Appeal for the release of the Prizren 10

From 1997 until March, 1998, the U.S. State Department, the House Foreign Affairs staff, the New York Times and other international organizations showed strong support for the students of the Independent Students Union in Kosova (UPSUP) and their non-violent protests, which were aimed at regaining their school buildings. Indeed, Ambassador Robert Gelbard met with student leaders both in the U.S. and in Prishtina and helped to negotiate a new education accord that would allow the students use of their campus buildings. Although the accord was signed in March, 1998, the terms of the agreement were never honored.

Organizations throughout Europe and the U.S. had praised the discipline and bravery of the UPSUP leadership throughout the year. Then, on May 23, 1998, nine student leaders--all UPSUP members--in Prizren at the Doda Teacher Training School were arrested and charged with membership in the KLA and acts of terrorism against the state of Yugoslavia. The New York Times, Ambassador Gelbard, Amnesty International remained, by and large, silent. The students, ranging in age from twenty to twenty three, were convicted in August of "enemy activities against the state of Yugoslavia" for organizing a first aid class for displaced people. At their trial, the only evidence against them were their confessions, made, said their lawyer, under psychological and physical duress. The two older students were beaten. Four of the students were charged with KLA contact and admitted to it. In a trial that by several reports lasted only four and a half hours the students were sentenced to terms from seven and a half years to one year. The students are allowed one visitor every two weeks. One mother said, "My daughter is in jail and no one knows it. No one cares." Their lawyer stated to "Bota Re"--"There is no reason for their imprisonment. There is no evidence. But I cannot free them alone. I need help." Their sentences are as follows:

Nijazi Kryeziu (aged twenty-one; sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment)

Aqif Iljazi (aged twenty-one; sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment)

Bylbyl Duraku (aged twenty-two; sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment)

Sejdi Bellanica (aged twenty-three; sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment)

Defrim Rifaj (aged twenty-two; sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment)

Behare Tafallari (aged twenty-two; sentenced to two years imprisonment)

Jehona Krasniqi (aged twenty-two; sentenced to two years imprisonment)

Leonora Morina (aged twenty-one; sentenced to two years imprisonment)

Sherif Iljazi (aged twenty; sentenced to one year imprisonment)

A 10th student, Hysen Durmishi, the President of the Students Independent Union of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture disappeared two weeks ago. It has been discovered that he was arrested at that time and is now being held in an isolation cell in prison. No one has been allowed contact with him.

"It is a part of the regime campaign, that thousands of Albanian NGO, humanitarian and political activists have been subject to. It is no surprise that this campaign is especially directed towards students' and young people, which are those who represent the hope for some better future. These barbarian acts of the Serbian regime against the freedom of opinion and free expression are happening in Europe, in front of eyes of the international community and should gnaw their conscience, too." ( Bujar Dugolli, President of UPSUP from the UPSUP appeal)

Arbitrary detentions and arrests of ethnic Albanians have escalated rapidly throughout 1998. Until late September, the precise number of individuals in custody at any given time had been impossible to determine since the Yugoslav authorities refused to provide detailed information, despite specific inquiries from Human Rights Watch. On September 23, Serbian Minister of Justice Drogulub Jankovic stated that criminal investigations had been opened against 927 individuals in five local courts of Kosovo and one court in Prokuple-all of them on charges of terrorism or enemy activities against the state. According to the minister, 538 of these people are currently in detention. It was later reported that as many as 325 ethnic Albanians had been arrested between September 22 and 26, although it was unclear how many of these individuals remained in custody as of this writing.

In July and August, detained individuals increasingly included human rights activists, humanitarian aid workers, political party members, doctors, and lawyers, many of whom were physically abused in custody. Human Rights Watch has substantial credible evidence from lawyers and family members of detainees that detainees are routinely tortured and ill-treated. From March to August 1998, five people are known to have died while in police custody; hundreds of others have been beaten. Human rights and humanitarian agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, report restricted access to detainees.

Police abuse, arbitrary arrests, and violations of due process constituted violations of, among other instruments, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Yugoslav government has pledged to respect.
There is no reason for these students to remain in jail. UPSUP had much open support from the U.S. government and other international bodies until the time when intervention was truly needed. Then their case was totally abandoned.
Their case and others like them are an example of the human rights abuses perpetrated against Albanians by the Serbian regime. Actions we take to bring about their release shows our commitment to protecting peoples rights regardless of the who they are or where they are.

I urge you to procure an appeal of their case. Contact and petition your congress people, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

jesse_helms@helms.senate.gov (NC), senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov (IN), senator_coverdell@coverdell.senate.gov (GA), chuck_hagel@hagel.senate.gov (NE), opinion@smith.senate.gov (OR), craig@thomas.senate.gov (WY), mail_grams@grams.senate.gov (MN), john_ashcroft@ashcroft.senate.gov (MO), senator_frist@frist.senate.gov (TN), sam_brownback@brownback.senate.gov (KS), senator@biden.senate.gov (DE), senator@sarbanes.senate.gov (MD), sen_dodd@dodd.senate.gov (CT), senator@robb.senate.gov (VA), bob@kerrey.senate.gov, russell_feingold@feingold.senate.gov (WI), senator@feinstein.senate.gov (CA), senator@wellstone.senate.gov (MN), Secretary of State, Madeline Albright secretary@state.gov Congressman Eliot Engel head of the Albanian Caucus in Congress jason.steinbaum@mail.house.gov (his legislative aide), The National Albanian American Council NAACDC@aol.com, The International Committee of the Red Cross press.gva@icrc.org, Amnesty International amnestyis@amnesty.org, Human Rights Watch or hrwdc@hrw.org

Follow these up with phone calls to ensure that they were received and read. Sending letters similar to the one below is important. Letters can also be sent to the Congresspeople who are members of the Albanian Caucus. For a complete list please contact me. For your Congressperson's address, phone number or email check out www.vote-smart.org

For More information Please Contact
Teresa Crawford, Kosova Action Network, (315) 471-7790,
teresa@advocacynet.org

Dear Representative Engel--

First I would like to thank you for the tireless work you've done to help Kosova. I realize full well humanitarian agencies like the Red Cross are obstructed from their normal duties such as identifying and visiting "missing" people and detainees. And the interim "agreement" provides no mechanisms to safeguard abuse of the law.
On May 23, 1998, nine USP student leaders from Prizen between the ages of twenty and twenty three were arrested for organizing a first aid course. They were held for sixty days before sentencing in August. Their sentences range from seven and one half years to one year.
Two weeks ago, another UPSUP student, Hysen Dumishi was reported "missing." It has been discovered that he is in an isolation cell. No one has been allowed contact with him. The charges are unknown.
During 1997-1998, the student non-violent movement in Kosova received a great deal of Western political support for their right to demonstrate to regain their access to schools for Albanians. Indeed, Ambassador Robert Gelbard spent a great deal of time negotiating this new accord, working directly with the students, as did a peace group in Rome, S'ant Edigio. Yet when the student organization has turned to us for support as its members are arrested and charged without evidence of terrorism activities besides their "confessions," our State Department, Mr. Holbrooke, Mr. Hill, Mr. Gelbard, and our legislative bodies as well as our slew of fifty NGO's called the Kosova Action Council have chosen to remain silent. Even the New York Times which wrote an editorial saying that supporting the student movement was one of the most important democracy-building actions the U.S. could take has had nothing to say.
I find this reprehensible. I realize there are other far more urgent cases, but the student's should be a starting point. They stood up to the military police's brute force in front of us all, unarmed, stating they were the last peaceful initiative in Kosova. Now we abandon them.
I urge you to try every means available to your office to push for an appeal.

Sincerely,