Violent attack against Ms. Alena Krempaská, a member of the Institute for Human Rights (Institut ludskych prav - ILP)

SLO 001 /0916 / OBS 081
Physical assault /

Threats
Slovakia
September 14, 2016

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofFIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgentintervention in the following situation in Slovakia.

Description of the situation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the violent attackperpetrated against Ms. Alena Krempaská, a member of the Institute forHuman Rights (Institut ludskych prav - ILP)[1].

According tothe information received, in the evening of September 5, 2016, while she wasleaving the ILP office in Bratislava, Ms. Alena Krempaská was attacked by twounidentified men. She was pushed on the floor, beaten and insulted, and wastold by her assailants that the attack aimed at sanctioning her “links with thesocial-democratic party”. It has to be noted, however, that the ILP is anindependent NGO, and has no partnership whatsoever with any political party.

Ms.Krempaská sustained a severe injury on the head, and spent one night at thehospital.

A few hoursbefore the attack, she had been verbally threatened together with other ILPactivists during a protest organised by ILP, to counter a rally organised byright-wing parliamentary parties[2]in front of the Prime Minister’s house, where around 200 persons had gathered.This right-wing rally aimed at denouncing alleged connections between the PrimeMinister and the Minister of Interior with M. Ladislav Bašternák, a businessmanfacing charges of tax fraud.

On thatoccasion, 40 activists of the ILP, including Ms. Krempaská and ILP Executive Director Mr. PeterWeisenbacher, had decided to organise a counter protest inthe same area, to denounce the opportunistic appropriation of the corruptionissue by the right-wing parties, and to call for investigations into attacksroutinely carried out by far-right supporters against peaceful protesters.

During the rally, the former chair of the SlovakParliament and Member of the European Parliament Richard Sulík (SaS), togetherwith the leader of OľaNO, Igor Matovič, groundlessly accused ILP members,including Ms. Krempaská and Mr. Weisenbacher, of “financial fraud”, and invitedthe crowd to intimidate them by shouting at them.

Following the above-mentioned physical attack, Ms.Krempaská filed a complaint with the Bratislava Police Station, which handedout the investigation to the Country Directorate of Bratislava City.

The Observatory strongly condemns the violent attackperpetrated against Ms. Krempaská, which seems to only aim at sanctioning herlegitimate human rights activities, and calls the authorities to take effectivemeasures to protect her integrity as well as the integrity of all human rightsdefenders in the country.

TheObservatory calls the authorities to carry out an immediate, thorough,impartial and transparent investigation into the attack sustained by Ms. AlenaKrempaská, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before anindependent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law.

Actionsrequested:

Pleasewrite to the authorities in Slovakia, urgingthem to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances thephysical and psychological integrity of Ms. Alena Krempaská, as well as of allmembers of ILP and generally all human rights defenders in the country;

ii. Put an end to all acts of harassmentagainst Ms. Alena Krempaská and all ILP members as well as against all humanrights defenders in Slovakia, so that they are able to carry out their workwithout hindrances;

iii. Undertake a thorough,impartial and transparent criminal investigation into the assault perpetratedagainst Ms. Alena Krempaská, in order to identify all those responsible, bringthem before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the sanctionsprovided by the law;

iv. Conform with the provisions of theUN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly ofthe United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially Article 1 and Article 12.2;andMore generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of HumanRights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified byGreece.

Addresses:

l President of the Republic of Slovakia, M. Andrej Kiska, Tel: 004212 57 888 155, Fax: 004212 57888 103, Email: informacie@prezident.sk;

l Prime Minister ofSlovakia, M. Robert Fico, Tel: +421 2 5729 5111, Fax: +421 2 5249 7595, Email: info@vlada.gov.sk;

l Minister of Interior ofSlovakia, M. Robert Kaliňák, Tel: + 421 9610 11111, Fax: + 421 25094 4397, Email: tlacove@minv.sk;

l Minister of Justice ofSlovakia, Mme Lucia Žitňanská, Tel: +421 2 888 91111, Email: tlacove@justice.sk;

l Ambassador of thePermanent Mission of the Slovak Republic to the United Nations Office and otherinternational organizations in Geneva, His Excellency Mr. Fedor Rosocha, Tel:+41 22 747 74 00, Fax: +41 22 747 74 34, Email: pm.geneva@mzv.sk

l PermanentRepresentation of Slovakia to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Tel: +33388365717, Fax: +33 388365444, Email: pmsrce@strasbourg.mfa.sk;

l PermanentRepresentation of Slovakia to the European Union, Tel: +32 27436811
Fax: +32 274368-88/89, Email: eu.brussels@mzv.sk;

Pleasealso write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Slovakia in your respectivecountry.

***

Geneva-Paris, September 14, 2016

Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in yourreply.

TheObservatory was created in 1997 by FIDH and OMCT. The objective of this programmeis to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against humanrights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, theEuropean Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by internationalcivil society.

Tocontact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33(0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41(0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] The ILP is advocating for thepromotion and protection of human rights, with a focus on minorities andendangered groups in Slovakia such as the LGTBI community as well as the Romaminority. For more information, see: http://www.ludskeprava.sk/

[2] The rally was organised byFreedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Ordinary People and Independant Personalities(Ol’aNO).