Amnesty InternationalJune 1978 Volume VIII Number 6 newsletter

Political Detainees Freed in RhodesiaMore than 700 out of a total of 950 political detainees are reported to havebeen released from detention in Rhodesia during April following the conclusionin March of an internal settlement agreement between Prime Minister IanSMITH and three black political groups led by Bishop Abel MUZOREWA,Reverend Ndabaningi SITHOLE and Chief Jeremiah CHIRAU. Those freedinclude supporters of Bishop Muzorewa and Reverend Sithole and also a numberof detainees known to support the Patriotic Front led by Joshua NKOMO andRobert MUGABE, which operates from exile and is not a party to the internalsettlement.

In early May, AI wrote to BishopMuzorewa and the other black members ofthe Executive Council to request a full list ofall those freed from detention and to appealfor the immediate release of some 250political detainees who remain imprisoned.AI also requested clarification of the statusof convicted political prisoners currentlyunder sentence of death, following anannouncement by Bishop Muzorewa andReverend Sithole that they would not agreeto further executions. Al urged that thoseconcerned should not merely be granted anindefinite stay of execution but should havetheir sentences formally commuted withoutdelay.

APPEALS ON BEHALF OF POLITICALPRISONERS IN THAILANDOn 17 May, Al appealed to the governmentof Thailand to release various categories ofpolitical prisoners. At the start of an inter-national campaign on behalf of Thai prison-ers, Al released a document describing itsconcern for those political prisoners:

arrested before the military coup of 6October 1976 and charged with allegedviolations of the Anti-CommunistActivities Act;arrested during the coup of 6 Octoberin connection with events at ThammasatUniversity;detained by emergency decree on suspic-

ion of being "dangerous to society";arrested in remote areas and held withouttrial on suspicion of being communists orcommunist sympathizers.AI urged the Thai government to release

unconditionally those prisoners detainedwithout trial and to release on bail those whoare currently on trial. AI estimates that thenumber of political prisoners held in Thailandincluding those detained by emergencydecree, amounts to several hundred andpossibly as many as a thousand.

Al also criticized changes in Thai lawfollowing the 1976 coup. Among these wasa constitutional provision allowing the primeminister to order the summary execution

of offenders without trial, which has beenused on at least nine occasions to executepeople accused of serious crimes. Martiallaw decrees which allowed the detention ofpolitical prisoners without trial, were alsocriticized.

Since the 6 October coup, all politicalparties and political gatherings have beenbanned. The press has been subject tocensorship and the government hassuppressed trade union activities by banningstrikes and other forms of demonstrationby workers.

PRESIDENT URGED TO INTERVENE INBRAZILIAN HUNGER STRIKEOn 4 May, for the second time in threeweeks, AI cabled President Ernesto GEISELof Brazil asking him to do all in his powerto end a hunger strike of nearly all of thecountry's 200 political prisoners.

The hunger strike began on 12 April inwhat is considered to be Brazil's worst prison,the Professor Barreto Campelo Penitentiaryin Itamaraca, Pernambuco State, and hasnow spread to nearly every other prison inthe country. All 15 political prisoners inltamaraca have been transferred to a militaryhospital where they are refusing medicaltreatment and only accepting sugar andwater. Great concern has been voiced aboutthe health of one of them, Rholine SondeCAVALCANTI, who is diabetic.

The strikers were protesting at the pro-tracted solitary confinement of RholineSonde CAVALCANTI and Carlos AlbertoSOARES, both of whom have been detainedin this way since September 1975 at BarretoCampelo. The Secretary of Justice for theState of Pernambuco, Sergio HIGINO, hasfor the first time enforced part of the Lawof National Security, whereby persons sent-enced to life imprisonment must be separatedfrom other political prisoners, to isolate thetwo men completely.

Itamaraca is the only prison in thecountry where the rule has been enforced

Continued on page 2, column I

MORE ARRESTS IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA

More arrests and convictions of humanrights activists in Czechoslovakia haverecently come to AI' s notice:

In March Michal KOPAL, a worker, andIvan MANASEK, a student, were arrestedin Prague on charges of "incitement" (article100 of the Czechoslovak penal code). Thetwo had allegedly produced and attempt-ed to distribute previously unpublishedinformation about conditions in theCzechoslovak Communist Party.

On 2 March legal proceedings wereinstituted against two Roman Catholicpriests, Marian ZAJICEK and RobertGOMBIK, for dissemination of theCharter 77 manifesto.

All four men are signatories of Charter77.

Protestant priest Miloslav LOJEK, servingin the army, was detained on 19 December1977 for distributing Charter 77 documentsamong his fellow soldiers. He was sentencedon 9 March this year by the military court inPlzen to 15 months' imprisonment on chargesof incitement (article 100) and underminingthe political and moral authority of thearmy (article 288). Since Mr Lojek wasbarred in 1975 from holding ieligious services,he was employed as a worker beforebeing called up to the army.

Gustav VLASATY, an employee in thechemical industry and an active tradeunionist, was detained on 30 January fordisplaying on a wall clippings from theparty newspaper Rude Pravo announcingsalary increases next to his payslips showingno rise in his own pay. He was sentenced on5 April to 20 months' imprisonment forincitement (article 100).

Ivan JIROUS, an art historian andartistic director of the non-conformist rockgroup Plastic People of the Universe and asignatory of Charter 77, was sentenced on 111 April in Prague to 8 months' imprison-ment for breach of the public peace (article202). On 5 May the appeal court increasedhis sentence to 18 months at the request ofthe procurator. Ivan Jirous had been arrestedon 25 October 1977 after an exhibition atwhich he spoke lightly of youth organizat-ions and made an "offensive remark" aboutan official. His arrest came one month afterhis release from a previous 18 months' prisonsentence.

All seven men have been adopted by AIas prisoners of conscience.

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President Urged to Intervene in BrazilianHunger StrikeContinued from ',age I , column 2

and some local authorities consider suchisolation to be illegal.

Al stated that the solitary confinementof Rholine Sonde Cavalcanti and CarlosAlberto Soares constitutes an inhuman andarbitrary punishment, which can harm themental and physical health of the prisoners.• The hunger strike ended on 9 May whenpermission was given for Rholine Cavalcantiand Carlos Alberto Soares to mix with theother political prisoners several days a week.

ARCHBISHOP REPORTED RELEASEDIN GUINEA

Unconfirmed reports from West Africasuggest that the Guinea government may havereleased one of the country's most prominentpolitical prisoners, Roman Catholic Arch-bishop Raymond Marie TCHIDIMBO.Monseigneur Tchidimbo, the Archbishop ofConakry, had been imprisoned for 7 years.He was sentenced to life imprisonment withhard labour in January 1971, together with67 others convicted of complicity in acommando raid on Conakry, Guinea's capital,in November 1971. The Guinean govern-ment blamed Portuguese colonial forces andGuinean opposition elements for the attack.

Tchidimbo and those imprisoned with himwere sentenced by a special SupremeRevolutionary Tribunal made up of theentire 75-man Guinean National Assembly.Those who were tried by this tribunal weregiven no opportunity to defend themselves,and many were not even present during theproceedings. More than 60 received lifesentences; 58 others were executed.

Tchidimbo's release comes at a time whendiplomatic relations between Guinea andneighbouring West African countries, parti-cularly Senegal and Ivory Coast, are improv-ing. It is widely believed that pressure fromthese two countries has been an importantfactor in obtaining the release of Mgr.Tchidimbo, who remains Archbishop ofConakry.

According to Al's information, Tchidimbohad been imprisoned since 1971 at CampBoiro in Conakry, Guinea's main prisoncamp for political prisoners, where more than1,000 such prisoners are held. They are notallowed to communicate in any way withthe outside world and cannot receive visitsfrom their families. Conditions at the Campare also reported to be extremely harsh andmany prisoners are believed to have died asa result of ill-treatment, starvation or disease.

Recently, .41 has attempted to focusinternational attention on the plight ofpolitical prisoners in Guinea by initiatinga prison adoption program. Two prisons,Camp Boiro itself and the Kerne BoureimaPrison at Kindia, where many politicalprisoners are also held, have been adoptedby AI groups who are seeking substantialimprovements in prison conditions.

OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY CONDITIONSIN ITALY'S "SPECIAL PRISONS"AI has welcomed the opportunity to under-take a study of conditions inside the maxi-mum security prisons in Italy with thecooperation of the authorities.

A letter from Al on 8 May to FrancoEVANGELISTI, Under-Secretary to theItalian Council of Ministers, welcomes MrEvangelisti's statement of 5 May that theItalian government would cooperate withAl in carrying out such an inquiry. Theletter continues: "In this understandingAl has decided (under article lc of itsStatute) to take responsibility for theestablishment of a proper investigation ofconditions in special prisons in Italy.

"As a first step to such an investigationAl requests the Italian government to con-firm formally that it is willing and ready topermit the AI nominated personnel to visitprisons in special category, to meet withprisoners, prison personnel and other relevantauthorities in Italy, and to view documentat-ion pertinent to the investigation.

"In requesting the cooperation of theItalian government in an investigation ofspecial prisons Al does not in any wayimply that it is more or less concerned withconditions in this category of penitentiaryestablishment than with conditions in anyother type of prison facilities in Italy.

"The modalities and procedures for thecarrying out of this investigation have still tobe decided within AI and possibly in consul-tation between Al and other qualifiedbodies specialist in the field of humanrights and prison conditions."

Al had already at its International CouncilMeeting in 1975 decided to seek ways ofstudying conditions in maximum securityprisons in Western Europe.

DETENTIONS AND KILLINGSIN EL SALVADORAI cabled President Carlos HumbertoROMERO of El Salvador on 11 Aprilexpressing concern at reports of detentions,killings and torture during a military operationin San Pedro Perulapan, a rural communityin Cuscatlin Province. The operation, whichbegan in mid-March was directed againstleaders and members of the two majorSalvadorean peasant federations, FECCAS(Christian Salvadorean Peasant Federation)and UTC (Union of Rural Workers). Govern-ment communiqués issued before and duringthe operation claimed that peasants belongingto these unions were killing members of thepara-military rural vigilante force ORDEN,setting fire to farms and kidnapping or forc-ing the owners to flee.

Refugees fleeing from me area undermilitary control to the capital, San Salvador,disputed the government's version of eventsand claimed that the violence had been pro-voked by members of ORDEN. ORDEN whicis directed by the Ministry of Defence andheaded by the President, functions bothas a security force and a political

organization. According to the refugees, aFECCAS leader, Trinsito VASQUEZ wascaptured on 20 March by 40 members ofORDEN. The following day his body wasfound, decapitated and badly mutilated. Itwas recovered by members of FECCAS andUTC who forced five members of ORDENto bury the body. Soon afterwards, thegovernment instructed the families ofORDEN members to evacuate their homesand take shelter in the school house of SanPedro Perulapan because army units wereabout to enter the province to commence amilitary operation.

A series of attacks by the combinedforces of the National Guard and ORDENtook place in several districts of Cuscatlin.An unknown number of people were kill-ed, wounded or "disappeared". In SanPedro Perulapan, 50 peasants werereportedly killed and over 50 wounded.Seventy people were arrested, homes wereransacked and burned by the security forcesand hundreds of peasants fled the areaabandoning their homes'and possessions.Journalists who attempted to enter thearea were turned back at military road-blocks.

Monsenor ROMERO, Archbishop of SanSalvador, urged the government to allowan independent commission of inquiry tohelp those who fled their homes and toinvestigate the disturbances. A furtherappeal was made by the Archbishop that themilitary operation should be stopped as itcould only lead to more violence. Appealsfor an amnesty for those arrested during thedisturbances have come from the Churchand legal circles.

The government's claims that the peasantfederations had organized a rebellion inSan Pedro Perulapan, an area noted forpeasant union activity, is seen by observersas an attempt to discredit the federations.Calls by the federations for minimal socialreforms, such as increased access to agricult-ural credit and the return of land presentlyoccupied by military forces, have met withno response from the government.

NEWS OF PAST CAMPAIGNSOn 25 March Ahmed Fu'ad NEGM ofEgypt (March Prisoners of the MonthCampaign) was sentenced to one year'simprisonment by the Central MilitaryCourt in Cairo. Mr Negm, a well-known poet,was arrested with six others in November1977 after attending an illegal politicalmeeting at Ain Shams University, Cairo.The court acquitted three persons andsentenced two others, Muhammad FathiMAHMOUD and Magdi Abdul Hamid BILAL(both students at Ain Shams University), to3 years and 3 months respectively. The courtdecided that the case of a seventh student,Medhat Ezzedin ABDUL GHAFAR did notfall within its jurisdiction. The sentences nowawait ratification by President Anwar SADAT.

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Sonny VENKATRATHNAM, SouthAfricaSonny VENKATRATHNAM, a prominentmember of the Unity Movement in SouthAfrica, was restricted under a 5-year banningorder in early April. He had just completed a6-year prison sentence at Robben Island,South Africa's main political prison.

Under the terms of his banning order,Sonny Venkatrathnam is under partial housearrest and is subject to other restrictions onhis freedom of movement, association andexpression. The terms of the order make itan offence punishable by imprisonment forhim to communicate in any way with twoother former Robben Island prisoners, FrankANTHONY and Robert WILCOX.

They were released at the same time asMr Venkatrathnam and also banned. Thethree men were held together for 6 years onRobben Island and were in daily communicat-ion. Now that they have completed theirsentences, the Minister of Justice has, with-out recourse to the courts, prohibited themfrom further contact with one another.

Sonny Venkatrathnam was previouslybanned from 1965 to 1970. In February1971, he was detained without charge forseveral months under section 6 of theTerrorism Act and held in solitary confine-ment. Later that year, he was charged,together with 12 other members of theUnity Movement, with conspiracy to over-throw the South African government. Atthe trial, several of the defendants allegedthat they had been severely tortured duringdetention at a special interrogation camp inan isolated part of the Mkambathi Forestin the Eastern Cape. Sonny Venkatrathnamwas convicted and sentenced to 6 years'imprisonment. He served the full sentenceon Robben Island: political prisoners, unlikeconvicted common law offenders, receive noremission of sentence in South Africa.

Please send courteously worded appealsfor the immediate lifting of the banningorders on Sonny Venkatrathnam, FrankAnthony and Robert Wilcox, to.. TheHonourable James Kruger, Minister ofJustice, Union Buildings, Pretoria, SouthAfrica.

LI Zhengtian, People's Republic ofChinaLI Zhengtian, aged 36, was born in Wuhan,capital of Hubei province, People's Republicof China, and studied at a primary schoolattached to the Canton Fine Arts College.He graduated from the college in 1966, whenthe Cultural Revolution started. Likemillions of young people, he participated inthe Cultural Revolution and wrote posters

and articles. He was reportedly arrested inAugust 1968, during the waves of arrestswhich marked the end of the CulturalRevolution, and detained for three years inCanton. After his release in 1971, Li workedin his college library and again began writingarticles and wallposters.

Li is one of three authors of a wallpostersigned Li Yizhe and entitled ConcerningSocialist Democracy and Legal System whichwas displayed in Canton in November 1974.The poster covered about 100 meters of astreet wall and criticized the repressionwhich had taken place under Lin Biao,former Vice-Chairman of the ChineseCommunist Party who disappeared in 1971.The poster stated that many miscarriages ofjustice committed under Lin Biao had notyet been rectified and demanded that stepsbe taken to respect the "people's democraticrights" and protect their human rights.

Li Zhengtian was apparently the mainauthor of the poster, but two other men,Chen Yiyang and Wang Xizhe, had contribut-ed to its writing. The pseudonym Li Yizhe wasa combination of parts of their three names.

The poster was officially criticized as"reactionary" and Li, Chen and Wang weretaken to "criticism meetings" in Canton.In early 1975, the three men were sent awayfrom Canton to work "under supervision",which means restricted freedom and workunder surveillance. Li Zhengtian wasreportedly sent to a mine in Shaoguan district,north of Guangdong province, which is saidto have a mixed labour force of prisonersand civilian workers. He was still there at theend of 1976. In early 1977 it was reportedthat Li, Chen and Wang had been officiallylabelled "counter-revolutionary", whichusually indicates a formal punishment.

Various sources reported in mid-1977that Li Zhengtian had been sentenced to lifeimprisonment. An official court announce-ment, posted in Canton and dated 3 June1977, reportedly said that Li was sentencedto life imprisonment for advocating a"counter-revolutionary" program in hisposter. It is not known whether ChenYiyang and Wang Xizhe were sentenced atthe same time, but it has been reported thatmore than 10 people were sentenced inconnection with the Li Yizhe case.

The present whereabouts of Li Zhengtian,Chen Yiyang and Wang Xizhe are unknown.Unconfirmed reports say that two of themare in labour camps in Guangdong province,while the third is in Yunnan province.

Please send courteously worded lettersappealing for the release of Li Zhengtian, to..Chairman Hua Guofeng, Peking, People'sRepublic of China.

José CARPIO, EcuadorJosé CARPIO was detained on 19 October1977 in La Troncal, Caliar Province,Ecuador, along with ten other leaders of theFederaci6n de Trabajadores Libres delA zuay (Federation of Free Workers ofAzuay). They were arrested in connectionwith an incident at the Aztra sugar mill.

On 18 August 1977, the Supreme Councilof the Ecuador government increased theprice of sugar by almost 50%. At the sametime, they issued a decree which stated thatthis increase would not lead to a rise in salaryfor the sugar workers. This violated theterms of collective agreements which provid-ed for automatic wage increases with everyincrease in sugar prices.

In October, 1,800 workers at the Aztrasugar mill went on strike in protest at thecompany's refusal to abide by the collectiveagreements. Reports say,that nearly 700workers and their families were occupyingthe mill on 18 October when 150 policesurrounded the building, giving the workersand their families two minutes to leave.

The police blocked all the exits excepta small rear door. As people tried to escapethrough this door, the police attacked withteargas and guns. Official sources state that25 people drowned in the irrigation ditchnext to the factory. Trade unionists say thatmore than 100 people were killed and thatsome of them were shot by the police.

José Carpio has been held since then inthe Cuartel Modelo in Guayaquil, althoughseveral leaders arrested with him have sincebeen released. He will probably be tried bythe Intendente General de Policia of CaliarProvince, under Decrees 105 and 1475 whichwere passed following a 24-hour generalstrike called by the country's three majortrade union federations on 18 May 1977.Decree 1475, promulgated on 26 May 1977,extended Decree 105 of the ConstituentAssembly of 1967 under which the organizersof strikes "prejudicial to public peace andthe national economy" were subject tobetween 2 and 5 years' imprisonment andfines of up to £200. Lower penalties weredecreed for participants in such strikes.

Decree 1475 also assigned the status of"Special Judges" to the IntendentesGenerales de Policia who are civiliansanswerable directly to the Ministry of theInterior. They are in charge of public orderand internal security at a provincial leveland normally only deal with minor offences.Decree 1475 gave the Intendentes the powerto try summarily and sentence strikersunder Decree 105 without the right of appeal.

Please send courteously worded appealsfor the immediate release of José Carpio to:Vicealmirante Alfredo Poveda Burbano,Presidente del Consejo Supremo de Gobierno,Palacio de Gobierno, Quito, Ecuador.

PRISONER RELEASES AND CASESThe International Secretariat learned inApril of the release of 121 prisoners underadoption or investigation and took up 158new cases.

Prisoners of the Month CampaignParticipants in the campaign are reminded that appeals must only be sent to the officialsnamed at the end of each case. In no circumstances should communications be sent tothe prisoner. It is important for the prisoner that messages to the authorities are wordedcarefully and courteously and that they are never sectarian.

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ELECTION PROTESTORS ARRESTEDIN THE PHILIPPINESMore t'lan 600 people were arrested inManila on 9 April during a demonstrationprotesting against alleged fraud andintimidation in The Philippines electionsof 6 April.

On 10 April Al wrote to PresidentFerdinand MARCOS urging the release ofthe demonstrators and pointing out that,according to the press reports, thedemonstration had not involved anyviolence.

It was reported on the same day thatPresident Marcos' cabinet had determined totake "preventive and preemptive" actionagainst any open dissent from his rule ofmartial law imposed in September 1972.

Most of the arrested demonstrators werereleased on 19 April, although 558 still facecharges of violating article 146 of the revisedpenal code (illegal assembly). Over 30 remainin detention. They include opposition cam-paign coordinators and seven leaders of theopposition: former Senator FranciscoRODRIGO Sr; attorney Teofisto GUINGONA•law professor Aquilino PIMENTEL; attorneyJoker ARROYO (a member of the CivilLiberties Union of The Philippines); attorneyFrancisco RODRIGO Jr and Father RomeoINTENGAN, a Jesuit priest.

All known cases are being adopted by AIas prisoners of conscience.

TRIALS OBSERVED IN EGYPTDuring April, Al delegated OlivierGUIGNABAUDET, Assistant Legal Adviserat Al's International Secretariat, to observesessions of two trials taking place in StateSecurity Courts in Cairo and Alexandria,Egypt.

On 16 April, Mr Guignabaudet attendedthe initial hearing of the trial of 176 persons,most of whom have been adopted by Al ,arrested for political reasons following thefood riots of January 1977. During the trial,the Egyptian Bar Association made a formalrequest to the tribunal concerning the casedossier for the prosecution. This dossiercontained 11,000 pages and the number ofcopies printed was apparently insufficient forthe needs of the lawyers for the defence. Inaddition, the dossier was available at theformidable cost of £E500 (£680, $1,238).The Bar Association urged that an adequatenumber of the prosecution dossiers beprinted, and that a complete dossier begiven to each defence lawyer free of charge.The tribunal agreed to the first request onlyand decided to adjourn until 16 May. Thecourt also decided that six defendants whohad previously escaped arrest but who werepresent at the court hearing should bereleased. They were, however, arrested onleaving the court. Al subsequently wrote toMr Ibrahim Al QALYOUBI, the Prosecutor-General, expressing concern at the reportedarrest of these persons and requesting clari-fication of their present situation.

The second trial concerns 19 personsoriginally arrested in 1973 and charged underarticle 98A (a) of the penal code withmembership of illegal political parties.During 1975, Al had sent two observers toattend parts of their trial and the group wasfinally acquitted in May 1976. During 1977,however, President SADAT vetoed the courtdecision with the result that the 19 are beingretried in Alexandria. On this occasion, MrGuignabaudet was able to hold talks withmembers of the tribunal and defence lawyersand to meet some of the prisoners. At thetime of writing, this trial is still in progress.

APPEAL TO NEW PRESIDENT OFAFGHANISTANFollowing the violent overthrow of PresidentMohammed DAOUD of Afghanistan, Alurged President Nur Mohammed TARAKKIof the newly proclaimed DemocraticRepublic to intervene to prevent furtherpolitical killings of people associated with theformer administration.

In its cable of 4 May, Al appealed to thenew government to protect the lives of allthose exposed to the danger of being killedfor political reasons, including survivingmembers of the family of the formerPresident Daoud and ministers in his adminis-tration. Mr Daoud and many members ofhis family were killed during the coup whichbegan on 27 April.

Expressing concern at reports of largescale political arrests in Kabul and theprovinces, A/ urged the immediate releaseof all persons arrested for political reasons.

MISSION VISITS SYRIA AND JORDANFrench jurist Christian BOURGUET andWendy LEVITT, from Al's ResearchDepartment, visited Syria from 1117 Marchto discuss with the government matters ofconcern to Al including detention withouttrial and reported ill-treatment of prisoners.

They discussed with Minister of JusticeAdib NAHAWI the use of martial lawregulations under the present state ofemergency, a matter to which PresidentHafez ASSAD had drawn attention andforthwith prohibited in his 8 March speechto the People's Assembly, on assuming thepresidency for a second term. The ministerwas asked to send Al the names of 179people whose release was announced as aresult of the presidential statement on themisuse of martial law. The delegates askedfor the names of 104 political prisonerswhose release had been reported.

The delegates discussed the 72 cases forwhom Al groups are currently working,all detained without trial for several years.Attention was drawn to reports of continuedabductions from Lebanon. Fourty four suchcases reportedly in detention were named.

The delegates met Dr Haitham KELANI,Director of International Relations at theForeign Ministry, but were refused a meeting

with Minister of Interior Adnan DABBAGH.Talks on legal matters were held with thePresident of the Constitutional Court,Maitre Jamal NAAMANI; President of theSyrian Bar Association Maitre Sabah alRIKABI and other leading constitutionallawyers.• Al Deputy Secretary General DickOOSTING and Wendy LEVITT visitedJordan from 17-20 March. They discussedwith Minister of Interior Suleiman ARARthe cases of 47 political detainees reportedlydetained without trial from one to fiveyears. They also met with Mr Faleh alTAWEEL, Director of InternationalOrganizations at the Foreign Ministry.Discussions on the legal situation in Jordanrelating to Al's concerns were held withthe President of the Jordan Bar AssociationIbrahim BAKR and other leading lawyers.

SWAZILAND DETAINS SOUTH AFRICANREFUGEESAt least 14 South African politicalrefugees, all members of the Pan-AfricanistCongress of Azania (PAC), were detained inSwaziland between 7 and 10 April. Theyincluded Gus NDLOVU, the main represent-ative in Swaziland of the PAC, an Africannationalist organization which was bannedin South Africa in 1960 following theSharpeville killings, when 69 PAC supportersdemonstrating against the Pass Laws wereshot dead by the South African police. Since1960, the PAC has operated from exile withits headquarters in Tanzania but withbranches also in Swaziland and Lesotho.

Al cabled Swaziland's Deputy PrimeMinister, Zonka KHUMALO, on 10 Aprilexpressing concern about the detentionsand the possibility that the detaineesmight be forcibly repatriated to SouthAfrica where they could face prosecutionon political grounds. Subsequently, MrKhumalo was reported to have stated thatthe detainees would not be sent back toSouth Africa but would be held in detentionas prohibited immigrants until arrangementscould be made for them to go to otherAfrican countries. He also reportedly saidthat the decision to arrest the PAC membersfollowed discussions between the Swazilandgovernment and Potlako LEBALLO,probably the most prominent PAC leaderoutside South Africa, who recently visitedSwaziland from his base in Tanzania. Thishas led some observers to suggest that thearrests occurred because of a leadershipdispute within the PAC following the deathof the organization's founder, RobertSOBUKWE, in South Africa last February(April Nesletter).

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTERis published monthly by: AMNESTY INTER-NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS, 10 SouthamptonStreet, London WC2E 7HF, England. Printed inGreat Britain by Hill and Garwood Ltd, FourthWay, Wembley, Middlesex. Available on subscrip-tion at L6 (US $15) per calendar year.

amnesty international

campaign for the abolition of tortureJune 1978 Volume V Number 6 MONTHLY BULLET/N

Release of Pakistan Mission ReportOn 15 May AI released the report of its mission to Pakistan, which took place

from 20 to 25 January. The report expresses concern at the introduction of

stern martial law provisions in Pakistan which curtail fundamental freedoms

and provide for preventive detention.Al expresses particular concern about the practice of trying civilians charged

with political offences before military courts, which often inflict sentences of

flogging. AI considers flogging to be "a cruel, inhuman and degrading punish-

ment", as.proscribed in international law. The report states that at least 160

political prisoners have so far been sentenced to flogging. Al is disturbed that

this unusual punishment is used in Pakistan and inflicted on prisoners who often

appear to have done no more than exercise the right of freedom of speech and

expression guaranteed in the constitution.In his foreword to the report, Thomas trials of civilians in Lahore but was not

HAMMARBERG, Chairman of Al'sInternational Executive Committee, criticizesthe application of the death penalty inPakistan and points out that the recentpublic executions of civilians tried bymilitary courts have constituted adangerous precedent.

He also repeated Al's appeal to thePakistan government to commute, onhumanitarian grounds, the death sentencesimposed on former Prime Minister ZulfikarAli BHUTTO and his four co-accused con-victed of murder (April Newsletter).

In a number of recommendations in thereport, AI urged the Pakistan government:

to abolish the practice of trying civiliansbefore military courts;to abolish immediately flogging ofpolitical prisoners;to repeal present legal instruments pro-viding for preventive detention of politicalprisoners;to abolish special courts, particularlythose trying political prisoners, ETHIOPIA: 'RED TERROR' VICTIM'S

to admit international observers to all EXPERIENCE OF TORTUREstages of all trial proceedings against Mr Al has received a great deal of information

Bhutto, including the stage of appeal; to from Ethiopia on torture and political killings

allow international organizations access to carried out during the military government's

the former prime minister in prison; and "red terror" campaign against suspected

to repeal preventive detention orders "counter-revolutionaries", which has been

against leaders of the Pakistan People's continuing since November 1977. A consis-

Party. tent pattern has emerged of widespread

The above recommendations were made arbitrary arrests, systematic torture, large-

in the context of the extensive cooperation scale exemplary killings, and mass political

received by the Al delegation during its education in custody (April Newsletter).January visit to Pakistan. The delegation, Al believes that the following account of

consisting of Proftssor Mamtaz SOYSAL, a 17-year-old university student's experience,

Vice-Chairman of International received from a reliable source, is a typical

Executive Committee, and Yvonne case. The name of the youth cannot be

TERLINGEN, a member of Al's International released for fear of reprisals against him and

Secretariat, met Chief Martial Law Adminis- his family. His brother was one of about

trator, General Mohammad ZIA-ul Hag, as 2,500 people killed on suspicion of anti-

well as other prominent government officials government political activity in the first

and lawyers and relatives of political phase of "red terror".prisoners. The delegation attended military Continued on Page 2, column I.

DEATHS UNDER TORTURECONTINUE IN PARAGUAYSinceAl published detailed information on10 deaths and 20 disappearances inParaguay, in September 1977, thousands ofpeople throughout the world have petitionedPresident Alfredo STROESSNER to launchan inquiry into these cases and to apply thebasic human rights and legal safeguards ofthe Paraguayan constitution to politicalprisoners.

No such inquiry has taken place. Al hasnow received information alleging that inFebruary another political prisoner, diedat the hands of the Paraguayan torturers.

Ana GONZALEZ, aged 31, was arrestedby two plainclothes policemen on 31January and taken by private car to theThird Police Station for questioning. Anhour before her arrest, she had been dismissedfrom her job in a textile firm.

It is helieved that the only possiblereason for her dismissal was her defence ofher rights as an employee and the rights ofher fellow women workers, many of whomreceive salaries far below the average minimum.

Ana Gonzalez was reportedly brutallytortured in the Third Police Station, a well-known torture center. She received severalblows to the head and her nails were pulledout. She was reportedly in a coma and onthe point of death, when she was taken tothe Red Cross Hospital under plainclothespolice guard.

Members of her family were threatenedand told to say that she had had a trafficaccident.

On the evening of 8 February the policeordered her brother, who was at her bedside,to leave the hospital. He was told that Anawould be deported to Argentina the follow-ing day and that she would cross the borderat Ita Enramada.

Her family waited there at the appointedtime but Ana did not arrive. The police saidthat she had crossed the border an hourearlier.

Instead, Ana Gonzalez' body was handedover to her family by the police on 15February, again with strong threats. Thepolice insisted that the funeral vigil shouldnot take place at her home but in anotherdistrict.

Ana's body was completely mutilated. Her hands had been cut off; organs and legsdestroyed and the body showed deep woundsfrom head to foot.

Her family was given three days to leavethe country 0

given permission to meet Mr Bhutto inprison during his trial.

The report estimates the number ofpolitical prisoners in Pakistan at the time ofthe mission to be several hundred. Severalthousand supporters of the former primeminister have since been arrested undermartial law provisions, many of them forprotesting against the death penalty imposedon Mr Bhutto.

On 1 May, 26 journalists in Lahore werearrested under martial law for attempting tostage a hunger strike in protest against theclosure of the daily newspaper Musawatwhich supports the Pakistan People's Party.As of 15 May, when Al's report was released,71 journalists had been arrested undermartial law of which more than 30 had beensentenced to imprisonment and have under-gone flogging in prison. These includeMasudullah KHAN, a senior sub-editor onthe Pakistan Timeswho is known to have aleg disablement0

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in th

CAT Bulletin 2

appealsRochambeau NESTOR, LucDESELMOURS, Ceres DACCUEIL,HaitiRochambeau NESTOR, Luc DESELMOURSand Ceres DACCUEIL are three politicalprisoners who were last seen in FortDimanche prison, Haiti, in September 1977when President Jean Claude Duvalier declaredan amnesty to commemorate the 20thanniversary of Duvalierist rule in the country.

Roehambeau Nestor, a law professor atthe Archahaie Lycée, was arrested in 1969and had been detained since 1976 in cellNumber 7 at Fort Dimanche. LucDeselmours was arrested in July 1976 anddetained in cell Number 2 since October1976. Ceres Daccueil had been detained incell Number 4 since September 1976.None of the three prisoners had beenbrought to trial.

After the release under the amnesty of104 political prisoners the government statedthere were no more political prisoners inHaitian jails. Nestor, Deselmours andDaccueil were not among those released,nor were they included in a list received byAl of 103 political prisoners who hadreportedly died in detention in the prisonsince 1972. The 103 named prisoners appearto have died of illnesses caused by the poorprison conditions—lack of sanitation, defic-ient diet and no proper medical attention.The most common illness reported wastuberculosis (72 out of 103 cases). Tortureand unofficial executions also took place inthe prison.

Fort Dimanche prison was reportedly closed for repairs after September 1977. Alis therefore concerned about the whereaboutsand safety of the three prisoners who areamong a substantial number of politicalprisoners whose whereabouts have neverbeen revealed by the Haitian governmentsince the amnesty and the temporary closureof the prison.

Please send courteously worded appealsasking for information on the legal statusand whereabouts of Rochainbeau Nestor,Luc Deselmours and Ceres Daccueil to:Son Excellence Jean-C1aude Duvalier,Président a Vie, Port au Prince, Haiti.

Ethiopia: 'Red Terror' Victim's Experienceof TortureContinued from page 1, column 2.

This student, who denies any involvementin political activities, was arrested by kebelle(urban association) guards in the capital,Addis Ababa, in January. He was detainedfor a few days and tortured under inter-rogation. The kebelle guards eventuallyaccepted his pleas of innocence but demandedthat he prove his support for the Revolutionby torturing girls held in the kebelle prison.This he refused to do. He was then throwninto a van with several other youths who

were to be killed and their bodies left bythe roadside as a warning to others. Likethem, he had a label attached to his backgiving the reasons for his "execution". Noneof them had been tried.

One of the kebelle officials guarding these"condemned" youths recognized him andsucceeded in persuading the other guardsthat he had never been involved in politicalactivities and there was no good reason tokill him. He was released and returned home.Here he was examined and secretly treated bya medically qualified friend of the family.

According to that person's description ofhis physical state, he had severe lacerationsfrom flogging across the back, and bruisingon the neck, shoulders, chest and feet fromfurther beating. His hands were weak andhis wrists showed black marks caused by therope from which he had been suspendedduring beatings. He had burns on the headand experienced great difficulty in swallow-ing, which supported his statement that hehad been tortured by electric shocks to thehead and throat. His body was dehydratedand he had to be drip-fed. He felt great painin the ribs, indicating that they may havebeen fractured, but it was not possible toX-ray him to confirm this. He suffered fromsevere depression and other symptoms ofdisorientation, for which he later receivedhospital treatment, though the depressioncontinued because his position was stillinsecure. His case was still to be reviewedby the local kebelle, whose armed guardsfrequently torture and kill those they accuseof being "counter-revolutionaries".

Al has no further information about hisfate, but "red terror" continues throughoutEthiopia, particularly against youths andstudents and, recently, against employeesin government and commercialinstitutions0

POLISH AUTHORITIES STEP-UPHARASSMENT OF DISSIDENTSAl has received reports that, since the startof 1978, the Polish authorities have subjecteda number of dissenters to detention and ill-treatment by the police. The reports con-cern members and close associates of theSocial Self Defence Committee (KOR,formerly the Workers Defence Committee)and the Society of Scientific Courses (TKN).

KOR was formed in 1976 to providelegal, medical, and financial aid to workersimprisoned after the riots and demonstrat-ions against food price rises on 24 June1976. After the release of the workers in1977, KOR broadened the scope of itsactivities and began to publicize cases ofunfair trials, harassment, allegedbeatings,job discrimination, and censorship.

The TKN was founded in January 1978by a group of Polish intellectuals to offerstudy facilities supplementary to thoseavailable in the country's establishededucational system.

According to reports received by AI ,

members and sympathizers of these groupshave become targets of official pressuredespite their efforts to keep theiractivities within the constitution of thePolish People's Republic.

Some members and close associates ofKOR and TKN have been persecuted andprosecuted. It appears that the Polishauthorities are attempting to isolate themost active members of KOR from Polishsociety who are not aware of the subversiveaims of a few dissidents hostile to socialistsociety in Poland.

The treatment allegedly meted out tosome associates of these groups is illustratedin the cases of Wladislaw SULECKI andAdam MICHNIK (May CAT Bulletin).Sulecki, a miner and member of the editorialboard of Robotnik, an unofficial paper, wasreportedly beaten up by the police in May1977 after taking part in a meeting withmembers of the KOR in Radom. InSeptember 1977, he was attacked and beatenup by "unknown individuals". His house wassearched several times by the police, withoutauthorization, between September 1977and January 1978. During the same periodmanure was found on his doorstep on severaloccasions. The family submitted formalcomplaints to the local authorities butwere warned not to submit any furthercomplaints0

NEW EVIDENCE OF TORTUREIN CHILEAl has received new information on the caseof Haydee PALMA (May CAT Bulletin).According to her recent testimony, Haydéewas continuously tortured from 16 to 22January in the Villa Grimaldi torture centerin Santiago, Chile. She was so badly torturedthat doctors from the National Center forInformation (CNI—Central Nacional delnformaciones) who examined her advisedthat torture should be stopped because shemight die.

The torture continued: "For 21 days I bled; my whole body was bruised; my face was deformed..." she says. On 13 and 14 February she was given electric shocks which caused partial amnesia. "Upon waking, I couldn't even remember what I was called."

On 16 February, she was taken by car tothe Peruvian border. There she was givenfalse identity papers and placed on a bus.She is now recovering abroad.

JORDAN URGED TO COMMUTEDEATH SENTENCES

Al has urged King HUSSEIN of Jordanto commute, on humanitarian grounds, fourdeath sentences reportedly passed on 2April. The condemned men had been foundguilty of selling land in former Jordanianterritory now occupied by Israel. The deathpenalty for this offence was introduced in1973.