Amnesty InternationalOctober 1978 Volume VIII Number 10 newsletter

Worldwide Action to RatifyHuman Rights Covenants

the UN Division of Human Rights, the UNHigh Commissioner for Refugees, UNESCOand the Council of Europe. New Al nationalsections in Costa Rica and Turkey werewelcomed to the meeting for the first time.

The council re-elected Andrew BLANEof the United States, and elected for thefirst time Suriya WICKREMASINGHE(Sri Lanka), Edy KAUFMAN (Israel) andMargherita BONIVER (Italy) to serve two-year terms on Al's International ExecutiveCommittee (IEC). Before the council meet-ing, Nigel RODLEY of the InternationalSecretariat was elected by the staff as itsIEC representative, to serve a one-year term.

Al's international budget for 1979/80was set at £.1.5 million.• The new IEC, meeting immediately afterthe council, re-appointed Thomas HAMMAR-BERG of Sweden as its chairperson andappointed Dirk BORNER of the FederalRepublic of Germany as vice-chairperson.

AFRICAN LAWYERS ISSUEHUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATIONThe African Bar Association has directed itsown member associations and lawyersthroughout Africa to become more involvedwith the establishment of human rights andthe maintenance of the rule of law in Africa.

At its third biennial conference, held inSierra Leone in August, the associationadopted the "Freetown Declaration of 1978on Human Rights in Africa".

The declaration "strongly condemns theflagrant violation of human rights in Africaand in particular in South Africa, Namibiaand Zimbabwe and the ill-treatment ofpolitical prisoners and opponents in Africa".

The main points of the declaration state:— That access to the courts of law and due

process of law are a fundamental right ofthe individual;

— That any law which purports or seeks tooust the jurisdiction of the courts on anymatter is a derogation from the conceptof fundamental human rights and is tothat extent obnoxious;

STATEMENT TO UN ON HUMAN RIGHTSIN DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEAIn July Al sent a statement to the UnitedNations Sub-Commission on Prevention ofDiscrimination and Protection ofMinorities concerning allegations of humanrights violations in Democratic Kampuchea.The Sub-Commission, which was due tomeet in Geneva, Switzerland, at the end ofAugust until mid-September, is to transmitAl's statement to the next session of theUN Commission on Human Rights.

The AI statement drew the Commission'sattention to the grave allegations of humanrights violations in Democratic Kampucheamade by refugees who have left the countrysince 1975. These include:

summary executions of many peoplebecause of positions held by them underthe former administration, or because oftheir opposition to official policies ofthe present government;

— the arrest and subsequent disappearanceof people considered to have committedacts "hostile" to the state;

— the use of cruel, inhuman and degradingtreatment, in some areas, against peoplewho are detained or singled out forexecution;discrimination against various groups ofthe population for their social orreligious background.The statement gave examples of refugees'

reports on executions, disappearances andmaltreatment. For instance, a 15-year-oldboy, YIM Sot Tannakit, alleged that inFebruary he witnessed the execution of 77villagers in a forest near the village of Utra(Siem Reap province, in the north west ofKampuchea). According to Yim, the villagerswere accused of being "rebellious traitors".They were allegedly taken to the forest withtheir arms tied behind their backs and werekilled by Khmer Rouge soldiers who hitthem on the back of the neck with shovels.Yim alleged that he was himself clubbedand left there, presumed dead, but survivedand managed to flee.

Other refugees stated that in some areasany act considered "disobedient" by thelocal authorities was likely to be punishedat their discretion, without any process oflaw or formal safeguards. A refugee namedKONG Samrach, who worked for 18 monthsuntil June 1977 in a village near Staung inKompong Thom province, alleged thatanyone who was found to have had sexualrelations outside marriage was arrested,tvutally mutilated and left to die.

Continued on page 2, column 1

Al's 1 lth International Council Meeting, held in Cambridge, United Kingdom,from 21-24 September, called for a worldwide campaign for the ratification ofthe United Nations international human rights covenants by the some 100countries which have not yet done so. The covenants give legal force toprovisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose 30thanniversary is being celebrated this year.

The campaign will also extend to theratification of the European and Inter-American human rights conventions.

The council specifically re-affirmed theright of individuals to petition the inter-national or regional human rights monit-oring bodies when they believe their rightshave been violated. It called for furthercommitment to this right by governmentswhich are party to the UN covenants andthe European and Inter-American conven-tions on human rights.

The council decided to maintain itspresent policy of reporting informationon human rights violations and toabstain from proposing or supportingsanctions such as boycotts or cuts in aidagainst governments committing suchviolations. Where military, security andpolice assistance involved the transfer ofequipment and expertise likely to be usedby recipient governments to detainprisoners of conscience and to carry outtorture and executions, it was possiblefor AI to oppose such assistance.

The council heard former PhilippinesSenator Jose DIOKNO attack "fashionablejustifications" for authoritarianism inAsian developing countries as "racist non-sense and lies". A former political prisonerunder martial law in The Philippines, MrDiokno had been invited to deliver the1978 Sean MacBride Human RightsLecture to the council participants. "Whatauthoritarianism promotes, is not develop-ment but repression to support andpreserve the status quo", he said.

In reviewing the research done bymedical groups within Al's continuingCampaign for the Abolition of Torture,the council concluded that no person oranimal had been subjected to pain inprevious experiments, but that in futureAl should not sponsor further medicalexperimentation involving the use of eitherhuman beings or animals.

Ars International Council Meeting wasattended by 300 delegates and observersfrom 43 countries and by representativesof 35 international organizations, including Continued on page 2, column I

2

Statement to UN on Human Rights inDemocratic KampucheaContinued from page I, column 3

According to further refugee reports,purges of civil and military leaders of thepresent administration took place in 1977,after some regional leaders tried to organizeopposition in various provinces of thecountry. Those purged were allegedlyeither summarily executed or taken awayto unknown destinations.

Several refugees who arrived in Thailandin August this year have also reported thatin their local areas a new purge began inJune and July of local officials, as well asformer soldiers and minor officials of theprevious administration. These refugeescome mainly from two areas in Battambangprovince which is near the border withThailand. They allege that around the endof June Khmer Rouge soldiers started round-ing up former soldiers of the Lon Nol army,minor officials, teachers and village headmen.

In its statement to the UN, AI said that,although many allegations from refugeesof human rights violations in DemocraticKampuchea remain uncorroborated, thenumber and consistency of these graveallegations gave cause for deep concern. Animpartial examination of all available infor-mation indicates that fundamental humanrights are being grossly violated inDemocratic Kampuchea.

Al said it would welcome any stepstaken by the government to allow indepen-dent international observers to carry outinvestigations within the country, and to setup appropriate mechanisms to protect thefundamental human rights of individualcitizens in Democratic Kampuchea0

African Lawyers issue Human RightsDeclarationContinued from page 1, column 2

That any penal law enacted with retro-spective effect is contrary to the saidconcept of fundamental human rights;That any violation of these principles inany member country should receive andengage the immediate attention of theassociation;That copies of the declaration should besent to all member states of the Organizat-ion of African Unity and its secretariat.Following the adoption of the declaration,

S. Amos WAKO, Secretary General of theAfrican Bar Association, informed AI that helooked forward to "increased cooperation"between the two organizations:1

NO AMNESTY FOR ADMINISTRATIVEDETAINEES IN ISRAEL/OCCUPIEDTERRITORIESIsraeli Attorney General, Professor AharonBARAK told Al in August that the specialcommittees set up in Israel (OccupiedTerritories) to look into the possibility of anamnesty would be reviewing only the cases ofpersons tried and sentenced by civilian courts

and not those of administrative detainees.Professor Barak was responding to letters sent'by Al groups appealing for the release of alladministrative detainees to mark the 30thanniversaries of both the State of Israel andthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Administrative detainees are persons heldunder an order issued by a military governorand they are never officially charged orbrought before a court of law.

The letter also said that nine of the 16people named by AI have been released andgave details of the other seven cases. TheHebrew paper Haaretz of 28 July quotedMinister of Justice Shmuel TAMIR as sayingthat there were 30 people held underadministrative detention in Israel and theOccupied Territories0

MORE SOVIET DISSIDENTS SENTENCEDOn 15 August Alexander PODRABINEK,24-year-old founding member of theMoscow-based unofficial Working Commiss-ion to Investigate the Use of Psychiatryfor Political Purposes and author of thesamizdat book Punitive Medicine, was triedin Elektrostal, a town 40 miles east ofMoscow, in the Soviet Union.

Podrabinek reportedly refused to takepart in the trial after his request to allowBritish barrister Louis BLOM-COOPER QCto take part in the proceedings was turneddown, and because he was not allowed tocall defence witnesses.

Podrabinek was sentenced under article190-1 of the RSFSR Criminal Code to 5 years'internal exile for "dissemination of fabricat-ions known to be false which defame theSoviet state and social system".

The sole basis for the charge against himappears to be his detailed account in PunitiveMedicine of the compulsory confinement ofSoviet citizens in psychiatric hospitals forexercising their human rights rather thanfor authentic medical reasons (September1977 and February 1978 Newsletter).

In August Dr Alexander BOLONKIN, aSoviet mathematician and aviation engineer,was sentenced to a further 3 years in a strictregime corrective labour colony for "stealingstate property" only a few weeks beforehe was due to complete 2 years' internalexile in the Buryat ASSR in Siberia.

Between 1972 and 1974 Bolonkin hadserved a 4 year sentence in a correctivelabour colony on charges of "anti-Sovietagitation and propaganda" for preparing andcirculating samizdat. While serving his sent-ence of exile he was subjected to constantharassment and intimidation by the autho-rities, and for a year before his arrest he hadcomplained about KGB threats to bring freshcharges against him.

Bolonkin has been adopted by Al as aprisoner of conscience.

Pyotr V1NS, aged 22, a Ukrainian Helsinkimonitoring group member and the son ofthe imprisoned religious human rights activist,Georgy VINS, has reportedly been threatenedwith a new charge of "anti-Soviet agitationand propaganda". If this threat is carried

out, he faces a further sentence of 7 yearsin a corrective labour colony and 5 years'internal exile in addition to the one yearsentence for "parasitism" which he has beenserving since April in a corrective labourcolony in the Rovno region in north-westernUkraine. He was reportedly badly beaten upon two occasions recently by camp officialsand began a hunger strike on 29 July0

AMNESTY IN PERU FREESPOLITICAL PRISONERSOn 18 July the Peruvian government grantedan amnesty and general pardon to allcivilians and members of the armed forcessentenced or undergoing trial proceedings ineither civil or military courts, for politicalor social acts.

The amnesty, proclaimed under a newdecree, affected all "social-political" prison-ers in detention on 18 July. Those releasedinclude sentenced prisoners Juan VACCARICHAVEZ and Alberto PEREZ VERANO,held since 1972. The amnesty also freedthose who had been arrested in 1978 duringthe two-day general strike in May and sub-sequent disturbances.

Also released under the amnesty were alarge number of teachers, detained duringa nationwide teachers' strike in May. Inaddition, 13 trade union leaders and opposit-ion figures who had been exiled were allowedto return to Peru (July Newsletter).

Awaiting release when legal procedureshave been completed are 13 peasant fanners,adopted by Al as prisoners of conscience,who have been imprisoned since 1972 inChiclayo, Peru. At least six civilian prisonerscharged before the military courts and heldin the capital, Lima, for over two years, arealso awaiting release.

However, one political prisonermay be excluded from the amnesty.Civilian Raymundc ZANABRIA is on trialby a military court for allegedly killinga policeman. Despite the fact that there arepolitical aspects to his case, and that Peru isa party to the American Convention ofHuman Rights which expressly forbids thedeath sentence for "political offences orrelated common crimes", Zanabria couldbe sentenced to death0

APPEAL AGAINST DEATH SENTENCESIN THE CONGOOn 27 August Al appealed to PresidentYhombi OPANGO of the People's Republicof the Congo on behalf of four prisoners indanger of being condemned to death withouttrial. In a speech on 14 August PresidentOpango had announced the discovery of a"vast plot against the security of the state".He alleged that the plot involved a plannedmercenary invasion of the Congo and that anumber of Congolese citizens, as well asforeigners living in the country, wereimplicated. The President described thefour Congolese involved as "incorrigible and

Continued on page 4, column 3

Roberto SAPIAINS—ChileRoberto SAPIAINS was arrested in Chilein September 1973 at the time of the coup,when thousands of people were shot orarrested for their support of the deposedgovernment of President Salvador Allende.

Before the coup, Sapiains had beenregional secretary in Valparaiso of theIzquierda Cristiana (Christian Left) andwas a leader for the Valparaiso region ofPresident Allende's party Unidad Popular(Popular Unity). He lectured in sociologyat the University of Valparaiso and was also,in 1972 and 1973, head of finance at theDevelopment Corporation of Valparaisoand Aconcagua, a public body known asCORDVAC.

After his arrest, Sapiains was chargedwith numerous offences, including armedresistance to arrest, misuse of funds andsmuggling. He was sentenced by a courtmartial to 8 years' imprisonment and to afurther 5 years by a civil court. It is knownthat he suffered torture and incommunicadodetention during the first three months ofhis imprisonment.

In April 1978, Sapiains' name appearedon a list of 109 prisoners whose release intoexile had been negotiated by the Inter-governmental Committee for European Migr-ation (CIME). However, an amnesty announc-ed by the government on 19 April for suchprisoners specifically excluded prisoners con-victed on charges such as embezzlement, oneof the main charges against Sapiains.

Although Sapiains was convicted ofcriminal offences, he has been adopted byAI asa prisoner of conscience because theorganization has evidence that his imprison-ment was based solely on his politicalactivities.

Please send courteously worded letters,requesting the release of Roberto Sapiains,to: Señor Sergio Fernandez Fernandez,Ministro del Interior, Edificio DiegoPortales, Santiago, Chile.

DOAN Quoc Sy—Socialist Republicof VietnamAmong the tens of thousands of politicalprisoners still held in re-education camps inVietnam since 1975 is the well knownwriter DOAN Quoc Sy. Born in Hanoi in1923, he participated in the independencestruggle against the French in the 1940s,within the communist-led Viet Minh move-ment. His experience during this period, andin particular his critical attitude towards theViet Minh leadership, are reflected in hisnovelKhu Rung Lau (The Reed Forest).

After the division of Vietnam at the con-clusion of the war against France in 1954,many Vietnamese from the communist north,in particular Catholics and members of theold land-owning class, moved to the southwhere a non-communist government hadbeen set up under Ngo Dinh Diem. Theywere accompanied by a significant numberof intellectuals, including Doan Quoc Sy.

For many years before his arrest inNovember 1975, Doan Quoc Sy taught atthe University of Saigon's Faculty ofPedagogy. In this capacity he travelledextensively in the United States in the late1960s. During this period he wrote morethan 30 novels as well as many short storiesand essays.

After the change of government in SouthVietnam in Apri1.1975, the new communistauthorities announced that many peoplewould have to undergo "re:education".

Many of those sent to re-education camps,such as Doan Quoc Sy, had no connectionwith the former Saigon administration.

It is thought that the reasons for DoanQuoc Sy's arrest and detention are probablyhis critical attitude in the past towards theViet Minh leadership as well as his visits tothe United States. Doan Quoc Sy was pre-viously held in the Le van Duyet camp on theoutskirts of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly)Saigon). This detention center, a formermilitary training camp, reportedly holdsmany intellectuals and writers. He has recent-ly been moved to a camp in the Vietnamesehighlands.

Please send courteously worded lettersappealing for the release of Doan Quoc Sy,to.. Mr Ton Duc Thang, President of theSocialist Republic of Vietnam, Office of the.President, Hanoi, Socialist Republic ofVietnam.

Taieb BACCOUCHE— TunisiaTaieb BACCOUCHE, a 35-year-old teacherof linguistics at the Ecole NormaleSuperieure in Tunis and a member of theexecutive committee of the General Unionof Tunisian Workers (UGTT), was arrestedon 27 January the day after the UGTT hadstaged a one-day national strike. After 60days in police custody, Baccouche was trans-ferred to Tunis Civil Prison where he is stillheld in solitary confinement. Since histransfer he has been allowed access to alawyer and receives visits from his familytwice a week.

Along with other members of the executivecommittee of the UGTT, Taieb Baccoucheis charged under seven articles of theTunisian penal code three of which carry

the death sentence, and two articles of thepress code. His trial was scheduled to beginon 28 September.

Taieb Baccouche has recently beensuffering from a rash on his hands and arms.He is married with two young children.

Please send politely worded letters,preferably in French, urging that TaiebBaccouche be brought to trial immediatelyor released, to: Son Excellence HabibBourguiba, Président de la République,Tunis, Tunisia; and to: Son ExcellenceSalaheddin Baly, Ministre de la Justice,Tunis, Tunisia.

PROTESTS AGAINST DEATHSENTENCES IN ASIADuring August AI made several appealsagainst death sentences passed in SoutheastAsian countries.

On 2 August AI cabled President FerdinandMARCOS of The Philippines expressing con-cern at the death sentence passed on RolandoPOE on 10 July for kidnapping and murder.There are at present more than 1,200people under sentence of death in ThePhilippines, but fewer than 10 executionshave been carried out since the imposition ofmartial law in 1972.

In a cable to Prime Minister KRIANGSAKChamanand of Thailand on 3 August, AIexpressed concern at the summary executionof two alleged drug traffickers.

Under article 27 of the Thai constitution,the prime minister is empowered to ordersummary executions following policeinvestigations for a variety of political andcriminal offences regarded as dangerous tothe security of the kingdom, the throne,the national economy or state affairs.

In its cable Al pointed out that summaryexecutions constitute a violation of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. Thisis the second summary execution ordered byGeneral Kriangsak since he came to power inOctober 1977.

On 23 August AI appealed to PresidentBenjamin Henry SHEARES of Singapore toexercise clemency in the case of Siti AminahBinti JAFFAR and Anwar Ali KHAN, bothsentenced to death on 21 August for drugtrafficking. The sentences are now pendingappeal. A businessman recently held ondrug charges and facing the death penalty ifconvicted was released from prison when theauthorities admitted he may have beenframed.

On 25 August Al congratulated PrimeMinister Peter KENILOREA on the indepen-dence of the Solomon Islands and expressedsupport for his stand against the re-introduction of the death penalty in theSolomon Islands0

Prisoner Releases and CasesThe International Secretariat learnedin August of the release of 169 prisonersunder adoption or investigation andtook up 229 new 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.

4

FORGOTTEN PRISONERS 1978

LI Chin-mu, a Chinese-born agriculturallabourer, has spent the last 28 years asa political prisoner on Taiwan's GreenIsland after being tried before a secretmilitary court. Almost no internationalattention has been focused on his case.

There has been no public outcryon behalf of Bahadin AhmadMUHAMMAD, a former teacher andmechanical engineer in South Yemenwho was last seen being iorced intoa jeep in 1972. The government hasoffered Bahadin's family compensation(equal to the sum usually paid afterjudicial execution) but it denies allknowledge of his whereabouts.

The exact location of AnnasoltanKEKILOVA, a Turkmen poet who wasarrested in the Soviet Union for criticiz-ing the Central Committee of theCommunist Party in 1971, remainsunknown to her family and to theoutside world. According to the govern-ment she is "still interned in apsychiatric hospital".

These are among the forgottenprisoners of 1978.

Their cases feature among 12histories highlighted by Al this yearin "Prisoners of Conscience Week",an annual event observed throughoutthe world in the third week of October.The theme this year is "The ForgottenPrisoners". The same theme appearedas the title of the newspaper articleby British barrister Peter BENENSONwhich launched the Al movement inMay 1961.

The 12 case studies for "Prisonersof Conscience Week" 1978 coverviolations of human rights in ElSalvador, Indonesia, Lebanon,Morocco, Nicaragua, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Romania, Taiwan, Uganda,USSR, Vietnam and the People'sDemocratic Republic of Yemen.Many of the prisoners are held in

GOVERNMENT CRITIC RELEASEDIN PARAGUAYDr Domingo LAINO, who was abducted inParaguay's capital, Asunci6n, on 7 July wasreleased from prison on 10 August after ajudge dismissed the government's case againsthim for lack of evidence. Two days after hisabduction the authorities had acknowledgedthat Dr Laino was being held for question-ing (August Newsletter). Dr Laino is aformer deputy and vice-president of theAuthentic Liberal Party and an outspokencritic of Paraguay's human rights record.

Following his release, Dr Laino toldthe Paraguayan press about an interview hehad had with Minister of the Interior

remote areas without access to the out-side world. They may be members ofsubjugated ethnic groups or may beliving in small rural communities.According to Al, such people arefrequently unaware of their legal rightsand are cut off from the possibility ofinternational support when they becomevictims of arbitrary arrest, torture anddetention.

In drawing particular attention to the"forgotten prisoners", Al points outthat peasants and the rural poor facespecial problems.

Precise information even aboutlarge scale massacres of campesinos(Latin American peasant farmers),hanjans (the untouchables of theIndian caste system) or tribal peoplesmay be virtually impossible to obtain.Often the news will be fragmented orout of date. Frequently the authoritiesallege that arrests were made in responseto an armed uprising or violentin cident.

The government of Nicaragua, forexample, has given different and contra-dictory replies to Al inquiries aboutmore than 350 known cases ofdisappearance of arrested campesinos.Spokesmen have claimed that thedisappeared "never existed", thattheir names were invented or thatunquestionably they were guerrillaskilled in combat with troops andburied anonymously.

According to Al, the populationsof entire campesino communitieshave disappeared as prisoners of theNicaraguan National Guard, or havebeen shot outright.

The families of today's forgottenprisoners—often silenced by intimidat-ion or by the lack of financial resources—in many cases simply do not knowwhether the prisoners are alive ordead0

popular reactions" against him and mentioneda particuler sector of the ruling Colorado Party.The minister has subsequently been critizedin Paraguayan newspapers for implying thatthe authority responsible for public ordercannot guarantee Dr Laino's safety.• On 11 August, 17 political detaineesin Emboscada prison, near Asunci6n,announced a hunger strike in protest againstthe government's failure to release them inaccordance with a promise made during anearlier hunger strike.

On 30 August some 20 wives and child-ren of the detainees staged a sit-in at thePapal Nuncio's office in Asunción, reportedlyafter their failure to see the Nuncio about

Appeal Against Death Sentences in the Congo ,Continued from page 2, column 3

thirsty for blood and power" and stated thatthey would receive neither pardon nor a trial.

Al urged that the four prisoners be givena fair and open trial on the basis of articles10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights. Several days after thePresident's speech, however, crowds reported-ly demonstrated in the capital, Brazzaville,against the possible summary execution ofthe prisoners. The Congolese authoritiesthen announced the formation of a new statesecurity court which would try all thoseaccused of complicity in plots against thestate. By the end of August no furtherdetails had been made public about a possibletrial of the four.

AI has already adopted several prisonerswho were accused of complicity in theassassination in March 1977 of the thenCongolese President Marien NGOUABI. Theseprisoners, who include former CongolesePrime Minister Pascal LISSOUBA, weresentenced to terms of imprisonment by amilitary court immediately after theassassination. They were allowed no defenceor appeal against their sentences (MarchNewsletter)0

STUDENT ARRESTS IN DJIBOUTIFifteen members of the Union Generale desEtudiants de Djibouti (UGED) were con-victed in Djibouti in August on chargesunder the security laws. They were onvacation in Djibouti from their studies inFrance. They were arrested for possessingcopies of a UGED paper published inFrance and containing strong criticisms ofthe Djibouti government.

The students were arrested between 14and 19 August and charged with variouspolitical offences, including attempting tooverthrow the security of the state, andoffences against the head of state and againstneighbouring countries. A French lawyerwent to Djibouti to defend the students, butcould not obtain a postponement of thetrial to enable him to prepare a defence.

Al cabled the Djibouti authorities askingfor the trial to be postponed so that the law-yer could prepare a defence, but the trialwas held on 24 August. All defendantswere convicted and sentenced to fines andprison sentences of one or two months,suspended in some cases.

Al later wrote to President HassanGOULED expressing concern that thesilldents appeared to have been imprisoned

exercising the right to freedom ofe 2ression. Al requested him to investigateth - allegations of torture made by thedefendants during the trial0

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 £6 (US$15) pet calendaryour.

Sabino MONTANARO. The minister had the continued detention of their husbandswarned Dr Laino that there might be "certain and fathers0

amnesty international

campaign for the abolition of tortureOctober 1978 Volume V Number 10 MONTHLY BULLETIN

Rural Persecution in El SalvadorIn a worldwide campaign on El Salvador to begin in October Al hopes to bringto international attention the persecution of peasant farmers and rural tradeunionists, priests and lay religious leaders in this Central American republic.

The campaign comes at a time when powerful political economicinterest groups inside El Salvador call for greater, more drastic repression ofrural unions and religious leaders, and of political opposition groups. Every day,newspapers carry full page statements condemning the "terrorist" peasantunions, linking them to the guerrilla groups that operate in El Salvador, andaccusing priests of the Roman Catholic Church of being communists and"terrorists".

The violently emotional tone of themass campaign, and of government calls fordrastic action to counter subversion, relatesin part to a very real threat of leftwingguerrilla violence. However, it can only beproperly understood against the backgroundof an earlier traumatic period of social un-rest in El Salvador, when, in 1932, morethan 30,000 peasants died in reprisalsfollowing a peasant revolt.

Since 1931 El Salvador has been governedby military officers. Today a single politicalparty, headed by the President, GeneralCarlos Humberto ROMERO, controls everyseat in the legislature, and the mayor ofeach town. Most opposition leaders havebeen exiled, and trade union activity isseverely restricted.

Persecution of the peasantry and of theRoman Catholic Church has made ElSalvador a major human rights problem area.In the last 18 months the detention, tortureand murder of peasant leaders has beenreported with alarming frequency. SincePresident Romero's election in February1977 violence has also turned against thoseRoman Catholic priests who support peasantorganizations and land reform, with thedetention, torture, expulsion and murder ofpriests and catechists. Much of the persecut-ion is carried out by ORDEN, a para-mliitaryrural vigilante force which is directed by theMinistry of Defence and headed by PresidentRomero: ORDEN functions both as asecurity force and a political organization.

In June this year El Salvador ratified theAmerican Convention on Human Rights(ACHR) and pledged under internationallaw to observe its provisions under allcircumstances.

The Right to Life: "Every person has theright to have his life respected. This rightshall be protected by law. . . No one shall bearbitrarily deprived of his life" (Article 4,ACHR).

The abduction and disappearance, tortureand murder of Salvadoreans by governmentforces relate directly to the freedom ofconscience of those who suffer such abuses.

While abduction and disappearance,torture and murder by security forces isclearly illegal under Salvadorean law, theactivities of opposition political parties andtrade unions, both rural and urban, wererestricted by the "Law in Defence andGuarantee of Public Order" (Ley de Defensay Garantia de Orden PUblico) of November1977. Under its clauses public meetings havebeen attacked, opposition communiquéshave been censored, union strike actionbanned and union leadeis arrested andprosecuted.

The freedom of Salvadorean citizens tomonitor and report human rights violationsto national and international bodies and theforeign news media is affected by a sectionof the law which provides for up to 3 years'imprisonment for those ". .. who propagateorally, in writing or by any other meanswithin the country or who send abroad, newsor information which is tendentious or false,destined to perturb the constitutional andlegal order, the tranquillity or security of thecountry, the economic or monetary regimeor the stability of stocks and public bonds;those who give access to such news andinformation in the mass information mediaand those Salvadorean citizens who whileoutside the country divulge news andinformation of this nature".

Also threatened by the new law are theRoman Catholic clergy who "abuse" theirclerical status by promoting the RomanCatholic doctrine of social justice, and humanrights. Up to 5 years' imprisonment can beinflicted on those who by "taking advantageof their status or personal condition, propa-gate or foment . ..doctrines that tendtoward the destruction of the establishedpublic order, or of the political and judicialorganization established by theConstitution".

Individual CasesFelipe SALINAS: Comasagua, March 1977Felipe SALINAS is a peasant farmer and laypreacher in the village of La Finquita inComasagua, El Salvador. He was detained athis home by National Guard troops on 5March 1977, and was stripped and severelybeaten while questioned about his activitiesand those of the parish priest. He was takenseveral miles from the village, and was dressedin a red robe and a paper crown. A woodencross was tied on his back. He was found bya roadside, still bound and unconscious, byvillagers several hours later.

Continued on next page, column 3

In February 1978 Al presented docu-mentation to President Romero on 62 casesof detention followed by disappearance andon 30 murders after detention. Most of thedead and missing were peasant farmers.Bodies of murdered prisoners were foundwith signs of torture. Some had been decapi-tated, had limbs amputated or were severelydisfigured.

No response has been received fromPresident Romero to Al's inquiry into the92 cases. Some of those missing may remainin detention in secret cells in the NationalGuard headquarters in the capital, SanSalvador, or in the barracks of the NationalPolice and the Customs Police. Some maylie murdered in unmarked graves.

The Right to Humane Treatment: "Everyperson has the right to have his physical,mental and moral integrity respected. . .No one shall be subjected to torture or tocruel, inhuman or degrading punishment ortreatment. All persons deprived of theirliberty shall be treated with respect for theinherent dignity of the human person"(Article 5, ACHR).

Prisoners released after long periods ofsecret incommunicado detention—illegalunder Salvadorean law—report prolongeddetention in windowless, almost airlesscells, some so small that a prisoner mustremain in a crouched or standing position.Released prisoners report severe torturefrom electric shocks, suspension by the arms,and prolonged, systematic beatings.

The Freedom of Conscience and Religion:"Everyone has the right to freedom of con-science and religion. This includes freedomto maintain or change one's religion orbeliefs, and to profess or disseminate one'sreligion or beliefs, either individually ortogether with others, in public or inprivate" (Article 12, ACHR).

CAT Bulletin 2

appealsURUGUAYANS MISSING IN

ARGENTINAThere is increasing concern at the fate ofUruguayan citizens who have disappeared inArgentina during the last two years. Thereare at least 60 well documented cases ofUruguayans disappearing during this period.Most were abducted in front of witnessesand some are known to have been arrestedby Argentinian police or armed forces.

The whereabouts of most of the missingUruguayans is unknown but some haverecently been seen in Argentinian pozos(secret detention and torture centers).Others have appeared in Uruguayan prisons.Relatives presenting writs of habeas corpushave usually received the official reply thatthe person was not in detention or had beenreleased.

One former prisoner, who had been heldin a pozo, has identified a number of hisfellow prisoners as Uruguayans. Accordingto this witness, some of the pozos containtorture rooms in which prisoners are sub-jected to severe maltreatment for periods ofup to 20 days. The Uruguayans were interro-gated about their activities in their nativecountry, and, in some cases, tortured bymembers of the Uruguayan Armed Forces.All reports state that the Uruguayans werein very poor health.

Among the disappeared people aboutwhom Al is concerned are two smallchildren. Simon Antonio RIQUELO was20 days old when he was abducted with hismother Sara Rita MENDEZ Lampodioin Buenos Aires in July 1976. Three monthslater, Sara Méndez was discovered in officialdetention in Montevideo, Uruguay's capital.Nothing has been heard of Simon since hisabduction.

The second disappeared child is adaughter born to Aida SANZ in unofficialdetention in Argentina. Witnesses claim thatthe infant was taken away from her mother.There is no further information on herwhereabouts.

Below is an incomplete list of Uruguayanswho have disappeared in Argentina sinceDecember 1977:

Julio César D'ELIA PALLARES, YolandaD'ELIA, Mario MARTINEZ, M. AntoniaCASTRO DE MARTINEZ, Raill BORELLICATTANEO, Miguel Angel RIO CASAS,Ataliva CASTILLO, Gustavo ARCE, RaülGAMBARO, Alfredo BOSCO MUNOZ,Gustavo GOICOCHEA and his wife, AlbertoCORSCH, Elena Lerena DE CORSCH,Jubelino Carneiro DA FONTAURA, CarolinaBARRIENTOS, Carlos Federico CABEZUDO,Celia GOMEZ ROSANO, Elsa AltunaFERNANDEZ, Eduardo O'NEIL VELAZQUEZ,Guillermo SOBRINO, German GARCIACALCAGNO, Juan CARDOZO, AlfredoMOYANO and his wife, Aida SANZ and herbaby daughter, the mother of Aida Sanz,Fernando DIAZ DE CARDFNAS.

As some of these missing prisoners mayhave been returned to Uruguayan detentioncenters, courteous letters should be sent tothe ministers of foreign affairs of Argentinaand Uruguay, asking for information on thepresent whereabouts of these people, to:Excelentisimo Sr Ministro de RelacionesExteriores, Adolfo Folle Martinez, Ministeriode Relaciones Exteriores, 18 Julio 1205,Montevideo, Uruguay; and to: ExcelentisimoSr Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores,Vicealmirante Oscar Antonio Montes,Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto,Arenales 761, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Copies of your letters should be sent tothe Argentinian and Uruguayan embassies inyour country.

POLICE OFFICIAL IN CHINAACCUSED OF TORTUREA police official in the People's Republicof China has been publicly accused ofmaltreating more than 470 prisoners.

A Reuter news agency report of 24August, which quoted an official broadcastfrom the country's third largest city,Tientsin, stated that a leading Tientsinpolice official had been accused before amass rally of "harassing" more than 470people in "organs responsible for reformingcriminals through labour" (prisons, labourcamps or other penal establishments whereprisoners carry out their sentences by"reform through labour"). The rally hadbeen organized by the Tientsin PublicSecurity Bureau (municipal police bureau).

Tientsin Radio said that the unnamedofficial had "mentally and physicallytortured the victims so that a large numberof persons were harassed, maimed or per-secuted to death".

During the past year, the official Chinesepress has publicized many cases of harass-ment or torture since the CulturalRevolution. Such maltreatment is prohibitedunder Chinese law—and has generally beenofficially attributed to alleged followersof the "gang of four"—the four partyleaders purged in October 1976.

The recent denunciation of the Tientsinpolice official seems to be the first case .where a precise reference to maltreatmentin "labour-reform" institutions has beenmade publicly.

Rural Persecution in El SalvadorContinued from page I, column 3

Felipe Salinas was again detained andinterrogated 11 days later, when he was cuton both arms, kicked and beaten, and hismouth filled with mud and urine. He wasagain discovered by local peasants after beingleft bound in an isolated area. His NationalGuard captors warned him that the nexttime he was detained he would be murdered.

Felipe de Jesus Chacón VASQUEZ andSerafin VASQUEZ: El Salitre, August 1977Felipe de Jesus Chacón VASQUEZ andSerafin VASQUEZ were leaders of the con-servative lay movement Cursillistas deCristiandad and had held religious andliterary classes in their own homes. Theywere arrested in the village of El Salitre on26 August by some 60 uniformed membersof the National Guard and the Hacienda(Rural) Police.

The body of Felipe de Jesas Chac6nVasquez was found the next day some twomiles from the village. Eye witnesses saidthe body was almost unrecognizable: "Theycut the scalp from his head and stripped theflesh from his face". The newspaper ofthe San Salvador Archbishopric stated thatSerafin Vasquez "was taken to an emptyhouse which he owned, and... vilelymurdered with machetes".

The authorities subsequently announcedthat the men had in fact been killed bygovernment troops but said that they werecattle thieves who had first attacked securityforces. No official comment was made onthe mutilation of the bodies.

Triansito VASQUEZ: San Pedro Perulapan,March 1978On the night of 20 March Trinsito Vasquez,a regional leader of the Federaciôn CampesinaCristiana de El Salvador (FECCAS) wasdetained when a meeting of peasant farmersin the village of La Esperanza was attackedby some 30 members of the local governmentorganization ORDEN.

His headless body was found the followingmorning, marked by torture. His head washung from a tree branch as if looking downon the body.

During the following week at least 14other FECCAS members were murdered byORDEN members'in the same area. Of 68peasant farmers arrested—all members ofpeasant unions-22 remain unaccounted for,their whereabouts unknown.

HOW YOU CAN HELPWrite a personal letter or postcard to: President Carlos Humberto Romero, PalacioPresidencial, San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America.

Respectfully request the government of El Salvador:To halt the persecution of peasant farmers and their labour and religious leaders;To abolish torture and arbitrary detention without trial;To publish the whereabouts of over 200 prisoners who have disappeared since 1976;To end immunity from lawful prosecution for members of the government organ-ization (ORDEN) and security forces who commit torture and murder;To observe human rights guaranteed by international agreements to whichEl Salvador is bound by international law.