Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
28.09.01
Urgent Interventions
Libya: detention, torture and risk of an unfair trial of five Bulgarian nurses and one doctor, one Palestinian and 9 Libyans
Case LBY 280901
Arbitrary Arrest and Detention/Torture/Fair Trial
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Libya.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Assistance Centre for Torture Victims (ACET) and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), both of whom are members of the OMCT network, as well as the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and Greek Helsinki Monitor, of the detention, torture and risk of an unfair trial of five Bulgarian nurses and one doctor, one Palestinian and 9 Libyans in Libya. The trial has been postponed 14 times by the judge, reportedly upon requests from the defence, most recently on September 22nd, at which time a verdict was expected. The verdict is now expected to be announced when the court next convenes, on December 22nd.
According to the information received, on February 9th, 1999, over seventy health professionals from Bulgaria (23 persons), Egypt, Hungary, the Philippines and Poland were arrested in Benghazi, Libya, following an investigation into an HIV virus epidemic in the Al-Fateh Pediatric Hospital in Benghazi, in which 393 children were reportedly infected. At least 23 of these children have reportedly died since then. All of the persons that were arrested were released the next day, notably, it is thought, due to the active reaction and operations of their embassy representatives, except the 23 Bulgarian detainees. All but five of these were released one week later. The five persons who remained in custody were all female nurses, including: Christiana Vulcheva, Nassya Nenova, Valenitina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka, Snejana Dimitrova. Another Bulgarian national, Dr. Zdavko Georgiev, Christina Vulcheva’s husband, was arrested on February 9th, 1999, when he went to the police station where his wife was being detained, and has been detained and accused along with the other five persons, even though he did not work at the same hospital.
According to the information received, on February 7th, 2000 a Tripoli prosecutor signed a 1,600-page indictment against the six Bulgarians, nine Libyans and one Palestinian, charging them with undermining and attacking the security of the Libyan State by intentionally spreading the HIV virus through contaminated blood. The specific charges include: intentional killing with a lethal substance (Article 371 of the Libyan Criminal Code), random killing with the aim of attacking the security of the State (Article 202 of the Libyan Criminal Code) and causing an epidemic through spreading harmful microbes leading to the death of persons (Article 305 of the Libyan Criminal Code). If convicted, the defendants may face the death penalty. Other charges have been brought against the Bulgarians and Palestinian defendants for violating the norms relating to Islam. Charges of this type, leveled against the Bulgarian female nurses, include extramarital sexual activity and the production and possession of alcohol. The Palestinian defendant faces a charge of exchanging money through the black market. The Libyan nationals in the case have been charged with numerous counts of negligence in their capacity as health officials, as well as abuse of authority.
Since their arrest on 9 February 1999 the accused have remained in custody. At first they were detained for about 10 months without having access to their families. They were allowed access to a defence lawyer only after trail proceedings had begun. In mid-May 2000 the Libyan defence lawyer for the Bulgarian defendants, Osman Bizanti, who was hired by the Bulgarian Embassy, told the media that he had only met his clients on two occasions.
All of the defendants have complained that during the initial stage of detention they have been subjected to torture and inhuman treatment. The forms of torture to which they have been subjected typically include: electrocution, beating with electrical wire, being kept naked and crucified for lengthy periods of time, being beaten on the soles of the feet, being drugged, the use of fire and ice-cold showers, being held in over-crowded cells, being blinded by bright lights and being intimidated and bitten by police dogs. At first the accused told Mr. Hristo Danov, the Bulgarian president's envoy, who visited them in the prison in April 2000, that during the investigation they were tortured. Before the court hearing on 12 May 2001 Mrs. Krisrtina Vulcheva told the Bulgarian “24 hours” newspaper correspondent that all the detainees were subjected to systematic torture during the first three months after their arrest. Later, the information was confirmed by Mr. Emil Manolov, Bulgaria's consul general in Tripoli, who visited the detainees on 31 May 2001 for the first time in three months.
Two of the accused - Mrs. Kristina Vulcheva and Mrs. Nassya Nenova, - who seemed to have suffered most, raised their complaints of torture during the court hearing on 2 June 2001, while being questioned as to confessions made during the investigation. Both accused withdrew their testimonies with the explanation that they were forced into confessing about offences they had not committed through the use of torture. Mrs. Vulcheva said that during the investigation she was subjected at least ten times to electric shocks. She was undressed and beaten with an electric cable. Then two men held her under arms and made her run while her legs was still paralyzed by the electricity. For nine months after the torture Mrs. Vulcheva was not able to menstruate. This allegation of torture was later confirmed by Mrs. Vulcheva's mother, Zorka Anachkova. She visited her daughter in the prison after the last court hearing on 17 June 2001. Mrs. Anachkova told the Bulgarian "Trud" newspaper that her daughter had told her that she was being tortured.
At the court hearing on 2 June 2001 Mrs. Nenova told the court that she was systematically tortured and subjected to electric shocks during detention. She later attempted to commit suicide when she heard that Major Djuma, who conducted the torture, was returning to the prison to take over the investigation. She also recounted that before and after the court hearings all the detainees were always taken to the investigation's office where investigators exerted pressure upon them. Mrs. Nenova allegations were confirmed in mid-June 2000 by Mrs. Nadya Dervisheva, a Bulgarian nurse who was arrested with the accused but later released without being prosecuted. She told the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee that Nassya Nenova had told her during a visit she made to the prison, that she had been tortured. Mrs. Dervisheva observed that, due to her mistreatment in prison, Nassya Nenova needed prison staff to help her walk. On 13 July 2001 Dr. Ivan Nenov, Nassya Nenova’s husband, visited his wife in prison. He told the Bulgarian newspaper “24 hours” that Mrs. Nenova had told him that she was beaten with a cable on her hands and feet. As a result she could not walk for one week. A month later she was reportedly subjected to electric shocks and threatened with infection with HIV if she did not make confessions.
The Palestinian detainee was allowed to be visited by his family in early 2000. They later reported that they observed black marks on his hands. He told them he had been subjected to electric shocks.
At the court hearing on 16 June 2001, Bulgarian attorney Sheitanov requested that the Court order a forensic expertise to determine whether the detainees had been tortured. He also gave a list of the people who had allegedly conducted torture, but the court ignored the request. The alleged perpetrators include: Major Djuma, General Harb Durbal, Colonel Dzuma Misheri, Selim Druma, Mohammed Harari, Dzuma Mlatem, Usama Uidad, Abdul Mazhid (a chemist), Idris (an interpreter) and a man referred to only as Mustafa.
The defence lawyers for the Bulgarian defendants requested the court to summon as witnesses Dr. Luc Montagnier from France and Dr. Luc Rerrin from Switzerland, who are prominent HIV researchers, to appear before it as medical experts. The two professors have already check-ups on some of the Libyan children and found that most of them were also infected with different types of hepatitis B and C, indicating that there were multiple sources of infection in the Benghazi hospital. The court refused to grant the request.
Under Libyan law, any of the suspects who confess will be sentenced to death. This is in violation of the rule of inadmissibility of statements extracted under torture. Article 15 of the Convention against Torture states: "Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made." Furthermore, other evidence presented by the prosecution was collected in illegal ways, for example during searches of the defendants’ houses while they were not present, and can therefore also not be considered during the trial.
The defendants are being tried by the People's Court, which OMCT believes is not qualified to deliver a fair trial, as its members are not explicitly required to be members of the judiciary or trained lawyers and are elected by the General People's Congress on a periodic basis. These two particularities of the court appear to be inconsistent with the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary adopted by the 7th UN Congress on the prevention of Crime and the treatment of Officers, in September 1985 and approved by the 40th Session of the UN General Assembly in November 1985.
OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned detainees, given that they have been repeatedly tortured and subjected to ill-treatment, reportedly resulting in damage to their health. OMCT fears that they will continue to be subjected to ill-treatment until the verdict is announced, and fears that they may be sentenced to death at that time. OMCT is gravely concerned about the Libyan authorities’ use of arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, torture and ill-treatment, as well as widespread violations of these persons’ procedural rights and right to a fair trial.
Action requested:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the prisoners’ physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. ensure the right of those detained to be allowed to meet with their lawyers and family;
iv. intervene with the appropriate authorities in order to secure that the adequate medical assistance is provided as a matter of urgency to the detainees;
v. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests an ill-treatment and torture during the prisoners detention, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses:
· Colonel Mu'ammar al-Kaddafi, Leader of the Revolution, Office of the Leader of the Revolution, Tripoli, Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Fax : + 218 21 333 01 85
· Imbarak Abdalla El Shamek, Prime Minister, Secretary of the General People's Committee Tripoli, Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Fax : + 218 54 60 017
· Mohammed Mohammed Belgassem al-Zuia, Minister of Justice and General Security, Office of the Minister of Justice and General Security, Tripoli, Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Fax : + 218 21 444 16 74
· The General People's Congress (Human Rights section). Fax : + 218 21 361 39 07
Please also write to the Diplomatic Representatives of Libya in your country.
Geneva, September 28th, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary Arrest and Detention/Torture/Fair Trial
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Libya.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Assistance Centre for Torture Victims (ACET) and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), both of whom are members of the OMCT network, as well as the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and Greek Helsinki Monitor, of the detention, torture and risk of an unfair trial of five Bulgarian nurses and one doctor, one Palestinian and 9 Libyans in Libya. The trial has been postponed 14 times by the judge, reportedly upon requests from the defence, most recently on September 22nd, at which time a verdict was expected. The verdict is now expected to be announced when the court next convenes, on December 22nd.
According to the information received, on February 9th, 1999, over seventy health professionals from Bulgaria (23 persons), Egypt, Hungary, the Philippines and Poland were arrested in Benghazi, Libya, following an investigation into an HIV virus epidemic in the Al-Fateh Pediatric Hospital in Benghazi, in which 393 children were reportedly infected. At least 23 of these children have reportedly died since then. All of the persons that were arrested were released the next day, notably, it is thought, due to the active reaction and operations of their embassy representatives, except the 23 Bulgarian detainees. All but five of these were released one week later. The five persons who remained in custody were all female nurses, including: Christiana Vulcheva, Nassya Nenova, Valenitina Siropulo, Valya Chervenyashka, Snejana Dimitrova. Another Bulgarian national, Dr. Zdavko Georgiev, Christina Vulcheva’s husband, was arrested on February 9th, 1999, when he went to the police station where his wife was being detained, and has been detained and accused along with the other five persons, even though he did not work at the same hospital.
According to the information received, on February 7th, 2000 a Tripoli prosecutor signed a 1,600-page indictment against the six Bulgarians, nine Libyans and one Palestinian, charging them with undermining and attacking the security of the Libyan State by intentionally spreading the HIV virus through contaminated blood. The specific charges include: intentional killing with a lethal substance (Article 371 of the Libyan Criminal Code), random killing with the aim of attacking the security of the State (Article 202 of the Libyan Criminal Code) and causing an epidemic through spreading harmful microbes leading to the death of persons (Article 305 of the Libyan Criminal Code). If convicted, the defendants may face the death penalty. Other charges have been brought against the Bulgarians and Palestinian defendants for violating the norms relating to Islam. Charges of this type, leveled against the Bulgarian female nurses, include extramarital sexual activity and the production and possession of alcohol. The Palestinian defendant faces a charge of exchanging money through the black market. The Libyan nationals in the case have been charged with numerous counts of negligence in their capacity as health officials, as well as abuse of authority.
Since their arrest on 9 February 1999 the accused have remained in custody. At first they were detained for about 10 months without having access to their families. They were allowed access to a defence lawyer only after trail proceedings had begun. In mid-May 2000 the Libyan defence lawyer for the Bulgarian defendants, Osman Bizanti, who was hired by the Bulgarian Embassy, told the media that he had only met his clients on two occasions.
All of the defendants have complained that during the initial stage of detention they have been subjected to torture and inhuman treatment. The forms of torture to which they have been subjected typically include: electrocution, beating with electrical wire, being kept naked and crucified for lengthy periods of time, being beaten on the soles of the feet, being drugged, the use of fire and ice-cold showers, being held in over-crowded cells, being blinded by bright lights and being intimidated and bitten by police dogs. At first the accused told Mr. Hristo Danov, the Bulgarian president's envoy, who visited them in the prison in April 2000, that during the investigation they were tortured. Before the court hearing on 12 May 2001 Mrs. Krisrtina Vulcheva told the Bulgarian “24 hours” newspaper correspondent that all the detainees were subjected to systematic torture during the first three months after their arrest. Later, the information was confirmed by Mr. Emil Manolov, Bulgaria's consul general in Tripoli, who visited the detainees on 31 May 2001 for the first time in three months.
Two of the accused - Mrs. Kristina Vulcheva and Mrs. Nassya Nenova, - who seemed to have suffered most, raised their complaints of torture during the court hearing on 2 June 2001, while being questioned as to confessions made during the investigation. Both accused withdrew their testimonies with the explanation that they were forced into confessing about offences they had not committed through the use of torture. Mrs. Vulcheva said that during the investigation she was subjected at least ten times to electric shocks. She was undressed and beaten with an electric cable. Then two men held her under arms and made her run while her legs was still paralyzed by the electricity. For nine months after the torture Mrs. Vulcheva was not able to menstruate. This allegation of torture was later confirmed by Mrs. Vulcheva's mother, Zorka Anachkova. She visited her daughter in the prison after the last court hearing on 17 June 2001. Mrs. Anachkova told the Bulgarian "Trud" newspaper that her daughter had told her that she was being tortured.
At the court hearing on 2 June 2001 Mrs. Nenova told the court that she was systematically tortured and subjected to electric shocks during detention. She later attempted to commit suicide when she heard that Major Djuma, who conducted the torture, was returning to the prison to take over the investigation. She also recounted that before and after the court hearings all the detainees were always taken to the investigation's office where investigators exerted pressure upon them. Mrs. Nenova allegations were confirmed in mid-June 2000 by Mrs. Nadya Dervisheva, a Bulgarian nurse who was arrested with the accused but later released without being prosecuted. She told the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee that Nassya Nenova had told her during a visit she made to the prison, that she had been tortured. Mrs. Dervisheva observed that, due to her mistreatment in prison, Nassya Nenova needed prison staff to help her walk. On 13 July 2001 Dr. Ivan Nenov, Nassya Nenova’s husband, visited his wife in prison. He told the Bulgarian newspaper “24 hours” that Mrs. Nenova had told him that she was beaten with a cable on her hands and feet. As a result she could not walk for one week. A month later she was reportedly subjected to electric shocks and threatened with infection with HIV if she did not make confessions.
The Palestinian detainee was allowed to be visited by his family in early 2000. They later reported that they observed black marks on his hands. He told them he had been subjected to electric shocks.
At the court hearing on 16 June 2001, Bulgarian attorney Sheitanov requested that the Court order a forensic expertise to determine whether the detainees had been tortured. He also gave a list of the people who had allegedly conducted torture, but the court ignored the request. The alleged perpetrators include: Major Djuma, General Harb Durbal, Colonel Dzuma Misheri, Selim Druma, Mohammed Harari, Dzuma Mlatem, Usama Uidad, Abdul Mazhid (a chemist), Idris (an interpreter) and a man referred to only as Mustafa.
The defence lawyers for the Bulgarian defendants requested the court to summon as witnesses Dr. Luc Montagnier from France and Dr. Luc Rerrin from Switzerland, who are prominent HIV researchers, to appear before it as medical experts. The two professors have already check-ups on some of the Libyan children and found that most of them were also infected with different types of hepatitis B and C, indicating that there were multiple sources of infection in the Benghazi hospital. The court refused to grant the request.
Under Libyan law, any of the suspects who confess will be sentenced to death. This is in violation of the rule of inadmissibility of statements extracted under torture. Article 15 of the Convention against Torture states: "Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made." Furthermore, other evidence presented by the prosecution was collected in illegal ways, for example during searches of the defendants’ houses while they were not present, and can therefore also not be considered during the trial.
The defendants are being tried by the People's Court, which OMCT believes is not qualified to deliver a fair trial, as its members are not explicitly required to be members of the judiciary or trained lawyers and are elected by the General People's Congress on a periodic basis. These two particularities of the court appear to be inconsistent with the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary adopted by the 7th UN Congress on the prevention of Crime and the treatment of Officers, in September 1985 and approved by the 40th Session of the UN General Assembly in November 1985.
OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned detainees, given that they have been repeatedly tortured and subjected to ill-treatment, reportedly resulting in damage to their health. OMCT fears that they will continue to be subjected to ill-treatment until the verdict is announced, and fears that they may be sentenced to death at that time. OMCT is gravely concerned about the Libyan authorities’ use of arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, torture and ill-treatment, as well as widespread violations of these persons’ procedural rights and right to a fair trial.
Action requested:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the prisoners’ physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. ensure the right of those detained to be allowed to meet with their lawyers and family;
iv. intervene with the appropriate authorities in order to secure that the adequate medical assistance is provided as a matter of urgency to the detainees;
v. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests an ill-treatment and torture during the prisoners detention, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses:
· Colonel Mu'ammar al-Kaddafi, Leader of the Revolution, Office of the Leader of the Revolution, Tripoli, Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Fax : + 218 21 333 01 85
· Imbarak Abdalla El Shamek, Prime Minister, Secretary of the General People's Committee Tripoli, Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Fax : + 218 54 60 017
· Mohammed Mohammed Belgassem al-Zuia, Minister of Justice and General Security, Office of the Minister of Justice and General Security, Tripoli, Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Fax : + 218 21 444 16 74
· The General People's Congress (Human Rights section). Fax : + 218 21 361 39 07
Please also write to the Diplomatic Representatives of Libya in your country.
Geneva, September 28th, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.