[stop-imf] Urgent action: Stop abuse in Prague jails.

Thu, 28 Sep 2000 12:07:58 -0400 (EDT)

Reports are pouring in on the horrific conditions in the Prague jails.  It
is important to let the authorities in Prague know that we are aware of
their actions and we are watching.

This press release from INPEG (below) in Prague, on beatings and human
rights violations of people arrested in the protests is based on eyewitness
accounts and is very disturbing.  So is the report from the indymedia site
(below).

People should call and fax the following numbers and demand that these
violations cease, and that all prisoners be given access to water, food,
medical attention, phone calls, and legal assistance.

If you can't get through to any of the numbers below (which may happen toda=
y
because it is a national holiday), please call the Czech embassy in
Washington, DC, as soon as possible:

202-274-9100;  press 0 for operator

Call and fax:

Office of President Vaclav Havel:

011 4202 24310855  phone

011 4202 24373196  fax  (it would be better to fax today [Thursday] because
it is a national holiday and offices are closed)
e-mail:  president@hrad.cz

Ministry of the Interior:

011 4202 61421115
011-4202/6143 3552-3 (fax)

US Embassy in Czech Republic:

011 4202 57530663=20
011 4202 57532059 (fax)

__________________________________

Attention News and Assignment=20
Editors FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2000

Contact:
Chelsea Mozen 420 604 384452 or 02 6272349
To arrange interviews with witnesses recently released,, contact
Cyan IMMEDIATELY: 0605 879 504

               Shocking Human Rights Abuses Faced by Protestors in Jail
Police Brutality Widespread, most severe for Czechs & Israelis

PRAGUE - In addition to the mass denial of the legal rights,=20
individuals have faced extreme brutality in Czech Jails.  Paul Rosenthal
from Seattle Washington who was released this morning from the Olsanska jai=
l
in Prague after forty hours states, "What is happening inside the Czech
jails is more than frightening.  People have no rights,they are being beate=
n
severely, they are disappearing.  Women are being forced to strip in front
of male guards and perform exercises.  People with serious medical problems
have been denied help."  The following are accounts confirmed by people tha=
t
have been released from jail:

               =B7 Women have been strip searched by male officers and have
been forced to perform physical exercises for their enjoyment
               =B7 Many individuals are being denied water, food, and sleep=
;
some are able to get food only if they pay guards, women and fascists are
more likely to get water
               =B7 Many people released have reported that before reaching
police stations, officers took individuals to isolated areas and beat them
severely.
               =B7 Two Norwegians that went to a police station on Trisparn=
i
Street near Vlatavska to report a stolen mobile phone witnessed behind
briefly opened doors that a number of people were handcuffed to the wall an=
d
being beaten severely.  This has also been confirmed by many reports from
released persons that in the processing rooms groups of 40 to 60 people wer=
e
asked to spread eagle while they were beaten, heads were knocked back, legs
were kicked in, and numbers of men had their groins twisted or=20
punched.  Additionally people handcuffed were tossed down stairs.
               =B7 There is one report that 22 people were crammed into a 4
square meter cell.
               =B7 30 People were detained at the Olsanska jail in an outdo=
or
courtyard overnight with no blankets or food.  They were later moved to
Balkova near Pilsen.
               =B7 Two Germans that were detained in Lupacova, Praha 3 on
Wednesday for approximately eight hours were held with an Israeli, an
American,a German, and an Italian.  The Israeli had been beaten severely,
had difficulty walking, a black eye, and likely had a broken rib. He has
been denied medical attention
               =B7 People with diabetes were not fed, people that needed
medication were not given it, the British Embassy had to intervene to get
medication into the jail.
               =B7 A Norwegian woman held in jail with 30 other women
witnessed a German woman with a badly injured leg where medics were=20
denied.
               =B7 Right to legal representation and advice, right to=20
interpreters, right to food and water, right to basic medical attention, an=
d
the right to a phone call have all been ignored on a widespread scale.
               =B7 Czechs and Israelis are being beaten more drastically an=
d
are being detained longer
               =B7 Many internationals are being moved from local stations =
to
Balkova near Pilsen which has one of the worst human rights records in=09th=
e
Czech Republic.

               ###
               --
               INPEG International Press Agent
               Office: 4202 2320830
               Mobile: 420 604 384452
               INPEGPress@o...
               Press Center: Parizska 9, Praha 1
               (202) 777-2646 x2570 - US voicemail/fax
               http://www.inpeg.org

________________________________

from (http://praha.indymedia.org/)

UPDATE ON JAIL SITUATION IN PRAHA

The OPH legal team is reporting that there are
more than 859 prisoners being held as a result of
S26 actions. The police are reporting that of that
859 around 200 are not Czech citizens. Only 20
have been charged. 30 people inside the jails have
been denied food, water and sleep. We have reports
of people having limbs broken and teeth knocked
out. One woman has a broken spine. There is clear
evidence of tourture by the police.

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