Indonesia: New Prisoners of Conscience in the Post-Suharto Era

10 July 2003

Syria/Lebanon: The authorities must urgently investigate cases of death in custody

LONDON - Following reports on the recent death in Syrian custody of Lebanese national Joseph Huways, and the recent denial of the Syrian authorities of the presence of any Lebanese political detainees in Syria, Amnesty International today called on the Syrian authorities to open an investigation into the case and allow prisoners access to lawyers, families and medical treatment.In a statement carried by the media on 5 July, the Syrian Minister of Interior has denied the presence of any Lebanese political detainees in Syria.

"We have the names of a number of Lebanese political detainees who have been held in Syrian prisons for years mostly incommunicado, following their transfer from Lebanon to Syria by the Syrian military forces operating in Lebanon," Amnesty International said.

The death of Joseph Huways in the third week of June fits into a pattern of ill-treatment of Lebanese detained in Syria and highlights the endemic failure of the Syrian authorities to uphold international laws and standards governing the detention and treatment in custody of political detainees," the organization added.

Huways, a 43-year-old epileptic, is at least the third Lebanese to have died in custody since 1996. He had been reportedly denied access to medical treatment.

"The Syrian authorities must establish an independent and impartial investigation into the death of Joseph Huways and all recent deaths in custody of political detainees in accordance with international standards," Amnesty International stressed.

Amnesty International has been calling on the Syrian authorities to disclose the fate and whereabouts of scores of Lebanese who have ''disappeared" following their arrest in Lebanon or transfer to Syria by Syrian military or intelligence forces.

Despite repeated calls, the Syrian authorities have failed over the years to provide clarifications of scores of cases of Lebanese nationals who have been detained or who have disappeared in Syria.

"The Syrian authorities must disclose as a matter of urgency the names of all Lebanese nationals held in Syrian jails and allow them immediate and unrestricted access to their families and lawyers," Amnesty International said.

"There is no legal basis for the arrest and transfer of Lebanese nationals to Syria who are later held either without trial or after unfair trials."

Amnesty International is concerned about the safety of the detainees, especially in view of recurrent news of torture and ill-treatment, and their detention in inhuman conditions. There have been reports on detainees who were particularly at risk - - including Shaykh 'Alam el-Din Hassan, aged 66 and Milad Na'oum al-Khouri, aged 64 - - who have been held incommunicado for over 14 years. The organization is also concerned by the failure of the Lebanese government to take the matter of Lebanese detained or disappeared in Syria up with the Syrian authorities.

"The Lebanese authorities must intervene on behalf of all Lebanese prisoners held in Syria, ascertain whom exactly is held and under what conditions, and keep relatives of the detainees informed," Amnesty International said.

"Lebanon's failure to prevent the transfer of those arrested within its jurisdiction, to protect them from torture and to ensure that they are able to challenge the lawfulness of their detention amount at best to serious negligence and at worst to condoning these practices."

'Adel Khalaf Ajjuri, a Lebanese political prisoners died in Sednaya Prison in Syria on 22 September 1999 after nine years in detention, reportedly after being denied access to specialist medical care. The Syrian authorities indicated that the cause of death was heart failure but no autopsy was performed on his body by either the Syrian or Lebanese authorities. Lebanese citizen Joseph Zughayb died in Syrian detention in 1996 in unknown circumstances. Radwan Ibrahim died in Lebanese detention shortly after being transferred from a prison in Syria in December 2000. He had been suffering from a kidney infection and high blood pressure and was reportedly not receiving any medication.

In 2002, Amnesty International received a letter from the Syrian authorities confirming the detention of George Ayub Shalawit and Tony Jirgis Tamer, both reportedly sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of "spying" for Israel. A third detainee, Najib Yusuf Jarmani whose case was raised by Amnesty International with the Syrian authorities, was reportedly sentenced to death on the same charge. It is not clear whether the death penalty has been carried out. There are fears that he may have been extrajudicially executed.

Indonesia: New Prisoners of Conscience in the Post-Suharto Era

(Jakarta, July 10, 2003) - In separate reports released today, Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch called for the release of all
prisoners of conscience in Indonesia and for the repeal of legislation
used to prosecute and imprison activists engaged in peaceful political
expression.

A series of amnesties following the forced resignation of President
Suharto in May 1998 led to the release of all prisoners of conscience
and pledges by the Indonesian authorities to end politically motivated
prosecutions. However, since then at least 46 prisoners of conscience
have been imprisoned--39 of them since Megawati Sukarnoputri became
president in July 2001.

"Moves towards greater political freedoms and respect for freedom of
expression are being undermined by the prosecution and imprisonment of
peaceful political, labor, independence and other activists," said
Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch's Asia division director. "With less
than one year to go before Indonesia's first direct presidential
elections, to be locking up individuals who criticize the government
is an alarming development for the electoral process."

The two human rights organizations expressed particular concern about
the increasing use of an article under Indonesia's Criminal Code that
punishes "insulting the President or Vice-President" with up to six
years imprisonment. Since late 2002, at least 14 political activists
have been sentenced to prison terms and three others are facing
charges under these provisions. In most cases, the activists have been
arrested following their participation in peaceful demonstrations.

"Repressive legislation used under the authoritarian regime of former
President Suharto has no place in a country which claims to be set on
a path towards a fully-fledged democracy," said Ingrid Massage,
interim director of the Asia and Pacific Program of Amnesty
International.

Ignatius Mahendra, the Chairman of the Yogyakarta branch of the
National Democratic Student's League (LMND), and Yoyok Eko
Widodo, a member of the Street Buskers Union (SPI), are among the
latest to be imprisoned under charges of insulting the President
or Vice-President. Each was sentenced to three years in prison in
April after being found guilty of burning portraits of President
Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-President Hamzah Haz during a
peaceful demonstration in January this year. On July 1, a five-
year prison term was handed down to Muhammad Nazar, a leading
political activist in Aceh province on Sumatra. He was accused of
"spreading hatred against the government" for his participation
in peaceful pro-independence meetings earlier this year.

A range of other repressive legislation has also been used to
detain prisoners of conscience. Peaceful independence activists
in the provinces of Aceh and Papua have been charged with
"spreading hatred against the government" or with rebellion. Four
trade union activists who were arrested in East Kalimantan in
January 2002 for their role in peaceful protests against wage
levels are currently appealing prison sentences of up to six
months after being found guilty of inciting the public to commit
a criminal act.

Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have campaigned
for many years for the amendment of the Indonesian Criminal Code
to conform with international law in order to protect basic
freedoms of expression and assembly.

"The repeal of these laws is long overdue," said Ingrid Massage
of Amnesty International. "Any legal provisions that criminalize
peaceful political activities must be repealed as soon as
possible. In the meantime, the Megawati administration should
make a public commitment to end any such prosecutions, which call
into question its commitment to a pluralistic society based on
respect for human rights."

The two human rights organizations also called upon donors,
including Japan, the European Union, the United States and
Australia, to insist on legal reforms to end these retrograde
practices that are creating a new generation of political
prisoners in Indonesia.

The problem of unfair trials in which prisoners of conscience
have been convicted must also be addressed. In many cases,
arrests have been carried out without warrants and detainees have
been denied access to lawyers, and in some cases, subjected to
torture and other ill-treatment.