By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BERLIN, Germany – On Tuesday March 23, the trial of an ex-Nazi soldier accused of war crimes ended in the maximum conviction of life in prison.

A trial court in Aachen, Germany (near Bonn) convicted Heinrich Boere, now 88 years old, to life in prison for killing three Dutch civilians in 1944.

Mr. Boere killed the civilians, including two Dutch business owners, in response to an attack on Nazi soldiers by Dutch resistance fighters. Prosecutors demonstrated that Mr. Boere willingly joined the infamous Feldmeijer death squad in 1940 after Nazi forces took over the Netherlands.

During the trial, which began in October 2009, Mr. Boere admitted to killing the civilians, but insisted that he was forced to follow orders from Nazi leaders in carrying out the murders. Mr. Boere was quoted by the press as saying: “I always regarded these assignments as military orders which I had to carry out.”

Presiding Judge Gerd Nohl scolded the killings, describing them as “murders that could hardly be outdone in terms of baseness and cowardice.”

Mr. Boere has been stateless since being stripped of his citizenship by the Netherlands in the 1950’s.

Tuesday’s verdict was not the first time Mr. Boere was convicted and sentenced for the murders. A Dutch court in 1949 found Mr. Boere guilty. He was then sentenced to death, but the penalty was commuted to life in prison. But Mr. Boere fled the Netherlands from his POW camp.

Mr. Boere has lived in Germany since. An attempt by the Netherlands to extradite Mr. Boere in the early 1980’s was denied when a German court determined that he had a potential German citizenship claim because he was born in Aachen.

Mr. Boere’s attorneys have said they will appeal the decision, pressing to dismiss the conviction because it did not comply with EU due process regulations. In the mean time, doctors will examine Mr. Boere to determine whether he is medically fit to serve a prison term.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Former Nazi SS member convicted of Dutch murders – 23 March 2010

JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY – Former SS soldier sentenced to life – 23 March 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Ex-Nazi Guilty in Wartime Murders – 23 March 2010

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe Desk

ZURICH, Switzerland – Swiss authorities have halted special deportation flights after a Nigerian asylum seeker died on the tarmac of the Zurich airport on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. The twenty-nine-year-old deportee, a convicted drug dealer, was one of sixteen Nigerians whose asylum petitions had been denied by the Swiss government. The unnamed man had reportedly been on a hunger strike in protest of his deportation.

Swiss police said that they had shackled the man because he had resisted deportation. The shackles were removed after he fell ill that Wednesday.

Swiss authorities said that they have launched an investigation into the death, and reported that independent observers will, henceforth, monitor deportation flights.  The measure to monitor flights is part of a  larger European Union effort to regulate deportations.

 BBC reported that a man named Emmanuel who was among the Nigerians to be deported said: “They treated us like animals . . . They shackled our feet, knees, hands, hips, arms and torso and made us wear a helmet like those worn by boxers. It was simply impossible to move.”

The deportee’s death is the third such death reported in Switzerland since 1999. In 2009, forty three special flights from Switzerland repatriated roughly 360 people, largely from the Balkans or Africa.

Swiss voters have supported measures in a recent referendum which would tighten the country’s already stringent immigration laws. The United Nations Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) called the vote “regrettable.” In particular, the UNCHCR pointed to the Swiss requirement that asylum seekers provide authorities with identity documents within forty eight hours or face deportation as too stringent, adding that many refugees were deprived of identification from the countries they fled from.

For more information, please see:

Swissinfo.ch – Observers to monitor deportation flights – 21 March 2010

NZ Herald – Hunger striker dies in Swiss shackles – 20 March 2010

BBC – Swiss investigate death of Nigerian asylum seeker – 19 March 2010

Swissinfo.ch – Nigerian dies shortly before deportation flight – 18 March 2010

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy – A media watchdog organization, headed by wealthy financier George Soros, filed to begin a legal action with the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of a Italian television station challenging the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s control over the Italian media .

The Open Society Justice Initiative’s action claims that the Berlusconi government violated standards established by the European Union’s Parliament when it withdrew television frequency rights from Centro Europa 7 and give control over that frequency to Rete 4.  Rete 4 is a media outlet owned by Mediaset, a parent media company controlled by Berlusconi.  The Initiative claims that one of the purposes of Berlusconi’s actions against Europea 7 has been to limit the public’s ability to gain access to information on important policy matters.

A spokesman for Europea 7 is also claiming that the transfer of the frequency, which had been controlled by Europea since 1999, was unlawful.

Prior to rising to the position of Prime Minister, Berlusconi headed a media company that now controls the three largest private television stations in the nation.  In addition to this significant segment of the private market, the Prime Minister’s supporters also have control over the state television outlets.  In all, approximately ninety percent of Italy’s television market is controlled by Berlusconi.

The Italian government’s transfer of the frequency to one of Berlusconi’s television station has once again raised concerns of the possible conflicts of interest between a head of state and that individual’s overwhelming control of that state’s media.

James A. Goldston, of the Open Society Justice Initiative, has noted that “this case highlights the failure of successive Italian governments to deal with the twin problems of concentrated control and conflict of interest in broadcasting.”  Goldston went on to comment that “the Italian situation is unacceptable for a democracy.”

European Union courts have condemned Berlusconi’s media control in the past.  In 2004 the European Parliament criticized the growing conflicting interests between the Italian government and the country’s supposedly independent media.

For more information, please see:

C21Media – Berlusconi TV influence ‘undemocratic’ – 12 March 2010

BUSINESSWEEK – Berlusconi’s Control of Italian TV Is Criticizes by Soros Group – 11 March 2010

ITNEWS – Legality of Berlusconi’s Television Monopoly Challenged – 11 March 2010

REUTERS – Group takes Berlusconi to rights court on TV control – 11 March 2010

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

STRASBOURG, France – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled this week that Croatia violated the rights of Roma students when it forced them into segregated classes in Croatian public schools.

Fifteen Roma students were segregated into separate classes in two primary schools in Croatia. All of the students were Croatian citizens of Roma ethnicity. The public schools were located in Macinec and Podturen, small villages in the north of Croatia. The villages in that area of Croatia in are in general understood to have negative views of the minority Roma population, like many areas of central Europe.

The ECHR ruled that segregating the students based on language alone constituted discrimination in violation of the EU Convention of Human Rights.As a result of the ruling, Croatia must pay the students 77,500 Euros, which amounts to 4,500 Euros each in compensation and 10,000 Euros in court fees.

This decision builds on previous ECHR rulings, where segregation of Roma students into within public schools based on ethnicity and in separate special schools for children with mental disabilities was ruled discriminatory.

The Roma students in this case initially brought a lawsuit in Croatia’s trial courts, but that case was summarily dismissed. An appeal to the Croatian Constitutional Court was likewise denied. The defense in previous litigation successfully argued that fully segregated classrooms were necessary based on Roma students needing additional class time on learning the Croatian language.

According to Lydia Gal of the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), the European Union will likely penalize Croatia in its effort to be admitted to the EU in 2012 as a result of this decision. Dzavit Berisha of the ERRC said that those of Roma ethnicity will continue to face discrimination in Croatia, despite this decision.

For more information, please see:

B92 – EECHR: Croatia discriminating against Roma children – 17 March 2010

CROATIAN TIMES – Croatia to pay Roma €77,500 for school segregation – 17 March 2010

BBC – European Court says Croatia violated Roma rights – 16 March 2010

PR NEWSWIRE – Europe’s Highest Court Rules Roma School Segregation by Language Illegal – 16 March 2010

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – A newly released Amnesty International report has criticized a number of European countries for exporting instruments that can be used to commit torture, which is a violation of the European Union human rights standards.

Legislation passed by the EU Parliament in 2006 banned the international trade of any instruments that are designed for the purpose of conducting torture.  In cases when an item was made for other purposes, but has the potential nevertheless to be used for torture, the law requires that their trade be monitored.

During the time period of 2006-2008, the Czech Republic government approved the sale of chemical sprays, electric shock devices, and shackles.  In many cases, these sales were made to foreign nations with questionable human rights records.

A spokesman for Amnesty International’s European Union office described the extent of the sales.  “There are a number of exports that have been granted to countries such as Georgia, Pakistan, Mongolia and Senegal where there is evidence of torture.  We are still awaiting a response from thee Czech government on what the destination of the exported equipment actually was.”

The Czech Republic has not, however, sold to all potential buyers.  The central European nation refused to sell torture equipment to Iran and Azerbaijan.  The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government agency who holds the final authority to approve a sale, utilizes a standard of taking in consideration a potential buyer country’s United Nations human rights and torture records as well as their own diplomatic reports on those nations.

In responding to the Amnesty International report the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union stated that it was taking the report “very seriously” and will “examine the suggestions in the report with great attention.”

The Amnesty International report also noted that Germany, Spain and Italy have also sold equipment in recent years that could be used for torturing purposes.  Germany has sold foot chains and various chemical sprays to China, India and the United Arab Emirates.  Additionally, the majority of European nations have yet to disclose their exports of the banned items.

Uncertainly regarding the implementation and enforcement of the EU torture legislation was also echoed in the report.  Amnesty International researcher Mike Lewis noted that “although the legislation exists, and was a leader in its field when it was introduced, European member states have not uniformly followed up on their obligations under the regulations.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – EU firms ‘exporting torture equipment’, Amnesty says – 18 March 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Amnesty International Says EU States Exporting Torture Instruments – 18 March 2010

RADIO PRAGUE – Czech Republic picked out in Amnesty International report for exports of ‘torture’ equipment – 18 March 2010