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29 September, 2000Communiqué #6: URGENT ACTION NEEDED: "Widespread reports of Torture in Czech Prisons"Please demand access to prisons by Legal, NGO and Governmental Observers
Introduction INTRODUCTION[This communiqué was prepared by Rights Action staff (Annie Bird) who is in Prague (Czech Republic) working on the Chixoy Dam reparations campaign. It is based on information from INPEG, the Initiative Against Economic Globalization, a local organization formed to sponsor education, advocacy and protest activities related to the now-ended Annual Meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Members of INPEG have received death threats.] There are many personal testimonies and eyewitness reports of civil rights abuses by Czech police of illegally detained prisoners, rounded up over the past 72 hours, during educational and advocacy activities and demonstrations related to the WB and IMF meeting in Prague. Though much of the mainstream media focused on the tiny fraction of protesters who engaged in the clash with police, the vast majority of participants were committed to nonviolent protest and blockade strategies, including a pink and silver contingent of samba dancers and the huge Ya Basta! group clad in padding, inner-tubes, and balloons who spent four hours pushing against a police blockade. Violations reported by victims and eyewitnesses include: torture (severe beatings and sexual aggression), denial of medical attention, denial of food, denial of water, denial of sleep, and the denial of other civil rights such as telephone calls, access to lawyers, access to consular officials, etc. INPEG estimates that on September 26th approximately 422 people were arrested -- of those, approximately 130 were internationals and the remainder Czech. On the evening of September 28, Czech authorities claimed that number had risen to 859 people. INPEG estimates that between September 26 and 29 approximately 1000 people have been detained. Reports indicate that a large percentage of those were not detained during or even near protests and that many of the detained had nothing to do with protests. Beginning on October 26, INPEG's legal support team reported that they had difficulty collecting information about arrests because, contrary to Czech Law, prisoners were not allowed to make telephone calls, nor were they allowed to receive visits. The legal team has not been allowed access to prisons where those arrested are being held. There are many reports of people missing for several days, though INPEG is unable to confirm how many due to a lack of reliable information. CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONSJoshua Tzarfarti, an Israeli/ French citizen, was detained by police on October 26, while cleaning up trash following a demonstration. Witnesses claim that he put up no resistance and was not injured at that time. [In fear of anti-Semitism, he showed his French passport]. On October 27, a US citizen and two German witnesses confirmed that Tzarfarti was beaten severely in prison. He was reported to have a broken rib, a broken arm, difficulty walking because both legs had been severely damaged and bruising. He was denied medical attention for his injuries. INPEG's legal team, his family, friends and the Israeli consulate have been unable to obtain any information as to his condition or his whereabouts. An American woman, released from prison, spoke to a man who had been so severely beaten he was unable to hear from one ear. Two Norwegians, who were reporting a stolen cellular phone in a police station, witnessed through a briefly opened door that a number of people were handcuffed to the wall and being beaten. An Austrian woman is currently hospitalized with a fractured spine and foot after jumping from the second story window of a police station on September 27. She was being beaten by police and feared for her life. INPEG asserts that at least two others are currently hospitalized following detention by police. They do not know how many more may be hospitalized. There are other reports of people being beaten while handcuffed, and reports that people were handcuffed and tossed down stairs.
On October 28, INPEG gathered the following statistics from a survey of 44 people released from prison: 38% were beaten; of those, 62% were beaten in prison; 99% were not allowed to make telephone calls; 47% were not allowed translation; 65% were not allowed to sleep. Joe Crescente, a journalist from Olympia, Washington, who had been covering the events in Prague with accreditation from the Independent Media Center, was detained by police on September 27 while on his way to meet friends for lunch. He was held over night, denied a telephone call, food or sufficient water (2 bottles every 4 hours between 40 to 50 people). While illegally detained, he met many 'internationals' also being held. He and approximately 25 others were released at 7am on September 28. Another 15 to 20 detainees were not released at that time. Those being released were told the rest would be released in 3 hours and were being transferred to the 'Foreign Police' unit. A day and a half later those prisoners have not been released. Many US and Canadian citizens are unaccounted for. Given reports coming from the prisons, INPEG officials are extremely concerned for their well-being. They have made repeated requests for help to the US embassy, where consular officers have been extremely unhelpful. INPEG has composed the following list of Canadians and US citizens purported to be missing: -Eric Schroder (US from Florida - witnessed by Crescente) Joe Crescente [see above] witnessed Stern being beaten, though not severely. According to Crescente, Schoder and Stern had also been picked up while walking on public streets, without provocation. INPEG's legal team has received no support from international human rights organizations. Amnesty International's Czech office has refused to become involved, unless they receive signed statements from prisoners that they were not involved in the violent activities. Not only is this absolutely improper procedure for dealing with cases of alleged civil rights violations, but also it is impossible - for the illegal nature of the detentions and violations themselves - to obtain such statements. WHAT TO DOPlease demand that US and Canadian Embassy officials enter all prisons, police detention centers and hospitals in the Prague area to verify the whereabouts and condition of US and Canadian prisoners and all other detainees. Please contact government and public officials in Prague, the World Bank, the IMF, Canada and the US, demanding the following:
Please keep on trying to get through to any of the offices below (in the Czech republic, it is a national holiday today, September 29th). President Vaclav Havel: Ministry of the Interior: Or, Ministry of the Interior, Stanislaw GROSS US Embassy in Czech Republic: Canadian Embassy in Czech Republic Czech Embassy in Washington DC For updates on what is happening, check this link. To contact the legal observers, email: To contact INPEG: Rights Action 416-654-2074 info@rightsaction.org www.rightsaction.org |
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