By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

TBILISI, Georgia – Eight leaders of Georgia’s opposition parties were arrested, reprimanded, and released from custody on Friday, according to Georgian media outlets.

The political secretary of the People’s Party, Aleksandr Shalamberidze, was one of the arrestees. He was “verbally reprimanded” for violating a public order not to enter a building.

Seven other opposition political leaders associated with the National Council were released and fined for violating the public order and scuffling with police. The National Council is an umbrella organization that united the three main opposition parties in Georgia, namely the Conservative Party, the Movement for Fair Georgia, and the People’s Party.

The opposition leaders were attempting to enter the Tbilisian Publishing House offices, in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. They were taken into custody for trespassing in violation of the public order banning National Council representatives from entering the building. Allegedly, they scuffled with police as they attempted to enter and obtain printed election materials.

The Publishing House offices were closed by Georgian police just last week in anticipation of the May 30 local elections. National Council claims that local and national Georgian politicians are applying pressure on the Publishing House to support incumbent candidates, as the Publishing House is responsible for printing election campaign materials.

Zurab Nogaideli, the leader of Movement for Fair Georgia, characterized the incident as another episode of “terrorism” against legal opposition activities. But Mr. Nogaideli also noted that “no one will be able to frighten us”, vowing to “destroy these authorities.”

Before Mr. Shalamberidze and his colleagues were released, Koba Davitashvili, chairman of the People’s Party, threatened that opposition activists would protest by blocking Rustaveli Ave in central Tbilisi. But Mr. Shalamberidze and his colleagues were released just hours later, although all were reprimanded for violating the public order.

Nonetheless, National Council has consistently protested official targeting of publishing houses by Georgian political leaders. They have vowed to continue to do so until the May 30 elections.

For more information, please see:

CIVIL GEORGIA – Opposition Activists Released after being Fined – 8 April 2010

GEORGIAN TIMES – Opposition Activists Released after being Fined – 8 April 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Georgian Police Briefly Arrest Opposition Leader – 8 April 2010

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy – Italian prosecutors on Friday began legal proceedings to request a indictment against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his son for embezzlement and tax fraud that relates to an ongoing legal battle involving some of the country’s largest media corporations.

The indictment suggests that Mediatrade, an Italian media corporation, purchased the rights to American television programs and films, during the time period of 2002 to 2005 at inflated prices, and embezzled the profits of that inflation.  According to the prosecutors, the excess embezzled funds were placed into a slush fund.  The charges of tax fraud, which allegedly took place between 2005 and 2009, are also associated with these actions.  Since Mediatrade was originally founded and owned by Berlusconi, and has family still controls the company, the prosecutors believe that he is still its ‘de facto’ leader and therefore bears some of the responsibility for its allegedly illegal actions.

The indictment request was filed by two prosecutors, Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, in the northern city of Milan to Judge Marina Zelante.

Even if the judge grants the prosecutors request, the recently passed federal shield law would apply and thereby delay the legal action for up to 18 months.  The law provides temporary immunity for the Prime Minister and his ministers.  Supporters of the legislation argued that the shield law was necessary because potential legal actions would this officials would be a ‘legitimate impediment’ to the responsibilities of their offices.

This shield law was enacted following a decision by Italian Supreme Court, which last year ruled that another immunity law that had been supported by Berlusconi and provided him with permanent protection from any charges brought against him, was unconstitutional.

For more information, please see:

ANSA – Berlusconi Indictment Sought – 9 April, 2010

RTE – Berlusconi could stand trial over TV rights – 9 April, 2010

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Berlusconi Faces Call to Stand Trial – 9 April, 2010

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain – Spain’s crusading human rights judge, Baltasar Garzón, is to be tried for “knowingly overreaching” his jurisdiction through his investigation into the disappearance of tens of thousands of people during the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. Garzón has been suspended from his job while he awaits the start of the trial, which is likely to begin in June.

Charges that Garzón exceeded his power were first brought by the far-right lobby group, Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), and fringe fascist party, Falange Española. They alleged that Garzón deliberately and knowingly overstepped his powers by pursuing an investigation into 114,000 people who disappeared during and after the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War, and the subsequent dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, which ended in 1975.

Luciano Varela, a Supreme Court magistrate, ordered Garzón to stand trial on the basis of the allegations. Varela argued that Garzón proceeded with the inquiry despite being “aware of his lack of jurisdiction” under a 1977 amnesty for crimes committed during the Franco regime. The amnesty law pardoned politically motivated crimes committed during that period, and is part of the “pact of silence” which was implemented to ease Spain’s transition from a right-wing dictatorship to a democracy.

Garzón began looking into the disappearances in the summer of 2008, and ordered the Catholic Church and government ministries to provide him with information on the missing people. He reluctantly stepped away from the probe a few months later after a dispute over jurisdiction, and the investigations were transferred to lower courts. 

Families of the victims have hailed Garzón as a hero, and many have begun to dig up the mass graves left behind by Franco’s death squads.

Garzón has argued that the amnesty has no force because the crimes committed during the war and the Franco regime were politically motivated crimes against humanity. He has also asserted that no statute of limitations exists where crimes against humanity are involved.

Garzón has earned a global reputation for his use of international human rights law against former South American military regimes, and is responsible for the 1998 arrest of former Chilean dictator August Pinochet in London. He is also the world’s leading practitioner of universal jurisdiction, which holds that in exceptional crimes – such as crimes against humanity – jurisdiction is not limited to the country where the crime was committed. During the course of the  past year Spanish legislators have sought to curtail Garzón’s employment of the doctrine of universal jurisdiction.

British human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson QC, told the Guardian:

“[Garzón’s] ruling that there can be no posthumous impunity for crimes against humanity is important to all descendants of the victims of such crimes worldwide, whether they be from the Armenian genocide or the Nazi holocaust . . . As a matter of international criminal law he was undoubtedly right.”

He added: “This is a trial of the integrity of Spain’s judges and of the reputation of Spanish jurists who will, if they find for the prosecution, be held in universal contempt by international lawyers.”

Carolyn Lamm, president of the American Bar Association, wrote in a public letter to Spain’s Attorney General:

“Numerous sources of international law suggest that amnesties for crimes against humanity are inconsistent with a State’s obligations to protect human rights, including the right of access to justice . . . It is difficult in light of these principles to view [Garzón’s] ruling as legally indefensible, or as warranting criminal prosecution.”

She added: “The big question is why the Supreme Court isn’t satisfied with simply annulling his decisions . . . Why do they have to treat him like a criminal?”

Garzón’s suspension from the National Court will prevent him from pursuing several high profile cases currently underway. If he is found guilty he could be removed from the bench for twelve to twenty years – effectively ending the fifty four year-old judge’s career.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Spanish judge Garzon face trial over Franco probe – 7 April 2010

Guardian – Crusading Spanish judge faces abuse of powers trial – 7 April 2010

EiTB – Spanish judge Garzon faces trial over abuse of power in war case – 7 April 2010

Time – In Spain, a Crusading Judge Faces a Trial of His Own – 7 April 2010

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Kardzic, currently on trial for war crimes, has filed a motion asking the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ITCY) to “stay the proceedings in his trial due to resume next week on April 13.

Specifically, Mr. Karadzic claims that the trial is tainted because of “the admission of the unprecedented number of prior statements and testimonies” the “taking of judicial notice of an unprecedented number of adjudicated facts.”

Karadzic’s American attorney, Peter Robinson, contests that if the trial proceeds, it will “violate the fundamental tenets of fair criminal trials” and deprive Mr. Karadzic of the opportunity to defend himself.

The motion indicates that the ITCY Trial Chamber accepted some 1,500 facts found in previous Bosnian war crimes cases with different defendants. Moreover, written affidavits of 141 prosecution witnesses have been admitted in court, allegedly without adequate opportunity for cross examination. Without the ability to question these facts and witnesses, Mr. Karadzic says that he will not be afforded a fair trial.

This stay is another potential delay in bringing Mr. Karadzic to justice for 11 charges of crimes against humanity, genocide, and violations of the laws of war. The charges stem from when Mr. Karadzic served as the leader of Bosnian Serbs and allegedly ordering the massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

Since being arrested in 2008, Mr. Karadzic has consistently attempted to delay proceedings. For example, in October 2009, Karadzic boycotted the prosecution’s opening statements.

Also, just last week, Mr. Karadzic filed a motion to postpone the trial to allow him more time to prepare the defense. However, the ITCY Appellate Chamber refused to grant the motion and delay the trial past April 13, the day which the prosecution will call its first witness to testify.

For more information, please see:

BALKAN INSIGHT – Karadzic Files for ‘Stay of Proceedings’ in ITCY – 6 April 2010

CTV – Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic asks UN to halt trial – 6 April 2010

ETAIWANNEWS – Karadzic says trial is unfair, asks court for halt – 6 April 2010

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – In the aftermath of last week’s twin suicide bombings in the Moscow metro, ethnic minorities living in Russia have expressed concern over the potential for violent backlash. The Moscow-based Sova Center, which monitors racially motivated attacks, already recorded assaults on at least five members of ethnic minorities since the attacks, and estimate that the true number is much higher.

Among those attacked were three women, including a seventeen-year-old Armenian girl, and two women wearing headscarves. Galina Kozhevnikova, deputy director of the Sova Center, reported that the seventeen-year-old girl “was beaten up in the street, her hair torn, face injured, her clothes torn,” because she appeared Muslim.

Kozhevnikova also said that the number of attacks is undoubtedly higher, as minorities are often afraid to report attacks, and the police are frequently hesitant to investigate attacks.

She said: “We know that many people who don’t have a Slavic appearance have consciously avoided going out in public in the days following the attack. They are afraid of attacks.”

Recent remarks and provocative rhetoric by Russian politicians have added further fuel to fears. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged, on the day after the attacks, that the Russian government would “drag” terrorists “from the depths of the sewer.”  On Thursday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told police and security forces in Dagestan to use tougher, “more cruel” measures to fight the “scum” who are responsible for the terrorist attacks.

According to Radio Free Europe, State Duma Deputy Aleksandr Gurov claimed that concerns over ‘political correctness’ were preventing Russian authorities from effectively dealing with terrorism. He said:

“How much can we play with this so-called tolerance?”

Aleksandr Verkhovsky, director of the Sova Center, said that the “over-the-top rhetoric” by Russian politicians “is destructive.” He added: “It encourages negative emotions. This is the prime minister speaking, not some common citizen talking in the kitchen.”

Abdullah Duduyev, editor of the Chechen-language magazine “Dosh,” said that the Chechens in Moscow were “saddened” the metro bombings.

He added: “Attitudes toward us have gotten worse . . . When two Muslim women were beaten up in the metro, not a single person in the crowded wagon stuck up for them. This shows the mood of society. Stress, fear, and grief are visible on people’s faces. It is impossible to hide the aggression people feel toward outsiders.”

For more information, please see:

Hurriyet Daily News – Moscow’s minorities fear retribution in bombing’s aftermath – 2 April 2010

AP – Russia’s Medvedev promises ‘crueler measures’ – 1 April 2010

Radio Free Europe – For Moscow’s Ethnic Minorities, A Fresh Sense of Fear – 1 April 2010

Dawn.com – Fear of anti-Muslim backlash after Russia blast – 30 March 2010