j. Amnesty InternationalFebruary 1976 Vol VI No 2 newsletter

US CLEMENCYFOR SOSTREGovernor HUGH CAREY of New York Stategranted executive clemency to the Americanprisoner of conscience MARTIN SOSTRE on24 December 1975. Martin Sostre wasconvicted in 1968 on a charge of sellingheroin and sentenced to 30 to 41 years'imprisonment.

He has always protested his innocence. A/took up his case after learning that the keywitness against him had retracted histestimony. Before his arrest Martin Sostreran the Afro-Asian Bookshop in Buffalo,New York, and was known as a blackactivist. During his years in prison hecontinued to fight for prisoners' rights. Inparticular he objected to rectal searches, anestablished part of prison routine, whichresulted in a further conviction forassaulting guards at Clinton prison.

The clemency granted by Governor Careymeans that Martin Sostre is paroled on the1968 heroin charge, but he remains in prison

for the time being because of the sentencepassed in connection with the alleged assaulton the guards. The clemency decision madehim eligible for parole on the secondconviction when the New York Parole Boardmet in January..

SOVIET UNIONFREES PLYUSHCHLEONID PLYUSFICH, one of AmnestyInternational's adopted prisoners ofconscience in the Soviet Union, was releasedfrom the Dnepropetrovsk special psychiatrichospital on 8 January at the climax of anintensive international campaign for hisfreedom. He was allowed to leave the USSRimmediately with his wife, TATYANAZHITNIKOVA, and their two sons.

On their arrival outside of the USSR, MrsPlyushch, on behalf of her husband, thankedAl , among other organizations which hadworked for Mr Plyushch's release. She said

continued on page 2 col I

Nepal AmnestyPRISONER RELEASES AND CASES

DURING 1975The International Secretariat learnedof the release of 1,688 Al-adoptedprisoners during the calendar year1975. This was an increase of 285 overthe 1,403 prisoners released in 1974.

Some 2,015 new cases were takenup during 1975, a decrease of 443 fromthe number of new cases taken up theprevious year.

These figures include the 123 re-leases Al learned of in December andthe 145 new cases taken up in the finalmonth of the year.

Peru Detains LawyersAl's Secretary General cabled PresidentFRANCISCO MORALES BERMUDEZ ofPeru on 21 January expressing concern atthe long detention incommunicado of fourwell-known Peruvian lawyers. AI hadpreviously cabled the Peruvian authorities on13 December 1975, but had received noreply.

The four lawyers, Dr GENAROLEDESMA IZQUIETA, Dr RICARDODIAZ CHAVEZ, JOSE ONA MEONO andARTURO SALAS RODRIGUEZ, are legaladvisors to trade unions currently engagedin serious disputes with the government.They were taken from their offices on 4December 1975 by members of the PeruvianInvestigative Police (PIP).

Al has been informed that a plea ofhabeas corpus entered on behalf of the fourwas declared inadmissable by the courtsafter the Minister of the Interior, GeneralCESAR CAMPOS QUESADA, denied theyhad been detained or that their whereaboutswere known by the police.

Their detention was only confirmed whena letter, signed by each of them anddescribing their situation in detail, wassmuggled from the jungle penal colony ElSepa and sent to the Peruvian press. Theyreported that they were moved betweenthree PIP detention centers in Lima in fourdays and then, on 9 December 1975,transferred in great secrecy by air to theremote El Sepa in the Amazon region ofPeru. El Sepa is a maximum securityinstitution only accessible by militaryaircraft. Reliable sources affirm that noformal accusation has been made againstthe four men. •

Prisoners of Conscience Released inSeven AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL adoption and investigation cases, includinga member of Ars Nepal Section, were among 27 political prisoners included inan amnesty declared by King BIRENDRA BIR BIK RAM SHAM DEV of Nepalon 29 December. The amnesty, to mark the king's 31st birthday, covered atotal of 250 prisoners.

According to information reaching Al in January, a substantial number of the 200political prisoners in Nepal are being released in stages. The releases follow the formation on

1 December of a new cabinet headed by Prime Minister TULSI GIRI.

Among those released was RAM RAJA Vidyarti Sangh, he was re-arrested on 3PRASAD SINGH, a Supreme Court lawyer, August 1972 and had been held since thatwho had been elected to Parliament in the time under the Security Act. He was onsummer of 1971, but who was subsequently the AI Prisoners of the Month Campaign inarrested on 14 October 1971 and held July 1969 and March'1973.without trial under the Security Act. Al Secretary General MARTIN ENNALSAnother Al-adopted prisoner who was wrote to King Birendra on 31 Decemberreleased with him was SHER BAHADUR 1975 congratulating the government warmlyDEUPA, president of the Nepal Vidyarti on the release of the political prisoners.Sangh (Nepali Students' Organization), who Prime Minister Tulsi Giri, when meeting theis a member of the Al Nepalese Section and Al Asian Field Secretary RICHARD REOCHwho had been imprisoned without trial since shortly before the official amnestyJune 1974. announcement, reportedly stated that all the

Fifteen political prisoners were released estimated 200 political prisoners detainedearlier in December 1975, among them under the Security Act were to be releasedKRISHNA PRASAD BHATTARAI, speaker in the following three months, except forof Nepal's first parliament and former those who were thought to have committedSecretary General of the Nepali Congress acts of violence.Party. He was first imprisoned in 1960 and The International Secretariat hasadopted by Al in 1968. He was released in requested full details from the Nepalese1970 after 10 years' imprisonment. government regarding the release of

After addressing a meeting of the Nepal political prisoners.•

2Continued rom a e 1 column 2

SOVIET UNION FREES PLYUSHCHthat she felt the welcome they were givenshowed the general concern for "all thosedetained in prison for their opinions" in theSoviet Union.

Leonid Plyushch, a mathematician, wasarrested in 1972 on charges of "anti-Sovietagitation and propaganda" and officiallyjudged to be suffering from "creepingschizophrenia". He had been detained in thepsychiatric hospital since 1973.

Mr and Mrs Plyushch have confirmed thathe was treated with powerful neurolepticdrugs during his detention. Since he left theUSSR, Leonid Plyushch has been in the careof several psychiatrists and each hasexpressed the view that he is not mentally

The Plyushch family tr,avelled from theUSSR to Vienna where they arrived on 10January. The Austrian AmnestyInternational national section and theInternational Executive Committee member,Dr IRMGARD HUTTER, made thearrangements for their two-day stay inVienna. Among those who met TatyanaZhitnikova was P. JAKOB FORG of theAustrian Amnesty International group 8(Linz), one of the Al groups which hadadopted Leonid Plyushch.

When the Plyushch family arrived inParis on 11 January, they were met byrepresentatives of the French Al nationalsection and of other organizations whichhad worked on his behalf, including theInternational Committee of Mathematiciansin Defence of Leonid Plyushch.•

Al DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERALVISITS SENEGAL, CONGO, CHADAl Deputy Secretary General HANSEHRENSTRALE visited three Africanstates between 4 and 16 January andattended an international conference forNamibia. The conference was sponsored bythe United Nations Commission for Namibia,whose head is the former Chairman of Al'sInternational Executive Committee, Nobellaureate SEAN MACBRIDE.

The conference, involving specialist UNagencies, representatives of a number ofAfrican states, non-governmentalorganizations, academicians and jurists, washeld in the Senegalese capital of Dakar from5 to 8 January. Mr Ehrenstrale, attendingas an observer, presented an Al conferencedocument outlining the situation ofsentenced Namibian political prisoners whoare forced to serve their prison termsthousands of kilometers away on RobbenIsland in South Africa. and of personsdetained in Namibia itself under theprovisions of the South African TerrorismAct.

During the Dakar conference MrEhrenstrale met officials of the Senegalesegovernment for informal discussions onhuman rights problems. He then flew toBrazzaville, capital of Congo, where he had

an audience with President MARIENNGOUABI.

In July 1975, President Ngouabi declaredan amnesty lifting the restrictions stillimposed on former political prisoners who,since a previous general amnesty in November1973, had been under house arrest orworking with "production brigades"(September 1975 Newsletter).

On the final stage of his mission, MrEhrenstrale visited Chad, a country whichwas the object of a major Al campaign inJanuary 1975 (February 1975 Newsletter).Mr Ehrenstrale met the Chadian Minister ofthe Interior, Colonel MAMARI DJIMENGAKINAR, the Minister of Foreign Affairs,Commandant KAMOUNGOUE WADAL,and several other high-ranking governmentofficials. Colonel Ngakinar is also VicePresident of the Superior Military Councilwhich has ruled Chad since the overthrowof the repressive regime of PresidentNGARTA TOMBALBAYE in April 1975.

Mr Ehrenstrale is preparing a report on hismission for Al's International ExecutiveCommittee. In general, he said he found apositive attitude towards Al in all thecountries he visited, especially in Chad,where the human rights situation hasimproved dramatically since the coup ofApril 1975...

Al URGES TAIWAN GOVERNMENT TORELEASE ELECTION CANDIDATEAl Secretary General MARTIN ENNALScabled Premier CHIANG CHING-KUO on 18December 1975 urging the Government of theRepublic of China to make formal chargesagainst PAI YA-TSAN and others detainedsince October 1975 and "to bring them toopen trial with full rights of defence or torelease them".

Pai Ya-tsan, a native of Taiwan who is inhis mid-30s, was a candidate to theLegislative Yuan elections which were heldon 20 December 1975. He was arrested on23 October 1975, along with other peopleinvolved in the publication of a leaflet for hiselectoral campaign.

The leaflet, a campaign statement,contained 29 questions to Premier ChiangChing-kuo which included Pai Ya-tsan'ssuggestions that the government shouldconsider opening diplomatic relations withthe Soviet Union and "negotiate with theChinese communists concerning trade andrelaxation of economic tension".

According to reports reaching Al, a fewdays after the publication of the leaflet PaiYa-tsan, fearing for his safety, tried to seekrefuge in the United States embassy inTaipei, but found it closed. His detentionwas made public only 10 days after hisarrest.

No official charges have been madeagainst him but an official spokesmansaid, at the beginning of November, that hewas being held for "investigation of hisapparent attempt to stir up seditious feeling"through his circulation of views contrary to"basic national policy".

AMNESTY IN MALAGASY REPUBLICThe Malagasy Republic announced anamnesty on 30 December 1975 for allpolitical infractions and crimes committedbefore 1 January 1975. This followed areferendum on 21 December 1975 whichgave a massive public endorsement to thesocialist program of President DIDIERRATSIRAKA.

A small number of AI investigation casesbenefited from the amnesty. Most of themwere originally arrested during April 1973but had subsequently been released onprovisional liberty. The amnesty appears tobe intended to ease political tensions inMadagascar which reached a crisis point inearly 1975 following a mutiny in late 1974by an elite police unit. •

Al MEMBER IN SOUTH KOREA FREEDAI learned of the release from prison on 18December 1975 of HAHN SEUNG-HUN, aleading human rights lawyer and a boardmember of the Korea Amnesty Internationalcommittee.

Hahn Seung-Hun was sentenced on 11September 1975 to 18 months'imprisonment, with 18 months' suspensionof civil rights to follow, after he had beenfound guilty of violating the Anti-Communist Law. This was in connection withwith a collection of his essays first publishedin 1972. He filed an appeal against hissentence which has now been suspended forthree years by the Seoul High Court.

Hahn Seung-Hun was an ATadoptedprisoner. When the court passed its verdictin September 1975, the AI ExecutiveCouncil was meeting in St Gallen,Switzerland and a cable was sent in thename of the Council chairman to PresidentPARK CHUNG-HEE of South Koreastrongly protesting against the sentence.•

CZECHOSLOVAKIA RATIFIESCOVENANTAl's Secretary General sent a letter on 31December 1975 to President GUSTAVHUSAK of Czechoslovakia expressingsatisfaction that Czechoslovakia had ratifiedthe International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights on 23 December 1975 andthat, as Czechoslovakia is the 35th countryto do so, the covenant will come into forcein three months' time..

CLAIMS OF POLICE ABDUCTION INRHODESIADr EDSON SITHOLE, a former AI-adoptedprisoner who disappeared in Rhodesia on 15October 1975 (November 1975 Newsletter),was abducted by members of Rhodesia'sSpecial Branch, according to a reportprepared by an investigator working for DrSithole's father.

The detective, JOHN TAYLOR, wasreported on 1 7 January to have obtainedsigned affidavits from a number of witnesseswho claim to have seen Dr Sithole in thecustody of two Special Branch members

Sri KUSNAPSIAH, IndonesiaSRI KUSNAPSIAH has been in prison inIndonesia for more than 10 years. She wasarrested towards the end of 1965 at a timewhen hundreds of thousands of people weredetained for allegedly taking part in anattempted coup against the army leadership.She has not been tried and there is no formalcharge against her.

Sri Kusnapsiah is now about 67 years old.During her earlier years she was active in theindependence movement against the Dutch.In the 1950s she became involved in theleftwing women's organization GERWANIand for several years she was a member of itsJakarta provincial committee. SriKusnapsiah's husband was also a politicalactivist and worked for many years in thetrade union movement. He too was arrestedin late 1965 and as far as is known has beendetained ever since. They have several adultchildren.

The Indonesian Communist Party andother leftwing organizations, such asGERWANI and the trade unions, werebanned shortly after the abortive coup ofOctober 1965. Many people whom theIndonesian government claimed to bemembers of such organizations, or in someway connected with them, were liable tosummary arrest without recourse to normallegal safeguards. Sri Kusnapsiah was notinvolved personally in the attempted coupbut was arrested during the army's purgeagainst the Indonesian Communist Partyand other leftwing groups.

Shortly after her arrest, Sri Kusnapsiahwas taken to Bukit Duni prison in Jakarta.In April 1971 she was transferred to a long-term detention camp for women atPlantungan in central Java. Most of thewomen there have to work for their living,many of them in the fields. In view ofSri Kusnapsiah's age this is naturally a greathardship and it is probable that her health isno longer very good.

Please send courteously worded appeals

shortly after his disappearance. The affidavits,Mr Taylor said, will be the basis of anapplication for a writ of habeas corpuswhich is to be brought in the high court bythe Sithole family.

The Rhodesian authorities continue todeny any involvement in Dr Sithole'sabduction..

ADOPTED PRISONER TO STANDTRIAL IN INDONESIAReports reaching Al in January say thatOEI TJU TAT, an A/-adopted prisoner inIndonesia, is due to stand trial in theCentral Jakarta Court. Oei Tju Tat wasvice chairman of BAPERKI, a cultural

pressing for Sri Kusnapsiah's release onaccount of her age and the long detentionalready served, to: President Suharto,Istana Negara, Jalan Veteran, Jakarta,Indonesia; and to: Admiral Sudomo, KepalaStaf KOPKAMTIB, KOPKAMTIB, JalanMerdeka Barat, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Gunar RODE, Soviet UnionGUNAR RODE was born in 1934 and is aLatvian citizen of the Soviet Union. In 1962,when he was a student of biology at RigaUniversity in the Latvian Soviet SocialistRepublic, he was arrested and charged with"treason", "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda" and participation in an "anti-Soviet organization". Specifically he wasaccused of belonging to a quasi-Marxistgroup which advocated autonomy for Latvia.He was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonmentin a corrective tabour colony.

Although Gunar Rode served part of hissentence in a colony in Mordovia, he hasbeen sent to Vladimir prison three timesas a punishment, each time apparently for 3years. At present he is in Vladimir prisonand is reportedly ill with a stomach ailment.

Please send politely worded cardsappealing for his release to: SSSR, Moskva, ulPushkinskaya 15a, Prokuratora SSSR,Generalnomu Prokuroru R.A. Rudenko(Procurator General of the USSR).

Steven CAROLUS, South AfricaSTEVEN CAROLUS, aged 36, was detainedunder Section 6 of the South AfricanTerrorism Act on 7 November 1974. He washeld for more than five months but wasneither charged nor brought to trial. He wasreleased from detention at the end of April1975.

Many members of the "blackconsciousness" movement, with whichSteven Carolus was associated, have beensimilarly detained since September 1974 inwhat is regarded as an attempt by the SouthAfrican government to disrupt the activities

association consisting largely of Chinesecitizens. He was a minister in the last cabinetof the late President SUKARNO before thatadministration was dissolved in early 1966.

In October 1965 an abortive coup wasstaged against the army leadership inIndonesia. Hundreds of thousands of peoplewere arrested and detained without trial,for alleged involvement in the attemptedcoup. Oei Tju Tat was arrested in March1966 on suspicion of alleged involvementin the abortive coup, though the real reasonfor his arrest was his personal associationwith the government and policies ofPresident Sukarno.

Oei Tju Tat will be one of only some

3of those organizations and individuals whooppose their apartheid policies.

Section 6 of the Terrorism Act empowersthe security police to detain any personwithout charge and hold themincommunicado for an indefinite length oftime. A number of detainees arrested inSeptember 1974 are known to have beenheld for more than a year before beingreleased uncharged. Nine others who havebeen charged under the act are currentlyon trial in Pretoria.

In September 1975, five months after his release from detention, Steven Carolus was arbitrarily banned for 3 years under the Suppression of Communism Act. Under the terms of this banning order he is subject torestrictions which make it impossible to leada normal life. Among other things, he maynot attend gatherings of more than threepeople, enter any educational institution,travel freely, or be quoted in the press.

Many banned people are unable to obtainemployment because of these restrictions.Banning orders are administratively imposedand may be renewed upon expiry. However,any contravention of the terms of a banningorder is a crime punishable in a court oflaw.

Steven Carolus is married with one child.He lives in Athlone, Cape Province.

Please send courteously worded letters ofappeal, asking for the lifting of the banningorder, to: Hon J.T. Kruger, Minister ofJustice, Union Buildings, Pretoria, SouthAfrica.News of Past CampaignsRhodesian Detainee FreedReverend CANAAN BANANA, the formervice president of the African National Council(ANC) who was on the Al Prisoner of theMonth Campaign in November 1975, wasreleased from detention in Rhodesia on 15January. Under the terms of his release, he isrestricted to a 20 kilometer radius of hishome in Bulawayo.

Reverend Banana became vice presidentof the ANC at the time of its formation in1971. However, he left Rhodesia in 1973 totake up a theological scholarship in theUnited States. He was detained in May 1975when he returned to Rhodesia aftercompleting his studies.

800 people who have so far been tried inconnection with the 1965 events. Tens ofthousands of political prisoners have been inprison for 10 years without a real possibilityof a fair trial. •

NEW Al SECTION IN PAKISTANAl's International Executive Committee hasformally recognized a new national section inPakistan. This follows a visit in March 1975to Pakistan by Al Secretary General whoreceived assurances from Prime MinisterZULFIKAR ALI BHUTTO that thegovernment would have no objection tothe formation of an Al section in thecountry. •

Prisoners of the Month CampaignParticipants in the Campaign are reminded that appeals must only be sent to the officials named at the end of each case. In no circumstances should communications be sent to the prisoner.

4IRAN EXECUTES NINENine persons were executed ill Iran on 2.4January for alleged acts of sabotage andterrorism despite an A/ appeal to the SIIAI Ifor clemency. .Another condemned person'sdeath sentence was commuted to liteimprisonment.

Secretary- General MARTIN ENNA! Scabled the Shah on 22 January and visitedthe Iranian embassy in London to ask thatan A/ observer he allowed to attend theappeal hearing against the sentences.

The defendants had been condemned todeath by a military tribunal after a trial thatnot only was held in camera but which waskept secret until the official announcementof the sentenees on 31 Occember.•

DETAINEES RELEASED IN SINGAPOREEight political prisoners were released fromdetention in Singapore on 12 Decemher1975 after being held w idiom trial for 18months. One of the eight Was I I. RM Allwho is Well-known in Singapore is one ofthe few lawyers willing to defendprisoners.

Another detainee was CI IAN St 'N CHO\a joll[nalist ()I the Sin (711CW .117 IR )11Chinese-language newspaper who hadpreviously spent one Veal.in detentkm in1903. l'he remnant* released prisonersincluded all 1 S-\/c;ir-old womanconstruction worker. a former civil servant,a student and a shop assistant.

The eight were detained under theInternal Security .Act daring a large-scale security operation in June 1974, andhad subsequently been taken up by A/groups. The Singapore government allegedthat they were members of the MalayanNational 1 iherat ion Front. an arm of theillegal underground Malayan ConmunUstParty (MCP).

More than tw cuts nen and women werereleased front detention in Singapore during1975. but ..1 ( estimates that at least 40political prisoners reniani ill Variousdetention centers and liolding centers. lheirperiods of detention range front 13 yearswithout trial to less than one year. •

EXECUTIONS IN SUDANSix people, including a paratroop colonel.were executed by a firing squad in Khartoumon 23 January for leading an abortive coupagainst President J.AAE1R AL-NEMERY on4 September 1975 (October 1975Newsletter). according to an announcementfront the Sudanese Army 's General1 leadq uart ers.

The alleged leader of the coup,Lieutenant Colonel IIASSAN III 1SSEINOSMAN, was among those shot.1 he deathsentence passed on another allegedconspirator was commuted to lifeimprisonment.

In all. more than ISO persons werereported to have been arrested in September1975 following the coup attempt. Themajority have not yet been brought to trial..

STUDENT RELEASED IN MALAYSIAStudent leader if 1 II I (11IN \vas releasedfrom detention ni West Malaysia on 12Deceinher 1975. She was an Aiadoptedprisoner and had spent exactly- one year illdetention without trial. Iler release Wl1Smdci a restrictioll order which limits her

freedom of employ ment and association.Juliet ('hin, aged 24, is a Malaysian

cni/en. She was a student of architecture atthe linikerstty of Singapore where She Wasseeretary general of the students Linton.together w it h a numher of ot her st udent s.she sy:is deported from Singapore on 111)ecembor 1974 for allegedly violating awritten undertaking not to heouneinvidved in politics while study* inSingapore.

On arrival in West Malaysia she wasarrested undei Malay sia's Internal SecurityAct..

GREEK PRISONER THANKS AlVASI IOS 001.515. a Jehovah's Witnessimmisoned in (ircece because of his refusalto perform military' service, has written toA/ to say that as a result of hisI Ile greet ings card list in 1975 he has receiyedahoin 500 lett ers and cards from all ovea theWolld. I le w ites-

"Nly dear friends, reminding you againthat I cannot manage to thank peisonally allthose who wrote to me, I would ask vouvely earnestly to undertake this obligationtot me and thank the various local groupsin the diffeient countries on my behalf,telling them of my houndless affection andilir great respect for the members of yourdistinguished organitation all over thewould.-•

IEC CHANGES COUNCIL DATEArs ne\i International C.itincil meetingwill be held in St rashourg, France. 24-26Septemher, a week later than originallyscheduled, the International ExecutiveCommittee decided at its meeting in London16-18 January.

Hie !LC made the change to allow thecouncil meeting to he held in theheadquarters of the Council of Europe whichlias better facilities.

l'he IEC also decided to raise theindividual memhership lee frknn 113 to f5and restructure the International Secretariatto meet the prohlem created by the ktrth-coming departure of the Deputy Secretary(;eneral and the I lead of Research.

New procedures for the BorderlineCommittee and plans l'of the promotion,/fundraising campaign were discussed andfinal approval was given to the PacificRegional Conference. There was alsodiscussion on the relationship betweenhuman rights and international trade and aid,and on the relationship hetween economicand social rights and civil and political rights..

PRISONERS FREED IN MOROCCOMorocco announced the release of a numberof political prisoners on 13 December 1975,the Islamic festival of A/ kehir. This follow-ed ;I decision hy King I IASSAN II tocommute parts of their sentences. Fifty-fiveprisoners, both criminal and political,receiyed reductions in their prison terms.I he prisoners included three former cabinetministers serving prison sentences forcorrupt ion.

A/ has received a IlS1 of 14 politicalprisoners who were liberated as a result ofthis amnesty'. They include 11 persons,irrested between Di.:.ceIllher 1909 and March1070, who were sentenced in September1971 hy the eriminal tribunal at Marrakesh.this trial was attended by A/ observersAugust 1975 .Vewsletter) who reported that

torture had been used on the accused andthat the defence lawyers were hindered intheir efforts to aid neir clients. Theiemaining three prisoners freed in theI )ecember amnesty had been arrested in

0 73 and sentenced by the criminaltribunal at Agadir in September 1975.

.1-here were a number of A/ adopteesamong those released. including AIMED01 WI. L.O1 N. a leading militant of theopposition I iii iii SiNialiste des Forces

I SI- h, Who was sentenced to a10 year prison term at the 1971Marrakesh tt ial.

llis release was marred by the murder, onIS December 1975 of his brother, OMARIJI- NJ VI 101"N, who was stabbed 'and beatento death outside his home in Casablanca.Omar Benjelloun had a long record ofopposit ion to the government of KingI lassan and edited the ['SEP newspaper, A/.11onharrir

Ile was arrested on political grounds inMarch 1973 and was tried at Kenitrahelween July and August 1973. Althoughacquitted. he was not released, and wasadopted by ..1/, lie was eventually releasedinto provisional liberty in August 1974, TheMoroccan authorities have arrested severaipeople in connection with the murder ofOmar Benjelloun..

CHANGES OF ADDRESSNepal SectionMail for the Nepal Section of AmnestyInternational should now he addressed toVeerendra Keshari, 1/227 Kalikasthan,Kathmandu, Nepal:1 elephone 12651.

Amnesty International of the USAl'he address of the lInited States' section isnow: 2112 Broadway, New York, New York10023,

AMNI• STY INTIRNATIONAL NFWSLI' ITTRpiihtished monthly hy: AMNESTY

INTL RNATIONA I, PURI !CATIONS, 53Theobald's Road, London WC! X 8SP, England.Printed hy Ilill and (arwood Ltd, Fourth Way,Wein hly, Middlesex, England. Available onsuhscriplion at £6 OS S15) per calendar ear.

amnesty international

campaign for the abolition of torture

where torture is common practice.ALBERTO ALTESOR, aged 60, a former

parliamentarian and Communist Partyleader, who was recovering from a heartoperation, was detained on 21 October 1975and has disappeared without a trace. Fearshave been expressed for his life. His threesons were detained previously and two havebeen tortured.

On 11 January 1976 General LIBERSEREGNI, a presidential candidate for theprogressive Frente Amplio (Broad Front) inthe 1971 elections, was re-arrested followingfour bomb explosions in the exclusiveseaside resort of Punta del Este. It is allegedthat the bombs were planted by theauthorities as a provocation. General Seregniwas previously arrested on 9 July 1973following mass demonstrations against themilitary takeover. He was heldincommunicado and in poor conditions untilhe was released conditionally on 2November 1974.

Repeated and consistent appeals by Aland other international bodies to thegovernment of Uruguay have so far not metwith any response. Al is therefore planningan intensive international campaign duringFebruary and March to halt torture inUruguay. A full report will appear in thenext CAT Bulletin.•

MONTHLY BULLETINDocuments DescribeIndonesian TortureStrong and reliable allegations of past andcurrent torture in Indonesia are contained ina report published in The Sunday Times ofLondon on 11 January. In the reportTJIOU, a girl of Chinese origin describedher experiences in various camps torpolitical prisoners. She left Indonesia in1975.

Tjiou was arrested in 1968, because shehad belonged to a communist youthorganization before the abortive coup in1965, and was taken to the local militarypost.

"I rememberthe day I entered thatplace: all I saw was people covered withblood sitting close to each other. Theyhad all been tortured .. . one, a woman,had both eyes bleeding. There werescreams all over the place, peoplepleading for mercy."

Stripped naked, she was beaten with astick by an army intelligence officer:

"He started to burn off my hair. . .. youcannot realize the pain to me of my hairburning. Then they put me on the tableand opened my legs. They took a stickand thrust it up my vagina. They burntmy pubic hair. I could not believe I wasstill alive."She mentioned how others suffered

Continued on page 2, column 3

Allegation of Internment in Mental Hospital in Yugoslavia

Further investigation into the internment inYugoslavia of RADOVAN BLAGOJEVIC, a35-year-old lawyer from Belgrade, in amental hospital allegedly for political reasons(January 1976 CAT Bulletin), has not yetproduced any clarification of the reasons forarid circumstances of his confinement. AI iscontinuing to study this case.

protection of all persons under any form ofdetention or imprisonment .. .". Al urgedthe commission to study the possibility ofcreating a convention on torture, whichshould declare torture a crime underinternational law, and contain mechanismsfor investigation and enforcement.

Al asked that all UN member states berequested to incorporate the principles andprovisions of the declaration into theirnational legislation. Al also proposed thatan appropriate body should elaborate a codeof ethics for lawyers, relevant to theproblem of torture. Similar codes formedical and law enforcement personnel arealready being prepared by other UN bodies.•

February 1976 Vol III No 2

TORTURE IN URUGUAY:REPORTS ALLEGE DEATHSAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL issued a public statement on 13 Januarycriticizing the continuing arrests and torture of political detainees in Uruguaywhich resulted in at least one death during the preceding month. A few daysafter the statement, Al received a report claiming that a transport worker haddied under torture.

During raids and mass arrests carried outby the police and military at the end ofOctober and the beginning of November1975, 600 to 700 people were detained.The raids were aimed mainly at members ofthe banned Communist Party who are liableto long sentences under recent legislationwhich has been applied retroactively.

Reports received by Al indicate that,following the arrests, torture occurred on amassive scale and that several detainees havebeen transferred to the military hospital in acritical condition.

Those in hospital include JOSE LUISMASSERA, a former parliamentarian (priorto the dissolution of Congress in June 1973)and a communist leader, who has a fracturedpelvis, RAUL TOST, whose injuries includefractured ribs and a collapsed thorax, andHUMBERTO RODRIGUEZ, secretaryof Union Portuaria,the dock workers' union.

ARGENTA ESTABLE, aged 64,reportedly died in the military hospital on17 December 1975 as the result of thetreatment he received at the seconddepartment of the National Directorate ofInformation and Intelligence and at theThird Infantry barracks. He was accused ofcontributing to the Communist Party beforeit was banned in December 1973. His wifeis still in detention.

These recent violations that have occurredin Uruguay have not been confined tomembers of the Communist Party.Prominent lawyers, doctors, teachers,writers, architects and numerous workers areamong those arrested and tortured.

The arrests have taken the form ofabductions. They are often carried outduring the night, houses are ransacked andmany arrests have not been acknowledged.Relatives have been taken as hostages incases where the wanted person was notfound. Señora BACCHI, the 80-year-oldmother of a trade union leader, was heldfor 72 hours until her son was captured.

The relatives of most of the people whodisappeared during the raids remain unableto establish their whereabouts. After morethan two months they continue to beheld incommunicado in military barracks,

Al submitted a statement to the UnitedNations Commission on Human Rights on19 January, proposing a number of stepsthis commission should take to ensureeffective follow-up to the declaration ontorture adopted unanimously by the UNGeneral Assembly on 9 December 1975(January CAT Bulletin).

In its resolution 3453 (XXX) whichaccompanied the declaration, the GeneralAssembly asked the commission, at its 32ndsession (2 February-5 March 1976) to"study the question of torture and take anynecessary steps for: (a) ensuring the effectiveobservance of the declaration ... ; (b) theformulation of a body of principles for the

Al SUBMISSION ON TORTURE TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

appealsNejib EL-EUCH, TunisiaA student in his early twenties, NEJIB EL-EUCHwas arrested in mid-November 1973 and was one

of 202 young people tried before the StateSecurity Court in August 1974 for "plotting

against the state", "slandering the Head of State",

"spreading false information" and forming anillegal associatior. .

This was a major political trial, aimed atyouthful critics of the government's policies,which resulted in sentences ranging from one to

10 years' imprisonment. An A/ observer was

deported after attending the first day's trial

proceedings, during which allegations of torturewere made by the defendants.

Nejib el-Euch, who received a 5 year sentence

at this trial, was reportedly tortured during pre-

trial police detention and subsequently held in

solitary confinement at Tunis civilian prison.During this time his lawyers reported that he was

in a state of deep delirium for over a month andwas unable to get up.

Since his transfer to the Bordj Er-Roumi prison

in Bizerta in June 1975 his state of health hasdeteriorated seriously. A prison psychiatristexamined him and judged him to be in need of

immediate and continuous medical care and

supervision. Since that time he has received nomedical attention. He is reported to be in a

state of permanent nervous breakdown andalmost constant delirium. He is allegedly under

pressure to beg for a formal pardon fromPresident HABIB BOURGUIBA.

BRAZILIAN JOURNALISTS CONTESTThe Brazilian Union of ProfessionalJournalists in Sao Paulo have sent a letter,signed by 467 journalists, to the FirstMilitary Court in SAo Paulo contestingsome of the findings of the official inquiryinto the death in custody of VLADIMIRHERZOG on 25 October 1975 (December1975 CAT Bulletin).

The Commission of Inquiry ruled on 20December 1975 that Vladimir Herzog haddefinitely committed suicide in his cell atthe Destacamento de Operacoes deInformagoes (Department of IntelligenceOperations of the army) in SaO Paulo. Intheir letter, published on 13 January in theJornal do Brasil, the journalists questionseveral points in the report. First theycategorically refute the testimony of onejournalist who claimed that VladimirHerzog had been sacked from 0 Estadode Silo Paulo in 1963 during a leftwingpurge. He left the paper of his ownvolition in 1965.

The letter also suggests that severalimportant questions have to be answeredbefore the case can be closed satisfactorily.Why, when the prison regulations stipulatethat no possibly harmful objects may remainon a prisoner and prison overalls are notissued with a belt, was Vladimir Herzogable to hang himself with such a belt? Whyis there a discrepancy in the description ofthe clothes he was wearing in the doctor'sautopsy report and those described in thefirst medical report? In the autopsy thecorpse is described as being thessed incivilian clothes, yet in the official

Standards of hygiene are notoriously bad atBordj Er-Roumi, and medical facilities are non-existent. Nejib El-Euch is in evident need of

immediate hospitalization and constant medical

care. There are now grave fears that, unless hereceives such attention, his mental health will be

permanently impaired. Moreover, it is likely that

his desperate condition is having a grave effect

on his 24 cell-mates who , like Nejib EI-Euch,

are mostly in their early twenties.Send courteously worded letters, requesting

that Nejily EI-Euch receive adequate medicaland psychiatric care, to: Son Excellence Habib,Bourguiba, Président de la République, Tunis,

Tunisia; and to: Son Excellence M. Tahar Bel

Khodja, Ministre de l'Interieur, Tunis, Tunisia.

Francisco TELLEZ LUNA, SpainFRANCISCO TELLEZ LUNA was one of fourworkers arrested on 11 December 1975, in Santa

Coloma de Gramanet in Spain, after civil guards

had dispersed a group of workers who had beehorganizing a strike. The strike had been called to

ask for an amnesty, better salaries and trade unionfreedom. He was arrested after his house had been

searched, although nothing was found.Ali four were taken to the Civil Guard barracks

in Badalona, where they were interrogated and

tortured. Francisco Tellez, the father of threeyoung children; was the mqst severely tortured.

According to reports Al has received, he was

beaten on the soles of his feet with hard rubber

tubing. He was made to lie on a table and civilguards sat on him while others beat him savagely

with a set-square, causing 15 to 20 bleedingwounds in his chest and more on the soles of his

feet. A lighted candle was held near his testicles

for half an hour.

FINDINGS OF OFFICIAL INQUIRYphotograph taken after the discovery of thebody, he is dressed in prison overalls. Abody is not supposed to be touched in anyway before an autopsy.

How could the prison authorities haveknown before Vladimir Herzog wrote histestimony that it would not incriminate himin any serious charges? In all their statementsthe authorities stressed that they weresurprised that he had killed himself when hewas to have been released that night. Why isthere a contradiction between the statementof the rabbi who officiated at VladimirHerzog's burial in which he said that Herzoghad not been treated as a suicide and that ofanother member of the Jewish congregationwho said that he had?

Finally, the authorities stated that 21witnesses submitted evidence to thecommission without any coercion. However,all the witnesses were held in detention inthe Destacamento de Operaçoes deInformagóes where Vladimir Herzog hadbeen detained and this, in the opinion of thejournalists, constitutes a form of constraint.

Another prisoner, JOSE MANOELFILHO, was found dead in his cell in theDestacamento de Operagóes de Informagóesin Sio Paulo on 17 January in similarcircumstances to Vladimir Herzog. Two dayslater President ERNESTO GEISELdismissed General EDUARDO D'AVILAMELLO from his position as commander ofthe 2nd Army and replaced him with a moremoderate commander, GeneralDILERMANDO GOMES MONTEIRO..

CAT Bulletin 2Francisco Tellez was removed to a civilian

hospital where a doctor was able to give a detailed

report of his physical injuries. These include direct

lesions in the eye, genitals, abdomen and ribs

which suggest beating with a belt or rope as wellas with fists. Severe bruising of varying intensity

in the ribs, abdomen, baek, buttocks, testicles,penis, thighs, legs and feet point to more than onesession of heavy beating. One nail of the left foot

had been torn out. The loss of blood and bruisingon legs and ankles show that Francisco Tellez was

tied, and possibly suspended upside down. He

needed treatment with a kidney machine for renaldialysis as a result of kidney failure.

Al has just learned that Francisco Tellez hasbeen released on bail, after payment of 10,000

pesetas, and is now recovering at his home. Charges

are still being held against him, although he does

not appear to be connected with violent activities.The three men who were arrested with him have,

in the meantime, been released.In the light of the detailed, authenticated report

received by Al, it is appropriate to request a fullinvestigation into the circumstances surrounding

the interrogation and injuries undergone by

Francisco Tellez, as well as to ensure that he is

not returned to prison.Please send courteously worded letters,

preferably in Spanish, to: His Royal Highness KingJUAN CARLOS I, Palacio de la Zarzuela, Madrid,

Spain, requesting his formal intervention to ensurethat a full investigation is made into thecircumstances of Francisco Tellez' interrogationand injuries, that those responsible for hismaltreatment be brought to justice and that anycharges against him be dropped. Please send copiesof your letters to the Spanish Embassy in yourcountry.

Continued from page 1, column 3

Documents Describe Indonesian Torturesimilar brutal treatment: a woman who hadboiling water poured over her head, anotherwhose nipples had been cut off, a villageheadman who died as a result of electricshock torture.

Another recent confirmation of thecontinuing use of torture, also reported inThe Sunday Times, comes from a documentsmuggled out of an East Java prison camp atthe end of 1975. It recounts how nakedpolitical prisoners would be faced by a rowof interrogators, holding canes and clubs.

"With the first question they are kickedand beaten, and things rapidly get worse...electric shocks are administered tothe person's ears, nose and genitals toextract confessions. To prevent screamsbeing heard, songs are played loudlyover a tape recorder."According to the document, one prisoner,

TIO HO YI, attacked his torturers and wasbeaten ferociously, then dragged up anddown a ditch until he was caked with mudand blood. Subsequently his arm waschained to his leg in such a way that hecould neither stand up straight nor lie down,a form of torture called "crucifixion withoutnails". He went mad after he had been leftin this position for 11 months.

Although it is generally difficult to obtain

accurate information about the practice of torture

in Indonesia, because of the widespread fears ofreprisals to prisoners, released prisoners and their

families-, and the strict control over the prison

population, Al has reason to believe that torture isstill being practised routinely in political cases.Even prisoners who have been held for years

without trial are still liable to occasional renewed

interrogation and torture by military security.•