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Muslim world news On-line
Date of Publication: April 2000
INDONESIAN MUSLIMS FOR GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE
Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahiim.
Assalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarokaatuh
* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
News Service: 74/00
AI Index: EUR 70/19/00
19 April 2000
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)
Mass trial of Kosovar Albanians makes a mockery of justice
(Ma'af belum ada versi Indonesianya)
The unprecedented mass trial of 143 ethnic Albanian men in the court of
Nis, southern Serbia, can hardly escape being unfair, Amnesty
International said today.
"The decision on the part of the authorities to try the men in a group
of such a size not only risks infringing their right to a fair trial as
individuals but also to the presumption of innocence," the organization
said.
The men were arrested in May 1999 in the town of Djakovica (Gjakov?),
Kosovo, during the period of NATO?s airstrikes. They are charged with
"association for the purpose of hostile activity in connection with
terrorism", and accused of membership in the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA). They are also accused of involvement in a series of attacks on
Yugoslav Army and Serbian police units in which two soldiers and one
police officer were killed and others wounded. The majority of those
accused are reported to have refused to make statements; those that have
done so have asserted their innocence.
"What is clear is that the evidence against them appears to be weak --
consisting of the results of paraffin glove tests intended to show that
they had recently fired or handled weapons," Amnesty International
maintained. "The results of such tests are widely considered to be
unreliable."
On Wednesday, 30 defendants were due to appear. Ten of these, who denied
the charges, were heard in the period before midday. The cursory nature
of the proceedings raises concerns about the fairness of the procedure.
Of around 2,000 ethnic Albanians detained in Kosovo who were transferred
to Serbian prisons in June 1998 a number have been released, some have
already been sentenced in unfair trials after allegedly having
statements extracted from them under torture and more than 1,200 remain
awaiting trial.
ENDS.../
Wassalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarokaatuh
(DI-21/04/00)
Source : Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
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