Impunity Watch: Europe

French Court Halts Corruption Probe

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France – On Thursday, a French appeals court halted a probe into the source of funding for luxury cars and property owned by three African leaders.  The appeals court denied the standing of the activists as plaintiffs to bring a lawsuit against three African presidents.

The activists are part of a non-governmental organization known as Transparency International, which describes itself as a “global coalition against corruption.” Transparency launched the investigation in December 2008 by filing a complaint against three African leaders, based on information contained in a 2007 French police report. The complaint alleged that Presidents Omar Bongo of Gabon, Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo, and Teodoro Obiang of Equitaorial Guinea purchased property and vehicles now held in France via “concealment and misuse of public funds.”

In May 2009, the embezzlement investigation was given approval by a French magistrate judge. The May ruling determined that there was enough preliminary evidence to begin a judicial probe into whether the assets in France were purchased with embezzled money from African state treasuries.

This ruling occurred nearly two years after the 2007 police report noted that the three presidents held property, bank accounts, and vehicles, or some combination thereof, in France. President Obiang allegedly embezzled money from his country and held it in seventy different bank accounts. His son was the owner of two luxury cars worth 4.2 million euros, and the lessee of an apartment in an affluent Paris neighborhood. President Bongo died last year, but his son, Ali Ben Bongo, still holds the thirty-nine different pieces of property in Paris and Riviera districts as indicated in the 2007 report. In addition, 112 French bank accounts were identified in the name of Bongo or his relatives. The family of President Sassou-Nguesso owns several luxury limousines and twenty four properties around Paris. One mansion is worth 18.9 million euros.

From left to right, Presidents Obiang, Sassou-Nguesso, and Bongo (now deceased). Photo Source: AFP.

President Obiang’s lawyers lauded the ruling, and accused the Transparency activists of using “humanitarian alibis” to hide their true aims. In a press release, counsel argued that the ruling indicates “that attempts to use the French justice system for obscure purposes are doomed to fail.”

Transparency International’s lead attorney, William Bourden, criticized the opinion harshly, stating “Those in France and Africa who organize and take advantage of the looting of African public money will be celebrating with champagne." Transparency will appeal the decision to the French Supreme Court.

Gabon, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea are all African countries that produce and export large amounts of oil. In addition, Gabon and the Congo are former French colonies. The ruling implies, at least to some skeptics, that these African officials might be untouchable because of French interests in their countries. Expatica, reported that French officials have been hesitant to investigate the allegations because of the “close ties and oil contracts with its former African colonies.”

The French government has resisted any calls to investigate.

For more information, please see:

Expatica – French court halts Africa corruption probe – 30 October 2009

France 24/7 – Court stops inquiry into three African leaders’ property portfolios – 29 October 2009

New York Times – French Court Stops Inquiry Into African Leaders’ Assets – 29 October 2009

RFI – French court stops African corruption case – 29 October 2009

Austrian Students Protest Over Worsening Educational Conditions

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

VIENNA, Austria - Student groups in Austria protested again yesterday against what they see as poor educational conditions in the nation's schools.  Approximately 30,000 students marched this past week in Vienna in opposition of proposed educational reforms and in favor of an overhaul in the nation's educational system.  These marches, which have taken place in many of the country's largest cities in recent days, have been organized by student organizations.

Students and teachers at the Academy of Fine Arts (AFA) in Vienna protested against this new educational reform proposal that is being adopted across Europe.  These reforms, known as the Bologna Process, are meant to the make it easier for students to study abroad and obtain degrees that can be recognized in other nations.  The AFA protesters alleged, however, that these reforms would prevent their ability to construct personally tailored degree programs.

The lack of funding for Austrian universities that currently exists has caused some of the student leaders to call for an end to free access to higher education.  Student Dominik Karas commented that "to increase the standard of education it would be better to reinstall tuition fees."

Students at the University of Vienna also are calling for the elimination of entrance exams and fees for foreigners and longterm students.  Students have occupied one the school's lecture halls for almost a week in an effort to draw attention to the funding issues.

The calls of the students involved in these protests have been directed at the national political leaders of Austria, notably the Prime Minister and Finance Minister.  Sigrid Maurer, Chairman of the Austrian Union of Students, has stated that these leaders must "take the education agenda into their hands."

The student organizations are also calling for the end to alleged sex discriminations in certain university policies.  Currently females and foreign students are barred from certain university facilities.

This is not the first time that the Bologna Process educational reforms been met with student opposition.  In September students in Barcelona clashed with police over the implication these reforms.

For more information, please see:

XINHAUANET - Austrian students take to streets to demand more rights - 30 October 2009

PRESSTV - Austrian students urge education reform - 30 October 2009

EURONEWS - Austria'a students demand reforms - 29 October 2009

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Austrian students protest poor conditions, reforms - 26 October 2009

Russian Opposition Leader Gunned Down

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KABARDINO-BALKARIA, Russia – A human rights activist and Russian opposition leader was gunned down Sunday. Maksharip Aushev was killed by an unidentified assailant who opened fire, while she was driving through the Kabardino-Balkarina region of Russia.

Aushev was a passionate activist, who was very critical of Murat Zyazikov, the former President of the Kabardino-Balkarina region. Magomed Yevloyev, another opposition activist from the area was killed back in August of 2008 by local police. Aushev’s death is another example of the wave of violence in the North Caucasus regions, which are controlled by the Kremlin. However, Moscow denies any role in these political killings, and blames the violence on the Muslim insurgents in the region.

Musa Pliyev, a presidential aide to the region, stated “t]he killing was an expected one”, as Aushev had allegedly received threats to his life in the past. Recognizing that incidents like this have not been isolated, Pliyev warned that such tragedies are “not just an encroachment on people's rights, but a challenge to civil society, the authorities and the state.”

The Prosecutor General of Russia, Yury Chaika, has already committed to a personal investigation of the killing. Nonetheless, human rights activist Magomed Mutsolgov said he, and others, will demand that the current leaders of the republic step down, since they have created an atmosphere that is “intolerable” for opposition leaders and human rights activists.

Many question whether the current administration in Ingushetia is able to prevent violent attacks like this. "You see how they kill journalists and human rights workers, it continues, and there is no real investigation into any of them," Mutsolgov noted of the Ingushetia government officials.

For more information, please see:

Focus News Agency – Prominent opposition leader killed in Caucasus – 25 October 2009

New York Times - In Ingushetia, Another Opposition Figure Is Killed - 25 October 2009

Radio Free Europe – Opposition Head Killed in Russia’s Ingushetia – 25 October 2009

Rianovosti – Former Ingush opposition leader shot dead in South Russia – 25 October 2009

Xinhua News Agency – Ingush opposition leader killed in S. Russia – 25 October 2009

Karadzic's Trial Postponed for a Day After He Refuses to Appear

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

The Hague, Netherlands - The trial of Radovan Karadzic was adjourned for a day by the ICTY after the former Bosnian Serb leader refused to attend the opening. Karadzic will be given another opportunity to appear on Tuesday when the prosecution will give its opening statement to presiding judge O-Gon Kwon. 

However, Karadzic's legal adviser, Marco Sladojevic, has told Agence France-Presse that Karadzic will boycott the trial again tomorrow.

Karadzic has argued that he needs ten more months to prepare his case before the tribunal proceeds with the trial. There are more than one million pages of prosecution documents and hundreds of witnesses expected to testify.

The former president of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb republic is accused of orchestrating the killing of approximately 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the UN protected Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995, and of ordering atrocities during the forty-four month long siege of Sarajevo. Karadzic's top military commander, Ratko Mladic, is still at large. Mladic is accused of co-orchestrating the atrocities at Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo.

Prosecutor Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff has requested that the court assign a lawyer to represent Karadzic if he continues to boycott the trial.

Judge O-Gwon Kwon, said, "There are circumstances in which trials can proceed in the absence of the accused who has voluntarily waived his right to be present."

The delay of the trial hit survivors the hardest, as Karadzic is implicated in the the deaths of tens of thousands of the more than 100,000 casualties of the 1992-95 Bosnian war. They remember him as the man whose political dream to create an ethnically pure "Greater Serbia," prompted the Srebrenica massacre, which is considered the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II.

Fifty-year-old Munevera Mekanic lost her husband and three sons in the Srebrenica massacre. She arrived to hear the prosecution's opening statements, but will have to return to Bosnia because she cannot afford to stay for the second day of the trial. She said, " I came here 2,000 miles to hear just two sentences from the court."

Admira Fazlic, who had been imprisoned in Bosnian Serb-run camps during the war traveled by bus to see the start of the trial. She said of the boycott, "Radovan Karadzic is making the world and justice [look]ridiculous. He is joking with everybody."

Hafiza Ibisevic, who lost her husband, two sons, and brother in the Srebrenica massacre cried upon learning that the trial would be delayed yet another day. 

She said: "He continues to torture me...I wanted to get some closure today, but after my husband and children he has taken that away from me too. He doesn't care what the world thinks."

Following the example of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Karadzic has refused to enter a plea on any of the eleven charges he faces, and disputes the jurisdiction of the court.

The ICTY, established by a UN Security Council resolution in 1993, has sentenced sixty people and currently has twenty five suspects on trial or at the pre-trial stages of proceedings.The court anticipates that the Karadzic trial will be completed in early 2012. 

 
Photo: Relatives of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre protesting against Karadzic's boycott of the trial on Monday. [Source: AP]

For more information, please see:

AP - Karadzic Boycotts Opening of Trial -26 October 2009

Bloomberg - Karadzic's Trial Adjourned After He Boycotts Start - 26 October 2009

CBC - Karadzic boycotts opening of war crimes trial - 26 October 2009

NCR Handelsblad - Bosnia war victims say Karadzic denied them closure - 26 October 2009

 

Bosnian War Criminal Released Before Sentence Expires

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – A Bosnian war criminal will be released from prison, after only serving two-thirds of her sentence. Despite vociferous protest from the families of Croat and Muslim victims, the Swedish Ministry of Justice finalized an early release for Biljana Plavsic, notoriously known as the “Iron Lady”.

Plavsic was one of three presidents of the Repulika Sprska, the ruling coalition led by Radovan Karadzic. Because Karadzic's trial has not begun, Plavsic is the highest ranking official from the former Yugoslavia to be convicted and sentenced for war crimes.

Back in January of 2001, Plavsic turned herself in to the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). She was charged with genocide, extermination, murder, persecution, deportation and inhumane acts. In October of 2002, Plavsic negotiated a sentence for her role in perpetrating crimes against humanity towards Bosnian Croats and Muslims.

As part of a plea bargain, she confessed to, “supporting and contributing to achieving the objective of the permanent removal of ethnic populations by force.” In particular, Plavsic admitted to directing Serbian paramilitaries and Bosnian Serb troops to perpetrate ethnic separation and cleansing by force. However, the charges of genocide, murder, and extermination were all dropped.

The plea bargain required Plavsic to serve eleven years in prison for the war crimes she admitted to committing. However, less than seven years later, she will be released from prison in Sweden and is free to leave the country. Victims of the Bosnian War consider her release to be unjust in consideration of the crimes she committed.

The ITCY indicated that Plavsic is being released based on her apparent rehabilitation and good behavior while incarcerated, as reported by Swedish prison supervisors. Several press reports indicate that Plavsic will return to Belgrade.

For more information, please see:

Blic Online – Free as of October 27 – 23 October 2009

The Local – Sweden releases war criminal Plavsic – 22 October 2009

Radio Free Europe – Sweden To Release Bosnian Serb War Criminal – 22 October 2009

Radio Srbija – Plavsic to Be Released on October 27 - 22 October 2009

Moldovan Presidential Election Postponed

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

CHISINAU, Moldova - The Moldovan presidential elections that were scheduled for October 23 have been postponed by the country's Constitutional Court.  SInce only one party had put forth a candidate, the Court concluded that the election could not go forth.

The political environment of this southeastern European country has been unstable since parliamentary elections were held six months ago.  Following victories by the Communist Party, there were large-scale protests in the capital of Chisinau regarding allegations of election fraud.  Past attempts at holding presidential elections in May and June of 2009 failed, which brought about the most recent election.

As a result of the most recent election, the opposition parties boycotted the parliamentary votes necessary to elect a new president.  This prevented the Communist Party's candidate from receiving the necessary numbers of votes to take office and forced the dissolution of the parliament.

The Constitutional Court gave a parliamentary commission until November 11 to come to a compromise.  If not, elections may not be held until next year.  The commission has proposed a number of constitutional amendments regarding election law that may resolve future electoral issues.

The only candidate that is currently in the running for the presidency in Marian Lupu.  Lupu, who is the former Communist parliament leader, has become the head of the Democratic Party, which is a part of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), a four-party political alliance.  The Communist Party has stated that it will not put forth its own candidate nor will it support Lupu.  Due to ambiguity in the Moldovan Constitution, which requires that the election be competitive, it may be the strategy of the Communist Party that by withholding a candidate they can thereby force yet a new round of parliamentary elections.

For more information, please see:

EUROPEAN VOICE - Moldovan election on ice - 23 October 2009

MOLDPRESS - Moldovan presidential election to be held in two weeks - 23 October 2009

RADIO FREE EUROPE - Moldova Postpones Presidential Election - 22 October 2009

RIANOVOSTI - Moldova's parliament delays presidential election - 22 October 2009

AFP - Official: Moldova presidential vote may be postponed - 19 October 2009

Karadzic Announces Intention to Boycott Trial

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, sent a letter today to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), announcing his intention to boycott his genocide trial slated to begin this coming Monday, October 26. Karadzic's letter stated that he needs more time to prepare for the trial, and told the court that he should have been given at least two years to review the million pages of prosecution documents.

He said: "The biggest, most complex, important and sensitive case ever before this tribunal is about to begin without proper preparation."

 
Photo: Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [Source: Valerie Kuypers/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images]

Karadzic told the judges assigned to his trial that he was not ready, and "therefore I shall not appear before you on that date." He said further, "and as soon as I will be prepared, I will be happy to inform [court officials] a few weeks in advance."

Spokeswoman for the tribunal, Nerma Jalacic, stated that Karadzic's trial would proceed on Monday "as previously scheduled," despite his threats. Jalacic told the BBC that "the judges may decide to go ahead without him."

The trial of Radovan Karadzic is the tribunal's biggest trial since the prosecution of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Milosevic, tried for atrocities committed during the Yugoslav war, died of a heart attack in 2006 before a verdict was reached in his four year long trial. 

If Karadzic decides to boycott his trial, he will have to remain in his cell at the court's detention unit in The Hague.

In June of 2007, former Liberian President Charles Taylor, accused of orchestrating atrocities in neighboring Sierra Leone, refused to appear at his trial on its first day, and fired his attorneys. Taylor's trial was delayed for months before finally resuming with Taylor present and a new defense team in place.

Karadzic denies the eleven counts of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity he has been charged with for his role in the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. The charges date back to his alleged role as the mastermind of the deadly siege of Sarajevo, and the massacre of over 8,000 Muslim men and boys in UN-protected Srebrenica.

Karadzic's move is the latest in a string of efforts to delay the trial. He has filed a large number of motions and appeals, tried to get one of the judges replaced, and has repeatedly requested more time and resources.

The court has denied the requests for more resources because Karadzic has received funds to pay for legal assistants and researchers, and is aided by a team of unpaid volunteers. He is not entitled to lawyers' fees because he has chosen to defend himself. If he refuses to attend his trial, the judges may appoint a defense attorney to represent him. Serge Brammertz, the court's chief prosecutor, said that it is up to the trial judges to determine what happens next.

Brammertz said: "What is important is that the trial will take place...I hope that very soon we can concentrate not any more on procedural issues but on the crimes allegedly committed by him."

Karadzic faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

For more information, please see:

AP - Karadzic threatens to boycott start of his trial - 22 October 2009

BBC - Karadzic plans to boycott trial - 22 October 2009

NY Times - Karadzic to Boycott Start of War Crimes Trial - 22 October 2009

Times Online - Radovan Karadzic threatens to boycott genocide trial over lack of time to prepare - 22 October 2009

Basque Protests In Spain Following Arrest of ETA Members

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain - Thousands of people marched through the streets of the San Sebastian in northern Spain on Saturday to protest the arrests of ETA members and call for their release.  Members of the Basque region's nationalist political movements, unions, and militant groups were among those who participated in the protest.

A Spanish judge ordered the arrest earlier this week of five men whom are accused of attempts to revive Batasuna, which was the political arm of the Basque-separatist movement ETA.  Among those arrested were Arnaldo Otegi, the former spokesman and leader of Batasuna, and Rafael Diez Usabiaga, a leader of the Basque movement.  They are alleged to be a part of a terrorist sect.  According to the Spanish Interior Ministry the police had been watching the suspects for months.  They were "[following] ETA directives."

 Photo: Protesters in San Sebastian [Source: AFP]

Batasuna has been banned in Spain since 2003 due to alleged links to ETA.  ETA has operated in southwestern Europe for over four decades and is responsible for conducting terrorist attacks, resulting in the deaths of approximately 825 people.  The goal of this decades-old organization has been the independence of the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France.  Both the European Union and the United States list ETA as a terrorist organization.

A 15 month cease-fire that the ETA had agreed to in 2005 was called off after talks between the separatist group and the Spanish government broke down.  After the collapse of the negotiations, the Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero has refused in re-engage the Basque separatist movement.  This new stance towards ETA comes at a time when both the Spanish and French governments have increased their efforts at dismantling ETA.

For more information, please see:

BBC - France detains 'top Eta leader' - 19 October 2009

SPANISH NEWS - Protests Against Basque Militants Arrests - 19 October 2009

EITB - Thousands turn out in San Sebastian to protest against arrests - 18 October 2009

AFP - Thousands protest arrests of Basque nationalists - 17 October 2009

EXPATICA SPAIN - Basque separatist leader jailed in Spain - 17 October 2009

TAIWAN NEWS - Spain jails 5 outlawed Basque party members - 17 October 2009

Doctor in France Sought by Interpol in Connection with 1994 Rwandan Genocide

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MAUBEUGE, France - A hospital in Northern France has suspended Rwandan doctor, Eugène Rwamucyo, after learning that he was on Interpol's wanted list in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide. 

A nurse at the hospital where Rwamucyo worked decided to investigate the doctor's qualifications after he made inappropriate remarks to her last week. The nurse's husband discovered Rwamucyo's profile on the Interpol website during a Google search. The nurse's trade union, Sud-Santé, then contacted local police and prosecutors and informed the director of the regional hospital about the allegations.

Local authorities are at a loss in explaining how a suspected war criminal was able to secure a French work permit and job at a hospital. Maubeuge Mayor, Remi Pauvros, said that he was dumbfounded that anyone wanted by Interpol could be granted a residency permit in France. 

The hospital reported that the doctor was hired through regular means and that all of his professional qualifications were in order.

French prosecutors opened an investigation into Rwamucyo in 2008, but he was not informed or summoned at any point. Rwamucyo was denied status as a political refugee, but allowed to obtain a residency permit.

   
Photo: Interpol's portrait of Eugène Rwamyuco. [Source: Interpol]
 
Rwamucyo has been wanted by Interpol since 2006 for alleged participation in the 1994 genocide. He denies the allegations but admits to having attended meetings with those who did participate in the genocide. He told French television:

"The authorities that produced this warrant have done so in a criminal way and I continue to maintain that I am victim...I didn't participate in the genocide, close up or from afar. There is nothing against me. I don't see why the justice system wants to arrest me."

The director of the Maubeuge hospital, Henri Mennecier, said that the events involving Rwamucyo have left him astonished. Mennecier reported that he chose to suspend Rwamucyo due to the "the gravity of the facts that the doctor is suspected of, and to maintain a calm atmosphere in the institution."

He added:

"Since I've known the doctor, relationships have always been excellent. The whole community is in shock at what's happened."

Rwamucyo's name also appears on a list of more than a dozen suspected Rwandan war criminals living France. The individuals on the list are the object of a lawsuit by the Collective of Civil Plaintiffs for Rwanda, a victim's rights association.

Alain Gauthier, head of the collective, said of Rwamucyo:

"He was an ideologist, for us he's one of the planners of the genocide of the Tutsis. There are testimonies from people who knew him."

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 left roughly 800,000 people dead in just over 100 days. The majority of the victims belonged to the Tutsi minority, or were moderate Hutus who opposed the massacres.

Those deemed most responsible for the atrocities are being tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania.

 For more information, please see:

BBC - Wanted Rwanda doctor denies claim - 18 October 2009

Reuters - Doctor in France accused of being Rwanda war criminal - 18 October 2009

AFP - Rwanda doctor suspended in France over Interpol warrant - 17 October 2009

Radio France Internationale - Doctor suspended over genocide warrant - 17 October 2009

Bosnian Serb Sentenced to 30 Years for Acts of Genocide

By Kenneth Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina - The Bosnia and Herzegovina War Crimes Court handed down a sentence of 30 years in prison for a former Bosnian Serb army officer on Friday 16 October.

Milorad Tribic was jailed for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of Muslims. The Srebenica massacre is one of the worst human rights atrocities in European history. Over 8,000 Muslims men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serbs captured the Srebrenica region on July 11, 1955.

Tribic, now 51 years old, was found guilty on one charge of genocide for taking part in the persecution of Bosnian Muslim in Srebrenica. The Court noted that Tribic "significantly contributed to the implementation of the common plan" of genocide. Tribic was involved in detaining and executing dozens of Muslims, and then burying their bodies in order to cover up the crimes. The Court found that Tribic personally killed at least 20 and at least 5 Muslims in two separate incidences at schools in the Srebrenica region.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina War Crimes Court has been instrumental in brining Bosnian Serb war criminals to justice. In July 2008, the Court convicted seven Bosnian Serbs of genocide, and sentenced them to 42 years in prison. The Court was created in 2005 to help control the docket of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Tribic, for example was indicted by the ICTY, but his case was transferred to the Bosnia and Herzegovina War Crimes Court. The ICTY will suspend its work by the ened of 2010. Significantly, the ICTY will hear Radovan Karadzic's trial on 26 October. Karadzic is the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs.

For more information, please see:

Press TV - Tribic gets 30 yrs over killing 8,000 Muslims - 17 October 2009

BBC - Bosnian Serb jailed for genocide - 16 October 2009

Reuters - Bosnian Serb jailed for 30 years for Srebrenica - 16 October 2009