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Amnesty International

International Secretariat

1 Easton Street

London WC1X 8DJ

United Kingdom

TO: PRESS OFFICERS

FROM: PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS

DATE: 28 AUGUST 1991

WEEKLY UPDATE SERVICE 32/91

Contained in this weekly update are an external item on Jordan and an

internal item for response on Lebanon.

1. NEWS INITIATIVES - INTERNAL

ICM - 29 August to 7 September

Information should be sent to you next week covering all media aspects of

the ICM. In the meantime, if you get any queries please refer them direct

to the ICM press office in Yokohama (tel +81 45 2236031, fax +81 45

2236032). Please note that the meeting is strictly internal and journalists

are only allowed to attend the inaugural session.

Sri Lanka - 11 September

ASA 37/14/91

An international news release was sent to you in the last Weekly Update.

Please note the embargo date.

Mexico - 18 September

Mexico - Torture with Impunity AMR 41/04/91

News release and questions and answers on a report on torture in Mexico

will be sent to you next week. The main point in the report is that anyone

who is arrested in Mexico is at risk of torture and that the government has

done little to bring police or others responsible to justice.

China - 26 September

Report on administrative detention - news release and possible questions

and answers.

USA - 9 October

USA - The Death Penalty and Juvenile Offenders AMR 51/23/91

International news release to accompany the external document.

Egypt - 23 October

Egypt - Ten years of torture MDE 12/18/91

News release to go with an external document on torture, including strong

individual cases and photo material.

Weekly Update NWS 11/32/91

2. MDE 16/WU 01/91 EXTERNAL

28 August 1991

JORDAN: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION

Two Amnesty International delegates, both staff members of the

International Secretariat, visited Jordan between 10 and 21 August 1991, to

conduct research and meet government officials to discuss matters relevant

to the organization's work on Jordan.

Following up discussions held with government officials in March

1990, the delegation met the Prime Minister, Taher Masri; the Ministers of

Justice, the Interior and Foreign Affairs; the Director General of the

General Intelligence Department; and the Military Advocate General.

The delegation welcomed continuing human rights reforms in Jordan,

but expressed concern that crucial safeguards against torture or ill-

treatment of detainees have not yet been introduced, including prompt

access to lawyers and a judge for all detainees, as well as prompt access

to families and independent medical doctors.

Weekly Update NWS 11/32/91

3. MDE 18/WU 01/91 INTERNAL (FOR RESPONSE)

28 August 1991

LEBANON: REPORTS OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL TALKS WITH HIZBOLLAH

In the last few days the news media have been carrying reports on AI having

talks with the pro-Iranian Hizbollah Islamic group in Lebanon. These

reports have emanated from Hizbollah and are not entirely correct. This

internal statement clarifies the role of an AI representative who is

currently in Lebanon. This information may be passed to journalists in

response to any inquiries.

A Reuters report on August 24 states that: "An envoy of the human

rights watchdog Amnesty International has held talks in Beirut with the

pro-Iranian Hizbollah (Party of God) on Arabs held by Israel, whose fate is

linked to that of Western hostages in Lebanon. Aziz Abdul Hussein, the

Middle East representative of Amnesty held talks with Hizbollah on the

issue of about 400 Arabs detained without trial by Israel and its client

militia in south Lebanon....Most of the Arabs are held at Khiam prison in

south Lebanon and Amnesty has regularly voiced concern about their

detention and treatment. The [Hizbollah] spokesman said Abdul-Hussein did

not raise in the talks the question of 10 Westerners missing in

Lebanon....The Amnesty representative discussed Lebanese prisoners who

Hizbollah and Lebanese captives' relatives say were handed to Israel by the

right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces militia, the Hizbollah spokesman

said."

In response to queries on this subject you may confirm that AI does

currently have a representative in Lebanon, who since June 1991 has been in

Lebanon gathering information about human rights issues of concern to AI.

His work has involved identifying the various political forces responsible

for holding prisoners, as well as the local and international non-

governmental organizations in Lebanon, and contacting them. In this context

it would have been routine for him to meet Hizbollah officials. He was

given a clear and limited brief and the IS is confident that he has not

exceeded it. That brief included making it clear in all contexts that he

is not authorized to make public statements on behalf of AI.

AI's concerns on the detainees held in Khiam detention centre are a

matter of public record and have appeared in successive Annual Reports (see

ARs 1986 to 1991). Amnesty International is concerned that they have been

held without charge or trial and that there have been persistent reports of

torture of detainees. Some reports have said that Israeli military

personnel were present at interrogations at which prisoners were tortured.

The Israeli authorities have categorically denied these reports. AI has

called on both the Israeli authorities and the South Lebanon Army which

runs Khiam to investigate the reports of torture. It has also called for

the ICRC to be granted access.

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Amnesty International

International Secretariat

1 Easton Street

London WC1X 8DJ

United Kingdom

TO: PRESS OFFICERS

FROM: PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS

DATE: 29 AUGUST 1991

ADDITION TO WEEKLY UPDATE SERVICE 32/91

Contained in this addition to the weekly update are an external item on

Indonesia and an Advice to Editors on the UK.

Weekly Update NWS 11/32/91 add

1. ASA 21/WU 02/91 EXTERNAL

29 August 1991

INDONESIA: SEVEN POLITICAL PRISONERS FREED - HUNDREDS REMAIN IN JAIL

Seven Indonesian political prisoners were released between April and

August 1991, some of them after more than 20 years in prison. Amnesty

International welcomes these releases, but notes that at least three of

those freed, and possibly all seven, had been prisoners of conscience who

should never have been in custody. At least two had been arbitrarily

imprisoned for more than three years beyond the legal expiry of their

sentences. All had been sentenced in trials which Amnesty International

believes were unfair.

Hundreds of other political prisoners, many of them prisoners of

conscience, continue to serve lengthy terms in Indonesian prisons. They

include scores of Islamic activists, hundreds of people accused of pro-

independence activities in Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya, a number of

university students and journalists and more than 30 people imprisoned in

the late 1960s for their alleged involvement in an attempted coup in

October 1965.

Three of the seven prisoners released had been in jail for more than

20 years for their alleged involvement in the 1965 coup attempt or for

membership of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI - Partai Komunis

Indonesia). In April 1991, Drs Susilo, a veterinary surgeon aged 53, was

released after serving 23 years in prison for subversion; a death sentence

imposed in 1971 was commuted to 20 years in 1981. Those released in July

were Rewang, aged 63, and Marto Suwandi, aged 69, both former members of

the PKI arrested in 1968. They were due for release in 1988 and 1987

respectively. Amnesty International believes that the three had been

sentenced in unfair trials and may have been prisoners of conscience.

Most of the thousands arrested after the 1965 coup attempt had been

released by the late 1970s but more than 30 remain in prison more than 25

years later. Like Rewang and Suwandi many are being held beyond the expiry

of their prison sentences. Amnesty International considers their continued

detention to be arbitrary and in contravention of basic principles of

Indonesian and international law. It is calling for the immediate and

unconditional release of all those detained beyond the expiry date of their

sentences. Seven PKI prisoners remain under sentence of death and at least

22 have been executed since 1985. Amnesty International has repeatedly

urged the government to commute all outstanding death sentences.

Among four political prisoners released on 17 August 1991 were three

Muslim activists: Professor Dr. Oesmany al Hamidy, aged 77, a professor at

a religious training college in Jakarta (PTDI), Hasan Kiat, aged 41, a

Muslim leader, and Ratono, a student at the PTDI. They had been sentenced

to between six and seven years in prison in 1986 for delivering "seditious"

and "inflammatory" sermons. Amnesty International considered Oesmany al

Hamidy and Hasan Kiat to be prisoners of conscience and was investigating

the allegations against Ratono to determine whether he too had been

imprisoned solely for his non-violent religious or political beliefs.

Also released on 17 August was David Dias Ximenes, an East Timorese

aged 42, who was imprisoned without trial for more than three years before

being sentenced to 15 years for his alleged links with Fretilin, which has

been fighting for East Timor's independence since the territory was invaded

by Indonesia in 1975. Amnesty International believed that he may also have

been a prisoner of conscience.

Amnesty International considers that political trials in Indonesia

and East Timor have not met international standards of fairness. Defendants

are often compelled to testify against themselves and are generally

presumed to be guilty rather than innocent until proved guilty. The links

between the executive branch and the judiciary in Indonesia have tended to

undermine the impartiality of the judges. Some political prisoners have

been convicted on the basis of testimony extracted under duress and

sometimes under torture. Political trials have also been marked by a lack

of access to counsel of the defendant's own choosing, inability to summon

witnesses on the same terms as the prosecution, and inadequate time to

prepare the defence.

Weekly Update NWS 11/32/91 add

2. EUR 45/13/91 EXTERNAL

29 August 1991

INTERNAL

The following is an Advice to Editors concerning the first ever Urgent

Action on Northern Ireland. It was sent out this morning to the British and

Irish media and international agencies:

UNITED KINGDOM

Amnesty International last night issued an Urgent Action on behalf of a

Northern Ireland youth reportedly ill-treated in Castlereagh police

interrogation centre in Belfast. Although the organization regularly

reports on its human rights concerns in the United Kingdom -- most recently

in a 66-page report issued in June 1991 -- this is the first ever Urgent

Action issued on a case in Northern Ireland. Amnesty International is

gravely concerned about the seriousness of the youth's allegations --

supported by medical evidence -- and the reported death threats against him

by his interrogators.

An Urgent Action is launched by Amnesty International in any case of

imminent danger of torture or ill-treatment, execution or medical neglect

of a prisoners. The organization calls on it worldwide membership to

contact the authorities of the country concerned urgently appealing on

behalf of the victim.

The text of the Urgent Action follows:

Amnesty International is concerned about the reported ill-treatment and

threat of further ill-treatment of Damien Austin, a 17-year-old Catholic

youth from Belfast. The organization has received reports that he was ill-

treated while in custody at the police interrogation centre in Castlereagh

(Belfast) on two separate occasions in recent months. He was first

arrested by Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) at his home in the Falls Road

area of Belfast (a Catholic area of the city) on the afternoon of 7 May

1991. He was taken to Castlereagh police interrogation centre and held

under Section 14 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act until 10 May. Damien

Austin was one of 18 young people arrested in connection with the

investigation into the death of an RUC officer, Stephen Gillespie, in a

rocket attack carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 1 May 1991.

During the time Damien Austin was in Castlereagh interrogation

centre, he alleges that he was verbally abused, punched, slapped, and spat

upon by detectives. He has said that he was also burned on the face with a

cigarette, that his trousers and underpants were repeatedly pulled down,

that a cigarette lighter was held toward his pubic hair, and that death

threats were made. In the period following his release and before his

second arrest, Damien Austin claims to have been regularly harassed by the

police.

He was arrested for the second time on Saturday, 17 August - again

under Section 14 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act - and was taken to

Castlereagh, where he was examined by a doctor upon arrival. The doctor

noted that there were no marks on his body, but that there were four

stitches in his right ear from a previous injury. During three

interrogation sessions on 17 August (each lasting between three and a half

and four and a half hours), Damien Austin alleges that he was regularly

punched in the stomach, the throat, on the arms, and the back of the head.

During the final session of the day, he alleges that a detective placed his

boots between his legs and applied pressure to his testicles. He claims

that when he attempted to pull back from this particular assault, he was

pushed forward and punched by one of the detectives. He also claims that

during this same session, his neck was held so tightly in an armlock that

he was choking and felt that he would pass out. He has said that although

he requested access to a doctor throughout the day, his request was never

met.

On the following morning, Sunday, 18 August, Damien Austin was seen by

the doctor then on duty at Castlereagh. The doctor noted bruising and

stated that he would be prepared to testify to this effect in court on

Damien Austin's behalf. The doctor also provided him with pain killers and

two inhalers for his asthma. Damien Austin has said that the detectives

refused to allow him to use these inhalers during his interrogations. The

ill-treatment allegedly continued throughout the day. In one session, a

detective reportedly made a death threat and then pulled Damien Austin's

ears very hard. This apparently caused his injured right ear to bleed and

resulted in two of his stitches coming out. Another request to see a

doctor was refused. During a subsequent interview, he alleges that he was

again subjected to pressure on his genital area which he said resulted in

bleeding.

When the Castlereagh duty doctor examined Damien Austin again on the

morning of Monday, 19 August, he noted marks and bruising. Damien Austin

claims that the beatings which allegedly took place during the previous two

days continued and became even more severe on Monday, 19 August. When

Damien Austin's solicitor saw him late that morning, he also noted injuries

and advised his client to request an examination by his own doctor. Damien

Austin's own doctor was allowed to examine him that evening, recording both

bruising and the two opened stitches in his right ear. In an affidavit

filed in the High Court, Damien Austin's doctor has stated that he

"...examined him in detail and found evidence of severe

assaults to his body. In addition to the physical injuries he

appeared dazed and apprehensive...I can confirm that Damien

Austin is being subjected to severe ill-treatment and the

Police Doctor agreed with me on this".

Following this examination on the evening of 19 August, Damien Austin

claims that he received threats of further arrest and even execution by a

loyalist paramilitary group. He has said that he was told: "You can

complain all you want. It's going to get worse".

On Tuesday, 20 August, after further questioning sessions where the

beatings allegedly continued as before, he was released without charge. As

he was leaving Castlereagh, Damien Austin has claimed that the sergeant

said "See you again soon".

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Allegations about ill-treatment of suspects while in police custody have

frequently come from Northern Ireland. People arrested under anti-

terrorist legislation are taken to the police interrogation centres in

Castlereagh (Belfast), Gough Barracks (Armagh) and Strand Road

(Londonderry). The record shows that existing procedures and safeguards are

inadequate to prevent the ill-treatment of detainees. Further details on

the issue of allegations of ill-treatment can be found in Chapter One of

United Kingdom: Human Rights Concerns.