Amnesty InternationalMarch 1978 Volume VIII Number 3 newsletter

Investigation urged into murder ofNicaraguan Opposition Leader

On 11 January AI cabled President Anastasio SOMOZA DEBAYLE of Nicaraguaand urged a full investigation into the murder of Dr Pedro Joaquin CHAMORROdirector of the daily newspaper La Prensa and principal opposition leader. DrChamorro was shot in Managua on 10 January by three men firing submachineguns.

Ars cable drew the Nicaraguan government's attention to the recentStockholm Declaration on the death penalty which condemns all judicial orextra-judicial executions by governmental agencies. The cable also pointed outthat the declaration condemns as executions murders for the purpose ofpolitical coercion that are condoned by governments.

Since September 1977, when the three- his release that criminal charges of "parasi-year state of siege was lifted, Dr Chamorro tism" would he brought against him. Mrhad become a leading critic of President Goldstein's trial was expected to start inSomoza's regime both through his newspaper, February.and the.coalition of opposition parties Union Contrary to earlier reports it has beende Liberacion Nacional (UDEL), as well as learned that Shagen ARUTYUNIAN andin his private capacity outside Nicaragua. Deacon Robert NAZARIAN, both members

During a visit to the United States of of the Helsinki monitoring group inAmerica at the end of 1977 to receive the Armenia, were not released after their arrestMaria Moor Cabot prize for journalism, Dr on 24 December (February Newsletter). MrChamorro spoke widely of human rights Arutyunian was tried on 18 January andviolations in Nicaragua. reportedly sentenced to 3 years' imprison-

Shortly before his death he sponsored a ment for "resisting the police", while nothingnumber of forums in which testimonies were further has been heard about Deacongiven by relatives of campesinos (peasant Nazarian.farmers) who were detained or "disappeared" • In Moscow Irina VALITOVA, the wife ofor who had been murdered by the Nicaraguan imprisoned "Helsinki monitor" Yury ORLOVNational Guard. La Prensa printed the testi- stated that she has been informed by officialsmonies in full, that the charges against her husband have

Immediately after the murder, trade been increased to "anti-Soviet agitation andunions and employers' associations in propaganda", which carries a maximumNicaragua began a strike, demanding an sentence of 7 years' imprisonment plusindependent inquiry into the killing. The 5 years' exile. Previously she had been toldstrikers' principal demand now is the resignat- that he would be charged with the "lession of President Somoza. serious" offence "dissemination of fabricat-

Following confirmation that the killing ions known to be false which defame thewould be investigated exclusively by the Soviet state and social system". The familiesNational Guard, Al also cabled President of Yury Orlov, Alexander GINZBURGSomoza on 13 January to urge that the and Anatoly SHCHARANSKY have beeninquest be carried out in cooperation with told to find defence counsel for thesean independent international delegation, imprisoned "Helsinki monitors", an indicat-suggesting that world public opinion would ion that their trials may begin soon.not otherwise accept its findings. Little It has been reported that Zviadprogress has so far been reported on the GAMSAKHURDIA and Merab KOSTAVA,National Guard's investigation, arrested members of the Georgian Helsinki

group, have been transferred back toMORE "HELSINKI MONITORS" Tbilisi from the Serbsky Institute ofARRESTED IN THE SOVIET UNION Forensic Psychiatry in Moscow. It is notIn January two more "Helsinki monitors" yet known whether Serbsky Institutewere arrested in the Soviet Union. Victor psychiatrists have ruled them to be mentallyRTSKHILADZE, a historian and a member healthy.of the Helsinki monitoring group in Georgia, • Andrei TVERDOKHLEBOV, a physicistwas arrested on 25 January and no news of and the founding secretary of Al's Moscowhim has been received since then. Grigory group, returned from Siberia to Moscow inGOLDSTEIN, a Jewish would-be emigrant mid-January after serving the sentence ofand also a member of the Georgian group, exile imposed on him in 1976 for "anti-was detained for eight days and informed on Continued at foot of next column

SINGAPORE PRISONERS DETAINEDWITHOUT TRIAL FOR 15 YEARSFebruary marked the 15th anniversary of thedetention without trial of three A/-adoptedprisoners of conscience in Singapore. SaidZAHARI (Singapore's leading poet), tradeunionist HO Toon Chin (also known as HOPiao), and Dr LIM Hock Siew (a medicalpractitioner and former official of theopposition Barisan Sosialis Party), have beendetained without trial since their arrest inFebruary 1963.

They were arrested in "Operation ColdStore", a massive security swoop in whichmore than 100 people were detained, includ-ing trade unionists, journalists, students andmembers of opposition parties.

A fourth prisoner, LEE Tze Tong, aformer opposition member of parliament,was arrested in October 1963 and remainsindetention "awaiting deportation to thecountry of his choice".

On 2 February Al published a revisededition of its Briefing on Singapore to coin-cide with the anniversary, and has alsomade urgent appeals on behalf of all fourprisoners.

Amnesty International Briefing on Singapore(second edition): 12 pages, is published in Englishby Amnesty International Publications, 10Southampton Street, London WC2E 7HF, England.Price 40 pence (US $1.00) plus postage.On 1 February the Singapore government

released LEE Eu Seng from detention. MrLee, aged 48, formerly managing directorof the Chinese language daily newspaperNanyang Siang Pau, had been detained with-out trial since January 1973. He was adoptedby Al as a prisoner of conscience. A govern-ment statement announcing his releasesaid that amendments to Singapore'sNewspaper and Printing Presses Act lastJuly had ensured that Lee Eu Seng could nolonger "make use of the Nanyang Siang Pauagainst the public interest"D

"Helsinki Monitors" arrestedcontinuedSoviet slander". On 6 February he wasdetained by police while staying in hissister's flat, and next day he was sentencedto 10 days' imprisonment. The officialSoviet news agency TASS has reported thatthis sentence was for "disturbing the peaceand insulting militiamen". The police hadcome to his sister's flat because MrTverdokhlebov has not received officialpermission to stay in Moscow, although it ishis home. After his arrest Mr Tverdokhlebovundertook a hunger strike in protest.

AI has written to the procurator of Moscowcity, M G MALKOV, to express its concernand to request an investigation into thesedevelopments0

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SOUTH AFRICA BANS Al REPORTOn 26 January the South African govern-ment banned Al's report on PoliticalImprisonment in South Africa, publishedon 18 January. No reasons were given forthe banning, which makes possession of thereport an offence. It has simply been declar-ed an "undesirable publication".

On 27 January, Al publicly condemnedthe banning of its 108-page report but saidthat the South African government's actionwas not unexpected as the report containsdetailed information concerning torture,political imprisonment and widespreadhuman rights violations in South Africa. Itwas, however, particularly regrettable thatthe people of South Africa would now bedeprived by their government of the oppor-tunity to find out what is done in their nameagainst those who seek to remove theinjustices of apartheid.

At the same time Al said that no officialresponse to the report had yet been receivedfrom the South African government andcommented: ' Once again, when confrontedwith the facts, Mr Vorster's government takesrefuge in censorship and seeks to suppressthe truth"0

Al CHAIRMAN VISITS CUBAAI chairman Thomas HAMMARBERG andan Al researcher visited Cuba from 28November to 6 December 1977 for talkswith government officials. The Cubangovernment received the two representativesin their personal capacity.

They met Dr Carlos Rafael RODRIGUEZ,Vice President of the Council of State, andDr Santiago Cuba FERNANDEZ, AttorneyGeneral of the Republic, as well as judgesfrom the Tribunal Supremo Popular(Supreme Court of Justice). They also hadtalks with officials from the ministries ofinterior and foreign relations and members ofnational organizations, including the UnitedNations Association and the Committee forthe Defence of the Revolution.

After meeting prison officials, includingthe head of the department of prisons, theAI representatives visited the Combinadodel Este maximum security prison on theoutskirts of Havana and an open regimeprison known as 'Construction Brigade',accompanied by officials from the Ministryof Interior and Department of Prisons. Theywere able to talk briefly with prisoners inCombinado del Este who had been sentencedfor "counter-revolutionary offences".Attempts to meet in private with namedprisoners were unsuccessful.

The visit was not intended as an investigat-ion and no information was gathered fromsources outside government and officialorganizations.

The Cuban authorities provided informa-tion on the new judicial and penal systemand on the re-education program in the"progressive plan". Officials also gave someinformation on the number of prisoners invarious prisons and under different prisonregimes.

AI issued a brief public statement on the

visit towards the end of December.The delegates will be reporting on their

visit to Al's International ExecutiveCommittee 0

EXECUTIONS CONTINUE INBANGLADESHConcern at reports of continuing executionsof people allegedly involved in the attempt-ed military coups in Bangladesh in late 1977prompted a cable from AI on 19 Januaryto President Ziaur RAHMAN.

During his visit to Dacca on 29 December,Al Secretary General Martin ENNALS hadbeen assured by the President that theexecutions had stopped. However, theorganization has strong reason to believe thatexecutions still continued at that time andthat at least 130 and perhaps several hundredmilitary men were executed after September,following summary trial procedures.

In early January Al received a list datedDecember 1977 of 129 military personnelalready executed, as well as the names of27 others still awaiting execution. Thegovernment has not yet published anynames of those executed0

DEATHS AND DETENTIONSIN EL SALVADOROn 6 January Al wrote to President CarlosHumberto ROMERO of El Salvador express-ing concern for 62 prisoners whose detentionhas not been officially acknowledged, and30 peasant farmers allegedly murdered bymembers of the security forces or theofficial civilian and paramilitary organizationOrganización Democrdtica Nacionalista(ORDEN).

Most of the 30 people murdered hadbeen briefly detained without judicialwarrants, and then killed. Many of the bodieswere found in isolated areas and bore marksof torture. Some had been decapitated, hadlimbs amputated, or were severely disfigured:one victim was only identifiable by an oldscar as his scalp and the skin on his facehad been slashed off.

Al's letter to General Romero drewattention to the considerable discussion inEl Salvador which has accompanied therecent release of a number of politicalprisoners whose detentions were neverofficially acknowledged, as well as state-ments made by these individuals affirmingthat other detainees are held secretly invarious police and military barracks.Particular concern was expressed at evidencethat judges assigned to carry out the remedyof habeas corpus, to determine the prisoners'whereabouts and the legality of theirdetention, are consistently obstructed byexecutive authority at all levels.

AI requested the El Salvador governmentto order the immediate release of allprisoners now held in secret detention, orimmediately bring them to trial. A fullinquiry into the 30 killings and measures to

prevent further abuses of this nature werealso requested.

Eighty-three pages of documentationaccompanied the letter to President Romero.Similar documentation on the 92 cases hasalso been submitted to the Inter-AmericanCommission on Human Rights. The publicmaterial is available in stencilled form fromAl's International Secretariat on requestO

TEN PRISONERS EXECUTEDIN CONGOTen prisoners were executed in Congo on7 February after a month-long trial of over40 people charged with complicity in theassassination of President Marien NGOUABIlast year. The 10 prisoners were sentencedto death at the end of their trial on 6February. A further death sentence wasimposed on a Congolese political refugeeresident in France.

The trial, which began oh 3 January, wasthe second to be held in connection withPresident Ngouabi's assassination on 18March 1977 and the killing several dayslater of Brazzaville's Roman CatholicArchbishop, Emile BIAYENDA.

Shortly after the two assassinations,seven people allegedly involved in the killingswere sentenced to death by a militarytribunal and immediately executed. One ofthese was former President AlphonseMASSAMBA-DEBAT. Twenty other allegedconspirators, including Professor PascalLISSOUBA, Prime Minister under MrMassamba-Debat, were sentenced to termsof imprisonment by the military tribunal.AI subsequently took up the cases of sevenof the sentenced prisoners, as well as fiveprisoners detained without trial (July 1977Newsletter).

When news of the sentences was received,Al immediately cabled Congo's PresidentJoachim YHOMBI OPANGO appealingfor clemency for the ten prisoners. Followingthe executions Al expressed regret that theyhad been carried out almost immediatelyand without any opportunity for an appeal.

In addition to the 11 death sentences, fourpeople were sentenced to life imprisonmentand 17 others received prison sentences. Thedefendants were represented by state-appointed lawyers, who appear to have hadlittle opportunity to defend their clients0

Al DELEGATES DISCUSS HUMANRIGHTS WITH INDIAN GOVERNMENTAn Al delegation consisting of ProfessorJames FAWCETT, President of the EuropeanCommission of Human Rights and Professorof International Law at King's College,London, and Yvonne TERLINGEN, amember of APs Research Department,visited India from 30 December 1977 to19 January 1978.

The delegates met Indian Prime MinisterMorarji DESAI, and had detailed discussionswith Mr Shanti BUSHAN, the Law Minister,and Mr Charan SINGH, the Home Minister.One of the delegates also met the ChiefContinued on page 3, column 3

3

Stefan Wladimirov GUSENKO,BulgariaStefan Wladimirov GUSENKO, a 50-year-oldelectrician, was arrested on 18 September1976 and sentenced to 3 years' imprisonmentfor distributing "anti-communist literature".Before his trial on 28 December 1976 MrGusenko was kept in solitary confinementat the central prison in Sofia, Bulgaria, andhis wife and two children, aged 12 and 15,were not allowed to see him.

According to AI information, Mr Gusenkowas tried, charged and sentenced only forpossessing and distributing western literatureto his friends. He was known at work and byhis friends to have criticized working condit-ions and violations of human and civil rightsby the Bulgarian authorities.

The two articles in the Bulgarian penalcode under which Mr Gusenko was reportedlysentenced proscribe non-violent activities.Article 108 carries a term of up to 8 years'imprisonment for individuals who "intend toweaken the power of the Bulgarian People'sRepublic, propagate fascist or anti-democratic ideologies, support acts againstthe People's Republic or publicly incite theseacts, or if they disseminate derogatory state-ments which harm the social order, ordisseminate literature which advocates any ofthese practices". Individuals who "dissemin-ate untruthful statements which could incitemistrust amongst the Bulgarian people of thepower of the state, or confusion in society"are liable to a term of up to 2 years' imprison-ment under article 273.

Mr Gusenko's present place of detentionis not known to Al. His wife and relativesare apparently under constant surveillanceand have reportedly been harassed by mem-bers of the Bulgarian secret police.

Please write courteously worded lettersurging the immediate release of StefanWladimirov Gusenko, to: Mr Todor Zhivkov,Chairman of the State Council, Sofia,Bulgaria.

Ahmed Fu'ad NEGM, Arab Republicof EgyptAhmed Fu'ad NEGM, a 48-year-old poet,was arrested in January 1977 following thecountrywide food riots in Egypt (March1977 Newsletter). He was later released pend-ing trial, but re-arrested on 16 Novemberafter attending an illegal political meetingwith several students at Ain Shams Univer-sity in Cairo. On 29 November Mr Negmand 21 other political detainees began ahunger strike in protest against their detentionand unsatisfactory prison conditions.

Although no date has yet been set for Mr Negm's trial, his case will appear before a military tribunal, rather than a civil court.

Ahmed Fu'ad Negm had been arrestedseveral times before, either for membershipof an illegal political organization, orbecause of his poetry which has often beencritical of the government.

Mr Negm is detained at Tora prison, andAI is particularly concerned for his health.He is known to be suffering from a chronicstomach ulcer, which reportedly started tohaemorrhage during his detention.

Please send courteously worded appealsurging the immediate release of AhmedFu'ad Negm to: His Excellency PresidentMuhammad Ankvar Sadat, Cairo, ArabRepublic of Egypt.

Mrs Nurtjahja MURAD, IndonesiaNurtjahja MURAD, aged 42, was born inWest Sumatra, Indonesia. At an early age shemoved to Jakarta and, after completing herstudies, became a teacher of Indonesian. In1959 Mrs Murad obtained a scholarship tostudy Russian language and literature at theLumumba University in Moscow. Aftergraduating in mid-1965, she returned toIndonesia a few weeks before the abortivecoup in October of that year. She is marriedto Murad Aidit, the younger brother of thelate Communist Party chairman D N Aidit.

Soon after the attempted coup Mr Aiditwas arrested and detained for two years.During this time, Nurtjahja Murad taughtin a secondary school and supplemented herincome by part-time work as a dressmaker tosupport her four children. Her husband wasreleased in 1967 but re-arrested in September1968, along with Nurtjahja Murad, whotook her fifth and newly-born child intodetention with her. The couple were arrestedalong with several other graduates fromSoviet and Eastern European universitieswho were regarded as security risks becauseof their academic training in communistcountries.

Nurtjahja Murad had not played a politi-cal role in the Soviet Union or in Indonesiaafter her return. The accusations against herprobably relate to her status as wife ofMurad Aidit, who was more politicallyactive than herself, and as sister-in-law ofthe chairman of the Indonesian CommunistParty (PKI).

After about nine months in detentioncamps in Jakarta, Mrs Murad was transferredto Bukit Duni prison in May 1969 and placedin solitary confinement. In 1970 she suffereda severe attack of gallstones and was inhospital for 40 days. On her return to Bukit

Duri she was again placed in isolation and herhealth deteriorated. Only in early 1971 wasthe isolation decree lifted.

In 1971 Mrs Murad was moved toPlantungan Women's Detention Camp inCentral Java and in November 1976 trans-ferred to Bulu prison in Semarang with 45other women from Plantungan. Thesewomen, none of whom have been formallycharged or tried, are kept in isolation. Theywere not released in the December 1977amnesty in Indonesia since the authoritiesallege they are political "diehards".

Murad Aidit, however, did benefit fromthe amnesty and has returned to Java afterbeing imprisoned on the island of Buru.

Letters appealing for Nurtjahja Murad'srelease should be sent to coincide with 21April—Kartini Day (Women's Day) inIndonesia.

Please send courteously worded lettersappealing for Nurtjahja Murad's uncondition-al release to: President Suharto, Istana Negara,Jalan Veteran, Jakarta, Indonesia.

News of Past CampaignsThe Israeli Attorney General's Officehas informed Al of the release of Taisiral-ARURI on 19 January.

Mr al-Aruri, who had been detainedsince April 1974 under the Defence(Emergency) Regulations of 1945, appearedbefore the Appeals Committee on 1December 1977 when it was decided notto renew his detention order.

The letter referred to the "thousands ofletters" received from Al members appealingon behalf of Mr al-Aruri (November 1977Prisoners of the Month Campaign).

Prisoner Releases and CasesThe International Secretariat learnedin January of the release of 195 prisonersunder adoption or investigation and tookup 155 new cases.

AI Delegates Discuss Human Rights withIndian GovernmentContinued from page 2, column 3

Ministers of Kerala, West Bengal and AndhraPradesh, and the Governor of AndhraPradesh. Professor Fawcett met the ChiefJustice of India and judges of the SupremeCourt and High Courts of Delhi andCalcutta. He addressed members of theSupreme Court Bar Association in NewDelhi as well as the Indian Law Institutethere. In Calcutta, Professor Fawcettaddressed the High Court Bar Association.The delegates visited Tihar Jail in New Delhi,Presidency Jail in Calcutta and HyderabadCentral Jail, Andhra Pradesh.

The delegates met various lawyers, members of civil liberties committees and former prisoners of conscience who had been adopted by Amnesty International.

A report from the delegates on their visitis being presented to Al's InternationalExecutive Committee meeting on 3-5March0

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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APPEAL HEARINGS OF CHARTER 77ASSOCIATES IN CZECHOSLOVAKIAAt an appeal hearing on 5 and 6 Januarythe Czechoslovak Supreme Court upheldthe 31/2 year sentence passed on agronomistAles MACHACEK and reduced nuclearphysicist Vladimir LASTUVKA's prisonterm from 31/2 to 21/2 years.

The two men were arrested on 20 and25 January 1977 respectively and chargedwith distributing "illegal" literature includingthe Charter 77 manifesto. They weresentenced on 28 September 1977(November 1977 Newsletter).

• On 12 January 1978 the Supreme Courtheard the appeals of journalist Jiri LEDERERwriter and theatre director FrantisekPAVLICEK, playwright Vaclav HAVEL andtheatre director Ota ORNEST. The courtupheld the sentences passed on Jiri Lederer(3 years), Frantisek Pavlicek (17 monthssuspended for 3 years) and Vaclav Havel(14 months suspended for 3 years), andreduced Ota Ornest's prison term from 31/2to 21/2 years.

The four men were arrested in January1977 for "anti-state activities" (February1977 Newsletter). On 18 October the PragueMunicipal Court sentenced Ota Ornest andJiri Lederer to 31/2 and 3 years' imprisonmentrespectively for subversion. FrantisekPavlicek was sentenced to 17 months(suspended for 3 years) for assisting in sub-version and Vaclav Havel to 14 months(suspended for 3 years) for attempting toharm the interests of the Republic(November 1977 Newsletter).

AI appealed to the CzechoslovakProcurator General and the Minister ofJustice of the CSR on 9 January 1978 toquash the sentences passed on the four menand urged that their appeals be heard in anopen court0

PRESIDENT OF BRAZILIAN STMRELEASES 2 ADOPTED POCsOn 25 January Admiral Helio LEITE,President of the Superior Military Tribunal(STM) in Brazil, ordered the release of Al-adoptees Fued SAAD and Stanislau AlkimMAGALHAES after their lawyers had pre-sented writs of habeas corpus. Both werearrested in August 1972 and sentenced to21/2 and 31/2 years' imprisonment respectivelyfor attempting to re-organize the BrazilianCommunist Party.

Fued Saad, a medical doctor who suffersfrom a serious heart complaint and diabetes,was not released when his sentenced expiredin November 1977 but served an extra 2months. Stanislau Magalhdes, a lawyer,served an extra 13 months at the end of hissentence.

The writs of habeas corpus were filedwith the STM against the prisoners' continuedand unjustified detention. After the releaseorder, the lawyers stated at a press conferencein Rio de Janeiro that this was the first timethe STM had granted habeas corpus to personlcharged under the Law of National Security,

as this is forbidden under the InstitutionalAct Number 5 which gives the president ofthe country exceptional powers.

However, although both men are free,their cases are not yet closed. When the STMreconvenes it will have to reconsiderwhether its President was justified in grant-ing habeas corpus to the prisoners. Further-more the tribunal will have to consider thePublic Prosecutor's request for longersentences for Dr Saad and Senhor Magalhdes.Until a decision is taken the two defendantswill be free El

TANZANIA RELEASESOn 5 February Tanzanian President JuliusNYERERE marked the first anniversary ofthe foundation of Chama Cha Mapinduzi('Revolutionary Party') with an amnesty forover 7,000 prisoners. The majority wereconvicted petty criminals but the amnestyalso included 26 detainees held without trialunder the Preventive Detention Act. Amongthese were two Al-adopted prisoners of con-science—Otini KAMBONA, a former mem-ber of parliament and journalist, and hisbrother Mattiya KAMBONA, a former civilservant—who had both been detainedincommunicado since 1967 without charge ortrial, except for a few months of freedomin 1972. Al had made many appeals fortheir release.

Despite renewed appeals, including apetition signed by several prominent Britishpoliticians and academics and others,Abdulrahman Mohamed BABU (Prisoners ofthe Month Campaign, October 1977) andother Zanzibar treason trial detainees andprisoners were not released. Seven of thoseconvicted in Zanzibar were freed in August1977 after serving 5 years of sentencesranging from 7 to 15 years' imprisonment.

However, according to Al information,Zanzibari detainees held at Dodoma prisonon the Tanzania mainland were informed byTanzanian Home Affairs Minister HassanMOYO in September: "You will stay heretill you die". Al has made several proteststo the Tanzanian authorities about the useof indefinite detention without trial.

Al cabled President Nyerere welcomingthe amnesty and expressing the hope that itwould be a step towards further releases0

ISRAEL IMPRISONS JOURNALISTSAl is closely following the cases of twojournalists currently detained in Israel. HansLEBRECHT, a member of the CentralCommittee of the Israel New CommunistParty who also writes for the French news-paper L'Humanite and the Italian news-paper L'Unita, was arrested on 18 Januaryalong with Panayiotis PASCHALIS, a GreekCypriot communist and correspondent forthe Greek daily newspaper Haravghi.

Both men are presently awaiting trial oncharges of espionage. Mr Paschalis who is onhunger strike, is being detained for passingon information to enemy agents. This

reportedly consists of photographs of sometourist maps and sites. Mr Lebrecht, hisalleged accomplice, is now free on bail0

AMNESTY IN BOLIVIA FOLLOWSHUNGER STRIKEThe Bolivian government has yielded to mostof the demands made during a nationwidehunger strike that began on 29 December1977 and lasted more than 20 days. Thehunger strikers were demanding a fullamnesty for political prisoners and 348exiles, as well as the legalization of tradeunions. Shortly before the concessionswere announced, churches housing thestrikers were broken into, and over 100strikers were detained.

After the hunger strike,.19 politicalprisoners were still excluded from theamnesty. Bolivian authorities initially statedthat the 19 would be placed in the custodyof civil courts, although some had alreadybeen detained without charge for over twoyears. On 14 February, however, chargeswere dropped against the last of the 19prisoners and all were released. Al hasbeen pleased to learn that all Bolivianprisoners of conscience were at liberty onthat dateD

Al DELEGATION MEETS PAKISTANGOVERNMENTAn Al delegation visited Pakistan from 20to 25 January. Al delegates ProfessorMflmtaz SOYSAL, Vice-Chairman of Al'sInternational Executive Committee andProfessor of Constitutional Law in theFaculty of Political Sciences at AnkaraUniversity, and Yvonne TERLINGEN amember of Al's Research Department, tointroduce the organization to the country'smilitary government.

The delegates met the Chief Martial LawAdministrator and Chief of Army Staff,General Zia-ul HAQ. They had detaileddiscussions with Mr A K BROHI, Adviserto the Chief Martial Law Administrator onLaw and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr AghaSHAHI, Advisor to the Chief Martial LawAdministrator on Foreign Affairs, and MrRoedad KHAN, Secretary, Ministry ofInterior. They also met the AttorneyGeneral, Mr Sharifuddin PIRZADA.

In Lahore, the delegates attended a sessionof the summary military court, tryingcivilians. In addition, the delegates talkedto a number of lawyers, including the defenceand prosecution counsels of former PrimeMinister Zulfikar Ali BHUTTO.

A report from the delegates on their visit is being presented to Ars InternationalExecutive Committee meeting on 3-5 Marchl=I

AMNES IT 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 515 per calendar year.

amnesty international

campaign for the abolition of tortureMarch 1978 Volume V Number 3 MONTHLY BULLETIN

Equatorial Guinea: "An Immense Torture Center""A thick wall of silence, a silence of terror and of the grave, surrounds every-thing that goes on there." This is how two escaped political prisoners fromEquatorial Guinea describe their country in a detailed testimony recentlyreceived by AI. In retelling their prison ordeal, the two men charge thatGuinean President Macias NGUEMA—during whose nine-year rule a quarterof the country's population has gone into exile—has made Equatorial Guineainto "an immense torture center" where "the way out is the way to thecemetery".

AI considers the report significant in that,for the first time, it provides detailedcorroboration of the numerous allegationsreceived over nine years, of brutal murders,torture and inhuman prison conditions inEquatorial Guinea.

The testimony gives names and circumst-ances of death of 12 prisoners who died aftertorture in Bata Prison. Two allegedly diedafter having their eyes torn out by GuineanNational Guards. Others died after beatingsand bizarre humiliations were inflictedduring forced labour. For example, two menwere forced to re-enact the crucifixion ofChrist, participating in a savage "way of theCross" accompanied by a group of otherprisoners. After their fellow-prisoners werecrucified, the remaining group was forcedto celebrate a mock-mass over the dyingmen. The present government of EquatorialGuinea is hostile to the Roman Catholicfaith of a minority of the population.

President Nguema himself is mentioned asfiguring in one murder, and as having know-ledge of another. In the first case PresidentNguema allegedly ordered a prisoner broughtto Bata's airport to hunt rats. When the manfailed to catch more than four, the rats andthe prisoner were burned alive. In thesecond case the President referred in a publicspeech to a statistician whose fingers hadbeen cut off "because he could not count".The actual fate of the statistician—accordingto witnesses quoted in the report—was evenmore horrible. The man's fingers, hands,feet and ears were cut off before he died.

In the testimony, general conditions forall inmates at Bata Prison, and especially forthe political prisoners, are said to be bad.Up to 18 prisoners can be kept in cellsmeasuring either one meter square, or 2 by 3meters. Under the harsh regime of prisondirector Salvador ELA and his deputyFrancisco EDU, male and female prisonerswork for long hours without any food ordrink. Their only food is provided by theirfamilies, and those without families canstarve to death.

The testimony goes on: "The National Guard invented the most incredible methods

of torture, such as the 'injection' method,where they beat a prisoner on the ribs andtesticles, while forcing him to swallow water.Women had thorns and other objects thrustup their vaginas, and then they were raped.If the guards got bored with this, theymight tie up a prisoner with wire, pourpetrol over him, and burn him alive in theprison courtyard, in front of everyone. . . .

"This method must have seemed tooquick to them, for they discovered anothermethod: hanging a man from his hands andfeet by nylon cords from a pole parallel tothe ground. After a while the weight of theprisoner's body would make the cords cutto the bone. Others would be beaten withclubs until their flesh swelled and woundsappeared. Then the wounds would be sprayedwith petrol. The guards would not set theprisoners alight, but allowed the petrol todry out their wounds in the heat of the sun,splitting the flesh open. People would die,literally split open. Antonio NDO was oneof many who died this way". A list of 490names of civil servants who have died underthe regime was published by the Guineanexile community at the end of 1976, but eveneven this cannot be regarded as complete 0

MEXICAN PRISONERSDENOUNCE TORTUREAn open letter published last month by 16prisoners held in Cuernavaca Penitentiary,in Morelos State, Mexico, claims that theyhave been subjected to severe ill-treatmentsince their arrest. The prisoners also claimthat another prisoner, Gabino PERALTANUNEZ, died on 1 January as a result ofinjuries caused by torture which were notgiven proper medical care.

Methods of torture described in the letterinclude electric shocks, near-drowning andbeatings, especially about the head. Victimswere allegedly threatened with death andcastration, and with the torture of theirwives and children.

The authors of the letter were all arrestedbetween August 1975 and January 1976,and accused of criminal acts including a bankraid and a murder. But the prisoners haverepeatedly claimed that the charges are

false, that their confessions were extractedunder torture and that they are politicalprisoners.

Their arrests were followed by periods ofincommunicado detention of up to threemonths, despite the fact that Mexican lawrequires that detainees be brought before ajudge within 72 hours of arrest.

On 9 April 1976 30 Roman Catholicpriests from Cuernavaca publicly denouncedthe breach of procedures and ill-treatmentwhich the prisoners had received: "In theirtestimonies, the prisoners reveal the existenceof a torture center in the 'Los Volcanos'district. We know, however, that torture isnot new in the state (of Morelos); and thismethod is used for obtaining confessions...We wish to protest strongly and condemnthose violations which are not only contraryto the teaching of Our Saviour Jesus Christ...but also diametrically opposed to the respectdue to every individual regardless of race, sex,religious belief or political ideas. Whether[the prisoners are] guilty or innocent ofthese crimes, torture degrades both thosewho inflict it and those who endure it."

Al has received substantial evidence thattorture has been applied against politicalsuspects in Mexico, and that there are clan-destine places used by security forces forinterrogation. In May 1977 and again inJanuary 1978 Al expressed its concern to theMexican government about this group ofprisonersE

INQUIRY URGED INTO TORTUREIN NAMIBIAOn 26 January Al called for an urgent andindependent inquiry into the torture ofpolitical detainees in Namibia by the SouthAfrican security police. In a cable to SouthAfrica's Administrator in Namibia, JudgeMarthinus STEYN, Al also condemned therecent banning of a booklet entitled Torture-A Cancer in Our Society, produced by twowhite churchmen in Namibia.

The 62-page booklet consists largely ofsworn affidavits by former detainees allegingthat they were subjected to beatings, electricshocks and other forms of torture duringinterrogation by South African securitypolice in Namibia. These affidavits were usedlast December in an unsuccessful attempt toobtain a court injunction to prevent thesecurity police from further interrogating orassaulting one detainee. The booklet alsoincludes photographic and medical evidencein support of the detainees' claims.

Continued on next page, column 3

CAT Bulletin 2

appealsAlgirdas ZYPRE, USSRAlgirdas ZYPRE is a 50-year-old Lithuanianheld in the psychiatric unit of the centralhospital of a complex of corrective labourcolonies in the Mordovia ASSR, severalhundred kilometers south of Moscow.AI iscurrently investigating his case. Mr Zypreand others claim that he has been hospitaliz-ed not for medical reasons, but because hehas persistently protested against the 25-yearterm of imprisonment which he is serving.

In 1944, when Algirdas Zypre was 17years old, he joined Lithuanian partisanswho were fighting the accession of Lithuaniato the USSR. Armed activities ended around1952, but some partisans, including MrZypre, remained in hiding. He emerged inthe mid-1950s, reportedly in response to anofficial offer of amnesty to former partisansHe worked as a construction labourer untilhis arrest in January 1958. Several monthslater he was convicted of "counter-revolutionary activity" during his years as apartisan.

In complaints to Soviet authorities, MrZypre has asserted that his 1958 sentencewas 15 years' imprisonment and that heshould have been released in 1973. Theauthorities, however, have told Mr Zyprethat his sentence was 25 years. Mr Zypreclaims that records of his trial have beenfalsified to require him to serve 25 years.

Several months after Mr Zypre's 1958trial, Soviet criminal law was amendedso that 15 years became the maximumsentence allowed for imprisonment. Thisnew maximum was made retroactive formost categories of offenders, but politicaloffenders were specifically excluded. Anumber of nationalist-partisan prisoners arestill serving 25-year terms of imprisonmentimposed shortly before the 25-year sentencewas abolished.

Mr Zypre lodged repeated demands thathe be released on the grounds that hissentence had expired, but in October 1973he was transferred from a corrective labourcolony to the psychiatric unit in Mordovia.The diagnosis of prison psychiatrists thatMr Zypre was suffering from "prolongedreactive psychosis" was probably confirmedby the Serbsky Institute of ForensicPsychiatry in Moscow when Mr Zypre wassent there for examination in 1974 andagain in early 1977.

Appealing to the USSR ProcuratorGeneral in February 1977, Mr Zypre allegedthat throughout his three and a half yearsin the psychiatric hospital he had been keptin solitary confinement, that since January1975 he had been treated with drugs whichwere "unnecessary" and "gravely impairedhis health" and that on two occasions hehad been beaten by male nurses. He alsoclaimed that doctors had told him he wasnot mentally ill, but that treatment would

continue until he agreed that his sentencewas 25 years.

Both a former fellow-prisoner of MrZypre and his sister, who visited him at theSerbsky Institute, claim that Mr Zypre doesnot require hospitalization for mental illness.

Please send courteously worded lettersto Dr V V Kokorev, head of the psychiatricsection of the central hospital of theMorclovia corrective labour colonies com-plex, expressing concern at reports thatAlgirdas Zypre has been mistreated thereand requesting information as to his diagnosisand treatment: SSSR, RSFSR, MordovskayaASSR, Tengushevsky raion 431200, pos. Bara-shevo, uchr. ZhKh 385/3-2, korpus No. 12,Psikhyiatricheskoye Otdeleniye Bolnitsy ITU,Nachalniku Otdeleniya, Dr V V Kokorevu.Letters should also be sent to Mr RomanRudenko, Procurator General of the USSR,urging a full investigation of the circum-stances of Mr Zypre's confinement in thepsychiatric unit: SSSR, g. Moskva,Pushkinskaya ul. 15a, Prokuratura SSSR,Generalnomu Prokuroru, R A Rudenko .

Ananias MAIDANA PALACIOS,ParaguayAnanias MAIDANA PALACIOS, one of thelongest-serving political prisoners in LatinAmerica, is in very bad health. He wasrecently transferred from Emboscada prisoncamp to a police clinic. Serior MaidanaPalacios suffers frOm heart trouble andother illnesses contracted during 19 yearsof imprisonment in poor conditions. Hisarrest in 1959 was followed by seven monthsof continuous torture, and his health hascontinually deteriorated since then. Reportsindicate that he is now unable to walkunaided.

Serior Maidana Palacios has been hospital-ized several times. Tn March 1976 he wasadmitted after a prolonged hunger strike. Adoctor's report at the time said he was"suffering from hypertension, stomachulcers, haemorroids, anaemia. ..."

Señor Maidana Palacios was accused ofbeing a communist at the time of his arrest,but in 19 years he has never been broughtto trial. For 16 years he was held in a cellwith nine other prisoners at ComisariaTercera, a police station in the center ofAsunción, where conditions are harsh andill-treatment of prisoners is common.

Please write courteously worded lettenexpressing concern about Sr MaidanaPalacios' health and requesting that he bereleased so that he can receive suitablemedical attention. Write to: Exmo. SeñorPresidente de la Repfiblica, General AlfredoStroessner, Palacio de Gobierno, Asunción,Paraguay.

AI REACTS TO EUROPEAN COURTRULING ON TORTUREOn 18 January the European Court ofHuman Rights ruled that the interrogationpractices used by the United Kingdom inNorthern Ireland in 1971 were "inhumanand degrading", but not "torture". In

response to the court's ruling, Al announcedthat it would continue to denounce astorture the use by any government anywhereof the interrogation techniques used inNorthern Ireland.

AI stated that its continuing effort tocombat torture anywhere in the world madeit impossible for the organization to followthe restrictive standard set by the EuropeanCourt.

Al condemned these interrogationpractices as torture as early as 1971. At thattime the organization stated: "It is a formof torture to force a man to stand at thewall in the posture described for many hoursin succession, in some cases for days onend, progressively exhausted,and drivenliterally out of his mind by being subjectedto continuing noise, and being deprived offood, sleep and even light." Since thenmedical and psychiatric evidence has indicat-ed that these procedures have caused long-term physical and mental damage to victims.

Reacting to the recent ruling, Al express-ed disappointment that the court arrived atits finding despite its reported acceptancethat "the five techniques were applied incombination, with premeditation, and forhours at a stretch. They caused, if not actualbodily injury, at least intense physical andmental suffering. .. and also led to acutepsychiatric disturbances during interrogation".

Al is studying the full text of the court's decision with a view to preparing an analysis.

AI fears that this ruling may affectindividual complaints against the Britishgovernment currently lodged with theEuropean Commission of Human Rights inStrasbourg. These complaints, referred tothe commission between 1972 and 1976, arelikely to be dropped or rejected after thecourt's judgement.

Inquiry Urged into Torture in Namibia

Continued from page 1, column 3The statements contained in the booklet

are fully consistent with other informationabout the use of torture in Namibia whichAl has received over a period of years and isstill receiving. An accumulation of evidencesuggests that these practices have becomemore widespread and systematic than everbefore.

In its cable Al said: "The need for a fulland independent inquiry is extremely urgentas some way must be found of curbing theexcesses which are being daily committed bySouth African security police and militaryforces against the inhabitants of Namibia.Unless immediate action is taken both byAdministrator Steyn and by the 'contactgroup' of five Western powers currentlynegotiating Namibia's future with SouthAfrica, there can be little hope of reconcil-iation and peaceful settlement in the country.We have therefore urged the ForeignMinisters of the five countries—United Statesof America, France, Federal Republic ofGermany, United Kingdom and Canada— toendorse our call for an independentinquiry"0

Amnesty Internationalseeks

Head of Press and Communications Unit,

within their London-based headquarters,

to handle media and public relations

at an international level and produce

printed and audio-visual information

material.Applicants should have had extensive

experience of campaigning journalism,

foreign news editing (in print or radio/

TV) and/or promotional work; interest

in international affairs and human rights,

including some Third World experience;

and must have the ability to coordinate

and run a small team. Fluent English

essential, together with a working know-

ledge of French, Spanish and/or German.

Salary £4780 per annum. Closing date

24 March 1978.

For further details and applicationform please contact: AmnestyInternational, 10 Southampton Street,

London WC2E 7HF, England or 'phone01-836 7788, Ext 289 .