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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

NEWS SERVICE 106/94

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TO: PRESS OFFICERSAI INDEX: NWS 11/106/94

FROM: IS PRESS OFFICEDISTR: SC/PO

DATE: 23 MAY 1994 NO OF WORDS:925

NEWS SERVICE ITEMS: EXTERNAL - AUSTRIA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS

PLEASE NOTE: The above items on El Salvador and Honduras have both been translated into Spanish at the IS. The Spanish translations are included in this news service.

PLEASE NOTE: An urgent action UA 198, AI INDEX: ASA 21/12/94 has just been sent out about the arbitrary detention and fear of torture of 11

E.Timorese in Indonesia/E. Timor.

NEWS INITIATIVES - INTERNAL

INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELEASES

China - 1 June - SEE NEWS SERVICE 81/94

Turkey - 30 June - SEE NEWS SERVICE 104/94

Pakistan - 27 July - PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE. SEE NEWS SERVICE 81/94

TARGETED AND LIMITED NEWS RELEASES

Guatemala - 25 May - SEE NEWS SERVICE 99/94

MOROCCO - 30 MAY - SEE NEWS SERVICE 105/94

Austria - 7 June - SEE NEWS SERVICE 105/94

Denmark - 15 June - SEE NEWS SERVICE 105/94

Myanmar - 20 July - SEE NEWS SERVICE 99/94

FORTHCOMING NEWS INITIATIVES

Annual Report - 7 July - SEE NEWS SERVICE 51/94

News Service 106/94

AI INDEX: EUR 13/WU 02/94

EMBARGOED FOR 7 JUNE 1994

AUSTRIA: ALLEGATIONS OF CRUEL, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT BY POLICE AND PRISON-OFFICERS

Austrian police and prison-officers are subjecting foreigners, including asylum-seekers, to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment Amnesty International said in a report published this week.

The report documents a number of allegations of ill-treatment, including several cases where it has taken place while the foreigners in question were being held in administrative detention pending deportation.

In June 1993 two delegates attending the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna saw police officers kick and hit an Algerian man at Vienna Schwechat airport during an attempt to deport him following rejection of his asylum application. The delegates complained to an airport official but were told "This is not your problem". When they protested further, they were told that the man was being beaten because he was a "criminal", an "Algerian" and a "prisoner". Although the delegates made a formal complaint to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the government replied that no ill-treatment had occurred.

In March 1993 a police officer refused to allow detainee Dickson Nosa Oviawe to finish dressing before seeing an Amnesty International refugee advisor. The 30 year-old Nigerian, who had been arrested and placed in administrative detention in Vienna pending deportation, had to conduct an interview about his possible deportation dressed only in his shirt.

Although at first extremely anxious about making a formal complaint about his humiliating treatment, Dickson Nosa Oviawe eventually did so through his lawyer. The Federal Ministry of the Interior responded that it had not been possible to identify the officer involved in the incident. They also claimed that "when officers check the detainee's clothing they look only at what he is wearing above the waist, not below".

"Asylum-seekers in particular, are often reluctant to make any formal complaint if they are ill-treated, for fear that this might prejudice their asylum claim", Amnesty International said. Many asylum-seekers also face considerable difficulties in contacting relatives, legal representatives or human rights organizations while they are in pre-expulsion detention (Schubhaft). Amnesty International fears these two factors could mean that the actual number of cases of ill-treatment is much higher than that reported.

News Service 106/94

AI INDEX: AMR 29/WU 02/94

23 MAY 1994

EL SALVADOR: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL VISIT

Two Amnesty International delegates will visit El Salvador from 3 to 6 June, to gather first-hand information about a number of cases of possible extrajudicial executions and death threats of political activists that have occurred since the beginning of the election campaign this year. The delegates will also seek information on the progress of the human rights reforms resulting from the 1992 Peace Accords.

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AMNISTÍA INTERNACIONAL VISITA EL SALVADOR

Dos delegados de Amnistía Internacional visitarán El Salvador del 3 al 6 del próximo mes de junio. El objetivo de la visita es recabar información directa sobre varios probables casos de ejecución extrajudicial y de amenazas de muerte a activistas políticos que han tenido lugar desde el inicio del periodo de campaña electoral de este año. Los delegados tratarán asimismo de obtener información sobre el progreso de las reformas introducidas en materia de derechos humanos como resultado de los Acuerdos de Paz de 1992.

News Service 106/94

AI INDEX: AMR 37/WU 01/94

EMBARGOED FOR 30 MAY 1994

HONDURAS: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL VISIT

An Amnesty International delegation in Honduras from 25 May to 3 June, will be meeting with members of the government, which took office earlier this year, and will be gathering information on alleged human rights violations in the country.

At the meetings, the three delegates -- all Amnesty International staff members -- will raise the organization's concerns on possible extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture and ill-treatment during previous administrations; as well as the continued impunity surrounding past human rights violations to members of the government. The delegates will also seek information on the progress of a number of human rights reforms initiated since 1993.

ENDS/

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** NO PUBLICAR HASTA EL 30 DE MAYO DE 1994 **

AMNISTÍA INTERNACIONAL VISITA HONDURAS

Una delegación de Amnistía Internacional visitará Honduras del 25 de mayo al 3 de junio. Los tres delegados --todos ellos funcionarios de la organización--, se entrevistarán con representantes del nuevo gobierno y recabarán información sobre presuntas violaciones de derechos humanos.

En el curso de las entrevistas, los delegados discutirán casos de posibles ejecuciones extrajudiciales, desapariciones forzadas, tortura y malos tratos que preocupan a Amnistía Internacional y que ocurrieron durante gobiernos anteriores; también discutirán la continua impunidad que rodea las pasadas violaciones de derechos humanos. Los delegados recabarán asimismo información sobre el progreso de ciertas reformas introducidas en materia de derechos humanos desde 1993.