Yougoslavia, Federal Rep.of
11.10.00
Urgent Interventions
Yougoslavia: Release
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
YUG 004 / 0010 / OBS 069.03
Release
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
11th October 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the FIDH and the OMCT, requests you to intervene with the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia), with utmost urgency in connection with the following situation.
New Information
The Observatory has been informed by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, that on Tuesday 10th October, Miroslav Filipovic, a Serbian journalist imprisoned for human rights reporting, was released after an appeal court overturned his conviction for espionage and spreading false information.
The appeal, originally scheduled for the end of the month, was brought forward as one of the first acts of the incoming Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica. The Supreme Military Court, headed by judge Colonel Milan Ranic, ruled the conviction unsafe because of "procedural abuses during the investigation."
Filipovic faces a period of recuperation. While in prison, he suffered a potentially life-threatening heart condition, as well as a dramatic loss of weight, with the authorities denying him essential medical care. According to the information received, after spending one month in military hospital under basic medical surveillance, Filipovic was moved back to prison only four days before the elections in Yugoslavia, leading to a further deterioration in his health condition.
The Observatory wishes to thank all those institutions, organizations and individuals who intervened on his behalf.
Brief reminder of the situation
Mr. Miroslav Filipovic, a correspondant in Kraljevo (in the center of Serbia), for the daily independent Danas as well as the Agence France-Presse (AFP), and a regular collaborator with the Helsinki Commitee for Human Rights, was sentenced to 7 years in prison by the military Tribunal of Nis on 26 July 2000 for « espionage » and « disseminating false information. »
He was arrested for the first time on 8 May in his apartment in Kraljevo by members of the security services. Released on 12 May, he was re-incarcerated ten days later. Miroslav Filipovic was accused on 13 June 2000 on the basis of articles reporting about the testimony of officers on crimes committed by the Yugoslav army in Kosovo during the NATO bombings on the Internet site of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Mr. Filipovic’s lawyers appealed the decision of the Tribunal.
The Observatory recalled that this sentence, the most severe ever given by the authorities of Yugoslavia according to Reporters Sans Frontières, was passed down in an atmosphere where the repression of Serbian independent media has worsened since the beginning of the year, as it has for all persons and organisations that speak out or defend positions which criticise and/or differ from the government.
Geneva-Paris, 11th October 2000
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency line : Fax : 33 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39
YUG 004 / 0010 / OBS 069.03
Release
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
11th October 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the FIDH and the OMCT, requests you to intervene with the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia), with utmost urgency in connection with the following situation.
New Information
The Observatory has been informed by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, that on Tuesday 10th October, Miroslav Filipovic, a Serbian journalist imprisoned for human rights reporting, was released after an appeal court overturned his conviction for espionage and spreading false information.
The appeal, originally scheduled for the end of the month, was brought forward as one of the first acts of the incoming Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica. The Supreme Military Court, headed by judge Colonel Milan Ranic, ruled the conviction unsafe because of "procedural abuses during the investigation."
Filipovic faces a period of recuperation. While in prison, he suffered a potentially life-threatening heart condition, as well as a dramatic loss of weight, with the authorities denying him essential medical care. According to the information received, after spending one month in military hospital under basic medical surveillance, Filipovic was moved back to prison only four days before the elections in Yugoslavia, leading to a further deterioration in his health condition.
The Observatory wishes to thank all those institutions, organizations and individuals who intervened on his behalf.
Brief reminder of the situation
Mr. Miroslav Filipovic, a correspondant in Kraljevo (in the center of Serbia), for the daily independent Danas as well as the Agence France-Presse (AFP), and a regular collaborator with the Helsinki Commitee for Human Rights, was sentenced to 7 years in prison by the military Tribunal of Nis on 26 July 2000 for « espionage » and « disseminating false information. »
He was arrested for the first time on 8 May in his apartment in Kraljevo by members of the security services. Released on 12 May, he was re-incarcerated ten days later. Miroslav Filipovic was accused on 13 June 2000 on the basis of articles reporting about the testimony of officers on crimes committed by the Yugoslav army in Kosovo during the NATO bombings on the Internet site of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Mr. Filipovic’s lawyers appealed the decision of the Tribunal.
The Observatory recalled that this sentence, the most severe ever given by the authorities of Yugoslavia according to Reporters Sans Frontières, was passed down in an atmosphere where the repression of Serbian independent media has worsened since the beginning of the year, as it has for all persons and organisations that speak out or defend positions which criticise and/or differ from the government.
Geneva-Paris, 11th October 2000
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency line : Fax : 33 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39