By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KIEV, Ukraine -On Thursday the prosecutor general’s office in Kiev charged former President Leonid Kuchma in connection with the 2000 murder of a leading opposition journalist, Georgy Gongadze. When asked by reporters Mr. Kuchma did not comment on the charges against him, however, the prosecutor general’s office said the charges relate to an abuse of power in connection with the journalist’s death. Mr. Kuchma claimed he had not read all the charges against him but did proclaim his innocence.

Leonid Kuchma served as president of Ukraine between 1994 and 2005. Mr. Gongadze was the founder of Ukrainska Pravda or Ukrainian Truth, a website that investigated and exposed corruption at the highest levels of the Ukrainian government. Mr. Gongadze’s reporting exposed corruption in the Kuchma administration through a series of feature articles. His reporting was especially embarrassing to Mr. Kuchma’s government.

In 2000, Mr. Gongadze was abducted and then later found beheaded.  In September 2000, Mr. Gongadze’s decapitated corpse was found in a wooded area outside of Kiev. News of his death led to widespread public protests against the government.

On Tuesday Yuriy Boychenko, a spokesman for the prosecutor general’s office said “Investigators have today charged Kuchma…on exceeding his authority, which led to the death of Mr. Gongadze.” There is still confusion over whether Mr. Kuchma will be charged with ordering the murder of Mr. Gongadze or with playing an indirect role in the events that led to his death. Furthermore, Mr. Boychenko also claimed “This is the preliminary charge. Further investigation is ahead. It is too early to say what the final charges will be. “

The prosecutor’s office has interviewed Mr. Kuchma over the last two days and plans to continue questioning him on Monday, March 28.  Believing Mr. Kuchma to be a potential flight risk, the prosecutor’s office has banned him from leaving the country. Additionally, the Kiev prosecutor has claimed that a secret audio recording by Mykola Melnychenko, a former presidential body guard, implicates Mr. Kuchma in the death of Mr. Gongadze. Specifically, a voice on the audio tape similar to Mr. Kuchma’s suggests that Mr. Gongadze should be “kidnapped by Chechens.”

Today’s charges against Mr. Kuchma are derived from an investigation last year which found evidence linking Mr. Gongadze’s death to senior law enforcement officials in Mr. Kuchma’s government. The prosecution claimed that one of the primary suspects in carrying out the murder of Mr. Gongadze was Yuri Kravchenko, a former Interior Minister and high ranking official in President Kuchma’s government.

For more information, please see:

BBC —Ukraine Gongadze murder: Ex-President Kuchma charged – 24 March 2011

Financial Times – Ukraine’s ex-president charged over murder –24 March 2011

RTT – Ukraine Ex-President Arraigned In Journalist’s Murder – 24 March 2011

Voice of America — Former President Charged in 2000 Murder of Ukrainian Journalist –24 March 2011

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GROZNY, Russia — A human rights group recently released a report detailing the enforcement of an Islamic dress code in Chechnya, and the resulting abuse women suffer if they do not comply with the dress code. The report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and entitled “You Dress According to Their Rules: Enforcement of an Islamic Dress Code for Women in Chechnya” can be read in full here.

The report is 40 pages long and details the violence, harassment, and threats women in Chechnya face if they do not follow the Islamic dress code. HRW interviewed dozens of women for the report, each of whom had either been a victim themselves or witnessed attacks or harassment against women for not complying with the compulsory dress code. The interviews reveal that women are attacked with paint gun pellets by men thought to be Chechen law enforcement. The men also hand out leaflets claiming the paintball shootings were preventative and if women still refuse to wear head scarves and dress modestly, then more “persuasive” methods would be used.

One of the victims interviewed, identified as Louiza, said she and a friend were attacked while walking down a street in Grozny. They weren’t wearing head scarves. They were wearing skirts a little below the knee and blouses with sleeves a bit above the elbow. Louiza reported that a car pulled up with its side window rolled down and a gun barrel pointed at them. According to the HRW report, Louiza said “I thought the gun was real and when I heard the shots I thought, ‘This is death.’ I felt something hitting me in the chest and was sort of thrown against the wall of a building. The sting was awful, as if my breasts were being pierced with a red-hot needle, but I wasn’t fainting or anything and suddenly noticed some strange green splattering on the wall and this huge green stain was also expanding on my blouse. So, I understood it was paint.” Louiza said the men in the car were wearing the military-style black uniform law enforcement officials wear and she added that “[i]t’s only at home that I could examine the bruise and it was so huge and ugly. Since then, I don’t dare leave home without a headscarf.”

Another victim reported that while walking down a street in Grozny with friends and not wearing head scarves, men in military-style black uniforms shot paintballs at them and screamed, “Cover your hair, harlots!” The woman said that male bystanders watching the incident applauded the attack and claimed it served the women right. The HRW report goes on to detail other incidents like this one.

The dress code is part of a “virtue campaign” started in 2006 by Kremlin-backed Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. The campaign began with local authorities prohibiting women from working in the public sector if their heads weren’t covered. This enforcement is prohibited by Russian law, but is still strictly enforced in Chechnya. Also, education authorities began requiring women attending schools and universities wear head scarves. The requirement of wearing a head scarf was eventually applied to other public places.

According to HRW, this virtue campaign violates “freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and the right to personal autonomy and expression, guaranteed by Russia’s constitution and international human rights obligations.” HRW has urged that the Kremlin should make it absolutely clear that Chechen women are free to dress however they choose and that any attacks or harassment should be fully investigated. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has instructed Chechen authorities to investigate the paintball attacks, but nothing else has been done to further the investigations.

Kadyrov, who rules with the support of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has actually explained publicly that women must be forced to dress modestly in order to prevent men from having to do their duty and kill them. “A woman should know her place,” Kadyrov said in an interview last July. “[In Chechnya] man is the master. Here, if a woman does not behave properly, her husband, father, and brothers are responsible. According to our tradition, if a woman fools around, her family members are obliged to kill her…. As president, I cannot allow them to kill. Therefore, let women not dress indecently.”

For more information, please see:

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR — Report: Chechen women attacked with paintball guns for ‘immodest’ dress — 11 March 2011

AP — HRW: Chechen women abused if refuse to cover head — 10 March 2011

HRW — Russia: Chechnya Enforcing Islamic Dress Code — 10 March 2011

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

 MINSK, Belarus –  Fearing another round of interrogation and detention, Belarusian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich has fled the country. Mr. Mikhalevich spent nearly three months in a prison cell following the December 9, 2010 elections. He claims he was tortured while in custody of the Belarus state security forces (KGB). Mr. Mikhalevich and several hundred other members of the opposition were arrested after protesting the December election results where Mr. Alyaksandr Lukashenka was elect president.

Mr. Mikhalevich was released from custody on February 19 and then fled the country on March 14. In a recent blog post Mr. Mikhalevich claimed he was safe and beyond the reach of Belarusian state security forces, however he did not reveal his exact location. Prior to fleeing the country, Mr. Mikhalevich described his time at the KGB detention center including claims he was tortured. Specifically, he claims he was placed in a cold room, stripped, and hung by his hands for several hours. Furthermore, he was forced to sign a document claiming he would collaborate with the KGB in order to be released. The KGB has denied Mr. Mikhalevich’s accusations including his claims of torture.

The December 9 presidential election brought Mr. Lukashenka back to power in a vote that was seen by many international observers as flawed. Following the election, the Belarus government cracked down on opposition figures and jailed over 700 opposition supporters including seven presidential candidates. Included in these figures are Andrey Sannikau and Mikalay Statkevich, both former presidential candidates who are still in custody. Additionally, Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu, another former presidential candidate, has been placed under house arrest. All three individuals have been charged with organizing mass disturbances and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

In a 31-page report released on Monday, March 14, Human Rights Watch describes the brutal crackdown on opposition groups and human rights abuses taking place in Belarus. The report claims individuals in custody for protesting election day results have not had access to defense counsel and have not been able to call their own witnesses. Additionally, offices for human rights organizations have been raided and the Belarus government is putting pressure on lawyers representing defendants’ accused of criminal charges relating to post-election protests.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Belarus politician ‘flees torture’   — 14 March 2011

Human Rights Watch – Shattering Hopes – 14 March 2011

New York Times — Former Presidential Candidate, Claiming Abuse, Flees Belarus – 14 March 2011

Radio Free Europe — ‘Fleeing’ Belarusian Opposition Figure Says Doing Fine – 16 March 2011

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PODGORICA, Montenegro — Police in Montenegro recently arrested a man suspected of committing war crimes during the 1991-1992 armed conflict in in the Balkans. The Montenegrin police arrested Ivo Menzalin at the airport in Podgorica after he flew in from Belgrade. He agreed to surrender himself voluntarily.

Menzalin is suspected of torturing Croat prisoners in a detention camp in Morinj, a village on the coast in Montenegro, during the conflict that resulted when Croatia split from Serb-led Yugoslavia. About 300 civilians and prisoners of war from the Dubrovnik region were held in the Morinj camp.

In May 2010, the High Court in Podgorica sentenced six low-ranking soldiers of the Yugoslav People’s Army for war crimes, including Menzalin. Along with the five others convicted, Menzalin was convicted of torturing, inhumane treatment of, and infliction of bodily harm on 169 prisoners of war and civilians in the Morinj camp.

Menzalin, a cook at the Morinj camp, was sentenced in absentia to four years in prison. The court ordered his arrest. Menzalin’s defense attorney appealed, and the conviction was recently overturned by a higher court. A new trial has been ordered to begin in March, in which Menzalin, now in custody, will be tried again for war crimes, including torture and inhumane treatment of Croatian civilians and prisoners of war.

For more information, please see:

AP — Montenegro war crimes supect arrested — 3 March 2011

B92 — The arrest for war crimes — 3 March 2011

SOUTHEAST EUROPE TIMES — Montenegrin police arrest war crimes suspect — 2 March 2011

BALKAN INSIGHT — Montenegro Sentences Six for War Crimes — 17 May 2010

REUTERS — Montenegro sentences soldiers for Dubrovnik torture — 15 May 2010