English  |  Français  |  Español
 
OMCT LogoOMCT logo
Make a donationRSSOMCT on FacebookOMCT on TwitterOMCT BlogHomeAbout OMCTActivitiesCATOMCT NetworkOMCT EuropeContactsMake a donation
  • Urgent campaigns
  • Assistance to victims
  • Human rights defenders
  • ESCR
  • Rights of the child
  • Violence against women
  • Monitoring protection mechanisms
 Save as PDF Print version
Human rights defenders / Urgent Interventions / Yougoslavia, Federal Rep.of / 2000 / October

Yougoslavia, Federal Rep.of: 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

Properties

Date: October 11, 2000
Activity: Human Rights Defenders
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Yougoslavia, Federal Rep.of

Share this

Tweet

Languages

This page is available in:

English


You can also translate it on the fly:

Recently Viewed Articles

OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 809 4939
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
E-mail:
OMCT Europe
Rue Franklin 111
1000 Brussels
Tel. / Fax: +32 2 218 37 19
E-mail:
OMCT TUNIS
3, Rue Hassen Ibn Nooman
Cité Jardins | Tunis 1002
Tel: +216 71 791 114
Fax: +216 71 791 115
E-mail:
  • Blog
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Rss
  • Privacy Policy