhoush, is particularly horrifying.In the following excerpt from the report, Mohammed Mowhoush describes his final moments with his father, Hamed Mowhoush, who was murdered the following day by a member of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

So then the interrogator came that used to interrogate [me] in the Baghdadi jail... He told me: “We are going to let you see your father.” Of course this was a point of relief. [Mohammed was taken by US forces to the facility where his father was held, the “Blacksmith Hotel”]. They took me to my father’s room. He was under very tight security. I looked in and I saw him. He looked completely drained and distraught and the impacts or signs of the torture were clear on him. His clothes were old and torn. He was really upset. When I first saw him I was overwhelmed and had a breakdown. I started crying and I embraced him and I told him: “Don’t worry. I am brave. I am going to be able to handle these circumstances like you taught me.”

At this instant the interrogator stormed in. He grabbed me and I tried to remain seated... So he threatened my father that if he didn’t speak he would turn me over to the men who interrogated my father and do to me what they did to him, or he would have me killed in an execution operation. ... So they took me to him and they said: “This is your son, we are going to execute him if you don’t confess.” My father didn’t confess. One of them pulled me to a place where my father couldn’t see. He pulled his gun, he took it out of the place where it was kept and he [fired a shot] into the sky. And he hit me a hit so that I would cry out. So, this moment there was at the place where I was, blood, I mean drops of blood. They [then] took [me] to the side and they brought my father and said: “This is your son’s blood. We killed him. So, it is better for you to confess lest this happen to the rest of your sons.” My father, when he saw the blood, he must have thought that I had been killed. At this moment, he fell to the ground.

The elder Mowhoush was held for eleven days and continuously beaten to the point of “massive” bruising and “five broken ribs.” On the final day of his torture, according to the report, “Mowhoush was shoved head-first into the sleeping bag, wrapped with electrical cord, and rolled from his stomach to his back. [Chief Warrant Officer Lewis] Welshofer sat on Mowhoush’s chest and blocked his nose and mouth.” An autopsy conducted later confirmed that Mohammed Mowhoush’s father died of “asphyxia due to smothering and chest compression.”

The following day, the US military sent out a press release (#031127a) which stated the following: “Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, of the Mahalowi tribe, an air defense general officer under the former regime, died this morning during an interview with US forces. ”Mowhoush said he didn’t feel well and subsequently lost consciousness.... According to the on-site surgeon it appeared Mowhoush died of natural causes.” Of the individuals involved in the torture and murder, Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer, the soldier who actually sat on Mowhoush’s chest, was later convicted only of “negligent homicide and negligent dereliction of duty,” even though he was originally charged with murder. The conviction could result in three or more years in prison, but Welshofer received only “a written reprimand, a $6,000 fine, and 60 days with movement restricted to his home, base, and church.”

Other individuals involved had charges against them dropped, or received punishment even less severe than Welshofer’s. The HRF report includes many such case studies, and in each, little or no punishment was meted out to the killers. In most cases, prosecution came only in response to the release of the Abu Ghraib photos. Abdul Jameel, 47, was gagged, beaten, lifted from the floor by a baton at his throat, and then suspended from the top of his cell door until he died. Fashad Mohammed, 27, was snatched off the streets, hooded, and tortured to death. Manadel al-Jamadi was stripped naked, hooded, tortured. His ribs were broken, and then he was shackled to a window in a bathroom in the horrible position known as “Palestinian hanging.” When interrogators returned to cut the corpse down, “blood gushed from al-Jamadi’s mouth... and his arms were almost coming out of their sockets.” Later, his murderers posed for “thumbs up” photographs with the corpse. Nagem Sodoon Hatab was kicked in the stomach by a gang of Marines until he developed severe diarrhea, after which he was stripped, covered in his own feces, and dragged by the neck into an outdoor holding area, where he died naked under the blazing sun.

Abdul Wali was brutally beaten by an Army Ranger for three days until he died. Habibullah was captured by members of the 377th Military Police Company, and his captors practiced “peroneal strikes” on him—blunt strikes to a cluster of nerves on the side of the thigh—until Habibullah could no longer bend his knees. He was then chained to the ceiling and beaten to death. Dilawar, a 122-pound, 22-year-old taxi driver from Afghanistan, was brought to the US military base at Bagram and abused by means of the same “peroneal strikes” inflicted on Habibullah. American soldiers found it amusing when Dilawar cried “Allah” when he was struck, so gangs of soldiers beat him regularly for amusement. He was forced into various stress positions, choked with his hood, and then suspended from the ceiling until he died. Sajid Kadhim Bori al-Bawi, an actor, was at home with his family when US and Iraqi troops crashed through his house’s front gate with a Humvee. His family was bound in the living room, while troops took al-Bawi into a bedroom, where they shot him five times. The troops then attempted to hide the body by stuffing it behind a refrigerator and under a mattress.

Obeed Hethere Radad was simply shot in his cell, and Mohammed Sayari was shot in the back while clutching prayer beads. Zaidoun Hassoun, a 19-year-old who had three weeks previously proposed to his fiancée, was forced to jump off a bridge and drowned. As of this writing, there has been virtually no coverage of this report in the US media. This silence is consistent with the efforts of the major media outlets to minimize or censor outright exposures of US atrocities in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Most recently, after one day the US media completely dropped all references to new photos and videos, suppressed by the US government, documenting sadistic torture at Abu Ghraib.

[  wsws.org

[  Human Rights First Releases First Comprehensive Report on Detainee Deaths in U.S. Custody

[  Detainee Deaths in U.S. Custody in Iraq and Afghanistan

22 February 2006

BRD

Selbstmord in U-Haft

Bremen taz/dpa Mit einem Strick aus seinem Bettzeug hat sich in der Nacht zum Dienstag ein Häftling in der Justizvollzugsanstalt Bremen erhängt. Nach Angaben der Bremer Justiz saß der 36-Jährige seit einer Woche wegen des Verdachts der zweifachen Vergewaltigung und des Raubes in Untersuchungshaft. Einen Anhaltspunkt für den Selbstmord habe es im Vorfeld nicht gegeben. Die Polizei schloss ein Fremdverschulden aus. Zuletzt hatte es im Jahr 2002 zwei Suizidfälle in dem Gefängnis gegeben. Ingo Straube, Anstaltspsychologe in Oslebshausen, sagte, in den ersten Wochen in Untersuchungshaft seien Häftlinge statistisch gesehen besonders suizidgefährdet. In diesem Fall habe es jedoch keine ihm bekannten Anzeichen für eine Selbstmordabsicht gegeben.

[  taz.de

18. February 2006

laut dem autopsiebericht ist ein 14 jähriger nicht durch die 30 minütigen schläge der wärter gestorben sondern an inneren blutungen verursacht durch eine sichelzellenfehlstörung/anämie. dies wird von einigen experten in frage gestellt.

Family Want Boot Camp Guards Prosecuted

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Lawmakers and the family of a teenager seen on videotape being kneed and struck by juvenile boot camp guards are calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the guards. The Bay County Medical Examiner ruled that Martin Lee Anderson died of internal bleeding caused by a genetic blood disorder. But his family said Friday they believe the boy died because of the 30-minute beating that took place hours before the 14-year-old died.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible civil rights violations. Gov. Jeb Bush said he did not support calls to shut down the state's juvenile boot camps, calling Anderson's death "one tragic incident." "The coroner has suggested that the death was caused by this child's unique illness ... that ... the force itself did not cause the death," he said. Still, Bush said he is awaiting a series of recommendations from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice about improving the training and the quality of the camps. Some lawmakers have called on Bush to appoint an independent prosecutor. A spokesman for Bush said earlier Friday that the governor thought it was too early to consider appointing an independent prosecutor in the case.

"The investigation by law enforcement hasn't been completed yet," he said. Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials said they provided their investigative reports to the state attorney's office and to the U.S. Attorney and that their investigation would remain active until decisions are made about criminal charges. Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami Beach, said the conclusion that Anderson died of natural causes "doesn't add up." "It doesn't make sense and goes against all logic of watching what happened to this young man," he said. Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, called for any guard who touched Anderson to be arrested. "At the very least it's aggravated battery, at the top of the ladder it's murder," Siplin said. Anderson, who entered the camp Jan. 5 because of a probation violation, complained of breathing difficulties and collapsed while doing push-ups, sit-ups and other exercises. He died after midnight the next day at a Pensacola hospital.

On the grainy, 80-minute tape, which has no sound, as many as nine guards can be seen wrestling Anderson to the ground and restraining him. The boy appeared limp for most of the ordeal and never appeared to offer significant resistance. While he lay motionless on the ground, a guard struck him several times, either on his arm or torso.

At one point, a guard struck him from behind, lifting his feet off the ground. At the beginning, as the guards are pinning him against a pole, they struck him three times with their knees. It's not clear from the tape how hard the blows were or where they landed. A woman in a white coat was present while Anderson was restrained and at one point used a stethoscope to check him.

Near the end of the confrontation, guards appear to become more concerned, and several run in and out of the scene. A few minutes later, emergency medical personnel take him away on a gurney. "Martin didn't deserve this right here - at all," the boy's mother, Gina Jones, said after viewing the tape Friday at her lawyer's office in Tallahassee. "I couldn't even watch the whole tape. Me as a mom, I knew my baby was in pain and I am in pain just watching his pain." Anderson was arrested in June for stealing his grandmother's Jeep Cherokee and sent to the boot camp for violating his probation by trespassing at a school.

State police investigating the case released the tape after a lawsuit by news organizations. The autopsy blamed his internal bleeding on sickle cell disorder, which is present in one in 12 African-Americans but doesn't show up in routine blood work. There has been research - some involving recruits at military boot camps - linking the trait to sudden death after extreme exertion. Experts on sickle cell trait, however, questioned Friday whether the disease could be definitively and entirely to blame for Anderson's death.

"There is a slight, increased risk at the extremes of human endurance, but it really takes a profound amount of exercise and dehydration," said Dr. James Eckman, director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at Grady Health System in Atlanta and a professor at Emory University. Research shows sudden death with heavy exertion typically happens either in extreme heat and humidity or at high altitude. Weather records show the high temperature was 68 the day Anderson passed out. The boot-camp concept for juveniles began in Florida in 1993, and five camps now house about 600 boys ages 14 to 18.

[  abcnews.go.com

16 February 2006

SWITZERLAND

Verdursten als Todesursache bei verstorbenem Häftling

St. Gallen. AP/baz. Im Fall eines Anfang Jahr in einem sanktgallischen Gefängnis tot aufgefundenen Insassen ist Verdursten als Todesursache ermittelt worden. Die stanktgallische Anklagekammer prüft nun, ob ein strafrechtliche Untersuchung eingeleitet werden muss, wie die Aufsichtsbehörde am Donnerstag mitteilte.

Nach dem Tod eines 20-jährigen Schwarzafrikaners am 3. Januar im Regionalgefängnis Altstätten leitete die kantonale Anklagekammer eine Strafuntersuchung gegen Unbekannt ein. Nun liegt die rechtsmedizinische Untersuchung zur Todesursache des Häftlings vor. Der junge Mann sei «infolge schweren Wassermangels auf Grund ungenügender Flüssigkeitszufuhr ums Leben gekommen», teilte die Anklagekammer mit.Auf Grund der vorliegenden Abklärungen will die richterliche Aufsichtsbehörde nun eine mögliche strafrechtliche Untersuchung prüfen. Weitere Angaben könnten nicht gemacht werden, sagte ihr Präsident Niklaus Oberholzer auf Anfrage. Die Anklagekammer ist unter anderem zuständig für die Eröffnung von Strafverfahren gegen Behördenmitglieder oder Beamte.Der Häftling war im vergangenen Dezember wegen Kokainhandels zu zweieinhalb Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Aus Protest war der Asylsuchende aus Schwarzafrika bereits im Dezember in Hungerstreik getreten.

[  baz.ch

14 February 2006

AUSTRIA

UVS: Tödlich endende Schubhaft war rechtswidrig

Am 4. Oktober 2005 starb Yankuba Ceesay unter bisher ungeklärten Umständen in der Linzer Schubhaft. Nun erklärte der Unabhängige Verwaltungssenat (UVS) in Linz die tödlich endende Schubhaft für rechtswidrig. Von Anfang an war klar, dass da was nicht stimmt. Es kam zu einigen Protesten und Demonstrationen, bei denen sich u.a. am 15. Oktober 2005 in Linz 600 bis 700 Leute beteiligten. Doch bald wurde es still um den Fall und im Jänner 2006 legte die Staatsanwaltschaf die Anzeige überraschend zurück. Yankuba sei an einer "Verkettung unglücklicher Umstände" gestorben. Die Familig Yankubas erwegte jedoch, beim Landsgericht Linz einen Antrag auf Einleitungen von Voruntersuchungen zu stellen. Dann müsste sich ein Drei-Richter-Senat mit dem Fall beschäftigen.

Weiters wurde eine Klage beim UVS eingebracht. Es bestanden erhebliche Zweifel an der Rechtmäßigkeit der Schubhaft und vor allem der Unterbringung in einer Einzelzelle. Die Verhandlung dazu fand von 31. Jänner bis 13. Februar 2006 in Linz statt. Laut afrikanet.info entschied der UVS, dass die Schubhaft von Yankuba Ceesay rechtswidrig war. Demnach hätte es eine Vorsorgeuntersuchung geben müssen. Zudem müssten laut rückwirkend geltender Entscheidung des Verwaltungsgerichtshofs von September vor einer Schubhaft alle anderen Maßnahmen ausgeschöpft sein. In weiterer Folge können die Eltern von Yankuba Ceesay nun Anspruch auf Schadenersatz geltend machen.

Plötzliche Meinungsänderung?

Nach dem Spruch des UVS teilte das Justizministerium auf Anfrage diverser MedienvertreterInnen mit, dass der Fall erneut überprüft werde. Interessant ist diese Ankündigung auch, da plötzlich die Aussagen des ehemaligen Zellengenossen und einem der letzten Zeugen, die Yankuba lebend sahen, als Vorwand für die neuen Ermittlungen dienen sollen. Diese würden einen neuen Anhaltspunkt darstellen. Dass diese Informationen nicht so neu sind, zeigt ein kurzer Rückblick:

Der ehemalige Zellengenosse von Yankuba Ceesay, Henry C., verschwand nach einem Hungerstreik zunächst unbehelligt aus dem Krankenhaus. Einige NGO's, die sich der Sache annahmen, konnten ihn trotz einiger Bemühungen nicht ausfindig machen. Später stellte sich heraus, dass er in Vorarlberg erneut in Schubhaft genommen worden war. Er wurde nach Wien verlegt und am 15. November 2005 der nigerianischen Botschaft vorgeführt. Dies ist notwendig, um die für eine Abschiebung notwendigen Heimreiszertifikates auszustellen, mit dem ein Flugticket bestellt werden kann. Die Vorführung erfolgte, obwohl die zuständige Bezirkshauptmannschaft Feldkirch angab, dass Henry nicht von Abschiebung bedroht sei. Sollte die Abschiebung möglichst ohne Aufsehen und so schnell wie möglich durchgeführt werden?

Henry hatte erklärt, dass so manche Angaben der Behörde im Zusammenhang mit dem Tod Yankubas nicht der Wahrheit entsprechen. Etwa dass die Dauer des Hungerstreiks nicht sechs Tage betragen habe, sondern genau doppelt so lange, also 12 Tage. Dies berichtete die Plattform Zivilcourage bereits im November 2005, also noch bevor die Staatsanwaltschaft im Jänner 2006 die Anzeige überraschend zurückgelegte.

Der Anwalt der Familie Yankuba Ceesay's hatte einen Beweisantrag an den UVS Oberösterreich gestellt, dass Henry zur zeugenschaftlichen Einvernahme geladen werden sollte. Er könnte Aussagen dazu machen, dass manche Angaben der Behörde nicht der Wahrheit entsprechen und viel zur Aufklärung noch offener Fragen beitragen. Doch war für die Staatsanwaltschaft in Linz der Fall bereits erledigt, Henry würde nicht mehr als Zeuge benötigt. Andernfalls hätte das Ausweisungsverfahren zumindest bis zur gerichtlichen Einvernahme ausgesetzt werden müssen.

Henry ging, von Abschiebung bedroht, erneut in Hungerstreik und irgendwie bekam die Deserteurs- und Flüchtlingsberatung Wind von der Angelegenheit. Die NGO betreute den hungerstreikenden Henry C. in der Folge. Außerdem berichteten mehrere Medien von dem Vorfall und zahlreiche Protestschreiben ergingen an die zuständigen Behörden. Aufgrund seiner gesundheitsgefährdeten Situation und durch die Interventionen und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit wurde Henry C. am 1. Dezember 2005 völlig entkräftet aus der Schubhaft entlassen.

Schubhaft abschaffen!

Wie wichtig die Aussage des unabhängigen Zeugen war, beweist der nun gefällte Spruch des UVS, der die Behörden dazu zwingt, sich erneut mit dem tödlichen Vorfall in Schubhaft auseinanderzusetzen. Und angesichts der mit 1. Jänner 2006 in Kraft getretenen Verschärfungen im Berich der Schubhaft durch die restriktive Asyl- und Fremdenrechtsnovelle ist dies auch erforderlich. Denn wie die Deserteurs- und Flüchtlingsberatung Anfang Februar berichtete, ist der Alltag in Schubhaft von Schikanen bestimmt.

Die Verschärfungen in der Schubhaft betreffen u.a. die Androhung von Zwangsernährung, die seit 1. Jänner gesetzlich möglich ist. Schubhäftlinge, die ihren Gesundheitszustand selbst herbeigeführt haben (z.B. Hungerstreik, Selbstverletzung), können unter Aufrechterhaltung der Schubhaft in die Sonderkrankenanstalt der Justizanstalt Josefstadt überstellt werden. Voraussetzung ist die Durchsetzbarkeit des Aufenthaltsverbotes oder der Ausweisung und die Möglichkeit der Abschiebung. Unabhängig von Verfahrensstand und Eigenverschulden am Gesundheitszustand kann unter Aufrechterhaltung der Schubhaft eine Überstellung in eine geeignete Krankenanstalt erfolgen, wenn dies der Gesundheitszustand der/des Fremden erfordert.

Ende Jänner 2006, einen Monat nach Inkrafttreten der neuen Asyl- und Fremdengesetze in Österreich, berichteten zahlreiche Medien, dass die Zahl der Asylanträge in Österreich gesunken, aber die Zahl der Schubhäftlinge gestiegen sei. Doch nicht nur in Österreich stehen mehr Abschottung, mehr Haft und weniger Rechte auf der Tagesordnung. Diese rassistischen Änderungen bewegen sich im europäischen Kontext, wie u.a. das Zuwanderungsgesetz in Deutschland oder der Asylum & Immigration Act in den UK zeigen.

Umso bedenklicher erscheint es, dass sich die Kritik verschiedener NGO's vor allem an der Position der Innenministerin erschöpft. So fordern SOS Mitmensch und Asyl in Not als Konsequenz auf den Spruch des UVS im Fall Yankuba Ceesay den Rücktritt von Innenministerin Prokop. Wieder einmal werden mit dieser Forderung nicht die Zustände an sich in Frage gestellt und klar gemacht, dass Schubhaft an sich abgeschafft gehört, sondern PolitikerInnen zum Rücktzritt aufgefordert. Als sei die Schubhaft nicht ein strukturelles Problem, sondern deren Umsetzung ein persönliches Problem mancher PolitikerInnen. Dazu sei nur angemerkt: Auch wenn die Innenministerin zurücktreten sollte, eine Änderung im Bereich der Schubhaft hätte dies nicht in Sicht, denn auch SPÖ oder Grüne stellen Schubhaft nicht an sich in Frage. Für die SPÖ ist eine Abschaffung ebendieser nicht mal ein Thema. Und: So lange es Schubhaft gibt, wird es auch Tote in Schubhaft geben. Deshalb gibt es nur eine Alternative: Schubhaft abschaffen!

[  indymedia.org

Tod in Zelle: Anzeige überraschend zurückgelegt

27. Jan 2006

18-jähriger Schubhäftling starb in Sicherungszelle - Staatsanwaltschaft Linz: Für Anklage "keine genügenden Gründe"

Drei Monaten hat die Staatsanwaltschaft Linz rund um den aufklärungsbedürftigen Tod des 18-jährigen Schubhäftlings Yankuba C. ermittelt: Jetzt wurde überraschend die Strafanzeige zurückgelegt.Es sei die "Anzeige gegen unbekannte Täter zum Nachteil von Yankuba C. geprüft und keine genügenden Gründe gefunden worden, ein Strafverfahren zu veranlassen", heißt es in einer, dem Standard vorliegenden, Begründung. Yankuba C. starb am 4. Oktober unmittelbar nach einer ärztlichen Untersuchung in einer Sicherungszelle des Linzer Polizei-Anhaltezentrums (PAZ). Nach dem Tod des jungen Gambiers wurden massive Anschuldigungen gegen die Polizei erhoben. Vorwürfe etwa über so genannte "Hitzezellen", der Standard berichtete, wurden aber stets dementiert.Der Klubobmann der oberösterreichischen Grünen, Gunther Trübswasser, sieht in der Verfahrenseinstellung "angesichts der vielen offenen Fragen eine ungeheuerliche Vorgangsweise der Staatsanwaltschaft Linz".

Dass eine weisungsgebundene Staatsanwaltschaft "weitere Ermittlungen zu den ungeklärten Umständen des Todesfalls verhindert, ist einfach skandalös", kritisiert Trübswasser. Helmut Blum, Linzer Anwalt der Familie von Yankuba C., setzt seine Hoffnung auf den Unabhängigen Verwaltungssenat (UVS). "Wir haben dort Beschwerde eingereicht, da wir erhebliche Zweifel an der Rechtmäßigkeit der Schubhaft und vor allem der Unterbringung in der Einzelzelle haben", so Blum zum Standard.Der Termin für die mündlichen UVS-Verhandlungen in Wien ist mit 31. Jänner fixiert, am 14. Februar hat der UVS zusätzlich die Eltern und den Bruder des Opfers geladen. "Parallel erwägen wir beim Landsgericht Linz einen Antrag auf Einleitungen von Voruntersuchungen zu stellen", erläutert Blum. Dann müsste sich ein Drei-Richter-Senat mit dem Fall beschäftigen.

Der Standard, 25. Jänner 2006

[  no-racism.net

Trübswasser über Gerichtsgutachten empört

24.01.2006

Der grüne Klubobmann Gunther Trübswasser zeigt sich empört über die Ergebnisse der Gerichtsgutachten zum Tod jenes Schubhäftlings, der am 4. Oktober in Linz gestorben ist.Ein Sachverständiger bezeichnet die Umstände seines Todes zumindest als "dubios": Der starke Gewichtsverlust des Häftlings hätte auffallen müssen.Offenlegung aller Gutachten gefordert Trübswasser fordert die sofortige Offenlegung sämtlicher Gutachten der Sicherheitsdirektion. Es dürfe nicht der leiseste Schatten von Fehlverhalten seitens der Sicherheitsbehörden zurückbleiben, so Trübswasser in einer Presseaussendung.Laut Staatsanwaltschaft soll der 18-jährige Afrikaner an einer seltenen Tropenkrankheit in Kombination mit einem Flüssigkeits- und Kalorienmangel gestorben sein.

[  orf.at

Tod von Yankuba Ceesay: Gutachten belastet Polizei

23. Jan 2006

Nach den Verfahrens- protokollen soll Yankuba Ceesay in knapp drei Wochen 17,5 kg verloren haben, trotzdem wurde immer von einem "athletischen Körper" gesprochen.

Laut Staatsanwaltschaft Linz soll "eine Verkettung unglücklicher Umstände" am 4. Oktober 2005 zum Tod von Yankuba Ceesay geführt haben. Anfangs hieß es, eine "erbbedingte Sichelzellenanämie" sei in Kombination mit einem Flüssigkeits- und Kalorienmangel tödlich verlaufen.

Bisher nicht erwähnt wurden jedoch zum Beispiel die Zweifel, die der Linzer Gerichtsmediziner und Sachverständige Johann Haberl äußert: Laut Aufzeichnungen soll Yankuba Ceesay während seines Aufenthalts im Polizeianhaltezentrum (PAZ) Linz vom 12. September bis zu seinem Todestag am 4. Oktober 17,5 Kilogramm abgenommen haben. Dies sei insofern "dubios" (Haberl), als bis jetzt sämtliche befragten Personen angegeben hätten, dass Yankuba Ceesay "einen athletischen Körperbau" gehabt habe. Erhebliche Zweifel hat der Sachverständige auch an dem von der Polizei am 28. September 2005 vermerkten Beginn des Hungerstreiks ? und somit der medizinischen Betreuung des Mannes aus Gambia.

Nach Angaben des Gerichtsmediziners hat Yankuba Ceesay "sicher schon vor dem 28. September keine ausreichende Nahrung zu sich genommen". Bei der Einlieferung ins PAZ am 12.09.2005 habe Yankuba Ceesay noch 76 kg gewogen, aus der "Hungerstatistik", die mit 28. September beginnt, gehe hervor, dass er nur mehr 67 Kilogramm wog. "Einen Gewichtsverlust von neun Kilogramm hätten jene Personen, die täglich mit Yankuba Ceesay zu tun hatten, bemerken müssen", ist Haberl überzeugt.

Auch für das angeblich aggressive Verhalten von Yankuba Ceesay bei der Untersuchung im Linzer AKH findet sich in dem Gutachten eine bis jetzt verschwiegene Erklärung: ". . . ein wahrscheinlicher Grund dafür ist, dass die Beeinträchtigung (Flüssigkeitsmangel und Sichelzellenanämie) bereits so weit fortgeschritten war, dass ein Zerfall von Blutzellen zu einer Kaliumanreicherung im Blut, vergleichbar mit einem delirischen Zustand, führte . . .". Jene BeamtInnen, die Yankuba Ceesay ins AKH brachten, gaben in den Einvernahmen durch das Innenministerium zu Protokoll, dass der Mann aus Gambia mehrmals aus einem Transportwagen stürzte und am Boden liegen blieb. Dies interpretierten sie als "absichtliches Herausfallen".

Quelle: derstandard.at, 21.01.06

[  no-racism.net

Toter Schubhäftling: Gutachten belastet Polizei

Als "dubios" bezeichnet ein Sachverständiger die Umstände, unter denen ein Schubhäftling im Oktober 2005 im Linzer Polizeianhaltezentrum nach einem Hungerstreik verstorben ist.Der Mann habe in knapp drei Wochen 17,5 Kilo verloren, trotzdem sei ihm ein "athletischer Körper" bescheinigt worden, so der Linzer Gerichtsmediziner und Sachverständige Johann Haberl. Das berichtete "Der Standard" in seiner Samstag-Ausgabe.

"Schon davor unterernährt"

Erhebliche Zweifel hege Haberl auch an dem von der Polizei vermerkten Beginn des Hungerstreiks am 28. September und somit der medizinischen Betreuung des Häftlings, so "Der Standard". Der Mann habe "sicher vor dem 28. September keine ausreichende Nahrung zu sich genommen", wird Haberl zitiert.Bei der Einlieferung ins Polizeianhaltezentrum am 12. September habe er noch 76 Kilogramm gewogen, aus der Hungerstatistik, beginnend mit 28. September, gehe hervor, dass er nur noch 67 Kilogramm wog.

Absichtlich aus Transportwagen gestürzt?

Einen Gewichtsverlust von neun Kilogramm hätten jene Personen, die täglich mit dem Schubhäftling zu tun hatten, bemerken müssen, kritisierte Haberl im "Standard".Jene Personen, die den Häftling ins Linzer AKH brachten, gaben bei Einvernahmen des Bundesministeriums zu Protokoll, dass der Häftling mehrmals aus einem Transportwagerl stürzte und auf dem Boden liegen blieb. Das interpretierten sie als "absichtliches Herausfallen", hieß es in dem Artikel.

"Verkettung unglücklicher Umstände"

Laut Staatsanwaltschaft Linz soll der 18-jährige Schubhäftling durch "eine Verkettung unglücklicher Umstände" verstorben sein.Der Gambier war unmittelbar nach einer ärztlichen Untersuchung an einer "erbbedingten Sichelzellenanämie" in Kombination mit einem Flüssigkeits- und Kalorienmangel verstorben. Das decke sich mit den Protokollen der Staatsanwaltschaft, die dem "Standard" vorliegen sollen.

[  orf.at

Gutachten zu totem Schubhäftling belastet Polizei

2006-01-21

Als "dubios" bezeichnet ein Sachverständiger die Umstände, unter denen ein Schubhäftling im Oktober 2005 im Linzer Polizeianhaltezentrum nach einem Hungerstreik verstorben ist. Der Mann habe in knapp drei Wochen 17,5 Kilo verloren, trotzdem sei ihm ein "athletischer Körper" bescheinigt worden. Das berichtete "Der Standard" in seiner Samstag-Ausgabe.

Als "dubios" bezeichnet ein Sachverständiger die Umstände, unter denen ein Schubhäftling im Oktober 2005 im Linzer Polizeianhaltezentrum nach einem Hungerstreik verstorben ist. Der Mann habe in knapp drei Wochen 17,5 Kilo verloren, trotzdem sei ihm ein "athletischer Körper" bescheinigt worden. Das berichtete "Der Standard" in seiner Samstag-Ausgabe.Laut Staatsanwaltschaft Linz soll der 18-jährige Schubhäftling durch "eine Verkettung unglücklicher Umstände" verstorben sein. Der Gambier war unmittelbar nach einer ärztlichen Untersuchung an einer "erbbedingten Sichelzellenanämie" in Kombination mit einem Flüssigkeits- und Kalorienmangel verstorben. Dies decke sich mit den Protokollen der Staatsanwaltschaft, die dem "Standard" vorliegen sollen.

Bisher unerwähnt seien jedoch die Zweifel des Linzer Gerichtsmediziners und Sachverständigen Johann Haberl geblieben, so die Zeitung. Laut Aufzeichnungen soll der Häftling während seines Aufenthalts vom 12. September bis zu seinem Todestag am 4. Oktober 17,5 Kilogramm abgenommen haben. Dies sei insofern "dubios", so Haberl, als sämtliche bisher befragte Personen angaben, der Häftling habe einen "athletischen Körperbau" gehabt.Erhebliche Zweifel hege der Experte auch an dem von der Polizei vermerkten Beginn des Hungerstreiks am 28. September und somit der medizinischen Betreuung des Häftlings, so "Der Standard". Der Mann habe "sicher vor dem 28. September keine ausreichende Nahrung zu sich genommen", wird Haberl zitiert.

Bei der Einlieferung ins Polizeianhaltezentrum am 12. September habe er noch 76 Kilogramm gewogen, aus der Hungerstatistik, beginnend mit 28. September, gehe hervor, dass er nur mehr 67 Kilogramm wog. Einen Gewichtsverlust von neun Kilogramm hätten jenen Personen, die täglich mit dem Schubhäftling zu tun hatten, bemerken müssen, kritisierte Haberl im "Standard". Verfasser: hex

[  news.tele2internet.at

Toter Schubhäftling - War die Zelle zu warm?

12.10.2005

Ein Linzer Mediziner erhebt den Vorwurf, dass die Sicherungszellen der Linzer Polizei völlig überheizt seien. Der Arzt hatte selbst einmal eine Nacht in einer solchen Zelle verbracht, bei Temperaturen von bis zu 45 Grad, wie er sagt.Bei der Linzer Polizei weist man diesen Vorwurf aber strikt zurück. Der Mediziner, der ungenannt bleiben möchte, habe damals den Fall zur Anzeige gebracht und ein Gutachten erstellen lassen. Das Gericht habe das Verfahren allerdings eingestellt.

Amtshaftungsklage gegen Behörde

Derzeit läuft eine Amtshaftungsklage des Linzers gegen die Behörde. Im Zuge dieser Anklage ließ der Mann sogar Löcher in die Wände der Sicherungszellen bohren, um nach einer seiner Meinung nach versteckten Heizung zu suchen, die das Zelleninnere aufheizen soll. Gefunden wurde nichts.

Fußbodenheizung in Zellen

Eine Fußbodenheizung hatte die Linzer Polizei ja stets bestätigt. Sie sei notwendig, weil zum Selbstschutz des Inhaftierten es auch kein Bett in der Zelle gebe und man deshalb am Boden liegen müsse, heißt es.Im Fall des toten Schubhäftlings sei diese Fußbodenheizung aber gar nicht in Betrieb gewesen. Der zuständige Beamte habe bei internen Untersuchungen angegeben, er habe die Heizung um 7.00 Uhr früh abgeschaltet. Der 18-jährige Afrikaner war erst nach 11.00 Uhr in die Zelle gebracht worden.

[  orf.at

Toter Schubhäftling: Bruder beschuldigt Polizei

11.10.2005

Der Tod eines 18-jährigen Schubhäftlings in Linz sorgt weiter für Diskussionen. Der in Deutschland lebende Bruder des Verstorbenen beschuldigt die Polizei. Der Dachverband "Black Community" forderte eine Entschuldigung der Republik.

"Massive Versäumnisse"

In einer gemeinsamen Pressekonferenz sprachen die "Plattform Zivilcourage" und die Volkshilfe Oberösterreich von "massiven Versäumnissen" der Behörden. Was den Behörden angeblich nicht möglich war, sei der "Plattform Zivilcourage" binnen zwei Tagen gelungen: Die Identität des in der Schubhaft gestorbenen Mannes zu klären und seinen in Deutschland lebenden Bruder ausfindig zu machen.

Bruder betroffen

Der Mann zeigte sich in der Pressekonferenz betroffen. Die Polizei habe sich nicht die Mühe gemacht, ihn zu informieren. Er habe die Leiche bisher nicht gesehen und den Toten nur anhand eines Bildes identifiziert. "Mangelnde Auskunftsbereitschaft" Die Sprecherin der "Plattform Zivilcourage", Gülcan Gigl, kritisierte die mangelnde Auskunftsbereitschaft der Polizei. So habe sich in der Bundespolizeidirektion Linz niemand um die Anfragen der Organisationen bemüht. Es sei nicht zu erfahren gewesen, wann die Leiche des 18-Jährigen zur Bestattung freigegeben wird. Für die moslemische Familie des Toten sei eine baldige Bestattung aus religiösen Gründen aber sehr wichtig.

Lückenlose Aufklärung gefordert

Als Vertreter der "Black Community", dem Dachverband aller afrikanischen Initiativen in OÖ, sagte Ike Okafor: "Es ist nicht das erste Mal, dass ein Schubhäftling schwarzer Hautfarbe in Polizeigewahrsam gestorben ist. Man bekommt den Eindruck, dass es kein Zufall ist." Seine Organisation fordere eine lückenlose Aufklärung des Vorfalls, mehr Transparenz und eine Änderung des Asylgesetzes. Er sei "empört und enttäuscht" vom System und fordere eine "offizielle Entschuldigung" von der Republik Österreich und von der Polizei.

Zu Recht in Schubhaft?

Der Leiter der Volkshilfe Flüchtlings- und Migrantenbetreuung, Christian Schörkhuber, stellte in Frage, ob der 18-jährige Yankuba Ceesay überhaupt zu Recht in Schubhaft war. Nach seiner Festnahme wegen eines Drogendelikts habe man den jungen Mann, mit der Begründung, seine Identität sei unklar, in Schubhaft genommen. Dabei hätte sich diese für die Behörden leicht feststellen lassen, so Schörkhuber.

Demo und Trauerkundgebung angekündigt

"Wir werden diese unfassbaren Zustände auch im Menschenrechtsbeirat auf den Tisch bringen", versprach der Vorsitzende der Volkshilfe Oberösterreich, Josef Weidenholzer. Er habe in der Sache bereits einen Rechtsanwalt beauftragt.Für Sonja Abdouraman von der Plattform afrikanischer Organisationen in Oberösterreich sind die Umstände des Todes des Schubhäftlings noch "nicht restlos" geklärt. Für kommenden Samstag wurden eine Demonstration und eine Trauerkundgebung in der Linzer Innenstadt angekündigt.

18-Jähriger verweigerte Nahrungsaufnahme

Der Häftling war heuer in Wien wegen eines Drogendelikts verurteilt und im September bedingt aus der Haft entlassen worden. Da seine Identität nicht bekannt war, kam er in Schubhaft und wurde aus Platzgründen nach Linz überstellt. Er gab an, 18 Jahre zu sein und aus Gambia zu stammen, und verweigerte seit 28. September die Aufnahme von fester Nahrung. Er trank lediglich. Er wurde nach Angaben der Polizei von Mitarbeitern des "Vereins Menschenrechte Österreich" betreut und regelmäßig von Ärzten untersucht.

Krankenschwester mit Füßen getreten

In der Vorwoche wurde er ins AKH zur Untersuchung gebracht, wo er eine Krankenschwester mit den Füßen trat. Der Mann landete daraufhin wieder im Polizeianhaltezentrum der Bundespolizeidirektion. Dort wurde er wegen seines aggressiven Verhaltens in einer Sicherungszelle untergebracht, wo er schließlich bei einem Kontrollgang tot aufgefunden wurde.

[  orf.at

09 February 2006

USA

Guards Seen Beating Teen in Video

ein 14 jähriger , der am 6, januar im bay county sheriff's office boot camp unter "ungeklärten umständen" gestorben war, wurde von den wärtern zu tode geprügelt. das wurde jetzt nach der auswertung eines videos von abgeordneten gegenüber der presse veröffentlicht. ein autopsiebericht wurde nicht veröffentlicht, aber es wurde gesagt es seien keine sichtbaren verletzungen gewesen und das der junge innerlich verblutet sei. verhaftet wurde er weil er zusammen mit 4 anderen das auto seiner oma genommen hatte für einen sog. joyride. die oma hatte keine anzeige gemacht, da sie das auto aber dabei kaputt gefahren hatten wurde sie wegen autodiebstahl( grand theft) inhaftiert.

Thursday, February 9, 2006 -- Two South Florida lawmakers who saw a video of a teen's final hours say he was abused at a juvenile boot camp. The boy died later that day. A 14-year-old boy was ''brutally'' beaten by guards and ''flung around like a rag doll'' at a boot camp for juvenile delinquents in Panama City hours before he died at a Panhandle hospital, according to two lawmakers who on Wednesday saw a videotape of the incident.

The video, which recorded the last 20 to 30 minutes of the teen's stay at the Bay County Sheriff's Office Boot Camp, shows officers at times kicking, punching and choking Martin Lee Anderson after he refused, or was unable, to comply with officers' orders to run or do other exercises, the legislators said. Martin, of Panama City, died January 6 at Pensacola's Sacred Heart Hospital, hours after he was admitted to the boot camp, which is operated under a contract with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. The state Department of Law Enforcement, which is investigating Martin's death, showed the camp videotape to two members of the Florida House of Representatives who oversee youth corrections, and at least four members of the governor's staff at FDLE headquarters Wednesday morning.

Clearly shaken, state Representative Gus Barreiro told The Miami Herald that the tape depicted ''the most heinous treatment of a human being'' he had ever seen. "It was obvious to me the kid was unconscious, and they were still abusing him. People will be outraged when they see this tape, and they should be outraged. ''This could be anybody's son,'' added Barreiro, a Miami Beach Republican who chairs the House Juvenile Justice Appropriations Committee, and has headed a separate committee investigating alleged abuses in DJJ facilities. State Representative Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat who investigated dozens of alleged police brutality cases as head of the U.S. attorney's office civil-rights division in Miami for a decade, also saw the video. ''There's no question that the force used here was well beyond what was necessary for the situation,'' Gelber said. "The truth is that this kid died in custody. ... What we saw was very, very distressing.''

Governor's Office

A spokesman for Governor Jeb Bush confirmed that four staffers from his office viewed the tape, but he declined to discuss what they saw. The officials were Bush Chief of Staff Mark Kaplan, Public Safety Policy Director Randy Ball, Deputy Chief of Staff Carol Gormley, and legal advisor Vicki Brennan. "They viewed the video in light of their duties overseeing the [juvenile justice] agency,'' said Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss. "They thought it was appropriate to help them understand the incident." FDLE officials and the Bay County Sheriff's Office declined to discuss the contents of the tape Wednesday. The FDLE also denied a request from The Miami Herald for a copy.

"We believe, in good faith, that this video is not a public record at this time," said FDLE spokesman Tom Berlinger. "The limited disclosure that took place this morning was to government officials who have oversight authority of state government agencies." The Miami Herald was not able to reach a spokeswoman for the Department of Juvenile Justice, which has consistently declined to discuss the investigation.

'Many Questions'

On January 17, Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen issued a terse statement, saying release of the tape will raise "many questions, concerns and accusations." "We must not leave you with the impression that this is going to have a good ending," he wrote. Said Barreiro on Wednesday: "I now know why the sheriff was so concerned." Reached by telephone in Panama City on Wednesday night, Martin's parents expressed outrage and sadness at hearing of the tape's contents. "I want justice; that's what I want," said Robert Anderson, Martin's father. "But I can't really get it, because my son is gone." "What the hell is a [large] man doing putting his knee into my son's back?" Anderson said. "He was only 14. He weighed less than 140 pounds."

Said Benjamin Crump, the family's Tallahassee attorney: "This is just too painful. To say that the family is devastated by this news is an understatement. Losing a child is hard enough." Juvenile justice officials have said Martin may have bled to death. No autopsy report has been made public. Barreiro and Gelber said they were told by the FDLE that Martin displayed no visible bruising. Martin was arrested after he and four cousins took their grandmother's car from a church parking lot during Sunday services, and then crashed it. Though the grandmother did not wish to press charges, the youths all were arrested on grand-theft charges, Crump said.

The teen was in the admissions area of the boot camp January 5 when he was ordered by drill instructors, along with several other youths, to perform exercises. While the youths were being initiated into the program, an officer held a video camera and zoomed in to film moments when youths were being restrained, Barreiro said he was told. As the video begins, several other youths are seen being held up against a wooden fence as drill instructors yell at them. Martin, in what has been described by juvenile justice officials as a "restraint", is first seen being held down on the ground by two officers, with his arms spread out, Barreiro said. One officer is seen with his knee pushing into his back. Though the tape contains no sound, the officers appear to be yelling at the teen, Barreiro said.

After a minute or two, Martin stands up and attempts to run around the camp's track, Barreiro said. Officers "rush" to hold him up against the wooden fence, "with his arms spread out like a crucifix", Barreiro said. Then four guards are seen holding Martin to the ground, with one officer pushing his knee into the youth's back. As Martin gets up to run again, he is clearly "stumbling", unable to run or walk, Barreiro said.

Rewind Request

What happened next, Barreiro said, was so disturbing he asked the FDLE agent showing the tape to rewind several times. On screen, a guard is seen apparently choking Martin by pushing his forearm against his throat, Barreiro and Gelber said. The youth is once again encouraged to begin running, but again he stumbles and falls down, Barreiro said: "He is like a rag doll ... They are holding him up." Said Gelber: "They are moving his body around like a sack of potatoes." Then, both lawmakers said, an officer either kicks or knees Martin in the back of his knees so that he falls down. "When he's on the ground," Barreiro said, "they start punching him in the arms. He's like comatose, and they are punching and punching."

Moments later, the lawmakers say, officers yank Martin by the head and jerk it back. Once again, Barreiro said, they place Martin in what appears to be a type of choke hold. "That was pretty violent," Gelber said of what he called the "jolting" of the teen's head. "You could see from the very beginning [Martin] had a problem. His legs were rubbery. The kid was fainting and losing consciousness repeatedly."

At some point, officers appeared to be pushing an object -- the lawmakers said they were told it was ammonia to help Martin regain consciousness -- forcefully into his nose. Juvenile justice officials have previously said Martin bled profusely from some injury to his nose. Gelber said he was particularly struck by the apparent lack of any urgency or concern on the part of the boot-camp officers -- and a nurse who appeared to stand by doing little -- while Martin was clearly in grave distress for about 20 minutes.

"This was too long a period of time to not have sought medical attention," Gelber said. "Giving the officers the benefit of all doubt, it's hard to divine what the possible justification was for their treatment of the juvenile." Crump, the family's attorney, described Martin on Wednesday as "a good kid" who made honor roll on his last report card, and played basketball for his school team. "It is not the policy of our country to kill a kid for going joyriding in his grandmother's car," Crump said.

[  miami.com

06. February 2006

BRD

Erneut Häftling tot im Gefängnis gefunden

Ein wegen versuchten Mordes in Tegel einsitzender Häftling ist am Sonnabend tot aufgefunden worden. Der 55 Jahre alte Werner G. war gegen 15.05 Uhr in einem allgemein zugänglichen Bereich des Hauses 5, nicht in seiner Zelle, zusammengebrochen. Eine Justizsprecherin bestätigte diese Information gestern auf Anfrage. G. war zu einer langen Haft mit anschließender Sicherungsverwahrung verurteilt worden. Diese hatte 2005 begonnen, die nächste Prüfung auf Beendigung hätte erst 2015 stattgefunden. Die Sprecherin kündigte an, dass im Rahmen des üblichen Todesermittlungsverfahren eine Obduktion die genaue Ursache klären soll. Erst am vergangenen Sonntag war der zu zweimal lebenslänglicher Haft verurteilte Herbert S. tot in seiner Zelle gefunden worden.

Werner G. war einer von etwa 20 Gefangenen, die in Tegel eine Sicherungsverwahrung absitzen, weil wahrscheinlich ist, dass sie auch nach Strafverbüßung neue Taten begehen. Insgesamt sitzen in Tegel derzeit 1670 Männer. Ha

[  tagesspiegel.de

30. January 2006

LUXEMBURG

Ein Toter und mehrere Verletzte bei Feuer in Gefängnis

Bei einem Brand in der Justizvollzugsanstalt Schrassig in Luxemburg sind ein Insasse getötet und offenbar über 30 verletzt worden. Wie die Polizei mitteilte, hatten Häftlinge das Feuer im dritten Stock eines Zellblocks des Gefängnisses selbst entzündet. Der Trakt, in dem rund 40 Häftlinge einsitzen, wurde evakuiert. In jenem Teil des Gefängnisses sind ausschließlich abgelehnte Asylbewerber in Auslieferungshaft untergebracht.

[  brf.be

FEUER IN GEFÄNGNIS
Luxemburg: 1 Toter, dutzende Verletzte

Luxemburg – Ein Toter, dutzende Verletzte. Das ist die bisherige Bilanz eines Feuers im Luxemburger Gefängnis Schrassig. Das Feuer war war von den Häftlingen selbst gelegt worden. Drei Verletzte mussten mit schweren Verbrennungen ins Krankenhaus gebracht werden, die übrigen 33 wurden mit leichten Rauchvergiftungen teils ambulant behandelt.

Wie die Polizei mitteilte, hatten Insassen eines Zellenblocks des Gefängnisses im dritten Stock Matratzen und Möbel zusammengeschoben und diese in Brand gesetzt. Der Trakt, in dem rund 40 Männer einsitzen, wurde evakuiert. In jenem Teil des Gefängnisses sind ausschließlich abgelehnte Asylbewerber in Auslieferungshaft untergebracht. Sie stammen aus den GUS-Staaten und Afrika. Die Nationalität des Toten war zunächst unklar. Die Staatsanwaltschaft nahm Ermittlungen zum Tathergang auf. Nach Angaben der Polizei hatte es bereits um Weihnachten einen Matratzenbrand im Gefängnis gegeben. In Schrassig sind insgesamt mehr als 600 Menschen inhaftiert.

[  express.de

27 January 2006

UK

Harmondsworth Detainees Protest after Death in Detention

On 19 January, 2006, Bereket Yohannes, a 26-year-old from Eritrea, was found hanged in the showers of Harmondsworth detention center near Heathrow [see NCADC's original report].

The following day, distressed detainees refused to take food, held a meeting and demanded to meet with the United Kingdom Detention Services (UKDS) who run detention centres. 61 detainees signed a joint statement concerning the conditions at Harmondsworth and the treatment of detainees and presented it to UKDS. A member of the detainee support network said:
"I wish to underline the detainees' protest was thoroughly peaceful. The committee members had a key role in defusing tension and stopping other detainees from taking more drastic and desperate forms of action."[...]

[  Full Article / Harmondsworth Detainees Protest after Death in Detention

27. January 2006

USA

in einem von cca geführten knast im herando county begingen seit november drei gefangene angebelich selbstmord. nun soll von einer kommission nachgeprüft werden, ob aufgrunddessen der vertrag mit der firma aufgelöst werden kann.

Third inmate commits suicide at jail

BROOKSVILLE -- Hernando County Jail officials are becoming as much prisoners of managerial problems plaguing the facility as the inmates they keep behind bars. The polished assurances by Corrections Corporation of America executives to county commissioners that they would fix problems at the lockup lost its luster after jail officials announced their third suicide since last November.

"It's bad timing," said CCA executive vice president Ken Bouldin Friday after learning of the death. "I really don't know what to say. We're shocked." CCA, the company hired by the county to run the jail, sent Bouldin to meet with commissioners Thursday. His job was to convince them that managerial problems, finger printing delays, previous suicides and warden selection troubles would be remedied.

The risk of not fixing the company's faltering relationship with the county was that commissioners could break their $10 million annual contract with the private corrections company. Bouldin told commissioners Thursday CCA was about to roll out a new program to better stop inmate suicides by training guards to spot at-risk prisoners.

And as a caveat, Hernando County's jail was to be the first to test the new policies later next month. "That's now going to be done ASAP," Bouldin said Friday after being told of the death. "This company is extremely aware, extremely committed to do what's right." It will take that attitude to keep CCA's business relationship with the county from unraveling, commissioners said after learning of the suicide Friday. "I think it emphasizes to (CCA) the need to come and convince us that those problems will stop," said Commissioner Chris Kingsley. "(Bouldin) was so convincing yesterday about repairing the problems and then ... bam!"

"This suicide puts it right in (Bouldin's) lap. "He has to understand what's going on now," Kingsley said. CCA officials are scheduled to make formal proposals to remedy jail problems to commissioners during their Feb. 14 board meeting.

But as Friday's suicide could threaten to lock CCA out of the county's jail contract, there are a few indications that jail officials could not have done much to stop the death. And that left all five commissioners saying Friday they wanted to keep CCA at the helm - for now. "I don't think it derails any ... of the things we're trying to do," said Commissioner Jeff Stabbins, adding he wanted to continue talks with the private corrections company. But the latest suicide shines light on "the endemic climate at CCA at our jail that must change," he said. Although Friday morning's suicide is weighing on county/CCA relations, it is not as much a dilemma as the Jan. 5 suicide that made local headlines.

In that case, guards reported they checked on high-risk inmate Geoffrey Conley every 30 minutes. They later found him dead, strangled with his own bed sheet tied to a bed frame. An investigation into the death revealed that a jail videotape of the incident showed no one had visited his cell for more than two hours prior to his death.

Conley was on suicide watch twice before during his six-month incarceration. The investigation into the November suicide showed that another inmate hung himself from the bars of his cell. The inmate was not under suicide watch and jail personnel were cleared of any wrong doing. This Friday's suicide involved a 33-year-old U.S. Marshall's Office inmate housed at the county jail awaiting trial on a series of drug charges.

The county often leases its empty cells at the jail to the federal government for its inmates awaiting trail, collecting a fee to offset jail costs. According to a preliminary report of the latest suicide provided by County Purchasing Director James Gantt, inmate Truoc Tran was housed with nearly 40 other federal inmates since November 2005. The dormitory-style cell unit consisted of individual cells and a commons area. Inmates were locked into the cells only at night but allowed to move freely during the day from the cells to the commons area.

At 9:08 p.m., Tran left his cell he shared with another inmate and moved to another unoccupied cell. Guard's talked with Tran a few minutes but allowed him to remain alone and locked all the inmates into their cells for the night. The next morning, guards found Tran hanging from a noose he fashioned with fabric and tied to an air vent built into his cell's wall.

Commissioner Chris Kingsley said there was little he thought CCA could do to stop such suicides. But he said CCA could take some precautions to make it more difficult for inmates, such as issuing disposable paper clothes to prisoners that would tear if used as a noose. It could also include paper bed sheets, he said. Commissioner Diane Rowden agreed that inmates who were not under suicide watch and intent on killing themselves were difficult to stop. "No mater how much money you throw at it, it's hard to stop," Rowden said, but added that CCA's overall operation of the jail as of late was still a "major malfunction."

[  hernandotoday.com

21 January 2006

UK

Britain: Report into death of Jean Charles de Menezes handed to Crown Prosecution Service

A report on the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, the 27-year-old Brazilian man shot by police at Stockwell Tube station in London the day after the abortive July 21 bombings, has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The CPS received the report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which was charged with investigating the circumstances of the killing of de Menezes, on January 19. It was delivered in two boxes to the CPS offices by John Cummins, the senior IPCC investigator in the case. The CPS will decide whether any police officers should face charges after studying the report. Copies will also be sent to Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police Authority and Inner South London coroner John Sampson. Home Secretary Charles Clarke was given the report on the order of Nick Hardwick, IPCC chairman, because of the “grave and exceptional” circumstances of the case. The commission said in a statement that it had the discretion to provide the home secretary with a copy.

No one else, including the de Menezes family, has been allowed to see the report on the pretext that this would be prejudicial to any trial of police officers involved. In reality, all sections of the state and the government have been given a privileged position in preparing a legal defence. The cover-up that began immediately after de Menezes was shot continues. The home secretary said that he hoped to make the report public after any trial or inquest arising from the case has been completed, but this could be years away. Moreover, the report was marked “secret” because it contains information about national security and Clarke has the power to suppress information if he decides that it has implications for anti-terrorist policy.

The CPS said: “The file will now be reviewed by a senior lawyer from our special crime division and a decision will be notified to the IPCC in due course.” A spokeswoman said the case was being treated as a priority, but there was no timetable on when a decision would be made. “We will review it as quickly as possible, but the most important fact is that it is reviewed thoroughly,” she stated. The de Menezes family will receive a copy when “legal considerations” allow, the IPCC said. Jean Charles de Menezes’ mother commented, “Those who took my son’s life should be prosecuted with those who gave the orders. As long as we don’t have the report we won’t trust British justice ... when we see the report, then we may trust them.”

His brother, Giovani da Silva, said, “We are very upset because they gave the report to the police but not to our lawyers or to our cousins in London.” Cousin Patricia da Silva Armani said, “We remain in the dark.... This investigation was a test for the IPCC about its own credibility with victims, we can only say it has failed in that respect. Everything we have learnt over the last months has strengthened our conviction that those responsible for the killing of Jean should be prosecuted. Real justice can only be found in a court of law.”

Reports have suggested that between 10 and 15 officers questioned under caution by the IPCC during its six-month investigation may face charges, up to and including manslaughter and murder. But the IPCC stressed that its standards for determining whether there was a case to answer were lower than those of the CPS. Under the Police Reform Act 2002, the IPCC sends its findings to the CPS when “the report indicates that a criminal offence may have been committed by the person whose conduct was the subject-matter of the investigation.” However, the CPS will prosecute only if it believes there is a greater than 50 percent chance of conviction and that the public interest would not be harmed by trying officers who were involved in a national security operation.

Everything possible has been done to shield those guilty of de Menezes’ murder, given the limitations placed on the state by the massive public interest in the case. It was only after his death that police revealed they had agreed on a “shoot-to-kill” policy, known as Operation Kratos, with the government two years earlier. The IPCC investigation was only carried out five days after July 22—the day de Menezes was shot eight times, of which seven shots were to the head. For days after the killing, the police stonewalled and gave out false information suggesting that the victim looked like a suicide bomber, was wearing a suspicious-looking overcoat on a hot day, and had tried to run away after he was challenged by police. It then emerged that Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair had personally blocked an IPCC investigation.

Documents from the IPCC leaked last August proved that all the police claims were lies. De Menezes was wearing a light jacket and had never tried to escape because the armed police never identified themselves. Far from vaulting a ticket barrier and running down an escalator, he walked at a normal pace and picked up a newspaper. The police death squad held him down and shot him while he was peacefully seated on a train.

The IPCC has never questioned Sir Ian Blair as part of its inquiry, nor is it known whether any of the soldiers involved in surveillance of the block of flats where de Menezes lived has been interviewed. A separate IPCC investigation being held into Blair’s handling of the affair was agreed to in November of last year as a result of a campaign by de Menezes’s family. But this is being kept separate from the IPCC’s existing investigation into the circumstances of the shooting, with IPCC chairman Nick Hardwick claiming, “Neither we nor Jean Charles’s family want this complaint to distract us from the main task of finding out how and why Jean Charles died” (emphasis added).

The IPCC would not confirm whether it had received a written statement from Blair. The Conservative Shadow Home Secretary David Davis criticised the decision not to interview Blair as “inexplicable.” “The public expect no stone to be left unturned in this inquiry,” he said. “The last thing anyone wants is to encourage conspiracy theories about a cover-up.” But there is little doubt that a cover-up is being mounted and that the IPCC investigation forms part of that cover-up.

To refer to an investigation into Blair’s role as a “distraction” is in line with the general thrust of the IPCC investigation. What little information that has been made public suggests that the IPCC focused on alleged communication failures to explain why de Menezes was shot. The scenario being presented is that police and soldiers were watching the block of flats where de Menezes lived because they believed that a man suspected of the attempted bomb attacks on July 21 lived there. A soldier saw Mr. de Menezes leave his flat and thought he resembled the suspect, suggesting that it was “worth somebody else having a look.” This was then taken as positive confirmation that de Menezes was identified as the suspect of the attempted bombings.

Commander Cressida Dick, the officer in charge of deciding whether the threat was so great that shoot-to-kill tactics were needed, is said to have barely slept because of a shortage of senior officers trained to handle suicide bomb situations at Scotland Yard. It is also claimed that the firearms team did not arrive in time to confront de Menezes during his long journey by foot and bus to the Tube station because the team was too far away from the travelling suspect when the commanding officer called for support. And further, that police radios did not work in the London Underground tunnels, making it impossible to send information or receive an official go-ahead.

It is therefore being promoted that everything that led to the shooting resulted from a series of unfortunate errors for which no one was overall responsible. Significantly, this supposedly would mean that no direct order to kill de Menezes was given. Meanwhile, the questioning of Sir Ian Blair is put off for the immediate future, while no one in the government faces any investigation.

One source close to the case told the Independent on January 20 that “it will be a major surprise if any officer ends up in court.” If blame is apportioned to either of the two officers directly involved in the shooting of de Menezes, former firearms officers have warned that this would lead to national protests by police. Such protests might involve armed officers refusing to carry guns.

[  wsws.org

See Also:

[  Britain: Letters reveal police cover-up over Menezes shooting / 13 October 2005

[  Britain: police chief insists “shoot-to-kill” policy remains in force / 15 September 2005

[  Police gun down worker in London subway: another tragic consequence of Blair’s war policy / 25 July 2005

12. January 2006

USA

ein 58 jähriger mann ist bei dem versuch aus dem allegheny county knast zu fliehen abgestürzt und tötlich verunglückt.

County Jail inmate who fell to his death identified

The Allegheny County Jail inmate who fell to his death this morning has been identified as Franklin E. Sebetich. Sebetich, 58, of Ellsworth, Washington County, was awaiting trial on charges that he twice shot a police officer during a massive manhunt that began with a car chase on May 4, 2004. He eluded about 200 police officers for two days until he emerged from an abandoned mine shaft near Monogahela. Sebetich, who spent 20 years in prison for his conviction on charges of blowing up railroad tracks in Bentleyville in 1979, fell to his death this morning during an apparent escape attempt, jail officials said today.

The body was found about 6 a.m. on a ramp leading into the jail, officials said. A rope crafted from bed sheets was found in his cell. This morning's attempt was not the first to end badly for an inmate trying to escape from the 11-year-old jail. In 1997, Jerome Bullock, 18, of the Hill District, died while trying to rappel down the building from his cell on the 17th story. Bullock fell some 150 feet after his rope, which was more than 80 feet short, snapped.

And in 1998, Hasan Abdul Stevens, 30, of Monroeville, thought eight knotted bedsheets would take him to freedom. He was about 25-feet short, however, and broke his ankle after falling 30 feet from his seventh-story cell. In both previous escape attempts, the men broke the glass on their cell windows. That glass since has been replaced with Lexan, a shatterproof material. It was not clear how the inmate from today's attempted escape got out of his cell.

[  pittsburghlive.com

11. January 2006

USA

ein 42 jähriger mann , der 1990 zum tod verurteilt wurde, dessen strafe aber 2001 in lebenslang ohne bewährung umgewandelt wurde hat im indiana state knast angebl. suizid begangen. 1994 versuchte der mann mit drei anderen gefangen von der deathrow zu flüchten. sie kamen aus dem todestrakt heraus, scheiterten dann aber an den außenmauern. 2001 soll er gemeinsam mit einem anderen mann aus der todeszelle einen wärter angegriffen haben. im januar 2001 soll er der anführer des zweiwöchigen hungerstreiks gewesen sein.

KILLER found hanged in cell

Charles E. Roche Jr., the death row inmate who led a daring escape with three other inmates in 1994, apparently hanged himself in his cell at Indiana State Prison at 2:44 a.m. Tuesday. Superintendent Ed Buss issued a statement Tuesday saying correctional officers making a security check discovered Roche in his cell with a braided sheet wrapped around his neck. The LaPorte County Coroner's Office and Indiana State Police are investigating the apparent suicide. Roche, 42, had spent most of his adult life behind bars. He had a lengthy record, both outside and inside the prison.

The former Hammond, Ind., resident was sentenced to death for the 1990 double murder of Ernest ?Pee Wee? Graves, 22, of Calumet City, Ill., and Daniel M. Brown, 25, of Louisville, Ky. He killed Graves because of a $120 debt over a cocaine deal and then killed Brown because he witnessed the shooting. Both were shot in the basement of Roche's Hammond home. According to a police report filed by Hammond investigators, Graves and Brown were shot so many times that Roche had to reload his weapon. "It was over drugs," said Roche in a 1994 interview with The News-Dispatch. "I was selling drugs in my home. A couple of these guys came over ... one was talking crazy ... I pulled a gun and shot 'em both. I unloaded three guns in them dudes. I just lost it. Come to find out, the dude's gun was empty." Roche and his father, Charles Roche Sr., who was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for his role in the shooting, dumped the bodies along a dead-end street near the Hammond-Gary border

Roche and his father were sent to prison because of the testimony of Roche's girlfriend, Delores Dusynski, who was upstairs during the shooting. On Nov. 30, 1990, Lake County Superior Court Judge James Clement sentenced Roche to death. In February 2001, the U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana vacated the death penalty and sentenced Roche to life without parole.Roche claimed in the interview the Oct. 17, 1994, escape attempt was possible because he obtained three.22-caliber bullets, a gun barrel and hacksaw blades from a Department of Correction employee. Indiana State Prison spokesman Barry Nothstine disputed that allegation, saying in 1994 that Roche was capable of telling a convincing story ?but seldom is it credible." On Tuesday, Nothstine said DOC officials were never able to determine where Roche got the contraband. In conversations with Roche over the years, Nothstine said the inmate promised to tell where it came from, but said Nothstine, "He never did."

During the escape, Roche and three other death row prisoners escaped from the death row cell block and made it to the 40-foot tall outer wall, which they planned to scale. Roche fired three shots at a guard tower with his zip gun in an exchange with a guard who fired one shotgun blast. By then guards surrounded the four prisoners and halted the escape attempt. In the interview, Roche said of the escape, "It was more exciting than anything I've ever done." On Jan. 2, 2001, Roche and another death row inmate, Gerald Bivins (who was executed on March 14, 2001), got out of their cells and attacked a correctional officer. The officer managed to get away from both inmates and called the prison's Quick Response Team. It isn't known how the two got out of their cells. Later in January, Roche led a hunger strike on death row that ended after less than two weeks.

[  thenewsdispatch.com

9. January 2006

USA

ungeklärter tod einer 20jährigen frau im hamilton city knast./ ohio

Woman who died in jail identified

A 20-year-old woman who died in a holding cell Sunday at the Hamilton City Jail was identified today as Angela N. Lawson of Fairfield Township. Lawson, who was arrested for drunk driving and driving under suspension, was discovered dead in a holding cell shortly after 9 a.m. Police said that a test performed at Lawson?s arrest hours earlier indicated that she had a .04 blood alcohol content ? under the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle. Lawson was arrested after a group of men flagged down an officer at Speedway on Eaton Avenue to report that Lawson appeared intoxicated and was attempting to drive, police said. The Butler County coroner was performing an autopy, including toxicology tests, this morning to determine the cause of Lawson?s death. It was unclear when the results would be available.

[  enquirer.com

9. January 2006

CANADA

zwei artikel zu einem feuer in einem knast in der provinz ontario. dabei sind zwei männer verbrannt, weil die alten schlösser nicht auf gingen. der knast gehört zu dem reservat der kashechewan first nation ( 1. 900 menschen). laut den artikeln ist es seit 1994 bekannt das der knast in einem schlechten zustand ist. an den türen waren die schlösser kaputt. stattdessen gab es dort ketten mit vorhängeschlösser.

Politician who saw fatal Kashechewan jail fire says cell doors were chained

A jailhouse fire that killed two inmates from the troubled Kashechewan First Nation might have been prevented if governments had responded to calls to replace it, critics said Monday.

Ontario's fire marshal and provincial police have flown into the troubled reserve off the shores of James Bay to investigate the cause of a Sunday blaze that also injured an aboriginal police officer. Arson has not yet been ruled out. But regardless of the cause, reserve leaders and political critics say faulty jail cell locks may have prevented officers from rescuing the inmates in time to escape the blaze. Native leaders say both Ottawa and the province have known for years of deplorable conditions at the jail, essentially an old house renovated years ago into a makeshift police facility. And provincial New Democrat Gilles Bisson said the jail was "totally dysfunctional inside," with no fire alarms or fire suppression systems, and padlocks and chains had to be used to keep inmates in cells because the cell door locks weren't working.

"We wouldn't allow police stations to be in those kinds of conditions anywhere else," Bisson said. "There are standards that have to be followed. Why don't we follow them for these communities?" Bisson, who happened to be in Kashechewan on Sunday and witnessed the blaze, said other Ontario reserve jails, including one in Attawapiskat, have similar structural problems. He called on the province to launch an audit of all jails on Ontario reserves, fast-track any necessary repairs and push Ottawa to help fund the work.

David Ramsay, the provincial minister responsible for native affairs, said he'll wait for police to complete their investigation before deciding on a course of action. "You go step by step with any incident like this," he said. Kashechewan Chief Leo Friday identified the victims as Ricardo Wesley and Jamie Goodwyn, both in their 20s and in jail for minor, local offences. Goodwyn was a nephew of the chief's wife, he said. Three police officers were unable to get the young men out of their locked cells in time. One of the officers, Claude Koosees, suffered burns and was flown to Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital, where he was still receiving treatment Monday.

The 1,900-member Kashechewan community is included in the ridings of Bisson and federal NDP member Charlie Angus. Both politicians highlighted concerns about a potentially deadly E. coli scare in the community last October, which later resulted in an evacuation involving most of the reserve's residents. Bisson said the E. coli concerns and Sunday fire shows "it takes a tragedy, or some sort of a crisis to happen, before governments respond" to aboriginal issues.

Friday said grief counsellors have been called in to speak to the tight-knit community. "We're looking at a long-term process for the healing of the youth," Friday said. Grand Chief Stan Loutitt of the Mushkegowuk Council of tribes in northern Ontario said his office has complained to federal and provincial governments about the inadequacy of reserve jail facilities since 1994. "They've been very slow in recognizing that indeed it is a crisis and here we are again: two lives are lost. Will people wake up?" Loutitt asked.

Loutitt said the Nishnawbe-Askia police, which runs the three-member Kashechewan force and other native detachments, is funded 52 per cent by Ottawa and 48 per cent by the province. In a statement, federal Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott expressed condolences to the victims' families. "Kashechewan is a community that has faced more than its share of trouble. My department is ready to assist in any way it can during this period," Scott said. An inquest into the inmates' deaths is a possibility. That's what happened in Manitoba, where last fall, a judge's inquest into the death of an aboriginal inmate at the Wasagamack band's police station warned that governments must improve reserve jails to prevent further tragedies. Judge Sid Lerner's report on the death of Glenn Fiddler, 18, said there was no smoke detector, fire extinguisher, axe, bucket, hose, or even running water in the station when fire broke out there on March 29, 1999.

[  940news.com

Fire kills two jailed men on Northern Ontario reserve

The Ontario and federal governments are facing fresh accusations that they have failed the reserve of Kashechewan, after a fire at a jail that killed two prisoners and badly injured a police officer. Only two months earlier, the province ordered a mass evacuation of the reserve, which is on the shore of James Bay, after long-standing contaminated water problems became a national scandal. Tragedy struck again on Sunday afternoon when a blaze started in the building that housed the jail and killed two young men who were locked in their cells.

An officer that tried to open the cell doors was seriously injured and has been flown to the burn unit of a Toronto hospital for treatment. Another officer and a civilian guard were treated for smoke inhalation, the Nishnawbe-Askia police force said. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the fire or why the officer couldn't open the doors. But New Democrat legislator Charlie Angus, the MP for the Timmins-James Bay riding, said the jail was substandard and lacked proper doors and padlocks. "It just was in terrible, terrible condition, holes in the walls, the cells were inadequate," he told the Canadian Press late Sunday.

"It looked more like something you see in Sarajevo than the province of Ontario." Angus blamed the provincial and federal governments for the conditions, calling it yet another example of the lack of infrastructure on the reserve. In late October, the Ontario government ordered the evacuation of the Kashechewan First Nation after E. coli bacteria were found in its water supply. About 1,500 people were temporarily relocated to other parts of Ontario. Angus also played a key role in exposing the community's plight at that time.

[  tinyurl.com

7. January 2006

USA

ungeklärter tod eines mannes im laguna beach polizeiknast / kalifornien

Arrested Man Found Dead in Jail Cell

A man arrested for public drunkenness at a local restaurant was found dead in his jail cell early Friday. Police did not release his name, pending notification of relatives. According to a statement released by the Laguna Beach Police Department, the man was arrested about 11 p.m. Thursday after police, alerted by an employee at the unnamed restaurant, found him "acting strangely" in a restroom. About five hours later, the statement said, he was found unconscious and not breathing in his cell. Laguna Beach officers and paramedics were unable to revive the man, who was subsequently pronounced dead. As is customary in jail deaths, police said, the incident is being investigated by the Orange County district attorney's office.

[  latimes.com

04. January 2006

BRD

Tod in Gefängniszelle
Angeklagter erhängt sich

Kurz vor Beginn seines Prozesses hat sich ein Untersuchungshäftling in Kassel in seiner Zelle erhängt. Er sollte sich von Mittwoch an vor dem Landgericht wegen versuchten Mordes verantworten.

Der 47-Jährige sei am Mittwochmorgen tot in seiner Zelle gefunden worden, teilte die Justizvollzugsanstalt Kassel 1 mit. "Wir gehen von einem Suizid aus", sagte Anstaltsleiter Jörg-Uwe Meister.

Der Mann saß in Untersuchungshaft, weil er Anfang vergangenen Jahres seiner früheren Lebensgefährtin im Keller aufgelauert und sie mit einem Baseballschläger zusammengeschlagen haben soll. Die Anklage lautete auf versuchten Mord. Nach Angaben der Staatsanwaltschaft stand der Mann 1993 schon einmal vor Gericht. Die Richter schickten ihn wegen Totschlags an seiner damaligen Freundin für sieben Jahre hinter Gitter. Keine Hinweise auf Selbstmordgefahr Vor dem mutmaßlichen Selbstmord habe es keine Hinweise auf eine psychische Erkrankung des 47-Jährigen gegeben, sagte JVA-Leiter Meister. Der Mann sei in einer normalen Einzelzelle untergebracht gewesen. Weitere Einzelheiten wollte Meister nicht nennen. Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft nahmen Ermittlungen auf, um die genauen Todesumstände zu klären.

Politischer Streit um Sicherungsmaßnahmen

Die hessischen Landtagsgrünen forderten Justizminister Jürgen Banzer (CDU) auf, "aktiv zu werden und die Vorkehrungen gegen Selbsttötungen zu verbessern". Die CDU-Landtagsfraktion wies die Forderung als unrealistisch zurück: Letztlich würde dies bedeuten, allen 5700 hessischen Strafgefangenen das Bettzeug abzunehmen.

[  

4. January 2006

SWITZERLAND

20-Jähriger im Gefängnis gestorben

Ein 20-jähriger Schwarzafrikaner ist gestern Morgen in seiner Gefängniszelle im schweizerischen Altstätten tot aufgefunden worden. Er ist kurz davor in den Hungerstreik getreten. Der Mann war erst zwei Wochen davor wegen Drogenhandel zu zweieinhalb Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Aus Protest gegen die Verurteilung begab er sich in einen Hungerstreik. Zur genauen Feststellung der Todesursache wurde eine Untersuchung eingeleitet.

[  vol.at

2 January 2006

PHILIPPINES

im general santos city knast , in dem dorf lanton nahe generall santos city sind im dezember ein mann und eine frau aus bisher noch nicht geklärten umständen gestorben.

PHILIPPINES: Prison conditions; Government neglect

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from a reliable source that two more inmates, namely Vicente Abella and Mary Jane Mancera (33), have died at the General Santos City Reformatory Centre (GSCRC) in Barangay (village) Lanton, General Santos City, Mindanao in December 2005. Abella and Mancera?s death are yet another case of suspicious death. It is also alleged that the might have occurred due to poor medical services and prison conditions inside the jail.

It is reported that Abella was found dead while at deep sleep. The jail authorities have reported that he may have died due to sleeping disorder. Meanwhile, Mancera died on her way to hospital on December 28 after she reportedly suddenly collapsed in the jail. The cause of Mancera?s death is not yet known. Abella and Mancera are the latest inmates who died in the GSCRC custody. The AHRC is deeply concerned that these cases of deaths of detainees are not thoroughly investigated. Abella and Mancera are the latest inmates who died while in custody of the GSCRC. (Please see our previous appeal: UA-242-2005) Instead of conducting its investigation, the police merely record whatever information reported to them by the jail authorities citing constraints of authority and jurisdiction. Thus, no impartial and credible investigation is conducted.

Your immediate intervention is required to ensure that deaths of inmates inside the GSCRC are thoroughly investigated and actions are taken thereof. The result of the investigation must be made public and relayed to the families concerned. Immediate steps to improve the prison conditions, in particular the medical services and food supplies must be carried out. It is the Government's responsibility and obligation to ensure that persons in their custody are well treated and protected in an environment fit for humans. In no circumstances the detainees and prisoners can be deprived of better living conditions. The Government must exhaust all means available to meet these requirements for treatment of prisoners - as stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

[  ahrchk.net