Yougoslavia, Federal Rep.of
12.09.03
Urgent Interventions
Serbia and Montenegro: two men physically abused by Raska police officers
Case SER 120903
TORTURE/ILL-TREATEMENT
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT INTERVENTION in the following situation in Serbia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Fond za hamanitarno pravo (Humanitarian Law Center), a member of the OMCT network, about a case of policy brutality in Raška, Sandžak region. In their statements to the HLC and the Sandžak Human Rights Committee, Milan Janoševiæ (23) and Dragan Jelenkoviæ (24) alleged that they were physically abused by two Raška police officers on 9 June this year.
According to the information received the two men were in a sidewalk cafe about midnight. Milan Janoševiæ car was parked nearby with the music playing. Officers Ivan Simiæ and Slobodan Djuroviæ came up to him, told him to turn the music off, present his ID card and go with them. When Janoševiæ refused to go, Officer Simiæ struck him on the forehead with his nightstick. The frightened Janoševiæ broke away and ran, finding a hiding place under a bridge. A local police inspector coming from the opposite direction saw him and told the two officers where Janoševiæ was hiding.
According to Janoševiæ, the two policemen reached him a few minutes later and pointed their flashlights and guns at him. They ordered him to lie down and put his hands on his back, and held him down with their knees while they cuffed him.
"One of their guns went off, accidentally I think. My friends in town heard the shot. I said I would sue if they beat me again. After cuffing me, they started hitting me on the back with their nightsticks, both of them. The beating was worst, right there under the bridge, next to the retaining wall. They hit me on the back and chest, and then threw me into the stream with my hands still cuffed. The policeman Simiæ grabbed the back of my neck and pushed my head into the water. "So, you're going to sue us, are you" he kept saying, and I said I wouldn't, hoping to be let go. Inspector Kurandiæ watched what was happening from the bridge but did nothing. They went on kicking me and then threw me hard against the retaining wall which had steel reinforcement rods sticking out of it. Two of the rods gored me in the back. This treatment lasted about 15 minutes. Leading me from there to the car, some 50 meters away, they hit me more than 20 times, and threw me to the ground four times," Janoševiæ told an HLC researcher.
Janoševiæ was held at the local police station for several hours, during which time he was taken twice to the Medical Center for an anti-tetanus shot and have his injuries treated. He was interviewed by the station commander, Boško Niæiforoviæ, in the presence of Inspector Kurandiæ who said to Janoševiæ: "You owe me a drink for saving you." Meeting later with Janoševiæ and his father, the station commander tried to play down the incident, excusing his officers' conduct with the fact that they had been transferred from Kosovo.
As for Dragan Jelenkoviæ, he saw Officer Simiæ strike Janoševiæ on the back outside the cafe, after which the officer turned around and hit Jelenkoviæ twice on the head with his nightstick. When Jelenkoviæ went to the police station to complain, he met Milan Janoševiæ's father there. Both insisted that the two officers be subjected to a blood alcohol test. Jelenkoviæ was told to file a complaint with the duty officer, Zoran Jovanoviæ, who was in a room connected with another office in which Officer Ivan Simiæ was sitting. The two policemen consulted briefly, after which Jovanoviæ told Jelenkoviæ that criminal charges would be pressed against him and that a statement would be taken from him.
Jelenkoviæ told the HLC that the Kraljevo Police Chief called his father the next day and apologized for the Raška police, saying Officer Simiæ had admitted to him that he struck Jelenkoviæ in a moment of anger.
On 25 June 2003, the Sandžak Human Rights Committee filed a criminal complaint against Officers Simiæ and Djuroviæ, charging them with civil injury and infliction of slight bodily harm. Janoševiæ and Jelenkoviæ have medical certificates and photographs of their injuries.
A criminal complaint was filed earlier against Officer Slobodan Djuroviæ. In his statement, Fuad Dizdareviæ of Novi Pazar described how Djuroviæ physically abused him at a checkpoint in Rudnica village, threatened to shoot him in the mouth, and burn down his house and force him to move out. In the presence of several other police, Djuroviæ cocked his pistol and, pushing it to Dizdareviæ's throat under the chin, said in a threatening tone: "Now, are you going to report me?"
OMCT supports the principles contained in the Convention against Torture art. 10 (1) Each State Party shall ensure that education and information regarding the prohibition against torture are fully included in the training of law enforcement personnel, civil or military, medical personnel, public officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment; art. 11 Each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture; art. 12 Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction; art. 13 Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by, its competent authorities. Steps shall be taken to ensure that the complainant and witnesses are protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any evidence given.
OMCT is deeply concerned by the lack of due diligence of Serbian political authorities despite their awareness of a recent wave of allegations of police abuse and torture.
OMCT supports the request for investigation of 8 September 2003 facts.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Serbia urging them to:
- guarantee an immediate judicial investigation into the alleged acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, bring the perpetrators before a competent tribunal;
- apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law against policemen involved;
- guarantee support and assistance and obtain compensations for the victims;
- guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws international human rights standards, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
His Excellency, Mr. Zoran Zivkovic, Prime Minister of Serbia and Montenegro, Bulevar Mihajla Pupina 2, 11070 Novi Beograd, Serbia and Montenegro. Fax: +381 11 3117159 / 604446 / 637185
·His Excellency, Mr. Vladan Batic, Minister of Justice, The Ministry of Justice of Serbia and Montenegro, Nemanjina 22-24, fax: +381 11 3616548 / 3616419 / 3616535, E-mail: kabinet@mpravde.sr.gov.yu
·His Excellency, Mr. Goran Svilanovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro, SMIP, Kneza Milosa 26, 11000 Beograd, Serbia and Montenegro, Fax : +381 11 3618052 / 3618010, E-mail: goran.svilanovic@smip.sv.gov.yu
·The Ministry of Interior Republic of Serbia, Minister Dusan Mihajlovic, Kneza Milosa 101, fax: (+381) 11 3617585 / (+381) 11 3617814, E-mail: muprs@mup.sr.gov.yu
Please also write to the embassies of Serbia in your respective country.
Geneva, September 12th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
TORTURE/ILL-TREATEMENT
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT INTERVENTION in the following situation in Serbia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Fond za hamanitarno pravo (Humanitarian Law Center), a member of the OMCT network, about a case of policy brutality in Raška, Sandžak region. In their statements to the HLC and the Sandžak Human Rights Committee, Milan Janoševiæ (23) and Dragan Jelenkoviæ (24) alleged that they were physically abused by two Raška police officers on 9 June this year.
According to the information received the two men were in a sidewalk cafe about midnight. Milan Janoševiæ car was parked nearby with the music playing. Officers Ivan Simiæ and Slobodan Djuroviæ came up to him, told him to turn the music off, present his ID card and go with them. When Janoševiæ refused to go, Officer Simiæ struck him on the forehead with his nightstick. The frightened Janoševiæ broke away and ran, finding a hiding place under a bridge. A local police inspector coming from the opposite direction saw him and told the two officers where Janoševiæ was hiding.
According to Janoševiæ, the two policemen reached him a few minutes later and pointed their flashlights and guns at him. They ordered him to lie down and put his hands on his back, and held him down with their knees while they cuffed him.
"One of their guns went off, accidentally I think. My friends in town heard the shot. I said I would sue if they beat me again. After cuffing me, they started hitting me on the back with their nightsticks, both of them. The beating was worst, right there under the bridge, next to the retaining wall. They hit me on the back and chest, and then threw me into the stream with my hands still cuffed. The policeman Simiæ grabbed the back of my neck and pushed my head into the water. "So, you're going to sue us, are you" he kept saying, and I said I wouldn't, hoping to be let go. Inspector Kurandiæ watched what was happening from the bridge but did nothing. They went on kicking me and then threw me hard against the retaining wall which had steel reinforcement rods sticking out of it. Two of the rods gored me in the back. This treatment lasted about 15 minutes. Leading me from there to the car, some 50 meters away, they hit me more than 20 times, and threw me to the ground four times," Janoševiæ told an HLC researcher.
Janoševiæ was held at the local police station for several hours, during which time he was taken twice to the Medical Center for an anti-tetanus shot and have his injuries treated. He was interviewed by the station commander, Boško Niæiforoviæ, in the presence of Inspector Kurandiæ who said to Janoševiæ: "You owe me a drink for saving you." Meeting later with Janoševiæ and his father, the station commander tried to play down the incident, excusing his officers' conduct with the fact that they had been transferred from Kosovo.
As for Dragan Jelenkoviæ, he saw Officer Simiæ strike Janoševiæ on the back outside the cafe, after which the officer turned around and hit Jelenkoviæ twice on the head with his nightstick. When Jelenkoviæ went to the police station to complain, he met Milan Janoševiæ's father there. Both insisted that the two officers be subjected to a blood alcohol test. Jelenkoviæ was told to file a complaint with the duty officer, Zoran Jovanoviæ, who was in a room connected with another office in which Officer Ivan Simiæ was sitting. The two policemen consulted briefly, after which Jovanoviæ told Jelenkoviæ that criminal charges would be pressed against him and that a statement would be taken from him.
Jelenkoviæ told the HLC that the Kraljevo Police Chief called his father the next day and apologized for the Raška police, saying Officer Simiæ had admitted to him that he struck Jelenkoviæ in a moment of anger.
On 25 June 2003, the Sandžak Human Rights Committee filed a criminal complaint against Officers Simiæ and Djuroviæ, charging them with civil injury and infliction of slight bodily harm. Janoševiæ and Jelenkoviæ have medical certificates and photographs of their injuries.
A criminal complaint was filed earlier against Officer Slobodan Djuroviæ. In his statement, Fuad Dizdareviæ of Novi Pazar described how Djuroviæ physically abused him at a checkpoint in Rudnica village, threatened to shoot him in the mouth, and burn down his house and force him to move out. In the presence of several other police, Djuroviæ cocked his pistol and, pushing it to Dizdareviæ's throat under the chin, said in a threatening tone: "Now, are you going to report me?"
OMCT supports the principles contained in the Convention against Torture art. 10 (1) Each State Party shall ensure that education and information regarding the prohibition against torture are fully included in the training of law enforcement personnel, civil or military, medical personnel, public officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment; art. 11 Each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture; art. 12 Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction; art. 13 Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by, its competent authorities. Steps shall be taken to ensure that the complainant and witnesses are protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any evidence given.
OMCT is deeply concerned by the lack of due diligence of Serbian political authorities despite their awareness of a recent wave of allegations of police abuse and torture.
OMCT supports the request for investigation of 8 September 2003 facts.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Serbia urging them to:
- guarantee an immediate judicial investigation into the alleged acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, bring the perpetrators before a competent tribunal;
- apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law against policemen involved;
- guarantee support and assistance and obtain compensations for the victims;
- guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws international human rights standards, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
His Excellency, Mr. Zoran Zivkovic, Prime Minister of Serbia and Montenegro, Bulevar Mihajla Pupina 2, 11070 Novi Beograd, Serbia and Montenegro. Fax: +381 11 3117159 / 604446 / 637185
·His Excellency, Mr. Vladan Batic, Minister of Justice, The Ministry of Justice of Serbia and Montenegro, Nemanjina 22-24, fax: +381 11 3616548 / 3616419 / 3616535, E-mail: kabinet@mpravde.sr.gov.yu
·His Excellency, Mr. Goran Svilanovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro, SMIP, Kneza Milosa 26, 11000 Beograd, Serbia and Montenegro, Fax : +381 11 3618052 / 3618010, E-mail: goran.svilanovic@smip.sv.gov.yu
·The Ministry of Interior Republic of Serbia, Minister Dusan Mihajlovic, Kneza Milosa 101, fax: (+381) 11 3617585 / (+381) 11 3617814, E-mail: muprs@mup.sr.gov.yu
Please also write to the embassies of Serbia in your respective country.
Geneva, September 12th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.